Caution! Martian wind at work

 

ESA - Mars Express Mission patch.

Feb 23, 2022

This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows part of possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation, or MFF.

The Medusae Fossae formation

The MFF is not only a veritable dust factory, but also remarkably extensive – it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5000 km, covering an area about the size of India. It is named for the Greek mythological Gorgon Medusa, who was able to turn those who looked into her eyes to stone, with the suffix ‘fossae’ being Latin for trenches or hollows.

Medusae Fossae in context

The formation is found along the boundary between Mars’ southern highlands and northern lowlands (known as the martian dichotomy), and sits between the planet’s two most prominent volcanic regions (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, the edges of which can be seen in the gentle elevation extending out of the bottom right of the frame (northeast).

This change in elevation can be seen especially clearly in the accompanying topographic map of this slice of martian surface.

Topography of Medusae Fossae

Here, the edges of Eumenides Dorsum can be seen in shades of red, climbing above the lower-lying surrounding terrain.

Easily eroded

Many different surface features comprise the MFF, which appears to be easily eroded by wind. Its surface alternately appears to be smooth and gently undulating, as seen to the upper left of the frame (southwest), wind-sculpted into kilometre-long ridges and grooves known as yardangs, as seen to the centre and lower-left (southeast), and pitted with small, crescent-shaped depressions, visible to the lower right (northeast).

Medusae Fossae in 3D

Wind is a powerful sculptor on the Red Planet – as well as here on Earth. Mars Express has spied several other landscapes on Mars that have been significantly shaped by wind, such as Nili Fossae, Arabia Terra, Syrtis Major, southern dunes, and Schiaparelli crater.

In fact, this region likely formed as a result of wind moving material around on Mars’ surface. The MFF is thought to consist of ash released by the volcanoes in the nearby Tharsis region – including Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System – that has been deposited either through the air or via fast-moving ‘pyroclastic’ flows of lava, gas and rocky debris.

Perspective view of Medusae Fossae

Eddies and blowouts

The aforementioned crescent-shaped depressions are also the doing of martian winds. These saucer- or trough-shaped hollows, known as blowouts, are apparently carved into the sand by wind erosion. To create a blowout, sand-laden wind whips along and erodes the smooth surface until it hits an obstacle – a buried object such as a rock or more resistant patch of sediment, for example. The wind is then forced around and beneath the object, creating an eddy, before finally heading back upwards, lifting sand with it as it goes.

Second perspective view of Medusae Fossae

Wind erosion is thought to be the latest stage of erosional processes acting on the MFF. This is evidenced by the general lack of craters seen on the formation’s surface; if wind erosion had occurred long ago only, we would expect to see more recent craters atop the wind-sculpted terrain. Overall, the fact that only a few craters are visible here, sitting alongside underlying older rock that has subsequently been covered and draped in dust, implies that the region’s surface is young.

Mars Express

Exploring the surface features and geology of Mars is a key objective of Mars Express. Launched in 2003, the spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet for nearly two decades; it has since been joined by the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which arrived in 2016, while the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and its accompanying surface science platform are scheduled for launch in 2022. Together, this fleet of martian explorers is working towards a fuller understanding of Mars and its intriguing landscapes.

Related links:

Mars Express: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO): http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars/First_results_from_the_ExoMars_Trace_Gas_Orbiter

ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars/ExoMars_2020_rover

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO/NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Rocket Lab - Introducing Launch Complex 1 Pad B - Our Third Electron Launch Pad

 

Rocket Lab logo.

Feb 23, 2022

Located at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, the world’s first and only private orbital launch site, the new pad will enable Rocket Lab to double launch cadence.

Since Electron's first launch in 2017, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 has been the gateway to space for small satellites. More than 100 satellites have launched from this complex and now with two pads side by side, get ready for twice as many launches.

Pad B joins the existing Pad A at Launch Complex 1, as well as a third launch pad at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, USA.

Introducing LC-1B

Video above: All about Launch Complex 1 and Pad B from Rocket Lab founder CEO, Peter Beck, and Vice President - Launch, Shaun D'Mello.

All About Responsive Space Access

When we set out to provide frequent and reliable access to space, we knew the rocket was just one piece of the puzzle.

Most rockets have to launch from shared ranges where they have limited control over schedule and hefty overhead costs for range assets and support. We solved that by building and operating our own private spaceport where we are in complete control over schedule and operations, launching when our customers need to.

We can accommodate late changes to a spacecraft or additional requirements from customers for launch because we have the facilities and expertise to manage those on site.  We can run concurrent launch campaigns from Launch Complex 1, meaning flexibility for customers who want to launch sooner or those who need a bit more time. Either way, multiple pads keeps Electron's manifest on schedule.

Responsive launch is not just about sitting around and waiting for the call up to act. It’s about being able to do that, and then launch to space again in just a matter of hours. Operating multiple pads from the same site means we’re always ready for a quick turn around when our customers need us - and with three satellite cleanrooms, two pads, our own Range and Mission Control Centers, and our experience of moving quickly, we can do that when we're called upon.

About Launch Complex 1

There’s no other launch site like Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1. We started with an empty space on a remote peninsula and grew the complex to become the world’s first and only private spaceport that regularly supports orbital launches.

An FAA-licensed spaceport, Launch Complex 1 can support up to 120 launch opportunities every year. From here it's possible to reach orbital inclinations from sun-synchronous through to 30 degrees, enabling a wide spectrum of inclinations to service the majority of the satellite industry’s missions to low Earth orbit and beyond.
 
Within Launch Complex 1 are our private Range Control facilities, three satellite cleanrooms, a launch vehicle assembly facility which can process multiple Electrons for launch at once, and administrative offices. Operating a private orbital launch site alongside our own Range and Mission Control centers allows us to reduce the overhead costs per mission to provide a cost-effective launch service for satellite operators.

Next On The Pad

With the launch dress rehearsal complete for Pad B, we're looking ahead to the pad's first launch: a dedicated Electron mission for Japanese Earth-imaging company Synspective.

‘The Owl’s Night Continues’ is the first of three dedicated Electron missions for Synspective, with two scheduled to launch in 2022 and a third in 2023. Each mission will deploy a single StriX satellite, growing Synspective’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation developed to deliver imagery that can detect millimeter-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space, independent of weather conditions on Earth and at any time of the day or night. We've launched for our friends at Synspective before on a mission named ‘The Owl’s Night Begins’ in December 2020.

Originally slated to launch after a mission for another customer, we brought the Synspective mission forward in the manifest to accommodate shifts in customer timelines. That's the beauty of operating our own orbital launch site.

The 14-day launch window for this 24th Electron mission - and first from Pad B - opens February 28th UTC.

NZT | 09:35 1 March
JST | 05:35 1 March
EST | 15:35 28 Feb
PST | 12:35 28 Feb

About Electron's Next Mission 'The Owl's Night Continues'

Mission Overview

Electron is scheduled to launch "The Owl's Night Continues” mission from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a launch window that opens February 28, 2022 UTC.

‘The Owl’s Night Continues’ is the first of three dedicated Electron missions for Synspective, with two scheduled to launch in 2022 and a third in 2023. Each mission will deploy a single StriX satellite, growing Synspective’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation developed to deliver imagery that can detect millimetre-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space, independent of weather conditions on Earth and at any time of the day or night.

‘The Owl’s Night Continues’ mission follows on from Rocket Lab’s first launch for Synspective in December 2020. That mission, named ‘The Owl’s Night Begins’, saw Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle deploy the StriX-α satellite – the first spacecraft in Synspective’s planned constellation of more than 30 SAR satellites designed to collate data of metropolitan centers on a daily basis to support urban development planning, construction and infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.

Rocket Lab will not be attempting to recover Electron for this mission.

Rocket Lab: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credit: Rocket Lab.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Galaxy Collision Creates 'Space Triangle' in New Hubble Image

 

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

Feb 22, 2022

Image Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, Julianne Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics / Flatiron Inst. and University of Washington); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.

Astronomers suggest that the galaxies passed through each other, igniting the uniquely shaped star-formation firestorm in NGC 2445, where thousands of stars are bursting to life on the right-hand side of the image. This galaxy is awash in starbirth because it is rich in gas, the fuel that makes stars. However, it hasn’t yet escaped the gravitational clutches of its partner NGC 2444, shown on the left side of the image. The pair is waging a cosmic tug-of-war, which NGC 2444 appears to be winning. The galaxy has pulled gas from NGC 2445, forming the oddball triangle of newly minted stars.

Hubble's Cartwheel galaxy image showcases another example of intense, ringed star formation after galaxies collide.

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

“Simulations show that head-on collisions between two galaxies is one way of making rings of new stars,” said astronomer Julianne Dalcanton of the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics in New York and the University of Washington in Seattle. “Therefore, rings of star formation are not uncommon. However, what’s weird about this system is that it’s a triangle of star formation. Part of the reason for that shape is that these galaxies are still so close to each other and NGC 2444 is still holding on to the other galaxy gravitationally. NGC 2444 may also have an invisible hot halo of gas that could help to pull NGC 2445’s gas away from its nucleus. So they’re not completely free of each other yet, and their unusual interaction is distorting the ring into this triangle.”

NGC 2444 is also responsible for yanking taffy-like strands of gas from its partner, stoking the streamers of young, blue stars that appear to form a bridge between the two galaxies.

These streamers are among the first in what appears to be a wave of star formation that started on NGC 2445’s outskirts and continued inward. Researchers estimate the streamer stars were born between about 50 million and 100 million years ago. But these infant stars are being left behind as NGC 2445 continues to pull slowly away from NGC 2444.

Stars no older than 1 million to 2 million years are forming closer to the center of NGC 2445. Hubble’s keen sharpness reveals some individual stars. They are the brightest and most massive in the galaxy. Most of the brilliant blue clumps are groupings of stars. The pink blobs are giant, young, star clusters still enshrouded in dust and gas.

Although most of the action is happening in NGC 2445, it doesn’t mean the other half of the interacting pair has escaped unscathed. The gravitational tussle has stretched NGC 2444 into an odd shape. The galaxy contains old stars and no new starbirth because it lost its gas long ago, well before this galactic encounter.

“This is a nearby example of the kinds of interactions that happened long ago. It’s a fantastic sandbox to understand star formation and interacting galaxies,” said Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Galaxy Collision Creates “Space Triangle” in New Hubble Image

Video above: A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled an unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Lead Producer: Paul Morris.

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

Related link:

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

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Andrea Gianopoulos/GSFC/Claire Andreoli/STSI/Ray Villard/Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Inst. / University of Washington/Julianne Dalcanton.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Day of Discovery: 7 Earth-Size Planets

 

NASA - Spitzer Space Telescope patch.

Feb 22, 2022

Five years ago, astronomers revealed a spectacular collection of other worlds: the TRAPPIST-1 system.

Image above: This illustration shows what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses, and distances from the host star. Astronomers have named them the planets TRAPPIST-1a, TRAPPIST-1b, and so forth. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Newspapers around the world printed the discovery on their front pages: Astronomers had found that a red dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1 was home to a close-knit family of seven Earth-size planets. NASA announced the system Feb. 22, 2017.

Using telescopes on the ground and in space, scientists revealed one of the most unusual planetary systems yet found beyond our Sun and opened the tantalizing question: Are any of these worlds habitable – a suitable home for life?

Five years later, the planets are still enigmatic. Since the first announcement, subsequent studies have revealed that the TRAPPIST-1 planets are rocky, that they could be almost twice as old as our solar system, and that they are located 41 light-years from Earth.

But a real game-changer will be the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope. Larger and more powerful than any previous space telescope, Webb will look for signs of atmospheres on  the TRAPPIST-1 planets.

“That folks are even able to ask the question about whether a planet around another star is habitable – that just boggles my mind,” said Sean Carey, manager of the Exoplanet Science Institute at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Carey was part of the team that helped discover some of the TRAPPIST-1 planets using data from the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope.

A prime target for Webb is the fourth planet from the star, called TRAPPIST-1e. It’s right smack in the middle of what scientists call the habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks zone. This is the orbital distance from a star where the amount of heating is right to allow liquid water on the surface of a planet.

Though the planets are tightly packed around TRAPPIST-1, the red dwarf star is not only far cooler than our Sun, it is less than 10% its size. (In fact, if the entire system were placed in our own solar system, it would fit within the orbit of our innermost planet, Mercury.)

Image above: You won’t be able to visit TRAPPIST-1 e any time soon, but you can imagine the sojourn with this free downloadable travel poster. It’s from a series of travel posters from JPL that imagine virtual trips to 14 alien worlds. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Searching for Atmospheres

The habitable zone is just a first cut. A potentially habitable planet also would require a suitable atmosphere, and Webb, especially in its early observations, is likely to gain only a partial indication of whether an atmosphere is present.

“What is at stake here is the first atmosphere characterization of a terrestrial Earth-size planet in the habitable zone,” said Michaël Gillon, an astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium and the lead author of the study that revealed the seven sibling planets in 2017.

Measurements with the Hubble Space Telescope added more information about habitability. While Hubble does not have the power to determine whether the planets possess potentially habitable atmospheres, it did find that at least three of the planets – d, e, and f – do not appear to have the puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres of gas giants, such as Neptune, in our solar system. Such planets are thought to be less likely to support life.

That leaves open the possibility of “the atmospheres’ potential to support liquid water on the surface,” said Nikole Lewis, a planetary scientist at Cornell University.

Lewis is part of a science team that will use the Webb telescope, which will view the heavens in infrared light, to hunt for signs of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e, the one with the Goldilocks perch in the habitable zone.

“The hope is that we see carbon dioxide, a really strong feature, right at the wavelengths [detectable by] Webb,” she said. “Once we know where there are little things peaking up above the noise, we can go back and do a much higher resolution look in that area.”

The size of the TRAPPIST-1 planets also might help to strengthen the case for habitability, though the research is far from conclusive.

They’re comparable to Earth not just in diameter but mass. Narrowing down the mass of the planets was possible, thanks to their tight bunching around TRAPPIST-1: Packed shoulder to shoulder, they jostle one another, enabling scientists to compute their likely range of mass from those gravitational effects.

“We have gotten some really good information about their size – mass and radius,” said Cornell’s Lewis. “That means we know about their densities.”

The densities suggest the planets might be composed of materials found in terrestrial planets like Earth.

Scientists use computer models of possible planetary atmosphere formation and evolution to try to narrow down their possible composition, and these will be critical for the TRAPPIST-1 planets, Lewis said.

“The great thing about the TRAPPIST system is that it is going to allow us to refine those models either way – whether they will end up being just barren rock or end up being potentially habitable worlds,” she said.

For Gillon, another great thing about the system is the reach of the TRAPPIST-1 system. “I’ve seen TRAPPIST-1 included in some artistic works; I’ve seen it in music, sci-fi novels, comics,” he said. “That’s really something we have enjoyed during these five years. It’s like this system has a life of its own.”

Related articles:

Ultracool Dwarf and the Seven Planets
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2017/02/ultracool-dwarf-and-seven-planets.html

TRAPPIST-1 is Older Than Our Solar System
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2017/08/trappist-1-is-older-than-our-solar.html

Hubble delivers first hints of possible water content of TRAPPIST-1 planets
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2017/09/hubble-delivers-first-hints-of-possible.html

TRAPPIST-1 Planets Probably Rich in Water
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2018/02/trappist-1-planets-probably-rich-in.html

The 7 Rocky TRAPPIST-1 Planets May Be Made of Similar Stuff
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-7-rocky-trappist-1-planets-may-be.html

Related links:

Spitzer Space Telescope: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/JPL/Calla Cofield/Written by Pat Brennan.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Astronauts Capture Cygnus & Installed to Station for Cargo Transfers

 

Northrop Grumman - Cygnus NG-17 (CRS) Mission patch.

Feb 21, 2022

Image above: The Cygnus space feighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm shortly after it was captured by NASA astronaut Raja Chari. Image Credit: NASA TV.

At 4:44 a.m. EST, NASA astronaut Raja Chari, with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron acting as backup, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft over the Indian Ocean. Mission control in Houston will send ground commands for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the station’s Unity module Earth-facing port.

Cygnus spacecraft launched Saturday on an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia at 12:40 p.m. EST. This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The Cygnus spacecraft is carrying a fresh supply of 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

NG-17 S.S. Piers Sellers Cygnus capture

The Cygnus spacecraft is named the S.S. Piers Sellers in honor of the late NASA astronaut who spent nearly 35 days across three missions helping to construct the space station.

Cygnus Installed to Station for Cargo Transfers

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft installation on the International Space Station is now complete. Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, hardware, and science experiments to the International Space Station.

Highlights of space station research facilitated by this mission include:

- A study that examines the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells

- A new combustion facility

- An investigation from Colgate-Palmolive that will leverage the acceleration of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin

- A demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment

- New hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station’s oxygen generation system

- A system that will test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images

Findings from these and other investigations aboard the space station will contribute to keeping astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars efforts, including lunar missions through the agency’s Artemis program.

Image above: Feb. 21, 2022: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon; Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter; and Russia’s Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and the Progress 79 and 80 resupply ships. Image Credit: NASA.

Cygnus will also deliver critical hardware to be installed during the upcoming ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) spacewalks, as well as other components for the successful functioning of astronaut life on the space station, such as a trash deployer and acoustic covers for the waste management system.

This Cygnus mission is the first to feature enhanced capabilities that will allow the spacecraft to perform a reboost, using its engines to adjust the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA. The agency has one reboost is planned while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting laboratory. A test of the maneuver was performed in 2018 during Cygnus’ ninth resupply mission.

NG-17 S.S. Piers Sellers Cygnus berthing

Cygnus will remain at the space station until May before it deploys CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.

Related articles:

Solar Arrays Deploy on Cargo Craft Heading to Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/solar-arrays-deploy-on-cargo-craft.html

Liftoff of Northrop Grumman’s CRS-17
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/liftoff-of-northrop-grummans-crs-17.html

Weather 75% Favorable for Saturday Antares Launch
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/weather-75-favorable-for-saturday.html

Northrop Grumman’s 17th Resupply Mission Carries Science Experiments, Technology Demonstrations to Space Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/northrop-grummans-17th-resupply-mission.html

Related links:

Combustion facility: https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/iss-fcf/cir/sofie/

Skin aging in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8228

Lithium-ion secondary battery: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8566

Hydrogen sensors: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8040

Hydroponic and aeroponic: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8088

ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1876

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Videos, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SpaceX Starlink 37 launch

 

SpaceX - Falcon 9 / Starlink Mission patch.

Feb 21, 2022

SpaceX Starlink 37 liftoff

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 46 Starlink satellites (Starlink-37) from Space Launch Complex (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on 21 February 2022, at 14:44 UTC (09:44 EST).

SpaceX Starlink 37 launch & Falcon 9 first stage landing, 21 February 2022

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the “A Shortfall of Gravitas” droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9’s first stage (B1058) previously supported ten missions: Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3 and five Starlink missions.

Related links:

SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/

Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/

Image, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Small companies partake in ESA’s European Service Module

 

ESA - European Space Agency emblem.

Feb 21, 2022

ESA has involved ten European countries in the development of the European Service Module which is part of NASA’s Orion spacecraft soon to launch to the Moon from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) took part.

Orion and European Service Module orbiting Earth

Such high-profile development projects increase expertise in the European workforce and help small enterprises to grow their international networks. In return, these entities offer cutting edge highly specialised development to enrich Europe’s commercial or institutional use of space.

Artemis I – European Service Module perspective

Orion is the vehicle that will take astronauts on Artemis missions. It’s the only spacecraft capable of human spaceflight outside Earth orbit and high-speed reentry from the vicinity of the Moon and Mars. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency were to occur during launch and ESA’s European Service Module, the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion, keeps the astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power and temperature control.

Third European Service Module structure

Each European Service Module (ESM) comprises more than 20 000 parts and components, from electrical equipment to engines, solar panels, fuel tanks and life-support elements for the astronauts, as well as approximately 12 kilometres of cables.

Orion for Artemis I

ESA’s prime contractor, Airbus, has enlisted about 26 European companies to develop and build the ESM. This includes four SMEs, three based in Italy: DTM Technologies, Criotec and Aviotec; and Rovsing based in Denmark.

‘Cold plates’ from DTM Technologies will cool electronic and avionics equipment. Made of metal with flow paths much like a radiator, they contain coolant which absorbs and transfers large amounts of electrical waste heat. This rapid cooling system increases efficiency for smaller, lighter components.

Orion and the European powerhouse

Oxygen/nitrogen relief valves provided by Criotec will open and close to maintain the correct pressure of the mixture of air available to astronauts in the cabin.

Aviotec has contributed a system of belts, like a spider’s web, to suspend the layer of Kevlar blankets which form the lower second bumper of micrometoroid and debris protection at the base of the ESM.

Orion: an international collaboration

Rovsing supplied the transportable Solar Array Wing Simulator which simulates the behaviour of the solar arrays during tests.

ESA with prime contractor Airbus has agreed to supply NASA with six European Service Modules, and there are prospects for a further three.

We are going

“Small and medium-sized enterprises make an important contribution to ESA. SMEs comprise specialists with dynamic working practices, who are flexible and responsive to problem solving. This is highly valued at ESA and we encourage such companies to get involved,” commented Jens Kauffmann, Head of the SME Section at ESA.

Related link:

European Service Module (ESM): https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Orion

Images, Video, Text, Credits: ESA/K.Oldenburg/NASA/ATG Medialab/Airbus.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch