Space Flight | Universe Today

The X-Prize competition for building a lander vehicle capable of making a simulated landing and liftoff on the Moon has come to a close, with the 1st place, $1 million award going to Masten Space Systems for their vehicle, Xoie (pronounced like the name 'Zoey'). Armadillo Aerospace came in a close second, and received $500,000 for their Scorpius rocket. The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X-Prize challenge was initiated to spur development of lunar landing vehicle by a privately funded institution. The last of the challenge flights occured Friday, October 30th, and the competition came down to the wire, as Masten encountered problems on Wednesday and Thursday challenge windows that delayed their final flight to the last day of the challenge. Read more…

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The U.S. Air Force began upgrading its ability to predict possible collisions in space after two satellites collided in February 2009, and has now done a collision analysis on over 800 maneuverable satellites. They hope to be able to track 500 more non-maneuvering satellites by year's end. But maneuverable satellites aren't the problem. The amount of space debris has risen by 40 per cent in the past four years alone. The Air Force Space Command now tracks 21,000 orbiting objects that are 10 centimeters or more across – including the 800 working satellites – and estimates that there are 500,000 smaller fragments in orbit.
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Russia's space agency chief is proposing to build a new spaceship with a nuclear engine. Reportedly,
Anatoly Perminov told a government meeting Wednesday that the preliminary design could be ready by 2012. It would take about nine more years and 17 billion rubles (about $600 million or 400 million euros) to build the ship. This ambitious proposal is a stark contrast to the current state of the Russian space program.
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"The Stick" made it out to launchpad 39B without falling over. I have to admit, NASA's new rocket looked tall, super-skinny and pointy (as Dr. Brian Cox described it), as it rolled out on the crawler transporter. Somehow, it seems the Ares I-X should be wider. It's definitely tall — at 100 meters (327 feet,) it is 43 meters (143 feet) taller than the space shuttle. But appearances aside, this is an historic occasion. For the first time in more than a quarter century, a new vehicle is sitting out at the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

More pictures below:
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It was a busy weekend in the world of space flight — both present and future — and so we'll try to fit it all in one article, and include a couple of videos to help tell the stories. Before that, however, just a reminder that the Ares-I-X is slated to roll out to launchpad 39-B early Tuesday morning at 12:01 am EDT, to begin preparations for the scheduled Oct. 27 first test launch. If you're an early bird, (or a night owl) watch the six-hour trip on NASA TV.

And now on to this weekend's launch story:
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It's the old shuttle shuffle. The launch of Atlantis for the STS-129 mission has been pushed back by four days to November 16 (at 2:28 pm EDT) to accommodate two unmanned rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, as well as the inaugural launch of the Ares I-X, scheduled for October 27. Right now the shuttle launch window lasts one day – the 16th. A second launch attempt on November 17 is being negotiated with a Delta IV launch, but NASA will stand down the 18th for the Leonid Meteor Shower (NASA won't launch the shuttle into a shooting gallery), so if weather or technical issues don't allow liftoff then, the next window opens from December 6-14. But there are issues with that time frame, too.
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Using traditional chemical rockets, a trip to Mars – at quickest — lasts 6 months. But a new rocket tested successfully last week could potentially cut down travel time to the Red Planet to just 39 days. The Ad Astra Rocket Company tested a plasma rocket called the VASIMR VX-200 engine, which ran at 201 kilowatts in a vacuum chamber, passing the 200-kilowatt mark for the first time. "It's the most powerful plasma rocket in the world right now," says Franklin Chang-Diaz, former NASA astronaut and CEO of Ad Astra. The company has also signed an agreement with NASA to test a 200-kilowatt VASIMR engine on the International Space Station in 2013.
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The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft launched today at 07:14 GMT (2:14 CDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On board were Soyuz Commander Max Suraev, NASA Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil . They will arrive at the International Space Station on Friday.

If you've ever wondered about some of the unusual rituals the Russians partake in before a launch, an article on Discovery Space outlined the following traditions witnessed over the years by reporters for The Associated Press, or reported in the Russian media:
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A group of MIT students have launched a low-budget satellite to near space, taking images of the curvature of Earth and the blackness of space. Their approach was to use low tech, off the shelf equipment, which included a Styrofoam beer cooler, a camera from eBay, open source software and an inexpensive helium balloon as the launch vehicle in order to do their complete mission launch for less than $150. Total cost? $148. The experience? Priceless, including getting interviewed on CNN and Fox News about their achievement. The best news for the rest of us? They'll soon be sharing an illustrated step-by-step guide on how to launch your own low-budget satellite.
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A rocket powered vehicle successfully completed the first step toward qualifying to win a $1 million prize for NASA's Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. Armadillo Aerospace's "Scorpius" lander set world records for vertical landings and takeoff flights by flying up 50 meters (164 feet) into the air, maneuvering over to land on a simulated rocky lunar surface 50 meters (164 feet) away, and then rising and flying back to land where it started. The flight included a requirement of at least 180 seconds of flying time. Watch the video from the second qualifying flight here. Armadillo is the first team of three teams looking to nab the prize this year.
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There's nothing prettier than watching the space shuttle land. Sure, it drops like a rock, a piano, a safe; but when the vehicle makes the final turn and lines up with the runway, and then the commander sticks the landing like Rick Sturckow did tonight, it's a work of art. If you missed the landing in real time, here's a great video of Discovery's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, at 5:53 PDT on Friday, ending the 14-day mission to the International Space Station.
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Japan successfully launched its first re-supply spacecraft to the International Space Station today. After liftoff at 17:01 GMT (12:01 CDT) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, flight controllers confirmed the HTV-1 spacecraft separated from the H-2B rocket and now is in its preliminary orbit. The flight profile has the HTV taking seven days to reach the ISS so controllers can run various tests and demonstrations on its maiden voyage before rendezvousing with the space station. Unlike previous re-supply ships that dock directly to the station, the HTV will fly to within 10 meters from the ISS on September 17, and then astronaut Nicole Stott will reach out and grapple the spacecraft with the space station's robotic arm, Canadarm 2, and connect it to the Harmony module on the ISS.
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As the crew of the STS-128 mission pack up and prepare to get ready to undock from the International Space Station on Tuesday, it's time to look back at the very successful mission that worked on space station construction. Here's some of the best images of the mission.

Above, ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang works (and waves) during the third and final EVA of the mission. Fuglesang and NASA astronaut John "Danny" Olivas installed several items and did work to prepare for the installation of Node 3, which will take place next year.
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The third launch attempt was a charm for space shuttle Discovery and her crew. The STS-128 mission is now underway with a successful liftoff one minute before midnight, local time, from Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is carrying the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station, and tucked away inside is the COLBERT treadmill, along with several refrigerator-sized racks of science equipment, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment, an air purification system, and other supplies, plus another unusual object packed in Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang's belongings: a theoretical particle called a neutralino.
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South Korea successfully launched its first rocket on Tuesday, but the satellite payload failed to reach its designated orbit, officials said. The rocket, a two-stage rocket, called the Naro lifted off on schedule at 5:00 pm local time, (0800 GMT). The first stage separated successfully less than five minutes after lift-off and the South Korean-built 100-kilogram (220-pound) scientific research satellite was placed into Earth orbit. But science and technology minister Ahn Byong-Man said it was not following the designated orbit, hampering communications with mission control. "All aspects of the launch were normal, but the satellite exceeded its planned orbit and reached an altitude of 360 kilometres (225 miles)," Ahn said.
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