Ocean McIntyre

June 6th, 2017

Curiosity takes a self-portrait at Murray Buttes in September 2016. Photo Credit: NASA / JPL

A paper released recently indicates a habitable environment may have existed on Mars for far longer than previously believed. The paper, which was published in Geophysical Research Letters, looked at halos, or light areas surrounding fractures in areas of Gale Crater on Mars.

Using data from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, the group at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, was able to determine Gale Crater once contained a lake of water that was likely drinkable. Moreover, even after the surface water of the lake disappeared, a significant amount of remained beneath the surface, and for a much longer period of time than previously understood.

What this finding tells us is that, even when the lake eventually evaporated, substantial amounts of groundwater were present for much longer than we previously thought thus further expanding the window for when life might have existed on Mars, said Jens Frydenvang, a scientist and lead author of the paper at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Copenhagen.

In this image taken by NASAs Curiosity Mars rover, pale zones called halos border bedrock fractures. This photo was taken in 2015. The measurements offer a sense of scale. Photo Credit: NASA / JPL

Using the laser-shooting Chemistry Camera(ChemCam) instrument, Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), and cameras, as well as the Chemistry and Mineralogy Instrument (CheMin), scientists looked at samples observed and collected on sols 1,112, 1,119 and 1,126 near the lower-north slope of Aeolis Mons, more commonly known as Mount Sharp.

What they found was the Stimson formation, a sedimentary mudstone rock, which is normally a plain dark stone, took on lighter tones along fracture lines. The closer to the fracture, the lighter the appearance of the rock was, which was similar to other haloed areas observed at Marias Pass and Williams and Bridger Basin.

Curiosity obtained samples from two areas within Bridger Basin, referred to as Greenhorn and Big Sky. The Greenhorn drill samples were taken from within the halo region of the Stimson formation, and the Big Sky drill samples were taken from outside of the halo area.

CheMin revealed the Greenhorn samples taken within the halo were greater than 40 percent elevated in amorphous silica as compared to the Big Sky samples taken outside of the halo areas. They also had increased amounts of feldspar compared to pyroxene.

The ChemCam indicated that within the halo regions, the silica content is between 60to 80 weightpercent, whereas outside of the bright halo regions, the average is 45 weight percent of silica. At the center-most area of the halo regions, the silica content was greater than 80 weightpercent.

Additionally, scientists have been able to trace the haloed areas back following the fractures to areas with previous evidence of water. The halo regions Curiosity observed and sampled are at elevations of 65 to100 feet (20 to 30 meters) from the floor of Gale Crater, which indicates the significant abundance of water that must have once existed there.

Mount Sharp is athree-mile (five-kilometer) high mountain at the center of the 71.5-mile (115-kilometer) wide Gale Crater. Since arriving at Mount Sharp in 2012, Curiosity has found evidence of hematite, sulfate-bearing layers of regolith, and mudclays. All of these indicate a period of time in Mars past when an abundance of water not only existed, but persisted for some length of time.

It is thought that Gale Crater likely experienced one or more episodes of burial and erosion. When and how long these lasted is still to be determined, but experts have suggested it couldve existed from 4.1 billion years ago during the Noachian Era, through to the early Hesperian Era that began 3.7 billion to 3.0 billion years ago.

The Hesperian Era coincides with the point when Mars environment is believed to have changed radically from a warmer, wetter environment, to the cold, dry one seentoday whereas the earlier Noachian Era coincides with the time on Earth that Archea, or the very first life, was beginning to form.

One thing that has again been confirmed is that none of the evidence has pointed to hydrothermal environments. Rather, the samples and observations indicate sedimentary rocks formed at lower temperatures (less than 176 degrees Fahrenheit, or 80 degrees Celsius).

These results, along with two other recently released papers on findings regarding Mars habitability, have caused scientists to broaden their models as well as their understanding of the geologic history of the Red Planet and the possibility of the development of Martian life.

Tagged: Curiosity rover Los Alamos National Laboratory Mars NASA The Range

A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, Ocean McIntyre's writing is focused primarily on science (STEM and STEAM) education and public outreach. McIntyre is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador as well as holding memberships with The Planetary Society, Los Angeles Astronomical Society, and is a founding member of SafePlaceForSpace.org. McIntyre is currently studying astrophysics and planetary science with additional interests in astrobiology, cosmology and directed energy propulsion technology. With SpaceFlight Insider seeking to expand the amount of science articles it produces, McIntyre was a welcomed addition to our growing team.

Continued here:

'Halos' discovered on Mars widen time frame for potential life - SpaceFlight Insider

Paul Knightly

June 6th, 2017

A long-range ground-based interceptor is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to successfully intercept an intercontinental ballistic missile target launched from the U.S. Armys Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll. This was the first live-fire test event against an ICBM-class target. Image and Caption Credit: Missile Defense Agency

Last week, Aerojet Rocketdyne announced the 10th successful test of its Divertand Attitude Control System (DACS) on its Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) in the first live-fire missile defense test against an ICBM-class target.

The EKV DACS is Aerojets contribution to the Missile Defense Agencys Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program which conducted its most recent test on May 30, 2017. The flight, designated FTG-15, also represented the first test of Aerojet Rocketdynes Alternate Propellant Tank (APT).

The inaugural flight of the APT represents several years of dedicated work by Aerojet Rocketdynes engineering team, said Charlie Meraz, the senior director for Aerojet Rocketdynes Missile Defense Program. The APT design is a true reflection of the companys ability to leverage the best engineering tools to improve reliability and meet customer needs.

The FTG-15 test consisted of an ICBM launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, 2,566 miles (4,130 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii, followed by the launch of a Boeing-built interceptor carrying the EKV DACS from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The EKV was moved into position utilizing Aerojet Rocketdynes Alternate Divert Thruster (ADT), which was undergoing its second in-flight test and first intercept test. Altogether, the system successfully moved into position to intercept and destroythe incoming ICBM.

Aerojet Rocketdyne has been a key member of the GMD program team since the beginning and we are proud that our DACS, ADT and APT performed as expected, said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. At Aerojet Rocketdyne, we are committed to delivering reliable products and services that play a critical role in defending our country and our allies around the globe. We look forward to continuing our support of the next generation of this program, the Redesigned Kill Vehicle.

Tagged: Aerojet Rocketdyne ICBM The Range Vandenberg Air Force Base

Paul is currently a graduate student in Space and Planetary Sciences at the University of Akransas in Fayetteville. He grew up in the Kansas City area and developed an interest in space at a young age at the start of the twin Mars Exploration Rover missions in 2003. He began his studies in aerospace engineering before switching over to geology at Wichita State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 2013. After working as an environmental geologist for a civil engineering firm, he began his graduate studies in 2016 and is actively working towards a PhD that will focus on the surficial processes of Mars. He also participated in a 2-week simluation at The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in 2014 and remains involved in analogue mission studies today. Paul has been interested in science outreach and communication over the years which in the past included maintaining a personal blog on space exploration from high school through his undergraduate career and in recent years he has given talks at schools and other organizations over the topics of geology and space. He is excited to bring his experience as a geologist and scientist to the Spaceflight Insider team writing primarily on space science topics.

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Aerojet Rocketdyne 'kill vehicle' performs successful test - SpaceFlight Insider

HYDERABAD: With the successful launch of its heaviest rocket, ISRO now needs to focus on human space flight mission, further development of semi-cryogenic engine and recoverable and reusable launch system, the space agency's former chief G Madhavan Nair said.

"Couple of launches of GSLV Mark III have to be done so that we prove our reliability, and parallelly start the programme for our manned mission (human space flight) and then of course semi-cryogenic project," Nair said.

"If you want to have an eco-friendly rocket, more efficient rocket system for the future, from that point of view semi-cryogenic is very important," Nair said.

"Semi-cryogenic engine should become a replacement for some of the boosters in the days to come," he said.

According to ISRO officials, the space agency has been working on some critical technologies in recent years for the human spaceflight mission.

They said the semi-cryogenic project envisages the design and development of a 2,000 kN semi-cryogenic engine for a future heavy-lift launch vehicle.

This engine uses a combination of liquid oxygen and a propellant-grade kerosene, which are eco-friendly and cost- effective propellants.

They said preliminary details of the overall stage configuration and stage engineering of semi-cryo stage with 200 tonne propellant loading has been worked out.

Nair said, "The ultimate goal of having a recoverable and reusable launch system... that we cannot forget, we should be working towards that."

He said GSLV Mark III, capable of launching four tonne class satellites, is a cost-effective vehicle.

"Four tonne is really the class of payload which meets the most of the communication satellite requirements," he said.

"For independent launch of a communication satellite, this (GSLV Mk III) seems to be the only vehicle available in the global market; whereas Ariane (rocket of European space consortium Arianespace) is a very large vehicle, you require two passengers to go together.

"If somebody wants to have an independent launch, they can make use of this (GSLV-Mk III)," he said.

Nair termed the successful launch of GSLV-Mk III-D1 yesterday as "really a proud moment for ISRO."

"It should become a turning point so that we take off further to the great future. I will say in the last five years, this is the most significant milestone (for ISRO)," he said.

India yesterday scripted history as it successfully launched its heaviest rocket GSLV MkIII-D1 carrying communication satellite GSAT-19.

Original post:

Former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair pitches for human space flight, reusable rocket - Economic Times

Vostok 1

Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, as televised to launch control

Vostok 1 (Russian: , East or Orient 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first manned spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched on April 12, 1961 from Baikonur Cosmodrome with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human to cross into outer space.

The orbital spaceflight consisted of a single orbit around Earth which skimmed the upper atmosphere at 169 kilometers (91 nautical miles) at its lowest point. The flight took 108 minutes from launch to landing. Gagarin parachuted to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 7km (23,000ft) altitude.

The Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States, the two Cold War superpowers, began just before the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. Both countries wanted to develop spaceflight technology quickly, particularly by launching the first successful human spaceflight. The Soviet Union secretly pursued the Vostok programme in competition with the United States Project Mercury. Vostok launched several precursor unmanned missions between May 1960 and March 1961, to test and develop the Vostok rocket family and space capsule. These missions had varied degrees of success, but the final twoKorabl-Sputnik 4 and Korabl-Sputnik 5were complete successes, allowing the first manned flight.

The Vostok 1 capsule was designed to carry a single cosmonaut. Yuri Gagarin, 27, was chosen as the prime pilot of Vostok 1, with Gherman Titov and Grigori Nelyubov as backups. These assignments were formally made on April 8, four days before the mission, but Gagarin had been a favourite among the cosmonaut candidates for at least several months.[7]:262,272

The final decision of who would fly the mission relied heavily on the opinion of the head of cosmonaut training, Nikolai Kamanin. In an April 5 diary entry, Kamanin wrote that he was still undecided between Gagarin and Titov.[8] "The only thing that keeps me from picking [Titov] is the need to have the stronger person for the one day flight."[9] Kamanin was referring to the second mission, Vostok 2, compared to the relatively short single-orbit mission of Vostok 1. When Gagarin and Titov were informed of the decision during a meeting on April 9, Gagarin was very happy, and Titov was disappointed.[10] On April 10, this meeting was reenacted in front of television cameras, so there would be official footage of the event. This included an acceptance speech by Gagarin.[11] As an indication of the level of secrecy involved, one of the other cosmonaut candidates, Alexei Leonov, later recalled that he did not know who was chosen for the mission until after the spaceflight had begun.[12]

Gagarin was examined by a team of doctors prior to his flight. One doctor gave her recollection of the events in an interview with RT in April 2011: "Gagarin looked more pale than usual. He was unsociable and quiet, which was not like him at all. He would answer by nodding or a short 'yes' to all questions. Sometimes he would start humming some tunes. This was a different Gagarin. We geared him up, and hugged. And I said, 'Yuri, everything will be fine.' And he nodded back."[13]

Unlike later Vostok missions, there were no dedicated tracking ships available to receive signals from the spacecraft. Instead they relied on the network of ground stations, also called Command Points, to communicate with the spacecraft; all of these Command Points were located within the Soviet Union.[14]

Because of weight constraints, there was no backup retrorocket engine. The spacecraft carried 10 days of provisions to allow for survival and natural orbital decay in the event the retrorockets failed.

During prelaunch preparations, it was decided to paint "" on Gagarin's helmet in large red letters as a form of identification after landing so that any local police or security personnel who spotted him would know he wasn't a foreign agent parachuted from an aircraft into the Soviet Union (it had been less than a year since U2 pilot Gary Powers was shot down).

The entire mission would be controlled by either automatic systems or by ground control. This was because medical staff and spacecraft engineers were unsure how a human might react to weightlessness, and therefore it was decided to lock the pilot's manual controls. In an unusual move, a code to unlock the controls was placed in an onboard envelope, for Gagarin's use in case of emergency.[7]:278 Prior to the flight, Kamanin and others told Gagarin the code anyway.[15][16]

On Baikonur Cosmodrome on the morning of April 11, 1961, the Vostok-K rocket, together with the attached Vostok 3KA space capsule, were transported several kilometers to the launch pad, in a horizontal position. Once they arrived at the launch pad, a quick examination of the booster was conducted by technicians to make sure everything was in order. When no visible problems were found, the booster was erected on LC-1.[17] At 10:00 (Moscow Time), Gagarin and Titov were given a final review of the flight plan.[17] They were informed that launch was scheduled to occur the following day, at 09:07 Moscow Time. This time was chosen so that when the capsule started to fly over Africa, which was when the retrorockets would need to fire for reentry, the solar illumination would be ideal for the orientation system's sensors.[18]

At 18:00, once various physiological readings had been taken, the doctors instructed the cosmonauts not to discuss the upcoming missions. That evening Gagarin and Titov relaxed by listening to music, playing pool, and chatting about their childhoods.[12] At 21:50, both men were offered sleeping pills, to ensure a good night's sleep, but they both declined.[19] Physicians had attached sensors to the cosmonauts, to monitor their condition throughout the night, and they believed that both had slept well.[20] Gagarin's biographers Doran and Bizony say that neither Gagarin nor Titov slept that night.[21] Korolev didn't sleep that night, due to anxiety caused by the imminent spaceflight.[18]

At 05:30 Moscow time, on the morning of April 12, 1961, both Gagarin and his backup Titov were woken.[22] They were given breakfast, assisted into their spacesuits, and then were transported to the launch pad.[23] Gagarin entered the Vostok 1 spacecraft, and at 07:10 local time (04:10 UTC), the radio communication system was turned on.[23] Once Gagarin was in the spacecraft, his picture appeared on television screens in the launch control room from an onboard camera. Launch would not occur for another two hours, and during the time Gagarin chatted with the mission's main CapCom, as well as Chief Designer Sergei Korolev, Nikolai Kamanin, and a few others.[23] Following a series of tests and checks, about forty minutes after Gagarin entered the spacecraft, its hatch was closed. Gagarin, however, reported that the hatch was not sealed properly, and technicians spent nearly an hour removing all the screws and sealing the hatch again.[2] According to a 2014 obituary, Vostok's chief designer, Oleg Ivanovsky, personally helped rebolt the hatch.[24] There is some disagreement over whether the hatch was in fact not sealed correctly, as a more recent account stated the indication was false.[citation needed]

During this time Gagarin requested some music to be played over the radio.[25] Korolev was suffering from chest pains and close to a nervous breakdown.[citation needed] This was the 24th Soviet space launch and the 16th involving a Luna/Vostok booster. So far, 12 launches had failed, for a success rate of exactly 50%. Two Vostoks had failed to reach orbit due to launch vehicle malfunctions and another two malfunctioned in orbit. Korolev was given a pill to calm him down.[26] Gagarin, on the other hand, was described as calm; about half an hour before launch his pulse was recorded at 64 beats per minute.[27]

The automatic orientation system brought Vostok 1 into alignment for retrofire about 1 hour into the flight.

At 07:25 UT, the spacecraft's automatic systems brought it into the required attitude (orientation) for the retrorocket firing, and shortly afterwards, the liquid-fueled engine fired for about 42 seconds over the west coast of Africa, near Angola, about 8,000 kilometers (4,300 nautical miles) uprange of the landing point. The orbit's perigee and apogee had been selected to cause reentry due to orbital decay within 10 days (the limit of the life support system function) in the event of retrorocket malfunction. However, the actual orbit differed from the planned and would not have allowed descent until 20 days.[30]

Ten seconds after retrofire, commands were sent to separate the Vostok service module from the reentry module (code name sharik, "little ball"), but the equipment module unexpectedly remained attached to the reentry module by a bundle of wires. At around 07:35 UT, the two parts of the spacecraft began reentry and went through strong gyrations as Vostok 1 neared Egypt. At this point the wires broke, the two modules separated, and the descent module settled into the proper reentry attitude. Gagarin telegraphed "Everything is OK" despite continuing gyrations; he later reported that he did not want to "make noise" as he had (correctly) reasoned that the gyrations did not endanger the mission (and were apparently caused by the spherical shape of the reentry module). As Gagarin continued his descent, he remained conscious as he experienced about 8 g during reentry. (Gagarin's own report states "over 10 g".)

At 07:55 UT, when Vostok 1 was still 7km from the ground, the hatch of the spacecraft was released, and two seconds later Gagarin was ejected. At 2.5km (8,200ft) altitude, the main parachute was deployed from the Vostok spacecraft. Two schoolgirls witnessed the Vostok landing and described the scene: "It was a huge ball, about two or three meters high. It fell, then it bounced and then it fell again. There was a huge hole where it hit the first time."[citation needed]

Gagarin's parachute opened almost right away, and about ten minutes later, at 08:05 UT, Gagarin landed. Both he and the spacecraft landed via parachute 26km (16mi) south west of Engels, in the Saratov region at 511614N 455950E / 51.270682N 45.99727E / 51.270682; 45.99727. It was 280km to the west of the planned landing site (near Baikonur).[30]

A farmer and her daughter observed the strange scene of a figure in a bright orange suit with a large white helmet landing near them by parachute. Gagarin later recalled, "When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet citizen like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!"

Gagarin's flight was announced on the Soviet radio by Yuri Levitan, the speaker who had announced all major events in the Great Patriotic War (WW2). As with all previous and most subsequent Soviet rocket launches, the flight preparation was kept secret and the news was aired only post-factum. The flight was celebrated as a great triumph of the Soviet science and technology demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system over capitalism. Moscow and other cities in the USSR held mass demonstrations, the scale of which was comparable to World War II Victory Parades. Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honour. He also became an international celebrity with numerous honours and awards.[31]

April 12 was declared Cosmonautics Day in the USSR, and is celebrated today in Russia as one of the official "Commemorative Dates of Russia."[32] In 2011, it was declared the International Day of Human Space Flight by the United Nations.[33]

Gagarin's informal reply poyekhali! became a historical phrase used to refer to the arrival of the Space Age in human history.[34] Later it was included in the refrain of a Soviet patriotic song written by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov (He said "let's go!" He waved his hand).[35]

The Soviet press later reported that, minutes before boarding the spacecraft, Gagarin made a speech: "Dear friends, you who are close to me, and you whom I do not know, fellow Russians, and people of all countries and all continents: in a few minutes a powerful space vehicle will carry me into the distant realm of space. What can I tell you in these last minutes before the launch? My whole life appears to me as one beautiful moment. All that I previously lived through and did, was lived through and done for the sake of this moment." According to historian Asif Siddiqi, Gagarin actually "was essentially forced to utter a stream of banalities prepared by anonymous speechwriters" taped much earlier in Moscow.[7]:274

Officially, the U.S. congratulated the Soviet Union on its accomplishments.[36]

Writing for the New York Times shortly after the flight, however, journalist Arthur Krock described mixed feelings in the United States due to fears of the spaceflight's potential military implications for the Cold War,[37] and the Detroit Free Press wrote that "the people of Washington, London, Paris and all points between might have been dancing in the streets" if it were not for "doubts and suspicions" about Soviet intentions.[38] Other US writers reported worries that the spaceflight had won a propaganda victory on behalf of communism.[39][40] President John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying that it would be "some time" before the US could match the Soviet launch vehicle technology, and that "the news will be worse before it's better."[39] Kennedy also sent congratulations to the Soviet Union for their "outstanding technical achievement."[39] Opinion pages of many US newspapers urged renewed efforts to overtake the Soviet scientific accomplishments.[38]

Adlai Stevenson, then the US ambassador to the United Nations, was quoted as saying, "Now that the Soviet scientists have put a man into space and brought him back alive, I hope they will also help to bring the United Nations back alive,"[38] and on a more serious note urged international agreements covering the use of space[38] (which did not occur until the Outer Space Treaty of 1967).

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India praised the Soviet Union for "a great victory of man over the forces of nature"[39] and urged that it be "considered as a victory for peace."[38]The Economist voiced worries that orbital platforms might be used for surprise nuclear attacks.[38] The Svenska Dagbladet in Sweden chided "free countries" for "splitting up and frittering away" their resources,[38] while West Germany's Die Welt argued that America had the resources to have sent a man into space first but was beaten by Soviet purposefulness.[38] Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun urged "that both the United States and the Soviet Union should use their new knowledge and techniques for the good of mankind,"[38] and Egypt's Akhbar El Yom likewise expressed hopes that the cold war would "turn into a peaceful race in infinite space" and turn away from armed conflicts such as the Laotian Civil War.[38]

The FAI rules in 1961 required that a pilot must land with the spacecraft to be considered an official spaceflight for the FAI record books.[7]:283 Although some contemporary Soviet sources stated that Gagarin had parachuted separately to the ground,[41] the Soviet Union officially insisted that he had landed with the Vostok; the government forced the cosmonaut to lie in press conferences, and the FAI certified the flight. The Soviet Union did not admit until 1971 that Gagarin had ejected and landed separately from the Vostok descent module.[7]:283

When Soviet officials filled out the FAI papers to register the flight of Vostok 1, they stated that the launch site was Baykonur at 472200N 652900E / 47.36667N 65.48333E / 47.36667; 65.48333. In reality, the launch site was near Tyuratam at 455512.72N 632032.32E / 45.9202000N 63.3423111E / 45.9202000; 63.3423111, 250km (160mi) to the south west of "Baykonur". They did this to try to keep the location of the Space Center a secret.[7]:284 In 1995, Russian and Kazakh officials renamed Tyuratam Baikonur.

Four decades after the flight, historian Asif Azam Siddiqi wrote that Vostok 1

will undoubtedly remain one of the major milestones in not only the history of space exploration, but also the history of the human race itself. The fact that this accomplishment was successfully carried out by the Soviet Union, a country completely devastated by war just sixteen years prior, makes the achievement even more impressive. Unlike the United States, the USSR had to begin from a position of tremendous disadvantage. Its industrial infrastructure had been ruined, and its technological capabilities were outdated at best. A good portion of its land had been devastated by war, and it had lost about 25 million citizens ... but it was the totalitarian state that overwhelmingly took the lead [in the space race].[7]:282

The landing site is now a monument park. The central feature in the park is a 25 meter tall monument that consists of a silver metallic rocketship rising on a curved metallic column of flame, from a wedge shaped, white stone base. In front of this is a 3 meter tall, white stone statue of Yuri Gagarin, wearing a spacesuit, with one arm raised in greeting and the other holding a space helmet.[42][43][44]

The Vostok 1 re-entry capsule is now on display at the RKK Energiya museum in Korolyov, near Moscow.

In 2011, documentary film maker Christopher Riley partnered with European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli to record a new film of what Gagarin would have seen of the Earth from his spaceship, by matching historical audio recordings to video from the International Space Station following the ground path taken by Vostok 1. The resulting film, First Orbit, was released online to celebrate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight.[45]

View post:

Vostok 1 - Wikipedia

CAPE CANAVERAL The Cygnus commercial logistics vehicle departed the International Space Station this morning for a week-long free-flight filled with autonomous science tasks before re-entry.

Owing to a rejiggered schedule that optimizes astronauts workload, the unberthing occurred six weeks ahead of the original plan. A brief window opened in the crews timeline, and flight controllers decided to squeeze in the Cygnus release now instead of waiting until July 16.

The timing became available when bad weather scuttled the launch of the next SpaceX Dragon cargo ships launch from Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, delaying its arrival at the station until Monday.

After closing up the hatchway into Cygnus on Saturday, 16 electrically-driven bolts disengaged early this morning to free the vessel from the Earth-facing side of the Unity connecting hub. The 58-foot-long Canadarm2 then maneuvered the metallic-clad ship into the imaginary departure box.

Flight engineer Jack Fischer, from the robotics workstation in the multi-window cupola module, commanded the arm to let go of Cygnus at 9:10 a.m. EDT (1310 GMT) while flying 250 miles over the South Atlantic.

Godspeed and fair winds, S.S. John Glenn. It has been an honor, Fischer radioed.

The craft logged 43 days, 3 hours, 5 minutes at the station from arm grapple till arm release.

Cygnus then began firing thrusters in a retreat pattern to move away from the station, quickly separating to a safe distance.

The cargo ship, ceremonially dubbed the S.S. John Glenn, was the seventh resupply mission by Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, under NASAs commercial logistics-delivery program.

Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth in February 1962, died in December at age 95.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket boosted this freighter into space from Cape Canaveral on April 18 and it arrived at the station April 22 to deliver 7,443 pounds of cargo, including over 2,000 pounds of science experiments and hardware.

After the astronauts unloaded the hardware delivered, they filled the empty craft with 4,300 pounds of garbage and no-longer-needed materials and hardware to be taken away from the stations living quarters.

Its like six people living in a five bedroom house and no one is taking out the trash. It has to go out sometime and so Cygnus, with its big volume, provides a lot of capability for getting that trash off the ISS, said Frank DeMauro, Orbital ATKs vice president and general manager of its Advanced Programs Division in the Space Systems Group.

While certainly delivering the cargo is the glorious part, I think removing the disposable cargo, in a way, is extremely important.

Cygnus will spend the next week as a free-flying spacecraft, conducting the SAFFIRE 3 fire experiment this afternoon, downlinking the voluminous data and video that will be recorded during that test, and deploying four small LEMUR-2 satellites on Thursday from an altitude about 50 miles higher than the station for meteorology and ship tracking.

Re-entry into the South Pacific is planned for next Sunday, June 11.

After another successful stay at the International Space Station, we now enter the next phase of the mission which marks the third time Cygnus has been used as a research platform for science experiments in space, said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATKs Space Systems Group.

Our ability to demonstrate expanded capabilities for Cygnus beyond its core cargo delivery function shows a level of versatility and flexibility with a solid track record of mission success for our customers.

Cygnus will host the third of three initial-generation spacecraft fire safety experiments, called SAFFIRE, to study the behavior of flames and combustion in microgravity for future capsule designers. Previous Cygnus freighters housed SAFFIRE burns on two flights last year. This test will use one large piece of material to burn, but apply lessons from the earlier experiment runs.

SAFFIRE is a large, self-contained experiment stowed in the back of the Cygnus module. The blaze is ground-commanded, which is expected to occur later today.

As the first chance to actually study a realistically scaled fire, the SAFFIRE experiments have provided valuable insight into fire behavior inside a confined low-gravity environment, said David Urban, SAFFIRE principal investigator.

Sensors record the ambient temperature and the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, two video cameras provide top views of the entire sample, thermocouples are woven into the sample and a radiometer measures the heat given off.

The flame propagates over a panel of thin material approximately 0.4 m wide by 0.94 m long (15.7 x 37 inches) to quantify flame development over a large sample in low-gravity.

Cygnus will remain in orbit for several days until all of the data and imagery recorded during the experiment are downlinked to the ground.

The next-generation of the experiment is being designed for flights in 2019 as SAFFIRE 4, 5 and 6.

SAFFIRE 4-6 will extend the research by including larger, more energetic fires and by testing post-fire cleanup systems, said Urban.

One final science objective for this Cygnus known as the Thermal Protection Material Flight Test and Reentry Data Collection (RED-Data2) is planned during the atmospheric plunge next week.

A company wanting to develop a family of re-entry vehicles to return scientific research samples to Earth from the space station will get a demonstration test at the end of the Cygnus flight when it brakes from orbit.

For this experiment, we are flying three different probes and we have three new heat shield materials that NASA is wanting to get flight-test data for, said John Dec, principle investigator of the RED-Data 2 experiment at Terminal Velocity Aerospace in Atlanta.

The primary data that we are attempting to collect is temperature data from thermocouples that are embedded in the heat shield of each probe.

The three materials being put to the test: A new form of Avcoat that will be used on Orion human spacecraft, the others, developed by the NASA Ames Research Center, are the lightweight Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (C-PICA) and Conformal Silicone Impregnated Refractory Ceramic Ablator (C-SIRCA).

Its kind of like a lawn dart without the stick, Dec said of the probes. The RED-Data probes are only about 9 inches in diameter and weigh about 5.5 kilograms.

Kept inside the Cygnus throughout its mission, the three soccer ball-sized RED-Data-2 probes will be dispersed once the freighter breaks up during re-entry. Each probe will record vehicle location, temperature, acceleration, pressure and gyroscopic data seen during the fiery plunge back to Earth.

When Cygnus does its de-orbit burn, it will start to re-enter the atmosphere and thats when we begin to collect our data. We use the accelerations to determine whether or not were actually starting to re-enter. When Cygnus breaks up, our vehicles are then released into the free-stream flow and thats really when our experiment begins, Dec said.

We have to wait to emerge from the ionization blackout, up until then we are storing data onboard. As soon as we emerge from the blackout, we use the Iridium satellite network to transmit all of our data from our vehicles to the Iridium network and then down to us at the ground station. We never physically recover vehicles, they land in the ocean, but we do get the data back.

The probes use a 45-degree sphere-cone geometry that is designed to always right itself and orient nose-first within a couple of seconds.

This shape is very easily scaled up in size. So what we foresee in the future is to have a sample-return capability. It would be an on-demand type of down-mass capability for the space stationThats really where our future direction is going is to develop a vehicle big enough to bring samples back, said Dec.

The next Cygnus to visit the station is planned for September, launching atop Orbital ATKs own Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia.

See earlier OA-7 Cygnus coverage.

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[ June 4, 2017 ] SS John Glenn freighter departs space station after successful cargo delivery Atlas 5 - Spaceflight Now

Lloyd Campbell

June 4th, 2017

The BEAM module in-situ on the ISS. Photo Credit: NASA

Bigelow Aerospaces Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) module recently marked its one-year anniversary as a part of the International Space Station (ISS).

BEAM is an experimental module made of soft materials, unlike the hard exterior of the current ISS modules, and is expanded on orbit to its full size. When BEAM is expanded, it is almost twice its launch configuration length and is 40 percent larger in diameter. By using an expandable module, space and weight are both saved over current hard exterior modules when launched.

BEAM was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 8, 2016, and attached to the ISS eight days later. Full expansion of the module took place on May 28, 2016. The first attempt at inflation occurred two days earlier, but, after two hours, it was called off because the module was not expanding as quickly as expected.

Astronauts aboard the space station 3-D printed a shield to cover one of the two Radiation Environment Monitors inside the BEAM. The shield, the white hemispherical shape at the center of the photograph, is shown above inside the BEAM module. In the coming months, the crew will print successively thicker shields to determine the shielding effectiveness at blocking radiation. Photo & Caption Credit: NASA

The second inflation attempt lasted seven hours and used multiple injections of air over that period, which eventually resulted in a fully expanded module. It is believed that the fabric, in its compressed configuration for launch, became stuck together during a lengthy 10-month launch delay after a Falcon 9 booster had failed on the previous ISS resupply mission.

The first time that anyone had entered the module on orbit was on June 6, 2016, when the hatch to BEAM was first opened. Astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka entered the module and installed equipment to monitor the environment. This officially marked the start of the planned two-year demonstration mission.

Since then, astronauts have entered the module eight more times to perform maintenance on sensors and equipment as well as make observations about the environment inside and collect air samples.

So far, BEAM is operating as expected with some interesting surprises. One such surprise was that BEAM turned out to be warmer than anticipated after its deployment, which was a good result.

Steve Munday, the BEAM manager at NASAs Johnson Space Center, said in November 2016: A colder-than-expected BEAM would have increased the risk of condensation, so we were pleased when Jeff first opened the hatch and found the interior to be bone dry. BEAM is the first of its kind, so were learning as we go and this data will improve our structural and thermal models and analyses going forward.

Sensors inside of BEAM that are designed to monitor and locate external impacts by orbital debris have recorded what are most likely a few micrometeoroid impacts. BEAMs soft shell has performed well and no breaches have occurred. In reality, BEAMs multiple outer protective layers, even being made up of soft materials, exceed requirements laid out for space station shielding.

Using two active Radiation Environment Monitors (REM), researchers at JSC have found that the dosage due to Galactic Cosmic Rays in BEAM is similar to other space station modules.

As the experimental module heads into its second year, the focus will remain on radiation and environmental observations. A hemispherical shield fabricated using onboard 3-D printing techniques will be used to protect one REM sensor inside and compare the results with one unprotectedREM. The shield will be replaced with ones of increasing thicknesses of about 0.13 inches (3.3 mm) and 0.4 inches (10 mm), also produced using 3-D printing, and measurements will again be compared to those recorded by the unprotected REM.

Studying the dosage received from the Earths trapped radiation belts will help NASA design ways to protect crews from the radiation that will be encountered on deep space missions outside of Earths protective magnetosphere.

Tagged: BEAM Bigelow Aerospace International Space Station The Range

Lloyd Campbells first interest in space began when he was a very young boy in the 1960s with NASAs Gemini and Apollo programs. That passion continued in the early 1970s with our continued exploration of our Moon, and was renewed by the Shuttle Program. Having attended the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on its final two missions, STS-131, and STS-133, he began to do more social networking on space and that developed into writing more in-depth articles. Since then hes attended the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, the agencys new crew-rated Orion spacecraft on Exploration Flight Test 1, and multiple other uncrewed launches. In addition to writing, Lloyd has also been doing more photography of launches and aviation. He enjoys all aspects of space exploration, both human, and robotic, but his primary passions lie with human exploration and the vehicles, rockets, and other technologies that allow humanity to explore space.

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BEAM module marks one year in service - SpaceFlight Insider

Credit: SpaceX

A refurbished robotic Dragon spaceship rocketed into orbit from Florida on Saturday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher, hauling nearly 6,000 pounds of crew provisions and biological, astrophysics and space technology experiments on a two-day trip to the International Space Station.

The unpiloted capsule soared into a late afternoon sky from launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center at 5:07:38 p.m. EDT (2107:38 GMT) Saturday, two days later than planned after a thunderstorm prevented liftoff Thursday.

Nine Merlin 1D engines, generating a combined 1.7 million pounds of thrust, powered the 213-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket through a high-altitude cloud deck as the launcher arced to the northeast, aligning with the space stations orbital track.

It was the 100th launch from historic pad 39A, the previous home to Saturn 5 moon rockets and space shuttles. SpaceX began launch operations there in February, and has now flown six rockets from the seaside launch complex.

The Falcon 9s first stage engines shut down and deployed the rockets second stage more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) over the Atlantic Ocean, then the booster activated nitrogen cold gas thrusters to flip around and fly tail first.

While the upper stage accelerated into orbit, three of the Merlins first stage engines ignited to begin maneuvers to return the first stage to Landing Zone 1, and two more braking burns slowed the 156-foot-tall (47-meter) for a smooth vertical touchdown around 9 miles (14 kilometers) from where the mission started.

The landing marked the fifth time SpaceX has returned a rocket booster to Cape Canaveral all successful. The commercial launch company has recovered 11 rockets in 16 tries overall, a figure that includes landings at sea.

SpaceX aims to reuse the first stages, an initiative the company says will slash launch costs. The rocket that launched on the space station resupply run Saturday was entirely new, but the primary structure of the gumdrop-shaped Dragon cargo capsule on top previously flew on a 34-day orbital mission in September and October 2014, another first for SpaceX.

Engineers examined and stripped the spacecrafts structure after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2014, following a visit to the space station, but the majority of the Dragon cargo capsule is the original article, according to Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceXs director of flight reliability.

He said engineers compared the structural loads and shaking components inside the Dragon capsule experienced on its 2014 flight with their design limits.

That tells us how much life the component has, and we make sure that the component has enough life for the next round, Koenigsmann said. There is a statistical variation, so you have to make a worst-case assumption, basically, to be on the safe side.

SpaceX goes through a similar review of parts on Falcon 9 boosters before clearing them for a re-flight, he said.

Kirk Shireman, NASAs program manager for the International Space Station, said before Saturdays launch that the space agency expects to approve SpaceX plans to re-fly more Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 boosters on future cargo missions to the orbiting research outpost.

SpaceX has two multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA to ferry equipment to and from the space station. The terms of the deal call for at least 26 missions, and 10 of those are in the books, including a failed cargo launch in 2015.

NASA has also contracted with SpaceX to develop a Crew Dragon vehicle capable to ferrying astronauts to and from the space station beginning as soon as next year.

Officials said SpaceXs next cargo mission to the station, scheduled for launch some time in August, will employ a newly-manufactured Dragon capsule.

We share the results with NASA, and review them together, and we conclude that we can either fly a component, or in some cases, we have to make a swap with a new component, Koenigsmann said, adding that such occurrences were very few.

According to Koenigsmann, SpaceX technicians replaced several items that were exposed to salt water after splashdown, such as batteries and the capsules heat shield. But the hull, thrusters, harnessing, propellant tanks, and some avionics boxes are original, he said.

I can tell you the majority of this Dragon has been in space before, Koenigsmann said.

Officials did not say if NASA was compensated for its approval of SpaceXs plans to launch a refurbished Dragon capsule to approach the space station.

Without specifying details, Shireman said the agreement is part of a normal back-and-forth between the government and the commercial operator, in which one party barters with the other.

The Dragon spacecraft is on a two-day voyage to the space station, where it is scheduled to arrive at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) Monday, when astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer will grapple the approaching capsule with the stations Canadian-built robotic arm.

The space station is in excellent shape, ready to receive Dragon, said Ven Feng, manager of the space station transportation integration office at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The robot arm will move the Dragon supply ship to a berthing port on the stations Harmony module, where it is scheduled to stay for nearly one month.

The station crew, reduced to three after the landing of a Russian cosmonaut and French astronaut Friday, will unpack 3,761 pounds (1,665 kilograms) of equipment and experiments loaded inside the Dragon capsules previously-flown pressurized module.

Some food and provisions for the stations crew are strapped inside the Dragon freighter, but research investigations take up the bulk of the ships volume.

Really, the utility of this SpaceX mission is science, Feng said. We have literally tons and tons of science going up on this mission.

Three payloads stowed inside the Dragons external rear trunk will be be removed robotically.

One of the unpressurized experiments, NASAs Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, will study the super-dense leftovers from violent supernova explosions. Made of 56 individual X-ray telescopes, the NICER instrument will observe neutron stars, the collapsed city-sized remnants of stars that have used up all of their nuclear fuel.

Scientists compare the density of a neutron star to cramming the mass Mount Everest into a sugar cube. One teaspoon of neutron star matter would weight a billion tons on Earth, according to NASA.

Developed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Naval Research Laboratory, the neutron star observer will spend 18 months detecting X-ray signals coming from deep space.

Neutron stars are fantastical stars that are extraordinary in many ways, said Zaven Arzoumanian, NICERs deputy principal investigator and science lead at Goddard. They are the densest objects in the universe, they are the fastest-spinning objects known, they are the most strongly magnetic objects known.

The NICER science team wants to know the structure and composition of neutron stars, which are so extreme that normal atoms are pulverized, freeing subatomic particles like neutrons, protons and electrons.

As soon as you go below the surface of a neutron star, the pressures and densities rise extremely rapidly, and soon youre in an environment that you cant produce in any lab on Earth, said Slavko Bogdanov, a research scientist at Columbia University who leads the NICER light curve modeling group.

Unlike black holes, which develop from explosions of stars more than 20 times the mass of the sun, neutron stars can be directly observed.

They emit light all across the spectrum, from radio waves to visible light up to X-rays and gamma rays, primarily in narrow beams from their magnetic poles, Arzoumanian said. Just like the Earth, the magnetic poles on a neutron star are not necessarily aligned with the spin of the star, so you can get narrow beams that sweep as the star spins, just like a lighthouse.

And if we happen to be in the path of the sweep we see a flash everytime one of these beams go by and the stars from a distance appear to be pulsing, so theyre called pulsars, Arzoumanian said.

Scientists will also demonstrate the potential of using the timing of pulses from neutron stars for deep space navigation.

Were going to look at a subset of pulsars in the sky called millisecond pulsars, said Keith Gendreau, NICERs principal investigator at Goddard. In some of these millisecond pulsars, the pulses that we see are so regular that they remind us of atomic clocks.

Atomic clocks are the basis of the Global Positioning System satellites, according to Gendreau.

Another payload bolted inside the Dragon spacecrafts trunk is a mounting platform for multiple Earth-imaging instruments, such as high-resolution digital cameras and hyperspectral imagers.

Developed commercially by Teledyne Brown, the MUSES device to be attached outside the space station is designed to accommodate several Earth-observing cameras by providing the individual instruments with pointing, power and data relay connections.

The third unpressurized experiment on Saturdays launch is the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, made by Deployable Space Systems of Santa Barbara, California.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory funded the solar array test flight, which is intended to test the structures ability to extend and retract, check its resilience to vibrations and other forces, measure its thermal gradients, and verify it can generate electricity.

The new solar array design, which unfolds like a party favor, could be used on future commercial satellites.

The array launched rolled up in a spool, but the experiment will be pulled from Dragons trunk around nine days after launch by the station robotic arm. While remaining in the arms grasp, the solar array will extend to a length of about 15 feet (5 meters) and remain unfurled for around a week.

ROSA is important to the space industry, said Jeremy Banik, the ROSA demonstrations principal investigator from the Air Force Research Laboratory. All spacecraft need power, and tradiational solar panels are made with square, flat plates that accordian fold with mechanical hinges.

The problem is, these panels tend to be heavy and bulky, and we just cant make them any bigger than what we do today. ROSA solves this problem by shrinking mass by 20 percent and stowed volume by a factor of four over these rigid panels, Banik said.

Once the week-long test is finished, the experiment will be returned to the Dragons trunk for disposal.

Live animals were also aboard Saturdays launch, including 40 mice inside specially-designed transporters for an investigation into a treatment that could combat bone loss in astronauts on long-duration space missions and osteoporosis in patients on the ground.

Once the mice arrive at the space station, astronauts will treat the rodents with NELL-1, a therapeutic treatment designed to promote bone growth, according to Chia Soo, the chief scientist for the experiment and a professor of plastic, reconstructive and orthopaedic surgery at UCLA.

Men and women past the age of 50, on the average, lose about a half-percent of bone mass per year, Soo said. But in microgravity conditions, the astronaut, on average, loses anywhere from 1 to 2 percent of bone mass per month.

She added that bone loss in astronauts has tremendous implications for humans with respect to long-term space travel or space habitation in microgravity because we end up progressively losing bone mass.

Twenty of the mice will return to Earth alive with the SpaceX Dragon supply ship in early July, the first time the commercial spacecraft has landed with live animals on-board. The 20 mice that come back alive will go to UCLAs laboratories for additional research and treatment.

The other 20 mice will remain on the space station for more observation and comparative studies with the mice on Earth. All of the animals will eventually be euthanized.

If successful, this will have tremendous implications for patients on Earth because if you look at statistics approximately one in every two to three females over the age of 50, or one in every four to five males over the age of 50, will have an osteoporosis-related fracture, Soo said.

We are hoping this study will give us some insights on how NELL-1 can work under these extreme conditions and if it can work for treating microgravity-related bone loss, which is a very accelerated, severe form of bone loss, then perhaps it can (be used) for patients one day on Earth who have bone loss due to trauma or due to aging or disease, Soo said.

A swarm of fruit flies launched to the space station to examine how prolonged spaceflight affects their heart function.

The hearts of the insects beat at about same rate as the human heart, making it a useful analog, scientists said.

Researchers are sending between 4,000 and 6,000 fruit fly eggs to the space station, where they will hatch before coming back to Earth aboard the Dragon spacecraft.

We would like to understand the role of microgravity on astronaut heart function in order to try to prevent long-term effects when they are in space for long periods and after they come back, said Karen Ocorr, a co-investigator on the fruit fly experiment from the Sanford Burnham Research Institute.

But there are real-world implications as well for people who are spending long periods of time in bedrest or immobilized, Ocorr said. We expect that what we find in our studies on the ISS will have implications for maintaining cardiac function in those sorts of situations.

Saturdays successful launch clears the way for four more SpaceX missions over the next month.

Next on the companys jam-packed manifest is BulgariaSat 1, Bulgarias first communications satellite, scheduled for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center on June 15.

BulgariaSat 1s launch window June 15 opens at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT) and extends two hours.

Koenigsmann told reporters he did not expect BulgariaSat 1s mid-June launch to be delayed after the two-day slip in the cargo missions blastoff this weekend. BulgariaSat 1, which is already being prepared for launch in a processing facility at Cape Canaveral, will launch on a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster.

SpaceX plans its fourth launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on June 25 with the second batch of 10 small new-generation satellites for Iridiums orbiting voice and data relay network.

The Intelsat 35e high-throughput communications satellite will follow no earlier than July 1 from SpaceXs Florida launch base.

The SpaceX launch teams have conducted three launches in the last 34 days, with three more planned in the next four weeks.

Ground crews, engineers and managers are learning to deal with this operation better and better every time, Koenigsmann said after Saturdays launch. The situation that we launch from both coasts is something that is somewhat new for us.

Weve had this with a little bit of separation in the past, and weve set up the teams to be able to cope with that, and have the ability to launch from both sites within a short period of time, he said.

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Reused Dragon cargo capsule launched on journey to space station - Spaceflight Now

Nathan Moeller

May 31st, 2017

Photo Credit: Nathan Moeller / SpaceFlight Insider

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas NASA officials highlighted the work being done on the agencys next generation space-based observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope on Wednesday, May 31. The event was held to mark the beginning of a series of tests that precede the telescopes planned launch to space.

While at JSC, the spacecraft willbe tested as a complete optical system in the simulated space environment of Chamber A. While there, it will be exposed to the vacuum, as well as the frigid temperatures the telescope will encounter after it is launched (if everything goes as planned, the JWST will launch from the spaceport located in Kourou, French Guiana in late 2018 atop an Ariane 5 rocket).

The event was attended by several NASA officials including JSCs Center Director, Ellen Ochoa, Eric Smith, the JWST Program director, Mark Voyton, JWSTOptical Telescope Element and Integrated Science (OTIS) manager from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and Jonathan Homan, project manager for James Webb Space Telescope Test Team at Johnson.

NASA Johnson Space Center Director, Ellen Ochoa, speaks to members of the press during Wednesdays event. Photo Credit: Nathan Moeller / SpaceFlight Insider

Despite being aNational Historic Landmark, Chamber A is still active, with it being used to put spacecraft through their paces before liftoff.

The testing device was built in 1965 to shake down the Apollo Command and Service Modules prior to their trips to the Moon and is the largest thermal-vacuum chamber of its kind in the world.

Once it has completed these tests, the JWST will be sent to Redondo Beach, in California where Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems will integrate the spacecraft with the complete Webb observatory. The JWST will then undergo final testing before it is shipped to Kourou in preparation for flight.

With NASAs Hubble Space Telescope having been on orbit for more than 25 years, the space agency has been working to field the James Webb Space Telescope for some time now, with concepts for Hubbles successor stretching back to the mid 1990s.

The JWST is massive. The telescopes primary mirror measures in at an imposing21-feet (6.5-meters) and requires Arianespaces Ariane 5 rocket to place it at the Lagrange 2 site where it will orbit. By comparison, the entire Hubble Space Telescope is some 43.5 feet (13.2 meters) in length.

Size, however, isnt the only thing that is large about the JWST, the space-based telescope has had cost overruns to match. Initial cost estimates for the U.S. portion of the telescope, placed it at $1.6 billion. However, by around 2015, the telescope had cost $8.8 billion.

Management of the telescope was so poor that on July 6, 2011, the United States House of Representatives attempted to withdraw from the international project. InNovember of that year Congress, rather than ending the agencys role on the project, capped spending on the JWST at $8 billion.

As it is currently envisioned, the James Webb Space Telescope is meant to serve astronomers across the globe, studying exotic phenomenon such as black holes, as well as potentially contributing to humanitys understanding of dark matter and dark energy. It will also be used to seek out exoplanets, to study the formation of distant solar systems, togain a better understanding ofthe history of our universe, as well as the firstlight to appearafter the Big Bang.

As noted, NASA is not alone in contributing to the JWST, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency are also involved on the project.

Video courtesy of Astro95 Media

Tagged: James Webb Space Telescope Johnson Space Center NASA The Range

Moeller graduated from Texas Tech University's College of Architecture in 2008 and completed the graduate program in 2011. He covered the refueling stop of space shuttle Discovery at Rick Husband International Airport in 2009 after the orbiter had completed its mission to the International Space Station. Moeller also covered the build up to launch shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-132 in 2010 from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Moeller joined Max Q Entertainment in 2009, leading the development of the website as well as document production streamlining, graphics work and aiding video production for missions STS-125 onward.

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James Webb Space Telescope unveiled at NASA's Johnson Space Center - SpaceFlight Insider

Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Two-man crew departs space station, returns home Spaceflight Now The Soyuz MS-03 capsule has landed in Kazakhstan, capping the 196-day voyage of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and French flight engineer Thomas Pesquet to the International Space Station on Expeditions 50 and 51, a mission that traveled 82.9 ... Soyuz MS-03 crew returns to Earth after nearly 200 days in spaceSpaceFlight Insider Soyuz MS-03 undocks, conducts rare two-person landingNASASpaceflight.com Two space station fliers wrapping up 196-day flightCBS News The News Minute -Phys.Org all 108 news articles »

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Live coverage: Two-man crew departs space station, returns home - Spaceflight Now

Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace Photo Optique Video du CSG G. Barbaste

A pair of ViaSat and Eutelsat communications satellites one to broadcast unparalleled high-speed Internet from space, and another to connect the Asia-Pacific streaked into space Thursday from French Guiana atop an Ariane 5 rocket, setting records for the heaviest and most valuable commercial payload ever put into orbit.

The ViaSat 2 and Eutelsat 172B satellites, manufactured by aerospace rivals Boeing and Airbus, respectively, were deployed from the Ariane 5s upper stage less than an hour after lifting off at 2345 GMT (7:45 p.m. EDT; 8:45 p.m. French Guiana time) from a European-run spaceport on the northern coast of South America.

ViaSat says its newest satellite, which weighed 14,149 pounds (6,418 kilograms) at launch, can process and relay more bandwidth than any commercial communications spacecraft in history. ViaSat 2 is built to beam high-speed Internet into homes and businesses across the Americas, and link air travelers high above the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Carlsbad, California-based broadband provider said ViaSat 2s Ka-band communications instruments can handle 300 gigabits per second of total network capacity, offering customers more bandwidth and lower cost.

The powerful new satellite will enable us to deliver higher speeds, more bandwidth to more users, and to deliver that service into more places than weve ever done before, said Mark Dankberg, ViaSats chairman and CEO. Well be able to serve more people at home, well be able to extend our coverage cross the Atlantic Ocean, into South America, and into the Caribbean, for aeronautical customers, cruise ships and other applications.

An upgraded ground network will work with ViaSat 2 to beam broadband into more homes, and ViaSats strategic partnership with Eutelsat will allow airline passengers flying from North America through Europe to stay connected. ViaSat 2s Internet signals will mix with Eutelsats KA-SAT broadband satellite, which is positioned over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

That will enable better broadband services to the residential market, with virtually unlimited services and faster speesds of 50 megabits per second or more, and better in-flight services, said David Abrahamian, director of space systems at ViaSat. In fact, with ViaSat 2, youll now be able to fly all the way from the U.S. West Coast, across the Atlantic, through Europe, and into the Middle East with ViaSats network.

The Eutelsat 172B communications satellite rode into the lower position inside the Ariane 5s dual-payload stack, debuting a new satellite design built by Airbus Defense and Space that relies on a plasma thruster deck deployed on maneuverable robotic arms for pointing.

The xenon-ion propulsion system, which is more efficient but generates less thrust than conventional liquid-fueled engines, will take around four months to guide Eutelsat 172B from the orbit reached by Thursdays Ariane 5 launch into its final circular geostationary orbit over the Asia-Pacific region.

Eutelsat 172B is the first commercial European-built satellite to rely entirely on electric propulsion, but Airbus satellites have employed similar thrusters for fine-tuning their orbits on past missions.

Airbuss all-electric satellite design, called the Eurostar E3000e, is the second such spacecraft platform to use xenon-ion thrusters for all orbit-raising maneuvers. Boeing pioneered the technique in the commercial satellite market, and has built five all-electric communications satellites that have launched since 2015 for Eutelsat, Asia Broadcast Satellite and SES.

Eutelsat 172B is a shining example of the best that Europes industry can achieve together, said Yohann Leroy, chief technology officer and deputy CEO of Paris-based Eutelsat. Its much more than than a Eutelsat success. It is the success of three European companies who worked as a team a true team with Airbus, who delivered in a record time the first european and the worlds most powerful all-electric satellite, and Arianespace, who demonstrated tonight its reliability with Ariane to put, efficiently and competitively, a very powerful electric propulsion satellite into orbit.

The European Space Agency and CNES, the French space agency, also contributed to the all-electric satellite development.

The benefits of all-electric propulsion include smaller-sized, lighter satellites, allowing spacecraft to launch on less expensive rockets, or in the lower-cost lower position on the Ariane 5. But satellite owners must trade that benefit with the longer journey between launch and a geostationary satellites entry into service, several months in which the spacecraft is not generating revenue.

The nearly 180-foot-tall (55-meter) Ariane 5 took off on 2.9 million pounds of thrust, lighting up a mostly cloudy evening at the Guiana Space Center as it arced to the east over the Atlantic Ocean.

The rocket jettisoned two solid rocket boosters just after the flights two-minute point, and released its Swiss-made nose fairing after climbing through the rarefied layers of the upper atmosphere into space. The Ariane 5s Vulcain 2 main engine, burning a mix of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, shut down around nine minutes after liftoff, and an upper stage HM7B engine, also consuming hydrogen fuel, fired more than 16 minutes to attain the speed required to enter orbit.

The Ariane 5 aimed for an orbit with a low point of 155 miles (250 kilometers), a high point of 22,186 miles (35,706 kilometers), and an inclination of 6 degrees.

The satellites combined weight 21,977 pounds (9,969 kilograms) set a record for the heaviest spacecraft stack ever launched into geostationary transfer orbit, the drop-off point for most large communications satellites heading for perches high over the equator, according to Arianespace, the Ariane 5s launch operator.

The Ariane 5s Sylda structure built to accommodate two large satellites on the same rocket is also technically part of the payload. Including that piece, the performance required on Thursdays launch totaled 23,953 pounds (10,865 kilograms).

Telemetry radioed through ground stations in Africa confirmed the Ariane 5 deployed ViaSat 2, released the Sylda dual-payload adapter, then separated Eutelsat 172B after reaching the planned orbit. Officials said ground controllers made contact with both satellites soon after deployment, verifying their health after the launch.

Stephane Israel, Arianespaces chairman and chief executive, declared the mission a success, extending the Ariane 5s streak to 79 straight successful launches dating back to 2003.

Tonight, Ariane 5 delivered for two major customers at the service of global connectivity, Israel said.

The two telecom satellites launched Thursday were insured for nearly $800 million, the highest-ever insured value for a single launch.

This was a big one, said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeings satellite production division. This was a big one for us all.

Engineers have squeezed more capability out of the Ariane 5s commercial configuration, dubbed the Ariane 5 ECA, since the version made its first successful flight in 2005, adding more than 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) to the rockets capacity by scrubbing unnecessary weight and margins from the vehicle, according to Israel.

With the support of ESA and CNES, and in partnership with our prime (contractor), Airbus Safran Launchers, activities are underway to further increase this performance, step-by-step, by about 250 kilos (551 pounds) until the end of 2019 to always exceed the expectations of our customers, Israel said.

The ViaSat 2 and Eutelsat 172B satellites should be operational before the end of this year once reaching their final perches in geostationary orbit nearly 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator.

ViaSat 2 is heading for a position at 69.9 degrees west longitude, offering line-of-sight coverage of the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean.

We at ViaSat feel were on a mission, Dankberg said. We see this as a very big step forward in that mission, (and) we think we can make satellite as competitive for broadband services at home as any other terrestrial technology. We know thats an audacious goal.

To do that, we have a lot of tough technology problems to solve, Dankberg said. Weve done several of them in ViaSat 2. Not only do we have a very large amount of bandwidth the most ever and a large coverage area, but for the first time at this scale, weve added measures of flexibility in the performance and our ability to allocate that bandwidth to the places where its most needed in ways that have never been done before.

Dankberg said ViaSat 2 is the next step in transitioning the company from a domestic player in the U.S. market, to a regional operator, and eventually into a global competitor with the ViaSat 3 program, which features at least three satellites that will begin launching in 2019.

ViaSat 2 is the largest commercial satellite that Boeing has built, Spiwak said in post-launch remarks. It will provide twice the capacity and seven times the coverage of the ViaSat 1 satellite thats up there. When the solar arrays are fully deployed, it will be the wingspan of a (Boeing) 767 aircraft, with solar array power in excess of 18 kilowatts.

ViaSat touts the affordability and bandwidth of its services, which include the introduction of streaming movies to Virgin America and JetBlue passengers via Netflix and Amazon Prime, respectively.

We have more technology to do, Dankberg said. We have already begun, and are well in the middle of, our ViaSat 3 program, and (were) very pleased and thankful to be working again with both Boeing and Ariane on the first our ViaSat 3 satellites.

The 7,828-pound (3,551-kilogram) Eutelsat 172B satellite is heading for an operating position at 172 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit.

Eutelsats newest satellite will replace the 10-year-old Eutelsat 172A spacecraft, which will be relocated to another position in geostationary orbit.

Eutelsat 172B is a triple-mission satellite, offering high-throughout Ku-band services for in-flight wifi and connectivity for airline passengers in the Asia-Pacific, along with regular Ku-band and C-band transponders for video broadcasting, corporate networks and cellular backhaul.

From its prime location at 172 degrees east, (Eutelsat 172B) will bring improved coverage, power and flexibility to a vast and dynamic region from Australia up to Alaska, Leroy said. Eutelsat 172B is the 32nd satellite launched by Arianespace for Eutelsat in nearly as many years.

Panasonic Avionics Corp. will use Eutelsat 172Bs in-flight connectivity capacity on commercial airline flights.

Eleven elliptical spot beams will enable Panasonic to bridge the West coast of North America to Asia, and down to Australia, supporting rapid air traffic growth in the region and surges in bandwidth use across densely-used flight paths, Eutelsat said in a press release.

The next Ariane 5 launch from French Guiana is scheduled for June 28 with two communications satellites for Inmarsat and the Indian Space Research Organization. That will be followed by a mission by Arianespaces lightweight, solid-fueled Vega booster in late July with several Israeli satellites on-board.

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Ariane 5 succeeds in launch of two high-value communications satellites - Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Dragon cargo craft at the International Space Station in September 2014. The upper section of the spacecraft seen in this image will be re-flown to the space station. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX will go for another first Thursday, this time flying a refurbished Dragon supply ship carrying nearly 6,000 pounds of cargo and experiments to the International Space Station nearly three years after its first mission.

The unpiloted spaceship, protected by a fresh heat shield, is mounted on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for blastoff at 5:55:51 p.m. EDT (2155:51 GMT) Thursday from launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The commercial cargo delivery mission will be SpaceXs 11th resupply launch aimed at the space station. The Dragon freighter crammed with gear and experiments for Thursdays launch is the same ship that spent 34 days in space in September and October 2014.

Once this capsule landed, we refurbished it, inspected it, made sure everything is qualified for the next flight, and this is where we are now, ready to go on 39A, said Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceXs vice president of flight reliability.

The month-long, round-trip cargo mission due to begin Thursday will be the first time SpaceX has re-flown a Dragon spaceship on two orbital missions, but it is not the companys first experience with reusing hardware.

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket March 30 with a previously-flown first stage booster, placing an SES communications satellite into orbit. Another Falcon 9 re-flight is scheduled June 15 with Bulgarias first TV broadcasting spacecraft.

Engineers examined and stripped the spacecrafts structure after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2014, following a visit to the space station, but the majority of the Dragon cargo capsule is the original article, according to Koenigsmann.

He said engineers compared the structural loads and shaking components inside the Dragon capsule experienced on its 2014 flight with their design limits.

That tells us how much life the component has, and we make sure that the component has enough life for the next round, Koenigsmann said. There is a statistical variation, so you have to make a worst-case assumption, basically, to be on the safe side.

SpaceX goes through a similar review of parts on Falcon 9 boosters before clearing them for a re-flight, he said.

Kirk Shireman, NASAs program manager for the International Space Station, said Wednesday that the space agency expects to approve SpaceX plans to re-fly more Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 boosters on future cargo missions to the orbiting research outpost.

SpaceX has two multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA to ferry equipment to and from the space station. The terms of the deal call for at least 26 missions, and 10 of those are in the books, including a failed cargo launch in 2015.

NASA has also contracted with SpaceX to develop a Crew Dragon vehicle capable to ferrying astronauts to and from the space station beginning as soon as next year.

Officials said SpaceXs next cargo mission to the station, scheduled for launch some time in August, will employ a newly-manufactured Dragon capsule.

We share the results with NASA, and review them together, and we conclude that we can either fly a component, or in some cases, we have to make a swap with a new component, Koenigsmann said, adding that such occurrences were very few.

According to Koenigsmann, SpaceX technicians replaced several items that were exposed to salt water after splashdown, such as batteries and the capsules heat shield. But the hull, thrusters, harnessing, propellant tanks, and some avionics boxes are original, he said.

I can tell you the majority of this Dragon has been in space before, Koenigsmann said.

Officials did not say if NASA was compensated for its approval of SpaceXs plans to launch a refurbished Dragon capsule to approach the space station.

Without specifying details, Shireman said the agreement is part of a normal back-and-forth between the government and the commercial operator, in which one party barters with the other.

In general, when we do things like this we make trades, Shireman said. Supporting the Dragon re-flight is a really important step. SpaceX did a very thorough job, in terms of certification of the Dragon and refurbishing it, and NASA did a very thorough job of understanding that certification and making sure it was safe to fly.

And the risk was actually not substantially more than a brand new Dragon capsule, so were very happy with this capsule flying again, Shireman said.

NASA and SpaceX spent more than a year verifying the previously-flown Dragon was ready for another trip into space, a move that was overshadowed by SpaceXs experiments with landing and eventually reusing the Falcon 9 first stage.

The Dragon is very well-instrumented, Shireman said. The only big thing (with) reuse is that it lands in salt water, so what does that do? SpaceX actually inspected every part that saw salt water to see if it had any corrosion. If it had any corrosion, they replaced it. The Dragon were flying again, I have no concerns with it.

NASA is responsible for ensuring any spacecraft that approaches the space station can safely do so.

Shireman saw two Dragon partially-assembled capsules at SpaceXs Hawthorne, California, headquarters last year one was a new spacecraft and the other was the freighter launching for the second time Thursday.

I can tell you, for sure, without them saying this is a reused Dragon, and this is a brand new Dragon, I would not have known, Shireman said.

Shireman said NASAs next move could be to launch cargo on a re-flown Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX is certifying the Falcon for multiple flights, Shireman said. We want to take our time and review all those certification results I cant tell you exactly when we will see a re-flight (with a NASA resupply mission), but we are working with SpaceX on the potential of reusing the Falcon 9 for a cargo flight.

So far, SES and Space Systems/Loral, which is handling launch arrangements for the Bulgarian satellite next in SpaceXs launch queue, have agreed to place payloads on reused Falcon 9 boosters.

SpaceX also plans to launch its first Falcon Heavy rocket, comprised of three Falcon 9 first stage cores firing together, later this year with two side boosters that flew on previous Falcon 9 missions. That will be a test flight managed by SpaceX.

Echoing statements from SpaceX and some commercial satellite operators, Shireman said the economic benefit could be huge from recycling rocket and spacecraft for multiple missions.

But it will take some time before SpaceX can fully pass on the savings to customers, Koenigsmann said.

We did invest in the technology and we invested a lot of money on our side to perform tests, Koenigsmann said. You recall, the first (landing) missions were pretty dramatic and spectacular, but obviously unsuccessful, before we turned it around. Of course, these things cost money and damage needs to be repaired. We invested a significant amount of money that we need to recover over the next couple of missions, before, in my opinion, we can reach out and make that assessment and actually pass this (savings) on.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in March that the company has spent about $1 billion mastering the recovery and reusability technology on the Falcon 9.

This is a long-term goal, Koenigsmann said Wednesday. This is not something that works the second time or the third time. I think this is something that you need to look a couple of years in advance maybe the 10th flight, maybe the 20th flight, thats when you could finally see some money saved.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceXs president and chief operating officer, said in April that the company spent less than half the cost of a new first stage refurbishing and readying its first re-flown rocket for its second launch. But industry officials said SES, the customer for that flight, received a lesser discount.

Thursdays launch will be the seventh SpaceX rocket flight this year, after returning to service in the wake of a Falcon 9 explosion on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral last September.

The weather outlook is favorable, with a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions. But the U.S. Air Force weather team will monitor storm clouds over Central Florida forecast during Thursdays countdown to ensure they do not encroach too close to the launch pad.

It will take less than 10 minutes for the two-stage Falcon 9 to send the Dragon supply freighter into orbit, and the rockets first stage will attempt to make the fifth return to Landing Zone 1, SpaceXs booster recovery site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station a few miles south of pad 39A.

If SpaceX launches Thursday, the Dragon cargo craft will reach the space station Sunday. Astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson will use the research labs Canadian-built robotic arm to grapple the spaceship around 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) Sunday.

The robot arm will place the Dragon spacecraft on a berthing port on the stations Harmony module, where it is schedule to stay until July 2.

The mission will deliver nearly 6,000 pounds (about 2,700 kilograms) of equipment, provisions, food and experiments to the space station. Around 2,209 pounds (1,002 kilograms) of that cargo in the disposable spacecraft trunk, where three payloads will ride unpressurized on the three-day journey to the outpost.

Astronauts inside the station will unpack Dragons internal cabin, while robotic arms outside the complex will extract the three payloads from the trunk after the ship arrives at the complex.

The experiment packages to be bolted on platforms outside the station include NICER, an astrophysics investigation that NASA says will measure neutron stars and test, for the first time in space, technology that uses pulsars as navigation beacons.

Another payload is the Roll-Out Solar Array developed by Deployable Space Systems of Santa Barbara, California, with support from the U.S. Air Force. The experimental array is a new type of power-generating solar panel that unrolls like a party favor, making it more compact than rigid designs currently flying on satellites.

A commercially-built Earth-viewing camera system from Teledyne Brown that will host multiple digital imagers and hyperspectral sensors will also be launched on the Dragon for attachment to a post outside the space station.

Supplies loaded inside the Dragons pressurized compartment, the piece which previously flew in space, include a habitat with 40 mice that will be treated with an experimental therapeutic drug conceived to foster bone growth.

Humans and animals that spend long periods of time in microgravity can lose bone mass, similar to wasting bones in an osteoporosis patient.

Men and women past the age of 50, on the average, lose about a half-percent of bone mass per year, said Chia Soo, the experiments principal investigator from the UCLA School of Medicine. But in microgravity conditions, the astronaut, on average, lose anywhere from 1 to 2 percent of bone mass per month.

Astronauts will apply the experimental NELL-1 therapy to the mice once they arrive at the space station. Half of the mice will return to Earth alive aboard the Dragon spacecraft for examinations by scientists, and other half will remain on the station a few weeks longer.

Scientists and astronauts will eventually euthanize all the mice to study their tissues following their multi-week exposure to microgravity, and the NELL-1 therapy.

We are hoping this study will give us some insights on how NELL-1 can work under these extreme conditions, and if it can work for treating microgravity-related bone loss, which is a very accelerated, severe form of bone loss, then perhaps it can (be used) for patients one day on Earth who have bone loss due to trauma or due to aging or disease, Soo said.

Thousands of fruit flies are also stowed inside Dragon for Thursdays launch.

Scientists will be looking at how the heart, the cardiac function, the cardiac structure and the cardiac gene expression of these flies adapt to spaceflight, and that will be an analog for how the human heart operates in a spaceflight environment, said Camille Alleyne, associate space station program scientist at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Dragon spacecraft will come back to Earth on July 2, targeting a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles.

It will be the first time a Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with live animals on-board.

The SpaceX cargo launch is scheduled less than a day before two station crew members Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and European Space Agency flight engineer Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to land in Kazakhstan inside a Soyuz crew capsule.

Their departure Friday will leave Whitson, Fischer and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin on the research outpost until the launch of three more crew members in late July.

Whitson was originally supposed to return home with Novitskiy and Pesquet, but she agreed to stay in space until early September to keep two U.S. astronauts at the station during a prolonged period of partial-staffing at the research facility over the next two months.

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Refurbished SpaceX supply ship ready for liftoff Thursday - Spaceflight Now

STORY WRITTEN FORCBS NEWS& USED WITH PERMISSION

Three billion years ago, in a third of a second, two black holes crashed into each other and merged into a single entity, converting two solar masses into energy that shook the fabric of spacetime, sending gravitational ripples across the universe that were detected on Earth last January, researchers announced Thursday.

It was the third confirmed detection of coalescing black holes detected so far by the U.S.-led Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, a project made up of two observing stations, one near Hanford, Washington, and the other 1,800 miles away near Livingston, Louisiana.

As the gravitational waves passed by, they caused space to lengthen in one direction and compress in the other, squeezing and stretching the LIGO detectors ever so slightly and causing laser beams to cover slightly different distances as they bounced back and forth between massive mirrors.

Exhaustive tests and analyses confirmed the reality of the signal in another milestone for the growing field of gravitational wave astronomy.

We have observed, on the fourth of January, 2017, another massive black hole-to-black hole binary coalescence, the merging of black holes roughly 20 and 30 times the mass of our sun, David Shoemaker, the spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, told reporters.

The key thing to take away from this third event is were really moving from novelty to new observational science, a new astronomy of gravitational waves.

The discovery was detailed in a paper accepted by the journal Physical Review Letters.

The ripples detected by LIGO indicate the single black hole formed by the merger has a mass of about 49 times that of the sun, midway between the black holes detected by LIGO in September and December 2015. Two times the mass of Earths sun was converted directly into energy in a fraction of a second.

Black holes are among the most bizarre objects in the known universe. They are believed to form when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel at the end of their lives. Without the outward pressure generated by nuclear fusion to offset the inward pull of gravity, the core suddenly collapses as the star is blown apart.

For stars similar to the sun, core collapse stops due to quantum mechanical effects and a white dwarf remains, a compact remnant that slowly radiates its residual heat away into space. The cores of more massive stars can collapse even further, crushed to the point where protons merge with electrons. The result is a city-size ball of neutrons with the density of an atomic nucleus.

The cores of even more massive stars can collapse past the neutron star state, disappearing from the observable universe. Their gravity is so strong not even light can escape.

A major question mark is how binary black hole systems like those observed by LIGO form.

One school of thought holds the binary black holes form when two already paired stars explode and collapse to the ultimate state, spiraling into each other in a cataclysmic crash. The spins of each pre-merger black hole likely would be aligned with respect to their orbital motion.

A second theory holds that black holes form separately and later became gravitationally bound. In that case, the spins would be more randomly oriented.

LIGOs latest discovery likely favors the theory that these two black holes formed separately in a dense stellar cluster, sank to the core of the cluster and then paired up rather than being formed together from the collapse of two already paired stars, said Laura Cadonati, a LIGO researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

This is an important clue in understanding how black holes form, she said. We have found a new tile to put in the puzzle of understanding the formation mechanism.

Gravitational waves were predicted in 1916 by Einsteins general theory of relativity. The equations showed that massive bodies under acceleration, like binary black holes or the collapsing cores of huge stars in supernova explosions, would radiate gravitational energy in the form of waves distorting the fabric of space.

The waves would spread out in all directions, traveling at or near the speed of light. But detecting them is a major challenge. By the time a wave from an event many light years away reaches Earth, its effects are vastly reduced, becoming hard-to-detect ripples rather than powerful waves.

To detect those ripples, the LIGO observatories were designed to measure changes in distance that are vastly smaller than the width of an atomic nucleus.

Gravitational waves are distortions in the metric of space, in the medium that we live in, said Michael Landry, director of the LIGO observatory near Hanford. Normally, we dont think of the nothing of space as having any properties at all, so its quite counter intuitive that it could expand or contract or vibrate.

But thats what Einsteins relatively tells us. When a gravitational wave passes, the medium that we live in is distorted, and that causes what looks to us like length changes.

By way of analogy, Landry likened spacetime to the canvas of a painting.

If I stretch the medium of a painting, I can see the painting get distorted, he said. Its the medium thats vibrating, thats really what a gravitational wave is, and so we register the passage of those gravitational waves by comparing the length of the two long arms of our L-shaped detector.

Each LIGO observatory features a pair of 2.5-mile-long vacuum tubes arranged in an L shape in which precisely tuned laser beams flash back and forth between multiple mirrors that effectively increase the distance each beam travels to nearly 1,000 miles. The laser beams then are recombined and directed into a sensor.

If the laser beam in each vacuum tube travels exactly the same distance before it is recombined, the LIGO detectors do not see anything. But if gravitational waves pass through, that distance would change very slightly in a very predictable way, affecting the path of the laser beams.

The resulting interference patterns allow scientists to compute the masses involved and, in some cases, how the initial black holes were spinning with respect to their orbital motion.

The LIGO system features two widely separated observing stations to make sure a local vibration is not misinterpreted. A confirmed gravitational wave must be seen by both stations at roughly the same time.

And thats precisely what the LIGO researchers found in the three confirmed cases to date. The first two events happened 1.3 and 1.4 billion light years away respectively. The collision that generated the waves detected in January occurred some 3 billion light years away.

It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us, Shoemaker said in a statement.

LIGOs current observing campaign runs through the summer. After that, upgrades are planned to increase the sensitivity of the detectors, possibly bringing less powerful events like neutron star mergers into view. And theres always a chance a nearby supernova or merger might occur, one that would give space a major shake.

If one of this size were to actually coalesce in the Milky Way, it would make a marvelous signal for us, it would be enormously strong, said Shoemaker. But the likelihood theres one in our Milky Way thats about to coalesce is very, very low, so thats not something that were betting on.

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Black holes crash together and make waves - Spaceflight Now

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A NASA spacecraft being readied for launch in 2018 will make repeated trips through the suns outer atmosphere, passing within 4 million miles of the stars blazing surface at more than 430,000 mph to shed light on what powers the suns high-temperature corona, the origins of the solar wind and the causes of potentially catastrophic solar storms.

The Parker Solar Probe was officially renamed Wednesday in honor of Eugene Parker, the University of Chicago astrophysicist whose landmark 1958 paper predicted the existence of the million-mile-per-hour solar wind and its widespread influence across the solar system. It is the first NASA spacecraft to be named after a living individual.

NASA has never named a spacecraft after a researcher during their lifetime, Thomas Zurbuchen, chief of science operations at NASA, said during a ceremony at the University of Chicago. Well, ladies and gentlemen, were about to make history. It is my great honor, a few days before your 90th birthday, Gene, to announce were renaming the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft to be known from now on as the Parker Solar Probe.

Parker said he was greatly honored to be associated with such a heroic scientific space mission.

By heroic, of course, Im referring to the temperature, the thermal radiation from the sun, he said. The extreme measures developed to survive that radiation and collect scientific data should be fully appreciated.

Nicola Fox, the Parker Solar Probe project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, agreed, saying the first spacecraft named after a living scientist will the hottest, fastest mission I like to call it the coolest hottest mission under the sun. We are going to go right up into the corona.

The visible surface of the sun, the photosphere, has a temperature of about 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. But just a few hundred miles above the photosphere, in the stars corona, the temperature suddenly jumps to several million degrees. No one knows why.

Why is the corona hotter than the surface of the sun? Fox asked. That defies the laws of nature. Its like water flowing uphill, it shouldnt happen. Why in this region does the solar atmosphere suddenly get so energized that it escapes from the hold of the sun and bathes all of the planets? We have not been able to answer these questions.

The Parker Solar Probe, equipped with a suite of sensitive instruments, is designed to directly probe those basic questions.

Were going to be seven times closer than any other mission has ever been, and we will repeatedly swoop through the corona making these measurements, Fox said.

Perched atop a heavy-lift United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket, the 1,500-pound solar probe is scheduled for launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station between July 31 and Aug. 19, 2018.

The heavy-lift booster, one of the most powerful in the U.S. inventory, is required to counteract Earths 18-mile-per-second orbital velocity, allowing the spacecraft to drop into the inner solar system.

Even so, the spacecraft will need seven years to reach its target, making seven flybys of Venus along the way and using the planets gravity to bend the trajectory into the desired elliptical trajectory around the sun.

The low point of the science orbit will be well inside the orbit of Mercury, taking the Parker Solar Probe as close as 3.7 million miles of the sun. The stars gravity will accelerate the spacecraft to a mind-boggling 430,000 mph at closest approach, fast enough to fly from New York to Tokyo in less than two minutes.

Now, four million miles might not sound that close to you, but if the Earth and the sun were separated by one meter, we would be at four centimeters from the sun, Fox said. So its actually very, very close.

Protected by a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite heat shield, the Parker Solar Probe will endure temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit while keeping its science instruments at room temperature. Its technology that wasnt available when scientists first started dreaming of a solar spacecraft decades ago.

As a theoretician, I greatly admire the scientists and engineers whose patient efforts together converted the solar probe concept into a functioning reality, Parker said, ready to do battle with the solar elements as it divulges the secrets of the expanding corona. So hooray for solar probe!

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NASA unveils renamed solar probe - Spaceflight Now

Heather Smith

April 8th, 2017

NASA astronaut Mike Fossum transfers the Robotic Refueling Mission to the ISS during STS-135 in 2011. Photo Credit: NASA

After a six-year stay attached to the International Space Station (ISS), NASAs Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) payload made its way back to Earth March 19, 2017, to burn up in the atmosphere inside the trunk of SpaceXs CRS-10 Dragon spacecraft.

Launched in 2011 on the final Space Shuttle flight, Atlantis STS-135 mission, RRM was a multi-phased demonstration mission that developed technologies and techniques to remotely refuel and service satellites in space.

RRM was washing machine-sized box covered with activity boards and had four tools stowed inside that could be grabbed and used by the stations Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, also known as Dextre.

The technologies, tools, and techniques studied on this mission could eventually give satellite owners the resources to diagnose problems on orbit, fix anomalies, and keep certain spacecraft instruments performing longer in space.

Our team worked very hard to develop the suite of RRM tools and experiments and are extremely pleased to see what they accomplished, said Ben Reed, the deputy division director for the Satellite Servicing Projects Division (SSPD), which operates out of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Robotic Refueling Mission is stored on a temporary location after being moved from the Space Shuttles payload bay in 2011. In September of that year, it was moved to its permanent location at ELC-4 where it remained until March 2017. Photo Credit: NASA

RRM had to be removed to make way for Raven, an experiment that will test autopilot technologies for future spacecraft. It was launched Feb. 19, 2017, aboard CRS-10. Both were developed by the SSPD, the same division that developed astronaut tools for the Hubble servicing missions.

The mission was created by a group of engineers at Goddard who were concerned about how future spacecraft would be serviced after the absence of the Space Shuttle. Led by Frank Cepollina, the father of servicing and previous director of the SSPD, the team determined the future of servicing would rely on robotics. They decided to use the ISS as a test bed.

The space station is on-orbit and already has a robot, said Cepollina. Space station was tailor-made for RRM and worked beautifully as a test bed for servicing.

It took the team 18 months to design and build RRM, just in time for Atlantis final launch on July 8, 2011.

Once Atlantis was docked to the ISS a couple days later, RRM was transferred to a temporary platform during a spacewalk by NASA astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. It was the last payload to be removed from a Space Shuttle payload bay by an astronaut.

In September 2011, the stations robotic Canadarm2, with Dextre attached, transferred RRM to its permanent location on the space station: ExPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments of the Space Station) Logistics Carrier 4, located on the Earth-facing side of the S3 truss segment.

During the operations of phase 1 of the mission, flight controllers on the ground at Goddard remotely commanded Dextre to reach into the RRM module and pick up tools to use on the experiments activity boards.

The missions tasks included cutting and peeling back thermal blankets, unscrewing multiple caps, accessing valves to transfer a simulated satellite fuel.

In January 2013, RRM confirmed that current robotic technology could refuel a triple-sealed satellite valve by transferring 1.7 liters of ethanol.

For Phase 2, hardware delivery was split into two batches, which occurred in August 2013 and August 2014. Two new task boards and a new tool were sent to the space station.

These task boards demonstrated activities that would occur during the servicing of a free-flying satellite. The tool that was sent up, the Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot or VIPIR, was a state-of-the-art near and mid-range inspection tool using an articulable, snake-like borescope.

The team is currently designing and developing equipment for a third phase of the mission that will be launched sometime in the future. It will focus on servicing cryogenic fluid and xenon gas interfaces, which will support future scientific missions into the Solar System

According to NASA, the RRM was an essential bridge between the crewed Hubble servicing missions and future robotic servicing that will be demonstrated on the Restore-L mission, a free-flying spacecraft designed to rendezvous and repair satellites.

Space station was a wonderful facility to test our technologies, and we know that RRMs departure will make room for another great experiment, said Jill McGuire, RRM project manager. We are proud of what we accomplished with RRM, and are excited to contribute to the next stages of enabling robotic satellite servicing.

Video courtesy of NASA

Tagged: CRS-10 Goddard Space Flight Center International Space Station Robotic Refueling Mission Satellite Servicing Projects Division The Range

Heather Smith's fascination for space exploration started at the tender age of twelve while she was on a sixth-grade field trip in Kenner, Louisiana, walking through a mock-up of the International Space Station and seeing the space potty (her terminology has progressed considerably since that time) she realized at this point that her future lay in the stars. Smith has come to realize that very few people have noticed how much spaceflight technology has improved their lives. She has since dedicated herself to correcting this problem. Inspired by such classic literature as Anne Franks Diary, she has honed her writing skills and has signed on as The Spaceflight Groups coordinator for the organizations social media efforts.

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Robotic Refueling Mission leaves ISS - SpaceFlight Insider

Top officials from NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, could decide soon to commit to keeping the International Space Station staffed and flying through at least 2028, four years after the research labs current retirement date.

The head of Roscosmos told reporters Tuesday that the Russian space agency is ready to discuss plans to keep operating the huge research complex another four years until 2028.

We think that we should continue working in low Earth orbit, said Roscosmos chief Igor Komarov in a press conference Tuesday at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Komarovs comments came after NASAs senior human spaceflight manger, Bill Gerstenmaier, said March 29 that a decision by Congress and the Trump administration whether to commit to continuing space station operations through 2028, one way or another, will create certainty for scientists, engineers and businesses working on the program.

Getting another decision about what we do beyond 2024 with station is really important, Gerstenmaier said in a presentation to the NASA Advisory Councils human exploration and operations committee .

With an eye toward construction of a deep space habitat around the moon in the mid-to-late 2020s, NASA intends to test out new life support systems on the space station that are not as prone to failure and do not require as much maintenance as the technologies currently on the outpost.

NASAs goal is to iron out the kinks of the next-generation life support system, and learn more about how humans respond to long-duration spaceflight, before abandoning the space station and turning attention to deep space exploration.

The life support system on the station today is not of the reliability or the low maintenance that is needed for a Mars-class mission, Gerstenmaier said March 30. We need to really step that up. A great place to test that, in fact the only place to really test that kind of stuff, is on-board the space station.

The Obama administration announced in early 2014 its intention to extend the U.S. commitment to the space station through 2024, a decision that Gerstenmaier lauded as allowing NASA to cement plans to deploy new technology and develop new experiments for the space station.

The decision also helped close the business case for commercial companies working on crew and cargo capsules flying to the space station, giving the service providers a steady stream of business until a potential commercial space station is built in Earth orbit.

If the White House and Congress wait too long extend the space station program, it really limits what the commercially companies are willing to experiment with on space station, Gerstenmaier said. It limits what we need to do with cargo resupply and crew resupply. It changes plans for what we test on station.

The sooner we know that, the better off we are, and waiting until just four years before end of station, I personally think is not as helpful as if we can decide a lot earlier, like soon, Gerstenmaier said.

He added that there is little margin in NASAs schedule to complete the biological and technological experiments needed for deep space missions by 2024.

It took three years for all of the space stations partners to endorse the last extension, with the European Space Agency last year becoming the final participant to lengthen its commitment from 2020 to 2024.

Russia announced in 2015 that it would keep up its support of the space station through 2024, and Komarov said Tuesday that the Russian government will maintain a complex in low Earth orbit throughout the 2020s, whether its the International Space Station or a Russian-led vehicle.

But he implied that Russias preference is to keep the International Space Station going.

As long as we have this instrument, the ISS, its logical to continue this work, Komarov said.

He said the Russian government, like the other space station partners, wants more experiments, more results and more efficiency from the space station.

Roscosmos has a contingency plan that could involve detaching some of its newer modules from the International Space Station, including a research lab set for launch next year, to form a standalone outpost.

It doesnt mean that we dont want to continue our cooperation, Komarov said. We just want to be on the safe side, and in any case, and in any decision, to continue our research in low Earth orbit.

Komarov echoed Gerstenmaiers concerns about using the International Space Station to evaluate astronaut and cosmonaut health and radiation shielding before launching a crewed mission to Mars.

NASA has spent about $67 billion on the space station to date, according to Gerstenmaier. With the contributions of international partners, the orbiting research labs total cost likely reaches above $100 billion.

We ought to be planning, from an policy standpoint, an approach that allows us to maximize the utility of our $67 billion investment in low Earth orbit, and not pick an arbitrary (retirement) date for some other concerns, Gerstenmaier said.

NASA spends more than $3 billion to operate the space station each year, and most of that cost goes toward crew and cargo transportation to and from the complex. The outposts sustaining operating budget is closer to $1 billion per year, Gerstenmaier said.

Engineers have concluded the space station is structurally sound to keep flying through 2028. Some repairs, such as replacement of the research labs oldest power-generating solar arrays, may be required if the program is extended longer than 2028, Gerstenmaier said.

Besides the scientific justification, Gerstenmaier floated two other considerations for U.S. government decision-makers.

Around 15 percent of the global orbital launch attempts in 2015 and 2016 targeted the space station.

Lets say we pick the end, and were now going to pull (15 percent) out of the global launch market. Do you think Im going to be allowed to do that? Probably not.

The other wild card is in 2023 potentially the Chinese will have their space station, Gerstenmaier said. What is the dynamic with the U.S. with a space station thats going away in 2024, with the Chinese having a government-operated space station in 2023? Is that the right time to cede and hand over national and global human spaceflight to another country? You should ponder some of these things.

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[ April 8, 2017 ] NASA, Roscosmos open to extending station operations to 2028 News - Spaceflight Now

Paul Knightly

April 8th, 2017

This illustration shows NASAs Cassini spacecraft above Saturns northern hemisphere beforeone of its 22 grand finale dives. Caption and Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

On April 26, 2017, NASAs Cassini spacecraft will conduct the first in a series of 22 dives between Saturns atmosphere and its rings as a part of the missions grand finale.

Cassinis flight team ismaking preparations to begin the spacecrafts final chapter in its 13-year history orbiting Saturn.The mission will end Sept. 15, 2017, when Cassini enters the ringed planets atmosphere, which will in turn destroy the storied vehicle, as visualized in a new video released by NASA.

An illustration of the final orbits of the Cassini spacecraft show the robotic explorer diving between the rings and the planet. The blue lines represent the 22 close flybys while the orange shows the final plunge into Saturns atmosphere. Image Credit: NASA

No spacecraft has ever gone through the unique region that well attempt to boldly cross 22 times, said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, in a news release. What we learn from Cassinis daring final orbits will further our understanding of how giant planets, and planetary systems everywhere, form and evolve. This is truly discovery in action to the very end.

The dives represent the closest that Cassini has traveled to Saturn since arriving at the ringed planet in 2004. By exploring the region of space between the atmosphere and the rings, it aims to gain a new understanding into how gas giant planets and their associated ring systems form and evolve through time. The flight plan, which has been under development since a 2010 NASA decision to end the mission this year, uses expertise that has been gained over the course of the mission.

The plan to send Cassini into Saturns atmosphere was devised over concerns that once the spacecraft runs out of fuel that it could hit one of the potentially habitable moons orbiting the planet, including Enceladus.

Designing the flight plan to pass between Saturns atmosphere and rings will allow Cassini to refine its orbit over the coming months while also maximizing the scientific return of its final maneuver.

This planned conclusion for Cassinis journey was far and away the preferred choice for the missions scientists, said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Cassini will make some of its most extraordinary observations at the end of its long life.

During the final months, the mission team hopes to gain insight into Saturns internal structure, the origin of its rings, obtain the first-ever sampling of the planets atmosphere and ring particles, and capture close-up views of the gas giants clouds and innermost rings.

The mission team is doing a final check of commands to be sent to the probe on April 11, which will direct Cassini to begin its final orbitsfollowing its final close pass of Titan on April 22. The gravity of Titan will bend Cassinis flight path and shrink its orbit toward Saturn with the first close flyby of the grand finale.

Based on our best models, we expect the gap to be clear of particles large enough to damage the spacecraft, said Earl Maize, Cassinis project manager at JPL. But were also being cautious by using our large antenna as a shield on the first pass, as we determine whether its safe to expose the science instruments to that environment on future passes. Certainly there are some unknowns, but thats one of the reasons were doing this kind of daring exploration at the end of the mission.

Following a distant flyby of Titan in mid-September, Cassinis flight path will be bent further to dive into Saturns atmosphere.

As Cassini enters the atmosphere, its thrusters will its the remaining fuel to keep its antenna pointed toward Earth for as long as possible, transmitting data from several instruments to provide data until the signal is lost.

Cassinis grand finale is so much more than a final plunge, said Spilker. Its a thrilling final chapter for our intrepid spacecraft, and so scientifically rich that it was the clear and obvious choice for how to end the mission.

Video courtesy of JPL

Tagged: Cassini Grand Finale Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lead Stories NASA Saturn

Paul is currently a graduate student in Space and Planetary Sciences at the University of Akransas in Fayetteville. He grew up in the Kansas City area and developed an interest in space at a young age at the start of the twin Mars Exploration Rover missions in 2003. He began his studies in aerospace engineering before switching over to geology at Wichita State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 2013. After working as an environmental geologist for a civil engineering firm, he began his graduate studies in 2016 and is actively working towards a PhD that will focus on the surficial processes of Mars. He also participated in a 2-week simluation at The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in 2014 and remains involved in analogue mission studies today. Paul has been interested in science outreach and communication over the years which in the past included maintaining a personal blog on space exploration from high school through his undergraduate career and in recent years he has given talks at schools and other organizations over the topics of geology and space. He is excited to bring his experience as a geologist and scientist to the Spaceflight Insider team writing primarily on space science topics.

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Cassini prepares for 'grand finale' - SpaceFlight Insider

Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

Scarred from five trips to the edge of space and back, Blue Origins privately-developed New Shepard rocket was on vertical display this week at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

The single-stage rocket is now retired and will eventually go into a museum after a traveling road show around the country, according to Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

The New Shepard was the first vehicle to fly above the Karman line around 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, the internationally-recognized boundary of space, then return to the ground with a vertical landing using rocket thrust.

Engineers were not sure the New Shepard would survive its last mission in October, when a prototype crew capsule mounted atop the rocket fired a solid rocket motor in a test of the escape system that would whisk passengers away from a failing launcher.

The New Shepard was not designed to survive such a maneuver, but the rockets BE-3 main engine continued firing, propelling the rocket into space and then reigniting for landing at Bezoss West Texas ranch.

The images show the BE-3 engine, which can throttle up to 110,000 pounds of thrust, the New Shepards four landing legs, and the ring attach point for Blue Origins crew capsule.

Blue Origin hopes to begin test flights on another New Shepard rocket now under construction with passengers on-board as soon as next year.

Read our full story for more details.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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[ April 6, 2017 ] Photos: Blue Origin's New Shepard booster on display News - Spaceflight Now

Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo vehicle, known as VSS Unity, soars on its first-ever glide flight on Dec. 3, 2016.

Virgin Galactic should be ready to launch its first flight to suborbital space later this year, company founder Sir Richard Branson said.

"I think I'd be very disappointed if we're not into space with a test flight by the end of the year and I'm not into space myself next year and the program isn't well underway by the end of next year," Branson told London-based newspaper The Daily Telegraph, breaking an unofficial Virgin Galactic rule about giving dates when discussing the company's spaceflight plans.

Branson has said that he, and some of his family members, will be aboard Virgin Galactic's first passenger spaceflight.

Virgin Galactic aims to fly customers aboard the six-passenger SpaceShipTwo, at a cost of $250,000 per seat. A plane called WhiteKnightTwo will carry SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), then drop it; at that point, the spacecraft's onboard rocket engine will kick on, blasting the vehicle to suborbital space.

Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo vehicle, called VSS Enterprise, performed four rocket-powered test flights in Earth's atmosphere. But the last of these flights, which took place on Oct. 31, 2014, ended in disaster; the space plane broke apart in midair after its "feathering" descent system deployed too early. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed, and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured.

Virgin Galactic regrouped after the tragic accident. The company unveiled its second SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, to the public in February 2016; the vehicle has since performed several unpowered "glide flights" and should be ready to begin the rocket-powered phase of its test campaign soon, Virgin representatives have said.

"The test program is going really well, and as long as we've got our brave test pilots pushing it to the limit, we think that after whatever it is, 12 years of hard work, we're nearly there," Branson told The Telegraph.

Read the full story at The Daily Telegraph here.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwallandGoogle+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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Virgin Galactic Aiming for 1st Spaceflight This Year, Branson Says - Space.com

Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries announced Wednesday a new Web-based satellite imagery service called BlackSky Spectra that enables customers to access satellite images on demand.

Seattle Times aerospace reporter

Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries announced Wednesday a new on-demand satellite imagery service called BlackSky Spectra that enables customers to access imagery online.

The Web-based service allows searching of BlackSkys imagery archive database, containing high-resolution satellite images. Users can also select a specific place on a map and order customized satellite imagery of that location.

Spaceflight said it has now added new imagery to its existing database from a variety of multi-spectrum and higher-resolution satellites built and deployed by European aerospace giant Airbus.

The imagery includes not only photos but also radar and radio frequency images. Radar images can supplement visible satellite imagery in areas with cloud cover or after dark.

BlackSky is transforming how we look at the world by integrating the widest variety of sensors into a revolutionary, easy to use service, said Spaceflight chief executive Jason Andrews.

Blacksky was formed in 2015 with the goal of launching a constellation of 60 imaging satellites, the first of which launched last fall.

At that time, Andrews said the company would builda Web-based platform that will enable easy access to images of anywhere on earth from both its own satellites and those operated by other companies such as Airbus.

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Spaceflight Industries offers images from space on demand - Seattle Times

Derek Richardson

April 5th, 2017

Peggy Whitson helps fellow astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet get into their spacesuits for EVA-40 in late March, 2017. Photo Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitsons stay aboard the International Space Station has been extended by three months through Expedition 52, adding to her already record-breaking mission.

Instead of returning to Earth in June 2017 with the Soyuz MS-03 capsule she launched in along side Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, 57-year-old Whitson will remain aboard the ISS and fly home in September 2017 with the crew of Soyuz MS-04, which will have a vacant seat.

This is great news, Whitson said. I love being up here. Living and working aboard the space station is where I feel like I make the greatest contribution, so I am constantly trying to squeeze every drop out of my time here. Having three more months to squeeze is just what I would wish for.

Peggy Whitson performs an experiment in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA

Soyuz MS-04, which will launch Russias Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASAs Jack Fischer, will have a vacant seat because of Russias decision to temporarily reduce the size of its ISS crews from three to two. This is in a bid to save money on Progress resupply launches until the long-delayed Nauka science module is launched. That is expected sometime in 2018 at the earliest.

According to NASA, Whitsons extra time in orbit will ensure a full complement of six astronauts on board the station and increase the amount of time available for astronauts to conduct experiments.

Peggys skill and experience makes her an incredible asset aboard the space station, said Kirk Shireman, NASAs International Space Station Program Manager. By extending the stay of one of NASAs most veteran astronauts, our research, our technology development, our commercial and our international partner communities will all benefit.

Whitson is on her third long-duration stay aboard the ISS. She flew as part of Expedition 5 and Expedition 16 in 2002 and 2007 respectively. Those two missions gave her 377 days of spaceflight experience.

She has been in space since Nov. 17, 2016, for Expedition 50. On April 24, 2017, she will break retired astronaut Jeff Williams record of 534 cumulative days in space the most for any American.

With the three-month extension to September 2017, she will accumulate at least 663 days of total spaceflight time. This will put her in a solid seventh place behind retired cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent some 679 days aboard the Mir space station over two long-duration missions in 1988 and 1994.

The person with the most cumulative days in space is Gennady Padalka at 879 days over five missions. He is scheduled to launch to the space station again in September 2018 aboard Soyuz MS-10. At the end of that six-month flight, he will become the first person to cross 1000 days in orbit.

Whitsons extended flight will mean her current stay should last at least 287 days. This will make it the longest single spaceflight by a woman, surpassing the 200 days set by ESAs Samantha Cristoforetti.

Just recently, Whitson broke the record for the most spacewalks by a woman, beating Sunita Williams seven EVAs by one for a total of 53 hours, 22 minutes outside the station.

That record is set to grow by about six more hours in late April when Whitson leads EVA-42. If that spacewalk goes as planned, it should put her in third place for the most spacewalking time, behind retired astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegrias 67 hours, 40 minutes.

The person with the most spacewalking time is retired cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev at 82 hours, 22 minutes of experience.

On April 10, the crew of Soyuz MS-02 will leave the outpost. That includes Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrei Borisenko, and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who is the commander of Expedition 50.

Kimbrough will hand over command of the ISS to Whitson the day before he leaves, making her the first woman to command the orbiting lab twice. Expedition 50 will switch over to Expedition 51 as soon as Soyuz MS-02 undocks from the Poiskmodule.

Peggy Whitson as seen during her seventh spacewalk in January 2017. With fellow astronaut Shane Kimbrough, she worked to finish installing new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA

Tagged: Expedition 50 Expedition 51 Expedition 52 International Space Station Lead Stories Peggy Whitson Soyuz MS-03 Soyuz MS-04

Derek Richardson is a student studying mass media with an emphasis in contemporary journalism at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He is currently the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also writes a blog, called Orbital Velocity, about the space station. His passion for space ignited when he watched space shuttle Discovery leap to space on Oct. 29, 1998. He saw his first in-person launch on July 8, 2011 when the space shuttle launched for the final time. 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 that his true calling was communicating to others about space exploration and spreading that passion.

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Peggy Whitson's ISS stay gets 3-month extension - SpaceFlight Insider