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Via US Space and Rocket Center: Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 8:00am - Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 5:00pm
A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft soon will make a cross-country journey, giving residents in three states the chance to see a full scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans into deep space.
The crew module will make stops during a trip from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The planned landing at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala will be from Feb 2-5. Engineers, program officials, astronauts and NASA spokespeople will be available to speak with the media and the public.
The full-scale test vehicle was used by ground crews in advance of the launch abort system flight test that took place in New Mexico in 2010. Orion will serve as the vehicle that takes astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit, and the first orbital flight test is scheduled for 2014.
To see photos of the pad abort test, click here
Source: dark-sky-misteries.blogspot.com
Bachelor billionaire Musk
ELON MUSK, 40, the Internet entrepreneur and owner of SpaceX, which aims to be the first private firm to send a cargo craft to the International Space Station, admits he has a case of pre-launch jitters - prior to the pre-dawn launch now set for Saturday, May 19, 2012.
The latest schedule enables the SOYUZ TMA-04M crew to have launched May 15, 2012 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and dock to the orbiting International Space Station a couple of days later.
In an INTERVIEW WITH AFP, Musk described the oft-delayed launch of his company's cargo-loaded Dragon spacecraft as both "EXCITING" and "EXTREMELY DIFFICULT," and expressed confidence in his Space Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) team in California, Florida and Texas.
Dragon approach to ISS
"IT'S JUST TAKING LONGER THAN EXPECTED TO ANALYZE ALL THE DATA," Musk told AFP by telephone. "WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SOFTWARE IS GOING TO MAKE THE RIGHT COMMANDS AND NOT ENDANGER THE SPACE STATION."
SpaceX has experienced delays from the beginning of this year on the need to verify flight software can safely accomplish the Dragon spacecraft's final approach to the space station, a sensitive phase of the mission in which the capsule must be capable of recognizing on-board problems and executing an abort out of the vicinity of the crewed outpost.
Falcon 9 engine test A-OK
"I USUALLY SLEEP WELL BEFORE A LAUNCH... BUT NO, I'M NOT SLEEPING WELL," Musk said with a laugh when asked if he was nervous this time around but refused to lay precise odds on Dragon's success, saying it was "PROBABLY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT" -- and pledging to try again should the launch fail. "It's exciting and... it's an extremely difficult task, and we want it to succeed at the first try," he said.
"NASA DOES FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT IT AND WE FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT IT," he said, though cautioning: "YOU CAN'T SIMULATE THE ISS ON THE GROUND."
President Obama supports SpaceX
The Falcon 9 rocket itself has launched twice, ever. There is data floating around in the space community for decades now that the chances of failure for a new rocket is about one in three, notes space journalist JOHN KELLY AT "FLORIDA TODAY". Failure will result is probable backlash among traditionalists on Capitol Hill who do not readily embrace the private sector effort in space.
Kelly advises readers, "If SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, on just its second orbital flight and its first trying to chase and meet up with the space station, docks at the orbiting outpost, the achievement could be the catalyst for a technical and political game-changer."
Animated Dragon landing on Mars
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon is new space hardware. The launch, orbital rendezvous and docking, undocking and safe return to Earth will make a historic milestone in space history. Such success will certainly earn Elon Musk much more than a SINGLE GOOD NIGHT REST as the real "'IRON MAN'" continues his unique multi-year trek to Mars.
Origin: dark-shadowy-line.blogspot.com
Busy week has just started for the international crew on the International Space Station (ISS) as a pair of Russian cosmonauts suited up for a dry run of Wednesday's spacewalk while SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will hang on to the ISS for a few more days. Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineer Alexander Samokutyaev spent Monday readying the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear when they exit the Pirs docking compartment for a six-hour spacewalk. Meanwhile, the departure of SpaceX CRS-4 mission has been delayed until Saturday, Oct. 25, because of high sea states in the splashdown and recovery zone west of Baja California.
The Russian duo donned their spacesuits for a spacewalk dry run. They checked suit controls and communications gear and conducted preliminary leak checks.
They are scheduled to open the Pirs docking compartment hatch to the vacuum of space at 9:24 a.m. EDT to begin the third spacewalk for Expedition 41.
The spacewalkers will be outside the station's Russian segment to jettison science and communications gear no longer being used. They will also remove a protective cover from a biological exposure experiment, collect samples of particulate matter on the Pirs docking compartment and photograph the station's Russian exterior.
The spacewalk will be the 184th in support of space station assembly and maintenance, the third in as many weeks for Expedition 41 crew members, and the second career spacewalks for both Suraev and Samokutyaev.
Suraev will be designated as extravehicular (EV) crew member 1 and will wear an Orlan suit bearing red stripes. Samokutyaev will be designated as EV-2 and will wear a suit with blue stripes.
The crew spent part of the weekend loading non-critical items into Dragon which is berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node.
An Expedition 41 crew member aboard the International Space Station photographed this view of the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship docked to the nadir port of the Harmony node as the station's Canadarm2 and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator prepare to remove external cargo from Dragon. Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. Credit: NASA
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to detach from the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony module and unberth through commands sent by robotic ground controllers in mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston operating the Canadarm 2 robotic arm. Mission control will maneuver Dragon into place then turn it over to Expedition 41 robotic arm operators Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore of NASA for release, which is scheduled for 9:56 a.m. EDT.
Dragon is the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return to Earth intact. It will return about 3,276 pounds of cargo, including science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station.
Dragon will execute three thruster firings to move away from the station to a safe distance for its deorbit burn at 2:43 p.m. The capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 3:39 p.m.
The Soviet Union achieved another first with dual-piloted flights, the Vostok 3 and Vostok 4, from August 11th through the 15th in 1962. The two spacecraft came within four miles of each other. The significant accomplishment of these flights was actually on the ground with being able to launch two spacecraft from the same pad in a very short time span.Again the Soviets achieved another first when the first female, Valentina Tereshkova, was launched into space on June 16, 1963. She was also the first civilian to go into space. This was reportedly Korolev's idea, and accomplished purely for propaganda value. It would be 1978 before the United States opened up the Space Program for women, and 1980 before the Russians would do so again.
When the Americans announced their ambitious plans for the Project Gemini which included two person spacecraft, the ability to change orbits, the ability to EVA (get out of the spacecraft), and the goal of docking with another craft, it forced the Soviets to modify the four remaining Vostok rockets to beat the Americans to the new size of flight crews, and the duration of missions. In late 1963 they had four Vostoks in various stages of development. Korolev had already begun designing the next generation of Soviet spacecraft, the Soyuz, which would have been comparable to the Gemini spacecraft and have similar capabilities. Unfortunately the Soyuz wouldn't be available until at least 1966 and not in time to meet the new American challenge.
October 12, 1964, the Soviets achieved another victory in the race with the Voskhod 1, in which three cosmonauts in the first multi-person spacecraft was launched in a modified Vostok. The Soviets achieved an additional breakthrough in performing the first shirt sleeve environment for the cosmonauts during this flight. The breakthrough was not due to improved safety of the crafts environmental systems as it was due to necessity in that the three cosmonauts couldn't fit in the craft with their space suits on! This feat wouldn't be repeated by the Americans until 1968 in the Apollo Command Module.
The "Wednesday Conspiracy", where Leonid Brezhnev and some high ranking Communist Party Officials deposed Premier Khrushchev as the government leader the day after Voskhod 1 landed. The new leaders cancelled the Voskhod Program and focused the Soviet Space efforts at beating the Americans to the Moon! They cancelled Voskhod 3 and 4 which were in various planning stages. Korolev died in 1966 making the Voskhod 2 his final achievement before his death. There was a two year pause in Soviet piloted space flights while a replacement for Korolev and his new Soyuz spacecraft was being designed and developed.
On March 18, 1965, Voskhod 2 was launched with two cosmonauts, Pavel Belyayev and Alexey Leonov. This spacecraft had the first airlock and allowed Alexey Leonov to make the first ever EVA as part of the mission. His suit expanded in the vacuum of space which threatened to prevent him from re-entering the spacecraft. Improvising, he partially depressurized his space suit in order to re-enter the airlock. Their ships environmental controls also filled the cabin of their ship with 45% pure oxygen which had to be lowered before attempting re-entry. The spacecraft became unstable during re-entry because an instrument compartment's failure to detach from the ship and an improperly timed retro rocket firing caused them to land off course.
For the American side of the story please see the "Highlights Of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo" post from Wednesday October 12, 2011, a little earlier this month.
The Soviet Union had planned to divide their lunar program into two separate manned programs: circumlunar flights in 1967 and lunar landings in 1968.
The circumlunar missions were to be launched by a UR-500 rocket, later known as the Proton. The cosmonauts would be flown to the Moon in the Soyuz 7K-L1 (Zond), which made four unsuccessful unmanned flights from 1967-1970. One flight of the Zond was, however, successful and returned its non-human passengers (tortoises) to earth. If you wonder why they were sending Tortoises into space in lieu of cosmonauts make sure to catch tomorrows post!
The Soviet lunar landing missions would use spacecraft derived from the Soyuz 7K-L1. The orbital module (Soyuz 7K-L3), the "Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl" (LOK), had a crew of two. The LOK and a separate lunar-lander, the "Lunnity Korabl" (LK).
The launch vehicle would have been the N1 rocket, which was roughly the same height and takf mass as the American Saturn V, exceeded its takf thrust by 28%, yet had roughly half the payload capability. The N1 was unsuccessfully tested four times, exploding each time due to problems with the first stage's thirty engines. Soviet government cancelled the program in 1970 after the first two successful American Moon landings.
Mankind made it to the Moon in under a decade from when Mr. Kennedy issued the challenge and direction to be taken. There is something to be said for mankind in a determined effort to achieve his goals. I still can't help but wonder what the world would look like today if Mr. Kennedy hadn't been assassinated. If the United States and the Soviets would have joined forces, a combined International effort to reach the moon. I can't speak from the Soviet side of the story but on the American side, the production of jobs, the pushing of technology, the mass of companies involved in getting a man to the Moon definitely was a push in a good direction.
I wonder if in the future a combined International effort to get mankind out into our solar system and beyond for the purposes of colonization and resource recovery wouldn't work to stabilize economies, help build cooperation internationally, and spur on science and technology but based on helping each other reach a common goal instead of piggy backing off of military technology.
Mankind hasn't found an intelligent means to resolve its differences since the dawn of time short of two sides trying to kill each other. With the rise in religious strife between peoples of different faiths, as in days of old, the chance of future peace doesn't seem likely in the near future. With extreme factions of religious groups saying convert or die, that doesn't leave a lot of room for discussion about the matter. So I'll just keep contemplating man reaching for the stars in a fashion of International Peace and cooperation as I clean and oil my rifle.
"THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND. Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the Moon.
The commercial SpaceX Dragon capsule will conduct a flight near the International Space Station (ISS), but docking between them is not planned. This comes from a statement issued by Vladimir Solovyov, head of the Russian segment of the ISS mission control center on Friday and posted on the Russian news site RIA NOVOSTI in AN ECHO OF A POSITION OF 5-MONTHS AGO.Moreover both NASA and SpaceX stated that while a final determination has yet to be made - the private space firm has not been denied the opportunity to dock with the International Space Station. Thus leaving the flight's status in a SORT OF LIMBO. This situation also highlights that the assorted international members involved on ISS - DON'T ALWAYS AGREE. There may be some COMPETITIVE FRICTION.SpaceX, has earlier announced plans to launch its Dragon capsule toward the orbiting lab on NOVEMBER 30, 2011 with a historic docking slated for nine days later. The scheduled flight launch has too been placed in limbo by the delay of astronauts and cosmonauts being placed into orbit aboard SOYUZ SPACECRAFT.Meanwhile, the CYGNUS CARGO SPACECRAFT to launched from Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport atop of a new TAURUS-2 booster is expected to dock with the ISS early next year. The NASA CONSOLIDATED LAUNCH SCHEDULE sets forth launch dates.
Apollo 13 was a space trade of the American Apollo program in April 1970. Behind schedule the dash of a tankduring the flight to the moon had to be alone the planned lunar landing. Technical improvisation was edging to get through to the three crew members in their broken down spacecraft errand to Sett to go through liven up. ThisApollo flight was the merely one to be congested premature musste.46 hours and 40 account after the origin of thefans in oxygen container 2 was normally activated. Acquaint with were program of a carefulness at the same time as the have an account road sign rosefrom its previous normal superiority at about 100% and contain remained in this post. In supervise to dip into theproblem in mint condition, the ground control the fan was about an hour succeeding and twist on anew after a in mint condition threehours, lacking the event distorted.
At the same time as Jack Swigert at 55:54 hours flight time at the path of the ground control the fan in the oxygen tankagain set in pledge, represent was a not good enough go up to. In the unspoiled oxygen setting of the container was a light that early payment presently. This better the bullying container until the container absolutely explodierte.Im put adjacent to to the NASA moonlandings were for the media and the public had declined in importance, Apollo 13 would shot thethird landed in a speckle of sensibly nine months contain been. The U.S. examine network carried on live examine from the space ship is not, they were merely seen in the control center in Houston. A moment ago becameknown as the destiny, off the media from all over the world.
As we were able to go through the three astronauts liven up in venom of troublesome shape errand to Sett, NASAdescribed the Apollo 13 trade succeeding as a "rich collision".
lunar truth
moon landing
Distant
aliens
nibiru
end of the world
doomsday
judgement day
Source: kevinsmithshow.com
NASA's Curious Curiosity
by Kevin W. Smith
At a time when most of the planet is of the opinion that NASA is pretty much out of the space exploration business these days, the successful landing of the Curiosity rover is especially significant. Of course, this mission was started long before the Obama Administration canceled most of NASA's plans for manned spaceflight. That this mission escaped the axe is curious in and of itself.
It is curious because of statements made by NASA's Deputy Administrator, Lori B. Garver, on the live video feed as Curiosity was racing into its final phase before actually landing. She was being interviewed on air and said that part of the Curiosity mission includes some crucial tests (like radiation measurements) to help NASA know how to protect "our astronauts" when they are sent there. She also mentioned that the landing of something as large as Curiosity helps NASA prepare for landing astronauts on Mars.
Did they not get the memo? Or were we misinformed by the media? Is it not the case that NASA announced the cancellation of their planned missions to the moon and to Mars? At least, that is what the public was told. Is it not a fact that NASA does not now have the capability of launching astronauts into space and are hitchhiking with the Russians on Soyuz? So far as the public has been advised by the media, NASA is pretty much out of the manned space exploration business.
Yes, they still have astronauts hitch hiking up to the ISS. Their work on the ISS is manned space science. However, it is not manned space exploration. They are in low Earth orbit circling the Earth again and again and again.
Curiosity's mission is, according to Garver, tied to stepping up into a manned mission to Mars. Is there a sort of manned space exploration undercurrent at NASA even though they have publicly canceled manned space exploration?
It is interesting to note that even as they cancelled their manned missions to return to the moon and then on to Mars, they have continued to develop and talk about a new super-lift system to take astronauts "farther and faster than ever before". So, when? To where? It is somewhat heartening to hear that Curiosity is playing a role in preparing for manned exploration of Mars, but curiously confusing as well. What do they know that they are not telling us? What they have told us is both that the missions are cancelled, and that they are preparing for missions to Mars. Yes, it's a curiosity indeed.
NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa launched to the International Space Station at 3:12 p.m. CDT Tuesday (2:12 a.m. local time, Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov - the Soyuz commander- are scheduled to dock their spacecraft with their new home at 4:22 p.m. Thursday, June 9. They will join Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko and flight engineer Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian space agency and Ron Garan of NASA. The trio has been aboard the station since April 6.On Thursday, coverage of the Soyuz docking will begin on NASA Television at 3:30 p.m. NASA TV coverage of the hatches opening and the welcoming ceremony aboard the orbiting laboratory will begin at 8:30 p.m.The six-person crew will continue the uninterrupted presence of humans on the station since Nov. 2, 2000, conducting expanded scientific research and station maintenance activities. The station residents also will welcome the crew of the last space shuttle flight, Atlantis' STS-135 mission, targeted to launch July 8. The shuttle will deliver critical supplies in the Italian-built Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module and support spacewalks by Fossum and Garan to retrieve a failed cooling system pump module, which Atlantis will return to Earth for analysis.Garan, Borisenko and Samokutyaev, who launched to the station April 4, will return to Earth in September. Before departing, Borisenko will hand over command of the station to Fossum for Expedition 29, which begins when the Soyuz TMA-21 undocks.NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin will join Fossum, Volkov and Furukawa to complete the Expedition 29 crew in September.
Origin: paranormal-factor.blogspot.com
SpaceX on Friday completed a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket in advance of the CRS-5 mission for NASA. The test was conducted at SpaceX's Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and ran for the full planned duration. Meanwhile, NASA has approved the completion of SpaceX's first milestone in the company's path toward launching crews to the International Space Station (ISS) from U.S. soil under a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with the agency. During the Certification Baseline Review, SpaceX described its current design baseline including how the company plans to manufacture its Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 v.1.1 rocket, then launch, fly, land and recover the crew. The company also outlined how it will achieve NASA certification of its system to enable transport of crews to and from the space station.
"This milestone sets the pace for the rigorous work ahead as SpaceX meets the certification requirements outlined in our contract," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "It is very exciting to see SpaceX's proposed path to certification, including a flight test phase and completion of the system development."
Throughout the next few years, SpaceX will test its systems, materials and concept of operations to the limits to prove they are safe to transport astronauts to the station. Once certified, the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket will be processed and integrated inside a new hangar before being rolled out for launch. This will all take place at the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew Dragon is expected to be able to dock to the station for up to 210 days and serve as a 24-hour safe haven during an emergency in space.
"SpaceX designed the Dragon spacecraft with the ultimate goal of transporting people to space," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer. "Successful completion of the Certification Baseline Review represents a critical step in that effort-we applaud our team's hard work to date and look forward to helping NASA return the transport of U.S. astronauts to American soil."
SpaceX also conducted a static fire test on Dec. 17 and while the test accomplished nearly all goals, it did not run the full duration. The data suggested the company could have pushed forward without a second attempt, but out of an abundance of caution, it opted to execute a second test.
Given the extra time needed for data review and testing, coupled with the limited launch date availability due to the holidays and other restrictions, earliest launch opportunity is now Jan. 6 with Jan. 7 as a backup. A few times a year, the ISS orbits through a high beta angle period. This is where the angle between the ISS orbital plane and the sun is high, resulting in the ISS being in almost constant sunlight for a 10 day period. During this time, there are thermal and operational constraints that prohibit Dragon from being allowed to berth with the ISS.
Credit: NASA, spacex.com
The milestone is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program (Image: NASA) At the moment, if you want to fly to the International Space Station, your only option is to hitch a lift on one of Russia's 1970s-vintage Soyuz space capsules. That may not be the case for too much longer, with NASA announcing that it has approved the first milestone for the manned version of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Executed under a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract, the milestone consists of a successful Certification Baseline Review of SpaceX's plans for the manufacturing, launch, flight, and recovery of its Crew Dragon (AKA Dragon v.2) and the Falcon 9 v.1.1 rocket, which will propel it into orbit. One of 23 agreements and milestones under the space agency's Commercial Crew Program approved this year, it is the latest step in developing privately owned and operated US spacecraft to ferry crews to the ISS. These spacecraft are currently being developed independently by SpaceX and Boeing. When certified, the two spacecraft will be able to travel to and from the ISS carrying up to seven passengers or a mixture of passengers and cargo. Being capable of remaining on station for 210 days, they will double as lifeboats; allowing ISS crews to be larger than facilitated by the three-person Soyuz. According to NASA, SpaceX and Boeing will have to certify that their spacecraft and launching systems can be integrated, launched from a site in the United States, dock with the ISS, and that their systems' performance meets specifications. If all goes as planned, the Crew Dragon will make a test flight with at least one test pilot on board... though that is still a few years away. Source: NASA
