Space News thread

[Topper]

This is what Elon Musk refers to as the window that is now open and we don't know how long it will be open so the time to get moving is now. Society, science and technology advancing is not a given. It happens only when people keep pushing. Falling back is just as likely to happen. Pointing to the end of the Roman Empire followed by the dark ages. When we fall back now we may never achieve the same level of technology again.

Well said, sir! Thanks for the thoughts and the work on this thread.

[Luigi]

A 650-metre-wide asteroid discovered three years ago by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona as part of NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program passes within five lunar distances of Earth on 19 April — the closest any known space rock of this size has approached our planet since September 2004.



https://astronomynow.com/2017/04/17/...h-on-19-april/

[BaitongBoy]

This is what Elon Musk refers to as the window that is now open and we don't know how long it will be open so the time to get moving is now. Society, science and technology advancing is not a given. It happens only when people keep pushing. Falling back is just as likely to happen. Pointing to the end of the Roman Empire followed by the dark ages. When we fall back now we may never achieve the same level of technology again.

Well said, sir! Thanks for the thoughts and the work on this thread.

Yes...

"This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper"...

[bobo746]

Russia's Soyuz MS-02 space capsule carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew members—NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos—descends before landing in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on April 10, 2017

[BaitongBoy]

^ Beautiful pic...Wonder how long they were "away"...

[Takeovers]

Wonder how long they were "away"...

They launched Oct. 19, 2016 and docked to the ISS on Oct. 21.

[BaitongBoy]

Cheers...

[Latindancer]

A year and a half in no gravity ? They're going to feel pretty weird coming down to Earth.

[Auroria]

I was watching a documentary last night about getting people to Mars. 2 scientists in the early 90's proposed a transportation method that was spinning/rotating, thus causing an effect similar to gravity for the people in it. They would be able to walk on the floor etc. Unfortunately I fell asleep before the ending.

Takeovers, has such a method been completely ruled out by the likes of Space X? You would imagine that it would add to the journey time, but make the experience a lot easier on the astronauts.

[Takeovers]

A year and a half in no gravity ? They're going to feel pretty weird coming down to Earth

Half a year. Pretty normal ISS time. Some have done more than a year without major problems.

[Auroria]

Thanks, but that's not my quote.

[Takeovers]

Takeovers, has such a method been completely ruled out by the likes of Space X? You would imagine that it would add to the journey time, but make the experience a lot easier on the astronauts.

OMG you have done it! Opening this can of worms and bringig it here.

There is a very vocal group of people proposing artificial gravity with religious fervor. They show pictures of astronauts carried out of Soyuz capsules because they can not stand. All bullshit. Their sense of balance needs to readjust to earth just like they need 2 days to adjust to microgravity on the ISS. Other claimed health issues may or may not be related to microgravity. Most of them can be mitigated by training and some medication. William Gerstenmaier, head of NASA manned spaceflight, recently said with the present exercise regime some Astronauts come back from the ISS fitter than when they launched. Even slow trajectories to Mars will not involve much more than 6 months in microgravity, just like the recently landed astronauts. Fast trajectories as planned by SpaceX will take 3-4 months, less than the typical ISS mission. NASA is planning a mission to Mars orbit only. For that mission they would be in microgravity for 18 months or more.

If we ever send missions out beyond Mars on multi year schedules, artificial gravity may become necessary. It is possible but a huge PITA, the simplistic solutions with tethers suggested by the proponents will likely not work, early tests were very discouraging.

[Takeovers]

Thanks, but that's not my quote.

Corrected. I hit the q-Quote button on your post.

[Takeovers]

A 1959 soviet SF movie vs the real SpaceX landing

[BaitongBoy]

Amazingly similar...

[Takeovers]

The last days of Cassini.

A picture taken of the Saturn rings. Below it earh and moon.

[BaitongBoy]

Quite a time it is...How much longer before the lights go out?...

[Luigi]

^ Our Sun is just a star in someone else's sky.

[BaitongBoy]

Indeed...We are less than gnats in the "armpits" of the Great Buffalo...

[Luigi]

But a fart in the cosmic wind.



Errr. Back to you Sir Takeovers.

[BaitongBoy]

The "lights" on Cassini, I meant...How many days left before "impact?"...

[Takeovers]

The "lights" on Cassini, I meant...How many days left before "impact?"...

On checking a bit longer than I thougt. But the statement is that the present Titan flyby marks the beginning of the end. The article says Sept. 15 but I am not sure they can time it by the day.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...asa/100754070/

This will be "the mission's final opportunity for up-close observations of the lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons that spread across the moon's northern polar region, and the last chance to use its powerful radar to pierce the haze and make detailed images of the surface," NASA said in a statement.
Cassini's radar instrument will look for changes in Titan's methane lakes and seas, and attempt for the first (and last) time to study the depth and composition of Titan's smaller lakes.
The closest approach to Titan is planned for 2:08 a.m. EDT on Saturday. During that encounter, Cassini will pass as close as 608 miles above Titan's surface at a speed of about 13,000 mph, NASA said.
The flyby is also the beginning of the end for Cassini: Once it passes by Titan, its final 22 orbits over the next five months will be between Saturn and its famed rings, ending with a plunge into Saturn on Sept. 15 that will destroy the spacecraft and finish the mission.

[BaitongBoy]

Thanks...Almost 5 months to go, then...

[OhOh]

Allegedly, the Chinese have successfully docked an unmanned robot "supply" ship with it's orbiting mother-ship. Catching up with Russia who is the only other country to have achieved this feat.

Is there a need for spacemen any longer?



"The Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft successfully completed automated docking with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab. The two vessels will orbit together for about two months, then Tianzhou-1 will orbit independently for about three months for further experiments."

Cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 docks with Tiangong-2 space lab - CCTV News - CCTV.com English

Tianzhou-1 docks with Tiangong-2 space lab, conducts in-orbit refuelling - CCTV News - CCTV.com English

[Takeovers]

Allegedly, the Chinese have successfully docked an unmanned robot "supply" ship with it's orbiting mother-ship. Catching up with Russia who is the only other country to have achieved this feat.

There is Russia with progress, Japan with HTV, Europe with ATV, USA with Dragon and Cygnus. They all do this or similar.

There is the difference between docking and berthing. The Chinese do docking like ATV and progress which is completely automated. Cygnus and Dragon use berthing which needs some support from the ISS. But not because docking is somehow more difficult, it is not. The US cargo carriers use berthing because the port allows for larger payloads to pass.

They all have somewhat different capabilities. HTV and progress like the chinese craft can transfer propellant needed at the station. Dragon is the only cargo transporter that can bring materials back to the ground, including freezers bringing bio samples down and powering them through descent so they keep them deep frozen during landing. Important for science. The ability to do that is unique. The russian manned vehicle, the Soyuz can bring down only very small limited item and can not keep them frozen. The Chinese will need to use their manned vehicle under development for that purpose.

Edit: I am not 100% sure about propellant transfer capability of the japanese HTV. The european ATV was capable of doing that.

Edit2: Those freezers, when brought up are very popular with the ISS crew because they can be used to deliver fresh ice cream to supplement their food rations.