Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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June 23rd, 2015
Credit: Surrey Space Centre
Following in the wake of the Planetary Society’s LightSail-A mission, another solar sail effort is being readied for a July departure.
Boxed up and delivered to India last month, the DeorbitSail mission is among a number of payloads to be rocketed into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India.
The DeorbitSail project is a collaboration to build a 3 unit (3U) CubeSat-sized satellite with a deployable sail that will demonstrate rapid deorbiting.
Credit: Surrey Space Centre
Leader of the project is the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey in Guildford, United Kingdom.
Test of rapid deorbiting
DeorbitSail is a small satellite mission that will launch and deploy a roughly 13 foot by 13 foot (four-by-four-meters), four-quadrant sail to showcase rapid deorbiting.
The sail will be able to change the satellite’s orbit through drag and solar radiation pressure.
DeorbitSail will use atmospheric drag as its primary method of deorbitation, but the same design can be effective for solar sailing at higher altitudes.
Credit: Surrey Space Centre
Top level objectives
Top level objectives of the DeorbitSail Project are to:
— Provide research in the field of deorbiting
— Provide a demonstrated and verified design for deorbiting of satellites and debris
— Provide effective and efficient in-space propulsion technologies based on solar sails
Cooperative effort
As detailed by Surrey Space Centre, “Solar sailing” is a method of propulsion that uses the very small force exerted by sunlight to propel a spacecraft. This force, solar radiation pressure, is much smaller than the weight of the sail on the Earth’s surface, even though the sail material is thinner than human hair.
Credit: Surrey Space Centre
The DeorbitSail project is a cooperative effort between Surrey Space Centre (UK), Caltech (USA), DLR (Germany), EADS Astrium (France), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), University of Patras (Greece), Athena-SPU (Greece), Middle-Eastern Technical University (Turkey), Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) (UK), and ISIS (Netherlands).
The project is funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program, FP7.
Credit: Surrey Space Centre
Posted in 
Buzz Aldrin and Leonard David with the Apollo 11 Command Module.
Credit Eric Long/NASM
For all you folks in the South Dakota environs – Rushmore Mall welcomes Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Leonard David.
I hope you’ll join us for a special update on our book: “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration.”
Credit: National Geographic
The book is now in soft cover with a new essay on the future of space exploration. Books will be available for purchase during the event.
We will be visiting Rushmore Mall, on Saturday, July 11.
Aldrin and co-author Leonard David will host a question-answer session followed by a book signing from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
For more information, go to:
http://www.simon.com/mall/rushmore-mall/stream/rushmore-mall-welcomes-astronaut-buzz-aldrin-3438943
On February 28, 2015, NASA Astronaut Terry Virts took this picture of the Vulcan salute from the International Space Station as it flew above Leonard Nimoy’s hometown of Boston.
Credit: NASA
“For the Love of Spock” – a documentary film about Leonard Nimoy is under development by his son – Adam Nimoy.
A Kickstarter campaign has been established to help Adam Nimoy complete the project.
Adam Nimoy is an American television director.
“Last year, just before Thanksgiving, I approached my dad, Leonard Nimoy, about the possibility of working together on a film about Mr. Spock. I had skimmed through some of the books on the making of Star Trek and felt there was so much more to explore about the birth and evolution of Spock. And the timing seemed right, as the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series was not that far away,” Adam Nimoy explains.
Credit: Adam Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy passed away earlier this year on February 27.
To take part in this Kickstarter campaign, view this video prepared by Adam Nimoy.
Go to:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adamnimoy/for-the-love-of-spock-a-documentary-film
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian commander Maxim Suraev and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman returned to Earth on November 10, 2014, landing in the Kazakh steppe.
Their Soyuz return, landing was in the same Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft that flew them to the International Space Station on May 28, 2014.
Credit: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2014
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, Alexander Gerst, video recorded an inside look at speeding back to Earth onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.The last leg of the return to Earth from space is one of the trickiest and potentially most dangerous moments in the astronaut’s journey.
Alexander Gerst is Germany’s most high profile astronaut.
Between May and November 2014, Gerst spent six months on the ISS for ESA’s Blue Dot mission.
He became the third German to visit the ISS.
Check out this video “The Astronaut Academy: The ‘rollercoaster ride’ of reentry to Earth” made available by Euronews at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5uYR6Zb8oM
Credit: Orbit Logic Incorporated
The folks at Orbit Logic Incorporated have issued a new version of SpyMeSat. It allows smart phone users to task a high resolution imaging satellite to take an image of a user-specified location.
SpyMeSat users can task a high resolution imaging satellite (EROS-B) right from their smartphone to take a new image just for them . . . of any location within the supported regions (western Europe, North America, and Oceania (Australia/New Zealand, etc.).
This new version of SpyMeSat also includes an Apple Watch app as well. That allows the wearer to get notifications and see countdowns to upcoming imaging passes on your Apple Watch.
Sat snaps on demand
Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic in Greenbelt, Maryland, developers of the SpyMeSat app, adds: “We are making archive imagery and new tasking accessible, responsive and affordable for everyone.”
SpyMeSat users can now order new images from an orbiting high resolution commercial imaging satellite.
Credit: Orbit Logic Incorporated
This type of tasking enables industrial and government uses, for real estate and construction purposes. Perhaps you want to take an image of your group or sports team from space?
Prices for new tasking start at $500, an affordable option for high resolution satellite imagery collection.
SpyMeSat users can choose from image sizes ranging from 2km x 2km to 7km x 7km.
Resources
You can find additional information about the new version of SpyMeSat at:
A YouTube demo video for the new version can be viewed at:
This series of 19 images, acquired by the Rosetta orbiter’s Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) on November 12, 2014, shows the Philae lander during its descent towards Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
More good news about Europe’s Philae comet lander!
The team at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) received data from the Philae lander for the third time on June 19th.
In that time period, Philae sent 185 data packets from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Night work
After its seven-month hibernation, word from DLR is that the lander is operating at a temperature of zero degrees Celsius. That means that the battery is now warm enough to store energy.
Therefore, Philae will also be able to work during the comet’s night, regardless of solar illumination, observes Michael Maibaum, a systems engineer at the DLR Lander Control Center (LCC) in Cologne and Deputy Operations Manager.
Soaking up the Sun
Engineers have determined that the amount of sunlight Philae is can soak up has increased.
Instrumented Philae comet lander.
Credit: ESA/DLR
“More solar panels were illuminated…at the end of contact, four of Philae’s panels were receiving energy,” Maibaum said in a press statement.
There were a number of interruptions in the connection, but it was otherwise stable over a longer period for the first time.
“The contact has confirmed that Philae is doing very well,” Maibaum added.
Future operations
Philae has managed to survive the icy temperatures on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – temperature and energy values show that the lander is now operational.
The trajectory of the Rosetta orbiter that deployed the comet lander last year is being modified to optimize the possibility for renewed contact. Doing so would allow the orbiter to act as a relay between Philae and Earth.
Rosetta orbiter.
Credit: ESA
“However, we need a long and stable contact time to conduct research with Philae again as planned,” says Maibaum.
If these conditions are met, the 10 instruments on board Philae could once again be operated from the DLR Lander Control Center.
Liftoff of suborbital space tourism, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Credit: Blue Origin
There’s a spaceport battle for space tourists.
And it’s Branson versus Bezos – two different approaches to tackle the suborbital space travel business.
“Virgin Galactic and its future base, New Mexico’s Spaceport America, have a serious competitor chomping at their heels from a private spaceport in far West Texas,” reports Bob Martin of KRQE TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“After years of mostly secret research and testing, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is making a big public move on the space tourism market with his personal rocket company, Blue Origin,” explains Martin.
Aerial tour
Sky News 13 Pilot-Reporter Bob Martin takes you on an aerial tour of the secretive and private launch site and test range near Van Horn, Texas.
Check out this highly informative look at the Bezos spaceport, courtesy of Bob Martin who gave permission to Inside Outer Space to post this story.
Go to:
http://krqe.com/2015/06/17/spaceports-battle-for-space-tourists/
Credit: CASC
It has been announced that China’s Long March- 7 booster has passed a joint assessment by the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation and China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
The outcome of the appraisal, according to a June 18 report in China’s state-run news output, the People’s Daily Online, is that the technical condition of Long March-7 rocket production has been identified. The next stage focus will be placed on rocket production, assembly and testing of the launcher.
These items mean that the Long March 7 rocket is slated to make its maiden flight in 2016, according to the People’s Daily Online.
Long March-7 has been identified as a new generation of medium-size launch vehicle, striving for a high degree of reliability and security.
The launcher was developed to meet the demand of placing cargo spaceships to China’s manned space station and upgrading carrier rockets for future crewed spacecraft.
Long March stable
Earlier, Chinese news sources reported that, by the end of this year, China hopes to have staged the maiden launch of its Long March-6 rocket, which is designed to be a “high-speed response launch vehicle.”
The Long March-6 will be the latest member of the Long March stable, joining the Long March-7, which will ferry supplies and transport waste from the space station, and China’s most powerful rocket, the Long March-5.
The Long March-5 is to perform its maiden flight next year.
If all goes well, China will launch the core module of its space station in 2018 to test technologies and engineering, and the whole station will become fully operational around 2022, according to Wang Zhaoyao, former director of the China Manned Space Agency.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and the IXV in front of the ESA Pavilion, at Paris Air and Space Show, on June 16, 2015. Pesquet has been assigned to a long-duration mission on the International Space Station. He will be leaving our planet for six months November 2016 as a flight engineer for Expeditions 50 and 51, returning in May 2017.
Credit: ESA–CB PROD, 2015
Earlier this week, at the Paris Air Show, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported first details on the flight of the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, IXV.
That research craft was launched on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on February 11, 2015.
Released into a suborbital trajectory, it flew autonomously, reentering and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean just west of the Galapagos Islands after 100 minutes of flight.
Variety of missions
According to ESA, the IXV incorporates both the simplicity of capsules and the performance of winged vehicles, with high controllability and maneuverability for precision landing.
Such a capability is a cornerstone for reusable launcher stages, sample return from other planets and crew return from space, as well as future Earth observation, microgravity research, satellite servicing and disposal missions.
Furthermore, the results from the test will be fed into the ESA’s “Program for Reusable In-Orbit Demonstrator for Europe,” long-speak for “Pride” – a reusable spaceplane.
Shown pre-launch, the IXV was hurled into space on top of a Vega rocket, VV04, climbing up to 260 miles (420 kilometers) before beginning a long glide back through the atmosphere. In the process, IXV gathered data on reentry conditions to help guide the design of future spaceplanes.
Credit ESA–M. Pedoussaut, 2015
First results
The prime contractor for IXV is Thales Alenia Space Italia, supported by about 40 other European companies. The mission was controlled from the Advanced Logistics Technology Engineering Centre (ALTEC) in Turin, Italy.
In the five months since the test mission, the initial analysis has been completed and the team unveiled the first results in a special press briefing.
A replay of press conference at the Paris Air Show on the first results from ESA’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV). It can be viewed here at:
http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2015/06/Replay_of_IXV_conference
Credit: UrtheCast Corp.
The view from space of our Earth just got a boost in eye-catching color.
UrtheCast has released the world’s first, full-color HD videos of Earth, filmed from the International Space Station (ISS).
The videos show the Earth at roughly one-meter resolution. Captured from the ISS videos of London, Barcelona, Boston and São Paulo, offer a revealing look at our world, for global stewardship, for business, for big data analysis, and for the greater public good, UrtheCast explains, “all with the aim of democratizing a very powerful perspective on the planet.”
Credit: UrtheCast Corp.
Democratizing the Earth Observation industry
UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that is developing the world’s first Ultra HD video feed of Earth, streamed from space in full color.
“Today, we are continuing our advancement towards democratizing the Earth Observation industry, making timely Earth video and imagery from space accessible to everyone,” explains Scott Larson, UrtheCast Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
“With the ultimate goal of connecting the planet and highlighting what unites us all, we’re revealing a perspective of Earth from space that was previously reserved for a small few,” Larson adds in a UrtheCast Corp. press statement.
Global campaign
The group expects that is High-Resolution Camera (HRC), Iris, mounted on the ISS to achieve Initial Operation Capability (IOC) status in the summer of 2015. It would complement the existing Medium-Resolution Camera (MRC), Theia, which reached IOC status in 2014 and is actively filling orders for imagery and data.
Credit: UrtheCast Corp.
Last month, UrtheCast announced that footage captured from its two cameras aboard the ISS will be incorporated into a first-of-its-kind short film for the 2015 Pepsi® Challenge™ global campaign.
To be released this fall, the short film will be shot from multiple locations and perspectives – both on Earth and in space. Filming will take place in more than 10 countries across four continents where thousands of consumers will join together to be filmed by UrtheCast’s proprietary HD video camera.
Credit: UrtheCast Corp.
Resources
For more information on UrtheCast visit their website at:
For more information about the Pepsi Challenge and upcoming film, go to:
Also, check out this video of Russian cosmonauts Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy undertaking a spacewalk on January 17, 2014 to install UrtheCast cameras on the ISS.
Go to:
https://jumpshare.com/v/u9CFez9FfPc4HgGflJle?b=hQxtzyNQc13l4aTpJbjy
Showcasing their capabilities, here’s an impressive view of Barcelona.
Go to:
https://vimeo.com/user41134727/urthecastbarcelona
