Russian built Mini Research Module MRM-1 set to launch aboard US Space Shuttle Atlantis in May 2010 undergoes final prelaunch processing in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
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Russian space managers unveiled a science beauty today (March 25) in Florida, namely the ‘Rassvet’ research room which serves as Russia’s newest contribution to the International Space Station. Although ‘Rassvet’ was built entirely in Russia, the module is hitching a ride aboard the American Space Shuttle Atlantis as the primary cargo for the STS 132 station assembly mission slated to blast off soon in May 2010. ‘Rassvet’ translates as ‘Dawn’.
I was quite fortunate to inspect ‘Rassvet’ up close today during a press briefing and photo op inside the clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Port Canaveral, FL and also speak with the top Russian space officials from RSC Energia who are responsible for her construction. Astrotech is situated a few miles south of the shuttle launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center from which she’ll depart Earth.
NASA is launching ‘Rassvet’, formally known as the Mini Research Module-1, or MRM 1, as part of a complex barter agreement among the partner nations of the ISS to share the costs of assembling and operating the massive orbiting outpost.
MRM-1 will be attached to the Earth- facing (nadir) port of the russian Zarya control module at the ISS. See diagram below showing location of MRM-1 and other components on the Russian Orbital Segment of the ISS.
Side view of Russian built Mini Research Module MRM-1 set to launch aboard Shuttle Atlantis during STS 132 flight in May 2010. Russian Soyuz and Progress capsules will berth at the docking port at right. Sensitive surfaces on the docking mechanism are currently protected by red covers which will be removed before flight to space. Credit: Ken Kremer
“MRM 1 arrived in Florida on Dec 17, 2009 from Russia and will be utilized for scientific research, cargo stowage, and also to provide an additional docking port at the ISS,” said Mikhail Kashitsyn, the Deputy Technical Manager and Head of MRM 1 Prelaunch Processing for the Design Bureau division of RSC Energia. RSC Energia is the prime contractor to Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, and is responsible for the design, development and processing of MRM 1.
Russian MRM 1 managers: Mikhail Kashitsyn, Deputy Technical Manager Head of MRM 1 Prelaunch Processing and Sergey Saveliev, Deputy Project Manager for MRM1. from the Design Bureau division of RSC Energia at Astrotech for press briefing on March 25, 2010. Credit: Ken Kremer
The additional docking port provided by MRM -1 will greatly aid ISS mission planners in accommodating the busy manifest of berthings of incoming Soyuz, Progress and ATV vehicles on the Russian side of the station and alleviate the need to repark the ships as new vessels arrive.
“We have been working at a steady pace to complete the final check out and assembly of MRM 1for installation into the shuttle orbiter. Let me welcome you all here to view MRM 1 which was designed by RSC Energia, one of the leading corporations in Russia”.
“All preparations will be completed in about 1 week. It’s wonderful we have this cooperation with our American colleagues and I want to express my thanks to the US and NASA for their help and mutual understanding,” added Mr. Kashitsyn.
“MRM 1 will be the largest piece of Russian space hardware ever to launch on an American rocket,” Kashitsyn told me. “The last large piece of Russian space equipment to launch from the US was the Mir docking module for the Mir space station”.
“Several thousand people worked on MRM 1 in Russia and it took about 2 years to build. About 100 are involved in the pre launch preparations here at Port Canaveral”.
“Furthermore, the interior of the module will also be loaded with 1.5 tons of NASA cargo and supplies for the ISS, including items such as food, lithium hydroxide canisters, computers and printers”, according to Kashitsyn.
“This will be the last payload for Atlantis,” said Robert Ashley, the NASA ISS manager responsible for the STS 132 payload processing. “This will be my last mission as a station mission manager. It’s bittersweet. There will be a lot of lasts for a lot of people on these final shuttle missions”.
100 Russian scientists and engineers have spent several months working at Astrotech and have nearly completed preparing the Russian built Mini Research Module MRM-1 for launch aboard Atlantis to the ISS . Credit: Ken Kremer
“MRM 1 will be shipped to the NASA Space Station Processing Facility at KSC on April 2. After about three days of final integration and pressurization tests, it will be loaded into a shipping container on April 5 for delivery to the shuttle launch pad,” Ashley said.
The MRM-1 payload comprises the module itself, an airlock chamber, an exterior portable work station and replacement elbow joints for the European Robotic Arm. The total mass exceeds 17,000 pounds.
Integrated Cargo Carrier during prelaunch preparations at Astrotech facility in clean room adjacent to MRM 1. Credit Ken KremerAlso tucked in Atlantis payload bay will be the 8000 lb Integrated Logistics Carrier (ICC) carrying spare parts and Orbital Replacement Units (ORU’s) including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension.
Location of MRM-1 and other components on the Russian Orbital Segment of the ISS Russia MRM 1 Research Module and Ken Kremer at Astrotech Space Operation Facility in Port Canaveral, Florida for press briefing
Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, left, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, address human spaceflight during a forum Friday at Brevard Community College's campus in Cocoa, Florida. (Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY)
“I know him [Obama] to be a vigorous supporter of the manned space program”, Nelson added. “But he certainly has not given that impression. The President is going to have to prove that when he comes here on April 15,” said Nelson. He was referring to the upcoming “Space Summit” scheduled to take place at or near the Kennedy Space Center on April 15.
“The President made a mistake” in cancelling Project Constellation says Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. Nelson believes that the White House budget office or Science Advisor John Holdren (sitting to left of Obama) urged Pesident Obama to terminate Constellation. Does Obama really believe in continuing US Human Spaceflight ? Answers may come at the “Space Summit” set for April 15 at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA/Bill IngallsConstellation was the designated human spaceflight successor program to the Space Shuttle program which is currently planned to shut down by the end of 2010.
Comprised of the Ares 1 and Ares 5 booster rockets and Orion manned capsules, Constellation would have sent humans flying to exciting destinations of exploration beyond low earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo lunar landings ended in 1972. The ambitious targets included the Moon, Mars, Asteroids and Beyond.
Sen. Nelson made his remarks on March 19 at a public space forum co-hosted by Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida ,which is the local college located only a few miles distant from KSC and also by the local newspaper Florida Today. Nelson was joined by KSC Director Bob Cabana, a former astronaut who flew 4 space shuttle missions. Over 100 residents attended the space forum.
Up to 9000 workers at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are fearful of swiftly losing their jobs and livelihoods in the aftermath of the imminent dual cancellation of the Shuttle and Constellation programs. Tens of thousands more jobs will be extinguished as well in other states across the US.
“By saying they were cancelling the Constellation program, the perception is that the President is killing the manned space program”.
“The President made a mistake. He made a mistake because he did not stand up and lay out his budget for the space program and outline what his goal is, which is Mars, and how we should go about getting there for the space program. The President should have used the word restructure not cancel with regard to Constellation”.
Ultra Rare Up-Close view of Shuttle Discovery from on top of Launch Pad 39A after retraction of the massive Rotating Service Structure (RSS, at left) during my pad visit on March 19 as part of media photo op. I was in absolute awe to stand right beneath Discovery. The payload canister (rectangular white box) containing ‘Leonardo’ resupply module had just been hoisted up the RSS to support delivery of ‘Leonardo’ into shuttle cargo bay for STS 131 mission targeted to launch on April 5. Thousands of KSC shuttle workers will lose their jobs when the shuttle is retired by end of 2010. Will the shuttle program be extended ? Credit: Ken Kremer
President Obama’s cancellation of Project Constellation has been vigorously criticized by key members of both houses of the US Congress, including Democrats and Republicans, since the moment that word first leaked of the Presidents decision to kill the moon program announced by President George Bush in 2004.
Many political and industry leaders have harshly labeled this decision as an “Abdication of US Leadership in Space”, which amounts to nothing less than a “US Space Surrender” that will begin the “Death March of US Human Spaceflight”. They also fear that the massive job cuts will result in catastrophic devastation to the local effected economies as well as a swift erosion of the science and technology base across America.
“This is a tough time for our people because they are facing dislocation and the loss of jobs in a terrible time which is an economic recession”, explains Nelson.
Nelson and others members of Congress are pushing a compromise with the Obama Administration that would accelerate development of a new Heavy Lift booster rocket that would adapt certain technologies from Constellation.
The Obama plan does not include any specific program to develop a Heavy Lift booster. Instead, the plan vaguely mentions the pursuit of “game changing technologies” that would one day enable faster voyages beyond Earth says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
The fact that the Obama plan has not set any goals, timelines or destinations for NASA is the cause of what has lead to the vociferous denunciations. $9 Billion has already been spent on Constellation and a minimum of another $2.5 Billion would be required to terminate the project according to existing contracts.
“We’re going to keep a vigorous R&D program going for a Heavy Lift rocket and [manned] spacecraft if what we do in the Senate is finally adopted.” Nelson hopes that this new program will offset some of the job loses coming soon to Florida.
“It is my hope that we’re going to get additional work that is going to cushion the blow after the last space shuttle mission is flown. It’s time we get out of low Earth orbit. And that’s what we intend to do. But it hasn’t been managed the right way.”
“I hope the President will embrace this in his comments when he comes here on April 15,” Nelson stated.
Nelson believes that the president’s Budget office and or Science Policy office decided to kill Constellation. Better advice would have been to restructure the program, he said.
KSC Director Bob Cabana said, “The $6 billion more in the [NASA] budget over five years is a significant increase. And I think it shows a commitment to exploring.”
“We have known that the shuttle is coming to an end for quite awhile. We’re still trying to figure out the impact of the new budget on KSC. There will be a significant loss of jobs”, from the end of the shuttle and Constellation.
“If we can establish a vehicle testing program, hopefully we can buy some of those jobs back”, said Cabana.
“We have to focus on what we can do at Kennedy to retain the critical jobs that we need in order to be viable for the future. Part of that is transitioning low earth orbit operations over to the commercial sector. We know how to do that. Our job [at NASA] should be developing those technologies and those skills which are far too expensive for the commercial sector”.
“My role is putting the Kennedy Space Center in the very best possible position for the future to retain those skills and facilities that we need to explore space beyond low earth orbit when the direction is given to do that”, said Cabana.
Cabana added that part of that effort would be renovate aging infrastructure in order to develop a “21st Century launch facility” at KSC to make commercial space viable and retain some jobs for the current KSC workforce. Plans call for spending about $2 Billion on extensive renovations to the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building to make it more “modular” so it can “handle more rockets”.
Protestors outside the forum held up signs that said:
“Obama Lies, NASA Dies” ……. “Send Obama & Nelson to Uranus”
“NELSON SELLS NASA OUT” ….. “Clunkers 3 Billion $$ …. NASA ‘0’ $$”
The details of the upcoming KSC “Space Summit” are still not known with respect to the exact location, what President Obama plans to discuss, the format, who will participate and who will be permitted to attend.
A wide angle view of Discovery and the payload canister on the rolled back Rotating Service Structure. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
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Over the weekend, NASA engineers will conduct additional tests to determine if Discovery can launch “as is” or have to be rolled back for repairs — which would mean a three-month delay for the STS-131 mission. Helium regulator assemblies downstream from a failed isolation valve in the shuttle’s right rear maneuvering engine pod must work perfectly to provide a system redundancy that would justify proceeding with the flight. If they don’t, then the regulator assemblies and the valve would need to be repaired or replaced, and neither can be done at the launchpad – meaning Discovery would have to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, de-mated from the SRBs and external tank, and sent to the Orbiter Processing Facility for repairs. But if the regulators check out, and no other problems arise, mission managers could give the ‘go’ to launch Discovery as is on April 5, 2010.
Today on the launchpad, said NASA Payload Manager Joe Delai was optimistic about the tests. “It’s looking good,” he said. “They will do a test on Saturday to make sure the two valves farther down the line work, and if that looks good, we’ll put the payload on board.”
Close-up of Discovery. Image Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
Engineers will evaluate the data and discuss options at a readiness review Tuesday morning.
Nancy on the launchpad. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
In anticipation of a good report on the regulator tests, the canister carrying the payload for Discovery’s STS-131 mission to the International Space Station was brought to Launch Pad 39A early on March 19. Later, reporters were allowed an unusual visit right on the pad and close to Discovery to see the work in progress and talk with Delai and Boeing payload flow manager, Mike Kinslow.
Enjoy these great close-up images by Universe Today photographer Alan Walters of Discovery on the on launchpad, with the Rotating Service Structure rolled back, allowing a view of the payload canister. Discovery ready to receive the payload for the STS-131 mission. Image Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
Discovery on the pad. Note the bird soaring overhead. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.On Feb. 18, 2010, workers in the Space Station Processing Facility at KSC finished packing the Leonardo module for the STS-131 mission. Credit: Nancy Atkinson
STS-131 will be a three-spacewalk space station assembly and resupply mission. The Leonard Multi-purpose Logistics Module that will be installed in Discovery’s payload bay will bring up 5,000 kg (11,000 lbs) of food, water, clothes, parts, science experiments, supply units for the oxygen generation system, and five science utilization racks.
New crew quarters for the ISS.
Other very interesting additions to the ISS on this flight include: , the fourth crew sleep station (CQ4)– which is a phone booth-like small crew quarters, the MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System) – which Delai compared to a Bowflex for the ISS crew, a new Minus Eighty-degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) which will be used to support science experiments, and a “dark room” for photography called WORF – Window Observational Research Facility, allowing for better images to be taken from the observation window in the US lab Destiny.
Map of Soyuz TMA 16 Landing Site, set for Thursday, March 18 AT 7:23 AM in the steppes of Kazakhstan
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ISS Station Commander Jeff Williams, from NASA, handed over command of the massive orbiting outpost to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotev, in a formal ceremony early today (Wed, March 17) in preparation for the return to earth of two crew members early Thursday. The ISS population will be reduced to a crew of three until the scheduled April 4 arrival of the next three person station crew inside a Russian capsule. Both Williams and Kotev have previously served on the ISS for long duration missions.
This marks the end to Expedition 22 and the start of Expedition 23. The five person international crew of Expedition 22 comprised Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev, Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi, and T.J. Creamer.
“I would like to thank the crew here for supporting me and for actually being really autonomous. I mean, I didn’t have to do anything, everyone is a self starter here, everyone did a very good job in everything that came before us. Well beyond things that were asked,” Williams said. “It was amazing that we were about to accomplish everything planned.
Williams thanked Kotov by saying, “You came with a lot of experience, you made great contributions from end to end on the space station with your previous experience. And even through today, I continue to take your advice on things and learn new things from you. Thank you for that.
Kotov heaped praising upon Williams saying, You demonstrated excellent leadership and a good example, being an excellent commander. Thank you for leaving station in such excellent condition. We’ll try to follow your way and keep it in good shape. Thank you, Jeff, thank you, Max, and Godspeed.”
After bidding a final farewell this evening, they’ll float aboard their return vessel and close the hatches between the ships at about 11:40 PM EDT tonight. US astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Sureav are scheduled to undock and depart aboard their Soyuz TMA-16 capsule at about 4 AM EDT. The first separation burn is set for 4:06 AM.
Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams (right) shakes hands with Expedition 22 Flight Engineer/Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov while Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev (obscured behind Kotov), Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer look on during the change of command ceremony Wednesday aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
A four minute and 19 second de-orbit burn at 6:34 AM will send the craft on an irreversible course for the fiery plunge through the earth’s atmosphere. The heat shield will protect the two man crew from the scorching heat of reentry. They are set to land at 7:23 AM in the steppes of Kazakhstan.
With frigid weather around 20 F, ground snow and gusty winds predicted to greet Williams and Suraev at the landing site, Russian and NASA personnel are staying overnight in nearby Arkalyk to assure a swift recovery of the crew. Weather permitting, four additional helicopters will depart from Kustanai Thursday and refuel in Arkalyk en route to the landing site to assist with the recovery.
The stations crew size will again increase to its maximum of six, when the next Soyuz blasts off on April 2 at 12:04 AM with a three person Russian/American crew composed of Commander Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Dyson aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft.
Space Shuttle Discovery is currently set to lift off on April 5 from pad 39 A with a seven person crew and the ‘Leonardo’ Multi Purpose Logistics Module which is packed with living supplies, replacements parts and science experiments and gear. The two week assembly mission will feature three spacewalks and three female astronauts, including one from Japan.
Over $9 Billion has been spent on Project Constellation since 2004. Tens of thousands of US jobs will be rapidly lost with the shuttle shutdown. The Obama Administration has instead decided to fund the development of “space taxis” by commercial providers to deliver astronauts to low Earth orbit, or LEO and the ISS. It is not known when these “taxis” will be flown and there is intense opposition to Obama’s plan from key members of the US Congress.
Look familiar? Crew poster for STS-134. Credit: NASA
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I love the crew posters that NASA has been creating lately, and this one is especially cool. If you are a Star Trek fan, you likely will recognize the pose that Commander Mark Kelly and his crew are assuming. If not, take a look below.
Star Trek movie poster. Credit: Paramount
Find all the crew posters at the NASA Spaceflight Awareness product page. And try not to download too many! They’re all great.
Right now, STS-134 has a targeted launch date of July 29, 2010. But STS-131, -132 and -133 are in line first, and right now we’re waiting to hear word on whether Discovery for STS-131 will have to be rolled back off the launchpad to fix a faulty helium valve in the right Reaction Control System. Additionally, one of STS-134’s payloads is scheduled to be the $2-billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, but possible design problems could delay the launch of this much-anticipated instrument which could help find antimatter and test the Big Bang theory. Stay tuned!
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield during one of his two EVAs during the STS-100 mission in 2001. Hadfield is backdropped against the blue and white Earth, and Scott Parazynski, who shared both space walks with Hadfield and who took this photo, appears as a small reflection in the Canadian astronaut's helmet visor. Credit: NASA
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What is it really like to go on a spacewalk? Some astronauts have said there are no words to describe the experience, but we talked with astronaut Chris Hadfield – the same guy who gave the best description ever of going to the bathroom in space – and asked him to convey his thoughts about his EVA experiences. Hadfield has done it again, and has now given the best description ever of a spacewalk.
UT: Chris, you were part of the STS-100 space shuttle crew that flew to the ISS 2001, and you had the opportunity to do a couple of spacewalks to help in the construction of the station. I once heard you describe one of your spacewalks where you said you were holding on to the side of the space station with one hand with your face into the wind as it were, and you were looking out at the rest of the entire Universe. For all of us that wish we could experience it, what is it really like to do a spacewalk? Chris Hadfield during an EVA in 2001. Also in the image is the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the ISS. Credit: NASA Chris Hadfield: Gosh, I’m not sure how to describe it. I was there for the birth of all three of my children. I did the first F-18 intercept of a Bear bomber off the coast of Canada. I represented Canada in a bunch of different levels, including as a fighter pilot. I was a test pilot doing all sorts of very fascinating, challenging, brand new work. I went to Mir, I went to the ISS. But nothing compares to going outside for a spacewalk. Nothing compares to being alone in the Universe; to that moment of opening the hatch and pulling yourself outside into the Universe.
Sometimes you’re driving on a mountain road, it’s slippery and you’re doing a bunch of curves and you don’t really see anything because you have a cliff falling away on one side and another cliff up on the other. But suddenly you come around a corner and you say, “Oh wow!” And there you’ve got the whole valley in front of you, or they make one of those nice pullovers where you can stop and look out, and you do, and you stop and you get out of your car and walk over to the edge and you see where you are, where all those little myopic turns have taken you.
A spacewalk is very much like that in that the opening of the hatch is probably step 750 of the day. And steps 1 through 749 were all boring and minuscule and each one was on a checklist and you had to do every one right, so you were very painstaking. But suddenly you do this one step, and suddenly you are in a place that you hadn’t conceived how beautiful this could be. How stupefying this could be. And by stupefying I mean, it stops your thought.
You’ve probably heard me say this before, but I knew I couldn’t keep notes up there and I would forget stuff so I sorta resolved to myself that I would verbalize and attempt to, as eloquently as I could, express what I was feeling and what I was seeing so that later I could listen to the recordings of it and remember, and not have missed such an amazing experience. And yet when I listen to the transcripts of what I said, most of it was just, “Wow!” It was so pathetic! But the experience was just overwhelming! Chris Hadfield during an EVA in 2001. Credit: NASA
It is like coming around a corner and seeing the most magnificent sunset of your life, from one horizon to the other where it looks like the whole sky is on fire and there are all those colors, and the sun’s rays look like some great painting up over your head. You just want to open your eyes wide and try to look around at the image, and just try and soak it up. It’s like that all the time. Or maybe the most beautiful music just filling your soul. Or seeing an absolutely gorgeous person where you can’t just help but stare. It’s like that all the time.
So, it’s an extremely distracting place to work. But it also really puts yourself into perspective because this human creation is right next to you and its inherently, massively beautiful, like the prow of the Titanic or something, where you feel this great human achievement of building this great structure that takes us to a place we’ve never been. But then you notice that even though it is huge and capable, it’s just a speck between everything which is on your left and all the colors and textures of our planet that are just pouring next to you on the right. And you are this little peephole of a microcosm in between those two things, both physically and historically. And you’re very much aware of that the whole time. I’m sort of gushing, but that’s what a spacewalk feels like. It is infinitely worth all the thousands of steps it takes to get there. It’s a great, great thing – I recommend it very highly.
Endeavour rolls to pad 39 A at Dawn. Will the sun set on the shuttle era forever as scheduled by late 2010, or will Congress force an extension to the shuttle program until a replacement US rocket system is available to fly Americans into space and the ISS ? Credit: Ken Kremer
“Where the money comes from is the ‘big question’. We feel like we’ve addressed [the issue of shuttle] recertification”, said Shannon at a press briefing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
More missions could be flown if money was available. But there could be up to a two year gap in flights due to the need to restart the production lines for the huge External Tank (ET) which have already been shut down. NASA has only five ET’s remaining in inventory to fly out the current manifest of four, plus 1 more flight if approved by the Obama Administration, (read my earlier article).
The purpose of any additional shuttle missions is quite clear. They would be directed to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) who’s working orbital lifetime has just been extended by five years to 2020 from 2015. However, the ISS cannot operate and conduct the scientific research for which it was constructed without a steady and robust stream of rocket launches to loft new human crews and cargo resupply flights.
“The real issue the agency and the nation has to address is the expense,” said Shannon.
“The shuttle program is fairly expensive. We burn at about a $200 million a month rate. So that gives you a base of about $2.4 billion a year that it would require to continue flying the shuttle, almost irregardless of how many flights you flew during the year. There’s just a base cost there you have to pay to keep the program in business”, explained Shannon.
Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the ISS was photographed by an STS-130 crew member on space shuttle Endeavour after undocking from the station and the two spacecraft began to separate on Feb. 19, 2010. The shuttle plays a crucial role in resupplying the ISS which will be lost when it is retired at the height of its capability. Credit: NASA
Shannon’s comments are completely in line with those spoken by NASA KSC Shuttle manager Mike Moses about two weeks ago at the STS 130 post landing briefing. The vast expense which would supposedly be required to recertify the three orbiter shuttle fleet to fly beyond 2010 has frequently been cited by many shuttle detractors to justify a shuttle shutdown.
Shannon and Moses now state that NASA has in effect already recertified the shuttle fleet as part of the requirements set by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) for the Return to Flight in 2005 following the Columbia tragedy during re-entry in February 2003.
President Obama has proposed to completely cancel NASA’s Project Constellation to send humans to the Moon, Mars and Beyond, thus calling into question whether US Leadership in Space will continue. Artists concept of NASA’s cancelled Orion crew exploration vehicle shown here in on a science mission in lunar orbit. Credit: NASA “From a personal standpoint, I just think it’s amazing that we’re headed down a path where we’re not going to have any vehicles at all to launch from the Kennedy Space Center for an extended period of time. To give up all the lessons learned, the blood, sweat and tears we’ve extended to get the space shuttle to the point where it is right now, where it’s performing so magnificently”, said Shannon.
President Obama’s highly controversial recent decision to completely cancel Project Constellation (comprising the Orion capsule and Ares 1 and Ares V booster rockets) leaves the US with no near term human spaceflight program to replace the shuttle before its looming retirement and no vehicle to send astronauts to the ISS and beyond to the Moon and Mars as directed by President Bush in 2004.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden defends the Obama Plan to terminate Project Constellation at a KSC press briefing for reporters. Credit: Ken KremerThere are no specific destinations, goals or timelines outlined in Obama’s strategy and no direction to develop a new heavy lift booster to replace the cancelled Ares V. In its place would be some funding for technology development as outlined by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden at a KSC news briefing I attended. Bolden stated that NASA would not build a Heavy Lift booster “until the 2020 to 2030 time fame”.
The US would be left completely dependent on the Russians and their Soyuz capsule to send American astronauts into space for many years to come. Russia recently increased the price for Soyuz seats to $50 million and further increases are expected after the shuttle is retired.
Meanwhile, China is pushing full steam ahead developing a new heavy lift booster – the Long March 5 and is constructing new manned Shenzhou capsules and even the first element of a space station.
China puts its scientists and engineers to work generating innovations on exciting new space projects, while the US voluntarily dismantles its space exploration capabilities, lays off tens of thousands of people – potentially devastating local economies – and loses their accumulated knowledge.
President Obama has directed that NASA should cancel development of the manned Orion capsule and instead fund alternative private companies to develop new space taxis to deliver astronauts to low Earth orbit, or LEO. Critics have questioned the timelines of when the commercial companies can actually produce a manned capsule and whether the safety of astronauts will be compromised by companies seeking profits.
$9 Billion has already been spent on Project Constellation and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says it will cost an additional $2.5 to cancel the ongoing contracts.
At least 9000 jobs will be rapidly lost at the Kennedy Space Center due to the simultaneous shutdown of the Shuttle and Constellation human spaceflight programs. Tens of thousands more jobs will be lost across the country, especially in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and California. Layoffs have already begun.
There has been harsh bipartisan criticism of Obama’s new plan for NASA from some key members of Congress in the Senate and House who cite the new plan as nothing more than a gigantic “job killer” which will also kill Americas 50 year long leadership in Space and terminate manufacturing facilities and infrastructure as well as the accumulated know-how. Many in academia and industry also fear greatly for the future job prospects of students in science & technology, engineering and aerospace.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) has introduced a new bill to extend the life of the shuttle program until a replacement rocket system is available. Representatives Suzanne Kosmas (D) and Bill Posey (R) of Florida introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives – which was co-sponsored by other Democrats and Republicans from several states – to extend the shuttle, minimize the human spaceflight gap and accelerate development of a next generation space vehicle.
“Right now we estimate that gap would be about two years from when we’re told [to restart production] to when we’d have the first external tank rolling off the assembly line”, explained Shannon. The gap could be shortened by delaying one or more of the remaining flights.
Shannon said that in response to the Congressional bills, “We kicked off an extension study for each of the program elements to go out and physically touch base with each of the vendors and the sub vendors and the entire supply chain and understand where we might have some issues if we were to restart the program.
“There is this big misconception that there’s all this big supply chain that was shuttle specific only. Shuttle is for the most part a sideline business for these major companies that support the actual program. We will send that information to NASA Headquarters.”
“We’ve addressed the orbiter recertification issues. We are addressing the supply line issues. I don’t expect to find any problems there. The real issue we would have is just in manufacturing. While you have a supply chain, while you can get a workforce back to go and build things like external tanks, there would be some type of a gap”, he added.
Basically, an extension depends on whether the money is available. President Obama decided that he would not fund a shuttle extension and also decided to terminate Project Constellation in the new NASA budget.
The White House has just announced plans for a Florida space summit on April 15 to be held at or near the Kennedy Space Center where President Obama will discuss his new strategy for NASA. He may also announce approval for one more shuttle mission using the final ET being held in reserve in case of a space emergency rescue mission for the currently planned final mission in September 2010.
Based on the very hostile reaction and comments from Congress and local residents and politicians in Florida at a number of recent forums, President Obama should not anticipate to be greeted by a friendly crowd unless he unexpectedly announces a major policy change.
Earlier Shuttle extension and Constellation articles by Ken Kremer
Discovery rolls out of the VAB. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
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It was a dark and windy night. But then the Xenon spotlights hit space shuttle Discovery as it inched out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, lighting up the darkness. The lights didn’t help the wind any, but the gleaming shuttle stack on top of the crawler/transporter was a beautiful sight to behold. I was told that first motion of the shuttle out of the VAB hasn’t been open to the press for many years, (since the return to flight mission in 1988) and so I felt privileged to witness the event. Especially stunning was a unique silhouette shadow of the shuttle stack that formed against the clouds as the spotlights glared (see below). Photographer Alan Walters and I both snapped some shots, and I’ve now updated this post to include daylight photos of Discovery at the pad.
The shuttle stack was silhouetted in shadow against the clouds. Image: Nancy Atkinson
I’m feeling pretty smug about this shot! I talked to some other photographers who weren’t able to capture the shadow effect in the clouds. For once, my dinky little camera out-performs the big guys! But the shadow/silhouette was a very cool thing to see, indeed. One of the people at the press site, a veteran of over 60 rollouts, said he had never seen anything like that before!
Discovery just emerging from the VAB. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.Xenon lights bathe the shuttle stack. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
Proof that Nancy was there! Image credit: Larry from NASASpaceflight.com (thanks Larry!) Close-up of the shuttle stack. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
Discovery heading out the launchpad 39A. Image: Nancy Atkinson
As I drove out of the KSC press site, Discovery rolling out to the pad was visible in my rear view mirror! No rest for the sleepy (it is 3 am local time as I post this) — will get about 2 hours sleep, then head back out to KSC to see Discovery at the pad in daylight.
UPDATE: Here are the daylight photos!
With the crawlerway in the foreground, Discovery sits on pad 39A early 3/3/2010. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe TodayThe view of Discovery on 39A from a different location. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe TodayA view from the flame trench. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe TodayThe crawler sits just outside Pad 39A after depositing Discovery. Image: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
About a half an hour later, we returned to the launchpad to do some interviews, and just as we finished the sun came out! So here is a “sunshine” photo of Discovery. Sunshine! Image: Nancy Atkinson
The STS-131 crew: (L-R) Clay Anderson, Naoko Yamazaki (JAXA), Stephanie Wilson, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Jim Dutton, Alan Poindexter. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
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The astronauts are getting ready; space shuttle Discovery is getting ready. Are you ready for this fourth-to-the-last flight? Preparations have begun in earnest for the next shuttle mission, STS-131. The astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center Monday evening and will be here for several days of the standard prelaunch training called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. They arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility airstrip, and all expressed their excitement for the mission and their thanks to the people at KSC who prepare the shuttle for flight.
Astronauts arrive at KSC. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
“We are really happy to be here at Kennedy Space Center,” said Alan Poindexter, Commander of STS-131. “It’s a beautiful day to be here and we’re really looking forward to our dress rehearsal for launch, and are looking forward to seeing Discovery rollout to the pad. We’ve been training really hard, and just got out of simulations (in Houston) this morning. We’re all working hard getting ready for this flight.”
Making her first flight, Educator-astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenberger, said “Thanks to those at KSC who do many hours of hard work to so we can fly. This is my first flight and I’ve always looked forward to this week.” Astronaut Clay Anderson. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
Clay Anderson, who spent 5 months on the ISS in 2007, will be staying for only the short duration of the mission this time. “I’m looking forward to going back home to the space station,” he said. I’ve had great time training with this crew.”
Discovery is scheduled to begin rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad 39A, with first motion is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EST Wednesday. Live coverage of the move will be shown on NASA TV beginning at 6:30 a.m EST (1130 GMT) .
Discovery will carry a multi-purpose logistics module filled with science racks for the laboratories aboard the station. The mission has three planned spacewalks, with work to include replacing an ammonia tank assembly, retrieving a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior, and switching out a rate gyro assembly on the S0 segment of the station’s truss structure.
STS-131 will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station. Launch is currently set for April 5, 2010. Only four more shuttle missions are currently on the manifest.
Thanks to Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for the great images of today’s crew arrival.
STS-131 crew gets ready to board a bus to head to crew quarters at KSC. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
NASA Shuttle managers Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach at post landing press briefing at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer
For my farewell from the Cape (for now) and STS 130 coverage, please check out this cool video of the STS 130 Night Landing which took place exactly 1 week ago on Sunday night, Feb 21.
It’s been a pleasure and an honor to work as a team for Universe Today; Nancy Atkinson and Ken Kremer reporting live from the Kennedy Space Center – informing all our readers about the remarkable deeds by the STS 130 and ISS astronauts & cosmonauts. As well as all the hardworking folks at NASA and the ISS partners from ESA, Russia, Canada and Japan without whom nothing would happen.
This home video is taken from the 2nd story of the viewing stand located at the shuttle landing runway, formally known as the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). This is as close as any observers are permitted other then a few key NASA runway and photography personal situated slightly closer to the strip.
The video is courtesy of my friend Matt at Spacearium, and shot as Nancy and myself were standing next to him. This is really a pleasure to present to you because its exactly the sights and sounds of what we all experienced – LIVE from KSC !
[/caption]In fact, if you look carefully at the beginning and you’ll see the top NASA Shuttle managers – Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach – standing about 20 feet in front of us just as Endeavour comes into view for touchdown. At the very end you’ll catch a glimpse of us motley (but thrilled) crew of photo journalists.
The threatening rain showers scooted by, the winds calmed and the totally socked in cloud deck miraculously thinned out. Amazingly, it turned into a perfect evening for a landing.
Abruptly and with absolutely no forewarning, Endeavour’s twin sonic booms shocked the daylights out of us spectators near the runway, announcing her impending arrival at runway 15 in about 3 ½ minutes. Her sweeping 234 degree left turn approach from the north and above the Atlantic Ocean was fully masked under the cover of darkness until the final moments.
Suddenly, I caught first sight of the swiftly descending and barely visible phantom beauty as she swooped down from the sky at the far end of the runway barely above the tarmac. Only her magnificent fuselage, tail and braking drogue parachute were illuminated. In mere seconds she passed directly in front of us. Her wheels touched down as she sped along and disappeared down the far end of the runway, with just her tail in view at night above the tree line traveling from the northwest to the southeast.
Launch Director Mike Leinbach summed up the sentiments of many, saying “I got to watch a lot of the folks out on the runway tonight just kind of stand there and look up at Endeavour and think about the majesty of that ship and it’s next to last flight. There’s a whole series of ‘lasts’ coming up. The people fall in love with the machines. It’s going to be hard to let them go. But we’ve been given our direction. We’re mature about it and adult about it and we’re professional about it. So we’re going to process and fly that last mission. And move on.”
Only 4 Space Shuttle flights remain in the manifest.
If you can, try and take the opportunity to witness one of the final launches before these magnificently capable vehicles are prematurely retired at the peak of their capability later this year.
During the two week flight, the STS 130 crew brought aloft and installed the Tranquility habitation module and the Cupola observation dome. Tranquility houses critical ISS life support systems. The Cupola possesses 7 spectacular windows and has exceeded its pre-flight billing by affording dazzling vistas of the earth below and the cosmos above.
Backdropped against vistas of Earth below, Mission Specialist Robert Behnken works inside the newly-installed cupola. Image credit: NASA
The station is now 98 percent complete by volume and 90 percent complete by mass. The station itself exceeds 800,000 pounds and the combined weight with the shuttle exceeds 1 million pounds for the first time.
Earlier STS 130/ISS and SDO articles by Ken Kremer
Nancy Atkinson (Universe Today Senior Editor, right) and Ken Kremer at the KSC Press center reporting for Universe Today on the STS 130 and SDO missions. We stand in front of the beautiful Project Constellation murals. Credit: Ken Kremer
