Orbiter.ch Space News

mercredi 29 avril 2020

Coronavirus kills A380

Airbus logo.

April 29, 2020

The giant Airbus plane is no longer considered profitable by the airlines that are fighting against the Covid-19 crisis.

Airbus A380

The crisis due to the coronavirus risks giving the final blow to the Airbus A380, symbol of the frantic development of air transport but already considered as not profitable enough by airlines today on their knees.

The giant of Airbus, industrial flagship but commercial failure, has all the air of Concorde, whose fate had been shattered by the oil shock of the 1970s.

Concorde

The European aircraft manufacturer had already planned to stop deliveries of its giant aircraft to the 251 aircraft ordered next year. But for most of the 14 customers, the largest civilian aircraft in the world may well not return to the skies at all when air traffic, wiped out by the pandemic, resumes.

The question will arise

With their fleets currently nailed to the ground, airlines are expected to see revenues fall 55% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata). And traffic should not return to its pre-crisis level for two to three years, said Boeing boss David Calhoun. So many perspectives that lead companies to review their future flight programs. And their fleet.

A380 construction (A380 Birth of a Giant)

“The airlines are going to release the least efficient and oldest planes as a priority. The question of the A380 will arise very clearly "although it made its first flight just 15 years ago, forecast Guillaume Hue, expert in air transport at Archery Strategy Consulting.

The first victims will be "four-jet large jets" (B747, A340) and in particular the A380, which "has been particularly inflexible, which puts it in a very difficult position", abounds Rob Morris, aeronautical consultant at Cirium.

Failed bet

By launching the A380 project, Airbus had bet on the development of mega-city “hubs”, served by a very large capacity aircraft, but which requires improvements and imposes the highest possible occupancy rate to ensure the profitability of lines.

Airbus A380 cutaway

A failed bet for the European aircraft manufacturer. Airbus had not seen the turning point of long-range medium-capacity jets like the B787 "Dreamliner" from Boeing, which focused on point-to-point development, that is to say direct links. He has since successfully replied with his A350.

Expert at Teal Group, Richard Aboulafia predicts a "bloodbath" for the flagship of Airbus. Especially since the widebody market was, according to him, already in overcapacity before the crisis and that international traffic will be the slowest to climb up the slope.

Lufthansa reduces its fleet

The effects are starting to be felt: the German company Lufthansa announced at the beginning of April that it would durably reduce the size of its fleet, and planned in particular to withdraw its six A380s.

Airbus A380 Lufthansa

Air France had also planned to advance to 2022 the withdrawal of service from its nine A380s. "With its four reactors, the A380 consumes 20% to 25% more fuel per seat than new generation long-haul aircraft and emits more CO2", justified the group.

With the impact of the coronavirus, "does it make sense to put them back into service by then?" Asked Ben Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM in a recent interview at "Échos". " Emirates, the main customer of the aircraft with 125 aircraft, eight of which remain to be delivered, has not yet announced how it envisages the future of its A380s.

"Smaller planes"

Praised by passengers for its comfort, the A380 is a “commercial half-failure, but that taught us a lot about the A350 and allowed us to change international stature on the long haul” against Boeing, explained the Executive Chairman of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, before French senators in early March.

Airbus A321

"The market for very large long-haul aircraft such as the A380 is probably behind us," he added. According to him, we are "moving towards smaller planes, which are more efficient from an environmental point of view and more suited to the cyclicity of aircraft filling".

A trend that the crisis should reinforce and where Airbus is one step ahead of Boeing. Its long-range single aisle, the A321 XLR, launched last June, has already sold more than 450 planes.

Related articles:

Planes have disappeared from the European sky
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/04/planes-have-disappeared-from-european.html

Airbus announces the end of production of the A380
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/02/airbus-announces-end-of-production-of.html

Airbus: https://www.airbus.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: AFP/Airbus/BEA/Lufthansa/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

mardi 28 avril 2020

UFO's - Pentagon images "officialized"

United States Air Force seal.

April 28, 2020

Image capture of videos of UFOs declassified by the Pentagon

The US Department of Defense released three videos taken by Navy pilots showing in-flight encounters with previously unexplained phenomena.

One dates from November 2004 and the other two from January 2015. The United States Department of Defense said in a statement that it had decided to officially release three videos already circulating in various media "in order to dispel any misconceptions about the public on the veracity or not of the images which were propagated or on the fact of knowing if there were or not more ".

Gimbal: The First Official UAP Footage from the USG for Public Release

Video above: Exclusive analysis brought to you by To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science. Gimbal is the first of three US military videos of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) that has been through the official declassification review process of the United States government and has been approved for public release. This footage, and all official USG footage you will see on TTS Academy’s community of interest (COI), comes with essential chain-of-custody documentation validating that it is received in its original and unaltered form and is authentic. The US Department of Defense uses this process in order to meticulously ensure that information and material retain their integrity without revealing sources and methods. This documentation is what sets this footage apart from anything else that has made its way to the public domain, by establishing its authenticity and thereby giving it enormous historical significance.

"The observed aerial phenomenon remains qualified as unidentified," added the Pentagon. On one of these videos, we can see an oblong object moving quickly which, a few seconds after being spotted by one of the sensors aboard the aircraft of the US Navy, disappears on the left following sudden acceleration.

"Look at this thing!"

In another video, we can see an object above the clouds, the pilot wondering if it is a drone. "There is a whole swarm of it (...) The cow, they are all going against the wind!" A west wind of 120 knots! ”Said his flight companion. “Look at this thing!” Continues his interlocutor as the object begins to rotate.

FLIR1: Official UAP Footage from the USG for Public Release

Video above: Exclusive analysis brought to you by To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science: FLIR1 is the second of three US military videos of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) that has been through the official declassification review process of the United States government and approved for public release. It is the only official footage captured by a US navy F / A-18 Super Hornet present at the 2004 Nimitz incident off the coast of San Diego. Like Gimbal, this footage comes with crucial chain-of-custody (CoC) documentation because it is a product of US military sensors, which confirms it is original, unaltered, and not computer generated or artificially fabricated. While there have been leaked versions on the internet, the CoC establishes the authenticity and credibility that this version is the original footage taken from one of the most advanced sensor tracking devices in use.

Now retired Navy pilot David Fravor, who encountered one of these alleged UFOs in 2004, told American television station CNN in 2017 that the object was moving erratically. "As I approached him (...), he quickly accelerated towards the south and disappeared in less than two seconds", it was "like a ping pong ball bouncing on a wall", he had then summed up.

Hidden documentation

For his part, Harry Reid, a former senator from Nevada, where the Air Force's ultra-secret Zone 51 installations are located, said in a tweet "glad that the Pentagon is finally broadcasting these images" , while deploring that "this only scratches the surface of available research and documentation".

Go Fast: Official USG Footage of UAP for Public Release

Video above: GO FAST is the third of three official USG videos selected for release after official review by multiple government organizations. While To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science was the first to obtain a copy, it should be available to any member of the press or public via the Freedom of Information Act. This footage was captured by a U.S. Navy F / A-18 Super Hornet using the Raytheon ATFLIR Pod that was being operated by a highly trained aerial observer and weapons system operator whom the government has spent millions of dollars to train. Go Fast reveals a Navy encounter that occurred off the East Coast of the United States in 2015 and the object in view remains unidentified.

"The United States must take a serious and scientific look at this and all the potential implications for national security. The American people deserve to be informed, "he continued.

US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet (Illustration)

In December 2017, the Defense Department admitted that it had funded until 2012, the official date of its completion, a secret program costing several million dollars to investigate UFO sightings.

Related link:

The Pentagon (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pentagon

United States Army Air Forces (Wikipedia): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Forces

Image, Video, Text, Credits: USAAF/USN/AFP/The Stars Academy of Arts & Science/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Cygnus Prepped for Departure During Station Science and Upkeep

ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch.

April 28, 2020

The International Space Station is looking ahead to its next cargo mission when a U.S. space freighter departs next month. The Expedition 63 crew is also working on variety of space research and Russian spacecraft activities.

The U.S. Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is being readied for its robotic release from the orbiting lab’s Unity module. Commander Chris Cassidy reviewed procedures and set up hardware that will deploy small experimental satellites from the outside of Cygnus after its departure on May 11. Cygnus will removed from Unity and released by the Canadarm2 robotic arm completing its 83-day stay at 12:10 p.m. EDT.

Image above: The U.S. Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply ship is pictured as the International Space Station orbited above the Pacific Ocean. Image Credit: NASA.

Cassidy also opened up the Combustion Integrated Rack for maintenance replacing components in the research device that enables safe fuel, flame and soot studies in microgravity. Afterward, the three-time station visitor logged his meals for a nutrition study then swapped batteries in an acoustic monitor that measures the sound levels aboard the station.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

NASA’s Swift Mission Tallied Water From Interstellar Comet Borisov

NASA - Swift Mission patch.

April 28, 2020

For the first time, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory tracked water loss from an interstellar comet as it approached and rounded the Sun. The object, 2I/Borisov, traveled through the solar system in late 2019.

“Borisov doesn't fit neatly into any class of solar system comets, but it also doesn’t stand out exceptionally from them,” said Zexi Xing, a graduate student at the University of Hong Kong and Auburn University in Alabama who led the research. “There are known comets that share at least one of its properties.”

Swift Tracks Water From Interstellar Comet Borisov

Video above: Watch how NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory tracked water production by interstellar comet 2I/Borisov as it sped through the solar system. On average, Borisov produced enough water to fill a standard bathtub in 10 seconds. It shares many traits with solar system comets, which may mean that comets form similarly in different planetary systems. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Comets are frozen clumps of gases mixed with dust, often called “dirty snowballs.” Scientists estimate hundreds of billions of them may orbit the Sun. Based on Borisov’s speed and computed path, however, it must have come from outside the solar system. The comet is only the second known interstellar visitor, discovered two years after the first object, named ‘Oumuamua, zipped through the solar system.

Amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov discovered the comet on August 30, four months before it made its closest approach to the Sun. The early identification gave multiple space- and ground-based observatories time for detailed follow-up observations. In October, scientists using the Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, detected the first hint of water from the comet. In the following months, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope snapped images of Borisov as the comet sped along at around 100,000 miles (161,000 kilometers) per hour.

As a comet approaches the Sun, frozen material on its surface — such as carbon dioxide — warms and begins converting to gas. When it gets within 230 million miles (370 million kilometers) of the Sun, water vaporizes. Xing and her colleagues confirmed the presence of water from Borisov and measured its fluctuations using ultraviolet light.

When sunlight breaks apart water molecules, one of the fragments is hydroxyl, a molecule composed of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom. Swift detects the fingerprint of UV light emitted by hydroxyl using its Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). Between September and February, Xing’s team made six observations of Borisov with Swift. They saw a 50% increase in the amount of hydroxyl — and therefore water — Borisov produced between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, which was just seven days from the comet’s closest brush with the Sun.

Animation above: NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope captured six snapshots of Borisov as it traveled through the solar system. This GIF shows the UV images, with Borisov in the center. Animation Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

At peak activity, Borisov shed eight gallons (30 liters) of water per second, enough to fill a bathtub in about 10 seconds. During its trip through the solar system, the comet lost nearly 61 million gallons (230 million liters) of water — enough to fill over 92 Olympic-size swimming pools. As it moved away from the Sun, Borisov’s water loss dropped off — and did so more rapidly than any previously observed comet. Xing said this could have been caused by a variety of factors, including surface erosion, rotational change and even fragmentation. In fact, data from Hubble and other observatories show that chunks of the comet broke off in late March.

“We’re really happy that Swift’s rapid response time and UV capabilities captured these water production rates,” said co-author Dennis Bodewits, an associate professor of physics at Auburn. “For comets, we express the amount of other detected molecules as a ratio to the amount of water. It provides a very important context for other observations."

Swift’s water production measurements also helped the team calculate that Borisov’s minimum size is just under half a mile (0.74 kilometer) across. The team estimates at least 55% of Borisov’s surface — an area roughly equivalent to half of Central Park — was actively shedding material when it was closest to the Sun. That’s at least 10 times the active area on most observed solar system comets. Borisov also differs from solar system comets in other aspects. For example, astronomers working with Hubble and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a radio telescope in Chile, discovered Borisov produced the highest levels of carbon monoxide ever seen from a comet at that distance from the Sun.

Swift

Borisov does have some traits in common with solar system comets, though. Its rise in water production as it approached the Sun was similar to previously observed objects. Xing and her team also found that other molecules in Borisov’s chemical inventory — and their abundances — are similar to home-grown comets. For example, with respect to hydroxyl and cyanogen — a compound composed of carbon and nitrogen — Borisov produced a small amount of diatomic carbon, a molecule made of two carbon atoms, and amidogen, a molecule derived from ammonia. About 25% to 30% of all solar system comets share that trait.

But Borisov’s combined characteristics defy placement in any single known comet family. Scientists are still pondering what this means for comet development in other planetary systems.

The team’s results were published in the April 27, 2020, issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters and are available online: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab86be

Swift was developed to study gamma-ray bursts, the most luminous explosions in the universe. But for the last decade, Bodewits has used it to learn more about comets as they traverse the solar system. Most UV light is absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, so scientists must look for hydroxyl’s signature from space. And because Swift has a flexible observing strategy and rapid reaction time, it can perform long-term monitoring of interesting new targets. The first five observations of Borisov were composed of UVOT snapshots taken over 12 hours, and the last was a series of images captured over 24 hours.

“The team did not envision that the mission would contribute so much to our understanding of planetary science when it was being built,” said Swift Principal Investigator S. Bradley Cenko at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But it’s a nice example of people coming up with creative and powerful ways to use the capabilities that are out there to do unexpected and exciting science.”

Goddard manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State in University Park, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory and the Italian Space Agency in Italy.

Related links:

Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT): https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/about_swift/uvot_desc.html

Hubble Space Telescope (HST): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Data from Hubble: http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13613

Swift: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/main/index.html

Comets: http://www.nasa.gov/comets

Image, Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/GSFC/Jeannette Kazmierczak/Claire Andreoli.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate Into More Than Two Dozen Pieces

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

April 28, 2020

These two Hubble Space Telescope images of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 and 23, 2020, provide the sharpest views yet of the breakup of the fragile comet.

Hubble identified about 30 fragments on April 20, and 25 pieces on April 23. They are all enveloped in a sunlight-swept tail of cometary dust. "Their appearance changes substantially between the two days, so much so that it's quite difficult to connect the dots," said David Jewitt, professor of planetary science and astronomy at UCLA, Los Angeles, and leader of one of two teams that photographed the doomed comet with Hubble. "I don't know whether this is because the individual pieces are flashing on and off as they reflect sunlight, acting like twinkling lights on a Christmas tree, or because different fragments appear on different days."

Image above: These two Hubble Space Telescope images of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 (left) and April 23, 2020, provide the sharpest views yet of the breakup of the solid nucleus of the comet. Hubble's eagle-eye view identifies as many as 30 separate fragments. Hubble distinguishes pieces that are roughly the size of a house. Before the breakup, the entire nucleus of the comet may have been the length of one or two football fields. Astronomers aren't sure why this comet broke apart. The comet was approximately 91 million miles (146 million kilometers) from Earth when the images were taken. Image Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI and D. Jewitt (UCLA).

"This is really exciting — both because such events are super cool to watch and because they do not happen very often. Most comets that fragment are too dim to see. Events at such scale only happen once or twice a decade," said the leader of a second Hubble observing team, Quanzhi Ye, of the University of Maryland, College Park.

The results are evidence that comet fragmentation is actually fairly common, say researchers. It might even be the dominant mechanism by which the solid, icy nuclei of comets die. Because this happens quickly and unpredictably, astronomers remain largely uncertain about the cause of fragmentation. Hubble's crisp images may yield new clues to the breakup. Hubble distinguishes pieces as small as the size of a house. Before the breakup, the entire nucleus may have been no more than the length of two football fields.

One idea is that the original nucleus spun itself into pieces because of the jet action of outgassing from sublimating ices. Because such venting is probably not evenly dispersed across the comet, it enhances the breakup. "Further analysis of the Hubble data might be able to show whether or not this mechanism is responsible," said Jewitt. "Regardless, it's quite special to get a look with Hubble at this dying comet."

The comet was discovered on Dec. 29, 2019, by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) robotic astronomical survey system based in Hawaii. This NASA-supported survey project for Planetary Defense operates two autonomous telescopes that look for Earth-approaching comets and asteroids.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Animation Credits: NASA/ESA

The comet brightened quickly until mid-March, and some astronomers anticipated that it might be visible to the naked eye in May to become one of the most spectacular comets seen in the last 20 years.

However, the comet abruptly started to get dimmer instead of brighter. Astronomers speculated that the icy core may be fragmenting, or even disintegrating. ATLAS' fragmentation was confirmed by amateur astronomer Jose de Queiroz, who was able to photograph around three pieces of the comet on April 11.

The disintegrating comet was approximately 91 million miles (146 million kilometers) from Earth when the latest Hubble observations were taken. If any of it survives, the comet will make its closest approach to Earth on May 23 at a distance of about 72 million miles (116 million kilometers), and eight days later it will skirt past the Sun at 25 million miles (40 million kilometers).

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

Related links:

Comets: http://www.nasa.gov/comets

Hubble Space Telescope: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Rob Garner/GSFC/Claire Andreoli/STSI/Ray Villard/UCLA/David Jewitt/University of Maryland/Quanzhi Ye.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Small Asteroid to Safely Fly by Earth

Asteroid Watch logo.

April 28, 2020

A relatively small asteroid, about 4 to 8 meters in diameter, will fly safely past Earth just before 3pm today, Apr. 28 (Eastern U.S. time). NASA is tracking the object, but orbit calculations ruled out any chance that the near-Earth object could pose a threat to our planet.

“Small asteroids like 2020 HS7 safely pass by Earth a few times per month,” said Lindley Johnson, Planetary Defense Officer and Program Executive for the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. “At its closest approach 2020 HS7 will pass Earth by a distance of about 23,000 miles/36,400 km. It poses no threat to our planet, and even if it were on a collision path with Earth it is small enough that it would be disintegrated by our Earth’s atmosphere.”

Near-Earth asteroid

Near-Earth asteroid 2020 HS7, estimated to be 13 to 24 feet (4 to 8 meters) in size, will safely pass Earth at 2:51 p.m. EDT on Apr. 28 (6:51 UTC).

What is a near-Earth object?

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun, but their orbits bring them into Earth’s neighborhood – within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit.

All Known Asteroids in the Solar System (1999-2018)

These objects are relatively unchanged remnant debris from the solar system’s formation some 4.6 billion years ago. Most of the rocky asteroids originally formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while comets, composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, formed in the cold outer solar system.

Who searches for near-Earth objects?

NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program finds, tracks and monitors near-Earth asteroids and comets. Astronomers supported by the program use telescopes to follow up the discoveries to make additional measurements, as do many observatories all over the world. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also uses these data to calculate high-precision orbits for all known near-Earth objects and predict future close approaches by them to Earth, as well as the potential for any future impacts.

NASA Science Live: Asteroid Close Approach

How do we calculate the orbit of a near-Earth object?

Scientists determine the orbit of an asteroid by comparing measurements of its position as it moves across the sky to the predictions of a computer model of its orbit around the Sun. The more observations that are used and the longer the period over which those observations are made, the more accurate the calculated orbit and the predictions that can be made from it.

Near-Earth asteroid 2020 HS7 orbit

How many near-Earth objects have been discovered so far?

At the start of 2019, the number of discovered NEOs totaled more than 19,000, and it has increased to22,776 at the time of this writing. An average of 30 new discoveries are added each week. More than 95 percent of these objects were discovered by NASA-funded surveys since 1998, when NASA initially established its NEO Observations Program and began tracking and cataloguing them.

Pan Starrs Telescope

Related links:

NASA Planetary Defense: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense

NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies: https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/

International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center: https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/mpc.html

Twitter: NASA Asteroid Watch: https://twitter.com/AsteroidWatch

Planetary Defense Coordination Office: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/overview

Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/neoo

Asteroids: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/main/index.html

Images, Videos (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tricia Talbert.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

lundi 27 avril 2020

Study Improving Fiber Optics; Cosmonauts Relaxing After Cargo Mission

ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch.

April 27, 2020

The International Space Station provides an orbiting research platform that benefits not only human health, but also industry and technology. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy kicked off a physics study today that explores space manufacturing.

Cassidy began his workday in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module configuring the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) for the Space Fibers physics investigation. The study is using the MSG to test techniques for manufacturing fiber optic cables superior to those produced on Earth.

Image above: Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy services botany research hardware in Europe’s Columbus laboratory module. Image Credit: NASA.

Gravity degrades the performance of fiber optic cables produced on Earth. Space Fibers may enable the manufacturing and commercialization of cables with greater transparency and higher transmission rates than on Earth.

The NASA commander then spent Monday afternoon on regularly scheduled maintenance for the COLBERT treadmill in the station’s Tranquility module. Cassidy greased the treadmill’s axles, tightened belts and replaced components.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA