Space Flight Archives

April 29, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Russia Considering Rocket-Powered Precision Landing for Next Generation Spacecraft

The future Russian capsule could land on a bright rocket plume. Credit: Anatoly Zak, Russianspaceweb.com

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Engineers for Russia’s next-generation manned space vehicle are considering a rocket-powered landing system which would provide precision landing on Earth. Currently, the Soyuz uses small solid propellant motors to soften its touchdown, but the ship’s parachute plays the main role in providing the vehicle and crew with a safe landing. Russia is developing a new spacecraft to replace the Soyuz which has been used for nearly forty years. If the rocket-powered landing system is approved, this would be the first time in history that a manned vehicle relied solely on rocket engines for touchdown.

All previous Russian/USSR manned missions have landed on Earth using a parachute, except for the Russian shuttle, Buran, which ~~was never flown to space.~~ made one unmanned spaceflight in 1988. (Early US missions used parachutes, while the shuttle uses wings and wheels to land.)

This change in landing architecture is being considered because Russia is building a spaceport in eastern part of the country that has only a narrow strip of land where spacecraft could land, approximately 2 by 5 kilometers. The new spaceport is a highly political decision, as the current spaceport in Baikonur is located in the newly independent republic of Kazakhstan, and Russian politicians would like to end their dependence and on Kazakhstan for spaceflight.

Artist concept of the new capsule in flight. Credit: Anatoly Zak, Russianspaceweb.com

Therefore, Russian engineers found themselves under political pressure to improve the maneuverability of the next generation spacecraft, so it could guide itself into a relatively small landing area.

Last July, Korolev-based RKK Energia released the first drawings of a multi-purpose transport ship, known as the Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS), which, at the time, Russia had hoped to develop in co-operation with Europe.

Combined with retractable landing legs and a re-usable thermal protection system, landing rockets provides the possibility of a reusable capsule as well.

According to the presentation made by Nikolai Bryukhanov, the leading designer at RKK Energia, at the 26th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science in Hamamatsu, Japan, the spacecraft would fire its engines at an altitude of just 600-800m, as the capsule is streaking toward Earth after re-entering the atmosphere at the end of its mission.

After a vertical descent, the precision landing would be initiated at the altitude of 30m above the surface.

The concept looks similar to the US’s experimental DC-X vehicle, tested in the 1990s, which was abandoned at the end of the Cold War.

Source: BBC

April 26, 2009April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Model Saturn V Rocket Launch a Success

Saturn V rocket launch. Credit: Gizmodo.com

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A world record model rocket launch attempt on Saturday lifted off — and landed — successfully. Steve Eves worked for two years building the rocket, a 36-foot (10.9-meter) tall, 1:10 scale Saturn V model rocket. Eves now holds the world record for the largest amateur rocket to ever be launched. The picture-perfect launch took place on a farmer’s field near Price, Maryland, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Baltimore, delighting those in attendance. The main body of the rocket even landed upright. See the video below.

Here’s a link to a video of Steve Eves talking about his rocket before the launch.

Thanks to Keith Stein of the DC Space News Examiner for passing the word on to us.

April 23, 2009April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Record Launch Attempt for Model Saturn V Rocket

Steve Eves model Saturn V. Credit: ROCKETS Magazine

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If you are interested in model rocketry, take a look at this. One man hopes to make a world record by launching a 36-foot (10.9-meter) tall Saturn V model rocket. Steve Eves has been working for two years on building the rocket, and he’s counting down to this Saturday, April 25 when the launch is planned. The launch pad is on a farmer’s field near Price, Maryland, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Baltimore. The model is 1:10 scale of the original Saturn V rocket.

According to an article on the DC Space News Examiner, the rocket weighs over 1,600 pounds (725 kg), and will be powered by a massive array of nine engines: eight 13,000ns N-Class motors and one 77,000ns P-Class motor. The estimated peak altitude of the flight is 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) . Just like the original Saturn v, nothing of this scale has ever been attempted in model rocketry. The model Saturn V will be a world record attempt for the largest amateur rocket to ever be launched.

ROCKETS Magazine and The Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association (MDRA) are supporting the event, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969. Word has it that several astronauts, including Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon, have signed the rocket.

Best of luck to Steve Eves!

Source: DC Space Examiner

April 13, 2009December 24, 2015 by Anne Minard

Interview with Astronaut Mike Massimino on the Hubble Servicing Mission, Viewing Earth from Space and … Twitter?

The long-awaited final Hubble servicing mission is a month out now, and the crew of seven astronauts who have been in limbo since at least October are finally gearing up to go. The space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 12.

This will be the second Hubble mission for Astronaut Mike Massimino, and he’s been sharing his excitement about the mission via live interviews from NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center and Twitter, a popular social networking site. We took advantage of the chance to ask Massimino some questions.

massimino-pool — Astronaut Mike Massimino suits up for spacewalk practice in the pool. Credit: NASA

So the final Hubble servicing mission is finally going to happen. How are you feeling about it?

I’m feeling great. I’m ready, I think my crew’s ready, and looking forward to going into space and seeing Hubble again and seeing the Earth from space.

On Twitter, you “tweeted” a few days ago: “viewing the Earth from space is the most beautiful site, words cannot describe the experience, can’t wait to see that sight again!” And it made me wonder how long you’ve wanted to have that perspective, and whether you dreamed of this sort of thing as a kid?

I dreamt about being an astronaut when I was a little kid. I was 6 years old when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. But the view of the Earth … it is just so awesome to see the Earth from space. There’s no way to really prepare you for it; we can practice our space walks in the neutral buoyancy lab, we can go to simulators, but there’s nothing that can prepare you for what your eyes will actually see when it comes to the beauty of space and the beauty of the Earth. I can’t really describe it with words, but I can describe what my thoughts were. When I really had the chance to look, while I was spacewalking, the first thought that went through my mind was “if you were in Heaven, this is what you would see.” And then the thought that replaced it was “no, no, it’s more beautiful than that. This is what Heaven must look like.”

You performed two spacewalks to service the telescope during the STS-109 mission in 2002. Since then you’ve worked in Mission Control and taught some classes. Why so long between missions?

I flew in 2002, then I was hoping to get reassigned to another shuttle flight at some point, but the Columbia accident occurred. In the three years following Columbia, we didn’t have very many flights. I got assigned soon after STS 121 to the Hubble Space Telescope flight. Then comes that saga. My crew and I were assigned around Halloween, October 2006 … We thought we might be flying about a year and a half later. We were two weeks from launching in October of last year, and then we got delayed because something broke on the telescope. It’s been good for job security I guess. It gives you more time to get ready, and they hang onto you a little bit longer.

Have you noticed any differences between preparing for this mission and preparing for the STS-109 flight?

STS-109 was my first flight. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do not to get in everybody’s way. I was wondering how I would react to space; I was kind of concerned about how I was going to do. This flight here, I’m pretty confident about how I’ll do … and I’m concerned a little bit more about how the team will do. It’s … a little more responsibility. I’m the experienced guy on our spacewalking team now. Actually it’s a little bit more enjoyable because I know what I’m going to do and I’m looking forward to it.

You’re on Twitter! Why?

I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be an astronaut. I think I’m extremely lucky. We get to do so many wonderful things; one of my interests has been to try to share that with people the best I can. It seemed like this Twitter idea was a great way to share our experiences with other people. One of the great things about Twitter it doesn’t really take that long. You have 140 characters … I checked this weekend and we were up to 35,000 people–

You’re up to 40,000 now

… I figure if there are that many people listening, that’s a pretty good deal. You get responses to it. It’s just wonderful to hear the excitement and all the good wishes from people around the world.

***

The May servicing mission will be the fourth and final trip to the Hubble Space Telescope. Over the course of five spacewalks, astronauts will install two new instruments, repair two inactive instruments and replace parts that will keep the telescope functioning at least into 2014.

Check out Mike Massimino’s Twitter profile here, where he’ll continue tweeting about mission preparations. More information about the servicing mission is here, and more information about the Atlantis crew is here.

April 10, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Small Engine For the Big Job of Testing Theory of Relativity

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Researchers from the European Space Agency are testing what they describe as the smallest, yet most precisely controllable engine ever built for space. Measuring 10 centimeters (4 inches) across and making a faint blue glow as it runs, the Field Emission Electric Propulsion, or FEEP, engine produces an average thrust equivalent to the force of one falling hair. But its thrust range and controllability are far superior to more potent thrusters, and will be important for a future space mission that will test Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

“Most propulsion systems are employed to get a vehicle from A to B,” explained Davide Nicolini of the agency’s Scientific Projects Department, in charge of the engine research. “But with FEEP, the aim is to maintain a spacecraft in a fixed position, compensating for even the tiniest forces perturbing it, to an accuracy that no other engine design can match.”

Watching how objects behave when separated from all outside influences is a long-time ambition of physicists, but it can’t be done within Earth’s gravity field. So a next-decade mission called the LISA Pathfinder (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) will fly 1.5 million km (900,000 miles) to one of the Lagrangian points, L-1. There, the Sun and Earth’s gravities cancel each other out, so that the behavior of a pair of free-floating test objects can be precisely monitored.

But to detach the experiment fully from the rest of the Universe there will still be some remaining per-turbations to overcome, most notably the slight but continuous pressure of sunlight itself. That’s where FEEP comes in. It operates on the same basic principle as other ion engines flown aboard ESA’s SMART-1 Moon mission and other spacecraft: the application of an electric field serves to accelerate electrically-charged atoms (known as ions), producing thrust.

But while the thrust of other ion engines is measured in millinewtons, FEEP’s performance is assessed in terms of micronewtons – a unit one thousand times smaller. The engine has a thrust range of 0.1 – 150 micronewtons, with a resolution capability better than 0.1 micronewtons in a time response of one-fifth of a second (190 milliseconds) or better.

The engine uses liquid metal caesium as propellant. Through capillary action—a phenomenon associated with surface tension—caesium flows between a pair of metal surfaces that end in a razor-sharp slit. The caesium stays at the mouth of the slit until an electric field is generated. This causes tiny cones to form in the liquid metal which have charged atoms shooting from their tips to create thrust.

Twelve thrusters will be used for the LISA Pathfinder. Working together with another propulsions system designed by NASA, the thrusters should yield directional control at least 100 times more accurate than any spacecraft before; down to a millionth of a millimeter.

LISA involves three satellites up to five million km (three million miles) apart and linked by lasers, orbiting the Sun. The aim is to detect ripples in space and time known as gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity but so far undetected. The waves would cause tiny variations in the distance measured between the satellites.

The engine was tested last month, and once the tests are analyzed and the concept is proven, the FEEP technology has been earmarked for a broad range of other missions, including precision formation flying for astronomy, Earth observation and drag-free satellites for mapping variations in Earth’s gravity.

Source: ESA

April 8, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Soyuz Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

Soyuz lands on April 8, 2009. .Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Isn’t this a great picture? The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft, carrying Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury V. Lonchakov and American Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, landed safely on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Fincke and Lonchakov returned after spending six months on the International Space Station, and Simonyi returned from his launch with the Expedition 19 crew members 12 days earlier. Simonyi made history by becoming the first private explorer to complete a second mission to space. He previously flew to the ISS in spring 2007. “With my second mission, I did much more work, but I was also able to rest and relax. I was physically more prepared and more comfortable given the resources that I brought with me,” Simonyi said. “I am very happy to have made the decision to fly again.”

Fincke spent 178 days in orbit and his command of the ISS saw the station go to full power and begin the urine/water supply recycling system. He also became the first American to fly to and from the space station twice aboard a Russian Soyuz. Fincke served almost 188 days as a flight engineer on the Expedition 9 crew in 2004.

This was Lonchakov’s first long-duration spaceflight and his third flight to space.

Sources: NASA, Space Adventures

April 6, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

50th Anniversary of NASA’s First Astronauts

NASA introduced the first seven astronauts on April 9, 1959.

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This week marks the 50th anniversary of the “Mercury Seven;” NASA’s first seven astronauts. On April 9, 1959 NASA held a press conference in Washington, DC to introduce the men — Gus Grissom, Alan Shephard, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn and Gordon Cooper. They would become household names in the US and media sensations. “I can’t believe it’s been that long,” John Glenn said in an interview with an Ohio newspaper, the Zanesville Times Recorder. “The experience back then of being selected and participating in the early flights is so vivid to me, it seems like this all happened a couple of weeks ago.

NASA has created a very cool interactive feature to celebrate this 50th anniversary, including an interactive “press conference,” a transcript and video clips of the original press conference, and a gallery of pictures.

The Mercury flights proved than humans could survive in space, and paved the way for the Gemini and Apollo flights.

“The early flights got so much attention because they were open to the world, they were not secrets,” Glenn said. “When the Soviets sent up Gagarin, the data and information was secret. We had international press at the Cape (Canaveral) for the launch, and the Soviets hadn’t had that; it wasn’t permitted. President Eisenhower decided he wanted the program open for the whole world; he said we were going to succeed or fail with the world watching, and I think that was a good decision.”

For further information about each of the six Mercury missions, see our Mercury section in Universe Today’s Guide to Space.

April 2, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Will Rocket Launches Deplete the Ozone?

A Delta rocket launches in 2007 with the Phoenix Mars Lander. Credit: NASA

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A new study predicts that Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer will suffer significant damage from future unregulated rocket launches. The study provides a market analysis for estimating future ozone layer depletion based on the expected growth of the space industry and known impacts of rocket launches. The increase in launches could cause ozone depletion that eventually could exceed ozone losses from CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which were banned in the 1980’s. “As the rocket launch market grows, so will ozone-destroying rocket emissions,” said Professor Darin Toohey of CU-Boulder’s atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, a member of the study. “If left unregulated, rocket launches by the year 2050 could result in more ozone destruction than was ever realized by CFCs.” The study says more research should be done on how different rockets affect the ozone before imposing stricter regulations on chemicals used in rocket fuels.

Current global rocket launches deplete the ozone layer by no more than a few hundredths of 1 percent annually, said Toohey. But as the space industry grows and other ozone-depleting chemicals decline in the Earth’s stratosphere, the issue of ozone depletion from rocket launches is expected to move to the forefront.

Rockets around the world use a variety of propellants, including solids, liquids and hybrids. Martin Ross, lead author of the study from The Aerospace Corporation Ross said while little is currently known about how they compare to each other with respect to the ozone loss they cause, new studies are needed to provide the parameters required to guide possible regulation of both commercial and government rocket launches in the future.

Since some proposed space efforts would require frequent launches of large rockets over extended periods, the new study was designed to bring attention to the issue in hopes of sparking additional research, said Ross. “In the policy world, uncertainty often leads to unnecessary regulation,” he said. “We are suggesting this could be avoided with a more robust understanding of how rockets affect the ozone layer.”

“Twenty years may seem like a long way off, but space system development often takes a decade or longer and involves large capital investments,” Ross continued. “We want to reduce the risk that unpredictable and more strict ozone regulations would be a hindrance to space access by measuring and modeling exactly how different rocket types affect the ozone layer.”

Highly reactive trace-gas molecules known as radicals dominate stratospheric ozone destruction, and a single radical in the stratosphere can destroy up to 10,000 ozone molecules before being deactivated and removed from the stratosphere. Microscopic particles, including soot and aluminum oxide particles emitted by rocket engines, provide chemically active surface areas that increase the rate such radicals “leak” from their reservoirs and contribute to ozone destruction, said Toohey.

In addition, every type of rocket engine causes some ozone loss, and rocket combustion products are the only human sources of ozone-destroying compounds injected directly into the middle and upper stratosphere where the ozone layer resides, he said.

The research team is optimistic that a solution to the problem exists. “We have the resources, we have the expertise, and we now have the regulatory history to address this issue in a very powerful way,” said Toohey. “I am optimistic that we are going to solve this problem, but we are not going to solve it by doing nothing.”

Source: EurekAlert

March 31, 2009April 26, 2016 by Nicholos Wethington

Crew of Six Begins 105-day Mars Mission Simulation

The Mars 500 simulation participants enter their new home. Image Credit: ESA

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Earlier today in Moscow, six people were locked inside a hermetically sealed living space, where they will remain for the next 105 days. They will eat dehydrated food, have limited contact with the outside world and will be constantly monitored. No, it’s not another season of ‘Big Brother’, but a joint experiment by the European Space Agency and the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences to study the effects a mission to Mars would have on a human crew.

The crew consists of six volunteers, two selected by the ESA and four by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Oliver Knickel, a 34-year old German engineer, and Cyrille Fournier, a 40-year old French airline pilot will represent the ESA. The four Russian crew members are Oleg Artemyez, a 37-year old cosmonaut, Sergei Ryazansky a 34-year old cosmonaut and biologist, Alexei Baranov a 34-year old doctor, and Alexei Shpakov, 25, who is a sports physiologist.

These six, along with two alternate candidates willing to step in at the last minute, were chosen from over 5600 applicants for the first stage in the Mars 500 isolation study. The crew will live in a small, cramped module designed to simulate a potential craft that would send astronauts to Mars. The Mars mission mock-up is located inside a research facility at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

The 105-day study will simulate all aspects of a mission to Mars. The crew will have no communication with the outside world besides delayed radio communication with mission control, and radio contact with friends and family, much like that of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Simulated emergencies such as equipment failure will test the ability of the crew to overcome difficulties that may endanger an actual mission, and there is the danger of real emergencies from disease or injury inside their sealed facility.

The crew will be far from bored during the simulation, as they will perform scientific, maintenance and quotidian duties much as they would on a real mission. A greenhouse will also need tending to provide the crew with fresh vegetables, and there will be a gym available to the participants to help keep them fit. Instructions from the mission directors and reports from the crew will be on a 20-minute delay, as would be the case on a real Mars mission.

The habitable area of the isolation facility has 6 individual rooms for the participants, a kitchen/dining room, living room, main control room and toilet. In addition to the habitable module, there is also a Mars lander module, which the crew during the longer 500-day mission scheduled for later this year will use to simulate a landing on Mars. A medical module and utility module will house other equipment necessary for such a long-term mission.

An external view of the Module for Mars 500 Image Credit: ESA

A potential manned mission to Mars would pose many challenges to the astronauts involved, and the Mars 500 series of isolation studies hopes to try and work out any ‘kinks’ while humans are still safely on the planet.

“It is of paramount importance to understand the psychological and physiological effects of long-duration confinement, to be able to prepare the crews in the best way possible and to learn about important aspects of the vehicle design. To contribute to their psychological well-being and long-term performance, we need to learn how to support the crew with optimum nutrition, artificial light, appropriate medical countermeasures and also planned and off-nominal task management.” – Martin Zell, Head of the ISS Utilisation Department in ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight

ESA crewmembers Cyrille Fournier and Oliver Knickel will keep a diary of their experience, which will be available on the European Space Agency site here.

Fournier wrote in anticipation of the program, “During the study I look forward to observing how communications develop and how relationships are established between crew members. I expect that each of us will feel both highs and lows, mentally, physically and socially. I am however optimistic about how the experiment will turn out as I strongly believe the group, as a whole, will be able to overcome momentary and personal downs.”

As always, we’ll keep you posted here on Universe Today as to how the simulation goes.

Source: ESA

March 31, 2009April 26, 2016 by Anne Minard

New Bill Would Extend Shuttle Life, but NASA Doesn’t Need the Time

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The Senate Budget Committee has given the green light to fund NASA’s shuttle program past the end of 2010, when the program is set to retire.

But NASA isn’t asking for an extension.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson requested the $2.5 billion provision, which was included in the broader five-year spending plan that passed committee Monday afternoon. His office argues that launching nine missions in 18 months puts too much pressure on the agency, and could compromise safety.

NASA is preparing to launch the shuttle Atlantis on May 12 for a servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the eight remaining missions are dedicated to completing the International Space Station.

“We are confident that we can fly out the shuttle manifest before the end of 2010,” said John Yembrick, a spokesman out of NASA’s Washington headquarters.

Nelson’s office isn’t as optimistic.

“Given that there are roughly only 18 months but nine flights left, we have a concern that may be unrealistic,” said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Nelson’s office. He cited the Challenger and Columbia accidents, where “the investigation board in both cases identified scheduling pressure as a contributing factor to those accidents.”

orion — Artist's rendering of the next-generation Orion crew exploration vehicle docked to a lunar lander in lunar orbit. (Obsolete configuration.) Credit: Lockheed Martin Corp.

In the past, NASA has been “overly optimistic about schedules for shuttle missions,” McLaughlin said. But in reality, the agency has gotten four or five launches off the ground in each of the past several years. “It doesn’t take but a bad hurricane season and the best laid plans can fall apart. Could NASA do it? Yeah. But a lot of things would have to go right.”

The $2.5 billion provision, if it passes the full Senate and House, would alleviate the pressure, Nelson thinks, by opening up the possibility for additional funding in 2011 — and allow NASA to proceed with safety as a first concern. The measure would soften a firm line both the Bush and Obama administrations have taken on retiring the program by the end of 2010.

The Budget Committee’s decision sends a strong signal that the shuttle shouldn’t be retired on a date-certain, but only when all the missions are completed, Nelson reportedly said immediately after the Thursday vote.

ares-collage1 — Concept of Ares I, left, the crew launch vehicle and Ares V, the cargo launch vehicle. Credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

Meanwhile, NASA is looking forward to the next generation of launch vehicles, Orion (above, concept credit Lockheed Martin Corp.) and the Ares series. The vehicles are designed to return people to the moon — and perhaps even Mars — to live and explore. The first Ares test flight is planned for later this year.

The gap between the planned shuttle retirement in 2010, and the availability of the next generation launch vehicles, will be five years. During that time the United States is likely to partner with Russia to use Soyuz launch vehicles for low-orbit work and as the space station’s docked emergency vehicle — which is part of the astronauts’ escape plan in the event of debris hits or other dangers aboard the ISS.

It is also possible that commercial vehicles could rise to the challenge before 2015, NASA’s Yembrick said. NASA has awarded two contracts to companies that will deliver cargo to the space station after the retirement of the space shuttle: Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California.

“Once they’ve proven that they can successfully deliver cargo, we also may one day look at purchasing crew services,” Yembrick said. “We don’t want to speculate when that may occur.”

Sources: Spaceref, interviews with Dan McLaughlin and John Yembrick.