Space News thread

[Neo]

Neo, I check out APOD every day and they had that exact photo a few days ago. Always interesting.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Excellent.. thanks for the link.

[Takeovers]

A large spy telescope may be sent to Mars.

A while back two large space telescopes that had been built for military observation purposes but were not used have been given to NASA. NASA is now considering launching them. Their optics are just slightly different to Hubble, designed for earth observation, but they can be utilized for astronomy too. Now there is the idea to send one of them to Mars. Their design would be ideally suited to get the best images ever of the Mars surface and explore in more detail possible future landing sites.

But that telescope could not be used for Mars only. The two telescopes could work together providing very large baseline astronomy for high resolution imaging. It would be a long journey. Over two years to get there and over 2 years again to reach the destination orbit. The time is so long because the telescope is heavy and an Ion-Drive would be used to get it there. But the telescope could start doing scientific work while on the way so the time would not be wasted.

It's a very exciting project.



Links for more details:

NASA May Launch Donated Spy Telescope to Mars | Mars Orbiting Space Telescope | Space.com

Mars Space Telescope Possible with Old Spy Satellite Tech (Infographic) | Space.com

[Takeovers]

Video and picture from a normal DeltaIV rocket launch yesterday. Nothing unusual but a good video from an unusual and interesting viewpoint.



A photo of the rocket. You see the four solid rocket boosters that you can see separate in the video.




The launch



If you are interested, more photos here.

[S Landreth]

Telescope will allow public to go on the Net and view Earth from the moon

The ILO-X lunar telescope which was designed and built for his International Lunar Observatory Association by Silicon-Valley based Moon Express Inc. is shown in this undated handout photo. The privately-funded telescope that is set to launch to the moon in 2015 will allow the public to go on the Internet and view the Earth from the lunar surface. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Moon Express

Telescope will allow public to go on the Net and view Earth from the moon | CTV Montreal News

Richards pointed out that people on Earth will even be able to manoeuvre the telescope by remote control, giving them out-of-this-world access to galaxies, stars and planets.

"The other thing that you'll be able to do is turn the telescope down to the lunar landscape and take pictures of the landscape that's around the (Moon Express) lander."

[Mr Lick]

Asteroid 1998 QE2 set for Earth fly-by




At its closest, the asteroid will pass within a distance of about 6 million kilometres

An asteroid that measures nearly 2.7km (1.7 miles) across is set to fly past the Earth.

The space rock, which is called 1998 QE2, is so large that it is orbited by its own moon.

It will make its closest approach to our planet at 20:59 GMT (21:59 BST), but scientists say there is no chance that it will hit.

Instead it will keep a safe distance - at closest, about 5.8 million km (3.6 million mi).

That is about 200 times more distant than the asteroid "near-miss" that occurred in February - but Friday's passing space rock is more than 50,000 times larger.

Prof Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queen's University Belfast, said: "It's a big one.

And there are very few of these objects known - there are probably only about 600 or so of this size or larger in near-Earth space.

"And importantly, if something this size did hit us one day in the future, it is extremely likely it would cause global environmental devastation, so it is important to try and understand these objects."


Dark visitor

This fly-by will give astronomers the chance to study the rocky mass in detail.

Using radar telescopes, they will record a series of high-resolution images.

They want to find out what it is made of, and exactly where in the Solar System it came from.

Prof Fitzsimmons said: "We already know from the radar measurements, coupled with its brightness, that it appears to be a relatively dark asteroid - that it's come from the outer part of the asteroid belt."

Early analysis has already revealed that the asteroid has its own moon: it is being orbited by another smaller piece of rock that is about 600m (2000ft) across.

About 15% of asteroids that are large are "binary" systems like this.

This celestial event will not be visible to the naked eye, but space enthusiasts with even a modest telescope might be able to witness the pass.

After this, asteroid 1998 QE2 will hurtle back out into deep space; Friday's visit will be its closest approach for at least two centuries.

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in potential hazards in space.

So far they have counted more than 9,000 near-Earth asteroids, and they spot another 800 new space rocks on average each year.



The Deep Space Network snapped images of the asteroid and its moon on 29 May

[kingwilly]

Titan Up Front

The colorful globe of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, passes in front of the planet and its rings in this true color snapshot from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

The north polar hood can be seen on Titan (3,200 miles or 5,150 kilometers across) and appears as a detached layer at the top of the moon here. See PIA08137 and PIA09739 to learn more about Titan's atmosphere and the north polar hood.

This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 21, 2011, at a distance of approximately 1.4 million miles (2.3 million kilometers) from Titan. Image scale is 9 miles (14 kilometers) per pixel on Titan.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit NASA - Cassini and Cassini Solstice Mission.

[kingwilly]

Actually, one theory says Earth did have rings at one stage after an smaller planet collided with earth, but eventually coalesced into the moon as it is today!

[Takeovers]

Presently the chinese space ship Shenzou 10 is in space, visiting the chinese space station.

There is a cute female astronaut too. She was giving lectures for students on earth.

[Latindancer]

Sun set to flip its magnetic field

by Miriam Kramer, Space.com August 7, 2013, 2:17 pm




The sun is gearing up for a major solar flip, NASA says.
In an event that occurs once every 11 years, the magnetic field of the sun will change its polarity in a matter of months, according new observations by NASA-supported observatories.
The flipping of the sun's magnetic field marks the peak of the star's 11-year solar cycle and the halfway point in the sun's "solar maximum" — the peak of its solar weather cycle. NASA released a new video describing the sun's magnetic flip on Aug 5th.
"It looks like we're no more than three to four months away from a complete field reversal," Todd Hoeksema, the director of Stanford University's Wilcox Solar Observatory, said in a statement.
"This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system."
The sun's magnetic field is gearing up to shift. Photo: NASA



As the field shifts, the "current sheet" — a surface that radiates billions of kilometers outward from the sun's equator — becomes very wavy, NASA officials said.
Earth orbits the sun, dipping in and out of the waves of the current sheet.
The transition from a wave to a dip can create stormy space weather around Earth, NASA officials said.
"The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity," Stanford solar physicist Phil Scherrer said in a statement.
"This is a regular part of the solar cycle."
While the polarity shift can stir up some stormy weather, it also provides extra shielding from dangerous cosmic rays.
These high-energy particles, which are accelerated by events like supernova explosions, zip through the universe at nearly the speed of light.
They can harm satellites and astronauts in space, and the wrinkled current sheet better protects the planet from these particles.
The effects of the rippled sheet can also be felt throughout the solar system, far beyond Pluto and even touching the Voyager probes near the barrier of interstellar space.
"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," Scherrer said.
"Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of solar max will be underway."
The current solar maximum is the weakest in 100 years, experts have said.
Usually, at the height of a solar cycle, sunspot activity increases.
These dark regions on the sun's surface can give birth to solar flares and ejections, but there have been fewer observed sunspots this year than in the maximums of previous cycles.

[Takeovers]

As I mentioned Grasshopper on the Hyperloop thread, here another video. It just flew again, this time with some wild maneuvers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t15vP1PyoA&feature=player_detailpage

"On August 13th, the Falcon 9 test rig (code name Grasshopper) completed a divert test, flying to a 250m altitude with a 100m lateral maneuver before returning to the center of the pad. The test demonstrated the vehicle's ability to perform more aggressive steering maneuvers than have been attempted in previous flights.

Grasshopper is taller than a ten story building, which makes the control problem particularly challenging. Diverts like this are an important part of the trajectory in order to land the rocket precisely back at the launch site after reentering from space at hypersonic velocity."

[Takeovers]

The future of design.

At SpaceX they have developed a method of manipulating 3D objects in CAD-Software with handwaving to make handling easier.

Also near the end of the video they show 3D printing of an important part of a rocket engine. That shows even objects with the most extreme requirements of heat resistance and strength can now be 3D printed.

For those who have not seen him, the presenter is Elon Musk.

[Takeovers]

Another video with Elon Musk giving a tour of the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne, California near LA. It is not new but still interesting, just to see the man behind it all.

[Takeovers]

Big day in space coming up.

Two major events within a few hours of each other.

The Cygnus spacecraft from Orbital Sciences is alredy flying in orbit and will dock to the ISS for cargo delivery today. This is the initial mission where all systems are checked out. Of course there is already cargo in it. If successful, regular cargo runs by Orbital will start in December.

The new much improved SpaceX Falcon 9 1.1 will launch from Vandenberg Airforce Base in California today for its maiden voyage. Assumed it is successful SpaceX will start launching a lot of rockets to work down their launch schedule. They have already more than 40 contracts for launches on their lists and their Hawthorne factory is working to build the rockets for that.

[Takeovers]

Resources for watching the Cygnus spacecraft docking.

Updated Cygnus Rendezvous Date, NASA TV Coverage for Orbital Sciences' Demonstration Mission to International Space Station | NASA

A link for life streaming coverage of the docking.

Cygnus Rendezvous Programming Schedule | NASA

NASA Television | NASA

The docking was expected initially a few days ago but there was a software glitch so they had to delay it. Due to the arrival of a manned russian Sojus to the ISS that dalay was a full week but now they are ready to go. As this is a test flight this kind of glitch is no big deal, especially if it can be fixed on the go.

NASA and its International Space Station partners have approved a Sunday, Sept. 29, target arrival of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft on its demonstration cargo resupply mission to the space station.
NASA Television coverage of the rendezvous will begin at 4:30 a.m. EDT and will continue through the capture and installation of the Cygnus spacecraft. For the latest schedule for spacecraft capture and installation, as well as the post-berthing news conference, visit:

Cygnus Rendezvous Programming Schedule | NASA

Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., launched the Cygnus spacecraft on the company's Antares rocket Sept. 18 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
International Space Station Expedition 37 crew members Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency will capture the spacecraft using the space station's robotic arm. They then will install Cygnus on the bottom of the station's Harmony module.
Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including student experiments, food and clothing, to the space station. Future Cygnus flights will ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical science research to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new science investigations to the only laboratory in microgravity.
Cygnus had been scheduled for a rendezvous with the space station on Sept. 22. Due to a data format mismatch, the first rendezvous attempt was postponed. Orbital has since updated and tested a software patch. Cygnus' arrival also was postponed pending the Sept. 25 arrival of the Expedition 37 crew. Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins of NASA and Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) arrived at the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The updated Sunday rendezvous and approach will include originally planned tests to validate Cygnus' performance as it approaches the space station.
Orbital built, and is testing, Cygnus under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program. The successful completion of the COTS demonstration mission will pave the way for Orbital to conduct eight planned cargo resupply flights to the space station through NASA’s $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company.

[Takeovers]

The Cygnus mission may be more important in the short term. However launch of the new Falcon 9 1.1 or Falcon 9R will have a big impact on spaceflight in the long run. Falcon 9 R stands for reusable as SpaceX expects to be able soon to fly back the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket for reuse.

The live stream link for the upcoming launch. Right now it already provides a countdown clock so you can check on the time for launch. Right now launch is in 8:15 hours.

Upgraded Falcon 9 Demonstration Flight on Livestream

A few photos of the launch vehicle on the Vandenberg Pad.

A photobucket link to view a lot more great photos.

MVN Photo by spacecoaster1 | Photobucket

[Takeovers]

Somehow I am more impressed with SpaceX developing and building all components of their launch vehicle and the Dragon spacecraft on a very low budget and providing future launch service for NASA and the space industry in general at reduced cost than with Orbital Sciences.

Orbital got their rocket engines out of a russian warehouse where they have spent almost 40 years in storage. They are thoroughly refurbished and tested before use by a russian aerospace contractor though. They buy their first stage structure from Ukraine, their Cygnus Spacecraft from Italy. They buy their second stage from an american supplier and integrate it into their Antares rocket. No doubt also a great achievement but is it really what was dubbed as an effort by the US to have independent national capability to serve the ISS?

[Takeovers]

Both events proceeded successfully.

Cygnus is now docked to the ISS and being unloaded. Once unloded it will be packed with junk and released. The junk will then be burned up when entering the atmosphere. Cygnus is not designed for landing.

The maiden flight of Falcon 9 1.1 was also successful. The main satellite the Canandian CASSIOPE, and a number of very small secondary payloads were successfully released into the intended orbit.

Tests performed after completion of the mission were not so successful. The second stage was scheduled to relight as a demo of that capability for the next flight. That did not happen. They say telemetry data were good, they know the reasons and how to make changes so it will go well next time.

The next launch will be an expensive geostationary Comm-Sat. The customer and his insurance company want a high degree of security for the launch. So it will need some convincing with good data to get the go ahead for that launch.

The first stage was used for a test how to get it back for relaunch. The first of two steps worked well, the second failed, which was not unexpected. Again they got telemetry data and are confident they can eliminate the reasons for failure. In fact they are happy with the result. They say before that flight they were confident they can reuse stages, now they KNOW it. If everything goes very well, they could land and REFLY a first stage as early as end of next year.

Of course in spaceflight things usually don't go that well. But it looks very good for 2015.

[thailazer]

Both events proceeded successfully.

Cygnus is now docked to the ISS and being unloaded. Once unloded it will be packed with junk and released. The junk will then be burned up when entering the atmosphere. Cygnus is not designed for landing.

The maiden flight of Falcon 9 1.1 was also successful. The main satellite the Canandian CASSIOPE, and a number of very small secondary payloads were successfully released into the intended orbit.

Tests performed after completion of the mission were not so successful. The second stage was scheduled to relight as a demo of that capability for the next flight. That did not happen. They say telemetry data were good, they know the reasons and how to make changes so it will go well next time.

The next launch will be an expensive geostationary Comm-Sat. The customer and his insurance company want a high degree of security for the launch. So it will need some convincing with good data to get the go ahead for that launch.

The first stage was used for a test how to get it back for relaunch. The first of two steps worked well, the second failed, which was not unexpected. Again they got telemetry data and are confident they can eliminate the reasons for failure. In fact they are happy with the result. They say before that flight they were confident they can reuse stages, now they KNOW it. If everything goes very well, they could land and REFLY a first stage as early as end of next year.

Of course in spaceflight things usually don't go that well. But it looks very good for 2015.

Saw an exceptionally bright pass of the ISS up here north of CM early this morning. Must have been that Cygnus in the parking lot! It was so bright my HD video camera easily picked it up.

I know this has been posted before but in case some missed it.....

NASA - Spot The Station

[harrybarracuda]

NASA's Orion spacecraft comes to life
Posted October 29, 2013 - 10:45 by TG Daily Staff

NASA's first-ever deep space craft, Orion, has been powered on for the first time, marking a major milestone in the final year of preparations for flight. Orion's avionics system was installed on the crew module and powered up for a series of systems tests at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida last week.

Preliminary data indicate Orion's vehicle management computer, as well as its innovative power and data distribution system -- which use state-of-the-art networking capabilities -- performed as expected.



All of Orion's avionics systems will be put to the test during its first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1(EFT-1), targeted to launch in the fall of 2014.

"Orion will take humans farther than we've ever been before, and in just about a year we're going to send the Orion test vehicle into space," said Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development in Washington. "The work we're doing now, the momentum we're building, is going to carry us on our first trip to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. No other vehicle currently being built can do that, but Orion will, and EFT-1 is the first step."

Orion provides the United States an entirely new human space exploration capability -- a flexible system that can to launch crew and cargo missions, extend human presence beyond low-Earth orbit, and enable new missions of exploration throughout our solar system.

EFT-1 is a two-orbit, four-hour mission that will send Orion, uncrewed, more than 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface --15 times farther than the International Space Station. During the test, Orion will return to Earth, enduring temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit while traveling 20,000 miles per hour, faster than any current spacecraft capable of carrying humans. The data gathered during the flight will inform design decisions, validate existing computer models and guide new approaches to space systems development. The information gathered from this test also will aid in reducing the risks and costs of subsequent Orion flights.

"It’s been an exciting ride so far, but we're really getting to the good part now," said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager. "This is where we start to see the finish line. Our team across the country has been working hard to build the hardware that goes into Orion, and now the vehicle and all our plans are coming to life."

Throughout the past year, custom-designed components have been arriving at Kennedy for installation on the spacecraft -- more than 66,000 parts so far. The crew module portion already has undergone testing to ensure it will withstand the extremes of the space environment.

Preparation also continues on the service module and launch abort system that will be integrated next year with the Orion crew module for the flight test. The completed Orion spacecraft will be installed on a Delta IV heavy rocket for EFT-1. NASA is also developing a new rocket, the Space Launch System, which will power subsequent missions into deep space, beginning with Exploration Mission-1 in 2017.

[wasabi]

So it is going past the Moon? Nobody has been further than the Moon.

[BaitongBoy]

Comet ISON could wow stargazers this December if it survives its close encounter with the sun next month. The comet was discovered last year by a couple of amateur Russian astronomers as it made its way from the cold and distant comet refractory called the Oort Cloud. Astronomers believe this trip is its maiden voyage to the inner solar system


Any updates on this baby?...

[thailazer]

Comet ISON could wow stargazers this December if it survives its close encounter with the sun next month. The comet was discovered last year by a couple of amateur Russian astronomers as it made its way from the cold and distant comet refractory called the Oort Cloud. Astronomers believe this trip is its maiden voyage to the inner solar system


Any updates on this baby?...

Lots of discussion on this and some mixed opinions. It passes within a sun's diameter of the sun so it might lose all of its gas and water content and come out the back side as only a bunch of debris.

[Rainfall]

Actually, one theory says Earth did have rings at one stage after an smaller planet collided with earth, but eventually coalesced into the moon as it is today!

Almost certainly not. The moon is nearly 100% rock, and Saturn's rings are almost 100% water ice, drinking water quality. Huge difference in volume, also. The rings contain only as much ice as the Antarctic ice sheet, and can't be a smashed former moon.

[thailazer]

Boy there is a lot whacked out information on Ison on the web. People are linking it to everything.

Here is some factual information on the speculation of how it will hold up on its brush with the sun.

Comet ISON's chances of surviving close brush with the Sun

[Takeovers]

Here a video of the last Soyus launch with a Soyus capsule bringing Cosmonauts to the ISS.

It is the first launch vehicle I have seen painted with pictures. It was a display advertising for the Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi this coming february. Very nice video worth looking. Don't know why there is the NASA logo at the end of it.



The video was made to a high visual standard, probably because it is meant to be advertising for Sochi as well as showing off Soyus.