Concept mission to clear a defunct satellite from orbit

ESA - European Space Agency patch.

23 April 2013

 Cleaning space

Artist’s concept showing how a defunct satellite could be grappled for a controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, where it would burn up and be destroyed harmlessly.

This is one of several concepts for clearing dead satellites from orbit being studied by space agencies and industry across Europe.

Hundreds of experts from across the globe are meeting at Europe’s largest-ever debris forum this week to share research findings and discuss potential solutions.

Satellite operators worldwide, including those flying telecom, weather, navigation, broadcast and climate-monitoring missions, are focusing their efforts on controlling space debris.

Scientists estimate the level of space debris orbiting Earth to be around 29 000 objects larger than 10 cm, 670 000 pieces larger than 1 cm and more than 170 million above 1 mm – and any one of these could seriously damage a spacecraft.

Cleaning space above our atmosphere is a strategic goal for ESA.

Background:
   
About debris: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Cleaning_space
   
Analysis and prediction: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Analysis_and_prediction
    
Scanning & observing: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Scanning_observing
   
Re-entry and collision avoidance: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Re-entry_and_collision_avoidance
   
Mitigating space debris generation: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Mitigating_space_debris_generation
   
Debris removal: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Debris_removal
   
Hypervelocity impacts and protecting spacecraft: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Hypervelocity_impacts_and_protecting_spacecraft
   
International cooperation: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/International_cooperation

Images, Text, Credits: ESA / Mixed-Reality Communication GmbH.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Taking two bites at ocean salinity?

ESA - SMOS Mission logo / NASA - Aquarius Mission patch.

22 April 2013

The saltiness of the oceans is being closely monitored from space by both ESA’s SMOS and NASA’s Aquarius missions, but in slightly different ways. By joining forces, researchers are exploiting these complementary missions to benefit climate science even further.

Freshwater plume from SMOS (top) Aquarius (bottom)

Everyone knows that seawater is salty, but it isn’t that obvious that the concentration of salt – the salinity – of the surface waters of the world’s oceans varies considerably with location and season.

Salinity is controlled largely by the balance between evaporation and precipitation, so it is an important component of Earth’s water cycle and closely coupled to weather and climate. It is also an important driver in ocean circulation, which in turn, is crucial in moderating the climate.

In fact, ocean salinity is an 'essential climate variable' – a key parameter of climate change.

SMOS in orbit

Until the launch of SMOS in 2009 and Aquarius in 2011, global data on this important variable were simply not available. Scientists need this information to feed into the mathematical models they use to understand the complexities of the exchange processes between Earth’s surfaces and the atmosphere.

Thanks to both missions, these much-needed data are leading to a better understanding of the water cycle, how the ocean works and how salinity is linked to weather and climate.

ESA’s SMOS satellite and NASA’s Aquarius sensor, carried on Argentina’s SAC-D satellite, both use an L-band radiometer to map ocean salinity but offer different resolutions and revisit times.

Salinity from SMOS and Aquarius

For example, Aquarius provides better ‘pixel’ accuracy than SMOS, whereas SMOS provides higher revisit times and spatial resolution.

While it has been shown clearly that their datasets agree and provide similar information, the differences in the data can be exploited to yield even more detail about variations in the salinity of our oceans.

Aquarius in orbit

For instance, the animation above shows the freshwater plume in the Pacific Ocean west of Panama as seen from both missions. This fresh pool is a consequence of heavy summer rains over Central America. Wind is also an important factor in the salinity of the water in this region.

Related links:

SMOS: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/SMOS/

Access SMOS data: http://earth.esa.int/SMOS/

Essential climate variable: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/index.php?name=EssentialClimateVariables

SMOS & Aquarius science workshop: http://www.smosaquarius2013.org/

Aquarius: http://aquarius.nasa.gov/index.html

Ifremer: http://www.salinityremotesensing.ifremer.fr/home

SMAP: http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov/

CONAE: http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: ESA / P. Carril / NASA / IFREMER / ESR.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA Successfully Launches Three Smartphone Satellites

NASA logo.

April 22, 2013

Three smartphones destined to become low-cost satellites rode to space Sunday aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Science Corp.'s Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia.

The trio of "PhoneSats" is operating in orbit, and may prove to be the lowest-cost satellites ever flown in space. The goal of NASA's PhoneSat mission is to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone can be used as the main flight avionics of a capable, yet very inexpensive, satellite.

NASA PhoneSat 1.0

Transmissions from all three PhoneSats have been received at multiple ground stations on Earth, indicating they are operating normally. The PhoneSat team at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., will continue to monitor the satellites in the coming days. The satellites are expected to remain in orbit for as long as two weeks.

"It's always great to see a space technology mission make it to orbit -- the high frontier is the ultimate testing ground for new and innovative space technologies of the future," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington.

"Smartphones offer a wealth of potential capabilities for flying small, low-cost, powerful satellites for atmospheric or Earth science, communications, or other space-born applications. They also may open space to a whole new generation of commercial, academic and citizen-space users."

PhoneSat 1.0 design

Satellites consisting mainly of the smartphones will send information about their health via radio back to Earth in an effort to demonstrate they can work as satellites in space. The spacecraft also will attempt to take pictures of Earth using their cameras. Amateur radio operators around the world can participate in the mission by monitoring transmissions and retrieving image data from the three satellites. Large images will be transmitted in small chunks and will be reconstructed through a distributed ground station network. More information can found at: http://www.phonesat.org

NASA's off-the-shelf PhoneSats already have many of the systems needed for a satellite, including fast processors, versatile operating systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers and several radios.

NASA engineers kept the total cost of the components for the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project between $3,500 and $7,000 by using primarily commercial hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum. The hardware for this mission is the Google-HTC Nexus One smartphone running the Android operating system.

PhoneSat 1.0 assembly

NASA added items a satellite needs that the smartphones do not have -- a larger, external lithium-ion battery bank and a more powerful radio for messages it sends from space. The smartphone's ability to send and receive calls and text messages has been disabled.

Each smartphone is housed in a standard cubesat structure, measuring about 4 inches square. The smartphone acts as the satellite's onboard computer. Its sensors are used for attitude determination and its camera for Earth observation.

For more about information about NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Program and the PhoneSat mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/smallsats

The PhoneSat mission is a technology demonstration project developed through the agency's Small Spacecraft Technology Program, part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The directorate is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in future science and exploration missions. NASA's technology investments provide cutting-edge solutions for our nation's future. For more information about NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

Images, Text, Credit: NASA.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Facing Enceladus

NASA / ESA - Cassini Mission to Saturn patch.

22 April 2013

 Facing Enceladus

A patchwork network of frozen ridges and troughs cover the face of Enceladus, Saturn’s most enigmatic of icy moons.

This face-on colour view of Enceladus was taken by the international Cassini spacecraft on 31 January 2011, from a distance of 81 000 km, and processed by amateur astronomer Gordan Ugarković.

Saturn’s imposing gravitational pull massages the moon’s icy shell, buckling it into ridges that tower over deep fractures.

The cavernous scar towards the south, which may plunge to depths of a kilometre, cuts across other features, indicating its relative youth. By contrast, the cratered region to the north, which is split in two by a vast swath of grooved terrain, hints at a much older surface that has so far escaped the resurfacing experienced elsewhere.

Enceladus is a moon bursting at the seams: along the southern hemisphere, plumes of ice particles mixed with water vapour, salts and organic material jet from fissures nicknamed ‘tiger stripes’.

Some of the plumes pump their spray into space at speeds of over 2000 km/h, injecting particles into Saturn’s E-ring.

The chemistry of the plumes suggests that there may be a liquid ocean hidden beneath the moon’s surface that could provide a suitable habitat for life.

Cassini spacecraft Enceladus flyby

A thin crescent of Enceladus is illuminated by incident sunlight coming from the right hand side of this frame, including sunlight that has been reflected by Saturn onto the moon.

The Cassini–Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA and ASI, the Italian space agency. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington DC, USA.

Related links:

At Saturn and Titan: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens

Cassini-Huygens in depth: http://sci.esa.int/huygens

Images, Text, Credits: ESA / NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / G. Ugarković.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

NASA Partner Orbital Sciences Test Launches Antares Rocket

NASA / ORBITAL - Antares A One Mission patch.

April 21, 2013

 The Antares rocket clears the launch pad on its way to orbit. Credit: NASA

NASA commercial space partner Orbital Sciences Corporation Sunday launched its Antares rocket at 5:00 p.m. EDT from the new Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Successful Launch for Antares

The test flight was the first launch from the pad at Wallops and was the first flight of Antares, which delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft, a so-called mass simulated payload, into Earth's orbit.

"Today's successful test marks another significant milestone in NASA's plan to rely on American companies to launch supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station, bringing this important work back to the United States where it belongs," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Congratulations to Orbital Sciences and the NASA team that worked alongside them for the picture-perfect launch of the Antares rocket. In addition to providing further evidence that our strategic space exploration plan is moving forward, this test also inaugurates America's newest spaceport capable of launching to the space station, opening up additional opportunities for commercial and government users.

The Cygnus spacecraft is designed to carry cargo and experiments for ISS. Image credit: NASA

"President Obama has presented a budget for next year that ensures the United States will remain the world leader in space exploration, and a critical part of this budget is the funding needed to advance NASA's commercial space initiative. In order to stop outsourcing American space launches, we need to have the President's budget enacted. It's a budget that's good for our economy, good for the U.S. Space program -- and good for American taxpayers."

The test of the Antares launch system began with the rocket's rollout and placement on the launch pad April 6, and culminated with the separation of the mass simulator payload from the rocket.

The completed flight paves the way for a demonstration mission by Orbital to resupply the space station later this year. Antares will launch experiments and supplies to the orbiting laboratory carried aboard the company's new Cygnus cargo spacecraft through NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

"Today's successful test flight of Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket from the spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, demonstrates an additional private space-launch capability for the United States and lays the groundwork for the first Antares cargo mission to the International Space Station later this year," said John Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. "The growing potential of America's commercial space industry and NASA's use of public-private partnerships are central to President Obama's strategy to ensure U.S. leadership in space exploration while pushing the bounds of scientific discovery and innovation in the 21st century. With NASA focusing on the challenging and exciting task of sending humans deeper into space than ever before, private companies will be crucial in taking the baton for American cargo and crew launches into low-Earth orbit.

Antares description. Image credit: Orbital

"I congratulate Orbital Sciences and the NASA teams at Wallops, and look forward to more groundbreaking missions in the months and years ahead."

Orbital is building and testing its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. After successful completion of a COTS demonstration mission to the station, Orbital will begin conducting eight planned cargo resupply flights to the orbiting laboratory through NASA's $1.9 billion CRS contract with the company.

NASA initiatives, such as COTS, are helping to develop a robust U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. NASA's Commercial Crew Program also is working with commercial space partners to develop capabilities to launch U.S. astronauts from American soil in the next few years.

For more information about the upcoming Orbital test flights, and links to NASA's COTS and Commercial Crew programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/orbital

For information on Orbital's Antares launch vehicle, visit: http://www.orbital.com/Antares

Images, Text, Video, Credits: NASA / Trent J. Perrotto / Johnson Space Center / Josh Byerly / Orbital Sciences Corp.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

CME Headed Toward Planet Mercury

NASA - STEREO Mission logo / NASA / ESA - SOHO Mission patch.

April 21, 2013

The same region of the sun erupted with another coronal mass ejection (CME) at 3:54 a.m. on April 21, 2013. Experimental NASA research models show the CME left the sun at speeds of 550 miles per second. The models show that the CME will also pass by NASA’s Messenger and the flank of the CME may graze STEREO-A. The Messenger and STEREO mission operators have been notified. There may be some particle radiation associated with this event, which in the worst case scenarios can impact computer electronics on board interplanetary spacecraft. If warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments from the solar material.

(Click on the image for enlarge)

This image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) was captured at 7:30 a.m. EDT on April 20, 2013. The CME is headed in the direction of Mercury. The large bright spot on the left is Venus. Credit: ESA & NASA / SOHO.

On April 20, 2013, at 2:54 a.m. EDT, the sun erupted with a coronal mass ejection (CME), a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space that can affect electronic systems in satellites. Experimental NASA research models show that the CME left the sun at 500 miles per second and is not Earth-directed. However, it may pass by NASA's Messenger and STEREO-A satellites, and their mission operators have been notified. There is, however, no particle radiation associated with this event, which is what would normally concern operators of interplanetary spacecraft since the particles can trip computer electronics on board. When warranted, NASA operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments from the solar material.

What is a solar flare? What is a CME?

For answers to these and other space weather questions, please visit the Spaceweather Frequently Asked Questions page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html

Related Links:

View Past Solar Activity: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Solar-Events.html

Image (mentioned), Text, Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Karen C. Fox.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Spacewalkers Deploy Plasma Experiment, Install Navigational Aid

ISS - International Space Station patch / ISS - Expedition 35 Mission patch.

April 19, 2013

Image above: International Space Station Expedition 35 flight engineers Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Two members of the Expedition 35 crew wrapped up a 6-hour, 38 minute spacewalk at 4:41 p.m. EDT Friday to deploy and retrieve several science experiments on the exterior of the International Space Station and install a new navigational aid.

Russian Flight Engineers Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko opened the hatch to the Pirs airlock and docking compartment to start the spacewalk at 10:03 a.m.

Image above: Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko's helmet camera captured this view of Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov during Friday's spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.

The spacewalkers' first task was to install the Obstanovka experiment on the station's Zvezda service module. Obstanovka will study plasma waves and the effect of space weather on Earth's ionosphere.

While at the far end of Zvezda, Vinogradov and Romanenko replaced a faulty retro-reflector device, one of a suite of navigational aids that will provide assistance to the European Space Agency's Albert Einstein Automated Transfer Vehicle 4 cargo ship during its final approach for an automated docking to the space station in June.

Russian Spacewalk Underway outside International Space Station

After deploying a pair of sensor booms for Obstanovka, Vinogradov and Romanenko retrieved the Biorisk experiment from the exterior of Pirs. The Biorisk experiment studied the effect of microbes on spacecraft structures.

For their final task, the two spacewalkers translated to the Poisk module to retrieve one of two Vinoslivost Materials Sample Experiment panels from the Poisk module. As Vinogradov was removing the panel, it slipped out of his grasp and was irretrievable. The trajectory the panel took will move it away from the space station with no chance of the two making contact.

This image of Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko participating in Friday's spacewalk was posted on Twitter by Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn. Credit: NASA.

This was the 167th spacewalk in support of space station assembly and maintenance, totaling 1,055 hours, 39 minutes. Vinogradov's seven spacewalks total 38 hours, 25 minutes. Romanenko completed his first spacewalk.

This was the first of as many as six Russian spacewalks planned for this year. Two U.S. spacewalks are scheduled in July.

During Friday’s spacewalk, Flight Engineers Alexander Misurkin and Chris Cassidy were restricted to their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft and the Poisk module to which it is docked. This is a standard procedure during Russian spacewalks as hatches are closed to protect the remainder of the station while still providing crew members access to their Soyuz vehicles.

Image above: Commander Chris Hadfield performs maintenance on the Waste and Hygiene Compartment. Credit: NASA TV.

Commander Chris Cassidy and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, whose Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft is docked to Rassvet module, had a freer run of the station, including the Zarya module and all modules on the U.S. side of the station. While Vinogradov and Romanenko performed their spacewalk outside the station, Hadfield and Marshburn continued scientific research and maintenance activities inside.

Marshburn delved into his first onboard session with the BP Reg, a Canadian medical experiment that seeks to understand the causes of fainting and dizziness seen in some station astronauts upon return to Earth. BP Reg collects data before, during and after the mission using inflatable cuffs attached to the legs. The experiment will not only help understand dizziness in astronauts, but also have direct benefits for people on Earth – particularly those predisposed to falls and resulting injuries, as seen in the elderly.

In this image made from video provided by NASA, Russian Cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, left, and Roman Romanenko perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station to gather old science experiments and install new ones, and replace a navigation device. Image credit: NASA TV.

Read more about BP Reg from the Canadian Space Agency: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/608.html

Marshburn also collected data from NanoRacks and transferred the data to a laptop computer. NanoRacks provides microgravity research facilities for small standardized payloads aboard the station.

Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko works outside the Pirs docking compartment shortly after the start of the spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.

Hadfield retrieved acoustic dosimeters that Cassidy deployed throughout the station Thursday and downloaded the data from these devices to track the noise levels that crew members are exposed to.

Hadfield also performed some maintenance on the Waste and Hygiene Compartment, one of the toilets aboard the station. The commander rounded out his workday loading software on a laptop computer associated with EXPRESS rack 8. Each of the eight EXPRESS racks aboard the complex provides simple, standard interfaces to accommodate up to ten small payloads, resulting in a total capability to operate up to 80 experiments.

Image above: Russian Cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, left, and Roman Romanenko perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV.

Read more about EXPRESS racks: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/608.html

Over the weekend, the Russian crew members will spend some time drying out their Orlan spacesuits and stowing the tools used in Friday’s spacewalk. All six crew members will participate in weekly housekeeping tasks and enjoy some off-duty time to rest and catch up with friends and family back on Earth.

Read more about Expedition 35: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition35/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA / NASA TV.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch