Posted on by Jason Rhian

Iridium Next Prepares to Ride the Falcon

Iridium Next might have launched their last suite of satellites on Deltas, Protons and on the Long March - but the next wave will be all about the Falcon 9. Photo Credit: Alan Walters/awaltersphoto.com

[/caption]

To date, Iridium NEXT is the largest commercial space launch contract with any single entity. All total, the contract is worth an estimated $3 billion. As part of that Iridium Communications Inc. signed into a deal with Space Explorations Technologies (SpaceX) as its major launch provider of its communications satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The manner in which the Iridium NEXT family of satellites is launched will be a dramatic departure from how Iridium launched its first suite of satellites back in the 90s.

Iridium launched this first constellation of communications satellites within the time span of a single year, from 1997 until 1998. Iridium sent this constellation into orbit on multiple different launch vehicles. The original deployment was a distinctly international affair, with the U.S. Delta II, the Russian Proton and the Chinese Long March rockets all playing a role in putting the entire fleet of satellites into orbit.

Iridium Communications plans to launch the 72 satellites of the Iridium Next constellation atop eight Falcon 9 rockets. Image Credit: Iridium Communications

This time, only a single launch provider, SpaceX, and their twice-flown Falcon 9 rocket have been given the nod to accomplish the job. They will also complete the planned 72 satellite fleet in only eight launches of nine satellites each. Sixty-six of these satellites will be fully operational; the remaining six will be on-orbit spares (in case there is a contingency with any of the operating satellites). Iridium will also have nine additional ground spares.

But Iridium has plans to further maximize the value of these satellites by selling space on them so that other firms can attach sensors or experiments.

“Every one of these satellites has a budget of about 110 pounds that can be used to fly extra payloads from different customers,” said Iridium’s CEO Matt Desch during a recent interview. “We will be hosting other people’s sensors on our satellites.”

The arrangement between Iridium and the NewSpace firm was just one in a string of successes as far as SpaceX is concerned. With the first two successful flights of the Falcon 9 rocket, the unspoken-but-obvious backing of the White House and the contract with Iridium, SpaceX is on a winning streak that shows little signs of abating. With the second launch of its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX became the first company to do what only nations had done before – send a spacecraft into orbit and have it return safely to Earth (the Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean a few hours after launch).

Every Falcon 9 rocket with an Iridium Next payload would carry nine satellites each. Photo Credit: SpaceX

The contract with Iridium Communications is set to see its first launch during the first quarter of 2015. With the system fully financed (as of this past fall) the company now has to build it on orbit. When the constellation of satellites is on orbit it is expected to be functioning for many years to come.

“It was an innovative system that broke all the rules, and now we’re going to do it again,” said Desch. “A lot of people don’t realize what a powerful system we are today. They probably only remember us from 10-15 years ago. We’re going to remind them of who we are and what we are capable of, the replacement system will last until 2030 and what we will do today will last for years to come.”

SpaceX has had two successful launches of its Falcon 9 rocket, the third test flight is currently scheduled to take place this summer. Photo Credit: SpaceX
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Where In The Universe Challenge #144

Here’s this week’s image for the Where In The Universe Challenge, to test your visual knowledge of the cosmos. You know what to do: take a look at this image and see if you can determine where in the universe this image is from; give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft/telescope responsible for the image. We’ll provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until later. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.

UPDATE: Answer is now posted below.

This is a closeup of part of the Helix Nebula, or NGC 7293. Produced in 2003, at the time it was one of the largest and most detailed celestial images ever made. The composite picture is a seamless blend of ultra-sharp images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope combined with the wide view of the Mosaic Camera on the National Science Foundation’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz. See more info on this picture at the HubbleSite.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

A Twisted Sister Galaxy

Galaxy ESO 510-G13. Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA

[/caption]

This is an older image from Hubble but I came across it today and wanted to share it. It shows an unusual edge-on galaxy, that has been twisted by a recent collision with a nearby galaxy, and is in the process of being swallowed up. This could be a spiral sister to our own Milky Way, as the dust and arms of normal spiral galaxies appear flat when viewed edge-on. And the twisting effect could be an example of what could happen to our galaxy in about 3 billion years when it begins to collide with the Andromeda galaxy.


As the gravitational forces distort the structures of the galaxies as their stars, gas, and dust merge together, it also sparks star formation. In the outer regions of ESO 510-G13, especially on the right-hand side of the image, the twisted disk contains not only dark dust, but also bright clouds of new, blue stars.
Eventually, in millions of years, all the matter will coalesce and the activity and disturbances will die out, and ESO 510-G13 will become a normal-looking single galaxy.

This galaxy was first observed by ESO’s ground based telescopes, and Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) observed ESO 510-G13 in April 2001.

See more about the image at the HubbleSite.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Asteroid Observing Alert

2011 GP59 imaged remotely from the GRAS Observatory. Credit: Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero

[/caption]

A newly discovered asteroid could provide one of the best recent viewing opportunities for amateur astronomers, according to the British Astronomical Association. “This is the best NEO close approach these past few years and is bright enough to be observed visually in large (>20cm., or 8-inch) aperture telescopes when on the night of Thursday 14th it will appear as a faint slow-moving star,” writes Richard Miles, the director of the BAA’s Asteroids and Remote Planets Section.

UPDATE: See a new picture of asteroid 2011 GP59 from Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero taken on April 14, 2011, below.


2011 GP59 imaged remotely from the GRAS Observatory. Credit: Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero

Guido & Sostero sent us a note that they imaged 2011 GP59 early on April 14, remotely from the GRAS Observatory (near Mayhill, New Mexico USA) through a 0.51-m, f/6.9 reflector + CCD.

“It’s a single unfiltered exposure of 600 seconds, showing 2011 GP59 as trail with brightness fluctuations clearly evident,” they said.

(end of 4/14 update)

2011 GP59 was discovered just a few days ago and will make its closest approach to the Earth on April 15 at 19h UT at 1.39 lunar-distances. But it will be brightest at an average magnitude of 13.2 around 00h UT on the night of April 14/15 when Miles says it will be very favorably placed in the sky for observers worldwide.
The asteroid is approximately 60 meters in diameter and appears to be rotating very quickly, about once every 7.35 minutes. Its oblong in shape and rotation will vary the object’s brightness every 4 minutes or so.

Miles reported that David Briggs observing with the Hampshire Astronomy Group’s 0.4-m instrument on the evening of April 11 commented, “This is probably the fastest rotator I’ve seen so far in that it completely disappears from view every 3 to 4 images.”

This object was discovered on the night of April 8/9 by the Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca (OAM) using a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector at their La Sagra facilities (J75) in Andalusia, Spain (see http://www.minorplanets.org/OLS/ ). The observers involved were S. Sanchez, J. Nomen, R. Stoss, M. Hurtado, J. A. Jaume and W. K. Y. Yeung.

Brian Skiff of Lowell Observatory has completed a lightcurve analysis which can be found at this link, and positions can be found using the Minor Planet Center’s ephemeris service at this link. You can also find more information on this object from the website of the Remanzacco Observatory in Italy.

The British Astronomical Association is also seeking observations of the Moon on Friday, April 15, between 19:00 and 21:00 UT, when the Aristarchus and Herodotus area of the Moon will match the same illumination, to within +/- 0.5 degrees, as that observed during the famous Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP) seen by Greenacre and Barr from Flagstaff observatory back on Oct. 30, 1963.

TLPs are very short changes in the brightness of patches on the face of the Moon, which can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours and can grow from less than a few to a hundred kilometers in size. This phenomenon has been observed by hundreds of amateur and professional astronomers, but how and why this occurs is not understood. Some astronomers believe that they are the outcome of lunar outgassing, where gas is being released from the surface of the Moon, but most commonly astronomers think it could be an effect from Earth’s own atmosphere.

If you want to help understand TLPs and perhaps observe an event like this for yourself, the BAA Lunar Section is looking for high resolution monochrome, or especially color, images of this area during this time period,, which favors observers in Europe.

But you can check this website from the University of Aberystwyth for many locations around the world of when would be a good time to observe a TLP.

See more information about how to observe a TLP and how to report your observations at the BAA website.

Sources: BAA, BAA (again) University of Aberystwyth

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

A New Way to Visualize Warped Space and Time

By combining theory with computer simulations, Thorne and his colleagues at Two doughnut-shaped vortexes ejected by a pulsating black hole. Also shown at the center are two red and two blue vortex lines attached to the hole, which will be ejected as a third doughnut-shaped vortex in the next pulsation. Credit: The Caltech/Cornell SXS Collaboration

[/caption]

Trying to understand the warping of space and time is something like visualizing a scene from Alice in Wonderland where rooms can change sizes and locations. The most-used description of the warping of space-time is how a heavy object deforms a stretched elastic sheet. But in actuality, physicists say this warping is so complicated that they really haven’t been able to understand the details of what goes on. But new conceptual tools that combines theory and computer simulations are providing a better way to for scientists to visualize what takes place when gravity from an object or event changes the fabric of space.

Researchers at Caltech, Cornell University, and the National Institute for Theoretical Physics in South Africa developed conceptual tools that they call tendex lines and vortex lines which represent gravitation waves. The researchers say that tendex and vortex lines describe the gravitational forces caused by warped space-time and are analogous to the electric and magnetic field lines that describe electric and magnetic forces.

“Tendex lines describe the stretching force that warped space-time exerts on everything it encounters,” said says David Nichols, a Caltech graduate student who came up with the term ‘tendex.’. “Tendex lines sticking out of the Moon raise the tides on the Earth’s oceans, and the stretching force of these lines would rip apart an astronaut who falls into a black hole.”

Vortex lines, on the other hand, describe the twisting of space. So, if an astronaut’s body is aligned with a vortex line, it would get wrung like a wet towel.

Two spiral-shaped vortexes (yellow) of whirling space sticking out of a black hole, and the vortex lines (red curves) that form the vortexes. Credit: The Caltech/Cornell SXS Collaboration

They tried out the tools specifically on computer simulated black hole collisions, and saw that such impacts would produce doughnut-shaped vortex lines that fly away from the merged black hole like smoke rings. The researchers also found that a bundle of vortex lines spiral out of the black hole like water from a rotating sprinkler. Depending on the angles and speeds of the collisions, the vortex and tendex lines — or gravitational waves — would behave differently.

“Though we’ve developed these tools for black-hole collisions, they can be applied wherever space-time is warped,” says Dr. Geoffrey Lovelace, a member of the team from Cornell. “For instance, I expect that people will apply vortex and tendex lines to cosmology, to black holes ripping stars apart, and to the singularities that live inside black holes. They’ll become standard tools throughout general relativity.”

The researchers say the tendex and vortex lines provide a powerful new way to understand the nature of the universe. “Using these tools, we can now make much better sense of the tremendous amount of data that’s produced in our computer simulations,” says Dr. Mark Scheel, a senior researcher at Caltech and leader of the team’s simulation work.

Their paper has been published in the April 11 in the Physical Review Letters.

Source: CalTech

Posted on by Jason Rhian

At Shuttle Program’s Twilight, Tears and Cheers as Triumphs and Tragedies are Remembered

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden gets choked up during the 30th anniversary of the shuttle program.

[/caption]

CAPE CANAVERAL – With the shuttle program’s end less than three months away, NASA took time to honor the program that has been the focal point of the agency’s manned space flight efforts for the past thirty years. At 1 p.m., NASA’s Administrator, Charles Bolden, along with Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, astronaut Janet Kavandi, shuttle Endeavour’s Vehicle Manager Mike Parrish and STS-1 Pilot Robert Crippen spoke to NASA employees and members of the media regarding the programs long history and its many achievements.

However, the most important announcement of the day was where the remaining shuttles will go when the program draws to a close. It was announced that the space shuttle Enterprise, a test article of the shuttle design, will move from its current home at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. The Udvar-Hazy Center will be home for Discovery, which finished its last mission in March. Endeavour, which is being readied for its final flight at the end of this month, will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Atlantis, which is currently scheduled to fly the last shuttle mission in June, will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

From left-to-right: Former astronaut and KSC Director Robert Crippen, former astronaut and current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, astronaut Janet Kavandi, former astronaut and current KSC Director Bob Cabana and shuttle Endeavour's Vehicle Manager Mike Parrish. Behind them is shuttle Atlantis, which will remain at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian

Although Bolden and Cabana are former astronauts, they were joined by one of the two men that flew the very first shuttle mission, STS-1 – Robert Crippen. This mission is viewed as one of the most risky test flights in history. If something had gone wrong during the first mission’s launch, Crippen and Commander John Young would have had to eject from Columbia – through the vehicle’s fiery plume. However, everything worked according to plan and Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California two days later.

The weight of the day’s events had an obvious impact on Bolden and Crippen, both of whom were visibly emotional during the presentation. Crippen’s comments detailed the feelings of many in that this is a bitter-sweet anniversary. Those in attendance supported the four-time shuttle veteran with loud applause when it was announced that Atlantis would remain at Kennedy Space Center.

Former NASA astronaut and current Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana gestures toward shuttle Atlantis which will remain in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian

“Stay focused, “said Bolden during his comments, referring to the gap in manned space flight that is about to take place. “It’s been a rough day.”

There was also a guest appearance from the current members of the International Space Station who called in from on orbit. They apologized for not being able to attend – before they acknowledged it was thanks to the hard work of those present that they couldn’t be there. Astronauts Cady Coleman, Ron Garan were joined by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli as well as cosmonauts Dmitry Kondratyev, Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev. The station’s crew spoke about how the shuttle program made this international effort possible.

The crew of the International Space Station conduct a long-distance phone call to attendees at the 30th Anniversary event of the shuttle program. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian

On April 12, 1981, the space shuttle Columbia roared into orbit on the first mission of the shuttle program. The first crew only had two astronauts on board, Apollo veteran John Young and rookie astronaut Robert Crippen. The first flight of the shuttle program took place 20 years to the day that the first human rode fire into orbit – Yuri Gagarin.

There are currently only two shuttle flights remaining, Endeavour is slated to conduct its 25th and final mission, STS-134, at the end of this month and Atlantis will launch the final mission on June 28. Once this mission is over, NASA will have to rely on Russia for access to the International Space Station until small, commercial firms; those supported under President Obama’s new plans for NASA can produce a launch system to fill the void.

“I would have been happy to get any of the orbiters here at KSC,” said Robert Crippen when interviewed. “Getting Atlantis makes this a very good day.”

The space shuttle Atlantis was on display, with commemorative banners from each of the orbiters. Atlantis will reside at Kennedy Space Center after her final flight this June. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian
Posted on by Ken Kremer

NASA Selects Museums in Florida, California, New York and the Smithsonian for retiring Space Shuttles

Shuttle orbiter would be displayed like In Flight at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Credit: KSC Visitor Complex

[/caption]

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today unveiled the winners in the bidding war to become home to one of NASA’s retiring space shuttle orbiters. Bolden selected the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the California Science Center, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, outside Washington D.C.

Bolden made the announcement at a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center coinciding with the 30th anniversery of the first space shuttle flight. Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off on the STS-1 mission on April 12, 1981. Today is also the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight by Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April12, 1961.

Only two shuttle flights remain before the Space Shuttle Program and the orbiters are retired after 30 years of speceflight and 133 mission so far. The final two missions – STS-134 and STS 135 – are slated for late April and late June 2011.

The orbiters will then be transferred to their new homes and put on display where NASA hopes they will inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers. But the word mentioned by Bolden and all the other speakers was “bittersweet” – because today is a mixture of sadness that the orbiters are being retired while still flight worthy and happiness that the program has achieved so much.

Atlantis, the final shuttle to fly, will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Kennedy is the natural home to the orbiters and where every shuttle mission has launched and where every shuittle mission is processed for flight.

Kennedy plans to disiplay shuttle Atlantis as though it were “In Flight”. Read my earlier story on Kennedy’s proposal to showcase the orbiter with interactive exhibits and numerous shuttle program artifacts , such as like the White Room and the Beenie Cap.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center will be displayed at KSC.Atlantis will blast off on the final mission of the shuttle era in late June 2011. Credit: Ken Kremer

As expected, Shuttle Discovery was assigned to the Smithsonian’s National Air
and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Discovery is the fisrt of the orbiters to be retired and just completed its final mission, STS -133, in March 2011

The prototype orbiter Enterprise, which is currently on display at the Smithsonian, will be moved up the east coast to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City

Space Shuttle Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, near to the location where all the shuttle orbiters were constructed. Endeavour will be the only orbiter to be display outside the east coast. Endeavour is being processed for her final flight, the STS-134 mission, set to launch on April 29.

Oddly left out is the Johnson Space Center, home to all the Space Shuttle astronauts and their training facilities.

Space Shuttle at Intrepid. The Intrepid will house the prototype orbiter Enterprise at Pier 86 to house a space shuttle. The shuttle would be displayed in a dedicated building with viewing platforms to give guests an up close. Credit: Intrepid Museum
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

FBI Memo Does Not Prove Aliens Crash Landed in Roswell

The Guy Hottel FBI memo.

[/caption]

A 1950 FBI memo is creating some recent buzz by UFO supporters who say this provides “smoking gun” evidence that the US government recovered a crashed alien ship and bodies in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. The memo, found on the FBI vault website and dated March 22, 1950 reports that an informant related information about three flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico along with three bodies of human shape, but only 3 feet tall, and dressed in metallic cloth.

So, does this “newly found” and “secret” memo confirm what UFO supporters have believed for years, that the government covered up a landing by aliens in Roswell?

Sorry, no.

While the memo is genuine – written up by FBI special agent Guy Hottel, (you can see it on the FBI Vault website) it is not new, is not secret and does not have anything to do a supposed crash by an alien ship in Roswell, New Mexico.

The memo is not classified, as was reported by some websites, and has actually been discussed by UFO supporters for years, having been released in 1976 by the FBI. Even Robert Hastings, the guy who believes UFOs are shutting down nuclear reactors posted a comment on a UFO website that he has been discussing this memo in his talks since 1981.

So, the memo is certainly not new.

Also, the memo is not a secret FBI report, but a third-hand account from agent Hottel reporting what an Air Force investigator was told by an “informant.”

Lastly, as Benjamin Radford points out in his post on Live Science, “ the description in the memo of three ‘flying saucers…circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter,’ does not match the 1947 Roswell crash at all. Roswell eyewitnesses described finding lightweight metallic debris scattered in a field—not three intact 50-foot saucers holding nine dead alien bodies.”

In fact, Radford goes on, this memo does not refer to Roswell, but instead to a reported UFO crash in another small New Mexico town called Aztec in March 1948. The supposed crash was made famous by journalist Frank Scully who wrote for Variety magazine and wrote specifically about the Aztec crash in 1949. However, in 1952, it was revealed by another reporter that Scully had been hoaxed by a con man named Silas Newton, who fabricated the entire story in hopes of making money from the deal. Newton was arrested and convicted of fraud.

So, nothing new has been “revealed” by this old memo which very likely describes Newton’s account of an event that has since been proven to be a complete fabrication.

Posted on by Ken Kremer

Stirring Video Tributes to Yuri Gagarin

Rare Photos of Yuri Gagarin and Vostok 1 Launch on April, 12, 1961 – First Human Spaceflight. Collage of rare photos of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin boarding Vostok 1 spacecraft and historic launch of first manned spaceflight on April 12, 1961 from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site No.1 at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time (607 UTC), Soviet Union. Gagarin is greeted by Oleg Ivanvosky who now works in the museum of Lavochkin R&D. Credits: Oleg Ivanvosky/ Evgeny A. Sivukhin/Lavochkin R&D/Roscosmos

Today, April 12, is the 50th Anniversary of Earth’s first manned spaceflight by Hero Cosmonaut , Yuri Gagarin of what was then the Soviet Union. He was strapped aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft and blasted off to the High Froniter at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Roskosmos – the Russian Federal Space Agency – honors his memory with this stirring video tribute chronicling the Flight of Yuri Gagarin. The outstanding video is set to the song “Seed” with lyrics sung by the Russian Red Army Choir. Dramatic video clips show rare views of Gagarin in training, the actual launch day events and concludes with his grand reception.

Gagarin’s smile is infectious and the video brings him to life. Watch and enjoy – several times . And be prepared to journey back in time to the era of the Space Race and the Soviet Union.

Included below is another music video with more amazing videos clips from the Flight of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961and a brief video summarizing his all too short life. Gagarin would have been celebrating his 75th birthday on March 9.

Today, people around the globe will celebrate the historic occasion at over 500 Yuri’s Night Events. You can still join in the fun and attend. Find out how at the Yuri Night Website. Or join Ken in Princeton Junction, New Jersey for a free talk about Yuri and another historic space milestone, the 30th Anniversary of the first shuttle flight: STS -1.

And be sure to watch the new film First Orbit, steaming online, which recreates the view that Gagarin would have seen.

Send Ken your “Yuri’s Night” event photos/report and any photos of Yuri Gagarin to publish at Universe Today. Email kremerken at yahoo dot com

Read more about Gagarin in my earlier stories:
Yuri Gagarin and Vostok 1 Photo Album – 50th Anniversary of Human Spaceflight
Countdown to Yuri’s Night and the 50th Anniversary of Human Spaceflight !

Roscosmos website
Yuri’s Night Website
Yuri’s Night Party list
Yuri’s Night Party with Ken in Princeton Junction, NJ, USA
First Orbit Website
STS-1 NASA Mission Website
Ken Kremer

[/caption]