Numerous Companies Propose Possible ‘Space Taxis’

Orbital Sciences is one of many space companies that are vying to produce a 'space taxi.' Image Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation

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Once, the field had only had few entries, but now there are several companies vying to send American astronauts into orbit. With NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program, or CCDev 2, and the encouragement of commercial space firms to produce their own vehicles, the number of potential ‘space-taxis’ has swelled, with virtually every established and up-and-coming aerospace company either producing – or proposing one.

SpaceX has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of its Dragon spacecraft. Image Credit: SpaceX

One of the first firms to unveil a potential means of transportation to the International Space Station (ISS) was Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). SpaceX launched the first of its Dragon spacecraft on Dec. 8, and shortly thereafter became the first private company to safely recover a spacecraft after it returned from orbit.

Boeing was once of the first companies to unveil its proposal. Image Credit: Boeing

Not to be out done by the ‘new kid on the block’ Boeing unveiled its version of a space taxi this past September. Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft which it described could be used for missions to the space station or other ‘LEO platforms.’ One potentially exciting prospect about this endeavor is that any excess seating capacity will be available for purchase through Space Adventures.

Orbital Sciences has proposed using a space plane to ferry astronauts to orbit: Image Credit: Orbital

A step away from what most of these companies are doing, Orbital Sciences has proposed producing a ‘mini-shuttle’ to ferry passengers to and from orbit. Most aerospace companies that have submitted designs and ideas have stepped away from the space plane concept as it is now viewed as too complicated and expensive. However, the U.S. Air Force recently successfully demonstrated the viability of its unmanned X-37B space plane. It was perhaps with this in mind that emboldened Orbital to go a step further and produce a man-rated mini space plane. Orbital images show their spacecraft proposal being lifted to orbit atop a Delta IV Heavy.

Just this month Virgin Galactic also announced its plans to produce a space plane (the company uses a space plane in its sub-orbital commercial efforts – this new space plane appears to be an extension of that).

Sierra Nevada also has proposed using a space plane as an orbital transport vehicle. Image Credit: Sierra Nevada Space

Lastly Sierra Nevada Corp also has thrown its name into the ring proposing a winged spacecraft. Their ‘Dream Chaser’ spacecraft is similar to Orbital’s proposal, a winged spacecraft that would be launched to orbit atop an expendable launch vehicle.

These companies are all vying for the $200 million that NASA has placed into a program to promote ease of access to orbit. While the Orion spacecraft, produced by Lockheed Martin, is part of a NASA program – these other organizations are hoping that by demonstrating the viability of their technology – that they can also secure a strong position in the emerging commercial space market.

Successful Test for Orion Launch Abort System

NASA successfully tested the pad abort system developed for the Orion crew vehicle on Thursday morning at the White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The 97-second flight test was the first fully integrated test of the Launch Abort System developed for Orion. “It was a big day for our exploration team,” said Doug Cooke, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Exploration following the test. “It looked flawless from my point of view. This is the first abort system the US has developed since Apollo, but it uses much more advanced technologies. It was a tremendous effort to get to this point, designing such a complex system, and we’ve been working on this for about 4 years. I appreciate the amount of dedication and focus from the team. It was beautiful, a tremendous team effort.”
Continue reading “Successful Test for Orion Launch Abort System”

Obama Compromises, Brings Back Orion Capsule; Allows for Heavy Lift Sooner

President Obama has proposed to completely cancel NASA’s Project Constellation to send humans to the Moon, Mars and Beyond, thus calling into question whether US Leadership in Space will continue. Artists concept of NASA’s cancelled Orion crew exploration vehicle shown here in on a science mission in lunar orbit. Credit: NASA

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In what could be considered a compromise in his proposed budget for NASA, President Obama is reviving the Orion crew capsule concept that he had canceled with the rest of the Constellation program earlier this year, according to an article by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press. This should mean more jobs and less reliance on the Russians, officials said Tuesday. While Orion, still won’t go to the moon. It will go unmanned to the International Space Station to stand by as an emergency vehicle to return astronauts home, officials were quoted in the article.

Borenstein also reported that NASA will speed up development of a heavy lift rocket. It would have the power to blast crew and cargo far from Earth, although no destination has been chosen yet. The rocket supposedly would be ready to launch several years earlier than under the old moon plan.

The two moves are being announced before the “Space Summit” on Thursday, a visit to Kennedy Space Center by Obama. They are designed to counter criticism of the Obama administration’s space plans as being low on detail, physical hardware, and local jobs.

The President’s plan had been met with much criticism, including an open letter to Obama drafted by several former astronauts, flight directors and other former NASA officials.

A briefing at the White House Now said that the president is committed to choosing a single heavy-lift rocket design by 2015 and then starting its construction.

Reportedly, the new Obama program will mean 2,500 more Florida jobs than the old Bush program, a senior White House official told Borenstein. In addition, as we reported earlier, the commercial space industry on Tuesday released a study that said the president’s plan for private ships to fly astronauts to and from the space station would result in 11,800 jobs.

“We wanted to take the best of what was available from Constellation,” the NASA official told The Associated Press as part of a White House briefing.

Read the full Associated Press article here.

New VISTA of Orion

Orion from the VISTA infrared telescope. Credit: ESO

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Oh-oh-oh Orion! The new VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) infrared survey telescope has used its huge field of view to show the full splendor of the Orion Nebula. With its infrared eyes, it has peered deeply into dusty regions that are normally hidden to expose the curious behavior of the very active young stars buried there.

VISTA is the latest addition to ESO’s Paranal Observatory. It is the largest survey telescope in the world and is dedicated to mapping the sky at infrared wavelengths. The large (4.1-metre) mirror, wide field of view and very sensitive detectors make VISTA a unique instrument. This dramatic new image of the Orion Nebula illustrates VISTA’s remarkable powers.

The Orion Nebula is about 1,350 light-years from Earth. Although spectacular when seen through an ordinary telescope, what can be seen using visible light is only a small part of a cloud of gas in which stars are forming. Most of the action is deeply embedded in dust clouds and to see what is really happening astronomers need to use telescopes with detectors sensitive to the longer wavelength radiation that can penetrate the dust. VISTA has imaged the Orion Nebula at wavelengths about twice as long as can be detected by the human eye.

Four highlights of the new VISTA image of Orion. Credit: ESO

On the upper-left, the central region of VISTA’s view of the Orion Nebula is shown, centered on the four dazzling stars of the Trapezium. A rich cluster of young stars can be seen here that is invisible in normal, visible light images. In the lower-right panel the part of the nebula to the north of the center is shown. Here there are many young stars embedded in the dust clouds that are only apparent because their infrared glow can penetrate the dust and be detected by the VISTA camera. Many outflows, jets and other interactions from young stars are apparent, seen in the infrared glow from molecular hydrogen and showing up as red blobs. On the upper-right, a region to the west of center is shown. Here the fierce ultraviolet light from the Trapezium is sculpting the gas clouds into curious wavy shapes. A distant edge-on spiral galaxy is also seen shining right through the nebula. At the lower-left a region south of the center is shown. Each extract covers a region of sky about nine arcminutes across.

All these features are of great interest to astronomers studying the birth and youth of stars.

Source: ESO

As Seen on America’s Highways This Week

Launch abort system mock-up for Orion hits the road. Credit: NASA

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Imagine driving along in your car, minding your own business and getting passed by this. It could happen to you this week. This is a 13.7 meter (45 feet) -long full-scale mock-up that’s part of the rocket assembly for the launch abort system for the new Orion crew exploration vehicle. The system hit the road on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, and is traveling from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to undergo the first flight tests of the system. The launch abort system will allow the astronaut crew to safely escape in the event of an emergency during launch.

The mock-up, also known as the LAS pathfinder, represents the size, outer shape and specific mass characteristics of Orion’s abort system.

Artist's rendering of a Launch Abort System (LAS) in operation.  Credit:  Orbital
Artist's rendering of a Launch Abort System (LAS) in operation. Credit: Orbital

The real system will be composed of solid rocket motors, separation mechanisms, and an adapter structure to provide escape capability for the Orion crew from pad operations through ascent. The new design, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. is key in vastly improving the safety of the flight crew as compared to what the shuttle has.

In case you’re wondering, in the background are large, white vacuum spheres used at the hypersonic wind tunnel complex at Langley.

Source: NASA

The Bow Shock of Betelgeuse Revealed

Betelgeuse creates a bow shock as it travels through the interstellar medium, just like a ship traveling trough water. Image Credit: ESA

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You may be familiar with Betelgeuse, as it is the upper-left star in the constellation Orion, forming what would be his shoulder. But this is an image of Betelgeuse that you wouldn’t see with your own eyes or even your own telescope. Images taken with the Akari infrared telescope show that as Betelgeuse travels through the interstellar medium, it creates what is called a “bow shock”.

Betelgeuse (pronounced “beetle-juice”, just like the 80’s film starring Michael Keaton) is a red supergiant 640 light-years from Earth, and is located in the winter constellation Orion. It travels through the interstellar medium at 30 km/sec (19 miles/sec). It’s not the star itself that creates the bow shock, but rather the interaction of the stellar wind emanating from Betelgeuse with the gas in the interstellar medium.

As Betelgeuse plows through the interstellar medium, the wind that it’s spewing out at 17 km/sec (11 miles/sec) warms up the surrounding gas – which originates from star-forming regions in Orion’s Belt – releasing light in the infrared. There is a rather strong current of interstellar gas in the area surrounding Betelegeuse, and just like the wave of water that is produced in front of a boat traveling over a lake, the dust and gas bunches up in front of Betelgeuse in the direction of travel.

ESA
An artist's rendering of the bow shock created by Betelgeuse. Image Credit: ESA

The bow shock is approximately 3 light-years across, and the interaction it has with the stellar wind from Betelgeuse gives astronomers a better understanding of the density of the interstellar medium in the region, which in turn can help them get a better picture of the star forming regions in Orion’s Belt that are the source of the gas.

If you turned your telescope towards the Betelgeuse star, you sadly would not be able to see the bow shock. Akari created the image using a composite of images taken at 65 (blue), 90 (green) and 140 (red) micrometers, well below what the human eye can see.

Source: ESA, Bad Astronomy

Volunteers Sweat for NASA

For three weeks, 23 volunteers spent time helping NASA test a new life support system for the spacecraft that will replace the shuttle. Five volunteers at a time would squeeze into a special room the size of a walk-in closet for eight hours. Sweating and heavy breathing was encouraged, as scientists at Johnson Space Center wanted to measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by a new system designed to control carbon dioxide and humidity inside a crew capsule in order to make air breathable and living space more comfortable. The tests took place from April 14 to May 1 of this year and are some of the first to use human subjects in support of NASA’s Orion crew capsule, Altair lunar lander and lunar rovers.

“We’re moving from paper studies to tests with hardware that will evolve and become part of the spacecraft that will fly back to the moon,” said test volunteer and NASA engineer Evan Thomas at Johnson.

Known as the Carbon-dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed, or CAMRAS, the new system will help sustain life on exploration vehicles and reduce the dependence on resupply from Earth.

“Our goal for CAMRAS is to develop a simple, regenerative, lightweight device that will work for both the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander,” said lead researcher Jeff Sweterlitsch.

The Exploration Life Support project also is developing technologies that will recover oxygen and water vapor, recycle spacecraft wastewater into drinking water and recover usable resources from wastes.

This series of tests put volunteers inside a test chamber scaled to be the size of the Orion crew capsule, about 570 cubic feet. The volunteers, who were selected and grouped to replicate a typical crew, were asked to sleep, eat and exercise during test sessions that lasted from a few hours to overnight.

“The air smelled a little artificial, like on a plane, and it was a little crowded,” said Aaron Hetherington, one of the volunteers and a director for the test. “But the air was fine; the temperature comfortable. My biggest observation is that it was unremarkable, which is good because that means the hardware was working.”

Two additional phases of testing on CAMRAS are planned.

Video of the tests are available on NASA TV

Original News Source: NASA Press Release

NASA is Building its Biggest Lightning Protection System

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We’ve already learned that NASA is planning to build one of the world’s largest roller coasters to help astronauts escape a disaster. Now they’ve released details about how they’re going to protect the next generation spacecraft from lightning strikes. They’ll need it. This is Florida after all, one of the most active regions for lightning in the United States.

When the space shuttle finally retires in 2010, NASA will be nearly ready to start launching the next generation Ares I launch vehicle. A single lightning strike could scramble spacecraft electronics, or injure the crew, so NASA is working on their defense system.

And for Ares, they’re going to big. In fact, when you look at the Ares I launch pad in a few years, the lightning protection system will dominate the skyline.

The lightning protection system, now under construction at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39B consists of three towers – each of which will be 181 metres (594 feet) tall. Cables will then be strung between the steel/fibreglass towers, encasing the smaller Ares I booster in a cage of protection.

Similar, smaller systems have been used for other missions in the past. For the Apollo launchers, the protection system was built into the launch structure. Obviously this was less than ideal, since lightning strikes could still damage the rocket and electronics.

For the space shuttle, there’s a lightning mast atop the launch pad’s service structure. The system diverts lightning strikes down two wires, keeping the current away from the shuttle.

By building these towers completely apart from the launch pad, NASA hopes to minimize delays to the launch schedule.

Construction for the towers began in November, and should be complete by 2010. This will actually be a little after the first Ares I-X rocket blasts off, in April 2009.

Original Source: NASA News Release

Prototype Heat Shield for Orion

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I know what you’re thinking, and no, that’s not a UFO in a secret government laboratory. It’s not a prop for an upcoming science fiction movie, and it’s not the world’s largest Frisbee. It’s a prototype heat shield, developed by Boeing for NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.

When Orion returns from space, it needs to decelerate from orbital velocity to be able to land safely. Just like the space shuttle, the capsule will point this heat ablating surface into the atmosphere, and let it get super hot. The heat shield can rise to extremely high temperatures, while the astronauts stay nice and safe.

The lunar protective system will need to be much more capable that the shuttle’s system, since capsules will be returning directly to the Earth after flying from the Moon. In some cases, Orion’s thermal protection will face 5 times as much heat as vehicles returning from the International Space Station. That’s hot.

It was the catastrophic failure of Columbia’s heat shield that doomed it when it was re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Needless to say, NASA wants to get this right.

The contract for the new Thermal Protection System was awarded to Boeing Advanced Systems about a year ago. Last month, a NASA Ames technical and quality inspection team completed an acceptance review of the shield.

The shield is made from Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA). That’s a mouthful, but it uses a special trick to keep the capsule cool. As the heat shield heats up during reentry, the PICA material “ablates”. It chars, melts and then sublimates to create a cool boundary layer that protects the spacecraft.

Boeing will continue working on the heat shield, to meet Orion’s TPS preliminary design review in early 2008.

Original Source: Boeing News Release

First Look at the Orion Crew Module

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I know it seems like we’ve had the space shuttle forever, and will have it forever, but the program will actually be shut down in just a few short years. What comes next? The Constellation program will continue the US human spaceflight efforts, eventually bringing people back to the Moon. As part of the program, workers at NASA unveiled a mockup of the Orion crew module.

The lifesize Orion crew module was build by engineers at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center’s Fabrication Branch. No, this aluminum mockup won’t actually be flying. It won’t even be used for aerodynamic testing. It’s just going to help engineers figure out how to cram everything in.

As the engineers are developing the various avionics systems, instrumentation, wire harness routing, etc, they’ll want a life-size mockup of the module to test how things fit together. Eventually, you can imagine future astronauts crawling inside, and giving engineers their feedback on the placement of the instrumentation, the feel of the controls, and cushiness of the seats.

This mockup will help engineers until the first abort flight test vehicle, called “Boilerplate 1” arrives for testing. This next testing vehicle is a flying simulator that will mimic the flight characteristics of the actual vehicle. Boilerplate 1 will have the same mass, dimensions, and aerodynamic properties of the Orion capsule, so it can be tested in wind tunnels and atop rockets.

NASA is planning two pad abort, and four ascent tests of the launch abort system as early as 2008, and continuing on through 2011.

So, don’t worry, the age of the space shuttle is almost over, and the age of the Constellation program is almost here. Look out Moon, here we come.

Original Source: NASA Dryden News Release