Universe Today: NASAs First Orion Capsule and New Space Operations Center Unveiled
The inaugural version of NASA’s new Orion human space exploration capsule was unveiled by Lockheed Martin at the company’s new state-of-the-art Space Operation Simulation Center (SOSC) located in Denver, Colorado. Orion is designed to fly human crews to low Earth orbit (LEO) and the International Space Station, the Moon, Asteroids, Lagrange Points and beyond to deep space and Mars.
Lockheed Martin is aiming for a first unmanned orbital test flight of Orion as soon as 2013, said John Karas, vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin’s Human Space Flight programs in an interview with Universe Today . The first operational flight with humans on board is now set for 2016 as stipulated in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
This Orion prototype capsule was assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, LA and shipped by truck to Denver. At Denver, the capsule will be put through a rigorous testing program to simulate all aspects of a space mission from launch to landing and examine whether the vehicle can withstand the harsh and unforgiving environment of deep space.
Orion was originally designed to be launched by the Ares 1 booster rocket, as part of NASA’s Project Constellation Return to the Moon program, now cancelled by President Obama. The initial Orion test flight will likely be atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, Karas told me. The first manned flight is planned for the new heavy lift rocket ordered by the US Congress to replace the Project Constellation architecture.
The goal is to produce a new, US-built manned capsule capable of launching American astronauts into space following the looming forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters later this year. Thus there will be a gap of at least three years until US astronauts again can launch from US soil.
“Our nation’s next bold step in exploration could begin by 2016,” said Karas in a statement. “Orion was designed from inception to fly multiple, deep-space missions. The spacecraft is an incredibly robust, technically advanced vehicle capable of safely transporting humans to asteroids, Lagrange Points and other deep space destinations that will put us on an affordable and sustainable path to Mars.”
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for Orion under a multiyear contract awarded by NASA worth some $3.9 Billion US Dollars.
The SOSC was built at a cost of several million dollars. The 41,000 square foot facility will be used to test and validate vehicles, equipment and software for future human spaceflight programs to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable space exploration.
Mission scenarios include docking to the International Space Station, exploring the Moon, visiting an Asteroid and even journeying to Mars. Lockheed has independently proposed the exploration of several challenging deep space targets by astronauts with Orion crew vehicles which I’ll report on in upcoming features.
The SOSC facility provides the capability for NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers to conduct full-scale motion simulations of many types of manned and robotic space missions. Demonstrations are run using laser and optically guided robotic navigation systems.
Inside the SOSC, engineers can test the performance of a vehicles ranging, rendezvous, docking, proximity operations, imaging, descent and landing systems for Earth orbiting mission as well as those to other bodies in our solar system.
“The Orion spacecraft is a state-of-the-art deep space vehicle that incorporates the technological advances in human life support systems that have accrued over the last 35 years since the Space Shuttle was designed.” says Karas. “In addition, the Orion program has recently been streamlined for additional affordability, setting new standards for reduced NASA oversight. Orion is compatible with all the potential HLLVs that are under consideration by NASA, including the use of a Delta IV heavy for early test flights.”
At this moment, the SOSC is being used to support a test of Orion hardware that will be flying on the upcoming STS-134 mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour. Orion’s Relative Navigation System – dubbed STORRM (Sensor Test for Orion RelNav Risk Mitigation) – will be put through its paces in several docking and navigation tests by the shuttle astronauts as they approach and depart the ISS during the STS-134 flight slated to launch on April19, 2011.
The Orion flight schedule starting in 2013 is however fully dependent on the level of funding which NASA receives from the Federal Government.
This past year the, Orion work was significantly slowed by large budget cuts and the future outlook is murky. Project Orion is receiving about half the funding originally planned by NASA.
And more deep cuts are in store for NASA’s budget – including both manned and unmanned projects – as both political parties wrangle about priorities as they try to pass a federal budget for this fiscal year. Until then, NASA and the entire US government are currently operating under a series of continuing resolutions passed by Congress – and the future is anything but certain.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Obama Administration Pushing Back on Congressionally Directed Rocket
Space News: Obama Administration Pushing Back on Congressionally Directed Rocket
GREENBELT, Md. — Obama administration officials continue to push back against a congressionally directed heavy-lift launch vehicle development that would salvage elements of the Constellation program the president seeks to dismantle.
White House science adviser John Holdren said March 30 that while the president’s proposed $18.7 billion budget for NASA in 2012 would fund key themes contained in the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Congress’ inability to pass a 2011 spending bill is preventing the agency from beginning work on the new Space Launch System (SLS) and Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) the law states should be operational by 2016.
In a March 30 interview, Holdren said NASA is further hindered by restrictive language in last year’s appropriation that prevents the agency from scrapping the Moon-bound Constellation program and funding development of the new space launch system and crew exploration vehicle called for in the law.
“As a result of those constraints it’s been impossible, I think, to be on the trajectory for the new program that we’d be on if we’d had real budgets,” Holdren said following remarks at the Goddard Memorial Symposium here. “And being not on that trajectory, the idea that we could spend as much money in 2012 as they authorized I think is just a little out of date.”
Congress recommended spending a total of $4 billion on the heavy-lift launch vehicle, or SLS, and multipurpose crew vehicle in 2012; The president, however, requested just $2.8 billion for the efforts. Authorization bills frequently recommend higher funding levels than Congress ultimately approves through annual appropriations legislation. The NASA Authorization Act, for example, recommended a total budget of $19 billion for the agency in 2011 and $19.45 billion in 2012. Congress so far has failed to enact appropriations for 2011, leaving NASA funded at $18.7 billion, the same amount the White House is seeking for 2012.
With the White House under pressure to curb spending, Holdren said the president’s proposal represents “the most aggressive program” for a heavy-lift launch vehicle development given the constrained budget NASA will face in the coming years.
“There is, I think, a real question as to whether it can be done in the time that the Congress would like, but in the end it’s difficult to legislate scientific and engineering reality,” he said, adding, “NASA is determined and the administration is determined to do the best we can to get a heavy-lift vehicle as fast as we can and I think that’s the best one can say.”
The 2010 NASA Authorization Act, which Obama signed into law last October, directs the agency to leverage existing space shuttle and Constellation investments in building a new heavy-lift rocket and multipurpose crew vehicle for deep-space missions. Specifically, it calls for a vehicle initially capable of lifting 70-100 metric tons to orbit by the end of 2016, and which could be evolved to loft at least 130 metric tons for missions to Mars.
Although the act gave NASA 90 days to settle on a design for the new architecture and report back to Congress with plans for building it, the agency instead delivered a preliminary report to Capitol Hill in January, promising more details in the spring.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the agency is on track to deliver a final report to lawmakers “in the spring or summer” of this year. But in a keynote address at the conference here March 30, he said NASA is unlikely to need a vehicle capable of lifting 130 metric tons before the late-2020s.
“When we do our first flight some time toward the end of this decade, when we go to an asteroid in 2025 as the president has asked us to do, it will be on a vehicle that is not as capable as the one that will be required when we go to Mars because we don’t want to seal ourselves, lock ourselves in to a technology today that will be antiquated when we need it,” Bolden said. “So that’s the reason I use the term evolvable, developed in incremental steps. And when we get there it will be something that is as close to the state of the art as we can possibly be at that time.”
The NASA Authorization Act recommended a $2.6 billion budget for the heavy-lift vehicle next year; Obama’s 2012 budget request proposes just $1.8 billion for the effort. If Congress approves the request, NASA plans to spend that money finalizing the vehicle’s design requirements next year, though Bolden said he does not expect the agency to be ready to start work on the rocket for some time.
“We are not ready to start building in 2012,” he told Space News in an interview following his remarks, adding that NASA plans to spend the money “to begin robust planning of a specific system, not to do studies and the like.”
Todd May, an associate director at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the lead planner for SLS, said some of the $1.8 billion could be used to jump-start work on the new rocket if NASA opts for an architecture that leverages space shuttle or Constellation technologies, including work done to date on the Ares family of rockets.
“There are components of shuttle and Ares that could be used along the lines of getting a quick start on a heavy-lift vehicle, but that hasn’t been decided yet,” he said in an interview following remarks at the conference March 30. May said the money could also be used to fund continued work on Constellation’s J-2X upper-stage engine.
“In a number of architectures, even if you were to go away from shuttle-derived you could still use J-2X,” he said. “You’d have a lot of work on an upperstage if you were to exercise options on those contracts. You could use some pretty good money to move quickly on that.”
However, Bolden said NASA does not expect to solicit industry proposals for the heavy-lift launch vehicle development for “at least a year.” He said the rocket and crew capsule programs must be “affordable, sustainable and realistic” and that NASA would seek outside cost estimates for the new architecture.
“We’re going to get independent entities to look at our work and if they say, ‘You can’t do what you said you’re going to do, it’s going to cost you much more than that,’ it may require us to go back and do some more homework,” he said.
Bolden said it will also be important to understand the degree to which NASA’s work force and infrastructure are involved in ground operations that will provide support to space exploration missions.
“We’re going to give [Congress] something to look at that is an integrated system of an SLS, MPCV and the ground operations portion that will work,” he said. “How we’re involved in the day-to-day operations of an exploration system will help determine the ground-ops side of it.”
The authorization act allows NASA to spend up to $500 million in 2012 to upgrade launch support and other ground infrastructure, including an effort to prepare NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to support Space Launch System missions; Obama proposed $128 million for the effort next year. Laurie Leshin, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s exploration systems, said while some of the launch upgrade funds would be used to pay for SLS ground support, the bulk of the money would come from the SLS and MPCV budgets, which could reduce the amount of money NASA has to spend on vehicle development.
“Part of it will be to support the SLS needs,” she said of the $128 million infrastructure funding line.
“We’ve got to work on what fraction of that is for SLS and then if there are additional needs, obviously those will need to be supported by SLS,” she said.
GREENBELT, Md. — Obama administration officials continue to push back against a congressionally directed heavy-lift launch vehicle development that would salvage elements of the Constellation program the president seeks to dismantle.
White House science adviser John Holdren said March 30 that while the president’s proposed $18.7 billion budget for NASA in 2012 would fund key themes contained in the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Congress’ inability to pass a 2011 spending bill is preventing the agency from beginning work on the new Space Launch System (SLS) and Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) the law states should be operational by 2016.
In a March 30 interview, Holdren said NASA is further hindered by restrictive language in last year’s appropriation that prevents the agency from scrapping the Moon-bound Constellation program and funding development of the new space launch system and crew exploration vehicle called for in the law.
“As a result of those constraints it’s been impossible, I think, to be on the trajectory for the new program that we’d be on if we’d had real budgets,” Holdren said following remarks at the Goddard Memorial Symposium here. “And being not on that trajectory, the idea that we could spend as much money in 2012 as they authorized I think is just a little out of date.”
Congress recommended spending a total of $4 billion on the heavy-lift launch vehicle, or SLS, and multipurpose crew vehicle in 2012; The president, however, requested just $2.8 billion for the efforts. Authorization bills frequently recommend higher funding levels than Congress ultimately approves through annual appropriations legislation. The NASA Authorization Act, for example, recommended a total budget of $19 billion for the agency in 2011 and $19.45 billion in 2012. Congress so far has failed to enact appropriations for 2011, leaving NASA funded at $18.7 billion, the same amount the White House is seeking for 2012.
With the White House under pressure to curb spending, Holdren said the president’s proposal represents “the most aggressive program” for a heavy-lift launch vehicle development given the constrained budget NASA will face in the coming years.
“There is, I think, a real question as to whether it can be done in the time that the Congress would like, but in the end it’s difficult to legislate scientific and engineering reality,” he said, adding, “NASA is determined and the administration is determined to do the best we can to get a heavy-lift vehicle as fast as we can and I think that’s the best one can say.”
The 2010 NASA Authorization Act, which Obama signed into law last October, directs the agency to leverage existing space shuttle and Constellation investments in building a new heavy-lift rocket and multipurpose crew vehicle for deep-space missions. Specifically, it calls for a vehicle initially capable of lifting 70-100 metric tons to orbit by the end of 2016, and which could be evolved to loft at least 130 metric tons for missions to Mars.
Although the act gave NASA 90 days to settle on a design for the new architecture and report back to Congress with plans for building it, the agency instead delivered a preliminary report to Capitol Hill in January, promising more details in the spring.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the agency is on track to deliver a final report to lawmakers “in the spring or summer” of this year. But in a keynote address at the conference here March 30, he said NASA is unlikely to need a vehicle capable of lifting 130 metric tons before the late-2020s.
“When we do our first flight some time toward the end of this decade, when we go to an asteroid in 2025 as the president has asked us to do, it will be on a vehicle that is not as capable as the one that will be required when we go to Mars because we don’t want to seal ourselves, lock ourselves in to a technology today that will be antiquated when we need it,” Bolden said. “So that’s the reason I use the term evolvable, developed in incremental steps. And when we get there it will be something that is as close to the state of the art as we can possibly be at that time.”
The NASA Authorization Act recommended a $2.6 billion budget for the heavy-lift vehicle next year; Obama’s 2012 budget request proposes just $1.8 billion for the effort. If Congress approves the request, NASA plans to spend that money finalizing the vehicle’s design requirements next year, though Bolden said he does not expect the agency to be ready to start work on the rocket for some time.
“We are not ready to start building in 2012,” he told Space News in an interview following his remarks, adding that NASA plans to spend the money “to begin robust planning of a specific system, not to do studies and the like.”
Todd May, an associate director at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the lead planner for SLS, said some of the $1.8 billion could be used to jump-start work on the new rocket if NASA opts for an architecture that leverages space shuttle or Constellation technologies, including work done to date on the Ares family of rockets.
“There are components of shuttle and Ares that could be used along the lines of getting a quick start on a heavy-lift vehicle, but that hasn’t been decided yet,” he said in an interview following remarks at the conference March 30. May said the money could also be used to fund continued work on Constellation’s J-2X upper-stage engine.
“In a number of architectures, even if you were to go away from shuttle-derived you could still use J-2X,” he said. “You’d have a lot of work on an upperstage if you were to exercise options on those contracts. You could use some pretty good money to move quickly on that.”
However, Bolden said NASA does not expect to solicit industry proposals for the heavy-lift launch vehicle development for “at least a year.” He said the rocket and crew capsule programs must be “affordable, sustainable and realistic” and that NASA would seek outside cost estimates for the new architecture.
“We’re going to get independent entities to look at our work and if they say, ‘You can’t do what you said you’re going to do, it’s going to cost you much more than that,’ it may require us to go back and do some more homework,” he said.
Bolden said it will also be important to understand the degree to which NASA’s work force and infrastructure are involved in ground operations that will provide support to space exploration missions.
“We’re going to give [Congress] something to look at that is an integrated system of an SLS, MPCV and the ground operations portion that will work,” he said. “How we’re involved in the day-to-day operations of an exploration system will help determine the ground-ops side of it.”
The authorization act allows NASA to spend up to $500 million in 2012 to upgrade launch support and other ground infrastructure, including an effort to prepare NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to support Space Launch System missions; Obama proposed $128 million for the effort next year. Laurie Leshin, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s exploration systems, said while some of the launch upgrade funds would be used to pay for SLS ground support, the bulk of the money would come from the SLS and MPCV budgets, which could reduce the amount of money NASA has to spend on vehicle development.
“Part of it will be to support the SLS needs,” she said of the $128 million infrastructure funding line.
“We’ve got to work on what fraction of that is for SLS and then if there are additional needs, obviously those will need to be supported by SLS,” she said.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
U.S. Must Develop a Clear and Comprehensive Space Policy
BusinessWire: U.S. Must Develop a Clear and Comprehensive Space Policy, AIAA Corporate Membership Committee Chair Testifies
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jim Maser, chairman of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Corporate Membership Committee, and president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, Calif., testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on “A Review of NASA’s Exploration Program in Transition: Issues for Congress and Industry.”
“A Review of NASA’s Exploration Program in Transition: Issues for Congress and Industry.”
Addressing the need to clarify current space policy, Maser told the committee: “The need to move forward with clear velocity is imperative if we are to sustain our endangered U.S. space industrial base, to protect our national security, and to retain our position as the world leader in human spaceflight and space exploration. I believe that if we work together we can achieve these goals, and we are ready to help in any way we can. But the clock is ticking.”
In his prepared testimony, Maser stated that the aerospace industry, which directly supports more than 800,000 jobs nationwide, is imperiled by the lack of a clear space policy. Maser explained that the uncertainty that the current space policy imposes on the industrial base creates three unique problems for the nation: first, it makes it impossible for the space industrial base to plan for current or future needs, harming the industry’s ability to meet NASA’s needs and retain its engineering and science workforce; second, it harms the industry’s ability to recruit future workers because students who are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs will be wary of entering an enterprise that lacks a clear direction and mission, and which has no guarantee of longevity; and last, it harms U.S. national security by driving up short-term fixed costs for the Department of Defense to offset the uncertainty in the needed volume of materials for a robust military presence in space.
Maser noted that while there is uncertainty about the best way to address these problems through the creation of a focused space policy for the nation, there is no doubt that “unfortunately, though, we do not have the luxury of waiting until we have all the answers. We must not ‘let the best be the enemy of the good.’ In other words, selecting a configuration that we are absolutely certain is the optimum configuration is not as important as expeditiously selecting one of the many workable configurations, so that we can move forward.”
For a copy of Maser’s complete testimony please visit: www.aiaa.org/pdf/public/Maser_Congressional_Testimony_30Mar11.pdf
AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. With more than 35,000 individual members worldwide, and 90 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jim Maser, chairman of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Corporate Membership Committee, and president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, Calif., testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on “A Review of NASA’s Exploration Program in Transition: Issues for Congress and Industry.”
“A Review of NASA’s Exploration Program in Transition: Issues for Congress and Industry.”
Addressing the need to clarify current space policy, Maser told the committee: “The need to move forward with clear velocity is imperative if we are to sustain our endangered U.S. space industrial base, to protect our national security, and to retain our position as the world leader in human spaceflight and space exploration. I believe that if we work together we can achieve these goals, and we are ready to help in any way we can. But the clock is ticking.”
In his prepared testimony, Maser stated that the aerospace industry, which directly supports more than 800,000 jobs nationwide, is imperiled by the lack of a clear space policy. Maser explained that the uncertainty that the current space policy imposes on the industrial base creates three unique problems for the nation: first, it makes it impossible for the space industrial base to plan for current or future needs, harming the industry’s ability to meet NASA’s needs and retain its engineering and science workforce; second, it harms the industry’s ability to recruit future workers because students who are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs will be wary of entering an enterprise that lacks a clear direction and mission, and which has no guarantee of longevity; and last, it harms U.S. national security by driving up short-term fixed costs for the Department of Defense to offset the uncertainty in the needed volume of materials for a robust military presence in space.
Maser noted that while there is uncertainty about the best way to address these problems through the creation of a focused space policy for the nation, there is no doubt that “unfortunately, though, we do not have the luxury of waiting until we have all the answers. We must not ‘let the best be the enemy of the good.’ In other words, selecting a configuration that we are absolutely certain is the optimum configuration is not as important as expeditiously selecting one of the many workable configurations, so that we can move forward.”
For a copy of Maser’s complete testimony please visit: www.aiaa.org/pdf/public/Maser_Congressional_Testimony_30Mar11.pdf
AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. With more than 35,000 individual members worldwide, and 90 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
This senator is lost in space
TBO.com: Commentary Piece: This senator is lost in space
Recent polls show that Americans are already disenchanted with the new Congress, which is so collectively inept that it can't even pass a budget.
Public sentiment is not likely to improve with the news that lawmakers are forcing NASA to spend $1.4 million a day on a troubled space program that was officially scrapped last year.
It's a lesson in the politics of waste, as practiced by those who pretend to be crusaders for thrift.
When President Obama submitted his 2011 budget plan to Congress, he canceled funding for the space agency's Constellation program, the primary mission of which was to return astronauts to the moon. The decision wasn't a surprise.
More than $9 billion had been spent on developing a new space capsule and the Ares series of rockets, but Constellation was plagued by long delays and hefty cost overruns. An independent panel of experts concluded that 2017 was the earliest that the Ares rockets would be ready for flights, and that a lunar mission wouldn't occur until the mid-2020s, at the soonest.
Obama and top NASA officials wanted to scrap the project because it was too costly, and to refocus on deep-space exploration and development of commercial launches.
"The truth is, we were not on a sustainable path to get back to the moon's surface," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
Some lawmakers were irate, none more than Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama. This would be the same Richard Shelby who every year introduces a balanced-budget amendment; the same Richard Shelby who piously rails about runaway government spending, and trashes TARP, and frets about the terrible deficit.
But wait. Some of the work on the Ares rockets was taking place at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Shelby's home state, which meant that jobs would be lost. Unfortunately, that's what happens when you eliminate a big federal contract.
So, as a pre-emptive strike, the senator inserted a sentence in the 2010 federal budget that basically barred NASA from de-funding the Constellation space program until the 2011 budget was approved..
But in October, congressional leaders agreed on a NASA funding bill that contained the White House proposal to scratch the manned lunar project. That should have been the end, but it wasn't.
Since then, the so-called Shelby provision – only 70 words – has remained intact in the temporary spending measures that have been passed to keep government running. Mysteriously, nobody seems able to get the language deleted, which would shut off the $1.4 million a day that's being wasted on a space program that no longer exists.
The largest beneficiary is Alliant Techsystems, a prime contractor on the first phase of the Ares I rocket. You probably won't be shocked to know that last year Sen. Shelby received $10,000 in campaign contributions from ATK's political action committee, and thousands more from company employees.
In January, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin called for Congress to take "immediate action" to halt funding on Constellation. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who chairs the Senate Commerce subcommittee on science and space, promised to get the Shelby provision removed from the budget resolutions because "we can't afford to be wasting money."
Last week, a spokesman for Nelson said "partisan politics" had stalled the senator's efforts to fix the spending bill, but he remained confident that he'll be successful.
Meanwhile, tax dollars keep flowing to the abandoned moon-shot program – about $250 million since Oct. 1, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Add another $29 million by the time the current budget extension lapses in April.
Politicians who go to Washington are expected to fight for local projects, and over the years Shelby has brought loads of federal pork home to Alabama. This time he lost.
Yet instead of doing what's best for all American taxpayers (and for NASA, which is scraping for funds), the senator is content to sit back and watch nearly $280 million go down a black hole – and into the hands of major campaign contributors.
Shelby is fond of bashing Democrats and warning, "We are on the road to financial destruction."
Given his own not-so-stellar role in the Constellation debacle, he gives new meaning to the term "space case."
Recent polls show that Americans are already disenchanted with the new Congress, which is so collectively inept that it can't even pass a budget.
Public sentiment is not likely to improve with the news that lawmakers are forcing NASA to spend $1.4 million a day on a troubled space program that was officially scrapped last year.
It's a lesson in the politics of waste, as practiced by those who pretend to be crusaders for thrift.
When President Obama submitted his 2011 budget plan to Congress, he canceled funding for the space agency's Constellation program, the primary mission of which was to return astronauts to the moon. The decision wasn't a surprise.
More than $9 billion had been spent on developing a new space capsule and the Ares series of rockets, but Constellation was plagued by long delays and hefty cost overruns. An independent panel of experts concluded that 2017 was the earliest that the Ares rockets would be ready for flights, and that a lunar mission wouldn't occur until the mid-2020s, at the soonest.
Obama and top NASA officials wanted to scrap the project because it was too costly, and to refocus on deep-space exploration and development of commercial launches.
"The truth is, we were not on a sustainable path to get back to the moon's surface," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
Some lawmakers were irate, none more than Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama. This would be the same Richard Shelby who every year introduces a balanced-budget amendment; the same Richard Shelby who piously rails about runaway government spending, and trashes TARP, and frets about the terrible deficit.
But wait. Some of the work on the Ares rockets was taking place at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Shelby's home state, which meant that jobs would be lost. Unfortunately, that's what happens when you eliminate a big federal contract.
So, as a pre-emptive strike, the senator inserted a sentence in the 2010 federal budget that basically barred NASA from de-funding the Constellation space program until the 2011 budget was approved..
But in October, congressional leaders agreed on a NASA funding bill that contained the White House proposal to scratch the manned lunar project. That should have been the end, but it wasn't.
Since then, the so-called Shelby provision – only 70 words – has remained intact in the temporary spending measures that have been passed to keep government running. Mysteriously, nobody seems able to get the language deleted, which would shut off the $1.4 million a day that's being wasted on a space program that no longer exists.
The largest beneficiary is Alliant Techsystems, a prime contractor on the first phase of the Ares I rocket. You probably won't be shocked to know that last year Sen. Shelby received $10,000 in campaign contributions from ATK's political action committee, and thousands more from company employees.
In January, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin called for Congress to take "immediate action" to halt funding on Constellation. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who chairs the Senate Commerce subcommittee on science and space, promised to get the Shelby provision removed from the budget resolutions because "we can't afford to be wasting money."
Last week, a spokesman for Nelson said "partisan politics" had stalled the senator's efforts to fix the spending bill, but he remained confident that he'll be successful.
Meanwhile, tax dollars keep flowing to the abandoned moon-shot program – about $250 million since Oct. 1, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Add another $29 million by the time the current budget extension lapses in April.
Politicians who go to Washington are expected to fight for local projects, and over the years Shelby has brought loads of federal pork home to Alabama. This time he lost.
Yet instead of doing what's best for all American taxpayers (and for NASA, which is scraping for funds), the senator is content to sit back and watch nearly $280 million go down a black hole – and into the hands of major campaign contributors.
Shelby is fond of bashing Democrats and warning, "We are on the road to financial destruction."
Given his own not-so-stellar role in the Constellation debacle, he gives new meaning to the term "space case."
Monday, March 28, 2011
Picking sides in cislunar space
The Space Review: Picking sides in cislunar space
In debates about human space policy, the question of destinations looms over all the others. If human spaceflight is about going somewhere, where one goes determines the plan, the architecture, and the investment strategy. Destinations for exploration are historically defined as places where one can leave footprints or collect samples. Big rocks, like the Moon and Mars, and even smaller rocks like asteroids seem to fit that bill. But attached to this list of destinations for federal space policy are some very different places, the L1 and L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange (or libration) points (see “Making the path for human spaceflight less rocky”, The Space Review, June 21, 2010).
The Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away.
Those “destinations” are defined not by rocks but dynamically, as saddle points in the potential energy of cislunar space where one can stay without too much trouble. These saddle points are about 84% of the way from the Earth to the Moon (L1), and symmetrically beyond the Moon (L2). In fact, spacecraft wouldn’t really even stay at these points, but would orbit around them with periods of roughly half a month. The fact that one cannot plant a flag at a Lagrange point or even leave iconic footprints has led for years to some exasperation to those advocating trips there; plans to send people to those venues have been dismissed as “missions to nowhere”.
They aren’t. To the extent that going to venues in space that aren’t occupied by rocks isn’t justified, one has to wonder about the hundreds of billions of investment dollars, both commercial and defense-related, on facilities in somewhat closer Earth orbit (LEO, GEO, etc.) Just as for these more nearby rockless locations, the Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away. As a solar system “Gateway” for human trips down to the lunar surface, for low-latency and uninterrupted telerobotic control of facilities on the lunar surface, for depoting in situ resource utilization (ISRU) products, as a job site for servicing cislunar science missions in free space and development of future solar system expedition vehicles, these Lagrange points are truly enabling.
Our leaders are coming to the realization that human visits to Mars are not going to happen soon, and return of humans to the Moon is highly desirable but not affordable on a short time scale either. The idea of sending people to a near Earth asteroid has been floated, even by the president, but although a sophisticated landing craft is not needed for such a trip, finding an accessible target and establishing compelling and sustainable rationale has continued to be a challenge. It is fair to say that going to a rock is not likely to be humanity’s next step beyond LEO. It is in this policy arena that L1 and L2 have become increasingly attractive as the first stepping stones (that would be stones without rocks, I guess) for human travels beyond low Earth orbit (see “First stop for Flexible Path?”, The Space Review, November 30, 2009). They have been featured in long range agency planning and in Congressional authorization views of our space future. They may well define our space future.
The ARTEMIS mission, created with two spacecraft from the retired THEMIS constellation of heliophysics satellites, has exercised our abilities to go into orbit at both Earth-Moon L1 and L2, and stay in those orbits for extended periods of time. Earth-Moon Lagrange point orbits are not just theory. We’ve been there! NASA has begun to develop concepts for habitation facilities that could support humans for long periods at these locations (see “Human operations beyond LEO by the end of the decade: an affordable near-term stepping stone”, The Space Review, January 10, 2011).
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at.
As we look ahead to a near-term future for human travel beyond LEO, the question of destinations is ceasing to be the Moon, or Mars, or asteroids, but rather L1 versus L2. Which side of the Moon should we first aim for? The idea of using Earth-Moon Lagrange points for future human space operations was developed by Bob Farquhar about forty years ago in an inspired series of papers. In his early calculations, Farquhar found that L2, over the lunar farside, was a slightly longer trip from the Earth, but somewhat less expensive propulsion-wise compared to L1 over the lunar nearside. He figured the total delta-V for a roundtrip L2 visit was about 20% lower than for L1, and he presumed that L2 would thus be the best site for a human occupied outpost. This difference may be lowered by making compromises on travel time. For slow cargo transport, there need be no difference at all. So propulsion budget is an important, but not necessarily decisive factor in determining which side is optimal. In fact, Earth-return time is substantially shorter for L1, which may be relevant with regard to safety and risk for human missions. Orbits around L1 and L2 are not entirely stable, and stationkeeping propulsion is required to maintain them. But the propulsion needs to do so are very manageable and economical at levels of 10–50 meters per second per year, depending on the orbit, navigation accuracy, and thruster stationkeeping precision, with proper accounting for solar wind and radiation pressure. The stationkeeping budgets for L1 and L2 are roughly the same.
For both L1 and L2, power generation is straightforward, unlike on the surfaces of, or in low orbit around, large rocks, which can shadow the Sun. With the exception of occasional eclipses of the Sun by the Earth or Moon, spacecraft in L1 or L2 orbits are illuminated continuously. For L1, on the Earthward side of the Moon, communication with the Earth is continuous. For L2, a wide enough orbit with a “halo” topology, in which the spacecraft circles the Earth-Moon line, can allow continuous line-of-sight to the Earth over the lunar limb.
One of the hallmarks of the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is the dynamical advantageousness for traveling to more distant locations. As pointed out by Martin Lo and Shane Ross a decade ago, an “interplanetary superhighway” connects Lagrange points in the solar system, such that going from one to the other requires only tiny amounts of propellant. While the speeds on the superhighway can be pretty slow, such that trips with humans on board do not necessarily benefit from these low-propulsion options, advantages for cargo transport can be enormous. Using an Earth-Moon Lagrange point as a depot for lunar ISRU products is highly relevant in this regard. Many of our prime science spacecraft operate at the Earth-Sun Lagrange points, about four lunar distances away. These spacecraft could easily be moved to and from a “jobsite” at an Earth-Moon Lagrange point where they could be serviced much more easily than by sending people or servicing robots to their operational locales. Both Earth-Moon L1 and L2 could offer these dynamical advantages.
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at. Observers at L1 are looking down at the near side, and L2 at the far side. Only one hemisphere is visible from each venue, and there is line-of-site communication just with that side. To the extent that future plans for humans on the lunar surface feature one side, that decision would bear on which Lagrange point is chosen for a habitat/depot that would support it. Such a habitat could even be used to telerobotically develop a site in advance of human surface presence. While ambitious plans for a farside lunar radio telescope have been proposed, the far side is not generally featured in future lunar plans by the science community. With the notable exception of the South Pole Aitken basin, most identified high priority science targets are on the nearside. For ISRU production, there is no evidence that one side is any better than the other, and one must presume that the nearside, with communication sightline to the Earth, is preferable for control and monitoring of mining and refining operations.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public.
Of relevance is the recent “Stepping Stones” strategic plan developed by Lockheed-Martin (see “Early Human L2-Farside Missions”, Lockheed Martin, 2010). This creative plan is a series of increasingly challenging human spaceflight missions that build incrementally toward putting humans on Mars. A key early step in this plan is a mission to Earth-Moon L2, in order to explore the lunar farside. This step might follow an Apollo 8-type lunar flyby, and be followed by a trip to a near-Earth asteroid. The choice of L2 over L1 was an interesting one, though in their view, either Lagrange point would exercise our human spaceflight capabilities in deep space for more ambitious later exploration. For an early trip, with limited propulsion capabilities, the smaller propellant cost into L2 was a significant factor in the decision. To some extent, a habitat at L2 offers lunar surface farside telerobotic control that would not be possible directly from the Earth. One major advantage of L2 over L1 in the public spirit of exploration is that “far” is always better than “near”, and the Apollo missions have already travelled through, if not stayed at, the L1 venue.
The purpose of this essay is not to recommend L1 versus L2 as the next destination for our travels beyond low-Earth orbit. In many respects, they offer identical advantages. Rather, we have laid out some of the differences between the two. In fact, L1 and L2 are not dynamically that far apart. As demonstrated by NASA’s ARTEMIS mission, moving between L1 and L2 is a low delta-V operation, such that a habitat deployed at one location could be moved, without much trouble, to the other.
All voyages beyond Earth orbit have to contend with radiation exposure, especially when it is for an extended period of time, and where there are no rocks to hide under. While the importance of this issue should not be minimized, experts have pointed out that with foreseeable habitat shielding, radiation exposure at L1 and L2 to galactic cosmic rays (which are most difficult to shield) can be kept below what are currently adopted dose limits for astronauts at ISS. Whether those limits, which are substantially higher than for the Earth-bound public, are too risky, is yet to be established.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, as noted above, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public. No one is proposing to “explore” L1 or L2, but to use those locations as steps to exploring other destinations. That an orbit can be a “place”, and can offer enabling value to major goals (which include eventually getting toes onto big rocks), is something that has to be understood more widely, and marks progress not just in exploration, but in understanding what space exploration really means.
In debates about human space policy, the question of destinations looms over all the others. If human spaceflight is about going somewhere, where one goes determines the plan, the architecture, and the investment strategy. Destinations for exploration are historically defined as places where one can leave footprints or collect samples. Big rocks, like the Moon and Mars, and even smaller rocks like asteroids seem to fit that bill. But attached to this list of destinations for federal space policy are some very different places, the L1 and L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange (or libration) points (see “Making the path for human spaceflight less rocky”, The Space Review, June 21, 2010).
The Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away.
Those “destinations” are defined not by rocks but dynamically, as saddle points in the potential energy of cislunar space where one can stay without too much trouble. These saddle points are about 84% of the way from the Earth to the Moon (L1), and symmetrically beyond the Moon (L2). In fact, spacecraft wouldn’t really even stay at these points, but would orbit around them with periods of roughly half a month. The fact that one cannot plant a flag at a Lagrange point or even leave iconic footprints has led for years to some exasperation to those advocating trips there; plans to send people to those venues have been dismissed as “missions to nowhere”.
They aren’t. To the extent that going to venues in space that aren’t occupied by rocks isn’t justified, one has to wonder about the hundreds of billions of investment dollars, both commercial and defense-related, on facilities in somewhat closer Earth orbit (LEO, GEO, etc.) Just as for these more nearby rockless locations, the Earth-Moon Lagrange points have been understood to be unambiguously opportunistic locations for space exploration efforts. For these venues, the opportunities may be on the Moon or farther away. As a solar system “Gateway” for human trips down to the lunar surface, for low-latency and uninterrupted telerobotic control of facilities on the lunar surface, for depoting in situ resource utilization (ISRU) products, as a job site for servicing cislunar science missions in free space and development of future solar system expedition vehicles, these Lagrange points are truly enabling.
Our leaders are coming to the realization that human visits to Mars are not going to happen soon, and return of humans to the Moon is highly desirable but not affordable on a short time scale either. The idea of sending people to a near Earth asteroid has been floated, even by the president, but although a sophisticated landing craft is not needed for such a trip, finding an accessible target and establishing compelling and sustainable rationale has continued to be a challenge. It is fair to say that going to a rock is not likely to be humanity’s next step beyond LEO. It is in this policy arena that L1 and L2 have become increasingly attractive as the first stepping stones (that would be stones without rocks, I guess) for human travels beyond low Earth orbit (see “First stop for Flexible Path?”, The Space Review, November 30, 2009). They have been featured in long range agency planning and in Congressional authorization views of our space future. They may well define our space future.
The ARTEMIS mission, created with two spacecraft from the retired THEMIS constellation of heliophysics satellites, has exercised our abilities to go into orbit at both Earth-Moon L1 and L2, and stay in those orbits for extended periods of time. Earth-Moon Lagrange point orbits are not just theory. We’ve been there! NASA has begun to develop concepts for habitation facilities that could support humans for long periods at these locations (see “Human operations beyond LEO by the end of the decade: an affordable near-term stepping stone”, The Space Review, January 10, 2011).
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at.
As we look ahead to a near-term future for human travel beyond LEO, the question of destinations is ceasing to be the Moon, or Mars, or asteroids, but rather L1 versus L2. Which side of the Moon should we first aim for? The idea of using Earth-Moon Lagrange points for future human space operations was developed by Bob Farquhar about forty years ago in an inspired series of papers. In his early calculations, Farquhar found that L2, over the lunar farside, was a slightly longer trip from the Earth, but somewhat less expensive propulsion-wise compared to L1 over the lunar nearside. He figured the total delta-V for a roundtrip L2 visit was about 20% lower than for L1, and he presumed that L2 would thus be the best site for a human occupied outpost. This difference may be lowered by making compromises on travel time. For slow cargo transport, there need be no difference at all. So propulsion budget is an important, but not necessarily decisive factor in determining which side is optimal. In fact, Earth-return time is substantially shorter for L1, which may be relevant with regard to safety and risk for human missions. Orbits around L1 and L2 are not entirely stable, and stationkeeping propulsion is required to maintain them. But the propulsion needs to do so are very manageable and economical at levels of 10–50 meters per second per year, depending on the orbit, navigation accuracy, and thruster stationkeeping precision, with proper accounting for solar wind and radiation pressure. The stationkeeping budgets for L1 and L2 are roughly the same.
For both L1 and L2, power generation is straightforward, unlike on the surfaces of, or in low orbit around, large rocks, which can shadow the Sun. With the exception of occasional eclipses of the Sun by the Earth or Moon, spacecraft in L1 or L2 orbits are illuminated continuously. For L1, on the Earthward side of the Moon, communication with the Earth is continuous. For L2, a wide enough orbit with a “halo” topology, in which the spacecraft circles the Earth-Moon line, can allow continuous line-of-sight to the Earth over the lunar limb.
One of the hallmarks of the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is the dynamical advantageousness for traveling to more distant locations. As pointed out by Martin Lo and Shane Ross a decade ago, an “interplanetary superhighway” connects Lagrange points in the solar system, such that going from one to the other requires only tiny amounts of propellant. While the speeds on the superhighway can be pretty slow, such that trips with humans on board do not necessarily benefit from these low-propulsion options, advantages for cargo transport can be enormous. Using an Earth-Moon Lagrange point as a depot for lunar ISRU products is highly relevant in this regard. Many of our prime science spacecraft operate at the Earth-Sun Lagrange points, about four lunar distances away. These spacecraft could easily be moved to and from a “jobsite” at an Earth-Moon Lagrange point where they could be serviced much more easily than by sending people or servicing robots to their operational locales. Both Earth-Moon L1 and L2 could offer these dynamical advantages.
Of course, the big difference between L1 and L2 is which side of the Moon one is looking at. Observers at L1 are looking down at the near side, and L2 at the far side. Only one hemisphere is visible from each venue, and there is line-of-site communication just with that side. To the extent that future plans for humans on the lunar surface feature one side, that decision would bear on which Lagrange point is chosen for a habitat/depot that would support it. Such a habitat could even be used to telerobotically develop a site in advance of human surface presence. While ambitious plans for a farside lunar radio telescope have been proposed, the far side is not generally featured in future lunar plans by the science community. With the notable exception of the South Pole Aitken basin, most identified high priority science targets are on the nearside. For ISRU production, there is no evidence that one side is any better than the other, and one must presume that the nearside, with communication sightline to the Earth, is preferable for control and monitoring of mining and refining operations.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public.
Of relevance is the recent “Stepping Stones” strategic plan developed by Lockheed-Martin (see “Early Human L2-Farside Missions”, Lockheed Martin, 2010). This creative plan is a series of increasingly challenging human spaceflight missions that build incrementally toward putting humans on Mars. A key early step in this plan is a mission to Earth-Moon L2, in order to explore the lunar farside. This step might follow an Apollo 8-type lunar flyby, and be followed by a trip to a near-Earth asteroid. The choice of L2 over L1 was an interesting one, though in their view, either Lagrange point would exercise our human spaceflight capabilities in deep space for more ambitious later exploration. For an early trip, with limited propulsion capabilities, the smaller propellant cost into L2 was a significant factor in the decision. To some extent, a habitat at L2 offers lunar surface farside telerobotic control that would not be possible directly from the Earth. One major advantage of L2 over L1 in the public spirit of exploration is that “far” is always better than “near”, and the Apollo missions have already travelled through, if not stayed at, the L1 venue.
The purpose of this essay is not to recommend L1 versus L2 as the next destination for our travels beyond low-Earth orbit. In many respects, they offer identical advantages. Rather, we have laid out some of the differences between the two. In fact, L1 and L2 are not dynamically that far apart. As demonstrated by NASA’s ARTEMIS mission, moving between L1 and L2 is a low delta-V operation, such that a habitat deployed at one location could be moved, without much trouble, to the other.
All voyages beyond Earth orbit have to contend with radiation exposure, especially when it is for an extended period of time, and where there are no rocks to hide under. While the importance of this issue should not be minimized, experts have pointed out that with foreseeable habitat shielding, radiation exposure at L1 and L2 to galactic cosmic rays (which are most difficult to shield) can be kept below what are currently adopted dose limits for astronauts at ISS. Whether those limits, which are substantially higher than for the Earth-bound public, are too risky, is yet to be established.
The main obstacle for planning trips to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points is, as noted above, “there ain’t nothin’ there”. This is an artificial obstacle, however, that just highlights what might be a somewhat primitive—and constraining—perspective of human space exploration by the public. No one is proposing to “explore” L1 or L2, but to use those locations as steps to exploring other destinations. That an orbit can be a “place”, and can offer enabling value to major goals (which include eventually getting toes onto big rocks), is something that has to be understood more widely, and marks progress not just in exploration, but in understanding what space exploration really means.
Lockheed Martin Makes Strides in Human Space Exploration
IEWY.com: Lockheed Martin Makes Strides in Human Space Exploration
First Orion Spacecraft, Space Operations Simulation Center Progressing Steadily at Denver Facilities
DENVER — Forging a new path forward to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today unveiled the first Orion spacecraft and a spacious state-of-the-art Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC). These two major projects, located at Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., showcase the NASA-industry teams’ progress for human space flight, the Orion Project and NASA’s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
The spacecraft will undergo rigorous testing in Denver to validate Orion’s ability to endure the harsh environments of deep space. The Orion crew exploration vehicle is on schedule to conduct its first orbital flight test as early as 2013 and provide initial operational flights by 2016 as required by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
“Our nation’s next bold step in exploration could begin by 2016,” said John Karas, vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin’s Human Space Flight programs. “Orion was designed from inception to fly multiple, deep-space missions. The spacecraft is an incredibly robust, technically advanced vehicle capable of safely transporting humans to asteroids, Lagrange Points and other deep space destinations that will put us on an affordable and sustainable path to Mars.”
The SOSC represents part of Lockheed Martin’s multi-million dollar investment in testing and validating future human spaceflight programs to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable space exploration. Today’s demonstrations at the SOSC featured simulated missions to an asteroid and the International Space Station using laser and optically guided robotic navigation systems. This system and other cutting edge capabilities demonstrate how Lockheed Martin employs full-scale motion to test and verify multiple mission scenarios.
The SOSC currently supports integrated testing of Orion’s Relative Navigation System, which includes STORRM (Sensor Test for Orion RelNav Risk Mitigation) — a new and innovative navigation and docking system that will be tested on the upcoming STS-134 shuttle mission to the International Space Station. STORRM is one of the major subsystem tests that will be completed before Orion’s first orbital flight test in 2013, that will conduct high-altitude orbits and a high-energy reentry that simulate the environments of a deep space mission.
SOSC operations support critical development, evaluation and testing necessary to ensure safe, successful human and robotic missions to Earth-orbiting platforms, planets, moons or other bodies in our solar system. In addition, the center tests ranging, rendezvous, docking, proximity operations, imaging, descent and landing systems.
“Lockheed Martin built this remarkable facility to develop and test spacecraft systems, further demonstrating our commitment to improve safety and advance capabilities for future U.S. human spaceflight,” said Karas. “Our collective expertise in systems integration, planetary exploration and human spaceflight operations will help ensure success for our nation’s next generation space transportation system.”
The SOSC is built upon a 1,700-foot-deep Colorado bedrock formation and is isolated from local seismic disturbances. This foundation provides an ultra-stable environment for testing precision instruments and accurate navigation systems needed for space vehicles. The 41,000-square-foot facility also holds a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold rating for its high efficiency environmental controls, energy-saving lighting systems, and native vegetation landscaping.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for Orion, a multipurpose exploration spacecraft capable of exploring destinations throughout our solar system. The Orion spacecraft comprises a crew module for crew and cargo transport; a service module for propulsion, electrical power and fluids storage; a spacecraft adapter for securing it to the launch vehicle, and a launch abort system that will significantly improve crew safety.
Since beginning work on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Lockheed Martin has independently and concurrently created a variety of scenarios to develop increasingly challenging missions for an affordable and sustainable path to Mars. Called Stepping Stones, the mission scenarios include Plymouth Rock, an asteroid mission; L-2 Farside, a mission to the Lagrangian Point over the farside of the moon; and Red Rocks, a mission to the moons of Mars that would complement robotic missions on the Martian surface.
Lockheed Martin leads the Orion industry team, which includes major subcontractors as well as a nationwide network of minor subcontractors and small businesses. In addition, Lockheed Martin contracts with hundreds of small and disadvantaged business suppliers across the United States through an expansive supply chain network.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 132,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.
First Orion Spacecraft, Space Operations Simulation Center Progressing Steadily at Denver Facilities
DENVER — Forging a new path forward to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today unveiled the first Orion spacecraft and a spacious state-of-the-art Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC). These two major projects, located at Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., showcase the NASA-industry teams’ progress for human space flight, the Orion Project and NASA’s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
The spacecraft will undergo rigorous testing in Denver to validate Orion’s ability to endure the harsh environments of deep space. The Orion crew exploration vehicle is on schedule to conduct its first orbital flight test as early as 2013 and provide initial operational flights by 2016 as required by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.
“Our nation’s next bold step in exploration could begin by 2016,” said John Karas, vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin’s Human Space Flight programs. “Orion was designed from inception to fly multiple, deep-space missions. The spacecraft is an incredibly robust, technically advanced vehicle capable of safely transporting humans to asteroids, Lagrange Points and other deep space destinations that will put us on an affordable and sustainable path to Mars.”
The SOSC represents part of Lockheed Martin’s multi-million dollar investment in testing and validating future human spaceflight programs to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable space exploration. Today’s demonstrations at the SOSC featured simulated missions to an asteroid and the International Space Station using laser and optically guided robotic navigation systems. This system and other cutting edge capabilities demonstrate how Lockheed Martin employs full-scale motion to test and verify multiple mission scenarios.
The SOSC currently supports integrated testing of Orion’s Relative Navigation System, which includes STORRM (Sensor Test for Orion RelNav Risk Mitigation) — a new and innovative navigation and docking system that will be tested on the upcoming STS-134 shuttle mission to the International Space Station. STORRM is one of the major subsystem tests that will be completed before Orion’s first orbital flight test in 2013, that will conduct high-altitude orbits and a high-energy reentry that simulate the environments of a deep space mission.
SOSC operations support critical development, evaluation and testing necessary to ensure safe, successful human and robotic missions to Earth-orbiting platforms, planets, moons or other bodies in our solar system. In addition, the center tests ranging, rendezvous, docking, proximity operations, imaging, descent and landing systems.
“Lockheed Martin built this remarkable facility to develop and test spacecraft systems, further demonstrating our commitment to improve safety and advance capabilities for future U.S. human spaceflight,” said Karas. “Our collective expertise in systems integration, planetary exploration and human spaceflight operations will help ensure success for our nation’s next generation space transportation system.”
The SOSC is built upon a 1,700-foot-deep Colorado bedrock formation and is isolated from local seismic disturbances. This foundation provides an ultra-stable environment for testing precision instruments and accurate navigation systems needed for space vehicles. The 41,000-square-foot facility also holds a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold rating for its high efficiency environmental controls, energy-saving lighting systems, and native vegetation landscaping.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for Orion, a multipurpose exploration spacecraft capable of exploring destinations throughout our solar system. The Orion spacecraft comprises a crew module for crew and cargo transport; a service module for propulsion, electrical power and fluids storage; a spacecraft adapter for securing it to the launch vehicle, and a launch abort system that will significantly improve crew safety.
Since beginning work on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Lockheed Martin has independently and concurrently created a variety of scenarios to develop increasingly challenging missions for an affordable and sustainable path to Mars. Called Stepping Stones, the mission scenarios include Plymouth Rock, an asteroid mission; L-2 Farside, a mission to the Lagrangian Point over the farside of the moon; and Red Rocks, a mission to the moons of Mars that would complement robotic missions on the Martian surface.
Lockheed Martin leads the Orion industry team, which includes major subcontractors as well as a nationwide network of minor subcontractors and small businesses. In addition, Lockheed Martin contracts with hundreds of small and disadvantaged business suppliers across the United States through an expansive supply chain network.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 132,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Spring Session at Kennedy Space Center starts Mar 28
The Place for Space: Camp Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, FL – March 2011 – Tomorrow’s astronauts will experience the ultimate space adventure this spring during Camp Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In its fourteenth year, Camp KSC takes campers through the history of America’s space program from the early days of the Mercury program to today’s space shuttle launches and the future of the space program.
This year, campers will step into the center of space travel and become part of the future of exciting possibilities at Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted. The interactive exhibit introduces campers to new destinations for space travel and inspires future space pioneers to embark on new missions and embrace the challenges of future space exploration. Campers will get a first-hand look at what it takes to be a part of the future through presentations that emphasize that space exploration is not just about the hardware, but about the people behind the technology that make it all possible.
Camp activities include training on realistic motion-based space simulators and performing a simulated space shuttle mission aboard a full-scale replica of an orbiter and simulated mission control. Former NASA astronauts will be on hand to share the impact the space program has on everyday life. In addition, campers will have the opportunity to work in teams to investigate space travel in the new millennium and design space exploration vehicles and habitats.
As part of this inspiring week of fun, campers will discover the sights, sounds and sensations of a space shuttle launch on the Shuttle Launch Experience. This simulation offers a fun-filled opportunity to experience what only just over 300 space shuttle astronauts have – to get vertical and launch into Earth’s orbit. Campers will also experience the powerful story of the Hubble Space Telescope, floating beside the space-walking astronauts, in the Hubble 3D IMAX® film. Hubble 3D offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy, and highlights its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves.
Specially trained educators lead the five-day program. Camp KSC is designed for children grades 2 through 9. Camp KSC runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with early drop-off and late pick-up hours available. Spring Camp KSC begins March 28 and ends April 1.
Summer Sessions
Week 1: June 13 - June 17
Week 2: June 20 - June 24
Week 3: June 27 - July 1 (transportation is available from Holland Elementary in Satellite Beach)
Week 4: July 4 - July 8
Week 5: July 11 - July 15 (transportation is available from Max K. Rhodes in Melbourne)
Week 6: July 18 - July 22
Week 7: July 25 - July 29
Week 8: August 1 - August 5
Week 9: August 8 - August 12
Tuition is $295 per child per session with discounts available for multi-child households and Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base personnel. Included with the program, campers receive a Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Annual Pass, lunches and afternoon snacks, Official Camp KSC t-shirt, Camp KSC graduation ceremony and certificate of completion.
Camp KSC is based at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame®, located at the intersection of US 1 and SR 405 in Titusville. For more information and registration details, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.
Kennedy Space Center, FL – March 2011 – Tomorrow’s astronauts will experience the ultimate space adventure this spring during Camp Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In its fourteenth year, Camp KSC takes campers through the history of America’s space program from the early days of the Mercury program to today’s space shuttle launches and the future of the space program.
This year, campers will step into the center of space travel and become part of the future of exciting possibilities at Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted. The interactive exhibit introduces campers to new destinations for space travel and inspires future space pioneers to embark on new missions and embrace the challenges of future space exploration. Campers will get a first-hand look at what it takes to be a part of the future through presentations that emphasize that space exploration is not just about the hardware, but about the people behind the technology that make it all possible.
Camp activities include training on realistic motion-based space simulators and performing a simulated space shuttle mission aboard a full-scale replica of an orbiter and simulated mission control. Former NASA astronauts will be on hand to share the impact the space program has on everyday life. In addition, campers will have the opportunity to work in teams to investigate space travel in the new millennium and design space exploration vehicles and habitats.
As part of this inspiring week of fun, campers will discover the sights, sounds and sensations of a space shuttle launch on the Shuttle Launch Experience. This simulation offers a fun-filled opportunity to experience what only just over 300 space shuttle astronauts have – to get vertical and launch into Earth’s orbit. Campers will also experience the powerful story of the Hubble Space Telescope, floating beside the space-walking astronauts, in the Hubble 3D IMAX® film. Hubble 3D offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy, and highlights its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves.
Specially trained educators lead the five-day program. Camp KSC is designed for children grades 2 through 9. Camp KSC runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with early drop-off and late pick-up hours available. Spring Camp KSC begins March 28 and ends April 1.
Summer Sessions
Week 1: June 13 - June 17
Week 2: June 20 - June 24
Week 3: June 27 - July 1 (transportation is available from Holland Elementary in Satellite Beach)
Week 4: July 4 - July 8
Week 5: July 11 - July 15 (transportation is available from Max K. Rhodes in Melbourne)
Week 6: July 18 - July 22
Week 7: July 25 - July 29
Week 8: August 1 - August 5
Week 9: August 8 - August 12
Tuition is $295 per child per session with discounts available for multi-child households and Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base personnel. Included with the program, campers receive a Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Annual Pass, lunches and afternoon snacks, Official Camp KSC t-shirt, Camp KSC graduation ceremony and certificate of completion.
Camp KSC is based at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame®, located at the intersection of US 1 and SR 405 in Titusville. For more information and registration details, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.
Friday, March 25, 2011
NASA's Venerable Comet Hunter Wraps Up Mission
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: NASA's Venerable Comet Hunter Wraps Up Mission
At 33 minutes after 4 p.m. PDT today, NASA's Stardust spacecraft finished its last transmission to Earth. The transmission came on the heels of the venerable spacecraft's final rocket burn, which was designed to provide insight into how much fuel remained aboard after its encounter with comet Tempel 1 in February.
"Stardust has been teaching us about our solar system since it was launched in 1999," said Stardust-NExT project manager Tim Larson from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "It makes sense that its very last moments would be providing us with data we can use to plan deep space mission operations in the future."
The burn to depletion maneuver was designed to fire Stardust's rockets until insufficient fuel remains to continue, all the while downlinking data on the burn to Earth some 312 million kilometers (194 million miles) away. Mission personnel will compare the amount of fuel consumed in the burn with the amount they anticipated would be burned based on their fuel consumption models.
Fuel consumption models are necessary because no one has invented a reliable fuel gauge for spacecraft when in the weightless environment of space flight. Until that day arrives, mission planners can approximate fuel usage by looking at the history of the vehicle's flight and how many times and for how long its rocket motors have fired.
Mission personnel watched the final data from the burn come down at JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility and at the Stardust-NExT mission support center at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
"Stardust motors burned for 146 seconds," said Allan Cheuvront, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company program manager for Stardust-NExT. "We'll crunch the numbers and see how close the reality matches up with our projections. That will be a great data set to have in our back pocket when we plan for future missions."
The Stardust team performed the final burn to depletion because NASA's most senior comet hunter is a spacecraft literally running on fumes. Launched on Feb. 7, 1999, Stardust had completed its prime mission back in January 2006. By that time, Stardust had already flown past an asteroid (Annefrank), flown halfway out to Jupiter to collect particle samples from the coma of a comet, Wild 2, and returned to fly by Earth to drop off a sample return capsule eagerly awaited by comet scientists. NASA then re-tasked the spacecraft to perform a bonus mission to fly past comet Tempel 1 to collect images and other scientific data. Stardust has traveled about 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) in its journey about the sun in the few weeks since the Valentine's day comet Tempel 1 flyby, making the grand total from launch to its final rocket burn about 5.69 billion kilometers (3.54 billion miles).
With all that mileage logged, the Stardust team knew the end was near. Now, with its fuel tank empty and its final messages transmitted, history's most traveled comet hunter will move from NASA's active mission roster to retired.
"This kind of feels like the end of one of those old Western movies where you watch the hero ride his horse towards the distant setting sun - and then the credits begin to roll," said Larson. "Only there's no setting sun in space."
Stardust-NExT was a low-cost mission to expand the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, managed the Stardust-NExT project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C., which was part of the Discovery Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Joe Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., was the mission's principal investigator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft and managed day-to-day mission operations.
For more information about Stardust-NExT, please visit: http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov.
At 33 minutes after 4 p.m. PDT today, NASA's Stardust spacecraft finished its last transmission to Earth. The transmission came on the heels of the venerable spacecraft's final rocket burn, which was designed to provide insight into how much fuel remained aboard after its encounter with comet Tempel 1 in February.
"Stardust has been teaching us about our solar system since it was launched in 1999," said Stardust-NExT project manager Tim Larson from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "It makes sense that its very last moments would be providing us with data we can use to plan deep space mission operations in the future."
The burn to depletion maneuver was designed to fire Stardust's rockets until insufficient fuel remains to continue, all the while downlinking data on the burn to Earth some 312 million kilometers (194 million miles) away. Mission personnel will compare the amount of fuel consumed in the burn with the amount they anticipated would be burned based on their fuel consumption models.
Fuel consumption models are necessary because no one has invented a reliable fuel gauge for spacecraft when in the weightless environment of space flight. Until that day arrives, mission planners can approximate fuel usage by looking at the history of the vehicle's flight and how many times and for how long its rocket motors have fired.
Mission personnel watched the final data from the burn come down at JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility and at the Stardust-NExT mission support center at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
"Stardust motors burned for 146 seconds," said Allan Cheuvront, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company program manager for Stardust-NExT. "We'll crunch the numbers and see how close the reality matches up with our projections. That will be a great data set to have in our back pocket when we plan for future missions."
The Stardust team performed the final burn to depletion because NASA's most senior comet hunter is a spacecraft literally running on fumes. Launched on Feb. 7, 1999, Stardust had completed its prime mission back in January 2006. By that time, Stardust had already flown past an asteroid (Annefrank), flown halfway out to Jupiter to collect particle samples from the coma of a comet, Wild 2, and returned to fly by Earth to drop off a sample return capsule eagerly awaited by comet scientists. NASA then re-tasked the spacecraft to perform a bonus mission to fly past comet Tempel 1 to collect images and other scientific data. Stardust has traveled about 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) in its journey about the sun in the few weeks since the Valentine's day comet Tempel 1 flyby, making the grand total from launch to its final rocket burn about 5.69 billion kilometers (3.54 billion miles).
With all that mileage logged, the Stardust team knew the end was near. Now, with its fuel tank empty and its final messages transmitted, history's most traveled comet hunter will move from NASA's active mission roster to retired.
"This kind of feels like the end of one of those old Western movies where you watch the hero ride his horse towards the distant setting sun - and then the credits begin to roll," said Larson. "Only there's no setting sun in space."
Stardust-NExT was a low-cost mission to expand the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, managed the Stardust-NExT project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C., which was part of the Discovery Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Joe Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., was the mission's principal investigator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft and managed day-to-day mission operations.
For more information about Stardust-NExT, please visit: http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov.
Nasa's Charles Bolden talks Future
Waaytv.com (Huntsville): Nasa's Charles Bolden talks Future
Administrator to NASA Charles Bolden visited Huntsville Today. He attended Marshall Space Flight Center's semi annual Small Business Alliance Meeting. The program was established in 2007 to help small businesses pursue Nasa subcontracting opportunities. Bolden took the opportunity to discuss the future of space flight.
Bolden was careful to point out that while there are only 2 missions left in the Space Shuttle Program, they are two pivotal missions, and he stressed the importance of staying focused.
“You may hear people say sometimes, well NASA is kind of adrift, we are not,” said Bolden.
Bolden was careful to point out the financial constraints under which the program operates.
“We've had to make some very difficult decisions about how to live under these tight constraining times, we're living within the elements of the authorization act of 2010 that was signed by the President in November,” said Bolden.
Since that time Marshall Space Fight Center has been named home of the program office for the space launch system for heavy lift vehicle development for space exploration.
“The shell buckling test that we did yesterday demonstrates that we have plenty of margin in a very light weight shell for the rocket itself,” said Bolden.
An advancement Bolden says will launch space flight into the future. But in the mean time STS 134 and STS 135 prepare for lift off. And Bolden says the upcoming mission could spark a universe of insight.
“If we get one hit of a particular particle……….It demonstrates the presence of antimatter. People have talked about that since time began, so we are hoping to rewrite text books,” said Bolden.
And as it travels into space Bolden says STS 134 will carry with it the spirit of humanity.
“It has another mission that's touchy feely. Mark Kelly is the commander of 134, and he is the husband of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, and I think it’s a demonstration of the power of the human spirit when Mark and Gabby decided that he should go fly that flight and be with his crew,” said Bolden.
Giffords does plan to attend that launch in April. The final launch is expected to take place in June. At that point the Space Shuttle Program will retire after 30 years.
Administrator to NASA Charles Bolden visited Huntsville Today. He attended Marshall Space Flight Center's semi annual Small Business Alliance Meeting. The program was established in 2007 to help small businesses pursue Nasa subcontracting opportunities. Bolden took the opportunity to discuss the future of space flight.
Bolden was careful to point out that while there are only 2 missions left in the Space Shuttle Program, they are two pivotal missions, and he stressed the importance of staying focused.
“You may hear people say sometimes, well NASA is kind of adrift, we are not,” said Bolden.
Bolden was careful to point out the financial constraints under which the program operates.
“We've had to make some very difficult decisions about how to live under these tight constraining times, we're living within the elements of the authorization act of 2010 that was signed by the President in November,” said Bolden.
Since that time Marshall Space Fight Center has been named home of the program office for the space launch system for heavy lift vehicle development for space exploration.
“The shell buckling test that we did yesterday demonstrates that we have plenty of margin in a very light weight shell for the rocket itself,” said Bolden.
An advancement Bolden says will launch space flight into the future. But in the mean time STS 134 and STS 135 prepare for lift off. And Bolden says the upcoming mission could spark a universe of insight.
“If we get one hit of a particular particle……….It demonstrates the presence of antimatter. People have talked about that since time began, so we are hoping to rewrite text books,” said Bolden.
And as it travels into space Bolden says STS 134 will carry with it the spirit of humanity.
“It has another mission that's touchy feely. Mark Kelly is the commander of 134, and he is the husband of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, and I think it’s a demonstration of the power of the human spirit when Mark and Gabby decided that he should go fly that flight and be with his crew,” said Bolden.
Giffords does plan to attend that launch in April. The final launch is expected to take place in June. At that point the Space Shuttle Program will retire after 30 years.
Soviet space program:myth and reality
The Voice of Russia: Soviet space program:myth and reality
A book about the Soviet space exploration program is coming out in Britain, telling of the Soviet space research effort and the cost at which these successes were achieved. Judging by newspaper reports, The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, to be published next month, is full of extraordinary revelations which were carefully concealed from the public for years.
The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin will see light in April, on the 50th anniversary of man’s first space flight. On April 12th, 1961, the Earth’s first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, for the first time ever saw the planet from outer space. Since then the name of Gagarin became known across the globe and was immediately shrouded in myth and mystery. At times, it’s hard to separate the truth from fiction. Whether the authors of the new book have managed to avoid garbling the facts for the sake of a sensation remains to be seen.
It looks like they haven’t. The authors dwell at length on the failures of the Soviet space program, both before and after Gagarin’s flight. The Daily Mail writes citing the book that the flight by Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on April 23rd 1967 was doomed as the Soyuz-1 spacecraft was unfit for manned flight and unsafe to fly on. Reports published by The Independent quote the book as saying that there existed so-called “testers”, people who were subjected to eyeball-popping, bone-jarring experiments with air pressure and G-forces to find the limits of a human’s endurance in space. These revelations have to be treated with caution. Naturally, thousands of experiments were carried out, first on animals, then on people, before sending a human into space. The “testers” agreed to those experiments of their own free will for the noble cause of space exploration. All experiments were scientifically justified. For this reason, there were not and could not be any casualties among Soviet cosmonauts on the Earth.
A reporter for The Independent goes on to say that 34-year-old Yuri Gagarin was a victim of his own ego and alcoholism. But the first Soviet cosmonaut was never spotted to have an addiction for alcohol or to indulge in self-importance. As becomes clear from accounts by my fellow journalists who knew Gagarin personally, he was a moderate drinker, was not in the least spoilt by fame and was unpretentious, and even a bit shy to the last of his days.
As for reports that the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev danced on the table in celebration of Gagarin’s flight, this sounds true, given Khrushchev’s eccentricity and love of extravagant pranks. Leaders of many countries would be ready to dance too for the chance to be named the first nation to send a man into outer space. In this respect, the dance of the Soviet leader, though unconfirmed, was nothing unusual under the circumstances.
After the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union and the United States entered a cutthroat competition for leadership in space exploration. The two super powers poured billions of rubles and dollars into space exploration programs. The Soviet Union won the race – in October 1957 it launched the first artificial Earth satellite and in April 1961 it sent the first man into space. Naturally, the Soviet Union had to make sacrifices to hit the targets and failures are only natural when one starts something new. Dozens of years later, space research is as prestigious as ever, particularly in light of many unsolved mysteries connected with outer space. For this reason, the names of space’s first explorers Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov will go down in history for ever…
A book about the Soviet space exploration program is coming out in Britain, telling of the Soviet space research effort and the cost at which these successes were achieved. Judging by newspaper reports, The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin, by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, to be published next month, is full of extraordinary revelations which were carefully concealed from the public for years.
The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin will see light in April, on the 50th anniversary of man’s first space flight. On April 12th, 1961, the Earth’s first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, for the first time ever saw the planet from outer space. Since then the name of Gagarin became known across the globe and was immediately shrouded in myth and mystery. At times, it’s hard to separate the truth from fiction. Whether the authors of the new book have managed to avoid garbling the facts for the sake of a sensation remains to be seen.
It looks like they haven’t. The authors dwell at length on the failures of the Soviet space program, both before and after Gagarin’s flight. The Daily Mail writes citing the book that the flight by Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on April 23rd 1967 was doomed as the Soyuz-1 spacecraft was unfit for manned flight and unsafe to fly on. Reports published by The Independent quote the book as saying that there existed so-called “testers”, people who were subjected to eyeball-popping, bone-jarring experiments with air pressure and G-forces to find the limits of a human’s endurance in space. These revelations have to be treated with caution. Naturally, thousands of experiments were carried out, first on animals, then on people, before sending a human into space. The “testers” agreed to those experiments of their own free will for the noble cause of space exploration. All experiments were scientifically justified. For this reason, there were not and could not be any casualties among Soviet cosmonauts on the Earth.
A reporter for The Independent goes on to say that 34-year-old Yuri Gagarin was a victim of his own ego and alcoholism. But the first Soviet cosmonaut was never spotted to have an addiction for alcohol or to indulge in self-importance. As becomes clear from accounts by my fellow journalists who knew Gagarin personally, he was a moderate drinker, was not in the least spoilt by fame and was unpretentious, and even a bit shy to the last of his days.
As for reports that the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev danced on the table in celebration of Gagarin’s flight, this sounds true, given Khrushchev’s eccentricity and love of extravagant pranks. Leaders of many countries would be ready to dance too for the chance to be named the first nation to send a man into outer space. In this respect, the dance of the Soviet leader, though unconfirmed, was nothing unusual under the circumstances.
After the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union and the United States entered a cutthroat competition for leadership in space exploration. The two super powers poured billions of rubles and dollars into space exploration programs. The Soviet Union won the race – in October 1957 it launched the first artificial Earth satellite and in April 1961 it sent the first man into space. Naturally, the Soviet Union had to make sacrifices to hit the targets and failures are only natural when one starts something new. Dozens of years later, space research is as prestigious as ever, particularly in light of many unsolved mysteries connected with outer space. For this reason, the names of space’s first explorers Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov will go down in history for ever…
Thursday, March 24, 2011
NASA Ushers in New Space Exploration Era at Wallops Flight Facility
PRNewswire: NASA Ushers in New Space Exploration Era at Wallops Flight Facility
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA ushered in a new era of space exploration at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF).
The HIF will support medium-class mission capabilities. The first customer to use the facility will be Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., with its Taurus II launch vehicle.
"With this state-of-the-art building, NASA demonstrates its commitment to the success of the nation's commercial launch industry," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "We have already seen some fantastic progress and are looking forward to more this year. Wallops, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and Orbital have been working together to bring the Taurus II vehicle to the launch pad this coming fall under tough mission schedules. That effort is impressive and a model we should emulate whenever possible."
Orbital will conduct missions for NASA under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services project and Commercial Resupply Services contract. Integration of the Taurus II at the new facility will begin this month, with the first launch expected later this year.
"Today is about bringing jobs, jobs and more jobs to the Lower Shore -- jobs for today and jobs for tomorrow," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, chairwoman of the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science, which funds NASA. "I'm so happy to see our federal facilities like Wallops bringing the innovation economy to the community with this world-class international launch site that will soon launch science missions and take cargo to the International Space Station."
"The Horizontal Integration Facility is a vital part of our operation at the Wallops Flight Facility," said Dave Thompson, chairman and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp. "The capability it provides to process two Taurus II vehicles simultaneously puts us in an excellent position to support NASA with missions to the International Space Station."
The facility is 250 feet long, 150 wide and 60 feet high. Its bay provides dual horizontal processing with 70-and 50-ton bridge cranes. Built in approximately 16 months, the HIF has adjacent laboratory and warehouse space. Its safety features include a deluge fire suppression system and a blast-attenuating wall.
For more information about Wallops, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/wallops
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA ushered in a new era of space exploration at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF).
The HIF will support medium-class mission capabilities. The first customer to use the facility will be Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., with its Taurus II launch vehicle.
"With this state-of-the-art building, NASA demonstrates its commitment to the success of the nation's commercial launch industry," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "We have already seen some fantastic progress and are looking forward to more this year. Wallops, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and Orbital have been working together to bring the Taurus II vehicle to the launch pad this coming fall under tough mission schedules. That effort is impressive and a model we should emulate whenever possible."
Orbital will conduct missions for NASA under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services project and Commercial Resupply Services contract. Integration of the Taurus II at the new facility will begin this month, with the first launch expected later this year.
"Today is about bringing jobs, jobs and more jobs to the Lower Shore -- jobs for today and jobs for tomorrow," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, chairwoman of the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science, which funds NASA. "I'm so happy to see our federal facilities like Wallops bringing the innovation economy to the community with this world-class international launch site that will soon launch science missions and take cargo to the International Space Station."
"The Horizontal Integration Facility is a vital part of our operation at the Wallops Flight Facility," said Dave Thompson, chairman and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp. "The capability it provides to process two Taurus II vehicles simultaneously puts us in an excellent position to support NASA with missions to the International Space Station."
The facility is 250 feet long, 150 wide and 60 feet high. Its bay provides dual horizontal processing with 70-and 50-ton bridge cranes. Built in approximately 16 months, the HIF has adjacent laboratory and warehouse space. Its safety features include a deluge fire suppression system and a blast-attenuating wall.
For more information about Wallops, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/wallops
Growth plan backs space exploration role for RAF base
The Press and Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland): Growth plan backs space exploration role for RAF base
Plans to develop a space industry in Moray received official backing last night from the Treasury.
A Budget document setting out the government’s Plan for Growth says: “In the long term, RAF Lossiemouth has the location, facilities and infrastructure for space tour-ism flights and the potential to become the European centre for space tourism.”
Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: “We will do everything we can to make this happen.”
And Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson, who has long championed the idea, said: “This is very encouraging.”
He said he hoped the Scottish Government would use some of the extra funding to which it will be entitled – expected to total more than £100million – from UK Government plans to create 21 enterprise zones in England to create a zone in Moray, particularly after withdrawal of the RAF from Kinloss.
Mr Robertson said it could form the basis for the development of a space industry, but he warned Lossiemouth would have to remain open as an RAF base.
He said “the real prize would be the development of space technology involving low-level small satellites”, as well as the provision of flights for super-rich tourists.
Virgin Galactic, which originally considered future operations for Lossiemouth, has said it has no plans to proceed – but that was before the disclosure of Treasury support for the idea.
It is included in a section buried in the document, revealing the global space industry is worth £160billion and is expected to grow at 5% a year for the next 20 years.
The document concluded: “The government wants the UK to be the European centre for space tourism and will work with the international regulatory authorities to define regulations for novel space vehicles that offer low-cost access to space.”
Virgin Galactic is developing a craft capable of reaching orbit at a base in the US
Plans to develop a space industry in Moray received official backing last night from the Treasury.
A Budget document setting out the government’s Plan for Growth says: “In the long term, RAF Lossiemouth has the location, facilities and infrastructure for space tour-ism flights and the potential to become the European centre for space tourism.”
Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: “We will do everything we can to make this happen.”
And Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson, who has long championed the idea, said: “This is very encouraging.”
He said he hoped the Scottish Government would use some of the extra funding to which it will be entitled – expected to total more than £100million – from UK Government plans to create 21 enterprise zones in England to create a zone in Moray, particularly after withdrawal of the RAF from Kinloss.
Mr Robertson said it could form the basis for the development of a space industry, but he warned Lossiemouth would have to remain open as an RAF base.
He said “the real prize would be the development of space technology involving low-level small satellites”, as well as the provision of flights for super-rich tourists.
Virgin Galactic, which originally considered future operations for Lossiemouth, has said it has no plans to proceed – but that was before the disclosure of Treasury support for the idea.
It is included in a section buried in the document, revealing the global space industry is worth £160billion and is expected to grow at 5% a year for the next 20 years.
The document concluded: “The government wants the UK to be the European centre for space tourism and will work with the international regulatory authorities to define regulations for novel space vehicles that offer low-cost access to space.”
Virgin Galactic is developing a craft capable of reaching orbit at a base in the US
Sandy Adams Goes to Bat as Florida Looks to House Retired Space Shuttle
Sunshine News: Sandy Adams Goes to Bat as Florida Looks to House Retired Space Shuttle
With only two more space shuttle flights scheduled before the program is terminated, a congresswoman from Florida turned up the heat this week on NASA administrators as the Sunshine State dukes it out with other locations to house the retired orbiters.
Freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams sent a letter on Tuesday to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, asking for one of the retired orbiters to be housed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
“From the very beginning of the shuttle era at NASA, Kennedy Space Center has been the epicenter for shuttle activity,” argued Adams in the letter.
“Florida celebrates the victories and mourns the losses at NASA as a family,” continued Adams as she reviewed the program. “We all mourned the loss of the seven brave souls aboard the space shuttle Challenger in January of 1986.
“The space shuttle is as much a part of Florida as sunshine and beaches,” Adams maintained. “Not only has it been a rich part of Florida’s history, it has been an economic driver and a source of inspiration for the tens of thousands of people who support its operations and have made their homes in our great state.”
Adams asked that Bolden remember the role Florida played in the shuttle program and house a retired orbiter at KSC.
“I urge you to consider the important role the people of Florida have played in this era of exploration and adventure, and that you choose to house one of the shuttles at the KSC complex,” wrote Adams. “I ask that you remember the sacrifices NASA astronauts and workers have made, the families who are being affected by the new direction at NASA, and all of the people whose lives will be forever changed as we move forward to the next chapter in NASA’s mission.”
Adams joins a growing crowd of leaders from Florida, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and members of the Legislature, in calling for one of the retired shuttles to be housed at Kennedy Space Center.
The competition for the four remaining shuttles is getting tougher by the day. With the Discovery, which just completed its last mission earlier in the month, expected to be housed at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., cities and states are competing for the three remaining shuttles -- the Atlantis, the Endeavor and the Enterprise. While the Atlantis and the Endeavor are well-known to Floridians, the Enterprise was used in test missions and never went into space. It is currently housed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
At least 20 locations have applied to host one of the retired shuttles. Business leaders in Houston, home of the Johnson Space Center, are pushing to get one of the retired shuttles and have launched a website. The Museum of Flight in Seattle -- not too far from Boeing headquarters -- has started an aggressive campaign to lure one of the shuttles there, while New York is looking to add a shuttle near the retired USS Intrepid aircraft carrier currently docked on the West Side of Manhattan. While Bolden has the final say on where to send the shuttles, President Barack Obama included a budget request to Congress sending $14 million to The Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, which looks to be a key state in the 2012 presidential election.
Adams followed up her letter in a statement on Wednesday.
“As NASA Administrator Charles Bolden prepares to make a decision regarding the disposition of the space shuttle fleet, I strongly urge him to house one of the orbiters at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center,” said Adams. “From the beginning of the shuttle era at NASA, Kennedy Space Center has been the epicenter for shuttle activity. Since the very first launch of space shuttle Columbia, to the final mission of the space shuttle fleet scheduled for this summer, the Space Coast and the hard-working men and women of Florida have been there all along making history.
“Children along the Space Coast have grown up watching shuttle launches from their porches and beachfronts with a sense of pride and awe,” added Adams. “NASA’s 30-year shuttle program is more than just space exploration to Florida families, it’s part of their history, it’s their livelihoods, and it’s a source of inspiration for the tens of thousands of people who support its operations and have made their homes in our great state. While Florida will always be home to the memories of NASA’s space shuttle program, I urge Administrator Charlie Bolden to make Florida’s Kennedy Space Center home to one of its orbiters.”
With only two more space shuttle flights scheduled before the program is terminated, a congresswoman from Florida turned up the heat this week on NASA administrators as the Sunshine State dukes it out with other locations to house the retired orbiters.
Freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams sent a letter on Tuesday to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, asking for one of the retired orbiters to be housed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
“From the very beginning of the shuttle era at NASA, Kennedy Space Center has been the epicenter for shuttle activity,” argued Adams in the letter.
“Florida celebrates the victories and mourns the losses at NASA as a family,” continued Adams as she reviewed the program. “We all mourned the loss of the seven brave souls aboard the space shuttle Challenger in January of 1986.
“The space shuttle is as much a part of Florida as sunshine and beaches,” Adams maintained. “Not only has it been a rich part of Florida’s history, it has been an economic driver and a source of inspiration for the tens of thousands of people who support its operations and have made their homes in our great state.”
Adams asked that Bolden remember the role Florida played in the shuttle program and house a retired orbiter at KSC.
“I urge you to consider the important role the people of Florida have played in this era of exploration and adventure, and that you choose to house one of the shuttles at the KSC complex,” wrote Adams. “I ask that you remember the sacrifices NASA astronauts and workers have made, the families who are being affected by the new direction at NASA, and all of the people whose lives will be forever changed as we move forward to the next chapter in NASA’s mission.”
Adams joins a growing crowd of leaders from Florida, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and members of the Legislature, in calling for one of the retired shuttles to be housed at Kennedy Space Center.
The competition for the four remaining shuttles is getting tougher by the day. With the Discovery, which just completed its last mission earlier in the month, expected to be housed at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., cities and states are competing for the three remaining shuttles -- the Atlantis, the Endeavor and the Enterprise. While the Atlantis and the Endeavor are well-known to Floridians, the Enterprise was used in test missions and never went into space. It is currently housed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
At least 20 locations have applied to host one of the retired shuttles. Business leaders in Houston, home of the Johnson Space Center, are pushing to get one of the retired shuttles and have launched a website. The Museum of Flight in Seattle -- not too far from Boeing headquarters -- has started an aggressive campaign to lure one of the shuttles there, while New York is looking to add a shuttle near the retired USS Intrepid aircraft carrier currently docked on the West Side of Manhattan. While Bolden has the final say on where to send the shuttles, President Barack Obama included a budget request to Congress sending $14 million to The Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, which looks to be a key state in the 2012 presidential election.
Adams followed up her letter in a statement on Wednesday.
“As NASA Administrator Charles Bolden prepares to make a decision regarding the disposition of the space shuttle fleet, I strongly urge him to house one of the orbiters at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center,” said Adams. “From the beginning of the shuttle era at NASA, Kennedy Space Center has been the epicenter for shuttle activity. Since the very first launch of space shuttle Columbia, to the final mission of the space shuttle fleet scheduled for this summer, the Space Coast and the hard-working men and women of Florida have been there all along making history.
“Children along the Space Coast have grown up watching shuttle launches from their porches and beachfronts with a sense of pride and awe,” added Adams. “NASA’s 30-year shuttle program is more than just space exploration to Florida families, it’s part of their history, it’s their livelihoods, and it’s a source of inspiration for the tens of thousands of people who support its operations and have made their homes in our great state. While Florida will always be home to the memories of NASA’s space shuttle program, I urge Administrator Charlie Bolden to make Florida’s Kennedy Space Center home to one of its orbiters.”
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Future Of Space Exploration Takes Step Forward In Littleton
Denver News Channel 7:The Future Of Space Exploration Takes Step Forward In Littleton
LITTLETON, Colo. -- The Orion crew module, which is being built at Lockheed Martin's Littleton facility, may one day take astronauts to the moon, Mars, and beyond. But to make that possible, engineers must test critical systems to ensure safe and successful missions.
To accomplish testing more accurate than computer models, Lockheed Martin built a $50 million, 41,000-square-foot facility called the Space Operations Simulation Center. The SOSC is capable of testing docking, imaging, descent, landing and other systems built for the Orion spacecraft.
"Our goal is to be 10 times better than the shuttle on the way up, as far as safety and landing are concerned, and likewise in space, when we are doing very adventuresome things like going to the moon, or going to asteroids, that we provide safety and safe return for our astronauts," said John Karas, vice president and general manager of human space flight at Lockheed Martin.
In 2006, NASA awarded a seven-year, $3.9 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to design and build the Orion spacecraft, which will replace the space shuttle program. Orion's first an unmanned orbital test mission is planned for 2013, with the first crew launch scheduled for 2016.
LITTLETON, Colo. -- The Orion crew module, which is being built at Lockheed Martin's Littleton facility, may one day take astronauts to the moon, Mars, and beyond. But to make that possible, engineers must test critical systems to ensure safe and successful missions.
To accomplish testing more accurate than computer models, Lockheed Martin built a $50 million, 41,000-square-foot facility called the Space Operations Simulation Center. The SOSC is capable of testing docking, imaging, descent, landing and other systems built for the Orion spacecraft.
"Our goal is to be 10 times better than the shuttle on the way up, as far as safety and landing are concerned, and likewise in space, when we are doing very adventuresome things like going to the moon, or going to asteroids, that we provide safety and safe return for our astronauts," said John Karas, vice president and general manager of human space flight at Lockheed Martin.
In 2006, NASA awarded a seven-year, $3.9 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to design and build the Orion spacecraft, which will replace the space shuttle program. Orion's first an unmanned orbital test mission is planned for 2013, with the first crew launch scheduled for 2016.
Monday, March 21, 2011
GOP Lawmakers: Cut NASA Earth Science, Fund Human Space Exploration
YahooNews: GOP Lawmakers: Cut NASA Earth Science, Fund Human Space Exploration
One aspect of a drive for an austerity budget is that programs begin to compete against one another for support and attention. Thus a fight has broken out over which NASA program gets cut, space exploration or climate research.
According to Space News, in a recent letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Sandy Adams of Florida and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas made the plea to focus on the $1.6 billion in NASA devoted to Earth science and climate research as area to suffer budget cuts. While some cynics may suggest that Adams and Olson are just protecting their state's turfs, there is an actual case to be made that goes beyond pork politics.
Climate research at NASA has become very politicized, being seen as more an attempt to amass evidence for global warming and thus support for draconian energy policies rather than as disinterested science. There have also been a couple of launch failures in the Earth science program, one just recently of the Glory satellite. Some have even posited strange, almost-conspiracy theories concerning those launch failures.
On the other hand, while Earth observation science is an enumerated mission of NASA dating to its beginning, human space exploration is its crown jewel. When one thinks of NASA, one thinks of Apollo, the space shuttle and the International Space Station first. Planetary probes such as the Mars Rovers and the Cassini, now orbiting Saturn, come in for mention as well. But Earth Science is rather down on the list of priorities.
Couple that with lingering anger over President Barack Obama's cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program, one can see that an attempt to strike at one of his priorities in an attempt to preserve was is left of the space exploration program would follow as night follows day.
Leaving aside the merits of an Earth Science program, at least if it is conducted in a non political manner, tight budgets mean having to pick and choose priorities. Politically and substantially human space exploration over Earth Science is a no-brainer. Sending human explorers beyond Low Earth orbit has more implications for the future course of human civilization than a politicized Earth Science program.
Plus, it gives Republican lawmakers the opportunity to punish Obama for blowing up Constellation and throwing NASA into chaos. This should serve as a warning. In a democracy, even if one has the power to roll over the opposition and do what one wants, one should think about the long term consequences. Power shifts with every election. And the people who have been rolled over tend to have long memories.
One aspect of a drive for an austerity budget is that programs begin to compete against one another for support and attention. Thus a fight has broken out over which NASA program gets cut, space exploration or climate research.
According to Space News, in a recent letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Sandy Adams of Florida and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas made the plea to focus on the $1.6 billion in NASA devoted to Earth science and climate research as area to suffer budget cuts. While some cynics may suggest that Adams and Olson are just protecting their state's turfs, there is an actual case to be made that goes beyond pork politics.
Climate research at NASA has become very politicized, being seen as more an attempt to amass evidence for global warming and thus support for draconian energy policies rather than as disinterested science. There have also been a couple of launch failures in the Earth science program, one just recently of the Glory satellite. Some have even posited strange, almost-conspiracy theories concerning those launch failures.
On the other hand, while Earth observation science is an enumerated mission of NASA dating to its beginning, human space exploration is its crown jewel. When one thinks of NASA, one thinks of Apollo, the space shuttle and the International Space Station first. Planetary probes such as the Mars Rovers and the Cassini, now orbiting Saturn, come in for mention as well. But Earth Science is rather down on the list of priorities.
Couple that with lingering anger over President Barack Obama's cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program, one can see that an attempt to strike at one of his priorities in an attempt to preserve was is left of the space exploration program would follow as night follows day.
Leaving aside the merits of an Earth Science program, at least if it is conducted in a non political manner, tight budgets mean having to pick and choose priorities. Politically and substantially human space exploration over Earth Science is a no-brainer. Sending human explorers beyond Low Earth orbit has more implications for the future course of human civilization than a politicized Earth Science program.
Plus, it gives Republican lawmakers the opportunity to punish Obama for blowing up Constellation and throwing NASA into chaos. This should serve as a warning. In a democracy, even if one has the power to roll over the opposition and do what one wants, one should think about the long term consequences. Power shifts with every election. And the people who have been rolled over tend to have long memories.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
$18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition
Space Ref: $18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition
http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing.
The Ad Competition Grand Prize is a 4-day Space Travellers "Zero-G Flight-Russia" travel package (with a $1,000 voucher for travel to and from Moscow), which consists of a microgravity flight aboard an Ilyushin-76 aircraft in Russia and an all-inclusive 4-day tour of the homeland of Yuri Gagarin - a $9,000 value in total. The submissions will be rated by a panel of celebrity judges based on their emotional impact, artistic merit, and adherence to the themes. The deadline for submissions is March 31st.
Simultaneously, Yuri's Night is launching the International Space Sweepstakes to give anyone in the world the chance to travel to Russia, witness a rocket launch at Baikonur, and experience the history of the Russian space program first hand. Entries are free (though donations to Yuri's Night are encouraged), but are limited to one per person. All interested and eligible participants are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in both the Competition and the Sweepstakes. The winner, who will be chosen by random selection, will receive a 10-day Space Travellers "VIP Lift-Off in Baikonur" travel package and a $1,000 travel voucher for travel to and from Moscow.
As the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight approaches, we find the next 50 years of human spaceflight and exploration uncertain. It is now more important than ever that we recognize our overwhelmingly fragile place in an utterly vast cosmic sea, and ensure that humanity continues in its quest to explore the final frontier, bring life to the cosmos, and protect life on Earth.
For further information on the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Advertisement Competition and the Yuri's Night International Space Sweepstakes, please visit http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night, the World Space Party, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to commemorating humanity's past and celebrating humanity's future in space. Thousands of Yuri's Night events have been held around the world each April 12 since the founding of Yuri's Night in 2001.
http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing.
The Ad Competition Grand Prize is a 4-day Space Travellers "Zero-G Flight-Russia" travel package (with a $1,000 voucher for travel to and from Moscow), which consists of a microgravity flight aboard an Ilyushin-76 aircraft in Russia and an all-inclusive 4-day tour of the homeland of Yuri Gagarin - a $9,000 value in total. The submissions will be rated by a panel of celebrity judges based on their emotional impact, artistic merit, and adherence to the themes. The deadline for submissions is March 31st.
Simultaneously, Yuri's Night is launching the International Space Sweepstakes to give anyone in the world the chance to travel to Russia, witness a rocket launch at Baikonur, and experience the history of the Russian space program first hand. Entries are free (though donations to Yuri's Night are encouraged), but are limited to one per person. All interested and eligible participants are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in both the Competition and the Sweepstakes. The winner, who will be chosen by random selection, will receive a 10-day Space Travellers "VIP Lift-Off in Baikonur" travel package and a $1,000 travel voucher for travel to and from Moscow.
As the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight approaches, we find the next 50 years of human spaceflight and exploration uncertain. It is now more important than ever that we recognize our overwhelmingly fragile place in an utterly vast cosmic sea, and ensure that humanity continues in its quest to explore the final frontier, bring life to the cosmos, and protect life on Earth.
For further information on the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Advertisement Competition and the Yuri's Night International Space Sweepstakes, please visit http://yurisnight.net/contests.
Yuri's Night, the World Space Party, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to commemorating humanity's past and celebrating humanity's future in space. Thousands of Yuri's Night events have been held around the world each April 12 since the founding of Yuri's Night in 2001.
Museum in Sparks launches exhibit tracing Nevada's ties to US space exploration program
The Republic (Columbus, Indiana): Museum in Sparks launches exhibit tracing Nevada's ties to US space exploration program
SPARKS, Nev. — A northern Nevada museum is launching a new exhibit about rockets and the role area residents have played in space exploration.
The Sparks in Space exhibit at the Sparks Heritage Museum was developed with the help of the Challenger Learning Center of Northern Nevada and a group of Sparks High School astronomy students.
The Sparks Tribune reports that it includes information on rocket testing, animal "pioneers" sent into orbit and the next generation in space exploration.
Dick Dreiling is a museum volunteer and board member who dug up information for the From Railroads to Rockets portion of the exhibit.
He says he found little-known facts about Rocketdyne testing thousands of Apollo and Gemini rocket engines on property the company owned in what is now Spanish Springs.
SPARKS, Nev. — A northern Nevada museum is launching a new exhibit about rockets and the role area residents have played in space exploration.
The Sparks in Space exhibit at the Sparks Heritage Museum was developed with the help of the Challenger Learning Center of Northern Nevada and a group of Sparks High School astronomy students.
The Sparks Tribune reports that it includes information on rocket testing, animal "pioneers" sent into orbit and the next generation in space exploration.
Dick Dreiling is a museum volunteer and board member who dug up information for the From Railroads to Rockets portion of the exhibit.
He says he found little-known facts about Rocketdyne testing thousands of Apollo and Gemini rocket engines on property the company owned in what is now Spanish Springs.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Former astronaut Fred Haise captivates visitors at Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center
AL.com: Former astronaut Fred Haise captivates visitors at Huntsville's U.S. Space & Rocket Center
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on the troubled Apollo 13 mission 41 years ago next month, called the Apollo program, which ended in the early '70s, an "incredible journey, an incredible program."
With a total of 24 astronauts taking part in Apollo missions and six missions landing on the moon's surface, the Apollo program was "really quite an accomplishment," Haise said today during his two-day visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. "It really was a program that made tremendous strides for that day and age."
Apollo 13 has become known as a successful failure, Haise said this afternoon as he talked to a group of campers. Launched April 11, 1970, on what was to have been a 10-day mission to the lunar surface, an oxygen tank explosion in the service module crippled the spacecraft about 55 hours into the flight.
"The first two days were a lot of fun," said Haise, who is 77. "It was a great adventure."
But losing an oxygen tank meant the lunar mission was over. "I felt a sick feeling at the pit of my stomach because I knew we had lost the (lunar) landing," he said.
In terms of mission objectives, Apollo 13 "was obviously a failure," Haise said. But in demonstrating "what a team could do with a major problem, I thought it was a great mission."
Today, the space center's 41st birthday, Haise made a "boot print" in concrete that will be installed at the center's Apollo Park. He's providing commentary tonight during a presentation of excepts of the "Apollo 13" movie after a reception and dinner at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Friday night, Haise is giving another presentation, "Overcoming Challenges," followed by movie excerpts.
Haise is also scheduled to speak Friday at the Space Camp/Space Academy graduation, in which his great-nephew, William Haise Johnston, a student at the American International School of Lagos, is taking part.
During his presentation to Space Camp participants today - complete with footage of the Apollo 13 launch and the astronauts during the mission - Haise was asked what he would like NASA to do next.
"Obviously I'd like NASA to follow their charter - the exploration of our solar system and beyond. I'd like to see people someday go to Mars."
In terms of space exploration, the U.S. has taken a step backward with the planned cancellation of the Constellation rocket program, he said.
"It was a unique situation that let the Apollo program evolve," Haise said. There was President John F. Kennedy's pronouncement in 1961 that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, he said, and "Congress was supportive and the country at large supported it."
A camper asked Haise for his favorite moment of the Apollo 13 mission. "That's easy - when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17," Haise said.
Haise saw the 1996 movie "Apollo 13" a couple of weeks before its release in theaters in a special showing in Houston for astronauts and their families and mission control personnel.
"They did some exaggerations for drama (but) I thought it was a pretty good action movie," Haise said. The time constraints for the movie, which lasted about two and a half hours, "made it difficult to include all the challenges we faced."
Haise also was the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. He was commander of one of two crews that piloted approach and landing test flights during the development of the space shuttle.
"I've had a good career, some good experiences," said Haise, who retired in 1996 as president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services.
Haise's visit was a treat for museum visitors and Space Camp participants.
Gary and Brooke Gleason of Memphis came to the space center today with their 5-year-old son, Jack, and 2-year-old daughter, Grace. "We decided to come over and make it a day" at the center, said Gary Gleason. He never imagined the family would see an astronaut.
"This is amazing," said Gleason, who recognized Haise from recent television programs and took a photograph of his son with Haise.
Rowan O'Scannlain, 13, and Meredith Montgomery, 12, both students at the Chicago City Day School, are here this week for the Space Academy program and found out early today that Haise would talk to their group. They've both seen portions of the "Apollo 13" movie.
"We're really excited," said Rowan. "It's like seeing a movie star."
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on the troubled Apollo 13 mission 41 years ago next month, called the Apollo program, which ended in the early '70s, an "incredible journey, an incredible program."
With a total of 24 astronauts taking part in Apollo missions and six missions landing on the moon's surface, the Apollo program was "really quite an accomplishment," Haise said today during his two-day visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. "It really was a program that made tremendous strides for that day and age."
Apollo 13 has become known as a successful failure, Haise said this afternoon as he talked to a group of campers. Launched April 11, 1970, on what was to have been a 10-day mission to the lunar surface, an oxygen tank explosion in the service module crippled the spacecraft about 55 hours into the flight.
"The first two days were a lot of fun," said Haise, who is 77. "It was a great adventure."
But losing an oxygen tank meant the lunar mission was over. "I felt a sick feeling at the pit of my stomach because I knew we had lost the (lunar) landing," he said.
In terms of mission objectives, Apollo 13 "was obviously a failure," Haise said. But in demonstrating "what a team could do with a major problem, I thought it was a great mission."
Today, the space center's 41st birthday, Haise made a "boot print" in concrete that will be installed at the center's Apollo Park. He's providing commentary tonight during a presentation of excepts of the "Apollo 13" movie after a reception and dinner at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Friday night, Haise is giving another presentation, "Overcoming Challenges," followed by movie excerpts.
Haise is also scheduled to speak Friday at the Space Camp/Space Academy graduation, in which his great-nephew, William Haise Johnston, a student at the American International School of Lagos, is taking part.
During his presentation to Space Camp participants today - complete with footage of the Apollo 13 launch and the astronauts during the mission - Haise was asked what he would like NASA to do next.
"Obviously I'd like NASA to follow their charter - the exploration of our solar system and beyond. I'd like to see people someday go to Mars."
In terms of space exploration, the U.S. has taken a step backward with the planned cancellation of the Constellation rocket program, he said.
"It was a unique situation that let the Apollo program evolve," Haise said. There was President John F. Kennedy's pronouncement in 1961 that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, he said, and "Congress was supportive and the country at large supported it."
A camper asked Haise for his favorite moment of the Apollo 13 mission. "That's easy - when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17," Haise said.
Haise saw the 1996 movie "Apollo 13" a couple of weeks before its release in theaters in a special showing in Houston for astronauts and their families and mission control personnel.
"They did some exaggerations for drama (but) I thought it was a pretty good action movie," Haise said. The time constraints for the movie, which lasted about two and a half hours, "made it difficult to include all the challenges we faced."
Haise also was the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and backup spacecraft commander for the Apollo 16 mission. He was commander of one of two crews that piloted approach and landing test flights during the development of the space shuttle.
"I've had a good career, some good experiences," said Haise, who retired in 1996 as president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services.
Haise's visit was a treat for museum visitors and Space Camp participants.
Gary and Brooke Gleason of Memphis came to the space center today with their 5-year-old son, Jack, and 2-year-old daughter, Grace. "We decided to come over and make it a day" at the center, said Gary Gleason. He never imagined the family would see an astronaut.
"This is amazing," said Gleason, who recognized Haise from recent television programs and took a photograph of his son with Haise.
Rowan O'Scannlain, 13, and Meredith Montgomery, 12, both students at the Chicago City Day School, are here this week for the Space Academy program and found out early today that Haise would talk to their group. They've both seen portions of the "Apollo 13" movie.
"We're really excited," said Rowan. "It's like seeing a movie star."
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Report: Iran sends first 'life capsule' into orbit
Google News: Report: Iran sends first 'life capsule' into orbitTEHRAN, Iran – Iran says it has sent the country's first space capsule that is able to sustain life into orbit as a test for a future mission that may carry a live animal.
The state IRNA news agency says the capsule was carried by a rocket dubbed Kavoshgar-4 — or Explorer-4 in Farsi — some 75 miles (120 kilometers) into orbit.
The launch of the capsule is a part of Iran's ambitious space program. Thursday's report provides no other details about the "life capsule" but said it was launched on Tuesday.
Last year, Iran sent its first domestically made telecommunications satellite into orbit and announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space for research purposes.
There are concerns Iran's space program could also bolster its ballistic missile program.
The state IRNA news agency says the capsule was carried by a rocket dubbed Kavoshgar-4 — or Explorer-4 in Farsi — some 75 miles (120 kilometers) into orbit.
The launch of the capsule is a part of Iran's ambitious space program. Thursday's report provides no other details about the "life capsule" but said it was launched on Tuesday.
Last year, Iran sent its first domestically made telecommunications satellite into orbit and announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space for research purposes.
There are concerns Iran's space program could also bolster its ballistic missile program.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
First Space Fuel Station to Open in 2015
AutoEvolution.com: First Space Fuel Station to Open in 2015
As the space exploration age as we know it is slowly coming to an end, with the retiring of the three space shuttles programmed for the current year, all eyes are on private entrepreneurs, who are expected to pick up from where the government and NASA have left off as soon as the shuttle program ends. And these private entrepreneurs plan to take a new approach when it comes to space exploration.
Lacking the huge funding the government agencies involved in space exploration have had throughout the years, and racing at the same time to make profit from their business, private companies will seek to reduce the cost of their operations. And by doing so, they might even lend a helping hand to the ongoing space projects.
According to Space.com, citing Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a new (actually the first ever) space-based fueling station is in the works and planned to be deployed sometime around 2015.
In the long run, the station might be used to refuel the space crafts that will depart Earth heading to God-knows-where, but for now, the fueling station will be used to refill other satellites in orbit (who otherwise would have been doomed as soon as they have run out of fuel.
According to the source, the project is not only that, but it will actually become reality in the middle of the decade. Apparently, European satellite company Intelsat already signed up as the first customer for the fueling station.
The fueling station will be sent on a geosynchronous orbit at 22,369 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth and will also be used as a type of janitor. The satellite will push into the atmosphere or into the graveyard orbit all the dead man-made objects orbiting our planet.
"For the first time satellite operators and satellite users will have the choice of extending the lives of satellites. I think it can have a significant impact," Steve Oldham, MDA vice president, told Space.com.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Astronaut Garrett Reisman Quits NASA to Join Private Spaceship Builder
Space.com: Astronaut Garrett Reisman Quits NASA to Join Private Spaceship Builder
NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman has quit the space agency to join up-and-coming private spaceflight company SpaceX.
Reisman will work at the SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology) company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. as a senior engineer working on astronaut safety and mission assurance.
"I saw what was going on in the commercial space area and I really believe strongly this is the future of human spaceflight and I had a strong desire to get involved with that," Reisman told SPACE.com. "That's really what led me to make this decision, which was not an easy one to make."
Reisman is one of at least three NASA astronauts to retire this year – the others were Marsha Ivins and Jose Hernandez – as the space agency winds down its space shuttle program. Only two more shuttle flights are planned before the fleet is retired and NASA transitions toward planning for missions farther out into the solar system.
His move comes at a busy time for SpaceX, which announced a new agreement today (March 14) to launch its first geostationary satellite, an SES communications spacecraft, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. [Photos: First Flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket]
The company already has more than $2.5 billion in launch contracts for flights over the next few years, and recently announced plans to double the size of its rocket development facility in McGregor, Tex.
Hard to leave
Reisman said leaving NASA's astronaut corps, which he joined in 1998, was bittersweet.
"Being an astronaut, I'll be totally honest with you, is the coolest thing ever and a very, very difficult thing to walk away from voluntarily," he said.
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16/17 flight engineer, poses for a photo after signing the Expedition 16 patch, which was added to the growing collection of insignias representing crews who performed spacewalks from the Quest Airlock of the ISS.
CREDIT: NASA.
View full size imageYet the mechanical engineer and veteran of two space shuttle missions said it was time to let some of the newer astronauts at NASA have a chance to fly, and to take the next step in his own career. [NASA Astronaut Goes Commercial: Q&A With Garrett Resiman ]
SpaceX was started by millionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded the Internet payment service PayPal and also currently leads the Tesla electric car company. The company achieved an unprecedented success in December 2010 when it launched its Dragon space capsule – the world's first commercial space capsule – into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and then recovered the spacecraft successfully from the Atlantic Ocean.
"We’re excited about the great team that we are building," Musk said in a statement. "Our talent is the key to our success. Garrett's experience designing and using spaceflight hardware will be invaluable as we prepare the spacecraft that will carry the next generation of explorers."
SpaceX's secret cargo
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use Dragon and Falcon 9 to launch cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttles retire. The company also hopes to outfit the Dragon to carry humans, and eventually transport both astronauts and space tourists to orbit.
Reisman said he was impressed by the firm's orbital achievement with the Dragon capsule last year, but his decision to join SpaceX was sealed when he learned of the "secret" cargo the company had packed onboard Dragon for its maiden flight.
"They flew some cheese in space, which I thought was really cool," Reisman said.
Reisman will be working directly under another former NASA astronaut, Ken Bowersox, who now serves as SpaceX's vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance. Bowersox's team will do the work to transform the current Dragon cargo model to a capsule with life support systems, seats, lights and all the other creature comforts necessary to host humans.
"My job is all about trying to make the Dragon and the Falcon as safe as possible so we can put people onboard," Reisman said.
NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman has quit the space agency to join up-and-coming private spaceflight company SpaceX.
Reisman will work at the SpaceX (Space Exploration Technology) company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. as a senior engineer working on astronaut safety and mission assurance.
"I saw what was going on in the commercial space area and I really believe strongly this is the future of human spaceflight and I had a strong desire to get involved with that," Reisman told SPACE.com. "That's really what led me to make this decision, which was not an easy one to make."
Reisman is one of at least three NASA astronauts to retire this year – the others were Marsha Ivins and Jose Hernandez – as the space agency winds down its space shuttle program. Only two more shuttle flights are planned before the fleet is retired and NASA transitions toward planning for missions farther out into the solar system.
His move comes at a busy time for SpaceX, which announced a new agreement today (March 14) to launch its first geostationary satellite, an SES communications spacecraft, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. [Photos: First Flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket]
The company already has more than $2.5 billion in launch contracts for flights over the next few years, and recently announced plans to double the size of its rocket development facility in McGregor, Tex.
Hard to leave
Reisman said leaving NASA's astronaut corps, which he joined in 1998, was bittersweet.
"Being an astronaut, I'll be totally honest with you, is the coolest thing ever and a very, very difficult thing to walk away from voluntarily," he said.
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16/17 flight engineer, poses for a photo after signing the Expedition 16 patch, which was added to the growing collection of insignias representing crews who performed spacewalks from the Quest Airlock of the ISS.
CREDIT: NASA.
View full size imageYet the mechanical engineer and veteran of two space shuttle missions said it was time to let some of the newer astronauts at NASA have a chance to fly, and to take the next step in his own career. [NASA Astronaut Goes Commercial: Q&A With Garrett Resiman ]
SpaceX was started by millionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded the Internet payment service PayPal and also currently leads the Tesla electric car company. The company achieved an unprecedented success in December 2010 when it launched its Dragon space capsule – the world's first commercial space capsule – into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and then recovered the spacecraft successfully from the Atlantic Ocean.
"We’re excited about the great team that we are building," Musk said in a statement. "Our talent is the key to our success. Garrett's experience designing and using spaceflight hardware will be invaluable as we prepare the spacecraft that will carry the next generation of explorers."
SpaceX's secret cargo
SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use Dragon and Falcon 9 to launch cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttles retire. The company also hopes to outfit the Dragon to carry humans, and eventually transport both astronauts and space tourists to orbit.
Reisman said he was impressed by the firm's orbital achievement with the Dragon capsule last year, but his decision to join SpaceX was sealed when he learned of the "secret" cargo the company had packed onboard Dragon for its maiden flight.
"They flew some cheese in space, which I thought was really cool," Reisman said.
Reisman will be working directly under another former NASA astronaut, Ken Bowersox, who now serves as SpaceX's vice president of astronaut safety and mission assurance. Bowersox's team will do the work to transform the current Dragon cargo model to a capsule with life support systems, seats, lights and all the other creature comforts necessary to host humans.
"My job is all about trying to make the Dragon and the Falcon as safe as possible so we can put people onboard," Reisman said.
Upstart SpaceX Wins SES Satellite Launch
Satellite Spotlight.com: Aeronautical Communications: Upstart SpaceX Wins SES Satellite Launch
Space Exploration Technologies – better known as SpaceX (News - Alert) – and SES announced an agreement to put up SES-8 into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2013. The win is likely to cause heartburn among other launch providers in a fluctuating market.
Scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2013, the Falcon 9 rocket will lift-off from SpaceX’s launch Complex 40 at the Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carry SES (News - Alert)-8 into geosynchronous orbit. SES-8 will be parked at 95 degrees East next to NSS-6 to add more direct-to -home (DTH) capacity in Asia. At its orbital slot, the medium-sized SES-8 will primarily provide backup and new transponder capacity to India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos; it will also support customers in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Korea.
The firm launch agreement with SpaceX includes an option for a second SES launch, and it supplements SES’ existing multi-launch agreements with its incumbent providers Arianespace (News - Alert) and ILS. Unsaid is that the agreement will also give SES leverage to push both incumbents on pricing.
SpaceX is not being shy about the endorsement from SES. In the press release announcing the win today, Elon Musk said, “The SES deal shows that even the most conservative commercial or government customers can have confidence flying their satellites on the Falcon 9 rocket." The release also quotes SES President and CEO Roman Bausch saying, “After extensive due diligence of SpaceX's technical and operational expertise, we feel comfortable entrusting SpaceX with one of our satellites, thereby encouraging diversity in the launch vehicle sector and fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the space industry… We look forward to a successful collaboration with SpaceX on the SES-8 mission and beyond."
The two-stage Falcon 9 has had two successful launches, including a near flawless second launch that put the company’s Dragon space capsule into orbit and provided a big boost to the company’s plans to provide supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) under a NASA commercial contract once the Space Shuttle is retired this year.
Falcon 9 can put up to 10,000 pounds into geosync orbit, even if one or two engines fail on the first stage. SES-8, being built by Orbital Science using its STAR (News - Alert) bus, will have 33 Ku-band transponders and generate approximately 5 Kw of payload power.
Space Exploration Technologies – better known as SpaceX (News - Alert) – and SES announced an agreement to put up SES-8 into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2013. The win is likely to cause heartburn among other launch providers in a fluctuating market.
Scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2013, the Falcon 9 rocket will lift-off from SpaceX’s launch Complex 40 at the Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carry SES (News - Alert)-8 into geosynchronous orbit. SES-8 will be parked at 95 degrees East next to NSS-6 to add more direct-to -home (DTH) capacity in Asia. At its orbital slot, the medium-sized SES-8 will primarily provide backup and new transponder capacity to India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos; it will also support customers in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Korea.
The firm launch agreement with SpaceX includes an option for a second SES launch, and it supplements SES’ existing multi-launch agreements with its incumbent providers Arianespace (News - Alert) and ILS. Unsaid is that the agreement will also give SES leverage to push both incumbents on pricing.
SpaceX is not being shy about the endorsement from SES. In the press release announcing the win today, Elon Musk said, “The SES deal shows that even the most conservative commercial or government customers can have confidence flying their satellites on the Falcon 9 rocket." The release also quotes SES President and CEO Roman Bausch saying, “After extensive due diligence of SpaceX's technical and operational expertise, we feel comfortable entrusting SpaceX with one of our satellites, thereby encouraging diversity in the launch vehicle sector and fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the space industry… We look forward to a successful collaboration with SpaceX on the SES-8 mission and beyond."
The two-stage Falcon 9 has had two successful launches, including a near flawless second launch that put the company’s Dragon space capsule into orbit and provided a big boost to the company’s plans to provide supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) under a NASA commercial contract once the Space Shuttle is retired this year.
Falcon 9 can put up to 10,000 pounds into geosync orbit, even if one or two engines fail on the first stage. SES-8, being built by Orbital Science using its STAR (News - Alert) bus, will have 33 Ku-band transponders and generate approximately 5 Kw of payload power.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Spacecraft Carrying Livermore Lab Instrument Poised to Orbit Mercury
DublinPatch: Spacecraft Carrying Livermore Lab Instrument Poised to Orbit Mercury
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation.
By Janna Brancolini -- Bay City News Service
Space exploration often involves bringing the seemingly impossible to fruition, but when leaders of a NASA mission to Mercury approached a group of physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002 for help, the numbers were particularly daunting.
Could the team find a way to get measurements near the surface of Mercury, which reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit, from an instrument that operates at about -330 degrees?
The answer will be revealed next week, when the team's gamma-ray spectrometer is scheduled to begin sending back information after nearly seven years aboard the Mercury Messenger spacecraft.
The craft, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., between a hurricane and a tropical storm in August 2004, is expected to finally reach planetary orbit on Thursday.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation. The information will likely lead to insight about our own planet, the researchers said.
"We've done every test possible, and (the spectrometer) has passed every test. But until it performs in orbit, you're nervous," said Morgan Burks, a Lawrence Livermore physicist who worked on the instrument's cooling system.
The spectrometer resembles an elaborate gold coffee can with a hunk of silver metal -- the element germanium -- inside.
The germanium measures gamma rays emitted by Mercury's surface so scientists can determine the elemental composition, but germanium comes with both benefits and complications.
The substance produces clearer, more precise results but has to operate at cryogenic, or ultra-low, temperatures -- no small feat near the surface of Mercury, which is hot enough in some places to melt lead.
Scientists will turn on the spectrometer a week after the Messenger -- short for Mercury Surface Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging -- begins orbiting the solar system's smallest planet, and data should start to come in a day or two later, Burks said.
Burks and the Lawrence Livermore team are counting down the days.
"I was really excited delivering the instrument and really excited when it launched," Burks said.
Then came the years-long wait, and now the moment when the team will see their work come to fruition is just around the corner.
--
The spectrometer is one of seven instruments aboard Messenger, a $446 million mission funded by NASA and managed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The mission is the first to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, since 1975, and Messenger will be the first craft to orbit the planet.
Scientists say understanding Mercury is key to understanding the formation of the solar system, particularly the processes that produced the Earth, Venus and Mars -- the other terrestrial planets.
Of those, Mercury is the smallest, densest and least explored. It has the greatest variations in daily temperature and the oldest surface, said Ed Rhodes, a Johns Hopkins instrument scientist for the gamma-ray spectrometer.
Mercury has a highly radioactive surface that gives off gamma rays -- waves of energy that act like fingerprints of the elements that emit them -- when cosmic rays hit the planet.
The spectrometer will measure gamma rays emitted from Mercury, and the information will be used to evaluate theories about how the planet's surface formed, Rhodes said.
"Some elements are much more abundant depending on the model you choose," said Rhodes, who does everything from sending commands to the instrument to analyzing the spectral data it produces. "The very important elements are iron and titanium," he said.
Iron is more volatile than titanium, so detecting more iron would provide evidence for a different model of planetary formation than detecting more titanium, Rhodes said.
He said the mission command brought the Lawrence Livermore physicists into the picture because of their expertise with the more-precise germanium detectors.
The Livermore team had already created a germanium spectrometer for a spacecraft orbiting Earth, so they were asked to develop one for Messenger as well.
"At the outset, it was not clear that this would be possible due to the harsh thermal environment found at Mercury," Burks wrote in a 2004 technical paper.
A feasibility testing program was undertaken, and a tiny Stirling cycle mechanical cooler was developed. Several shields surrounding the germanium also reflect infrared heat.
The researchers built a prototype and worked with Johns Hopkins scientists who had done thermal modeling of the mission.
About a year later, the Livermore team was confident its spectrometer could withstand the extreme conditions of a Mercury orbit, Burks said.
Messenger will complete an orbit of Mercury once every 12 hours for the next year, flying within 124 miles of the surface on each circumnavigation.
"It gets a big heat pulse every 12 hours," Burks said. "We had to prove the instrument could handle that."
Between the cooler and various electronics, the spectrometer package is about the size of a soccer ball and weighs just over 20 pounds.
Messenger also needed to be protected from the sun, which from Mercury appears three times larger and 11 times brighter than on Earth, so the craft is surrounded by a sunshade.
The team will be on call this week during the initial orbits in case anything goes wrong. Scientists can manage the instrument's operating temperature and power from Earth, and can change the software if needed, Burks said.
Each communication signal with the craft takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel roundtrip.
The craft has done three fly-bys of Mercury, which provided opportunities to test the spectrometer, but the fly-bys were too brief to collect much valuable data, Burks said.
Additionally, the Johns Hopkins team has been remotely mending thespectrometer during its trip, he said.
Radiation damage in space has degraded the spectrometer's resolution, but the instrument includes a device that lets scientists heat the germanium crystal to repair it -- a process called "annealing."
"The detector has been bombarded by cosmic rays for seven years," Burks said. "That's the biggest issue."
Burks has also spent the years since the launch adapting the technology developed for the Messenger craft for the Department of Homeland Security.
Gamma-ray spectrometers can be used to detect bomb-making materials such as uranium and plutonium, he said, and Lawrence Livermore's team had previously developed a handheld device for use at shipping ports and border-patrol checkpoints.
The low-resolution radiation detectors currently don't use germanium, which is difficult to cool in a handheld device because the entire system is powered by battery.
Burks is using the cooling developments from the NASA mission to create smaller, lighter handheld devices that use less power and perform better.
"The technology for space really helped with that," he said. The new handheld spectrometers will use germanium to produce more accurate readings and will weigh about nine pounds, compared to the older 30-pound model.
The new technology has been licensed to a company and is undergoing field tests, and the hope is to commercialize it within a year, Burks said.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation.
By Janna Brancolini -- Bay City News Service
Space exploration often involves bringing the seemingly impossible to fruition, but when leaders of a NASA mission to Mercury approached a group of physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002 for help, the numbers were particularly daunting.
Could the team find a way to get measurements near the surface of Mercury, which reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit, from an instrument that operates at about -330 degrees?
The answer will be revealed next week, when the team's gamma-ray spectrometer is scheduled to begin sending back information after nearly seven years aboard the Mercury Messenger spacecraft.
The craft, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., between a hurricane and a tropical storm in August 2004, is expected to finally reach planetary orbit on Thursday.
The Lawrence Livermore crew's GeMini spectrometer is one of several instruments aboard the craft sending back data that scientists will use to learn more about Mercury's magnetic field and planetary formation. The information will likely lead to insight about our own planet, the researchers said.
"We've done every test possible, and (the spectrometer) has passed every test. But until it performs in orbit, you're nervous," said Morgan Burks, a Lawrence Livermore physicist who worked on the instrument's cooling system.
The spectrometer resembles an elaborate gold coffee can with a hunk of silver metal -- the element germanium -- inside.
The germanium measures gamma rays emitted by Mercury's surface so scientists can determine the elemental composition, but germanium comes with both benefits and complications.
The substance produces clearer, more precise results but has to operate at cryogenic, or ultra-low, temperatures -- no small feat near the surface of Mercury, which is hot enough in some places to melt lead.
Scientists will turn on the spectrometer a week after the Messenger -- short for Mercury Surface Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging -- begins orbiting the solar system's smallest planet, and data should start to come in a day or two later, Burks said.
Burks and the Lawrence Livermore team are counting down the days.
"I was really excited delivering the instrument and really excited when it launched," Burks said.
Then came the years-long wait, and now the moment when the team will see their work come to fruition is just around the corner.
--
The spectrometer is one of seven instruments aboard Messenger, a $446 million mission funded by NASA and managed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The mission is the first to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, since 1975, and Messenger will be the first craft to orbit the planet.
Scientists say understanding Mercury is key to understanding the formation of the solar system, particularly the processes that produced the Earth, Venus and Mars -- the other terrestrial planets.
Of those, Mercury is the smallest, densest and least explored. It has the greatest variations in daily temperature and the oldest surface, said Ed Rhodes, a Johns Hopkins instrument scientist for the gamma-ray spectrometer.
Mercury has a highly radioactive surface that gives off gamma rays -- waves of energy that act like fingerprints of the elements that emit them -- when cosmic rays hit the planet.
The spectrometer will measure gamma rays emitted from Mercury, and the information will be used to evaluate theories about how the planet's surface formed, Rhodes said.
"Some elements are much more abundant depending on the model you choose," said Rhodes, who does everything from sending commands to the instrument to analyzing the spectral data it produces. "The very important elements are iron and titanium," he said.
Iron is more volatile than titanium, so detecting more iron would provide evidence for a different model of planetary formation than detecting more titanium, Rhodes said.
He said the mission command brought the Lawrence Livermore physicists into the picture because of their expertise with the more-precise germanium detectors.
The Livermore team had already created a germanium spectrometer for a spacecraft orbiting Earth, so they were asked to develop one for Messenger as well.
"At the outset, it was not clear that this would be possible due to the harsh thermal environment found at Mercury," Burks wrote in a 2004 technical paper.
A feasibility testing program was undertaken, and a tiny Stirling cycle mechanical cooler was developed. Several shields surrounding the germanium also reflect infrared heat.
The researchers built a prototype and worked with Johns Hopkins scientists who had done thermal modeling of the mission.
About a year later, the Livermore team was confident its spectrometer could withstand the extreme conditions of a Mercury orbit, Burks said.
Messenger will complete an orbit of Mercury once every 12 hours for the next year, flying within 124 miles of the surface on each circumnavigation.
"It gets a big heat pulse every 12 hours," Burks said. "We had to prove the instrument could handle that."
Between the cooler and various electronics, the spectrometer package is about the size of a soccer ball and weighs just over 20 pounds.
Messenger also needed to be protected from the sun, which from Mercury appears three times larger and 11 times brighter than on Earth, so the craft is surrounded by a sunshade.
The team will be on call this week during the initial orbits in case anything goes wrong. Scientists can manage the instrument's operating temperature and power from Earth, and can change the software if needed, Burks said.
Each communication signal with the craft takes about 15 to 20 minutes to travel roundtrip.
The craft has done three fly-bys of Mercury, which provided opportunities to test the spectrometer, but the fly-bys were too brief to collect much valuable data, Burks said.
Additionally, the Johns Hopkins team has been remotely mending thespectrometer during its trip, he said.
Radiation damage in space has degraded the spectrometer's resolution, but the instrument includes a device that lets scientists heat the germanium crystal to repair it -- a process called "annealing."
"The detector has been bombarded by cosmic rays for seven years," Burks said. "That's the biggest issue."
Burks has also spent the years since the launch adapting the technology developed for the Messenger craft for the Department of Homeland Security.
Gamma-ray spectrometers can be used to detect bomb-making materials such as uranium and plutonium, he said, and Lawrence Livermore's team had previously developed a handheld device for use at shipping ports and border-patrol checkpoints.
The low-resolution radiation detectors currently don't use germanium, which is difficult to cool in a handheld device because the entire system is powered by battery.
Burks is using the cooling developments from the NASA mission to create smaller, lighter handheld devices that use less power and perform better.
"The technology for space really helped with that," he said. The new handheld spectrometers will use germanium to produce more accurate readings and will weigh about nine pounds, compared to the older 30-pound model.
The new technology has been licensed to a company and is undergoing field tests, and the hope is to commercialize it within a year, Burks said.
SpaceX Gets Another Satellite Launch Deal
SoCalTech.com: SpaceX Gets Another Satellite Launch Deal
Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket firm headed by Elon Musk, has scored another satellite launch agreement, the firm said today. Space Exploration Technologies said it has inked a launch agreement with SES, to launch a SES satellite using its Falcon 9 rocket. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. SpaceX said that SES is one of the largest satellite operators in the world. The new satellite is expected to be launched into geostationary orbit using the Falcon 9. SpaceX said it has scheduled the launch in the first quarter of 2013.
Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket firm headed by Elon Musk, has scored another satellite launch agreement, the firm said today. Space Exploration Technologies said it has inked a launch agreement with SES, to launch a SES satellite using its Falcon 9 rocket. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. SpaceX said that SES is one of the largest satellite operators in the world. The new satellite is expected to be launched into geostationary orbit using the Falcon 9. SpaceX said it has scheduled the launch in the first quarter of 2013.
The future value of NASA depends on priorities
The Hill's Congress Blog: The future value of NASA depends on priorities
As the nation’s only civilian space and aeronautics research and development agency, NASA has a unique and important role in fostering innovation and keeping America competitive. Through NASA’s leadership, the U.S. has set the standard for the world in human space flight, exploration, and aeronautics. The investments we have made in NASA research and development have spawned scientific discoveries that have vastly increased our understanding of the Earth, Sun, our solar system and the universe.
Last year, Congress approved a plan to ensure a balanced portfolio of science and exploration at NASA. This plan created a roadmap that would give U.S. astronauts access to the International Space Station while developing capabilities to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Unfortunately, this administration seems to be ignoring clear Congressional intent.
Last year, Congress passed and the President signed the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The bill directed NASA to give priority to the development of a Space Launch System (SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to replace the retiring Shuttle. The bill also authorized NASA to “help determine the most effective and efficient means of advancing the development of commercial crew services.” NASA’s FY12 request flips the relative priority, seeking a 70 percent increase for commercial crew ($850 million versus $500 million authorization); and a 31 percent decrease for the SLS and MPCV ($2.8 billion versus $4 billion authorization).
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said at a recent hearing that NASA would not need exploration capabilities until after 2020, although Congress clearly directed NASA to develop the heavy lift system with an initial capability to return to the International Space Station by 2016. Failure to do so will result in continued reliance on the Russians’ Soyuz to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. This is unacceptable. NASA should give highest priority to developing the SLS and MPCV programs that build on the tremendous investments that have already been made in the Constellation systems. We cannot, as the NASA Administrator suggests, wait until 2020.
Meanwhile, the commercial space companies will have the opportunity to continue to develop the capability to ferry cargo to the ISS, as provided in the authorization bill enacted into law last year. Ultimately, perhaps they will demonstrate their capability also to safely transport astronauts. Space exploration, however, is too important to be placed at risk for failure, so we must continue to support a robust program at NASA, which has a record of success.
We must also take the current economic realities into consideration. We cannot afford to go to Mars if Americans cannot afford to go to the grocery store. But we must begin working toward those goals. Technology development programs at NASA are most successful when they are goal-oriented, and NASA needs clearly articulated exploration goals in order to make the best use of taxpayer investments.
For more than 50 years, NASA has spawned scientific discoveries and spinoffs, and the next 50 will be just as valuable. As chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, I will continue to push NASA to adhere to congressional direction and follow the priorities that are now the law of the land. If we want to remain the world leader in space, the administration must work together with Congress to provide vision, direction and goals to inspire the next generation.
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Texas) is the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
As the nation’s only civilian space and aeronautics research and development agency, NASA has a unique and important role in fostering innovation and keeping America competitive. Through NASA’s leadership, the U.S. has set the standard for the world in human space flight, exploration, and aeronautics. The investments we have made in NASA research and development have spawned scientific discoveries that have vastly increased our understanding of the Earth, Sun, our solar system and the universe.
Last year, Congress approved a plan to ensure a balanced portfolio of science and exploration at NASA. This plan created a roadmap that would give U.S. astronauts access to the International Space Station while developing capabilities to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Unfortunately, this administration seems to be ignoring clear Congressional intent.
Last year, Congress passed and the President signed the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. The bill directed NASA to give priority to the development of a Space Launch System (SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to replace the retiring Shuttle. The bill also authorized NASA to “help determine the most effective and efficient means of advancing the development of commercial crew services.” NASA’s FY12 request flips the relative priority, seeking a 70 percent increase for commercial crew ($850 million versus $500 million authorization); and a 31 percent decrease for the SLS and MPCV ($2.8 billion versus $4 billion authorization).
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said at a recent hearing that NASA would not need exploration capabilities until after 2020, although Congress clearly directed NASA to develop the heavy lift system with an initial capability to return to the International Space Station by 2016. Failure to do so will result in continued reliance on the Russians’ Soyuz to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. This is unacceptable. NASA should give highest priority to developing the SLS and MPCV programs that build on the tremendous investments that have already been made in the Constellation systems. We cannot, as the NASA Administrator suggests, wait until 2020.
Meanwhile, the commercial space companies will have the opportunity to continue to develop the capability to ferry cargo to the ISS, as provided in the authorization bill enacted into law last year. Ultimately, perhaps they will demonstrate their capability also to safely transport astronauts. Space exploration, however, is too important to be placed at risk for failure, so we must continue to support a robust program at NASA, which has a record of success.
We must also take the current economic realities into consideration. We cannot afford to go to Mars if Americans cannot afford to go to the grocery store. But we must begin working toward those goals. Technology development programs at NASA are most successful when they are goal-oriented, and NASA needs clearly articulated exploration goals in order to make the best use of taxpayer investments.
For more than 50 years, NASA has spawned scientific discoveries and spinoffs, and the next 50 will be just as valuable. As chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, I will continue to push NASA to adhere to congressional direction and follow the priorities that are now the law of the land. If we want to remain the world leader in space, the administration must work together with Congress to provide vision, direction and goals to inspire the next generation.
Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Texas) is the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Boeing engineer from Everett hopes to go to Mars
Seattle PI: Boeing engineer from Everett hopes to go to Mars
EVERETT, Wash. -- As a child, Kavya Manyapu would stare into the night sky above Hyderabad, India.
Her father would identify the different stars.
He would tell her about man's first steps on the moon.
He would fuel her dream to become an astronaut.
Later this month, Manyapu will spend two weeks on Mars -- or, at least, the closest thing on Earth to Mars.
The Mars Desert Research Station in Utah draws aeronautical engineers such as Manyapu, geologists, physicians and astro-biologists to its small cylindrical habitat, where research for the first human mission to Mars is taking place. The station is a prototype for the base that astronauts could use on Mars.
Think a mission to Mars will never happen?
This year, under presidential direction, NASA is putting the brakes on its near-Earth missions to the moon and the International Space Station. On Wednesday, the space shuttle Discovery completed its final trip. Shuttles Endeavor and Atlantis will make their final planned flights later this year.
NASA's new goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and later to Mars. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. For example, the Mars Society, which founded the Utah research station, estimates a trip to Mars will cost $30 billion.
If a spacecraft took off tomorrow for Mars, Manyapu, 25, would like to be on it.
Manyapu's family members had such faith in her dream of becoming an astronaut that they moved to the United States after Manyapu graduated from high school at the age of 16. She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In between her studies, Manyapu worked at Lockheed Martin and held internships at Boeing's Huntsville, Ala., site, where the company does space exploration work.
Today, Manyapu is a structural engineer on Boeing's 777 commercial jet program in Everett.
"I have a plan to go back into the space program," she said.
One step along Manyapu's way will be the two-week research trip to the Utah desert. The competitive research program in Utah attracts participants from NASA and from space programs around the world. Manyapu's academic adviser suggested she apply for the program, which should help her chances at becoming an astronaut.
Unlike a trip to the Moon, a mission to Mars will require astronauts to live on the planet for awhile. The Utah desert is thought to have attributes similar to Mars. The round research station in Utah is a two-deck structure, roughly 26 feet in diameter and is mounted on landing struts. All six crew members reside there, just as astronauts on Mars would.
The trip could take nearly two years to complete. The Utah station allows researchers to identify possible problems astronauts could face on a two-year journey. For instance, if the space station's toilet should fail during the actual trip to Mars, the astronauts wouldn't be able to call a plumber. They would have to figure out how to fix it themselves.
"They want to see how we can test out procedures (to solve different problems) that we could implement on Mars," Manyapu said.
That means some of the conditions Manyapu may face in Utah won't be pleasant. She and other crew members will be cut off from the rest of the world. Manyapu won't be able to shower every day. She won't get to decide what she eats. She'll be a lab rat for the other crew members to study, just as she will study them.
"You have to study a lot of human behavior," Manyapu said.
Astronauts will not only need to survive the conditions on Mars, they'll need to thrive. They'll be expected to be as productive as possible, gathering data and conducting experiments.
Similarly, participants at the research station in Utah perform tests, based on area of expertise, while there. Manyapu will fill four crew roles while she's at the station: crew physiologist, human factors engineer, backup crew engineer and journalist.
Manyapu is interested in studying bone loss among astronauts, which has been a continued topic of interest among scientists. In her application to participate in the program, Manyapu proposed experiments centered around bone loss that she could do while in the Utah desert.
She's also interested in ways to improve space suits, which astronauts to Mars would rely on heavily in their long trip.
"It's so hard to move around in those," Manyapu said.
At the research station in Utah, Manyapu will get a taste for walking around in those space suits. She'll be required to wear one any time she leaves the station to go outside -- just as a real astronaut would on Mars.
Manyapu still has some roadblocks between her and her dream. She needs to raise $1,500 in the next few weeks to participate in the research program. Having only landed her job at Boeing in November, she'll have to take some unpaid time off to go. Still, Manyapu plans to report to the research station on March 26.
As for when Manyapu thinks the first manned mission to Mars will take place, she estimates 2035. Manyapu believes the technology needed to get to Mars and back isn't what's holding a mission there back.
"To keep the humans alive, that's the greatest challenge of going to Mars," she said.
Follow the mission
To learn more about the Mars Society and its research station in Utah, go to mdrs.marssociety.org. Manyapu's crew will post daily reports on the same website beginning March 26.
EVERETT, Wash. -- As a child, Kavya Manyapu would stare into the night sky above Hyderabad, India.
Her father would identify the different stars.
He would tell her about man's first steps on the moon.
He would fuel her dream to become an astronaut.
Later this month, Manyapu will spend two weeks on Mars -- or, at least, the closest thing on Earth to Mars.
The Mars Desert Research Station in Utah draws aeronautical engineers such as Manyapu, geologists, physicians and astro-biologists to its small cylindrical habitat, where research for the first human mission to Mars is taking place. The station is a prototype for the base that astronauts could use on Mars.
Think a mission to Mars will never happen?
This year, under presidential direction, NASA is putting the brakes on its near-Earth missions to the moon and the International Space Station. On Wednesday, the space shuttle Discovery completed its final trip. Shuttles Endeavor and Atlantis will make their final planned flights later this year.
NASA's new goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and later to Mars. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. For example, the Mars Society, which founded the Utah research station, estimates a trip to Mars will cost $30 billion.
If a spacecraft took off tomorrow for Mars, Manyapu, 25, would like to be on it.
Manyapu's family members had such faith in her dream of becoming an astronaut that they moved to the United States after Manyapu graduated from high school at the age of 16. She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In between her studies, Manyapu worked at Lockheed Martin and held internships at Boeing's Huntsville, Ala., site, where the company does space exploration work.
Today, Manyapu is a structural engineer on Boeing's 777 commercial jet program in Everett.
"I have a plan to go back into the space program," she said.
One step along Manyapu's way will be the two-week research trip to the Utah desert. The competitive research program in Utah attracts participants from NASA and from space programs around the world. Manyapu's academic adviser suggested she apply for the program, which should help her chances at becoming an astronaut.
Unlike a trip to the Moon, a mission to Mars will require astronauts to live on the planet for awhile. The Utah desert is thought to have attributes similar to Mars. The round research station in Utah is a two-deck structure, roughly 26 feet in diameter and is mounted on landing struts. All six crew members reside there, just as astronauts on Mars would.
The trip could take nearly two years to complete. The Utah station allows researchers to identify possible problems astronauts could face on a two-year journey. For instance, if the space station's toilet should fail during the actual trip to Mars, the astronauts wouldn't be able to call a plumber. They would have to figure out how to fix it themselves.
"They want to see how we can test out procedures (to solve different problems) that we could implement on Mars," Manyapu said.
That means some of the conditions Manyapu may face in Utah won't be pleasant. She and other crew members will be cut off from the rest of the world. Manyapu won't be able to shower every day. She won't get to decide what she eats. She'll be a lab rat for the other crew members to study, just as she will study them.
"You have to study a lot of human behavior," Manyapu said.
Astronauts will not only need to survive the conditions on Mars, they'll need to thrive. They'll be expected to be as productive as possible, gathering data and conducting experiments.
Similarly, participants at the research station in Utah perform tests, based on area of expertise, while there. Manyapu will fill four crew roles while she's at the station: crew physiologist, human factors engineer, backup crew engineer and journalist.
Manyapu is interested in studying bone loss among astronauts, which has been a continued topic of interest among scientists. In her application to participate in the program, Manyapu proposed experiments centered around bone loss that she could do while in the Utah desert.
She's also interested in ways to improve space suits, which astronauts to Mars would rely on heavily in their long trip.
"It's so hard to move around in those," Manyapu said.
At the research station in Utah, Manyapu will get a taste for walking around in those space suits. She'll be required to wear one any time she leaves the station to go outside -- just as a real astronaut would on Mars.
Manyapu still has some roadblocks between her and her dream. She needs to raise $1,500 in the next few weeks to participate in the research program. Having only landed her job at Boeing in November, she'll have to take some unpaid time off to go. Still, Manyapu plans to report to the research station on March 26.
As for when Manyapu thinks the first manned mission to Mars will take place, she estimates 2035. Manyapu believes the technology needed to get to Mars and back isn't what's holding a mission there back.
"To keep the humans alive, that's the greatest challenge of going to Mars," she said.
Follow the mission
To learn more about the Mars Society and its research station in Utah, go to mdrs.marssociety.org. Manyapu's crew will post daily reports on the same website beginning March 26.
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