North County Times: Museum hosts 'Space' exploration exhibit
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
Most Americans are familiar with the words astronaut Neil Armstrong spoke as he stepped from the Lunar Module onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, but an exhibit opening Tuesday at the San Diego Air & Space Museum hopes to transition the public's consciousness about human space exploration from the past into the future.
"Space: A Journey to Our Future" is a large-scale traveling exhibition created in 2003 with the help of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Teachers Association. The family-friendly, hands-on exhibit helps visitors of all ages learn not only about past space travel but also about the machines and technology involved in modern space travel ---- which have come a long way from the rudimentary vehicles and computers that Armstrong and his colleagues depended on 40 years ago.
"Our exploration of space is an absolute necessity," former Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan (the last man to walk on the moon in 1972), said in a statement. "This exhibit could be the spark that lights the imagination of a future astronaut or a scientist in the space program."
The exhibit features interactive areas where children can see and touch rocks from the moon and Mars, ride a self-powered centrifuge (which simulates G-forces), tour a full-scale moon camp and lab, see the latest spacecrafts up close and use computers to plan a trip to Mars.
To celebrate the opening of "Space" on Tuesday, the museum has invited Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (who was steps behind Armstrong on the moon in 1969). Aldrin will be on hand to sign copies of his memoir "Magnificent Desolation" and his two children's books "Look at the Stars" and "Reaching for the Moon," from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (Only books purchased at the museum on Feb. 1 will be signed.)
The 6,000-square-foot exhibit is divided into four sections: "Dare to Dream," "A Dream Come True," "Living the Dream" and "Dream of Tomorrow." The educational materials in the exhibit are especially geared toward ages 9 to 17, and were created with the help of experts from science centers around the country (as well as experts from tour sponsor General Motors, Lockheed Martin and other companies that make equipment used in space exploration).
Highlights include:
-- Actual rocks from the moon and Mars that visitors can touch.
-- Step on a "Moon Scale" where you can find out how much you would weigh on the low-gravity moon and take a spin on a centrifuge that visitors power like a bicycle.
-- Step in front of an infrared camera that sees your body's temperature by color on the screen.
-- Artifacts from the space program (past and present), including space suits, a lunar rover tire, an early fuel cell, tires from the Space Shuttle and recovered tiles from the Space Shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated on re-entry in 2003, killing all aboard.
-- Displays of articles, photographs, books and ephemera that show the public's fascination with space, such as Jules Verne's "Earth to the Moon" and Life magazine stories.
-- An interactive area where the public can learn about the International Space Station; NASA studies of robonauts (robot astronauts), deep-space probes, next-generation telescopes, living in space and space tourism.
-- A station where visitors can use a touch screen to switch through information coming from dozens of satellites now orbiting Earth. Another screen allows the visitor to look at the same star field through five different telescope setups.
-- A Mars rover model and Mars "experience area" where visitors can learn about current missions to the red planet.
-- The Constellation Program area lets visitors get an up-close look at the Orion, the new spacecraft that will take human explorers back to the Moon some day, and the Ares rocket, which will propel the Orion into space.
-- A "Mission to Mars" interactive area allows visitors to use computers and hands-on devices to create a spacecraft and stock it with the supplies needed for a manned mission to Mars.
-- A 360-degree "Future Theatre" where the public can learn about the future of space exploration and the mysteries of deep space.
"Space" is a ticketed exhibit that's not included in the regular museum admission price. "Space" ticket-holders receive free museum admission.
"Space: A Journey to Our Future"
When: Opens Feb. 1 for a limited engagement; museum hours, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (last admissions at 4 p.m.)
Where: San Diego Air & Space Museum, Balboa Park, 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego
Tickets: $24, adults; $21, seniors; $12, children ages 3 to 11; $7.50, active-duty military; children 2 and under are free
Monday, January 31, 2011
SpaceX leases new office in Chantilly
The Washington Post: SpaceX leases new office in Chantilly
Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, the commercial space company started by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has signed a lease to open a new office in Chantilly.
Founded in 2002, the company, which develops rockets and spacecraft used by NASA and by commercial firms, soon established a small Washington office with two employees, said Tim Hughes, vice president and chief counsel.
That office now has close to 20 employees and focuses on a mix of government affairs work, including insurance, export controls, regulations and securities.
The new Chantilly office, which is on Newbrook Drive in the Westfield area, is intended to allow SpaceX to draw more employees from what he described as a talented pool.
"Most importantly, there are a host of commercial high-tech and government customers in that area that proximity is going to be helpful with," Hughes said.
The lease was signed this month and the office is now under construction. Hughes said a small team of five to seven employees will move in when the space is ready, likely at the end of March, but that the office will be able to accommodate many more.
Already, the space business has a foothold in Northern Virginia. Dulles-based Orbital Sciences builds small- and medium-size rockets and satellites, and inherited a NASA Earth observation satellite program when it purchased a General Dynamics-owned spacecraft development and manufacturing facility last year.
Based in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX has been garnering plenty of attention as the Obama administration seeks a larger role for commercial space companies in NASA's work. In particular, SpaceX is working to provide rockets that can carry supplies and equipment to the international space station.
The business also teams with a range of commercial businesses; Hughes said Iridium Communications is its largest commercial customer.
SpaceX, which is focused on reducing the cost of accessing space, has "moved from a start-up mentality to genuine legitimacy," said Hughes.
Musk is best known for founding the online payment business PayPal and is also a major player in developing the Tesla electric car.
Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, the commercial space company started by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has signed a lease to open a new office in Chantilly.
Founded in 2002, the company, which develops rockets and spacecraft used by NASA and by commercial firms, soon established a small Washington office with two employees, said Tim Hughes, vice president and chief counsel.
That office now has close to 20 employees and focuses on a mix of government affairs work, including insurance, export controls, regulations and securities.
The new Chantilly office, which is on Newbrook Drive in the Westfield area, is intended to allow SpaceX to draw more employees from what he described as a talented pool.
"Most importantly, there are a host of commercial high-tech and government customers in that area that proximity is going to be helpful with," Hughes said.
The lease was signed this month and the office is now under construction. Hughes said a small team of five to seven employees will move in when the space is ready, likely at the end of March, but that the office will be able to accommodate many more.
Already, the space business has a foothold in Northern Virginia. Dulles-based Orbital Sciences builds small- and medium-size rockets and satellites, and inherited a NASA Earth observation satellite program when it purchased a General Dynamics-owned spacecraft development and manufacturing facility last year.
Based in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX has been garnering plenty of attention as the Obama administration seeks a larger role for commercial space companies in NASA's work. In particular, SpaceX is working to provide rockets that can carry supplies and equipment to the international space station.
The business also teams with a range of commercial businesses; Hughes said Iridium Communications is its largest commercial customer.
SpaceX, which is focused on reducing the cost of accessing space, has "moved from a start-up mentality to genuine legitimacy," said Hughes.
Musk is best known for founding the online payment business PayPal and is also a major player in developing the Tesla electric car.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Challenger Center opens on 25th anniversary
Fox 41.com: Challenger Center opens on 25th anniversary
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41) -- It's all systems go for a Louisville school launching the Challenger Learning Center.
Students from the Academy at Shawnee are remembering the victims of the space shuttle Challenger explosion -- and learning about future of space exploration at the same time.
Today is the 25th anniversary of the explosion.
These high school kids weren't even born when it happened, but they're taking that tragedy and turning it into a positive experience.
Families of the challenger crew started these interactive space learning centers for teachers and students to explore space using state-of-the-art simulators.
Fifty of these centers are in 31 states, and now The Academy at Shawnee is home to one.
The grand opening ceremony kicked off Friday morning with Mayor Greg Fischer and school board members. Teachers hope the space simulators plant seeds that will grow interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
The hope is that one day these kids will eventually pursue careers in these fields -- like former Challenger astronaut Dr. Norman E Thagard.
Teachers say the center will also help kids become critical-thinkers and teach them team building.
The Challenger Learning Center at Shawnee is not just exclusive to these students. It will be available to all students across Kentucky and southern Indiana.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41) -- It's all systems go for a Louisville school launching the Challenger Learning Center.
Students from the Academy at Shawnee are remembering the victims of the space shuttle Challenger explosion -- and learning about future of space exploration at the same time.
Today is the 25th anniversary of the explosion.
These high school kids weren't even born when it happened, but they're taking that tragedy and turning it into a positive experience.
Families of the challenger crew started these interactive space learning centers for teachers and students to explore space using state-of-the-art simulators.
Fifty of these centers are in 31 states, and now The Academy at Shawnee is home to one.
The grand opening ceremony kicked off Friday morning with Mayor Greg Fischer and school board members. Teachers hope the space simulators plant seeds that will grow interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
The hope is that one day these kids will eventually pursue careers in these fields -- like former Challenger astronaut Dr. Norman E Thagard.
Teachers say the center will also help kids become critical-thinkers and teach them team building.
The Challenger Learning Center at Shawnee is not just exclusive to these students. It will be available to all students across Kentucky and southern Indiana.
Monday, January 24, 2011
SpaceX aims for next milestone: carrying astronauts
Los Angeles Times: SpaceX aims for next milestone: carrying astronauts
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne has given NASA a proposal to be the first commercial firm to take people into outer space
After becoming the first private company ever to blast a spacecraft into Earth orbit and have it return intact last month, Hawthorne rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is pushing toward its next big step.
The company known as SpaceX wants to be the first commercial firm to launch astronauts into outer space and has submitted a proposal to NASA.
SpaceX wants in on the potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired this year. The company is already building rockets and capsules to deliver cargo to the station.
NASA's Commercial Crew Development program hopes to award about $200 million in seed money in March to companies to develop rockets and spacecraft for the next step in manned spaceflight after the shuttle. Several aerospace companies, including SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing Co., have submitted proposals.
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SpaceX's Dec. 8 launch of its Dragon spacecraft was a technological and financial feat, the likes of which had previously been accomplished by only the wealthiest of nations.
Although the Dragon was unmanned, it was designed to carry seven astronauts. On the day of the launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said: "If there had been people sitting in Dragon today, they would've had a nice ride."
But the 9,260-pound spacecraft still needs upgrades before an astronaut can strap in, Musk said last week.
"Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult," he said. "The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats."
More than 1,000 engineers and technicians are employed at the company's sprawling production facility in Hawthorne — a former Boeing 747 assembly plant — where it builds rockets to launch satellites for telecommunications companies and foreign governments.
Musk, a 39-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made a fortune when he sold online payment business PayPal Inc. in 2002, started SpaceX with the vision of developing and launching rockets and lifting payloads into space at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft.
When the shuttle program is mothballed and before new space vehicles are astronaut-ready, the U.S. will have no way to travel to the International Space Station other than on a Russian Soyuz rocket. SpaceX hopes to win the right to develop those new space vehicles, Musk said. "SpaceX is prepared to meet this need."
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne has given NASA a proposal to be the first commercial firm to take people into outer space
After becoming the first private company ever to blast a spacecraft into Earth orbit and have it return intact last month, Hawthorne rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is pushing toward its next big step.
The company known as SpaceX wants to be the first commercial firm to launch astronauts into outer space and has submitted a proposal to NASA.
SpaceX wants in on the potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired this year. The company is already building rockets and capsules to deliver cargo to the station.
NASA's Commercial Crew Development program hopes to award about $200 million in seed money in March to companies to develop rockets and spacecraft for the next step in manned spaceflight after the shuttle. Several aerospace companies, including SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing Co., have submitted proposals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save on daily L.A. Times deals powered by Groupon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SpaceX's Dec. 8 launch of its Dragon spacecraft was a technological and financial feat, the likes of which had previously been accomplished by only the wealthiest of nations.
Although the Dragon was unmanned, it was designed to carry seven astronauts. On the day of the launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said: "If there had been people sitting in Dragon today, they would've had a nice ride."
But the 9,260-pound spacecraft still needs upgrades before an astronaut can strap in, Musk said last week.
"Upgrading Dragon capsules to carry astronauts won't be too difficult," he said. "The cargo version of the Dragon spacecraft will be capable of carrying crew with only three key modifications: a launch abort system, environmental controls and seats."
More than 1,000 engineers and technicians are employed at the company's sprawling production facility in Hawthorne — a former Boeing 747 assembly plant — where it builds rockets to launch satellites for telecommunications companies and foreign governments.
Musk, a 39-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made a fortune when he sold online payment business PayPal Inc. in 2002, started SpaceX with the vision of developing and launching rockets and lifting payloads into space at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft.
When the shuttle program is mothballed and before new space vehicles are astronaut-ready, the U.S. will have no way to travel to the International Space Station other than on a Russian Soyuz rocket. SpaceX hopes to win the right to develop those new space vehicles, Musk said. "SpaceX is prepared to meet this need."
Friday, January 21, 2011
The future may be in sight as NASA sets last launch of shuttle program
13 News: The future may be in sight as NASA sets last launch of shuttle program
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
NASA has set a date for what could be the last flight of the space shuttle program.
Program managers have now officially added STS-135 to the launch manifest. In one sense that's a technical and bureaucratic step, but it clears the way for planning and scheduling at all levels of the space agency.
June 28 is now the target date for shuttle Atlantis' flight.
Two weeks ago, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was in town, and I asked about that mission. He was adamant they would fly it, even though the budget bill was still up in the air, and he told me it would fly in June.
That could change, of course, and one of the reasons may be the requirements of the International Space Station scheduling.
So three shuttle flights are on the schedule to wrap up the program. The first is Discovery's launch next month, and then the launch of Endeavour in April.
That was supposed to be the last shuttle mission, but last year, Congress authorized the third mission, now STS-135.
Interestingly enough, as the end of shuttle is in sight, Thursday afternoon provided a look at way the future of American space exploration, or at least one future.
United Launch Alliance successfully sent a Delta IV Heavy rocket in orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
It carried a National Reconnaissance Office payload, which means a spy satellite. No information was provided about its orbit or what it will be doing. We can be pretty confident it was launched in a polar orbit (South Pole to North Pole and back), which is the main reason to launch from Vandenberg. From KSC we go east, while from Vandenberg we go south. A polar orbit means every part of the Earth will come into view as the satellite travels its path and the Earth rotates under it.
What is more interesting, perhaps, is the rocket itself. Delta IV Heavy is our biggest and most powerful rocket. This was its first launch from the west coast, and only fifth launch overall. It is a classic liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen fueled vehicle, that can carry payloads into low-Earth orbit, and even geosynchronous orbit over 22,000 miles up.
With all the changes in the way NASA is to carry out its mission, the Delta IV Heavy, or an offshoot, would certainly have to be considered a viable contender for future use -- for supply missions to the ISS, or even manned missions, although that will require safety additions and a lot of certification.
But we do now that Lockheed plans to test their Orion capsule, a potential future crew capsule for deep space, on top of a Delta IV Heavy in about three years or so.
So stay tuned, watch the Delta launch, think back to the Saturn program ... and, well, who knows.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
NASA has set a date for what could be the last flight of the space shuttle program.
Program managers have now officially added STS-135 to the launch manifest. In one sense that's a technical and bureaucratic step, but it clears the way for planning and scheduling at all levels of the space agency.
June 28 is now the target date for shuttle Atlantis' flight.
Two weeks ago, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was in town, and I asked about that mission. He was adamant they would fly it, even though the budget bill was still up in the air, and he told me it would fly in June.
That could change, of course, and one of the reasons may be the requirements of the International Space Station scheduling.
So three shuttle flights are on the schedule to wrap up the program. The first is Discovery's launch next month, and then the launch of Endeavour in April.
That was supposed to be the last shuttle mission, but last year, Congress authorized the third mission, now STS-135.
Interestingly enough, as the end of shuttle is in sight, Thursday afternoon provided a look at way the future of American space exploration, or at least one future.
United Launch Alliance successfully sent a Delta IV Heavy rocket in orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
It carried a National Reconnaissance Office payload, which means a spy satellite. No information was provided about its orbit or what it will be doing. We can be pretty confident it was launched in a polar orbit (South Pole to North Pole and back), which is the main reason to launch from Vandenberg. From KSC we go east, while from Vandenberg we go south. A polar orbit means every part of the Earth will come into view as the satellite travels its path and the Earth rotates under it.
What is more interesting, perhaps, is the rocket itself. Delta IV Heavy is our biggest and most powerful rocket. This was its first launch from the west coast, and only fifth launch overall. It is a classic liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen fueled vehicle, that can carry payloads into low-Earth orbit, and even geosynchronous orbit over 22,000 miles up.
With all the changes in the way NASA is to carry out its mission, the Delta IV Heavy, or an offshoot, would certainly have to be considered a viable contender for future use -- for supply missions to the ISS, or even manned missions, although that will require safety additions and a lot of certification.
But we do now that Lockheed plans to test their Orion capsule, a potential future crew capsule for deep space, on top of a Delta IV Heavy in about three years or so.
So stay tuned, watch the Delta launch, think back to the Saturn program ... and, well, who knows.
Christa McAuliffe: Exploring Her Legacy
Exploring her legacy
FRAMINGHAM — On Jan. 28, the nation will stop and remember Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher who lost her life along with six other astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 25 years ago.
But her legacy is at work every day of the year in the town where she grew up.
Thousands of science teachers and students come to Framingham State University each year to learn about space exploration at the Challenger Learning Center, part of the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence.
“She left an important message about the importance of students and teachers and education,’’ said Grace Corrigan, McAuliffe’s mother, who is now in her mid-80s and still lives in Framingham.
Framingham State, where Christa McAuliffe received her teaching degree, will hold a ceremony on Jan. 27 commemorating the anniversary of the disaster.
NASA plans its own public Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center in Flor ida the following day.
Last week, 33 middle school teachers were in the Challenger Center’s two simulation rooms, half of them assigned to a space craft orbiting Mars, the other half assigned to the mission control team designed to guide them onto the planet’s surface.
“I’d love to expand our programs more into space,’’ said Dakotah Eaton, an after-school teacher from Athol. “I want to tell them all about this Mars mission. The kids are really interested in Mars.’’
Some of the teachers were too young to recall exactly where they were at 11:39 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, a tragic day that haunted a generation, in part because so many schoolchildren tuned in to see the first teacher go into space.
But Matt Hagopian, an eighth-grade science teacher from Worcester, remembers where he was: an eighth-grader himself, home sick for the day, watching the space shuttle launch on television.
He said his goal in participating in the Challenger Center training was to help “generate excitement about space’’ among his students.
“It used to be the whole country was riveted by these launches; I’d like to see it brought back again,’’ said Hagopian, who was transmitting information about a solar flare to his “crew.’’
The hope is that after teachers become students for a day “there will be a flow back of creativity into their school systems,’’ said Karyl Resnick, coordinator of a state program that helps fund Challenger teacher education programs for low-income districts.
Mary Liscombe, the McAuliffe Center’s director, graduated with McAuliffe from Framingham State’s teaching program in 1970. They often had lunch together in the commuter cafeteria in the building where the McAuliffe Center stands today, recalled Liscombe.
Liscombe was at home in Medway with her young children on the day the nation watched the Challenger break apart just 73 seconds after liftoff, a tragedy later blamed on a leak in one of two solid rocket boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank.
McAuliffe left behind a husband, Steven, who later became a federal judge in New Hampshire, and two children, Scott and Caroline, now in their 30s.
Inspired by her friend’s ideals and sacrifice, Liscombe returned soon after to the classroom, teaching science at the Charles River School in Dover. In 1994, she joined the McAuliffe Center.
McAuliffe’s mother and Framingham State president Timothy Flanagan are scheduled to speak at the commemoration next week. Eighth-grade students from the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School in Framingham will present research projects about space.
The school’s science teacher, Daniel Anderson, said his 76 students have conducted interviews via Skype and e-mail with scientists at NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities on topics ranging from artificial gravity and spacesuit technology to lunar geology and meteoroid strikes.
It may become an annual school project, he said. “This is a special year.
The 25th anniversary only happens once, but we can celebrate Christa McAuliffe and what she stood for every year.’’
January is not an easy month for the family, Corrigan acknowledged in an interview last week, and the loss of her 37-year-old daughter in the disaster remains sharp even after 25 years.
What motivates her to constantly revisit the pain is the enthusiasm that the space education programs generate.
“I still hear from teachers all around the country,’’ she said.
FRAMINGHAM — On Jan. 28, the nation will stop and remember Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher who lost her life along with six other astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 25 years ago.
But her legacy is at work every day of the year in the town where she grew up.
Thousands of science teachers and students come to Framingham State University each year to learn about space exploration at the Challenger Learning Center, part of the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence.
“She left an important message about the importance of students and teachers and education,’’ said Grace Corrigan, McAuliffe’s mother, who is now in her mid-80s and still lives in Framingham.
Framingham State, where Christa McAuliffe received her teaching degree, will hold a ceremony on Jan. 27 commemorating the anniversary of the disaster.
NASA plans its own public Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center in Flor ida the following day.
Last week, 33 middle school teachers were in the Challenger Center’s two simulation rooms, half of them assigned to a space craft orbiting Mars, the other half assigned to the mission control team designed to guide them onto the planet’s surface.
“I’d love to expand our programs more into space,’’ said Dakotah Eaton, an after-school teacher from Athol. “I want to tell them all about this Mars mission. The kids are really interested in Mars.’’
Some of the teachers were too young to recall exactly where they were at 11:39 a.m. on Jan. 28, 1986, a tragic day that haunted a generation, in part because so many schoolchildren tuned in to see the first teacher go into space.
But Matt Hagopian, an eighth-grade science teacher from Worcester, remembers where he was: an eighth-grader himself, home sick for the day, watching the space shuttle launch on television.
He said his goal in participating in the Challenger Center training was to help “generate excitement about space’’ among his students.
“It used to be the whole country was riveted by these launches; I’d like to see it brought back again,’’ said Hagopian, who was transmitting information about a solar flare to his “crew.’’
The hope is that after teachers become students for a day “there will be a flow back of creativity into their school systems,’’ said Karyl Resnick, coordinator of a state program that helps fund Challenger teacher education programs for low-income districts.
Mary Liscombe, the McAuliffe Center’s director, graduated with McAuliffe from Framingham State’s teaching program in 1970. They often had lunch together in the commuter cafeteria in the building where the McAuliffe Center stands today, recalled Liscombe.
Liscombe was at home in Medway with her young children on the day the nation watched the Challenger break apart just 73 seconds after liftoff, a tragedy later blamed on a leak in one of two solid rocket boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank.
McAuliffe left behind a husband, Steven, who later became a federal judge in New Hampshire, and two children, Scott and Caroline, now in their 30s.
Inspired by her friend’s ideals and sacrifice, Liscombe returned soon after to the classroom, teaching science at the Charles River School in Dover. In 1994, she joined the McAuliffe Center.
McAuliffe’s mother and Framingham State president Timothy Flanagan are scheduled to speak at the commemoration next week. Eighth-grade students from the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School in Framingham will present research projects about space.
The school’s science teacher, Daniel Anderson, said his 76 students have conducted interviews via Skype and e-mail with scientists at NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities on topics ranging from artificial gravity and spacesuit technology to lunar geology and meteoroid strikes.
It may become an annual school project, he said. “This is a special year.
The 25th anniversary only happens once, but we can celebrate Christa McAuliffe and what she stood for every year.’’
January is not an easy month for the family, Corrigan acknowledged in an interview last week, and the loss of her 37-year-old daughter in the disaster remains sharp even after 25 years.
What motivates her to constantly revisit the pain is the enthusiasm that the space education programs generate.
“I still hear from teachers all around the country,’’ she said.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
NASA gives go-ahead to another shuttle flight
Yahoo News: NASA gives go-ahead to another shuttle flight
WASHINGTON – NASA doesn't know yet where it will get the money, but on Thursday the space agency officially added another space shuttle launch to its schedule — the final one for the fleet.
The space agency set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started preparations for the 135th and last shuttle flight. The four-member crew will take up supplies to the International Space Station and return a faulty pump that has bedeviled engineers.
Now three missions remain before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in April.
Thursday's move allows different parts of the shuttle program to start work on Atlantis' 12-day flight, including astronaut training and mission planning, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said. Originally, Atlantis was planned as an emergency-only rescue mission if needed for the Endeavour crew.
Last year, the Obama administration and Congress clashed over the future of the human space program and came up with a compromise that authorized one extra flight of the shuttle — the Atlantis mission. But Congress never gave NASA the few hundred million dollars needed for the extra flight. That left NASA in a quandary about whether the flight was real or not.
The initial money is coming from the space shuttle program's regular budget, but that is not the big dollar amounts needed for a shuttle flight, Curie said.
"We're optimistic that the funding will be there," Curie said, but he couldn't give details about where the money will come from.
NASA was under the gun to start preparations. Otherwise, the Atlantis mission wouldn't have been able to launch in late June, Curie said.
The final flight will be commanded by Christopher Ferguson and includes Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.
The extra flight means that Mark Kelly — the husband of wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — will not command the final shuttle flight even if he stays on the Endeavour mission. With his wife's expected long rehabilitation, Kelly asked for a backup commander to be named in case he couldn't fly as scheduled in April.
WASHINGTON – NASA doesn't know yet where it will get the money, but on Thursday the space agency officially added another space shuttle launch to its schedule — the final one for the fleet.
The space agency set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started preparations for the 135th and last shuttle flight. The four-member crew will take up supplies to the International Space Station and return a faulty pump that has bedeviled engineers.
Now three missions remain before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in April.
Thursday's move allows different parts of the shuttle program to start work on Atlantis' 12-day flight, including astronaut training and mission planning, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said. Originally, Atlantis was planned as an emergency-only rescue mission if needed for the Endeavour crew.
Last year, the Obama administration and Congress clashed over the future of the human space program and came up with a compromise that authorized one extra flight of the shuttle — the Atlantis mission. But Congress never gave NASA the few hundred million dollars needed for the extra flight. That left NASA in a quandary about whether the flight was real or not.
The initial money is coming from the space shuttle program's regular budget, but that is not the big dollar amounts needed for a shuttle flight, Curie said.
"We're optimistic that the funding will be there," Curie said, but he couldn't give details about where the money will come from.
NASA was under the gun to start preparations. Otherwise, the Atlantis mission wouldn't have been able to launch in late June, Curie said.
The final flight will be commanded by Christopher Ferguson and includes Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.
The extra flight means that Mark Kelly — the husband of wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — will not command the final shuttle flight even if he stays on the Endeavour mission. With his wife's expected long rehabilitation, Kelly asked for a backup commander to be named in case he couldn't fly as scheduled in April.
Huge Rocket to Launch From U.S. West Coast Today
Space.com: Huge Rocket to Launch From U.S. West Coast Today
Ever since the final Titan 4 rocket soared over the horizon from Vandenberg Air Force Base five years ago, the nation lacked the ability to deploy the largest of reconnaissance satellites into polar orbits from the West Coast. But that gap will be closed this week when the modernized replacement makes its California debut.
The Delta 4-Heavy rocket, made by United Launch Alliance, is scheduled for liftoff Thursday at 1:08 p.m. PST (4:08 p.m. EST; 2108 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 6.
The booster is carrying a massive spy satellite like the ones the Titans used to deploy before those rockets were retired from service in 2005.
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When the country's lead agency for operating intelligence-gathering spacecraft, the National Reconnaissance Office, ordered another big satellite, plans were set in motion to bring the Delta 4-Heavy to Vandenberg. The western spaceport is the nation's launch site for sending surveillance craft into polar orbits to observe nearly all of the planet's surface.
The SLC-6 pad at Vandenberg, built to support the space shuttles, was ideal for accommodating the Delta 4-Heavy. But engineers liken the complicated machine to launching three rockets at once, and an enhancement to the ground servicing systems was necessary.
"We spent the good part of three years...upgrading the launch pad and the base infrastructure, in total more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements," said Lt. Col. Brady Hauboldt, the Air Force launch director and Vandenberg's 4th Space Launch Squadron commander.
"Most recently over the past year we've completed all pad activation and first article testing with that launch vehicle in place to ensure mission success."
The Delta 4-Heavy is created by taking three Common Booster Cores -- the liquid hydrogen-fueled motor that forms a Delta 4-Medium's first stage -- and strapping them together to form a triple-barrel rocket, then adding a cryogenic upper stage. The combined punch can propel about 50,000 pounds of cargo into polar orbit. [Stacking Up the World's Tallest Rockets]
Supplying those four stages with the supercold fluids and commodities, keeping the payload comfortable with conditioned air and the special hardware for servicing the 23-story rocket were among the changes made to the site.
After hosting a pair of medium-class Delta 4 rocket launches in June and November 2006, approval for the Heavy modification work came on December 1, 2006, kicking off a design and analysis period that went to July 2007. Ordering of equipment, fabrication and assembly, the installation and the testing stretched from March 2007 to July 2010.
"(SLC-6) wasn't sized or configured to support the Heavy variant, and that decision goes back quite a few years. In fact, I was at the Pentagon when those decisions were being made. It's ironic now that I get to come back and implement them," said Hauboldt.
More than 835 parts were bought from over 280 suppliers and 35 contractors, and 370 United Launch Alliance employees and hired labor worked on the pad upgrade, according to Jim Boyle, ULA site director at SLC-6.
"We're modifying existing systems that were already here, just adding the capacity in many cases to handle three-of-things, three Common Booster Cores. But it was an extensive effort, took over three years," said Boyle.
"We had very to little to do with the actual structure of the pad -- the concrete, the launch table. It was mostly being able to provide the ability to service."
The specific changes included:
Installing box-shaped structures, called tail service masts, to route power, data, gases and the vacuum-jacketed liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines to the bottoms of the outboard rocket stages.
Helium and gaseous nitrogen supply and system upgrades to feed the bigger rocket.
Propulsion system mods in the pad's pneumatics room and launch mount.
Enhancing the pad's air conditioning unit and the environmental control system ducts to the rocket.
Equipping the launch pad's lower swing arm with umbilicals to interface with the outboard boosters.
Adding an upward extension to the top swing arm for providing air conditioning to the nose cone and payload.
Adjusting access platforms inside the mobile service gantry.
Installing a backup generator to power the extra ground support equipment.
Equipping the pad with cooling water and hydrogen burnoff sparklers for the outboard boosters' main engines.
And, late in the program, an auxiliary liquid oxygen storage tank was added to give the launch team a capability for multiple countdowns without needing to replenish reserves.
The other substantial effort involved analyzing the sound and rumble the Delta 4-Heavy will created during its slow ascent off the pad.
"There's been some extensive vibration -- noise -- analysis done to look at how the unique Vandenberg terrain effects the payload and the launch vehicle electronics," Hauboldt said.
"Launching a Heavy out of here makes a lot more acoustics, makes a lot more vibrations than a Medium, so we had to go make sure that not only the pad but the rocket could handle those different environments," Boyle added.
The rocket was constructed at ULA's factory in Decatur, Alabama. In mid-August 2009, the three booster cores and upper stage were loaded into ocean-going Delta Mariner vessel for a month-long, 4,000+ mile trip through the Panama Canal and around to Vandenberg.
After arriving late-September 2009 at the harbor once envisioned for receiving the space shuttle fuel tank barge, the first West Coast Heavy rolled onto California soil and moved up the road to SLC-6 over a three-day period.
Today’s launch is scheduled to blast off at 1:08 p.m. PST. The Delta IV Heavy, standing 235 feet tall, will be the largest rocket to ever launch from the west coast of the U.S. With its nearly 2 millions pounds of thrust, the Delta IV Heavy is America’s most powerful liquid fueled rocket.
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch AllianceThe Horizontal Integration Facility at the complex is the garage-like hangar were the rocket stages were attached together and tested to verify the Heavy was prepared for the launch pad.
While that assembly work was going on, pad-readiness tests were being run to ensure the site would give the rocket a warm welcome in early 2010.
Riding horizontally on a motorized hauler, the 184,000-pound rocket was driven to the pad where hydraulic pistons pushed the vehicle upright to stand atop the pad on January 29.
The rest of the year was spent doing exhaustive testing to operate pad systems with the rocket and uncover problems that could be fixed before the real countdown on launch day.
"It was an incredibly busy summer, practically like having several other launch campaigns going simultaneously," Hauboldt said.
"It included two tanking tests and numerous wet dress rehearsals to get us comfortable with the systems and configurations. We also had several crew rehearsals to ensure the team was similarly prepared for day of launch. We've exercised our new gaseous nitrogen plant extensively. We've had logistics demonstrations, security demonstrations. The 30th Space Wing has really gone above and beyond to make sure that everything is in place and ready to go for day of launch."
So now the stage is set for liftoff on Thursday, a critical mission carrying a clandestine satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office and the country's intelligence analysts.
"Bringing a new launch vehicle configuration into Space Launch Complex 6 isn't as simple as stacking a new rocket. Although it's a Delta 4, the Heavy configuration required substantial modification and resizing to handle essentially three rockets on the pad at the same time," Hauboldt said.
"This Delta 4-Heavy is the first-of-its-kind national capability here at Vandenberg. We don't currently have this ability to launch any heavy satellites into polar orbit. The Delta 4-Heavy upgrades that we've done at SLC-6 as well as bringing the rocket out here allow us to put satellites of that type into orbit to support our downrange customers."
Ever since the final Titan 4 rocket soared over the horizon from Vandenberg Air Force Base five years ago, the nation lacked the ability to deploy the largest of reconnaissance satellites into polar orbits from the West Coast. But that gap will be closed this week when the modernized replacement makes its California debut.
The Delta 4-Heavy rocket, made by United Launch Alliance, is scheduled for liftoff Thursday at 1:08 p.m. PST (4:08 p.m. EST; 2108 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 6.
The booster is carrying a massive spy satellite like the ones the Titans used to deploy before those rockets were retired from service in 2005.
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When the country's lead agency for operating intelligence-gathering spacecraft, the National Reconnaissance Office, ordered another big satellite, plans were set in motion to bring the Delta 4-Heavy to Vandenberg. The western spaceport is the nation's launch site for sending surveillance craft into polar orbits to observe nearly all of the planet's surface.
The SLC-6 pad at Vandenberg, built to support the space shuttles, was ideal for accommodating the Delta 4-Heavy. But engineers liken the complicated machine to launching three rockets at once, and an enhancement to the ground servicing systems was necessary.
"We spent the good part of three years...upgrading the launch pad and the base infrastructure, in total more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements," said Lt. Col. Brady Hauboldt, the Air Force launch director and Vandenberg's 4th Space Launch Squadron commander.
"Most recently over the past year we've completed all pad activation and first article testing with that launch vehicle in place to ensure mission success."
The Delta 4-Heavy is created by taking three Common Booster Cores -- the liquid hydrogen-fueled motor that forms a Delta 4-Medium's first stage -- and strapping them together to form a triple-barrel rocket, then adding a cryogenic upper stage. The combined punch can propel about 50,000 pounds of cargo into polar orbit. [Stacking Up the World's Tallest Rockets]
Supplying those four stages with the supercold fluids and commodities, keeping the payload comfortable with conditioned air and the special hardware for servicing the 23-story rocket were among the changes made to the site.
After hosting a pair of medium-class Delta 4 rocket launches in June and November 2006, approval for the Heavy modification work came on December 1, 2006, kicking off a design and analysis period that went to July 2007. Ordering of equipment, fabrication and assembly, the installation and the testing stretched from March 2007 to July 2010.
"(SLC-6) wasn't sized or configured to support the Heavy variant, and that decision goes back quite a few years. In fact, I was at the Pentagon when those decisions were being made. It's ironic now that I get to come back and implement them," said Hauboldt.
More than 835 parts were bought from over 280 suppliers and 35 contractors, and 370 United Launch Alliance employees and hired labor worked on the pad upgrade, according to Jim Boyle, ULA site director at SLC-6.
"We're modifying existing systems that were already here, just adding the capacity in many cases to handle three-of-things, three Common Booster Cores. But it was an extensive effort, took over three years," said Boyle.
"We had very to little to do with the actual structure of the pad -- the concrete, the launch table. It was mostly being able to provide the ability to service."
The specific changes included:
Installing box-shaped structures, called tail service masts, to route power, data, gases and the vacuum-jacketed liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines to the bottoms of the outboard rocket stages.
Helium and gaseous nitrogen supply and system upgrades to feed the bigger rocket.
Propulsion system mods in the pad's pneumatics room and launch mount.
Enhancing the pad's air conditioning unit and the environmental control system ducts to the rocket.
Equipping the launch pad's lower swing arm with umbilicals to interface with the outboard boosters.
Adding an upward extension to the top swing arm for providing air conditioning to the nose cone and payload.
Adjusting access platforms inside the mobile service gantry.
Installing a backup generator to power the extra ground support equipment.
Equipping the pad with cooling water and hydrogen burnoff sparklers for the outboard boosters' main engines.
And, late in the program, an auxiliary liquid oxygen storage tank was added to give the launch team a capability for multiple countdowns without needing to replenish reserves.
The other substantial effort involved analyzing the sound and rumble the Delta 4-Heavy will created during its slow ascent off the pad.
"There's been some extensive vibration -- noise -- analysis done to look at how the unique Vandenberg terrain effects the payload and the launch vehicle electronics," Hauboldt said.
"Launching a Heavy out of here makes a lot more acoustics, makes a lot more vibrations than a Medium, so we had to go make sure that not only the pad but the rocket could handle those different environments," Boyle added.
The rocket was constructed at ULA's factory in Decatur, Alabama. In mid-August 2009, the three booster cores and upper stage were loaded into ocean-going Delta Mariner vessel for a month-long, 4,000+ mile trip through the Panama Canal and around to Vandenberg.
After arriving late-September 2009 at the harbor once envisioned for receiving the space shuttle fuel tank barge, the first West Coast Heavy rolled onto California soil and moved up the road to SLC-6 over a three-day period.
Today’s launch is scheduled to blast off at 1:08 p.m. PST. The Delta IV Heavy, standing 235 feet tall, will be the largest rocket to ever launch from the west coast of the U.S. With its nearly 2 millions pounds of thrust, the Delta IV Heavy is America’s most powerful liquid fueled rocket.
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch AllianceThe Horizontal Integration Facility at the complex is the garage-like hangar were the rocket stages were attached together and tested to verify the Heavy was prepared for the launch pad.
While that assembly work was going on, pad-readiness tests were being run to ensure the site would give the rocket a warm welcome in early 2010.
Riding horizontally on a motorized hauler, the 184,000-pound rocket was driven to the pad where hydraulic pistons pushed the vehicle upright to stand atop the pad on January 29.
The rest of the year was spent doing exhaustive testing to operate pad systems with the rocket and uncover problems that could be fixed before the real countdown on launch day.
"It was an incredibly busy summer, practically like having several other launch campaigns going simultaneously," Hauboldt said.
"It included two tanking tests and numerous wet dress rehearsals to get us comfortable with the systems and configurations. We also had several crew rehearsals to ensure the team was similarly prepared for day of launch. We've exercised our new gaseous nitrogen plant extensively. We've had logistics demonstrations, security demonstrations. The 30th Space Wing has really gone above and beyond to make sure that everything is in place and ready to go for day of launch."
So now the stage is set for liftoff on Thursday, a critical mission carrying a clandestine satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office and the country's intelligence analysts.
"Bringing a new launch vehicle configuration into Space Launch Complex 6 isn't as simple as stacking a new rocket. Although it's a Delta 4, the Heavy configuration required substantial modification and resizing to handle essentially three rockets on the pad at the same time," Hauboldt said.
"This Delta 4-Heavy is the first-of-its-kind national capability here at Vandenberg. We don't currently have this ability to launch any heavy satellites into polar orbit. The Delta 4-Heavy upgrades that we've done at SLC-6 as well as bringing the rocket out here allow us to put satellites of that type into orbit to support our downrange customers."
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
NASA: New rocket not feasible with current budget
NASA: New rocket not feasible with current budget
CNET NEWS: The Space Shot
By William Harwood
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Even using shuttle-derived hardware, established contractors, and long-standing engineering expertise, NASA's projected budget will not cover the costs of developing a congressionally mandated heavy-lift booster and a manned capsule for deep space exploration by 2016 as ordered, agency officials informed lawmakers this week.
NASA managers promised to continue studying alternative approaches and designs for a new Space Launch System heavy-lift booster and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, but insisted any such program must be "affordable, sustainable and realistic."
"To date, trade studies performed by the Agency have yet to identify heavy-lift and capsule architectures that would both meet all SLS requirements and these goals," NASA said in its report to Congress. "For example, a 2016 first flight of the SLS does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels."
An early concept for a possible heavy-lift rocket intended for deep space exploration compared to a space shuttle.
(Credit: NASA) As directed in its 2011 appropriations language, NASA focused on a rocket that would utilize extended shuttle boosters, main engines, and an advanced Saturn 5 upper-stage engine. The Orion capsule initially designed for the Bush administration's now-canceled Constellation moon program, was selected as the basis for a new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
"However, to be clear, neither reference vehicle design currently fits the projected budget profiles nor the schedule goals outlined in the Authorization Act," NASA's report concluded. "Additionally, it remains to be determined what level of appropriations NASA will receive in FY 2011 or beyond -- a factor that will impact schedule as well."
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who flew aboard the shuttle in 1986 and who played a major role in adding the near-term requirement to build the new launch systems, said in a statement late Wednesday that NASA's answer was not good enough.
"I talked to (NASA Administrator) Charlie Bolden yesterday and told him he has to follow the law, which requires a new rocket by 2016," Nelson said late Wednesday. "And, NASA has to do it within the budget the law requires."
In a letter to Bolden that was released late Thursday, Nelson and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said "the report contains no specific justification or analysis to validate the claim that 'none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions.' We expect NASA to work with Congress to identify the basis for the claims made in the report, how existing contracts and technologies will be utilized, and where any additional congressional action may be needed to ensure successful implementation of the law."
Nelson also plans to introduce legislation eliminating a requirement for NASA to continue spending money on Constellation. Due to a provision in the continuing resolution currently funding the space agency, NASA must follow a House directive in its 2010 budget that blocks the program's termination.
The continuing resolution expires March 4. But NASA's inspector general said today that unless Congress acts, NASA could end up spending $215 million on the program by the end of February.
"Without congressional intervention, by the end of February 2011 NASA anticipates spending up to $215 million on Constellation projects that, absent the restrictive appropriations language, it would have considered canceling or significantly scaling back," the inspector general's report said. "Moreover, by the end of FY 2011 that figure could grow to more than $575 million if NASA is required to continue operating under the current constraints and is unable to move beyond the planning stages for its new Space Exploration program."
John Logsdon, a space policy analyst who serves on the NASA's Advisory Council, said the near-term issue facing the agency's plans for deep space exploration is more a matter of schedule than budget and that NASA already had indicated its belief that a new heavy lifter could not be deployed by 2016.
"This should not come as a surprise to Mr. Nelson and his compatriots," he told CBS News today. "Charlie Bolden told him the same thing last year when they first passed the authorization bill. So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016.
"This doesn't mean there's not going to be an HLV (heavy-lift vehicle)," he said. "There will be an HLV, and there will be work at the Cape to do it, among other places. Going back to the authorization bill and now this report, they are steps in a dialogue between NASA and the White House and the Congress on what makes sense...If the country is serious about having a good space program, Congress has to do its part."
"So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016."
--John Logsdon, space policy analystThe Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget charts a controversial new course for NASA. The agency has been told to rely on private industry for future manned and unmanned rockets and capsules to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.
The administration ruled out an immediate return to the moon, concluding the Bush administration's Constellation program was not affordable, and instead ordered a "flexible path" approach to a variety of deep space targets. But development of heavy-lift rockets to facilitate deep space exploration was deferred and no timetables were specified.
Space advocates immediately protested this approach and the president eventually agreed to begin development of a new heavy lifter in the 2015 time frame. Nelson and others then campaigned to begin development immediately and to have a system ready for first flight in 2016. Along with providing access to deep space for U.S. astronauts, the new system would serve as a backup in case untried commercial rockets run into problems or delays.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was severely injured during a shooting spree in Tucson, on Saturday, strongly disagreed with the Senate's requirement during budget discussions late last year, favoring instead the continued development of the Constellation program's Ares rockets.
Married to shuttle commander Mark Kelly and as chairman of the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, Giffords urged her colleagues not to go along with plans for a new rocket that was designed "not by our best engineers, but by our colleagues over on the Senate side. By NASA's own internal analysis, they estimate this rocket will cost billions more than the Senate provides."
"In short, the Senate bill forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn't meet its needs, with a budget that's not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA's own analysis says is unrealistic," Giffords said. "That is not my idea of an executable and sustainable human spaceflight program."
In a report ordered by Congress in NASA's funding authorization, the agency said it "recognizes it has a responsibility to be clear with the Congress and the American taxpayers about our true estimated costs and schedules for developing the SLS and MPCV, and we intend to do so."
"Currently, our SLS studies have shown that while cost is not a major discriminator among the design options studied, none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal condition."
Operational costs are another factor, the agency said, along with funds needed to pay for development of other exploration systems, including habitats and landers.
"A feature of the Shuttle/Ares-derived reference vehicle is that it enables leveraging of current systems, current knowledge base, existing hardware and potentially current contracts, thereby providing schedule and early-year cost advantages," the report said. "However, a 2016 first flight does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels, although NASA is continuing to explore more innovative procurement and development approaches to determine whether it can come closer to this goal."
In the meantime, NASA said, "it is clear that successful development of SLS and MPCV will be dependent on sufficiently stable funding over the long term, coupled with a successful effort on the part of NASA and the eventual industry team to reduce costs and to establish stable, tightly managed requirements."
CNET NEWS: The Space Shot
By William Harwood
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Even using shuttle-derived hardware, established contractors, and long-standing engineering expertise, NASA's projected budget will not cover the costs of developing a congressionally mandated heavy-lift booster and a manned capsule for deep space exploration by 2016 as ordered, agency officials informed lawmakers this week.
NASA managers promised to continue studying alternative approaches and designs for a new Space Launch System heavy-lift booster and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, but insisted any such program must be "affordable, sustainable and realistic."
"To date, trade studies performed by the Agency have yet to identify heavy-lift and capsule architectures that would both meet all SLS requirements and these goals," NASA said in its report to Congress. "For example, a 2016 first flight of the SLS does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels."
An early concept for a possible heavy-lift rocket intended for deep space exploration compared to a space shuttle.
(Credit: NASA) As directed in its 2011 appropriations language, NASA focused on a rocket that would utilize extended shuttle boosters, main engines, and an advanced Saturn 5 upper-stage engine. The Orion capsule initially designed for the Bush administration's now-canceled Constellation moon program, was selected as the basis for a new Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
"However, to be clear, neither reference vehicle design currently fits the projected budget profiles nor the schedule goals outlined in the Authorization Act," NASA's report concluded. "Additionally, it remains to be determined what level of appropriations NASA will receive in FY 2011 or beyond -- a factor that will impact schedule as well."
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who flew aboard the shuttle in 1986 and who played a major role in adding the near-term requirement to build the new launch systems, said in a statement late Wednesday that NASA's answer was not good enough.
"I talked to (NASA Administrator) Charlie Bolden yesterday and told him he has to follow the law, which requires a new rocket by 2016," Nelson said late Wednesday. "And, NASA has to do it within the budget the law requires."
In a letter to Bolden that was released late Thursday, Nelson and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said "the report contains no specific justification or analysis to validate the claim that 'none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions.' We expect NASA to work with Congress to identify the basis for the claims made in the report, how existing contracts and technologies will be utilized, and where any additional congressional action may be needed to ensure successful implementation of the law."
Nelson also plans to introduce legislation eliminating a requirement for NASA to continue spending money on Constellation. Due to a provision in the continuing resolution currently funding the space agency, NASA must follow a House directive in its 2010 budget that blocks the program's termination.
The continuing resolution expires March 4. But NASA's inspector general said today that unless Congress acts, NASA could end up spending $215 million on the program by the end of February.
"Without congressional intervention, by the end of February 2011 NASA anticipates spending up to $215 million on Constellation projects that, absent the restrictive appropriations language, it would have considered canceling or significantly scaling back," the inspector general's report said. "Moreover, by the end of FY 2011 that figure could grow to more than $575 million if NASA is required to continue operating under the current constraints and is unable to move beyond the planning stages for its new Space Exploration program."
John Logsdon, a space policy analyst who serves on the NASA's Advisory Council, said the near-term issue facing the agency's plans for deep space exploration is more a matter of schedule than budget and that NASA already had indicated its belief that a new heavy lifter could not be deployed by 2016.
"This should not come as a surprise to Mr. Nelson and his compatriots," he told CBS News today. "Charlie Bolden told him the same thing last year when they first passed the authorization bill. So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016.
"This doesn't mean there's not going to be an HLV (heavy-lift vehicle)," he said. "There will be an HLV, and there will be work at the Cape to do it, among other places. Going back to the authorization bill and now this report, they are steps in a dialogue between NASA and the White House and the Congress on what makes sense...If the country is serious about having a good space program, Congress has to do its part."
"So there is a small, or maybe not so small, element of posturing here. It seems to me that more than the budget...NASA is saying that there's no way they can do a development this large and have the thing flying by the end of 2016."
--John Logsdon, space policy analystThe Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget charts a controversial new course for NASA. The agency has been told to rely on private industry for future manned and unmanned rockets and capsules to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.
The administration ruled out an immediate return to the moon, concluding the Bush administration's Constellation program was not affordable, and instead ordered a "flexible path" approach to a variety of deep space targets. But development of heavy-lift rockets to facilitate deep space exploration was deferred and no timetables were specified.
Space advocates immediately protested this approach and the president eventually agreed to begin development of a new heavy lifter in the 2015 time frame. Nelson and others then campaigned to begin development immediately and to have a system ready for first flight in 2016. Along with providing access to deep space for U.S. astronauts, the new system would serve as a backup in case untried commercial rockets run into problems or delays.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was severely injured during a shooting spree in Tucson, on Saturday, strongly disagreed with the Senate's requirement during budget discussions late last year, favoring instead the continued development of the Constellation program's Ares rockets.
Married to shuttle commander Mark Kelly and as chairman of the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, Giffords urged her colleagues not to go along with plans for a new rocket that was designed "not by our best engineers, but by our colleagues over on the Senate side. By NASA's own internal analysis, they estimate this rocket will cost billions more than the Senate provides."
"In short, the Senate bill forces NASA to build a rocket that doesn't meet its needs, with a budget that's not adequate to do the job and on a schedule that NASA's own analysis says is unrealistic," Giffords said. "That is not my idea of an executable and sustainable human spaceflight program."
In a report ordered by Congress in NASA's funding authorization, the agency said it "recognizes it has a responsibility to be clear with the Congress and the American taxpayers about our true estimated costs and schedules for developing the SLS and MPCV, and we intend to do so."
"Currently, our SLS studies have shown that while cost is not a major discriminator among the design options studied, none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal condition."
Operational costs are another factor, the agency said, along with funds needed to pay for development of other exploration systems, including habitats and landers.
"A feature of the Shuttle/Ares-derived reference vehicle is that it enables leveraging of current systems, current knowledge base, existing hardware and potentially current contracts, thereby providing schedule and early-year cost advantages," the report said. "However, a 2016 first flight does not appear to be possible within projected FY 2011 and out-year funding levels, although NASA is continuing to explore more innovative procurement and development approaches to determine whether it can come closer to this goal."
In the meantime, NASA said, "it is clear that successful development of SLS and MPCV will be dependent on sufficiently stable funding over the long term, coupled with a successful effort on the part of NASA and the eventual industry team to reduce costs and to establish stable, tightly managed requirements."
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Rocket science (Ares I project)
NewsObserver.com: Rocket science
The budget of space agency NASA is perpetually under fire in Congress, except, it seems, when members are trying to protect jobs in their home states that are tied to ... NASA! There's the conundrum in the agency actually being required to keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the Ares I rocket program. At one time the rocket was scheduled to replace the space shuttle in taking astronauts to the International Space Station. It's since been scrapped.
But the aforementioned members of Congress put a provision into the 2010 budget that bars NASA from shutting down the program until a 2011 budget is passed. Hence, NASA has to abide by the 2010 budget and keep paying contractors.
"If we can put a man on the moon ..." is a phrase invoked whenever America faces a daunting challenge. This budget foul-up is a reminder that we reached the moon because of NASA, and not because of Congress.
The budget of space agency NASA is perpetually under fire in Congress, except, it seems, when members are trying to protect jobs in their home states that are tied to ... NASA! There's the conundrum in the agency actually being required to keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the Ares I rocket program. At one time the rocket was scheduled to replace the space shuttle in taking astronauts to the International Space Station. It's since been scrapped.
But the aforementioned members of Congress put a provision into the 2010 budget that bars NASA from shutting down the program until a 2011 budget is passed. Hence, NASA has to abide by the 2010 budget and keep paying contractors.
"If we can put a man on the moon ..." is a phrase invoked whenever America faces a daunting challenge. This budget foul-up is a reminder that we reached the moon because of NASA, and not because of Congress.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Orbital's Glory Earth Science Satellite to be Launched on Taurus XL Rocket
Satellite Spotlight: Orbital's Glory Earth Science Satellite to be Launched on Taurus XL Rocket
Orbital Sciences Corporation, a space technology company, revealed that the Glory satellite has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to be integrated with the company’s Taurus XL rocket that will launch the satellite into low-Earth orbit in late February.
According to official sources, the satellite was built by Orbital for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Glory satellite is the latest in an extensive series of Earth science satellites that were designed, developed, built by Orbital and tested for NASA.
J.R. Thompson, Orbital’s vice chairman and chief operating officer, said in a release, “Over the next month, Orbital’s spacecraft and launch vehicle teams will be working together to prepare the Glory satellite and Taurus XL rocket for a late February launch operation and satellite deployment.”
“Following its deployment and check-out, the Glory satellite will add to the capabilities of NASA’s highly-productive ‘A-Train’ series of Earth sensing spacecraft, which is an excellent example of how multiple distributed satellites can provide valuable scientific returns at very reasonable mission costs,” added Thompson.
According to Thompson, Orbital strives to cater to the needs of NASA contributing to its critical data collection endeavor, on aerosols in the atmosphere. Orbital will continue to provide spacecraft, launch vehicles and mission operations for solar irradiance measurements.
The Glory mission leverages the capabilities of the Orbital ACRIMSAT and SORCE satellite programs, both of which were launched aboard Orbital rockets. This is expected to enable Orbital to support future solar monitoring missions also, Thompson pointed out.
The Glory satellite, which was tested at the Dulles satellite production facility is based on Orbital’s LeoStar small satellite bus that has served as the baseline platform for several previous successful NASA science spacecraft programs, including missions like GALEX, SORCE and AIM.
The satellite weighs approximately 1,160 lbs. (525 kg.) and features deployable solar arrays, three-axis stabilization, and X-band and S-band communications capabilities, added company sources.
Taurus XL vehicle was developed by Orbital for launching satellites weighing up to approximately 3,000 pounds into low-Earth orbit. Taurus XL is based on advanced structural and avionics technology featured in the company’s Pegasus rocket and other operational launch systems. It is most suitable for enabling easy transportability and austere site operations besides facilitating customers rapid-response launches from a wide range of locations around the globe.
Orbital Sciences Corporation, a space technology company, revealed that the Glory satellite has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to be integrated with the company’s Taurus XL rocket that will launch the satellite into low-Earth orbit in late February.
According to official sources, the satellite was built by Orbital for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Glory satellite is the latest in an extensive series of Earth science satellites that were designed, developed, built by Orbital and tested for NASA.
J.R. Thompson, Orbital’s vice chairman and chief operating officer, said in a release, “Over the next month, Orbital’s spacecraft and launch vehicle teams will be working together to prepare the Glory satellite and Taurus XL rocket for a late February launch operation and satellite deployment.”
“Following its deployment and check-out, the Glory satellite will add to the capabilities of NASA’s highly-productive ‘A-Train’ series of Earth sensing spacecraft, which is an excellent example of how multiple distributed satellites can provide valuable scientific returns at very reasonable mission costs,” added Thompson.
According to Thompson, Orbital strives to cater to the needs of NASA contributing to its critical data collection endeavor, on aerosols in the atmosphere. Orbital will continue to provide spacecraft, launch vehicles and mission operations for solar irradiance measurements.
The Glory mission leverages the capabilities of the Orbital ACRIMSAT and SORCE satellite programs, both of which were launched aboard Orbital rockets. This is expected to enable Orbital to support future solar monitoring missions also, Thompson pointed out.
The Glory satellite, which was tested at the Dulles satellite production facility is based on Orbital’s LeoStar small satellite bus that has served as the baseline platform for several previous successful NASA science spacecraft programs, including missions like GALEX, SORCE and AIM.
The satellite weighs approximately 1,160 lbs. (525 kg.) and features deployable solar arrays, three-axis stabilization, and X-band and S-band communications capabilities, added company sources.
Taurus XL vehicle was developed by Orbital for launching satellites weighing up to approximately 3,000 pounds into low-Earth orbit. Taurus XL is based on advanced structural and avionics technology featured in the company’s Pegasus rocket and other operational launch systems. It is most suitable for enabling easy transportability and austere site operations besides facilitating customers rapid-response launches from a wide range of locations around the globe.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
NASA: Space shuttle cracking finally understood
Yahoo News: NASA: Space shuttle cracking finally understoodCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA finally knows what caused the cracking in space shuttle Discovery's fuel tank, a potentially dangerous problem that likely existed on the previous flight, managers said Tuesday.
Discovery's final voyage has been on hold since the beginning of November. If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could fly to the International Space Station as early as Feb. 24.
At a news conference, NASA officials refused to discuss the flight status of astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona last weekend. He's supposed to command shuttle Endeavour's last mission in April. His identical twin brother, Scott, is currently serving as the space station's skipper.
"Out of respect to the family, we really are not ready to answer those questions today. We're going to let Mark decide really kind of what he needs to do," said Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA space operations. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we're really thinking about Mark in everything we do."
On the orbiting lab, Scott Kelly took a call Tuesday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"There are no people in Russia who are not touched by this terrible news," Putin said through a translator.
The Endeavour mission is the last on NASA's official shuttle flight lineup before the fleet is retired. The space agency hopes to add one last trip to the space station by Atlantis at the end of August to bring up extra spare parts, provided there's funding. Officials initially were targeting the end of June for the launch, but said Tuesday they would prefer more time between flights.
As for Discovery's prolonged grounding, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank, which holds instruments. The damaged struts have been patched. Technicians will reinforce the remaining struts as a safety precaution, using thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.
Shannon called it "a very simple, elegant fix to the problem."
"We're going to fly with a lot of confidence in this tank," he told reporters. "We've gotten rid of the uncertainty."
The tank is covered with foam insulation, and NASA was concerned the cracks could force pieces to break off during liftoff, with chunks possibly striking the shuttle. A slab of foam doomed Columbia in 2003.
Engineers also worried that if four or more struts in a row failed, the entire structure could catastrophically buckle.
The cracking was discovered after an unrelated problem — a hydrogen gas leak — halted Discovery's launch countdown on Nov. 5.
Shannon said a batch of the material used for some of the 21-foot support struts, through heating, ended up more brittle.
In addition, weaknesses were introduced during assembly of the pieces.
The bad batch of material likely ended up on the fuel tank that launched Atlantis last May, Shannon said. Every indication is that the tank performed normally, even if cracks were, indeed, present, he noted.
The tank currently being prepared for Atlantis also has struts made of the suspect material and will need to be repaired. Engineers believe Endeavour's tank is unaffected, but extra tests are likely, which would push that mission into mid- to late April.
Once the 30-year shuttle program ends, the White House wants NASA focusing on expeditions to asteroids and Mars, rather than servicing the space station.
Discovery's final voyage has been on hold since the beginning of November. If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could fly to the International Space Station as early as Feb. 24.
At a news conference, NASA officials refused to discuss the flight status of astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona last weekend. He's supposed to command shuttle Endeavour's last mission in April. His identical twin brother, Scott, is currently serving as the space station's skipper.
"Out of respect to the family, we really are not ready to answer those questions today. We're going to let Mark decide really kind of what he needs to do," said Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA space operations. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we're really thinking about Mark in everything we do."
On the orbiting lab, Scott Kelly took a call Tuesday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"There are no people in Russia who are not touched by this terrible news," Putin said through a translator.
The Endeavour mission is the last on NASA's official shuttle flight lineup before the fleet is retired. The space agency hopes to add one last trip to the space station by Atlantis at the end of August to bring up extra spare parts, provided there's funding. Officials initially were targeting the end of June for the launch, but said Tuesday they would prefer more time between flights.
As for Discovery's prolonged grounding, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank, which holds instruments. The damaged struts have been patched. Technicians will reinforce the remaining struts as a safety precaution, using thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.
Shannon called it "a very simple, elegant fix to the problem."
"We're going to fly with a lot of confidence in this tank," he told reporters. "We've gotten rid of the uncertainty."
The tank is covered with foam insulation, and NASA was concerned the cracks could force pieces to break off during liftoff, with chunks possibly striking the shuttle. A slab of foam doomed Columbia in 2003.
Engineers also worried that if four or more struts in a row failed, the entire structure could catastrophically buckle.
The cracking was discovered after an unrelated problem — a hydrogen gas leak — halted Discovery's launch countdown on Nov. 5.
Shannon said a batch of the material used for some of the 21-foot support struts, through heating, ended up more brittle.
In addition, weaknesses were introduced during assembly of the pieces.
The bad batch of material likely ended up on the fuel tank that launched Atlantis last May, Shannon said. Every indication is that the tank performed normally, even if cracks were, indeed, present, he noted.
The tank currently being prepared for Atlantis also has struts made of the suspect material and will need to be repaired. Engineers believe Endeavour's tank is unaffected, but extra tests are likely, which would push that mission into mid- to late April.
Once the 30-year shuttle program ends, the White House wants NASA focusing on expeditions to asteroids and Mars, rather than servicing the space station.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
4 Jan 2011, Tuesday, Rocket News: What Deficit?
BuffaloNews.com: What Deficit?
by News Editorial Board
Is it too much to ask? Can our elected representatives in Washington make even a game attempt to avoid obscene wastes of taxpayer money? The latest outrage centers on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration being forced to continue its defunct Ares I rocket program, at least until March. The extension squanders nearly $500 million, according to one estimate. But in Washington, it's only money.
Development of the Ares I, a would-be element of NASA's once-vaunted Constellation program, will continue for at least a couple of more months, even though a blue-ribbon panel of space scientists, engineers and astronauts determined in October 2009 that Constellation could not deliver on its promise of sending astronauts back to the moon. The panel also deemed the Ares I rocket a particularly wasteful element.
But Ares I development contracts are scattered around a few states and congressional districts, so Congress got all jittery about ending development outright, even before the blue-ribbon panel presented its report to the White House.
To protect jobs at the Marshall Space Flight Center in his home state of Alabama, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby inserted a 70-word sentence into the federal budget adopted in 2009 for fiscal 2010. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the sentence barred NASA from shutting down Ares I until Congress passed a new budget a year later.
Alas, Congress never did pass a federal budget for fiscal 2011. Instead, it has kept the government running through a series of budget extensions. The latest keeps the 2010 budget, which should have expired Sept. 30, in effect until March, so NASA continues to abide by the Shelby sentence. According to the Sentinel, that means NASA must keep paying contractors to build the Ares I even though President Obama long ago signed a NASA plan to cancel the Constellation program begun under President George W. Bush.
NASA has said it spends $95 million a month on Ares I. At that rate, it will have spent about $475 million from Oct. 1 to March on the rocket to nowhere.
Shelby months ago went on the offensive to decry Obama's decision to cancel NASA's move toward further moon exploration. He called it "the death march for the future of U.S. human space flight." In reality, the senator was probably upset about the death of a future U.S. human employment program in his home state.
In a sense, Shelby is the ideal senator to depict congressional hypocrisy on how it spends our money. The Democrat-turned-Republican demonstrates that party doesn't matter when it comes to milking the federal cow.
For all their justifiable complaining about the budget deficit, Republicans are remarkably like Democrats when jobs are on the line -- even expensive, unnecessary jobs. Deficits don't matter so much when an election can be lost.
The words of a group that monitors government lard hit the mark. Citizens Against Government Waste gave Shelby its "Porker of the Month" award for his continued efforts to protect Ares I through legislation.
"Americans are being forced to tighten their belts and the economy is limping along, but that doesn't deter the porkers in Congress, like Sen. Shelby, who are still spending and rewarding government contractors orbiting the program," the group's president, Tom Schatz, said at the time. "Sen. Shelby's actions just perpetuate the notion that politicians in Washington are living on a completely different planet."
by News Editorial Board
Is it too much to ask? Can our elected representatives in Washington make even a game attempt to avoid obscene wastes of taxpayer money? The latest outrage centers on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration being forced to continue its defunct Ares I rocket program, at least until March. The extension squanders nearly $500 million, according to one estimate. But in Washington, it's only money.
Development of the Ares I, a would-be element of NASA's once-vaunted Constellation program, will continue for at least a couple of more months, even though a blue-ribbon panel of space scientists, engineers and astronauts determined in October 2009 that Constellation could not deliver on its promise of sending astronauts back to the moon. The panel also deemed the Ares I rocket a particularly wasteful element.
But Ares I development contracts are scattered around a few states and congressional districts, so Congress got all jittery about ending development outright, even before the blue-ribbon panel presented its report to the White House.
To protect jobs at the Marshall Space Flight Center in his home state of Alabama, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby inserted a 70-word sentence into the federal budget adopted in 2009 for fiscal 2010. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the sentence barred NASA from shutting down Ares I until Congress passed a new budget a year later.
Alas, Congress never did pass a federal budget for fiscal 2011. Instead, it has kept the government running through a series of budget extensions. The latest keeps the 2010 budget, which should have expired Sept. 30, in effect until March, so NASA continues to abide by the Shelby sentence. According to the Sentinel, that means NASA must keep paying contractors to build the Ares I even though President Obama long ago signed a NASA plan to cancel the Constellation program begun under President George W. Bush.
NASA has said it spends $95 million a month on Ares I. At that rate, it will have spent about $475 million from Oct. 1 to March on the rocket to nowhere.
Shelby months ago went on the offensive to decry Obama's decision to cancel NASA's move toward further moon exploration. He called it "the death march for the future of U.S. human space flight." In reality, the senator was probably upset about the death of a future U.S. human employment program in his home state.
In a sense, Shelby is the ideal senator to depict congressional hypocrisy on how it spends our money. The Democrat-turned-Republican demonstrates that party doesn't matter when it comes to milking the federal cow.
For all their justifiable complaining about the budget deficit, Republicans are remarkably like Democrats when jobs are on the line -- even expensive, unnecessary jobs. Deficits don't matter so much when an election can be lost.
The words of a group that monitors government lard hit the mark. Citizens Against Government Waste gave Shelby its "Porker of the Month" award for his continued efforts to protect Ares I through legislation.
"Americans are being forced to tighten their belts and the economy is limping along, but that doesn't deter the porkers in Congress, like Sen. Shelby, who are still spending and rewarding government contractors orbiting the program," the group's president, Tom Schatz, said at the time. "Sen. Shelby's actions just perpetuate the notion that politicians in Washington are living on a completely different planet."
Monday, January 3, 2011
3 Jan 2010, Monday, Rocket News: GSLV Broke Up When Connectors Snapped
Space-travel.com: GSLV Broke Up When Connectors Snapped
India's heavy rocket broke up midair on Christmas day when onboard connectors that transmit signals snapped inadvertently, the space agency said Friday.
"The inadvertent snapping of 10 connectors carrying command signals from the onboard computer to the control electronics of the four strap-on motors in the first stage is the primary cause of the rocket failure," the state-run Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) said in a statement here.
The connectors are located beneath the Russian-made cryogenic engine, which was in the upper/third stage of the 418-tonne geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F06), carrying the 2.3-tonne GSAT-5P communication satellite.
The onboard computer resides in the equipment bay near the top of the rocket. The connectors were to separate on the issue of a separation command at 292 seconds (4.87 minutes) after the 51-metre tall rocket lifted-off at 4.04 p.m. Saturday.
The premature snapping of the connectors stopped the flow of control commands to the first stage control electronics and led to loss of control and break-up of the vehicle.
"The exact cause of snapping of the connectors, whether due to external forces like vibration, dynamic pressure is to be analysed and pin-pointed," the space agency noted.
An ISRO official, however, told IANS earlier that the onboard computers relay commands through wires to other equipment in the three stages of the rocket.
"As the three stages separate one after another, it is inadvisable to have long wires connecting computers at the top and the stages located below. Hence we have connectors, sort of plugs and sockets, to relay the commands and peel off smoothly when the stages separate," the official asserted.
According to former ISRO rocket scientist R.V. Perumal, connectors in a launch vehicle are akin to the vertebrae in a human being.
"Breaking of connectors is like cutting the vertebrae," Perumal told IANS.
When the Rs.175 crore rocket was disintegrating within a minute after a smooth lift-off from spaceport Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80km north-east of Chennai, a destruct command was given by the mission control centre to avoid its debris falling on the land though it was 8 km in sky and 2.5 km from the coastline over the Bay of Bengal.
"A destruct command was issued at 64 seconds after lift-off as per the range safety norms and the flight was terminated in the first stage itself," the findings noted.
Soon after the mission failure, the space agency constituted a preliminary failure analysis team headed by former ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair to analyse the flight data.
The team included members of the launch authorization board, mission readiness review committee and senior project functionaries of the project.
The initial analysis found that though the rocket's performance was normal up to 47.5 seconds from lift-off, it started developing problems in its orientation (attitude) leading to higher structural loads and breaking up six seconds later.
The Rs.125-crore heavy satellite onboard, with a payload of 36 transponders, including 24 in C-band and 12 in extended C-band, was intended to replace the ageing Insat-2E satellite that was launched in 1999, for communications, telecasting, weather and other related services.
related report
ISRO Forms Eminent Panels to Study Failure
ISRO has constituted a committee to probe the unsuccessful GSLV-F06 mission and a panel to look into the future of the GSLV Programme and assured launch of satellites, operationalisation of indigenous cryogenic stage and strategy for meeting communication transponder needs.
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan has formed a Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) to carry out an in-depth analysis of the flight data of GSLV-F06 as well as the data from the previous six flights of GSLV, establish reasons for the flight's failure and recommend corrective actions on the GSLV vehicle including the remaining one Russian Cryogenic Stage.
"The Failure Analysis Committee chaired by former Chairman ISRO Dr G Madhavan Nair has 11 Experts drawn from within ISRO and outside," Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement.
The ISRO Chairman has also constituted a Programme Review and Strategy Committee to look into the future of the GSLV Programme and assured launch for INSAT/GSAT Series, INSAT-3D as well as Chandrayaan-2; realisation and operationalisation of indigenous Cryogenic Stage and strategy for meeting the demands of communication transponders in the immediate future.
Dr K Kasturirangan, former Chairman of ISRO and presently Member of the Planning Commission, would be chairing this seven member Committee.
These two Committees have been requested to submit their reports by January-end. Subsequently, the reports of these Committees would be presented to eminent national experts including Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Prof. M G K Menon, Prof. Yash Pal, Prof. U R Rao, Dr K Kasturirangan, Dr. G Madhavan Nair, Dr R Chidambaram, and Prof. R Narasimha.
Further, a panel chaired by Dr S C Gupta, former member of Space Commission, would be guiding and facilitating an internal exercise by Chairman, ISRO, eliciting views from the ISRO community at all levels to gear up for the complex and challenging space missions ahead.
ISRO said it plans to complete these reviews and internal exercises by February end.
On the failed mission last week, ISRO said the performance of the GSLV-F06 flight of December 25 (with GSAT-5P Satellite onboard) was normal up to 47.5 seconds from lift-off.
The events leading to the failure got initiated at 47.8 seconds after lift-off. Soon, the vehicle started developing larger errors in its orientation leading to build-up of higher angle of attack and higherstructural loads and consequently vehicle broke up at 53.8 seconds from lift-off (as seen visually as well as from the Radars).
As per the Range safety norms, a destruct command was issued from the ground at 64 seconds after lift-off. The flight was hence terminated in the regime of the First Stage itself.
Soon after this, the ISRO Chairman constituted a Preliminary Failure Analysis Team under the chairmanship of Madhavan Nair, to conduct a preliminary analysis of the flight data, along with members of the Launch Authorisation Board, and Mission Readiness Review Committee as well as senior Project functionaries of GSLV Project and experts.
The finding of the Preliminary Failure Analysis Team is that the primary cause of the failure is the untimely and inadvertent snapping of a group of 10 connectors located at the bottom portion of the Russian Cryogenic Stage.
Some of these connectors carry command signals from the onboard computer residing in the Equipment Bay (located near the top of the vehicle) to the control electronics of the four L40 Strap-ons of the First Stage.
These connectors are intended to be separated only on issue of a separation command at 292 seconds after lift-off. The premature snapping of these connectors has led to stoppage of continuous flow of control commands to the First Stage control electronics, consequently leading to loss of control and break-up of the vehicle.
"The exact cause of snapping of the set of connectors, whether due to external forces like vibration, dynamic pressure is to be analysed further and pin-pointed," ISRO said.
Source: Press Trust of India
India's heavy rocket broke up midair on Christmas day when onboard connectors that transmit signals snapped inadvertently, the space agency said Friday.
"The inadvertent snapping of 10 connectors carrying command signals from the onboard computer to the control electronics of the four strap-on motors in the first stage is the primary cause of the rocket failure," the state-run Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) said in a statement here.
The connectors are located beneath the Russian-made cryogenic engine, which was in the upper/third stage of the 418-tonne geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F06), carrying the 2.3-tonne GSAT-5P communication satellite.
The onboard computer resides in the equipment bay near the top of the rocket. The connectors were to separate on the issue of a separation command at 292 seconds (4.87 minutes) after the 51-metre tall rocket lifted-off at 4.04 p.m. Saturday.
The premature snapping of the connectors stopped the flow of control commands to the first stage control electronics and led to loss of control and break-up of the vehicle.
"The exact cause of snapping of the connectors, whether due to external forces like vibration, dynamic pressure is to be analysed and pin-pointed," the space agency noted.
An ISRO official, however, told IANS earlier that the onboard computers relay commands through wires to other equipment in the three stages of the rocket.
"As the three stages separate one after another, it is inadvisable to have long wires connecting computers at the top and the stages located below. Hence we have connectors, sort of plugs and sockets, to relay the commands and peel off smoothly when the stages separate," the official asserted.
According to former ISRO rocket scientist R.V. Perumal, connectors in a launch vehicle are akin to the vertebrae in a human being.
"Breaking of connectors is like cutting the vertebrae," Perumal told IANS.
When the Rs.175 crore rocket was disintegrating within a minute after a smooth lift-off from spaceport Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80km north-east of Chennai, a destruct command was given by the mission control centre to avoid its debris falling on the land though it was 8 km in sky and 2.5 km from the coastline over the Bay of Bengal.
"A destruct command was issued at 64 seconds after lift-off as per the range safety norms and the flight was terminated in the first stage itself," the findings noted.
Soon after the mission failure, the space agency constituted a preliminary failure analysis team headed by former ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair to analyse the flight data.
The team included members of the launch authorization board, mission readiness review committee and senior project functionaries of the project.
The initial analysis found that though the rocket's performance was normal up to 47.5 seconds from lift-off, it started developing problems in its orientation (attitude) leading to higher structural loads and breaking up six seconds later.
The Rs.125-crore heavy satellite onboard, with a payload of 36 transponders, including 24 in C-band and 12 in extended C-band, was intended to replace the ageing Insat-2E satellite that was launched in 1999, for communications, telecasting, weather and other related services.
related report
ISRO Forms Eminent Panels to Study Failure
ISRO has constituted a committee to probe the unsuccessful GSLV-F06 mission and a panel to look into the future of the GSLV Programme and assured launch of satellites, operationalisation of indigenous cryogenic stage and strategy for meeting communication transponder needs.
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan has formed a Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) to carry out an in-depth analysis of the flight data of GSLV-F06 as well as the data from the previous six flights of GSLV, establish reasons for the flight's failure and recommend corrective actions on the GSLV vehicle including the remaining one Russian Cryogenic Stage.
"The Failure Analysis Committee chaired by former Chairman ISRO Dr G Madhavan Nair has 11 Experts drawn from within ISRO and outside," Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement.
The ISRO Chairman has also constituted a Programme Review and Strategy Committee to look into the future of the GSLV Programme and assured launch for INSAT/GSAT Series, INSAT-3D as well as Chandrayaan-2; realisation and operationalisation of indigenous Cryogenic Stage and strategy for meeting the demands of communication transponders in the immediate future.
Dr K Kasturirangan, former Chairman of ISRO and presently Member of the Planning Commission, would be chairing this seven member Committee.
These two Committees have been requested to submit their reports by January-end. Subsequently, the reports of these Committees would be presented to eminent national experts including Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Prof. M G K Menon, Prof. Yash Pal, Prof. U R Rao, Dr K Kasturirangan, Dr. G Madhavan Nair, Dr R Chidambaram, and Prof. R Narasimha.
Further, a panel chaired by Dr S C Gupta, former member of Space Commission, would be guiding and facilitating an internal exercise by Chairman, ISRO, eliciting views from the ISRO community at all levels to gear up for the complex and challenging space missions ahead.
ISRO said it plans to complete these reviews and internal exercises by February end.
On the failed mission last week, ISRO said the performance of the GSLV-F06 flight of December 25 (with GSAT-5P Satellite onboard) was normal up to 47.5 seconds from lift-off.
The events leading to the failure got initiated at 47.8 seconds after lift-off. Soon, the vehicle started developing larger errors in its orientation leading to build-up of higher angle of attack and higherstructural loads and consequently vehicle broke up at 53.8 seconds from lift-off (as seen visually as well as from the Radars).
As per the Range safety norms, a destruct command was issued from the ground at 64 seconds after lift-off. The flight was hence terminated in the regime of the First Stage itself.
Soon after this, the ISRO Chairman constituted a Preliminary Failure Analysis Team under the chairmanship of Madhavan Nair, to conduct a preliminary analysis of the flight data, along with members of the Launch Authorisation Board, and Mission Readiness Review Committee as well as senior Project functionaries of GSLV Project and experts.
The finding of the Preliminary Failure Analysis Team is that the primary cause of the failure is the untimely and inadvertent snapping of a group of 10 connectors located at the bottom portion of the Russian Cryogenic Stage.
Some of these connectors carry command signals from the onboard computer residing in the Equipment Bay (located near the top of the vehicle) to the control electronics of the four L40 Strap-ons of the First Stage.
These connectors are intended to be separated only on issue of a separation command at 292 seconds after lift-off. The premature snapping of these connectors has led to stoppage of continuous flow of control commands to the First Stage control electronics, consequently leading to loss of control and break-up of the vehicle.
"The exact cause of snapping of the set of connectors, whether due to external forces like vibration, dynamic pressure is to be analysed further and pin-pointed," ISRO said.
Source: Press Trust of India
3 Jan 2011, Mon, Rocket News: Canada says it could build launch rockets
UPI news: Canada says it could build launch rockets
OTTAWA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Canada, which now relies on other countries to launch its satellites into orbit, has the technological ability to build its own rockets, space experts say.
Canada's Defense Department and the Canadian Space Agency are considering the option of constructing a Canadian-made launcher, the Ottawa (Ontario) Citizen reported Monday.
"One option currently being evaluated relates to the development of an indigenous launch capability for certain classes of satellites," Julie Simard, a spokeswoman for the CSA, said.
The CSA has already completed two studies on the feasibility of a Canadian rocket.
"Those studies concluded that, although challenging, developing a launch capability in Canada was technically feasible," Simard said.
While some experts argue Canada doesn't launch enough spacecraft to justify such a program, CSA President Kevin Shortt said he believes there is an opportunity to market launches for small satellites to other nations.
Canada's geographic location is ideal for particular launches such as for polar orbits, he noted.
CSA officials say a project to design and build a launcher could take between 10 and 12 years.
OTTAWA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Canada, which now relies on other countries to launch its satellites into orbit, has the technological ability to build its own rockets, space experts say.
Canada's Defense Department and the Canadian Space Agency are considering the option of constructing a Canadian-made launcher, the Ottawa (Ontario) Citizen reported Monday.
"One option currently being evaluated relates to the development of an indigenous launch capability for certain classes of satellites," Julie Simard, a spokeswoman for the CSA, said.
The CSA has already completed two studies on the feasibility of a Canadian rocket.
"Those studies concluded that, although challenging, developing a launch capability in Canada was technically feasible," Simard said.
While some experts argue Canada doesn't launch enough spacecraft to justify such a program, CSA President Kevin Shortt said he believes there is an opportunity to market launches for small satellites to other nations.
Canada's geographic location is ideal for particular launches such as for polar orbits, he noted.
CSA officials say a project to design and build a launcher could take between 10 and 12 years.
The View From a Height
Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992) had a degree in biochemistry, and was a well-known Golden Age science fiction writer with his Positronic Robot series and his Foundation series to name only a few. But for most of his writing years he saw himself as a science popularizer. From 1957 until his death, he wrote a series of articles, on a wide variety of scientific subjects, for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. All but a handful of the 399 essays he wrote were then collected into anthologies and published in hardback and subsequently in paperback.
All of those books are out of print now, and you'll be lucky to find them in a library, too. (I assembled my collection of these essays by purchasing used books through Amazon.com's service - more than half of the books I recieved were de-accessioned library books.)
And this is a pity, because more than half of the essays Asimov wrote still have applications today. He explained his topics simply and clearly, so that even if a layperson couldn't quite grasp the intricacies involved, they still understood the general concept. These books really should be read by everyone aspiring to a scientific education. (And that should be all of us!)
Asimov explains it in his introduction to the anthology Adding A Dimension. I reproduce a few of the relevant paragraphs below.
[There is a fallacy called] the "growing edge," the belief that only the very frontier of scientific advance counted; that everything that had been left behind by that advance was faded an dead.
But is that true? ...
There is not a discovery in science, however revolutionary, however sparkling with insight, that does not arise out of what went before. "If I have seen further than other men," said Isaac Newton, "it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."
... In fact, an overly exclusive concern with the growing edge can kill the best of science, for it is not on the growing edge that growth can best be seen. If a growing edge only is studied, science begins to seem a revelation without a history of development.
... Science gains reality when it is viewed not as an abstraction, but as the concrete sum of work of scientists, past and present, living and dead. Not a statement in science, not an observation, not a thought exists in itself. Each was ground out of the harsh effort of some man [or woman] and unless you know the man and the world in which he worked; the assumptions he accepted as truths, the concepts he considered untenable; you cannot fully understand the statement or observation or thought."
All of this is my explanation for why, even though this blog is devoted to Rocket Science, I will occasionally recommend books on other subjects - such as chemistry, classical physics, astronomy, and so on. All these disciplines come together to make someone an informed scientific layperson - and that is the goal of this blog.
(Asimov continues in this vein and has some interesting things to say on the scientific method, and I'll share that in my next post.)
If you'd like to collect all of Asimov's collected essays from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, here are the titles:
Fact and Fancy (1962)
View from a Height (1963)
Adding a Dimension (1964)
Of Time, Space, & Other Things (1965)
From Earth to Heaven (1966)
Science, Numbers and I (1968)
The Solar System and Back (1970)
The Stars in Their Courses (1971)
The Left Hand of the Electron (1972)
The Tragedy of the Moon (1973)
Of Matters Great & Small (1975)
The Planet that Wasn't (1976)
Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright (1977)
Road to Infinity (1979)
The Sun Shines Bright (1981)
Counting the Eons (1983)
X Stands for Unknown (1984)
The Subatomic Monster (1985)
Far as Human Eye Could See (1987)
The Relativity of Wrong (1988)
Out of the Everywhere (1990)
The Secret of the Universe (1990)
Most of these can be bought from Amazon for a penny...and $3.99 postage. Others are more expensive. All of them are worth the cost, as you will discover as this blog progresses.
All of those books are out of print now, and you'll be lucky to find them in a library, too. (I assembled my collection of these essays by purchasing used books through Amazon.com's service - more than half of the books I recieved were de-accessioned library books.)
And this is a pity, because more than half of the essays Asimov wrote still have applications today. He explained his topics simply and clearly, so that even if a layperson couldn't quite grasp the intricacies involved, they still understood the general concept. These books really should be read by everyone aspiring to a scientific education. (And that should be all of us!)
Asimov explains it in his introduction to the anthology Adding A Dimension. I reproduce a few of the relevant paragraphs below.
[There is a fallacy called] the "growing edge," the belief that only the very frontier of scientific advance counted; that everything that had been left behind by that advance was faded an dead.
But is that true? ...
There is not a discovery in science, however revolutionary, however sparkling with insight, that does not arise out of what went before. "If I have seen further than other men," said Isaac Newton, "it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."
... In fact, an overly exclusive concern with the growing edge can kill the best of science, for it is not on the growing edge that growth can best be seen. If a growing edge only is studied, science begins to seem a revelation without a history of development.
... Science gains reality when it is viewed not as an abstraction, but as the concrete sum of work of scientists, past and present, living and dead. Not a statement in science, not an observation, not a thought exists in itself. Each was ground out of the harsh effort of some man [or woman] and unless you know the man and the world in which he worked; the assumptions he accepted as truths, the concepts he considered untenable; you cannot fully understand the statement or observation or thought."
All of this is my explanation for why, even though this blog is devoted to Rocket Science, I will occasionally recommend books on other subjects - such as chemistry, classical physics, astronomy, and so on. All these disciplines come together to make someone an informed scientific layperson - and that is the goal of this blog.
(Asimov continues in this vein and has some interesting things to say on the scientific method, and I'll share that in my next post.)
If you'd like to collect all of Asimov's collected essays from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, here are the titles:
Fact and Fancy (1962)
View from a Height (1963)
Adding a Dimension (1964)
Of Time, Space, & Other Things (1965)
From Earth to Heaven (1966)
Science, Numbers and I (1968)
The Solar System and Back (1970)
The Stars in Their Courses (1971)
The Left Hand of the Electron (1972)
The Tragedy of the Moon (1973)
Of Matters Great & Small (1975)
The Planet that Wasn't (1976)
Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright (1977)
Road to Infinity (1979)
The Sun Shines Bright (1981)
Counting the Eons (1983)
X Stands for Unknown (1984)
The Subatomic Monster (1985)
Far as Human Eye Could See (1987)
The Relativity of Wrong (1988)
Out of the Everywhere (1990)
The Secret of the Universe (1990)
Most of these can be bought from Amazon for a penny...and $3.99 postage. Others are more expensive. All of them are worth the cost, as you will discover as this blog progresses.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Willy Ley Talks About Flying Saucers, 8/4/1952
Willy Ley was one of the founding members of the German Rocket Society, and when he emigrated to the US he was the pre-eminent rocket scientist here (pace Robert Goddard) until the Peenemunde rocket scientists - including Werner Von Braun - were brought to the US.
He was science writer for Galaxy for many years, and as a polymath, he wrot about just about everything. In turn, he was the model that Isaac Asimov took for his own essay writing career.
Here is a video of him, just uploaded today, of him as guest on a TV show called LONGINES CHRONOSCOPE. in which talks about "the so-called flying saucers that people claim to be seeing. "I believe that people are seeing something, but just what it is is another question."
For my Kindle readers, who can't see embedded videos here, you'll need to get on your computer, go to www.youtube.com, and do a search on Longines Chronoscope Ley. Then you'll be able to watch it. It's very interesting!
He was science writer for Galaxy for many years, and as a polymath, he wrot about just about everything. In turn, he was the model that Isaac Asimov took for his own essay writing career.
Here is a video of him, just uploaded today, of him as guest on a TV show called LONGINES CHRONOSCOPE. in which talks about "the so-called flying saucers that people claim to be seeing. "I believe that people are seeing something, but just what it is is another question."
For my Kindle readers, who can't see embedded videos here, you'll need to get on your computer, go to www.youtube.com, and do a search on Longines Chronoscope Ley. Then you'll be able to watch it. It's very interesting!
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