The International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
SPACEX DRAGON HEADS INTO SPACE AND THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
The Launch of SpaceX Dragon
KSC-2012-2897 (22 May 2012) --- The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into space from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012, carrying the Dragon capsule to orbit. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, Program. During the flight, the Dragon will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA
NASA RELEASES MARS ROVER IMAGE
NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity catches its own late-afternoon shadow in this dramatically lit view eastward across Endeavour Crater on Mars. The rover used the panoramic camera (Pancam) between about 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. local Mars time to record images taken through different filters and combined into this mosaic view. Most of the component images were recorded during the 2,888th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (March 9, 2012). At that time, Opportunity was spending low-solar-energy weeks of the Martian winter at the Greeley Haven outcrop on the Cape York segment of Endeavour's western rim. In order to give the mosaic a rectangular aspect, some small parts of the edges of the mosaic and sky were filled in with parts of an image acquired earlier as part of a 360-degree panorama from the same location. Opportunity has been studying the western rim of Endeavour Crater since arriving there in August 2011. This crater spans 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, or about the same area as the city of Seattle. This is more than 20 times wider than Victoria Crater, the largest impact crater that Opportunity had previously examined. The interior basin of Endeavour is in the upper half of this view. The mosaic combines about a dozen images taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The view is presented in false color to make some differences between materials easier to see, such as the dark sandy ripples and dunes on the crater's distant floor. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
SPACEX DRAGON LIFTS OFF
The Launch of SpaceX Dragon
KSC-2012-2913 (22 May 2012) --- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Launch Complex-40 is ablaze as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program. During the flight, the Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA
Monday, May 28, 2012
SUNRISE IN SPACE STATION CUPOLA
FROM: NASA
Sunrise in Station Cupola
ISS031-E-062066 (6 May 2012) --- The International Space Station was over the central South Pacific about 240 miles northeast of the Marshall Islands when one of the Expedition 31 crew members positioned on the station's Cupola captured this image of the sun coming up.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
NASA RECEIVES WIDESPREAD CONCEPTS FOR FUTURE MARS MISSIONS
FROM: NASA
WASHINGTON -- NASA's call to scientists and engineers to help plan a
new strategy to explore Mars has resulted in almost double the amount
of expected submissions with unique and bold ideas.
About 400 concepts or abstracts were submitted to the Concepts and
Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston, which was
organized to gather input for the reformulation of NASA's Mars
Exploration Program. Submissions came from individuals and teams that
included professional researchers, undergraduate and graduate
students, NASA centers, federal laboratories, industry, and
international partner organizations.
NASA is reformulating the Mars Exploration Program to be responsive to
high-priority science goals and President Obama's challenge of
sending humans to Mars orbit in the 2030s.
"This strong response sends a clear message that exploring Mars is
important to future exploration," said John Grunsfeld, associate
administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's
headquarters in Washington and an astrophysicist and astronaut. "The
challenge now will be to select the best ideas for the next phase."
Selected abstracts will be presented during a workshop June 12-14
hosted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Selectees are
now being invited to present and discuss concepts, options,
capabilities and innovations to advance Mars exploration. Workshop
discussion will help inform a strategy for exploration within
available resources beginning as early as 2018, and stretching into
the next decade and beyond. Proceedings will be streamed live online.
"Developing abstracts is very time consuming, requiring intense
preparation, and we appreciate the fabulous response," said Doug
McCuistion, director, NASA's Mars Exploration Program in Washington.
"Even though space is limited, to ensure transparency in the process
anyone can observe the scientific and engineering deliberations via
the Web."
Based on the abstracts selected, associated working groups will
consider the ideas and concepts in depth during the workshop.
Near-term ideas will be taken into consideration for early mission
planning in the 2018-2024 timeframe, while mid- to longer-term ideas
will inform program-level architecture planning for 2026 and beyond.
The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG), tasked with developing options
for a reformulated Mars Exploration Program, will consider the
workshop inputs for the various options, taking into consideration
budgetary, programmatic, scientific, and technical constraints.
Options developed by the MPPG are expected to advance the science
objectives in the National Research Council's Planetary Science
Decadal Survey. The survey rated the return of Mars samples to Earth
as a top scientific goal. Developed in consultation with the
scientific and technical community, the MPPG report is expected to be
delivered for NASA review at the end of the summer.
The MPPG reports to Grunsfeld, who chairs the overall, agencywide
reformulation strategy along with William Gerstenmaier, associate
administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission
Directorate, NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati and NASA Chief
Technologist Mason Peck.
"Getting to Mars is hard," said Grunsfeld. "We've had successes and
losses, but the human spirit to continue exploring the Red Planet
prevails."
This August, NASA will land the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, on
the planet's surface. This roving science laboratory will assess
whether Mars was or is today an environment able to support life. In
2013, NASA will launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution
(MAVEN) orbiter, the first mission devoted to understanding the
Martian upper atmosphere.
Friday, May 25, 2012
ORS-1 BREAKING NEW GROUND
FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
1 SOPS stands up alternate ORS-1 ops floor
by Scott Prater
Schriever Sentinel
5/23/2012 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Operationally Responsive Space-1 has been breaking new ground since it launched in 2010, so it only makes sense that the squadrons responsible for command and control of the satellite would need to take some innovative steps during its lifespan.
Members of the 1st and 7th Space Operations Squadrons established a backup ground-system location for ORS-1 recently, creating an alternate operations floor for the system at another Air Force installation.
Since ORS-1 is a unique satellite system that was developed and implemented much faster and has a shorter life expectancy than traditional satellite systems, a backup wasn't initially planned. But, squadron engineers figured out a way to nearly double the satellite's expected lifespan after it was launched.
"Most of us have experienced some kind of computer failure," said Lt. Col. Mike Manor, 1 SOPS commander. "Unfortunately, it happens more often than most people would like and with ORS-1's expanded life it made sense to create a backup system at an alternate location. Just in case the unexpected occurs here, our crews can rapidly deploy to the backup to ensure the vehicle is safe and the mission is not impacted."
As a space asset, ORS-1 performs an intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance mission and features a modified version of the Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System-2 camera, normally employed by U-2 aircraft. The program was established during 2008 after U.S. Central Command expressed an urgent requirement for enhanced battle space awareness.
Once its lifespan grew to more than four years, redundancy of secure operations became a key priority for 1 and 7 SOPS.
Lt. Col. Robb Owens, 1 SOPS director of operations, explained the alternate location's operations floor provided a near perfect setting for the ORS-1 backup system.
"We have some mission-unique software, but since they use the same ground system architecture we can deploy our personnel and operate from there easier than we could somewhere else," Owens said. "It was an obvious fit."
The backup operations center will be activated in three phases, according to Manor.
In the first phase, which has already taken place, 1 and 7 SOPS operators, orbital analysts and engineers checked out the compatibility of systems and confirmed contact was possible with ORS-1. In the second phase, command and control crews actually contacted the vehicle via the Air Force Satellite Control Network and performed state-of-health commanding. The third phase will involve performing a station-keeping maneuver.
"If we can perform station-keeping maneuvers to maintain the vehicle's correct altitude and check the vehicle's health we know we can keep it operating," Manor said. "Those are two critical functions we need to accomplish."
Phase three, which also involves installing and testing mission-planning software, should occur later this year.
"At that point we will be able to sever ties with Schriever during an emergency situation and run operations from the backup operations floor," Manor said.
The combined 1 and 7 SOPS will not keep a permanent crew at the alternate location but will designate appropriate personnel for temporary assignment as needed.
"Our team is focused on ensuring mission operations remain uninterrupted regardless of the situation," Manor said. "The Joint force and our nation depend on our mission data, and it's incredibly important to have an extra layer of redundancy so we can deliver when needed."
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
COMPOSITE PHOTO FROM THE ISF
This is a composite of a series of images photographed from a mounted camera on the Earth-orbiting International Space Station, from approximately 240 miles above Earth. Space station hardware in the foreground includes the Mini-Research Module (MRM1, center) and a Russian Progress vehicle docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment (right). Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit said of the photographic techniques used to achieve the images: "My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then 'stack' them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure." A total of 47 images photographed by the astronaut-monitored stationary camera were combined to create this composite. Image Credit: NASA
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
JAXA'S GLOBAL CHANGE OBSERVATION MISSION
FROM: JAXA
Publisher :
Public Affairs Department
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Marunouchi Kitaguchi Building,
1-6-5, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8260 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6266-6400
May 18, 2012 (JST)
Global Change Observation Mission 1st - Water "SHIZUKU" (GCOM-W1)
AMSR2 Antenna Deployment
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the Global Change
Observation Mission 1st - Water "SHIZUKU" (GCOM-W1) successfully deployed the
antenna of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2)* via image data
received at the Katsuura Tracking and Communication station.
The satellite is currently in good health.
* : Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer2 (AMSR2)
The AMSR2 measures electromagnetic waves called microwaves (six bandwidths
between 7 GHz and 89 GHz) emitted from nature, such as the ground and ocean
surface as well as objects in the atmosphere, to observe eight geophysical
parameters (integrated water vapor, integrated cloud liquid water,
precipitation, sea surface temperature, sea surface wind speed, sea ice
concentration, snow depth, soil moisture content).
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
LIGHT OF ALIEN SUPER EARTH
FROM: NASA
News Releases
May 8, 2012 RELEASE : 12-138 NASA's Spitzer Sees the Light of Alien "Super Earth" WASHINGTON -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a "super-Earth" planet beyond our solar system for the first time. While the planet is not habitable, the detection is a historic step toward the eventual search for signs of life on other planets.
"Spitzer has amazed us yet again," said Bill Danchi, Spitzer program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The spacecraft is pioneering the study of atmospheres of distant planets and paving the way for NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to apply a similar technique on potentially habitable planets."
The planet, called 55 Cancri e, falls into a class of planets termed super Earths, which are more massive than our home world but lighter than giant planets like Neptune. Fifty-five Cancri e is about twice as big and eight times as massive as Earth. The planet orbits a bright star, called 55 Cancri, in a mere 18 hours.
Previously, Spitzer and other telescopes were able to study the planet by analyzing how the light from 55 Cancri changed as the planet passed in front of the star. In the new study, Spitzer measured how much infrared light comes from the planet itself. The results reveal the planet is likely dark and its sun-facing side is more than 2,000 Kelvin (3,140 degrees Fahrenheit), hot enough to melt metal.
The new information is consistent with a prior theory that 55 Cancri e is a water world: a rocky core surrounded by a layer of water in a "supercritical" state where it is both liquid and gas, and topped by a blanket of steam.
"It could be very similar to Neptune, if you pulled Neptune in toward our sun and watched its atmosphere boil away," said Michaël Gillon of Université de Liège in Belgium, principal investigator of the research, which appears in the Astrophysical Journal. The lead author is Brice-Olivier Demory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
The 55 Cancri system is relatively close to Earth at 41 light-years away. It has five planets, with 55 Cancri e being the closest to the star and tidally locked, so one side always faces the star. Spitzer discovered the sun-facing side is extremely hot, indicating the planet probably does not have a substantial atmosphere to carry the sun's heat to the unlit side.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2018, likely will be able to learn even more about the planet's composition. The telescope might be able to use a similar infrared method as Spitzer to search other potentially habitable planets for signs of molecules possibly related to life.
"When we conceived of Spitzer more than 40 years ago, exoplanets hadn't even been discovered," said Michael Werner, Spitzer project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "Because Spitzer was built very well, it's been able to adapt to this new field and make historic advances such as this."
In 2005, Spitzer became the first telescope to detect light from a planet beyond our solar system. To the surprise of many, the observatory saw the infrared light of a "hot Jupiter," a gaseous planet much larger than the solid 55 Cancri e. Since then, other telescopes, including NASA's Hubble and Kepler space telescopes, have performed similar feats with gas giants using the same method.
In this method, a telescope gazes at a star as a planet circles behind it. When the planet disappears from view, the light from the star system dips ever so slightly, but enough that astronomers can determine how much light came from the planet itself. This information reveals the temperature of a planet, and, in some cases, its atmospheric components. Most other current planet-hunting methods obtain indirect measurements of a planet by observing its effects on the star.
During Spitzer's ongoing extended mission, steps were taken to enhance its unique ability to see exoplanets, including 55 Cancri e. Those steps, which included changing the cycling of a heater and using an instrument in a new way, led to improvements in how precisely the tele
JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE ATLAS V ROCKETS LIFTED OFF TO SPACE
FROM: U.S. AIR FROCE
United Launch Alliance Marks 60th Successful Launch by Delivering the AEHF-2 Satellite to Orbit for the U.S. Air Force
5/4/2012 - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., -- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Advanced Extremely High Frequency-2 (AEHF-2) satellite for the United States Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 here at 2:42 p.m. EDT today. This was ULA's 4th launch of an aggressive 11 mission schedule for the year and marks the 30th Atlas V mission and the 60th launch for ULA.
"ULA is proud to serve alongside our mission partners and privileged that the Air Force entrusts the ULA team to deliver critical national security capability to orbit for our soldiers, sailors, airman and Marines around the world," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. "Through our focus on attaining Perfect Product Delivery, ULA remains dedicated to providing reliable, cost-effective launch services while continuing our unwavering commitment to 100 percent mission success. Today's successful launch was the 60th since ULA was formed just over five years ago and we congratulate the AEHF team on this important step toward delivering these critical protected communications capabilities."
This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 531 configuration vehicle, which includes a 5-meter diameter RUAG Space payload fairing along with three Aerojet solid rocket motors attached to the Atlas booster. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine and the Centaur upper stage was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10A engine.
The AEHF constellation is a joint-service satellite communications system that will provide survivable, global, secure, protected and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets.
Developed by the United States Air Force to provide assured access to space for Department of Defense and other government payloads, the EELV Program supports the full range of government mission requirements, while delivering on schedule and providing significant cost savings over the heritage launch systems.
ULA's next launch is the Atlas V NROL-38 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office scheduled June 18 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
ULA program management, engineering, test, and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., and Harlingen, Texas. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
SPACEX PREPARES FOR LAUNCH
SpaceX and NASA Prepare for Launch
In a processing facility at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Exploration Technologies technicians attach the Dragon capsule to the second stage of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Known as SpaceX, the launch will be the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, or COTS. During the flight, the capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the NanoRacks-CubeLabs Module-9 experiments and other cargo aboard Dragon will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station’s Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two private companies to provide resupply missions to the station. The launch is TBD. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/spacex. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
Friday, May 4, 2012
JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA ACCEPTS MONTAGE FROM NASA ADMINISTRATOR CHARLES BOLDEN
FROM: NASA
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, fourth from left, accepts a montage from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, third from left, during a meeting at the Blair House as Associate Administrator for Science and former astronaut John Grunsfled, left, Associate Administrator for Education and former astronaut Leland Melvin, second from left, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronauts Koichi Wakata and Satoshi Furukawa, right, look on, Monday, April 30, 2012, in Washington. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
MAIDEN VOYAGE OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA
On April 12, 1981, astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen launched into space on space shuttle Columbia on the STS-1 mission--NASA's first mission aboard a reusable spacecraft. STS-1 was NASA's first manned mission since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. In this image, the two solid rocket boosters are aglow after being jettisoned. Image Credit: NASA
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