Space News thread

[DrWilly]

The Star wars robot, if you don’t know then you don’t know.


The other robot hops.

[Topper]

I'm sure there is some brilliant wit there, but I don't get it.

BB-8 from Star Wars

[harrybarracuda]

The Star wars robot, if you don’t know then you don’t know.

The other robot hops.

So willy the wanker thinks I'm supposed to have watched some dull Star Wars movie, and here's how he proves how clever he is.



What a fucking moron.

[harrybarracuda]

BB-8 from Star Wars

I see. More of a Trekkie to be honest.

[harrybarracuda]

NASA have lost contact with Ingenuity.

[Takeovers]

Contact with Ingenuity helicopter has been reestablished, says NASA JPL.

Reason of contact loss and future of Ingenuity yet unclear.

[DrWilly]

Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t they originally plan for ingenuity to fly 8 missions? And now it’s up to 69. If so that’s some amazing durability.

[harrybarracuda]

Still wondering why they haven't released a picture of it yet.

Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) lander had to be shut down just three hours after touching down on the lunar surface last week.

The lander, which technically speaking still managed to make Japan the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, didn't quite stick the landing. For hours, teams at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency struggled to get the spacecraft to charge its batteries using its solar panels.

As it turns out, the issue is that the panels were pointing west and away from the Sun.

While that may sound like the small spacecraft's fate is sealed, JAXA isn't ready to give up just yet. There's still a chance SLIM may jump back to life, giving it a potentially new lease on life.

"If sunlight hits the Moon from the west in the future, we believe there's a possibility of power generation, and we're currently preparing for restoration," JAXA wrote in a new statement.

At first, the mission appeared to go as planned, with the spacecraft making a controlled descent to the Moon's cratered surface. Several hours of radio silence from JAXA followed, triggering speculation about the lander's fate.

Behind the scenes, teams had to act quickly as battery capacity was diminishing quickly.

"The battery was disconnected according to our procedures with 12 percent power remaining, in order to avoid a situation where the restart (of the lander) would be hampered," the latest statement reads.

Scientists are now poring over the data SLIM managed to collect before it went dark.

"We were able to complete the transmission of technical and image data acquired during the descent and on the lunar surface before the power was switched off," JAXA said. "We’re relieved and beginning to get excited after confirming a lot of data has been obtained."

It's a glimmer of hope — with the possibility of the Sun charging the spacecraft's solar panels still on the table, scientists are eager to have SLIM jump back into action.

And even if it doesn't, it's still a considerable feat that's worth celebrating, especially considering all of the failed landing attempts that preceded it.

"The post-landing posture didn’t go as planned, but we may be able to produce plenty of results and we’re happy that the landing succeeded," JAXA's statement reads.

Japan Trying to Bring Dead Moon Lander Back to Life

[Edmond]

You'd think that they'd make the solar panels able to rotate by remote, instead of them being locked into facing in only one direction.

Ed - knows more than rocket scientists - mond.

[harrybarracuda]

You'd think that they'd make the solar panels able to rotate by remote, instead of them being locked into facing in only one direction.

Ed - knows more than rocket scientists - mond.

To be honest it seemed a bit of a wacky way to land a spacecraft anyway.

[Takeovers]

Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t they originally plan for ingenuity to fly 8 missions?

NASA would have been happy with 2 flights. Just a proof of concept. Ingenuity was/is a huge success, even if dead now.

[Takeovers]

You'd think that they'd make the solar panels able to rotate by remote, instead of them being locked into facing in only one direction.

That would have been much more complicated. Fixed solar panels are fine. The landing method, intended to fall over by 90" is whacky. The lander should have a different size,flat and wide, and land in its final position instead, IMO. The expected tilt at the landing site, being 15° is not too much.

[helge]

While that may sound like the small spacecraft's fate is sealed, JAXA isn't ready to give up just yet. There's still a chance SLIM may jump back to life, giving it a potentially new lease on life.

"If sunlight hits the Moon from the west in the future, we believe there's a possibility of power generation, and we're currently preparing for restoration," JAXA wrote in a new statement.

If sunlight hits................

What does that mean ? Wouldn't they know the..."weather forecast" up there ?

Ingenuity was/is a huge success, even if dead now.

All failures in that industry are declared giant leaps forward.

Otherwise the parasites wouldn't get funded anymore.


I can't wait for the first martyrs to be launced

[harrybarracuda]

Well they finally got a rover to take a picture of SLIM.

It's upside down.

[harrybarracuda]

Fixed solar panels are fine.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah. But no.

[harrybarracuda]

Just before the landing, the craft had suddenly lost half of its thrust. At the time, SLIM was hovering 50 meters above the surface to allow final selection of a landing point, using a vision-based navigation system. It turned out that one of the two main engine nozzles had fallen off -- captured, apparently, in an image taken by SLIM during flight that showed an object lying on the surface.

Since the nozzles had been installed at a slight angle, SLIM struggled to keep its balance when one of the engines stopped firing. Under the original plan, SLIM was supposed to land at a slight tilt and fall on its side, with its solar cells facing up.

Now, with SLIM resting on its head and the solar cells facing west, it can only generate power when the sun shines from that direction.

<snip>

JAXA hopes the craft will come back to life once the sun starts beaming from the west. Sakai, however, cautioned that it was hard to gauge the chances of that. He said SLIM was not designed to withstand the peak heat of the lunar day, which reaches as high as 200 C.

<snip>

The plan had been to land in the morning, when the heat on the surface is not at its most intense, and operate for a short period. Later, after the hottest time, the scientists would determine whether the craft was still usable. SLIM is now entering the lunar afternoon.

Japan releases image of SLIM spacecraft upside down on moon -
Nikkei Asia

[harrybarracuda]

Hmmmm.

Even though JAXA engineers had suspected the lander was resting on its head, Sakai said he was "shell shocked" when he saw the image, which was taken by a tiny rover measuring 8 centimeters in diameter, released by SLIM. The picture was transmitted to Earth by another, larger rover outfitted with communications equipment.

Sakai said he remains concerned, as the posture does not look stable.

What's he worried about? A sudden gust of wind? A Lunar quake? A rogue space pigeon deciding to stop by?

[harrybarracuda]

Oh dear it's all grim news today.

Ingenuity helicopter's Mars mission over after rotor blade damage, says NASA




NASA's mini helicopter Ingenuity has made its last flight on Mars after one of its rotor blades was damaged.

It's been on the Red Planet since February 2021, and two months later achieved the milestone of the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Ingenuity has flown 72 flights for a total of 11 miles - 14 times further than planned in what was originally intended to be a 30-day mission.

The solar-powered aircraft was a big success for NASA and helped identify locations for the Perseverance rover that accompanied it.

However, NASA boss Bill Nelson said on Thursday its mission was now over after an image from its camera appeared to show the broken rotor.

The damage apparently happened when it came in to land earlier this month, with the craft temporarily losing contact with Perseverance during the incident.

"We're investigating the possibility that the blade struck the ground," Mr Nelson said.

<snip>

The copter is still upright and in contact with flight controllers, but NASA said the Perseverance rover was currently too far away to photograph its final resting place.

"While we knew this day was inevitable, it doesn't make it any easier to announce the end of the mission," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division.

"It's almost an understatement to say that it has surpassed expectations."

https://news.sky.com/story/ingenuity-helicopters-mars-mission-over-after-rotor-blade-damage-says-nasa-13056483

[harrybarracuda]

Here's how that SLIM pic should have looked.

[Edmond]

Should have listened to Edmond.

Don't have the solar panels fixed in one position.

I am currently available for freelance consultation contracts if Nasa is listening.

[harrybarracuda]

Fucking hell, would you want to go to space in this?

Two astronauts could be hightailing it to the International Space Station (ISS) in less than three months.
NASA says the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will embark on its first crewed test flight to the ISS this April. The space agency has made significant progress in resolving technical issues identified during the flight certification process, according to a statement shared Wednesday.
The Starliner has had a shaky history. The capsule failed a test flight in 2019 before it eventually completed an unmanned mission to the ISS in 2022. Since then, several ongoing issues have caused NASA to delay the Starliner’s inaugural crewed mission. Fortunately, the agency appears to be solving the problems, and the craft is nearly ready for space.
NASA said that it completed a successful drop test earlier this month in which it was able to validate recent modifications to the spacecraft’s parachute system. Over the next six to eight weeks, the team will carry out a final analysis of the test data and complete an overall system certification. (This process is designed to check that the Starliner’s parachute system meets crew safety requirements.)

NASA’s Starliner Spacecraft Will Fly Astronauts to the ISS This April – Robb Report

[Takeovers]

Fucking hell, would you want to go to space in this?

They found eror after error. Some design failures, some just poor workmanship. BTW the most grave design failure, faulty valves, is not even fixed yet. They go by being extra careful and prayers. The next crew launch, in 2025 will have this fixed. Without an uncrewed test flight, of course.

[harrybarracuda]

They found eror after error. Some design failures, some just poor workmanship. BTW the most grave design failure, faulty valves, is not even fixed yet. They go by being extra careful and prayers. The next crew launch, in 2025 will have this fixed. Without an uncrewed test flight, of course.

Well I was more relating it to bits falling off Boeing planes....

[Takeovers]

Related to bits falling off. In this case the japanese Moon lander. JAXA finally released their analysis of the failure. At an altitude of 50m the lander lost the nozzle of one of their 2 main engines. The software coped very well, but not good enough. While maintaining the rate of descent for a good landing, there was some sideways shift due to the missing nozzle and that caused the tipover.

JAXA still hopes that with changing direction of the sun they may get enough light on the solar panels. If lucky this will revive the lander and enable it to do some of the planned science.

I personally think the chance is not very big but non zero. They did keep some charge in the battery to increase their chances.

[OhOh]

Iran Conducts Second Controversial Satellite Launch In One Week

20 hours ago

"Iran simultaneously launched three satellites for the first time on Sunday using the domestically developed Simorgh (Phoenix) rocket, state media reported.
One satellite weighing 32 kg (70 pounds) and two nano-satellites of less than 10 kg each were sent to a minimum orbit of 450 km (280 miles), with the two smaller devices aimed at testing narrowband communication and geo-positioning technology, the reports said.

Iran’s satellite launches are viewed by the United States and its European allies as a possible cover to develop long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

A recent US intelligence assessment suggested that launching satellites “shortens the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. It is all the more worrying, experts say, since Iran is on the verge of nuclear capability, according to most intelligence estimates and recent International Atomic Energy Agency reports.

This was Tehran’s second satellite launch in one week. On January 21, the government announced the launch of the Soraya satellite, which it claimed was put into an orbit 750 kilometers above the earth.

The larger satellite, named "Mahda" and built by Iran's Space Agency, is meant to test the accuracy of the Simorgh rocket in delivering multiple cargoes to space.

European powers raised concerns about the launch of Soraya, saying that the space launch vehicle's technology could be used for the development of long-range ballistic missile systems.

Iran on Saturday dismissed European countries’ condemnation of its launch of the Sorayya satellite, saying peaceful technological advancement in the aerospace field was the country’s legitimate right."

Iran Conducts Second Controversial Satellite Launch In One Week | Iran International