Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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February 23rd, 2023
Soyuz craft undergoing preparation for Feb. 23 launch in uncrewed mode.
Image credit: RSC Energia
Russia’s Soyuz MS-23 is ready for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Typically the craft is flown piloted, but is only housing supplies and is headed spaceward in uncrewed mode to replace Soyuz MS-22.
That older Soyuz is now docked to the International Space Station. Back on December 15, 2022, it experienced a thermal control system depressurization/leak, putting into question its use to carry a return-to-Earth three-person crew.
External influences
“We have done everything so that the Soyuz MS-22 does not pose a danger,” explains Vladimir Solovyov, General Designer for Manned Space Systems and Complexes of RSC Energia in a new Roscosmos Telegram posting.
The external contour of the radiator of the thermal control system of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was depressurized. Specialists later determined that the damage was caused by a purported micrometeoroid impact.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Similarly, a now-ditched unpiloted cargo ship — Progress MS-21 — suffered the same de-pressurization scenario, created by “external influences,” another Telegram posting explained. The automated supply craft had delivered over 2.5 tons of cargo to the ISS.
Systematic error?
RSC Energia’s Solovyov made note of the measures taken, the work of specialists on Earth and the crew in orbit, further actions, protecting new ships from possible threats, as well as preparing the new Soyuz MS-23 for launch.
That Soyuz replacement ship is to replace Soyuz MS-22 and return to Earth Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab
In an earlier Roscosmos posting, former cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev, now Roscosmos executive director for crewed space programs, addressed the situation with the compromised Progress MS-21 that had been docked to the station for several months, launched from Baikonur on October 26 of last year atop a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket.
According to Krikalev, by on-orbit inspection of the leak area on the Progress MS-21 radiator, the intent was to find out the cause of its occurrence. There was need to make sure that Russia’s Soyuz and Progress series is not experiencing a systematic error, because it may affect the following ships, he noted in the Telegram communiqué.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Soyuz MS-23 mission is targeted for liftoff today, on Thursday, February 23rd at 7:24 pm Eastern time. Liftoff can be viewed on NASA TV at:
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Image credit: Roscosmos
Russia’s Scientific and Technical Council has approved the decision to extend the operation of the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028.
The meeting was held at Roscosmos.
“The management of the State Corporation, its enterprises and organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, co-executors of work on the ISS project, discussed the technical condition of the Russian segment, measures to extend its service life, issues of medical support and expansion of the program of scientific and applied research,” explains a Roscosmos Telegram posting.
Based on the results of the council, “Roscosmos will prepare documents for applying to the Government of the Russian Federation on the issue of extending the service life until 2028,” the posting adds.
Image credit: RSC Energia
Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-23 non-crewed spacecraft has been transported to the launch complex at the 31st site of Baikonur.
What now follows is three days of preparation and launch of the unpiloted Soyuz on February 24 at 03:24:29 Moscow Time.
The ship is designed to replace the “emergency” Soyuz MS-22 (compromised due to coolant leak) and return Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio to Earth.
Image credit: RSC Energia
External influences
Meanwhile, before its tossing into the ocean, an inspection of the also compromised Progress MS-21 cargo craft was carried out.
Image credit: Roscosmos/RSC Energia
Image credit: Roscosmos/RSC Energia
“According to preliminary data from RSC Energia, the Progress MS-21, like the Soyuz MS-22 before, was exposed to external influences,” states a Roscosmos Telegram posting.
“Such conclusions are made on the basis of photographs that show changes on the outer surface of the ship, including on the radiator of the instrument-aggregate compartment and solar panels.”
Manufacturing defects?
In addition, in order to exclude the prospect that the two vehicles suffered manufacturing defects on the ground, RSC Energia analyzed the history of comments on the thermal control system over the past 15 years.
“The analysis of the received information continues,” a Roscosmos posting notes, with a number of ground experiments planned to simulate the damage.
SSPIDR photovoltaic wing deployment.
Image credit: MMA Design
- Space Solar Power: Progress Reported in Air Force Demo Program
https://www.leonarddavid.com/space-solar-power-progress-reported-in-air-force-demo-program/
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Helicopter: Flight 43 – High Flying Views
https://www.leonarddavid.com/mars-helicopter-flight-43-high-flying-views/
Image credit: RSC Energia
- Russia Readies Unpiloted Soyuz for February 24 liftoff
https://www.leonarddavid.com/russia-readies-unpiloted-soyuz-for-february-24-liftoff/
Curiosity Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photo produced on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023,
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
- Curiosity Mars Rover: New Drill Hole – Insufficient Depth
https://www.leonarddavid.com/curiosity-mars-rover-new-drill-hole-insufficient-depth/
Artwork of Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s intrepid Ingenuity helicopter on Mars made its 43rd flight on February 16th.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A selection of images from that flight shows the sky-high perspectives of the Jezero Crater, taken by the mini-chopper’s Navigation Camera mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight.
The aerial devices also acquired this image using its high-resolution color camera mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and pointed approximately 22 degrees below the horizon.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: RSC Energia
Preparations are quickening to launch Russia’s Soyuz MS-23 in uncrewed mode.
At the Baikonur cosmodrome the Soyuz MS-23 was transported to that 31st site of the launch complex. Roscosmos specialists are readying the ship for general assembly with the Soyuz-2.1a rocket.
Russia’s RSC Energia hosted a Council of Chief Designers dedicated to the launch of the unpiloted craft to the International Space Station (ISS).
Outer surface survey
“After the depressurization of the thermal control system of the Progress MS-21 cargo ship, which occurred on February 11 at the ISS, specialists from Roscosmos enterprises carefully analyzed the received telemetry information and images of the outer surface of the ship. They also examined in detail the radiator on the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, which was located in the assembly and test building of the 254th site of Baikonur, and did not reveal any damage on it,” stated a Roscosmos Telegram.
As a result, the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft from Baikonur is now slated for February 24 at 03:34 Moscow time.
Meanwhile, a decision has been made, post-survey of the automated Progress MS-21 supply craft, to carry out its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on February 19 at 06:15 Moscow time, according to a Roscosmos Telegram posting.
Curiosity’s location as of Sol 3744. Distance driven to this sol, 18.44 miles/29.68 kilometers.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3746 duties.
Reports Lauren Edgar, a planetary geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona: “The team was eagerly awaiting our downlink this morning to hear how the drill attempt from Sol 3742 went. The images came down and indeed there was a drill hole…a mini drill hole…and sadly not deep enough to get to a sufficient depth for the drill assembly to start collecting sample.”
Curiosity Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photo produced on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023,
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
This was the robot’s fourth attempt to drill the marker band, Edgar adds, “and we gave it our best shot from both a geology and engineering perspective. Unfortunately these rocks do not want to cooperate – they’re hard and they weather into resistant and recessive beds which make them very challenging to drill.”
Mosaic view of “Marker Band Valley” taken by Curiosity on December 16, 2022.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Difficult decision
Edgar notes that the Curiosity team made the difficult decision to get back on the road, without a drill sample from this location.
“I can imagine future rover scientists telling tall tales of these marker band rocks and the one that got away,” Edgar relates, with scientists saying: “that was the hardest rock I’ve ever seen! It looked me right in the eye and then jumped out of the net (drill bit assembly)…”
“All kidding aside, we’ve learned a lot about these rocks from remote sensing, contact science, and drill attempts, and the team is excited to analyze the data and think about what else lies ahead,” Edgar reports.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3745, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Attempted drill hole
The recent two-sol plan (Sols 3744-3745) is focused on wrapping up science at the “Dinira” drill site.
The rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will analyze the mini drill hole and drill tailings, and the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) and Mastcam will also investigate the chemistry and texture at the attempted “Dinira” drill hole.
The team also planned a long distance ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaic to study some distant stratigraphy, Edgar adds, “which is a good reminder that there’s still a lot to explore ahead!”
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3745, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Drive to the south
The plan calls for a rover drive of roughly 318 feet (97 meters) to the south, “to get us back on track to traverse across the marker band,” Edgar explains.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3745, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The second sol includes some untargeted observations, including an autonomously selected ChemCam AEGIS activity. AEGIS stands for Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science – a software suite that permits the rover to autonomously detect and prioritize targets.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3745, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity will also acquire a number of environmental observations to monitor dust in the atmosphere and search for noctilucent clouds at twilight.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photos taken on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“So we’ll say goodbye to the “Encanto” and “Dinira” drill target vicinity,” Edgar concludes, saying “these targets were not charming and did not deliver wealth as their names may have suggested, but we’ll always remember their elusive and intriguing qualities!”
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Right B image taken on Sol 3744, February 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
An example of amateur pico-ballooning is this Naval Academy amateur radio balloon experiment.
Image credit: Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
The amateur radio community continues to be in a buzz about those unidentified flying object shoot downs: one in Alaska, Canada, and over Lake Huron in the Midwest.
In one case, the object blasted out of the sky over Canada, Yukon by a U.S. Air Force jet might have been an amateur radio pico balloon, specifically K9YO-15, launched from Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville, Illinois, north of Chicago.
K9YO-15 was apparently on its seventh circumnavigation of the globe after being aloft for 123 days.
Last contact with K9YO. Image credit: NIBBB
Science in nature
According to Cary Willis of the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB), there are roughly 3 million amateur radio operators around the globe, with the NIBBB being a very small group of pico balloon enthusiasts.
“Our balloons are very small, 32″ diameter, 100 inch circumference, pre-stretched and carry a payload of around 10 grams including the tracker, solar panel and 33 foot antenna wire,” Willis told Inside Outer Space.
The sky high K9YO-15 balloon made use of a silver mylar 32″ sphere, available for a low-price of $13.33.
“Our pico balloon K9YO had been flying for 123 days preparing for the 7th time around the world when it went missing over Canada. That wasn’t the first time K9YO went missing. After the 5th time around the world in 77 days, K9YO went missing for 30 days, reported on the 106th day over Mongolia and continued the 6th circumnavigation at 112 days,” Willis added.
“I believe our communications with the FBI will help them identify our project as science in nature.”
Image credit: Statista
Missing in action
Willis said that, in a communication with a NIBBB team member, “we should be very proud of the work that we have done, and hope to continue our project connecting with amateur radio stations around the world.”
Since the pico balloon has not been heard from for several days, amateurs are calling pico balloon K9YO, for now: “Missing in Action.” Pico balloon K9YO was last reported on February 11th near Hagemeister Island in the U.S. state of Alaska.
According to the Pentagon, the object shot down over Canada was a “small metallic balloon with a tethered payload” – seemingly a match for a pico balloon.
Image credit: White House
Abundance of caution
“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were. But nothing — nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from other — any other country,” said U.S. President, Joe Biden, in a February 16 briefing specific to addressing the United States’ response to recent aerial objects.
“We acted out of an abundance of caution,” Biden explained, “with established parameters for determining how to deal with unidentified aerial objects in U.S. airspace.”
Biden said that the intelligence community’s current assessment is that “these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research,” Biden said. A range of entities, including countries, companies, and research organizations “operate objects at altitudes for purposes that are not nefarious, including legitimate scientific research.”
A balloon with a flight computer suspended beneath it.
Image credit: Douglas Malnati
Perfectly safe
The possible shooting down of pico balloon K9YO was an unlucky incident, said Douglas Malnati, an amateur radio operator that launches pico balloons.
“Pico Balloons are safe. I think once the government has a better understanding of what they’re seeing they will agree,” Malnati told Inside Outer Space.
“Pico Balloons don’t spy on anyone, and they’re perfectly safe to be in the sky with aircraft. The FAA has guidelines about what can/can’t fly, and Pico Balloons are well inside the safety threshold, so they don’t pose a danger to aircraft, nor to people on the ground,” Malnati said, adding that they’re very lightweight even if they pop and fall, just grams of weight.
“So in total, I suspect the shoot down was a misunderstanding if that is what happened,” Malnati said. “As far as the future for pico balloons, hopefully the attention brings more people to the hobby and they enjoy it!”
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 3742, February 15, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 3744 tasks.
The robot has been at work on the new drilling target, “Dinira.”
Keri Bean, a rover planner deputy team lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reports that scientists and engineers have been closely working together to adjust the drilling strategy to give them the best shot of a successful drill while also managing the wear and tear on the rover’s hardware.
Curiosity Mast Camera Right photo acquired on Sol 3742, February 15, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
“There is no guarantee it will work as Mars always loves to throw us curveballs, but we’re giving it our best! It is also cloud season on Mars, so in addition to drilling, this plan is full of sky observations to look for clouds,” Bean notes.
Post-drilling, take a nap
A recent plan, starting with Sol 3742, had the robot take Navcam atmospheric observations followed by Chemistry and Camera laser observations of “Itu,” last weekend, and some long-distance ChemCam imaging as well.
Once that wrapped up, the plan calls for drilling.
Curiosity Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photo taken on Sol 3743, February 15, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
“Drilling takes up a lot of the rover’s power, so once we’re done, the rover will take a nap until around sunset. At that point the rover will wake up and take some more atmospheric observations with Navcam and Mastcam. Once that wraps up, the rover will sleep most of the night, only waking up for the regularly scheduled communication windows,” Bean reports.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo acquired on Sol 3743, February 16, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Atmospheric/environmental observations
On the morning of sol 3743, the plan called for Curiosity to take more atmospheric and environmental observations with Navcam and Mastcam. ChemCam will use its laser on the target “Yakarinta” from the previous plan and also image our drill target Dinira.
Mastcam will also image Dinira along with some long-distance imaging, Bean adds. “The rover will spend most of the rest of the sol sleeping to recover power, although the rover will wake up twice, once mid-afternoon and once just after sunset, to take more Navcam and Mastcam atmospheric and environmental observations.”
SSPIDR photovoltaic wing deployment.
Image credit: MMA Design
Progress is being reported on the Space Solar Power Initiative orchestrated by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) program.
MMA design of Louisville, Colorado has developed and delivered a flight deployment subsystem for the AFRL’s Arachne flight experiment.
The Arachne experiment utilizes components known as “sandwich tiles” to perform solar-to-radio frequency (RF) conversion. Solar energy is collected, converted to RF energy, then would be beamed to precise locations on Earth for conversion back into useable power.
According to MMA Design, Arachne is seen as a stepping stone in AFRL’s overarching goal: Developing a larger scale system capable of beaming energy wherever it is needed, including remote military bases or even communities in need of temporary power when ravaged by climate emergencies.
Artist’s rendering of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Arachne flight experiment on orbit.
Image credit: Partise
Structural backbone
MMA Design, in partnership with Northrop Grumman and AFRL, has delivered the custom designed and fabricated subsystem hardware as the structural backbone of Arachne’s primary payload.
“The Deployment Subsystem includes a dual-port structural adapter for Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar platform, structural panels for the sandwich tiles, hinges, segment angular position adjustment mechanisms, photovoltaic tiles, a launch restraint/release system, and a camera system for monitoring deployment,” explains an MMA Design press statement provided to Inside Outer Space.
The assembly is being delivered to Northrop Grumman for final integration and test with a planned launch in 2025.
For more information about MMA Design, go to:
