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Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
SPACE in News, June 25, 2012
Shenzhou-9 successfully conducts manual docking test with Tiangong-1 More
than half way through their mission, the crew of Shenzhou-9 have
accomplished another major flight objective, as the spacecraft
successfully conducted the manual docking test with the unmanned space
module Tiangong-1. The duo met up last week under automated control,
prior to Sunday’s manual test.The automated separation of the two vehicles kicked off the events, lasting a few hours in total. First, Shenzhou-9 backed to a distance of 400 meters, prior to closing back in to 140 meters, at which point the two vehicles maintained their distance. The ground then gave their approval for the manual approach, controlled by Liu Wang, from the 140 meter point, prior to a short hold point at 30 meters. Closing in at 0.4 meters per second, the successful completion of the manual docking took place at around 4:50 UTC. The Shenzhou-9 – now in its final leg of the mission – is scheduled to return to Earth on June 29. The docking – and indeed most of the mission – of Shenzhou-9 with the Tiangong-1, brought back memories of the 60′s and 70′s, when groups of space sleuths tried to predict the next space step on the other side of the Iron Curtain. For Full Article Coverage of this mission and Chinese Space Flight, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/news/chinese/ Even in 2012, the tight control of information by the Chinese space authorities meant analysts could only try to guess many of the mission details in advance, including the names of the crew, the time of launch and the program of activities on the Tiangong-1 module – a reminder of the Salyut missions. On the day before the launch of Shenzhou-9, the schedule of events in orbit – and the objectives of the mission – were starting to leak out. The first objective was classed as the need to validate the technology of automated rendezvous and docking, and for the first time to verify that manual rendezvous and docking could be successfully achieved. Secondly, the taikonauts had to verify that all the systems were working properly and that the laboratory was capable of sustain human life. On entering the module, the crew had to take numerous measurements - including cabin pressure, oxygen capacity, air temperature and humidity, control of harmful gases and microbes control. The third objective is to successfully return China’s first women taikonaut safely back to Earth. |
Longer delay for SES-5
launch aboard Proton M
June 22, 2012- According to Interfax news agency, the
launch of SES-5 aboard a Proton M has been rescheduled for 6 August. It
was originally scheduled for 18 June, then delayed 24 hours and later
postponed indefinitely.
On 18 June Khrunichev engineers at the launch site received an out of tolerance telemetry reading on a first stage subsystem during pre-flight testing. However, based on additional pre-flight testing performed on 19 June it was determined that further investigation is necessary, requiring the launch vehicle be returned to the processing hall for additional testing, ILS said back then. It is unknown what causes the relatively lengthy delay, should the Interfax report turn out to be correct. At the time of writing, neither ILS nor SES had officially announced a new launch date. |
Space Launch System (SLS)
core stage moves from concept to design
June 21, 2012 - The core stage of NASA's planned Space Launch System (SLS) has successfully passed a major technical review. The core stage is the heart of the heavy-lift launch vehicle. It will stand more than 61 meters tall with a diameter of 8.4 meters. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, hosted the review. Engineers from NASA and Boeing presented a full set of system requirements, design concepts and production approaches to technical reviewers and the independent review board. The core stage will store liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to feed the rocket's four RS-25 engines, all of which will be former space shuttle main engines for the first few flights. The SLS Program has an inventory of 16 RS-25 flight engines that successfully operated for the life of the Space Shuttle Program. Like the space shuttle, SLS also will be powered initially by two solid rocket boosters on the sides of the launch vehicle. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit, according to the agency. The first test flight of NASA's Space Launch System, which will feature a configuration for a 77-ton (70-metric-ton) lift capacity, is scheduled for 2017. As SLS evolves, a two-stage launch vehicle configuration will provide a lift capability of 143 tons (130 metric tons). Boeing is the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, including its avionics. The core stage will be built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Marshall manages the SLS Program for the agency. Across the SLS Program, swift progress is being made on several elements, NASA said. The J-2X upper-stage rocket engine, developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for the future two-stage SLS, is being tested at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The prime contractor for the five-segment solid rocket boosters, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, has begun processing its first SLS hardware components in preparation for an initial qualification test in 2013. Reference: NASA PR |
Atlas V launches new
U.S. military satellite into space
Rocket: Atlas V; Payload: NROL-38; Date:
20 June 2012, 1228 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, USA. The classified military payload was launched for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the country's spy
satellites.
 This mission used an Atlas V EELV 401 configuration vehicle, which
includes a 4-meter diameter payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this
mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine and the Centaur upper
stage was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10A-4
engine.
Satellite observers said that the payload was likely deployed into a
standard geostationary transfer orbit. The spacecraft could be an SDS
(Satellite Data System) communications satellite. The main purpose of the
SDS satellites is to relay data in real-time from imagery intelligence
satellites.
It was the 50th successful Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)
mission, with 31 Atlas V and 19 Delta IV missions flown since August 2002.
Twelve of those 50 launches were NRO missions.
ULA's next launch is the Delta IV NROL-15 mission for the NRO scheduled 28
June from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.Reference: ULA PR, USAF PR |
| China Orbits
Crewed Shenzhou 9
June 19, 2012-China orbited three astronauts, including the country's first female space voyager, aboard its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft on June 16, 2012. Jing Haipeng, who flew aboard Shenzou 7, Liu Wang, and Liu Yang, the first woman to fly aboard Shenzou. Shenzou 9 is expected to dock with the Tiangong 1 module that has been in orbit since September 2011. Unmanned Shenzou 8 docked with the module during a November, 2011 demonstration mission. A Chang Zheng (CZ) 2F/G launched Shenzhou 9 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center's SLS Right pad at 10:37 UTC. Shenzhou 9 entered a 200 x 330 km x 42 deg initial orbit, from which it will begin maneuvering during a two-day chase of Tiangong 1. The two will meet in the module's 330 km orbit. Shenzhou 9 will perform two separate docking maneuvers during a planned two to three week mission. Shenzhou 9, China's fourth crewed orbital mission, was orbited by the 10th CZ-2F launcher. It was the second world-wide crewed orbital launch of 2012. |
| Russia
resorts to small satellites
June 19, 2012- Russia is
developing projects of micro satellites, including nano-satelites
weighing less than 10 kilograms.
These satellites can effectively solve tasks set before them in space, but it will be a lot cheaper to put them into orbit using light rockets. The geo-centric satellites need powerful data relay systems and consequently, heavy batteries for power supply. These are multi-ton satellites. However, the weight can be reduced by miniaturizing the service systems. Russia launched its first nano-satellite in 2005, says general director of the Russian Space Systems Company, Yuri Urlichich. “It was launched by cosmonaut Salizhanov Sharipov from the International Space System. For this satellite, we developed dozens of new technologies, date rely systems and sensors,” Yuri Urlichich said. The small satellites can be used for many purposes, says Yuri Urlichich. “We will develop a satellite for automatic identification in the sea. All ships see each other and ports in the radius of 30 nautical miles. This will help ships to pass clear of each other in narrow straits. In short, the satellite assures safety in the sea. This system can be used also in large rivers in Russia and on the Northern Shipping Route. It could be global when it covers the entire oceans. The micro satellites could be also used in the Kospas-Sarsat rescue system. Other areas of their use could be meteorology and forecasting earthquakes,” Yuri Urlichich added. Some forerunners of these calamities have been well known for a long time. They are increase in seismic activity and concentration of radon gas, changes in the level of subsoil water and unrest of animals. According to Yuri Urlichich, Russian scientists have notices another factor. “When we were developing GLONASS system we noticed that the concentration of free electrons in the ionosphere changes before earthquakes. Seven hours before the disaster in Japan in March last year, we saw a splash over the future epicenter. We suggest launching small satellites that could communicate with each other and measure signal delay in the ionosphere. This would drop away the need for setting up a large number of seismological stations. (Source: The voice of Russia) |
 Huge asteroid harmlessly passes by Earth London: A giant asteroid about 700 metres wide flew past Earth early Friday, Daily Mail reported. The chunk of space rock - dubbed 2012 LZ1 - passed Earth at 2 a.m. GMT.... (photo: Creative Commons / Fastfission). full article |
NASA spacecraft finds possible evidence of ice content in moon crater Tweet London, June 21 (ANI): Data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has indicated that ice may make up as much as 22 percent of the surface... Full article |
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