Human Mars missions are still stuck in sci-fi for many reasons, one being that the right propulsion technology hasnt yet launched. Now deep space propulsion is about to take off.

The Space Subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science and Technology recently held a hearing with several experts who are also part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) taking a stand for advancing travel through the final frontier. Technological breakthroughs brought before Congress included ways to amp up speed, payloads and propulsion. There was one in particular that surprised even the cynics.

NASAs Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) program was all but extinct until leaders in the space industry highlighted the propulsion advances brought about by developments for the program meant to prepare astronauts for Mars by robotically redirecting an asteroid to orbit the Moon. They would then explore this asteroid and use it to test out tech prototypes as a precursor to putting boots on the Red Planet. Even with the current administrations planned funding cuts that threaten to be its last gasp, ARM is spawning another arm.

NextSTEP connects the public and private sector in space exploration by joining forces with NASA and using commercial developments (whose funding cant be blasted by the government) to probe new possibilities for extended missions to Mars and beyond. ARM had made some serious leaps forward in solar electric propulsion (SEP) aka ion propulsion. This is a more efficient alternative to the chemical rockets and thrusters on most spacecraft, which rely on heavy fuel. Solar panels use radiation to power the ionizingelectrically chargingof a gas, which creates enough thrust to propel the craft while minimizing weight.

SEP is the same type of technology that sustains the Dawn mission which has been exploring the asteroid belt for a decade, and thruster advancements intended for ARM have tripled its power, increased its efficiency by half and drastically reduced the amount of required propellant. It could someday send off payloads that will give rise to a human colony on Mars.

High power solar electric propulsion capabilities, scalable to handle power and thrust levels needed for deep space human exploration missions, are considered essential to efficiently and affordably perform human exploration missions to distant destinations such as Mars, stated Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate, at the hearing.

The only con in the galaxy of pros SEP brings to space exploration is that such engines is that, unlike chemical rockets, they are unable to accelerate fast enough to defy Earths gravity and launch a spacecraft off the surface. That all changes once its shot into space. Outside our atmosphere, SEP can fire for years on end. Superpowered electric propulsion will operate at levels that start at hundreds of kilowatts, eventually switching out solar electric power for nuclear electric power the further away future missions take us from the sun. NASA foresees sending Earthlings to Mars by using SLS (Space Launch System), the shiny new rocket its currently developing, together with SEP to propel immense payloads towards the planet before the first human footsteps land in its red dust. But first, we actually have to blast something running on one of these engines into space.

A key goal is to demonstrate these new capabilities in the next few years and infuse them into human missions in the next decade, said Gerstenmaier. Watch out, Mars.

(via Seeker)

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Deep space flight may soon be rocketing forward - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at the Kennedy Space Center, said the U.S. space program would refocus on human spaceflight. Credit: NASA TV

WASHINGTON Vice President Mike Pence said July 6 that the U.S. space program would refocus on human spaceflight, including missions to the moon and Mars, but offered few other details about what such a shift would entail.

Pence, in a speech at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, said a reconstituted National Space Council, set to hold its first meeting by the end of this summer, would help reestablish American leadership in space that he claimed has been lacking for the last quarter-century.

Under the leadership of President Donald Trump and with the guidance of the National Space Council, the United States of America will usher in a new era of space leadership that will benefit every facet of our national life, he said.

The council, last active at the end of the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1993, will be reestablished under an executive order signed by Trump June 30. The council will be similar in format to its previous iteration, chaired by the vice president with a membership that includes the heads of a number of cabinet-level and other agencies.

The White House has not released other details about the council, including who will serve as executive secretary, its day-to-day leader, but Pence said the council will be ready to start work later this summer. I look forward to holding the first meeting of the National Space Council before the summer is out, he said.

Once in operation, the council will review current space policies and long-term goals for national space activities, he said, providing advice to the president on those and related issues. Pence did not state how long he expected any initial review of current space policies, or the development of a new national space policy, to take.

Pence, speaking in the Vehicle Assembly Building where space shuttles and Saturn 5 rockets were prepared for flight, said the administration would provide a renewed emphasis on human spaceflight, including human missions to the moon and Mars.

Under President Donald Trumps leadership, we will reorient Americas space program towards human space exploration and discovery for the benefit of the American people and all of the world, he said. We will return our nation to the moon, we will go to Mars and we will still go further, to places that our childrens children can only imagine.

That new focus on human spaceflight, he argued, was key to restoring U.S. leadership in space that he suggested was lacking today. Under President Donald Trump, America will lead in space once again, he said, one of several such statements in his speech.

Pence offered no details about how such a reorientation would be carried out, nor any schedules for human missions to the moon or Mars. Pence did not even specifically state that NASA would send humans back to the surface of the moon, although did say that we will put American boots on the face of Mars.

Other than reestablishing the National Space Council and signing a NASA authorization bill in March, the administrations actions to date have not matched that rhetoric. The White House has yet to nominate a NASA administrator or deputy administrator, nor given a clear indication of when such a nomination might be made.

While NASA received more than $19.6 billion in the final fiscal year 2017 spending bill passed by Congress in early May, the administrations fiscal year 2018 budget request offers just under $19.1 billion for NASA. That includes more than $350 million in cuts in the agencys flagship human space exploration programs, the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.

Those cuts have received criticism from supporters of those programs in Congress. The current administration picks up where the previous administration left off, by projecting a lofty vision for space while providing a budget that keeps the vision from leaving Earth, said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, at a June 29 hearing about the NASA budget proposal.

A House spending bill, approved by an appropriations subcommittee June 29, would increase NASAs budget to nearly $19.9 billion in 2018, including restoring funding for SLS and Orion to 2017 levels.

We made sure the Space Launch System is fully funded, and that astronauts will have the ability to go beyond low Earth orbit in the Orion crew vehicle, said Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), chairman of that appropriations subcommittee, during the markup of the bill.

Pence, in his remarks at KSC, emphasized the importance of the private sector in ensuring American leadership in space. The backdrop to his speech included a flown SpaceX Dragon capsule and a mockup of a Boeing CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle, as well as the Orion capsule that flew on a brief December 2014 test flight.

Im particularly excited to see the increased collaboration with our burgeoning commercial space industry, so much in evidence here, he said. Were going to continue to foster stronger partnerships between government agencies and innovative industries across this country.

He also alluded in his remarks to the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from nearby Launch Complex 39A that took place on the evening of July 5. I was praying for rain at the Kennedy Space Center so we might see that rocket go up today, he said.

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Satellite ride-share: Spaceflight Industries prepares for outer space revolution (Video) Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) 6 photos. Jason Andrews, CEO, founder and president of Spaceflight Industries, is a PSBJ innovator more. It's like an Uber service for satellites. Spaceflight Industries has drastically reduced the cost of accessing outer space through this ride ... and more »

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Satellite ride-share: Spaceflight Industries prepares for outer space revolution (Video) - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Credit: SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rumbled into the sky Wednesday from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, flexing the rockets muscles and lofting a massive Intelsat satellite to orbit supporting wireless communications, television broadcasting and trans-Atlantic data relays.

Recovering from back-to-back countdown aborts earlier in the week, the two-stage, 229-foot-tall (70-meter) launcher lit nine Merlin 1D main engines and rocketed away from pad 39A at the Florida spaceport at 7:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT) Wednesday.

The slender white booster pivoted 1.7 million pounds of thrust from its main engines to steer eastward from the Space Coast, powering through the speed of sound as the kerosene-fueled first stage climbed above the stratosphere.

The nine-engine first stage shut down less than three minutes after liftoff, and the booster dropped away with the help of pneumatic pushers for a destructive plunge into the Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesdays mission the third SpaceX launch in 12 days carried the Boeing-built Intelsat 35e communications satellite toward a perch in geostationary orbit 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

The commercial spacecraft weighed around 14,900 pounds (6,761 kilograms) at launch, the heaviest payload SpaceX has ever launched to such a high orbit. SpaceX committed all of the Falcon 9s propellant to send the Intelsat satellite into the highest orbit possible, a ride designed to minimize the spacecrafts own fuel consumption as it maneuvers into its final operating position.

The lift requirement left no fuel in the Falcon 9s first stage to brake for landing, and the rocket was not equipped with landing legs or fins needed for an intact recovery.

Two firings of the upper stages single Merlin engine placed the Intelsat 35e spacecraft into a temporary oval-shaped orbit that ranges as far as 26,700 miles (43,000 kilometers) from Earth, according to Elon Musk, SpaceXs founder and chief executive.

After a half-hour trek across the Atlantic, the Falcon 9 deployed Intelsat 35e around 32 minutes into the flight. An on-board camera beamed back a live view of the satellite receding into the blackness of space.

Intelsat confirmed later Wednesday night that the spacecraft radioed controllers via a ground station, suggesting the satellite was healthy following the fiery journey into space.

Thanks Intelsat! Musk tweeted. Really proud of the rocket and SpaceX team today.

Wednesdays launch wrapped up a busy two weeks for SpaceX, in which the company deployed 12 satellites on three Falcon 9 rockets, including a previously-flown booster that sent the first Bulgarian-owned communications spacecraft into orbit June 23 from pad 39A.

Two days later, a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and successfully placed 10 next-generation Iridium voice and data relay satellites into orbit.

SpaceX intended to launch the Intelsat 35e mission Sunday, but software errors led to computer-triggered aborts at T-minus 10 seconds during back-to-back countdowns Sunday and Monday.

John Insprucker, the Falcon 9s principal integration engineer who provided launch commentary on SpaceXs webcast, said ground software halted Mondays launch attempt because a measurement in the first stage avionics system did not match a pre-programmed limit in a ground database.

He said engineers confirmed the rocket was OK to fly without any changes to flight hardware, and officials modified the limit for Wednesdays launch attempt.

The countdown Wednesday sailed through the T-minus 10 second software readiness check, and the rockets 32-minute ascent appeared to go smoothly.

The weight and destination orbit of Intelsat 35e maxed out the lift capability of the current configuration of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket, according to Ken Lee, Intelsats senior vice president of space systems.

Besides the need to fly the rocket without recovery equipment, the Falcon 9s upper stage was programmed to continue firing until its propellant tanks were nearly empty during the engines second burn. Rockets typically aim for a certain altitude and shut off their engines after reaching their target.

That left some uncertainty in where Intelsat 35e would end up, and Lee said in a pre-launch interview that the Falcon 9 rocket needed to send the satellite into an orbit stretching to a peak altitude of at least19,405 miles (31,230 kilometers), per an agreement between SpaceX and Intelsat.

It turns out the Falcon 9 exceeded that requirement, placing its satellite passenger into a better-than-predicted orbit.

Intelsat 35es own rocket thruster will reshape its orbit in the next few weeks at a circular altitude of nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers). The satellite will raise the low point of its current transfer orbit, which currently swings as low as a few hundred miles up, and shift its ground track from the tropics to a path directly over the equator.

The satellite will park itself at 34.5 degrees west longitude, where it will remain in lock-step with Earths rotation during a 15-year lifetime.

Hosting C-band and Ku-band communications payloads, Intelsat 35e is the fourth Epic-class relay satellite developed and launched by Intelsat, joining three previous versions orbited by European Ariane 5 rockets.

The latest generation of Intelsat satellites carry all-digital payloads, giving the company added flexibility in how it beams video, voice and data signals.

In this version, what we do is we actually digitize all the traffic that comes to the spacecraft, and once youre in a digital domain, you can do so many things, Lee said in an interview with Spaceflight Now. You can put it into the beams that you want to, or you can put it into all the beams, or any one of the beams for different connectivity.

Intelsat 35e can process about 20 gigabits of data per second, routing television programming and mobile phone calls across its field-of-view. Intelsat said its newest satellite will primarily support wireless communications operators in Africa and Latin America, offer broadband services to cruise ships, andbroadcast television to Caribbean customers for the French company Canal+.

Parts of Europe and North America will also fall inside Intelsat 35es communications coverage area.

Intelsat did not disclose the cost of the Intelsat 35e, but a spokesperson said the companys Epic satellites typically cost between $300 million and $425 million each.

Companies including Orange, INWI, Tele Greenland, Sonatel, Marlink, Speedcast, ETECSA and eProcess will be among the first to deploy services on the satellite once it is placed into service, Intelsat said in a press release after Wednesdays launch.

Intelsat 35e will replace the aging Intelsat 903 satellite at the 34.5 degrees west position. The older satellite, which launched on a Russian Proton rocket in March 2002, will be repositioned to a new coverage area before the end of the year, Intelsat said.

SpaceX will slow its rapid-fire launch campaign in the coming weeks as it gears up for the next Falcon 9 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. That mission is scheduled to blast off Aug. 10 with several tons of supplies and experiments for the International Space Station, followed by up to two more Falcon 9s later in August from California and Florida.

SpaceXs three launches in a little more than 12 days, including two from the same pad, gave the company 10 successful Falcon 9 flights just past the halfway mark of 2017.

The launch record this year has already set a record for the most launches by SpaceX in a single year. The previous high was eight flights, achieved last year before a Falcon 9 rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral, destroying an Israeli-owned communications satellite, damaging SpaceXs primary launch pad, and grounding the companys rockets more than four months.

Our priority is to reliably launch our customers, said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceXs president and chief operating officer, in a statement following Wednesdays mission. SpaceX is able to attempt three launches for three customers in 12 days not only because we have the rockets, launch pads and droneships at the ready, but because we have the teams on the ground to get the job done.

We are pleased with the progress we are making this year to launch and recover our rockets, which is key towards achieving full and rapid rocket reusability, Shotwell said.

Before Wednesdays expendable Falcon 9 launch, the last two missions featured booster landings at sea on separate SpaceX barges stationed in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

As for Intelsat, one of the worlds biggest and oldest commercial satellite operators, the company currently has no further missions booked with SpaceX, Lee said.

Nevertheless, when there is an opportunity, we consider SpaceX to be a viable option for us, and well engage them, Lee said. If the payload works out right with them, then we dont have any reservation using SpaceX.

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SpaceX delivers for Intelsat on heavyweight Falcon 9 mission - Spaceflight Now

Jason Rhian

July 6th, 2017

Image Credit: ESA

Ever since the start of the Space Age in 1958, humanity has left an ever-increasing amount of debris in orbit. The fact that, until recently, almost all launch vehicles were completely disposable. Even the satellites and probes sent aloft by those rockets end up adding even more high tech garbage to endlessly conduct orbits around our world. However, not all of this debris harmlessly retraces arcs above Earth as theAMC-9 satellite is currently demonstrating.

Luxembourg-basedSESstated that it had regained communications with the satellite in a release issued by the company on June 29.

The International Space Station has been struck by debris. Parts of the station have been in orbit since 1998. Photo Credit: NASA

According to SES, services provided by the satellite were restored under a restoration capacity plan designed to minimize the impact felt by customers on the ground just a day after they were lost on Saturday, June 17.

The AMC-9 restoration strategy demonstrates one of the many benefits of working with a satellite operator with a large global fleet, Anand Chari, Gogo Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer said via an SES-issued release. All networks, satellite and terrestrial, can occasionally suffer such rare mishaps. SESs ability to recover so quickly and effectively is a compelling testament to the size and flexibility of its fleet, the professionalism of its people, and the operational processes in place to ensure the resiliency needed to keep businesses, such as Gogo, running seamlessly.

AMC-9 was constructed by Thales and is working with SES to determine what caused the problem as well as ways in which the satellite might continue to provide services. The loss of services has been estimated at costing SES approximately $22,697,700 dollars (20 million); this includes the possible reduction in fleet transponders for future commercialization efforts.

A report appearing on Ars Technica noted that at least two, and likely more, parts were tracked in AMC-9s vicinity. In the days that followed, several pieces of the satellite were seen coming off of the spacecraft. The two most likely scenarios for this would either be an internal malfunction which led to an explosive event or it was struck by something. Given the sheer volume of debris orbiting our world? Such events have become more and more likely.

It can be said that humanity has not done a very good job as steward of Earth, and that messy nature appears to be expanding into the high frontier.

AMC-9 was launched atop a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodromes Site 200 back in 2003 and was lofted with a planneddesign life of some 15 years. The spacecraft orbits at an altitude of some 22,369 miles (36,000 km). In so doing, AMC-9 could maintain its position over its area of responsibility.

In the grand scheme of things, however, this is nothing compared to the greater risk that space debris poses. At present, estimates place some 500,000 pieces of debris in orbit above our homeworld. An array of possible solutions have been started but, as of yet, no viable systems have been put into operation. These man-made objects range in size and composition from paint chips a half inch in width (1.27 centimeters) to parts and pieces of rockets, spacecraft, and satellites. One of the more famous pieces of orbital debris is NASA astronaut Ed Whites glove that floated out of his GeminiIV capsule in 1965.These are tracked by the Department of Defenses U.S. Space Surveillance Network.

Video courtesy of Eric Berger, ExoAnalytics

Tagged: AMC-9 Gemini IV Lead Stories Proton-M SES space debris

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.

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As space debris concerns grow, AMC-9 satellite appears to be adding to the problem - SpaceFlight Insider

Collin Skocik

July 5th, 2017

Artists rendition of Archinaut building a satellite boom in space. Image Credit: Made In Space

Made In Space, Inc., the startup company out of Singularity University which, on Sept. 23, 2014, supplied the first 3-D printer to the International Space Station (ISS), has developed a program that it hopes will revolutionize construction in space, called the Archinaut Development Program.

Made In Space CEO Andrew Rush said: Its our ambition to develop the manufacturing technologies that will usher in the era of true commercial space utilization.

Using a combination of 3-D printing and robotic arms, the Archinaut project aims to develop small satellites which will be able to construct large structures in space.

The real difference maker for this technology is in the area of being able to put stuff up that you cant origami fold up, or that would be really, really difficult to do with a traditional deployable system, Rush said.

Rush explained that folding up structures so that they can survive launch prevents them from being truly optimized for space. Building them in space is a game-changer.

Artists rendition of Archinaut servicing a satellite. Image Credit: Made In Space

NASA selected Made In Space for its Tipping Point technologies in November 2015. Testing is under way at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California, analyzing structures made by the 3-D printer aboard the ISS. The next phase will involve the use of robotic arms. The first phase of the project will last 18 months.

The second phase will involve the launch of a spacecraft which will demonstrate these techniques in orbit, building a structure a few meters across.

Archinauts Ulisses process uses a 3-D printer to manufacture parts from raw material stored in the satellites toolbox. Then robotic arms would assemble the structure. Raw material could come from asteroids or it could be recycled space debris.

Where this gets really interesting is, tens to 100 meters plus, Rush said. And thats what were angling toward.

One possible construction would be massive space telescopes. The structures could be manufactured in orbit using the 3-D printer, and then the lenses and mirrors, manufactured on the ground, could be integrated using robotic arms.

Rush points out that telescopes are not really space-optimized when theyre folded up in a nosecone for launch. A totally space-constructed telescope or any other structure would be unlimited in size and shape.

Video courtesy of Made In Space

Made In Space is not the only company taking an interest in in-space manufacturing. Tethers Unlimited, a private aerospace company in Bothell, WA, plans on launching three experiments into space over the next three years.

Firmamentums Refabricator. Photo Credit: Tethers Unlimited

Tethers Unlimited CEO Robert Hoyt said: The first scheduled flight experiment is the Refabricator recycling and 3-D Printing payload that will go up in 2018.

The Refabricator was developed by Firmamentum, a subsidiary of Tethers Unlimited. Developed with backing from NASA and the Pentagons Defense Advances Research Projects Agency (DARPA), it recycles plastic waste into raw material filament for 3-D printers to manufacture new parts.

After the Refabricator, the company plans on putting MakerSat into orbit a CubeSat that will be 3-D printed, assembled, and deployed aboard the ISS.

After that, Hoyt expects to launch the Dragonfly experimental satellites. Developed by SSL (formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC), of Palo Alto, California, the Dragonfly satellites will be assembled on orbit.

SSL President John Celli said: NASAs Tipping Point program enables SSL to qualify new technologies for the commercial market while at the same time providing advances for future NASA missions.

Satellites assembled on-orbit using our integrated robotics capability will be capable of higher performance than satellites that can be launched today. An added benefit will be antennas that can be moved and changed during a satellites mission life for flexibility and to accommodate changing market requirements.

The ISS took ten years to build, requiring dozens of Space Shuttle flights hauling huge, cumbersome modules that had been constructed on Earth and required many spacewalks to assemble. These new technologies promise to eliminate such a complex and expensive construction process as well as making space manufacturing cheap, simple, and capable of building a true spacefaring infrastructure.

Video courtesy of SSL

Tagged: 3D Printing Made in Space NASA The Range

Collin R. Skocik has been captivated by space flight since the maiden flight of space shuttle Columbia in April of 1981. He frequently attends events hosted by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, and has met many astronauts in his experiences at Kennedy Space Center. He is a prolific author of science fiction as well as science and space-related articles. In addition to the Voyage Into the Unknown series, he has also written the short story collection The Future Lives!, the science fiction novel Dreams of the Stars, and the disaster novel The Sunburst Fire. His first print sale was Asteroid Eternia in Encounters magazine. When he is not writing, he provides closed-captioning for the hearing impaired. He lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

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Made In Space: 3-D printing to revolutionize space construction - SpaceFlight Insider

Updated at 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT) July 4.

For the second day running, computers automatically aborted a Falcon 9 launch countdown Monday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the final seconds before liftoff with the Intelsat 35e communications satellite.

SpaceX said its engineers will spend Tuesday examining data and reviewing systems before trying to launch again Thursday or Friday.

Out of an abundance of caution, SpaceX will be spending the 4th of July doing a full review of the rocket and launch pad systems, SpaceX said in a statement. The next launch opportunity for Intelsat 35e from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida is now no earlier than Wednesday, July 5 or Thursday, July 6.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk tweeted to confirm there will be no launch attempt Tuesday.

The trigger of Mondays abort was not immediately known, but an unplanned hold at the same point in a countdown Sunday was caused by a software error during a final check of the rockets guidance, navigation and control instrumentation.

SpaceX said they cleared that problem, and engineers pressed ahead with another attempt Monday to send the heavyweight nearly 7.5-ton Intelsat 35 relay and broadcasting satellite into orbit.

Stormy weather to the west of launch pad 39A at the Florida spaceport delayed the targeted launch time 58 minutes to 8:35 p.m. EDT Monday (0035 GMT Tuesday), the end of the days launch window.

Using a computer-controlled automatic sequencer, the launch team loaded the Falcon 9 rocket with super-chilled, densified RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants in the final hour of the countdown.

No technical problems were noted by SpaceX engineers as the final minutes ticked toward liftoff, until the countdown stopped at T-minus 10 seconds. Without any time left in the launch window, the hold led to an automatic scrub.

Engineers will comb through data to determine source of the problem, and identify a fix, SpaceX said.

We have all the telemetry coming off of the rocket, so weve got plenty of information, but theyre taking their time right now to understand what system theyre really looking at that would be the cause of the hold, said John Insprucker, SpaceXs Falcon 9 principal integration engineer, who provided live launch commentary on the companys webcast.

SpaceX initially said it could try a third day in a row Tuesday Independence Day to launch the Falcon 9 rocket, but officials said a few hours after Mondays scrub that the next liftoff attempt would slip until later in the week.

We had an extended countdown today, Insprucker said as SpaceXs webcast signed off. We had to wait for the weather, and we got to T-minus 10 seconds before we had a hold, once again, called by the automated abort criteria.

We were not able to recycle because we were out of the window, he said.

SpaceX is going for its third Falcon 9 launch in less than two weeks, and the second from pad 39A in that span. The Air Force-run Eastern Range was expected to be unavailable for launch operations for a couple of weeks beginning soon after the July 4 holiday.

Intelsats senior vice president of space systems, Ken Lee, said additional engineers came to Cape Canaveral to prepare for the Intelsat 35e launch, and ground teams worked around-the-clock in shifts ahead of the Falcon 9s first launch attempt Sunday.

Once the Falcon 9 takes off with Intelsat 35e, SpaceXs launch cadence will slow for a few weeks. The companys next mission is scheduled to launch Aug. 10 from Florida on a space station resupply run.

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Launch of Falcon 9 rocket scrubbed second day in a row - Spaceflight Now

BRUCE EINHORN

Last updated10:33, July 6 2017

Virgin Galactic/Facebook

Virgin Spaceship Unity glided for the first time in 2016 after being released from Virgin Mothership Eve above the Mojave Desert.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is poised to resume powered test flights more than twoyears after the fatal breakup of its experimental rocket plane, with the billionaire entrepreneur aiming to make the first trip into space himself by the middle of next year.

Following the completion of a series of glide-only sorties, powered tests are set to take place every three weeks with the aim of extending them into space by November or December, Branson said in an interview. After his own flight, full commercial passenger operations should start by the end of 2018, he said.

Branson's update is the most detailed since the October 2014 crash of Virgin Galactic's original SpaceShipTwo, in which co-pilot Michael Alsbury died when the craft was torn apart after he prematurely unlocked a braking mechanism.

REUTERS

Sheriff's deputies look at a piece of debris near the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo near Cantil, California November 1, 2014.

While the accident in the Mojave Desert came just months before the planned maiden commercial flight, Branson said the appetite for travel to the edge of space remains undimmed, leaving room for a number of competitors.

Read more: *Virgin Galactic gets space tourism licence which will permit commercial operations *Virgin Galactic's new spaceship makes first glide flight *Stephen Hawking to travel to space on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic

"We will never be able to build enough spaceships," Branson said Wednesday in Hong Kong following the introduction of Virgin Australia flights from Melbourne. "The demand is enormous."

RADIO NEW ZEALAND

Richard Branson is one step closer to lift-off after Virgin Galactic secured an operating licence for space tourism.

Branson was an early leader in the new space race after founding Virgin Galactic in 2004. Since then, rivals like the Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin and Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, have gained momentum by focusing on reusable rockets to cut the cost of space travel.

The Briton, who turns 67 on July 18, said there's a role for various launch systems, especially in the deployment of satellites, viewed as a likely mainstay of Virgin Galactic's future business.

The company's Virgin Orbit arm is working on a two-stage air-launched rocket that would carry small satellites, with test rockets set to be dropped from an aircraft in the first quarter of 2018, he said.

REUTERS

Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides.

"There is definitely the demand for all three," Branson said of the competing ventures. "We can take off at 24-hour's notice, put a couple of satellites up and come back again. With ground-based rockets, there's quite a long waiting time. Elon has bigger rockets, so he has advantages there."

Branson declined to comment directly on Donald Trump's June 30 announcement that he'll revive a Cold War-era council that helped shape space policy, or on the US president's suggestion that private companies are set to play "an important role" in the next phase of space technology.

"I think myself and Jeff Bezos and Elon are just getting on with it," he said. "I don't think I've heard of anything majorly exciting that's come out of the administration as far as space is concerned, but maybe they'll surprise us."

Virgin Galactic will also play a role in developing elements of Boom Technologies's planned supersonic plane, Branson said, and will build parts of the XB-1 demonstrator on which the U.S. startup plans to commence work before the end of this year, according to

Branson, a vocal opponent of the UK leaving the European Union, said he's hopeful the country is now headed for a Brexit "kinder" to business following the outcome of May's general election, which left the ruling Conservatives with fewer seats and dependent on the support of a smaller party.

-The Washington Post

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Richard Branson targets space flights by mid-2018 as Virgin begins powered tests - Stuff.co.nz

Jerome Strach

July 4th, 2017

With SpaceX recovering boosters on nearly every mission, hangars can get crowded. This photo was taken in the summer of 2016 before Launch Complex 39A was active for Falcon 9 launches. Four recovered boosters are present. Photo Credit: SpaceX

Last week, the Canaveral Port Authority authorized the leasing and development of anadditional 2.17 acres (8,780 square meters) to expand SpaceXs current property along State Road 401 andPayne Way. The company currently has property through along-term lease option in Port Canaveral. This new property, which lies adjacent to the first, will allow for the construction of a large hangar for booster processing and refurbishment strategically located near the launch facilities.

SpaceX already leases property at Port Canaveral. It plans to build additional hangar space on a lot just to the east of its current property. Photo Credit: Google

The lease term began on July 1, 2017, and runs through March 31, 2022. Its terms indicate an expenditure for SpaceX to be about $19,730 per month, with a 3percent annual increase. The neighboring property already runs the company about $35,180 per month.

It is unclear how much the new facility will cost to construct, but the U.K. architectural firm Atkins is being hired by SpaceX management, headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The new hangar will be a 67,222-square-foot (6,245-square-meter) behemoth and will provide additional protected work space for recoveredboosters.

Shortly following a launch from Cape Canaveral, usually around eight to nineminutes, SpaceX boosters land offshore in the Atlantic Ocean on theAutonomous Space Drone Ship Of Course I Still Love Youor back at Landing Zone 1 (formerly Space Launch Complex 13).

While SpaceX has only recently begun to safely land their first-stage boosters, the number of successful landings to date includeseight drone ship landings (including two on the West Coast drone ship Just Read The Instructions) and fiveLZ-1 landings. The expected result of this advanced aerospace maneuver of successful landings is that SpaceX now holds a rather large fleet of used boosters that each measure about157 feet(48 meters) in length and 12 feet(3.65 meters) in diameter.

Each brand new Falcon 9is reportedly valued at around $62 million, and now that landed first stages are being refurbished and re-flown, the most recent being the BulgariaSat-1 launch occurring on June 23, 2017, the future cost for flight-proven vehiclelaunches is expected tosignificantly drop for customers.

The current manifest SpaceX shares with the public currently lists clients using new hardware. The option of clients choosing refurbished equipment at a discount will become a consideration for customers moving forward.

The BulgariaSat-1 first stage core returns to port to be offloaded and sent to a hangar for potential refurbishment. Photo Credit: Vikash Mahadeo / SpaceFlight Insider

Most rocket companies flying orbital trajectories, up until this point, simply disposed of the expensive rocket hardware due to flight dynamics and challenging physics encountered during launch. The only exception wasthe Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) used on NASAs Space Shuttle. The SRBs would parachute into the Atlantic Ocean, thereby allowing for recovery and refurbishment.

However, SpaceX wants to eventually reuse 100percent of itsrocket components, including the payload fairing which can cost upward of $6 million. More challenging will be the recovery of the secondstage because it travels all the way to orbit, requiring a heat shield for a successful recovery.

This new hangar structure to be built will provide additional sheltered work space for SpaceX to tackle the taskof analyzing the Merlin-1D engine cluster and other flight hardware. The returning of the boosters through the atmosphere can punish the booster as it re-enters the dense air at high speed.

As an example, just recently, SpaceX started constructing grid fins steerable flaps located at the top of the booster out of titanium because the aluminum components on previous designs were not holding up to the intense heat. Onboard cameras would often show the oldergrid fin design glowing bright orange, and even catching fire during descent just beforelanding.Thenew titanium grid fins will allow for long-term use of the same hardware, allowing for repeated flights with little or no maintenance.

The current hangar structures available to SpaceX in Florida include alarge horizontal integration facility (HIF) just outside the perimeter atLaunch Complex39A at the Kennedy Space Center, an HIF at Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and a small hangar at Landing Zone 1. Without additional space, there is aneed to shuffle hardware around frequently utilizing the McGregor, Texas, test facility as well as the SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Another HIF is located at Vandenberg Air Force Bases SLC-4E launch site in California.

This shuffling of hardware has become a frequent occurrence with SpaceX increasing its launch cadence. In 2016, SpaceX launched a total of eight Falcon 9 rockets (with the ninth one exploding on a launch pad during a test on Sept. 1, 2016). This year, so far, there have been nine launches, with six months still left in 2017.

The additional challenge of fleet management will now be exacerbated by the Falcon Heavy configuration which requires three separate booster cores. It is hoped that SpaceX will launch itsFalcon Heavy rocket before the end of 2017.

Tagged: Falcon 9 Port Canaveral SpaceX The Range

Jerome Strach has worked within the Silicon Valley community for 20 years including software entertainment and film. Along with experience in software engineering, quality assurance, and middle management, he has long been a fan of aerospace and entities within that industry. A voracious reader, a model builder, and student of photography and flight training, most of his spare time can be found focused on launch events and technology advancements including custom mobile app development. Best memory as a child is building and flying Estes rockets with my father. @Romn8tr

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SpaceX acquires 2 more acres at Port Canaveral - SpaceFlight Insider

SpaceXs next Falcon 9 rocket was hydraulically hoisted vertical Sunday morning at launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, less than 12 hours before a scheduled blastoff with the Intelsat 35e communications satellite.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is not fitted with the landing legs or aerodynamic steering fins needed for recovery because the 14,905-pound (6,761-kilogram) Boeing-built spacecraft mounted atop the Falcon 9 is too heavy to permit a controlled descent of the first stage.

SpaceX is preparing for its second launch in a little more than nine days at pad 39A, a turnaround that will set a record for the shortest time between missions from the historic launch complex, assuming the Falcon 9 lifts off in the next few days.

Sundays launch, scheduled for 7:36 p.m. EDT (2336 GMT), will be the 10th Falcon 9 mission this year, and the eighth from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Follow our live coverage of the countdown and launch.

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Photos: Expendable Falcon 9 launcher raised vertical at pad 39A - Spaceflight Now

3D-printed scale models of asteroids and other planetary bodies are used for real-life testing of spacecraft navigation and landing systems. The Martian moon Phobos is shown in the foreground.

ESA / G. Porter

When youre planning a space mission, you want to make sure you know the terrain.

One perhaps unexpected tool of the modern space agency is 3D printing. Detailed scale models of planetary bodies such as comets, asteroids and other worlds are used to aid in real-life testing of spacecraft navigation and landing systems.

The structure of the models is based on data and imagery from earlier space missions. The image above shows two versions of a model of the Martian moon Phobos. The white one in the background is the raw 3D-printed object. We then add colour and surface finishing to produce the more realistic-looking model in the foreground, explains Olivier Dubois Matra of European Space Agencys Guidance, Navigation and Control Section.

Mobile cameras are then used to represent the spacecrafts view of the planet and are manoeuvred around the models. This allows for physical testing of guidance and landing procedures, and is used in conjunction with virtual testing using specialized software.

Read more at the European Space Agency.

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3D-printed moons for spaceflight practice - Cosmos

Jim Sharkey

July 4th, 2017

A scarecrow rover at NASAs JPL drives over a sensor while testing a new driving algorithm. Engineers created the algorithm to reduce wheel wear on the Mars Curiosity rover. Photo Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The six wheels of NASAsCuriosity Mars rover have experienced considerable wear and tear since the one-ton rover landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. However, anew algorithm is helping the rover drive more carefully over rocks on the Martian surface to reduce wheel wear.

The new software, called traction control, adjusts the speed of the rovers wheels depending on the rocks its rolling over. The software was uploaded to Curiosity in March, following 18 months of testing at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Curiositys wheels have received considerable damage since the rover touched down on the surface of Mars in 2012. Photo Credit: NASA / JPL

The software was approved for use by mission managers on June 8, after extensive testing at JPL and multiple tests on Mars. The traction control software is currently on by default but can be turned off as needed, such as during scheduled wheel imaging when the Curiosity team assesses wheel wear.

Even before the wheels began to showvisible signs of wear, engineers at JPL had started studying ways to reduce the damaging effects of the Martian surface. All of the rovers wheels turn at the same speed on level ground, but as a wheel goes over uneven terrain, the incline causes the wheels behind or in front of it to begin slipping.

Such changes in traction are particularly troublesome when goingover pointed rocks that are embedded in the Martian surface. When this occurs, the wheels in front pull the trailing wheels into the rocks; the wheels behind push the leading wheels into rocks.

The treads on Curiositys wheels, called grousers, are designed for climbing rocks. The spaces on the wheels in between the grousers are more at risk of cracks and punctures.

If its a pointed rock, its more likely to penetrate the skin between the wheel grousers, said Art Rankin of JPL, the test team lead for the traction control software. The wheel wear has been [a]cause for concern, and although we estimate they have years of life still in them, we do want to reduce that wear whenever possible to extend the life of the wheels.

The traction control software uses real-time data to adjust the speed of each wheel, thus reducing pressure from the rocks. The software measure changes to the rovers suspension system to determine the contact points of each wheel. The algorithm then calculates the correct speed to avoid slippage and improve Curiositys traction.

To test the effectiveness of the software, the wheels were driven over a six-inch (15-centimeter) force torque sensor on level ground. According to Rankin, leading wheels experienced a 20 percent load reduction and middle wheels experience an 11 percent load reduction.

The traction control software will also help with the problem of wheelies. Sometimes a climbing wheel will keep rising, lifting off the surface of a rock until it is free-spinning. Wheelies increase the forces on the wheels that remain on the ground. When the traction control software detects a wheelie, it adjusts the speeds of the other wheels until the rising wheel is back into contact with the surface.

Video courtesy of NASA

Tagged: Curiosity Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Mars Science Laboratory The Range wheels

Jim Sharkey is a lab assistant, writer and general science enthusiast who grew up in Enid, Oklahoma, the hometown of Skylab and Shuttle astronaut Owen K. Garriott. As a young Star Trek fan he participated in the letter-writing campaign which resulted in the space shuttle prototype being named Enterprise. While his academic studies have ranged from psychology and archaeology to biology, he has never lost his passion for space exploration. Jim began blogging about science, science fiction and futurism in 2004. Jim resides in the San Francisco Bay area and has attended NASA Socials for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover landing and the NASA LADEE lunar orbiter launch.

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New driving algorithm helps protect Curiosity rover's wheels - SpaceFlight Insider

The Dragon spacecraft was lifted onto a boat for a trip back to port in Southern California following Mondays predawn splashdown. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceXs Dragon spaceship, carrying more than 4,100 pounds of cargo and research specimens, descended to a predawn splashdown Monday in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, completing the first re-flight of one of SpaceXs unpiloted supply ships to the International Space Station.

Completing a four-week stay at the space station, the Dragon cargo capsule departed the research outpost Monday at 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), when astronaut Jack Fischer commanded the stations robotic arm to release the spacecraft.

Launched June 3 from NASAs Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, the automated logistics carrier delivered nearly 6,000 pounds of equipment and research hardware to the space station.

The capsule made its second trip to the orbiting complex. SpaceX refurbished the craft following its first mission in September and October 2014.

Dragons been an incredible spacecraft, Fischer radioed mission control a few minutes after Dragon left the space station. I could even say it was slathered in awesome sauce. This baby had almost no problems, which is an incredible feat considering its the first reuse of a Dragon vehicle.

Items stowed for Dragons return included live mice from an experiment to investigate the effectiveness of a therapeutic drug to promote bone growth, combating atrophy in astronauts in space and osteoporosis patients on Earth. The mice will be euthanized and examined after landing.

Most of the 6,000 pounds of cargo carried was science, and almost all the return cargo are precious samples for discoveries we cant wait to see, Fischer said. In addition, Dragon brought up a host of external experiments. Weve added an external platform for science, a neutron star analyzer and a new solar array that rolled out like a party horn on New Years Eve.

Dragons homecoming was pushed back a day because of rough seas in the splashdown zone around 260 miles (420 kilometers) southwest of Long Beach, California.

Under the control of SpaceX engineers in Hawthorne, California, the Dragon capsule fired its thrusters in three pulses to fly a safe distance away from the space station. A few hours later, the supply freighter braked out of orbit with another rocket firing, jettisoned its disposable unpressurized trunk and service module, then plunged into Earths atmosphere for a searing re-entry.

Soaring southwest to northeast, the capsule deployed two drogue parachutes and three main chutes before splashing down, SpaceX tweeted at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT; 5:14 a.m. PDT).

The return marked the first time a Dragon capsule has splashed down at night. Fischer captured a view of the plasma trail behind the Dragon spacecraft during re-entry as the space station sailed overhead.

A SpaceX recovery team hoisted the craft onto a boat for a two-day trip to the Port of Los Angeles, where time-sensitive cargo and scientific samples will be handed over to NASA and research teams.

SpaceX replaced the heat shield and other parts of the capsule after its 2014 flight, but officials said the primary structure, propulsion system and sections were original articles.

Mondays splashdown concluded SpaceXs 11th resupply mission to the space station. Including flights already accomplished, SpaceX has contracts with NASA for at least 26 cargo flights to the orbital research lab through 2024.

The companys 12th cargo mission is set for launch Aug. 10 from the Kennedy Space Center.

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Dragon capsule returns home with animals and station equipment - Spaceflight Now

A computer-triggered abort halted the countdown of a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, pushing back the next mission in SpaceXs launch surge until at least Monday.

The 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket was counting down to liftoff with an Intelsat communications satellite at 7:36 p.m. EDT (2336 GMT) Monday, and an iffy afternoon weather forecast gave way to clear skies as clocks ticked toward launch.

An automatic sequencer sent commands to load the two-stage rocket with super-chilled RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants, and the Falcon 9s engines were prepared for ignition and its fuel tanks pressurized for launch during the final minutes of Sundays countdown.

But clocks stopped at T-minus 9 seconds after a computer overseeing preset criteria in the rockets guidance, navigation and control system ordered an automatic abort. SpaceXs launch director scrubbed Sundays launch attempt a few minutes later as engineers investigated the problem.

We had a vehicle abort criteria violated at T-minus 10 seconds, a GNC (guidance, navigation and control) criteria, the launch director said. Were still looking into what that is at this time.

Were not going to be able to get a recycle in today without going past the end of the window, so were officially scrubbed, he said. Go ahead and put a 24-hour recycle into work.

SpaceX began draining the Falcon 9s propellant tanks at launch pad 39A soon after the scrub.

If SpaceXs launch team can understand the problem, and correct it if necessary, the Falcon 9 rocket could be fueled again Monday for a 58-minute launch window that opens at 7:37 p.m. EDT (2337 GMT).

The launch of the Intelsat 35e communications satellite is the third in a series of Falcon 9 flights over the last two weeks. If the rocket blasted off Sunday, it would have been the third Falcon 9 launch in a little over nine days, and the second from the same launch pad in Florida.

The feverish pace of activity at SpaceXs Cape Canaveral facilities seeks to break the record for the fastest turnaround between launches at pad 39A. SpaceX and Intelsat are eager to get the rocket off the ground before the U.S. Air Forces Eastern Range becomes unavailable to support the launch after the July 4 holiday.

The Falcon 9 rocket assigned to Intelsat 35es mission conducted a static fire test Thursday evening at pad 39A, less than 72 hours before the opening of Sundays launch window. Ground crews rolled back the Falcon 9 to its hangar Friday afternoon and attached the Intelsat 35e satellite to the rocket in time to return to the pad in the predawn hours Sunday.

We had to add additional resources to try to turn around the campaigns in such a short time, said Ken Lee, Intelsats senior vice president of space systems, in an interview Sunday at Cape Canaveral. More manpower a lot of pressure but as usual our team is mission-oriented, so when they see a target theyre going to do the best they can do meet that date.

Theyve been working almost around-the-clock, and we brought in additional engineers to make sure that we did the work that we needed to do without any shortcuts.

The 14,905-pound (6,761-kilogram) Intelsat 35e communications satellite, built by Boeing, is the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by SpaceX toward a perch in geostationary orbit, a circular loop more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earths equator commonly used by broadcast and data relay stations.

At that altitude, orbital mechanics require a satellite to fly around Earth at the same speed it rotates, allowing a spacecraft to hover over a fixed geographic location, an ideal situation for communications applications.

The heavy weight of Intelsat 35e effectively maxes out the Falcon 9s capability to lift a payload going to that type of orbit, Lee said.

SpaceX has budgeted all of the Falcon 9s kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant to send Intelsat 35e into as high of an orbit as possible. That means the first stage will not return to land on a barge at sea, and the upper stages single Merlin engine is programmed to fire as long as it can, instead of aiming for a specific predetermined altitude.

The mission is designed to leave as little leftover propellant as possible in the second stage, called a minimum residual shutdown.

There is a minimum orbital target that we are shooting for, and if there is excess fuel on the rocket, then were going to continue to burn until we deplete all the fuel, Lee said.

Lee said there is a range of possible orbits the Falcon 9 could deploy Intelsat 35e into, but the minimum expected peak altitude, or apogee, when the satellite separates from the upper stage is 19,405 miles (31,230 kilometers), according to Lee.

The low point, or perigee, of the transfer orbit is expected to be around 155 miles (250 kilometers), and Intelsat 35es path around Earth will be tilted 26 degrees to the equator.

If the launcher releases the Intelsat 35e satellite in that orbit, the spacecraft will still have enough on-board propellant for its planned 15-year operational life. Intelsat and Boeing agreed to load more fuel into the spacecraft to make up for the possible altitude shortfall.

Everything else will be gravy in terms of the service life, Lee said, referring to the benefit of going into a higher initial orbit.

When it blasts off, the Falcon 9 could deliver extra performance for Intelsat 35e, and the possible range of the satellites initial apogee altitude runs above 22,000 miles, a regime called supersynchronous transfer orbit, Lee said.

The higher the orbit, the better for the satellite in terms of mission lifetime because Intelsat 35e will have to burn less of its own fuel to maneuver into its final position.

The range we are hoping for tonight, we have a minimum number, and we have a maximum number, which would be a slightly supersynchronous (transfer) orbit, Lee said.

We are maxing out (the Falcon 9) and beyond because we are doing the MRS (Minimum Residual Shutdown) mission, and we are not recovering this rocket.

Intelsat 35es own engine will fire multiple times in weeks after launch to circularize the satellites orbit a geostationary altitude. Lee said the spacecraft should ever service in the second half of August, beaming signals across the Americas, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Africa for wireless network providers and television broadcasters.

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SpaceX scrubs Sunday launch attempt with Intelsat relay satellite - Spaceflight Now

Curt Godwin

July 2nd, 2017

President Trump displays the Executive Order authorizing the reinstatement of the National Space Council. Photo Credit: White House video

In a move that had been anticipatedsince late in his campaign, President Trump signed an Executive Order re-establishing the National Space Council on Friday, June 30, 2017. The Council, disbandedin 1993, will be chaired by Vice President Pence and staffed by members of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, including the yet-to-be-named NASA Administrator, and will help guide national space policy and initiatives.

Originally created as the National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC) as a part of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 during the Eisenhower administration, the Council was designed to give guidance to NASA during the early days of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

At its inception, the Council was chaired by the President and staffed by various Secretaries from the Executive Branch, along with the NASA Administrator, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and with an allowance of up to four additional members composed of representatives from private industry and the federal government.

Though the framework of the Council stayed relatively unchanged throughout its early years, President Kennedy directed that Vice President Johnson chair the committee in his stead. This arrangement of the Vice President chairing the Council has been commonplacethroughout its history, even after renaming the organization to the National Space Council in President Bushs administration in 1989.

Vice President Pence, who will chair the National Space Council, gives a short introduction for President Trump prior to the signing of the Executive Order. Photo Credit: White House video

After the Council was disbanded in 1993, its functions were assumed by the National Science and Technology Council.

Though President Obama hadpromised to re-establish the National Space Council as part of his 2008 campaign, his two terms passed without that pledge coming to fruition.

AfterPresident Trump made a similar promise during his 2016 campaign, many thought a similar fate had befallen the Council after five months had passed since his inauguration with little to indicate if, or when, the council would be reinstated. Indeed, the Administration has yet to name an administrator for the national space agency.

However, on relatively short notice,the President reinstated the Council and placed the Vice President at its helm.

Today, were taking a crucial step to secure Americas future in space by reviving the National Space Council after it washas been dormant almost 25 years if you can believe it, the President was quoted as saying in a release by the White House.

The Vice President will serve as the councils chair, stated Trump, following with a list of key members of the revived body. Several representatives of my administration will join him including the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce, Transportation, and Homeland Security; the Chairman of the greatIll tell you, hes doing a fantastic job, always working, always fighting, and winning winning big against ISIS, that I can tell you, seeing whats happening therethe Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Security Advisor, NASA, and the Director of National Intelligence.

Beyond the President and Vice President,there were Congressional representatives and Senators in attendancemainly from states with a vested interest in a national spaceflight programalong with industry representatives and astronauts, including spaceflight pioneers Buzz Aldrin and Gene Kranz.

Notably absent from the signing, however, were leaders from the NewSpace industry. Though it was reported both SpaceXsElon Musk and Blue OriginsJeff Bezos were invited, neither were in attendance. In fact, one of the NewSpace industrys leading advocatesthe Commercial Spaceflight Federationwas not even invited and has been silent on the announcement.

In contrast,the Coalition for Deep Space Explorationan alliance representing much of the traditional members of the United States spaceflight industrywas present for the signing.

The re-institution of the National Space Council is another important step in solidifying our nations continued commitment to NASAs deep space exploration program, statedDr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, president and CEO of the Coalition, in an e-mail statement issued by the organization.

Robert Lightfoot, the acting NASA Administrator, was also quick to praise the signing of the Executive Order.

I am pleased that President Trump has signed an executive order reestablishing the National Space Council. The council existed previously from 19891993, and a version of it also existed as the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 19581973. As such, the council has guided NASA from our earliest days and can help us achieve the many ambitious milestones we are striving for today, noted Mr. Lightfoot in a release issued by the agency.

The establishment of the council is another demonstration of the Trump Administrations deep interest in our work, and a testament to the importance of space exploration to our economy, our nation, and the planet as a whole, concluded Lightfoot.

With traditional spaceflight partners and their supporters so readily represented, coupled with the lack of members from the growing NewSpace industry in attendance, one could draw the conclusion that thenewcomers may not have much influence overthe nations spaceflight direction.

However, with NASA not yet having an Administrator and not knowing the overall composition of the revived Council, only time will tell if Americas spaceflight policy will be guided by the old guard or shepherded by the nascent NewSpace leaders.

Video courtesy of The White House

Tagged: Donald Trump Lead Stories NASA National Space Council White House

Curt Godwin has been a fan of space exploration for as long as he can remember, keeping his eyes to the skies from an early age. Initially majoring in Nuclear Engineering, Curt later decided that computers would be a more interesting - and safer - career field. He's worked in education technology for more than 20 years, and has been published in industry and peer journals, and is a respected authority on wireless network engineering. Throughout this period of his life, he maintained his love for all things space and has written about his experiences at a variety of NASA events, both on his personal blog and as a freelance media representative.

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Derek Richardson

July 2nd, 2017

Alegless Falcon 9 waits for liftoff. The onboard computer aborted the July 2, 2017, launch attempt due to a GNC issue. Photo Credit: Michael Howard / SpaceFlight Insider

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. Within 10 seconds from leaving the pad at Launch Complex 39A, the Falcon 9s onboard computer triggered an automatic abort. While this was a 58-minute window, it was decided there would not be enough time to diagnose the abort and recycle the countdown.

SpaceX lead Falcon 9 engineer John Insprucker reported via the companys webcast that it appeared to be an out of criteria reading in theGuidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system. Liftoff was scheduled for 7:36 p.m. EDT (23:36 GMT).

Assuming the problem is found and engineers can fix it in time, the SpaceX team will try again on July 3, 2017. The 58-minute window opens at 7:37 p.m. EDT (23:37 GMT).If it launches then, it will be the third Falcon 9 to fly in 10 days.

This mission will utilize an expendable legless Falcon 9 to send Intelsat 35e into a geostationary transfer orbit. The rocket will not be recovered as the 14,905-pound (6,761-kilogram) satellite is too massive to allow for a successful first stage landing downrange.

This will be the fourth Intelsat EpicNG satellite to be placed in orbit. It will service parts of the Americas, Europe and Africa from a geostationary orbital slot of 34.5 degrees West longitude.

The Boeing-built satellite was built on the Boeing 702MP bus. It will have C- and Ku-band transmitters powered by two solar wings that generate between 6 kilowatt and 12 kilowatts of electricity. It is expected to operate for at least 15 years.

Tagged: Falcon 9 Intelsat-35e Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A Lead Stories SpaceX

Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a blog about the International Space Station, called Orbital Velocity. He met with members of the SpaceFlight Insider team during the flight of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket with the MUOS-4 satellite. Richardson joined our team shortly thereafter. His passion for space ignited when he watched Space Shuttle Discovery launch into space Oct. 29, 1998. Today, this fervor has accelerated toward orbit and shows no signs of slowing down. After dabbling in math and engineering courses in college, he soon realized his true calling was communicating to others about space. Since joining SpaceFlight Insider in 2015, Richardson has worked to increase the quality of our content, eventually becoming our managing editor.

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Legless Falcon 9 automatically aborts launch at T-10 seconds - SpaceFlight Insider

Sean Costello

July 1st, 2017

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced two new astronauts who will join its astronaut corps, Joshua Kutryk, and Jennifer Sidey, on Saturday, July 1, the event was tied to the 150th celebration of Canada Day and was made by Justin Trudeau, Canadas prime minister. Photo Credit: Jeffrey Radbourne

OTTAWA, Ontario The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announcedbig news on the 150th anniversary of the nations Confederation: the next astronaut candidates that the space agency would prepare for trips beyond Earths atmosphere. The announcement was made by CanadasPrime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on Parliament Hill, the nations capital, during theCanada Day festivities.

Joshua KutrykandJennifer Sideywill join the CSAs two current astronauts:David Saint-Jacques (who is currently scheduled to fly onDec. 2018) and Jeremy Hansen (who serves with the CSA evaluation teamand is the NASA astronaut candidate class mentor andleader). This means that these latest two additions will double the size of the CSAs astronaut corps.

Interestingly, overhead, Kutryks brother, Matthew, flew as a member of Canadas CF-18 Demo Team, buzzing the nations Capital.

Canada is one of the 16 nations that are involved with the International Space Station. The nation has contributed the Canadarm 2 and DextretheSpecial Purpose Dexterous Manipulator(SPDM) to the orbiting laboratory. Canadas astronauts have gained access to the space station via NASAs now-retired fleet of shuttle orbiters and Russias Soyuz spacecraft.

Videos courtesy of the Canadian Space Agency

Tagged: Canada Day Canadian Space Agency International Space Station Jennifer Sydey Joshua Kutryk Lead Stories

Sean Costello is a technology professional who also researches, writes about and speaks publicly on the many benefits and inspiring lessons which stem from within the international space flight programs. Prior to joining the growing SpaceFlight Insider team in early 2014, Costello was a freelance photographer and correspondent for various radio and print news organizations, beginning his coverage during the Shuttle era. Costello's chief responsibility on the team is that of Producer for "SFI Live", the live webcast which is shot on location prior to most launches occurring at Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Beginning with the inaugural show which covered the launch of Orion atop EFT-1, all archived shows are available for on-demand viewing at https://www.youtube.com/spaceflightinsider

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CSA announces new astronaut candidates - SpaceFlight Insider

Chinas Long March 5 rocket is counting down to liftoff Sunday from the countrys tropical island space center with a high-power, electrically-propelled communications satellite.

The heavy-lifter is scheduled to blast off from the Wenchang launch base on Hainan Island at around 1120 GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT; 7:20 p.m. Beijing time) Sunday, heading for an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit with the Shijian 18 communications satellite, the first in a new series of modern Chinese high-capacity relay stations.

Sundays launch will be the second flight of a Long March 5 rocket, Chinas most powerful launcher, which made a successful maiden mission in November 2016.

Chinese space officials will closely watch the performance of the Long March 5 rocket Sunday as engineers prepare to send Chinas Change 5 sample return mission to the moon in November on the third launch of the heavy-lifter.

Ten engines on the Long March 5s first stage and four strap-on boosters will send the launcher skyward on 2.4 million pounds of thrust. The 187-foot-tall (57-meter) Long March 5 will head east from the Hainan Island launch base, which will host its fourth launch Sunday after entering service last year.

Ground crews at Wenchang rolled the Long March 5 to its launch pad Monday.

Riding on a vertical launch table, the Long March 5 completed the trip in about two-and-a-half hours, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Swing arms on the seaside launch pads 300-foot-tall (92-meter) service gantry enclosed the Long March 5 for final launch preparations.

Chinas state-run media has not said if they plan any live coverage of the launch.

The Long March 5s maiden test flight last year deployed an experimental satellite named Shijian 17 to test electric thrusters, technology that could give Chinese spacecraft improved maneuverability between different types of orbits around Earth.

The Shijian 18 satellite aboard Sundays flight is the first in an upgraded series of Chinese spacecraft called the DFH-5 platform. Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, the DFH-5 design is bigger and more capable than Chinas existing satellites, providing more power for communications payloads and additional data throughput for Internet providers, television broadcasters and data networks.

Shijian 18 also hosts a laser communications instrument for even higher-speed data links, and ion thrusters will keep the spacecraft in geostationary orbit, a perch more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

China hopes to sell communications satellites based on the new DFH-5 design to international governments and commercial customers.

Ground controllers will run the Shijian 18 satellite through extensive testing to verify the new satellite design works as expected.

Chinese officials say the Long March 5 is a centerpiece of the countrys long-term space ambitions, allowing China to dispatch satellites to space that are twice as heavy as payloads that can fit on earlier Long March rockets.

The heavy-duty rocket can haul about the same amount of weight into space as United Launch Alliances Delta 4-Heavy, the worlds other leader in space lift capability. The Long March 5 bests the capacity of the European Ariane 5 and Russian Proton launchers.

The Long March 5 is one of three new launch vehicles China has debuted in the last two years.

The Long March 6 is the smallest of the three, tailored to deliver small satellites into low-altitude orbits. The medium-lift Long March 7 is designed to carry resupply ships, and eventually crews, to Chinas future space station.

The Long March 5 will haul three 20-ton modules to low Earth orbit for the Chinese space station, beginning next year with the launch of the Tianhe 1 core module. The Long March 5 is also slated to launch the robotic Change 5 mission to the moon later this year to scoop up surface samples for return to Earth, and Chinas first Mars rover will ride a Long March 5 rocket when it blasts off in mid-2020.

The new family of launchers will eventually replace Chinas Long March 2, 3 and 4 rockets, which burn toxic liquid propellants and launch from inland space centers, requiring them to drop spent stages on land.

The Long March 5 rocket, when flown from Wenchang, jettisons its boosters over the South China Sea. Its engines also consume a more environmentally-friendly mixture of liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and kerosene.

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President Trump signs an executive order re-establishing the National Space Council, with astronauts Dave Wolf and Al Drew, and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin (left-to-right) looking on. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Emphasizing commercial, technological and national security opportunities in space, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday re-establishing the National Space Council, a space policy advisory and steering group that was last active nearly 25 years ago.

The directive to relaunch the council was promised by Trumps presidential campaign, and Vice President Mike Pence announced in March that he would chair the reinstated National Space Council.

Fridays signing by President Trump formally sets up the council, an inter-agency board that will include the secretaries of state, defense, commerce, transportation and homeland security, the head of the governments intelligence community, the NASA administrator, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other Trump administration officials.

Todays announcement sends a clear signal to the world that we are restoring Americas proud legacy of leadership in space, Trump said. Our vice president cares very deeply about space policy, and for good reason. Space exploration is not only essential to our character as a nation, but also our economy and our great nations security.

The council will review space policy, develop a national space strategy, make recommendations to the president on space issues, foster close coordination and cooperation among civilian, military and commercial space sectors, and advise on U.S. participation in international space activities, according to the document signed Friday by President Trump.

But many questions remain unanswered about the space programs future under President Trump, including the balance between traditional government-managed projects and privately-run efforts.

The White House has not named a nominee to be NASAs next administrator, andPresident Trump has also not appointed a science advisor. The three remaining employees in the science division of the White Houses Office of Science and Technology Policy left their jobs this week. Their departures left the science division unstaffed, according to CBS News.

While slashing Earth science research and calling for the elimination of NASAs education office, the Trump administrations first budget request keeps Obama-era human spaceflight programs in place, continuing spending on commercial space taxis to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, the government-owned Space Launch System mega-rocket, and the Orion crew capsule designed for deep space missions.

We will continue to unlock the mysteries of space, but to do so, we most reorient our civilian space program toward deep space exploration and provide the capabilites for America to maintain a constant presence in low Earth orbit and beyond, Pence said earlier this month in a speech at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin joined other astronauts, lawmakers and business executives at the signing ceremony in the White House.

I am pleased that President Trump has signed an executive order re-establishing the National Space Council, said Robert Lightfoot, NASAs acting administrator, in a statement. The council existed previously from 1989-1993, and a version of it also existed as the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1958-1973. As such, the council has guided NASA from our earliest days and can help us achieve the many ambitious milestones we are striving for today.

Lightfoot added that the council will help ensure that all aspects of the nations space power national security, commerce, international relations, exploration, and science are coordinated and aligned to best serve the American people.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, billionaires who established SpaceX and Blue Origin with their fortunes, did not attend the White House signing ceremony. Congressman Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma, a rumored candidate to become NASAs next administrator, was also absent.

The chief executives of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance were there, along with an executive from Orbital ATK. Sandy Magnus, a former astronaut and executive directorof the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, also attended the order-signing.

We appreciate the Trump Administrations efforts to strengthen our nations space enterprise and view this as an opportunity to create an integrated strategic approach to U.S. space endeavors, Magnus said in a statement.

The order resurrecting the National Space Council also sets up aUsers Advisory Group with members from industry and other organizations involved in aeronautical and space activities.

Im very happy to see this executive order, said Alan Stern, chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an advocacy group that promotes commercial human spaceflight. I think that a new National Space Council is an important step forward for the nation and for space exploration, and on first brush, Im very happy with the structure of the council.

Stern said he was also pleased that Vice President Pence will lead the council.

Thats precisely how it worked when the nation was really turning heads around the world with space exploration in the 1960s, Stern said in an interview Friday with Spaceflight Now. Lyndon Johnson had that job.

Stern said he wants to ensure the voices of the commercial space industry and scientists are heard by the council through the Users Advisory Group.

I do think the devil is in the details, and Im going to be looking very closely to see that the commercial space community, the scientific community and other stakeholder communities are properly represented, not just at a token level but at a meaningful level, Stern said.

And Im sure that Im not alone in that, he said. Many others are watching to make sure that the deck isnt stacked for certain communities, and leaving others behind or under-represented.

The Trump people have been talking about this since before the inauguration, so its finally good to see some action, said John Logsdon, a space historian, policy analyst and professor emeritus at George Washington University. I frankly expected this to be part of a package of signing the executive order and naming the new leadership of NASA, so Im a little disappointed that that didnt happen.

Stern agreed that the Trump administration should name a new NASA administrator soon.

I think, now that were about six months past the inauguration, its beginning to hurt that NASA doesnt have a named administrator, Stern said. While Robert Lightfoot is doing a tremendous job as acting administrator, its time for an agency of this scope, and this importance to the nation, to get an appointee.

Logsdon called the establishment of the National Space Council a potential step towards a high-quality, coherent U.S. space program.

But the tenor of the council could be much different today than under the first Bush administration.

One of the big differences is a vibrant commercial space sector, which wasnt the case in 1989 through 1993, Logsdon said in an interview Friday. Another is that, in principle, this space council will be able to exert influence over the national security space program, which the Bush 41 council was never able to do.

What happened in 89 is Mr. Bush set these very ambitious goals back to the moon, this time to stay, and then on to Mars and NASA didnt want to do them, Logsdon said. So lets see whether Mr. Trump has some goals to set, and whether the leadership he puts in place at NASA is consistent with his goals.

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Updated at 10 p.m. EDT June 30 (0200 GMT July 1).

An experimental solar wing sent to the International Space Station earlier this month was jettisoned from the orbiting labs robotic arm after engineers were unable to fully retract the array.

The disposal followed an otherwise successful test of the power panels novel roll-out deployment technique, which engineers say could help future spacecraft generate more electricity and still fit inside the fairings of existing rockets.

Carried to the space station inside a SpaceX Dragon supply ship, the Roll-Out Solar Array ROSA is an experiment sponsored by the U.S. Air Force to measure its performance in space for the first time. Rolled up in a spool fastened inside the Dragon capsules unpressurized trunk, ROSA was extracted with the stations Canadian-built robotic arm and extended to a length of more than 15 feet (4.5 meters).

The solar array unfurled June 18, extending like a party favor with tensioning booms on both sides of the 5.5-foot-wide (1.6-meter-wide) wing.

The unique design of the experimental solar array is different from the way solar panels on existing satellites deploy. Current solar panels unfold like an accordion using mechanical hinges, but the roll-out design could save volume and mass on future missions, officials said.

The problem is these traditional methods are bulky and they tend to be heavy, and we just cant make them any bigger, said Jeremy Banik, ROSAs principal investigator at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Thats what it comes down to. ROSA solves this problem by reducing mass by 20 percent and reducing stowed volume by 400 percent over these traditional approaches.

Youre really limited by the surface area of the bus that youre mounting it to, Banik said of current solar array designs. And you can only stack so many panels up before you run into the volume limitation of your launch vehicle fairing.

Engineers observed the behavior of the solar array as the space station sailed through day and night during each 90-minute orbit of Earth, exposing it to extreme temperature swings. A mechanical actuator also introduced vibrations and oscillations to gauge the arrays response to structural loads, and engineers measured the power production from solar cells attached to the panel.

The experiments went well, NASA said, but ground controllers were unable to lock the solar panel back in its stowed configuration after rolling it up last Saturday. Officials opted to re-extend the array before a control center in Canada commanded its release Monday, an eventuality foreseen by the solar panels designers, who added a built-in jettison mechanism to the structure.

Officials did not intend to retrieve the solar array, but mission managers planned to roll up the panel and return it to the Dragon spacecrafts external payload bay, which will burn up in Earths atmosphere Monday when the commercial cargo carriers pressurized capsule heads for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Dragon capsules homecoming was scheduled for Sunday, but NASA and SpaceX officials on Friday delayed the departure and splashdown due to a forecast of unacceptable sea states in the landing zone.

The operations team executed the (solar array) jettison procedure that was developed as part of the pre-flight planning process that covered various scenarios, NASA said in a statement. ROSA will not present any risk to the International Space Station and will not impact any upcoming visiting vehicle traffic.

The uncontrolled solar array will likely stay in orbit several months until it succumbs to atmospheric drag, which will pull it back into the atmosphere for a destructive re-entry.

The robotic arm returned the solar arrays attachment plate to the Dragon capsules trunk for disposal.

Developed by Deployable Space Systems of Goleta, California, in partnership with the Air Force and NASA, the Roll-Out Solar Array tested solar cells capable of generating up to 300 watts of electricity. But future versions of the solar panel could extend to much greater lengths, producing as much as 500 kilowatts of power, according to Banik.

Commercial communications satellites currently operate on no more than about 25 kilowatts of electricity. Higher-power spacecraft are needed to feed large ion engine drives that could propel space probes to other planets, or help maneuver military satellites between different orbits around Earth.

The Roll-Out Solar Array technology opens up applications for things like solar-electric propulsion, Banik said. NASA is considering that for interplanetary missions. Certainly, the Air Force is interested from a LEO to GEO (low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit) transfer perspective. There are some really cool applications for ROSA coming down the pike.

Space Systems/Loral, a California-based manufacturer of large telecommunications satellites, has selected the ROSA technology for potential use on future broadcasting spacecraft.

High-strain composites at the core of the prototype solar array could also be used in other deployable space structures, such as radar antennas, communications antennas and solar sails, Banik said.

The Dragon spacecraft arrived June 5 at the International Space Station, two days after its launch from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket. The recycled cargo freighter is on its second flight to the space station, following a 34-day mission in September and October 2014.

The capsule also delivered a NASA astrophysics instrument designed to study the nature of neutron stars, a commercially-developed Earth observation platform, a habitat with rodents for research into a new drug that could fight osteoporosis, among other experiments.

The unpiloted capsule carried5,970 pounds (2,708 kilograms) of equipment and experiments for unpacking by astronauts and the stations robotic arm. The station crew will finish loading cargo heading back to Earth before closing the hatches leading to Dragon on Saturday.

If weather and sea conditions in the splashdown zone are deemed favorable, the Dragon capsule will be unberthed from its attachment port on the stations Harmony module Sunday, then released from the robotic arm via a command from astronaut Jack Fischer at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0638 GMT) Monday. A series of thruster firings will send the craft a safe distance from the space station for a de-orbit braking burn.

The pressurized section of the Dragon cargo craft will head for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southwest of the California coast at 7:56 a.m. EDT (1146 GMT) Monday, while the unpressurized module will break apart and burn up in the atmosphere.

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