Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Russian Space Agency Sets Dates for Resuming Progress, Soyuz Launches

The configuration of the Soyuz-FG rocket and the Soyuz capsule. Credit: Roscosmos

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The Russia space agency has set dates for resuming flights with the Progress and Soyuz spacecraft. After determining the cause of the failure and crash of a Soyuz-U rocket carrying a Progress cargo ship bound for the International Space Station last month, Roscomos said they will be resuming flights soon, and the next Soyuz-U Progress launch will be on Sunday, October 30, 2011. “It is planned to launch Progress cargo spaceships on October 30, 2011, and on January 26, 2012. Manned Soyuz-FG spaceships will be launched on November 12 and December 20, 2011,” the agency said on their website.

The commission that investigated the crash has “approved the schedule of preparation and launch of spacecraft … The schedule is based on the analysis of willingness to third propulsion launch vehicle and taking into account the implementation of all recommendations developed by the commission.”

The commission said the crash was caused by a malfunction in the rocket’s third stage engine gas generator, which they determined was the result of a manufacturing flaw, which was “accidental.”

Roscosmos said they are also consulting with NASA to “refine the work plans of the upcoming missions to the International Space Station.” NASA has not made a statement yet on the plans laid out today by the Russian space agency.

If all goes well with the October 30 Progress launch, it will be interesting to see if all parties agree to allow NASA Flight Engineer Dan Burbank, Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin to climb on board a Soyuz flight less than two weeks later.

Meanwhile, two Soyuz ST space vehicles carrying satellites that are being prepared for launch from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana will have the third stages of their rockets changed out, according to a spokesman from the Arianespace launch service corporation and the Russian news service Itar-Tass.

The third stages of two rockets will be returned to Russia, and new stages will be delivered to Kourou.

A spokesman for the Russian Space Mission Control said the resumption of manned and cargo launches means the ISS won’t need to be evacuated.

“This means that the ISS will constantly operate in piloted mode, with astronauts onboard,” spokesman Valery Lyndin told AFP. “Crews will be changed as originally planned, only the schedule will be somewhat pushed back.”

The first three of the current crew of six on board the station are schedule to return to Earth on Friday. NASA TV will broadcast the return on September 15, as Expedition 28 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and off-going station Commander Andrey Borisenko will undock from the station’s Poisk module to return to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft.

They are set to land on the southern region steppe of Kazakhstan near the town of Dzhezkazgan at 11:01 p.m. CDT on Sept. 15 (10:01 a.m. local time, Sept. 16). Their return was delayed a week due to the Aug. 24 Progress 44 crash.

Expedition 29 station Commander Mike Fossum of NASA, Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Volkov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa will remain aboard the complex to conduct research until their planned return to Earth in mid-November.

The schedule to launch three new Expedition 29 crew members, is under review as NASA and its international partners assess the readiness to resume Soyuz launches.

Sources: Roscosmos, PhysOrg, Ciudad Futura (link for lead image)

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Progress Crash Investigation Update

The Soyuz launch sequence, showing the time of the anomaly on August 24, 2011. Credit: ESA

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The Russian space agency has provided an update on the investigation into the August 24 failure of a Soyuz rocket engine carrying a Progress resupply ship to the International Space Station. On August 30 — less than a week after the mishap – investigators for Roscosmos said the crash was caused by a malfunction in the rocket’s third stage engine gas generator. They now say the malfunction was the result of a manufacturing flaw, which was “accidental.”

This update is encouraging news, and means a decreased likelihood of having to leave the ISS unmanned.

From the commission’s report (translated):

On the basis of analyzing the behavior of the parameters characterizing the operation of the propulsion system the third stage, and results telemetry data it is concluded that reducing consumption of fuel in the gas generator due to contamination tract of its submission. This led to a breach of working conditions and reduce the engine parameters, it shut down on command “Emergency engine shutdown.”

Commission members concluded that this new manufacturing defect is random. However, the decision on his skills as a unit, should be taken only after cross-checking and follow-up of a special program just grazed manufactured propulsion.

A thorough check of all similar rocket engines will begin. The emergency commission to investigate the issue, led by Anatoly Koroteev, head of the Russian Keldysh science research institute on rockets, also recommended tightening quality controls at the rocket-manufacturing plant, and recommended adding surveillance cameras in the plant.

The space agency said future Soyuz launches will occur depending on the engines’ condition, but didn’t offer a specific schedule.

At Kennedy Space Center for the launch f the GRAIL mission, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said he is confident the fixes and checks will be done in time so that the ISS will not have to go unmanned. “We’re getting to the point where we’re going to satisfy ourselves that we can launch an unmanned vehicle to demonstrate that Soyuz is still okay, and then we’ll fly the crew up on a normal Soyuz mission later this fall,” Bolden, a former shuttle pilot and mission commander, said in an article in Florida Today.

“So the possibility of de-manning station is always something you think about, but it’s not something that is high on my list of concerns right now, because we don’t feel that is something that we’re going to have to do.”

At a press briefing last week, NASA ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said that two Soyuz-family unmanned rockets are scheduled to launch soon, which may provide a chance to test any fixes on unmanned launches before attempting a manned launch. A commercial Soyuz to launch a mobile communications satellites is scheduled on Oct. 8, and the Russians may launch the Progress resupply ship that is currently scheduled for October 26 a few weeks earlier in order to have another unmanned launch to study the problem.

The Progress cargo ships launch on a Soyuz-U rocket, while the Soyuz crew capsules, the Soyuz TMA launches on a Soyuz-FG. The third stages of the two rockets are virtually identical. The Soyuz-U rocket has had 745 successful launches and just 21 failures over nearly four decades. The Soyuz-FG has had 25 launches, all successful.
With NASA’s space shuttles retired as of July, Soyuz is the only means of getting astronauts to and from the space station.

Cargo can be brought by European and Japanese spacecraft, and SpaceX is scheduled for a demonstration cargo run late this year. Both NASA and Roscosmos confirmed that the astronauts are well-stocked with supplies on the space station, but the lifetime of the Soyuz currently at the ISS as return vehicles are limited to 200 days of on-orbit time. Of the six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station, the first set of crew of three will return to Earth next week via Soyuz, but it’s not known yet when their replacements will be able to fly. They original schedule has them launching on Sept 21, but that is unlikely. The second set of three ISS crewmembers will stay on board until mid-November.

Sources: Roscocmos, Florida Today

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

No Evacuation Plans for ISS Yet

Ron Garan and Mike Fossum during the news conference on Sept. 6, 2011. Credit: NASA T

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The International Space Station has had a continual human presence for nearly 11 years, and so the astronauts now aboard the ISS are holding out hope that they won’t have to break that streak and turn out the lights and close all the hatches when they leave. Ron Garan and Mike Fossum said in a news conference with reporters on Tuesday that they have not yet been training for the possibility that they will have to leave the ISS unmanned due to a problem with the Soyuz rocket, the only ride astronauts and cosmonauts currently have to space.

“It’s too early for us to get too worried about that, frankly,” said Fossum, “and we haven’t started to do anything specific up here,except for documenting things we do on video. Fossum added that teams in mission control in Houston and Moscow are figuring out the procedures of what needs to be done if a problem with the Soyuz rockets can’t be figured out by November. “It will take us a few weeks to finish that up, but we have another nine or so weeks here, my crew of three. So we’ve got plenty of time for those kinds of things.”

Fossum said the ground crews are in the preliminary stages of deciding everything, “from what ventilation we’re going to leave running, what lights we’re going to leave on, what condition each particular experiment will be on, every tank, every valve, every hatch.”

A Russian rocket carrying a Progress resupply ship failed just after the third stage ignition two weeks ago and crashed into Siberia. While the Progress cargo ships launch on a Soyuz-U rocket and the Soyuz crew capsules — the Soyuz TMA — launches on a Soyuz-FG, the third stages of the two rockets are virtually identical.

Russian engineers said last week a malfunction in the third stage engine’s gas generator occurred; now they need to find out why and launch a couple of unmanned rockets before putting humans on board.

Right now a crew of six is on the station, with three of them scheduled to depart late next week – a week later than originally planned — to keep the station fully staffed as long as possible. A new crew of three was supposed arrive later this month, but that flight is on hold at least until early November, depending on the outcome of the investigation by the Russian engineers.

Since the space shuttles are no longer flying, the Soyuz is the only ride in town. While SpaceX is scheduled to send an unmanned Dragon capsule in a test run for bringing cargo to the station, the station would have to be abandoned if the Soyuz rocket isn’t cleared by November.

“It’s a complicated thing, when a rocket shuts down. It is a big deal,” said Fossum. “We’re not part of that investigation but we know what is going on. It’s not a fundamental design flaw, as this rocket has had hundreds of successful fights. But they are looking for what has changed.”

So, ground teams are now looking ahead for all the possible “what ifs” that might occur and Fossum and Garan said the big problem would be a short time span to do a crew handover – training in the new crew – or if they have to leave the station unmanned. They’ve started videotaping procedures and intricacies they’ve discovered about the station, just in case they aren’t there when a new crew arrives.

But it’s been a source of pride that there have been crews up here for over 4,000 days straight. “I think it is important,” said Fossum, “the station requires some care and feeding, and it is important for us to be here if we possibly can. If we have to shut it down for awhile, we will do our best to leave it in the best possible condition for the next crew to open the doors and turn the lights and and get back to work.”

The astronauts said if they do have to leave the station unmanned for a short period, it shouldn’t be a problem, but if the short gap turns into months, “the probability starts to stack up against you and leads to possibility that you would have a problem that could be significant without anyone up here to take action,” said Fossum.

Meanwhile, science operations are going full speed ahead. “We’re breaking records every week with crew-based research, over and above the autonomous research,” Garan said. “It’s important to note, that in the event we have to leave, there will still be science operations on board.”

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Crew Provides Light-Hearted Look at Current Space Flight Plight

What does the International Space Station crew think about the situation they face since the Progress cargo ship mishap? Astronaut Ron Garan wanted to do something light-hearted to let everyone know that “we are all in this together,” so he and his crewmates created a video. Garan said “Despite the seriousness of the possibilities, and while we are all in this period of uncertainty, it doesn’t mean we can’t still have a little fun.”

This video also provides an impromptu tour of the ISS and shows how big the space station is, as it takes fellow astronaut Mike Fossum a long time to find Garan.

It should be noted that they made this video before they got the news of the potential of having the ISS unmanned. “This would have serious implications, and we all hope that it does not come to that,” Garan wrote on his Fragil Oasis blog. You can read Garan’s entire commentary about the video at that link, and take a look around at his other postings, as well. Garan is doing a great job of sharing his experiences in space.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Cause of Progress Crash May Have Been Determined

Progress M-12M cargo vehicle launches on August 24, 2011. The rocket eventually failed and the rocket and ship crashed. Credit: NASA TV.

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The Russian news agency Itar-Tass is reporting that the cause of the August 24 failure and crash of the Progress re-supply ship that was supposed to bring supplies to the International Space Station may have already been determined. “Members of the emergency commission have determined the cause of the failure of the Soyuz carrier rocket’s third stage engine,” Roscosmos spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov was quoted. “It is a malfunction in the engine’s gas generator.”

If the cause has indeed been found and if the anomaly can be resolved to the satisfaction of both Roscosmos and NASA, it might prevent a worst-case scenario of having to de-crew the International Space Station by mid-November, which NASA Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini said was a potential outcome.

The Soyuz launch sequence, showing the time of the anomaly. Credit: ESA

The emergency commission to study the problem was only formed on August 26, and that a cause has already been found comes as a bit of a surprise. The commission is lead by Anatoly Koroteev, head of the Russian Keldysh science research institute on rockets.

“He is a man with quite a bit of experience in this field for our Russian colleagues, and indeed the world,” Suffredini said during a press briefing on Monday morning. But Suffredini also said that it would likely take the commission awhile to sort out the cause and its implications to future flights.

“The team is just getting going,” Suffredini commented. “They are trying to work quickly to resolve the anomaly but they don’t want to leave any stone unturned.”

What actions will be taken to resolve the problem now that a cause may be established are not yet known. Suffredini said that two Soyuz-family unmanned rockets are scheduled to launch soon, which may provide a chance to test any fixes on unmanned launches before attempting a manned launch. A commercial Soyuz to launch a mobile communications satellites is scheduled on Oct. 8, and the Russians may launch the Progress resupply ship that is currently scheduled for October 26 a few weeks earlier in order to have another unmanned launch to study the problem.

The Progress cargo ships launch on a Soyuz-U rocket, while the Soyuz crew capsules, the Soyuz TMA launches on a Soyuz-FG. The third stages of the two rockets are virtually identical. The Soyuz-U rocket has had 745 successful launches and just 21 failures over nearly four decades. The Soyuz-FG has had 25 launches, all successful.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

SpaceX Pushes for Mission to Space Station on Next Flight

A concept drawing of the Dragon spacecraft approaching the ISS. Credit: SpaceX

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NASA and SpaceX have “technically” agreed to allow the Dragon capsule to dock with the International Space Station this fall, according to SpaceX’s Twitter feed. The Dragon capsule is currently – and tentatively — scheduled to launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on November 30, and berth with the ISS 9 days later. Originally, the Dragon was scheduled to just rendezvous and station-keep with the space station on this second flight for Dragon and then dock on a subsequent flight. But after the successful test flight for the first Dragon capsule in Dec. 2010, SpaceX asked NASA to combine the two missions.


“We technically have agreed with SpaceX that we want to combine those flights,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, speaking at the post-launch press conference for the STS-135 final shuttle mission. “We are doing all the planning to go ahead and have those missions combined, but we haven’t given them formal approval yet.

With today’s Twitter post from SpaceX, it appears things are moving in the direction of making the move official.

SpaceX’s flights are part of NASA’s COTS (Commercial Orbital Transfer Service) program, and by allowing SpaceX to dock with the ISS sooner rather than later would combine COTS II and III flights.

Will Dragon be doing any official cargo transfer? A NASA experiment called Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) #8 has a reservation with SpaceX to fly back to Earth on a Dragon capsule.
MISSE is a brief-case sized experiment that tests all sorts of materials like polymers and other composites and coatings, along with hardware such as switches, sensors and mirrors, exposing them to the vacuum of space. The experiment is attached to the outside of the ISS and opened to expose the materials.

To dock with the ISS, the Dragon capsule would need to be equipped with solar arrays and other equipment on board the spacecraft would need to be upgraded from the configuration Dragon had for the Dec. 2010 test flight.

Sources: SpaceX Twitter, AL.com

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Guest Post: End of an Era: Space Shuttle Program (1981 – 2011)

Atlantis coming in for landing. Credit: Mike Deep for Universe Today.

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Editor’s Note: Ray Sanders from the “Dear Astronomer” website sent us his observations of the end of the space shuttle era.

When space shuttle Atlantis touched down in Florida earlier this morning, it marked the end of the Shuttle era. Soon the magnificent “flying bricks” as they are commonly nicknamed will be museum exhibits.

I’ll be able to tell my soon-to-be-born daughter about how I used to watch the shuttle launches when I was her age – much like my father told me about seeing Apollo launches when he was a kid. Having watched the first shuttle launch (I was a little young for the Enterprise rollout), seeing the Challenger explosion on live television with the rest of my 4th grade class, the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, construction of the ISS (Originally U.S space station Freedom), the loss of Columbia and too many other missions to list, you could say I grew up with the shuttle program – those birds are very much a part of
the fabric of my life.

Being the little space dweeb that I was ( and still am?) I enjoyed launching my Estes space shuttle rocket (along with my SR-71, Saturn V and V2 models) and had just about every space-themed Lego kit known to exist. Despite the space toys and my extreme interest in space (and astronomy) as a kid, I never got a chance to go to space camp – something I’ll make sure my daughter goes to if she’s interested. My hopes are that when she’s old enough to appreciate it, there will be a form of space exploration that captivates her as much as the shuttles did during their time.

To a certain degree, I envy those a bit older than myself who were lucky to watch the lunar landings in the late 60?s and early 70?s. I write this on the 42nd anniversary of Apollo 11, when the human race first stepped on the moon. I’m sure space enthusiasts a bit older than I am were a bit dismayed about the end of Apollo and had lingering questions about whether or not the fancy new “space shuttles” would even get off the ground. Fast forward through thirty years of the shuttle program and an entirely new generation sits at the precipice, asking the very same question: “where do we go from here?”