The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train, on Sunday, October 21, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Expedition 33/34 NASA Flight Engineer Kevin Ford, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin are scheduled to launch in their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at 10:51 UTC (6:51 a.m. EDT) on Tuesday, Oct. 23, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Also on board will be 32 medaka fish, which will become space station residents in a zero-gravity research aquarium. Yesterday the Soyuz was rolled out the launchpad, and this launch will take place from a different launch pad than usual, site 31. This will be the first manned launch from Site 31 since July 1984 when the Soyuz T-12 spacecraft carried three cosmonauts to the Russian Salyut 7 space station. The launchpad that is normally used is being upgraded.
See a gallery of images from the rollout, below.
The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
No smoking! Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Soyuz is raised to the upright position on the launchpad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The train engineer hangs out the window. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Pad workers install a safety railing at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Expedition 33 backup crew, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (left), Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, right, are photographed in front of the Soyuz rocket shortly after it arrived at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Workers climb up to the Soyuz rocket after it was erected at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Wish you could be on the International Space Station right now, helping to unload the SpaceX Dragon capsule that is berthed to the Harmony Node? A new interactive panorama from SpaceX allows the closest experience of being inside Dragon. Inside, you can see all the storage compartments, and the panorama lets you zoom around inside as if you were floating in Zero-G. If you watch out the window port, the view will change from seeing Earth, to having the protective shutters closed and then (sadly) you end up back on Earth inside the SpaceX Hanger at Cape Canaveral. The panorama is a fun Friday diversion, but make sure you share it with your favorite budding astronaut — kids will love it! Click on the image above to get to the panorama, or use this link.
The International Space Station appears to go to warp speed — a la Star Trek, Star Wars and almost every other space flick — in this new video created by Christoph Malin, who “stacked” image sequences that the ISS crew at International Space Station have been taking lately. These are the images that have been used to create the great timelapse videos, that provide a sense of what it is like to fly over the Earth on the space station. But this one is different, and as Malin says, “Stacks make interesting patterns visible, for example lightning corridors within clouds. One can also sometimes recognize satellite tracks and meteors – patterns that are not amongst the main star trails.”
Singer Sarah Brightman at a press conference on October 10 to announce her upcoming space flight.
Roscosmos and Space Adventures are re- starting space tourism flights, and the next space tourist will be singer Sarah Brightman, who will head to the International Space Station on a Soyuz rocket. Brightman, 52, announced her trip at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, saying that she hopes her trip — which will likely take place in 2015 — will be a catalyst for the hopes and dreams of people around the world.
“I don’t think of myself as a dreamer. Rather, I am a dream chaser,” said Sarah Brightman. “I hope that I can encourage others to take inspiration from my journey both to chase down their own dreams and to help fulfill the important UNESCO mandate to promote peace and sustainable development on Earth and from space. I am determined that this journey can reach out to be a force for good, a catalyst for some of the dreams and aims of others that resonate with me.”
Brightman is a UNESCO Artist for Peace Ambassador, and is a classical soprano who also has topped the music charts with her pop music.
Coincidently, her new album is titled “Dream Chaser,” and she soon starts a world-wide tour to promote her new album. A trip to space would be the ultimate promotion tour. See a video below of her latest single, “Angel,” which includes footage from early space flight and recent views from the ISS. Brightman said space exploration has inspired her all her life.
Russia halted orbital space tourism in 2009 due to the increase in the International Space Station crew size, using the seats for expedition crews that would normally be sold to paying spaceflight participants.
Along with Brightman at the press conferece were Alexey Krasnov, Head of Roscosmos’ Piloted Programs Department and Eric Anderson, Chairman of Space Adventures, a space tourism company that has arranged all previous tourist flights to the Space Station.
The schedule for her flight “will be determined very shortly by Roscosmos and the ISS partners,” Brightman said, adding she had been approved medically and will do six months training in Russia.
“This past July, Ms. Brightman completed and passed all of the required medical and physical evaluations,” said Krasnov. “ She’s fit and mentally prepared for our spaceflight training program. We will work closely with Space Adventures in supporting Ms. Brightman’s spaceflight candidacy.”
During her estimated 10-day stay on board the space station, Brightman said she will advocate for UNESCO’s mandate to promote peace and sustainable development to safeguard our planet’s future. She will also try to advance education and empower the role of girls and women in science and technology in an effort to help close the gender gap in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. The plans for achieving those goals are still in development.
“I have deep admiration for Sarah, not only for her well deserved title of being the world’s best-selling soprano, but for the young girl who was inspired by Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong to reach for her own star,” said Anderson. “We look forward to working with her to make her dream a reality.”
Previous ISS space tourists are Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberté. Cumulatively, space tourists have spent almost three months in space.
Dragon captured by the ISS’s CanadArm2. Via NASA TV.
Running ahead of time, the International Space Station Expedition 33 crew successfully captured and installed the SpaceX Dragon capsule onto the Earth-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module. Commander Suni Williams and astronaut Akihiko Hoshide captured the commercial spacecraft with the station’s CanadArm2 robotic arm at 6:56 a.m. EDT, and Dragon was officially berthed at 9:03 am EDT.
“Looks like we’ve tamed the Dragon,” radioed Williams. “We’re happy she’s on board with us. Thanks to everybody at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her here to us. And the ice cream.”
“This is a big moment in the course of this mission and for commercial spaceflight,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Technical Officer Elon Musk. “We are pleased that Dragon is now ready to deliver its cargo to the International Space Station.”
The hatch will be opened tomorrow was opened earlier than expected, today at 1:40 pm EDT and Dragon will be unloaded over the next several days. Later, they will be re-packing it full of items that will be coming back to Earth, as this spacecraft has the ability to return intact, instead of burning up in the atmosphere like the other resupply ships that come to the station. Dragon will spend 18 days attached to the ISS.
More images below.
The Dragon capsule berthed to the ISS’s Harmony node. Credit: NASA/SpaceX
Dragon approaches the ISS. Via NASA TV.
Dragon is carrying nearly 400 kg (882 pounds) of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, including 117 kg (260 pounds) of crew supplies, 176 kg (390 pounds) of scientific research, 102 kg (225 pounds) of hardware and several kg/pounds of other supplies, such as food, water and Space Station parts. There are also 23 student experiments from the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) involving 7,420 pre-college students engaged in formal microgravity experiment design, according to SSEP director Dr. Jeff Goldstein.
The special treat that Williams mentioned is on board a new freezer called GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator): Blue Bell ice cream, a brand that is a favorite of astronauts training at the Johnson Space Center. The freezer will hold experiments that need to be returned to Earth for further examination.
Dragon will return a total of 758 kg (1,673 pounds), including 74 kg (163 pounds) of crew supplies, 392 kg (866 pounds) of scientific research, and 235 kg (518 pounds) of vehicle hardware and other hardware.
The Dragon capsule hovers near the International Space Station. Via NASA TV
A close-up view of the CanadArm2’s end effector grabbing the Dragon capsule. Via NASA TV
Dragon in the “Ready To Latch” (RTL) position. Via NASA TV.
A NASA graphic showing the position of the Dragon capsule on the ISS. Via NASA TV.
During last night’s launch of the Dragon capsule by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, there was an anomaly on one of the rocket’s nine engines and it was shut down. But Dragon still made it to orbit – just a little bit later than originally expected. At about 1:20 into the flight, there was a bright flash and a shower of debris. SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk issued a statement about the anomaly saying:
“Falcon 9 detected an anomaly on one of the nine engines and shut it down. As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in realtime to reach the target orbit, which is why the burn times were a bit longer. Like Saturn V, which experienced engine loss on two flights, the Falcon 9 is designed to handle an engine flameout and still complete its mission. I believe F9 is the only rocket flying today that, like a modern airliner, is capable of completing a flight successfully even after losing an engine. There was no effect on Dragon or the Space Station resupply mission.”
UPDATE (2 pm EDT 8/10):SpaceX has now provided an update and more information: the engine didn’t explode, but (now updated from a previous update), “panels designed to relieve pressure within the engine bay were ejected to protect the stage and other engines.” Here’s their statement:
Approximately one minute and 19 seconds into last night’s launch, the Falcon 9 rocket detected an anomaly on one first stage engine. Initial data suggests that one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines, Engine 1, lost pressure suddenly and an engine shutdown command was issued. We know the engine did not explode, because we continued to receive data from it. Panels designed to relieve pressure within the engine bay were ejected to protect the stage and other engines. Our review of flight data indicates that neither the rocket stage nor any of the other eight engines were negatively affected by this event.
As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in real time to ensure Dragon’s entry into orbit for subsequent rendezvous and berthing with the ISS. This was achieved, and there was no effect on Dragon or the cargo resupply mission.
Falcon 9 did exactly what it was designed to do. Like the Saturn V (which experienced engine loss on two flights) and modern airliners, Falcon 9 is designed to handle an engine out situation and still complete its mission. No other rocket currently flying has this ability.
It is worth noting that Falcon 9 shuts down two of its engines to limit acceleration to 5 g’s even on a fully nominal flight. The rocket could therefore have lost another engine and still completed its mission.
We will continue to review all flight data in order to understand the cause of the anomaly, and will devote the resources necessary to identify the problem and apply those lessons to future flights. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
In their initial press release following the launch SpaceX had originally described the performance of Falcon 9 as nominal “during every phase of its approach to orbit.”
During the press briefing following the launch SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell replied to a question about the flash and said “I do know we had an anomaly on Engine 1, but I have no data on it. But Falcon 9 was designed to lose engines and still make mission, so it did what it was supposed to do. If you do end up with issues, you burn longer to end up where you need to go.”
SpaceX’s website also mentions this capability, saying, “”This vehicle will be capable of sustaining an engine failure at any point in flight and still successfully completing its mission. This actually results in an even higher level of reliability than a single engine stage.”
Dragon made it to orbit about 30 seconds later than originally planned, but Shotwell said it made it into the correct orbit, “within two or three kilometers in both apogee and perigee and Dragon is now on its way to Station.” The anomaly happened right at the time of Max-Q, just as the vehicle went supersonic.
The Space Shuttle was also designed to make it into orbit even if one of its three engines failed – after a certain point in the flight – and did so at least once to this reporter’s knowledge, on STS-51-F which resulted in an Abort To Orbit trajectory, where the shuttle achieved a lower-than-planned orbital altitude.
This was the first time SpaceX made lift-off at their originally planned “T-0” launch time, Shotwell noted. And they also deployed a tag-along, secondary payload in addition to the Dragon capsule, a prototype commercial communications satellite for New Jersey-based Orbcomm Inc. However, A report by Jonathan McDowell indicates the Orbcomm satellite is being tracked in low orbit instead of its elliptical target orbit because the Falcon 9 upper stage failed its second burn. (More info here from Jonathan’s Space Report).
SpaceX will undoubtedly review the anomaly, and we’ll provide more information about it when available.
SpaceX Launches to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
The launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sending the Dragon capsule to orbit. Credit: KSC Twitter Feed
SpaceX has successfully launched the first official Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station. The commercial company’s Falcon 9 rumbled rocket to life at 8:35 EDT on Oct 7 (00:35 UTC Oct. 8) in a picture perfect launch, sending the Dragon capsule on its way in the first of a dozen operational missions to deliver supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The launch took place at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, just a few miles south of the space shuttle launch pads.
“This was a critical event for NASA and the nation tonight,” said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden after the launch. “We are once again launching spacecraft from American soil with supplies that the ISS astronauts need.”
Watch the launch video below:
All the major milestones of the launch ticked off in perfect timing and execution, and the Dragon capsule is now in orbit with its solar arrays deployed. The Dragon capsule separated from the Falcon 9 about 10 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff. Dragon should arrive at the ISS on Oct. 10 and the crew will begin berthing operations after everything checks out.
All three members of the current ISS crew were able to watch the launch live via a NASA uplink to the ISS, and Commander Suni Williams passed on her congratulations to the SpaceX team, saying “We are ready to grab Dragon!”
Williams and astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will use the CanadArm 2 to grapple the Dragon capsule around 7:22 a.m. EDT (11:22 UTC) Wednesday, moving it to a berthing at the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module.
Even though SpaceX sent the Dragon to the ISS in May, that was considered a demonstration flight and this flight is considered the first operational mission.
“No question, we are very excited,” said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell just before the launch. “Everyone was very excited in May and we are very much looking forward to moving forward with the operational missions.”
Dragon is carrying approximately 450 kg (1,000 pounds) of supplies, including food, water, scientific experiments and Space Station parts. There are also 23 student experiments from the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) involving 7,420 pre-college students engaged in formal microgravity experiment design, according to SSEP director Dr. Jeff Goldstein.
SpaceX and NASA revealed this weekend a special treat is on board a new freezer called GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator): Blue Bell ice cream, a brand that is a favorite of astronauts training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The freezer will be used to return frozen science experiments to Earth.
In the next three days, Dragon will perform systems checks, and start a series of Draco thruster firings to reach the International Space Station.
Dragon will return a total of 750 kg (1,673 pounds) of supplies and hardware to the ground. NASA says Dragon’s capability to return cargo from the station “is critical for supporting scientific research in the orbiting laboratory’s unique microgravity environment, which enables important benefits for humanity and vastly increases understanding of how humans can safely work, live and thrive in space for long periods. The ability to return frozen samples is a first for this flight and will be tremendously beneficial to the station’s research community. Not since the space shuttle have NASA and its international partners been able to return considerable amounts of research and samples for analysis.”
Dragon is currently scheduled to return to Earth at the end of the month, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on October 29.
1000 SpaceX employees watch Falcon 9 and Dragon launch, at the Hawthorne, California headquarter. Credit: SpaceX
Taking a cue from the Mars Science Laboratory “Mohawk Guy” this SpaceX employee watching from Hawthorne sports a blue mohawk with a SpaceX logo shaved on her head. Credit: SpaceX.
Here’s a shorter video version of the launch from SpaceX:
Three small CubeSats are deployed from the International Space Station on October 4, 2012. Credit: NASA
Five tiny CubeSats were deployed from the International Space Station on Thursday and astronaut Chris Hadfield called the image above “surreal” on Twitter. And rightly so, as they look like a cross between Star Wars training droids and mini Borg Cubes from Star Trek. The Cubesats measure about 10 centimeters (4 inches) on a side and each will conduct a range of scientific missions, ranging from Earth observation and photography to technology demonstrations to sending LED pulses in Morse Code (which should be visible from Earth) to test out a potential type of optical communication system.
These are low-cost satellites that could be the wave of the future to enable students and smaller companies to send equipment into space. If you’re worried about these tiny sats creating more space junk, Hadfield assured that since they are very light and in such a low orbit, the Cubesat orbits will decay within a few months.
The Rubic-cube-sized Cubesats were deployed from the new Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer that was brought to the space station in July by the Japanese HTV cargo carrier.
The Japanese FITSAT-1 will investigate the potential for new kinds of optical communication by transmitting text information to the ground via pulses of light set to Morse code. The message was originally intended to be seen just in Japan, but people around the world have asked for the satellite to communicate when it overflies them, said Takushi Tanaka, professor at The Fukuoka Institute of Technology.
Observers, ideally with binoculars, will be able to see flashes of light — green in the northern hemisphere, where people will see the “front” of the satellite, and red in the southern hemisphere, where the “back” will be visible.
The message it will send is “Hi this is Niwaka Japan.” Niwaka is the satellite’s nickname and reflects a play on words in the local dialect of southwestern Japan, according to an article on Discovery Space. To see the Morse Code message, the Cubesat will be near the ISS, so find out when you can see the ISS from NASA or Heaven’s Above. Find out more about the FITSAT at this website.
The other Cubesats include NASA’s TechEdSat which carries a ham radio transmitter and was developed by a group of student interns from San Jose State University (SJSU) in California with mentoring and support from staff at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
“TechEdSat will evaluate plug-and-play technologies, like avionics designed by commercial providers, and will allow a group of very talented aerospace engineering students from San Jose State University to experience a spaceflight project from formulation through decommission of a small spacecraft,” said Ames Director S. Pete Worden.
The other Cubesats include RAIKO, which will do photography from space, We Wish, an infrared camera for environmental studies, and and the F-1 Vietnam Student CubeSat which has an on-board camera for Earth observation.
See more cool-looking images and video of the deployement below (all images credit the Expedition 32 crew from the ISS/NASA):
Image Caption: Antares Rocket At Wallops Flight Facility Launch Pad. Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket at the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. In a few months, Antares is scheduled to launch a cargo delivery demonstration mission to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Credit: NASA
At long last, Orbital Sciences Corporation has rolled their new commercially developed Antares medium class rocket to the nation’s newest spaceport – the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island,Va – and commenced on pad operations as of Monday, Oct 1.
The long awaited rollout marks a key milestone on the path to the maiden test flight of the Antares, planned to blast off before year’s end if all goes well.
This is a highly noteworthy event because Antares is the launcher for Orbital’s unmanned commercial Cygnus cargo spacecraft that NASA’s hopes will reestablish resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) lost with the shuttle’s shutdown.
“MARS has completed construction and testing operations on its launch complex at Wallops Island, the first all-new large-scale liquid-fuel launch site to be built in the U.S. in decades,” said David W. Thompson, Orbital’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Accordingly, our pad operations are commencing immediately in preparation for an important series of ground and flight tests of our Antares medium-class launch vehicle over the next few months. In fact, earlier today (Oct. 1), an Antares first stage test article was transported to the pad from its final assembly building about a mile away, marking the beginning of full pad operations.”
Antares 1st stage rocket erected at Launch Pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA
In about 4 to 6 weeks, Orbital plans to conduct a 30 second long hot fire test of the first stage, generating a total thrust of 680,000 lbs. If successful, a full up test flight of the 131 foot tall Antares with a Cygnus mass simulator bolted on top is planned for roughly a month later.
The first commercial resupply mission to the ISS by SpaceX (CRS-1) is now set to lift off on Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The 700,000 lb thrust Antares first stage is powered by a pair of Soviet era NK-33 engines built during the 1960 and 1970’s as part of Russia’s ill-fated N-1 manned moon program. The engines have since been upgraded and requalified by Aerojet Corp. and integrated into the Ukrainian built first stage rocket as AJ-26 engines.
Image Caption: Antares first stage arrives on the pad at NASA_Wallops on Oct. 1. First stage approaching adapter ring on the right. Credit: NASA
NASA awarded contracts to Orbital Sciences Corp and SpaceX in 2008 to develop unmanned commercial resupply systems with the goal of recreating an American capability to deliver cargo to the ISS which completely evaporated following the forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters in 2011 with no follow on program ready to go.
“Today’s (Oct. 1) rollout of Orbital’s Antares test vehicle and the upcoming SpaceX mission are significant milestones in our effort to return space station resupply activities to the United States and insource the jobs associated with this important work,” said NASA Associate Administrator for Communications David Weaver. “NASA’s commercial space program is helping to ensure American companies launch our astronauts and their supplies from U.S. soil.”
The public will be invited to watch the Antares blastoff and there are a lot of locations for spectators to gather nearby for an up close and personal experience.
“Antares is the biggest rocket ever launched from Wallops,” NASA Wallops spokesman Keith Koehler told me. “The launches will definitely be publicized.”
UPDATE (10/5/12): It’s now official. NASA announced today that the international partners have announced an agreement to send two crew members to the International Space Station on a one-year mission designed to collect valuable scientific data needed to send humans to new destinations in the solar system.
The crew members, one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut, will launch and land in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and are scheduled to begin their voyage in spring 2015. (end of update)
Special crews on board the International Space Station will stay in space for year-long missions instead of the usual six-month expeditions, according to a report by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
“The principal decision has been made and we just have to coordinate the formalities,” Alexei Krasnov, the head of Roscosmos human space missions was quoted, saying that the international partners agreed to add the longer-duration missions at the International Astronautical Congress in Italy this week.
This confirms rumors from earlier this year, and pushes ahead the aspirations of Roscosmos to add longer missions to the ISS manifest.
The first yearlong mission will be “experimental” and could happen as early as 2015.
“Two members of the international crew, a Russian cosmonaut and a NASA astronaut will be picked to carry out this yearlong mission,” Krasnov said, adding that planning for the missions has already been underway.
“If the mission proves to be effective, we will discuss sending year-long missions to ISS on a permanent basis,” he said.
For years, the Russian Space Agency indicated that they wanted to do some extra-long-duration mission tests on the ISS, much like the Mars 500 mission that was done by ESA and Russia in 2010–2011 which took place on Earth and only simulated a 500-day mission to Mars.
Since NASA’s long-term plans now include human missions to Mars or asteroids, in April of this year, Universe Today asked NASA’s associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, John Grunsfeld about the possibility of adding longer ISS missions in order to test out – in space — the physiological and psychological demands of a human Mars mission. At that time, Grunsfeld indicated longer missions wouldn’t be necessary to do such tests.
“A 500-day mission would have a six-month cruise to Mars and a six-month cruise back,” he said. “When we send a crew up to the ISS on the Soyuz, they spend six months in weightlessness and so we are already mimicking that experiment today.”
However, a year-long mission on the ISS certainly would provide a better rubric to test the longer-term effects of spaceflight and time away from Earth.
This, of course, won’t be the first year-long missions in space. Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent over 437 consecutive days in space on the Mir Space Station, from January 1994 to March 1995.
For the Mars 500 mission, six volunteers from Russia, Europe and China spent 520 days inside a capsule set up at a research institute in Moscow.
