'SPACE' in News

October 10, 2012

SPACEX DRAGON SUCCESSFULLY ATTACHES TO SPACE STATION

Hawthorne, CA -- For the second time this year, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is at the 
International Space Station. Expedition 33 crew members Akihiko Hoshide and Sunita Williams today grappled Dragon and attached it to the station, completing a critical stage of the SpaceX CRS-1 cargo resupply mission.

Hoshide used the station’s robotic arm to capture Dragon and guide it to the station’s Harmony module, and then Expedition 33 Commander Williams installed Dragon to Harmony’s common berthing mechanism, enabling it to be bolted in place for an expected 18-day stay at the station.

Upon capture, Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA remarked, “Looks like we’ve tamed the Dragon.”

Grappling was complete at 6:56AM ET, and at 9:03AM ET Dragon was attached to the space station.

“This is a big moment in the course of this mission and for commercial spaceflight,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Technical Officer Elon Musk. “We are pleased that Dragon is now ready to deliver its cargo to the International Space Station.”

Next, the station crew will pressurize the vestibule between the station and Dragon and open the hatch that leads to the forward bulkhead of the spacecraft. The crew will then begin unloading Dragon’s cargo, which includes crew supplies, vehicle hardware, experiments, and an ultra-cold freezer for storing scientific samples.

The mission, designated SpaceX CRS-1, is the first of at least 12 that SpaceX will perform under NASA’s $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract. Only SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is capable of both carrying significant amounts of cargo to the station and returning cargo to Earth.

Dragon is expected to be released from the space station on October 28 with return cargo that will include used station hardware and more than a ton of scientific samples. Splashdown and recovery in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California will follow the same day.

While Dragon Survives, One Satellite Failed After Engine Anomaly

Falcon 9 Engine Loss Still Under Investigation

 While the Dragon capsule was able to survive an engine failure with the Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday, news broke that a satellite aboard a secondary payload suffered from the event.

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday, with both the Dragon capsule and Orbcomm‘s prototype OG2 communication satellite onboard.

During launch, one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines lost pressure and suddenly shutdown, leaving its secondary mission in jeopardy.

The Dragon capsule jettisoned from the rocket, and was able to dock with the International Space Station on Wednesday morning, however, the satellite didn’t have the same successful outcome.

Orbcomm said in a statement that the satellite was deployed in the wrong orbit, missing its mark by possibly between 200 to 300 miles, according to Jonathan’s Space Report as reprinted by Reuters.

The company said an analysis has begun to determine if the satellite can use its onboard propulsion system to boost its orbit.

The initial plan for the satellite was for it to launch into orbit after leaving Earth’s atmosphere on the back of the Falcon 9, but the OG2 missed its target because of the engine loss.

The satellite was the first of 18 OG2 satellites that will be carried into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Orbcomm said they are currently in contact with the satellite to see if they can get it to rise in orbit.

Falcon 9 was able to complete its primary mission of getting the Dragon capsule at a place where it could resupply the International Space Station.

Early Wednesday morning, Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams used the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to snag the Dragon and place it in its docking port.

Dragon is scheduled to spend 18 days attached to the station, during which the crew will unload 882 pounds of crew supplies, science research and hardware from the cargo craft and reload it with 1,673 pounds of cargo for return to Earth.

Dragon will be detached from the Harmony module on October 28, and will be released by ISS for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

This was the first official resupply mission SpaceX has been contracted out to do. Dragon will have 11 more to do after this mission.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112710518/spacex-falcon-orbcomm-orbit-101012/

Watch the engine failure in this slow motion video released by SpaceX after the launch.

Capturing a Spacewalk Moment

Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov took this photograph of a fellow spacewalker snapping

photos during one of his three extravehicular activities. Kotov flew on

International Space Station Expedition 15 as Flight Engineer and Expedition 23

as Commander. In 2013, he is scheduled to command Expedition 38.

 Adjusting to Sol Takes Toll on Mars Rovers' Teams

It accounts for no more than 39 minutes and 35 seconds but the difference between the terrestrial “day” and the Martian “sol” can really mess up human circadian rhythms. It is like skipping one time zone every day, leading to a permanent need to adjust to a feeling of mild jet lag. As everyone who ever experienced jet lag knows, deviating from the internal clock usually leads to sleepiness and impairs the ability to concentrate and think clearly.

As NASA’s Curiosity rover continues its journey over the Red Planet’s surface, this adjustment to space jet lag is exactly what the operations team in NASA’s JPL are going through. The mission requires them to steer the rover in the real Martian time making it impossible to follow a 24 hour schedule. The results of a study conducted on the engineers operating the previous Martian lander Phoenix could help with this challenge.

The research was conducted by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital scientists and results were published in the September issue of the journal Sleep. “Our study investigated the effectiveness of a pilot program to educate the mission personnel on how to reset their body clocks more quickly and how to improve their sleep, alertness and performance,” explained Steven W. Lockley, neuroscientist and senior investigator.

Status of Solar System Exploration

Ever lose track of what's going on with all those exploratory missions roaming around the solar system? Here's a graphical refresher of exploratory probes as of October 2012:

Next Generation Canadarm Unveiled

The mini Next Generation Canadarm prototype, 
suitable for orbital refueling 

After three years of development, prototypes of the Next Generation Canadarm were unveiled on September 27 by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). The robotic arms were commisioned by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for $53.1 million.

The prototypes are terrestrial models, not ready for deployment to space. One of the arms is the same length as the International Space Station’s Canadarm 2, 15 meters, but is lighter and can be telescoped for storage or launch. Another prototype is 2.58 meters, a miniature unit modelled on the station’s Dextre robotic manipulator, suitable for refueling satellites and handling tools.

The NGC project initially began with the idea of once again supplying NASA with a robotic arm, this time for its new Orion spacecraft. MDA provided the four units of the original Canadarm that flew on the Space Shuttles, as well as the second generation Canadarm2 that grapples cargo ships and assists with spacewalks on ISS. There is some thought that CSA may leverage the NGC to launch its astronauts on NASA’s Orion. “Canada used its contribution of robotic arms for the shuttle and the International Space Station in terms of a swap, if you will, of Canadian technology for the placing of Canadian astronauts on those missions,” said Anthony Salloum, space adviser for the think tank Rideau Institute at the project’s launch. It seems clear that the Canadian Space Agency has something similar in mind for the NGC. 

But the agency and MDA are also looking beyond NASA this time. They see commercial potential for a robotic arm that can assist in refueling of orbital spacecraft and possibly a lunar lander mission in Canada’s future – or they did before CSA’s budget was slashed this year. Where funding priorities for the agency will now fall, and how the new Canadarm fits into that picture, remain to be seen.

Researchers Say X-Rays From Dead Stars May Guide Future Spacecraft

 The European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned a research team, including scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Leicester, to investigate the possibility of using dead stars to navigate in deep space. If it is found to be feasible, this technique could revolutionize the way spacecraft navigate in the outer Solar System and beyond.

Currently, spacecraft navigation relies on radio transmissions between the craft and a network of ground-stations on Earth. The craft has to wait for instruction from Earth for guidance, which can take from hours to days depending on how far out the spacecraft is. The time delay affects the craft’s ability to react rapidly, and the infrastructure on the ground is expensive and difficult to maintain because of the large size of the radio antennas.

The research team is exploring the use of the X-rays from pulsars to allow spacecraft to navigate autonomously. Highly compact, pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit intense eletromagnetic radiation. The radiation is observed as pulses, similar to the rotating light of a lighthouse or an airport beacon. Because the pulses can be highly regular, they are suitable sources for navigation using a technique similar to GPS.

“Using on-board X-ray detectors, spacecraft could measure the times of pulses received from pulsars to determine the position and motion of the craft. The University of Leicester will use their experience in X-ray astronomy to come-up with potential designs of the device and NPL will develop timing and navigation algorithms to determine the potential accuracy of this technique. Funding received from ESA will allow us to investigate the feasibility of using these dead stars and the potential navigation performance that could be derived,” explained Setnam Shemar, who is leading the project on behalf of NPL’s Time and Frequency team.

Only a limited number of spacecraft can be supported by traditional forms of ground-based space navigation, as only one set of measurements can be processed at any given time. This new technique could potentially allow a greater number of complex space missions to operate simultaneously in deep space.

ESA’s technical strategy for the future will be advised by the results of this investigation. If the technique is successful, pulsar navigation could reduce the costs and limitations associated with ground-based space navigation in the long-term. This, in turn, might eventually enable us to navigate beyond the outer Solar System.

The Most Stunning Photos of Mars The World
Has Ever Seen

NASA has released a new panorama from its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, showing the terrain where the robot spent the four-month Martian winter.

While scooping its first samples of Martian soil, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured this image, which shows what seems to be a small, seemingly metallic sliver or chip of… something… resting on the ground. Is it a piece of the rover? Or some other discarded fleck of the MSL descent mechanisms? Or perhaps an exotic Martian pebble of some sort? Nobody knows for sure yet, but needless to say the soil samples have taken a back seat to this new finding for the time being.

The full-circle scene combines 817 images shot by the panoramic camera (Pancam). You can download the complete image and learn more about the expedition on NASA’s website