Two months ago, it seemed as if the whole world was composing a dirge for NASA. With the space shuttle program ending after 30 years, the media wondered if the agency would ever be able to find its footing. Then, the shuttle backup plan — catching a ride on Russian flights — was delayed, and the possibility of shuttering the International Space Station rose for the first time since 2000.
This week, though, a series of news-catching announcements seems to suggest the agency is doing just fine, with or without its shuttle program.
Space fans were introduced to two planet discoveries and a giant shuttle planned for deep space exploration.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden participates in a news conference to introduce the design of the new Space Launch System. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
On Monday, NASA announced a “Super Earth,” a planet that could possibly have water and may be habitable.
On Wednesday, the agency announced plans for a massive rocket capable of lifting 70 to 100 metric tons that will explore the deep reaches of space.
On Thursday, an even more exciting announcement for Sci-Fi fans: plucked from the “Star Wars” script, astronomers discovered a planet with two suns, much like the famous “Star Wars” home of Luke Skywalker, Tatooine.
(Brian Vastag got this memorable quote from one of the planet’s discovery team members, astronomer Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington: “It’d be a weird cocktail hour. The sun would go down, and you’d have a drink, and then, a few hours later, the other sun would go down while you have another drink.”)
The Post’s Vastag said that while the planet discoveries are definitely exciting, the shuttle plans were still uncertain, as Congress has yet to fund it.
Despite some Senate backing for the plan, the House has yet to support it. The estimated five-year price tag for the project is $18 billion. The House has been the most adamant about cutting NASA’s budget. The House proposal for the 2012 fiscal year is $2 billion less than for 2011. Seeking House approval for an $18 billion project may be a tough sell.
Even if it doesn’t become a reality, NASA still proved this week it has the power to inspire great dreams.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
New planet; deep space exploration: is NASA bouncing back
From The Washington Post, blog Post: New planet; deep space exploration: is NASA bouncing back?
Monday, September 12, 2011
Trouble for the Space Station
From The Hindu: Trouble for the Space Station
It was in July 2011 that the last of the Space Shuttles, Atlantis, made the final trip to the International Space Station. With the Shuttles' retirement, only Russia's Soyuz spacecraft can transport crew to and from the huge station that is orbiting the earth. But with a question mark hanging over the Soyuz rocket that launches the manned capsule, there is a very real possibility that the station might have to be temporarily abandoned. The issue arose after a Soyuz rocket, which lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome on August 24, malfunctioned.
The Progress cargo vessel it was carrying, with supplies for the space station, ended up crashing to the ground. The loss of those supplies is not a cause for concern as the station is well-stocked and can easily support the three Russians, two Americans, and one Japanese who are currently living aboard for several months. The problem is that the replacement crew, who are scheduled to leave for the station on September 21, is likely to be delayed while the Russians make sure it is safe for them to travel on the Soyuz rocket.
But the astronauts on the space station may not be able to remain till the next crew arrive. That's because the two Soyuz capsules docked to the space station, in which they are to return home, are time-limited. Each of those capsules is certified to remain in space for only 200 days. Consequently, one set of three astronauts is now expected to leave the space station later this month and the remaining three in mid-November.
The Soyuz rocket is a lineal descendant of the launcher that carried the world's first satellite, Sputnik, and subsequently the first human to travel in to space, Yuri Gagarin. A production defect has been identified as the culprit in the latest failure. A week earlier, a Proton rocket with a communications satellite onboard developed trouble. Last December, another Proton rocket failed, followed by a Rokot booster this February. Some media reports suggest that poor pay, an ageing workforce, and inadequate state support are leading to a decline in quality standards in Russia's once well-funded space sector.
After the Soyuz failure, the Russian government ordered an industry-wide review and improvement of quality control procedures. It is, however, clearly desirable to have an alternative to the Soyuz capsule and rocket, which can provide much-needed back-up. But it could take a few years for U.S. spaceflight companies, like Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), to develop the necessary man-rated space hardware. Till then, Russia will have to shoulder the responsibility for taking astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
It was in July 2011 that the last of the Space Shuttles, Atlantis, made the final trip to the International Space Station. With the Shuttles' retirement, only Russia's Soyuz spacecraft can transport crew to and from the huge station that is orbiting the earth. But with a question mark hanging over the Soyuz rocket that launches the manned capsule, there is a very real possibility that the station might have to be temporarily abandoned. The issue arose after a Soyuz rocket, which lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome on August 24, malfunctioned.
The Progress cargo vessel it was carrying, with supplies for the space station, ended up crashing to the ground. The loss of those supplies is not a cause for concern as the station is well-stocked and can easily support the three Russians, two Americans, and one Japanese who are currently living aboard for several months. The problem is that the replacement crew, who are scheduled to leave for the station on September 21, is likely to be delayed while the Russians make sure it is safe for them to travel on the Soyuz rocket.
But the astronauts on the space station may not be able to remain till the next crew arrive. That's because the two Soyuz capsules docked to the space station, in which they are to return home, are time-limited. Each of those capsules is certified to remain in space for only 200 days. Consequently, one set of three astronauts is now expected to leave the space station later this month and the remaining three in mid-November.
The Soyuz rocket is a lineal descendant of the launcher that carried the world's first satellite, Sputnik, and subsequently the first human to travel in to space, Yuri Gagarin. A production defect has been identified as the culprit in the latest failure. A week earlier, a Proton rocket with a communications satellite onboard developed trouble. Last December, another Proton rocket failed, followed by a Rokot booster this February. Some media reports suggest that poor pay, an ageing workforce, and inadequate state support are leading to a decline in quality standards in Russia's once well-funded space sector.
After the Soyuz failure, the Russian government ordered an industry-wide review and improvement of quality control procedures. It is, however, clearly desirable to have an alternative to the Soyuz capsule and rocket, which can provide much-needed back-up. But it could take a few years for U.S. spaceflight companies, like Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), to develop the necessary man-rated space hardware. Till then, Russia will have to shoulder the responsibility for taking astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
What Terror Looks Like From Space; NASA 9/11 Video
From Forex TV: What Terror Looks Like From Space; NASA 9/11 Video
Astronaut Frank Culbertson was the lone American not on the planet at the moment the 9/11 attacks took place. Culbertson was floating in orbit far above the evil that was unleashed and unaware of the destruction that had choked the skies on the ground.
Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson was aboard the International Space Station at the time of the attacks, and the only American on the crew. As soon as he learned of the attacks, he began documenting the event in photographs because the station was flying over the New York City area. He captured incredible images in the minutes and hours following the event. From his unique vantage point in space, he recorded his thoughts of the world changing beneath him.
Yet, even from his perch in space, Culbertson reports that the face of evil was evident.
"The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…" wrote Culbertson.
The following day, he posted a public letter that captured his initial thoughts of the events as they unfolded. "The world changed today. What I say or do is very minor compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was attacked."
Culbertson said, "It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are."
Astronaut Frank Culbertson was the lone American not on the planet at the moment the 9/11 attacks took place. Culbertson was floating in orbit far above the evil that was unleashed and unaware of the destruction that had choked the skies on the ground.
Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson was aboard the International Space Station at the time of the attacks, and the only American on the crew. As soon as he learned of the attacks, he began documenting the event in photographs because the station was flying over the New York City area. He captured incredible images in the minutes and hours following the event. From his unique vantage point in space, he recorded his thoughts of the world changing beneath him.
Yet, even from his perch in space, Culbertson reports that the face of evil was evident.
"The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…" wrote Culbertson.
The following day, he posted a public letter that captured his initial thoughts of the events as they unfolded. "The world changed today. What I say or do is very minor compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was attacked."
Culbertson said, "It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are."
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Nasa on the track of lunar Grail
From News Scotsman.com: Nasa on the track of lunar Grail
By Angus Howarth
By Angus Howarth
NASA has launched twin probes called Grail to the Moon to map tiny variations in the pull of gravity.
The information should give scientists fresh insight into the internal structure of Earth's satellite and is expected to help explain many mysteries, such as why the far side of the Moon looks so different from that of the near side, with its swathe
ADVERTISEMENT of dark volcanic plains. The data also will be an invaluable navigation tool for future exploration, enabling more precise landings.
A Delta rocket sent the Grail twins on their way from Cape Canaveral in Florida yesterday. The journey is a slow cruise, however. The duo are not expected to enter into the Moon's orbit until the turn of the year.The near side of the Moon is covered in smooth, dark material created by magma flooding on to the surface. The far side is more rugged, with a thicker crust pock-marked by impact craters.
"The improvement that Grail will have for the gravity field on the nearside is a factor of 100 better than we have now, and on the farside it is a factor of 1,000," said Grail programme scientist Dr Robert Fogel.
"Imagine trying to see something microscopic with your own eyes and then putting a lens in front of them that has 100 times power or 1,000 times power - it becomes a different world; and that's what we'll get with Grail."
Grail is an acronym for gravity recovery and internal laboratory.
Atlantis space shuttle crew visits Aviano schools
From Stars and Stripes: Atlantis space shuttle crew visits Aviano schools
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — Students whose parents work for the 31st Fighter Wing are used to watching jets soar into the sky. On Friday, a group of elementary students got to meet some really high fliers: The astronauts who flew the last U.S. space shuttle mission wrapped up a tour of U.S. military facilities in Turkey and Italy with visits to Aviano schools.
“While you were enjoying your summer vacation, we were busy up in space,” Chris Ferguson, commander of the Atlantis shuttle flight told students gathered at an assembly of third- to fifth-graders, most of whon raised their hands when asked if they wanted to be astronauts.
Fifth-grade aspiring astronaut Julia Gabel got to talk with crewmember Sandy Magnus and got all four crewmembers to sign her book.
“She’s going to be an astronaut one day,” Magnus told Ferguson.
Students asked questions, including how the toilet situation works (it’s complicated), if they can see the moon from up there (yes) and do you have to go to college to become an astronaut (most definitely yes).
Ferguson, a former Navy F-14 pilot, said answering such questions and meeting the public is part of the job. After flying back to Houston, Magnus – a civilian – and Doug Hurley – an active duty Marine F/A-18 pilot –will travel north to make an appearance at a NASCAR race. Ferguson and Rex Walheim – a former Air Force officer – will get a few days off.
Now that the space shuttle mission has ended, the astronaut program is in a state of flux, Ferguson said. After reaching its high point with 149 astronauts in 1998, it’s down to 60 now and has been “decreasing rapidly,” he said.
It’s not that astronauts don’t believe in NASA or the space program, he said. For pilots like himself, riding to the International Space Station on a Russian space ship is not the same. Still, he said he fully supports NASA and the continued exploration of space.
“It’s very hard to go and present the case that we have to go to Mars when the country is $14 trillion in debt,” he said. “It’s a hard thing, because it takes years for these things to happen, and politicians and people want quick results.”
If the students at Aviano were voting, however …
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — Students whose parents work for the 31st Fighter Wing are used to watching jets soar into the sky. On Friday, a group of elementary students got to meet some really high fliers: The astronauts who flew the last U.S. space shuttle mission wrapped up a tour of U.S. military facilities in Turkey and Italy with visits to Aviano schools.
“While you were enjoying your summer vacation, we were busy up in space,” Chris Ferguson, commander of the Atlantis shuttle flight told students gathered at an assembly of third- to fifth-graders, most of whon raised their hands when asked if they wanted to be astronauts.
Fifth-grade aspiring astronaut Julia Gabel got to talk with crewmember Sandy Magnus and got all four crewmembers to sign her book.
“She’s going to be an astronaut one day,” Magnus told Ferguson.
Students asked questions, including how the toilet situation works (it’s complicated), if they can see the moon from up there (yes) and do you have to go to college to become an astronaut (most definitely yes).
Ferguson, a former Navy F-14 pilot, said answering such questions and meeting the public is part of the job. After flying back to Houston, Magnus – a civilian – and Doug Hurley – an active duty Marine F/A-18 pilot –will travel north to make an appearance at a NASCAR race. Ferguson and Rex Walheim – a former Air Force officer – will get a few days off.
Now that the space shuttle mission has ended, the astronaut program is in a state of flux, Ferguson said. After reaching its high point with 149 astronauts in 1998, it’s down to 60 now and has been “decreasing rapidly,” he said.
It’s not that astronauts don’t believe in NASA or the space program, he said. For pilots like himself, riding to the International Space Station on a Russian space ship is not the same. Still, he said he fully supports NASA and the continued exploration of space.
“It’s very hard to go and present the case that we have to go to Mars when the country is $14 trillion in debt,” he said. “It’s a hard thing, because it takes years for these things to happen, and politicians and people want quick results.”
If the students at Aviano were voting, however …
Large satellite crashing to earth next month, says NASA
From: Large satellite crashing to earth next month, says NASA
By Derrol Nail
FOX 35 News
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Have you ever wished that a shooting star won’t end up hitting and killing you? Well, it's not totally out of the realm of possibility, NASA informed us on Friday.
Back in 1991, the space shuttle put an Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite into orbit to study human effects on the ozone layer. Twenty years later, and NASA informs us it's going to come crashing back to earth.
The space agency says the UARS satellite will de-orbit sometime in October, but no one knows where the 26-pieces that will survive re-entry will land.
"It will have what we call an uncontrolled re-entry” said NASA Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel. “They can’t be brought down in a specific place, it's just wherever they come down."
So, that begs the question: what are the chances it will hit one of the 6.7 billion people on our planet? NASA has assigned the odds at 3,200 to 1.
"In fifty plus years of the space age, no one has been hit by a piece of falling satellite" said Beutel.
That’s because most satellite chunks that survive the disintegrating heat of re-entry land in the water, which covers roughly 3/4ths of the earth’s surface. Still, some have hit land.
In 1979, parts of the space station Skylab broke apart and rained down over the Australian outback. In 2001, a rocket chunk crashed in the sparsely populated Saudi Arabian desert. And parts of space shuttle Columbia accident reached the ground in 2003. But no one was ever hit.
"You just go with the odds. And statistically, the chances of it being over a populated area are very, very small."
The UARS satellite was launched before 1995. That’s the year NASA started requiring all satellites be built with fewer heavy components capable of making it through the earth’s atmosphere.
By Derrol Nail
FOX 35 News
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Have you ever wished that a shooting star won’t end up hitting and killing you? Well, it's not totally out of the realm of possibility, NASA informed us on Friday.
Back in 1991, the space shuttle put an Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite into orbit to study human effects on the ozone layer. Twenty years later, and NASA informs us it's going to come crashing back to earth.
The space agency says the UARS satellite will de-orbit sometime in October, but no one knows where the 26-pieces that will survive re-entry will land.
"It will have what we call an uncontrolled re-entry” said NASA Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel. “They can’t be brought down in a specific place, it's just wherever they come down."
So, that begs the question: what are the chances it will hit one of the 6.7 billion people on our planet? NASA has assigned the odds at 3,200 to 1.
"In fifty plus years of the space age, no one has been hit by a piece of falling satellite" said Beutel.
That’s because most satellite chunks that survive the disintegrating heat of re-entry land in the water, which covers roughly 3/4ths of the earth’s surface. Still, some have hit land.
In 1979, parts of the space station Skylab broke apart and rained down over the Australian outback. In 2001, a rocket chunk crashed in the sparsely populated Saudi Arabian desert. And parts of space shuttle Columbia accident reached the ground in 2003. But no one was ever hit.
"You just go with the odds. And statistically, the chances of it being over a populated area are very, very small."
The UARS satellite was launched before 1995. That’s the year NASA started requiring all satellites be built with fewer heavy components capable of making it through the earth’s atmosphere.
Soviet's Soyuz rockets flop; "We have no plan-B" says West Seattle astronaut
From West Seattle Herald: Soviet's Soyuz rockets flop; "We have no plan-B" says West Seattle astronaut
NASA astronauts depend on Soyuz transport to & from International Space Station...for now
By Steve Shay
Now that the Space Shuttle program is retired, with the last flight, on the Atlantis, landing in Houston July 21, American astronauts depend on getting to and from the International Space Station by hitching a ride, at a mere $63 million per seat, on the Soviet Soyuz aircraft.
Problem is, mounting mishaps have recently plagued the Soyuz, placing the program on hold while testing is done. Meanwhile, two groups of three American astronauts remain in the station now, and, while they are safe, they do depend on food and other supplies delivered by future Soyuz flights for the long haul. And of course NASA may become trigger-shy to send up more Americans in the bug-ridden Soyuz.
After a malfunction in late August, an unmanned Russian Soyuz rocket, Progress 44 cargo ship, crashed. It was loaded with fresh supplies to deliver tho the Space Station. The Soyuz crash is the fourth recent Soviet mission to have failed. A Proton-M rocket crashed into the sea because the fuel tank was over-filled. Then the control software in another (non-Soyuz) rocket failed. A few days before the Soyuz accident, Moscow requested help from Americans to search for the telecommunications satellite Express AM4, which had gone missing after being launched into orbit.
"It kind of violates our Plan-B approach at NASA," West Seattle-raised astronaut Captain Gregory C. Johnson told the West Seattle Herald by phone Saturday, referring to the Soyez being our sole manned vehicle to reach space. Johnson is a West Seattle High School class of '72 grad, and a retired astronaut who piloted the Atlantis Space Shuttle May, 2009, on a successful mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He currently tests aircraft at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base near Houston.
"We have always had a Plan B at NASA," he continued. "There is no Plan B because our astronauts can't get to the space station except on Soviet (aircraft). Yeah, we currently rely on the Soviets but we hope not to in the future. Hopefully in two to four years we will be launching American astronauts on American vehicles.
"We have four companies still in the running," he pointed out. "Space X (Space Exploration Technologies) launches its cargo vehicle in November. That is the same rocket that eventually would launch (passengers). Boeing is in the running for a commercial capsule and they intend to link it up with a commercial rocket (built by Lockheed Martin). There is a lot of good work being done. New Horizons launched a rocket by Jeff Bezos last week that had trouble."
Bezos, the CEO of Seattle-based Amazon, made a statement Sept. 2 in his blog: "This week we lost the vehicle during a developmental test at Mach 1.2 and an altitude of 45,000 feet. A flight instability drove an angle of attack that triggered our range safety system to terminate thrust on the vehicle. Not the outcome any of us wanted, but we're signed up for this to be hard, and the Blue Origin (vehicle) team is doing an outstanding job. We're already working on our next development vehicle."
Said Captain Johnson, "So the deal is that rockets are hard. Overall you have to take them very seriously."
NASA astronauts depend on Soyuz transport to & from International Space Station...for now
By Steve Shay
Now that the Space Shuttle program is retired, with the last flight, on the Atlantis, landing in Houston July 21, American astronauts depend on getting to and from the International Space Station by hitching a ride, at a mere $63 million per seat, on the Soviet Soyuz aircraft.
Problem is, mounting mishaps have recently plagued the Soyuz, placing the program on hold while testing is done. Meanwhile, two groups of three American astronauts remain in the station now, and, while they are safe, they do depend on food and other supplies delivered by future Soyuz flights for the long haul. And of course NASA may become trigger-shy to send up more Americans in the bug-ridden Soyuz.
After a malfunction in late August, an unmanned Russian Soyuz rocket, Progress 44 cargo ship, crashed. It was loaded with fresh supplies to deliver tho the Space Station. The Soyuz crash is the fourth recent Soviet mission to have failed. A Proton-M rocket crashed into the sea because the fuel tank was over-filled. Then the control software in another (non-Soyuz) rocket failed. A few days before the Soyuz accident, Moscow requested help from Americans to search for the telecommunications satellite Express AM4, which had gone missing after being launched into orbit.
"It kind of violates our Plan-B approach at NASA," West Seattle-raised astronaut Captain Gregory C. Johnson told the West Seattle Herald by phone Saturday, referring to the Soyez being our sole manned vehicle to reach space. Johnson is a West Seattle High School class of '72 grad, and a retired astronaut who piloted the Atlantis Space Shuttle May, 2009, on a successful mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He currently tests aircraft at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base near Houston.
"We have always had a Plan B at NASA," he continued. "There is no Plan B because our astronauts can't get to the space station except on Soviet (aircraft). Yeah, we currently rely on the Soviets but we hope not to in the future. Hopefully in two to four years we will be launching American astronauts on American vehicles.
"We have four companies still in the running," he pointed out. "Space X (Space Exploration Technologies) launches its cargo vehicle in November. That is the same rocket that eventually would launch (passengers). Boeing is in the running for a commercial capsule and they intend to link it up with a commercial rocket (built by Lockheed Martin). There is a lot of good work being done. New Horizons launched a rocket by Jeff Bezos last week that had trouble."
Bezos, the CEO of Seattle-based Amazon, made a statement Sept. 2 in his blog: "This week we lost the vehicle during a developmental test at Mach 1.2 and an altitude of 45,000 feet. A flight instability drove an angle of attack that triggered our range safety system to terminate thrust on the vehicle. Not the outcome any of us wanted, but we're signed up for this to be hard, and the Blue Origin (vehicle) team is doing an outstanding job. We're already working on our next development vehicle."
Said Captain Johnson, "So the deal is that rockets are hard. Overall you have to take them very seriously."
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