SPACE in NEWS

Japan halts rocket launch at last minute

Japan stopped its satellite rocket launch just seconds before lift-off after discovering a glitch.

Aug., 28, 2013 -The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cancelled the launch of the first Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-1) with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard from the Uchinoura Space Center, yesterday.
An automatic stop alarm was issued as an attitude abnormality was detected approximately 19 seconds prior to the lift-off time during the automatic countdown sequence. The launch had been originally scheduled for 0445 UTC. JAXA said it is currently investigating the cause. The agency did not announce a new launch date.
JAXA had planned to launch the Epsilon rocket from Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on Aug., 27, 2013 using just two laptop computers in a pared-down command centre.

But the countdown was automatically stopped just 19 seconds before the planned blast-off "as an emergency measure due to some abnormal positioning" of the rocket, a JAXA spokeswoman said.

"We cancelled today's launch and can't say anything about the timing of our next launch, as the cause of the trouble is still unknown," the spokeswoman said.

The three-stage Epsilon - 24 metres long and weighing 91 tonnes - was scheduled to release the telescope SPRINT-A at an altitude of 1000 kilometres.

SPRINT-A is the world's first space telescope for remote observation of planets including Venus, Mars and Jupiter from its orbit around Earth, the agency said.

The Epsilon is about half the size of the nation's liquid-fuelled H2-A rocket and a successor to the solid fuel M-5 rocket that was retired in 2006 because of its high cost.

The small-sized rocket is equipped with artificial intelligence "for the first time in the world" that allows autonomous checks by the rocket itself, JAXA said.

"It also allows us to carry out launching procedures, including ignition, through only two laptop computers," another JAXA spokeswoman said.

At the control centre only eight workers were engaged in the launch operation, compared with about 150 people usually needed when JAXA launches its mainstream H2-A rocket.  Source

China’s Mystery Satellite Could Be a Dangerous New Weapon — War is Boring — Medium

The SY-7 is one of three Chinese satellites doing some very strange things in orbit

On July 29, a Chinese Long March-4C rocket blasted into space from the northern Taiyuan Space Center carrying three secretive, experimental satellites. Not really all that unusual by itself — a robotic arm reportedly on one of the satellites could be involved in testing for Beijing’s far-off space station program.

But once they were in orbit, the satellites began acting very, very strangely.

More precisely, one of the satellites, known as SY-7, was moving all over the place and was appearing to make close-in rendezvous’s with other satellites. It was so strange, space analysts wondered whether China was testing a new kind of space weapon — one that could intercept other satellites and more or less claw them to death.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. The U.S. has experimented with anti-satellite weapons, and is even researching how to cannibalize satellites in orbit. China has even blown up one of its own satellites with a missile. That caused an international outcry considering the giant cloud of debris which has come close to imperiling space travel for a century. But a claw might be more discreet.

Most satellites are pretty dumb, in the sense that they don’t really move around a whole lot except in a fixed orbit. Doing much more than that requires sophisticated guidance, navigation and control systems to the point where the satellite becomes something more like an unmanned spaceship.

Have those things, and you have the rudimentary steps to maneuver in the path of other satellites. Once you’re there, you then might want to use the maneuverable satellite to conduct inspections or repairs — or even potentially attack other (more helpless) satellites. More ...

NASA tests limits of 3-D printing with powerful rocket engine
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NASA has tested its largest 3-D printed rocket engine component so far on 22 August during an engine firing that generated a record 89 kN of thrust.

The component tested during the engine firing, an injector, delivers propellants to power an engine and provides the thrust necessary to send rockets to space. During the injector test, liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen passed through the component into a combustion chamber and produced 10 times more thrust than any injector previously fabricated using 3-D printing.

The component was manufactured using selective laser melting. This method built up layers of nickel-chromium alloy powder to make the complex, subscale injector with its 28 elements for channeling and mixing propellants. The part was similar in size to injectors that power small rocket engines. It was similar in design to injectors for large engines, such as the RS-25 engine that will power NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for deep space human missions to an asteroid and Mars.

One of the keys to reducing the cost of rocket parts is minimising the number of components. This injector had only two parts, whereas a similar injector tested earlier had 115 parts. Fewer parts require less assembly effort, which means complex parts made with 3-D printing have the potential for significant cost savings.

Early data from the test, conducted at pressures up to 6,900 Pa in a vacuum and at almost 3,600 K, indicate the injector worked flawlessly. In the days to come, engineers will perform computer scans and other inspections to scrutinise the component more closely.   Source: NASA PR

Three Khrunichev officials sacked after Proton crash

A government commission has determined the degree of guilt of Khrunichev space centre executives responsible for the 2 July Proton rocket launch failure, Russia's Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying.

For failing to properly perform their duties in preparing the rocket carrying three GLONASS-M satellites for launch, the centre's deputy director general for quality control, Alexander Kobzar, head of the assembly shop Valery Grekov and head of the technical control department Mikhail Lebedev are dismissed, Mr. Rogozin said, reporting first conclusions of the government commission he heads.

Several other officials had been brought to account for not ensuring proper use of appropriate technologies and control over assembly work, Mr. Rogozin said. Asked who would determine the responsibility of Roskosmos officials, the official said this would be for the government to decide, based on the report he would present to Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.

Mr. Rogozin said blame among engineers and technical workers at the space centre would be determined by the enterprise management. The government commission did not deal with the activities of assembly workers, he said, adding that this was an issue of organisation of work at the centre itself.    Source: Itar-Tass