Cause of
Breeze-M Failure Discovered
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| Final assembly of the Breeze-M at the Khrunichev Center |
Roscosmos has determined the cause of
an underperforming Breeze-M upper stage on December 8 to be a broken turbopump
bearing.
The incident occurred when a Proton-M
with Breeze-M upper stage launched from Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on
December 8 carrying Gazprom telecommunication satellite Yamal-402, built by
Thales Alenia Space. The Breeze-M released the satellite four minutes early due
to four shortened burns, ending well short of the intended orbit. Yamal-402 was
eventually nudged into the correct highly elliptical orbit by means of its own
emergency propellant reserve. The successful maneuver was conducted via four
burns that cost the satellite four years of operational life, concluding on
December 15. The satellite is now expected to last 11 years.
The Breeze-M C5.98 rocket turbopump
assembly in question is said to have been produced by Isaev Khimmash design
center, located near Moscow. Khimmash has accepted responsibility, although the
bearing itself was purchased from an undisclosed third party.
Final results of the investigation
are expected to be officially announced by the end of the year, although
Kommersant reports that the announcement has been delayed seven times already
because of disagreement among the investigation panel as to appropriate
corrective action. In the meantime, Roscosmos is preparing to check all
turbopumps that may be affected. This follows just months after all Breeze-M
units were inspected as a result of an August 6 failure whose cause was
declared to be a ”manufacturing
defect.” That
incident resulted in an orbital debris explosion and loss of communication
satellites Telkom-3 and Ekspress-MD2. The investigation into the incident
continued for weeks and ended with the announcement of a complete
reorganization of the Russian space industry into a model that promises an
increased governmental role.
Bigelow
Contract Could Bring Inflatable Module to ISS by 2016
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| The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on the ISS as it should appear in 2016 |
Bigelow Aerospace and NASA have
signed a $17.8 million contract that could bring an inflatable module to be
attached on the International Space Station.
NASA spokesman Trent Perrotto told
Space News that the deal was signed in late December 2012, but he did not
reveal the terms of the agreement, saying only that it centers on the Bigelow
Expanded Aerospace Module (BEAM).
Although the details will be revealed
later, it can be supposed that BEAM would be an inflatable addition to ISS,
proving out the technologies and paving the way for future commercial space
stations. The deployment of the module will represent a perfect demonstration
for habitation and storage in a space environment, giving also significant data
on the duration of inflatable modules compared to the existing metallic ones.
According to NASA officials, the agency will ask one of its Commercial Resupply
Services contractors, SpaceX or Orbital Sciences Corp., to carry BEAM to the
ISS, most likely before the end of 2016.
Bigelow Aerospace, situated in Las
Vegas, Nevada, has been in the space station business for several years, having
deployed two orbiting prototypes called Genesis 1 and 2 in 2006 and 2007
respectivley, both launched with Russian rockets. In 2010, Bigelow won a
nonpaying contract with NASA to develop a list of procedures and protocols to
add BEAM to ISS. The company is now growing after a period of downturn, opening
new facilities and hiring again to increase the working force up to 90 staff.
Bigelow specializes in inflatable space habitat technology that it aquired from
NASA. The company has aspirations to open a Commerical Space Station using the
modules.
Meanwhile in Russia, RSC Energia has
signed an important contract with Roscosmos to develop a draft design for for
OKA-T-MKS, an orbiting unmanned lab to be connected to International Space
Station. It seems clear that the ISS partners want to capitalize on the remaining
funded life of the station as much as possible. ISS is currently expected to
remain operational though at least 2020.
Related story
http://www.space.com/19236-space-station-inflatable-module-bigelow.html
Study
Suggests Enhanced Alzheimer’s Risk for Spacefarers
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| Plaques between neurons is one of the indicators of Alzheimer’s Disease and seem to be increased with GCR exposure |
A study published in PLOS One on
December 31 suggests that there may be unforeseen long term effects on
spacefarers’ health. Long
term exposure to heavily charged Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) could increase
the chances of incurring Alzheimers.
The study, which was conducted at the
University of Rochester and Harvard Medical School with funding from NASA’s Space
Radiobiology Research Program, exposed mice to doses of high energy, high
charge (HZE) particles akin to those found in GCR. The mice received a dose of
100 cGy, equivalent to the total dose astronauts might experience on a trip to
Mars. After six months, the mice experienced cognitive impairment and presented
with plaques that have been correlated to Alzheimer’s disease.
It is very difficult to protect
against powerful GCR radiation. ”One would have to essentially wrap a
spacecraft in a 6-foot (2 meters) block of lead or concrete,” explained
corresponding author M. Kerry O’Banion, something that would be clearly prohibitive for
mass-constrained launches. Unlike solar radiation, GCR is emitted isotropically
throughout all points in space, making avoiding such radiation nearly
impossible.
Unlike astronauts, the mice received
their radiation dose all at once instead of gradually over time and were
irradiated with only the heaviest ion - iron – rather than a range of ions that are
present in GCR. The mice were also preselected for being genetically disposed
to contract Alzheimer’s. It is not
known how these factors could affect the results, but it is likely that this
study represents a worst case scenario for the stated conditions. “I would add
that there are at least three other laboratories pursuing similar studies,” said O’Banion, so
some of these questions may be answered soon.
Although the radiation hazards of
space travel have been known for sometime, this is the first indication of long
term effects beyond typical radiation sickness. More such effects are likely to
emerge as humans spend longer periods of time in space. One such discovery was
made in 2012 when it was discovered that some male astronauts’ vision
became apparently permanently impacted following cumulative long duration
deployments on the International Space Station and Space Shuttle.
Energomash to
Develop and Test New High-Performance Rocket Fuel
Experts from Russian manufacturer NPO
Energomash “V.P. Glushko” and RSC
Applied Chemistry have developed a state-of-the-art high-performance rocket
fuel, working on a completely novel mixture of acetylene and ammonia called
Atsetam.“A mixture of
acetylene and ammonia is 20 times cheaper than hydrogen, as a kilogram of
hydrogen costs about 2,000 rubles ($67) and a kilo of Atsetam is maximum of 100
rubles ($3.35),” explained
Energomash’s Director of
Innovative Technology, Anatoly Likhvantsev.
At the beginning of December 2012,
Energomash obtained the first experimental batch of Atsetam, confirming the
findings of previous theoretical studies. The batch also proved the
effectiveness of the technology developed for the fuel’s production.
The new Atsetam fuel is not only cheaper than hydrogen but it can also be
easily stored and transported, whereas hydrogen requires special storage and
transportation conditions.
Energomash has also started
developing an engine to work with the new mixture. The engine will be assembled
on the basis of the RD-161, originally designed to work with oxygen and
kerosene. The development will not
require major structural changes to existing rocket motors since the physical
properties of Atsetam do not differ much from kerosene.
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| Energomash’s liquid engines. The company has started development of a new rocket engine using Atsetam as a fuel, planning to reduce the cost of rocket launches of about 1/3 |
Although the exact engine’s parameters
will be determined during upcoming tests that are scheduled to last until 2016,
Energomash chief executive Vladimir Solntsev is persuaded that the Atsetam fuel
will help increase the efficiency of rocket engines by at least 30% in the
future.
Energomash is carrying out work on
processing and certifying Atsetam as a prospective rocket fuel application at
its own expense, partially supported by the Skolkovo Innovation Centre. In
2013-2014, Energomash plans to develop a technology for generating industrial
quantities of Atsetam. It also plans to develop a test bed and carry out firing
tests of the new oxygen-Atsetam liquid propellant engine prototype.
If all goes well in the test and
certification phase, and depending on funding, the first launch with the new
engine will occur in 2017-2018.
Is China
Preparing an Anti-Satellite Test?
U.S. experts think China is preparing
to perform another anti-satellite (ASAT) test in January.
“The first media report on these
rumours appeared in October,” wrote Gregory Kulacki of the Union of Concerned Scientists
on a blog post dated January 4th. “China’s Ministry of Defence challenged the
information in that report, but in November contacts in China told us an
announcement about an upcoming ASAT test was circulated within the Chinese
government.”
Rumours of an
upcoming anti-satellite test have been circulating for several months in the
Debris from
2007 ASAT test involving Fengyun satellite
U.S. defence and intelligence
community. China has previously carried out ASAT tests on January 11th 2007 and
2010, so it is possible that they plan to carry out the test on the same date
this year. In the 2007 test China destroyed the defunct Fengyun-1C weather
satellite via an anti-satellite device. The explosion created approximately
3000 pieces of debris. The 2010 test used a similar technology to destroy an
object that was not in orbit.
The target of the possible test
remains unclear. Some U.S. officials suspect China may want to target the
medium Earth orbit (MEO) region, which can be viewed as a potential threat to
the U.S. and Russian navigational satellites. However, Kulacki is not sure that
the possibly imminent ASAT test, would necessarily be as destructive as the
2007 event. On the contrary, it could involve a technology that doesn’t physically
destroy the satellite. Since China is planning to put more navigational
satellites in MEO, it’s unlikely
they would risk creating more debris which could affect their own satellites.
China is not the sole instigator of
ASAT tests. Both the United States and the former Soviet Union conducted
equally destructive ASAT tests during the development of their space programs.
They eventually decided to stop these tests due to the danger to their own
space presence; hopefully China will do the same.
Sleep Issues
Could Affect Future Mars Mission
A study based on Mars500 data
revealed that the crew experienced increasing lethargy over the course of the
mission, resulting in hypokinesis connected to sleep disturbances.
“The success of interplanetary human
spaceflight will depend on many factors,” said biomedical and psychiatric
researchers from the US and Russia who published the findings in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “including the behavioral activity
levels, sleep, and circadian timing of crews exposed to prolonged microgravity
and confinement.”
In the Mars500 experiment, six
volunteers were confined in a mock spaceship in Star City, Russia to simulate a
17-month journey to Mars and back. The high-fidelity ground simulation of a
Mars mission was conducted to study the physical and psychological reactions of
the crewmembers to isolation. The research used a number of continuous
measurements including wrist actigraphy, light exposure, and weekly
computer-based neurobehavioral assessments. The majority of crewmembers
experienced issues connected to sleep quality resulting in a state of extended
lethargy. Four had considerable trouble sleeping, with one having minor
problems and the sixth mostly unaffected. It is still unknown if the men’s lethargy
was just due to lack of sleep or was also caused by other factors such as lack
of privacy, close quarters, or being away from their families for so long.
Their state also led the crew to neglect exercise that will be extremely
critical to maintaining physiological health on a long term zero gravity
mission.
The loss of sleep is a crucial point
in a Mars mission’s
development. Astronauts will have to perform many and difficult tasks not only
on their journey to Mars but also while they are on the Red Planet. Moreover
there will be no real time communications with Earth, so these potentially
tired and judgment-impaired astronauts will need to continually make decisions
critical to their own survival.
Sleep quality is already a concern on
the International Space Station where the noisy environment, microgravity,
rapid solar cycle, and arrhythmic station maneuvers all contribute to less than
ideal sleeping conditions. A new initiative to install blue-tinted LEDs in crew
areas that can be used during rest times is expected to bring some
improvements, starting with the first delivery of the lights in 2015.
The world record for continuous time
in space is held by the cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who lived on the Russian
space station Mir for 14 months. In 2015, American astronaut Scott Kelly and
Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are scheduled to spend a whole year in
space on the International Space Station.
Canada
confirms plans for RADARSAT Constellation mission
The Canadian Space Agency announced
this week that it will press ahead with the country's next-generation radar
satellite imaging system, signing a contract with a Canadian firm to build the
satellites. The RADARSAT Constellation system will feature three radar imaging
satellites in polar orbits to provide shorter revisit times for radar imagery.
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) will build the three satellites under
a C$706-million (US$718-million) contract announced January 9. The satellites
are slated for launch in 2018 to ensure continuous service with the RADARSAT-2
satellite currently operating. There had been concerns in recent months that
the program might be delayed, scaled back, or even cancelled because of funding
problems.
Competition
Reshaping Launcher Industry
For decades, space-launch providers
have survived, and prospered, on government support in the form of development
funding, launch contracts and infrastructure subsidies to maintain
access to space. That is changing as international competition increases,
privately funded players enter the market and government budgets come under
pressure. The result is an unprecedented set of challenges to traditional
launch providers even as the industry continues to worry about future demand.
The replacement cycles of large
commercial communications-satellite operators that have driven demand for
launch services are nearing an end and, beginning around 2014, fewer launches
are expected. In addition, budget constraints on governments are expected to
limit their satellite procurements.
Europe's government-supported Ariane
5 currently launches roughly half of the world's commercial satellites, but
faces increasing competition from the Russian Proton, which remains competitive
despite a spate of launch mishaps. China, India and Japan are all developing
potentially competing launchers, and SpaceX in the U.S. has more than $1
billion in commercial launch contracts for its privately developed, low-cost
Falcon 9.
In November 2012, the European Space
Agency agreed to proceed with the upgraded Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution (ME) and
to continue studying a modular, lower-cost successor dubbed Ariane 6. Germany
is backing the Ariane 5ME, to fly in 2017-18, and a decision has been set for
2014 on development of the French-backed Ariane 6, to enter service after 2020.
French space agency CNES is studying three modular configurations for the
Ariane 6, two solid-propellant and one all-liquid. All would use the Vinci
cryogenic upper-stage engine under development for the 5ME.
Similar challenges face United Launch
Alliance (ULA), which provides Atlas V and Delta IV launches for the U.S.
government under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The
merger of Boeing and Lockheed Martin's launcher businesses to form ULA,
satellite delays and NASA's withdrawal from the market have driven up launch
costs under EELV.
SpaceX conducted the first of up to
12 commercial resupply missions for NASA in October 2012, its Falcon 9
launching the Dragon cargo capsule to the ISS.
Lockheed with the Athena, Orbital Sciences with the Antares and SpaceX
with an upgraded Falcon 9 have formally stated their intent to certify their
boosters for national security missions. Once certified, they will be allowed
to compete for launches. These could begin in 2014.
While Europe sees India and Russia as
its main competitors in the future, it is SpaceX that continues to shake up the
market. The company conducted its first two resupply missions to the
International Space Station (ISS) in 2012 using the Falcon 9 booster and Dragon
cargo spacecraft, and is on contract to fly 20,000 kg to the ISS through 2015.
CCiCap is a commercial adjunct to
NASA's plan to develop the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) to support
human spaceflight missions and replace the space shuttle, which was retired in
2012. The SLS is intended to launch the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle—development
of which began under the now-canceled Constellation program—and other
equipment into deep space.
A first uncrewed flight of the SLS is
planned for 2017, followed in 2021 by the first launch of the Orion capsule and
up to four astronauts. The SLS will use RS-25 engines from the shuttle and the
J-2X upper-stage engine developed for the canceled Ares I booster. The initial
70,000 kg-payload version of the SLS will use two shuttle-style solid-rocket
boosters. The evolved version, with up to a 130,000-kg payload, will use
advanced liquid or solid boosters.
As NASA develops the SLS, Russia and
China will be the only countries able to transport humans into space. While
Russia continues to fly the Soyuz to ferry crews to the ISS, China is
developing a manned space program that includes the Shenzhou capsule (four
crewed flights to 2012), Tiangong laboratory (first launch in 2011), and a
space station that is planned to be launched in sections between 2015 and 2020.
A new era in commercial space
transportation is open.
ASA's Robotic
Refueling Demo Set to Jumpstart Expanded Capabilities in Space
This artist's concept shows a scene
from the upcoming refueling demo aboard the International Space Station. The
Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM, Multifunction Tool (right) removes a cap
from the RRM module (left).
In mid-January, NASA will take the
next step in advancing robotic satellite-servicing technologies as it tests the
Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM aboard the International Space Station. The
investigation may one day substantially impact the many satellites that deliver
products Americans rely upon daily, such as weather reports, cell phones and
television news.
During five days of operations,
controllers from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will use the space
station's remotely operated Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre,
robot to simulate robotic refueling in space. Operating a space-based robotic
arm from the ground is a feat on its own, but NASA will do more than just
robotics work as controllers remotely snip wires, unscrew caps and transfer
simulated fuel. The team also will demonstrate tools, technologies and
techniques that could one day make satellites in space greener, more robust and
more capable of delivering essential services to people on Earth.
Why Fix or Refuel a Satellite?
"Every satellite has a lifespan
and eventual retirement date, determined by the reliability of its components
and how much fuel it can carry," explains Benjamin Reed, deputy project
manager of NASA's Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office, or SSCO.
Repairing and refueling satellites
already in place, Reed asserts, can be far less expensive than building and
launching entirely new spacecraft, potentially saving millions, even billions
of dollars and many years of work.
The RRM demonstration specifically
tests what it would take to repair and refuel satellites traveling the busy
space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO. Located about 22,000 miles
above Earth, this orbital path is home to more than 400 satellites, many of
which beam communications, television and weather data to customers worldwide.
By developing robotic capabilities to
repair and refuel GEO satellites, NASA hopes to add precious years of
functional life to satellites and expand options for operators who face
unexpected emergencies, tougher economic demands and aging fleets. NASA also
hopes that these new technologies will help boost the commercial
satellite-servicing industry that is rapidly gaining momentum.
Besides aiding the GEO satellite
community, a capability to fix and relocate "ailing" satellites also
could help manage the growing orbital debris problem that threatens continued
space operations, ultimately making space greener and more sustainable.
What's Next
in Robotic Satellite Servicing?
The satellite-servicing concept that
RRM is advancing is one that NASA has been developing for years. Beginning with
the Solar Maximum repair mission in 1984, the servicing philosophy paved the
way for five successful astronaut-based missions to upgrade and repair the
Hubble Space Telescope and has been practiced more recently in spacewalks to
assemble and maintain the space station.
On July 12, 2011, spacewalking
astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan successfully transferred the Robotic
Refueling Mission, or RRM, module from the Atlantis shuttle cargo bay to a
temporary platform on the International Space Station’s Dextre
robot.
With the RRM on the space station and
a robust technology development campaign being conducted on the ground, NASA is
testing capabilities for a new robotic servicing frontier. Since 2009, the Satellite
Servicing Capabilities Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., has been aggressively advancing the robotic technologies for a
free-flying servicer spacecraft that could access, repair and refuel satellites
in GEO.
To this end, the SSCO team has been
studying a conceptual servicing mission and building technologies to address
uncharted territory such as autonomous rendezvous and docking, propellant
transfer systems for zero gravity and specialized algorithms (computer commands)
to orchestrate and synchronize satellite-servicing operations. A systems
engineering review on this conceptual mission was recently conducted with
positive responses from peer experts and external participants.
Reed and the SSCO team see many
applications across NASA for these new, game-changing capabilities.
"The technologies we're building
to help rescue satellites in five years could be the very same ones used to
clean up space ten years in the future or save a spacecraft on the way to Mars
30 years from now," says Reed. "NASA is acting today to ensure that
we have the capabilities America needs for the future. With satellite servicing
technologies, we're bolstering the agency's long-term strategy as we invest in
near-term tactical technology investments. RRM is just the beginning."
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