Wilmore, Virts Get Ready for Second Spacewalk

ISS - Expedition 42 Mission patch.

February 24, 2015

Image above: NASA astronaut Terry Virts Flight Engineer of Expedition 42 on the International Space Station is seen working to complete a cable routing task while the sun begins to peak over the Earth’s horizon on Feb. 21 2015. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Ground controllers have maneuvered the space station’s large robotic arm Canadarm2 in place for work planned for Wednesday’s spacewalk. Spacewalkers Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts will start their second spacewalk at 7:10 a.m. EST to lay more cables and lubricate one of Canadarm2’s two latching end effectors, which serve as tip or base for the robotic arm. They will also prepare the Tranquility module for the relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the new Bigelow Expanded Activity Module later this year.

Read about the first spacewalk: http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2015/02/astronauts-complete-successful-spacewalk.html

While the duo is reviewing its procedures and getting its tools and spacesuits ready, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti worked a variety of advanced life science and high-flying plumbing work. She wore gear for the Drain Brain experiment that studies how blood flows from the brain back to the heart in microgravity.

Image above: The leading end effector of the Canadarm2 (bottom foreground) will be lubricated Wednesday when astronauts Barry Wilmore conduct their second spacewalk. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Read more about the Drain Brain study: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1278.html

The three Expedition 42 cosmonauts enjoyed an off-duty day today in observation of the Russian Defender of the Fatherland holiday.

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

Images (mentioned), Text, Credit: NASA.

ESA’s spaceplane is coming home

ESA - Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (IXV) patch.

24 February 2015

ESA’s IXV spaceplane, launched on a Vega rocket on 11 February, is now on its way to Europe for detailed study in Italy.

The mission of only 100 minutes was flawless and ended with a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, just west of the Galapagos islands.

IXV coming home

The Nos Aries recovery ship waited while divers in speedboats approached the floating craft and checked for residual propellant fumes.

On the all-clear, the boat carefully manoeuvred closer and the recovery crane hoisted the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, IXV, to safety before the fuel tank was cleaned out for the journey home.

Nos Aries will arrive in Genoa in Italy towards the end of March. IXV, still packed inside its container, will then travel to Turin for inspection and further analysis.

IXV looks to be in great shape and shows only light scorching from the blazing plasma of reentry.

Awaiting recovery

Launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, IXV separated from the rocket at an altitude of 340 km and continued up to 412 km before starting its descent back to Earth.

While reentering from this suborbital path, it recorded a vast amount of data from more than 300 advanced and conventional sensors studding the carbon-fibre panels of its underbody.

Inside the vehicle, compartments housed the avionics, parachute and actuators controlling the thrusters and flaps.

As it descended, the five-metre-long, two-tonne craft manoeuvred to decelerate from hypersonic to supersonic speed. The entry speed of 7.5 km/s at an altitude of 120 km mimicked the conditions experienced by a vehicle returning from low orbit.

Checking for residual hydrazine

IXV glided through the atmosphere before parachutes deployed to slow the descent further.

IXV’s fully controlled reentry from orbital velocity and altitude represents an important first for Europe. The information gathered from this mission will shape the design of future reusable reentry vehicles.

Related links:

IXV spacecraft: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV/IXV_spacecraft

IXV mission animation: http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2012/11/ESA_s_IXV_reentry_vehicle_mission

About the launcher:

Vega: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Launch_vehicles/Vega

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/Tommaso Javidi.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Colours in the cloud

ESA - Herschel Mission patch / NASA - Spitzer Space Telescope patch.

Feb. 23, 2015

Exploring the colours of the Small Magellanic Cloud

Astronomical images often look like works of art. This picture of one of our nearest neighbouring galaxies, the Small Magellanic Cloud, is certainly no exception!

The scene is actually a collaboration between two cosmic artists — ESA’s Herschel space observatory and NASA’s Spitzer space telescope. The image is reminiscent of an artistic stipple or pointillist painting, with lots of small, distinct dots coming together to create a striking larger-scale view.

The colours within this image provide information about the temperature of the dust mixed with the gas throughout the galaxy. The slight green tint stretching towards the left of the frame and the red hue of the main body of the galaxy are from the Herschel observations, which highlight cold material, down to a chilly –260 degrees Celsius .

The brighter patches of blue were captured by Spitzer. These regions are made up of ‘warmer’ —about –150 degrees Celsius — gas and dust, and within some of these areas new stars are being born. These newborn stars in turn warm up their surroundings, resulting in intense clumps of heated gas and dust within the galaxy.

These clumps show up brightly in this image, tracing the shape of the galaxy clearly — the SMC is made up of a central ‘bar’ of star formation, visible on the right hand side, and then a more extended ‘wing’, stretching out towards the left of the frame.

Overall, the Small Magellanic Cloud is about 1/20th of the size of the Milky Way. It can be seen shining in the night sky of the southern hemisphere, and its brightest regions are easily visible to the naked eye. It is a satellite galaxy of our own — it orbits around the Milky Way along with its bigger companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud. These two galaxies have been extensively studied because of their proximity to us; astronomers can observe them relatively easily to explore how star formation and galactic evolution works in galaxies other than our own.

The data in this image are from Herschel’s Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS), and Spitzer’s Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS).

This image was previously published by NASA/JPL.

Related links:
ESA’s Herschel space observatory: http://sci.esa.int/herschel/

NASA’s Spitzer space telescope: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/

Image, Text, Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Astronauts Complete Successful Spacewalk

ISS - Expedition 42 Mission patch.

February 21, 2015

Spacewalkers Attaching Cables for Future Commercial Crew Vehicles

Image above: Spacewalkers Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts attach power and data cables to the port and starboard sides of Pressurized Mating Adapter-2. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes into today’s spacewalk, astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts have finished attaching several new cables on the port side of Pressurized Mating Adapter-2. The duo will reinstall a debris shield before moving to attach another new cable on the starboard side and route additional cables during their remaining time outside the International Space Station.

The crew is routing more than 300 feet of cable during today’s spacewalk and a second one planned for Wednesday as part of a reconfiguration of the station to enable U.S. commercial crew vehicles under development to dock to the space station in the coming years.

Video above: U.S. Space Station Crew Members Begin Spacewalk Trilogy To Prepare For Commercial Crew Vehicles. Video Credit: NASA TV.

First of Three Spacewalks Complete

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts ended their spacewalk at 2:26 p.m. EST with the repressurization of the Quest airlock. Wilmore and Virts completed all the scheduled tasks for today and one get ahead task. They rigged a series of power and data cables at the forward end of the Harmony module and Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 and routed 340 of 360 feet of cable. The cable routing work is part of a reconfiguration of station systems and modules to accommodate the delivery of new docking adapters that commercial crew vehicles will use later this decade to deliver astronauts to the orbital laboratory.

Image above: Spacewalkers Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts worked to set up 340 feet of cable on Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 readying it for an International Docking Adapter to accommodate future commercial crew vehicles. Image Credit: NASA TV.

The 6-hour, 41-minute spacewalk was the first for Virts. Wilmore now has spent 13 hours and 15 minutes in the void of space during two spacewalks. The spacewalk began this morning at 7:45 a.m. Astronauts have now spent a total of 1,159 hours and 8 minutes conducting space station assembly and maintenance during 185 spacewalks.

The duo will venture outside the space station again on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to deploy two more cables and lubricate the end of the space station’s robotic arm. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6 a.m. Wednesday ahead of a planned 7:10 a.m. start time for the spacewalk.

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

Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credit: NASA.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Upcoming Spacewalks to Prepare Space Station for U.S. Commercial Crew Arrivals

ISS - Expedition 42 Mission patch.

February 20, 2015

Change is on the horizon for the International Space Station as three upcoming spacewalks prepare the orbiting laboratory for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft.

The spacewalks are designed to lay cables along the forward end of the U.S. segment to bring power and communication to two International Docking Adapters slated to arrive later this year. The new docking ports will welcome U.S. commercial spacecraft launching from Florida beginning in 2017, permitting the standard station crew size to grow from six to seven and potentially double the amount of crew time devoted to research.

Image above: Spacewalkers Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts. Image Credit: NASA TV.

The third of the three space walks will see the installation of two new communication antennas on opposite ends of the station’s truss to assist in the commercial crew vehicles approach for docking. The spacewalks are planned for Saturday, Feb. 21; Wednesday, Feb. 25; and Sunday, March 1, with Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts participating in all three.

“The challenge for the ISS is going to be continuing maturity over multiple decades of the station and what it will do for crew on the path to commercialization,” said Kenny Todd, International Space Station Operations Integration manager. “It’s fun, it’s exciting and we’re looking forward to transforming the station.”

The goal of these spacewalks is to prepare two berthing ports on the U.S. for the docking for commercial crew transport ships. The station has eight ports for cargo and crew total, including the U.S. and international segments.

All three EVAs will be performed in U.S. spacesuits, and will last around six and a half hours each.

Boeing and SpaceX were recently awarded Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts with NASA to develop solutions for U.S. astronaut transportation to and from the space station. After NASA crews begin fly with these contractors, it is expected to double the amount of time devoted to science in space from 40 hours to 80 hours per week. U.S. commercial crew capabilities also could provide a faster turnaround to bring completed experiments from the orbiting laboratory back to Earth.

SpaceX’s sixth commercial resupply mission is scheduled to launch to the station no earlier than April and will bring with supplies and equipment to support more than 200 research investigations. The two new docking adapters will be launched to the station on a pair of SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft later this year. SpaceX is targeting its new Crew Dragon spacecraft to make an uncrewed flight test in late 2016 and a crewed flight test in early 2017.

Image above: International Docking Adapter Locations. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Boeing is working with NASA on its CST-100 spacecraft, which will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Boeing recently announced future projects including a pad abort test in February 2017, an orbital flight test in April 2017, and a crewed flight test with one Boeing test pilot and one NASA astronaut in July 2017.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.

The first spacewalk is now set to begin Saturday at 7:10 a.m. EST with NASA TV live coverage starting at 6 a.m. The second and third spacewalks are planned for Feb. 25 and March 1, both beginning at 7:10 a.m.

Related links:

NASA TV live coverage: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

First of Three Spacewalks Now Set for Saturday: http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2015/02/first-of-three-spacewalks-now-set-for.html

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

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Anna Seils.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

NASA Snaps Picture of Eastern U.S. in a Record-Breaking "Freezer"

NASA - EOS TERRA Mission patch.

February 20, 2015

NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of the snow-covered eastern U.S. that looks like the states have been sitting in a freezer. In addition to the snow cover, Arctic and Siberian air masses have settled in over the Eastern U.S. triggering many record low temperatures in many states.

On Feb. 19 at 16:40 UTC (11:40 a.m. EST), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a picture of the snowy landscape. The snow cover combined with the frosty air mass made the eastern U.S. feel like the inside of freezer. The MODIS image was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

On the morning of Feb. 20, NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) noted, "There were widespread subzero overnight lows Thursday night (Feb. 19) extending from Illinois to western Virginia, and numerous record lows were set. Bitterly-cold arctic air is setting numerous temperature records across the eastern U.S. and will keep temperatures well below normal on Friday (Feb. 20)."

Image above: NASA's Terra satellite captured this picture of snow across the eastern United States on Feb. 19 at 16:20 UTC (11:20 a.m. EST). Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team.

In Baltimore, Maryland, a low temperature of 1F broke the record low for coldest morning recorded at the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington-International Airport.

In Louisville, Kentucky, temperatures dropped to -6F, breaking the old record low of 0F, according to meteorologist Brian Goode of WAVE-TV.  Meanwhile, Richmond Kentucky bottomed out at a frigid -32F.

In North Carolina, a record low temperature was set at Charlotte where the overnight temperature bottomed out at 7F breaking the old record of 13F in 1896. In Asheville, temperatures dropped to just 4F breaking the old record of 10F in 1979. Temperature records for Asheville extend back to 1876.  

Several records were also broken in Georgia, according to Matt Daniel, a meteorologist at WMAZ-TV, Macon Georgia, who cited data from the National Weather Service. Daniel said that Macon set a new record low when the temperature dropped to 18F, beating the previous record of 21F set in 1958. Athens broke a new record low, too dropping to 14F and beating the old record of 18F set in 1958/1928.

 NASA Terra satellite. Image Credit: NASA

NOAA's NPC noted that "Highs on Friday (Feb. 20) will struggle to get out of the teens from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region.  After Friday, temperatures are forecast to moderate and get closer to February averages as a storm system approaches from the west."

For more information about Terra satellite mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/terra/

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Rob Gutro.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

ATV’s internal camera delivered data, but not images

ESA / NASA - ATV-5 Re-Entry Observation Campaign logo.

20 February 2015

A prototype ‘blackbox for spacecraft’ running inside ESA’s cargo ferry as it burned up in the atmosphere managed to return data to the ground but, sadly, the images it took were lost in transit.

ESA’s fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle broke up as planned over an uninhabited region of the South Pacific at about 18:04 GMT on Sunday 15 February, having separated from the International Space Station the day before.

Final view of camera system

Aboard it was the Break-Up Camera, designed to record ATV’s death throes in the infrared and transfer the results to the SatCom heatshield-protected sphere.

Surviving the break-up, SatCom then broadcasts its stored data to Iridium telecom satellites as it plummets back to Earth.

How did it turn out in practice? The good news is that the team did indeed receive a message from the SatCom on Sunday evening at 18:08 GMT, four minutes after ATV broke up.

Neil Murray, overseeing the project for ESA, explains: “The message we received contained information on the number of pictures taken – nearly 6000 – as well as accelerometer and magnetometer readings, details of the sphere rotation and a temperature reading.

ATV-5 reentry seen from Space Station

“Receipt of this message demonstrates that all systems worked correctly: the trigger logic guiding its operation was correctly implemented, the infrared camera worked and acquired images and then buffered thousands of them to SatCom.

“In turn, SatCom survived break-up, and then – after the closing of the four inhibits against early transmission – switched on its modem  and contacted the telecom satellite constellation to send at least one message.

“We also know from the message the internal temperature of the sphere remained moderate and there were no signs of any thermal issues.

“To retrieve all the data, more messages would have been required, but – frustratingly – these have nor arrived. Our team is currently investigating why further data packets didn’t make it through. This investigation may result in improvements, such as a backup data relay for future missions.”

ATV-5 departs the Station

By returning data, the prototype contributed to the development and qualification of the design, this blackbox system being part of the Agency’s continuing research into reentry dynamics.

The camera and capsule were built by Ruag in Switzerland, with thermal protection contributed by the DLR German Aerospace Center, software from Switzerland’s ETH Zurich and the antenna and electronics from Switzerland’s Viasat, with Denmark’s GomSpace delivering batteries.

Related links:

ATV 5 Georges Lemaître: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/ATV

ATV-5 ESA/NASA reentry observation campaign: http://atv5.seti.org/

About Propulsion and Aerothermodynamics: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/esaTQM/1079452419720_mechanical_0.html

NASA Re-entry Break-up Recorder: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/rebr.html

JAXA i-Ball images of HTV break-up: http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/reentry-images-show-htv-breakup/

RUAG Space Switzerland: http://www.ruag.com/space/RUAG_Space_Switzerland

DLR: http://www.dlr.de/dlr;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en

ETH Zurich: http://www.ethz.ch/index_EN

ViaSat Antenna Systems: https://www.viasat.com/company/locations/switzerland

GomSpace: http://gomspace.com/index.php?p=home

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/NASA.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch