NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon

 

NASA - ARTEMIS Program logo.

May 19, 2023

NASA has awarded a NextSTEP-2 Appendix P Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s National Team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.

Image above: A rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander that will return astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program. Image Credit: Blue Origin.

Under this contract, Blue Origin and its National Team partners will develop and fly both a lunar lander that can make a precision landing anywhere on the Moon’s surface and a cislunar transporter. These vehicles are powered by LOX-LH2. The high-specific impulse of LOX-LH2 provides a dramatic advantage for high-energy deep space missions. Nevertheless, lower performing but more easily storable propellants (such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide as used on the Apollo lunar landers) have been favored for these missions because of the problematic boil-off of LOX-LH2 during their long mission timelines. 

Through this contract, we will move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination. Under SLD, we will develop and fly solar-powered 20-degree Kelvin cryocoolers and the other technologies required to prevent LOX-LH2 boil-off. Future missions beyond the Moon, and enabling capabilities such as high-performance nuclear thermal propulsion, will benefit greatly from storable LH2. Blue Origin’s architecture also prepares for that future day when lunar ice can be used to manufacture LOX and LH2 propellants on the Moon.
 
Blue Origin and its partners are already at work and are excited to be on this journey with NASA.

Related links:

NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon:
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/nasa-selects-blue-origin-for-mission-to-moon/

Blue Origin: https://www.blueorigin.com/

Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: Blue Origin.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

KARI names KPLO as it begins communication testing

 

KARI - Korea Aerospace Research Institute logo.

 

May 29, 2022

Rendering of Danuri in lunar orbit. Image Credit: KARI

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is preparing to launch its Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), recently named Danuri. Danuri is South Korea’s first of many planned lunar missions in the coming future. This mission is developed and operated by KARI with contributions from NASA. A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch Danuri on August 2, 2022.

Danuri is the first step in KARI’s lunar exploration program. KARI was established in 1989 and became an independent organization in 1996. The institute launched its first sounding rocket in June 1993 with the single-stage Korea Sounding Rocket (KSR-I). Five years later, it launched its two-stage sounding rocket named KSR-II.

In December 1999, KARI’s Korea Multi-Purpose Satellites (KOMPSAT-1) reached orbit, becoming South Korea’s first satellite. 10 years later, KARI completed its first orbital launch attempt with the Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle (KSLV)-1, also known as the Naro-1. South Korea became the 11th country to reach orbit in 2013 with the third and final launch of the Naro-1.

Naro-1 takes its third flight in January 2013.  Image Credit: KARI

farther. KARI started a long-term plan for space development in 2013. In 2014, KARI and NASA began talks to cooperate on a lunar spacecraft. Negotiations continued until December 2016 when they signed the Cooperation Implementation Agreement for the Danuri spacecraft.

As a part of the agreement, NASA would provide an instrument while supporting the mission design, communications, tracking, and navigation using NASA’s deep-space ground stations. Both will form a joint science team to conduct scientific research using the data from the mission. In 2021, NASA assigned nine scientists with an associated instrument to help with science.

KARI would provide the spacecraft five instruments and be the primary lead of the Danuri mission. Danuri will become KARI’s first mission to travel beyond Earth orbit.

The Danuri spacecraft is a 678 kg spacecraft bus with the aforementioned six instruments. Danuri is a cubic-shaped spacecraft with two solar arrays and communications antennae. For propulsion, it uses four Orbit Maneuver Thrusters (OMT), each having ~30 N of thrust with a specific impulse of 227 seconds. Eight Attitude Control Thrusters (ACT) will also be used with ~five N of thrust and 218 seconds of specific impulse.

The OMT will be used for large trajectory correction maneuvers (TCM) with 10 m/s or more Delta-V required. For burns needing 10 m/s or less, the ACT will be used instead. It will also be used to allow small orbital corrections and propellant settling. Monopropellant will be used to fuel the thrusters.

대한민국이 달에 갑니다🌕 국민이 정한 대한민국 최초 달 탐사선의 이름 「다누리」 대한민국 우주탐사의 첫 장을 열다!

Video title Translation: Korea is going to the moon 🌕 The name of Korea's first lunar probe chosen by the people (Danuri). Opens the first chapter of Korean space exploration! Video Credit: KARI.

The twin solar arrays will provide 760 watts of energy to power the spacecraft. On the spacecraft, two bands of communication will be used: a low-gain S-band antenna will be used for both uplink and downlink communications, and a high-gain X-band antenna will be used for high-speed downlink communications.

Danuri’s six instruments all cover a wide range of tasks to complete its mission objectives. Three instruments are camera-based to image the lunar surface, with two of the imagers provided by KARI.

The first imager is called the Lunar Terrain Imager (LUTI). LUTI’s goal is to capture high-resolution images of a future landing site on the lunar surface. This imager will have a high spatial resolution of five meters with a swath of eight km. Its mass will be less than 15 kg.

The second KARI-provided imager is the Wide-Angle Polarimetric Camera (PolCam). PolCam will be used to capture polarimetric images for the entire surface except for the polar regions. These polarimetric images will have medium spatial resolution with wider angles for photos. Using these images, PolCam will be used to investigate the detailed characteristics of lunar regolith. Two nadir-facing cameras make up the three kg instrument.

Image above: A young impact crater and surrounding ejecta in the Oceanus Procellarum region of the Moon, imaged by LROC. Danuri’s ShadowCam is similar to the LROC instrument. Image Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.

Danuri’s final imager is NASA’s provided ShadowCam. ShadowCam is based on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) imager. The LROC NAC is currently being used on the still operating LRO spacecraft which was launched in 2009. For Danuri, ShadowCam is modified to be 200 times more sensitive than the LRO original imager.

When in orbit, ShadowCam will map the reflectance of permanently shadowed regions (PSR) to find evidence of frost or ice deposits. ShadowCam will observe the PSR monthly to detect the seasonal changes to measure the terrain inside craters, including boulders. The <15 kg imager will have a resolution of 1.7-meters. It was delivered to KARI in August 2021 and was installed onto the spacecraft in October.

The last three instruments are provided by KARI. A 3.5 kg magnetometer instrument will be used to measure the magnetic strength of the lunar environment. Known as KPLO Magnetometer (KMAG), it is comprised of three fluxgate magnetometers placed on different parts of the spacecraft. One is placed inside the spacecraft body, while two are mounted on the 1.55-meter-long boom. Using these sensors, KMAG will measure the magnetic strength up to ~100 km from the lunar surface.

Danuri’s final science instrument is the KPLO Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (KGRS). The KGRS will measure the gamma-rays that are emanating from the lunar surface. Using the gamma-rays detected, it will investigate the characteristics of the resources of the Moon and map the spatial distributions of the elements. This instrument will mass five kg.

Example of Danuri’s journey to lunar orbit. Image Credit: KARI

Danuri’s final payload is a technology demonstrator for KARI. The Disruption Tolerant Network experiment payload (DTNPL) will test space communications based on a disruption tolerant network technology. As another test, Danuri will attempt to implement a wireless internet environment to connect satellites or exploration spacecraft. Using this wireless environment, Danuri will stream the song Dynamite by the South Korean band BTS.

Danuri’s goal is to test new lunar exploration technologies while demonstrating space internet and conducting scientific investigations. KARI has built new ground support equipment to help with Danuri and future lunar missions. In 2021, KARI completed a new deep-space antenna to talk with Danuri during its mission. NASA has also started testing with Danuri using its Deep Space Network to support the mission.

To name the spacecraft, KARI conducted a nationwide competition to have the honor of naming KPLO. In May 2022, Danuri was selected to be the name of KPLO. Danuri is a mix of the work Dal — meaning Moon — and Nuri — meaning enjoy.

The spacecraft has already been assembled and has completed environment testing ahead of its delivery and launch.

In late 2017, KARI selected SpaceX to launch Danuri from Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket to take the spacecraft on a path to the Moon. Falcon 9 will initially take the spacecraft to a low-Earth parking orbit, where it will then enter an elliptical transfer orbit. Danuri will be using a Weak Stability Boundary/Ballistic Lunar Transfer (BLT) method to reach the Moon.

Image above: A Falcon 9 launches the South Korean ANASIS-II satellite in July 2020. Image Credits: Nathan Barker for NSF/L2.

The transfer orbit will place the spacecraft in an apogee near Lagrange Point 1 (L1). When it approaches L1, its gravitational pull will help boost the spacecraft on a path toward the Moon. Using its onboard propulsion, it will then maneuver itself to enter lunar orbit.

Once it reaches the Moon, Danuri will complete multiple burns to reach its 100 (+- 30) km circular orbit at 90 degrees inclination, set to be reached on December 31. The 100 km orbit is where Danuri’s year-long primary mission will take place. If Danuri reaches orbit, South Korea will be the seventh country to reach lunar orbit.

If a mission extension is granted, it will lower its orbit to ~70 km to conduct more science.

In May 2021, South Korea signed the Artemis Accords to support NASA to return humans to the Moon. South Korea wants to establish a long-term presence on the Moon, and the accords aligned with that goal. Using the lessons learned for Danuri, KARI will then move on to phase two of their lunar exploration program.

Artist impression of KARI’s future lunar mission. Image Credit: KARI

By 2030, KARI wants to attempt to land on the Moon as a part of phase two. Phase two will consist of a lunar orbiter, a lander, and a rover. While no vehicle has been selected to launch this mission, an indigenous vehicle will likely be used to support this mission.

KARI will have a busy few months in 2022 as they are currently getting ready for the return to flight of the KSLV-II or the Nuri rocket. Nuri took its first flight on October 21, 2021. While the rocket did not reach orbit, the test flight was able to successfully test the first and second stages. During the flight, the payload fairing and payload simulator was successfully separated. It failed to reach orbit due to an anchor for a third-stage helium tank failing which caused a premature engine shutdown.

Nuri is currently set to take its second test flight no earlier than June 15, 2022. This time, it will carry four CubeSats with a single large performance verification satellite.

Related links:

KARI Lunar Exploration: https://www.kari.re.kr/eng/sub03_07.do

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI): https://www.kari.re.kr/eng.do

Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: KARI/Nasaspaceflight.com/Written by Lee Kanayama/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

40 years of the station "Venera-14"

 

CCCP - Venera-13 / Venera-14 stamp.

Nov. 4, 2021

40 years ago, on November 4, 1981, the robotic interplanetary probe Venera-14 went into space to land on the surface of the most fiery planet in the solar system and transmit the first ever color images from its surface. The station was developed by engineers of the S.A. Lavochkin (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation).

Venera-14

In the 1980s of the last century, the scientific program "Venus" was actively developing in the USSR, the first spacecraft of the series were already launched, which flew past the planet and made the first soft landing. When developing the upcoming stations, the engineers faced the most difficult task: to carry out soil sampling and its comprehensive analysis in conditions of high temperatures. By that time, it was known about the caustic atmosphere of Venus and the terrible conditions on its surface, where the temperature reaches 500 C, and the pressure is a hundred times higher than that of the Earth.

Such a task required innovative solutions and partial changes in the design of the apparatus. To test them, the engineers made 18 experimental machines of the station and carried out many tests.

The total mass of the Venera-14 spacecraft was 4394.5 kg. The mass of the descent vehicle is 1632.71 kg, the mass of the lander on the surface of Venus is 750 kg. Corrective propulsion system "Venera-14" is filled with 641.35 kg of fuel: 225.8 kg of fuel and 415.55 kg of oxidizer. The launch to Venus was carried out from an intermediate near-earth orbit with an altitude of 178 by 159 km. The impulse of the second switching on of the engine of the DM unit was 3990.5 m / s. On November 4, at 9 hours 53 minutes 50.6 seconds, the apparatus separated from the upper stage.

On November 14, the first correction of the Venus-14 trajectory was carried out. The correction impulse was 7.3 m / s, which was within the tolerance, while the engine worked at low thrust for 4.1 seconds. Fuel consumption was 15.05 kg. A month before landing, checks began on the relay modes on the decimeter channel, turning on the centimeter and meter channels of the radio complex, as well as EA 079 tape recorders, on which information received from the descent vehicles was to be recorded.

With the approach to Venus, operations began to prepare the descent vehicle for landing. Due to the increase in the heat flux from the Sun on January 4, 1982, the shutter of the radiation heater of the descent vehicle was closed. On February 19, the automatic blocking of the cold circuit of the descent vehicle was turned on and the fan was turned off, and on March 2, a regular cooling was carried out immediately for 11 hours, which made it possible to increase the operating time of the PA on the planet's surface. As a result, the temperature inside the instrument container at the time of separation of the descent vehicle from the flight vehicle was −14.5 ° C.

On February 25, the second correction of the Venera-14 trajectory was carried out. During the operation of the propulsion system, the on-board transmitter was turned off, and telemetry information was recorded on the on-board tape recorder. After reverse turns of the vehicle to the initial spatial position, which was before the correction, the transmitter turned on according to the PVU mark.

The Venera-14 lander landed on the planet's surface ~ 1000 km from the Venera-13 landing vehicle. The coordinates of the landing point of the spacecraft were 13 ° 15 'south latitude (nominal –16 ° ± 1 °) and 310 ° 09' longitude (nominal 314 ° ± 1 °). For the first 4 minutes, the VB02 MSU worked, while information about its operation and the operation of the "Peanut" equipment was transmitted to the Earth. Then the telephotometer covers were thrown off, and the transmission of images interspersed with TM information from other devices began.

56 minutes after landing, a full cycle of filming the surface of Venus with the second telephotometer ended (the first one finished at the 31st minute). At the 57th minute, the extraction of useful information from the signal received from the lander stopped due to a decrease in its level below the threshold. Thus, the program of operation of the Venera-14 descent vehicle was completed in full.

Artist's view of Venera-14

In the following days after landing, the information received from the descent vehicle and recorded on the on-board tape recorders was reproduced. Subsequently, communication sessions with the Venera-14 spacecraft were carried out once every 3-5 days and were mainly devoted to the reproduction of scientific information recorded in standby mode from tape recorders. Thus, work continued on the study of interplanetary space. In particular, studies of X-rays, gamma rays and magnetic fields in outer space, characteristics of the solar wind, cosmic rays and interplanetary plasma continued. The last communication session with "Venus-14" was held on April 9, 1983. The program was implemented successfully and in full.

Related article:

40th anniversary of the "Venus-13" mission
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/10/40th-anniversary-of-venus-13-mission.html

Related links:

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/33225/

Venus: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/venera/

NPO Lavochkin: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/npo-lavochkina/

Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Twenty million for an electric plane

 

Solar Impulse Spin Off — H55 logo.

Dec. 3, 2020

An electric plane developed in Valais by H55 will be available to aviation schools from 2022.

Image above: The two-seater electric aircraft is equipped with an electric propulsion system.

Thanks to a fundraising of 20 million francs, the spin-off H55 will continue to develop a two-seater electric aircraft in Valais. It will be available to aviation schools from 2022.

The 20 million francs will be used, among other things, to finalize the certification of the electric propulsion system, a system made up of an engine and batteries. They will also make it possible to go from around thirty engineers, revolving around the project, to "around fifty by 2022," André Borschberg, former CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse, and co-founder and president of H55 told Keystone-ATS.

"Essential element"

This certification is “an essential element to be able to fly. In particular, it shows that the technology is safe and reliable, ”continues André Borschberg. It is expected for 2022, or in less than 18 months.

Once the sesame is in its pocket, the aircraft, intended for pilot training, will be made available to aviation schools. Compared to the presentation of the project and the aircraft in a hangar at Sion airport in June 2019, the project is six months behind schedule. This is because of the addition of an "important element in the motor controller," says the co-founder and president of H55.

Cantonal subsidy

Of the 20 million francs raised, fifteen come from a capital increase subscribed by the shareholders of the company and by new investors based in Switzerland and in Silicon Valley. The remaining five million is a subsidy from the State of Valais.

In 2018, a first fundraising of five million francs allowed H55 to develop the electric propulsion system and to fly the plane for the first time in June 2019 in the Valais skies. Since then, the aircraft manufactured by the Czech company BRM Aero and equipped with the system developed by H55 has carried out "dozens of flights" in particular to measure its performance.

Solar Impulse spin-off

H55, a Solar Impulse spin-off, develops electric motors, batteries, management and control systems and interfaces with the pilot. It is based on three sites in Sion, including one at the airport.

Solar Impulse Spin Off — H55

The H55 aircraft is a springboard for developing new solutions in air transport. The analysis of its flights and its performance makes it possible to collect data essential to the development over the next five to ten years of transport aircraft with four to six seats and VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing aircraft used for example to move from one point to another in a large city).

Related articles:

A two-seater electric plane unveiled in Sion, Switzerland
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-two-seater-electric-plane-unveiled-in.html

A new electric plane will soon be launched in Switzerland
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-new-electric-plane-will-soon-be.html

Related link:

Solar Impulse Spin Off — H55: https://www.h55.ch/solar-impulse-spin-off

Image, Video, Text, Credits: Keystone-ATS/24 heures/H55/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Solar Impulse plane turns into military project

 

Solar Impulse - Around the World patch.

Nov. 17, 2020

Sold last year to a discreet start-up, the Solar Impulse aircraft - touted as the future of clean aviation - will serve as a development base for a surveillance drone intended in particular for the military sector. Our investigation.

Solar Impulse plane

A discreet sale

Unlike the rest of the Solar Impulse adventure, the transaction was concluded without much fanfare. On September 11, 2019, a discreet press release announced the sale of the solar plane that enabled Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg to complete their unprecedented world tour in 2016.

Quoted in the text of the ad, Bertrand Piccard congratulated himself on the fact that "Solar Impulse 2, in this second life, continues to illustrate that clean technologies can achieve the impossible while building a sustainable future. With Skydweller (the Hispano-American buyer, editor's note), the most famous solar airplane in the world, will have concrete advantages for the greater good ”.

However, according to our survey, the young company Skydweller Aero, with a very Spartan website, has military plans for the future of the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft. The device will serve as a basis for the development of autonomous surveillance and telecommunications drones. , capable of continuous flight.

Image above: The Solar Impulse aircraft is integrated into the logo of Skydweller, the new owner of the aircraft.

"Hundreds of millions for a military application"

The main known shareholder of Skydweller, the Italian defense group Leonardo (ex-Finmeccanica) discussed at the last Dubai air show a concept of an autonomous device based on Solar Impulse. A project capable of "carrying radar, electronic optics, telecommunications devices, telephone listening and interception systems".

Leonardo, who owns nearly 20% of Skydweller's capital, believes in these future developments. "The size of the market is enormous," said Laurent Sissmann, one of the project's managers, specifying that "for the military application alone, we are talking about several hundred million which could be captured by Skydweller". For civilian applications, he cites "a telecommunications relay system, natural disaster observation and mapping".

Today, the plane that has flown around the world is reassembled out of sight at Albacete Airport in Spain. Skydweller, whose parent company is registered in Delaware - a tax-lenient US state - announced that the aircraft was about to return to the skies shortly. But the group refused any interview.

If the historic Solar Impulse test pilot has been poached and is responsible for putting the machine back into flight, in the long term, Skydweller's stated objective is to replace humans with an autonomous system and take advantage of the weight gain to install monitoring and observation tools.

Image above: The Solar Impulse 2 plane is reassembled under this hangar at Albacete airport in Spain, out of sight.

"Solar Impulse will never be armed"

Asked about the openly military aims of the project, Bertrand Piccard assured RTS that the sales contract included safeguards prohibiting transforming Solar Impulse into an "offensive" military drone. "This is a plane that will never be armed. It is absolutely clear and it is contractual," he said.

According to our information, there is indeed no risk of the solar plane crossing the sky with missiles under its wings. The scenario is technically not feasible.

An engineer familiar with Skydweller's ambitions explained to us that the company mainly acquired Solar Impulse as a "test platform, with its technologies already tested", and that there is an interest in "the form of publicity" that the airplane's past can bring. "If they manage to develop something, it will not necessarily have the form of Solar Impulse, but will embed some of the know-how acquired during the adventure around the world," he said.

One thing remains certain: Our investigation indicates that the links between Skydweller's management and the arms industry are obvious. The possibility of seeing the legacy of Solar Impulse in part take on a military twist cannot come as a surprise to Bertrand Piccard and André Bortschberg.

The Skydweller team from the arms industry

American Robert Miller, director of Skydweller, describes himself as having "decades of experience in the air defense community." His CV is an inventory of the American arms giants: from Northrop Grumman to subsidiaries of Lockheed Martin, still in the drone business. The weapons engineer and former Airbus group figure Marwan Lahoud was also recently integrated into the management of the start-up.

A source familiar with the sales negotiations between Skydweller and Solar Impulse told us that Robert Miller had highlighted his contacts with the United States Department of Defense to illustrate the strength of his offer.

Image above: Skydweller's lobbying activity in the United States targets defense and intelligence issues. [opensecrets.org].

This proximity to US Defense is evident in Skydweller's influencing activities. The new owner of Solar Impulse 2 has therefore mandated the former lobbyist of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the notorious pro-weapons organization, in Washington to influence discussions in the US Congress on drones and surveillance.

Despite these elements, Bertrand Piccard still says he believes in the future commercial and industrial applications of the project, citing telecommunications, meteorological and aerial photography services. He also invites "not to be hypocritical", recalling that, in the other direction, "many today peaceful systems have been developed by the military".

The question of funding and public money

This sale, which stands out with Solar Impulse's original fight for the energy transition and its promotion of humanist values, also raises financial questions.

As a reminder, the cost of the Solar Impulse adventure was 170 million francs over 15 years. This sum was mostly provided by private sponsors and patrons, but also by direct and indirect contributions from the Confederation. Today, the proceeds from the sale are only collected by Solar Impulse SA, a company owned by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.

The two men do not disclose the amount of the transaction, arguing that the contract forbids them to talk about it. But Bertrand Piccard defines his gain as "a return on investment for what one has invested for 15 years". The aeronaut assures us "to have won nothing during this whole period". Although he was not actually paid directly by Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard was able to take advantage of his image to increase the number of conferences, billed at up to 30,000 francs per unit.

Today, he says he is "relieved that the company created with André Borschberg is receiving something".

The sale of the technological jewel therefore made money for the founders, but not for private sponsors and supporters, such as the Confederation. This was not provided for in the contracts. The deals made were basically to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the adventure around the world.

Image above: The Swiss government has always seen the Solar Impulse project as an "ambassador for a sustainable Switzerland".

State participation, direct and indirect

Nicolas Bideau, director of Presence Switzerland, which centralized Swiss public participation, estimates public support at 6 million francs. "Much of this has been in the form of the provision of aircraft hangars in Dübendorf (ZH) and Payerne (VD). There have also been subsidies from the Federal Office of Energy to push the renewable energies, and Presence Switzerland has invested 1.25 million francs in cash to be a partner in the adventure ".

Nicolas Bideau specifies that we should also add the participation of polytechnics and the provision of their engineers. This increases the share of Swiss public participation.

How did Switzerland benefit from this? For Nicolas Bideau, the comeback is not financial, but it is just as important. "The know-how of Solar Impulse is less in the plane which left for Spain today than in the engineering offices and in our polytechnics. This is not to be underestimated," he argues. For him, "the current fate of the plane is a shame (...), but we got the most out of Solar Impulse in Switzerland".

Selling abroad: "a complete failure"

This enthusiasm is not shared by everyone. Former parliamentarian Fathi Derder does not mince his words and refers to "a complete failure on the part of the Confederation." I have been fighting for years to make them aware of all this incredible technology embedded in Solar Impulse ", says the PLR Vaudois, who wanted to see Switzerland maintain this know-how on its territory.

Solar Impulse take off

"Now it is in foreign hands, obviously American. Whatever the destination, it is dramatic for our country", regrets Fathi Derder, who does not blame André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard. "As long as developers turn to the federal authorities who turn their backs on them with a sort of polite, if not a little humiliating, refusal, it should come as no surprise that a private company then goes overseas."

In its infancy, the second life of Solar Impulse, military and civilian, has yet to materialize. But Skydweller sees it big. Its management has announced the hiring of 120 employees between Spain and the United States, mostly engineers. Once the studies are finished, the plane could end its life in Switzerland, exhibited in a museum.

Editor note:

It is a shame for Switzerland to sell off its technological jewels in this way and to let these "brains" go abroad (like me) because they cannot find work in Switzerland and that the elected rulers do not understand (because they are all corrupt and stupid) what we do. Roland Berga.

Related links:

Skydweller Aero: https://skydweller.aero/

Solar Impulse: https://solarimpulse.com/

Related article(s):

Solar Impulse is back at home
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2016/11/solar-impulse-is-back-at-home.html

To read other Solar Impulse epic articles, type "Solar Impulse" in the search bar (top left) of my blog.

Images, Animation, Text, Credits: Investigation: Marc Renfer & Yann Dieuaide (SSR)/Solar Impulse/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Sadly, Orbiter.ch

A two-seater electric plane unveiled in Sion, Switzerland

H55 logo.

June 22, 2019

Intended for the training of pilots, the aircraft, presented by André Borschberg, should be at the disposal of the aviation schools from 2021.

An electric plane was presented Friday at Sion airport (Switzerland), after making its first successful flight. Intended for pilot training, it should be available to aviation schools by 2021.

Two-seater electric plane H55

The two-seater electric plane sits in a hangar at Sion airport. It offers a zero-emission solution, quiet and economical, said to a hundred people gathered for the occasion, André Borschberg, former CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse and co-founder and president of H55.

Manufactured by the Czech company BRM Aero, the device is equipped with an electric propulsion system consisting of a motor and batteries (in the wings) developed by H55. This spin-off of Solar Impulse develops electric motors, batteries, management and control systems and interfaces with the driver.

Three former Solar Impulse adventurers, the world's first solar-powered flight, are at the helm of H55: pilot André Borschberg, electrical engineer Sébastien Demont and economist Gregory Blatt.

An hour and a half of endurance

The plane last week made its first flight in the skies of the city. By the end of 2020, a pilot project will be conducted with two aviation schools in Switzerland and by 2021 the Bristell Energic should be available to all interested schools, said André Borschberg.

The aircraft has an endurance of one hour and a half, for flights of 45 to 60 minutes, which corresponds to the flying schools training program. Overall, the cost of an electric-powered aircraft is lower than that of a gas-powered aircraft, taking into account the purchase price, maintenance and fuel.

Engine puncturing

For the H55 team, electric aircraft respond to a real need in a society that is increasingly sensitive to the environment and nuisances. It is attracting "considerable interest from aviation academies, airport resident associations and aeronautical authorities".

Image above: André Borschberg, co-founder and president of H55, in charge of the electric plane presented Friday in a hangar at Sion airport.

A member of the team spun the Bristell Energic engine in front of the guests gathered in the hangar: the purr contrasted sharply with the deafening takeoffs and landings heard at the airport on Friday morning.

Springboard to flying taxis

The H55 aircraft is a springboard for developing new solutions in air transport. "By flying electric planes and analyzing their performance, we are collecting essential data for the development of VTOL (note: vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) and flying taxis," said André Borschberg.

In 2018, H55 raised five million francs to develop its electric propulsion systems. The company benefits from the support of the Confederation of Canton Valais through the foundation The Ark, the city of Sion, but also an investment fund based in Switzerland and Silicon Valley.

Related article:

A new electric plane will soon be launched in Switzerland
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-new-electric-plane-will-soon-be.html

Related links:

BRM Aero: https://www.bristell.com/

Solar Impulse: https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/search?q=solar+impulse

Images, Text, Credits: ATS/H55/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

A new electric plane will soon be launched in Switzerland

H55 logo.

June 16, 2019

A revolutionary machine will be unveiled Friday in Switzerland: the two-seater H55. Its propulsion system is derived from the experience gained with the Solar Impulse aircraft.

Prototype H55

A new electric plane is about to be launched in Switzerland, reports the "SonntagsZeitung". The device of the Swiss pioneer of electric aviation André Borschberg will soon go into production. It will be unveiled next Friday at Sion airport.

The two-seater H55, powered by electric motors and expected to be used for pilot training, will be produced by a Czech family-owned BRM Aero, a manufacturer of small Bristell aircraft.

Solar Impulse pilot André Borschberg wants to revolutionize air transport

The propulsion system is based on the experience acquired with the Solar Impulse aircraft, which made the first round of the world in stages between 2015 and 2016 by moving only through solar energy, with André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard at orders.

In addition to the fact that they do not emit CO2, electric powered aircraft are also much quieter.

Related links:

BRM Aero: https://www.bristell.com/

Solar Impulse: https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/search?q=solar+impulse

Images, Text, Credits: H55/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

The first step on Mars planned for 2039

Astronaut - From the Moon to Mars and Beyond logo.

May 18, 2019

On December 11, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed a directive ordering NASA to prepare the return of astronauts to the moon, "followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations."

The date fixed by NASA is 2024 for the Moon and 2033 for March, but among the experts and industrialists of the American space sector, the date of 2033 seems highly unlikely, unless a national effort Herculean, the magnitude of Apollo program in the 1960s.

This week, NASA boss Jim Bridenstine said: "The Moon is our test bed for our future mission to Mars at the seventh" People on Mars "conference in Washington. That's why we go to the moon. "

Moon to Mars

Two days later, during a session at the same site devoted to surface operations on Mars, the head of the laboratory developing future space dwellings at Houston's legendary Johnson Center explained that the problem was not technological.

"A lot of people want us to have an Apollo moment, a president get up like Kennedy and take the whole country behind him," said Robert Howard. "With this impulse, we could go there in 2027. But I do not believe it. With our current approach, we will be lucky if we get there before 2037 ". "And if I was really pessimistic (...) I would say the 2060s," he said.

Isolated humans

Everything remains to design, build, test and retest, rockets to vehicles through the method to grow salads.

The one-way trip will take six months at least, as opposed to three days for the moon. The whole mission could last two years, because Mars does not get close to the Earth until every 26 months: you have to sit on these windows.

It will be necessary to design protections for astronauts against solar and cosmic radiation for such a long time, said Julie Robinson, Chief Scientist for the International Space Station (ISS).

"A second problem is the feeding system," she said. The concepts proposed so far "are not small enough to go to Mars". Not to mention the possibility of a medical emergency: the astronauts will have to learn how to manage any accident themselves, because the rescue will be too far away.

"One big topic is space suits," said Jennifer Heldmann of NASA's Ames Research Center. She recalls that the Apollo astronauts had complained a lot of gloves, too inflated and exhausting any manipulation.

New NASA Position to Focus on Moon's Exploration, Mars and Worlds Beyond

In Houston, NASA is developing a new combination, the first in 40 years, called xEMU, but it will only be tested in the ISS in a few years. And Mars is not the moon. Dust will be a big problem. Apollo's astronauts returned covered with lunar dust in their module. Blocking it will be crucial for those who will spend months or a year on the red planet.

The techniques of exploiting the resources of the Martian soil to extract the water, the oxygen and the fuels necessary for the humans do not exist yet - it should be tested on the Moon by the end of this decade.

Finally, there is the most fundamental question: how will some humans psychologically bear being confined and isolated for two years?

It will not be possible to communicate in real time with "mission control" in Houston: radio communications will take between 4 and 24 minutes between the two planets, one way. NASA is planning delayed communication exercises in the coming years in the ISS.

NASA - We Are Going

Artificial intelligence will also need to be developed to help and guide astronauts without ground intervention. One researcher studied in detail the feasibility of Mars landing in 2033, in a report for NASA in February. She declared the goal "unfeasible".

"It's not just a budget issue," said expert Bhavya Lal of the Science & Technology Policy Institute this week. "It's a question of organizational capacity: how much can NASA do at the same time?" The most realistic date, according to her, is 2039.

Related article:

Sending American Astronauts to Moon in 2024: NASA Challenge Accepts
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/04/sending-american-astronauts-to-moon-in.html

Related links:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): https://www.nasa.gov/

Space Policy Directive-1: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/new-space-policy-directive-calls-for-human-expansion-across-solar-system

Moon to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/moon2mars/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: AFP/NASA/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Hubble sees `Oumuamua getting a boost

ESA - Hubble Space Telescope logo.

27 June 2018

New results indicate interstellar nomad is a comet

Artist’s impression of the interstellar asteroid `Oumuamua

`Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered in the Solar System, is moving away from the Sun faster than expected. This anomalous behaviour was detected using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in cooperation with ground-based telescopes. The new results suggest that `Oumuamua is most likely a comet and not an asteroid. The discovery appears in the journal Nature.

Predicted position of `Oumuamua versus observed position

`Oumuamua — the first interstellar object discovered within our Solar System — has been the subject of intense scrutiny since its discovery in October 2017 [1]. Now, by combining data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Gemini South Telescope, an international team of astronomers has found that the object is moving faster than predicted. The measured gain in speed is tiny and `Oumuamua is still slowing down because of the pull of the Sun — just not as fast as predicted by celestial mechanics.

Animation of `Oumuamua outgassing

The team, led by Marco Micheli (European Space Agency) explored several scenarios to explain the faster-than-predicted speed of this peculiar interstellar visitor. The most likely explanation is that `Oumuamua is venting material from its surface due to solar heating — a behaviour known as outgassing [2]. The thrust from this ejected material is thought to provide the small but steady push that is sending `Oumuamua hurtling out of the Solar System faster than expected — as of 1 June, it is travelling with about 114 000 kilometres per hour.

Animation of `Oumuamua outgassing and rotating

Such outgassing is a typical behaviour for comets and contradicts the previous classification of `Oumuamua as an interstellar asteroid. “We think this is a tiny, weird comet,” comments Marco Micheli. “We can see in the data that its boost is getting smaller the farther away it travels from the Sun, which is typical for comets.”

Animation of `Oumuamua passing through the Solar System

Usually, when comets are warmed by the Sun they eject dust and gas, which form a cloud of material — called a coma — around them, as well as the characteristic tail. However, the research team could not detect any visual evidence of outgassing.

Animation of `Oumuamua passing through the Solar System (annotated)

“We did not see any dust, coma, or tail, which is unusual,” explains co-author Karen Meech (University of Hawaii, USA) who led the discovery team’s characterisation of `Oumuamua in 2017. “We think  that ‘Oumuamua may vent unusually large, coarse dust grains.”

The team speculated that perhaps the small dust grains adorning the surface of most comets eroded during `Oumuamua’s journey through interstellar space, with only larger dust grains remaining. A cloud of these larger particles would not be bright enough to be detected by Hubble.

Animation showing the expected and measured trajectory of `Oumuamua

Not only is `Oumuamua’s hypothesised outgassing an unsolved mystery, but also its interstellar origin. The team originally performed the new observations on `Oumuamua to exactly determine its path which would have probably allowed it to trace the object back to its parent star system. The new results means it will be more challenging to obtain this information.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

“The true nature of this enigmatic interstellar nomad may remain a mystery,” concludes team member Olivier Hainaut (European Southern Observatory, Germany). “`Oumuamua’s recently-detected gain in speed makes it more difficult to be able to trace the path it took from its extrasolar home star.”

Notes:

[1]`Oumuamua, pronounced “oh-MOO-ah-MOO-ah”, was first discovered using the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii. Its name means “a messenger from afar, arriving first” in Hawaiian, and reflects its nature as the first known object of interstellar origin to have entered the Solar System.

[2] The team tested several hypotheses to explain the unexpected change in speed. They analysed whether solar radiation pressure, the Yarkovsky effect, or friction-like effects could explain the observations. It was also checked whether the gain in speed could have been caused by an impulse event (such as a collision), by `Oumuamua being a binary object or by `Oumuamua being a magnetised object. Also, the unlikely theory that `Oumuamua is an interstellar spaceship was rejected: the smooth and continuous change in speed is not typical for thrusters and the object is tumbling on all three axes, speaking against it being an artificial object.

More information:

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

The research team’s work is presented in the scientific paper “Non-gravitational acceleration in the trajectory of 1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua)”, which will be published in the journal Nature on 27 June 2018.

The international team of astronomers in this study consists of Marco Micheli (European Space Agency & INAF, Italy), Davide Farnocchia (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA), Karen J. Meech (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Marc W. Buie (Southwest Research Institute, USA), Olivier R. Hainaut (European Southern Observatory, Germany), Dina Prialnik (Tel Aviv University School of Geosciences, Israel), Harold A. Weaver (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA), Paul W. Chodas (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA), Jan T. Kleyna (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Robert Weryk (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Richard J. Wainscoat (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Harald Ebeling (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Jacqueline V. Keane (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Kenneth C. Chambers (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, USA), Detlef Koschny (European Space Agency, European Space Research and Technology Centre, & Technical University of Munich, Germany), and Anastassios E. Petropoulos (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA).

Links:

Hubblecast 111: Hubble sees `Oumuamua getting a boost: https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/heic1813a/

Images of Hubble: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/category/spacecraft/

Hubblesite release: http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2018-25

European Southern Observatory press release: https://eso.org/public/news/eso1820/

Institute for Astronomy (University of Hawaii) press release: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/Oumuamua-06-2018/

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope press release: http://cfht.hawaii.edu/en/news/Oumuamua/

European Space Agency press release: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Interstellar_asteroid_is_really_a_comet

Science paper: http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/releases/science_papers/heic1813/heic1813a.pdf

Press release about the discovery of `Oumuamua (European Southern Observatory, 2017): http://eso.org/public/news/eso1737/

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope: http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT): http://eso.org/public/

Gemini South Telescope: http://www.gemini.edu/

Images, Animation, Videos, Text, Credits: NASA, ESA, M. Kornmesser, L. Calcada/JPL-Caltech/Music: Mylonite - MRP (Mylonite Recordz Production).

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SolarStratos achieves its first flight

SolarStratos logo.

May 5, 2017

Raphaël Domjan's solar plane was successfully tested on Friday in Payerne AB. Objective: a solar stratospheric flight at more than 24'000 meters.

"This first flight lasted about seven minutes," said Communications Officer Michel Gandillon.

SolarStratos, the solar plane of Raphaël Domjan, made its first flight on Friday morning above Payerne (VD, Switzerland). The test driver Damian Hischier was in command. A very first test of about 6 minutes. The first stratospheric flight is expected in 2019.

"The machine is mounted between 250 and 300 meters. The goal was not to achieve an altitude record, but to make a first flight. So far, everything was limited to a drawing board, "explained to the ats Raphaël Domjan, the initiator of the project.

"Overall, everything went well. Of course, small adjustments, there will be, "added the eco-enthusiast. The debriefing and the detailed analysis of the flight remain to be done. Test flights will continue from next week.

In the stratosphere

Ultimately, by 2019, the objective is to achieve the first solar stratospheric flight at over 24,000 meters, an altitude impossible to reach with a conventional propulsion. The aircraft is 8.5 meters long and 24.8 meters wide. It is covered with 22 square meters of solar panels and weighs 450 kilos.

In June, Raphaël Domjan will present his plane to Montreal, where 130 mayors of the world's largest cities meet. Then the test flights will continue. "We will fly two, then I will take the orders," added Domjan.

With Bertrand Piccard

With his two-seater, he hopes to beat the record of altitude reached by Solar Impulse, the 10'000 meters. And this with Bertrand Piccard on board, perhaps by the end of the year already.

First successful flight for solar plane SolarStratos (in French)

For reasons of weight, the device is not pressurized. To fly in the stratosphere, the pilot must wear a combination of astronaut. "As of next year, we will begin flights in a pressurized suit," Domjan said. The eco-enthusiast recalls that its objective is to promote renewable energies. "In the 20th century, the adventure was realized with fossil energies. In the 21st century, it is written with renewable energies, "he said.

Related articles:

Swiss adventurer unveils incredible stratospheric solar plane
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2016/12/swiss-adventurer-unveils-incredible.html

Stratospheric flight with a solar plane
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2014/11/stratospheric-flight-with-solar-plane.html

For more information about SolarStratos, visit: https://www.solarstratos.com/en/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: Revillard/Rezo/SolarStratos/nxp/ats/Le Matin/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Swiss adventurer unveils incredible stratospheric solar plane

SolarStratos logo.

Dec. 7, 2016

Image above: The main goal of the SolarStratos Mission project is to be the first solar flight ever made to perform in 2018, with a climb to more than 75,000 feet, a stratospheric flight. Picture: Laurent Gillieron/Credit: AP.

Just months after two Swiss pilots completed a historic round-the-world trip in a Sun-powered plane, another Swiss adventurer on Wednesday unveiled a solar plane aimed at reaching the stratosphere.

The SolarStratos, a sleek, white two-seater aircraft with long wings covered with 22 square metres of solar panels, is set to become the first manned solar plane to make a stratospheric flight, according to Raphael Domjan, who is behind the project.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that current technology offers us the possibility to achieve above and beyond what fossil fuels offer,” he said in a statement, after unveiling the plane at the Payerne air base in western Switzerland.

Image above: Swiss adventurer Raphael Domjan poses with the solar-powered plane SolarStratos during the roll out ceremony at the air base in Payerne, Switzerland. Picture: Laurent Gillieron/Credit: AP.

“Electric and solar vehicles are amongst the major challenges of the 21st century,” said the 44-year-old, adding that the SolarStratos “can fly at an altitude of 25,000 metres.”

SolarStratos is scheduled to begin test flights next February, while medium altitude flights are planned for next summer, and the first stratospheric flights should take place in 2018, the statement said.

To keep down the weight, the plane will not be pressurised, and Mr Domjan will wear a spacesuit, also powered by solar energy, which will also mark a world first, it added.

‘REACH SPACE’?

Image above: The invention is set to become the first manned solar plane to make a stratospheric flight. Image Credit: SolarStratos.

The statement also claimed the craft could “reach space”.

“Travelling to the stratosphere will take approximately five hours: 2.5 hours to reach space, 15 minutes of broad daylight and stars, then three hours to return to Earth,” it said.

The stratosphere lies above Earth’s lowest atmospheric layer, called the troposphere.

At middle latitudes, the stratosphere runs from a lower boundary of about 10,000 metres to an upper boundary of about 50,000 metres.

SolarStratos, to the edge of space

Aeronautics engineers use a rough benchmark called the Karman line, located at about 100,000 metres above sea level, for defining the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

The announcement came after two of Domjan’s compatriots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, completed the first-ever round-the-globe trip in a solar plane last July, in a bid to showcase the possibilities for the future of renewable energy.

Solar Impulse 2 circumnavigated the globe in 17 stages, covering a remarkable 43,000 kilometres across four continents, two oceans and three seas, in 23 days of flying without using a drop of fuel.

Domjan meanwhile launched his SolarStratos project in 2014, two years after he became the first person to sail around the world in a fully solar-powered boat.

Image above: The solar-powered plane SolarStratos of Swiss adventurer Raphael Domjanis pictured during the roll out ceremony. Picture: Laurent Gillieron/Credit: AP.

He insisted Wednesday that the new aircraft’s ability to pierce the stratosphere “opens the door to the possibility of electric and solar commercial aviation, close to space.” Until now, reaching the stratosphere has until now required large quantities of energy or helium.

But the SolarStratos aircraft, could do so leaving only “the equivalent environmental footprint of an electric car”, Wednesday’s statement said.

The project “opens the door to new scientific knowledge, at an affordable price, exploration and the peaceful use of our stratosphere,” said Roland Loos, who heads SolarXplorers, the organisation in charge of developing the project.

SolarStratos – To the edge of space: http://www.solarstratos.com/en/

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: SolarStratos/AFP.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch