Universe Today » Space Flight

Plasma Rocket Could Help Pick Up Space Trash

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:36:20 +0000

Artist concept of a VASIMR. Credit: Ad Astra

Franklin Chang Diaz's proposed VASIMR rocket engine could create very versatile spacecraft. Not only does the plasma-fueled rocket have the potential to make a trip to Mars in just over a month, it could also help clean up space trash in Earth orbit. “Our goal is to be able to have a garbage truck that will be picking up all of these objects at various orbits,” astronaut Chang Diaz said in an article in the Global Post. The debris could put into an “orbital graveyard,” he added, “or we could actually launch them to the sun and drive them to the sun, which is kind of the ultimate, cosmic dump.”
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Romanian Group Attempts Moon Mission With Giant Balloon

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:59:59 +0000

The first attempt to send a rocket to the Moon via balloon hit a snag on Monday. The first test of the Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Romanian Association's (ARCA) balloon-launched rocket (or "rockoon") ended in failure when the "inflation arms" used to fill the balloon became entangled in the balloon itself. The arms had to be cut, and the operation – which required the use of a large naval frigate — was curtailed. ARCA hopes to compete in the Google Lunar X PRIZE, and intends on using their unusual rocket system to send an equally unique spherical lunar lander to win a $30 million prize.
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Atlantis Roars to Space for Trek to ISS

Ken Kremer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:34:13 +0000

(Editor's Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the launch of Atlantis.)
Space Shuttle Atlantis and her six person crew roared into space on Monday precisely as planned at 2:28 PM EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The yellow exhaust flames grew into a nearly blinding intensity as Atlantis ascended off the pad on a trail of crackling fire and smoke. For what felt like an eternity, it seemed like Atlantis would be engulfed in a rapidly expanding inferno emanating from her tail in mid air. The time span was in reality perhaps 5 seconds. Atlantis then dove straight upwards, arced over and finally looked like she would return back to Kennedy on a big circular loop directly through the wake of the exhaust plume. In fact that sight was just an optical illusion but the feeling was shared by other media I conversed with here at the KSC Press site.
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Post tags: Space Flight, Space Shuttle

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Go to Bed for NASA

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:56:02 +0000

If you don't quite have the right stuff, but always thought being an astronaut would be cool, here's a way for you to contribute to the US space program. Go to bed. With NASA. "I would absolutely recommend it. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life," said Heather Archuletta, who has participated in three different studies for the Human Test Subject Facility (HTSF) at the Johnson Space Center. These ongoing studies use long-term bed rest to simulate the effects of micro-gravity an astronaut would experience during extended space flight. "This is a great opportunity for the general public to help NASA with their scientific research," said John Foster, who works for Solitaire Creative Services, a company that promotes the studies.
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NASA to Fund Primate Radiation Research

Nicholos Wethington — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:55:19 +0000

Monkeys have made contributions to spaceflight before, and NASA plans to start using them again to test the effects of radiation exposure on their performance of various tasks. With renewed efforts to send humans to the Moon and Mars – which exposes them to radiation from the Sun and galactic cosmic rays – NASA wants a better idea of exactly what the effects of this radiation will be on the cognitive performance of astronauts. A research proposal on the effects of radiation in primates is just one of twelve studies that NASA has chosen to fund through its Human Research Program grants for space radiobiology research.(...)
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Atlas Launch halted by ORCA; Shuttle Atlantis Next in Line

Ken Kremer — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:19:58 +0000

(Editor's Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the current launch attempts of the space shuttle and Atlas) Image caption: The Atlas 5 will orbit the commercial Intelsat 14 communications satellite. This photo shows upper portion of rocket and umbilical cord connections leading from mobile launch platform to the decaled 4 meter wide white colored payload fairing and Centaur upper stage. The flight is designated as tail number AV-024. Credit: Ken Kremer

Shortly after midnight on Saturday November 14 the launch of an Atlas 5 rocket poised at Complex 41 and bathed in xenon lights was suddenly halted when engineers discovered a power dropout with the ORCA, or Ordnance Remote Control Assembly.
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Video Preview of Next Shuttle Mission

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:35:12 +0000

The next space shuttle mission STS-129, slated to launch next Monday Nov. 16, is a "spare parts and stock-up" mission. And the needed extra parts and supplies delivered to the International Space Station by Atlantis will mean spare years on the station’s life once the space shuttle fleet is retired. The mission is a landmark of sorts — not sure if it is a good landmark or bad — but STS-129 is scheduled to be the last space shuttle crew rotation flight. From here on out, crew rotation will be done by the Soyuz and any future commercial vehicle that may come online. Besides the crew, a payload of spiders and butterfly larvae will be on board Atlantis for an experiment that will be monitored by thousands of K-12 students across US. Find out more about the flight with a video preview of the mission, below.
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ISS, Space Flight, Space Shuttle

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Suborbital Could Be 'Next Big Thing' for Space Science

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:27:23 +0000

Upcoming commercial space flights are no longer only about rich, adventure-seeking space tourists. Researchers hope to capitalize on the prospect of quick, low-cost and frequent access to the micro-gravity environment of sub-orbital space. "We’ve got these great vehicles coming online and most of the discussion about them so far have centered on the tourism market," said Erika Wagner, member of SARG – the Suborbital Applications Researcher Group. "As researchers we felt this was a fantastic opportunity to do both science and education, as well."
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New Module for ISS Launches

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:05:46 +0000

Soyuz rocket with Poisk. Credit: NASA TV

A new module for the space station blasted off today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 9:22 a.m. EST. The Poisk (which means "explore" in Russian) is a combination docking module/airlock/future research module. It will meet up with the ISS on Thursday at 10:44 am. Poisk is the first permanent pressurized module to be added since May of 2008, when the Japanese "JEM" research module became part of the ISS, and is the first major Russian addition to the station since the Pirs docking compartment was launched in 2001. The new module will be used as an additional docking port for Russian vehicles, as an airlock for Russian-based spacewalks and as a platform for external science experiments.
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LRO's Closer Look at Apollo 11 Landing Site

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:07:20 +0000

Latest look at Apollo 11 site from LRO. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Here are the first images of the Apollo 11 landing site since the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter dropped into its 50 km mapping orbit. The sun is almost straight overhead on this image so there's no real shadows visible. What's great about this image is that we can actually see the footpads on the Lunar Module from which Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind! See the closeup below for more details. The other great thing about this top image is that we get a good look at West Crater, which is the rocky area that Neil Armstrong saw as the LM neared the surface. The computer trajectory would have taken them right in the middle of that boulder field, so Armstrong flew manually to change the flight plan to fly westward to find a safe landing spot. This image is 742 meters wide (about 0.46 miles). North is towards the top of the image.
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Planetary Society to Launch Three Separate Solar Sails

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:32:57 +0000

LightSail-1 Artists rendition of LightSail-1 by Rick Sternbach. Credit: Planetary Society

On the 75th anniversary of astronomer Carl Sagan's birth, the Planetary Society announced their plans to sail a spacecraft on sunlight alone by the end of 2010. Called LightSail, the project will launch three separate spacecraft over the course of several years, beginning with LightSail-1, which will demonstrate that sunlight alone can propel a spacecraft in Earth orbit. LightSails 2 and 3, will travel farther into space.

Sagan, co-founder of the Planetary Society was a long-time advocate of solar sailing.
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What Really Happened on Apollo 13?

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:51:41 +0000

Apollo 13 crew reflects on the mission from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

Hear the story of what really happened on Apollo 13 from two of the astronauts who were on board, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise. Lovell provides great detail on the history of the oxygen tank and why it exploded, and both Lovell and Haise have some great stories to share about the flight, movie inaccuracies and more. Thanks to David Meerman Scott from Apollo Artifacts who took this video at the Kennedy Space Center at the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation event on November 6, 2009.

Also on Apollo Artifacts, check out a video of short speech by Neil Armstrong who gave a tribute to the Apollo 12 crew at the flight's 40th anniversary gala on November 7, 2009.

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Masten wins $1 million X-Prize on Last Possible Day

Nicholos Wethington — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:22:27 +0000

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.(...)
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Space Junk Threatens Future Missions

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:45:06 +0000

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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Will Russia's Next Rocket be Nuclear?

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:27:57 +0000

RD-0410 NTP Engine developed by Russia in the 1960's. Credit - Dietrich Haeseler

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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Ares I-X at the Launchpad

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:10:03 +0000

Ares at the pad. Credit: NASA

"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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Launches and Dockings and Robots, Oh My!

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:14:20 +0000

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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© nancy for Universe Today, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Atlas Rocket, NASA, Space Flight

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Space Shuttle Loses Battle of Launch Dates

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:46:44 +0000

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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Trips to Mars in 39 Days

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:50:24 +0000

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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Soyuz Launch Video

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:25:56 +0000

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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Reaching Near Space For Less Than $150

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:47:41 +0000

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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Armadillo Powers Toward $1 Million Prize

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:58:15 +0000

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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Space Shuttle Discovery Returns Home (Video)

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:09:22 +0000

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 Launches New Era of ISS Resupply Ships

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:00:44 +0000

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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Top 10 (or so) Images from STS-128

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:12:04 +0000

Christer Fugelsang during the third EVA of STS-128. Credit: NASA

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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