Space Flight Archives

May 20, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

SRB Videos, A Toast to Recycled Urine and Other Misc. Spaceflight Notes

ISS crew drinks recycled water. Credit: NASA TV

It has been a busy day in space and here are a few jottings about what all has been going on. Above, you can watch the spectacular videos taken by cameras mounted on the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters, taken during the launch of Atlantis on the current Hubble Servicing Mission. It’s a crazy ride, tagging along on the outside of the shuttle going up, and spinning dizzily on the way down until splashing in the ocean. Not for the faint of heart! But seeing the SRB videos means only one thing: Atlantis and the STS-125 crew have been cleared to land. NASA has carefully reviewed the videos and the data from the crew’s scan of the shuttle’s thermal protection system, saying there are absolutely no issues that would preclude the shuttle from landing. Weather, however could be another matter, which is why NASA ordered the shuttle to power down for awhile today to save on consumables. Predicted weather does not look good for landing on Friday, so the crew will make sure they have enough power to stay in orbit for a few more days.

Now about that toast…

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A huge crowd gathered in the space station mission control room at Johnson Space Center today as the ISS crew was given a “go” to drink water that the new recycling system has purified. Everyone joined in at mission control with a toast to the success of the recycling system, giving a nod to everyone who helped create the system, install it on the ISS and work on getting the fussy system to run. This is big news, as it means the station is ready to handle the increased crew size of 6 astronauts.

Also:

The STS-125 crew held a press conference from the shuttle today. The highlight was Mike Massimino talking about how he ripped a handrail off of Hubble in order to proceed with the scheduled repair of the STIS instrument.

“Ripping that thing out of there was quite an experience, and I’m glad it led to a successful repair,” said Massimino, who added that he drew inspiration from his uncle Frank, who once ripped an oil filter out a car. “That was pretty close to what was going on with Hubble.”

Later, during a ship-to-ship call between Atlantis and the ISS, space station crew member Michael Barrett revisited Massimino’s special touch.

“The magic Massimino touch is now legendary, and we’re looking forward to seeing you guys back on the ground,” he said.

If you missed the crew news conference, its available here. Additionally, the discussion between the two crews, can be seen here.

Update: One other piece of news from the shuttle is that President Obama called the STS-125 crew to congratulate them on a job well done. “I wanted to personally tell you how proud I am of all of you and everything that you’ve accomplished,” he said.

“Like a lot of Americans, I’ve been watching with amazement the gorgeous images you’ve been sending back and the incredible repair mission you’ve been making in space,” he said. “I think you’re providing a wonderful example of the kind of dedication and commitment to exploration that represents America and the space program generally. These are traits that have always made this country strong and all of you personify them.”

Obama also said he would be naming a new NASA administrator very soon, but wouldn’t say who it is.

“Just so we’re sure, the new administrator is not any of us on the flight deck right now, is it?” asked Commander Scott Altman (Altman had suggested Hubble fix-it man John Grunsfeld for administrator earlier this week.)

“I’m not going to give you any hints,” Obama said with a laugh.

“Thank you very much, fair enough, sir,” Altman replied.

Listen to the audio and/or read the transcript of Obama’s call here.

One other spaceflight news tidbit, Orbital Sciences Corp. finally launched a Minotaur 1 rocket from the Wallops Island Flight Facility with the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) satellite. The launch was heavily postponed, with several scrubs relating from the weather to the launch vehicle and facility. Find out more about the launch and the satellite here.

May 20, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

New International Astronauts Introduced

Simonetta Di Pippo, center, with the new ESA astronauts. Credit: ESA

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ESA proudly presented today six new astronauts from five different European countries who will soon begin training for missions to the International Space Station. The last time ESA selected astronauts, back in the early 1990’s, those astronauts were not guaranteed to have any actual flights in space. But the astronauts introduced today, which include three military pilots, two engineers, and one scientist, are slated to be part of at least seven opportunities to fly on a 6-month increment on the ISS. Additionally, an ESA official said he also hopes they can be part of an international lunar exploration program.

“This is the culmination of a life- long dream,” said Andreas Mogensen, Denmark’s first-ever astronaut. “Your parents and teachers always tell you to dream big, and to follow your dream. But no one tells you what it is like to achieve that dream. I think we’re all in a stsate of shock, but we just have to enjoy the moment. I’m absolutely thrilled to be sitting here today.”

In addition to Mogensen, the other astronauts are:

Samantha Cristoforetti, Italy
Alexander Gerst, Germany
Luca Parmitano, Italy
Timothy Peake, UK
Thomas Pesquet, France

Bios and pictures of the new astronauts.

They were selected following a Europe-wide recruitment process that started last year, which saw 8,413 valid applications. They are the first new recruits to join the European Astronaut Corps since 1992 under this second-ever astronaut selection carried out by ESA.

The earliest any of the new astronauts could fly to space would be 2013, said ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain. The new recruits will begin general astronaut training in September, which lasts for 18 months. After they receive flight assignments, astronauts then train for two years prior to flying in space.

“We are at a turning point in ESA’s human spaceflight activities. Last year, with the launch of the Columbus laboratory and the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, ESA became a fully-fledged member of the International Space Station partnership. We are now entering a new phase of utilisation of the unique capabilities offered by the ISS and preparation for international exploration of the Moon and beyond,” said Dordain.

“This is a very important day for human spaceflight in Europe,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight. “These young men and women are the next generation of European space explorers. They have a fantastic career ahead, which will put them right on top of one of the ultimate challenges of our time: going back to the Moon and beyond as part of the global exploration effort.”

British journalists at the press conference expressed excitement but surprise that a UK citizen was chosen, as Britain does not contribute financially to ESA’s human spaceflight program. But Dourdain said that Peake’s qualifications stood out. “We took the best candidates, it didn’t matter which country they were from.”

Source: ESA, press conference

May 14, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Camera That Saved Hubble is Replaced

The Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 is removed from Hubble. Credit: NASA TV

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While mission specialists John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel successfully accomplished all their tasks for the first EVA of the Hubble servicing mission, it didn’t come without a little drama. A stubborn bolt threatened to thwart one of the spacewalk’s main goals, replacing the venerable space telescope’s workhorse optical camera with a new and improved instrument. But after a fair amount of old fashioned elbow grease, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 was able to be removed. The camera was originally installed in the first Hubble servicing mission in 1993, and was nicknamed “the camera that saved Hubble” because its special optics were able to overcome the spherical aberration in the telescope’s main mirror.

The astronauts also replaced Hubble’s data handling computer – the system that relays data to Earth which gave out last September, delaying this servicing mission, (scheduled to launch last October) until a replacement would be ready.

Watch HD video taken by the shuttle astronauts of Thursday’s activities.

Astronauts removing WFPC2 from Hubble. Credit: NASA TV

Strapped onto the shuttle’s robotic arm, Feustel struggled with a bolt on the old WFPC2 camera for more than an hour. “It’s been in there for 16 years — and it didn’t want to come out,” Grunsfeld said.
Feustel and Grunsfeld worried the bolt might snap, but Mission Control gave Feustel the go-ahead to disable the torque setting on his pistol grip tool.

“We understand if it breaks, then Wide Field (Planetary Camera 2) stays in,” Grunsfeld verified with Mission Control, before Feustel’s high stakes attempt.

“What John said is correct,” capcom Dan Burbank confirmed.

Astronaut Drew Feustel loosens the bolt on WFPC2. Credit: NASA TV

Feustel cranked with all his might, and finally it turned.

“I think I got it — It turned, it definitely turned. And it’s turning easily now. Woo hoo, it’s moving out” Feustel said jubilantly.

Once the bolt was freed, Feustel pulled out the old camera, which is about the size of a piano.

Feustel carrying the old WFPC2 down to the shuttle's payload bay. Credit: NASA TV

Installing the new $132 million WFPC3 was among the highest priorities for the mission, and will allow Hubble to capture images in infrared, ultraviolet and visible wavelengths of objects from as early as 500 million years after the birth of the universe.

Grunsfeld and Feustel also attached a docking mechanism on Hubble so a robotic spacecraft can attach itself to the telescope when its mission is over and maneuver it through a commanded descent through Earth’s atmosphere to its final resting place in the Pacific Ocean. They also lubricated some of Hubble’s doors and tried to install door mechanisms, which also gave them some trouble.

John Grunsfeld works on Hubble. Credit: NASA TV

After installation of WFPC2 and the new data handling system, the Space Telescope Operations Center tested the connections and communications with the instruments, and was able to report to the crew on orbit that both systems passed initial “aliveness” tests.

The 11-day mission is NASA’s fifth and final repair mission to Hubble, with five consecutive spacewalks scheduled. This is NASA’s last chance to service the telescope the end of the shuttle program in 2010. NASA hopes the improvements will keep Hubble operational until at least 2014.

On Friday, two different spacewalkers will replace Hubble’s old and suspect gyroscopes and a set of aging batteries in order to extend the space telescope’s lifetime through at least 2014. Watch NASA TV online to see the EVA, or follow me on Twitter – I’ll be tweeting the highlights of the spacewalk.

May 14, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Herschel and Planck Launch Succesfully

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The Herschel and Planck spacecraft successfully launched together Thursday from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane V rocket performed flawlessly, with the rocket’s trajectory matching exactly the predicted flight path. The two spacecraft separated individually and in different directions from the launch vehicle, about four minutes apart, after spinning to orient themselves correctly for their high elliptical orbits. Just 40 minutes after lift-off, Herschel and Planck sent their first radio signals to Earth, confirming that they both are operating in good shape. In a few months, they will arrive at the L-2 (Lagrange) point in space, 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth, beyond the Moon’s orbit. By early next year, they’ll begin operations to open new windows on the Universe. Herschel will be studying star formation while Planck will be looking back at the Big Bang.

Herschel will be looking at specific points in space while Planck will look at the whole sky.

Herschel in 3-D. Credit: Nathanial Burton-Bradford.

This 3-D image of Herschel was created by Nathanial Burton-Bradford. Check out other images at his Flickr page.

Named after the 18th century astronomer who discovered infrared light, the Herschel spacecraft is 7 meters in length and 4 meters wide. The telescope mirror is 3.5 meters wide, 4 times bigger than previous space telescope, and will collect long-wavelength radiation from some of the coldest and most distant objects in the Universe. The mirror is also a technological wonder: it uses 12 silicon carbide petals fused together into a single piece. Herschel will be the only space observatory to cover a spectral range from the far infrared to sub-millimeter.

To detect cold, dark objects, Herschel has to be even colder. 2,400 liters of liquid helium cools the spacecraft to -273 Celsius. Like a thermal camera can see a person’s body heat, Herschel will look beyond dust and gas to see inside star forming regions, study comets and look into the distant universe where galaxies collide and give birth to stars. Scientists are planning for at least three years of operation from Herschel.

Planck will be sweeping the whole sky continuously to map out a picture of the Universe as it was 13.7 billion years ago. The spacecraft is four by four meters, with a 1.5 meter primary mirror that is surrounded with a baffle to limit any stray light from nearby objects, the Sun, Earth and Moon. Planck’s detectors have to be cold as well, and will be chilled to between 273 C to just 1/10th of degree above Absolute Zero.
Routine observations with Planck are expected to last for at least 15 months. The mission could be extended depending on the status of helium 3 isotope that is being used to chill the spacecraft.
Planck will test key questions in cosmology, investigating the cosmic microwave background, to ascertain the primordial constituents of the universe, and look for existence of gravitational waves. Planck will journey back in time, while giving us a better understanding of the future.

May 14, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Watch Herschel/Planck Launch Live

Ariane V with the Herschel and Planck spacecraft ready to launch. Credit: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG

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The launch of the Herschel and Planck spacecraft is scheduled for 13:12 GMT (9:12 EDT) this morning (Thursday). You can watch it live, starting at 12:40 GMT (8:40 EDT) at this link.

The two spacecraft are launching together in what was originally a cost saving move, but the complexity of preparing two spacecraft at once has caused frequent delays and cost overruns. However, now that launch day is here, hopefully the cutting-edge technologies included in both spacecraft will soon pay off in new discoveries astronomy and cosmology. Read more about the two spacecraft here.

Also, Robert Simpson at Orbiting Frog has some interactive features that show the altitude, velocity and acceleration of the Ariane rocket as it progress through the air into space. You can even click and drag to zoom in on a section of these charts, and move your mouse around inside them to get more information.

And the first of five spacewalks for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission starts at around 9:00 am EDT, and will be pretty much an all-day event. Watch live on NASA TV.

May 13, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Debris Whizzes By Hubble, Shuttle; What Are We Going to do About Space Junk?

Mission patch for STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA

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NASA tracked a piece of orbital debris that came fairly close to space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday evening, but decided no evasive maneuver was required. A 4 inch (10 cm) chunk of a Chinese satellite that was destroyed in a 2007 anti-satellite test came within 1.7 miles (2.8 km) ahead and 150 meters below Atlantis at its closest approach. These potential orbital impacts seem to be occurring routinely for the ISS, and previous shuttle missions have been forced to maneuver out of the way to avoid collisions. The satellite collision in February destroyed a functional satellite, and seemingly, it will be only a matter of time until a serious impact could endanger human lives in orbit. Last week, experts gathered at the International Interdisciplinary Congress on Space Debris, at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and concluded that action must be taken now to reduce the threat to both human spaceflight and satellites from destructive space debris.

“Space debris is primarily a global issue. Global problems need globally solutions, which must be effectively implemented internationally as well as nationally,” said McGill University’s Ram Jakhu, Chair of the Congress.

Space debris in Low Earth orbit. Credit: ESA

Over the past decade and a half, the world’s major space agencies have been developing a set of orbital debris mitigation guidelines aimed at stemming the creation of new space debris and lessening the impact of existing debris on satellites and human spaceflight. Most agencies are in the process of implementing or have already implemented these voluntary measures which include on-board passive measures to eliminate latent sources of energy related to batteries, fuel tanks, propulsion systems and pyrotechnics.

But the growing number of developing countries that are launching using satellites, and they need to be encouraged to use these measures as well.

Last week’s Congress suggested that the mitigation guidelines should become mandatory instead of just voluntary, and another possibility mentioned was the establishment of an international regime for dealing with orbital debris similar to the Missile Technology Control Regime, or perhaps the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. There are a variety of other means within international law as well, including codes, declarations and treaties.

Up until now, the debris mitigation process has been focused mainly on the technical aspects, with an enormous amount of research producing excellent recommendations, noted Brian Weeden, Technical Consultant for the Secure World Foundation.

“However, the community is now starting to focus on the legal aspect, which is critical for broadening and strengthening the adoption of debris mitigation guidelines and space safety in general,” Weeden said.

Weeden explained that the recent Congress explored lessons from terrestrial environmental pollution law as well as maritime law that could be applicable to outer space. Furthermore, international law isn’t necessarily the only method for implementing the guidelines. “We are also looking at a variety of other mechanisms, to include economics and industrial standards,” he said.

Additionally, researchers are moving towards the next phase of scientific study. “There is an emerging consensus among the technical community that simply preventing creation of new debris is not going to be enough,” Weeden emphasized.

“At some point we will need to actively remove debris from orbit. Fortunately, new studies are showing that removing as few as five or six objects per year could stabilize the debris population over the long term. The big question right now is which objects to remove first and what is the best method to do so.”

Some of the options for removing space debris include a “space broom” concept that NASA proposed in 1996 called Project Orion, frying space trash with ground-based lasers, an inflatable set of space tongs that could grab and tow objects, or a space vacuum similar to the Planet Eater, which devoured spaceships in an episode of “Star Trek.”

Any of these concepts would require substantial leaps in technology before they are feasible.

Sources: Secure World Foundation, Wall Street Journal

May 13, 2009April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

US Air Force to Test Scramjet Aircraft

Charlie Brink, manager of the Air Force's X-51 "Waverider" scramjet research project stands with a scale model of the hypersonic aircraft. Credit: Ty Greenlees Dayton Daily News

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The US Air Force has been developing an aircraft that employs an air-breathing scramjet engine, and hopes to run test flights in the fall of 2009. Officials hope the X-51 “Waverider” aircraft will provide high speed aircraft for reconnaissance or strike missions, and eventually the engines will be used for rockets to deploy satellites in space.

“The long-range goal of this for the Air Force is access to space,” said Charlie Brink, an Air Force Research Laboratory propulsion directorate official who manages the X-51 program from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The first test flight of the X-51 will be on Oct. 27, 2009, launched from a B-52 aircraft with a missile booster to at least Mach 4.5, the minimum speed at which the air-breathing scramjet engine operates, before the scramjet kicks in and accelerates the vehicle to at least Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound. The Air Force Research Laboratory expects that the aircraft will fly for about five minutes before crashing into the Pacific. The October flight — and three separate test flights planned in early 2010 — are designed to demonstrate the practicality of using the air-breathing scramjet engine to power and control an aircraft at hypersonic speeds (Mach 5 or greater). The $246.5 million development program has been under development since December 2003.

Scramjet is an acronym for Supersonic Combustion Ramjet. A ramjet has no moving parts and achieves compression of intake air by the forward speed of the vehicle. The scramjet differs from the ramjet in that combustion takes place at supersonic air velocities through the engine. It stays aloft, in part, with lift generated by the shock waves of its own flight. It is mechanically simple, but vastly more complex aerodynamically than a jet engine. Hydrogen is normally the fuel used.

In 2004, NASA conducted flight tests of a hydrogen-based scramjet engine which reached speeds of Mach 9.6, or nearly 7,000 mph, powering an aircraft known as the X-43. However, none of the vehicles survived a flight test.

Brink compares the work of developing the scramjet — to complement aircraft turbine engines and rockets — with aviation’s earlier transition from propellers to jet engines. Air Force leadership will decide the scramjet program’s next step, depending on how the project turns out, Brink said.

Lead Photo Caption: Charlie Brink, manager of the Air Force’s X-51 “Waverider” scramjet research project stands with a scale model of the hypersonic aircraft. Credit: Ty Greenlees Dayton Daily News

Source: Dayton (OH) Daily News

May 8, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

NASA is Running Out of Plutonium

[/caption]Decommissioning nuclear weapons is a good thing. But when our boldest space missions depend on surplus nuclear isotopes derived from weapons built at the height of the Cold War, there is an obvious problem.

If we’re not manufacturing any more nuclear bombs, and we are slowly decommissioning the ones we do have, where will NASA’s supply of plutonium-238 come from? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t easy to arrive at; to start producing this isotope, we need to restart plutonium production.

And buying plutonium-238 from Russia isn’t an option, NASA has already been doing that and they’re running out too…

This situation has the potential of being a serious limiting factor for the future of spaceflight beyond the orbit of Mars.

Exploration of the inner-Solar System should be OK, as the strength of sunlight is substantial, easily powering our robotic orbiters, probes and rovers. However, missions further afield will be struggling to collect the meagre sunlight with their solar arrays. Historic missions such as Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons would not be possible without the plutonium-238 pellets.

So the options are stark: Either manufacture more plutonium or find a whole new way of powering our spacecraft without radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs). The first option is bound to cause some serious political fallout (after all, when there are long-standing policies in place to restrict the production of plutonium, NASA may not get a fair hearing for its more peaceful applications) and the second option doesn’t exist yet.

Although plutonium-238 cannot be used for nuclear weapons, launching missions with any kind of radioactive material on board always causes a public outcry (despite the most stringent safeguards against contamination should the mission fail on launch), and hopelessly flawed conspiracy theories are inevitable. RTGs are not nuclear reactors, they simply contain a number of tiny plutonium-238 pellets that slowly decay, emitting α-particles and generating heat. The heat is harnessed by thermocouples and converted into electricity for on board systems and robotic experiments.

RTGs also have astonishingly long lifespans. The Voyager probes for example were launched in 1977 and their fuel is predicted to keep them powered-up until 2020 at least. Next, the over-budget and delayed Mars Science Laboratory will be powered by plutonium-238, as will the future Europa orbiter mission. But that is about as far as NASA’s supply will stretch. After Europa, there will be no fuel left.

If plutonium-238 production is to be started again, a decision will need to be made soon. It will take eight years to start producing 5 kilograms of plutonium-238 per year, therefore any application for additional funding for plutonium-238 production for space exploration will need to be placed in next year’s budget.

Sources: New Scientist, Discovery.com

May 8, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Did a Russian Home Get Hit by Progress Space Debris?

The offender: Progress 33 (Roscosmos/NASA TV)

[/caption]The Russian supply ship for the International Space Station successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:37 pm EDT (10:37 pm Moscow time) on Thursday to carry 2.5 tonnes of supplies to the orbiting crew. Progress 33 will take over from Progress 32 that was filled with rubbish and unwanted instrumentation and de-orbited on May 6th, sent on its way to burn up over the Pacific Ocean on May 18th.

It seems the spaceship exchange went according to plan. Progress 33 launched, Progress 32 de-orbited and the space station is stocked until the next delivery.

However, a small village in South Siberia didn’t have such a harmonious evening; a chunk of the Progress rocket booster fell onto a house.

Or did it…?

Space debris sometimes falls to Earth, as does debris from Russian air activities, and it looks like the village of Baranovka in the Siberian Altai Region has just become the target for some more space junk.

This time, local residents reported hearing two sharp cracks and then a crash when something fell on the roof of a two-storey apartment block. Immediately the emergency services were called and fire fighters found a 1×4 foot piece of metal. It has been confirmed that this piece of debris originated from the Progress rocket launched earlier that night.

Fortunately there were no injuries and no significant property damage.

Regardless, the Russian space agency appears to be concerned that somebody is out to get compensation. “There is only one fragment and the house is not within the calculated area of possible debris fallout,” said a space agency spokesman. “In any case, there are no casualties or material damage, according to our information.”

The agency added that locals may have found the rocket debris elsewhere, transported it to Baranovka, put it on the roof and then claimed it fell from the sky.

To be honest, so long as there are no faked concussions or claims of “pain and suffering”, I suspect the residents won’t be suing for damages. (As there doesn’t appear to be any damage.)

I hope they get to keep the rogue bit of rocket though. That would make a great trophy in the village bar!

Source: Mos News, Space Fellowship

May 5, 2009June 19, 2013 by Nancy Atkinson

Alan Shepard, Freedom 7: May 5, 1961

48 years ago today, the US launched their first human to space. Alan Shepard flew on Mercury 3, a suborbital mission with a duration of only 15 minutes and 28 seconds. Shepard’s ship, Freedom 7, reached an altitude of 116.5 statute miles (186.4 km) and flew a distance of 303 statute miles (485 km). Enjoy this great video, which includes original footage, as well as Alan B Shephard talking about the flight. He also gives the real story about the “request to relieve himself” which was made famous in the movie “The Right Stuff.” Alan Shepard also flew on Apollo 14 (and made the famous golf shot on the moon.) He passed away in 1998.
Continue reading “Alan Shepard, Freedom 7: May 5, 1961”