Progress Cargo Craft on Way to Station

ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.

October 29, 2014

Image above: The ISS Progress 57 space freighter launches on time from Kazakhstan for a six-hour trip to the International Space Station.

Carrying more than 5,700 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted ISS Progress 57 cargo craft launched at 3:09 a.m. EDT (1:09 p.m. local time in Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Liftoff Soyuz 2.1a with Progress M-25M

At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 261 miles over southern Russia, just north of the border with Kazakhstan.

Less than 10 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned. The Russian cargo craft will make four orbits of Earth during the next six hours before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 9:09 a.m.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m., NASA Television will provide live coverage of Progress 57′s arrival to the space station’s Pirs Docking Compartment. Watch live on NASA TV and online at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

To join the online conversation about the International Space Station and Progress 57 on Twitter, follow the hashtags #ISS and #ISScargo.

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

Image, Video, Text, Credits: NASA / Roscosmos TV.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Antares Rocket Explodes after Liftoff, Orb-3 mission failed

Orbital - Antares & CRS Cygnus Orb-3 Mission patch.

October 28, 2014

An Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a mission to the international space station exploded seconds after liftoff Oct. 28.

Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft explosion on the ground

The Antares rocket lifted off on schedule at 6:22 pm EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. Approximately ten seconds after liftoff, however, an explosion took place at the base of the rocket’s first stage. The rocket fell back to the ground near the launch pad, triggering a second, larger explosion.

Antares Rocket Launch Failure Carrying Cygnus cargo spacecraft

No injuries were reported in the launch failure, according to NASA TV commentary. Initial reports did indicate damage to the launch pad at Wallops.

The accident, the first launch failure in five Antares launches, took place after a problem-free countdown. The launch was originally scheduled for Oct. 27 but was scrubbed when a boat entered restricted waters off the coast from the launch site and did not leave before the ten-minute launch window closed.

Probable damage to the launch pad at Wallops

The mission, designated Orb-3 by NASA, was the third of eight Commercial Resupply Services missions that Orbital Sciences is under contract to perform for the space agency. The Cygnus, named by Orbital the “SS Deke Slayton” after the late astronaut, was carrying 2,290 kilograms of cargo for the station.

ORBITAL’S STATEMENT REGARDING ORB-3 LAUNCH MISHAP

Orbital Sciences Corporation confirms that today’s Antares rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility was not successful. Shortly after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at 6:22 p.m. (EDT), the vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. According to NASA’s emergency operations officials, there were no casualties and property damage was limited to the south end of Wallops Island. Orbital has formed an anomaly investigation board, which will work in close coordination with all appropriate government agencies, to determine the cause of today’s mishap.

“It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group.“As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations. We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.”

Orbital will provide more information as it becomes available and is verified.

For more information about Orbital: http://www.orbital.com/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: Orbital / NASA / NASA TV / Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

NASA’s LRO Spacecraft Captures Images of LADEE’s Impact Crater

NASA - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) patch / NASA - LADEE Mission patch.

October 28, 2014

Before and After Images: 

Before LADEE impact

After LADEE impact

Images above: These images show the area of the LADEE impact before and after spacecraft's planned impact into the eastern rim of Sundman V crater. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.

NASA’S Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has spied a new crater on the lunar surface; one made from the impact of NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission.

“The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team recently developed a new computer tool to search Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) before and after image pairs for new craters, the LADEE impact event provided a fun test, said Mark Robinson, LROC principal investigator from Arizona State University in Tempe. “As it turns there were several small surface changes found in the predicted area of the impact, the biggest and most distinctive was within 968 feet (295 meters) of the spot estimated by the LADEE operations team. What fun!”

The LADEE mission ended on April 18, 2014, with the spacecraft’s planned impact into the eastern rim of Sundman V crater on the far side of the moon.

LADEE's engines fired April 11, 2014, to perform a final orbital maintenance maneuver and adjust to guarantee it would impact on the farside of the moon and away from the Apollo landing sites. Over a seven-day period, LADEE's orbit decreased and the spacecraft orbited very low to the surface and close to the walls of lunar craters and mountain ridges to give the team a chance to collect valuable science data. Finally, LADEE impacted the eastern rim of Sundman V crater on April 18. The impact site is about half a mile (780 meters) from the crater rim with an altitude of about 8,497 feet (2,590 meters) and was only about two tenths of a mile (300 meters) north of the location mission controllers predicted based on tracking data.

Image above: LRO has imaged the LADEE impact site on the eastern rim of Sundman V crater. The image was created by ratioing two images, one taken before the impact and another afterwards. The bright area highlights what has changed between the time of the two images, specifically the impact point and the ejecta. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.

The impact crater is small, less than ten feet (three meters) in diameter, barely resolvable by the LROC NAC. The crater is small because the spacecraft -- compared to most celestial impacts -- was not traveling very fast, approximately 3,800 miles per hour (1,699 meters per second) and had a low mass and a low density. The size of the impact crater made it hard to identify among the myriad of small fresh craters on the lunar surface. Images acquired of the impact region before the impact, were compared with images obtained after the impact to identify the crater.

Since the NAC images are so large (250 mega-pixels) and the new crater is so small, the LROC team co-registered the before and after images (called a temporal pair) and then divided the before image by the after image. By doing this, changes to the surface become evident.

The ejecta from the impact forms a triangular pattern primarily downrange to the west, extending about 656-984 feet (200-300 meters) from the impact site. There is also a small triangular area of ejecta up range but it extends only about 66-98 feet (20-30 meters). The ejecta pattern is oriented northwest, consistent with the direction the spacecraft was traveling when it impacted the surface.

Image above: Artist concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with Apollo mission imagery of the moon in the background. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

"I'm happy that the LROC team was able to confirm the LADEE impact point," said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. "It really helps the LADEE team to get closure and know exactly where the product of their hard work wound up."

LADEE launched Sept. 6, 2013 from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia. LADEE gathered detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determining whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky.

LRO launched September 18, 2009. LRO continues to bring the world astounding views of the lunar surface and a sizable collection of lunar data for research.

Image above: An artist's concept of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft seen orbiting near the surface of the moon. Image Credit: NASA Ames/Dana Berry.

LRO recently received a second two-year extended mission. Under the extended mission, LRO will study the seasonal volatile cycle; determine how many small meteorites are currently hitting the moon and their effects; characterize the structure of the lunar regolith; investigate the moon’s interaction with the space environment; and reveal more about the lunar interior using observations of the moon’s surface.

“With LRO, NASA will study our nearest celestial neighbor for at least two more years,” said John Keller, LRO project scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “LRO continues to increase our understanding of the moon and its environment.”

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the LRO mission. NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, designed, built, tested and managed operations for the LADEE mission.

For information on LRO, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/lro

For more information on LROC, visit: http://lroc.sese.asu.edu

For more information about LADEE mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ladee/main/

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Nancy Neal-Jones.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Chandra Observatory Identifies Impact of Cosmic Chaos on Star Birth

NASA - Chandra X-ray Observatory patch.

October 27, 2014

Image above: Chandra observations of the Perseus and Virgo galaxy clusters suggest turbulence may be preventing hot gas there from cooling, addressing a long-standing question of galaxy clusters do not form large numbers of stars. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/Stanford/I. Zhuravleva et al.

The same phenomenon that causes a bumpy airplane ride, turbulence, may be the solution to a long-standing mystery about stars’ birth, or the absence of it, according to a new study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe, held together by gravity.  These behemoths contain hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies that are immersed in gas with temperatures of millions of degrees.

This hot gas, which is the heftiest component of the galaxy clusters aside from unseen dark matter, glows brightly in X-ray light detected by Chandra. Over time, the gas in the centers of these clusters should cool enough that stars form at prodigious rates. However, this is not what astronomers have observed in many galaxy clusters.

“We knew that somehow the gas in clusters is being heated to prevent it cooling and forming stars. The question was exactly how,” said Irina Zhuravleva of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who led the study that appears in the latest online issue of the journal Nature. “We think we may have found evidence that the heat is channeled from turbulent motions, which we identify from signatures recorded in X-ray images.”

Prior studies show supermassive black holes, centered in large galaxies in the middle of galaxy clusters, pump vast quantities of energy around them in powerful jets of energetic particles that create cavities in the hot gas. Chandra, and other X-ray telescopes, have detected these giant cavities before.

The latest research by Zhuravleva and her colleagues provides new insight into how energy can be transferred from these cavities to the surrounding gas. The interaction of the cavities with the gas may be generating turbulence, or chaotic motion, which then disperses to keep the gas hot for billions of years.

“Any gas motions from the turbulence will eventually decay, releasing their energy to the gas,” said co-author Eugene Churazov of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, Germany. “But the gas won’t cool if turbulence is strong enough and generated often enough.”

The evidence for turbulence comes from Chandra data on two enormous galaxy clusters named Perseus and Virgo. By analyzing extended observation data of each cluster, the team was able to measure fluctuations in the density of the gas. This information allowed them to estimate the amount of turbulence in the gas.

Chandra X-ray Observatory spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/CXC

“Our work gives us an estimate of how much turbulence is generated in these clusters,” said Alexander Schekochihin of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. “From what we’ve determined so far, there’s enough turbulence to balance the cooling of the gas.

These results support the “feedback” model involving supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxy clusters. Gas cools and falls toward the black hole at an accelerating rate, causing the black hole to increase the output of its jets, which produce cavities and drive the turbulence in the gas. This turbulence eventually dissipates and heats the gas.

While a merger between two galaxy clusters may also produce turbulence, the researchers think that outbursts from supermassive black holes are the main source of this cosmic commotion in the dense centers of many clusters.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandra's science and flight operations.

An interactive image, podcast, and video about these findings are available at: http://chandra.si.edu

For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / Felicia Chou / Marshall Space Flight Center / Janet Anderson / Chandra X-ray Center / Megan Watzke.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

One Giant Sunspot, 6 Substantial Flares

NASA - Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) patch.

October 27, 2014

A giant active region on the sun erupted on Oct. 26, 2014, with its sixth substantial flare since Oct. 19. This flare was classified as an X2-class flare and it peaked at 6:56 a.m. EDT. This is the third X-class flare in 48 hours, erupting from the largest active region seen on the sun in 24 years.

Image above: The bright light in the lower right of the sun shows an X-class solar flare on Oct. 26, 2014, as captured by NASA's SDO. This was the third X-class flare in 48 hours, which erupted from the largest active region seen on the sun in 24 years. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.

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.

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.

What is a solar flare?

For answers to this 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:

What does it take to be X-class?: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/X-class-flares.html

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

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

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

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

SpaceX Spacecraft Splashdown, Starring Space Station Science

ISS - International Space Station patch / SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Dragon CRS-4 Mission patch.

October 27, 2014

The return of the SpaceX Dragon brings with it plant samples, data that may impact your facial cream composition and validation of a new way of creating on Earth crystals that are used in our daily electronic devices. This completes the company’s fourth contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon carries with it research hardware; samples and data from biology, biotechnology, physical science and human research; and technology development and demonstration studies.

Image above: SpaceX Dragon's fourth operational mission ended Oct. 25 after a month-long stay at the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.

Because a variety of plant studies are ongoing aboard the space station, it’s natural that samples from several investigations involving plants are returning aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The Plant Gravity Sensing 1 study examines the cellular process of formation in thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant related to cabbage. Its genetic makeup is simple and well-understood by the plant biology community. This knowledge offers easy recognition of any changes that occur as a result of microgravity adaptation.

In this study of thale cress, researchers examined the mechanisms of the plant that determine its growth direction up or down -- its gravity sensor -- in the absence of gravity. The research team analyzed the role of a specific type of protein, MCA1, in the plant’s gravity sensor. These types of studies help scientists understand plant growth mechanisms in microgravity to be better able to cultivate plants for food on future spaceflights or possibly on other planets.

Image above: The team from the Girl Scouts of Hawai’i that conceived the NanoRacks-Girl Scouts of Hawai`i-Arugula Plant Growth investigation aboard the International Space Station. Image Credit: Girl Scouts of Hawai`i.

This study also helps researchers prove their hypothesis that it may be possible to modify a plant’s gravity sensor on Earth. If the gravity sensors of plants could be modified, their ability to withstand heavy winds and rain may improve. This could potentially result in a higher crop output from farms. Furthermore, understanding the cellular processes in plant development may translate to better knowledge of cellular processes in the human body. As a result, medical science research teams may gain a better understanding of mechanisms of diseases affected by gravity, such as osteoporosis and muscle loss.

The second plant study with samples returning to Earth, NanoRacks-Girl Scouts of Hawai’i-Arugula Plant Growth, seeks to determine the impact that various nutrients and microgravity have on the growth and nutritious value of arugula seedlings that sprouted in space. The goal of the study is to develop better ways to grow plants with a high nutritional content in the space environment. If the study samples have a high nutrition value, this may enable NASA and astronauts to produce and consume fresh, healthy food during future space travel.

A team of eight Girl Scouts in Hawai’i conceived this plant study of arugula seedlings, adding experience in research design, decision-making and project management to their repertoire. They came up with this idea to not only contribute to scientific knowledge of growing plants in space but also to examine possibilities to help create sustainable growing practices in Hawai’i. Their goal is that findings from the study of arugula seedlings grown in space may lead to new agricultural production methods that use less fertilizer while producing crops with high nutritional value. 

Plants, microbes and animals are often used as model organisms in research both on the ground and in the orbiting laboratory. Model organisms are well-understood, non-human species with characteristics that allow them easily to be maintained, reproduced and studied in a laboratory.

Image above: The Fundamental and Applied Studies of Emulsion Stability (FASES) investigation aboard the International Space Station evaluates the fundamental processes of emulsions. Image Credit: German Aerospace Center, DLR.

In addition to the plant samples, tissue samples from mice flown to the space station as part of the Rodent Research-1 (CASIS) investigation also will return on the Dragon spacecraft. This study supports ongoing research into how microgravity affects animals, providing information relevant to human spaceflight, discoveries in basic biology and knowledge that may have direct impact toward human health on Earth.

Data from the Fundamental and Applied Studies of Emulsion Stability (FASES) investigation, also returning, will be processed on the ground. The goal is to help determine the physical principles playing a part in stabilizing different emulsions and the compounds that influenced those emulsions while in orbit. Emulsions are mixtures of two or more liquids where one liquid is present in droplet form and distributed throughout the other liquid. Common emulsions on Earth include milk, mayonnaise and paint. For example, milk is an emulsion of fat droplets in a liquefied solution.

Results from FASES may have implications in improving fluid handling processes in space systems that involve emulsions. Researchers and industry scientists can use the study data to understand which compounds work best to stabilize or destabilize an emulsion. On Earth, this could optimize design of applications of emulsions such as paints, lotions and creams and may help create greener, less synthetic products.

Returned samples from a materials science investigation, Growth of Homogeneous Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari), will help researchers evaluate a new crystal growth method called the Traveling Liquidous Zone method. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency came up with this method to create homogeneous semiconductor alloy crystal growth.

Homogeneous SiGe crystals grown in microgravity provide basic data for growing large, high quality crystals. Scientists may use the Hicari data to grow large, homogeneous alloy crystals on the ground. SiGe crystals may be used in electronic devices and also in other applications to create more efficient solar cells.

And finally, the first Egyptian protein crystal growth study conducted aboard the space station, NanoRacks-Egypt Against Hepatitis C Virus Microgravity Protein Crystal Growth (NanoRacks-EGAHEP), also returns on Dragon. Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease highly prevalent in Egypt that can be mild, lasting weeks, or serious and become a long-term illness. Researchers use protein crystal growth studies to determine and understand the structure of proteins. This study in microgravity looks at the proteins that make up the hepatitis C virus to understand how the virus replicates. This knowledge may lead to new methods for treatment of viral infections like hepatitis C.

With so many Earth applications anticipated from these investigation results, as well as implications for long-duration spaceflight, the Dragon spacecraft provides an important role in transporting precious research cargo back to Earth. 

Related links:

Plant Gravity Sensing 1 study: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1011.html

NanoRacks-Girl Scouts of Hawai’i-Arugula Plant Growth: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1938.html

Rodent Research-1 (CASIS) investigation: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1824.html

Emulsion Stability (FASES) investigation: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/602.html

Growth of Homogeneous Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/73.html

NanoRacks-Egypt Against Hepatitis C Virus Microgravity Protein Crystal Growth (NanoRacks-EGAHEP): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1967.html

For more information from SpaceX, visit: http://www.spacex.com/

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

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA’s Johnson Space Center / Laura Niles.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Progress M-24M undocked from the ISS

ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.

27/10/2014

Today, October 27, 2014, at 8 o'clock 38 minutes Moscow time transport cargo ship Progress M-24M undocked from the docking module Pirs of the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

Progress-M space cargo undocking ISS

In accordance with the scheduled program at the stage of autonomous flight TGC Progress M-24M from 2 to 19 November 2014 will be held the space experiment "Reflection", during which experts will examine the possibility of passage of optical signals to study modifications of the earth's atmosphere.

Russian Cargo Ship Departs the International Space Station

Completed science mission TGC Progress M-24M on 20 November 2014 and flooding of unburned components in the design of the spaceship, during the atmospheric reentry in the Pacific Ocean.

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: http://www.federalspace.ru/21050/

Images, Text, Credits: Press Service of the Russian Space Agency and MCC / ROSCOSMOS / NASA / NASA TV / Translation: Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch