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The Dawn spacecraft’s three ion engines have done their work for now, and mission engineers shut down the frugal but powerful ion propulsion system on Thursday as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby/gravity assist in February 2009. “Dawn has completed the thrusting it needs to use Mars for a gravity assist to help get us to Vesta,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer from JPL “Dawn will now coast in its orbit around the sun for the next half a year before we again fire up the ion propulsion system to continue our journey to the asteroid belt.” The unique propulsion system will allow Dawn to travel to the asteroid Vesta in 2011, enter orbit around the asteroid, and then leave that orbit to head to orbit another asteroid, Ceres in 2015. This has never been accomplished before, and the ion engines make it all possible.
Dawn’s ion engines are vital to the success of the misson’s 8-year, 4.9-billion-kilometer (3-billion-mile) journey to asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. Just one of these extremely frugal powerhouses can generate more than 24 hours of thrusting while consuming about .26 kilograms (about 9 ounces) of the spacecraft’s xenon fuel supply — less than the contents of a can of soda. Over their lifetime, Dawn’s three ion propulsion engines will fire cumulatively for about 50,000 hours (over five years) — a record for spacecraft. Artists concept of Dawn. Credit: NASA/JPL
Dawn’s ion engines may get a short workout next January to provide any final orbital adjustments prior to its encounter with the Red Planet. Ions are also scheduled to fly out of the propulsion system during some systems testing in spring. But mostly, Dawn’s three ion engines will remain silent until June, when they will again speed Dawn toward its first appointment, with Vesta.
Vesta is the most geologically diverse of the large asteroids and the only known one with distinctive light and dark areas — much like the face of our Moon. Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid belt. By utilizing the same set of instruments at two separate destinations, scientists can more accurately formulate comparisons and contrasts. Dawn’s science instrument suite will measure shape, surface topography, tectonic history, elemental and mineral composition, and will seek out water-bearing minerals. In addition, the Dawn spacecraft itself and how it orbits both Vesta and Ceres will be used to measure the celestial bodies’ masses and gravity fields.
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Three free-flying spheres are currently zooming around inside the International Space Station. Is the crew of Expedition 18 using them to hone their light-saber battle skills a la Luke Skywalker or sharpen their ability to detect UFOs? No, these bowling-ball sized spherical satellites are part of an experiment devised by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to test autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers for future formation flying spacecraft. Called SPHERES – which stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites — these color-coded robots are flying inside the ISS, testing different flight formations. But these have to be a lot of fun to play with during off hours on the space station: zero-g bowling or space volleyball, anyone?
Astronauts Greg Chamitoff, Mike Fincke and spaceflight participant Richard Garriott posed with SPHERES. Credit: NASA
Each satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computers and navigation equipment. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly and formation flying spacecraft configurations. One future formation flying mission is the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer, which will use multiple small vehicles flying in formation to create an orbiting infrared interferometer. Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer array.
If successful, these mini-satellites, and their potentially larger versions, would be able to refuel/repair other satellites, establish positioning around space-based telescopes, and support space docking routines. So, battle droids would become maintenance droids.
And smaller, multiple satellite missions are economical and provide redundancy. Instead of launching one big, heavy satellite, launching lots of little is easier. They can orbit Earth in tandem, each doing their own small part of the overall mission. If a solar flare zaps one satellite—no problem. The rest can close ranks and carry on. Launch costs are reduced, too, because tiny satellites can hitch a ride inside larger payloads, getting to space almost free of charge.
The SPHERES can also test the ability to build spaceships in orbit. One way to build a larger ship to go to, for instance, Mars, is to assemble it piece by piece in Earth orbit. The SPHERES are helping engineers design software that could be used to maneuver the pieces of a spaceship together.
Bubble chamber image of charged particles being deflected by a magnetic field (CERN)
[/caption]British scientists invent “mini-magnetosphere” to protect astronauts during solar storms.
Space travel during a solar storm just became a little less risky. UK scientists working at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford and the universities of York and Strathclyde have tested a “mini-magnetosphere” enveloping a model spacecraft in the lab. It turns out that their prototype offers almost total protection against high energy solar particles. By mimicking the natural protective environment of the Earth, the researchers have scaled the protective magnetic bubble down into an energy efficient, yet powerful deflector shield.
This astounding achievement is a big step toward protecting sensitive electronics and the delicate human body against the radioactive effects of manned missions between the planets. It may sound like science fiction, but future astronauts may well shout the order to “RAISE SHIELDS!” if the Sun flares up during a 36 million mile journey to Mars…
A mission to Mars will benefit from a mini-magnetosphere (NASA)On writing “Scientists Designing ‘Ion Shield’ To Protect Astronauts From Solar Wind” way back in January, I was a little dubious as to whether the preliminary results could be replicated on a full-scale spaceship. At the time, Dr Ruth Bamford (the lead researcher from Rutherford Appleton) had created a mini version of a magnetic shield that acted as a “bubble” in a stream of ions. As ions were charged, they could be deflected by a magnetic field, so the field acts as a barrier to deflect the paths of these ions around the void encapsulated by the magnetic field. All that had to be done was to scale the idea up a notch or two and then place a spaceship in the middle of the protected void. Solved!
Not so fast. The biggest drawback I could see back in January was the large amount of energy that would be required to power the system. After all, to generate a stable, spaceship-sized mini-magnetosphere would need a vast quantity of electricity (and be very bulky), or it would need to be highly efficient (and compact). As this is space travel we’re talking about, the scientists would need to look into the latter. The mini-magnetosphere would need to be a highly efficient device.
The USS Enterprise has many uses for its deflector shields, including repelling the Borg (Paramount Pictures)Eleven months later and it looks like the British team have found their answer. In results just published in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, they have devised a system no bigger than a large desk that uses the same energy as an electric kettle. Two mini-magnetospheres will be contained within two mini satellites located outside the spaceship. Should there be an increase in solar wind flux, or an approaching cloud of energetic particles from a flare and/or coronal mass ejection (CME), the magnetospheres can be switched on and the solar ions are deflected away from the spacecraft.
“These initial experiments have shown promise and that it may be possible to shield astronauts from deadly space weather,” Dr Bamford said. After all, the effects of radiation poisoning can be devastating.
Prof. Bob Bingham, a theoretical physicist at the University of Strathclyde, gives a graphic account as to why this technology is important:
“Solar storms or winds are one of the greatest dangers of deep space travel. If you got hit by one not only would it take out the electronics of a ship but the astronauts would soon take on the appearance of an overcooked pizza. It would be a bit like being near the Hiroshima blast. Your skin would blister, hair and teeth fall out and before long your internal organs would fail. It is not a very nice way to go. This system creates a Magnetic Field Bubble that would deflect the dangerous radiation away from the spacecraft.” – Prof. Bob Bingham
Bingham added that the team was currently patenting the technology and hopes to have a working full size prototype within five years. So we might have to wait some time until we see some pictures of the system in action…
My impression of the EAS beginning atmospheric re-entry (NASA images, edit by Ian O'Neill)
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The Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS), the largest chunk of debris ever jettisoned from the International Space Station (ISS) had a fight with Earth’s atmosphere, and lost. Reports by amateur astronomers on November 2nd suggested that the speeding EAS had probably re-entered, as its expected orbital pass was not observed. Now calculations by US Space Command suggest any surviving EAS debris dropped into the Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean, 550km south of Tasmania, where any sightings of the resulting fireball would be unlikely…
The double-refrigerator-sized EAS was dropped from the ISS on July 23rd, 2007 to begin its long spiral journey toward the Earth’s atmosphere. At the time, NASA calculated that the EAS would take approximately 300 days to reach the planet below, but its degrading orbit took a little longer than expected. Eventually NASA was able to say for sure that the re-entry window would occur some time on Sunday (Nov. 2nd), 15 months after it was detached from the station. The operation to remove the defunct 1400 lb (635 kg) piece of equipment included a spacewalk lasted for nearly eight hours.
Although it might seem like a precarious decision by NASA to allow an uncontrolled re-entry of an object as big as the EAS — especially as it was predicted that up to 15 pieces, some as big as 17.5 kg (40 lb), may survive re-entry, hitting the ground at 100 mph — but the problems associated with keeping the ammonia-filled EAS on board the station were far more acute. After all, 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, and the likelihood of debris impacting populated regions was very small. Even so, NASA warned, “If anybody found a piece of anything on the ground Monday morning, I would hope they wouldn’t get too close to it.”
The first news to come to light about the EAS demise came from an amateur astronomer in Horizon City, Texas, who was using a low-light camera to try to capture the November 2nd flyby. “But the EAS did not appear,” said Thomas Dorman on Sunday. “I think it is safe to assume EAS has reentered.”
Today, it would appear a better idea of the EAS re-entry location has been calculated. The EAS re-entered over the Indian Ocean South Pacific Ocean, south of Tasmania at nearly 5am GMT:
US Space Command reports that the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) probably reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Nov. 3rd at 04:51:00 GMT +/- 1 minute over the following coordinates: 48° S, 151° E. That would place the fireball over the Indian Ocean [Pacific Ocean] south of Tasmania where sightings are unlikely. – SpaceWeather.com
If any pieces of the EAS survived re-entry, it looks as if they fell into the Indian Ocean South Pacific Ocean without incident, and (so far) without any eye-witnesses…
Update (Nov. 4th): Google Earth view of the EAS re-entry co-ordinates (Google/Ian O'Neill)
On following up a reader’s comment on the EAS re-entry, I decided to do some research myself. With reference to the Google Earth snapshot above, it would appear the EAS debris fireball occurred pretty close (approximately 550 km) to the southern-most state of Australia, Tasmania.
Also, according to the original news release, the SpaceWeather.com source quoted the re-entry co-ordinates as 48° S, 151° E. The Indian Ocean is delineated from the Pacific Ocean along the 147° east meridian (i.e. 147° longitude). Therefore, at 151° E quoted as the longitudinal co-ordinate of re-entry is clearly in the South Pacific Ocean and not the Indian Ocean. Corrections to the original article have been made above.
Is a spaceflight or zero-g flight in your future? Better start training! Credit: Zero-G.
Is a personal spaceflight or zero-g experience on your Bucket List? If so, how do you prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event? How can you get the most out of your flight and create a lasting memory?
With several commercial spaceflight companies preparing to launch suborbital tourist flights within the next several years, leaders from the industry predict more people will fly to space in the next decade than have made the journey so far since the dawn of the Space Age.
At the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) in October, 2008 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a few “seasoned” space flyers provided advice for those hoping to get astronaut wings, or at least experience what zero-gravity feels like. Former astronaut Dan Barry and Peter Diamandis, the Zero Gravity Corporation CEO and co-founder of Space Adventures, shared their experiences and offered a list of tips on how to get ready to fly in space.
1. Train for the physical experience:
Mercury astronauts on the Vomit Comet. Credit: NASA
Both Barry and Diamandis said training is essential. NASA astronauts train for about two years before they can be assigned to a flight. Space Adventures has a three-to six month training regimen for orbital flights, and Virgin Galactic requires three days of pre-flight training. Even Zero-G has a short orientation before their parabolic flights.
“You want to eliminate every single experience that doesn’t have to do with space,” said Barry. So, if you’re going on a space flight, first take a zero-g flight to know what zero gravity feels like and how your body might react. Some people get nauseous; some aren’t affected. If there’s the possibility of getting sick, you’ll want to know how to deal with it in zero-g.
Centrifuge training is also encouraged to provide the sensations of G-forces at launch. “You don’t want to be overwhelmed by the experience,” or only remember that you were scared or freaked out, said Barry. “You don’t want that memory to erase your zero-g experience, that unique $200,000 experience you’re having.”
2. Plan for what you want to do on the flight:
Richard Garriott on board the ISS. Credit: Richardinspace.com
Plan the things you want to do on your flight and make sure you have the time to do them. Richard Garriott just returned from his trip to the ISS, and he had several experiments planned and a regimen of things he wanted to accomplish. You don’t want to return from your flight and be disappointed you didn’t have the time or opportunity to do all the things you wanted, or that you forgot to something you had planned. You might not get the chance to do it ever again.
3. Get to know the people you are going to fly with:
The crew of STS-96. Credit: NASA
Barry said the most important part of preparing for spaceflight is knowing who you’re going to fly with. “You have to be able to trust your lives with each other,” he said. You’re also going to have a lot in common with your fellow space flyers. “Obviously, you’re all nuts to be doing this,” Barry laughed. “You’re going to meet people who are just as passionate, just as thrilled, and just as motivated as you are. These are the people you’re going to share this experience with. Make them your friends.”
So, now you’ve completed pre-flight training and you’re ready for your flight. Perhaps the most important advice Barry and Diamandis provided is what to do during your flight.
4. Make a memory.
“You really want to focus on the things that are unique about the spaceflight and take time to experience the moment,” said Barry. He stressed this advice isn’t unique to people going on short duration spaceflights, but any time people have the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, they should take the time to step back, take a look at where they are and what they are doing and “cement” that moment in their minds.
Barry said several astronauts took him aside before his first spaceflight and told him the same thing. “Astronaut Tom Akers told me, ‘I don’t want what happened to me to happen to you. I did four spacewalks, and in the course of those space walks I never once looked at Earth. I don’t have any memories from being in space. You need to take the time to look down at the Earth and look where you are.'”
Another astronaut, Bob Cabana told Barry “Take time to make a memory. At multiple points in the flight, stop and cement those things into your memory.”
Dan Barry and Rick Husband on STS-96. Credit: NASA
“And so I made sure I did that, and these are the things I’ll always have with me,” Barry said as he relayed one of his memories, a moment from his STS-96 flight in 1999 that he shared with Rick Husband, who was later killed in the Columbia space shuttle accident. “Rick was up on the flight deck, and he hollered, ‘Yo! Dan! You have got to come up here right now!’ Rick is looking out the window at the southern tip of South America, and there below us is an undulating ribbon of neon light. It was the Aurora Australius. And it was just gorgeous. I took a minute to look at Rick and look out the window. I am so grateful now for that memory,” Barry said with his voice breaking slightly. “It will be with me for the rest of my life. So, when you’re up there, take the time to cement a memory in your mind. Stop taking pictures, stop playing with the juice ball and just cement the moment.”
Diamandis agreed, and said the same is true for a Zero-G flight. “Take one zero-g parabola (there are 15 for each Zero-G flight) and do nothing, and I guarantee it will be the single memory you take away from the experience, where you’re not trying to gobble down M&M’s or something. Just float through the cabin, or if you’re with a loved one, wrap your arms around each other and just experience the moment. It’s like no other experience you’ve ever had.”
5. Plan for your post-flight experience, too.
Barry said, “When you get off the flight, and even if you have some memories locked in, it’s very possible you’ll say, ‘Is that it? Is it over?'” Post flight can be a severe let-down after the anticipation leading up to the experience. Barry said many first time flyers at NASA had significant psychological issues after their flight.
Barry and Diamandis stressed it’s important to have something planned post-flight to celebrate your experience. “It’s vital to have something positive planned so it’s not just over,” Barry said.
NASA astronauts usually tour the country after their flight to share their experiences. If you’ve just shelled out a huge chunk of change for your space flight, a world tour might not be possible. But share your experience with others. Show people your pictures, talk about what you felt, saw and experienced.
SpaceShip One Landing. Credit: Richard Seaman
And remember those people you just flew with that you took the time to get to know? “Schedule reunions,” said Barry. “We always do, for sure.”
“This is something you’ve wanted to do your whole life,” Barry continued. “Don’t just make it a five minute experience. Training encompasses so much more than just being physically ready to fly. Make sure you’re ready psychologically, too, and that requires thinking about what you’ll do afterwards.”
Will this experience change you?
Barry said the question he gets asked the most is, does spaceflight change a person – do space flyers experience the “Overview Effect” of seeing their life and the world in a new way?
“For one thing, just having your personal childhood dream come true changes you,” he said. “Seeing the earth from above the sky gives you a new perspective.” Barry said what impressed him the most was the thinness of the atmosphere, and how events in one part of the world can affect another. “You can see smoke from Amazon fires go all the way to Hawaii; there are dust storms that go across the world,” he said.
Peter Diamandis at the 2008 ISPCS. Credit: ISPCS and NMSU
Additionally, if you’ve been on an orbital flight where you’ve been in zero gravity for several days, it will take your body several days to re-acclimate to gravity again.
“When I got into orbit, I adjusted just fine,” said Barry. “Within 10 minutes you learn how to get around the cabin, no problem. Soon, you’ve learned a new sport, which is flying. It feels like you have a magic power!”
But coming back to Earth is different. “After coming home, three days later I was still walking into walls. Your body changes, you get used to zero-g very easily, but adapting to Earth again is hard.” Barry said he forgot about having to put items down – he expected them to just float. “Spouses are told not to hand a baby to an astronaut who has just returned from space,” he said, quite seriously.
So, are you ready to go on a flight to space? Virgin Galactic has over 200 people signed up for their suborbital flights, and they hope to make their first tourist flights in 2010. Other companies like XCOR and Rocketplane hope to fly around that time frame, as well. Space Adventures has taken six tourists so far to visit the International Space Station, and the company is even taking reservations for an orbital flight to the moon. But even if you don’t have $200,000 in spare change for a suborbital trip or $35 million for a ride on a Soyuz rocket to the space station, you can experience a zero gravity flight on board the Zero-G aircraft for about $5,000.
The Soyuz TMA-13 is transported to its launchpad for the Oct. 10th flight (AFP)
[/caption]The Russian spacecraft producer Energiya has warned that it might only have enough money to launch the next two Soyuz flights unless funds are raised urgently.
This situation poses a difficult problem for future access to the International Space Station. The spacecraft producer requires funding in advance to pay for the construction of future Soyuz vehicles, so unless a solution is found, the launch of Expedition 19 that is expected to be carried by the Soyuz TMA-15 (around May 2009) could be the last…
Just when we thought getting access to the International Space Station (ISS) was hard enough, Energiya’s President Vitaly Lopota has announced his company has run out of money.
“We have vessels and funding for them for the next two trips, but I do not know what will happen with expeditions after that,” Lopota said on Friday. “We have no funds to produce new Soyuz craft. Unless we are granted loans or advance payment in the next two or three weeks, we cannot be responsible for future Soyuz production.”
According to other sources, the announcement came as Energiya failed to receive critical government-backed loans from commercial banks.
The Soyuz TMA-12 landed safely on Friday with cosmonauts Sergei Volkov, Oleg Kononenko and US space tourist Richard Garriott after being docked on the ISS for six months. Garriott did not stay for this period however, he was launched on October 12th with the crew of Expedition 18 (onboard Soyuz TMA-13 that will return in April next year). Friday was the first nominal landing of a Soyuz vehicle since TMA-9; both TMA-10 (Oct. 21st, 2007) and TMA-11 (April 19th, 2008) suffered separation anomalies, forcing “ballistic re-entries.” It must have been a relief for Volkov, Kononenko and Garriott to touch down on target, ending the spate of bad luck for Soyuz.
Soyuz is the primary method to get to and from the ISS (as you can probably guess from the above paragraph), and when the shuttle is retired in 2010, it will be the only method for the US to access the orbital outpost. However, this is a solution to the “5-year gap” between shuttle retirement and Constellation launch (scheduled for 2015) that many find difficult to come to terms with, especially with the increasing political discord between the US and Russia.
Whether the warning from Energiya’s president should be taken seriously or not, once again US space flight is being restricted by internal problems in other countries. More initiatives like NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program need to be considered to further stimulate private sector space flight. Wouldn’t it make more sense to purchase US rocket launches with SpaceX after 2010 rather than buying Soyuz flights? Fortunately the private sector is catching onto this idea, so hopefully we’ll have dependable means to transport cargo to the ISS — possibly even crew — after 2010…
A solid rocket motor casing from a commercial U.S. Delta 2 launch vehicle was found inAustralia, nearly 18 years after it reentered. Picture by Michael White
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This just in from ‘The Sky is Falling’ Department: NASA’s Orbital Debris Newsletter reports that a launch vehicle rocket motor casing was found by ranchers in the Australian Outback during a cattle round-up on a three million-acre pasture property. It was first spotted by Mr. Arthur Taylor who was flying a Cessna aircraft to look for stray cattle. The casing appeared in relatively good condition (see picture above) and did not seem to be very old. Mr. Michael White forwarded numerous photos of the object to the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, including one with a clear serial number next to the nozzle attachment point. Using the serial number, NASA Kennedy Space Center personnel were able to trace the motor casing to a a specific mission.
The casing came from a Delta 2 rocket used on June 2, 1990 to launch the Indian INSAT-1D geosynchronous spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. This solid rocket motor served as the launch vehicle’s third stage which carried the payload from a low altitude parking orbit into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. (If you want to trace it yourself, here are the particulars: U.S. Satellite Number 20645, International Designator 1990-051C), Reentry of the stage occurred a few months later.
The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft (Expedition 18) launches Michael Fincke, Yury V. Lonchakov and Richard Garriott (AP Photo/NASA)
[/caption]…but the station’s toilet has broken down again.
For $30 million, you can get a ride into space for a 10-day trip on board the International Space Station. To Richard Garriott, this is money well-spent. He got to spend months training for the experience and he will use the adventure to carry out experiments, educational programs and to follow in his father’s footsteps. 25-years earlier, Owen Garriott flew on Space Shuttle Columbia, and before that he served on Skylab. Having successfully launched on board the Soyuz launch vehicle on Sunday, Garriott Jr. is keen to make space travel a family affair, and make some history along the way; he is the first second-generation American astronaut ever to be launched into space. It sounds like an exciting few days await the 47 year old computer video game entrepreneur…
But like any positive story, there’s a flip-side. The International Space Station, far from being The Ritz at the best of times, has been inflicted with a rather annoying inconvenience… the main toilet is out of order, requiring all on board to use the Soyuz en-suite. Although it is doubtful Garriott will get a room credit for the inconvenience, I’m sure the view of the Earth rotating below, the excitement of being involved in the biggest space project ever conceived, and the joy of zero-G will more than make up for the bathroom situation…
At 3:01 AM EDT (0701 GMT) Sunday morning, Richard Garriott blasted off from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft. Expedition 18 is being used to ferry two new crewmembers to the ISS. American astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov will keep Garriott company until tomorrow’s (Tuesday) Soyuz docking with the station where the trio will join the existing ISS crewmembers Commander Sergei Volkov, Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko and astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff. Volkov and Kononenko will accompany Garriott when he is scheduled to return back to Earth on October 23rd.
The cosmonaut, astronaut and space tourist wave to onlookers before boarding Soyuz (AP Photo)
“Today, my dream of following in my father’s footsteps to explore new frontiers is being realized,” Garriott said in a statement shortly after launch in reference to his father, 77 year-old retired NASA scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott. “It’s with honour and appreciation that I launch on my greatest adventure yet, and step into a role assumed by only five private individuals before me.”
Watching his son being launched into orbit, Garriott Sr. supports Richard in all his space-faring dreams. “He wants to charge full speed ahead,” said Owen, who flew to the pioneering Sklab space station in 1973 and flew on shuttle Columbia 10 years later.
Richard Garriott has been preparing for this moment for many months, and his excitement is evident in the post on his website before launch. “I feel well prepared for this flight, and have complete faith in my crew mates, our beautiful rocket, and the huge number of people it takes to launch our Soyuz and operate the ISS,” Garriott said, wanting his friends and family to be there with him. “I wish I could share this experience with each of you, in the way I have had the opportunity to experience it.”
U.S. astronaut Owen Garriott looks at the Russian Soyuz TMA-13 that will carry his son into orbit (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Unfortunately, there will be some uncomfortable days aboard the ISS. On Thursday, the main toilet facility broke down in the Russian Zvezda service module, leaving the crew to use the Soyuz bathroom facilities. The main toilet has been the source of much hassle to the crew and flight controllers; back in June Oleg Kononenko had to carry out a lengthy in-orbit plumbing job to get the gas-liquid separator assembly pump replacement up and running. It would appear a similar problem has struck again, only three months later. Perhaps the crew should ask Kononenko to use his skills once more before the cosmonaut has to return back to Earth with Garriott on October 23rd…
For now, plumbing issues to one side, we look forward to seeing Richard Garriott, the sixth space station tourist, carry out his experiments and observations, relaying all his experiences to the rest of the world who cannot afford the $30 million ticket.
“I will return to our earth in a few weeks, with a vast array of photographs, and a lifetime of new stories,” Garriott wrote in his website message. “I look forward to sharing them with you!”
Proposed design for an electromagnetic drive. Credit: SPR Ltd.
A controversial concept called the electromagnetic drive, or Emdrive for short has been called impossible. But one company believes the concept is viable and has worked for several years on building demonstration models. The Emdrive is a reactionless propulsion system that supposedly generates thrust by converting electrical energy via microwaves. If it works it could provide an almost endless supply of thrust for satellites and possibly other spacecraft. But no detectable energy emanates from the device, and most scientists say the Emdrive violates the well-established principle of the conservation of momentum. Satellite Propulsion Research, Ltd. (SPR), the company working on the drive now says researchers from China have confirmed the theory behind the Emdrive, and they should have a trial engine ready to test by the end of this year.
A reactionless drive was first proposed in the 1950’s, but came to attention in 2006 when New Scientist published an article about Dr. Roger Shawyer, who founded SPR, and claimed he had constructed a prototype that produced 88 millinewtons of forces while using only 700 watts of power. The idea was met with criticism from nearly all fronts.
The idea of the Emdrive involves forces created by reflecting microwaves between opposite walls of a cavity. If a cavity could be designed which would cause the forces on one side to be greater than the other, thrust could be achieved. The proposed cavity is cone shaped, which supposedly would provide the unequal force design.
In principle, no microwaves or anything else leaves the device, and so it is considered reactionless. But Shawyers website claims that the device is not reactionless, or a perpetual motion machine, because the force is created by a “reaction between the end plates of the waveguide and the Electromagnetic wave propagated within it.”
Originally, Shawyer, a British scientist, got funding from the UK, and then from am US company. Now the researchers at China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi’an say they have confirmed the Emdrive theory, and have gotten funding to build the device.
Their device is based on Shawyer’s theories, and if it works, it would confirm what Shawyer has been claiming all along. The Chinese lead researcher, Professor Yang Juan, previously has worked with microwave plasma thrusters, which has similar engineering principles. A recent article in Wired said he Chinese should be capable of determining whether the thruster really works or whether the apparent forces are caused by experimental errors.
If the Emdrive works, what would it mean for spaceflight? Shawyer says a solar-powered Emdrive could take a manned mission to Mars in 41 days.
A previous Progress approach to the Space Station over Earth (NASA)
[/caption]This may come as a surprise, but then again, it might not. Despite the recently signed US Congressional waiver of the Iran-North Korea-Syria Nonproliferation Act, allowing NASA to use the Russian Progress vehicle to send US supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) after Shuttle decommissioning in 2010, NASA has said that they will seek out US-based commercial launch options instead. NASA has lobbied the US government for months to allow them to continue using Russia’s launch capabilities, but since the recent launch success of US-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 1 rocket on September 28th, hopes are high that this option will stop NASA’s dependence on Russia…
The Iran-North Korea-Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA) basically prevents entities in the US from doing business with Russia if Russia is doing business with Iran, North Korea or Syria to further their development of nuclear technology. However, one such US “entity” is NASA and the space agency has been working with Russia’s space program since the Act was signed in 2000 (even though it is known that Russia has been providing technology to Iran to pursue their nuclear ambitions). NASA has been able to do this by having the INKSNA waived by Congress. The current waiver was valid until 2011, so NASA has been pursuing a waiver extension to prevent the US from being barred from access to space after Shuttle retirement in 2011.
Although they are now legally entitled, NASA has now said that it will not require the use of the Russian Progress supply ships to deliver US supplies to the station, even after the successful signing of a waiver extension (until 2016) last week.
“NASA’s policy has not changed,” NASA spokesman David Steitz said last Thursday (October 2nd). “NASA will rely on U.S. commercial cargo services to resupply ISS following retirement of the shuttle, and does not intend to purchase Progress cargo services after 2011.”
This decision comes after the successful launch of the first ever commercial space vehicle on September 28th. SpaceX will have been relieved the fourth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket system operated flawlessly, proving to NASA that a dummy payload can be lifted into orbit by a private company. The previous flight (Flight 3, on August 2nd) suffered a stage separation anomaly, which caused the loss of two NASA satellite systems, NanoSail-D (a prototype solar sail) and PRESat (mini-laboratory to carry out tests on yeast cells).
Although NASA has announced there are no plans to use the Russian Progress spaceship beyond 2011, it is still an option if required. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX is not concerned about NASA opting to use Progress over a US company’s launch system. “I think it’s probably a good thing NASA’s hands aren’t tied there. It’s possible we may lose a few flights to the Russians but we are not going to lose more than that. There is no way Congress would tolerate sending millions of dollars to the Russians rather than to a U.S. company and keeping that money domestic,” he said. Regardless of which political party is voted into government in November, Musk pointed out that, “…neither [U.S. political party] likes sending money overseas if there’s a U.S. supplier.”
According to today’s news release, the waiver still allows the use of the Russian Soyuz system (for manned missions to the ISS), which is fortunate as there is no other US manned option available…
