NASA announced that it ws accepting applications for new astronauts. Photo Credit: Jeff Soulliere
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NASA is looking for folks with the “right stuff.” The space agency is seeking qualified individuals for when the space agency once again travels into space – and beyond low-Earth-orbit. The announcement of NASA’s process for selecting its next class of astronauts was made at an event held at the Webb auditorium at NASA Headquarters located in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
At this event was NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Jeri Buchholz, Flight Crew Operations Director Janet Kavandi as well as five members of the 2009 astronaut class. They were Serena Aunon, Kjell Lindgren, Kathleen Rubins, Scott Tingle and Mark Vande Hei.
NASA is currently attempting to hand off providing access to low-Earth-orbit or LEO as it attempts to send astronauts beyond LEO for the first time in four decades. Photo Credit: jeff Soulliere
“For 50 years, American astronauts have led the exploration of our solar system,” Bolden said. “Today we are getting a glimpse of why that will remain true for the next half-century. Make no mistake about it, human space flight is alive and well at NASA.”
Bolden is a former shuttle astronaut himself, having flown into space four times.
The 2009 class of astronauts – was the first to graduate in a new era of space flight – one which would eventually see the retirement of NASA’s fleet of space shuttle orbiters. NASA is currently working to develop not only a new spacecraft – but a new launch vehicle as well. The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV may one day ferry astronauts to points beyond LEO.
With NASA's fleet of shuttle orbiters on their separate ways to various museums across the country, NASA is currently lacking the capacity to launch astronauts on its own and is dependent on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. Photo Credit: Jeff Soulliere
To get the Orion MPCV to orbit the space agency is developing the Space Launch System or SLS. This launch vehicle, resembling a cross between the space transportation system (STS) that comprised the shuttle – and the Saturn V moon rocket was recently unveiled by the space agency.
As far as access to LEO is concerned, NASA is working to hand those responsibilities over to commercial space firms such as SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Boeing. These companies will also work to deliver crew and cargo to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS). If it all works out these new astronauts could well be among the first to return the U.S. to the Moon or be the first person to visit an asteroid or even Mars.
The astronaut's selected in this process could very well be the first astronauts to land on an asteroid - or even the planet Mars. Photo Credit: Jeff Soulliere
The Astronaut Candidate Program is open to any person that meets the agency’s qualifications. They can submit their applications online through the USAJobs.gov website. For those considering a career in the astronaut corps, here are some of the requirements:
• Bachelor’s Degree in either science, engineering or math
• Three years of relevant professional experience
• Experience in flying high-performance jet aircraft is considered a plus
• Educators that have taught grades kindergarten through the 12 are highly encouraged to apply
NASA will be accepting applications through January 27, 2012. The agency will bring in applicants to be interviewed and evaluated. NASA plans to make their final decision in 2013 – with training of these new astronauts starting that summer.
NASA has been working to see that the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV is ready in time for deep space missions. Photo Credit: NASA.gov
From left to right, they are: STS-135 pilot Doug Hurley, STS-1 pilot Robert Crippen, STS-1 commander John Young (a former Gemini and moonwalking Apollo astronaut), STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson, and STS-135 mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
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In an historic photo shoot earlier this month, NASA commemorated the space shuttle’s retirement, personifying the thirty-year program with the first and last astronaut crews to fly the vehicle.
The shuttle program has certainly come a long way from STS-1 to STS-135.
Young and Crippen. The STS-1 crew's official portrait, 1981. Image credit: NASA.
John Young and Robert Crippen launched on STS-1 in the shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, twenty years after Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. It was a shakedown cruise, with the two astronauts spending only two days in orbit. They checked out the spacecraft’s systems, the vehicle’s overall flight worthiness, and made the first runway landing from orbit. The only payload the crew carried was a Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) package. It contained sensors to measure and record Columbia’s performance in orbit and the stresses it felt during launch, ascent, orbital flight, descent and landing.
Thirty years and two months later, the crew of STS-135 had a much busier mission on their hands. Launched on July 8, 2011 in the Atlantis orbiter, the crew’s primary mission objective was to transfer thousands of pounds of supplies into the International Space Station and take thousands more pounds of unneeded cargo back down to Earth.
Atlantis stayed docked to the ISS for eight of its twelve days in orbit. The crew, along with the Expedition 28 crew that spent close to four months aboard the station, played a real life and oversized version of Tetris to get all the supplies squared away in the ISS’ multi-purpose module.
The crews of STS-135 and Expedition 28 pose with the flag flown in STS-1. Credit: NASA
With the cargo transfer complete, Atlantis undocked from the station on July 19. The crew spent the last two days of the final mission in orbit, deploying experiments and readying the spacecraft for landing. Atlantis touched down on the runway at the Kennedy Spaceflight Centre on July 21.
NASA’s complete image gallery, which includes images of the STS-135 post flight wrap up as well as pictures with the STS-1 crew, highlights the personal strain that runs through manned spaceflight. And it doesn’t stop there. During STS-135’s mission, commander Chris Ferguson presented the ISS’s crew the U.S. flag John Young and Robert Crippen carried into space on STS-1. The flag will remain on display on the station until the next crew that launches from the U.S. retrieves it. After returning to Earth, the flag will be launched again with the first crew to embark on a journey beyond Earth orbit.
The Crews of STS-1 and STS-135. John Young, STS-1 commander, Robert Crippen, STS-1 pilot, with the STS-135 crew of commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Photo credit: NASA Photo/Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool
View of ISS and Earth after successful docking of Soyuz TMA-22 on Nov 16 at 12:24 a.m. with crew of Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Dan Burbank Credit: NASA TV
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A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying the first crew of humans to fly to space in the post Space Shuttle Era has successfully docked at the International Space Station early this morning, Nov. 16 at 12:24 a.m. EST, averting the potential of having to at least temporarily abandon the massive Earth orbiting research complex.
After an 11 year stretch of continuous human occupation, the future residency of humans aboard the ISS swung in the balance in the wake of a Russian Soyuz rocket failure in August that temporarily grounded all Soyuz launches – manned and unmanned – until the root cause was determined and satisfactorily rectified with NASA’s consent.
The very survival of the ISS hinged on the successful launch of a trio of Russian and American space flyers just 2 days ago from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-22 capsule, which took place amidst an unprecedented blizzard and white out conditions with near zero visibility.
The three man crew of Russian rookie cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin along with veteran NASA astronaut Dan Burbank arrived at the Poisk module of the orbiting outpost just in the nick of time – before the last three ISS crewmembers still aboard would have been forced to depart just 5 days from today leaving no humans aboard.
Soyuz TMA-22 approaches the International Space Station prior to docking at Poisk module on Nov 16 at 12:24 a.m. Credit: NASA TV
Luckily the Soyuz launch and automated rendezvous and linkup with the ISS flying some 400 km (248 miles) above the South Pacific proceeded flawlessly, announced Russian space officials at Mission Control in Moscow shortly after the successful docking. The event was carried live on NASA TV.
A full complement of 6 crew members was thus restored to the ISS, but the handover period will be exceedingly short because the Soyuz TMA-22 launch was postponed from September 22 due to the Soyuz rocket failure in August carrying the unmanned Progress cargo resupply vessel.
The new trio joins the current Expedition 29 residents comprising ISS Commander Mike Fossum (NASA) and Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa (Japan) and Sergei Volkov (Russia). But Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov will depart on Monday, Nov. 21, and thereby reduce the station crew population back down to three.
“The crew will have a very busy time during the short handover period,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operation Directorate, who was present in Moscow.
“I want to thank our Russian colleagues for a tremendous job. It’s great to have six people back aboard the ISS,” Gerstenmaier said.
The newly arrived crew is expected to stay at the ISS for about five months and carry out a wide range of science experiments.
After closing the hooks and latches, removing the docking probe and conducting extensive pressure and leak checks, Shkaplerov, Ivanishin and Burbank opened the hatches and floated into the ISS to join their awaiting friends friends with a big round of bear hugs and greetings at about 2:39 a.m. EST today, Nov 16.
“Its great to see all six of you together up there,” radioed Gerstenmaier after the hatch opening.
“It’s was a great ride uphill and it will be a great stay up here,” Burbank replied.
The cosmonauts children exuberantly said “Hi , how are you. Kisses to you Daddy !” to their dads in space moments later !
Combined crews aboard the ISS after Nov 16 docking and hatch opening. NASA TV
The next three man Soyuz crew of US astronaut Don Pettit, Dutch astronaut André Kuipers, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, is set to arrive on December 23 and again restore the crew to a full complement of six.
Blastoff of Soyuz TMA-22 amidst swirling snowstorm at 11:14:03 p.m. Nov. 13 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The three man crew comprised NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos
Photo taken on Nov. 14, 2011 shows the image of Shenzhou-8 spacecraft on the electronic screen in the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, in Beijing, China. The image was shot by a video camera on Tiangong-1 just after Shenzhou-8's separation from Tiangong-1. China's Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft successfully re-docked with the Tiangong-1, a module of the country's planned space lab on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 Credit: Xinhua/Wang Jianmin
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Chinese space prowess took another major leap forward today (Nov. 14) when the unmanned Shenzhou-8 capsule successfully re-docked with China’s Tiangong-1 space lab while speeding through space and orbiting some 343 km above Earth. Today’s events pave the way for China to rapidly ramp up their human space program and loft up to two manned flights to the space lab module in 2012.
The re-docking marked only the 2nd time that China had accomplished a successful space docking, a critical technical milestone that opens the door to China’s real ambition of assembling a 100 ton operational Space Station in low Earth orbit by 2020 – about the time when the ISS might be decommissioned.
China made space history on Nov. 3 by becoming only the 3rd country on Earth – after the US and the Russia – to accomplish a space link up when Shenzhou- 8 and Tiangong-1 rendezvoused and docked in earth orbit.
The graphics shows the procedure of the second docking between Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 space lab module on Nov. 14, 2011. Credit: Xinhua/Lu Zhe
Shenzhou-8 was launched to orbit on Nov. 1 atop a Long March 2F booster rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in northwest China. The two Chinese built spacecraft have been joined together for 12 days.
China’s space re-docking exercise today came just hours after Russia successfully launched their Soyuz capsule with two Russians and one American bound for the ISS.
Views of Shenzhou-8 spacecraft docking with the space lab module Tiangong-1 for the second time on Nov. 14, 2011. Credit: CCTV/Beijing Aerospace Control Center
Today’s goal was to give Chinese engineers more practice and confidence in mastering the complex maneuvers required for rendezvous and docking two vehicles in space. It was carried out in daylight conditions as opposed to the nighttime conditions for the initial docking to expand the testing envelope under different scenarios.
Shenzhou-8 first disengaged from the prototype space station at about 6:37 a.m. EST and then withdrew to a distance of about 140 meters (460 ft). About 30 minutes later, mission controllers at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center monitored Shenzhou-8 as it automatically approached Tiangong-1 and completed the second docking – or “Space Kiss” as the Chinese media fondly say – at about 6:53 a.m. EST.
Photo taken on Nov. 14, 2011 show the live video of the outside view of Shenzhou-8 on a giant screen in the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 14, 2011. China's Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft successfully re-docked with the Tiangong-1, a module of the country's planned space lab on Monday. Credit: Xinhua/Wang Jianmin
The combined Shenzhou-8/Tiangong-1 orbiting complex is some 20 meter in length and weighs about 16 tons. Each vehicle weighs some 8 tons. Tiangong-1 is 10.4 m in length and 3.3. m in diameter. Shenzhou-8 is 9.2 m in length
Shenzhou is China’s manned space capsule but flew this flight with no humans aboard because Chinese space officials felt it was safer and prudent and did not want to expose astronauts to excessive risk during the unprecedented docking attempts.
Following today’s complete success, the China Manned Space Engineering (CMSE) Project is pushing ahead with plans to launch up to two manned missions to Tiangong-1 in 2012 – namely Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 which are already under construction.
Both 2012 missions would be short duration flights of a few days or weeks since the Tiangong-1 module is a prototype space station module and not outfitted for long duration flights.
CMSE is evaluating a pool of Chinese astronauts already in training – including two women – for the two flights. Both women candidates are married and about 30 years of age but have not been publically identified.
It seems highly likely that one of the Shenzhou missions will include the first female Chinese astronaut.
So far China has launched six astronauts on three manned Shenzhou capsules between 2003 and 2008.
The docking mechanism on Shenzhou-8 was developed and manufactured in China, says Wu Ping, spokeswoman for the CMSE.
In two days, Shenzhou-8 is due to undock from Tiangong-1 for the final time and initiate the fiery re-entry to Earth on Nov. 17. The descent capsule will land by parachute.
These historic feats prove that China’s manufacturing and technological capabilities are surging forward and rapidly matching the Western powers and Japan in a broad swath of scientific and technical fields.
Since the forced retirement of NASA’s functioning space shuttle orbiters, only China and Russia can launch people into space.
Video animation caption: Chinese spacecraft to ‘kiss’ in space. Credit: NMANewsDirect
Even though the space shuttle is capable of circling the Earth in just 90 minutes, getting Space Shuttle Endeavour to travel the final 22 km (14 miles) to its ultimate resting place will take over 13 hours — not to mention a huge community effort. It’s not everyday the nearly six-story, 82,000 kg (180,0000 lb) spacecraft — with a 24-meter (78-foot) wing span — takes to the streets of any city, not to mention the famous freeways of Los Angeles, California. But now that the shuttles are retired and will be heading to museums, the cities that will be home to the four remaining space shuttles are figuring out the logistics of transporting these huge spacecraft through their streets. So, just how exactly do you drive a space shuttle from the LAX airport to the California Science Center? Slowly. Very slowly — even by L.A. traffic standards.
Blastoff of Soyuz TMA-22 amidst swirling snowstorm at 11:14:03 p.m. Nov. 13 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The three man crew comprised NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos
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The future survival and fate of the International Space Station was on the line and is now firmly back on track following today’s (Nov. 13) successful, high stakes liftoff of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a three man crew of two Russians and one American bound for the orbiting research platform, amidst the backdrop of a spectacular snowstorm swirling about the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – rare even by Russian standards.
The international crew comprises Expedition 29 Flight Engineer Dan Burbank from NASA – veteran of two prior shuttle missions to the station in 2000 and 2006 – and Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin from Russia. It’s the rookie flight for both Russian cosmonauts.
Soyuz TMA-22 lifts off under near blizzard conditions on Nov.13. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos
This is the first flight of a manned Soyuz-FG rocket – and of humans to space – since NASA’s Space Shuttle was forcibly retired in July and the subsequent failure of a virtually identical unmanned Soyuz-U booster in August which grounded all Russian flights to the ISS and threatened to potentially leave the station with no human presence aboard.
Snowy Soyuz TMA -22 blast off on Nov.13. Credit: Roscosmos
The trio of space flyers soared to the heavens at 11:14:03 p.m. EST Sunday Nov. 13 (11:14:03 a.m. Baikonur time Monday, Nov. 14) abroad their Soyuz TMA-22 capsule which was mounted atop the 50 meter tall Soyuz rocket.
Blastoff occurred precisely on time at about the time when the frigid, snow bedecked launch pad rotated into the plane of the orbit of the ISS. The launch was carried live on NASA TV and the ship quickly disappeared from view behind the nearly blinging blizzard.
The Soyuz TMA-22 achieved orbital insertion some nine minutes later into an initial 143 by 118 mile orbit, inclined 51 degrees to the equator.
The vehicles antennae’s and solar arrays were quickly deployed per plan and all spacecraft systems were functioning perfectly according to Russian Ground Control in Moscow.
Soyuz TMA-22 launches in spectacular snowstorm on Nov. 13 with Expedition 29 Flight Engineer Dan Burbank from NASA and Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin from Russia. Credit: NASA/Joe Acaba
Following a two day orbital chase and three course correction burns the future ISS residents are due to dock at the Russian Poisk module at the complex at about 12:33 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
In the hours prior to launch the crew received a religious blessing from the Russian Orthodox Church, took the bus for the 25 mile trip to the Cosmodrome, donned their white Sokol launch and entry suits and headed to the pad.
The crew boarded the capsule in the midst of an extremely heavy snow storm which struck the Baikonur region of Kazakhstan in the evening prior to launch. See photo from backup NASA astronaut Joe Acaba.
Soyuz TMA-22 crew boards capsule amidst snowstorm at Baikonur. Credit: NASA/Joe Acaba
Although snow is quite common at this time of year, the blizzard conditions at launch time were actually quite rare according to NASA spokesman Rob Navias at Baikonur.
American rockets would never blast off in such severe weather conditions – but it’s nothing for the Russians!
The temperature was about 24 F, roughly 6 inches (15 cm) of snow had accumulated on the ground at launch time and moderate wind gusts partially obscured the view.
For the first time ever, a Soyuz crew was dressed in parkas – See Joe Acaba twitpic below !
Gantry towers were retracted from the three stage Soyuz booster at about T minus 25 minutes. The umbilical’s retracted in the final seconds.
The three stage Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 1 (LC-1), the same pad from which Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin flew as the first human to space 50 Years ago this year. The pad is named “Gagarin Start” in honor of Gagarin’s courageous achievement on April 12, 1961.
The rocket was fueled with kerosene (RP-1) and cryogenic liquid oxygen.
The ISS was flying some 248 miles above the Pacific Ocean and just west of Chile at launch time.
On the way to the Pad. Snow is falling. First time crew has had to wear these overcoats/parkas. All is go so far. Twitpic and comment from NASA astronaut Joe Acaba at Baikonur
The importance of the TMA-22 mission cannot be overstated because it restored confidence in Russian rockets which now serve as the world’s only pathway for providing human access to the $100 Billion earth orbiting outpost.
The cramped Soyuz capsule measures just 2.2 m wide by 2.1 m high and weighs 2200 kg.
Today’s critical launch had been delayed be nearly two months from September 22, following the failure of a nearly identical Soyuz-U booster in August which was carrying the Progress 44 cargo resupply spacecraft and crashed ignominiously in Siberia after the third stage shut down unexpectedly.
The Progress 44 was loaded with nearly 3 tons of supplies and was bound for the ISS.
The third stage is nearly identical for both the manned and unmanned versions of the normally highly reliable Soyuz booster rocket.
The launch came only after a thorough review of the causes of the accident by a special State Commision- which was traced to a clogged fuel line – introduction of new quality control measures and careful inspection of all the engines.
“We have no doubt in our minds both the rocket and the vehicle are ready, all the activities have been done at the appropriate level of quality and reliability,” said Vladimir Popovkin, Head of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, prior to liftoff.
Expedition 29 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa, Commander Mike Fossum and Flight Engineer Sergei Volkov watch their new crew mates launch on time from inside the Destiny laboratory. Credit: NASA TV
The new crew will join the other half of Expedition 29 already in residence aboard the ISS; Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum (NASA) and Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa (Japan) and Sergei Volkov (Russia). This will temporarily restore the ISS to a full complement of 6 crewmembers – but only for a few days.
Fossum will hand over command of the station to the new crew within four days. His crew departs the ISS for Earth reentry on Nov. 21.
The successful launch means that the ISS will not have to be left unmanned for the first time since continuous manned occupation began over 11 years ago and which would have placed the station at risk in case of failures requiring human intervention.
Burbank, Shkaplerov and Ivanishin will spend 5 months aboard the station. They will be joined in December by the next trio to round out Expedition 30
Prelaunch photo of Soyuz-TMA-22/Expedition 29 crew - NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin Credit: Roscosmos
The Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft and its booster were moved to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a railcar on November 11, 2011, for final preparations prior to launch to the International Space Station on November 14, Baikonur time. Credit: Roscosmos
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The stakes could not be higher for the Russian Soyuz rocket now poised at the launch pad at Baikonur in Kazakhstan and which will loft the next trio of space flyers to the International Space Station on Sunday, Nov. 13. This is the first flight of a manned Soyuz rocket since the Space Shuttle was retired in July and the subsequent failure of an unmanned Soyuz booster in August of this year.
The booster was rolled out to the pad on Friday (Nov. 11) and the very fate of the Space Station and the partners $100 Billion investment hinges on a successful blastoff of the venerable Soyuz – which dates back to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and the inauguration of human spaceflight 50 years ago. This launch must succeed in order to keep a human presence aboard the ISS and comes in the wake of an upper stage failure days ago that left Russia’s ambitious Phobos-Grunt Mars mission stranded in Earth orbit and potentially doomed. See the Soyuz rollout video and pictures below
The Soyuz rocket and spacecraft were rolled out on a rail car at Baikonur
Video Caption – Rollout of Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft and booster to Baikonur launch pad in Kazahkstan.
Following the August 24 launch failure and crash of a Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress 44 cargo resupply vehicle to the ISS, Russia’s manned space program was grounded because the third stage of the Soyuz rocket which malfunctioned is virtually identical for both the manned and unmanned versions.
Since NASA was forced to shut down the Space Shuttle program, the Russian Soyuz rocket and capsule are the sole method of transport to the ISS. Thus, American astronauts have no choice but to hitch a ride with the Russians.
No American replacement spacecraft will be ready for humans until 2014 at the very earliest. And significant NASA budget cuts are likely to delay the introduction of the proposed “space taxis” by several more years.
Soyuz TMA-22 rolls on railcar to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credit: Roscosmos
Liftoff off the three man crew aboard the Soyuz-TMA 22 capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is slated for 11:14 p.m. EST Sunday Nov. 13 (11:14 a.m. Baikonur time Monday, Nov. 14) aboard the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft.
Originally, the launch of the Soyuz TMA-22 crew had been scheduled for September 22 but was immediately put on indefinite hold following the August 24 crash.
Russia promptly announced the formation of a special state commission to investigate the failure, which rapidly traced the malfunction to a clogged fuel line and instituted fixes and stricter quality control measures.
Soyuz TMA-22 rolls on railcar to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credit: Roscosmos
Soyuz TMA-22 poised at Baikonur launch pad. Credit: Roscosmos
The international trio of new ISS residents consists of Expedition 29 Flight Engineer Dan Burbank from NASA and Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin from Russia.
After a 2 day chase, they are due to link up with the ISS when their spacecraft docks to the Poisk mini-research module at 12:33 a.m. Wednesday.
When Burbank, Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin dock they will join the other trio of Expedition 29 crewmembers already aboard the ISS; Expedition 29 crewmates Commander Mike Fossum (NASA) and Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa (Japan) and Sergei Volkov (Russia) – and temporarily restore the ISS to a full complement of 6 crewmembers. Soyuz TMA-22 crew meet journalists before blastoff. Credit: Roscosmos
But the full ISS staffing will be short-lived, because Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov will hand over all ISS duties to the new crew and undock their Soyuz TMA-02M capsule from the Rassvet research module on Nov. 21 and depart for Earth reentry and landing in Kazakhstan hours later.
The Soyuz TMA-22 poised at Baikonur launch pad will carry Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov, Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank of NASA and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin to the complex. The trio will spend almost five months on the station. Credit: Roscosmos
The new crew of three must reach the ISS before the current trio departs or the ISS would be left unmanned for the first time in over 11 years.
NASA has announced that it will conduct an unmanned test flight called the Exploration Flight Test-1 or EFT-1 in 2014. Image Credit: NASA.gov
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla – NASA has announced its intention to launch an unmanned flight of the Orion Spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle – by 2014. This flight test will be added to the contract that the space agency has with aerospace firm Lockheed Martin. The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV as it is more commonly known – will test out systems that will be employed on the Space Launch System (SLS). If successful, this will allow astronauts to travel beyond low-Earth-orbit (LEO) for the first time in over four decades.
“This flight test will provide invaluable data to support the deep space exploration missions this nation is embarking upon,” said NASA Associate Administrator for Communications David Weaver.
The flight has been dubbed Exploration Flight Test or EFT-1 and will be comprised of two high-apogee orbits that will conclude with a high-energy reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules before it, the Orion MPCV will conduct a water landing.
The test mission will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station located in Florida. It is designed to provide the space agency with vital flight data regarding how the vehicle handles re-entry and other performance issues.
The test flight will be comprised of two high-apogee orbits followed by a splash down. This flight will provide NASA with crucial information that could potentially lead to changes in the Orion spacecraft's design. Image Credit: NASA
“The entry part of the test will produce data needed to develop a spacecraft capable of surviving speeds greater than 20,000 mph and safely return astronauts from beyond Earth orbit,” said Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William
Gerstenmaier. “This test is very important to the detailed design process in terms of the data we expect to receive.”
Presumably the use of a Delta IV Heavy would allow NASA to accelerate its human exploration objectives at an accelerated rate. Since the flight will be unmanned, there is no need to man-rate the launch vehicle and given the current economic issues facing the United States, the use of so-called “legacy” hardware could ensure that costs are kept down.
The past year has seen the development of the Orion spacecraft proceed at an accelerated pace. Photo Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin
NASA has also stated its intention to release competitive solicitations for design proposals for new, advanced liquid or solid boosters to be used on the SLS. Another contract that will be opened for competition will be for payload adaptors for both crewed as well as cargo missions.
The Orion spacecraft was originally part of the Constellation Program. Its design has since been modified – but its mission to one day fly astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond – remains. The EFT-1 test flight will allow technicians and NASA officials to better determine what further changes need to be made to best aid the completion of NASA’s exploration goals.
The EFT-1 test flight could pave the way for flights back to the Moon, to the planet Mars and to other destinations throughout the solar system. Image Credit: NASA.gov
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla – Every year the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) hosts its “Astronaut Autograph Show” at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This year it was held on Nov. 5-6 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Debus Center. The ASF coordinated with the operators of the Cocoa Beach Air Show to ensure that the show had a very dramatic ending. Continue reading “ASF 2011 Autograph Show: To Be the Shoulders of Tomorrow’s Titans”
Now that the shuttle era has come to a close, NASA, through the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, is opening some of its doors to allow the public a peek inside - including the massive doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building or VAB. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla – When guests visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in the past, they never knew if they would have the opportunity to see an actual space shuttle in some stage of being processed for a mission. The operators of the Visitor Complex have changed that – guests will now not only get the chance to see space shuttle Endeavour (as well as potentially Atlantis and Discovery in the future) – but to also tour the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building.
The opportunity to tour the VAB is currently being offered for a limited time and only to a limited number of Visitor Complex guests per day as part of KSC Up-Close, a new two-hour, guided special interest tour that began on Nov. 1. While touring inside the VAB itself is considered a treat, to actually be just a short distance away from one of the three remaining orbiters to conduct missions to and from orbit – is a rare thing indeed.
One, almost universal, reaction that guests displayed was craning their necks to see all the way to the ceiling of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo Credit: Alan Walters/awaltersphoto.com
“We are very pleased to have the ability to offer to our guests the opportunity to see not just the inside of the Vehicle Assembly Building – but one of the orbiters as well,” said the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Public Relations Manager Andrea Farmer. “While we don’t know the exact time frame – but this tour should be offered throughout 2012 and possibly into 2013.”
While undoubtedly one of the most memorable stops on the tour, the VAB tour stop is just one stop on this tour. Other stops include; NASA’s KSC Headquarters, the Operations & Checkout building (O&C), as well as the NASA Causeway providing a view of the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Guests who choose to go on the KSC Up-Close tour should call ahead as seats on this tour are limited and the tour might not be available every day. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian
From here, guests can see launch pads 17, 37, 40, and 41, which are currently used for commercial and government launches.
After their stop at the VAB, guests will get to see the massive Crawler Transporters and “Crawlerway”. Guests will also get to see the Pegasus barge used to haul the shuttle’s large External Fuel Tanks (ETs) from Louisiana; the famous blue countdown clock and the Shuttle Landing Facility.
Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour all will be in and out of the Vehicle Assembly Building in the future, allowing guests the opportunity to see these spacecraft first hand. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian
The last place that guests will visit is two hills where NASA remotely shoots launch photography and videography. On one side guests can see Launch Complexes 39A and B and on the other side is the Atlantic. This will provide guests to see the renovations that are currently being done to LC-39B in preparation for commercial launches or for the use for the Space Launch System (SLS).
Guests who had the opportunity to take the tour were amazed at what they were seeing, the sheer scale of the facilities and vehicles – as well as the history that they were walking through.
Three-time shuttle veteran Sam Gemar thinks that this new tour is important in allowing the public to gain a greater appreciation for U.S. human space flight efforts.
“Having flown to space myself, I cannot express strongly enough how much of a tremendous opportunity it is for the public to see the actual vehicles that have sent astronauts into space for the past three decades,” Gemar said. “Kennedy Space Center is where America goes to space and the KSC Up – Close tour allows us to share the history of the Vehicle Assembly Building with the world.”
Although the Visitor Complex cannot guarantee that whenever a guest arrives that they will be able to see a space shuttle inside the VAB (each of the orbiters are being processed for display in their new homes in Los Angeles, CA, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Eventually shuttle Atlantis, which will placed be display in a new facility at the Visitor Complex in 2013.
