Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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July 20th, 2014
Credit: NASA
A fascinating collection of declassified U.S. documents reflect the covert side of lunar programs, made available as a National Security Archive electronic briefing book.
This special posting today marks the 45th anniversary of the first humans to set foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Called “Soldiers, Spies and the Moon: Secret U.S. and Soviet Plans from the 1950s and 1960s,” the collection is edited by Jeffrey Richelson of the National Security Archive.
The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 was the first spacecraft in February 1966 to achieve a lunar soft landing and to transmit photographic data from the Moon’s surface to Earth.
Credit: NASA/GSFC
Among the documents:– Army and Air Force studies from 1959 – 1961 on the creation of a military lunar base, with possible uses as a surveillance platform (for targets on earth and space) and the Lunar Based Earth Bombardment System.
— A study on the detonation of a nuclear device on or in the vicinity of the moon.
— The use of the lunar surface to relay signals from Washington to Hawaii and from U.S. spy ships.
— Collection of Soviet radar signals after they bounced off the moon — a technique known as Moon Bounce ELINT.
— The U.S. theft and return of a Soviet space capsule during an exhibition tour.
— A 1965 estimate of Soviet intentions with regard to a manned moon landing.
— Several analyses of the Soviet Union’s Luna missions, including Luna 9 — the first mission to result in a soft landing on the moon.
For access to these and other documents, put on your spy shades and go to:
Posted in 
Plant space.
Credit: Makoto Azuma
The mission carried a bonsai and a flower arrangement for the Japanes…e artist to the edge of space for a photo shoot. Ten on board HD cameras captured the botanicals in flight.
From the artist’s AMKK website, the effort is among many “to increase the existential value of plants by finding out the most mysterious figure only owned by flowers and plants and converting it to the artistic expression.”
Liftoff – JP Aerospace balloon ascends.
Credit: Makoto Azuma
In detailing the artwork called Exobiotanica – Botanical Space Flight – the site explains:
Plants on the earth rooted in the soil, under the command of gravity.
Roots, soil and gravity – by giving up the links to life, what kind of “beauty” shall be born?
Within the harsh “nature”, at an attitude of 30,000 meters and minus 50 degrees Celsius, the plants evolve into EXBIOTA (extraterrestrial life).
A pine tree confronting the ridge line of the Earth.
A bouquet of flowers marching towards the sun hit by the intense wind.
Freed from everything, the plants shall head to the space.
Credit: Makoto Azuma
Credit: Makoto Azuma
A National Research Council report has suggested that the benefits of 3-D printing for space missions are today undetermined.
Advocates of 3-D printing have suggested the technology could enable in-orbit manufacture of replacement parts and reduce launch logistical requirements.
The specific benefits and potential scope of the technology’s use remain undetermined, the NRC report contends.
“Many of the claims made in the popular press about this technology have been exaggerated,” said Robert Latiff, chair of the 14-person committee that wrote the NRC report issued today.
“For in-space use, the technology may provide new capabilities, but it will serve as one more tool in the toolbox, not a magic solution to tough space operations and manufacturing problems,” Latiff said.
Space station work
However, right now NASA and the Air Force have a tremendous resource in the form of the International Space Station, Latiff added. “Perfecting this technology in space will require human interaction,” he said in an NRC press statement, “and the Space Station already provides the infrastructure and the skilled personnel who can enable that to happen.”
Although additive manufacturing is a fairly mature technology for components that can be manufactured on the ground, its application in space is not feasible today, except for very limited and experimental purposes, the report says.
The committee said, however, that actual production costs should not be the sole criterion for evaluating the benefits of in-space additive manufacturing.
Furthermore, consideration should be given to the value of creating structures and functionalities not feasible without the technology. For instance, additive manufacturing might enable the construction of large structures in space, structures too big or fragile to be launched on top of a rocket.
Roadmap
The committee believes that in-space additive manufacturing is an area where cooperation between civil agencies and the military can and should occur. The Air Force should establish a roadmap with short- and longer-term goals for evaluating the possible advantages of additive manufacturing in space. The Air Force and NASA should also consider additional investments in the education and training of both materials scientists with specific expertise in additive manufacturing and spacecraft designers and engineers with deep knowledge of the use and development of 3-D printing systems.
Finally, the Air Force should make every effort to cooperate with NASA on in-space additive manufacturing technology development including, but not limited to, conducting research on the International Space Station, jointly sharing the costs of research, and sharing data.
The study was sponsored by NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
Take a look at the full report by going to:
Revealing look at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP and IDA
The European Space Agency’s Rosetta comet mission is closing in on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
New photos taken by the spacecraft’s camera system now show that the comet is a contact binary, consisting of two parts in close contact.
“This shape is most surprising,” says comet researcher Ekkehard Kührt from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).
Rosetta’s Philae lander is scheduled to descend to the comet’s surface this coming November. The effect of the comet’s unusual shape on the landing cannot be estimated yet.
Compositional difference?
The fact that two clearly distinguishable parts make up Churyumov-Gerasimenko is a surprise.
“The two blocks likely formed 4.5 billion years ago, collided at low speed, stuck to each other and have since been moving together,” says Kührt. “Scientifically, it is now of course very interesting to find out whether the two components differ in their composition.”
Indeed, if the two parts are from different regions, their structure might also differ.
Looking for a landing spot
“For the landing, it is especially important to have a detailed view of the comet and understand how the two parts are connected,” says Koen Geurts, an engineer at the Lander Control Centre at DLR in Cologne.
“So far, it looks as though there are large flat regions on the comet,” Geurts said in a DLR press statement.
The lander needs to touchdown on a reasonably flat terrain. Furthermore, the landing site should also have a day-night cycle so that the Philae lander can cool down out of the sunlight and so that scientific research can be carried out under different conditions.
Lastly, regular communication with the Rosetta spacecraft is necessary for the lander team to send the recorded data to Earth and empty the data storage. “These aspects are currently still hard to assess,” Geurts said.
NOTE: Take a look at this impressive movie made by combining and interpolated 36 images that were acquired by the OSIRIS camera on July 14th at intervals of 20 minutes, clearly showing that the comet consists of two interconnected parts.
Go to:
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/presse/en/Portaldata/1/Resources/bilder/portal/portal_2014_3/CG_Form.gif
Credit: Slooh
Since 2003, Slooh has connected telescopes to the Internet for access by the broader public. Slooh’s automated observatories develop celestial images in real-time for broadcast to the Internet.
Now the new news!
Slooh will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing with a high-definition lunar broadcast on Sunday, July 20th starting at 5:30 PM PDT / 8:30 PM EDT / 00:30 UTC (7/21).
Slooh will broadcast this event live from a special feed located in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
According to Slooh, “It’s now 45 years since the first moon landing. Two-thirds of today’s Americans weren’t even alive when Neil Armstrong made his ‘One small step’ announcement. Yet the sheer magic and complexity of that accomplishment marks it as more significant than the building of the Panama Canal or the Great Wall of China.”
A special panel, along with Slooh viewers, are going to take part in this live program commemorating Apollo 11, as the fat waning crescent Moon are observed through telescopes located in Dubai.
The feed in Dubai is located in a time zone that allows the telescopes to image the Moon in the first half of the night for the United States and Canada.
Here are the 45th Anniversary Apollo 11 Landing Broadcast Details:
Start time: July 20th at 5:30 PM PDT / 8:30 PM EDT / 00:30 UTC (7/21)
http://events.slooh.com/stadium/45th-anniversary-first-moon-landing-canary-islands-july-20-2014
Or go to:
Hashtag: #sloohapollo11
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Senate Committee on Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Strategic Forces held a joint hearing titled, “Options for Assuring Domestic Space Access,” on Wednesday, July 16, 2014.
Witness Panel 1
1)
The Honorable Alan F. Estevez
Principle Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=85afaa7c-cbf6-4dca-bab2-19d5e7ce3cb2
2)
General William L. Shelton
USAF, Commander
Air Force Space Command
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=2d02721c-c1a8-4dc0-bf74-fe1996679b46
3)
Mr. Robert M. Lightfoot Jr.
Associate Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=31f1f89a-3247-43ef-a436-1f36f0f80892
Witness Panel 2
1)
Major General Howard J. Mitchell
USAF (Ret.), Vice President, Program Assessments
The Aerospace Corporation
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=eabde74a-4f6a-4ff2-acef-6d1915acf164
2)
Mr. Daniel L. Dumbacher
Professor of Practice
Department of Aeronautics and Aerospace Engineering, Purdue University
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=443985f7-53b9-492f-a9d4-aec258d447c9
3)
Dr. Yool Kim
Senior Engineer
RAND Corporation
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=098f93c1-0ff9-4eb7-8596-95506d59465c
4)
Ms. Cristina Chaplain
Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Go to:
http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=681d3f9a-f6d1-419c-8d64-bb3a892ec21e
Credit: DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has given the go to three companies to work on a reusable first stage launch vehicle capable of carrying and deploying an upper stage to launch small satellite payloads of 3,000 to 5,000 pounds (1,361 kg to 2,268 kg) into low-Earth orbit.
They are:
— The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC)
— Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR Aerospace)
— Northrop Grumman Corporation (working with Virgin Galactic)
DARPA established its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program to create a new paradigm for more routine, responsive and affordable space operations.
According to DARPA, the XS-1 program aims to develop a fully-reusable unmanned vehicle that would provide aircraft-like access to space and deploy small satellites to orbit using expendable upper stages.
Next-gen
XS-1 seeks to deploy small satellites faster and more affordably, and develop technology for next-generation hypersonic vehicles.
XS-1 program officials envision that a reusable first stage would fly to hypersonic speeds at a suborbital altitude. At that point, one or more expendable upper stages would separate and deploy a satellite into low Earth orbit.
The reusable first stage would then return to Earth, land, and be prepared for the next flight. Modular components, durable thermal protection systems and automatic launch, flight and recovery systems should significantly reduce logistical needs, enabling rapid turnaround between flights.
Key XS-1 technical goals include flying 10 times in 10 days, flying to Mach 10+ at least once and launching a representative small payload to orbit. The program also seeks to reduce the cost of access to space for 3,000- to 5,000-pound payloads to less than $5 million per flight.
Phase II
DARPA plans to hold a Phase II competition next year for the follow-on production order to build the vehicle and conduct demonstration flights.
Credit: DARPA
The autonomous reusable launch vehicle would be designed to carry and deploy an upper stage to launch small satellites and payloads into low-Earth orbit and then return to Earth, where it could be quickly prepared for its next flight by applying operation and maintenance principles similar to those of modern aircraft.
In spotlighting the three winners, Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager, said in a press statement:
“We chose performers who could prudently integrate existing and up-and-coming technologies and operations, while making XS-1 as reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective as possible,” Sponable said. “We’re eager to see how their initial designs envision making spaceflight commonplace…with all the potential military, civilian and commercial benefits that capability would provide.”
Credit: Boeing
Boeing response
Under the $4 million preliminary design contract, Boeing responded to their win: “Boeing brings a combination of proven experience in developing launch systems and reusable space vehicles, along with unparalleled expertise in the development and fielding of highly operable and cost-effective transportation systems,” said Steve Johnston, director of Boeing’s Phantom Works Advanced Space Exploration division.
Will Hampton, Boeing XS-1 program manager, added: “Drawing on our other innovative technologies, Boeing intends to provide a concept that uses efficient, streamlined ground infrastructure and improves the turnaround time to relaunch this spacecraft for subsequent missions.”
X-37: a leg up?
Just a side note…as it would seem that part of that “innovative technologies” portfolio that Boeing brings to the table are lessons learned in building and flying the X-37B space plane for the Air Force – a craft that is now circling Earth.
When asked about this, Boeing spokeswoman, Cheryl Sampson responded to my inquiry: “Boeing will use experience from a variety of programs in our design. I can’t comment specifically on the X-37B program and direct you to the Air Force for additional information.”
Meanwhile, The U.S. Air Force’s robotic X-37B space plane is high-flying on a classified military mission.
The X-37B space plane that’s now in orbit is carrying out the Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission, a flight that marks the third long-duration flight for the robotic Air Force spaceflight program. The miniature, uncrewed space shuttle has been circling the Earth since its launch on Dec. 11, 2012.
Go to a DARPA video on the XS-1 here:
Credit: USGS
The U.S. Geological Survey has issued a new global geologic map of Mars –the most thorough representation of the Red Planet’s surface.
“This map provides a framework for continued scientific investigation of Mars as the long-range target for human space exploration,” according to a USGS press statement.
The new map brings together observations and scientific findings from four orbiting spacecraft that have been acquiring data for more than 16 years.
The USGS-led mapping effort reveals that the Martian surface is generally older than previously thought. Three times as much surface area dates to the first major geologic time period – the Early Noachian Epoch – than was previously mapped.
This timeframe is the earliest part of the Noachian Period, which ranges from about 4.1 to about 3.7 billion years ago, and was characterized by high rates of meteorite impacts, widespread erosion of the Martian surface and the likely presence of abundant surface water.
Geologically active
The just issued map also confirms previous work that suggests Mars had been geologically active until the present day.
There is evidence that major changes in Mars’ global climate supported the temporary presence of surface water and near-surface groundwater and ice. These changes were likely responsible for many of the major shifts in the environments where Martian rocks were formed and subsequently eroded.
According to the USGS, this new map will serve as a key reference for the origin, age and historic change of geological materials anywhere on Mars.
The project was funded by NASA through its Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program. The production of planetary cartographic products has been a focal point of research at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center since its inception in the early 1960s.
The new geologic map of Mars is available for download online by going to:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3292/
A rotating map of Mars animation can be viewed here:
Proposed SpaceX Texas Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas.
Credit: FAA Record of Decision
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) office of Commercial Space Transportation has published a “Record of Decision” giving approval for a SpaceX Texas Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas.
This decision provides final environmental determination and approval “to support the issuance of launch licenses and/or experimental permits that would allow Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) to launch the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch vehicles and a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles from a launch site on privately owned property in Cameron County, Texas.”
SpaceX has proposed to construct and operate a private launch site to accommodate the number of launches that the company has on its launch manifest.
The proposed private launch site is needed to provide SpaceX with an exclusive launch site that would allow the company to accommodate its launch manifest and meet tight launch windows.
Up, up, and away!
Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX intends to apply to the FAA for launch licenses and/or experimental permits to conduct launches of the Falcon Program vehicles, and a variety of reusable suborbital launch vehicles, for a total of up to 12 commercial launch operations per year from the proposed launch site on privately owned property in Cameron County, Texas.
The FAA would likely issue launch specific licenses for the first few years of operation from the exclusive launch site. SpaceX may then apply for a launch operator license, which lasts for five years and covers the same family of vehicles.
The decision was signed on July 9 by Dr. George C. Nield, head of the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation office.
To read the entire Record of Decision, go to:
Asteroids are seen as celestial paydirt!
Credit: Texas A&M
It is titled the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space (ASTEROIDS) Act of 2014.
U.S. Representatives Bill Posey (R-FL) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) have introduced bipartisan legislation “to expand opportunities and protections for private space companies looking to explore space.”
“Asteroids are excellent potential sources of highly valuable resources and minerals,” said lawmaker Posey, a Member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
“Our knowledge of asteroids – their number, location, and composition – has been increasing at a tremendous rate and space technology has advanced to the point where the private sector is now able to begin planning such expeditions. Our legislation will help promote private exploration and protect commercial rights as these endeavors move forward,” Posey said in a July 10 statement.
Critical rare metals
According to Kilmer, a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee:
“We may be many years away from successfully mining an asteroid, but the research to turn this from science fiction into reality is being done today,” Kilmer said. “That’s why I’m excited to introduce this bill with Representative Posey so we can help the United States access new supplies of critical rare metals while serving as a launch pad for a growing industry.”
Posey and Kilmer’s bill would:
— Clarify that resources mined from an asteroid are the property of the entity that obtained them;
— Ensure U.S. companies can conduct their operation without harmful interference;
— Direct the President to facilitate commercial development of asteroid resources.
A special tip of the space helmet visor goes to Marcia Smith and her informative SpacePolicyOnline News for flagging the introduction of the bill, along with her comments on the bill, here:
