Photo of successful static fire of Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral, FL on March 13. Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX
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SpaceX announced that today’s (Mar 13) test firing of all 9 Merlin first stage engines was successful at Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral. This is a major milestone towards the planned inaugural first flight of the Falcon 9 rocket which SpaceX is building. This success follows an aborted test firing attempt on Thursday (Mar 11) and several other delays due to poor weather at the Cape this week.
Falcon 9 static test at pad 40. Credit:Chris Thompson/SpaceXThe test occurred at 12:30 PM at Launch Complex 40 which is the next pad down the line from Atlas Launch Complex 41.
The first actual Falcon 9 blast-off is set for no earlier than April 12 between 11 AM and 3 PM
Falcon 9 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It uses the same engines, structural architecture (with a wider diameter), avionics and launch system as the Falcon 1
Here is the official announcement I received from SpaceX this afternoon:
SpaceX Falcon 9 test at Pad 40. Credit: Florida Today“Today, SpaceX successfully completed a test firing of the inaugural Falcon 9 launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex 40 located at Cape Canaveral. Following a nominal terminal countdown, the launch sequencer commanded ignition of all 9 Merlin first stage engines for a period of 3.5 seconds.”
“Just prior to engine ignition, the pad water deluge system was activated providing acoustic suppression to keep vibration levels within acceptable limits. The test validated the launch pad propellant and pneumatic systems as well as the ground and flight control software that controls pad and launch vehicle configurations. The completion of a successful static fire is the latest milestone on the path to first flight of the Falcon 9 which will carry a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit to orbit.”
Under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX plans three launches of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft this year to demonstrate delivery of cargo to the ISS as well as returning cargo to Earth. The entire schedule moving forward is dependent on a successful inaugural launch.
NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to conduct a minimum of 12 flights and deliver at least 20,000 kg of cargo to the ISS. An option for additional missions could increase the cumulative total contract value to $3.1 billion.
The 180 ft tall Falcon 9 will be capable of lifting approximately 11 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and in excess of 4.5 tons to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Update: SpaceX photos added
Falcon 9 erected at Launch Complex 40. Credit: SpaceXAll 9 Merlin 1C engines fired successfully today, March 13. This photo shows the fire generated from the flushing of fuel and LOX, but no engines actually started during this aborted test on March 11. Credit: SpaceX
The most powerful operational heavy-ion collider in the world, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) recently recorded the highest ever temperature created in an Earth-based laboratory of 4 trillion Kelvin. Achieved at the almost speed of light collision of gold ions, this resulted in the temporary existence of quark-gluon soup – something first seen at about ten to the power of minus twelve of the first second after the big bang.
And sure, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) may one day soon be the most powerful heavy-ion collider in the world (although it will spend most of its time investigating proton to proton collisions). And sure, maybe it’s going to generate a spectacular 574 TeV when it collides its first lead ions. But you have to win the game before you get the trophy.
To give credit where it’s due, the LHC is already the most powerful particle collider in the world – having achieved proton collision energies of 2.36 TeV in late 2009. And it should eventually achieve proton collision energies of 14 TeV, but that will come well after its scheduled maintenance shutdown in 2012, ahead of achieving its full design capabilities from 2013. It has already circulated a beam of lead ions – but we are yet to see an LHC heavy ion collision take place.
So, for the moment it’s still RHIC putting out all the fun stuff. In early March 2010, it produced the largest ever negatively charged nucleus – which is anti-matter, since you can only build matter nuclei from protons and/or neutrons which will only ever have a positive or a neutral charge.
This antimatter nucleus carried an anti-strange quark – which is crying out for a new name… mundane quark, conventional quark? And since the only matter nuclei containing strange quarks are hypernuclei, RHIC in fact created an antihypernucleus. Wonderful.
Then there’s the whole quark-gluon soup story. Early experiments at RHIC reveal that this superhot plasma behaves like a liquid with a very low viscosity— and may be what the universe was made of in its very early moments. There was some expectation that melted protons and neutrons would be so hot that surely you would get a gas – but like the early universe, with everything condensed into a tiny volume, you get a super-heated liquid (i.e. soup).
An aerial view of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in Upton, NY. The Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) built in the 1960s now works as a pre-accelerating injector for the larger RHIC.
The LHC hopes to deliver the Higgs, maybe a dark matter particle and certainly anti-matter and micro black holes by the nano-spoonful. And after that, there’s talk of building the Very Large Hadron Collider, which promises to be bigger, more powerful and more expensive.
But if that project doesn’t fly, we can still ramp up the existing colliders. Ramping up a particle collider is an issue of luminosity, where the desired outcome is a more concentrated and focused particle beam – with an increased energy density achieved by cramming more particles into a cross section of the beam you are sending around the particle accelerator. Both RHIC and the LHC have plans to undertake an upgrade to achieve an increase of their respective luminosities by up to a factor of 10. If successful, we can look forward to RHIC II and the Super Large Hadron Collider coming online sometime after 2020. Fun.
Ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Here’s #95! Take a look and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. We provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. 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: The answer is now posted below.
Mars or Earth? — that is the question! This is an image of Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater, located near Winslow, Arizona, USA, planet Earth. This High Resolution Camera image, taken by ESA’s Proba satellite was taken on January 23, 2004. It shows the 1.186 km diameter crater is approximately 180 metres deep and is surrounded by a rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some as big as houses. The shadow-casting structure visible on the north side of the Crater is the Visitor’s Center. Click here for a larger and uncropped version of the image.
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! If you’re a die-hard amateur astronomer, then you’ll recognize this as one of the prime times to undergo the rigorous “Messier Marathon” – an all night race to see how many Messier objects you can capture! If you need a bit of assistance, be sure to visit the Guide To Space section of Universe Today where you’ll find plenty of information to help you along with your quest. If you’re into a more quiet weekend, then come along as we discover some galactic star clusters that are a little bit more off the beaten path. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll see you in the backyard…
March 12, 2010 – Today let’s celebrate three births! First comes Simon Newcomb. Born on this date in 1835, Newcomb was a Canadian–American astronomer who was really good with numbers. We have him to thank for ephemerides, those great tables of computed places of celestial bodies over long periods of time. Next is 1824 and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, a physicist who established the theory of spectral analysis. Kirchhoff’s rule states: ‘‘When light passes through a gas, the gas absorbs the wavelengths it would emit if heated.’’ Kirchhoff was very knowledgeable in the field of electricity as well. In 1845, he proved current would flow at the speed of light in a zero resistance conductor. Last is Dorrit Hoffleit (b. 1906), the author of the Yale Bright Star Catalog. Dorrit enjoyed an 80-year career in astronomy and was one of the last living links to Annie Jump Cannon and the senior women’s astrophysics team at Harvard. In her 100-year life, Hoffleit certainly saw a lot of advances in astronomy!
While this is traditionally a “Messier Marathon Weekend”, tonight we’ll break with tradition and locate 6 Canis Minoris about three finger-widths northwest of Procyon. This normal K-type orange giant is around 560 light-years away from Earth, but aim a telescope its way for an opportunity to study an overlooked open cluster—Dolidze 26 (RA 07 30 06 Dec +11 54 00).
In the eyepiece, you’ll find a faint collection of stars that aren’t related to 6 Canis Minoris. Clusters of this type aren’t highly studied yet, but they belong to a group near in age and population and sharing similar star formation processes. Unlike other open clusters, these odd collections contain peculiar stars that produce very high velocity stellar winds and steady X-ray emission. Although it might not be as splashy as a Messier object, Dolidze 26 may very well accelerate cosmic ray particles!
March 13, 2010 – Today note the 1886 birth of Albert William Stevens, a daring balloonist who took the Explorer II to an altitude of 72,395 feet. He took the first photo showing Earth’s curvature and the first solar eclipse photo of the Moon’s shadow on Earth. Also, salute the 1855 birth on this date of Percival Lowell, who predicted the existence of Pluto (but Clyde Tombaugh was the one who actually discovered it, on Lowell’s 75th birthday!). Sir Percival was a determined soul who spent his life trying to find proof of life on Mars. He founded Lowell Observatory in 1894, where he studied Mars intensively, drawing the Red Planet covered with canals and oases. As Lowell once said: ‘‘Imagination is as vital to any advance in science as learning and precision are essential for starting points.’’
Tonight we’ll look at a bright collection of stars located less than a handspan west of Procyon. Its name is Collinder 106 (RA 06 37 19 Dec +05 57 55).
At a combined magnitude of 4.5, this expansive open cluster can be spotted as a hazy patch with the unaided eye and comes to full resolution with binoculars. It contains only around 14 members, but this widely scattered galactic collection has helped scientists determine size scales and dispersion among groups of its type. Viewed telescopically at low power, the observer will find it rich in background stars and a true delight in a low power, wide field eyepiece. If you’d like a challenge, hop a half degree to the northeast to spot Collinder 111 (RA 06 38 42 Dec +06 54 00). While visually only about one-tenth the apparent size of its larger southwestern neighbor, spare little Collinder 111 also belongs to the same class of open clusters. Who knows what may lurk around these understudied clusters?
March 14, 2010 – Celebrate today’s famous astro births, starting with astronaut Frank Borman (b. 1928), a crew member of Apollo 8, the first manned flight around the Moon. Next, astronaut Eugene Cernan (b. 1934), who floated in space for more than 2 hours during the Gemini 9 mission and piloted Apollo 10. How about Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835), the Italian astronomer who described Mars’s ‘‘canali’’ and named its ‘‘seas’’ and ‘‘continents.’’ Schiaparelli’s comet studies demonstrated that meteoroid swarms existed in the path of cometary orbits, and thus predicted annual meteor showers. He was first to suggest that Mercury and Venus rotate and discovered the asteroid Hesperia. Still not enough? Then wish a happy birthday to Albert Einstein (b. 1879), the German–American physicist considered the most brilliant intellect in human history!
For a moment let’s reflect on Einstein’s Cross, proof of his genius. We can’t observe this Pegasus based gravitational lens right now, but we can try to understand Einstein’s theory of gravity as an effect of the curvature in space–time. For example, if you draw a line around the center of a ball, the line would be straight, eventually coming back to its point of origin. We don’t see the point until we reach it, but we know it’s there. Einstein knew this dimension existed and predicted any object with mass will bend space and time around it, just like our line around the ball. He predicted light would also follow a curved path around an object. . .such as a distant quasar located behind a closer galaxy!
Tonight’s object is a ‘‘cross’’ of stars that we’ll dub “Einstein’s Asterism”. Begin at Procyon and shift about 10 degrees southwest (or 2 degrees south of 18 Monocerotis) to locate this pretty grouping of stars. Yes it’s true. It’s just an unknown, undocumented, and unnamed asterism, but how fitting to honor all these famous astro figures and a brilliant man who once said: ‘‘The fairest thing in life we can experience is the mysterious. It. . .stands at the cradle of true art and true science.’’
Until next week, best of luck and clear skies to our marathoning friends!
This week’s awesome images are a historical collection of famous astronomers, “Einstein’s Cross” as imaged by the HST and provided by NASA, and all the great cluster images as done by Palomar Observatory, courtesy of Caltech. We thank you so much!
Recent observations of blazar jets require researchers to look deeper into whether current theories about jet formation and motion require refinement. This simulation, courtesy of Jonathan McKinney (KIPAC), shows a black hole pulling in nearby matter (yellow) and spraying energy back out into the universe in a jet (blue and red) that is held together by magnetic field lines (green).
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In a manner somewhat like the formation of an alliance to defeat Darth Vader’s Death Star, more than a decade ago astronomers formed the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope consortium to understand Nature’s Death Ray Gun (a.k.a. blazars). And contrary to its at-death’s-door sounding name, the GASP has proved crucial to unraveling the secrets of how Nature’s “LHC” works.
“As the universe’s biggest accelerators, blazar jets are important to understand,” said Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) Research Fellow Masaaki Hayashida, corresponding author on the recent paper presenting the new results with KIPAC Astrophysicist Greg Madejski. “But how they are produced and how they are structured is not well understood. We’re still looking to understand the basics.”
Blazars dominate the gamma-ray sky, discrete spots on the dark backdrop of the universe. As nearby matter falls into the supermassive black hole at the center of a blazar, “feeding” the black hole, it sprays some of this energy back out into the universe as a jet of particles.
Researchers had previously theorized that such jets are held together by strong magnetic field tendrils, while the jet’s light is created by particles spiraling around these wisp-thin magnetic field “lines”.
Yet, until now, the details have been relatively poorly understood. The recent study upsets the prevailing understanding of the jet’s structure, revealing new insight into these mysterious yet mighty beasts.
“This work is a significant step toward understanding the physics of these jets,” said KIPAC Director Roger Blandford. “It’s this type of observation that is going to make it possible for us to figure out their anatomy.”
Over a full year of observations, the researchers focused on one particular blazar jet, 3C279, located in the constellation Virgo, monitoring it in many different wavebands: gamma-ray, X-ray, optical, infrared and radio. Blazars flicker continuously, and researchers expected continual changes in all wavebands. Midway through the year, however, researchers observed a spectacular change in the jet’s optical and gamma-ray emission: a 20-day-long flare in gamma rays was accompanied by a dramatic change in the jet’s optical light.
Although most optical light is unpolarized – consisting of light with an equal mix of all polarizations – the extreme bending of energetic particles around a magnetic field line can polarize light. During the 20-day gamma-ray flare, optical light from the jet changed its polarization. This temporal connection between changes in the gamma-ray light and changes in the optical polarization suggests that light in both wavebands is created in the same part of the jet; during those 20 days, something in the local environment changed to cause both the optical and gamma-ray light to vary.
“We have a fairly good idea of where in the jet optical light is created; now that we know the gamma rays and optical light are created in the same place, we can for the first time determine where the gamma rays come from,” said Hayashida.
This knowledge has far-reaching implications about how a supermassive black hole produces polar jets. The great majority of energy released in a jet escapes in the form of gamma rays, and researchers previously thought that all of this energy must be released near the black hole, close to where the matter flowing into the black hole gives up its energy in the first place. Yet the new results suggest that – like optical light – the gamma rays are emitted relatively far from the black hole. This, Hayashida and Madejski said, in turn suggests that the magnetic field lines must somehow help the energy travel far from the black hole before it is released in the form of gamma rays.
“What we found was very different from what we were expecting,” said Madejski. “The data suggest that gamma rays are produced not one or two light days from the black hole [as was expected] but closer to one light year. That’s surprising.”
In addition to revealing where in the jet light is produced, the gradual change of the optical light’s polarization also reveals something unexpected about the overall shape of the jet: the jet appears to curve as it travels away from the black hole.
“At one point during a gamma-ray flare, the polarization rotated about 180 degrees as the intensity of the light changed,” said Hayashida. “This suggests that the whole jet curves.”
This new understanding of the inner workings and construction of a blazar jet requires a new working model of the jet’s structure, one in which the jet curves dramatically and the most energetic light originates far from the black hole. This, Madejski said, is where theorists come in. “Our study poses a very important challenge to theorists: how would you construct a jet that could potentially be carrying energy so far from the black hole? And how could we then detect that? Taking the magnetic field lines into account is not simple. Related calculations are difficult to do analytically, and must be solved with extremely complex numerical schemes.”
Theorist Jonathan McKinney, a Stanford University Einstein Fellow and expert on the formation of magnetized jets, agrees that the results pose as many questions as they answer. “There’s been a long-time controversy about these jets – about exactly where the gamma-ray emission is coming from. This work constrains the types of jet models that are possible,” said McKinney, who is unassociated with the recent study. “From a theoretician’s point of view, I’m excited because it means we need to rethink our models.”
As theorists consider how the new observations fit models of how jets work, Hayashida, Madejski and other members of the research team will continue to gather more data. “There’s a clear need to conduct such observations across all types of light to understand this better,” said Madejski. “It takes a massive amount of coordination to accomplish this type of study, which included more than 250 scientists and data from about 20 telescopes. But it’s worth it.”
With this and future multi-wavelength studies, theorists will have new insight with which to craft models of how the universe’s biggest accelerators work. Darth Vader has been denied all access to these research results.
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
Representing what may be the first long term lunar environmental impact study, recent laser ranging data from the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico suggests the Lunar Ranging Retro Reflectors (LRRRs) left on the Moon by Apollo missions 11, 14 and 15 are beginning to shows signs of age.
Apache Point Observatory’s Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (the acronym says it all) has been collecting ranging data from the LRRRs since 2006, using a 3.5 metre telescope and a 532 nm laser.
A typical APOLLO observing session involves shooting the laser at the largest of the LRRRs (Apollo 15’s) over a ‘run’ of four to eight minutes. Each shot sends about 1017 photons to the Moon, from which only one returned photon per shot may be detected. This is why the laser is shot thousands of times at a 20 Hz repetition rate during each run.
If the return signal from the Apollo 15 LRRR is good, the laser is then directed to fire at the Apollo 11 and 14 reflectors. The laser can even be directed to the Russian Lunokhod 2 reflector, landed on the Moon in 1973, although this reflector does not return a reliable signal if it is in sunlight, probably because heating affects the reflectors’ refractive index and distorts the return signal.
Lunokhod 2 (moon walker in Russian), an 840 kg rover that landed on the Moon on January 15, 1973 and undertook scientific investigations on the lunar surface until May 1973.
The Apollo LRRRs were designed to remain isothermal, even in direct sunlight, to avoid the problem apparently suffered by Lunokhod 2. But a review of current and historical data has revealed a noticeable decline in their performance at each Full Moon. Since the reflectors are directed straight at Earth, they experience the most direct sunlight at a Full Moon.
Recent Apache Point Observatory data has been compared to historical data collected by earlier observatories involved in lunar laser ranging. For the period 1973 to 1976, no Full Moon deficit was apparent in data records, but it began to emerge clearly in a 1979 to 1984 data set. The research team estimate that return signal efficiency at Full Moon has degraded by a factor of 15 over the approximately forty years since the Apollo reflectors were placed on the Moon.
While heating effects may play a part in the performance degradation of the LRRRs, lunar dust is suggested to be the more likely candidate, as this would be consistent with the very gradual performance degradation – and where the most substantial performance loss occurs right on Full Moon. These findings may require careful consideration when designing future optical devices that are intended to remain on the lunar surface for long periods.
On the bright side – all the reflectors, including Lunokhod 2’s, are still functioning on some level. Hopefully, decades before their slow and steady decline progresses to complete failure, even more efficient replacement devices will be landed on the lunar surface – perhaps carefully positioned by a gloved hand or otherwise by robotic means.
An artist's representation showing outflow from a supermassive black hole inside the middle of a galaxy. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
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Scientists have found evidence of a catastrophic event they believe was responsible for halting the birth of stars in a galaxy in the early Universe. According to their findings, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, a massive galaxy exploded in a series of blasts trillions of times more powerful than any caused by an atomic bomb. The blasts happened every second for millions of years. “We are looking into the past and seeing a catastrophic event that essentially switched off star formation and halted the growth of a typical massive galaxy in the local Universe,” said lead author Dr. Dave Alexander from Durham University.
Using the Gemini Observatory’s Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS), scientists looked at SMM J1237+6203 and noticed properties seen in other massive galaxies near to our own Milky Way, which suggest that a major event rapidly turned off star formation in early galaxies and halted their expansion.
This is an observation showing gas in the galaxy SMM J1237+6203 seen using the Gemini Observatory’s Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS). The contours show how the blast of energy is traveling through the galaxy. Credit: Dave Alexander/Mark Swinbank, Durham University, and Gemini Observatory
This catastrophic event occurred when the Universe was a quarter of its present age. The explosions scattered the gas needed to form new stars by helping it escape the gravitational pull of the galaxy called, effectively regulating its growth, the scientists added.
They believe the huge surge of energy was caused by either the outflow of debris from the galaxy’s black hole or from powerful winds generated by dying stars called supernovae.
Theorists, including scientists at Durham University, have argued that this could be due to outflows of energy blowing galaxies apart and preventing further new stars from forming, but evidence of this has been lacking until now. The team hopes the new findings can increase our understanding about the formation and development of galaxies.
“Effectively the galaxy is regulating its growth by preventing new stars from being born,” said Alexander. “Theorists had predicted that huge outflows of energy were behind this activity, but it’s only now that we have seen it in action. We believe that similar huge outflows are likely to have stopped the growth of other galaxies in the early Universe by blowing away the materials needed for star formation.”
The Durham-led team now plans to study other massive star-forming galaxies in the early Universe to see if they display similar characteristics.
The research is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Screenshot of the Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday. Credit: Spaceflightnow.com
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SpaceX just released the official word on what happened with Tuesday’s 3.5 second test-fire of the Falcon 9 rocket. The test aborted immediately after it started, and a a spin start system failure forced the early shutdown. The Falcon 9 sits on Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and from the Kennedy Space Center press site, (about 4 miles away) a muffled bang was heard at the time of ignition, 1:41 pm EST. “Today SpaceX performed our first Static Fire for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle,” said Emily Shankin from SpaceX in a press release. “We counted down to an T-2 seconds and aborted on Spin Start. Given that this was our first abort event on this pad, we decided to scrub for the day to get a good look at the rocket before trying again. Everything looks great at first glance.”
An online webcam on Spaceflightnow.com showed a brief flash and a small cloud of smoke, and then nothing. Other observers at the site said it appeared as if flight computers detected a problem and automatically shut down the engines before the test was completed. The test-firing is considered a major objective towards the first launch of the Falcon 9, now tentatively scheduled for March 22, but SpaceX officials say launch is more likely to occur in April.
Here’s the rest of SpaceX’s press release:
We completed pad preps on time and with good execution. The integrated countdown with the range included holdfire checks, S- band telemetry, C-band, and FTS simulated checks. We completed helium, liquid oxygen (LOX), and fuel loads to within tenths of a percent of T-zero conditions. Tanks pressed nominally and we passed all Terminal count, flight software, and ground software abort checks right down to T-2 seconds. We encountered a problem with the spin start system and aborted nominally.
As part of the abort, we close the pre-valves to isolate the engines from the propellant tank and purge the residual propellants. The brief flames seen on the video are burn off of LOX and kerosene on the pad. The engines did not ignite and there was no engine fire.
We detanked and safed the vehicle and launch pad. Preliminary review shows all other systems required to reach full ignition were within specification. All other pad systems worked nominally. Inspections will be complete tonight. Tomorrow will consist of data review and procedure updates. Commodities will be replenished tomorrow including TEA TEB load, LOX and helium deliveries.
We’ll look to do the next static fire attempt in three or four days.
The Falcon 9 rocket measures 47 meters long (154 feet) and 4 meters (12 feet) wide, and for the upcoming test launch the payload will be a dummy of the company’s Dragon capsule being developed to carry equipment to the International Space Station for NASA.
The nine Merlin 1C engines will produce about 825,000 pounds of total thrust, about four times the power of a 747 jumbo jet at full throttle. The engines consume about 3,200 pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants per second, according to SpaceX.
The Martin Jetpack in flight. Image courtesy Martin Jetpack
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Step right up — you can now get your very own jetpack. That’s right, a real, not-science-fiction-honest-to-goodness jetpack. New Zealander Glenn Martin has been working on perfecting his jetpack for 30 years, and in 1998 created the Martin Aircraft Company to develop and market his idea. Now, the jetpack has become a reality. The 200-horsepower, dual-propeller is designed to fly average-sized person for 48 km (30 miles) in 30 minutes on 18 liters (5 gallons) of gas. The newest model can also reach heights of 2,400 meters (about 1.5 miles). Price? $100,000. “They are a helluva lot of fun to fly,” said Martin.
A drawing of the body of the Martin Jetpack. Courtesy Martin Aircraft Company.
Jetpacks have gone beyond being a science-fiction icon to become part of our cultural mind-set, and are such a powerful idea that several people have tried to develop them. The first serious attempts were instigated by the US military in the 1950s. The idea was to build an ultimate ‘all terrain vehicle’ to move military commanders around a battlefield. The Bell Rocket Belt was the most successful and first flew in 1961. But it only flew for 26 seconds.
Glenn Martin said he wanted to build a jetpack that could beat the 30 second mark, and beyond. He first developed his concept in 1981 based on a mathematical formula he came up with to determine what type of engine and thrust would be needed. In 2005, the 9th prototype achieved sustained flight times, laying the foundation for a viable and successful pre-production prototype to be developed.
Martin’s jetpack sounds like motorcycle or lawn mower. Since the jetpacks weigh less than 254 pounds, they don’t require a pilot’s license to fly. However, they must be flown under federal aviation regulations because it is powered by a piston driven engine. Martin says that buyers will be required to go through training before taking to the skies. The jetpack is also equipped with a low-altitude emergency parachute.
Those who have tested the jetpack say that with only the controls in front of you, flying a jetpack is a real free-flight experience.
