TBO.com: Commentary Piece: This senator is lost in space
Recent polls show that Americans are already disenchanted with the new Congress, which is so collectively inept that it can't even pass a budget.
Public sentiment is not likely to improve with the news that lawmakers are forcing NASA to spend $1.4 million a day on a troubled space program that was officially scrapped last year.
It's a lesson in the politics of waste, as practiced by those who pretend to be crusaders for thrift.
When President Obama submitted his 2011 budget plan to Congress, he canceled funding for the space agency's Constellation program, the primary mission of which was to return astronauts to the moon. The decision wasn't a surprise.
More than $9 billion had been spent on developing a new space capsule and the Ares series of rockets, but Constellation was plagued by long delays and hefty cost overruns. An independent panel of experts concluded that 2017 was the earliest that the Ares rockets would be ready for flights, and that a lunar mission wouldn't occur until the mid-2020s, at the soonest.
Obama and top NASA officials wanted to scrap the project because it was too costly, and to refocus on deep-space exploration and development of commercial launches.
"The truth is, we were not on a sustainable path to get back to the moon's surface," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
Some lawmakers were irate, none more than Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama. This would be the same Richard Shelby who every year introduces a balanced-budget amendment; the same Richard Shelby who piously rails about runaway government spending, and trashes TARP, and frets about the terrible deficit.
But wait. Some of the work on the Ares rockets was taking place at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Shelby's home state, which meant that jobs would be lost. Unfortunately, that's what happens when you eliminate a big federal contract.
So, as a pre-emptive strike, the senator inserted a sentence in the 2010 federal budget that basically barred NASA from de-funding the Constellation space program until the 2011 budget was approved..
But in October, congressional leaders agreed on a NASA funding bill that contained the White House proposal to scratch the manned lunar project. That should have been the end, but it wasn't.
Since then, the so-called Shelby provision – only 70 words – has remained intact in the temporary spending measures that have been passed to keep government running. Mysteriously, nobody seems able to get the language deleted, which would shut off the $1.4 million a day that's being wasted on a space program that no longer exists.
The largest beneficiary is Alliant Techsystems, a prime contractor on the first phase of the Ares I rocket. You probably won't be shocked to know that last year Sen. Shelby received $10,000 in campaign contributions from ATK's political action committee, and thousands more from company employees.
In January, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin called for Congress to take "immediate action" to halt funding on Constellation. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who chairs the Senate Commerce subcommittee on science and space, promised to get the Shelby provision removed from the budget resolutions because "we can't afford to be wasting money."
Last week, a spokesman for Nelson said "partisan politics" had stalled the senator's efforts to fix the spending bill, but he remained confident that he'll be successful.
Meanwhile, tax dollars keep flowing to the abandoned moon-shot program – about $250 million since Oct. 1, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Add another $29 million by the time the current budget extension lapses in April.
Politicians who go to Washington are expected to fight for local projects, and over the years Shelby has brought loads of federal pork home to Alabama. This time he lost.
Yet instead of doing what's best for all American taxpayers (and for NASA, which is scraping for funds), the senator is content to sit back and watch nearly $280 million go down a black hole – and into the hands of major campaign contributors.
Shelby is fond of bashing Democrats and warning, "We are on the road to financial destruction."
Given his own not-so-stellar role in the Constellation debacle, he gives new meaning to the term "space case."
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Picking sides in cislunar space
The Space Review: Picking sides in cislunar space
In debates about human space policy, the question of destinations looms over all the others. If human spaceflight is about going somewhere, where one goes determines the plan, the architecture, and the investment strategy. Destinations for exploration are historically defined as places where one can leave footprints or collect samples. Big rocks, like the Moon and Mars, and even smaller rocks like asteroids seem to fit that bill. But attached to this list of destinations for federal space policy are some very different places, the L1 and L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange (or libration) points (see “Making the path for human spaceflight less rocky”, The Space Review, June 21, 2010).
The Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away.
Those “destinations” are defined not by rocks but dynamically, as saddle points in the potential energy of cislunar space where one can stay without too much trouble. These saddle points are about 84% of the way from the Earth to the Moon (L1), and symmetrically beyond the Moon (L2). In fact, spacecraft wouldn’t really even stay at these points, but would orbit around them with periods of roughly half a month. The fact that one cannot plant a flag at a Lagrange point or even leave iconic footprints has led for years to some exasperation to those advocating trips there; plans to send people to those venues have been dismissed as “missions to nowhere”.
They aren’t. To the extent that going to venues in space that aren’t occupied by rocks isn’t justified, one has to wonder about the hundreds of billions of investment dollars, both commercial and defense-related, on facilities in somewhat closer Earth orbit (LEO, GEO, etc.) Just as for these more nearby rockless locations, the Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away. As a solar system “Gateway” for human trips down to the lunar surface, for low-latency and uninterrupted telerobotic control of facilities on the lunar surface, for depoting in situ resource utilization (ISRU) products, as a job site for servicing cislunar science missions in free space and development of future solar system expedition vehicles, these Lagrange points are truly enabling.
Our leaders are coming to the realization that human visits to Mars are not going to happen soon, and return of humans to the Moon is highly desirable but not affordable on a short time scale either. The idea of sending people to a near Earth asteroid has been floated, even by the president, but although a sophisticated landing craft is not needed for such a trip, finding an accessible target and establishing compelling and sustainable rationale has continued to be a challenge. It is fair to say that going to a rock is not likely to be humanity’s next step beyond LEO. It is in this policy arena that L1 and L2 have become increasingly attractive as the first stepping stones (that would be stones without rocks, I guess) for human travels beyond low Earth orbit (see “First stop for Flexible Path?”, The Space Review, November 30, 2009). They have been featured in long range agency planning and in Congressional authorization views of our space future. They may well define our space future.
The ARTEMIS mission, created with two spacecraft from the retired THEMIS constellation of heliophysics satellites, has exercised our abilities to go into orbit at both Earth-Moon L1 and L2, and stay in those orbits for extended periods of time. Earth-Moon Lagrange point orbits are not just theory. We’ve been there! NASA has begun to develop concepts for habitation facilities that could support humans for long periods at these locations (see “Human operations beyond LEO by the end of the decade: an affordable near-term stepping stone”, The Space Review, January 10, 2011).
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at.
As we look ahead to a near-term future for human travel beyond LEO, the question of destinations is ceasing to be the Moon, or Mars, or asteroids, but rather L1 versus L2. Which side of the Moon should we first aim for? The idea of using Earth-Moon Lagrange points for future human space operations was developed by Bob Farquhar about forty years ago in an inspired series of papers. In his early calculations, Farquhar found that L2, over the lunar farside, was a slightly longer trip from the Earth, but somewhat less expensive propulsion-wise compared to L1 over the lunar nearside. He figured the total delta-V for a roundtrip L2 visit was about 20% lower than for L1, and he presumed that L2 would thus be the best site for a human occupied outpost. This difference may be lowered by making compromises on travel time. For slow cargo transport, there need be no difference at all. So propulsion budget is an important, but not necessarily decisive factor in determining which side is optimal. In fact, Earth-return time is substantially shorter for L1, which may be relevant with regard to safety and risk for human missions. Orbits around L1 and L2 are not entirely stable, and stationkeeping propulsion is required to maintain them. But the propulsion needs to do so are very manageable and economical at levels of 10–50 meters per second per year, depending on the orbit, navigation accuracy, and thruster stationkeeping precision, with proper accounting for solar wind and radiation pressure. The stationkeeping budgets for L1 and L2 are roughly the same.
For both L1 and L2, power generation is straightforward, unlike on the surfaces of, or in low orbit around, large rocks, which can shadow the Sun. With the exception of occasional eclipses of the Sun by the Earth or Moon, spacecraft in L1 or L2 orbits are illuminated continuously. For L1, on the Earthward side of the Moon, communication with the Earth is continuous. For L2, a wide enough orbit with a “halo” topology, in which the spacecraft circles the Earth-Moon line, can allow continuous line-of-sight to the Earth over the lunar limb.
One of the hallmarks of the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is the dynamical advantageousness for traveling to more distant locations. As pointed out by Martin Lo and Shane Ross a decade ago, an “interplanetary superhighway” connects Lagrange points in the solar system, such that going from one to the other requires only tiny amounts of propellant. While the speeds on the superhighway can be pretty slow, such that trips with humans on board do not necessarily benefit from these low-propulsion options, advantages for cargo transport can be enormous. Using an Earth-Moon Lagrange point as a depot for lunar ISRU products is highly relevant in this regard. Many of our prime science spacecraft operate at the Earth-Sun Lagrange points, about four lunar distances away. These spacecraft could easily be moved to and from a “jobsite” at an Earth-Moon Lagrange point where they could be serviced much more easily than by sending people or servicing robots to their operational locales. Both Earth-Moon L1 and L2 could offer these dynamical advantages.
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at. Observers at L1 are looking down at the near side, and L2 at the far side. Only one hemisphere is visible from each venue, and there is line-of-site communication just with that side. To the extent that future plans for humans on the lunar surface feature one side, that decision would bear on which Lagrange point is chosen for a habitat/depot that would support it. Such a habitat could even be used to telerobotically develop a site in advance of human surface presence. While ambitious plans for a farside lunar radio telescope have been proposed, the far side is not generally featured in future lunar plans by the science community. With the notable exception of the South Pole Aitken basin, most identified high priority science targets are on the nearside. For ISRU production, there is no evidence that one side is any better than the other, and one must presume that the nearside, with communication sightline to the Earth, is preferable for control and monitoring of mining and refining operations.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public.
Of relevance is the recent “Stepping Stones” strategic plan developed by Lockheed-Martin (see “Early Human L2-Farside Missions”, Lockheed Martin, 2010). This creative plan is a series of increasingly challenging human spaceflight missions that build incrementally toward putting humans on Mars. A key early step in this plan is a mission to Earth-Moon L2, in order to explore the lunar farside. This step might follow an Apollo 8-type lunar flyby, and be followed by a trip to a near-Earth asteroid. The choice of L2 over L1 was an interesting one, though in their view, either Lagrange point would exercise our human spaceflight capabilities in deep space for more ambitious later exploration. For an early trip, with limited propulsion capabilities, the smaller propellant cost into L2 was a significant factor in the decision. To some extent, a habitat at L2 offers lunar surface farside telerobotic control that would not be possible directly from the Earth. One major advantage of L2 over L1 in the public spirit of exploration is that “far” is always better than “near”, and the Apollo missions have already travelled through, if not stayed at, the L1 venue.
The purpose of this essay is not to recommend L1 versus L2 as the next destination for our travels beyond low-Earth orbit. In many respects, they offer identical advantages. Rather, we have laid out some of the differences between the two. In fact, L1 and L2 are not dynamically that far apart. As demonstrated by NASA’s ARTEMIS mission, moving between L1 and L2 is a low delta-V operation, such that a habitat deployed at one location could be moved, without much trouble, to the other.
All voyages beyond Earth orbit have to contend with radiation exposure, especially when it is for an extended period of time, and where there are no rocks to hide under. While the importance of this issue should not be minimized, experts have pointed out that with foreseeable habitat shielding, radiation exposure at L1 and L2 to galactic cosmic rays (which are most difficult to shield) can be kept below what are currently adopted dose limits for astronauts at ISS. Whether those limits, which are substantially higher than for the Earth-bound public, are too risky, is yet to be established.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, as noted above, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public. No one is proposing to “explore” L1 or L2, but to use those locations as steps to exploring other destinations. That an orbit can be a “place”, and can offer enabling value to major goals (which include eventually getting toes onto big rocks), is something that has to be understood more widely, and marks progress not just in exploration, but in understanding what space exploration really means.
In debates about human space policy, the question of destinations looms over all the others. If human spaceflight is about going somewhere, where one goes determines the plan, the architecture, and the investment strategy. Destinations for exploration are historically defined as places where one can leave footprints or collect samples. Big rocks, like the Moon and Mars, and even smaller rocks like asteroids seem to fit that bill. But attached to this list of destinations for federal space policy are some very different places, the L1 and L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange (or libration) points (see “Making the path for human spaceflight less rocky”, The Space Review, June 21, 2010).
The Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away.
Those “destinations” are defined not by rocks but dynamically, as saddle points in the potential energy of cislunar space where one can stay without too much trouble. These saddle points are about 84% of the way from the Earth to the Moon (L1), and symmetrically beyond the Moon (L2). In fact, spacecraft wouldn’t really even stay at these points, but would orbit around them with periods of roughly half a month. The fact that one cannot plant a flag at a Lagrange point or even leave iconic footprints has led for years to some exasperation to those advocating trips there; plans to send people to those venues have been dismissed as “missions to nowhere”.
They aren’t. To the extent that going to venues in space that aren’t occupied by rocks isn’t justified, one has to wonder about the hundreds of billions of investment dollars, both commercial and defense-related, on facilities in somewhat closer Earth orbit (LEO, GEO, etc.) Just as for these more nearby rockless locations, the Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away. As a solar system “Gateway” for human trips down to the lunar surface, for low-latency and uninterrupted telerobotic control of facilities on the lunar surface, for depoting in situ resource utilization (ISRU) products, as a job site for servicing cislunar science missions in free space and development of future solar system expedition vehicles, these Lagrange points are truly enabling.
Our leaders are coming to the realization that human visits to Mars are not going to happen soon, and return of humans to the Moon is highly desirable but not affordable on a short time scale either. The idea of sending people to a near Earth asteroid has been floated, even by the president, but although a sophisticated landing craft is not needed for such a trip, finding an accessible target and establishing compelling and sustainable rationale has continued to be a challenge. It is fair to say that going to a rock is not likely to be humanity’s next step beyond LEO. It is in this policy arena that L1 and L2 have become increasingly attractive as the first stepping stones (that would be stones without rocks, I guess) for human travels beyond low Earth orbit (see “First stop for Flexible Path?”, The Space Review, November 30, 2009). They have been featured in long range agency planning and in Congressional authorization views of our space future. They may well define our space future.
The ARTEMIS mission, created with two spacecraft from the retired THEMIS constellation of heliophysics satellites, has exercised our abilities to go into orbit at both Earth-Moon L1 and L2, and stay in those orbits for extended periods of time. Earth-Moon Lagrange point orbits are not just theory. We’ve been there! NASA has begun to develop concepts for habitation facilities that could support humans for long periods at these locations (see “Human operations beyond LEO by the end of the decade: an affordable near-term stepping stone”, The Space Review, January 10, 2011).
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at.
As we look ahead to a near-term future for human travel beyond LEO, the question of destinations is ceasing to be the Moon, or Mars, or asteroids, but rather L1 versus L2. Which side of the Moon should we first aim for? The idea of using Earth-Moon Lagrange points for future human space operations was developed by Bob Farquhar about forty years ago in an inspired series of papers. In his early calculations, Farquhar found that L2, over the lunar farside, was a slightly longer trip from the Earth, but somewhat less expensive propulsion-wise compared to L1 over the lunar nearside. He figured the total delta-V for a roundtrip L2 visit was about 20% lower than for L1, and he presumed that L2 would thus be the best site for a human occupied outpost. This difference may be lowered by making compromises on travel time. For slow cargo transport, there need be no difference at all. So propulsion budget is an important, but not necessarily decisive factor in determining which side is optimal. In fact, Earth-return time is substantially shorter for L1, which may be relevant with regard to safety and risk for human missions. Orbits around L1 and L2 are not entirely stable, and stationkeeping propulsion is required to maintain them. But the propulsion needs to do so are very manageable and economical at levels of 10–50 meters per second per year, depending on the orbit, navigation accuracy, and thruster stationkeeping precision, with proper accounting for solar wind and radiation pressure. The stationkeeping budgets for L1 and L2 are roughly the same.
For both L1 and L2, power generation is straightforward, unlike on the surfaces of, or in low orbit around, large rocks, which can shadow the Sun. With the exception of occasional eclipses of the Sun by the Earth or Moon, spacecraft in L1 or L2 orbits are illuminated continuously. For L1, on the Earthward side of the Moon, communication with the Earth is continuous. For L2, a wide enough orbit with a “halo” topology, in which the spacecraft circles the Earth-Moon line, can allow continuous line-of-sight to the Earth over the lunar limb.
One of the hallmarks of the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is the dynamical advantageousness for traveling to more distant locations. As pointed out by Martin Lo and Shane Ross a decade ago, an “interplanetary superhighway” connects Lagrange points in the solar system, such that going from one to the other requires only tiny amounts of propellant. While the speeds on the superhighway can be pretty slow, such that trips with humans on board do not necessarily benefit from these low-propulsion options, advantages for cargo transport can be enormous. Using an Earth-Moon Lagrange point as a depot for lunar ISRU products is highly relevant in this regard. Many of our prime science spacecraft operate at the Earth-Sun Lagrange points, about four lunar distances away. These spacecraft could easily be moved to and from a “jobsite” at an Earth-Moon Lagrange point where they could be serviced much more easily than by sending people or servicing robots to their operational locales. Both Earth-Moon L1 and L2 could offer these dynamical advantages.
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at. Observers at L1 are looking down at the near side, and L2 at the far side. Only one hemisphere is visible from each venue, and there is line-of-site communication just with that side. To the extent that future plans for humans on the lunar surface feature one side, that decision would bear on which Lagrange point is chosen for a habitat/depot that would support it. Such a habitat could even be used to telerobotically develop a site in advance of human surface presence. While ambitious plans for a farside lunar radio telescope have been proposed, the far side is not generally featured in future lunar plans by the science community. With the notable exception of the South Pole Aitken basin, most identified high priority science targets are on the nearside. For ISRU production, there is no evidence that one side is any better than the other, and one must presume that the nearside, with communication sightline to the Earth, is preferable for control and monitoring of mining and refining operations.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public.
Of relevance is the recent “Stepping Stones” strategic plan developed by Lockheed-Martin (see “Early Human L2-Farside Missions”, Lockheed Martin, 2010). This creative plan is a series of increasingly challenging human spaceflight missions that build incrementally toward putting humans on Mars. A key early step in this plan is a mission to Earth-Moon L2, in order to explore the lunar farside. This step might follow an Apollo 8-type lunar flyby, and be followed by a trip to a near-Earth asteroid. The choice of L2 over L1 was an interesting one, though in their view, either Lagrange point would exercise our human spaceflight capabilities in deep space for more ambitious later exploration. For an early trip, with limited propulsion capabilities, the smaller propellant cost into L2 was a significant factor in the decision. To some extent, a habitat at L2 offers lunar surface farside telerobotic control that would not be possible directly from the Earth. One major advantage of L2 over L1 in the public spirit of exploration is that “far” is always better than “near”, and the Apollo missions have already travelled through, if not stayed at, the L1 venue.
The purpose of this essay is not to recommend L1 versus L2 as the next destination for our travels beyond low-Earth orbit. In many respects, they offer identical advantages. Rather, we have laid out some of the differences between the two. In fact, L1 and L2 are not dynamically that far apart. As demonstrated by NASA’s ARTEMIS mission, moving between L1 and L2 is a low delta-V operation, such that a habitat deployed at one location could be moved, without much trouble, to the other.
All voyages beyond Earth orbit have to contend with radiation exposure, especially when it is for an extended period of time, and where there are no rocks to hide under. While the importance of this issue should not be minimized, experts have pointed out that with foreseeable habitat shielding, radiation exposure at L1 and L2 to galactic cosmic rays (which are most difficult to shield) can be kept below what are currently adopted dose limits for astronauts at ISS. Whether those limits, which are substantially higher than for the Earth-bound public, are too risky, is yet to be established.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, as noted above, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public. No one is proposing to “explore” L1 or L2, but to use those locations as steps to exploring other destinations. That an orbit can be a “place”, and can offer enabling value to major goals (which include eventually getting toes onto big rocks), is something that has to be understood more widely, and marks progress not just in exploration, but in understanding what space exploration really means.
Friday, March 25, 2011
NASA's Venerable Comet Hunter Wraps Up Mission
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: NASA's Venerable Comet Hunter Wraps Up Mission
At 33 minutes after 4 p.m. PDT today, NASA's Stardust spacecraft finished its last transmission to Earth. The transmission came on the heels of the venerable spacecraft's final rocket burn, which was designed to provide insight into how much fuel remained aboard after its encounter with comet Tempel 1 in February.
"Stardust has been teaching us about our solar system since it was launched in 1999," said Stardust-NExT project manager Tim Larson from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "It makes sense that its very last moments would be providing us with data we can use to plan deep space mission operations in the future."
The burn to depletion maneuver was designed to fire Stardust's rockets until insufficient fuel remains to continue, all the while downlinking data on the burn to Earth some 312 million kilometers (194 million miles) away. Mission personnel will compare the amount of fuel consumed in the burn with the amount they anticipated would be burned based on their fuel consumption models.
Fuel consumption models are necessary because no one has invented a reliable fuel gauge for spacecraft when in the weightless environment of space flight. Until that day arrives, mission planners can approximate fuel usage by looking at the history of the vehicle's flight and how many times and for how long its rocket motors have fired.
Mission personnel watched the final data from the burn come down at JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility and at the Stardust-NExT mission support center at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
"Stardust motors burned for 146 seconds," said Allan Cheuvront, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company program manager for Stardust-NExT. "We'll crunch the numbers and see how close the reality matches up with our projections. That will be a great data set to have in our back pocket when we plan for future missions."
The Stardust team performed the final burn to depletion because NASA's most senior comet hunter is a spacecraft literally running on fumes. Launched on Feb. 7, 1999, Stardust had completed its prime mission back in January 2006. By that time, Stardust had already flown past an asteroid (Annefrank), flown halfway out to Jupiter to collect particle samples from the coma of a comet, Wild 2, and returned to fly by Earth to drop off a sample return capsule eagerly awaited by comet scientists. NASA then re-tasked the spacecraft to perform a bonus mission to fly past comet Tempel 1 to collect images and other scientific data. Stardust has traveled about 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) in its journey about the sun in the few weeks since the Valentine's day comet Tempel 1 flyby, making the grand total from launch to its final rocket burn about 5.69 billion kilometers (3.54 billion miles).
With all that mileage logged, the Stardust team knew the end was near. Now, with its fuel tank empty and its final messages transmitted, history's most traveled comet hunter will move from NASA's active mission roster to retired.
"This kind of feels like the end of one of those old Western movies where you watch the hero ride his horse towards the distant setting sun - and then the credits begin to roll," said Larson. "Only there's no setting sun in space."
Stardust-NExT was a low-cost mission to expand the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, managed the Stardust-NExT project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C., which was part of the Discovery Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Joe Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., was the mission's principal investigator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft and managed day-to-day mission operations.
For more information about Stardust-NExT, please visit: http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov.
At 33 minutes after 4 p.m. PDT today, NASA's Stardust spacecraft finished its last transmission to Earth. The transmission came on the heels of the venerable spacecraft's final rocket burn, which was designed to provide insight into how much fuel remained aboard after its encounter with comet Tempel 1 in February.
"Stardust has been teaching us about our solar system since it was launched in 1999," said Stardust-NExT project manager Tim Larson from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "It makes sense that its very last moments would be providing us with data we can use to plan deep space mission operations in the future."
The burn to depletion maneuver was designed to fire Stardust's rockets until insufficient fuel remains to continue, all the while downlinking data on the burn to Earth some 312 million kilometers (194 million miles) away. Mission personnel will compare the amount of fuel consumed in the burn with the amount they anticipated would be burned based on their fuel consumption models.
Fuel consumption models are necessary because no one has invented a reliable fuel gauge for spacecraft when in the weightless environment of space flight. Until that day arrives, mission planners can approximate fuel usage by looking at the history of the vehicle's flight and how many times and for how long its rocket motors have fired.
Mission personnel watched the final data from the burn come down at JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility and at the Stardust-NExT mission support center at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
"Stardust motors burned for 146 seconds," said Allan Cheuvront, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company program manager for Stardust-NExT. "We'll crunch the numbers and see how close the reality matches up with our projections. That will be a great data set to have in our back pocket when we plan for future missions."
The Stardust team performed the final burn to depletion because NASA's most senior comet hunter is a spacecraft literally running on fumes. Launched on Feb. 7, 1999, Stardust had completed its prime mission back in January 2006. By that time, Stardust had already flown past an asteroid (Annefrank), flown halfway out to Jupiter to collect particle samples from the coma of a comet, Wild 2, and returned to fly by Earth to drop off a sample return capsule eagerly awaited by comet scientists. NASA then re-tasked the spacecraft to perform a bonus mission to fly past comet Tempel 1 to collect images and other scientific data. Stardust has traveled about 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) in its journey about the sun in the few weeks since the Valentine's day comet Tempel 1 flyby, making the grand total from launch to its final rocket burn about 5.69 billion kilometers (3.54 billion miles).
With all that mileage logged, the Stardust team knew the end was near. Now, with its fuel tank empty and its final messages transmitted, history's most traveled comet hunter will move from NASA's active mission roster to retired.
"This kind of feels like the end of one of those old Western movies where you watch the hero ride his horse towards the distant setting sun - and then the credits begin to roll," said Larson. "Only there's no setting sun in space."
Stardust-NExT was a low-cost mission to expand the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, managed the Stardust-NExT project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C., which was part of the Discovery Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Joe Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., was the mission's principal investigator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft and managed day-to-day mission operations.
For more information about Stardust-NExT, please visit: http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov.
Monday, March 21, 2011
GOP Lawmakers: Cut NASA Earth Science, Fund Human Space Exploration
GOP Lawmakers: Cut NASA Earth Science, Fund Human Space Exploration
One aspect of a drive for an austerity budget is that programs begin to compete against one another for support and attention. Thus a fight has broken out over which NASA program gets cut, space exploration or climate research.
According to Space News, in a recent letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Sandy Adams of Florida and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas made the plea to focus on the $1.6 billion in NASA devoted to Earth science and climate research as area to suffer budget cuts. While some cynics may suggest that Adams and Olson are just protecting their state's turfs, there is an actual case to be made that goes beyond pork politics.
Climate research at NASA has become very politicized, being seen as more an attempt to amass evidence for global warming and thus support for draconian energy policies rather than as disinterested science. There have also been a couple of launch failures in the Earth science program, one just recently of the Glory satellite. Some have even posited strange, almost-conspiracy theories concerning those launch failures.
On the other hand, while Earth observation science is an enumerated mission of NASA dating to its beginning, human space exploration is its crown jewel. When one thinks of NASA, one thinks of Apollo, the space shuttle and the International Space Station first. Planetary probes such as the Mars Rovers and the Cassini, now orbiting Saturn, come in for mention as well. But Earth Science is rather down on the list of priorities.
Couple that with lingering anger over President Barack Obama's cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program, one can see that an attempt to strike at one of his priorities in an attempt to preserve was is left of the space exploration program would follow as night follows day.
Leaving aside the merits of an Earth Science program, at least if it is conducted in a non political manner, tight budgets mean having to pick and choose priorities. Politically and substantially human space exploration over Earth Science is a no-brainer. Sending human explorers beyond Low Earth orbit has more implications for the future course of human civilization than a politicized Earth Science program.
Plus, it gives Republican lawmakers the opportunity to punish Obama for blowing up Constellation and throwing NASA into chaos. This should serve as a warning. In a democracy, even if one has the power to roll over the opposition and do what one wants, one should think about the long term consequences. Power shifts with every election. And the people who have been rolled over tend to have long memories.
One aspect of a drive for an austerity budget is that programs begin to compete against one another for support and attention. Thus a fight has broken out over which NASA program gets cut, space exploration or climate research.
According to Space News, in a recent letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Sandy Adams of Florida and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas made the plea to focus on the $1.6 billion in NASA devoted to Earth science and climate research as area to suffer budget cuts. While some cynics may suggest that Adams and Olson are just protecting their state's turfs, there is an actual case to be made that goes beyond pork politics.
Climate research at NASA has become very politicized, being seen as more an attempt to amass evidence for global warming and thus support for draconian energy policies rather than as disinterested science. There have also been a couple of launch failures in the Earth science program, one just recently of the Glory satellite. Some have even posited strange, almost-conspiracy theories concerning those launch failures.
On the other hand, while Earth observation science is an enumerated mission of NASA dating to its beginning, human space exploration is its crown jewel. When one thinks of NASA, one thinks of Apollo, the space shuttle and the International Space Station first. Planetary probes such as the Mars Rovers and the Cassini, now orbiting Saturn, come in for mention as well. But Earth Science is rather down on the list of priorities.
Couple that with lingering anger over President Barack Obama's cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program, one can see that an attempt to strike at one of his priorities in an attempt to preserve was is left of the space exploration program would follow as night follows day.
Leaving aside the merits of an Earth Science program, at least if it is conducted in a non political manner, tight budgets mean having to pick and choose priorities. Politically and substantially human space exploration over Earth Science is a no-brainer. Sending human explorers beyond Low Earth orbit has more implications for the future course of human civilization than a politicized Earth Science program.
Plus, it gives Republican lawmakers the opportunity to punish Obama for blowing up Constellation and throwing NASA into chaos. This should serve as a warning. In a democracy, even if one has the power to roll over the opposition and do what one wants, one should think about the long term consequences. Power shifts with every election. And the people who have been rolled over tend to have long memories.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
$18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition
Space Ref: $18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition
http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing.
The Ad Competition Grand Prize is a 4-day Space Travellers "Zero-G Flight-Russia" travel package (with a $1,000 voucher for travel to and from Moscow), which consists of a microgravity flight aboard an Ilyushin-76 aircraft in Russia and an all-inclusive 4-day tour of the homeland of Yuri Gagarin - a $9,000 value in total. The submissions will be rated by a panel of celebrity judges based on their emotional impact, artistic merit, and adherence to the themes. The deadline for submissions is March 31st.
Simultaneously, Yuri's Night is launching the International Space Sweepstakes to give anyone in the world the chance to travel to Russia, witness a rocket launch at Baikonur, and experience the history of the Russian space program first hand. Entries are free (though donations to Yuri's Night are encouraged), but are limited to one per person. All interested and eligible participants are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in both the Competition and the Sweepstakes. The winner, who will be chosen by random selection, will receive a 10-day Space Travellers "VIP Lift-Off in Baikonur" travel package and a $1,000 travel voucher for travel to and from Moscow.
As the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight approaches, we find the next 50 years of human spaceflight and exploration uncertain. It is now more important than ever that we recognize our overwhelmingly fragile place in an utterly vast cosmic sea, and ensure that humanity continues in its quest to explore the final frontier, bring life to the cosmos, and protect life on Earth.
For further information on the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Advertisement Competition and the Yuri's Night International Space Sweepstakes, please visit http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night, the World Space Party, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to commemorating humanity's past and celebrating humanity's future in space. Thousands of Yuri's Night events have been held around the world each April 12 since the founding of Yuri's Night in 2001.
http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing.
The Ad Competition Grand Prize is a 4-day Space Travellers "Zero-G Flight-Russia" travel package (with a $1,000 voucher for travel to and from Moscow), which consists of a microgravity flight aboard an Ilyushin-76 aircraft in Russia and an all-inclusive 4-day tour of the homeland of Yuri Gagarin - a $9,000 value in total. The submissions will be rated by a panel of celebrity judges based on their emotional impact, artistic merit, and adherence to the themes. The deadline for submissions is March 31st.
Simultaneously, Yuri's Night is launching the International Space Sweepstakes to give anyone in the world the chance to travel to Russia, witness a rocket launch at Baikonur, and experience the history of the Russian space program first hand. Entries are free (though donations to Yuri's Night are encouraged), but are limited to one per person. All interested and eligible participants are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in both the Competition and the Sweepstakes. The winner, who will be chosen by random selection, will receive a 10-day Space Travellers "VIP Lift-Off in Baikonur" travel package and a $1,000 travel voucher for travel to and from Moscow.
As the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight approaches, we find the next 50 years of human spaceflight and exploration uncertain. It is now more important than ever that we recognize our overwhelmingly fragile place in an utterly vast cosmic sea, and ensure that humanity continues in its quest to explore the final frontier, bring life to the cosmos, and protect life on Earth.
For further information on the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Advertisement Competition and the Yuri's Night International Space Sweepstakes, please visit http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night, the World Space Party, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to commemorating humanity's past and celebrating humanity's future in space. Thousands of Yuri's Night events have been held around the world each April 12 since the founding of Yuri's Night in 2001.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Former astronaut Fred Haise captivates visitors at Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center
AL.com: Former astronaut Fred Haise captivates visitors at Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on the troubled Apollo 13 mission 41 years ago next month, called the Apollo program, which ended in the early '70s, an "incredible journey, an incredible program."
With a total of 24 astronauts taking part in Apollo missions and six missions landing on the moon's surface, the Apollo program was "really quite an accomplishment," Haise said today during his two-day visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. "It really was a program that made tremendous strides for that day and age."
Apollo 13 has become known as a successful failure, Haise said this afternoon as he talked to a group of campers. Launched April 11, 1970, on what was to have been a 10-day mission to the lunar surface, an oxygen tank explosion in the service module crippled the spacecraft about 55 hours into the flight.
"The first two days were a lot of fun," said Haise, who is 77. "It was a great adventure."
But losing an oxygen tank meant the lunar mission was over. "I felt a sick feeling at the pit of my stomach because I knew we had lost the (lunar) landing," he said.
In terms of mission objectives, Apollo 13 "was obviously a failure," Haise said. But in demonstrating "what a team could do with a major problem, I thought it was a great mission."
Today, the space center's 41st birthday, Haise made a "boot print" in concrete that will be installed at the center's Apollo Park. He's providing commentary tonight during a presentation of excepts of the "Apollo 13" movie after a reception and dinner at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Friday night, Haise is giving another presentation, "Overcoming Challenges," followed by movie excerpts.
Haise is also scheduled to speak Friday at the Space Camp/Space Academy graduation, in which his great-nephew, William Haise Johnston, a student at the American International School of Lagos, is taking part.
During his presentation to Space Camp participants today - complete with footage of the Apollo 13 launch and the astronauts during the mission - Haise was asked what he would like NASA to do next.
"Obviously I'd like NASA to follow their charter - the exploration of our solar system and beyond. I'd like to see people someday go to Mars."
In terms of space exploration, the U.S. has taken a step backward with the planned cancellation of the Constellation rocket program, he said.
"It was a unique situation that let the Apollo program evolve," Haise said. There was President John F. Kennedy's pronouncement in 1961 that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, he said, and "Congress was supportive and the country at large supported it."
A camper asked Haise for his favorite moment of the Apollo 13 mission. "That's easy - when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17," Haise said.
Haise saw the 1996 movie "Apollo 13" a couple of weeks before its release in theaters in a special showing in Houston for astronauts and their families and mission control personnel.
"They did some exaggerations for drama (but) I thought it was a pretty good action movie," Haise said. The time constraints for the movie, which lasted about two and a half hours, "made it difficult to include all the challenges we faced."
Haise also was the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. He was commander of one of two crews that piloted approach and landing test flights during the development of the space shuttle.
"I've had a good career, some good experiences," said Haise, who retired in 1996 as president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services.
Haise's visit was a treat for museum visitors and Space Camp participants.
Gary and Brooke Gleason of Memphis came to the space center today with their 5-year-old son, Jack, and 2-year-old daughter, Grace. "We decided to come over and make it a day" at the center, said Gary Gleason. He never imagined the family would see an astronaut.
"This is amazing," said Gleason, who recognized Haise from recent television programs and took a photograph of his son with Haise.
Rowan O'Scannlain, 13, and Meredith Montgomery, 12, both students at the Chicago City Day School, are here this week for the Space Academy program and found out early today that Haise would talk to their group. They've both seen portions of the "Apollo 13" movie.
"We're really excited," said Rowan. "It's like seeing a movie star."
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on the troubled Apollo 13 mission 41 years ago next month, called the Apollo program, which ended in the early '70s, an "incredible journey, an incredible program."
With a total of 24 astronauts taking part in Apollo missions and six missions landing on the moon's surface, the Apollo program was "really quite an accomplishment," Haise said today during his two-day visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. "It really was a program that made tremendous strides for that day and age."
Apollo 13 has become known as a successful failure, Haise said this afternoon as he talked to a group of campers. Launched April 11, 1970, on what was to have been a 10-day mission to the lunar surface, an oxygen tank explosion in the service module crippled the spacecraft about 55 hours into the flight.
"The first two days were a lot of fun," said Haise, who is 77. "It was a great adventure."
But losing an oxygen tank meant the lunar mission was over. "I felt a sick feeling at the pit of my stomach because I knew we had lost the (lunar) landing," he said.
In terms of mission objectives, Apollo 13 "was obviously a failure," Haise said. But in demonstrating "what a team could do with a major problem, I thought it was a great mission."
Today, the space center's 41st birthday, Haise made a "boot print" in concrete that will be installed at the center's Apollo Park. He's providing commentary tonight during a presentation of excepts of the "Apollo 13" movie after a reception and dinner at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Friday night, Haise is giving another presentation, "Overcoming Challenges," followed by movie excerpts.
Haise is also scheduled to speak Friday at the Space Camp/Space Academy graduation, in which his great-nephew, William Haise Johnston, a student at the American International School of Lagos, is taking part.
During his presentation to Space Camp participants today - complete with footage of the Apollo 13 launch and the astronauts during the mission - Haise was asked what he would like NASA to do next.
"Obviously I'd like NASA to follow their charter - the exploration of our solar system and beyond. I'd like to see people someday go to Mars."
In terms of space exploration, the U.S. has taken a step backward with the planned cancellation of the Constellation rocket program, he said.
"It was a unique situation that let the Apollo program evolve," Haise said. There was President John F. Kennedy's pronouncement in 1961 that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, he said, and "Congress was supportive and the country at large supported it."
A camper asked Haise for his favorite moment of the Apollo 13 mission. "That's easy - when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17," Haise said.
Haise saw the 1996 movie "Apollo 13" a couple of weeks before its release in theaters in a special showing in Houston for astronauts and their families and mission control personnel.
"They did some exaggerations for drama (but) I thought it was a pretty good action movie," Haise said. The time constraints for the movie, which lasted about two and a half hours, "made it difficult to include all the challenges we faced."
Haise also was the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. He was commander of one of two crews that piloted approach and landing test flights during the development of the space shuttle.
"I've had a good career, some good experiences," said Haise, who retired in 1996 as president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services.
Haise's visit was a treat for museum visitors and Space Camp participants.
Gary and Brooke Gleason of Memphis came to the space center today with their 5-year-old son, Jack, and 2-year-old daughter, Grace. "We decided to come over and make it a day" at the center, said Gary Gleason. He never imagined the family would see an astronaut.
"This is amazing," said Gleason, who recognized Haise from recent television programs and took a photograph of his son with Haise.
Rowan O'Scannlain, 13, and Meredith Montgomery, 12, both students at the Chicago City Day School, are here this week for the Space Academy program and found out early today that Haise would talk to their group. They've both seen portions of the "Apollo 13" movie.
"We're really excited," said Rowan. "It's like seeing a movie star."
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Report: Iran sends first 'life capsule' into orbit
Google News: Report: Iran sends first 'life capsule' into orbitTEHRAN, Iran – Iran says it has sent the country's first space capsule that is able to sustain life into orbit as a test for a future mission that may carry a live animal.
The state IRNA news agency says the capsule was carried by a rocket dubbed Kavoshgar-4 — or Explorer-4 in Farsi — some 75 miles (120 kilometers) into orbit.
The launch of the capsule is a part of Iran's ambitious space program. Thursday's report provides no other details about the "life capsule" but said it was launched on Tuesday.
Last year, Iran sent its first domestically made telecommunications satellite into orbit and announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space for research purposes.
There are concerns Iran's space program could also bolster its ballistic missile program.
The state IRNA news agency says the capsule was carried by a rocket dubbed Kavoshgar-4 — or Explorer-4 in Farsi — some 75 miles (120 kilometers) into orbit.
The launch of the capsule is a part of Iran's ambitious space program. Thursday's report provides no other details about the "life capsule" but said it was launched on Tuesday.
Last year, Iran sent its first domestically made telecommunications satellite into orbit and announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space for research purposes.
There are concerns Iran's space program could also bolster its ballistic missile program.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
First Space Fuel Station to Open in 2015
AutoEvolution.com: First Space Fuel Station to Open in 2015
As the space exploration age as we know it is slowly coming to an end, with the retiring of the three space shuttles programmed for the current year, all eyes are on private entrepreneurs, who are expected to pick up from where the government and NASA have left off as soon as the shuttle program ends. And these private entrepreneurs plan to take a new approach when it comes to space exploration.
Lacking the huge funding the government agencies involved in space exploration have had throughout the years, and racing at the same time to make profit from their business, private companies will seek to reduce the cost of their operations. And by doing so, they might even lend a helping hand to the ongoing space projects.
According to Space.com, citing Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a new (actually the first ever) space-based fueling station is in the works and planned to be deployed sometime around 2015.
In the long run, the station might be used to refuel the space crafts that will depart Earth heading to God-knows-where, but for now, the fueling station will be used to refill other satellites in orbit (who otherwise would have been doomed as soon as they have run out of fuel.
According to the source, the project is not only that, but it will actually become reality in the middle of the decade. Apparently, European satellite company Intelsat already signed up as the first customer for the fueling station.
The fueling station will be sent on a geosynchronous orbit at 22,369 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth and will also be used as a type of janitor. The satellite will push into the atmosphere or into the graveyard orbit all the dead man-made objects orbiting our planet.
"For the first time satellite operators and satellite users will have the choice of extending the lives of satellites. I think it can have a significant impact," Steve Oldham, MDA vice president, told Space.com.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Astronaut Garrett Reisman Quits NASA to Join Private Spaceship Builder
Space.com: Astronaut Garrett Reisman Quits NASA to Join Private Spaceship Builder
Reisman is one of at least three NASA astronauts to retire this year – the others were Marsha Ivins and Jose Hernandez – as the space agency winds down its space shuttle program. Only two more shuttle flights are planned before the fleet is retired and NASA transitions toward planning for missions farther out into the solar system.
His move comes at a busy time for SpaceX, which announced a new agreement today (March 14) to launch its first geostationary satellite, an SES communications spacecraft, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. [Photos: First Flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket]
The company already has more than $2.5 billion in launch contracts for flights over the next few years, and recently announced plans to double the size of its rocket development facility in McGregor, Tex.
Hard to leave
Reisman said leaving NASA's astronaut corps, which he joined in 1998, was bittersweet.
"Being an astronaut, I'll be totally honest with you, is the coolest thing ever and a very, very difficult thing to walk away from voluntarily," he said.
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16/17 flight engineer, poses for a photo after signing the Expedition 16 patch, which was added to the growing collection of insignias representing crews who performed spacewalks from the Quest Airlock of the ISS.
CREDIT: NASA.
View full size imageYet the mechanical engineer and veteran of two space shuttle missions said it was time to let some of the newer astronauts at NASA have a chance to fly, and to take the next step in his own career. [NASA Astronaut Goes Commercial: Q&A With Garrett Resiman ]
SpaceX was started by millionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded the Internet payment service PayPal and also currently leads the Tesla electric car company. The company achieved an unprecedented success in December 2010 when it launched its Dragon space capsule – the world's first commercial space capsule – into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and then recovered the spacecraft successfully from the Atlantic Ocean.
"We’re excited about the great team that we are building," Musk said in a statement. "Our talent is the key to our success. Garrett's experience designing and using spaceflight hardware will be invaluable as we prepare the spacecraft that will carry the next generation of explorers."
SpaceX's secret cargo
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use Dragon and Falcon 9 to launch cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttles retire. The company also hopes to outfit the Dragon to carry humans, and eventually transport both astronauts and space tourists to orbit.
Reisman said he was impressed by the firm's orbital achievement with the Dragon capsule last year, but his decision to join SpaceX was sealed when he learned of the "secret" cargo the company had packed onboard Dragon for its maiden flight.
"They flew some cheese in space, which I thought was really cool," Reisman said.
Reisman will be working directly under another former NASA astronaut, Ken Bowersox, who now serves as SpaceX's vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance. Bowersox's team will do the work to transform the current Dragon cargo model to a capsule with life support systems, seats, lights and all the other creature comforts necessary to host humans.
"My job is all about trying to make the Dragon and the Falcon as safe as possible so we can put people onboard," Reisman said.
Reisman is one of at least three NASA astronauts to retire this year – the others were Marsha Ivins and Jose Hernandez – as the space agency winds down its space shuttle program. Only two more shuttle flights are planned before the fleet is retired and NASA transitions toward planning for missions farther out into the solar system.
His move comes at a busy time for SpaceX, which announced a new agreement today (March 14) to launch its first geostationary satellite, an SES communications spacecraft, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. [Photos: First Flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket]
The company already has more than $2.5 billion in launch contracts for flights over the next few years, and recently announced plans to double the size of its rocket development facility in McGregor, Tex.
Hard to leave
Reisman said leaving NASA's astronaut corps, which he joined in 1998, was bittersweet.
"Being an astronaut, I'll be totally honest with you, is the coolest thing ever and a very, very difficult thing to walk away from voluntarily," he said.
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16/17 flight engineer, poses for a photo after signing the Expedition 16 patch, which was added to the growing collection of insignias representing crews who performed spacewalks from the Quest Airlock of the ISS.
CREDIT: NASA.
View full size imageYet the mechanical engineer and veteran of two space shuttle missions said it was time to let some of the newer astronauts at NASA have a chance to fly, and to take the next step in his own career. [NASA Astronaut Goes Commercial: Q&A With Garrett Resiman ]
SpaceX was started by millionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded the Internet payment service PayPal and also currently leads the Tesla electric car company. The company achieved an unprecedented success in December 2010 when it launched its Dragon space capsule – the world's first commercial space capsule – into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and then recovered the spacecraft successfully from the Atlantic Ocean.
"We’re excited about the great team that we are building," Musk said in a statement. "Our talent is the key to our success. Garrett's experience designing and using spaceflight hardware will be invaluable as we prepare the spacecraft that will carry the next generation of explorers."
SpaceX's secret cargo
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use Dragon and Falcon 9 to launch cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttles retire. The company also hopes to outfit the Dragon to carry humans, and eventually transport both astronauts and space tourists to orbit.
Reisman said he was impressed by the firm's orbital achievement with the Dragon capsule last year, but his decision to join SpaceX was sealed when he learned of the "secret" cargo the company had packed onboard Dragon for its maiden flight.
"They flew some cheese in space, which I thought was really cool," Reisman said.
Reisman will be working directly under another former NASA astronaut, Ken Bowersox, who now serves as SpaceX's vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance. Bowersox's team will do the work to transform the current Dragon cargo model to a capsule with life support systems, seats, lights and all the other creature comforts necessary to host humans.
"My job is all about trying to make the Dragon and the Falcon as safe as possible so we can put people onboard," Reisman said.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Spacecraft Carrying Livermore Lab Instrument Poised to Orbit Mercury
DublinPatch: Spacecraft Carrying Livermore Lab Instrument Poised to Orbit Mercury
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation.
By Janna Brancolini -- Bay City News Service
Space exploration often involves bringing the seemingly impossible to fruition, but when leaders of a NASA mission to Mercury approached a group of physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002 for help, the numbers were particularly daunting.
Could the team find a way to get measurements near the surface of Mercury, which reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit, from an instrument that operates at about -330 degrees?
The answer will be revealed next week, when the team's gamma-ray spectrometer is scheduled to begin sending back information after nearly seven years aboard the Mercury Messenger spacecraft.
The craft, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., between a hurricane and a tropical storm in August 2004, is expected to finally reach planetary orbit on Thursday.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation. The information will likely lead to insight about our own planet, the researchers said.
"We've done every test possible, and (the spectrometer) has passed every test. But until it performs in orbit, you're nervous," said Morgan Burks, a Lawrence Livermore physicist who worked on the instrument's cooling system.
The spectrometer resembles an elaborate gold coffee can with a hunk of silver metal -- the element germanium -- inside.
The germanium measures gamma rays emitted by Mercury's surface so scientists can determine the elemental composition, but germanium comes with both benefits and complications.
The substance produces clearer, more precise results but has to operate at cryogenic, or ultra-low, temperatures -- no small feat near the surface of Mercury, which is hot enough in some places to melt lead.
Scientists will turn on the spectrometer a week after the Messenger -- short for Mercury Surface Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging -- begins orbiting the solar system's smallest planet, and data should start to come in a day or two later, Burks said.
Burks and the Lawrence Livermore team are counting down the days.
"I was really excited delivering the instrument and really excited when it launched," Burks said.
Then came the years-long wait, and now the moment when the team will see their work come to fruition is just around the corner.
--
The spectrometer is one of seven instruments aboard Messenger, a $446 million mission funded by NASA and managed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The mission is the first to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, since 1975, and Messenger will be the first craft to orbit the planet.
Scientists say understanding Mercury is key to understanding the formation of the solar system, particularly the processes that produced the Earth, Venus and Mars -- the other terrestrial planets.
Of those, Mercury is the smallest, densest and least explored. It has the greatest variations in daily temperature and the oldest surface, said Ed Rhodes, a Johns Hopkins instrument scientist for the gamma-ray spectrometer.
Mercury has a highly radioactive surface that gives off gamma rays -- waves of energy that act like fingerprints of the elements that emit them -- when cosmic rays hit the planet.
The spectrometer will measure gamma rays emitted from Mercury, and the information will be used to evaluate theories about how the planet's surface formed, Rhodes said.
"Some elements are much more abundant depending on the model you choose," said Rhodes, who does everything from sending commands to the instrument to analyzing the spectral data it produces. "The very important elements are iron and titanium," he said.
Iron is more volatile than titanium, so detecting more iron would provide evidence for a different model of planetary formation than detecting more titanium, Rhodes said.
He said the mission command brought the Lawrence Livermore physicists into the picture because of their expertise with the more-precise germanium detectors.
The Livermore team had already created a germanium spectrometer for a spacecraft orbiting Earth, so they were asked to develop one for Messenger as well.
"At the outset, it was not clear that this would be possible due to the harsh thermal environment found at Mercury," Burks wrote in a 2004 technical paper.
A feasibility testing program was undertaken, and a tiny Stirling cycle mechanical cooler was developed. Several shields surrounding the germanium also reflect infrared heat.
The researchers built a prototype and worked with Johns Hopkins scientists who had done thermal modeling of the mission.
About a year later, the Livermore team was confident its spectrometer could withstand the extreme conditions of a Mercury orbit, Burks said.
Messenger will complete an orbit of Mercury once every 12 hours for the next year, flying within 124 miles of the surface on each circumnavigation.
"It gets a big heat pulse every 12 hours," Burks said. "We had to prove the instrument could handle that."
Between the cooler and various electronics, the spectrometer package is about the size of a soccer ball and weighs just over 20 pounds.
Messenger also needed to be protected from the sun, which from Mercury appears three times larger and 11 times brighter than on Earth, so the craft is surrounded by a sunshade.
The team will be on call this week during the initial orbits in case anything goes wrong. Scientists can manage the instrument's operating temperature and power from Earth, and can change the software if needed, Burks said.
Each communication signal with the craft takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel roundtrip.
The craft has done three fly-bys of Mercury, which provided opportunities to test the spectrometer, but the fly-bys were too brief to collect much valuable data, Burks said.
Additionally, the Johns Hopkins team has been remotely mending thespectrometer during its trip, he said.
Radiation damage in space has degraded the spectrometer's resolution, but the instrument includes a device that lets scientists heat the germanium crystal to repair it -- a process called "annealing."
"The detector has been bombarded by cosmic rays for seven years," Burks said. "That's the biggest issue."
Burks has also spent the years since the launch adapting the technology developed for the Messenger craft for the Department of Homeland Security.
Gamma-ray spectrometers can be used to detect bomb-making materials such as uranium and plutonium, he said, and Lawrence Livermore's team had previously developed a handheld device for use at shipping ports and border-patrol checkpoints.
The low-resolution radiation detectors currently don't use germanium, which is difficult to cool in a handheld device because the entire system is powered by battery.
Burks is using the cooling developments from the NASA mission to create smaller, lighter handheld devices that use less power and perform better.
"The technology for space really helped with that," he said. The new handheld spectrometers will use germanium to produce more accurate readings and will weigh about nine pounds, compared to the older 30-pound model.
The new technology has been licensed to a company and is undergoing field tests, and the hope is to commercialize it within a year, Burks said.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation.
By Janna Brancolini -- Bay City News Service
Space exploration often involves bringing the seemingly impossible to fruition, but when leaders of a NASA mission to Mercury approached a group of physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002 for help, the numbers were particularly daunting.
Could the team find a way to get measurements near the surface of Mercury, which reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit, from an instrument that operates at about -330 degrees?
The answer will be revealed next week, when the team's gamma-ray spectrometer is scheduled to begin sending back information after nearly seven years aboard the Mercury Messenger spacecraft.
The craft, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., between a hurricane and a tropical storm in August 2004, is expected to finally reach planetary orbit on Thursday.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation. The information will likely lead to insight about our own planet, the researchers said.
"We've done every test possible, and (the spectrometer) has passed every test. But until it performs in orbit, you're nervous," said Morgan Burks, a Lawrence Livermore physicist who worked on the instrument's cooling system.
The spectrometer resembles an elaborate gold coffee can with a hunk of silver metal -- the element germanium -- inside.
The germanium measures gamma rays emitted by Mercury's surface so scientists can determine the elemental composition, but germanium comes with both benefits and complications.
The substance produces clearer, more precise results but has to operate at cryogenic, or ultra-low, temperatures -- no small feat near the surface of Mercury, which is hot enough in some places to melt lead.
Scientists will turn on the spectrometer a week after the Messenger -- short for Mercury Surface Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging -- begins orbiting the solar system's smallest planet, and data should start to come in a day or two later, Burks said.
Burks and the Lawrence Livermore team are counting down the days.
"I was really excited delivering the instrument and really excited when it launched," Burks said.
Then came the years-long wait, and now the moment when the team will see their work come to fruition is just around the corner.
--
The spectrometer is one of seven instruments aboard Messenger, a $446 million mission funded by NASA and managed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The mission is the first to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, since 1975, and Messenger will be the first craft to orbit the planet.
Scientists say understanding Mercury is key to understanding the formation of the solar system, particularly the processes that produced the Earth, Venus and Mars -- the other terrestrial planets.
Of those, Mercury is the smallest, densest and least explored. It has the greatest variations in daily temperature and the oldest surface, said Ed Rhodes, a Johns Hopkins instrument scientist for the gamma-ray spectrometer.
Mercury has a highly radioactive surface that gives off gamma rays -- waves of energy that act like fingerprints of the elements that emit them -- when cosmic rays hit the planet.
The spectrometer will measure gamma rays emitted from Mercury, and the information will be used to evaluate theories about how the planet's surface formed, Rhodes said.
"Some elements are much more abundant depending on the model you choose," said Rhodes, who does everything from sending commands to the instrument to analyzing the spectral data it produces. "The very important elements are iron and titanium," he said.
Iron is more volatile than titanium, so detecting more iron would provide evidence for a different model of planetary formation than detecting more titanium, Rhodes said.
He said the mission command brought the Lawrence Livermore physicists into the picture because of their expertise with the more-precise germanium detectors.
The Livermore team had already created a germanium spectrometer for a spacecraft orbiting Earth, so they were asked to develop one for Messenger as well.
"At the outset, it was not clear that this would be possible due to the harsh thermal environment found at Mercury," Burks wrote in a 2004 technical paper.
A feasibility testing program was undertaken, and a tiny Stirling cycle mechanical cooler was developed. Several shields surrounding the germanium also reflect infrared heat.
The researchers built a prototype and worked with Johns Hopkins scientists who had done thermal modeling of the mission.
About a year later, the Livermore team was confident its spectrometer could withstand the extreme conditions of a Mercury orbit, Burks said.
Messenger will complete an orbit of Mercury once every 12 hours for the next year, flying within 124 miles of the surface on each circumnavigation.
"It gets a big heat pulse every 12 hours," Burks said. "We had to prove the instrument could handle that."
Between the cooler and various electronics, the spectrometer package is about the size of a soccer ball and weighs just over 20 pounds.
Messenger also needed to be protected from the sun, which from Mercury appears three times larger and 11 times brighter than on Earth, so the craft is surrounded by a sunshade.
The team will be on call this week during the initial orbits in case anything goes wrong. Scientists can manage the instrument's operating temperature and power from Earth, and can change the software if needed, Burks said.
Each communication signal with the craft takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel roundtrip.
The craft has done three fly-bys of Mercury, which provided opportunities to test the spectrometer, but the fly-bys were too brief to collect much valuable data, Burks said.
Additionally, the Johns Hopkins team has been remotely mending thespectrometer during its trip, he said.
Radiation damage in space has degraded the spectrometer's resolution, but the instrument includes a device that lets scientists heat the germanium crystal to repair it -- a process called "annealing."
"The detector has been bombarded by cosmic rays for seven years," Burks said. "That's the biggest issue."
Burks has also spent the years since the launch adapting the technology developed for the Messenger craft for the Department of Homeland Security.
Gamma-ray spectrometers can be used to detect bomb-making materials such as uranium and plutonium, he said, and Lawrence Livermore's team had previously developed a handheld device for use at shipping ports and border-patrol checkpoints.
The low-resolution radiation detectors currently don't use germanium, which is difficult to cool in a handheld device because the entire system is powered by battery.
Burks is using the cooling developments from the NASA mission to create smaller, lighter handheld devices that use less power and perform better.
"The technology for space really helped with that," he said. The new handheld spectrometers will use germanium to produce more accurate readings and will weigh about nine pounds, compared to the older 30-pound model.
The new technology has been licensed to a company and is undergoing field tests, and the hope is to commercialize it within a year, Burks said.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Space shuttle Discovery lands, ends flying career
www.chron.com: Space shuttle Discovery lands, ends flying career
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Discovery ended its career as the world's most flown spaceship Wednesday, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.
NASA's oldest shuttle swooped through a mostly clear noontime sky to a touchdown at its home base.
"To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, 'Farewell Discovery,'" radioed the Mission Control commentator.
Florida's spaceport was packed with shuttle program workers, journalists and even some schoolchildren eager to see history in the making.
The six astronauts on board went through their landing checklists with the bittersweet realization no one would ever ride Discovery again. They said during their 13-day space station delivery mission that they expected that to hit them hard when the shuttle came to a stop on the runway.
At three minutes before noon Eastern Time — Discovery landed and ceased being a reusable rocketship.
"For the final time: wheels stop," Discovery's commander Steven Lindsey called out as the shuttle rolled to a stop.
Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the all-time record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years.
Discovery now leads the way to retirement as NASA winds down the 30-year shuttle program in favor of interplanetary travel.
NASA estimates it will take several months of work — removing the three main engines and draining all hazardous fuels — before Discovery is ready to head to the Smithsonian Institution. It will make the 750-mile journey strapped to the top of a jumbo jet.
Throughout the flight, Lindsey and his crew marveled at how well Discovery was performing. They noted that the spacecraft was going into retirement still "at the top of her game."
"A dream machine," observed Lindsey's co-pilot, Eric Boe, on the eve of landing.
Discovery's last mission ended up being flawless despite a four-month grounding for fuel tank repairs.
Perhaps more than any other shuttle, Discovery consistently delivered.
It made its debut in 1984 following shuttles Columbia and Challenger, dispatched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, flew the first shuttle rendezvous to Russia's Mir space station and carried the first female shuttle pilot in 1995, and gave another ride into space to John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1998.
It got NASA flying again, in 1988 and 2005, following the Challenger and Columbia disasters. And it flew 13 times to the International Space Station, more than any other craft. On its last trip, it delivered a new storage compartment packed with supplies and a humanoid robot.
NASA's boss, Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander, led the welcoming party. He'll announce the final homes for Endeavour and Atlantis on April 12 — 30 years to the day that Columbia soared on the first shuttle flight.
NASA planned to move Endeavour out to the launch pad Wednesday night for its April 19 liftoff, but delayed the move until Thursday because bad weather was expected. The mission will be commanded by the husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly. His identical twin brother Scott is currently the skipper of the space station; he returns to Earth next week on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Atlantis is slated to make its last trip at the end of June.
NASA is under presidential direction to spread its wings beyond low-Earth orbit. The goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and then Mars in the decades ahead. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. As a result, the shuttles will stop flying this summer after 30 years.
American astronauts will keep hitching rides to the space station on Russian capsules, until private companies are able to provide taxi service to and from orbit. NASA expects to get another nine years out of the space station.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Discovery ended its career as the world's most flown spaceship Wednesday, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.
NASA's oldest shuttle swooped through a mostly clear noontime sky to a touchdown at its home base.
"To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, 'Farewell Discovery,'" radioed the Mission Control commentator.
Florida's spaceport was packed with shuttle program workers, journalists and even some schoolchildren eager to see history in the making.
The six astronauts on board went through their landing checklists with the bittersweet realization no one would ever ride Discovery again. They said during their 13-day space station delivery mission that they expected that to hit them hard when the shuttle came to a stop on the runway.
At three minutes before noon Eastern Time — Discovery landed and ceased being a reusable rocketship.
"For the final time: wheels stop," Discovery's commander Steven Lindsey called out as the shuttle rolled to a stop.
Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the all-time record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years.
Discovery now leads the way to retirement as NASA winds down the 30-year shuttle program in favor of interplanetary travel.
NASA estimates it will take several months of work — removing the three main engines and draining all hazardous fuels — before Discovery is ready to head to the Smithsonian Institution. It will make the 750-mile journey strapped to the top of a jumbo jet.
Throughout the flight, Lindsey and his crew marveled at how well Discovery was performing. They noted that the spacecraft was going into retirement still "at the top of her game."
"A dream machine," observed Lindsey's co-pilot, Eric Boe, on the eve of landing.
Discovery's last mission ended up being flawless despite a four-month grounding for fuel tank repairs.
Perhaps more than any other shuttle, Discovery consistently delivered.
It made its debut in 1984 following shuttles Columbia and Challenger, dispatched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, flew the first shuttle rendezvous to Russia's Mir space station and carried the first female shuttle pilot in 1995, and gave another ride into space to John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1998.
It got NASA flying again, in 1988 and 2005, following the Challenger and Columbia disasters. And it flew 13 times to the International Space Station, more than any other craft. On its last trip, it delivered a new storage compartment packed with supplies and a humanoid robot.
NASA's boss, Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander, led the welcoming party. He'll announce the final homes for Endeavour and Atlantis on April 12 — 30 years to the day that Columbia soared on the first shuttle flight.
NASA planned to move Endeavour out to the launch pad Wednesday night for its April 19 liftoff, but delayed the move until Thursday because bad weather was expected. The mission will be commanded by the husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly. His identical twin brother Scott is currently the skipper of the space station; he returns to Earth next week on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Atlantis is slated to make its last trip at the end of June.
NASA is under presidential direction to spread its wings beyond low-Earth orbit. The goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and then Mars in the decades ahead. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. As a result, the shuttles will stop flying this summer after 30 years.
American astronauts will keep hitching rides to the space station on Russian capsules, until private companies are able to provide taxi service to and from orbit. NASA expects to get another nine years out of the space station.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
William Shatner, aka Capt. Kirk, surprises Discovery space shuttle crew with wake-up call
New York Daily News: William Shatner, aka Capt. Kirk, surprises Discovery space shuttle crew with wake-up call
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery got a wake-up call from a familiar voice Monday urging them to boldly go where no man has gone before.
"Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner began in his 3:23 a.m. call to the snoozing astronauts.
Reprising his role as James Kirk, caption of the fictional Starship Enterprise from the original "Star Trek" TV series, Shatner milked the melodrama of the moment.
"These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery," the 79-year-old actor intoned. "Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before,"
As Shatner spoke, the "Theme from Star Trek" played in the background.
Alas, the Discovery won't be boldly going anywhere after this, it's final scheduled mission.
It has made 39 flights and 13 journeys to the International Space Station. But it's going to be mothballed after it lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at noon Wednesday.
And the nearly three-decade shuttle program is scheduled to end later this year.
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery got a wake-up call from a familiar voice Monday urging them to boldly go where no man has gone before.
"Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner began in his 3:23 a.m. call to the snoozing astronauts.
Reprising his role as James Kirk, caption of the fictional Starship Enterprise from the original "Star Trek" TV series, Shatner milked the melodrama of the moment.
"These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery," the 79-year-old actor intoned. "Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before,"
As Shatner spoke, the "Theme from Star Trek" played in the background.
Alas, the Discovery won't be boldly going anywhere after this, it's final scheduled mission.
It has made 39 flights and 13 journeys to the International Space Station. But it's going to be mothballed after it lands at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at noon Wednesday.
And the nearly three-decade shuttle program is scheduled to end later this year.
Monday, March 7, 2011
15-17 Mar: Space, Propulsion & Energy Sciences International Forum
15-17 Mar: Space, Propulsion & Energy Sciences International Forum
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF.html
From the website:
Plenary I : New Era in Space Research and Technology
Sponsored by IASSPES
Moderator: Glen A. Robertson (Bio)
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)
John M. (Jay) Falker (Bio)
NASA Game Changing Technology (NGCT)
Harry Partridge (Bio)
Example of Advanced Concept and Technology Development in Australia (abs)
H. David Froning (Bio)
Plenary II: Future Energy
Sponsored by IRI
Moderator: Dr. Thomas Valone
Ion Conducting Materials; from Terrestrial Energy Conversion and Storage to Space Based In-Situ Resource Utilization and Life Support (abs)
Eric D. Wachsman (Bio)
Qualification and Quantification of Telomeric Elongation Due to Electromagnetic Resonance Exposure (abs)
Scott C Kelsey (Bio)
Banquet Dinner Speaker
The Frontiers of Energetics and Space Propulsion; The “Responsibly Imaginable” (abs)
Dennis M. Bushnell (Bio)
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF.html
From the website:
Plenary I : New Era in Space Research and Technology
Sponsored by IASSPES
Moderator: Glen A. Robertson (Bio)
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)
John M. (Jay) Falker (Bio)
NASA Game Changing Technology (NGCT)
Harry Partridge (Bio)
Example of Advanced Concept and Technology Development in Australia (abs)
H. David Froning (Bio)
Plenary II: Future Energy
Sponsored by IRI
Moderator: Dr. Thomas Valone
Ion Conducting Materials; from Terrestrial Energy Conversion and Storage to Space Based In-Situ Resource Utilization and Life Support (abs)
Eric D. Wachsman (Bio)
Qualification and Quantification of Telomeric Elongation Due to Electromagnetic Resonance Exposure (abs)
Scott C Kelsey (Bio)
Banquet Dinner Speaker
The Frontiers of Energetics and Space Propulsion; The “Responsibly Imaginable” (abs)
Dennis M. Bushnell (Bio)
25th Space Studies Program to Convene on the Florida Space Coast
SpaceRef: 25th Space Studies Program to Convene on the Florida Space Coast
ISU is proud to announce that it will hold its 25th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) session at the Florida Institute of Technology and the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Melbourne, Florida, USA from
June 4 to August 3, 2012.
The selection of the United States Space Coast seems a natural fit to convene the 25th session of the Space Studies Program as the US gateway to exploring, discovering and understanding our universe.
"Few places on Earth symbolize both the history of space flight and the exciting transition to new missions and methods for its future as well as Central Florida. We are thrilled to partner with the Florida Institute of Technology and Kennedy Space Center to help a new generation of space pioneers prepare for the voyage ahead" says Michael Simpson, ISU President.
Located in Melbourne, on Florida's central east coast, the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) is an independent technological university that provides quality education, furthers knowledge through basic and applied research, and serves the diverse needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.
"The Florida Tech community is looking forward to the 25th annual Space Studies Program," said T. Dwayne McCay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Tech. "For more than 50 years, the educational mission of our university have been closely linked to NASA and space-related research. As our world prepares for the next steps in space, Florida Tech is pleased to support the ongoing efforts that will lead us all to new frontiers of discovery."
NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. Since its inception, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has played an integral role in the work performed by NASA. For three decades, NASA's Space Shuttle fleet safely carried hundreds of astronauts on dozens of successful missions, which resulted in immeasurable scientific gains. Every manned space flight mission, including all of the Space Shuttle missions, was launched from KSC.
KSC Center Director, Bob Cabana, quote: "Kennedy Space Center is looking forward to hosting the 2012 session of the ISU Space Studies Prog
ram in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology. This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the students participating in the Space Studies Program, but for employees of KSC to share their knowledge and experiences with an international network of leading space experts and professionals."
ISU provides an interdisciplinary education in the context of an intercultural and international environment to support the development of future leaders in the world space community. The SSP offers its participants a unique and comprehensive education covering all aspects of space programs and enterprises including space physical sciences, space systems engineering, policy and law, business and management, space and society, satellite applications, and space life sciences and human spaceflight.
Each summer ISU offers this intense nine-week course designed for post-graduate university students and professionals of all experience levels and disciplines. The site of the SSP changes annually, making it a unique educational concept and building on the fundamental ISU tenant of an international experience.
Angie Bukley, ISU Associate Dean and SSP Director points out: "The superior academic and research facilities at Florida Tech coupled with those of KSC will provide the perfect learning laboratory for the SSP12 participants. We are profoundly pleased with the level of support that the Florida Tech faculty and KSC scientists have committed to the program. SSP12 will certainly be memorable both for its location and for the quality of the academic experience."
The SSP core lecture series serves as the foundation on which the more in-depth activities undertaken in the seven departments are built. The team projects provide the participants with an international and intercultural team working experience wherein they must not only refine the topic as a team, but also produce professional quality reports and final presentations, all in the span of a few weeks.
"The Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958 to provide advanced education to scientists, engineers and technicians working at what is now NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. Nowadays, the University offers a variety of degrees both undergraduate and graduate in engineering, science, aeronautics, mathematics, business and psychology. ISU-SSP-12 is a major endeavor to the fertilization of the excellent collaboration between Florida Tech and KSC," said Dr. Guy A. Boy, Chair of the ISU-SSP-12 Florida Tech/KSC Organizing Committee.
ISU is proud to announce that it will hold its 25th annual Space Studies Program (SSP) session at the Florida Institute of Technology and the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Melbourne, Florida, USA from
June 4 to August 3, 2012.
The selection of the United States Space Coast seems a natural fit to convene the 25th session of the Space Studies Program as the US gateway to exploring, discovering and understanding our universe.
"Few places on Earth symbolize both the history of space flight and the exciting transition to new missions and methods for its future as well as Central Florida. We are thrilled to partner with the Florida Institute of Technology and Kennedy Space Center to help a new generation of space pioneers prepare for the voyage ahead" says Michael Simpson, ISU President.
Located in Melbourne, on Florida's central east coast, the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) is an independent technological university that provides quality education, furthers knowledge through basic and applied research, and serves the diverse needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.
"The Florida Tech community is looking forward to the 25th annual Space Studies Program," said T. Dwayne McCay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Tech. "For more than 50 years, the educational mission of our university have been closely linked to NASA and space-related research. As our world prepares for the next steps in space, Florida Tech is pleased to support the ongoing efforts that will lead us all to new frontiers of discovery."
NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. Since its inception, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has played an integral role in the work performed by NASA. For three decades, NASA's Space Shuttle fleet safely carried hundreds of astronauts on dozens of successful missions, which resulted in immeasurable scientific gains. Every manned space flight mission, including all of the Space Shuttle missions, was launched from KSC.
KSC Center Director, Bob Cabana, quote: "Kennedy Space Center is looking forward to hosting the 2012 session of the ISU Space Studies Prog
ram in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology. This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the students participating in the Space Studies Program, but for employees of KSC to share their knowledge and experiences with an international network of leading space experts and professionals."
ISU provides an interdisciplinary education in the context of an intercultural and international environment to support the development of future leaders in the world space community. The SSP offers its participants a unique and comprehensive education covering all aspects of space programs and enterprises including space physical sciences, space systems engineering, policy and law, business and management, space and society, satellite applications, and space life sciences and human spaceflight.
Each summer ISU offers this intense nine-week course designed for post-graduate university students and professionals of all experience levels and disciplines. The site of the SSP changes annually, making it a unique educational concept and building on the fundamental ISU tenant of an international experience.
Angie Bukley, ISU Associate Dean and SSP Director points out: "The superior academic and research facilities at Florida Tech coupled with those of KSC will provide the perfect learning laboratory for the SSP12 participants. We are profoundly pleased with the level of support that the Florida Tech faculty and KSC scientists have committed to the program. SSP12 will certainly be memorable both for its location and for the quality of the academic experience."
The SSP core lecture series serves as the foundation on which the more in-depth activities undertaken in the seven departments are built. The team projects provide the participants with an international and intercultural team working experience wherein they must not only refine the topic as a team, but also produce professional quality reports and final presentations, all in the span of a few weeks.
"The Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958 to provide advanced education to scientists, engineers and technicians working at what is now NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. Nowadays, the University offers a variety of degrees both undergraduate and graduate in engineering, science, aeronautics, mathematics, business and psychology. ISU-SSP-12 is a major endeavor to the fertilization of the excellent collaboration between Florida Tech and KSC," said Dr. Guy A. Boy, Chair of the ISU-SSP-12 Florida Tech/KSC Organizing Committee.
Friday, March 4, 2011
China plans to make a manned moon landing by 2030
China to put man on the moon by 2030
Beijing: China plans to make a manned moon landing by 2030, but the purpose of exploration of the moon should be seen as "peaceful" rather than a threat, a top scientist has said.
Ye Peijian, chief scientist of deep space exploration at the China Academy of Space Technology, said China's space technology still lags far behind the US and Russia, according to China Daily.
China's three-phase moon exploration plan began in October 2010 with the launch of the Chang'e-2. The second phase will see the Chang'e-3 land on the moon in 2013. Then, in 2017, a sample of rock from the moon will be sent to Earth.
China will launch a space module - the 8.5-tonne Tiangong-1 (or Heavenly Palace-1) - in 2011, after which two manned spacecraft would dock with the module in 2012, said a spokesman for the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
The Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X spacecraft will blast off in 2012 for manned docking with Tiangong-1.
Training of astronauts for the manned missions has begun. China has also recruited its first two women astronauts for training.
The space station, which would have a lifespan of around 10 years, will be cared for by two or three on-board astronauts, and would be open to scientists from foreign countries, officials said.
Beijing: China plans to make a manned moon landing by 2030, but the purpose of exploration of the moon should be seen as "peaceful" rather than a threat, a top scientist has said.
Ye Peijian, chief scientist of deep space exploration at the China Academy of Space Technology, said China's space technology still lags far behind the US and Russia, according to China Daily.
China's three-phase moon exploration plan began in October 2010 with the launch of the Chang'e-2. The second phase will see the Chang'e-3 land on the moon in 2013. Then, in 2017, a sample of rock from the moon will be sent to Earth.
China will launch a space module - the 8.5-tonne Tiangong-1 (or Heavenly Palace-1) - in 2011, after which two manned spacecraft would dock with the module in 2012, said a spokesman for the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
The Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X spacecraft will blast off in 2012 for manned docking with Tiangong-1.
Training of astronauts for the manned missions has begun. China has also recruited its first two women astronauts for training.
The space station, which would have a lifespan of around 10 years, will be cared for by two or three on-board astronauts, and would be open to scientists from foreign countries, officials said.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Mock Mars Explorers Say Farewell to Virtual Red Planet
Space.com: Mock Mars Explorers Say Farewell to Virtual Red Planet
crew of mock Mars explorers has wrapped up the exploration of a simulated Red Planet and is now set to "fly" back home to Earth – and back to reality.
The Red Planet simulation, called the Mars500 mission, entered the months-long home stretch today (March 2), when six "astronauts" began maneuvering their spaceship — actually a collection of sealed modules on the outskirts of Moscow — to leave Mars orbit and return to Eath. The virtual interplanetary journey will end in November, when the spaceflyers will "land" on their home planet and breathe fresh air for the first time in nearly 18 months.
"T-249 days to the end of 520-day experiment," Mars500 organizers wrote in a Twitter message yesterday. "TODAY: hatch closure, Mars Lander undocking. See you later Mars!"
Elaborate Mars experiment
Mars500 is a $15 million experiment being run by the European Space Agency, Russia and China. It "launched" last June, when six male crewmembers — three Russians, two Europeans and a Chinese astronaut trainer — locked themselves inside a windowless mock spaceship at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow. [Infographic: The Mars500 Mission]
The project aims to simulate a round trip to Mars — hence the name. Researchers are closely monitoring the crewmembers' physiological and behavioral responses during the long months of isolation and confinement.
Project scientists hope the experiment will help them better understand the stresses that such a long space voyage would impose on human crews, as well as offer solutions to help prevent or mitigate problems during an actual Mars mission, officials have said.
Last month, three Mars500 astronauts descended in a mock lander to the Martian surface — actually another module, outfitted with rocks and some red dirt. They drove rovers around in a high-tech video game and performed a series of "Marswalks" while wearing 77-pound (35-kilogram) spacesuits.
"I think that even if it wasn't exactly the same emotion someone would feel on Mars, it did come quite close, at least for me," Mars500 astronaut Diego Urbina wrote in a blog post after a simulated Marswalk.
Next stop: Earth
Urbina and the two other Marswalkers returned to the mothership on Feb. 27, rejoining the three astronauts who had stayed behind "in orbit." Yesterday, the six reunited crewmembers went through the motions of loading the "lander" with rubbish and detaching it from the main spacecraft, as the crew of a real Mars mission would do upon departing.
Today, the Mars500 astronauts began positioning their mothership for one last orbit around Mars, according to ESA officials, after which the crew will head back toward Earth. The trip home should take about eight months. It's likely to be the most difficult part of the mission for the crewmembers, since they don't have a highlight like the Mars landing to look forward to, officials have said.
But as of now, things are going well, according to project organizers.
"The crew is highly motivated and performing very well," Jennifer Ngo-Anh, ESA's Mars500 manager, said in a recent statement. "At this point, everything looks very good."
crew of mock Mars explorers has wrapped up the exploration of a simulated Red Planet and is now set to "fly" back home to Earth – and back to reality.
The Red Planet simulation, called the Mars500 mission, entered the months-long home stretch today (March 2), when six "astronauts" began maneuvering their spaceship — actually a collection of sealed modules on the outskirts of Moscow — to leave Mars orbit and return to Eath. The virtual interplanetary journey will end in November, when the spaceflyers will "land" on their home planet and breathe fresh air for the first time in nearly 18 months.
"T-249 days to the end of 520-day experiment," Mars500 organizers wrote in a Twitter message yesterday. "TODAY: hatch closure, Mars Lander undocking. See you later Mars!"
Elaborate Mars experiment
Mars500 is a $15 million experiment being run by the European Space Agency, Russia and China. It "launched" last June, when six male crewmembers — three Russians, two Europeans and a Chinese astronaut trainer — locked themselves inside a windowless mock spaceship at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow. [Infographic: The Mars500 Mission]
The project aims to simulate a round trip to Mars — hence the name. Researchers are closely monitoring the crewmembers' physiological and behavioral responses during the long months of isolation and confinement.
Project scientists hope the experiment will help them better understand the stresses that such a long space voyage would impose on human crews, as well as offer solutions to help prevent or mitigate problems during an actual Mars mission, officials have said.
Last month, three Mars500 astronauts descended in a mock lander to the Martian surface — actually another module, outfitted with rocks and some red dirt. They drove rovers around in a high-tech video game and performed a series of "Marswalks" while wearing 77-pound (35-kilogram) spacesuits.
"I think that even if it wasn't exactly the same emotion someone would feel on Mars, it did come quite close, at least for me," Mars500 astronaut Diego Urbina wrote in a blog post after a simulated Marswalk.
Next stop: Earth
Urbina and the two other Marswalkers returned to the mothership on Feb. 27, rejoining the three astronauts who had stayed behind "in orbit." Yesterday, the six reunited crewmembers went through the motions of loading the "lander" with rubbish and detaching it from the main spacecraft, as the crew of a real Mars mission would do upon departing.
Today, the Mars500 astronauts began positioning their mothership for one last orbit around Mars, according to ESA officials, after which the crew will head back toward Earth. The trip home should take about eight months. It's likely to be the most difficult part of the mission for the crewmembers, since they don't have a highlight like the Mars landing to look forward to, officials have said.
But as of now, things are going well, according to project organizers.
"The crew is highly motivated and performing very well," Jennifer Ngo-Anh, ESA's Mars500 manager, said in a recent statement. "At this point, everything looks very good."
The gigantic underground moon cave
The Week: The Gigantic Underground Moon Cave
Indian scientists have uncovered a cavern on the moon big enough to be a home base for human voyagers. Is this a game-changer for space exploration?
posted on March 2, 2011, at 12:37 PM
Indian scientists believe they have located an underground cave on the moon with a temperate climate that would make it an ideal base for future manned missions. Photo: NASA SEE ALL 37 PHOTOS
India's space agency announced it had discovered an enormous volcanic cave under the surface of the moon, in the midst of analyzing 3D images taken last year by the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1. Thanks in large part to its stable climate, the cave could provide suitable housing for humans who want to further explore the moon. Here's a brief guide to this groundbreaking discovery:
How big is this thing?
The cave, which was formed from "ancient volcanic lava flows," is more than one mile long and 393 feet wide — big enough to "contain a small lunar city or a secret Nazi base with a few thousand UFOs," says Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo. It's far bigger than what was previously the largest-known hole on the moon, which is 213 feet across and 289 feet deep, and was discovered by the Japanese Space agency Jaxa in 2009.
Why is it so good for humans?
Its main attraction is a temperate climate. Temperatures on the moon swing wildly, from a maximum of 262 degrees Fahrenheit to a minimum of -292. The cave holds steady at a (relatively) comfortable -4, since the moon's weather can't penetrate its 40-foot-thick wall. It could also protect astronauts from "hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts," and dust storms, according to paper published by the journal Current Science, as quoted by Silicon India.
So when are we moving in?
Though there has been a recent surge of interest in exploring the moon, "scientists caution that it would be unrealistic to expect any long-term habitation efforts within the next two decades," says G.S. Mudur at the Indian newspaper The Telegraph. Some observers aren't pleased with that assessment. "What's the holdup?" says Adam Frucci at DVice. "Let's get building! I want to visit a hotel in a moon base sometime in the next 20 years, please!"
Indian scientists have uncovered a cavern on the moon big enough to be a home base for human voyagers. Is this a game-changer for space exploration?
posted on March 2, 2011, at 12:37 PM
Indian scientists believe they have located an underground cave on the moon with a temperate climate that would make it an ideal base for future manned missions. Photo: NASA SEE ALL 37 PHOTOS
India's space agency announced it had discovered an enormous volcanic cave under the surface of the moon, in the midst of analyzing 3D images taken last year by the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1. Thanks in large part to its stable climate, the cave could provide suitable housing for humans who want to further explore the moon. Here's a brief guide to this groundbreaking discovery:
How big is this thing?
The cave, which was formed from "ancient volcanic lava flows," is more than one mile long and 393 feet wide — big enough to "contain a small lunar city or a secret Nazi base with a few thousand UFOs," says Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo. It's far bigger than what was previously the largest-known hole on the moon, which is 213 feet across and 289 feet deep, and was discovered by the Japanese Space agency Jaxa in 2009.
Why is it so good for humans?
Its main attraction is a temperate climate. Temperatures on the moon swing wildly, from a maximum of 262 degrees Fahrenheit to a minimum of -292. The cave holds steady at a (relatively) comfortable -4, since the moon's weather can't penetrate its 40-foot-thick wall. It could also protect astronauts from "hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts," and dust storms, according to paper published by the journal Current Science, as quoted by Silicon India.
So when are we moving in?
Though there has been a recent surge of interest in exploring the moon, "scientists caution that it would be unrealistic to expect any long-term habitation efforts within the next two decades," says G.S. Mudur at the Indian newspaper The Telegraph. Some observers aren't pleased with that assessment. "What's the holdup?" says Adam Frucci at DVice. "Let's get building! I want to visit a hotel in a moon base sometime in the next 20 years, please!"
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