Space Flight Archives

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.

March 30, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Experiment Performed on Shuttle Heat Tiles During Discovery’s Re-Entry

Raw image of the turbulent airflow behind the modified heat tile on Discovery. Credit: NASA

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In an experiment, one of space shuttle Discovery’s exterior heat tiles was deliberately altered and monitored during the shuttle’s high-speed return to Earth on Saturday. Data was collected to help understand airflow, and provided information for engineers designing the heat shield for the Orion spacecraft. One tile on the bottom of the shuttle’s left wing, about 10 feet behind the leading edge, included a 0.25-inch-high ridge that was expected to cause the airflow to go from smooth to turbulent, causing a rise in temperature of the tiles behind the altered tile. A Navy plane flew below Discovery as it returned home, monitoring the shuttle with an infrared camera. What did the experiment reveal?

Engineers were looking to better understand how smooth, laminar airflow, which provides a thin layer of insulation during peak heating, can change to the disturbed, turbulent flow — called boundary layer transition –which can cause downstream temperatures to climb, possibly affecting aerodynamics and causing damage.

A Navy P-3 Orion aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico captured infrared images of the shuttle’s underside when the orbiter had slowed to about 8.5 times the speed of sound. The temperature data and infrared imagery confirmed that the airflow was changed by the modified tile. The insulating layer of air changed to turbulent between mach 12 and 14. That, in turn, caused a rise in the temperatures of downstream tiles, but not as much as was expected.

What the altered tile looked like. Credit: NASA

The tiles in that area of the wing normally experience maximum temperatures of 815-870 degrees C (1,500 to 1,600 degrees F) when the re-entry airflow across the wing is smooth. The preliminary data that NASA received indicated the maximum temperature experienced by the “protuberance tile” was around 1090 degrees C (2,000 F), somewhat less than expected. If those measurements are confirmed, engineers may request a slightly higher protuberance for a future flight.

As for the large area of turbulence seen in the top P-3 image, engineers said said the image likely reflected a “typical” shuttle boundary layer transition during peak heating.

Engineers reported the protuberance tile looked normal and undamaged on the runway after Discovery’s landing, although superficial markings were seen on several downstream tiles. No such markings were seen on tiles behind a protruding gap filler that was spotted during an on-orbit inspection on one of Discovery’s elevons.

The shuttle’s transition from smooth to turbulent flow occurs naturally as the spacecraft slows down, typically at velocities around mach 8, or eight times the speed of sound, about 20 minutes after atmospheric entry begins. In some cases, however, the transition can occur earlier than that because of surface roughness or defects in the heat shield.

The area of increased heating on Discovery. Credit: NASA

For example, a protruding tile spacer called a “gap filler” can shake loose during launch and extend up into the airflow, triggering an early, asymmetric boundary layer transition during re-entry. When that happens, the shuttle’s aerodynamics can be affected and downstream tiles can be subjected to more extreme heating.

During shuttle mission STS-28 in 1989, the boundary layer “tripped” 15 minutes after entry, at around mach 18. During shuttle mission STS-50 in 1992, one side of the shuttle’s belly went turbulent more than a minute ahead of the other side, causing a change in aerodynamics that prompted autopilot flight control inputs.

This experiment that could lead to improved heat shield designs for the Orion spacecraft which will bring astronauts to the ISS and the Moon, along with providing insights into shuttle aerodynamics.

Source: CBS News

March 29, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

STS-119: A Mission in Pictures

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If this isn’t one of the most breathtaking space pictures ever, I don’t know what is. It’s the ISS at its full and final length, with all four sets of solar arrays unfurled, against the limb of Earth. The STS-119 mission successfully did its job of bringing up and installing the final set of solar array wings, giving the ISS the “finished” look we’ve all been waiting for. There are a few more modules to bring up, but none so big as the solar arrays. And now the space station is the second brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. Click on the image to download a hi-resolution version.

Space shuttle Discovery returned home on Saturday, March 28 landing at 3:14 pm EDT. The weather and winds cooperated, allowing the spacecraft to land on the second opportunity of the day. Enjoy more images from the highly successful mission below.

Astronaut Richard Arnold during an EVA. Credit: NASA

An astronaut at work. Ricky Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, works outside the space staton during the mission’s third extravehicular activity (EVA), doing a few construction and maintenance tasks during the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk.

A view during the 3rd EVA of STS-119. Credit: NASA

This is a great image that makes you appreciate how big the space station is. Ricky Arnold (right) and Joseph Acaba worked during the third EVA of the mission to help robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, lubricated the space station’s robotic arm and performed a few other “get ahead” tasks.

John Phillips flies through the ISS. Credit: NASA

I think almost everyone dreams of doing this: flying. But this was no dream for astronaut John Phillps — he really was flying through the ISS. It sure looks like fun!

Crews of the ISS and STS-119. Credit: NASA

Group photo of the crews from the ISS and STS-119. From the left (bottom row) are NASA astronauts Tony Antonelli, STS-119 pilot; Lee Archambault, STS-119 commander; and Joseph Acaba, STS-119 mission specialist. From the left (middle row) are NASA astronauts Sandra Magnus, STS-119 mission specialist; and Michael Fincke, Expedition 18 commander; along with cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut (JAXA) Koichi Wakata, both Expedition 18 flight engineers. From the left (top row) are NASA astronauts Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and John Phillips.

Discovery appoaches the ISS. Credit: NASA

Here’s a nice image of the space shuttle approaching the space station, backdropped by a blue and white Earth, as the shuttle gets ready for rendezvous and docking with the ISS.

Commander Lee Archambault nails the landing as Discovery touches down on the runway at Kennedy Space Center.

The STS-119 crew post landing. Credit: NASA

Discovery crew members spoke after the landing on Saturday, and after the traditional walk-around of the spaceshuttle. Commander Lee Archambault introduced five of the seven members of the STS-119 mission crew. Ricky Arnold remained in the crew quarters, as well as returning ISS crewmember Sandy Magnus, taking things a little slower after her 130-day stint in space.

More images of the mission are available in our previous article, and find all the mission images at NASA’s Human Spaceflight webpage. Here’s another article that has a video of the ISS as the shuttle Discovery departed last week.

March 26, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Soyuz Rockets to Space; 13 Humans Now in Orbit

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It’s a busy day in space, with 13 humans now in orbit. A Soyuz rocket blasted off amid clouds and drizzle at the Baikonur Cosmodrome today (Thursday) sending Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka , American astronaut Michael Barratt,and American spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on their way to the International Space Station. With lift-off at 11:49 a.m. GMT, Simonyi made history by becoming the first private explorer to make a second trip to the ISS. He previously flew to there in April 2007. With the shuttle Discovery crew of seven just leaving the station on Wednesday, the current ISS crew of three on board the station, and the Soyuz three, that totals equals the current record of 13 humans in space at one time*.

And things will just get busier: this new ISS crew will grow to six in May.

The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the station at 01:14 p.m. GMT aturday, March 28. Padalka will serve as commander of Expeditions 19 and 20 aboard the station. Barratt will serve as a flight engineer for those two missions. Padalka and Barratt’s other crewmate is Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. He arrived to the station March 17 on space shuttle Discovery.

Simonyi, flying to the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency, will spend 10 days aboard the ISS, and return to Earth April 7 with Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, who have been on the station since October 2008.

The Expedition 19 crew will continue science investigations and prepare for the arrival of the rest of the station’s first six-person contingent. Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will launch from Baikonur on May 27, arriving at the station on May 29. After all the astronauts are aboard, Expedition 20 will begin, ushering in an era of six-person station crews. This mission also will be the first time the crew members represent all five International Space Station partners.

*A quick search of the times there were 13 people in space previously yielded it occurred in 1995 when STS-67 was in orbit, along with the crew of three on the Mir space station and a Soyuz in flight, and also in 1997 when STS-82 was doing a Hubble repair mission, and the Mir crew and a Soyuz crew were also in space. I’ll update that if I find out more, and if anyone else has more information, post a comment. Thanks!

March 23, 2009December 24, 2015 by Anne Minard

Why Space Hates Our Bones (and what we can do about it)

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Think it might be fun to live in space? Better ask your bones.

Earth’s space agencies have tackled some of the major obstacles to living in space, with pressurized spacesuits that offset the deadly vacuum and deflect incoming solar and cosmic rays. But in the absence of gravity, astronauts aboard the International Space Station are still losing up to 10 times more bone mass than most Earth-bound post-menopausal women.

In an attempt to address this bone loss, University of Washington researchers found 22 volunteers for a study using bed rest as an analog of spaceflight. The current crop of volunteers are halfway through their commitment to remain in bed, in a six-degree, head-down tilt position for 84 days. The study subjects are still sane, and already, results are promising.

subject — Photo courtesy of Peter Cavanagh, University of Washington

Surprisingly, it’s not necessarily students who are answering the call. Volunteers must be at least 22 years old, so the results apply to the age range of people most likely to be astronauts.

The head-down tilt mimics many of the physiological adaptations astronauts experience during spaceflight, such as bodily fluid shifts toward the head. The bed rest confinement mimics the complete “unloading” of the musculoskeletal system that astronauts feel as they float through space due to the lack of gravity, which accelerates bone loss.

Study leader Peter Cavanagh, a University of Washington professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine, said the volunteers have to be raised to a standing position at the end of their terms very slowly, “because they are very likely to faint” until the heart regains its ability to push blood to the brain. Sometimes, he said, volunteers feel pain in the bottoms of their feet when they finally put them down, and have trouble navigating corners while walking.

“They feel sort of generally weak,” Cavanagh said. “We put them through two weeks of rehab, and we buy them a membership at the health club for another month.”

In that respect, the study volunteers’ experience is similar to that of astronauts returning from long bouts in space. But for half the study subjects, there is a key difference — it’s in their stride.

Half of the study participants perform individually prescribed intermittent treadmill exercise similar to workouts by astronauts in space – but with one important difference: they are pulled towards the treadmill surface by a harness applying greater force than what the research team has previously measured during walking and running on the International Space Station treadmill.

The results from the first half of the study are “extremely promising,” Cavanagh said. Of the five study subjects so far who have been assigned to the exercise group, bone loss in four of them has been prevented in important skeletal regions by the treadmill exercise countermeasure, while the six non-exercising control subject participants all lost bone mass.

“We have found that we can, on average, prevent bone loss in an important region of the hip with this intervention,” Cavanagh said. “No bed rest study ever before has accomplished this.”

Cavanagh said the study results will impact bone health in space by improving exercise prescriptions for astronauts on future space missions. Here on Earth, the work could help scientists understand how individualized exercise programs affect age- and gender-related osteoporosis.

As for the volunteers, the study leaders encourage them to “achieve something special,” Cavanagh said. “Some tried to learn Spanish. We had others who were preparing for exams, and doing things they would have difficulty doing if they led their life with the typical distractions.”

Cavanagh said the study subjects are kept busy with tests during the week, but the weekends can be difficult.

The volunteers make around $8 an hour, but they’re working 24 hours a day.

“One of my most satisfying moments,” Cavanagh said, “is handing them a $12,000 check at the end.”

Source: University of Washington and Peter Cavanagh

Added 3/24: See an interview with study participant Tabitha Garcia at author Anne Minard’s blog.

February 26, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

NASA Hopes To Resolve Shuttle Valve Problem

Engineers working on the problematic hydrogen flow control valves on space shuttle Discovery have made enough progress that NASA has tentatively set a March 12 launch date for the mission to bring the last set of solar arrays to the International Space Station. NASA said an exact target launch date will be determined as work progresses with the three valves on the shuttle. Launching Discovery in March would allow plans to proceed for the Hubble repair mission, planned for liftoff on May 12 launch with Atlantis, as well as shuttle mission STS-127, also in May. If Discovery is delayed to April, the Hubble flight would slip to around June 2.

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have started removing Discovery’s three valves, two of which will undergo detailed inspection, looking to identify what caused damage to the valves during Endeavour’s flight in November 2008. Approximately 4,000 images of each valve will be reviewed for evidence of cracks. Valves that have flown fewer times will be installed in Discovery. Engineering teams also will complete analysis and testing to understand the consequences if a valve piece were to break off and strike pressurization lines between the shuttle and external fuel tank. Hardware modifications may be made to the pressurization lines to add extra protection in the unlikely event debris is released.

NASA managers will hold a review on the progress on March 4 and decide if the shuttle will be ready to go for the March 12 date.

Source: NASA

February 24, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

OCO Press Conference Notes: Fairing Did Not Separate

NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory and its Taurus booster lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. A contingency was declared a few minutes later. Image credit: NASA TV

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As Ian reported earlier this morning, NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its 4:55 a.m. EST liftoff Tuesday from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. At a press conference, officials said preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate about three minutes into the flight. The fairing, or nosecone, is a clamshell structure that covers the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere. “The fairing has considerable weight, and when it separates off you get a jump in acceleration,” said John Brunschwyler from Orbital Sciences Corporation, the rocket’s manufacturer. “We did not have that jump of acceleration and as a direct result of carrying that extra weight, we could not make orbit. And so, the initial indications are that the vehicle did not have enough Delta V to reach orbit, and landed just short of Antarctica in the ocean.”

Brunschwyler added, “Our whole team, at a very personal level, is disappointed in the events of this morning….Certainly for the science community it’s a huge disappointment. It’s taken so long to get here.”

Watch the launch video below:

A mishap investigation board has convened, and will endeavor to determine the cause of the failure. “We need to come to a most probably cause for this failure,” said NASA’s Expendable Launch Vehicle launch director Chuck Dovale. “Our goal will be to find a root cause, and we won’t fly the Glory mission until we have that data known to us.” Glory is the next Earth science mission, set to launch in June of 2009, and will collect data on aerosols and black carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system.

Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was intended to help target the key locations on our planet’s surface where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed. The project has been in the works for eight years.

NASA’s Expendable Launch Vehicle launch director Chuck Dovale said the countdown proceeded normally. “Stage zero ignition occurred at 1:55:31. All indications were nominal. The motor burned for 1 minute 24 seconds, then the first stage ignited. That proceeded normally, and burned 2 minutes and 43 seconds. Stage 1 separation occured five seconds later, and allowed second stage to ignite. At that point we expected to see fairing separate. We got indications that the sequence was sent, but shortly after that we started getting indication that the fairing did not separate.”

Brunschwyler explained how the fairing separates and what indications the team received about the anomaly.

“The fairing separates by a sequence of electrical pulses,” he said, “and the clamshell fairing is a two piece device that separates with four pulses from an electrical box, two primary pulses and two redundant pulses, which separate the longitudinal fairing rails, or the vertical part of the fairing. About 80 milliseconds later, the base joint is severed in a similar fashion. We have confirmation that correct sequence was sent. We had good power, and also healthy indications from electronics box that sent the signal. Three minutes into the flight, we had observed various pieces of telemetry, which we tried to correlate. When the fairing comes off, we have wires that break to give indication it has separated, but those indications did not change.”

There are also temperature sensors, but Brunschywler said the most significant data was no jump in acceleration from less weight if the fairing had properly separated.

“We constantly take altitude and velocity measurements. The vehicle didn’t fly over any land and all indications are it landed just short of Antarctica,” he said. “We’ll know a more accurate location tomorrow.” Brunschyler said since all the stages had burned, there shouldn’t be much, if any, hazardous hydrazine fuel left on board the rocket.

“OCO was an important mission to measure critical elements of the carbon cycle,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “Over the next several days, weeks and months we will carefully evaluate how to move forward and advance science, given our evaluations of the assets that are on orbit now, assets from our international partners and the existence of flight spares, in order to thoughtfully put together flight program, to as rapidly as possible to pick up where OCO left off and advance Earth systems science.”

February 20, 2009December 24, 2015 by Anne Minard

Sweet Potatoes Flew into Space Aboard Columbia

Sweet potato cuttings grown in an Alabama laboratory were flown aboard Columbia to test root growth in microgravity. Courtesy of NASA.

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A team of researchers from the Deep South sent sweet potato plants into space, as part of an experiment aimed at providing food for long-term space missions.

Desmond G. Mortley, from the G.W. Carver Agricultural Experiment Station at Alabama’s Tuskegee University, and his colleagues launched the sweet potato cuttings on a five-day mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia, and compared their success to ground-based cuttings at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“The intent of the experiment was to study if stem cuttings would be a successful means of propagating plants in space, just as they are on Earth,” said Raymond Wheeler, a study co-author from NASA’s Biological Science Office at the Kennedy Space Center. “The results showed that the cuttings did indeed produce adventitious roots in microgravity, suggesting that cuttings should work well in space settings.”

The sweet potato experiment was flown on Columbia’s July 1999 mission to the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The study findings were published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science, although a public press release was issued just this week.

Seeds of several crops have been grown in microgravity, but this was the first test for plants grown from cuttings. Cuttings grow roots faster than seeds do, and sweet potato cuttings regenerate very easily. This made them ideal for the study.

According to the study authors, all of the cuttings produced roots and growth was “quite vigorous in both ground-based and flight samples.” Except for a slight browning of some root tips in the flight samples, all of the stem cuttings appeared normal, they added. The roots on the flight cuttings tended to grow in random directions, sometimes perpendicular to the stems. Also, stem cuttings grown in microgravity had more roots and longer roots than ground-based controls.

The next step, Mortley and his colleagues say, will be to experiment over longer space missions to test root cuttings’ ability to grow plants.

Source: Eurekalert and Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science.

February 19, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Next ATV Will Be Named Johannes Kepler

Jules Verne arrives at the ISS. Johannes Kepler is next... (NASA)

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The next Automated Transfer Vehicle (A T V) to be launched to supply the International Space Station (ISS) has been officially named. Currently being assembled in Germany, the next ATV will honour the great 17th Century German scientist, Johannes Kepler.

The very first ATV was named after the legendary French science fiction writer, Jules Verne, and launched on an extended 5 month mission to the orbiting outpost where it delivered supplies, gave the station a helpful re-boost and then carried out an extreme garbage disposal effort, burning up over the Pacific Ocean on September 5th, 2008.

After it is launched on a similar resupply mission in 2010, the same fate awaits ATV Johannes Kepler. Or does it…

The ATV is Europe’s most advanced spacecraft ever built. Last year, Jules Verne wowed the world as it was launched into orbit, completed a flyby of the station (at a distance of 30 km) and then carried out a series of tests (including the critical Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) before waiting in a parking orbit, 2000 km from its destination.

This was a particularly busy time for the ISS as Jules Verne had to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to finish its mission (STS-123) to attach the Japanese Kibo module and Canadian robotic arm. After Endeavour returned to Earth, the ATV was clear to dock on April 3rd.

So next year, it will be ATV Johannes Kepler’s turn to carry out a fully automated docking procedure with the space station to deliver food, water, propellant and oxygen. As with Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler is expected to provide a re-boost option, pushing the ISS to a slightly higher orbit.

However, Johannes Kepler might be saved from the fiery re-entry its predecessor had to endure. The European Space Agency, overjoyed at the success of Jules Verne, has asked the space industry for advice on how the ATV might be upgraded, to allow for the safe return of cargo to Earth and possible astronaut transportation. A feasibility study was approved at a meeting in The Hague in November 2008.

Interestingly, there will be another mission already in space in 2010 bearing the same name as the second ATV. The exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope is set for launch next month.

Source: BBC

February 16, 2009April 26, 2016 by Ian O'Neill

Space Tourist Sub-Orbital Flights From Hawaii?

Hawaii wants to have space tourism companies on the islands for faster transportation (NASA/Ian O'Neill)

[/caption]Private spaceflight companies seem to be getting closer and closer to the dream of launching a new breed of tourist on sub-orbital sightseeing tours. Since the late ’90’s the company Space Adventures has been sending millionaires on “trips of a lifetime”, but their most popular destination, the International Space Station, will stop hosting spaceflight participants at the end of this year as the Russian Soyuz spaceship wont have any more spare seats (as the crew on the station increase from three to six).

However, there are other private spaceflight companies beginning to realise the profits that could be made in space, not by dropping people off on the space station, but by launching them on short sub-orbital joyrides. They are building their own spaceships and even before the first rocket has ignited, there is growing competition for a piece of the space tourism market. Ticket prices have tumbled from the tens of millions (for a few days in orbit) to $200,000 (for a couple of hours on board a Virgin Galactic flight) to $95,000 (on board XCOR’s Lynx spaceplane for 30 minutes).

So, where should these companies launch their space tourists from? Although the space above the Mojave and New Mexico deserts are likely to be thundering to life within the next few years, a slightly more exotic destination is currently vying for a position in this burgeoning industry. Hawaii could be perfectly located not only for suborbital tourism, but for a revolution in global travel…

“Space tourism is the next generation of humankind reaching for the stars,” said Jim Crisafulli, of the Hawaii State Office Aerospace Development.

The official is obviously referring to the conventional take-off and landing spaceplane designs by the likes of Rocketplane Global’s XP Vehicle and XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx. The XP, for example, uses conventional aircraft jet engines to attain a certain height and then the onboard rocket engine takes over, quickly taking the passengers to an altitude of 100km, allowing a few minutes of weightlessness. Judging by the Hawaii news source, the Hawaii officials appear to be referring to Rocketplane Global, as the online video shows an animated movie of the XP taking off much like a conventional jet.

“What these are, are basically converted jet aircraft that take off and land at airports like normal jet aircraft. But once they get up to about 30,000 feet fire a rocket at the back of the plane, and this will take it up 62 miles,” Crisafulli added.

However, before you get caught up in dreams of sipping your Mai Tai on the beach, watching the palm trees sway with deep blue Pacific water lapping the golden sands of Maui, only to see a spaceplane rip through the skies, the Hawaii authorities have to justify the cost of an expensive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licence to allow a Hawaii spaceport.

Although tickets to space are getting cheaper, the first flights will still be expensive. After all, who has nearly $100,000 to $200,000 to spend on a short suborbital flight? However, optimistic estimates place a price of $5,000 per ticket in 5-7 years when these spaceplanes are bigger, carrying up to 100 people into space.

“I know that’s still a little pricey, but to be able to experience space in the process is just tremendous and we think there will be a fairly significant market for this,” said Crisafulli.

Apparently four US spaceflight companies have approached Hawaii with requests to do business in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, so it appears the space visionaries think there is money to be made in this exotic location.

There may also be another, more practical reason for pushing to gain FAA approval for suborbital flight; it could revolutionize transportation to and from the isolated US state. “Having a flight from Hawaii to California maybe take 1 hour or 90 minutes, and a flight from Hawaii to Japan could take less than an hour,” said Senator Will Espero.

Source: KHON2