Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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September 9th, 2023
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Details of Virgin Galactic’s fourth successful suborbital flight in four months have been released by the space travel firm.
The completion of its second private astronaut flight, the mission flew three of Virgin Galactic’s first customers.
“Galactic 03” was the third flight of Virgin Galactic’s inaugural commercial spaceflight season.
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
The September 8 flight from New Mexico’s Spaceport America followed the company’s first research mission in June and first private astronaut mission in August.
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Onboard Galactic 03:
Astronaut 014 Ken Baxter from the United States of America
Astronaut 015 Timothy Nash from South Africa, and British Citizen
Astronaut 016 Adrian Reynard from the United Kingdom
Spaceship VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Michael Masucci. Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses was also on board.
The mothership VMS Eve that released VSS Unity was piloted by commander Jameel Janjua and pilot Kelly Latimer.
In-flight facts
According to Virgin Galactic, the Galactic 03 in-flight facts:
- Take-off Time 8:34 am Mountain Time (Local)
- Altitude at Release 44,867 feet
- Apogee 55 miles
- Top Speed Mach 2.95
- Landing Time 09:36 am Mountain Time
Per Virgin Galactic, the company is proceeding with post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for the next commercial space mission, “Galactic 04,” which is planned for early October.
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Posted in 
Curiosity Right Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3940, September 6, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3943 duties.
“The rover is currently driving across bumpy terrain consisting of rounded bedrock sticking up between dark sand and drift as she drives south, and slightly uphill, along the Mt. Sharp Ascent Route,” reports Sharon Wilson Purdy, a planetary Geologist at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Due to the rugged ground, Purdy adds, the rover sometimes ends a drive with a wheel or two perched on a rock.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3941, September 7, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
When that happens, as the robot recently did, researchers are unable to safely unstow the arm to do contact science.
Sand and bedrock interaction
“We pivoted and planned a [Chemistry and Camera Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy] ChemCam LIBS observation of target “Eleusis” to characterize the composition of smooth bedrock in our workspace.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3942, September 8, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A nearby exposure of bedrock was documented by a Mastcam stereo mosaic of the “Kechries” target.
Curiosity also took a Mastcam stereo image of a nearby trough to investigate the interaction between the sand and bedrock.
Off in the distance, Mars team members planned a Mastcam multispectral image and a long distance ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photo of “Kukenan” to further characterize and document the varying textures and layers within the butte.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3942, September 8, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Never a dull moment
A recent plan called for a drive of roughly 75 feet (23 meters) in a scripted 2-sol plan (Sols 3941-3942).
Curiosity was slated to collect environmental data including surveys to monitor dust devil activity, a movie to monitor cloud movement, and a solar tau to measure the optical depth of the atmosphere and to constrain aerosol scattering properties, Purdy reports.
“The science team ended the day with a look-ahead to Curiosity’s weekend plan,” Purdy concluded, “with lots of images to take and data to collect it’s never a dull moment for this rover on Earth or on Mars!”
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3942, September 8, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ridge – a relatively late feature
In an earlier report, Lucy Thompson, a planetary geologist at University of New Brunswick, noted the rover continues to acquire imaging of the Gediz Vallis ridge “in order to help us understand how this relatively late feature within Gale crater formed.”
Thompson said researchers continue to acquire imaging of the Gediz Vallis ridge in order to better understand how this relatively late feature within Gale crater formed.
“The abundant large blocks contained within the ridge deposits indicate a relatively high energy environment, e.g., a landslide, a flooding event or maybe glacial activity,” Thompson observed.
Laser pulsed target. Curiosity Chemistry & Camera Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photo taken on Sol 3942, September 8, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Ridge deposits – questions
And there are many questions related to the ridge deposits, Thompson noted:
How do the included blocks relate to other rocks already encountered within Gale crater, and to the exposed stratigraphy higher up Mount Sharp?”
Are there separate packages or layers of sediment within the ridge that might represent different depositional events and processes?”
Are there noticeable changes in the ridge as we drive from north to south?
What is the nature of the contact with the sulfate-bearing unit?
A large Mastcam mosaic was on tap to be acquired, photography to help Mars scientists continue to address these questions. “To continue looking at the layering and structure within the Kukenan butte, and to aid in determining how the stratigraphy fits with what we are driving over, ChemCam will take a long distance RMI mosaic of the butte,” Thompson added.
Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province.
Credit: CCTV
China’s Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province is in construction mode to put in place a new-generation launch complex.
These new facilities will support the country’s human Moon exploration enterprise, according to Liao Guorui, the Wenchang launch commander.
Liao Guorui, the Wenchang launch commander.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
As noted by China Central Television (CCTV), the Wenchang site involves technological breakthroughs, including high-flow filling of cryogenic propellants and parallel test launches of large and medium-sized rockets powered by cryogenic liquid fuels.
“The Wenchang Space Launch Site will also carry out the construction of launch complexes for next-generation manned lunar landing missions and heavy-lift rockets, providing strong support for China’s manned moon landing mission, deep space exploration, and planetary exploration,” Liao told CCTV. “We will do our best to build a world-class space launch site for in-depth space exploration.”
Image credit: China Manned Space Agency
Image credit: China Manned Space Agency
Image credit: China Manned Space Agency
Image credit: China Manned Space Agency
Image credit: SpaceX
The FAA has closed the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy mishap investigation. The final report cites multiple root causes of the April 20, 2023 mishap and 63 corrective actions SpaceX must take to prevent mishap reoccurrence.
“The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica,” a FAA statements explains.
Image credit: SpaceX/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“SpaceX must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next Starship launch.”
For full FAA statement, go to:
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-closes-spacex-starship-mishap-investigation
Success at today’s Friday, September 8 Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceflight. This is the company’s fourth spaceflight in four months.
Who was onboard?
“We are excited to announce the successful completion of ‘Galactic 03’. This marked our fourth successful spaceflight in four months, and the three crew members onboard were the first from our Founder Future Astronauts:
• Astronaut 014 Ken Baxter from the United States of America
• Astronaut 015 Timothy Nash from South Africa
• Astronaut 016 Adrian Reynard from the United Kingdom
“Like so many of our customers, they each held lifelong dreams of spaceflight, and today they were able to fulfil them. They’ve shown how powerful and transformative space travel can be, and we look forward to making this experience accessible for many more people worldwide.”
Next flight, October
“The team will now proceed with post-flight inspections and analysis, in preparation for our next commercial space mission, ‘Galactic 04,’ which is planned for early October.
For updates on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Keep an eye on: https://twitter.com/virgingalactic
and
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/galactic03
Image credit: Virgin Galactic
Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Inside Outer Space screengrab
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The General Accounting Office (GAO) finds that original Space Launch System (SLS) cost baselines, or committed costs, were tied to the launch of Artemis I.
“Without a baseline to track these production costs for upcoming missions, future program costs are less transparent and harder for NASA and Congress to monitor,” the GAO report explains. “NASA should act on our prior recommendations to improve transparency and monitoring of this program.”
For full report, go to: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105609.pdf
For a GAO Podcast – “As NASA Plans Its Return to the Moon, Greater Visibility Into Spending Could Help Address Cost Concern” – go to:
Chinese astronauts may be investigating the Moon up-close before 2030.
Image credit: China Manned Space Program
China’s blossoming space exploration agenda includes sending the country’s astronauts to the Moon, a master plan that calls for a target time before 2030.
For the last several months, China space experts have repeatedly rolled out how-to-do humans-to-the-Moon exploration. Although cited as preliminary, their strategy is bolstered by Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program. He has frequently emphasized that by 2030, “the Chinese people will definitely be able to set foot on the Moon. That’s not a problem.”
For detailed information on China’s emerging Moon plan, go to my new Multiverse Media SpaceRef story – “Piecing Together China’s Big Plans To Send Astronauts to the Moon Before 2030” – at:
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) has generated oxygen for the 16th and final time aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on August 7th. Its operations are concluding.
Since 2021, MOXIE has generated a total of 122 grams of oxygen. MOXIE was built and operated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Give an ear to MOXIE running on the Red Planet at:
Also, go to my recent story – “Out of Thin Air, Mars Oxygen: MOXIE Sets Record Output” – at:
https://www.leonarddavid.com/out-of-thin-air-mars-oxygen-moxie-sets-record-output/
Image credit: ISRO
Image credit: NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spots Indian Moon lander. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Image of India’s Moon lander as observed by the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter.
Image credit: ISRO
Image credit: ISRO
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon Lander site has been eyed by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 lander/rover touched down on the Moon on August 23, 2023.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
NASA’s LRO high-powered LROC system acquired this oblique view (42° slew angle) of the lander four days later.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission landing site is located over 370 miles (about 600 kilometers) from the lunar south pole.
The bright halo around the vehicle resulted from the rocket plume interacting with the fine-grained regolith (soil).
For more information on LRO’s spotting of the Indian lunar lander, go to:
https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1314
