Countdown Continues, Teams Confirm No Impacts from Lightning Strikes

 

NASA - ARTEMIS 1 Mission patch.

August 28, 2022

Overnight engineers evaluated data from lightning strikes to the lightning protection system at Launch Pad 39B that occurred yesterday. They confirmed the strikes were of low magnitude and had no impacts to Space Launch System, Orion, or ground systems.

Image above: NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. ET. Photo Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky.

Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 predict an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions at the beginning of the two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT Aug. 29, with a 60% change of favorable weather conditions toward the later part of the window. The primary weather concern for the two-hour launch window remains scattered rain showers. The weather guidelines for NASA’s Artemis I flight test identify conditions to launch the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. 

ARTEMIS 1 Launch, Ascent. Image Credit: NASA (click on the image for enlarge)

 Overnight teams also powered up the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage, charged Orion and core stage batteries, and conducted final preparations on the umbilicals. A pre-launch walkdown are continuing at the launch pad this morning. Teams will continue working their way through the countdown today, including powering up the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, conducting planned health checks on Orion systems.

Artemis I launch explained

Live coverage of tanking operations will begin at midnight on NASA television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app. Full launch coverage begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion, Theta.TV, and the NASA app. 

The uncrewed flight test will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system, demonstrating the performance of the rocket and testing the spacecraft’s capabilities as it journeys about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon over the course of about six weeks.

ARTEMIS 1 Mission Profile. Image Credit: NASA (click on the image for enlarge)

The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will pave the way for long-term lunar exploration, providing the foundation for extending human presence to the Moon and beyond.

Related articles:

Europe to support Artemis CubeSats in return to the Moon
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/europe-to-support-artemis-cubesats-in.html

Artemis I to Launch First-of-a-Kind Deep Space Biology Mission
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/artemis-i-to-launch-first-of-kind-deep.html

NASA’s Moon-observing CubeSat Ready for Artemis Launch
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/nasas-moon-observing-cubesat-ready-for.html

Artemis I Moon Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad Ahead of Historic Mission
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/artemis-i-moon-rocket-arrives-at-launch.html

Related links:

NASA Television: http://www.nasa.gov/live

Artemis I: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/

Space Launch System (SLS): https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Orion spacecraft: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

SpaceX Starlink 57 launch

 

SpaceX - Falcon 9 / Starlink Mission patch.

Aug. 28, 2022

Falcon 9 carrying Starlink 57 liftoff

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched 54 Starlink satellites (Starlink-57 / Starlink 4-23) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on 28 August 2022, at 03:41 UTC (27 August, at 23:41 EDT).

SpaceX Starlink 57 launch & Falcon 9 first stage landing, 28 August 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 (B1069) previously launched the CRS-24 mission.

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

NASA, Boeing Prepare for Crew Flight Test

 

Boeing / NASA - Crew Flight Test (CFT) Mission patch.

Aug. 27, 2022

NASA and Boeing are targeting an early February 2023 launch for the first CST-100 Starliner flight with astronauts to the International Space Station.

Preparations are underway for the launch of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) as teams work to ready the hardware, crew, and mission support teams for flight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Image above: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams pose for a picture during T-38 pre-flight activities at Ellington Field. Photo Credits: NASA/Robert Markowitz.

Two NASA astronaut test pilots, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams, will fly on CFT to the space station, where they will live and work for approximately eight days. Mission and crew support teams and the CFT astronauts are continuing with preparations and training. NASA and Boeing teams recently conducted an integrated crew exercise to rehearse the prelaunch timeline and responses to various launch event scenarios. In the coming weeks, Wilmore and Williams will don their spacesuits and climb aboard their crew module to check out the vehicle systems and interfaces that support their health and safety.

Refurbishment of the CFT crew module following the first Orbital Flight Test in December 2019 is progressing. Its external shell and thermal protection system will be completed next, followed by preflight checks to finalize the crew module build and test phase. Production of a new service module also is progressing, with teams wrapping up acceptance testing of the thermal control system, installing the pressurant system and integrating the propulsion system. This service module incorporates the same valve mitigations as the OFT-2 spacecraft. That purge system performed as needed during OFT-2 and a similar system has been implemented into the service module for CFT as a preventative measure. Once both the crew module and service module are completed, the two will be mated for flight.

Boeing CST-100 Starliner. Animation Credit: Boeing

“The Starliner team has done an excellent job throughout the refurbishment process of incorporating all the learning from our uncrewed orbital test flight,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We expect to do even more learning on our next flight with astronauts to set Starliner up for certification and future operational missions.”

For the crewed flight, Boeing’s Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Following a successful CFT mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying the Starliner spacecraft and systems for crew missions to the space station.

Related links:

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html

Commercial Space: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/index.html

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

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Danielle Sempsrott.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Apollo 15 Catches Earth on the Horizon

 

NASA - Apollo 15 Mission patch.

Aug 27, 2022

This view of the crescent Earth over the Moon's horizon was taken during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Apollo 15 launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 26, 1971 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. Aboard was a crew of three astronauts: David R. Scott, mission commander; James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot; and Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot.

Designed to explore the Moon over longer periods, greater ranges, and with more instruments for the collection of scientific data than before, Apollo 15 included the introduction of a $40 million lunar roving vehicle (LRV) that reached a top speed of 16 kph (10 mph) across the Moon's surface.

Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Animation Credits: NASA/Apollo

The successful Apollo 15 lunar landing mission was the first in a series of three advanced missions planned for the Apollo program. The primary scientific objectives were to observe the lunar surface, survey and sample material and surface features in a preselected area of the Hadley-Apennine region, setup and activate surface experiments, and conduct in-flight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit. Apollo 15 televised the first lunar liftoff and recorded a walk in deep space by Worden. Both the Saturn V rocket and the LRV were developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Related links:

Apollo: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/index.html

Apollo 15: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-15

Image Credit: NASA/Animation (mentioned), Text Credits: NASA/Monika Luabeya.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

China makes progress in reusability with secretive third flight of spaceplane

 

CASC - China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation logo.

Aug. 27, 2022

Suborbital vehicle to combine with orbital spaceplane for fully reusable space transportation system

Image above: A Long March 2D carrying the Yunhai-1 (02) satellite lifts off from Jiuquan in 2019. The unrelated suborbital spaceplane also launched from Jiuquan, with no further details provided. Image Credits: CCTV/framegrab.

China has performed its first repeated use of a suborbital spaceplane as part of efforts to develop a fully reusable space transportation system.

The suborbital vehicle launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Friday, Aug. 26 Beijing time (Aug. 25 Eastern), according to CASC, China’s main space contractor.

The suborbital spaceplane later landed at Alxa Right Banner airport in Inner Mongolia. The short statement provided neither images of the craft nor information such as time, duration or apogee of the launch.

The launch occurred while an orbital spaceplane—launched Aug. 4 and an apparent part of a planned two-vehicle reusable system—continues to orbit the Earth.

China suborbital spaceplane. Image Credit: CASC

The clandestine mission marks the second flight for the suborbital spaceplane, which was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a major CASC subsidiary.

CASC’s statement declared the complete success of the flight test, and represents a leap in the development of China’s space transportation technology from single-use to reusable.  

The first flight took place in July 2021, also launching vertically from Jiuquan and landing horizontally at Alxa Right Banner. CASC stated last year that the vehicle uses integrated aviation and space technologies.

The second flight followed 13 months later, after what CASC describes as inspection and maintenance.

Meanwhile CALT’s orbital spaceplane launched from Jiuquan Aug. 4 remains in orbit on its second mission. The suborbital and orbital spaceplanes could be combined to create a fully-reusable space transportation system.

The orbital vehicle could land Aug. 27, according to Orbital Focus, when the spacecraft’s ground track takes it over the Lop Nur airstrip in Xinjiang, the location of its landing after its first mission in 2020.

The CASC spaceplane project was apparently unveiled in 2017 when senior CALT official Chen Hongbo told Science and Technology Daily (Chinese) that an under-development reusable spacecraft would be tested in 2020 and ultimately be capable of carrying both crew and payloads.

A once-every-five-year space “white paper” released by the State Council Information Office in January stated that “successful demonstration flight tests on reusable launch vehicles have been carried out,” and that China would, “continue to strengthen research into key technologies for reusable space transport systems, and conduct test flights accordingly.”

Such projects face large technological and other challenges, Bleddyn Bowen of the University of Leicester told SpaceNews ahead of the second orbital spaceplane launch earlier this month.

“Spaceplanes and reusable orbital vehicles have come and gone, and come back again. There can be some marginal and varied uses for them but they are extremely expensive compared to conventional rockets because the stresses of atmospheric re-entry wreaks havoc on the materials and structures,” Bowen said.

“The Chinese development of spaceplane technology will be remarkable if they manage to overcome the problems Dyna-Soar and the Space Shuttle faced, and the challenges SpaceX’s Starship is now facing as well.”

Other reusable spacecraft or spaceplane projects are under consideration in China. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC) is working on its own spaceplane, named Tengyun, while commercial firm Space Transportation last year raised more than $46.3 million for its hypersonic spaceplane plans.

A number of Chinese rocket companies have also created presentations including small spaceplanes launching atop concepts for liquid rockets.

Related articles:

2nd launch of China Reusable Experimental Spacecraft
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/2nd-launch-of-china-reusable.html

China’s Reusable Experimental Spacecraft
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/09/chinas-reusable-experimental-spacecraft.html

For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), visit: http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: Spacenews/By Andrew Jones.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Biomedical Research, Spacewalk Preps Wrap Week on Station

 

ISS - Expedition 67 Mission patch.

August 26, 2022

Biomedical research topped the science schedule for the Expedition 67 crew members at the end of the week. Meanwhile, the International Space Station is ramping up for another spacewalk to configure its third robotic arm.

Image above: An orbital sunrise illuminate’s Earth’s atmosphere silhouetting the cloud tops as the space station soared 264 miles above South America. Image Credit: NASA.

An astronaut’s skin experiences accelerated aging in microgravity and scientists are exploring if the space-caused molecular processes affect the way wounds heal. Observations of the skin healing biological mechanisms may inform advanced wound treatments and therapies for astronauts and Earthlings. Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, all from NASA, with Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), have been supporting the biomedical experiment taking place inside the Kibo laboratory module this week. On Friday, the quartet continued practicing surgical techniques such as biopsies, suture splints, and wound dressing, inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox.

Two cosmonauts spent Friday reviewing procedures for an upcoming spacewalk to continue outfitting the European robotic arm (ERA). Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev reviewed the tasks and maneuvers they will use when they exit the Poisk module’s airlock and translate towards the ERA in their Orlan spacesuits. The duo previously worked outside the station on Aug. 17, 2022, configuring the ERA when Artemyev’s spacesuit experienced a power issue officially ending the spacewalk after four hours and one minute.

Sunrise seen from International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

The station’s third robotic arm, from ESA, is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module and being tested for commanding and operations by Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov. He partnered with his cosmonaut crewmates for the spacewalk procedures review on Friday and will assist Artemyev and Matveev in and out of their spacesuits and maneuver the ERA when they conduct their upcoming robotics spacewalk.

Related links:

Expedition 67: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition67/index.html

The way wounds heal: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8227

Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory

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

Poisk module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2

Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/

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

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

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Views a Galactic Marvel

 

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

Aug 26, 2022

The galaxy featured in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has a shape unlike many of the galaxies familiar to Hubble. Its thousands of bright stars evoke a spiral galaxy, but it lacks the characteristic ‘winding’ structure. The shining red blossoms stand out as well, twisted by clouds of dust – these are the locations of intense star formation. The galaxy also radiates a diffuse glow, much like an elliptical galaxy and its core of older, redder stars. This galactic marvel is known to astronomers as NGC 1156.

NGC 1156 is located around 25 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation Aries. It has a variety of different features that are of interest to astronomers. A dwarf irregular galaxy, it’s also classified as isolated, meaning no other galaxies are nearby enough to influence its odd shape and continuing star formation. The extreme energy of freshly formed young stars gives color to the galaxy, against the red glow of ionized hydrogen gas, while its center is densely packed with older generations of stars.

Hubble has captured NGC 1156 before. This new image features data from a galactic gap-filling program simply titled “Every Known Nearby Galaxy.” Astronomers noticed that Hubble had observed only three quarters of the galaxies within just over 30 million light-years of Earth in sufficient detail to study the makeup of the stars within them. They proposed that in between larger projects, Hubble could take snapshots of the remaining quarter, including NGC 1156. Gap-filling programs like this ensure the best use of Hubble’s valuable observing time.

Hubble Peers at Galactic Cherry Blossoms, Jul 12, 2019, first capture by Hubble

For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

https://esahubble.org/

Text Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA/Andrea Gianopoulos/Images Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. B. Tully, R. Jansen, R. Windhorst.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch