Dr. Ken Kremer is a speaker, research scientist, freelance science journalist (KSC area,FL) and photographer whose articles, space exploration images and Mars mosaics have appeared in magazines, books, websites and calendars including Astronomy Picture of the Day, NBC, FOX, BBC, SPACE.com, Spaceflight Now, Science and the covers of Aviation Week & Space Technology, Spaceflight and the Explorers Club magazines. Ken has presented at numerous educational institutions, civic & religious organizations, museums and astronomy clubs. Ken has reported first hand from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA Wallops, NASA Michoud/Stennis/Langley and on over 80 launches including 8 shuttle launches. He lectures on both Human and Robotic spaceflight - www.kenkremer.com. Follow Ken on Facebook and Twitter
The cupola, attached to the station's robotic arm, is relocated to Tranquility's Earth-facing port. Credit: NASA TV
The Cupola, which is akin to a ‘bay window’ in a house back on earth, was relocated overnight to the Tranquility modules Earth-facing (nadir) port and put in place at 1:25 AM EST this morning. The so called ‘Room with a View’ was then securely latched and bolted into place. Cupola is an innovative 7 windowed observation dome, built in Italy, that will provide spectacular panoramic views of the Earth, the station and the cosmos and simultaneously function as a robotics work station for approaching cargo ships.
STS 130 Astronauts Terry Virts and Kathryn Hire used the stations Canadian built robotic arm to slowly and methodically drive Cupola from Tranquility’s end port to its new permanent position at a side port looking directly at the Earth. The maneuver took about 2 hours.
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The astronauts dealt with a relatively minor delay in releasing the cupola. Bolts attaching it to its launch position at the end cone on Tranquility had been torqued a little tighter than expected. The problem was resolved by increasing the torque applied by the stations robotic arm to unscrew the bolts and detach Cupola.
First light through the windows is expected on Tuesday after Spacewalkers Patrick and Behnken remove the protective window covers during EVA-3, their final spacewalk of the STS-130 mission. The covers have been in place since before launch to shield the windows from debris and damage.
Earlier STS 130/ISS and SDO articles by Ken Kremer
Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken work outside the International Space Station during the second spacewalk of the STS-130 mission. Credit: NASA TV
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is at the Kennedy Space Center for Universe Today covering the flight of Endeavour)
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick completed the second of their three spacewalks (EVAs) planned for the STS-130 mission early this Sunday morning Feb 14 at 3:14 AM EST. The pair worked essentially as plumbers today during the spacewalk which began at 9:20 PM Saturday night. They successfully accomplished all their assigned tasks overnight by connecting crucial Tranquility feed lines to the International Space Station (ISS).
“It was an extremely exciting and successful day on the International Space Station, one that I’m very proud of,” said Flight Director Bob Dempsey. “The team has been working for over two years to make today happen. And it did, and it was extremely successful and I’m very pleased with the way it has gone. Everything was accomplished as we had planned.”
The main goal of EVA 2 was to route four newly redesigned ammonia coolant lines from the new Tranquility life support module to the Destiny laboratory module thereby hooking Tranquility into the space stations existing cooling system. Tranquility could not be fully activated and powered up for use by the ISS crew until fulfilling this essential plumbing job to install the custom built ammonia lines.
Behnken and Patrick spent the first half of EVA-2 connecting the four external ammonia jumper hoses which convey ammonia that works as a coolant to dissipate heat generated by the electronics and systems inside the module. The set up is comprised of two independent loops (A and B) with two lines each, a supply and a return line. The 16 ft long flex lines were also routed through brackets on the Unity node to which Tranquility is attached on the left side. Newly attached Tranquility and Cupola modules (center, left) jut out from the main line of habitable ISS modules running from left to right at center. Credit: NASA TV
After connecting the four jumper hoses the astronauts methodically wrapped them with a long sheet of protective multi layer insulation, or MLI. During the EVA, the astronauts then flipped open the control valves for one of the two external loops (A) and successfully initiated the flow of ammonia coolant though the newly installed set of custom hoses. The second “B” loop will be activated on the third, and last, spacewalk of the STS 130 mission.
NASA astronauts Terry Virts (right), STS-130 pilot; Nicholas Patrick (left) and Stephen Robinson, both mission specialists, are pictured in the newly-installed Tranquility node of the International Space Station . Credit: NASA
With coolant flowing as intended, another team of astronauts inside the ISS began powering up and fully activating the stations newest room for the first time. They turned on the interior lights, ventilation, air conditioning, computers and other life support and environmental control systems which this room was specifically designed to house.
Once again the highly trained and professional astronauts made an extremely difficult job look relatively easy. The only problem was quite minor. Patrick reported that a small quantity of ammonia of leaked out of a reservoir as he uncapped a connector on the Unity module before he could hook up the jumper hose. He said that ammonia particles, which had solidified in the cold vacuum of space, splashed onto the exterior of his spacesuit. This spray of ammonia automatically qualifies as a contamination incident although Patrick did not find any particles actually adhering to his suit. The pair had been trained for exactly this occurrence since a tiny leakage of this type was not entirely unexpected. The spacewalk continued as planned.
Since ammonia is highly toxic, the spacewalkers took care to “bake out” their suits and test for any residual contamination when they arrived back at the airlock at the conclusion of the EVA. None was detected and they ingressed the station as planned.
The final tasks of EVA 2 involved outfitting the nadir docking port of Tranquility for the relocation of the Cupola module to another berthing port and installing exterior handrails.
The Story behind the Urgently Redesigned Ammonia Hoses
NASA and contractor teams had to work quite swiftly to redesign and construct four new custom ammonia hoses. The arduous task was only completed a few days before the then targeted launch date of Feb. 7. Otherwise a significantly curtailed mission involving only partial activation of Tranquility or a launch delay or would have been necessitated.
At the Kennedy Space Center press site I spoke with Eric Howell of Boeing in detail about the intense effort to construct and certify the hoses for the External Active Thermal Control System (EATCS). I had the opportunity to inspect the flexible metal hoses and their individual components first hand and hold and touch them with my own hands. I was quite surprised to find that they were rather sharp and easily capable of causing a deadly air leak gash into a spacewalkers glove.
“The 1 inch diameter hoses are constructed of Inconel, which is resistant to a highly corrosive substance like ammonia. The flexible, convoluted tube is covered by a metal braid which carries the entire load and provides all the strength to maintain the tubes integrity and prevent it from bursting. The individual strands of wire are 1/11,000 inch in diameter,” Howell explained to me.
“Normally it takes about 9 months to design and test the ammonia hoses. We had to get this job done in about 25 days. There was a weld quality issue with the original set of flight hoses. The weld was separating (yielding) from the metal braid carriers under pressure testing with nitrogen. To fix the hose bursting problem, we changed the design of the weld and the welding process to obtain a full depth of penetration.” Redesigned ammonia coolant line and components on display at The KSC press center. Credit: Ken Kremer
“The hoses are designed to operate at 500 psi. To qualify for flight they are tested for 25 cycles at 2000 psi (4 x operating pressure). The original hoses burst at 1600 psi. So we redesigned the hoses and modified the nut collar at the end which we found was too short.”
“We constructed four new multi-segmented hoses built by splicing together 3 to 5 shorter segments which we found lying around in storage throughout several NASA centers. Each of the original hoses that failed were constructed from two segments. The outer metal braid was then covered by a fiberglass sleeve to provide thermal protection. The new hoses were rush shipped from NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Ala on Jan 29 after a final checkout for approval by the Endeavour spacewalkers who were quite concerned,” Howell concluded.
Side view of the Tranquility and Cupola modules during my visit inside the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Cupola is covered by protective blankets and sports two grapple fixtures for the robotic arms to latch onto. Delivery of the modules is the primary goal of the STS130 flight of shuttle Endeavour. The two modules combined weigh over 13.5 tons. Tranquility has six docking ports and is 7 meters (21 ft) in length and 4.5 meters (14.7 ft) in diameter with a pressurized volume of 75 cubic meters (2650 cubic ft). Credit: Ken Kremer
Cupola Relocation and Extra day in Space
Transfer of the Cupola, which had been scheduled for this evening (Sunday, Feb 14) has been put on hold pending resolution of a clearance issue on Tranquilities end docking port to which Cupola is currently attached. The astronauts were unable to attach a protective cover onto the port from inside Tranquility. Several protruding bolts are interfering with attempts to lock the cover in place. The cover shields the port from debris and extreme temperatures when nothing is attached to it.
The astronauts did receive other very good news today when NASA managers decided to extend the STS 130 flight by one day bringing it to14 days in all and thus allowing a total of 9 days of joint docked operations with Endeavour at the orbiting outpost.
The extra flight day will permit Endeavour’s crew additional time to move the space toilet, water recycling, oxygen generation and exercise equipment into the now activated Tranquility. Those relocations had been on hold pending the repairs to the urine recycling system conducted earlier in the flight, and enough run time on the system to generate needed samples for return to Earth for analysis. Landing at the Kennedy Space Center is now targeted for 10:24 PM on Feb 21, weather permitting.
Update: NASA gave the go ahead late this afternoon (Feb 14) to start relocating Cupola late this evening. Watch for a report upon completion sometime overnight.
Earlier STS 130/ISS and SDO articles by Ken Kremer
“JEM, Soyuz, Shuttle, our new Node3, and your beautiful Earth!” Stunning Twitpic shows new Tranquility module (Node 3) being prepared for attachment today to the International Space Station (ISS). Note the giant Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) and attached japanese science porch and robotic arm (at left) in backgrouind as well as manned shuttle Endeavour and Soyuz spaceships. Three robot arms in total visible here. Credit: Astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard ISS.
[/caption] (Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is at the Kennedy Space Center for Universe Today covering the flight of Endeavour)
According to plan, EVA-1 Spacewalkers Nicholas Patrick and Bob Behnken departed outside via the stations Quest Airlock. Their first tasks were to prepare the way for unloading Tranquility from the payload bay by removing eight contamination covers from the berthing port on Tranquility, which will be attached to the Unity Node, and also opening a flap on Unity’s centerline camera which was then utilized to precisely line up and guide the two nodes during installation.
Astronauts Terry Virts and Kay Hire then deftly plucked Tranquility out from Endeavour’s payload bay using the stations robotic arm (SSRMS) and methodically attached it to Unity as astronauts Behnken and Patrick worked elsewhere to modify a tool platform on the Dextre special purpose dexterous manipulator. Leak checks confirmed the successful docking of the two nodes.
Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick and Bob Behnken work outside the International Space Station during the first spacewalk of the STS-130 mission. Credit: NASA TV
Patrick and Behnken then returned to Tranquility after it was in place and hooked up the crucial power and avionics cables between both nodes to provide a temporary power supply to run heaters on Tranquility. Additional cabling and coolant lines will be installed during the next spacewalk set for Saturday.
Behnken and Patrick completed their 6-hour, 32-minute EVA-1 spacewalk at 3:49 AM EST this morning and accomplished all their assigned tasks as well as some got ahead work !
Tranquility’s hatch is scheduled to be opened at about 9:14 PM tonight.
Side view of the Tranquility and Cupola modules during my visit inside the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Cupola is covered by protective blankets and sports two grapple fixtures for the robotic arms to latch onto. Delivery of the modules is the primary goal of the STS130 flight of shuttle Endeavour. The two modules combined weigh over 13.5 tons. Tranquility has six docking ports and is 7 meters (21 ft) in length and 4.5 meters (14.7 ft) in diameter with a pressurized volume of 75 cubic meters (2650 cubic ft). Credit: Ken Kremer
EVA-1 was the 138th in support of ISS assembly and maintenance, totaling 861 hours, 34 minutes. It was the 110th spacewalk out of the space station, totaling 674 hours, 19 minutes.
Tranquility is the final major US segment to be attached to the gigantic orbiting outpost, which spans the length of a football field. The combined weight of the ISS and shuttle exceeds 1 million pounds for the first time. Construction of the ISS is now over 90% complete.
Tranquility will house “many of the stations critical life support systems”, says Mike Suffredini, who is the lead manager of the ISS for NASA. Tranquility is outfitted with environmental control equipment for revitalizing the station atmosphere and removing contaminants, generating oxygen and providing breathable air, carbon dioxide removal, recycling waste water into potable drinking water, the crew toilet and the Colbert Treadmill for crew exercise. Suffredini told me in a prior interview that, “Many of the Tranquility racks are already aboard the ISS in the Destiny module and just need to be moved and installed. Their relocation will free up research space in Destiny”.
Earlier STS 130/ISS and SDO articles by Ken Kremer
Launch Complex 41: Atlas rocket was rolled from VIF at left to pad at right on Feb 9, 2010. Credit: Ken Kremer
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is at the Kennedy Space Center for Universe Today covering the launch of SDO and Endeavour.)
NASA’s nearly $1 Billion hi tech sun probe, the Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO, was rolled out today (Feb 9) to Launch Pad 41 on a rainy day here in Florida at 1 day from blast off. SDO will be carried aloft atop an Atlas V rocket at 10:26 AM EST on Feb 10 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window extends for 1 hour. The current weather prediction is only 40% “GO”. The primary concerns for launch day are ground winds with gusts and thick clouds.
NASA’s SDO sun explorer is encapsulated inside 4 meter payload fairing and is bolted atop Centaur Upper Stage of Atlas V rocket at Launch Complex 41. Umbilical lines at right carry cryogenic propellants, electrical power and purge gases. Credit: Ken KremerAt the Kennedy Space Center, I was thrilled to watch the rocket rollout to the pad this morning as part of a NASA Media event along with Universe Today Senior Editor Nancy Atkinson. We were accompanied by a group of SDO managers and science investigators from across the country. The rollout started from inside the 30 story gantry known as the VIF, or Vertical Integration Facility, and ended at the launch pad. It took approximately 35 minutes for the twin “trackmobiles” to push the Atlas rocket about 1800 ft along railroad tracks.
Atlas V booster is 12.5 ft in diameter and 106.5 ft in length. Centaur Upper Stage is 10 ft in diameter and 41.5 ft long. SDO payload fairing is 14 ft in diameter. Total Vehicle height is about 189 ft. Credit: Ken KremerThis afternoon I traveled directly inside the highly restricted security zone which surrounds Launch Complex 41 for a photo shoot to observe the assembled Atlas V rocket and SDO spacecraft directly at the pad. Fantastic experience despite the rainstorm.
SDO, Atlas V and Ken in ditch below rocket less than 24 hours from blast off. Credit: Ken Kremer
SDO project scientist Dean Pesnell told me in an interview today that “SDO will acquire movies of the entire surface of the Sun on a 24/7 basis with 10 times greater resolution than High Definition. That’s about equivalent in size to an IMAX movie”. The three science instruments will collect a staggering 1.5 terabytes of data per day which is equivalent to downloading 500,000 songs. The data will be beamed back continuously to two dedicated ground stations in New Mexico which were specially constructed for SDO. There are no on board recorders due to the huge volume of data.
“It’s perfect timing to launch and study the sun as it starts the rise to a solar maximum,” according to Pesnell. “The sun patiently waited for us to be ready to launch as we waited for a launch opportunity. After a long period of inactivity, Sun spots recently started appearing at the North Pole. And they also just started at the South Pole”.
“SDO was conceived by the scientists around 1996 and formally approved by NASA in 2002”, Prof. Phillip Scherrer said to me. He is the Principal Investigator for the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument.
“The primary mission phase will last 5 years and hopefully extend out to 10 and perhaps even longer. The longevity depends on the health of the science instruments. Remember SOHO was projected to last 2 years and has now operated for over 15 years ! “
HMI will study the origin of solar variability and attempt to characterize and understand the Sun’s interior and magnetic activity.
Both HMI, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, or AIA, will allow scientists to see the entire disc of the sun in very high resolution — 4,096 by 4,096 mm CCDs. In comparison, a standard digital camera uses a 7.176 by 5.329 mm CCD sensor.
AIA also will image the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere, while the Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment, or EVE, measures its ultraviolet spectrum every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day.
We are now less than 12 hours from launch of SDO, NASA’s “New Eye on the Sun”.
Read my earlier SDO reports, including from on site at the KSC launch pads for both SDO and STS 130.
Atlas rocket has been rolled to pad 41 on Feb 8, 2010 and is locked in place surrounded by four lightening masts. Credit: Ken KremerAtlas V rocket begins the 1800 ft rollout from VIF to Pad 41. Credit: Ken Kremer
STS 130 Crew of Endeavour poses for group portrait as they pause to smile and wave to well wishers prior to boarding Astrovan for transport to Launch Pad 39 A. They are dressed in their orange launch-and-entry suits, otherwise known as “pumpkin suits”. From left are Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire; Pilot Terry Virts; and Commander George Zamka. Credit: Ken Kremer
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is at the Kennedy Space Center for Universe Today covering the launch of Endeavour and SDO.)
Night literally turned to day as shuttle Endeavour roared off the pad early this morning Feb.8 at 4:14 AM beginning a 2 day chase to link up with the International Space Station and commence the STS 130 mission. It was like Endeavour had set the sky on fire !
Well I can now testify that this oft spoken phrase of night turning into day is indeed true – and beyond words I can express ! What an astounding experience and rare privilege it has been to witness this magnificent light show today from a mere 3 miles away at the NASA Press center next to the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
For something like 30 seconds or so the 7 million pound thrust gigantic blowtorch that is shuttle Endeavour transformed darkness into daylight in a matter of just a few seconds for miles around – in the chilly pre dawn hours here at KSC in Florida. This was the second launch attempt following yesterday’s scrub due to cloudy weather.
Space shuttle Endeavour lights up the night sky as it lifts off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch on the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4:14 a.m. EST. Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
I felt like the massively long flames emanating out the rear end of Endeavour were literally burning a hole in the sky and thereby allowing the blazing sun to piece through and overwhelm the night as the sparking sounds and crackling thunder rumbled over everyone and everything in the wake of its spreading and merciless path.
You cannot even begin to compare the experience of seeing and hearing a shuttle launch in person – to watching it on TV. But I do hope many of you did do the next best thing – and view this incredible event on live TV.
I have been very lucky and was overwhelmed by the chance to witness 3 daytime shuttle launches and now compare it to a night launch.
I watched the crew a few hours prior to launch from just a few meters away as they walked out from crew quarters to board the astrovan at about 12:24 AM for the journey to their sea side launch pad at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The crew of six waved to us, gleefully smiling and even spoke a few words in response to shout outs of well wishes from the large assembled crowd of NASA workers and media. Shuttle Commander George Zamka zestfully responded to us, “I think we’re gonna launch today ! ”
STS 130 was the last scheduled nighttime launch of a shuttle.
Like Nancy, I too followed the advice of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to witness and observe the blast off (and that is an understatement) directly with both my eye balls and not through the diminishing view of a camera lens – Thus leaving it to the professionals to photograph.
It is both thrilling and bittersweet to simultaneously contemplate the promise of science discoveries which lies ahead in space compared to the looming shutdown of the shuttle which means we will never again see a nighttime shuttle launch. This is combined with the sad realization that the US and mankind loses the tremendous operational capabilities in space which are uniquely provided by the shuttle program and will remain unmatched and unavailable for decades to come.
All this is especially true in light of the incredibly shortsighted decision by the Obama Administration to cancel Project Constellation and replace it with basically nothing in terms of human spaceflight beyond LEO, or Low Earth Orbit. I sat in the briefing room here at KSC as NASA officials expressed “shock” at the decision to completely cancel Project constellation. There is No definitive Beyond LEO vision, No Goals, No targets and No target dates in the future budget plan announced for NASA earlier this week by the Obama Admisistration. What’s really needed is a program that is both inspiring and on the cutting edge – to match this morning’s blast off to the High Frontier of Space.
President Obama has proposed to completely cancel NASA’s Project Constellation to send humans to the Moon, Mars and Beyond, thus calling into question whether US Leadership in Space will continue. Artists concept of NASA’s cancelled Orion crew exploration vehicle shown here in on a science mission in lunar orbit. Credit: NASA
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the upcoming Endeavour launch attempt.)
“We can fly Orion in 2013”, says John Karas, the VP and General Manager of Human Space Flight for Lockheed Martin. Lockheed is the prime contractor for NASA’s Orion capsule.
“There is no doubt in my mind we can do this. And Orion is very safe”. He strenuously repeated this statement to me several times with absolutely no doubt in his mind during a wide ranging interview. I spoke at length with Karas today (Feb. 6) at the NASA Press Center shortly before the scheduled Feb. 7 launch of shuttle Endeavour on the STS 130 mission to the ISS.
Lockheed Martin has issued an official statement saying, “We are keenly disappointed in the Administration’s budget proposal for NASA that would cancel Project Orion as part of an elimination of NASA’s Constellation Program. Orion’s maturity is evident in its readiness for a first test flight in a matter of weeks. In fact, Orion can be ready for crewed flights to low Earth orbit and other exploration missions as early as 2013, thus narrowing the gap in U.S. human space flight capability when the shuttle is retired later this year”.
Karas questioned the complete lack of vision and realism by the Obama Administration and NASA in deciding to terminate Project Constellation, which includes the new Orion Capsule, the Ares 1 booster rocket for Orion and the Ares 5 Heavy Lift booster required to reach the Moon, Mars and beyond. “I was very surprised by the cancellation. We expected and felt that a middle ground with some changes to Constellation was reasonable. We did not expect to be left with nothing”.
“Where is the US Leadership in space if we don’t have a heavy lifter soon ? or a deep space crewed capablity ?
“Russia, China, Japan and India will all have boosters equal to or better than the US expendable fleet. Why would anyone have an incentive to work with us if they already have their own boosters and crew vehicles for LEO. The nations of the world will look elsewhere, not to the US”, Karas told me emphatically. “Its not international cooperation, its international dependency !”
“We will not maintain Space leadership if the US will only be spending money on commercial LEO technology development under the new proposals by the Obama Administration, and not on an actual rocket program that builds, tests and launches flight hardware. Other countries have vehicles and technology programs too.”
“For now, I told the team that Job 1 is to stay calm and keep focused. We are not terminated yet. We are continuing the Constellation program according to our contracts with NASA. By law, the Congress must still have its say. The program cannot be terminated without congressional approval. We have some hope there and are working with NASA and Congress.”
“We have numerous Orion related tests upcoming including the LAS or Launch Abort System test in 60 days. And we have test hardware at Michoud and other sites in Louisiana, Texas and Florida. We have successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) on Orion last year. We are headed for the critical design review (CDR) beginning in the August 2010 time frame and running into next year. Orion is the most mass efficient ever built. And its full of innovations”.
Karas was confident about the early readiness of Orion and vehemently disagrees with the conclusions of the blue ribbon Augustine commission which evaluated Project Constellation and stated in their final report that the Orion capsule could not launch prior to 2015 to 2017. Karas stated, “We can have an Orion capsule built and ready to fly by 2013. It would likely utilize a 5 segment Ares 1 rocket and probably be capable of launching with 4 astronauts aboard. To acccomplish that, we first need to complete several high altitude abort tests with the capsule. This would be followed by an unmanned orbital test in 2012.
There are some alternatives to using Ares 1 as the booster rocket if Lockheed decides to bid on NASA’s commercial route to human spaceflight. There has been speculation about launching with a 4 segment Ares 1 first stage which might also work, but with certain modifications to reduce the weight of Orion. Some systems or components would have to be simplified, reduced or pulled off such as the Service module size, avionics and unspecified life support hardware resulting in less redundancy and robustness in case of failures,” Karas said.
The Delta 4 Heavy and Atlas 5 are among other booster possibilities. Along with this of course is the fact that some capabilitities would also have to be sacrificed. For example making Orion only LEO capable and thus giving up on the Moon, Mars and other Deep Space targets such as Asteroids. But, he cautioned me by saying that much work remains yet to be done to define these alternative options. “Focusing on LEO is not space leadership. The nation should have a balanced approach” says Karas. Capabilities sacrificed today could potentially be added back in later.
Money could also obviously be saved by designing and constructing a capsule with less built in safety capability. Fear of that happening has been expressed by many.
Let me be completely clear, Karas was NOT advocating any option to curtail on crew safety. Just stating that compromises to crew safety would be a direct consequence to cutting development costs by cutting operational systems from the Orion capsule to meet a commercial competition.
Indeed, Karas is extremely concerned that by going the commercial taxi route, astronaut safety is exactly what will be sacrificed. “I am very concerned that safety and safety standards are at risk. There is a lot of rhetoric about commercial providers”.
In fact, no one has built any manned capsule yet and many comentators think their fast timelines are unrealistic. Some commercials providers have claimed they will have a manned capsule ready in about two years. But they have not even flight tested the unmanned cargo carriers yet.
“What happens if the commercial providers fail to deliver ? and the market for manned capsules fails to materialize ? Then the US will be left with no capability to launch its own astronauts into space for perhaps a decade or more.” The looming “Gap” will thus grow even longer, further threatening US Space Leadership”, stated Karas. Orion (now cancelled) approaches the International Space Station in Earth orbit. Artist Concept Credit: NASA
“Significant investment has already been made by the nation and private industry in Orion, which is human rated to provide a level of safety unmatched by any previous or currently proposed crewed vehicles”, according to Lockheed.
“Over 4000 people are working on Orion and those jobs are at risk. Lockheed and its partners have spent $300 million of its planned $500 million investment in Orion,” Karas told me.
Over 7000 jobs at the Kennedy Space Center are now at risk as well as thousands more across the US as a result of the retirement of the Space Shuttle at the end of 2010. The cancellation of Project Constellation adds even more uncertainty and the probable loss of another 500 jobs at the Cape.
On Feb 1, NASA awarded $50 million to commercial firms to begin development of concepts and technology demonstrations for commercial human spaceflight.
“Its just prudent for the tax-payers to have a backup plan.”
“We have done all the analysis, and others have verified it independently, making Orion inherently more safe than the alternatives,” Karas concluded.
The ISS Progress 36 cargo craft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Image Credit: Roscosmos
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the upcoming Endeavour launch attempt.)
A Russian cargo robot carrying 2 ½ tons of food, fuel and essential supplies carried out an automated docking at the International Space Station (ISS) late Thursday at 11:26 PM EST following a 2 day orbital chase. The unmanned Progress 36 resupply vessel arrived at the aft port of the Zvezda service module under the watchful eyes of Cosmonuats Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev who were ready to swiftly intervene and perform a manual docking if necessary. Astronaut Soichi Noguchi tweeted this live account; “Progress just docked to ISS! We felt the impact!!!”
This marks the first time that four Russian spaceships are simultaneously attached to the orbiting outpost — two Soyuz manned capsules and two Progress cargo vehicles.
The ISS Progress 36 unpiloted spacecraft approaches International Space Station for docking. Credit: NASA TV The Progress cargo vessel blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 10:45 p.m. EST loaded with 1,940 pounds of propellant, 106 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 2,683 pounds of science equipment, spare parts and supplies. The resident five man crew of Expedition 22 stayed up late to open the hatch and quickly begin unloading the valuable stash of provisions.
ISS Commander Jeff William tweeted that, “Progress docking went well. Max opened the hatch to the smell of fresh fruit. Rarely enjoyed an apple as much as today-simple gifts!”
After all the cargo is removed, the accumulated station trash will be transferred into the Progress. In May it will undock and deorbit by firing its thrusters in a preprogrammed manner where it will burn up as a flaming fireball in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Progress resupply vehicle is an automated, unpiloted version of the Soyuz manned capsules that is used to bring supplies and fuel to the ISS. The Progress also has the ability to raise the Station’s altitude and control the orientation of the Station using the vehicle’s thrusters.
The Expedition 22 crew has been diligently preparing the station for the arrival of shuttle Endeavour as well as checking out the operation of the stations robotic arm and packing up science samples to return to earth aboard Endeavour for analysis by waiting scientists on the ground. The Progress docking also caps an extremely active month of external station activity. The ISS crew conducted a spacewalk, flew a Soyuz capsule to a new docking port, and cleared the intended berthing port for the new Tranquility module by detaching Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 (PMA-3) and relocating it to a new port.
Meanwhile at Friday’s press briefing at The Kennedy Space Center NASA officials stated that everything remains on track for the Feb 7 launch of Endeavour at 4:39 AM. Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said, “The launch countdown of Endeavour is going extremely well. We’re not tracking any technical issues at all. The team is energized and excited about the countdown. Looking forward to getting Endeavour off the ground Sunday morning.”
Mike Moses, shuttle launch integration manager, said, “We’re really looking forward to this launch carrying up node 3 [Tranquility] and the Cupola. We are greatly excited. There was a unanimous GO for launch.
Weather officer Kathy Winters reported that the weather outlook has increased to “80 Percent GO”.
Bernardo Patti, ESA’s International Space Station program manager, said “These are the last two European built elements for the ISS, Node 3 and Cupola. We are very happy and proud of Europe for providing this equipment. It’s a great example of cooperation between NASA and ESA.”
STS 130 Press Briefing: Mike Moses (shuttle launch integration manager), Bernardo Patti (ESA's International Space Station program manager), Mike Leinbach (shuttle launch director), Kathy Winters (shuttle weather officer). The NASA team reports Endeavour is Go for launch at T minus 1 day. Credit: Ken Kremer
The giant Rotating Service Structure (RSS) which protects Endeavour at the pad will be retracted at about 8 AM Saturday. Nancy and myself will be there to witness this beautiful event and the final preparations leading up to the 4:39 AM EST launch.
The brilliant spectacle of the final nighttime shuttle launch will be visible from much of the US East Coast for Endevaour’s 8 ½ minute climb to orbit.
We are now at T Minus 1 day to launch !
Banff, AB, Canada. Looks like plenty of snow for ski! Credit Astronaut Soichi Noguchi
STS-130 astronaut crew arrived at 10:10 PM on Feb. 2 at the Kennedy Space Center aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft, in the background. Commander George Zamka briefs the media from the shuttle landing strip. From left are Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire; Commander Zamka, at microphone; and Pilot Terry Virts. Credit: Ken Kremer
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(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the upcoming Endeavour launch attempt.)
The six person crew for the STS 130 flight of shuttle Endeavour arrived at the Kennedy Space Center late this evening, Tuesday Feb. 2. The astronauts flew here from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). They landed at the Cape at approximately 10:10 PM EST at the shuttle landing facility strip which is where the shuttles return from space after completing their orbital mission. The STA is a modified Gulfstream II jet.
A crowd of NASA officials and reporters including myself were on hand to greet the crew. After they emerged from the STA (see photo), Shuttle Commander George Zamka offered some brief comments on behalf of the entire crew. “Welcome to the STS-130 night shift! It is the only shift we got. If you are working STS-130, it is going to be dark outside,”
“It’s great to be here at the Cape. We’ve got Tranquility and Cupola loaded up in the space shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A and this is the place for us to be. We just did our final ascent sim last night and final preparations for our mission”. Caption: Overhead view of Tranquility & Cupola modules inside the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on Jan 8, 2010. Tranquility will be attached to ISS by STS 130 astronaut crew. Credit: Ken Kremer
“Everything with Endeavour is going very, very well. We got a great team here. We’re going to be reviewing our procedures and will be looking at our late stowage items before loading onto Endeavour and other flight equipment. We’ll also be doing some final landing practice here at the Cape”.
“We talked to the space station crew last night, Jeff Williams and company. They’re doing great. We’re all very excited about meeting up with them, rendezvousing with the space station and getting started on this great project of bringing the Tranquility module to life and putting the cupola in its final position, opening up those shutters and taking a look at the Earth. Go Endeavour !”
The astronauts then posed for a photo op and quickly departed by bus for more astronaut training overnight as they shift their sleep and work cycles according to NASA officials at the media event.
Early Wednesday morning at 530 AM the astronauts will travel to the Space Station Processing Facility to inspect late delivered items. Foremost among these are the newly fabricated and redesigned ammonia jumper hoses which replace the original hoses that ruptured during pre-flight testing in early January (see my earlier story). These lines carry the coolent which is critical to maintaining temperature control inside the Tranquility module and are required to fully activate the module after it is attached to the International Space Station (ISS). The new hoses were rapidly pieced together from shorter sections and thoroughly tested at high pressure to insure their utility and safety.
The countdown begins at 2 AM on Thursday, Feb. 4. The launch of Endeavour is slated for 4:39 AM on Sunday, Feb. 7 from Pad 39 A.
Twitpic of Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA from the ISS on Jan 30, 2010 Credit Astronaut Soichi Noguchi
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“Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco, CA. Beautiful shadow :-),” tweeted Astronaut Soichi Noguchi along with a live image he shot from space from inside the International Space Station.
The 5 man crew comprising Expedition 22 aboard the ISS now have the capability to transmit live, unfiltered views and comments from space. And whats more is that starting on Feb. 1 they’ll be streaming live video from the outpost, orbiting some 220 miles above the earth while speeding along at 17,500 MPH.
Astronaut TJ Creamer twittered the first unassisted post only 1 week ago on Jan 22.
Yesterday afternoon (Jan 30) he tweeted about his next picture targets, “Gonna try to take some pix of the Moon and the mesospheric clouds.”
“Noctilucent clouds. Antarctic. Priceless.” Credit: Astronaut Soichi NoguchiNoguchi sent down other beautiful shots, including “priceless” noctilucent clouds above Antarctica, city lights above Tokyo, and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti with “prayers” from the crew. He shot these In between his station work.
Noguchi tweeted on Jan 29, that he was working with the Japanese robotic arm (JEMRMS) which is attached to Japan’s giant “Kibo” science research module. “JMSRMS is working just fine-just like sim on the ground. I am very excited. The task is to check the status of external experiment facility. KOOL:-).” Kibo is the largest research laboratory on the ISS.
You can follow all the tweets from three of the crew; Astronauts Soichi Noguchi, TJ. Creamer and Jeff Williams at this link: http://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts
“Great Saturday on board ISS. Taking photos of Earth, preparing for Shuttle arrival, Station maintenance, and calls home.” Reports Jeff Williams in the newest tweet.
“Our internal cameras wlll stream to the Web beginning Monday [Feb 1] ! Wave when you see us!! :)” tweets Creamer.
The live video will be available during all crew duty hours and when the complex is in contact with the ground through its high-speed communications antenna and NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. Live streaming video of the earth and the stations exterior has been available since March 2009.
Meanwhile, everything remains on schedule for the Feb. 7 launch of STS 130 to deliver the Tranquility and Cupola modules.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is lifted atop the Atlas V rocket. Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
[/caption]The “Crown Jewel” of NASA’s solar science research fleet, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, was transported from the Astrotech payload processing facility outside KSC to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Launch Complex 41 in the overnight hours of Jan 26. It’s standard operating procedure to transport such highly valuable payloads after midnight, when the least amount of traffic is on the road in order to minimize any possibility for an accident. This journey was in preparation for connecting to its Atlas rocket. The $848 million spacecraft was moved at about 10 MPH on a specially designed flat bed truck for a trip lasting roughly four hours.
SDO is bolted onto Centaur Upper Stage. Credit: NASA/Jack PfallerAfter daylight broke, the encapsulated SDO was lifted by crane, hoisted 13 stories to the top of the Atlas V rocket and bolted atop the Centaur upper stage previously erected inside the gantry at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Interface and aliveness tests of the integrated system to verify electrical connections between SDO and the booster rocket are underway.
The Flight Readiness Review is set for Feb. 5 and pad rollout on Feb. 8. NASA is currently targeting Feb 9 as the launch date with a 1 hour launch window starting at 10:30 AM EST, just 2 days after the scheduled Feb. 7 blast off of Shuttle Endeavour and Tranquility module on the STS 130 mission to the ISS. If STS 130 is delayed, SDO would likewise be delayed on a matching day by day basis. A minimum turnaround time of 48 hours is required to reconfigure all telemetry and tracking systems and hardware on the Air Force Eastern range between launches.
In the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the payload fairing enclosing NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has been secured to the Atlas V rocket. SDO is the first mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
