Expedition 57 Trio Back on Earth After 197-Day Space Mission

ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-09 Mission patch.

December 20, 2018

Image above: Expedition 57 crew members Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, and Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) emerge one at a time from the Soyuz MS-09 that carried them home from the International Space Station Dec. 20, 2018, after a 197-day mission. The spacecraft touched down in Kazakhstan at 12:02 a.m. EST, marking the end of a voyage that took them around the globe 3,152 times, covering 83.3 million miles. Image Credits: NASA Television.

Three members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 57 crew, including NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, returned to Earth Thursday, safely landing at 12:02 a.m. EST (11:02 a.m. local time) in Kazakhstan.

Soyuz MS-09 landing

Auñón-Chancellor and her crewmates, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev, launched June 6 and arrived at the space station two days later to begin their mission.

The Expedition 57 crew contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard the world-class orbiting laboratory. Highlights included investigations into new cancer treatment methods and algae growth in space. The crew also installed a new Life Sciences Glovebox, a sealed work area for life science and technology investigations that can accommodate two astronauts.

Image above: Official crew portrait of Expedition 57 crew members (from left) Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos. Image Credit: NASA.

During the 197 days, they circled the globe 3,152 times, covering 83.3 million miles. This was the first flight for Auñón-Chancellor and Prokopyev and the second for Gerst, who – with a total of 362 days in orbit – now holds the flight duration record among ESA astronauts.

For the last 16 days of her mission, Auñón-Chancellor was joined by fellow NASA astronaut Anne McClain, marking the first time in which the only two U.S. astronauts on a mission were both women.

Prokopyev completed two spacewalks totaling 15 hours and 31 minutes. He and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos launched four small technology satellites and installed an experiment during a spacewalk Aug. 15. Then during a 7 hour, 45 minute spacewalk Dec. 11, he and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos retrieved patch samples and took digital images of a repair made to the habitation module of the Soyuz MS-09 in which the Expedition 57 trio rode home. The space station crew located and, within hours of its detection, repaired a small hole inside the Soyuz in August. The spacecraft was thoroughly checked and deemed safe for return to Earth.

Image above: The Soyuz MS-09 crew spacecraft from Roscosmos undocking to the Rassvet module. Image Credits: NASA TV/ISS HD Live/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Auñón-Chancellor will return home to Houston, Gerst will return to Cologne, Germany, and Prokopyev will return to Star City, Russia, following post-landing medical checks and research activities.

The Expedition 58 crew continues operating the station, with Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos in command. Along with his crewmates Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, the three-person crew will operate the station for a little more than two months until three additional crew members launch Feb. 28, 2019 to join them.

Related article:

Expedition 57 Crew Departs Station, Begins Ride Back to Earth
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2018/12/expedition-57-crew-departs-station.html

Related links:

Expedition 57: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition57/index.html

New cancer treatment methods: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7502

Algae growth in space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7446

Life Sciences Glovebox: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7676

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

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

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Expedition 57 Crew Departs Station, Begins Ride Back to Earth

ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-09 Mission patch.

December 19, 2018

NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos undocked from the International Space Station at 8:40 p.m. EST to begin their trip home.

Image above: The Soyuz MS-09 crew spacecraft from Roscosmos undocking to the Rassvet module. Image Credits: NASA TV/ISS HD Live/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Deorbit burn is scheduled for approximately 11:10 p.m., with landing in Kazakhstan targeted for 12:03 a.m. Thursday (11:03 p.m. local time). NASA will resume coverage on TV and online at 10:45 p.m. for deorbit burn and landing.

Soyuz MS-09 undocking and departure

At the time of undocking, Expedition 58 began aboard the space station under the command of Roscosmos’ Oleg Kononenko. Along with his crewmates Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, the three-person crew will operate the station for a little more than two months.

Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch aboard Soyuz MS-12 Feb. 28, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, to join their fellow crewmates following a six-hour journey. Expedition 59 will begin when the new trio docks to the space station.

Departing Trio Boards Soyuz Crew Ship, Prepares to Undock
 

Soyuz MS-09 hatch closure

At 5:30 p.m. EST, the hatch closed between the Soyuz spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking. NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are scheduled to undock their Soyuz at 8:40 p.m.

Image above: Expedition 57 crew members Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos aboard of Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. Image Credits: NASA TV/ISS HD Live/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

NASA Television will air live coverage of the undocking beginning at 7:45 p.m.

Image above: Sunrise over North Pacific Ocean, seen by EarthCam on ISS, speed: 27'608 Km/h, altitude: 417,96 Km, image captured by Roland Berga (on Earth in Switzerland) from International Space Station (ISS) using ISS-HD Live application with EarthCam's from ISS on December 19, 2018 at 22:27 UTC. Image Credits: Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Their landing in Kazakhstan is targeted for approximately 12:03 a.m. Thursday (11:03 a.m. Kazakhstan time) and will conclude a more than six month mission conducting science and maintenance aboard the space station, in which they circled the globe 3,152 times, covering 83.3 million miles.

Related links:

Expedition 57: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition57/index.html

Expedition 58: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition58/index.html

NASA TV live coverage: http://nasa.gov/live

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/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Arianespace - Soyuz Flight VS20 with CSO-1 Mission Success

ARIANESPACE - Soyuz Flight VS20 Mission poster.

Dec. 19, 2018

Soyuz ST-A launches CSO-1 satellite

Arianespace VS20 mission: a Soyuz ST-A launch vehicle launched the CSO-1 Earth observation satellite into a Sun-synchronous orbit from the Soyuz Launch Complex (ELS) in Sinnamary, French Guiana, on 19 December 2018, at 16:37 UTC (13:37 local time).

For its 11th and final launch of the year – and the third with the Soyuz medium launcher — Arianespace will send the CSO-1 Earth observation satellite, intended for defense and security applications, into Sun-synchronous orbit for the French CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) space agency and the DGA (Direction générale de l’armement) defense procurement agency on behalf of the French Ministry of Defense.

VS20 Successful Mission

This also will be the 20th mission carried out by Soyuz since it began operating at the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in October 2011.

With this latest launch at the service of France’s defense requirements, as well as for the capacity needs of several partner countries, Arianespace once again guarantees French and European autonomous access to space – a strategic priority, and a key element for sovereignty.

CSO-1 satellite deployment

CSO-1 is the first satellite of the Optical Space Component (CSO – Composante Spatiale Optique) program, a constellation of three satellites dedicated to Earth observation for defense and security. They will be placed into polar orbit at different altitudes, and will carry out two different missions: reconnaissance for CSO-1 and CSO-3, and identification for CSO-2.

The French CNES space agency is delegated as the contracting authority for the Optical Space Component (CSO) program and its mission ground segment, as well as being the overall system co-architect. CNES also is responsible for orbital positioning, in-orbit acceptance testing and satellite operation. France’s DGA defense procurement agency is contracting authority for the construction and through-life maintenance of the user ground segment, and will serve as the interface between the sensors deployed in space and the operators. The French armed forces headquarters is the operating authority for CSO.

CSO-1 satellite

The successor to the Helios 1 and 2 systems, CSO will address France and Europe’s operational needs for global intelligence and strategic surveillance, knowledge of the geographic environment and support for operational deployments.

As France’s third generation of military satellites, CSO was developed in a national framework and will remain accessible to European partners. Indeed, Germany, Sweden and Belgium already have joined the CSO community, and an agreement with Italy is expected shortly.

The CSO-1 satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 800 km. It will be used to take 3D pictures and acquire very-high-resolution images in the visible and infrared bandwidths, day or night and in fair weather, and using a variety of imaging modes to meet as many operational requirements as possible.

For more information about Arianespace, visit: http://www.arianespace.com/

Images, Videos, Text, Credits: Arianespace/CNES/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

ISRO - GSLV-F11 / GSAT-7A Mission Success

ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation logo.

Dec. 19, 2018

GSLV-F11 / GSAT-7A lif off

A Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk II (GSLV-F11) will launch the GSAT-7A geostationary communications satellite from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota, on 19 December 2018, at 10:40 UTC (16:10 IST). GSAT-7A (2250 kg) is the 35th Indian Communication satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

GSLV-F11 launches GSAT-7A

GSLV-F11 inject GSAT-7A into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The satellite will be placed in its final Geostationary Orbit (GEO) using the onboard propulsion system. It will take few days after separation from launcher to reach its orbital slot.

GSAT-7A satellite deployment

GSLV – F11 is ISRO’s fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages. The four liquid strap-ons and a solid rocket motor at the core form the first stage. The second stage is equipped with high thrust engine using liquid fuel. The Cryogenic Upper Stage forms the third and final stage of the vehicle.

GSAT-7A satellite

GSAT-7A is the 35th Indian Communication satellite built by ISRO. GSAT-7A Spacecraft is configured on ISRO’s standard I-2000 Kg (I-2K) Bus. The Satellite is built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.

For more information about Indian Space Research Organisation, visit: ISRO: https://www.isro.gov.in/

Images, Videos, Text, Credits: ISRO/SciNews.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

First result from HIE-ISOLDE is doubly magic

CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research logo.

19 December, 2018

The first result to emerge from the HIE-ISOLDE accelerator is the confirmation that the tin-132 nucleus belongs to the doubly magic group of nuclei 

Image above: The MINIBALL gamma-ray detector array at the HIE-ISOLDE accelerator (Image: Maximilien Brice/CERN).

Physicists are no magicians, but ask them about how protons and neutrons are arranged in atomic nuclei and you’ll be sure to hear the term magic. Just like electrons fill up a series of onion-like shells of different energy around an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons are each thought to occupy a series of shells within the nucleus. In this nuclear shell model, nuclei in which protons or neutrons form complete shells, without any space left for more particles, are called magic because they are more stable than their nuclear neighbours. Nuclei with complete proton and neutron shells are termed doubly magic and are exceptionally stable.

In a study just published in Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers working for the MINIBALL and HIE-ISOLDE collaborations at CERN provide the first direct proof that the tin nucleus tin-132 (¹³²Sn), which is considered to be doubly magic, does indeed merit this special status. The result is the first to emerge from the recently commissioned HIE-ISOLDE accelerator, and shows that this accelerator is a key facility to unravel the inner workings of atomic nuclei.

The nucleus ¹³²Sn has 132 nucleons – 50 protons and 82 neutrons – and is one of only 10 species, out of 3200 known nuclei, that qualify as doubly magic and act as benchmarks for testing the nuclear shell model. What’s more, in the nuclear chart, which organises all known nuclei according to their number of protons and neutrons, ¹³²Sn is close to nuclei thought to be produced in an astrophysical process, the r-process, responsible for creating heavy elements in the cosmos. This process is not fully understood, so studying ¹³²Sn could cast light on the origin of heavy elements in the cosmos.

Previous studies that explored the doubly magic nature of ¹³²Sn were indirect, deducing the doubly magic nature of ¹³²Sn by studying the properties of its nuclear neighbours. In this new study, the HIE-ISOLDE/MINIBALL team examined ¹³²Sn directly. The team took ¹³²Sn isotopes produced by the ISOLDE facility, accelerated them in HIE-ISOLDE to an energy of 5.49 MeV per nucleon, and then focused them at a target of lead-206 (²⁰⁶Pb) inside the MINIBALL gamma-ray detector array. This excited the nucleons in the ¹³²Sn nuclei to higher-energy states. These collective excitations, which have low chances of occurring, decayed with emission of gamma-ray photons, which MINIBALL detected.

By analysing the number of gamma-ray photons detected, the authors measured the strengths of these excitations for the first time. From these strengths, they found more pronounced excitations in ¹³²Sn compared to those of its nuclear neighbours. This was predicted by theory and is a crucial feature of doubly magic nuclei. It thus confirms the doubly magic nature of ¹³²Sn.

“These results were only possible due to a unique combination: ISOLDE, the prime facility for producing radioactive isotopes; the new HIE-ISOLDE accelerator, which provides the ideal energy per nucleon for this type of experiment; and MINIBALL, which can detect gamma rays from the decay of the excitations with high efficiency and superior energy resolution,” explains Peter Reiter, a member of the MINIBALL collaboration.

If these results were not enough proof, the researchers also compared the observed strengths with several new state-of-the-art theoretical shell-model calculations for ¹³²Sn, finding a remarkable agreement between the observations and all calculations. This further reinforces the conclusion that ¹³²Sn is doubly magic. Who said physicists are not magicians?

Note:

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.

The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 22 Member States.

Related links:

Physical Review Letters: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.252501

HIE-ISOLDE: https://home.cern/news/news/experiments/hie-isolde-nuclear-physics-gets-further-energy-boost

ISOLDE facility: https://home.cern/science/experiments/isolde

MINIBALL: http://isolde.web.cern.ch/experiments/miniball

For more information about European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Visit: https://home.cern/

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: CERN/Ana Lopes.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

BepiColombo’s first routine firing in space

ESA - BepiColombo Mission patch.

19 December 2018

On Monday this week, BepiColombo began its very first routine electric propulsion firing.

BepiColombo cruise configuration

After meticulous testing of the spacecraft's four high-tech ion thrusters, the mission team have now fired up the spacecraft for its first thruster burn ‘arc’.

Travelling nine billion kilometers in total, BepiColombo will make nine flybys at Earth, Venus and Mercury, looping around the Sun 18 times.

Twin ion thrusters firing

To do this, the ESA/JAXA mission will be steered by 22 thruster burn arcs, each providing the same acceleration from less fuel compared to traditional, high-energy chemical burns that last for minutes or hours.

This first arc will last two months, during which BepiColombo’s electric blue ‘jet packs’ will steer the explorer on its interplanetary trajectory and optimise its orbit, ahead of its swing by of Earth in April 2020.

BepiColombo's antenna turns to face Earth before first routine thrust

At 09:35 CET, before the thrusters began firing, BepiColombo was ‘slewed’ into the correct position. As its orientation shifted, the spacecraft’s high-gain antenna swivelled to maintain communication with ground stations on Earth, captured in this gif taken by the monitoring camera #3.

Next, BepiColombo’s solar arrays were tilted to fully face the Sun, as full power is needed to power the ion thrusters.

BepiColombo's thrusters fire

At about 13:45 CET, BepiColombo began to fire. The team watched with concentration and relief as graphs showed the spacecraft was gaining momentum, as two of its thrusters went from the initial thrust level of 75 millinewtons (mN) up to 108 mN each.

BepiColombo’s maximum planned thrust level for the entire journey is 250 mN, with two thrusters each firing at 125mN. This is equivalent to 250 ants pulling the 4 tonne BepiColombo spacecraft all the way to the innermost planet of the Solar System!

BepiColombo's on-Earth team celebrate firing success

Click here to find out more about the tests that made this milestone moment possible, and re-live the moment itself from our live twitter feed from the day.

Related links:

BepiColombo: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/BepiColombo

BepiColombo operations: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/BepiColombo_operations

Images, Animation, Text, Credits: ESA/ATG medialab/QinetiQ.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Commander Hands Over Control and Prepares for Holiday Homecoming

ISS - Expedition 58 Mission patch.

December 18, 2018

The Expedition 57 commander handed over control of the International Space Station today in a traditional ceremony. He and two of his crewmates will then head back to Earth Wednesday just in time for the holidays.

Image above: Astronaut Alexander Gerst (left) handed over station command today to cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. Image Credit: NASA.

Commander Alexander Gerst ceremonially transferred command of the orbital lab today to cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko who officially begins his lead of the station when the homebound crew undocks tomorrow. Kononenko is staying behind with Expedition 58 Flight Engineers Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques who will stay on the station until June.

Gerst and Flight Engineers Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Sergey Prokopyev are winding down their 197-day mission in space. The trio will undock from the Rassvet module inside the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft Wednesday at 8:40 p.m. and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about three-and-a-half hours later.

Image above: Sunset over South Pacific Ocean, seen by EarthCam on ISS, speed: 27'590 Km/h, altitude: 410,23 Km, image captured by Roland Berga (on Earth in Switzerland) from International Space Station (ISS) using ISS-HD Live application with EarthCam's from ISS on December 17, 2018 at 17:49 UTC. Image Credits: Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Prokopyev will command the Soyuz flight back to Earth tomorrow flanked by Gerst and Auñón-Chancellor. Today he is packing and readying the spacecraft for the departure. The undocking and landing activities will be broadcast live on NASA TV.

There was still time for science on the orbital lab today as Gerst explored how astronauts manipulate objects in space. Results could improve the design of space habitats and impact neurology patients on Earth. He also joined Auñón-Chancellor for ultrasound scans and blood sample collections as they wrap up their human research studies.

Related links:

Expedition 57: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition57/index.html

Expedition 58: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition58/index.html

NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Manipulate objects in space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1188

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

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

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch