NASA's SDO Sees 2 Solar Flares

NASA - Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) patch.

June 10, 2014

The sun released a second X-class flare, peaking at 8:52 a.m. EDT on June 10, 2014. This is classified as an X1.5 flare.

SDO Sees Two Solar Flares

Video above: The sun emitted significant solar flares on June 10, 2014, peaking at 7:42 a.m. EDT and 8:52 a.m. EDT. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Image above:  The second X-class flare of June 10, 2014, appears as a bright flash on the left side of this image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. This image shows light in the 193-angstrom wavelength, which is typically colorized in yellow. It was captured at 8:55 a.m EDT, just after the flare peaked. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.

The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:42 a.m. EDT on June 10, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory – which typically observes the entire sun 24 hours a day -- captured images of the flare.

Image above: A solar flare bursts off the left limb of the sun in this image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 10, 2014, at 7:41 a.m. EDT. This is classified as an X2.2 flare, shown in a blend of two wavelengths of light: 171 and 131 angstroms, colorized in gold and red, respectively. Image Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard/Wiessinger.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

This flare is classified as an X2.2 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.

For more information about Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/ and http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Updates will be provided as needed.

Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Karen C. Fox.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Botany, Medical Research Aboard Station Wednesday

ISS - Expedition 40 Mission patch.

June 10, 2014

The six-person Expedition 40 crew reaped a full harvest of science Tuesday aboard the International Space Station with botanical and medical research, while preparations continue for an upcoming spacewalk.

Following the crew’s daily planning conference with the flight control teams around the world, Commander Steve Swanson began his workday removing and replacing tubing inside the Water Recovery System. Part of the station’s Environment Control and Life Support System, the Water Recovery System recycles condensation and urine into drinkable water.

Image above: Some 228 nautical miles above the home planet, one of the Expedition 40 crew members aboard the International Space Station photographed this view of a sun-kissed solar array wing and a photovoltaic radiator (top) on the orbital outpost on June 3, 2014.

Afterward, the commander retrieved a chamber containing seedlings that were germinating at +2 C inside the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS, or MELFI. Swanson placed the sample chamber into the Cell Biology Experiment Facility, which includes a centrifuge for controlled gravity levels. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Resist Tubule experiment, which studies the mechanisms for gravity resistance in plants, will help researchers learn more about the evolution of plants and enable efficient plant production both on Earth and in space.

Read more about Resist Tubule: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/966.html

Meanwhile, Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst participated in the Body Measures experiment, which collects detailed measurements of the astronauts’ bodies to help researchers understand the magnitude and variability of the changes to body size during spaceflight. Predicting these changes will maximize crew performance, prevent injury and reduce time spent altering or adjusting spacesuits and workstations. The investigation also could help scientists understand the effects of prolonged bed rest, which produces physiological changes similar to those experienced in microgravity.

Read more about Body Measures: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1070.html

Gerst later joined up with Swanson to train for the robotic capture of Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo ship, now scheduled to launch on the Orb-2 commercial resupply services mission no earlier than July 1. When Cygnus rendezvous with station, the crew will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and grapple Cygnus for its berthing to the Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony node.

Read more about Cygnus: http://www.nasa.gov/orbital

Swanson spent his afternoon harvesting a crop of six red romaine lettuce plants that were grown from seed inside the station’s Veggie facility, a low-cost plant growth chamber that uses a flat-panel light bank for plant growth and crew observation. For the Veg-01 experiment, researchers are testing and validating the Veggie hardware, and the plants will be returned to Earth to determine food safety.  After placing the harvested lettuce into MELFI, Swanson cleaned and dried the Veggie hardware.

Learn more about Veggie: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/veggie/

Swanson rounded out his day gathering tools and reviewing procedures for some work he will perform Wednesday to configure the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus Chamber Insert Assembly for the Flame Extinguishment Experiment-2.

Image above: Commander Steve Swanson shows off a red romaine lettuce plant he harvested from the Veggie facility aboard the International Space Station.

Wiseman meanwhile donned sensors for a 36-hour data collection period of the Circadian Rhythms study. The knowledge gleaned from this experiment not only will provide important insights into the adaptations of the human autonomic nervous system in space over time, but also has practical implications by helping to optimize crew schedules and workplace illumination.

Read more about the Circadian Rhythms study: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/892.html

Wiseman then deployed eight neutron monitors for the RaDI-N radiation detection study. Results from RaDI-N will help researchers accurately measure the risk assessment of neutron radiation in space and reduce the astronauts’ exposure to radiation on future missions.

On the Russian side of the complex, Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev focused on preparations for a planned 6 ½-hour spacewalk they will conduct next week to mount a new integrated command and telemetry system on the Zvezda service module and replace a payload rack on the Russian segment with a payload boom previously installed in a temporary location.

The two cosmonauts configured their Russian Orlan spacesuits and looked through the station’s windows to review the worksites for the spacewalk, which is slated to begin on June 19 at 9:50 a.m. EDT.

The third cosmonaut aboard the station, Flight Engineer Max Suraev, conducted a leak check of the cooling loops in Zvezda.  Later he deployed new radiation dosimeters for the Matryoshka experiment.

As the newest crew members, Suraev, Gerst and Wiseman also had an hour set aside on their own to learn the ropes of their new orbital home.  The trio arrived on May 28 aboard the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft to begin a 5 ½-month stay on the station.

For more information about the International Space Station (ISS), visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images, Text,  Credits: NASA / NASA TV.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Progress M-21M completed flight

ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.

09.06.2014

An unpiloted Russian Progress cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Monday, completing its second and final undocking from the station since arriving in late November 2013.

The ISS Progress 53 resupply craft undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 9:29 a.m. EDT as the station orbited over Mongolia.

Image above: The ISS Progress 53 cargo ship can be seen in the distance following its undocking from the International Space Station. Another Progress and a Soyuz spacecraft, both docked to the station, can be seen on the right. Image Credit: NASA TV.

From a window in the Russian segment of the station, Expedition 40 Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov photographed the departing Progress cargo ship as it began a 15-second separation burn to move a safe distance away from the orbiting complex. 

A 3-minute, 16-second deorbit burn beginning at 12:34 p.m. slowed the Progress for its destructive re-entry in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean less than an hour later. Progress resupply ships are not designed to be recovered, so, like its predecessors, Progress 53 was refilled with trash and station discards after its original cargo was unloaded by the station crew.

Progress 53 delivered 2.9 tons of food, fuel and supplies when it first arrived at the station on Nov. 29, following a flight that included a “fly-by” of the station two days earlier to test revamped Kurs automated rendezvous system hardware.  Because of a technical glitch unrelated to the new Kurs system, the Nov. 29 approach and docking of the Progress was controlled manually by the station’s crew using TORU, the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous Unit.

To complete the testing of the Kurs-NA rendezvous hardware and its associated software, Progress 53 undocked from Zvezda on April 23 and successfully performed an automated docking to that port two days later. The enhanced Kurs system will be incorporated into future Progress vehicles to reduce weight by eliminating several navigational antennas, thus enabling the Progress to carry additional supplies to the station.

The final departure of Progress 53 clears the Zvezda docking port for the arrival in August of the European Space Agency’s fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV-5. Named for the Belgian physicist and astronomer Georges Lemaitre, the ATV-5 is scheduled for launch from Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket in late July.

Image above: A camera on the departing ISS Progress 53 cargo craft captured this view of the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV.

In addition to monitoring the departure of Progress 53, the station’s six-person Expedition 40 crew supported a variety of experiments that can be conducted only in a microgravity environment and continued preparations for next week’s spacewalk.

June 9, 2014 at 21 hours 23 minutes Moscow time in a predetermined area of ​​the South Pacific is made of non-combustible residues flooding cargo vehicle (THC) Progress M-21M.

In 20 hours 34 minutes Moscow time in accordance with the program laid down in the ship's on-board computer specialists Mission Control Center (MCC) FSUE TsNIIMash on "space truck" was included on the braking propulsion, and then began a controlled reduction of THC from orbit.

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: http://www.federalspace.ru/20673/ and http://www.federalspace.ru/20674/

Image, Text, Credits: Roscosmos press service / ROSCOSMOS / NASA / NASA TV / Translation: Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Herschel’s population of trans-Neptunian objects

ESA - Herschel Exploring the Cold Universe patch.

June 9, 2014

ESA’s Herschel space observatory has observed 132 of the known 1400 cold worlds that inhabit a region of the Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune, some 4.5–7.5 billion km from the Sun.

These ‘trans-Neptunian objects’, or TNOs, include worlds such as Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Makemake, and make up a vast population of such objects thought to occupy these far-flung reaches of the Solar System.

TNOs are particularly cold, at around –230ºC, but these low temperatures lend themselves to observations by Herschel, which observes at far-infrared to sub-millimetre wavelengths. Indeed, the space observatory observed the thermal emission from 132 such objects during its nearly four-year lifetime.

These measurements provided their sizes and albedos (the fraction of visible light reflected from the surface), properties that are not otherwise easily accessible. The graphic presented here shows a sample of the population of TNOs observed with Herschel, arranged to showcase these properties.

What is most striking is their diversity. They range from just below 50 km to almost 2400 km in diameter; Pluto and Eris are the largest. Two worlds have distinctly elongated shapes: Haumea (seen in white) and Varuna (brown). Some even host their own moons (not shown).

The albedo measurement implies a variety of surface compositions: low albedo (brown) is an indication of dark surface materials, such as organic material, while higher albedo (white) suggests pure ices.

Herschel space observatory

TNOs are thought to be some of the most primitive remnants of the planet-forming era. Thus the results of the Herschel “TNOs are cool: A survey of the trans-Neptunian region” open key time programme are being used to test different models of Solar System formation and evolution.

For more information about Herschel space observatory, visit: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE; acknowledgements: M. Rengel and P. Lacerda (Max-Plack-Institute für Sonnensystemforschung, Germany), T. Müller (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik) and the Herschel “TNOs are Cool” Team.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Gored of the Rings

NASA / ESA - Cassini Mission to Saturn patch.

June 9, 2014

Prometheus is caught in the act of creating gores and streamers in the F ring. Scientists believe that Prometheus and its partner-moon Pandora are responsible for much of the structure in the F ring.

The orbit of Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across) regularly brings it into the F ring. When this happens, it creates gores, or channels, in the ring where it entered.  Prometheus then draws ring material with it as it exits the ring, leaving streamers in its wake.  This process creates the pattern of structures seen in this image. This process is described in detail, along with a movie of Prometheus creating one of the streamer/channel features, in PIA08397.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 8.6 degrees  above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 11, 2014.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 147 degrees. Image scale is 8 miles (13 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .

Image, Text,  Credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

'Hello, World!' NASA Beams Video from Space Station via Laser

NASA - Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) patch.

June 6, 2014

"Hello, World!" came the message from the International Space Station as NASA successfully beamed high-definition video via laser from space to ground on Thursday, June 5. The 175-megabit video transmission was the first of its kind for the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) with the goal of improving the way we receive data from orbit and beyond. In fact, this emerging technology of optical communications—or lasercomm—is likened to an upgrade from dial-up to DSL.

"It's incredible to see this magnificent beam of light arriving from our tiny payload on the space station," said Matt Abrahamson, OPALS mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Image above: This artist's concept shows how the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) laser beams data to Earth from the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.

OPALS launched to the space station aboard the SpaceX Dragon earlier this spring. This technology demonstration furthers NASA's exploration of higher-bandwidth methods of communicating with future spacecraft. Optical communications tools like OPALS use focused laser energy to achieve data rates 10 to 1,000 times higher than current space communications, which rely on radio portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

OPALS' success also is an important step in improving communication rates with spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. The instrument allows for communications rates to keep pace with the ever-increasing data generation produced by scientific instruments. The capability could replace the Federally-regulated radio frequencies currently in use from orbit to meet the needs anticipated by researchers for future missions, like Mars.

"We look forward to experimenting with OPALS over the coming months in hopes that our findings will lead to optical communications capabilities for future deep space exploration missions," Abrahamson said.

Image above: Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) team members at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory ground station at the Table Mountain Observatory in Wrightwood, California. Image Credit: NASA.

The space station moves through Earth's sky at approximately 17,500 mph. This speed requires extreme precise pointing ability. It's equivalent to a person aiming a laser pointer at the end of a human hair 30 feet away and keeping it there while walking. To achieve this precision, OPALS locked onto a ground beacon emitted by the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory ground station at the Table Mountain Observatory in Wrightwood, California.

Once locked onto the signal, OPALS began to modulate the beam from its 2.5-Watt 1,550-nanometer laser to transmit the video. The entire transmission lasted 148 seconds and achieved a maximum data rate of 50 megabits per second. It took OPALS 3.5 seconds to transmit a single copy of the “Hello World!” video message, which would have taken more than 10 minutes using traditional downlink methods. The message was sent multiple times during the transmission.

NASA's OPALS Beams Video from Space

The OPALS instrument was built at JPL as part of the Phaeton hands-on training program and is slated to run for a prime mission of 90 days. The OPALS Project Office is based at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. During these transmissions, NASA also will train personnel in optical communication systems operations, leading to improved optical communication instrument design.

Commercial ventures can likewise take note of the project, as it proves the use of lasercomm for optimized communications from space. This may mean higher definition video feeds from near-Earth assets, such as satellites, as well as those in deep space, like future Mars rovers. This improves the interaction and experience with the stakeholders, whether they be researchers, engineers or consumers. And if you remember the days of having to leave the room to download a video when using DSL, you know that higher-speed downloads are definitely the way to go!

Related link:

Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/861.html

For more information about the International Space Station (ISS), visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images, Video, Text, Credits: NASA / Jessica Nimon / JPL / Stephanie L. Smith.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Asteroid Discovered by NASA to Pass Earth Safely

NASA - NEOWISE Mission logo.

June 6, 2014

A newfound asteroid will safely pass Earth on June 8 from a distance of about 777,000 miles (1.25 million kilometers), more than three times farther away than our moon.

Designated 2014 HQ124, the asteroid was discovered April 23, 2014, by NASA's NEOWISE mission, a space telescope adapted for scouting the skies for asteroids and comets. The telescope sees infrared light, which allows it to pick up the infrared glow of asteroids and obtain better estimates of their true sizes. The NEOWISE data estimate asteroid 2014 HQ124 to be between 800 and 1,300 feet (250 and 400 meters).

"There is zero chance of an impact," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "In fact, it's fairly common for asteroids to pass near Earth. You'd expect an object about the size of 2014 HQ124 to pass this close every few years."

Image above: This diagram shows the orbit of asteroid 2014 HQ124, and its location relative to Earth on June 8. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

More than one hundred follow-up observations from NASA-funded, ground-based telescopes and amateur astronomers were used to pin down the orbit of the asteroid out to the year 2200, during which time it poses no risk to Earth. Its trajectory will continue to be recalculated past that time frame as additional observations are received.

Yeomans said that 2014 HQ124 is a good target for radar observations using NASA's Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, shortly after the closest approach on June 8. Radar measurements of asteroid distances and velocities often enable computation of asteroid orbits much further into the future than otherwise known.

2014 HQ124 is designated a "potentially hazardous asteroid," or PHA, which refers to those asteroids 460 feet (140 meters) in size or larger that pass within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million kilometers) of Earth's orbit around the sun. There are currently 1,484 known PHAs, but none pose a significant near-term risk of impacting Earth.

"Because NEOWISE is a space telescope observing the dawn and twilight sky at infrared wavelengths, it is particularly good at finding large NEOs that make relatively close passes to Earth," said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NEOWISE at JPL. "Using infrared light, we can estimate the object’s size, and we can tell that it reflects a fair amount of light. That means it’s most likely a stony object.”

NEOWISE space telescope. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them and identifies their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet. To date, U.S. assets have discovered more than 98 percent of the known near-Earth objects.

Along with the resources NASA puts into understanding asteroids, it also partners with other U.S. government agencies, university-based astronomers, and space science institutes across the country that are working to find, track and understand these objects better, often with grants, interagency transfers and other contracts from NASA. In addition, NASA values the work of numerous highly skilled amateur astronomers, whose accurate observational data helps improve asteroid orbits after they are found.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is available at: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch

Twitter updates are at: http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / JPL / Whitney Clavin.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch