Author Archive
Author: 
December 1st, 2024
Image credit: GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China on Saturday scored a successful maiden launch of its Long March-12. Also, the booster lifted off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. It marked the inaugural mission from the country’s first commercial launch facility.
The Long March-12 departed the site’s No. 2 launch pad, hurling two experimental satellites into their planned orbits.
The November 30th flight also tested a key model of rocket engine known as YF-100K that powered Long March 12’s first stage.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Importantly, YF-100K engines will also be used to power Long March-10, the booster now under development to send Chinese astronauts to the Moon before 2030.
Liquid oxygen/kerosene engines
The Long March-12 was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). That rocket is currently the country’s largest single-core carrier rocket in payload capacity, featuring a two-stage configuration propelled by six liquid oxygen/kerosene engines.
The first stage is powered by four liquid oxygen/kerosene engines, each with a thrust of 1,250 kilonewtons.
Image credit: GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The second stage uses two liquid oxygen/kerosene engines with a thrust of 180 kilonewtons each, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The booster sports a carrying capacity of no less than 12 tons in low Earth orbit and no less than six tons in 700-km sun-synchronous orbit.
Dual launch pads
The Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site currently features two launch pads for liquid-propellant rockets. The Number 1 pad is designed for the Long March-8, China’s new-generation medium-lift carrier rocket.
Image credit: GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Number 2 pad can accommodate multiple rocket types with varying diameters from commercial rocket companies.
Each pad has an annual launch capacity of 16 launches, reports CCTV.
Pump-backswing
Li Bin, vice president, Sixth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is chief engineer of the liquid oxygen kerosene engine.
“The pump-backswing engine operates like a person swinging only their legs while keeping the upper body still. In other words, the engine’s nozzle is the only part that moves. This limited movement reduces the engine’s profile and the area it sweeps, allowing the rocket to be designed more compact,” Li told CCTV.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Li confirmed that more engines can be installed in a diameter of 3 meters or 8 meters.
“This engine is an improved version based on our original 120-ton engine. It features a pump-backswing design with a supplementary combustion cycle. Compared to the previous 120-ton engine, we have reduced the weight by 20 percent, increased the thrust by five percent, and enhanced the overall performance,” said Li.
Batch production
“The success of the new service tower, the new rocket, as well as our new team and new mechanism, could be viewed as a milestone in the history of China’s commercial space sector,” said Liu Hongjian, president of the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch (HICAL), which built and operates the launch site.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Wu Jialin of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the CASC, added that design engineers took into account the rocket’s batch production and industrialization.
“The diameter of the Type I rocket decides its carrying capacity. Both of its first stage and second stage have a diameter of 3.8 meters. Its first stage has four 130-tonne liquid oxygen kerosene engines and the second stage has two 18-tonne liquid oxygen kerosene engine. Its takeoff thrust is at 5,000 kilonewtons, which makes it a medium-sized rocket,” said Zhao Zhijie, a staff member of CASC.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The carrying capacity of the rocket can be enhanced by a larger diameter, Zhao said, which allows it to fly with more fuel, but diameter enlargement should take into consideration factors like transportation and manufacturing.
Assembly, test, transportation
“A larger diameter has a higher demand for manufacturing techniques and transportation, because the rocket needs to be transported to the launch pad once it completes manufacturing. The third consideration is the carrying capacity of the rocket,” Zhao added.
To make the rocket a medium to large-sized one, “we have to make it a cluster carrier rocket, which means it has higher complexity,” continued Zhao. “If we take into the simplicity of configuration into consideration, the diameter should not be too large or too short. Besides, diameter of the rocket’s body should also match its engines. The diameter of 3.8 meters of Long March-12 carrier rocket can meet all the demands I [have] mentioned,” said Zhao.
Image credit: GLOBALink/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Targeting the country’s commercial flight sector, the carrier rocket has a different model for assembly, test, and transportation, allowing it to lie flat while completing the procedures, notes CCTV.
“Our technical area no longer needs a high assembly building, which is typically seen when the rocket stands vertically. Since its assembly and tests can be completed while the rocket now lies flat, it does not need a high factory,” said Zhao.
Go to these CCTV/GLOBALink videos that focus on the Long March-12 at:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18KEjxVY2x/
Posted in 
First the book…then the movie!
Just coming off that post-Thanksgiving spin?
Think about off-Earth alcohol consumption in space.
Yes, even in space you can hear the sound of a swizzle stick!
On October 11th, the Alcohol in Space movie had its premiere at the Explorers Club in New York City to a standing-room-only audience. Based on the book authored by Chris Carberry, Culture in Space Productions (CiSP) has released its first full-length documentary film now available on Amazon Prime.
Attending the Explorers Club premiere was Greg Olsen, the 3rd private civilian in space, a self-funded rocket sojourn in October 2005 to the International Space Station via a Russian Soyuz.
“The increased population of both non-orbital and orbital flyers will make this an ongoing experiment since many of them will have no crew duties and would be free to sample a drink or two,” Olsen explains. “Alcohol in Space is an interesting movie that discusses not only the possibility of it having already been used in space, but also what the effects of weightlessness might be on people who would consume it.”
The film features Kim Stanley Robinson (Novelist, Futurist), Jeffrey Manber (Founder and Chairman, Nanoracks), Samuel Coniglio (Space Futurist; Author, Creature Comforts in Space), Joe Cassady (Executive Vice President, Explore Mars; Space propulsion professional), as well as distilling and brewing specialists.
The film is directed by the creative Sam Burbank of Culture in Space Productions (CiSP). Next up is a movie based on Carberry’s book, The Music of Space: Scoring the Cosmos in Film and Television currently in preproduction.
Alcohol in Space is the first CiSP film that focuses on the expansion of human culture in space. CiSP has been established to tell the stories of the next wave of astronauts, innovators, and dreamers pushing to expand human culture into space.
As noted in a CiSP media statement, Alcohol in Space is the first of many films that will examine the expansion of human culture in space. CiSP will tell the stories of the next wave of astronauts, innovators, and dreamers pushing to expand human culture into space.
“While rockets and spaceships are essential to get there, a viable human civilization beyond Earth will require all human culture. This includes art, labor, literature, culinary arts, friendships, families, and of course a healthy dose of ‘sex, drugs, and rock and roll.’”
The release of the full-length documentary film, Alcohol in Space, is available on Amazon Prime. For more information, go to:
https://www.amazon.com/Alcohol-Space-Movie-Sam-Burbank/dp/B0DJQZGLG2
Also, go to the Culture in Space website to view a movie trailer at:
Image credit: One Earth Mission/ASE/University of California TV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
In his last public performance, Maestro Seiji Ozawa conducts Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, as broadcast directly to the International Space Station (ISS). Maestro Ozawa passed away Feb 6, 2024.
In this emotional production, Ozawa conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra which he co-founded in 1984 as an annual gathering of musicians from around the world.
This performance was transmitted by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) directly to the ISS, where astronaut Koichi Wakata represented humanity as the audience.
This One Earth Mission conveys our shared home on this One Earth, a vision that drove Maestra Ozawa throughout his musical career. The dramatic fly-over shows Italy to dusk over the Red Sea.
Image credit: JAXA/ASE/One Earth Mission
Earth and music
This movie is dedicated to his memory, with thanks for his deep commitment to Earth and music. A collaboration of Seiji Ozawa/ SKO/ JAXA/ ONE EARTH MISSION Project/the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) and University of California TV.
Photos by astronauts – ISS Expedition 67 – June 13, 2022: USA – Bob Hines, Francisco Rubio, Jessica Watkins, Kayla Barron, Kjell Lindgren, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn; Russia – Denis Matveev, Dmitry Petelin, Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, Sergey Prokopyev; Germany – Matthias Maurer; Italy – Samantha Cristoforetti.
For the video, go to:
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space
Returning Mars samples is on China’s agenda, returning them to Earth around 2031.
According to a newly published research paper, the Tianwen-3 spacecraft involves two launches around 2028, retrieving Red Planet specimens for lab looks here on Earth around 2031.
According to the paper appearing in the National Science Review journal – “The search for life signatures on Mars by the Tianwen-3 (TW-3) Mars sample return mission” – where on Mars to sample, what to choose, how to sample and how to utilize the collected materials are being appraised.
At China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, the mission’s chief scientist Hou Zengqian and its chief designer Liu Jizhong, with colleagues, are blueprinting their exploration strategy. “The primary scientific goal of which is to search for signatures of life on Mars,” they explain.
China blueprint for Mars sample return mission.
Image credit: Kanyan Xu/COSPAR
Under review
Where to sample: Currently, the TW-3 science group proposes 86 potential landing sites, primarily concentrated in the Chryse Planitia region and Utopia Planitia region. These sites encompass diverse geological environments, such as ancient coastlines, deltas, ancient lakes, and canyon systems, providing favorable conditions for the origin and preservation of ancient life.
What to choose: How best to identify, where to find, and how to preserve biosignatures, and systematically establishing identification methods to differentiate potential biosignatures, false positives, and false negatives.
How to sample: Define the depth and grain size requirements for Mars sample collection. For the returned samples, there will be noticeable differences in the types and characteristics of the samples required for mineralogical and biomaterial analysis. Sampling sites including surface sample collection and drilling.
How to utilize: The returned sample should be stored following a planetary protection strategy before laboratory analysis. Currently, the biosignatures used in the detection of extraterrestrial life mainly include living organisms, fossils, substances derived from life processes, and chemical signals.
China’s Zhurong rover explored Utopia Planitia region.
Credit: CNSA
Safe landing spots
Hou and Liu report in their paper that a criterion has been established which supports the selection of landing sites that are both safe for engineering constraints and of high scientific merit.
The engineering constraints on the TW-3 landing site must take into account altitudes ≤ – 3 km, latitudes ranging from 17° to 30°N, slopes ≤8°, and rock abundances ≤10%.
“Other engineering constraints, such as dust storm conditions, illumination, and temperature also need to be considered further,” the researchers explain.
Integrated work
To hone China’s Mars sampling effort, integrated work is underway that includes remote sensing, comparative studies with Mars-like environments, laboratory simulations of Martian conditions, meteorites, and simulated samples.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Also, detailed research has been conducted on the types of potential biosignatures, reservoirs, sample collection strategies, and detection and analysis methods, Hou and Liu explain.
“This study will effectively support the TW-3 mission in achieving significant discoveries in the exploration of biosignatures on Mars, and contribute to the establishment of a scientific theoretical framework for the origin and evolution of life,” the research paper concludes.
Go to the detailed research paper – “The search for life signatures on Mars by the Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission” – in National Science Review, Volume 11, Issue 11, November 2024 at:
Chinese team on lunar habitat construction is led by Ding Lieyun. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief scientist of the National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction (NCTI-DC) at central China’s Huazhong University.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
How to build houses on the Moon? China specialists are tackling three core challenges: materials, structure, and technology.
Now in test and validation stages, building a lunar research base by applying 3D printing robot to print houses directly using lunar soil is underway.
According to China Central Television (CCTV), a Chinese team on lunar habitat construction is led by Ding Lieyun. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief scientist of the National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction (NCTI-DC) at central China’s Huazhong University.
Image credit: Huazhong University
Construction techniques
The Moon’s soil, or regolith, contains abundant oxides, metals, and silicon compounds that could be processed into bricks or composite materials suitable for constructing the lunar research base.
“One approach to building houses on the Moon is through 3D printing,” Ding told CCTV. “For example, you could directly use lunar soil and process it with lasers for 3D printing. Alternatively, there are various powder-melting techniques that could be applied.”
Ding added that lunar soil is somewhat similar to ceramic materials. “If you’re working on smaller structures, the problem is not too big. But if you’re 3D printing a large building, it becomes prone to cracking,” Ding said.
Image credit: Huazhong University
Eggshell design
Ding’s team has proposed an egg-shaped architectural design known as the “Moon Pot Vessel.”
The design has been inspired by the natural strength and lightweight properties of eggshells, and also offers several advantages. Its thermal efficiency minimizes heat loss and absorption, making it well-suited to the Moon’s extreme temperature fluctuations.
“The hollow, double-layer construction not only conserves materials, but also enhances insulation,” reports CCTV. “The curved surface of the structure efficiently distributes external pressure, thus improving resistance to impacts and ensuring long-term stability.”
Ding’s team forecasts using a process on the Moon in which structures are 3D-printed layer by layer, beginning with a reinforced foundation created by using injection grouting techniques. “Once the foundation is complete, robotic systems would print the walls and domes. For the dome structures, inflatable balloons would serve as temporary molds, over which 3D-printed material would be applied to form the final shape,” CCTV reports.
Image credit: Huazhong University
Foundational research
Chinese scientists are using lunar simulants, materials similar to lunar soil, to prototype Moon bricks.
A specially-fabricated set of lunar soil bricks were recently sent to China’s space station for testing purposes, where the specimens are to be exposed to microgravity, solar radiation, and day/night swings of temperature. There are three sample boards sent into space, with one retrieved each year for performance analysis.
“[The bricks] will be placed outside the Wentian module for exposure experiments, where they will be subjected to cosmic radiation and repeated thermal vibrations, experiencing temperatures ranging from -100 degrees Celsius to over 100 degrees Celsius,” said Ding.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Standards for lunar construction
“These experiments will help us comprehend their degradation over time. Once a building is erected, we anticipate its longevity to extend far beyond just a few years,” Ding added. “Given that the project will be on the Moon, it is imperative that we gain a comprehensive understanding of how materials age in such an environment. Only through this understanding can we establish standards [for lunar construction].”
Ding said that experiments on the Moon provide foundational research to help go further in the future. “They also position the Moon as a testbed for human deep-space exploration, enabling us to reach even greater distances.”
Image credit: CCTV/CMS/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Meanwhile, China’s new Shenzhou-19 crew is moving forward on experiments onboard the Tiangong space facility after receiving supplies lobbed from the Earth in mid-November. A newly-released film shows the crew onboard the station at:
Ready for shipping! Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
A Moon-bound lunar lander is being shipped to Cape Canaveral, Florida next month under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas announced it has wrapped up the Blue Ghost’s rigid environmental testing for a projected launch in January of next year.
“While we know there will be more challenges ahead, I’m confident this team has what it takes to softly touch down on the lunar surface and nail this mission,” said Jason Kim, chief executive officer at Firefly Aerospace.
Artwork credit: Firefly Aerospace/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Full lunar day
Blue Ghost’s ride into space comes via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a liftoff within a six-day window that opens no earlier than mid-January 2025.
Once lofted, Blue Ghost will begin its approximately 45-day transit to the Moon. Its destination is a touchdown in Mare Crisium and then operating a suite of payloads for a full lunar day (14 Earth days).
The roughly 60-day mission will be operated from Firefly’s Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas.
Payload tasks
As part of NASA’s CLPS initiative, the lander’s 10 payloads will perform science and technology demonstrations, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, and mitigation of the pesky lunar dust.
According to a company statement, additional demonstrations by the Blue Ghost include X-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetic field, expected to provide insight into how space weather impacts our planet.
Blue Ghost will capture imagery of the lunar sunset and provide critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions. The lander will then operate for several hours into the lunar night.
Artwork credit: Firefly Aerospace/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“Once payload operations are complete, Blue Ghost will capture the lunar sunset and provide critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions. Blue Ghost will then operate for several hours into the lunar night,” adds the company statement.
Blue Ghost Mission 1 is the first of three Firefly task orders supporting the NASA CLPS undertaking as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to “reboot” the Moon with human crews, the space agency’s program to further a lasting lunar presence and stimulate a potential commercial lunar economy.
Go to this informative video – “Blue Ghost’s Journey to the Moon” – at:
Image credit: NASA
Put yourself in forget me not and space time travel retro-mode: it is now four decades ago that astronaut Owen Garriott, callsign W5LFL, pioneered amateur radio communication from space. He was a crewmember on the space shuttle program’s STS-9 mission.
During that shuttle flight in 1983, Garriott conducted the first-ever person from space to communicate with amateur radio operators on the ground. He was also the first to be heard directly from space by the public using simple receivers and scanners.
Image credit: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
What’s coming?
That event transformed astronaut communications from space forever, allowing amateur radio operators and the public to communicate with people in space.
But tune in to hear what’s coming…there’s strong signal strength!
Go to my new Space.com story – “How amateur radio is connecting astronauts in space with kids on Earth” at:
Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Boeing has issued a video detailing the company’s secretive spaceplane, the X-37B.
“Boeing-built X-37B Innovates and Breaks New Records” is the name of the video.
Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“The Boeing-built X37B will perform ground-breaking aerobraking maneuvers to take the dynamic spaceplane from one Earth orbit to another while conserving fuel. Partnered with the United States Space Force, this novel demonstration is the first of its kind,” Boeing explains.
Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Go to the video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WduDiC8VFyY&t=1s
Special thanks to Michael Rose for calling my attention to this video.
The NS-28 Crew (left to right): Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Emily Calandrelli, J.D. Russell, Hank Wolfond, and Austin Litteral.
Image credit: Blue Origin
Blue Origin has completed its 28th New Shepard suborbital mission and its ninth human spaceflight.
The November 22 NS-28 flight means that the company has now flown 47 people to space (three people have flown twice).
The NS-28 Crew (left to right): Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Emily Calandrelli, J.D. Russell, Hank Wolfond, and Austin Litteral.
Go to this video replay at:
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yNGagXkwnrxj
Image credit: Blue Origin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Blue Origin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Blue Origin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Blue Origin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China has rolled out new details of how the country will attempt a future human Moon mission, targeted for 2030.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) showcased a new video at a Human Space Symposium.
Highlighted by China Central Television (CCTV), the video underscores:
- production of the Long March-10 carrier rocket,
- a piloted spacecraft Mengzhou
- development of the lunar lander Lanyue
- fabrication of a lunar spacesuit
- testing a lunar rover for mobility of two taikonauts
Prototyping hardware
CMSA indicates that prototyping of hardware is progressing as planned, along with related ground tests.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
A series of ground facilities and equipment designed to support these production and testing activities have been completed and put into operation.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China has been prioritized and is advancing smoothly in readiness for handling human sojourns to the Moon.
Prototype work on China’s lunar lander – Lanyue.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Self-reliant capability
According to the video, as reported by the Xinhua news agency, China’s crewed lunar landing mission will focus on mastering critical technologies and techniques for human Earth-Moon round trips, short-term stays on the lunar surface, and human-robot collaborative exploration.
CCTV notes that the project seeks to establish a “self-reliant capability” for human lunar exploration.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Both robotic and human Moon mission will conduct large-scale space science experiments, with scientists outlining preliminary goals across three key areas: lunar science, lunar base science, and resource exploration and utilization, covering nine major research directions, CCTV reports.
Large scale tests
“Our new rockets, spacecraft, landers, and lunar rovers have already been developed, and prototype products are complete. We are currently conducting large-scale tests, including mechanical, thermal, and electrical tests,” said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s human space program, during the sixth Human Space Symposium a two-day gathering of experts in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province.
China lunar rover testing.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“By leveraging the development of the manned lunar exploration program,” Zhou told CCTV, “the near-Earth manned rockets and spacecraft are being developed simultaneously. For example, the near-Earth orbit rocket uses the first stage of the lunar landing rocket, and the second stage is quite similar, though it has fewer engines due to its smaller scale. This is currently the best reusable configuration among China’s launch vehicles. It will lead our rocket technology to a new level,” said Zhou.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
To view the newly released animation, go to:
