Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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December 10th, 2014
SHERPA, a hosted payload and in-space transportation platform.
Credit: Spaceflight Inc.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is pushing forward on its agenda to enable robotic servicing of spacecraft.
That work is being done under the Phoenix initiative – and one of its goals is to validate new satellite assembly architectures.
Never accused of skimping on innovation, DARPA is delving into “Satlets” – new low-cost, modular satellite architecture that can scale almost infinitely.
Independent modules
Satlets are small independent modules that weigh roughly 15 pounds (7 kilograms) that incorporate essential satellite innards, like power supplies, movement controls, sensors, etc.
Satlets share data, power and thermal management capabilities.
Satlets also physically aggregate (attach together) in different combinations that would provide capabilities to accomplish a range of diverse space missions with any type, size or shape payload.
Because they are modular, they can be produced on an assembly line at low cost and integrated very quickly with different payloads.
DARPA is keen on validating the technical concept of satlets in low Earth orbit.
“Satlets” – new low-cost, modular satellite architecture that can scale almost infinitely.
Credit: DARPA
In-space transportation platform
Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc., has announced its role in the concept of the new architecture based on the firm’s SHERPA, a hosted payload and in-space transportation platform.
On Dec. 9 the company announced it has signed NovaWurks, Inc., to a launch services agreement for the eXCITe spacecraft.
NovaWurks, located in Los Alamitos, California, is developing eXCITe as part of the DARPA Phoenix program. Earlier this year, DARPA awarded prime contracts for follow-on phase work on the Phoenix effort to NovaWurks and 7 other companies.
The eXCITe spacecraft would ride to low Earth orbit on Spaceflight’s SHERPA in-space transportation platform – scheduled for launch along with roughly 2,645 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of other small satellite rideshare customers in the third quarter of 2015.
eXCITe uses NovaWurks’ Hyper-Integrated Satlet, or HISat™ platform that can be configured as a Conformal Spacecraft™.
Trailblazing time
Curt Blake, President of Spaceflight, said in a press statement: “DARPA’s Phoenix program is a near perfect fit with SHERPA’s capabilities, which will open up additional access to space on commercial launch vehicles, as well as acting as an enabler for future missions to unique orbits.”
Blake added that the partnership with NovaWurks spotlights the exciting and cutting-edge trailblazing time today for “new business models and concepts in the satellite industry.”
For more information on this emerging work, go to these resources:
— DARPA’s Phoenix program at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeKzdk0sWjI
— Spaceflight Inc., at:
http://spaceflightservices.com/
— NovaWurks’ HISat and Conformal Spacecraft technology at:
Posted in 
This simulation depicts a lake partially filling Mars’ Gale Crater, receiving runoff from snow melting on the crater’s rim. Evidence that NASA’s Curiosity rover has found of ancient streams, deltas and lakes suggests the crater held a lake such as this more than three billion years ago.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS
NASA’s Curiosity Rover is chalking up “powerful new evidence” to how water helped shape the Martian landscape.
But the rumor mill is also flowing about a new finding that the robot has detected methane.
On-going observations by the robot indicate Mars’ Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years.
This interpretation of Curiosity’s finds in Gale Crater suggests ancient Mars maintained a climate that could have produced long-lasting lakes at many locations on the Red Planet.
That implies that there might have been enough time for things to get lively on Mars.
Spectrometer reading
According to informed sources, keep an eye on the December 15-19 American Geophysical Union’s annual gathering in San Francisco.
In particular, look for discussion of Mars Science Laboratory work using the tunable laser spectrometer. It is part of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite.
This picture shows a lab demonstration of the measurement chamber inside the Tunable Laser Spectrometer, an instrument that is part of the Sample Analysis at Mars investigation on NASA’s Curiosity rover.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Methane detection…who cares?
Whether the Martian atmosphere contains traces of the gas has been a question of high interest for years because methane could be a potential sign of life. But it also can be produced without biology.
This image was taken by Front Hazcam: Left B (FHAZ_LEFT_B) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 831 on December 7.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Part per billion
If indeed methane – CH4 — is “sniffed out” by Curiosity, the key question is how much and does it vary?
Curiosity may be seeing small local increases in CH4.
“Meteorite in-fall brings organic material to Mars and this organic material breaks down and is oxidized mostly to carbon dioxide but some CH4 is released,” explained Chris McKay, a Marsologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.
“Once produced on Mars the lifetime of the CH4 is 300 years against destruction by ultraviolet sunlight,” McKay told me last week. “So calculations suggest that meteoritic input and sunlight destruction balance and the result is a steady level of about one part per billion (ppb) CH4. Curiosity results are consistent with this as the constant background level of CH4 on Mars. This is hardly surprising and not too interesting for astrobiology,” he said.
Bottom line: Just how the methane on Mars story plays out at the AGU meeting, stay tuned regarding Curiosity’s tunable laser spectrometer!
This image was taken by Navcam: Right B (NAV_RIGHT_B) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 831 on December 8.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary Keen
Following its first test flight and ocean recovery on December 5, the NASA Orion crew module is seen in the well deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23). The EFT-1 flight of Orion was the fifth at-sea testing of the Orion crew module using a Navy well deck recovery method.
Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary Keen
Navy divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 11 and Mobile Diving and Salvage Company 11‐7, recovered the module during the Orion Program’s first exploration flight test.
Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Paul Seeber
The Military Sealift Command diving and salvage vessel USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, Fleet Combat Camera Pacific, and Fleet Weather Center San Diego were also in the Pacific Ocean supporting Orion crew module recovery operations.
Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Corey Green
New Horizons Mission Operations Manager Alice Bowman and operations team member Karl Whittenburg watch the screens for data confirming that the New Horizons spacecraft had transitioned from hibernation to active mode on Dec. 6.
Credit: APL
Smiles all around!
That’s the scene at the New Horizons Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.
Data has streamed in from a long distance runner – NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft – showing its transition from hibernation to active mode on December 6.
New Horizons is on track for its long-awaited 2015 encounter with the Pluto system. The spacecraft will begin observing the Pluto system on Jan. 15.
The probe’s closest approach to Pluto will occur on July 14. But by mid-May, New Horizon will view the Pluto system better than what the powerful Hubble Space Telescope can provide of the dwarf planet and its moons.
The craft is now more than 2.9 billion miles from Earth, and just over 162 million miles from Pluto. Spacecraft signals take four hours and 26 minutes to reach Earth.
Active mode
Operators at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., confirmed at 9:53 p.m. (EST) on Saturday that New Horizons, operating on pre-programmed computer commands, had switched from hibernation to “active” mode.
NASA’s New Horizons was launched on January 19, 2006. About two-thirds of its flight time has been in hibernation mode – 18 separate hibernation periods, from mid-2007 to late 2014, slumber times ranging from 36 days to 202 days in length.
The team used hibernation to save wear and tear on spacecraft components and reduce the risk of system failures.
New Horizons en route to Pluto and beyond!
Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI)
Listen to wake-up call
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory manages the New Horizons mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is the principal investigator and leads the mission; SwRI leads the science team, payload operations, and encounter science planning.
New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
APL designed, built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft.
Listen to this special musical wake-up call by English tenor Russell Watson, a vocal salute to New Horizons including an inspirational “Where My Heart Will Take Me.”
The song was played in New Horizons mission operations upon confirmation of the spacecraft’s wake-up on Dec. 6.
Give a listen at:
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/mp3/wakeup.htm
Credit: U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Charles White
On December 5, NASA’s Orion Crew Module descends to the Pacific Ocean under its three main parachutes as part of the Orion Program’s first exploration flight test.
Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11 and Fleet Combat Camera Pacific attach a “horse collar” towing device to the NASA Orion Crew Module.
The amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) is supporting the first exploration flight test for the NASA Orion program. EFT-1 is the fifth at sea testing of the Orion Crew Module using a Navy well deck recovery method.
Credit: U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Charles White
Meanwhile, upon successful launch and recovery of the Orion spacecraft on Friday, December 5, 2014, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John P. Holdren issued the following statement:
“With today’s successful test launch and recovery of the Orion spacecraft, NASA has taken an important step towards the goal of human exploration of the solar system. Support from private-sector aerospace partners for the Orion effort – as well as for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective access to and from space – reflects the Administration’s commitment to create jobs, bolster the American economy, and build the strongest commercial space industry in the world. President Obama’s vision is to develop a balanced space program that supports a sustainable human exploration program, expands scientific knowledge, and invests in transformational technologies that will greatly increase our capabilities in space. We congratulate the men and women of NASA and their commercial partners for this successful test launch, and we look forward to future milestones on the journey to Mars.”
Liftoff of Orion capsule.
Credit: NASA
The new entry in human-carrying spacecraft, the Orion capsule, has been lofted into deep space – and onboard is a photograph of the first man on the Moon, as well as the last.
A photograph of the Apollo program’s Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11) and Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17) — the first person and last man to walk on the Moon — shows the two raising the American flag acknowledging a cheering crowd at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium in 2007.
This photo of Purdue alumni astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (left) and Gene A. Cernan, is aboard the Orion space vehicle. The photo is from a 2007 football game in Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium.
Credit: Purdue University
That image is among items representing Purdue University’s contributions to flight and space history.
Purdue University Libraries’ Division of Archives and Special Collections provided the group photograph taken at the university’s 1999 Purdue astronaut reunion.
The Orion test flight carries this photo of Purdue alumni astronauts into space. The photo was taken during their reunion on Purdue’s campus in 1999.
Credit: Purdue University
Two Purdue pennants are on board, notes a Purdue University press statement.
“These items represent Purdue’s contributions to the U.S. space program – by not only its astronauts but also by the generations of engineers and scientists who have graduated from Purdue and gone on to work for NASA and in the aerospace industry.”
Taking part in a London presentation to promote Asteroid day, Lord Martin Rees, Grigorij Richters, and Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and famed guitarist for the rock band Queen.
Photo by Max Alexander/Asteroid Day – London
A unique effort is now underway to establish an Asteroid Day.
As part of the initiative, a number of well-known dignitaries have put forth the 100x Asteroid Declaration, advocating the vital need for Near-Earth Asteroid detection.
Asteroid Day is to be held on the anniversary of the 1908 Siberian Tunguska event, the largest asteroid impact on Earth in recent history.
The Asteroid Day 100x Declaration was signed by astronauts, scientists, Nobel laureates, technologists and artists.
The 100x Asteroid Declaration’s call to action is as follows:
— Employ available technology to detect and track Near-Earth Asteroids that threaten human populations via governments and private and philanthropic organizations.
— A rapid hundred-fold (100x) acceleration of the discovery and tracking of Near-Earth Asteroids to 100,000 per year within the next ten years.
— Global adoption of Asteroid Awareness Day, heightening awareness of the asteroid hazard and our efforts to prevent impacts, on June 30, 2015.
For more information on this initiative, and how you can take part, go to:
http://www.asteroidday.org/declaration
Also, get an eye full with a series of videos by going to:
http://www.asteroidday.org/video/
Credit: JAXA
After a successful liftoff, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) received signals from the Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 at 3:44 p.m. on December 3, 2014 (Japan Standard Time) at the NASA Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex (in California).
There is confirmation that the spacecraft’s initial sequence of operations — including the solar array paddle deployment and sun acquisition control — have been performed normally.
Hayabusa2 was launched on the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 26 from the Tanegashima Space Center at 1:22:04 p.m. on the same day (JST.)
The explorer is also confirmed to be inserted into the scheduled orbit by the H-IIA F26 booster.
Credit: JAXA
The explorer is now in a stable condition.
For a video of the launch, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TwlwZobc4&feature=youtu.be
Asteroid Day 2015
Meanwhile, join in today to observe a major press event in which a declaration will be issued calling for increased awareness and tracking of dangerous asteroids.
Experts in science, physics and planetary defense, led by Astrophysicist and Musician Brian May and Lord Martin Rees in the UK, and Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society, Ryan Wyatt, Director of the Morrison Planetarium and veteran astronauts Rusty Schweickart, Ed Lu and Tom Jones in the US, will hold a joint UK-US press conference to announce Asteroid Day 2015, and to release the 100x Declaration to protect the future of our planet from asteroid impacts.
A declaration will be issued calling for increased awareness and tracking of dangerous asteroids.
ASTEROID DAY is scheduled for June 30, 2015, the anniversary of the Tunguska, Siberia asteroid impact.
The press conference will be held December 3, 2014 in London and San Francisco simultaneously, linked via video.
•San Francisco, CA, USA: California Academy of Sciences | 10:30 a.m. (PST).
•London, UK: The Science Museum | Gallery 29 | 6:30 p.m. (GMT).
Event page link:
https://plus.google.com/events/c080grbf0u5stvb21mctei6u7og
YouTube page (where event will be streamed live):
There is an active “We the People – Your Voice in Government” petition to the White House/Obama administration that calls for an increase in NASA funding to one percent of the federal budget.
What’s being flagged by the petition is that for every dollar a U.S. citizen pays in federal taxes, less than one-half of one penny is allocated to the NASA budget.
Historical note: In 2013 the NASA budget was 0.49% of the budget, the lowest % since 1961, the petition adds.
Insufficient commitment?
The Moon and beyond – on what budget?
Credit: NASA
According to petition advocates in viewing today’s NASA budget: “This is an abysmally insufficient commitment to a program that has inspired so many, propelled the advancement of so much technology, and repeatedly demonstrated American leadership, ingenuity and big thinking.”
Indeed, these proponents of a NASA increase point to Europe’s recent landing of a robot probe on a distant comet. That sparked a worldwide media conversation about science.
“The U.S. needs to lead that conversation. By doing so, we can inspire much-needed passion for science in our students, create new technology and industries, all in one fell swoop.”
Petition: pro or con?
So, what’s your view?
Signatures on the petition that are needed by December 13, 2014 — to reach a goal of 100,000 – are now at 2,648 in number.
So if you’re a believer, where are those other 97,352 people?
Or do you disagree with this petition?
For more information, go to:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/increase-nasa-funding-1-federal-budget/WZk0vgc2
Also, go to the White House response for giving NASA more money at:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/doubling-and-tripling-what-we-can-accomplish-space
WANDERERS is a short science fiction film by Erik Wernquist – a digital artist and animator from Stockholm, Sweden.
This image from the film makes use of photo taken by NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover and provides true landscape while adding in future Red Planet expeditionary crew.
Credit: Erik Wernquist
WANDERERS is a short science fiction film by Erik Wernquist – a digital artist and animator from Stockholm, Sweden.
Wernquist notes that the film is a vision of our humanity’s future expansion into the Solar System. Although admittedly speculative, the visuals in the film are all based on scientific ideas and concepts of what our future in space might look like, if it ever happens.
All the locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available.
Adding to the compelling nature of this video is the narrative voice of astronomer and author Carl Sagan. The audio used are excerpts from Sagan’s own reading of his book ‘Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space’ (1994).
To view this marvelous production, go to:
