Space and astronomy news
Attitude and altitude are important factors for flying a spaceship. But How do you control the International Space Station, a ship the size of a US football field (or five hockey rinks — a better reference for Canadians!)? And where does this happen? Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield answers these questions from inside the ISS.
And below is a beautiful image Hadfield just shared via social media today, showing shadows and clouds over a mountain:
During his evening ritual of sharing images taken from the International Space Station, Commander Chris Hadfield posted this gem: a gorgeous night-time view of the southeastern United States, with the Moon hovering over Earth’s limb and the terminator separating night from day. Dawn is just beginning to break to the east, as the ISS flies overhead.
This image reflects the ‘wistful’ feelings Hadfield is having as his time in space in coming to a close. He and his two crewmates Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko will head back to Earth on May 13.
During a recent linkup with students, Hadfield said he is becoming “wistful” as he does tasks aboard the ISS, realizing he is doing some for the last time. He is trying to spending as much of his free time gazing out the window at Earth “because of the magnificent rarity of it and my desire to absorb as much of it as I possibly can.”
Hadfield said his emotions go between feelings of great responsibility and great honor to have been asked to command the space station, and he wants to “do it right,” making the most of his experience and communicating to as many people as possible on Earth.
“You do feel the responsibility of it to try and do it right, to try and have one perfect day on the station where I don’t make even one little mistake in any of the procedures, and I haven’t done it yet,” Hadfield admitted. “I’ve been here 130 days and I have yet to have day where I haven’t made at least one little small mistake.”
Some aspects of returning home are enticing: seeing family and friends, and eating things that aren’t dehydrated and come in a vacuum packed bag.
“I’m looking forward to fresh food and the crunch and the snap of food of all different varieties and the smell of rich coffee and the smell of fresh bread baking — that type of thing, a more full assault of the senses when I get home,” Hadfield said.
We had an action packed Weekly Space Hangout on Friday, with a vast collection of different stories in astronomy and spaceflight. This week’s panel included Alan Boyle, Dr. Nicole Gugliucci, Scott Lewis, Jason Major, and Dr. Matthew Francis. Hosted by Fraser Cain.
Some of the stories we covered included: Pulsar Provides Confirmation of General Relativity, Meteorites Crashing into Saturn’s Rings, Radio Observations of Betelgeuse, Progress Docks with the ISS, Hubble Observes Comet ISON, Grasshopper Jumps 250 Meters, April 25th Lunar Eclipse, and the Mars One Reality Show.
We record the Weekly Space Hangout every Friday at 12 pm Pacific / 3 pm Eastern. You can watch us live on Google+, Cosmoquest or listen after as part of the Astronomy Cast podcast feed (audio only).
A software fix solved a sticky antenna problem on an unmanned cargo ship, a problem that threatened to interfere with the approach and docking to the International Space Station Friday.
Progress 51 successfully docked with the massive orbiting complex at 8:35 a.m. EDT (12:35 p.m. GMT) Friday without the need of assistance from the station crew, which was standing by to take over the docking just in case.
“Progress is safely docked! Big moment for the crew. Hooray!” wrote astronaut Chris Hadfield, the commander of Expedition 35, on Twitter moments after the spacecraft and station docked.
Watch all the action in the video, below:
Crew members are expected to start unloading the three tons of food, fuel, supplies and experiment on board later today (Friday), if all goes according to schedule.
The Russian supply ship has five antennas on board that are used for approaching the station for a docking using the KURS automated system. One of them refused to unfurl as usual after the spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (April 24).
As a backup, crew members could bring the spacecraft in using a manual system that also allows them to view the station from a camera inside Progress.
This particular antenna, NASA said, is normally used to help keep the vehicle properly oriented as it gets closer to the station.
When the Progress spacecraft and station are 65 feet (20 meters) apart, the antenna also provides data on the relative roll of the vehicle with respect to the station.
NASA initially told the crew it was expected to bring the spacecraft in manually. Shortly after 6 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. GMT), however, capsule communicator David Saint-Jacques radioed that NASA was confident a software patch created by Russian ground controllers would address the problem.
Progress 51’s final approach proceeded normally, but controllers took it a little slower than usual to ensure the automated system was working properly with the fix. The approach started slightly early, allowing capture to occur at 8:25 a.m. EDT (12:25 p.m. GMT) — two minutes earlier than planned.
Ground control and the Expedition 35 crew then spent several minutes verifying that the antenna would not interfere with the docking port. With crew members saying they couldn’t hear any funny noises from inside the station, NASA went forward with the hard docking.
Follow updates from Expedition 35 at Universe Today, and live on NASA’s television channel online.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has been called “the internet’s favorite astronaut” and with over 700,000 followers on Twitter, he may be one of the reasons why space is “hot” these days.
A new show featuring Hadfield’s mission on the International Space Station will air on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Thursday, April 25 and then will be available world-wide online on April 26.
UPDATE: The online version of this show is now available on CBC here.
CBC’s The Nature of Things is broadcasting “The Man Who Tweeted Earth,”,which looks at Hadfield’s mission and features other astronauts, scientific collaborators, Hadfield’s secret weapon family member (his son) and the Mission Control staff at the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.
Also, Universe Today is proud to say that our own Elizabeth Howell is also part of this broadcast, and she’s event featured on this trailer from the CBC!:
“Essentially, I talk about the techniques Hadfield uses to keep people engaged,” Elizabeth told me, as a teaser for the show. “He tweets about people’s hometowns, for example. I also mentioned the Shatner tweeting incident and how other Star Trek actors reacted. The entire show focuses on Hadfield on the station, the experiments he’s doing, and how folks are reacting to it.”
Elizabeth added that other astronauts and “lots of smart people” are part of the show.
For those of you in Canada (and anyone who otherwise has access to the CBC) the TV broadcast is on Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV. There are other re-broadcasts later, so check the CBC’s website for info and to verify the times it is being shown in your time zone.
The show will be available online starting Friday, April 26th at: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-man-who-tweeted-earth.html
The Nature of Things is CBC’s flagship science television documentary show and has been broadcasting award-winning shows for more than five decades.
The Russian Progress 51 cargo craft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 24, at 12:12 UTC (6:12 am EDT) and is on its way to the International Space Station. Unlike its three predecessors, Progress 51 will take the typical two-day rendezvous instead of the new 6-hour fast-track to reach the ISS. This is because of the phasing and orbital mechanics associated with this launch date. The unpiloted Progress is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the station’s Zvezda Service Module on April 26; however a problem arose when a rendezvous antenna did not deploy, which may affect the docking.
The Progress made it safely to orbit and deployed its solar arrays as planned. But one of the five sets of KURS automated rendezvous antennas used as navigational aids did not deploy. Russian ground controllers are assessing the antenna, which is used to measure orientation of the Progress vehicle, and how to troubleshoot the problem. We’ll keep you posted if the docking time changes.
On board are more than three tons of food, fuel, supplies and experiment hardware for the ISS Expedition 35 crew.
The privately developed Antares rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. successfully blasted off on its maiden test flight from the shores of Virginia on April 21 at 5 p.m. EDT from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at NASA Wallops – thereby inaugurating the new commercial space race and delivered a pioneering trio of low cost NASA Smartphone nanosatellites dubbed PhoneSat to orbit.
The 13 story Antares rocket pierced the chilly but cloudless clear blue Virginia skies as “the biggest, loudest and brightest rocket ever to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility,” said former station astronaut and now Orbital Sciences manager Frank Culbertson.
Antares picture perfect liftoff marked the first step in a public/private collaboration between NASA and Orbital Sciences to restart cargo delivery services to the International Space Station (ISS) that were lost following the forced retirement of NASA’s space shuttle orbiters in 2011.
“Today’s successful test marks another significant milestone in NASA’s plan to rely on American companies to launch supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station, bringing this important work back to the United States where it belongs,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
The test flight was dubbed the A-One Test Launch Mission and also signified the first launch from Americas newest space port at Pad-0A.
The primary goal of this test flight – dubbed the A-One mission – was to test the fully integrated Antares rocket and boost a simulated version of the Cygnus cargo carrier – known as a mass simulator – into a target orbit of 250 x 300 kilometers and inclined 51.6 degrees.
Antares also lofted the trio of off-the-shelf-smartphone “PhoneSats” to orbit. The three picture taking satellites are named Alexander, Graham and Bell and could be the lowest-cost satellites ever flown in space.
“The Phonesats cost about $3500 each,” said Andrew Petro, NASA Small Satellite Program executive, to Universe Today. “They are deployed after separation.”
The goal of NASA’s PhoneSat mission is to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone can be used as the main flight avionics of a capable satellite but at a fraction of the cost.
NASA reports that all three lithium battery powered nanosats are functioning and transmitting data to multiple ground stations.
Two of the cubesats are PhoneSat version 1.0 while the other is the more advanced PhoneSat version 2.0. They were developed by engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Calif.
Each square shaped smartphone measures about 4 inches (10 cm) per side, weighs about 4 pounds and is the size of a coffee mug. The smartphone serves as the cubesats onboard computer – see my photos.
The cameras will be used for Earth photography. Imaging data will be transmitted in chunks and then stitched together later.
The third time was the charm for Antares following a pair of launch scrubs due to a technical glitch in the final minutes of the initial countdown attempt on Wednesday, April 17 and unacceptable winds on Saturday, April 20.
The rocket flew on a southeasterly trajectory and was visible for about 4 minutes.
This test flight was inserted into the manifest to reduce risk and build confidence for the follow on missions which will fly the fully outfitted Cygnus resupply spacecraft that will dock at the ISS, starting as early as this summer.
The two stage Antares is a medium class rocket similar to the Delta II and SpaceX Falcon 9.
The dummy Cygnus payload was outfitted with instrumentation to collect aerodynamic data until separation from the 2nd stage. That marked the successful conclusion of the A-One mission and the end of all data transmissions.
It will fly in earth orbit for about two weeks or so until atmospheric friction causes the orbit to decay and a fiery reentry.
The Antares first stage is powered by dual liquid fueled AJ26 first stage rocket engines that generate a combined total thrust of some 750,000 lbs – original built in the Soviet Union as NK-33 model engines.
The upper stage features an ATK Castor 30 solid rocket motor with thrust vectoring. Antares can loft payloads weighing over 5000 kg to LEO. The 2nd stage will be upgraded starting with the 4th flight.
The Antares/Cygnus system was developed by Orbital Sciences Corp under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to replace the ISS cargo resupply capability previously tasked to NASA’s now retired Space Shuttle fleet.
Orbital’s Antares/Cygnus system is similar in scope to the SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon system. Both firms won lucrative NASA contracts to deliver approximately 20,000 kilograms each of supplies and science equipment to the ISS.
The goal of NASA’s COTS initiative is to achieve safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the ISS and low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Orbital will launch at least eight Antares/Cygnus resupply missions to the ISS at a cost of $1.9 Billion
Ken Kremer
…………….
Learn more about Antares, Orion, SpaceX, Curiosity and NASA robotic and human spaceflight missions at Ken’s upcoming lecture presentations:
April 28: “Curiosity and the Search for Life on Mars – (in 3-D)”. Plus the Space Shuttle, SpaceX, Antares, Orion and more. Washington Crossing State Park, Titusville, NJ, 130 PM
1st fully integrated Antares rocket – decaled with huge American flag – stands firmly erect at seaside Launch Pad 0-A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on 6 April 2013 following night time rollout. Maiden Antares test launch is scheduled for 17 April 2013. Later operational flights are critical to resupply the ISS. Credit: Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com).
See Antares rollout and erection photo gallery below[/caption]
For the first time ever, the new and fully integrated commercial Antares rocket built by Orbital Sciences was rolled out to its oceanside launch pad on a rather chilly Saturday morning (April 6) and erected at the very edge of the Eastern Virginia shoreline in anticipation of its maiden launch slated for April 17.
The inaugural liftoff of the privately developed two stage rocket is set for 5 p.m. from the newly constructed launch pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
And Universe Today was there! See my photo gallery herein.
Antares is the most powerful rocket ever to ascend near major American East Coast population centers, unlike anything before. The launch is open to the public and is generating buzz.
And this is one very cool looking rocket.
The maiden April 17 launch is actually a test flight dubbed the A-One Test Launch Mission.
The goal of the A-One mission is to validate that Antares is ready to launch Orbital‘s Cygnus capsule on a crucial docking demonstration and resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) as soon as this summer.
The 1 mile horizontal rollout trek of the gleaming white rocket from the NASA integration hanger to the pad on a specially designed trailer began in the dead of a frosty, windy night at 4:30 a.m. – and beneath a picturesque moon.
“We are all very happy and proud to get Antares to the pad today for the test flight,” Orbital ground operations manager Mike Brainard told Universe Today in an interview at Launch Complex 0-A.
The rocket was beautifully decaled with a huge American flag as well as the Antares, Cygnus and Orbital logos.
Antares was transported aboard the Transporter/Erector/Launcher (TEL), a multifunctional, specialized vehicle that also slowly raised the rocket to a vertical position on the launch pad a few hours later, starting at about 1 p.m. under clear blue skies.
This first ever Antares erection took about 30 minutes. The lift was postponed for several hours after arriving at the pad as Orbital personal monitored the continually gusting winds approaching the 29 knot limit and checked all pad and rocket systems to insure safety.
The TEL vehicle also serves as a support interface between the 133-foot Antares and the range of launch complex systems.
Now that Antares stands vertical, “We are on a clear path to a launch date of April 17, provided there are no significant weather disruptions or major vehicle check-out delays between now and then,” said Mr. Michael Pinkston, Orbitals Antares Program Manager.
Antares is a medium class rocket similar to the Delta II and SpaceX Falcon 9.
For this test flight Antares will boost a simulated version of the Cygnus carrier – known as a mass simulator – into a target orbit of 250 x 300 kilometers and inclined 51.6 degrees.
The Antares first stage is powered by dual liquid fueled AJ26 first stage rocket engines that generate a combined total thrust of some 680,000 lbs. The upper stage features a Castor 30 solid rocket motor with thrust vectoring. Antares can loft payloads weighing over 5000 kg to LEO.
The Antares/Cygnus system was developed by Orbital Sciences Corp under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to replace the ISS cargo resupply capability previously tasked to NASA’s now retired Space Shuttle fleet.
Orbital’s Antares/Cygnus system is similar in scope to the SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon system. Both firms won lucrative NASA contracts to deliver approximately 20,000 kilograms of supplies and equipment to the ISS.
The goal of NASA’s COTS initiative is to achieve safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the ISS and low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Orbital will launch at least eight Antares/Cygnus resupply missions to the ISS at a cost of $1.9 Billion
The maiden Antares launch has been postponed by about 2 years due to delays in laiunch pad construction and validating the rocket and engines for flight- similar in length to the start up delays experienced by SpaceX for Falcon 9 and Dragon.
Read my prior Antares story detailing my tour of the launch complex following the successful 29 sec hot-fire engine test that cleared the path for the April 17 liftoff – here & here.
Watch for my continuing reports through liftoff of the Antares A-One Test flight.
…………….
Learn more about Antares, SpaceX, Curiosity and NASA missions at Ken’s upcoming lecture presentations:
April 20/21 : “Curiosity and the Search for Life on Mars – (in 3-D)”. Plus Orion, SpaceX, Antares, the Space Shuttle and more! NEAF Astronomy Forum, Suffern, NY
April 28: “Curiosity and the Search for Life on Mars – (in 3-D)”. Plus the Space Shuttle, SpaceX, Antares, Orion and more. Washington Crossing State Park, Titusville, NJ, 130 PM
Splashdown! The SpaceX Dragon has returned home safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 16:36 UTC (12:36 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. “Recovery ship has secured Dragon,” Tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. “Powering down all secondary systems. Cargo looks A-OK.”
A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers will recover the vehicle off the coast of Baja, California, for the journey back to shore, which NASA said will take 30-48 hours.
The big job will be unloading the 3,000- plus pounds (1,360 kg) of ISS cargo and packaging inside the spacecraft. The Dragon is currently the only vehicle capable of returning cargo and important scientific experiments back to Earth.
“The scientific research delivered and being returned by Dragon enables advances in every aspect of NASA’s diverse space station science portfolio, including human research, biology and physical sciences,” said Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program
scientist. “There are more than 200 active investigations underway aboard our orbiting laboratory in space. The scientific community has
eagerly awaited the return of today’s Dragon to see what new insights the returned samples and investigations it carries will unveil.”
See more images below of Dragon’s return and mission to the ISS; we’ll be adding more as the SpaceX team supplies them!
Here’s a gif image of the splashdown:
Dragon’s release from Canadarm2 occurred earlier today at 10:56 UTC. The Expedition 35 crew commanded the spacecraft to slowly depart from the International Space Station
Among the the scientific experiment returned on Dragon was the Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures (CSLM-3) experiment, which also launched to space aboard this Dragon. CLSM-3 studies how crystals known as dendrites form as a metal alloy becomes solid. The research could help engineers develop stronger materials for use in automobile, aircraft and spacecraft parts.
Dragon also is returning several human research samples that will help scientists continue to examine how the human body reacts to long-term spaceflight. The results will have implications for future space exploration and direct benefits here on Earth.
The mission was the second of at least 12 cargo resupply trips SpaceX plans to make to the space station through 2016 under NASA’s
Commercial Resupply Services contract.
The SpaceX Dragon commercially developed cargo craft loaded with thousands of pounds of precious science samples has departed from the International Space Station at 6:56 a.m EDT this morning (March 26) and is heading back to Earth today for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 12:34 p.m EDT.
The ISS crew commanded the Dragon’s release by a trigger at the robotic work station inside the Cupola as they were soaring some 250 miles over the northeast coast of Australia after Mission Control gave the “GO for release”.
A video of the unberthing is below:
Cameras aboard both the ISS and Dragon transmitted breathtaking views of the departure maneuver. The entire ISS filled the video screen as Dragon slowly pulled away.
The private Dragon was unberthed from a docking port on the Harmony node at 4:10 a.m. EDT in anticipation of today’s return to Earth.
The capsule had been docked at the orbiting outpost for three weeks since arriving on March 3.
NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and station commander Chris Hadfield from Canada opened the snares on the stations Canadian built robotic arm – Canadarm2 – firmly grasping the Dragon.
A series of three short departure burns executed in rapid succession took Dragon safely away from the ISS and beyond the imaginary 656-foot (200-meter) “Keep Out Sphere” around the station for the journey back to Earth.
Everything with Dragon happened as expected said NASA.
“All looks beautiful and nominal as expected,” radioed the ISS crew.
The Dragon capsule is the first private ship ever to dock at the ISS.
Dragon will fire its engines for the last time for the 10 minute long deorbit burn at 11:42 a.m. EDT sending it through the Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean around 12:34 p.m.
“Sad to see the Dragon go,” said Marshburn. “She performed her job beautifully and is heading back to her lair. Wish her all the best for the splashdown today.”
A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers will recover the vehicle after splashdown about 214 miles off the coast of Baja, California.
SpaceX recovery crews will pluck the capsule from the Pacific Ocean for the journey back to shore which will take about 30 hours.
Dragon had been scheduled to return yesterday on Monday, March 25, but was postponed due to inclement weather developing near its targeted splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean.
There was no affect on the return of the science samples and gear weighing a hefty 2668 pounds. Dragon is the only vehicle that can safely return significant amounts of science cargo and gear from the ISS following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle orbiters.
The SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 capsule blasted off on March 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
A thruster failure shortly after liftoff nearly doomed the mission. But fast acting SpaceX engineers saved the day and restarted the engines a few hours later – read my earlier story here.
The resupply mission carried aloft some 1200 pounds of food, water and science experiments for the station crew.
After a two day flight, Marshburn captured the Dragon just 32 feet away from the station with the Canadarm2 on March 3. Ground controllers then took over Canadarm2 operations and berthed Dragon to the Harmony node.
SpaceX is under contract to NASA to deliver about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS during a dozen flights over the next few years at a cost of about $1.6 Billion.
SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp are partnered with NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program to replace the cargo up mass capability the US lost following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle orbiters in 2011.
The maiden launch of Orbital’s Antares/Cygnus ISS cargo resupply program is now slated to occur on April 16-18 from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia – read my onsite photo report here.
The inaugural Antares launch will be a test flight with a simulated Cygnus.
The next SpaceX Dragon flight – dubbed CRS-3 – is slated to blast off in late November 2013.
