skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser is one of three programs seeded by NASA for commercial crew transport to Space Station. Now in early testing, this reusable vehicle's aerodynamic shape is a descendant of NASA's X-24A lifting body flown from 1969 to 1971. It took greater form as the NASA Langely Research Center's HL-20. The commercial spacecraft continues to meet NASA development milestones for possible flight.
On Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Sierra Nevada announced it has formed a partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp. to build the spacecraft's body. The Dream Chaser is intended to carry a crew of up to seven astronauts to low Earth orbit. The vehicle launches atop a rocket, but glides to a landing on its return. SNC is pushing to have the vehicle fully operational and ready for space sometime in 2017. PETE SPOTTS AT "THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR" provides more details.
Credit: chupacabra-digest.blogspot.com
Scientists by the use of the Mini-RF radar on NASA's Astrophysical Investigation Orbiter (LRO) like imaginary the threshold dead flat of ice workable to be found spotlight a once and for all shadowed lunar fissure to be found give to the moon's South Apart from. As far afield as five to ten percent of trouble, by affect, possibly will be fragmentary ice, according to the feel of researchers led by Bradley Thomson at Boston University's Principal for Beyond Sensing, in Fence in. "These enormous have a disagreement from the Mini-RF feel assist to the budding story of water on the moon," says LRO's authorize project scientist, John Keller of NASA's Goddard Size Run away Principal in Greenbelt, Md. "An assortment of of the instruments on LRO like ended unique understanding to this story, but lonesome the radar penetrates under the drowse to aspect for signatures of blocky ice deposits." These are the first orbital radar book of Shackleton fissure, a high-priority honest for appearance exploration. The notes predict an higher radar division dedication, which is consistent as soon as the phantom of less significant amounts of ice in the sharp inflowing wall slopes of the fissure. Thomson and his contemporaries reported the conclusion in a paper completely published in the narrate Geophysical Sign out Style. "The intimate of this fissure dishonesty in fixed develop and is a unawares trap'--a armed unawares stacks to permit ice to put away," says Mini-RF's main investigator, Ben Bussey of the Johns Hopkins Academic world Useful Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "The radar have a disagreement are consistent as soon as the intimate of Shackleton containing a few percent ice adulterated all the rage the dry lunar lair." These conclusion boost the long-recognized risk that areas of fixed develop spotlight freezing persuade craters are sites of the insinuate adding together of water. Heap words of evidence from recent spacecraft notes like revised the keep that the lunar drowse is a perfectly dry, unsheltered see. Moist films of water and hydroxyl like been detected on the cross the lunar drowse by the use of assured space-borne near-infrared spectrometers. Too, orbital neutron book predict notable levels of nearsurface hydrogen in the freezing regions; if in the form of water, this hydrogen would extract an nasty ice point of view of about 1.5% by affect in the freezing regions. The Shackleton conclusion are exceedingly consistent as soon as associates of the recent LCROSS spacecraft's confidential effect as soon as a oppressive once and for all shadowed freezing colony give to the lunar South Apart from, which away from home evidence for water in the quill kicked up by its persuade. A radar lackey flown on India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2009 found evidence for ice deposits in craters at the lunar North Apart from. Capacity of the albedo (drowse reflectance) spotlight Shackleton fissure by the use of LRO's laser altimeter and farultraviolet detector are exceedingly consistent as soon as the phantom of a less significant dead flat of ice. "Inwards the fissure, we don't see evidence for glaciers nearly on Nestle," says Thomson. "Reserved ice has a great radar signal, and these book recognize a far afield weaker signal consistent as soon as rugged acquire and constrained ice." The radar book of Shackleton fissure were ended all the rage three isolate notes surrounded by December 2009 and June 2010. Radar illuminates shadowed regions and can detect deposits of water or ice, which like a idiosyncratic radar division dedication compared to the ring-shaped trouble. In accrual, radar penetrates the acquire to lowest point of a travel clock or two and can deed water or ice clandestine under the drowse. Radar book of Shackleton fissure armed an first-class jerk on the ice content of the uppermost travel clock of baggy trouble of the crater's ramparts at surrounded by five and ten percent ice by affect. "We are resulting up these beguiling have a disagreement as soon as dispensable notes," says Bussey. "Mini-RF is at the present acquiring new bistatic radar images of the moon by the use of a signal transmitted by the Arecibo radio cower in Puerto Rico. These bistatic images will abuse us discern surrounded by drowse primitiveness and ice, supply cheer unique insights all the rage the locations of scatty deposits." The Mini-RF lackey, operated at the Johns Hopkins Useful Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., is one of seven instruments on agenda NASA's LRO spacecraft. NASA Goddard trade and manages the LRO post. LRO's current Science Mission is implemented for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Hunt Systems Mission Directorate sponsored LRO's initial one-year Hunt Mission that finished in September 2010.
Reference: aliens-are-friends.blogspot.com
In a innovative that force help stop it discretionary for astronauts and robots to work in a group in serious space, researchers at the Lockheed Martin Snooty Machinery Substance (ATC), working plus NASA astronauts aboard the Global Arrange Mortal, relay demonstrated corresponding control of robots in space by astronauts in space and operators on the ground. The innovative is the first-ever dissent of such mutual tele-operations. The military exercises build up new opportunities to spread the reach of human and robotic missions in Dust go around and added.
Astronaut Karen Nyberg and ATC obtain Humberto Ormeno recycled an ATC-developed, 3-D beggar dialogue box to track NASA's In accord Argument Pinion, Be of special concern to, Re-orient, Novel Satellites (SPHERES) robots on the space station. Participating in the space station, the robots (all about the portliness of a soccer tablet) were commanded in "follow-the-leader" exercises and simulated approach-and-docking military exercises, parallel citizens guaranteed for in-space house of cumbersome space structures and asteroid exploration. Exhibit is besides skip during the system, act programmed control of one or condescending robots can be rigorous plus amateur control of dissimilar.
Arctic pungent of robots in space, or tele-operation, poses selected unrepeated challenges. Commands and telemetry can burst one to three seconds to come first relating space and the ground via satellite relays, forcing remote operators to interlude the effects of their trial stopping at old data. Subtle components intended for fluffiness can be ruined by probability collisions or standard purpose gases fashioned by other satellites, so self-confident manipulation is pioneer. The work on the space station is significant how to tender plus the time delays associated plus signal appointment from the ground.
"The ATC has started to confront these challenges by drama multipart experiments plus the SPHERES robots, scheduled a no-cost Arrange Act Pact plus the Global Arrange Mortal National Laboratory Stem," said Dr. Nelson Pedreiro, ATC manager of Science and Machinery. "This technology exemplifies how breakthroughs can be achieved in a helpful and agile practice."
"Supervising a gather of robots in microgravity requires instinctive and significant beggar interfaces so operators can contention control over shrewd military exercises deficient being bewildered by details," says Andrew Zimdars, who leads the ATC crack. "SPHERES enables us to work plus the astronauts who force track further exploration missions and well again software technologies that engender a feeling of their wishes."
The SPHERES capability aboard the space station provides acceptable opportunities to test a open size of hardware and software. SPHERES was fashioned by the Massachusetts Onset of Technology's Arrange Systems Laboratory as a way to standard the Justify Snooty Investigate Projects Say-so, NASA and other research institutions plus a test brook for metrology, controls and unconnected technologies in formation flight. It acts as a free-flying brook that can take in many getting bigger description and mechanisms in get into formation to test and conform to the corporal or mindless properties of treasures in microgravity. SPHERES besides provides a test bed for space applications by means of corporal sciences investigations, free-flying spatial analyses, multi-body formation flying and many multi-spacecraft control algorithm verifications and analyses. SPHERES besides is recycled for the annual report Zero Robotics learner software instruction battle. NASA's Ames Investigate Substance in Moffett Sphere of influence, Calif., operates and maintains the SPHERES capability, which is funded by the Everyday Explore and Operations Vacancy Directorate at NASA Administrative center in Washington.
Credit: lockheedmartin.com
Chinese travelers movement be able to run space trips by the end of 2014 identification to an unity signed on Friday in Beijing with a Chinese depart agency and Netherlands-based space tourism positive Function Trek Party (SXC). Travelers movement pay a least of 580,000 yuan (about 95,000 U.S.dollars) to apartment the Lynx Sprint I spacecraft bent by the U.S. individual aerospace crew XCOR, believed Zhang Yong, foremost manager executive of Dexo Supervisor, a Chinese depart agency focusing on high-end travelers. Participants movement manufacture one week of bodily schooling at Kingdom Dutch Airlines or Air France prior their space alter, believed Zhang.
"The spaceship in words of one syllable carries one hiker, who sits in the co-pilot hem in, and a pilot astronaut," he believed.
"The spaceship arrives in slight space 60 report after its fancy and movement fly in space for 20 report when the hiker enjoys the pertain to of the earth and space," he believed.
The Lynx Sprint I spacecraft, which is physical to familiarize flights in the fourth topic of 2014, movement run participants into sub-space to a peak of 60 km. The Lynx Sprint II spacecraft, which is physical to launch flights in 2015, movement run participants into space to a peak of 103 km, believed Alex Nibble, CEO of SXC Asia.
A finish of 100 travelers movement apartment the Lynx Sprint I. Offer movement be no quota for the distribution of participants on the Lynx Sprint II, believed Nibble.
As Chinese patrons run disallowed astonishing stare in space trips, SXC has aloof at smallest possible six spots for Chinese on the Lynx Sprint I, he believed.
The spacecraft is constructed of dainty reserves and is powered by relaxed bio-fuels and reusable shoot up propulsion. The engines are predestined for supervisor than 5,000 flights, preferably of with the sole purpose one, which is a signpost in the history of shoot up advent, according to the SXC certified website.
Credit: peopledaily.com.cn
- We are accustomed to the fact that the Moon is Earth's satellite. But will it always be the case? According to Gennady Raykunov, General Director of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, the Moon may eventually leave the Earth's orbit and become an independent planet. In this case, the Earth will turn into a lifeless desert. Full story:http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/28-06-2011/118331-moon earth-0/
* Giant Underground Chamber Found on Moon By India's Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft... Some Say Moon Photos Show Signs of Alien Life... Doomsday Ark' to be Housed on the Moon -A Remote Access Toolkit to Rebuild the Human Race... VIDEO: Strange building found on Google Moon... Mini Magnetic Shield Found on the Moon... Tunnels on moon can habitate humans... STRANGE ANOMALY DISCOVERED ON MOON IN NASA PHOTO:http://cristiannegureanu.blogspot.com/2011/03/giant-underground-chamber-found-on-moon.html
U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, which oversees commercial space transportation as well as regular aviation matters, granted SPACEX (SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES) the one-year license on November 22, 2010.In the "SPACE.COM" article, it was mentioned that the FAA has issued 200+ license for commercial launches, but this is the first approval for a commercial re-entry operation. This allows SPACEX to now test its DRAGON space capsule (that is launched by SPACEX FALCON 9 booster into low-earth orbit). This will officially the the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft from orbit. First attempt to fly the DRAGON space capsule and recover it will take place as early as December 7, 2010. If this demo mission is successful, then SPACEX will begin making regular cargo-delivery missions to the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS). Their fixed-price contract is quoted as having a value of 1.6 billion. The first missions will be unmanned". Space.com "SpaceX Receives FAA License to Return Private Spaceships From Earth Orbit" By Mike Wall. November 23, 2010. (http://www.space.com/news/spacex-faa-license-private-spaceship-reentry-101122.html).
On Saturday, April 6, 2013 at WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, NASA commercial partner Orbital Sciences Corporation rolled out the first fully-integrated Antares rocket to Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A, in preparation for its inaugural flight set for Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 5pm.
"WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE ANTARES ROLL OUT TODAY, WE ARE ON A CLEAR PATH TO A LAUNCH DATE OF APRIL 17, PROVIDED THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER DISRUPTIONS OR MAJOR VEHICLE CHECK-OUT DELAYS BETWEEN NOW AND THEN," said Mr. Michael Pinkston, Orbital's Antares Program Manager. "BY LATER TODAY, THE ANTARES ROCKET WILL BE IN A VERTICAL POSITION AND FULLY INTEGRATED WITH THE LAUNCH MOUNT ON THE MARS PAD."
The Antares test flight, dubbed the A-ONE mission, is the first of two missions Orbital is scheduled to conduct in 2013 under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement with NASA. NASA initiatives like COTS are helping develop a robust U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low-Earth orbit.
Following a successful A-ONE launch, Orbital will carry out a full flight demonstration of its new Antares/Cygnus cargo delivery system to the International Space Station (ISS) around mid-year. In addition, the company is also scheduled to launch the first of eight operational cargo resupply missions to the ISS in 2013 under a 1.9-billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.
All COTS and CRS flights will originate from NASA's WFF and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority launch pad, which is geographically well suited for ISS missions and can also accommodate launches of scientific, defense and commercial satellites to other orbits.
The Antares medium-class launch system will provide a major increase in the payload launch capability that Orbital can provide to NASA, the U.S. Air Force and other customers. The Antares rocket will launch spacecraft weighing up to 14,000 lbs. into low-Earth orbit, as well as lighter-weight payloads into higher-energy orbits.
More from "ALAN BOYLE AT COSMIC LOG" and "STEPHEN CLARK AT SPACEFLIGHTNOW". Also, "SPACEFLIGHTNOW" has grand photos.
SKY IS NO LONGER THE LIMIT" were the draft of Sir Richard Branson being he saw his own helpful spacecraft landed. Sir Richard Branson's visualize of helpful space be carried is a step nearer to reality as the world's first helpful spacecraft took its first trip on Sunday. Flying over California's Mojave Chuck, the flight was a be thinking about test directive between purely the pilots on mandate.
According to Virgin Galactic, Branson's dynasty which is trailing the project, the spacecraft, VSS Dealing, elatedly perfect the test flight. Introduction from a mothership, VSS Dealing flew at an glassy of 45,000 feet (13,700 METERS). "NOW, THE SKY IS NO LONGER THE LIMIT, AND WE STRENGTH OF MIND GET GOING THE APPROACH OF PUSHING HIGHER THAN TO THE FINAL STRIPE OF SPACE ITSELF OVER THE NEXT BLIND DATE," Branson assumed.
According to the company's the latest, Branson has assumed that it was one of the most hard time in the olive history of Virgin. "I WATCHED THE WORLD'S FIRST MANNED HELPFUL SPACESHIP LANDING ON THE RAMP AT MOJAVE AIR AND BECOME KNOWN QUAY AND IT WAS A VAST INSTANT," the 60 blind date old mogul assumed.
Huge planning were finished for Sunday's test flight. The mothership, Eve, ship the VSS Dealing, flew 40 period prior. Sunday test flight was fertile between all the goals met. The two basic detached were to have a meal a large and renovate release from mothership, Eve, and a smooth glide speculate to its induction pad in Souther California. The test flight too consign as verify for the command, stalling, ask for, and systems scrutiny with and after.
In its executive the latest, the dynasty assumed "VIRGIN GALACTIC IS NOW WELL ON THE WAY TO TOADYING THE WORLD'S FIRST HELPFUL SPACE LINE BETWEEN 370 FINANCIER DEPOSITS ADDING TOGETHER 50 MILLION". For a lot bookings, Virgin Galactic envisions a one flight a week, between six tourists aboard, era. Passengers strength of mind pay 200,000 for the awful allot -- ride and go running for at negligible three time with departure. Promptly, about 80,000 names are written on the waiting list for spaces.
Branson was quoted earlier saying "WHAT I WRETCHED TO BE ABLE TO DO IS DEVELOP SPACE BE CARRIED DOWN TO A QUOTATION EXTENT WHERE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GENUS WOULD BE ABLE TO PREFERENCE SPACE, AND THEY NEVER DREAMED THAT [THEY"] MIGHT".
Be winning Pete Siebold and co-pilot Mike Alsbury manned the Virgin Galactic spaceship on Sunday. "THE VSS DEALING WAS A REAL JOY TO FLY, EVEN MORE BEING ONE CONSIDERS THE FACT THAT THE TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN CERTAIN NOT PURELY TO BE A MACH 3.5 SPACESHIP MILD OF DEPARTURE IN THE FIELD OF SPACE BUT TOO ONE OF THE WORLDS FASTEST GLASSY GLIDERS." Siebold assumed, according to the company's the latest.
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was innate in July 18, 1950 at Blackheath, London, England. He is a entrepreneur best exact for Virgin group of over 360 ventures. Branson was named 212th richerst person in the world in Forbes 2009 list of billionaires. He has an predictable net assets of about lb2.97 billion (US4.0 BILLION).
Virgin Galactic is Virgins Followers owned chance. The dynasty aims to pay for helpful sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights to the paying group.
Source: mysteries-and-strangeness.blogspot.com
The clearest have control over on Mars found so far. It has a metal blade or zip embedded in the jaw clean. (humble mandible) Information of later instinctive life and hunting by wise Martians no less. It is the have control over of a herbivore. Imaginably costume a dinosaur or visceral that was required and killed at sure episode in the later. May well this belong to the famous "Mars leg clean" found recently? May well be!This is a sunny representation of what is whatsoever in the same way as the vagrant takes a clasp up image. It was not precisely to things the detail out of this photo - atypical most we get from the Odd thing Traveler. This is the adjoining / wide specimen so far. Undeniable as far as I am Jump by ArtAlienTV on September 10th and published on October 3rd 2014. SEE Limb 1 HERE: annotations motto this is equitable a rock will be immature as it is not add-on anything to the debate on this image was engaged by Mastcam: Appropriate (MAST RIGHT) onboard NASA's Mars vagrant Odd thing on Sol 732 (2014-08-28 05:23:21 UTC). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS DOWNLOAD Aid MUSIC HERE:
WILMINGTON, Mass. - Work on the heat shield for NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle - America's next-generation spacecraft that could transport astronauts on missions to Mars - is on track toward an ambitious test launch in 2014.
Since spring, teams of engineers and technicians from Massachusetts-based Textron Defense Systems have been meticulously applying Avcoat, a proprietary thermal ablation and insulation material, to the heat shield, which will protect the Orion capsule and its crew from the extreme heat generated during high-speed re-entry into the atmosphere after a deep-space flight.
Two reporters for SPACE.com and other members of the media received a sneak peek of the heat shield on Wednesday (July 17) during a press viewing here at Textron's manufacturing plant. Officials and managers from NASA, Lockheed Martin (the prime contractor for the Orion program) and Textron were on hand to answer questions about the project from the nearly 100 people gathered at the plant. [See Photos of Orion's Heat Shield]
The Orion vehicle is scheduled for launch into space without a crew in September of 2014 as part of its Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). The maiden flight will evaluate the system design and performance of the spacecraft, which is intended to send humans on future explorations of an asteroid, the moon and, ultimately, Mars.
At 16.4 feet (5 meters) in diameter, the Orion heat shield is the largest and most advanced composite heat shield ever built. Textron originally developed the lightweight Avcoat ablative material in the 1960s for use on the Apollo command module.
This view shows a bare honeycomb structure and one that has been filled with Avcoat using Textron's "gunning" process.
Credit: Edwin L. Aguirre and Imelda B. JosonView full size image
Made of epoxy novolac resin in a fiberglass honeycomb matrix, Avcoat works by "burning off" as it heats up, dissipating thermal energy away from the capsule's structure. The material had a 100 percent success rate during the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs, safely leading astronauts to 15 ocean splashdowns, and was thus chosen for the job of protecting Orion and its future crews as they head off to destinations never before visited by humans.
"Avcoat is the only man-rated ablative material that exists today," Ian Walsh, Textron Defense System's senior vice president and general manager, told SPACE.com. "We are proud to provide this state-of-the-art technology to NASA and help the country push the boundary of space exploration to the next level with our thermal protection material."
After Textron completes applying the Avcoat, the shield will be flown down to Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it will be mated to the bottom of the Orion crew module for its 2014 orbital test flight.
This artist's concept shows the Orion crew module during its planned orbital test flight in 2014. Orion is the world's first interplanetary spacecraft, capable of transporting up to four astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit on long-duration, deep-space missions to destinations such as asteroids, the moon, or Mars.
Credit: NASAView full size image
During this mission, the Orion capsule will be boosted atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Base to a distance of nearly 3,700 miles (6,000 km) from Earth - farther than any spacecraft built for humans has traveled since Apollo 17 in 1972.
After completing two orbits, Orion's heat shield will be put to the test as the spacecraft plunges back to Earth, reaching speeds of up to 20,000 miles per hour (32,000 km/h) - faster than the space shuttle or any current spacecraft. The shield must be able to withstand temperatures up to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,300 degrees Celsius), more than half the surface temperature of the sun, as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere.
Unlike the space shuttle, which landed on a runway like a commercial jetliner, the Orion capsule will parachute back to Earth Apollo-style, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
If all tests go well, Orion's first full-scale but unmanned flight is expected to take place in 2017, during which the spacecraft will be launched on top of NASA's new Space Launch System.
Source
The human highway to Mars must lay ended consistent advent of space technologies on asteroids and on the Moon. This seat expressed the Be foremost of RSC Energia Vitaly Lopota and head of Lavochkin Edict Viktor Khartov at the Korolyov Readings in Bauman Moscow Make a clean breast Profound University on Tuesday. According to Lopota, in the adjoining significantly, Mars would be a supremacy in lexis of colonization and research. The trend map of Mars exploration contemplates two scenarios: to dive it ended an asteroid and in addition to ended the Moon, or dissoluteness versa. "The expedient way is to flash technology deliberate for Mars, to use the Moon for dreadful the sought after technologies, and the asteroids are a want that we must still be able to picture in case of threat," the fine noted.
Lavochkin is in tariff of the landing course of the Russian-European ExoMars project, Khartov believed.
"We are creating a two-tonne landing course for this shoot. It drive conveyance a 3,000-kilogram European vagrant to the edge of Mars," he believed. The shoot starts in 2018, Khartov noted.
Khartov believes that first type must understand how to detect soil from Mars and its satellite Phobos. According to the plan announced by the scientist, the Flop project must indicator the important topic of bringing soil from Phobos: a space move delivers on the satellite of Mars a lander that takes soil samples and "shoots upwards a capsule amongst soil", which is picked up by substitute space move present-day Phobos that sends it to Terrestrial.
ExoMars vagrant. Credit: ESA
The scientist additional that this organization is almost the in the past few minutes physically possible one to solve the run of bringing Military soil to Terrestrial.
The deed of the Flop project is calculated for covering 2020. This project is the first post of a above worldwide plan dubbed Pursue M, which is custom for inaugurate in 2024. It is calculated to goods on Mars a fly-back rocket that would put popular sphere a capsule amongst soil to be picked up by substitute space move and brought to Terrestrial.
Khartov equally recalled that up from 2016, Russia would establish its Moon program that must consequence in bringing Moon soil to Terrestrial.
WORLD'S Biggest Heighten
Russia's Roscosmos space agency is to look into government conspiracy to numeral the world's leading rocket, its head believed Tuesday.
"I be incorporated that in the present-day significantly, inwards a month, we drive concoct our suggestions to the Military-Industrial Lawsuit," Oleg Ostapenko believed.
Ostapenko, who was ordained head of the agency in October, believed the calculated launcher would be able to lift 80 metric masses popular low Terrestrial sphere.
It could equally be upgraded to inaugurate as furthest as 160 masses, which would be the heaviest payload one lifted by a matchless rocket popular space.
The current declaration vessel, NASA's Saturn V rocket that was second hand to inaugurate Apollo astronauts on their crossing to the moon, had a crest volume of 120 metric masses.
Roscosmos twisted a working group last appointment to indicator proposals for a heavy-lift rocket, by way of the recovery of the Energia launcher, the chief payload rocket perpetually built in the grandeur.
The Energia, full-grown in the Soviet League and launched spitting image, was cancelled by means of the fiscal hitch twenty excitement ago.
Experts investigate such excessive rockets to be band for manned Mars or booming space missions, however they are likely to be uneconomical for small business payloads that can be launched on presented rockets.
NASA is at the present farmhouse a new super-heavy rocket, the Spot Fire Idea, that drive equally make your mark in two variants proficient of spine-tingling 70 and 130 masses popular sphere. The first test flight of the less significant reproduction is custom for 2017.
Russia's leading presented rocket, the Proton, can inaugurate payloads of up to 20 masses. The modular Angara rocket is equally under advent and comes in numerous versions, the leading of which is calculated to give up up to 40 masses popular sphere.
Chinaware is reportedly bearing in mind construction of its own super-heavy rocket, the Want Support 9, for a manned lunar shoot.
Roscosmos is equally working amongst aerospace enterprises on the opening of radar spacecraft, which the Russian group at the present does not be the owner of, Ostapenko believed.
"Radar arranged is a very primary and soothing area. Unluckily, we do not be the owner of such capabilities in our orbital spacecraft group. we are now willingly contacting a quantity of enterprises to work on this run," he believed.
The thought in the midst of the Roscosmos objective and gathering of the selling took yard numerous soul ago, he believed. Nonetheless, Ostapenko did not stamp the enterprises amongst which thought are being thought on this run.
RUSSIA Might GO IT Mislaid On one occasion ISS CLOSES
According to Lopota, the Russian piece of the International Spot Boundary marker could live on as a separate installation after the project's precise.
"By the mid-2020s our American colleagues drive be the owner of whacked their profound resources and Russia drive be the owner of a dissimilar try to use the piece, regular to be ended, as an orbiting international port," Lopota believed.
He additional that the long-delayed Russian Useful Laboratory Module would in the past few minutes be ended in 2018-2020.
Russian officials be the owner of in the farther suggested their piece could be individual and operated alone of the ISS as the Associate States had previously considered short-lived the project as little as 2016.
But closer this month US Be foremost Barack Obama vowed to cargo space the American piece operational until 2024.
Lopota believed the Russian piece could regular be individual at that time, such as its first modules drive prior to be above than 20 excitement old, to spoon out as a transit rank for international missions headed deeper popular space.
VENUS Command
As to the Venus shoot on which Lavochkin is working, Khartov believed, "the Venera-D spacecraft drive be launched after 2020". A Proton-M inaugurate move drive mail the spacecraft to the skies.
The Venera-D spacecraft looming clouds-veiled Venus. Dazed building was in the past few minutes one of numerous designs envisioned at the precise of the project's explanation age in September 2009. Credit: russianspaceweb.com
Temperatures are high, covering 500 degrees Celsius, on the edge of Venus, which means "the spacecraft drive be the owner of to be on your feet the planetary edge provisions for about 24 hours," he believed.
Venera-D's prime diligence is to concoct radar remote-sensing interpretation re the planet Venus in a sort flush to that of the Venera 15 and Venera 16 probes in the 1980s or the U.S. Magellan in the 1990s, but amongst the use of above concentrated radar. The spacecraft is equally calculated to map significantly landing sites.
Credit: interfax.com, ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosti
From behind the Science paywall: Search for Martian Life Clears Another Hurdle
Members of the Curiosity Mars rover's science team have announced a milestone in their search for signs of ancient life on Mars. After carefully checking recent results, the researchers said last week at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference here, they are now reasonably confident that contaminants brought from Earth cannot entirely explain certain carbon compounds Curiosity spotted in martian rock.
If so, these simple organic compounds-chlorine-carrying methane and the like-either came with the tons of never-alive cosmic debris that sifts onto every planetary body or are something far more exciting: remains of martian life from eons ago, when a habitable lake and a rushing stream graced the rover's now-dry landing site.The big question is did Mars have enough surface, or near surface water for life to evolve, the way it did on earth? If so, traces are likely to remain somewhere; the question is where. Even more tantalizingly, if it evolved on the surface, there's some chance that some of it adapted to life deep in the subsurface, the way it has on earth.
To reach that conclusion, scientists had to clear some daunting hurdles. First, they had to account for the effects of perchlorate, a corrosive, oxidizing compound that is pervasive on Mars and, when heated, can chew up any complex organic matter into little bits (Science, 12 April 2013, p. 138). They also had to reckon with known sources of contamination in Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument package (Science, 31 August 2012, p. 1032). A chemical reagent brought along for future analyses of organics had somehow leaked into the system, and gases driven off soil and rock samples were reacting with a polymer used to prepare compounds for identification by mass spectrometry. As a result, the rover was making its own organics, including the small chlorinated methanes and the sizable compound chlorobenzene.As a practicing analytical chemist, looking at trace metals in some of the most dilute and difficult medium, seawater, I sympathize with the chemists who had to sort out the contributions of an inadvertent leak of the same chemicals that they were trying to measure using a special purpose machine built for the purpose located millions of miles from the workers.
To sort out which of the device's detections are truly martian, the team instructed SAM to run blanks: analyses made with empty sample vials. They flushed both blanks and real samples with inert gas and warmed them to drive off the contaminating reagent. On Earth, they ran samples containing known organics through a SAM apparatus under Mars-like conditions. And on the rover, they tried experiments such as analyzing samples three times as big as normal to see whether the yield of particular organics would triple as well.
At the meeting, Caroline Freissinet and Daniel Glavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a score of fellow SAM team members reported that the latest results are persuasive. The new findings offer "compelling" evidence that some of the carbon-containing compounds SAM recently detected such as chlorinated methane, ethane, and propane came from organic matter in ancient martian rock, not from earthly contamination, Freissinet said. And Glavin said that other results are "a good indication" that some of the chlorobenzene is martian as well. Or as one of his slides pointedly put it: "The detection of reduced organic compounds in Martian near-surface samples is a significant step."
Add caption
Sounds promising; I'm a little curious why they chose the chlorinated organic compounds for study. Chlorinated organic compounds aren't terribly common in terrestrial (in the planetary sense) organisms, though they certainly exist, but in a strong oxidizing environment with perchlorate present, they can be created from the perchlorate. Shouldn't they be looking for the kinds of compounds left by terrestrial organisms, the melange of compounds we call petroleum?
Some experts outside the 400-strong Curiosity team are more guarded. "The case for a martian source of carbon builds," responded meteoriticist Mark Sephton of Imperial College London by e-mail. He was not at the meeting but read the four pages of abstracts describing the results.
The case could build further if Curiosity strikes a richer vein of organic matter in future samples. Or SAM team members could try a more sophisticated technique to separate out the organic compounds in rock before the pervasive oxidizing agent chews them up. The next opportunity to drill a new sample will come within a few months when Curiosity is likely to pause on its way to its ultimate target, Mount Sharp.Alas, we're probably not talking about finding Princess Thuvia's and John Carter's descendents.
Wombat-socho has the the long awaited, post tax day, triple stuffed edition of "Rule 5 Sunday: Ricochet" up at The Other McCain.
Researchers have calculated that carbon dioxide snow particles on Mars are roughly the size of a human red blood cell. Martian snow is depicted in this artist's rendering as a mist or fog that eventually settles to the surface.
Source: NBCNews.com
A SPACECRAFT ORBITING MARS HAS DETECTED CARBON DIOXIDE SNOW FALLING ON THE RED PLANET, MAKING MARS THE ONLY BODY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM KNOWN TO HOST THIS WEIRD WEATHER PHENOMENON.
The snow on Mars fell from clouds around the planet's south pole during the Martian winter spanning 2006 and 2007, with scientists discovering it only after sifting through observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The Martian south pole hosts a frozen carbon dioxide - or "dry ice" - cap year-round, and the new discovery may help explain how it formed and persists, researchers said.
"These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds," lead author Paul Hayne of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide - flakes of Martian air - and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface."
The find means Mars hosts two different kinds of snowfall. In 2008, NASA's Phoenix lander observed water-ice snow - the stuff we're familiar with here on Earth - falling near the Red Planet's north pole.
Hayne and his team studied data gathered by MRO's Mars Climate Sounder instrument during the Red Planet's southern winter in 2006-2007. This instrument measures brightness in nine different wavelengths of visible and infrared light, allowing scientists to learn key characteristics of the particles and gases in the Martian atmosphere, such as their sizes and concentrations.
The research team examined measurements the Mars Climate Sounder made while looking at clouds - including one behemoth 300 miles (500 kilometers) wide - from directly overhead, and from off to the side. These combined observations clearly revealed dry-ice snow falling through the Red Planet's skies, researchers said.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface. Deposits of small particles of carbon-dioxide ice are formed by snowfall from carbon-dioxide clouds. This map shows the distribution of small-grain carbon-dioxide ice deposits formed by snowfall over Mars' south polar cap. It is based on infrared measurements by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
"One line of evidence for snow is that the carbon-dioxide ice particles in the clouds are large enough to fall to the ground during the lifespan of the clouds," said co-author David Kass, also of JPL. "Another comes from observations when the instrument is pointed toward the horizon, instead of down at the surface."
"The infrared spectra signature of the clouds viewed from this angle is clearly carbon-dioxide ice particles, and they extend to the surface," Kass added. "By observing this way, the Mars Climate Sounder is able to distinguish the particles in the atmosphere from the dry ice on the surface."
Astronomers still aren't entirely sure how the dry ice sustaining Mars' south polar cap - the only place where frozen carbon dioxide exists year-round on the planet's surface - is deposited. It could come from snowfall, or the stuff may freeze out of the air at ground level, researchers said.
[...]
at: msnbc.msn.com
NASA Report Surprise - Legislative body OF WORLDS AT WAR RE Air DELAYS
http://www.weather.com/news/science/space/nasa-antares-rocket-explodes-launch-attempt-20141028?cm ven=FB SCI JB 102814 18 The power boat was scheduled for 6:22 p.m. ET and aired on a live draft of NASA-TV. The spacecraft was rapture 5,000 pounds of stuff to the Global Broadcast Camp. NASA says exhibit may be "decisive" put down dishonest but first indications show no rod were harm. It is oblique what difficulties led to the burst. NASA tweeted a photo of the rocket honest minutes early the burst. [and from choice] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810128/Ready-liftoff-Nighttime-rocket-launch-International-Space-Station-visible-East-Coast.html Wheel power boat is divide up of 1.9bn breed contract to power boat cargo to space station. Engineers said exhibit were no problems reported early the power boat, and say they squeeze 'no first indications' of what went inexact. The unmanned Antares rocket spring for the ISS explodes honest six seconds after influence in a brilliant fireball. Orbital Sciences' administration imperfection take precedence Sincere Culbertson said the apparition carried protection on the mission, which he love at condescending than 200 million, not with remodel costs. The burst hit Orbital Science's account, which crush condescending than 15 percent in after-hours trading. Qualifications for the power boat were skillful - but as it gone the launchpad, the rocket exploded. The smash could draw psychotherapy to the space agency's budding loyalty on breed U.S. companies in the post-shuttle era. NASA is paying billions of dollars to Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and the California-based SpaceX apparition to sort station deliveries. It was the fourth Cygnus spring for the orbiting lab; the first flew honest over a appointment ago. SpaceX is scheduled to power boat choice Dragon harvest ship from Wrap Canaveral, Florida, in December. [and from choice] http://www.nasa.gov/mission pages/station/structure/launch/orbital.html#.VFCzWBb4pPZ The Orbital Sciences Crowd Antares rocket, amid the Cygnus spacecraft onboard suffers a shattering abnormality moments after power boat from the Mid-Atlantic Area Spaceport Pad 0A, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Journey Moving parts in Virginia. SOZT The same as caused this affected explosion? Both Orbital Sciences and Broadcast X squeeze conducted successful launches, and the Antares rocket being hand-me-down is not new. The mission seemed indistinctive, a resupply management. We squeeze commented on power boat failures in the US, Russia, and by the ESA over the following few days, and confident the reasons http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/30ag2014.htm these launches were blocked. They were to be hand-me-down to intimidate from space, to spy on desolate migrants, or to increase an leave arrived space for the opt for. Was this latest NASA misfortune blocked for a alike reason? The opt for - the rolling in it and politically moving in the world - squeeze continued in their attempts to hamper the announcement by Obama and his partners admitting that Nibiru, aka Dirt X exists. We squeeze yearn affirmed that the announcement date was set by Obama and Xi at their June 7, 2013 gathering in Santa Monica. The panic-stricken insert detailed by the French Curious High priest on May 13, 2014 re "500 living http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/17ma2014.htm until endure clamor" was in remark to this, as the date set was to be 500 living therefore, ie October 20, 2014. Gift was an specific test of the EBS system http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/2014/10/24/att-uverse-emergency-alert-white-house-fema/17855431/ on October 18, 2014, designed to smooth out any long drawn out saboteurs that could pull out or counter the announcement. Now it has been announced that the Snowy Convention has been under cyber attack http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/white-house-hacked n 6065166.html for the following two weeks, a time of time get ready arrived October 20 and the living last. This latest power boat misfortune is a clear and pointed seminar to the opt for to bring to a close their hazard to refrain from the consistent man from mature what the opt for warn - that Nibiru has participating in and choice pavement is out of action. The Legislative body of Worlds considers this to be WAR vs. the selfish elements among the opt for who are through their concept about the out of action pavement to hold on to their preferential positions instance preventing the consistent man from opportunity to provision amid what is in their in the region of upshot. These opt for should expect condescending than ignition launches, in their upshot. EOZT Ahead 2014 ZT: http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/30ag2014.htm We squeeze warned the foundation in the following on which of their deeds are recital counter to the Legislative body of Worlds edicts. They are reside of ZetaTalk, at the disc levels, but clasp perception they can boor seer aliens. - The US Military was warned via ZetaTalk in 2010 bearing in mind their Falcon HTV-2 was to be hand-me-down for hazard from space, US world power from space. That the Army's Matured Hypersonic Puncture power boat from Alaska should miscarry in 2014 should suitably be no understand. - The same as was the ESA up to amid their 2014 power boat of a GPS bout network for the EU? Europe has plentiful mass departure issues. Flaw all satellites in the network, the network cannot juncture as physical, and suitably the 2014 warning. - NASA was warned in 2009 and once more in 2011 bearing in mind they had power boat failures on their Glory satellite which supposedly was to stick to endure distress. The real agenda was to stick to mass departure so as to impede and slaughter them early they could nearly the US. - The Russian foundation was warned in 2012 bearing in mind the Telekom-3 was full of activity down, a power boat that was regularly tried by the Russians amid the fantastically effect. - The opt for are goal on an leave to Mars but squeeze regularly been told via ZetaTalk, as they were most barely in 2013 re a SpaceX assignment, that this goes vs. an offer Legislative body of Worlds order. That their 2014 power boat of a Falcon 9 Reusable rocket spoiled to power boat should suitably be no understand. The opt for must go on with amid the consistent man they so abhor during the opportunity Bore Action. See Bonus
Seeing is believing. Our distinct visions of space exploration call for else a trustable vision system. Uncommonness nomad snapping dozens of pictures the entire day is skilled to see the Red Gravel in dissimilar way than the human eye. Useless to say, human vision is skillfully adapted to the finicky environment put on on Sphere. "The exploration of Mars momentum call for drastically dissimilar qualities of the vision system when of each the Mars atmospheric properties and the span of things that this vision system momentum longing to be able to see." Yosef Akhtman of the Swiss Central Birth of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) told astrowatch.net. "In particular by an RGB camera, which was full-grown to imitate human vision on Sphere is a bit organic and far from optimum." Akhtman momentum give a declare on Sept. 7 with reference to adaptive vision system for extraterrestrial exploration at the European Mars Gossip (EMC) that momentum capture give in Podzamcze, Poland.
Akhtman is the go wrong and the Chief Executive Authorized of VISNX - an unpolluted Swiss start-up home in the authority of optical sensing. He is the writer of a quantity of inventions, one paperback and a cut above than forty industrial papers, across the subjects of information theory, representative robotics and remote ordinary sensing.
Akhtman points out that vision, and the star of color in particular, is a very untrustworthy, contextual nation-state that has evolved over billions of rendezvous to abet the requirements of the many private in a very highly-flavored, but skillfully particular form. Bees sport their vision system optimized for navigation and suggestion about plant life. The vision of a variety of mammals is optimized for the sensing of stagger at the arraign of the less than geared up color information. Game birds see a cut above dissimilar costume than humans, which is credibly optimized for their snatched way of life. Yet innovative private close by the mantis shrimp get the impression up to twelve dissimilar ethereal bands.
Copious of today's imaging technologies are hypothetical to do an impression of the capabilities of the human vision. The intention of these systems is to say color information in a way that would service seal off imitation - "real color" that would resemble the new object each time observed by humans.
"We don't yet have an effect what is it honestly that we momentum longing to turn up for on Mars and in that case we cannot stand an highly-flavored still vision system in mail. That is the acquit that the adaptive be as tall as that we are olive at VISNX has so furthest entitlement in my the way you are seen." Akhtman thought. "We sport full-grown a fundamentally dissimilar vision system that can be dynamically reconfigured to meeting imaging data that is optimized for the finicky surroundings. In particular, the ethereal character of the premeditated imaging system may be in the swing of things in post running to maximize the informational pleased of data poised."
He promote that the premeditated vision system opens new and violent agree for optical sensing each on Sphere and other planets including the exploration of Mars being the clear and down-to-earth petition.
Overcome including the EMC, an international Mars nomad game momentum be secured - the European Wanderer Kindle. The awaken among analogues of Mars rovers is a battle for teams of students and recent former students of finer thinking institutions, who, including the decent of their intensity, try to first design and piece together and as a consequence authority the best nomad. The nucleus of the awaken are four clever tasks: a science essay among obtaining and analyzing samples, a "sunshade" navigation essay, in which the listings momentum sport to be in front the nomad to a adjoin destination by just GPS coordinates and no camera go in, and two industriousness everyday jobs that momentum call for by and repairing apparatus. By means of all of the everyday jobs, the teams momentum sport to control their rovers without seeing them non-discriminatory.
Asked about what momentum be the most basis to win the battle, Akhtman, who was the clue developer of the control software for the Southampton Self-regulating Gaunt Glass case, which took the 1st give at the SAUC-E battle in 2007 (sauc-europe.org), said: "I consider adaptability and aloofness of each hardware and software is very basis. I am a big aficionada of deceased, asynchronous control architecture. These living you sport just the thing platforms, such as ROS (ros.org) that are adjoining plug-n-play, so you don't longing to stand such software from cut the way we did in 2007. From my wonder in these types of challenges, it is very haunt for the comprehensive system to surpass when of an expected flop of a low down, but critical cut up. The awaken for the developers is to consider control and adopt any entitlement mild links and flop points."
Astrowatch.net is the credited media shopper of the European Wanderer Kindle battle and the European Mars Gossip.
Story tuned for a cut above updates!
ISS astronauts Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furukawa unveiled the wily humanoid wile called Robonaut for opening worry of its electronics. Robonaut is an endeavor amid NASA and Main Motors to work robotic technology and capabilities for approaching space exploration platforms. Robonaut demonstrates that a wily robot can instate and become in a space hew, name-calling mechanisms in a microgravity region, become for an extended immovable confidential the space region, take care of by means of responsibilities, and, in due course, narrate by means of the whoop it up members.Too late Robonaut is a team of NASA and Main Motors engineers, the youngest of whom was ADAM SANDERS, who graduated from Wise Territory Metropolitan Schools in 2002 and the Academy OF VIRGINIA in 2006 by means of a B.S. in visual display unit engineering. Sanders, who hide for GM, is "the instruct doer for the human-machine opportunity and use coaching program. He is the heyday planner for the influence provision monitoring and control hardware, firmware, and software for the robot."
Reference: space-wanderers.blogspot.com
NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers fix installed the largest warmhearted protect habitually constructed on the crew section of the agency's Orion spacecraft. The work line a source radical on the lessons in the direction of the spacecraft's first institute in December. "It is very tormenting to see the warmhearted protect in align, unfashionable to do its job," whispered Boil Geyer, Orion Rules manager at NASA's Johnson Fail Focus in Houston. "The warmhearted protect is such a fault-finding section, not quadrangle for this give instructions, but for our procedure to passion humans in the field of powerful space." The warmhearted protect is complete of a coating called Avcoat, which burns whisper as it heats up in a train called ablation to benefit the free of heroic temperatures to the crew section. The Avcoat is interior along with a silvery kind tape that protects the squeeze from the heroic cold temperatures of space.
Orion's flight test, or Rummage Migration Test-1, will collapse engineers along with data about the warmhearted shield's capability to marmalade Orion and its intentional crews from the 4,000-degree warmhearted of reentry and an marine splashdown resultant the spacecraft's 20,000-mph reentry from space.
Best gathered now the flight will inform decisions about design improvements on the warmhearted protect and other Orion systems, and strengthen presented machine models and new approaches to space systems design and take forward. This train is fault-finding to falling all in all risks and order of intentional Orion missions -- missions that will boast exploring an asteroid and Mars.
Orion's flight test too will collapse significant data for the agency's Fail Naming Exercise (SLS) pyrotechnics and marine regeneration of Orion. Engineers at NASA's Marshall Fail Migration Focus in Huntsville, Alabama, fix built an top-quality adapter to connect Orion to the Tied Naming Mob Delta IV Lashing pyrotechnics that will institute the spacecraft now the December test. The adapter too will be hand-me-down now intentional SLS missions. NASA's Rest Systems Compound and Operations Rules, based at Kennedy Fail Focus in Florida, will recover the Orion crew section along with the U.S. Navy after its splashdown in the Conciliatory Ocean.
The warmhearted protect was put on at Lockheed Martin's Waterton Position bar Denver. Production was extreme at Textron Espouse Systems bar Boston earlier the warmhearted protect was shipped to the Operations and Checkout Accommodation at Kennedy, somewhere Orion is being assembled.
In the coming months, the Orion crew and respect modules will be partner and put give instructions handy tests earlier the spacecraft is elated to Kennedy's Goods Impulsive Servicing Position for fueling. The spacecraft plus will be transferred to the Naming Abort Exercise (LAS) Position to be united to the LAS earlier world the lose your footing to Cliff Canaveral's Fail Naming Highbrow 37 for pad amalgamation and institute operations.
Credit: NASA
