NASA Telescope Takes 12-Year Time-Lapse Movie of Entire Sky

 

NASA - NEOWISE Mission logo.

Oct 18, 2022

Pictures of the sky can show us cosmic wonders; movies can bring them to life. Movies from NASA’s NEOWISE space telescope are revealing motion and change across the sky.

Image above: This mosaic is composed of images covering the entire sky, taken by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) as part of WISE’s 2012 All-Sky Data Release. By observing the entire sky, WISE can search for faint objects, like distant galaxies, or survey groups of cosmic objects. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA.

Every six months, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, spacecraft completes one trip halfway around the Sun, taking images in all directions. Stitched together, those images form an “all-sky” map showing the location and brightness of hundreds of millions of objects. Using 18 all-sky maps produced by the spacecraft (with the 19th and 20th to be released in March 2023), scientists have created what is essentially a time-lapse movie of the sky, revealing changes that span a decade.

Each map is a tremendous resource for astronomers, but when viewed in sequence as a time-lapse, they serve as an even stronger resource for trying to better understand the universe. Comparing the maps can reveal distant objects that have changed position or brightness over time, what’s known as time-domain astronomy.

NEOWISE: Revealing Changes in the Universe

Video above: New time-lapse movies from NASA’s NEOWISE mission give astronomers the opportunity to see objects, like stars and black holes, as they move and change over time. The videos include previously hidden brown dwarfs, a feeding black hole, a dying star, a star-forming region, and a brightening star. They combine more than 10 years of NEOWISE observations and 18 all-sky images, enabling a long-term analysis and a deeper understanding of the universe. Video Credits: NASA/JPL.

“If you go outside and look at the night sky, it might seem like nothing ever changes, but that’s not the case,” said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for NEOWISE at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “Stars are flaring and exploding. Asteroids are whizzing by. Black holes are tearing stars apart. The universe is a really busy, active place.”

NEOWISE was originally a data processing project to retrieve asteroid detections and characteristics from WISE – an observatory launched in 2009 and tasked with scanning the entire sky to find and study objects outside our solar system. The spacecraft used cryogenically cooled detectors that made them sensitive to infrared light.

Not visible to the human eye, infrared light is radiated by a plethora of cosmic objects, including cool, nearby stars and some of the most luminous galaxies in the universe. The WISE mission ended in 2011 after the onboard coolant – needed for some infrared observations – ran out, but the spacecraft and some of its infrared detectors were still functional. So in 2013, NASA repurposed it to track asteroids and other near-Earth objects, or NEOs. Both the mission and the spacecraft received a new name: NEOWISE.

Image above: This illustration shows the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft in Earth orbit. The WISE mission concluded in 2011, but in 2013 the spacecraft was repurposed to find and study asteroids and other near-Earth objects (NEOs). The mission and spacecraft were renamed NEOWISE. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Growing Wiser

Despite the shift, the infrared telescope has continued to scan the sky every six months, and astronomers have continued to use the data to study objects outside our solar system.

For example, in 2020, scientists released the second iteration of a project called CatWISE: a catalog of objects from 12 NEOWISE all-sky maps. Researchers use the catalog to study brown dwarfs, a population of objects found throughout the galaxy and lurking in the darkness close to our Sun. Although they form like stars, brown dwarfs don’t accumulate enough mass to kick-start fusion, the process that causes stars to shine.

Because of their proximity to Earth, nearby brown dwarfs appear to move faster across the sky compared to more distant stars moving at the same speed. So one way to identify brown dwarfs amid the billions of objects in the catalog is to look for objects that move. A complementary project to CatWISE called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 invites citizen scientists to sift through NEOWISE data for moving objects that computer searches might have missed.

With the original two WISE all-sky maps, scientists found about 200 brown dwarfs within just 65 light-years of our Sun. The additional maps revealed another 60 and doubled the number of known Y-dwarfs, the coldest brown dwarfs. Compared to warmer brown dwarfs, Y-dwarfs may have a stranger story to tell in terms of how they formed and when. These discoveries help illuminate the menagerie of objects in our solar neighborhood. And a more complete count of brown dwarfs close to the Sun tells scientists how efficient star formation is in our galaxy and how early it began.

Watching the sky change over more than a decade has also contributed to studies of how stars form. NEOWISE can peer into the dusty blankets swaddling protostars, or balls of hot gas that are well on their way to becoming stars. Over the course of years, protostars flicker and flare as they accumulate more mass from the dust clouds that surround them. Scientists are conducting long-term monitoring of almost 1,000 protostars with NEOWISE to gain insights into the early stages of star formation.

NEOWISE’s data has also improved understanding of black holes. The original WISE survey discovered millions of supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies. In a recent study, scientists used NEOWISE data and a technique called echo mapping to measure the size of disks of hot, glowing gas surrounding distant black holes, which are too small and too distant for any telescope to resolve.

“We never anticipated that the spacecraft would be operating this long, and I don’t think we could have anticipated the science we’d be able to do with this much data,” said Peter Eisenhardt, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and WISE project scientist.

More About the Mission

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages and operates the NEOWISE mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office within the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The principal investigator, Amy Mainzer, is at the University of Arizona. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the science instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Science data processing takes place at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

JPL managed and operated WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Edward Wright at UCLA was the principal investigator. The mission was selected competitively under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

For more information about NEOWISE, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/neowise

For more information about WISE, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/wise

Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Tony Greicius/JPL/Calla Cofield.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Russian spacecraft Progress steered the ISS away from space debris

 

ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.

Oct. 17, 2022

On Monday, October 17, 2022, the International Space Station's orbit was adjusted to avoid collision with space debris.

The engines of the Progress MS-20 cargo spacecraft docked to the Zvezda service module of the ISS Russian Segment were turned on at 22:27 Moscow time. They worked for 630.8 seconds and gave out an impulse of 1 m/s.

International Space Station (ISS). Image Credit: ESA

According to preliminary data, after the maneuver, the average height of the station's orbit increased by 1.75 km and amounted to 417.9 km.

For the entire duration of the ISS flight, 327 corrections were made to its orbital altitude, including 176 with the help of Progress cargo spacecraft engines.

Currently, the crew of the 68th long-term expedition is working on board the ISS, consisting of cosmonauts of the State Corporation Roscosmos Sergey Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Francisco Rubio, Nicole Mann and Josh Kassada, as well as JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Related links:

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/38381/

Progress MS-20: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/progress-ms-20/

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Brain Science, BEAM Work as Station Orbits Higher for Cargo Mission

 

ISS - Expedition 68 Mission patch.

October 17, 2022

The seven-member Expedition 68 crew was busy aboard the International Space Station at the beginning of the week studying how the central nervous system adapts to microgravity and stowing hardware inside the BEAM module. The orbital residents also trained to operate Europe’s new robotic arm and packed a Russian cargo craft ahead of its upcoming departure.

Two astronauts from the U.S. and Japan joined each other on Monday to learn how the brain adapts to the lack of a traditional up and down reference in space. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada kicked off the human research study in the morning while seated inside the Columbus laboratory module and wearing a virtual reality headset. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) took over in the afternoon for the free-floating portion of the study exploring how weightlessness impacts an astronaut’s reach-to-grasp function.

Image above: Astronaut (from left) Nicole Mann, Koichi Wakata, and Josh Cassada are pictured aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship during a flight to the space station on Oct. 2, 2022. Image Credit: NASA.

NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Nicole Mann partnered together inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module for cargo and maintenance activities. Rubio opened up BEAM and entered with Mann to organize hardware to be returned on the next SpaceX Dragon mission planned for later this year. Mann also collected air and surface samples from inside BEAM for microbial analysis.

First time space-flyer Anna Kikina of Roscosmos trained on a computer to learn how to operate the European robotic arm, the station’s third and newest manipulator, attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. New cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin began his day on water transfer activities before studying advanced Earth photography techniques. Finally, Commander Sergey Prokopyev, on his second station mission, updated the space lab inventory system and packed trash inside the ISS Progress 80 resupply ship docked to the Poisk mini-research module. The Progress 80 is due to leave the station next week packed with trash and obsolete gear for a fiery, but safe disposal above the south Pacific Ocean.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA

In the meantime, the station was orbiting higher on Monday to prepare for the arrival of a new cargo mission from Roscosmos. The ISS Progress 81 cargo craft docked to the Zvezda service module fired its engines for 10 minutes and 30 seconds today boosting the station’s orbit. The reboost places the orbital lab at the correct altitude to receive the Progress 82 resupply ship after it launches from Kazakhstan to replace the Progress 80 vehicle.

Related links:

Expedition 68: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition68/index.html

Columbus laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/europe-columbus-laboratory

Reach-to-grasp: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2038

Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/bigelow-expandable-activity-module.html

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

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

Zvezda service module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html

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

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

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA Remembers Astronaut James A. McDivitt

 

Rest In Peace (R.I.P.).

Oct 17, 2022

Astronaut James A. McDivitt, shown here in his official 1971 portrait, died Oct. 14, 2022. McDivitt commanded Gemini IV, the second crewed Gemini flight, and Apollo 9, which tested the first lunar module in Earth orbit.

Born in Chicago in 1929, McDivitt joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and was selected to be an astronaut in 1962. As commander of Gemini IV in 1965, McDivitt stayed in the capsule while crewmate Ed White became the first American to walk in space. The 1969 flight of Apollo 9 was the first to test all the hardware needed to land astronauts on the Moon, including the lunar module. McDivitt was the Apollo program manager for the Apollo 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 missions. He left NASA in June 1972.

NASA biography of James A. McDivitt: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/mcdivitt_james.pdf

Image Credit: NASA/Text Credits: NASA/Sarah Loff.

R.I.P., Orbiter.ch

Renowned Arecibo telescope won’t be rebuilt — and astronomers are heartbroken

 

Arecibo Observatory logo.

Oct. 17, 2022

The US National Science Foundation has decided to instead open an educational centre at the site.

Image above: The Arecibo Observatory’s 305-metre-wide telescope dish partially collapsed in late 2020, after some supporting cables had snapped. Image Credits: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP.

After a world-famous radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed two years ago, many scientists hoped that the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which runs the facility, would eventually build a new one to replace it. Instead, the agency has announced that it will establish an educational centre for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at the site. The revised plan might wind down or drastically alter the remaining research being done at Arecibo.

“It’s heartbreaking,” says Héctor Arce, an astronomer at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, who is from Puerto Rico and has worked on Arecibo advocacy efforts. “To many, it seems like yet another unjust way of treating the colonial territory of Puerto Rico.”

The NSF says that it is following community recommendations in not rebuilding the large telescope and instead focusing on education. “We are not closing Arecibo,” says Sean Jones, head of the NSF’s Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. “We think this new approach and new centre will be catalytic in many areas.”

The agency announced its plans on 13 October in a call for proposals. It is asking for ideas on setting up and running an educational centre at Arecibo, at a cost between US$1 million and $3 million a year for five years, starting in 2023. That money might or might not include the funds needed to operate the research facilities at Arecibo that are still in use, such as a 12-metre radio antenna and a lidar system that uses lasers to study Earth’s atmosphere.

The situation “could be worse”, says Abel Méndez, an astrobiologist at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. But “it could be much, much better”.

“It is devastating to know that that’s their ultimate decision,” says Desireé Cotto-Figueroa, an astronomer at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. “Especially despite all the efforts made by the staff and scientists of the Arecibo Observatory and by the general scientific community to keep it working as the research centre of excellence that it has always been with the observing facilities that are left.”

A powerhouse of education

One key question is how the Arecibo site will draw students and teachers if there is little active research to participate in. “Yet the NSF calls for proposals for a world-class educational institution,” says Anne Virkki, a planetary scientist at the University of Helsinki. “How does anyone do that without the world-class scientists, engineers and instruments?”

The NSF says that it is asking for precisely those kinds of idea. The new centre could support ongoing work in astronomy and planetary science, or it could focus on other areas of research, such as the biological sciences, says James L. Moore III, the head of the NSF’s education and human-resources directorate. “Here’s an opportunity to reimagine what the possibilities could be,” he says.

The Arecibo Observatory has long been a powerhouse of STEM education in Puerto Rico because of its renowned telescope and place in astronomical history. Students who trained there have gone on to become astronomers and planetary scientists in many countries.

The 305-metre-wide radio telescope that collapsed in 2020 had a key role in many scientific fields for more than half a century, including the search for extra-terrestrial life, the discovery of the first exoplanets and of gravitational waves, and the study of near-Earth asteroids and of fast radio bursts.

The NSF has run the observatory since the 1970s, working with a series of contractors. It has been trying to wind down investment in Arecibo since 2006, to shift funding to newer astronomical facilities. Advocates rallied and research continued, but the observatory faced fresh challenges in 2017, when Hurricane Maria damaged much of the facility, and in early 2020, when a series of earthquakes caused more damage.

Then came the collapse of the large dish. One of its crucial supporting cables had failed in August 2020, and after another snapped in November that year, the NSF decided that the telescope was too structurally unsound to repair. An engineering investigation revealed five factors that contributed to the collapse, including the design of the cable system, deferred maintenance and damage from hurricanes and earthquakes.

An observatory no more

Research has continued at the observatory’s smaller facilities. Currently funded projects using those instruments will be able to finish up, Jones says, and scientists can ask to continue their use under the scope of the educational centre.

The lidar facilities include a potassium laser that studies the temperature of the layers of Earth’s atmosphere and a planned new instrument to probe aerosols such as atmospheric dust. The 12-metre dish antenna is used for a range of research, including mapping the Sun for space-weather studies, and timing the spin rate of some rapidly revolving collapsed stars known as pulsars.

Many scientists who work with Arecibo instruments are now scrambling to work out how to wind down their research projects. Under the proposed plan, the site will no longer be called the Arecibo Observatory — becoming instead the Arecibo Center for STEM Education and Research.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03293-4

Updates & Corrections

Correction 17 October 2022: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the range of studies that the 12-metre radio antenna at the Arecibo Observatory currently performs.

Related articles:

Arecibo telescope collapses, ending 57-year run
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/12/arecibo-telescope-collapses-ending-57.html

NASA Statement on NSF’s Planned Controlled Decommissioning of Arecibo Radio Telescope
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/11/nasa-statement-on-nsfs-planned.html

Second cable breaks at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo telescope
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/11/second-cable-breaks-at-puerto-ricos.html

Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/08/broken-cable-damages-arecibo-observatory.html

Related links:

Arecibo Observatory: https://www.naic.edu/ao/

National Science Foundation (NSF): https://www.nsf.gov/

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NSF/Nature/Alexandra Witze.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Resupply Mission for NASA Carries Scientific Experiments to Space Station

 

Northrop Grumman - Cygnus NG-18 Mission patch.

Oct 17, 2022

The 18th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission for NASA to the International Space Station carries scientific investigations of topics such as plant mutations and mudflow structure along with a demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these investigations to the orbiting laboratory is scheduled for liftoff no earlier than November 6 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

Here are details on some of the scientific investigations traveling to the space station on this mission:

Bioprinting tissues

The BioFabrication Facility (BFF) successfully printed a partial human knee meniscus and a large volume of human heart cells during its first trip to space in 2019. Now the payload is returning to the microgravity laboratory with new capabilities to further human tissue printing research.

Image above: The BioFabrication Facility (BFF), shown here with the ADvanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP), returns to the space station after upgrades. The facility hosts BFF-Meniscus-2, which attempts to 3D print a meniscus, or knee cartilage tissue, using bioinks and cells. Image Credit: Redwire.

The 3D bioprinter tests whether microgravity enables the printing of tissue samples of higher quality than those printed on the ground. The long-term goal is to use 3D bioprinting technologies to help alleviate organ shortages for patients in need of transplants by printing replacement organs and tissues.

“The research being conducted with BFF has exciting implications for the future of human health," said Redwire executive vice president of In-Space Manufacturing and Operations John Vellinger. “Besides providing a clear benefit to our lives on Earth, advancing this technology on the International Space Station now is a great way to prepare for work on the commercial space stations of the future, which could be outfitted with critical research technology such as BFF.”

Launching on a future mission, BFF-Meniscus-2 will use the upgraded facility to evaluate using BFF to 3D print knee cartilage tissue using bioinks and cells. Demonstration of further capabilities for tissue fabrication in space also supports continued and expanded commercial use of the space station for fabricating tissues and organs for transplant on the ground. BFF-Meniscus-2 is sponsored by the ISS National Lab.

Assessing how plants adapt to space

Plants exposed to spaceflight undergo changes that involve the addition of extra information to their DNA, which regulates how genes turn on or off but does not change the sequence of the DNA itself. This process is known as epigenetic change. Plant Habitat-03 assesses whether such adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next generation.

Image above: Plants inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center’s Advanced Plant Habitat are shown with two of the four seed bags for collecting seeds on orbit for the Plant Habitat-03 investigation. The seeds return to Earth and later will be flown back to space. Results could help determine whether second generation space adaptations continue or stabilize. Image Credit: Anna-Lisa Paul.

The long-term goal of the investigation is to understand how epigenetics can contribute to adaptive strategies plants use in space and, ultimately, to develop plants better suited for use on future missions to provide food and other services. Results also could support the development of strategies for adapting crops and other economically important plants for growth in marginal and reclaimed habitats on Earth.

In earlier experiments, researchers noticed that many genes associated with epigenetic modifications in plants were expressed differently in space. In additional studies, researchers caused plants to be deficient in key genes associated with specific epigenetic change. These plants were more affected by spaceflight than their wild-type (naturally occurring) counterparts and ground controls.

“This suggests that these changes play an important role in the physiological adaptation of plants to the spaceflight environment,” says principal investigator Anna-Lisa Paul, a professor at University of Florida. “The next question, and the subject of this experiment, is whether these spaceflight-induced epigenetic changes are carried to the next generation of plants and could confer an adaptive advantage for that environment.”   

Mudflow mixtures

Climate change and global warming are contributing to increasing occurrence of wildfires. When a wildfire burns plants, combusted chemicals create a thin layer of soil that repels rainwater. Rain then erodes the soil and can turn into catastrophic mudflows that carry heavy boulders and debris downhill, causing significant damage to infrastructure, watersheds, and human life. Post-Wildfire Mudflow Micro-Structure (TangoLab Mission-28), sponsored by the ISS National Lab, evaluates the composition of these mudflows, which include sand, water, and trapped air.

Image above: A water droplet on the flat surface of hydrophobic fine sand stands up and has a more rounded shape than compared to normal hydrophilic sand. Catastrophic Post-Wildfire Mudflows studies the formation and stability of this bubble-sand structure in microgravity to improve the understanding, modeling, and predicting of mudflows and supports development of innovative solutions to prevent catastrophic post-fire events. Image Credits: UCSD Geo-Micromechanics Research Group.

“Gravity plays a crucial role in the process by driving air up and out of the mixture and particles down to the bottom of the water,” says Ingrid Tomac, an assistant professor in the University of California San Diego’s Structural Engineering Department. “Removing gravity, therefore, could provide insights into the internal structure dynamics of these sand-water-air mixtures and a baseline for their behavior. “

Results could improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that govern post-wildfire debris movement, including how mudflows trap air bubbles and can carry heavy boulders. This investigation also could help develop and validate fundamental equations to model and predict the spread and velocity of debris flows and their effect on houses, infrastructure, and natural obstacles.

Ovarian cell development in microgravity

Sponsored by NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and coordinated by ASI, OVOSPACE examines the effect of microgravity on bovine cell cultures, research that could improve fertility treatments on Earth and help prepare for future human settlement in space.

Image above: This image shows Granulosa cells from mammalian bovine ovaries, which modulate maturation of eggs and play a role in fertility. The OVOSPACE investigation examines whether microgravity affects these and other ovarian cells. Image Credits: Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

Principal investigator Mariano Bizzarri, with the Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, explains that living for prolonged times in the reduced gravity of the Moon or Mars could impair fertility.

“This threatens the goal of establishing permanent or extended settlements beyond Earth,” Bizzari says. “Deregulation of the reproductive functions also may pose additional health risks. Our results could improve understanding of egg development and identify targets for countermeasures and treatments to protect reproductive potential on space missions. This investigation also could support development of treatments to improve or restore fertility in people on Earth.”

First satellites from Uganda and Zimbabwe

BIRDS-5 is a constellation of CubeSats: PEARLAFRICASAT-1, the first satellite developed by Uganda; ZIMSAT-1, Zimbabwe’s first satellite; and TAKA from Japan. BIRDS-5 performs multispectral observations of Earth using a commercial off-the-shelf camera and demonstrates a high-energy electronic measuring instrument. The statistical data collected could help distinguish bare ground from forest and farmland and possibly indicate the quality of agricultural growth. This could help improve the livelihood of citizens of Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Image above: The BIRDS-5 Zimbabwe team conducts vibration testing for their CubeSat to be deployed from the space station. Image Credit: BIRDS-5.

A cross-border university project, BIRDS provides students from developing nations with hands-on satellite development, laying a foundation for similar space technology projects in their home countries that ultimately could lead to sustainable space programs there.

Science Launching on Northrop Grumman's CRS-18 Mission to the Space Station

Related links:

BioFabrication Facility (BFF): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7599

BFF-Meniscus-2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8743

Plant Habitat-03: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8336

Post-Wildfire Mudflow Micro-Structure (TangoLab Mission-28): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8799

OVOSPACE: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8759

BIRDS-5: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8847

BIRDS: https://birds5.birds-project.com/

ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/

Northrop Grumman: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/northrop-grumman.html

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

Wallops Flight Facility: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/home/

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Ana Guzman.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Angara-1.2 launch vehicle launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome

 

ROSCOSMOS logo.

Oct. 16, 2022

On Saturday, October 15, 2022, at 22:55 Moscow time, from the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region, the combat crew of the Space Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces successfully launched the Angara-1.2 light-class launch vehicle with a spacecraft in the interests of Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Angara-1.2 launch vehicle carrying Cosmos-2560 liftoff

The launch of the carrier rocket and the launch of the spacecraft into the calculated orbit took place in the normal mode.

Angara-1.2 launch vehicle carrying Cosmos-2560 on the launch-pad

Two minutes after the launch, the Angara-1.2 launch vehicle was accepted for escort by ground controls of the German Titov Main Test Space Center.

Angara-1.2 launch vehicle carrying Cosmos-2560 on the launch-pad at Plesetsk

At the estimated time, the spacecraft was launched into the target orbit and accepted for control of ground facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense. He was assigned the serial number "Cosmos-2560".

Cosmos-2560 satellite

A stable telemetry connection has been established and maintained with the spacecraft, its onboard systems are operating in the normal mode.

Related links:

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/38374/

Plesetsk: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/pleseck/

Angara: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/angara/

Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch