Modifications planned for Atlas V SLC-41 Pad and SLS Mobile Launcher
United Launch Alliance (ULA) have recruited Hensel Phelps to design the modifications to their Atlas V pad at Space Launch Complete 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral ahead of hosting human rated vehicles. The Orlando company previously constructed the Ares Mobile Launcher (ML), which is also set to be modified to host the Space Launch System (SLS).
Atlas V Pad Modifications:
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) are currently planning to launch two commercial spacecraft to destinations such as the International Space Station via their reliable Atlas V rocket – namely Boeing’s CST-100 and SNC’s Dream Chaser, both of which are currently under development within NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) program.
The challenge with the pad at SLC-41 mainly relates to crew access and the Emergency Egress System (EES)for both the astronauts and the pad workers.
To meet these challenges, ULA have selected Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando to provide program management contractor support to the efforts, resulting in a 21-month effort to work on the the management of the design, requirements development, cost and schedule projections, and risk mitigation for modifications to the launch facilities for commercial crew operations.
“Hensel Phelps brings significant experience working major construction projects including the original construction for Atlas V at SLC-41, as well as Atlas modifications at SLC-3 in California,” said Dr. George Sowers, ULA vice president of Human Launch Services.
“We look forward to working with Hensel Phelps to take the next steps in launching crew from SLC-41 and providing safe and reliable crew launch services as early as 2015.”
South Korean launch further delayed
Curiosity's mini-laboratory tastes first Martian soil
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| Curiosity's robotic arm scooped up a sample of powdery soil and deposited the material into the SAM instrument on Nov. 9. |
For the first time since landing on Mars in August, NASA's Curiosity rover has used its most powerful instrument to analyze soil, sifting for life-supporting chemicals with a labyrinth of ovens and spectrometers, scientists announced on Nov. 13, 2012.
Curiosity's robotic arm poured a pinch of fine sand and dust into the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on Friday, and the on-board laboratory studied the soil's chemical make-up over the following two days, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
SAM is the largest scientific payload on the Curiosity rover, and researchers say it will provide the most thorough examination ever conducted on Martian soil. Curiosity scooped soil for the sample from a sandy patch called "Rocknest" and deposited the powdery material into SAM and the adjacent CheMin instrument, which uses X-ray diffraction to identify minerals in the soil. CheMin previously scrutinized a soil sample from Rocknest, but the analysis marked the first time scientists have used the SAM instrument on soil. Solid samples pass through two spectrometers and a gas chromatograph housed inside the microwave-sized SAM payload. "We received good data from this first solid sample," said Paul Mahaffy, SAM principal investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We have a lot of data analysis to do, and we are planning to get additional samples of Rocknest material to add confidence about what we learn."
The sensors inside SAM examine gases and solvents extracted from powdered soil samples. SAM can detect smaller abundances of organics and identify a wider variety of them than any instrument before, according to the mission's press kit. A mass spectrometer inside SAM identifies gases by molecular weight and electrical charge, looking for elements important for life, including nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, according to the press kit.
The instrument's laser spectrometer uses light to measure methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor. Another of SAM's tools, a gas chromatograph, detects organic compounds by separating different gases from a mixture, according to the press kit. SAM previously ingested Martian air to search for methane and other elements in the atmosphere, but analyses of four atmospheric samples turned up no definitive detection of methane, a signature of possible life.
Source: http://spaceflightnow.com
Manmade greenhouse gas emissions aren't just causing global warming, according to a new research report, but they might aggravate dangers from a growing population of space junk.
A team of U.S. and Canadian scientists found carbon dioxide caused by human activity reaches the upper atmosphere, according to findings published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Nov. 11. Unlike the warming effect caused at the surface, higher carbon dioxide levels in the upper atmosphere lead to cooler temperatures, which contract the thermosphere, a rarefied layer of gas at the edge of space.
Many satellites, including the International Space Station, fly through the thermosphere, along with thousands of chunks of space debris. The thermosphere always cools and contracts when the solar activity reaches the low point of its 11-year cycle, but the rise in carbon dioxide levels could reduce the average density of the atmosphere in regions where satellites operate. Atmospheric drag is the only current way to get rid of space junk. Slight pressure from the thin upper atmosphere gradually pushes against objects in low Earth orbit, causing satellites and debris to lose altitude and eventually drop from orbit and burn up during re-entry.
But if the atmosphere shrinks, as postulated by scientists studying greenhouse gas emissions, there might be less drag to push against objects in space, meaning space junk could stay in orbit longer. Experts and satellite operators are concerned the number of pieces of space junk could skyrocket as collisions between objects beget more debris.
The same properties of carbon dioxide that cause it to trap heat in the dense lower atmosphere cause cooler conditions at high altitudes, according to scientists.
"In the upper atmosphere, thermal energy is transferred via collisions from other atmospheric constituents to carbon dioxide, which then emits the energy as heat that escapes to outer space," said John Emmert of the Naval Research Laboratory.
In the lower atmosphere, the heat emitted in particle collisions is trapped, causing rising temperatures. Scientists used a spectrometer on the Canadian SciSat satellite to measure abundances of carbon dioxide and other gases as sunlight passes through the atmosphere. The measurements show a steady upward trend in carbon dioxide concentrations in the upper atmosphere since the satellite's launch in 2003. The findings support other evidence showing the thermosphere is contracting, according to scientists. Data from satellites indicate they are experiencing less drag. Emmert was joined in the research by other scientists from NRL, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
Vostochny cosmodrome & Angara rocket: 2 keystones of Russia’s space programme
The Vostochny cosmodrome, which just underwent active construction last year, should be ready for the first launch in 2015. As the head of the Dalspetsstroy, Pavel Buyanovsky has informed Vladimir Popovkin that construction and assembling of the main buildings, facilities, networks and communications will be completed in 2013, and launch and technical areas should be in commission in 2014.
It is expected that the first launch from the cosmodrome should take place in 2015, and it will be the launch of the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket, which will undergo tests in Plesetsk later. After that, the Angara is to be launched from Vostochny. And it is here that we have some difficulties.
The family of the Angara carrier rockets, which includes several modifications designed for various cargoes, has been under development since 1995. Its main developer and manufacturer is the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launch of the Angara carrier rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome is expected to be held next year.
But a few weeks ago, at the end of October, the launch of the Korean KSLV-1 carrier rocket (whose first stage was created at the Khrunichev Center and represents a variation of the Angara’s first stage) was temporarily canceled. According to the message of the Roscosmos press-service, during the preparation of the carrier rocket for the launch, some observations were made concerning the on-board systems of the first stage. The KSLV-1 was taken off the launch area and returned to the assembly-test facility for additional tests. Since then, there has been no information about the new launch date.
The South Korean KSLV-1 was launched two times before this, in 2009 and 2010, and both launches ended in failure. According to the results of the investigation, it happened due to malfunctions in the work of the South Korean elements of the rocket.
Skeptics express doubts, that the developers will not be able to stick to the date of the first launch in 2013, after the Koreans postponed their launch. However, there is an opinion that once the malfunction is identified, it will help the developers avoid failures during the domestic launch, and thus, it may even benefit Russia.
Meanwhile, in theory, the highest hopes are assigned to the Angara: being a safer carrier rocket (the Angara runs on oxygen and kerosene), it should not only replace the heavy Proton, but, in the long term, become the basis for the lunar programme. The thing is that at the beginning of September the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center won the tender for designing sketches of a new heavy carrier rocket, which can be used for manned flights to the Moon, as well as to near-earth space stations. It is very likely that the Khrunichev Center will become the developer of the whole project. Thus, the Vostochny cosmodrome and the Angara carrier rocket may become new key elements of the future Russian space program.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is very seriously concerned about the construction of Vostochny. Earlier it was planned that the rocket launch facility Bayterek in Baikonur, a joint Russian-Kazakh initiative, will be Angara’s principal launch pad. However, its construction terms are constantly being postponed, and against the background of Vostochny’s active construction it looks like a loss of interest in Bayterek - and in the future in Baikonur, as well.
In general, it is clear why Baikonur is not the most convenient cosmodrome for Russia: it is located on the territory of another state; the cost of rent is constantly rising; and too many things depend on the current political situation.
But space exploration is not only about cosmodromes. Baikonur was taken into account in the previous space program, and in many respects it played a crucial role in it. Vostochny and the Angara are new “bricks” in this construction set. Only time will tell what can be built with these new “bricks”.
