Archive for November, 2022
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November 12th, 2022
OTV-6: On the ground at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Image credit: Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks
After spending 908 days in Earth orbit, the sixth mission of the U.S. military’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6) has come to wheels-stopped at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility.
This Boeing-built vehicle was launched on May 17, 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Coasting in for a landing on November 12 at 5:22 AM local Florida Time, the robotic OTV-6 was the first mission to introduce a service module – a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle. That module expanded the number of experiments that can be hosted during a space plane mission.
Artwork depicts X-37B in Earth orbit.
Credit: Boeing
The service module successfully separated from the OTV prior to landing. In the coming weeks, the service module will be disposed of in accordance with best practices, according to a U.S. Space Force statement.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said: “The deliberate manner in which we conduct onorbit operations-to include the service module disposal-speaks to the United States’ commitment to safe and responsible space practices, particularly as the issue of growing orbital debris threatens to impact global space operations.”
OTV-6 image credit: Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks
Some payloads identified
The OTV-6 mission hosted the Naval Research Laboratory’s Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module. This experiment successfully harnessed solar rays outside of Earth’s atmosphere, transforming that energy into radio frequency microwave energy.
Additionally, the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat-8, developed in partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory, was successfully deployed in October 2021. FalconSat-8 remains in orbit, providing Academy cadets unique hands-on experience as space operators prior to entering active duty.
Multiple NASA experiments were toted on OTV-6.
The Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS-2) included thermal control coatings, printed electronic materials, and candidate radiation shielding materials. METIS-1-which flew on OTV-5-consisted of similar sample plates mounted on the flight vehicle. NASA scientists will leverage data collected after the materials have spent 900+ days in orbit and compare observed effects to ground simulations, validating and improving the precision of space environment models, according to the U.S. Space Force statement.
OTV-6 image credit: Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks
Another NASA experiment investigated the effect of long-duration space exposure on seeds. Scientists are interested in the seeds’ resistance and susceptibility to space environment-unique stresses, notably radiation. The seeds experiment will inform space crop production for future interplanetary missions and the establishment of permanently inhabited bases in space.
Boundaries of experimentation
“The X-37B continues to push the boundaries of experimentation, enabled by an elite government and industry team behind the scenes,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, Department of Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office’s X-37B Program Director.
“The ability to conduct on-orbit experiments and bring them home safely for in-depth analysis on the ground has proven valuable for the Department of the Air Force and scientific community. The addition of the service module on OTV-6 allowed us to host more experiments than ever before,” Fritschen said in the U.S. Space Force statement.
Commemorative mission coin might be showing the X-37B “service module.”
Courtesy: Mike Rose
Flight roster
OTV-1: launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on December 3, 2010, spending over 224 days on orbit.
OTV-2: launched on March 5, 2011 and landed on June 16, 2012, spending over 468 days on orbit.
OTV-3: launched on December 11, 2012 and landed on October 17, 2014, spending over 674 days on-orbit.
OTV-4: launched on May 20, 2015 and landed on May 7, 2015, spending nearly 718 days on-orbit.
OTV-5: launched on September 7, 2017 and landed on October 27, 2019, spending nearly 780 days on-orbit.
Shattered records
X-37B hangar at Kennedy Space Center.
Credit: Michael Martin/SAF
With the successful completion of its sixth mission the reusable space plane has now flown over 1.3 billion miles and spent a total of 3,774 days in space where it conducts experiments for government and industry partners with the ability to return them to Earth for evaluation, added a Boeing statement on the landing.
“Since the X-37B’s first launch in 2010, it has shattered records and provided our nation with an unrivaled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president, Boeing Space and Launch.
“With the service module added, this was the most we’ve ever carried to orbit on the X-37B and we’re proud to have been able to prove out this new and flexible capability for the government and its industry partners,” Chilton said.
The X-37B program is a partnership between the U.S Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the U.S. Space Force. Boeing designed and manufactured the space plane and continues to provide program management, engineering, test and mission support from sites in Southern California, Florida and Virginia.
Posted in 
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Another milestone in China’s construction of the country’s space station was reached on Saturday – the launch, rendezvous and docking of the uncrewed Tianzhou-5 cargo craft.
The Tianzhou-5 was launched via a Long March-7 Y6 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, and carried out an auto-pilot latch up with the rear docking port of the Tianhe space station core module.
Fast track
“This is the first time we completed fast automated rendezvous and docking in two hours,” said Xu Xiaoping, deputy chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system, the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Credit: CNSA/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“The whole rendezvous and docking process took about two hours, which is the fastest rendezvous and docking technology in the world,” Xu told China Central Television (CCTV).
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The cargo spacecraft is loaded with around 5 tons of supplies, mainly equipment for scientific experiments. Onboard the supply vessel, around 5 tons of goods and materials, a manifest that includes 1.4 tons of propellant for the space station complex.
Also onboard are test projects including a science popularization satellite, a space hydrogen and oxygen fuel-cell system, and broad-energy-spectrum high-energy particle detection equipment.
These new supplies will help support three yet-to-be-launched astronauts on the upcoming Shenzhou-15 mission for their six-month orbital stay.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Speeding up the procedure
“In the beginning, the rendezvous and docking would take two or three days. And then the time was reduced to 6.5 hours when we launched the Tianzhou-3 and the Tianzhou-4. This time, the Tianzhou-5 completed the fastest rendezvous and docking. Our technologies have been improved step by step through each launch,” said Zhang Zhenhua, deputy chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system at the China Academy of Space Technology.
Two measures were utilized to shorten the time of Tianzhou-5’s docking, greatly speeding up the procedure compared to a past 6.5-hour process.
First, the multi-turn flight in the process of long-range guidance was cut to half a turn, according to CCTV. Multiple orbit changes were reduced to two integrated maneuvers, thereby reducing this process from about four hours to about one hour.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Second, the number of mooring points in the close-range autonomous control segment was reduced, which cut the duration of this process from over two hours to about 40 minutes.
World record
“On the one hand, the accuracy of launching rocket into orbit was required to be higher,” said Wang Saijin, deputy chief engineer of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. “On the other hand, there was higher requirement for the thrust calibration of the cargo spacecraft engine. It is also very important that we implemented the phase modulation control of the Tiangong space station complex to ensure higher-precision phase modulation control and meet the requirement the orbit injection accuracy,” Wang told CCTV.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Xu Xiaoping, deputy chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, added:
“This is also the first time that China’s cargo craft has completed a fast automated rendezvous and docking in about two hours, setting a world record. It is of great significance to promoting China’s space rendezvous and docking to a higher level, and to enhancing the emergency supply capacity for the space station,” Xu said.
China’s space station expected to be completed around 2022.
CMS/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Up next: first in-orbit crew rotation
China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct. 31, taking the construction of the country’s space station into the final stage, on track for complex completion by year’s end.
With the core module Tianhe and lab modules Wentian and Mengtian, the space station has formed a three-module T-shape structure. Such a structure is the planned layout at the space station’s completion. There has been indication of adding more structure to the complex in the future.
The country plans to launch the Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship later this year. The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space history.
To view an array of videos of the launch and docking of the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft, go to:
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) topped by the Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B, Friday, Nov. 11th at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Post-hurricane teams have begun walkdowns and inspections at the pad to assess the status of the rocket and spacecraft after the passage of Nicole. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Nov. 16 at 1:04 a.m. EST.
Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Hurricane Nicole’s impact to the Artemis mission may be quite long-lasting. The recent delay of the mega-booster’s liftoff from Florida to no earlier than November 16 raises questions about NASA’s actions for weather risk mitigation and preparation.
That’s the view from AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter at the Global Weather Center.
“This entire situation raises serious questions about NASA’s procedures for weather risk mitigation and preparation based upon available forecasts, especially over the weekend given that several days notice is required in order to safely move the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building,” said Porter as attributed to AccuWeather sent out by Edelman, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C.
Inside Outer Space contacted AccuWeather, verifying Porter’s comments.
Gusty prognosis
For days in advance, AccuWeather meteorologists accurately highlighted the risk of hurricane-force winds, Porter said, especially in gusts, to occur near the Kennedy Space Center as Nicole made landfall early Thursday morning.
Courtesy: Valder Beebe Show
“Many wind sensors at Kennedy Space Center, on and near the launch pad, reported several wind gusts above 85 mph with a peak wind gust of 100 mph,” Porter points out in the statement.
“As accurately forecast by AccuWeather, the extremely close proximity of the ocean to the launch pad and the elevated location of the rocket and launch equipment hundreds of feet above the ground also increase the risk for hurricane force wind gusts versus a location even a mile or two inland and not as high off the ground,” Porter said.
Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Weather risk
The force of the wind increases exponentially, not linearly, “so small increases in wind can result in substantial increases in damage potential,” said Porter.
“This entire situation raises serious questions about NASA’s procedures for weather risk mitigation and preparation based upon available forecasts, especially over the weekend given that several days notice is required in order to safely move the rocket back to the VAB [Vertical Assembly Building].
AccuWeather meteorologists had defined Nicole as a rainstorm, which posed a risk to the East Coast of Florida early Saturday afternoon, at least a day and half before the government began issuing advisories on the storm.
Wind threshold
NASA itself has indicated that wind gusts of 85 mph or greater at 60 feet above the ground can spark concerns about potential damage to the launch apparatus or the rocket itself.
Porter said in the statement that AccuWeather meteorologists had widely reported that the risk of a wind gust of 85 mph or greater to occur near the Kennedy Space Center to be 60 percent, or a 6 in 10 chance, for the wind threshold NASA defined to be exceeded.
Deemed by Porter as a “bold AccuWeather forecast” that prediction ended up “being the most accurate wind forecast and a superior description of the risk when compared to forecasts from the government and any other source, which predicated substantially less risk for hurricane force winds,” he said via the statement.
NASA’s call
In a November 10th twitter posting, Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. said: “We took the decision to keep Orion and SLS at the launch pad very seriously…”
With the unexpected change to the forecast, returning to the VAB, Free said, was “deemed to be too risky in high winds, and the team decided the launch pad was the safest place for the rocket to weather the storm.”
In-coming LOFTID dives toward Earth.
Artwork credit: NASA
NASA test engineers are evaluating how well an inflatable decelerator hurled to Earth from space weathered its high-flying test.
Flown November 10, NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, is a type of heat shield for atmospheric re-entry.
This technology could be utilized for missions to Mars, Venus, Titan, as well as returning payloads to Earth.
Credit: NASA
Secondary payload
LOFTID got its day in space as a secondary payload, riding along with NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2). That NOAA spacecraft did experience a solar array unfurling issue – but is now fully deployed and the satellite is healthy and operating as expected.
This twosome was hurled spaceward by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Credit: NASA
Plucked from ocean waters
Team members successfully retrieved the LOFTID heat shield from the Pacific Ocean on Thursday morning, plucked from ocean waters and planted on board a recovery vessel. Splashdown was within an ellipse east of Honolulu.
Onboard recovery vessel.
Credit: NASA
Also retrieved from the Pacific Ocean, LOFTID’s ejectable data that holds a backup copy of the data recorded during the heat shield’s plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. Another copy of the data is stored aboard the heat shield itself.
Technicians tend LOFTID in pre-launch photo.
Credit: NASA
The LOFTID project is managed and funded through NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program, part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The project is led by NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Novel technology
High above the Earth, LOFTID’s heat shield inflated, then re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, showcasing how this novel technology can assist payloads in slowing down and surviving the intense heat of re-entry.
Credit: NASA
For informative, pre-launch videos focused on LOFTID, go to:
Space hardware tumbling out of orbit may lead to new unforeseen impacts on the environment and climate.
Due to the growing scale and pace of launch activities what is needed is better monitoring of the situation, as well as regulation to create an environmentally sustainable space industry.
For more information on this issue, here’s my new SpaceNews story:
Long March 5B liftoff.
Credit: CNSA/GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Philippine Space Agency announced that rocket debris found in Busuanga was part of the rocket fairing of China’s Long March 5B booster. In addition, it is “highly likely” that pieces of debris reportedly found off the waters of Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro on November 7 and 8th were also part of China booster.
In a November 9th statement on rocket debris found in Palawan and Mindoro, the Philippine Space Agency also reiterated its “sustained efforts to promote and encourage accountability among nations for objects launched into space.”
Credit: Calintaan MDRRMO
Credit: Calintaan MDRRMO
China’s Long March 5B launcher lofted on October 31st the third and final experiment module, Mengtian, of China’s Tiangong space station. The core stage of that booster later made an uncontrolled re-entry over the south-central Pacific Ocean on November 4th.
Credit: The Aerospace Corporation
Top priority
“Ratifying the Liability Convention would provide the legal basis and means to claim compensation in case of damage or injury to any property and/or people within the Philippine territory that is caused by a space object of another State,” the space agency added.
“On the other hand, while obligations under the Registration Convention are administrative and procedural, they are necessary for the implementation of the Liability Convention.” The space agency is currently working on additional documentary requirements for the preparation of treaty packages. “This remains a top priority for the Agency.”
The Philippine Space Agency said it would continue to coordinate with other space agencies and local government agencies to reduce the risks of space debris in the country.
Credit: China Central Television/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China is set to launch the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan.
The uncrewed supply ship will deliver multiple tons of provisions for China’s space station, now home to a three-person crew.
To prepare for Tianzhou-5’s upcoming docking to the station, the Tianzhou-4 supply ship has backed off from the orbital complex and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The discarded ship departed from the rear docking port of the Tianhe Core Module.
Departure of Tianzhou-4 supply ship. Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China launched the Tianzhou-4 on May 10, 2022.
Controlled re-entry
“After the Tianzhou-4 separated from the orbiting station combination, we will independently monitor and control the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft. Some related experiments will be carried out in the next step,” Wang Saijin, deputy chief engineer of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, told China Central Television (CCTV).
Adds Zou Xuemei, chief engineer of cargo spacecraft mission of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center: “The separation and evacuation of Tianzhou-4 were smooth in general. Then it will fly independently before finally leaving the orbit under control.”
Current occupants of China’s station – the Shenzhou-14 crew. Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)
On the pad
On November 9, 2022, the Long March-7 Y6 topped by the Tianzhou-5 was vertically moved to the launching area. Tianzhou-5 is the fourth cargo mission to the China Space Station, scheduled to autonomously dock to the Tianhe Core Module, the first and main component of the China Space Station.
Launch of the new cargo ship is reportedly Friday, November 11th at 9 PM Eastern Time.
CCTV Video News Agency/Inside Outer Space screengrab
If all continues to go as planned, China is to see a fully-equipped and staffed station by year’s end.
“In the past two years, we have successfully completed the launch of the Tianhe core module, the Wentian lab module, the Mengtian lab module and three Tianzhou cargo spaceships with a 100 percent success rate,” said Mao Wanbiao, deputy director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
Go to these new videos focused on the upcoming liftoff of the Tianzhou-5 supply ship and space station operations at:
Credit: China ‘N Asia Spaceflight
China’s projected booster to support crewed flights to the Moon is expected to make its maiden voyage around 2027.
China Daily reports that Zhao Xinguo, a senior rocket designer and head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology’s rocket development department, said the new launcher, yet to be named, is a key backbone in China’s future plan to plant Taikonauts on the lunar landscape.
Booster specifics
Speaking Monday in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, the site of the 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, Zhao said that the new rocket will be about 295 feet (90 meters) tall, with a diameter of nearly 17 feet (5 meters) – nearly twice as tall as the Long March 5 that is presently the largest booster in China’s rocket family.
With a core booster and two side boosters, the rocket’s liftoff weight will be 2,187 metric tons, twice as heavy as the Long March 5, according to China Daily.
Credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Moon base
The next-generation booster can hurl spacecraft weighing about 27 tons into an Earth-Moon transfer trajectory, a gateway for lunar landing, or a 70-ton spacecraft into a low-Earth orbit.
Additionally, China’s Long March 9, also under development, will join the ranks of the new rocket to transport construction materials to the Moon to build a permanent base there, said Hu Xiaojun, a rocket researcher also at the academy.
Credit: AMS
Sky watchers in Northern California on Friday reported seeing a bright light in the sky tumbling down. Video taken from El Dorado County showed a bright ball descending from a dark night sky.
Meanwhile, a family’s house in Nevada County, California caught fire after several witnesses described a ball of light descending from the sky.
The preliminary trajectory, however, does not fit the location of the inflamed home — which is located in Nevada County, about 240 km (150 miles) SSE.
Not related to incident
According to a Vincent Perlerin posting at the American Meteor Society: “There are reports in the news that this fireball reached the ground and destroyed a structure near Harry L. Englebright Lake, which is approximately 50 miles north of Sacramento, CA.”
Perlerin adds that, as you can see from the map, “this fireball passed well north of this area and could not possibly be related to this incident. Confirmation from NASA also discounts this story as this fireball totally disintegrated while still well up in the atmosphere.”
Also, go to this video spotlighting the incident at:
Credit: SETI Post-detection Hub
A new international research hub is established to coordinate global expertise to prepare humanity for an ET “we’re not alone” scenario and how we should respond.
The new SETI Post-Detection Hub is an initiative of the UK SETI Research Network (UKSRN), and is jointly hosted by the Scotland-based St Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Science and the Centre for Global Law and Governance.
The new SETI Post-Detection Hub is hosted by the Center for Exoplanet Science and the Centre for Global Law and Governance of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
SETI is the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extra-terrestrial life.
Responsible response
The new hub “will act as a coordinating center for an international effort bringing together diverse expertise across both the sciences and the humanities for setting out impact assessments, protocols, procedures, and treaties designed to enable a responsible response,” according to a university statement.
John Elliott, Coordinator of SETI Post-Detection Hub
Credit: SETI Post-detection Hub
“Scanning signals of assumed extra-terrestrial origin for structures of language and attaching meaning is an elaborate and time-consuming process during which our knowledge will be advanced in many steps as we learn ‘Extra-Terrestrial,’” said John Elliott, Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science of the University of St Andrews and coordinator of the Hub
Societal impact
While there are now procedures and entities established with the United Nations for dealing with the threat posed by impacts of asteroids on Earth, the hub notes, there is nothing similar in place for picking up a radio signal from E.T.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
According to the university statement, the SETI Post-Detection Hub, for the first time, provides a permanent ‘home’ for coordinating the development of a fully comprehensive framework, “drawing together interested members of the SETI and wider academic communities as well as policy experts to work on topics ranging from message decipherment and data analytics to the development of regulatory protocols, space law, and societal impact strategies.”
Another source of ideas
“The St Andrews group is essentially a parallel to the International Academy of Astronautics SETI committee. They have one advantage, sharing the same physical location instead of meeting once a year and communicating by email the rest of the time,” said Michael Michaud, author of the influential book: Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears About Encountering Extraterrestrials, New York, Copernicus (Springer), 2007.
“It may be useful to have another source of ideas about post-detection, but we don’t yet know what those ideas will be,” Michaud told Inside Outer Space.
For more information on this initiative, please go to:
