Aging Process, CubeSat Preps, and Space Physics Fill Station Research Schedule

 

ISS - Expedition 67 Mission patch.

August 10, 2022

Human research, nanosatellites, and space physics topped the research operations aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 67 crew also continued packing a U.S. cargo craft while servicing Russian spacesuits.

NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins peered at tissue stem cells through a microscope in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module today to understand how the human immune system ages in space. Observations may provide insights into the biological aging process and tissue regeneration possibly informing new ways to keeps astronauts healthy in space and treat medical conditions on Earth. Watkins then spent the afternoon readying cargo packed inside the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship for return to Earth in mid-August.

Image above: Astronaut Jessica Watkins sets up cell samples for viewing in a microscope for an immune system aging study. Image Credit: NASA.

A small satellite deployer loaded with CubeSats has been installed on an external science platform and placed inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren today. The deployer will soon be moved into the vacuum of space where the CubeSats will be released into low-Earth orbit for a variety of research programs. Lindgren later set up an AstroBee robotic free-flyer to rehearse pre-programmed maneuvers for the upcoming student-based Kibo Robotic Programming Challenge 3.

Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) explored the dynamics of foams, droplets, and granular materials with implications for future planetary travel and industries on Earth. She swapped the samples inside the Fluid Science Laboratory’s Soft Matter Dynamics experiment container.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA

NASA Flight Engineer Bob Hines started his day transferring U.S. spacewalking gear into the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. During the afternoon, he serviced hardware supporting the Ring Sheared Drop fluid physics study that could lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and the development of advanced materials.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev took the U.S. spacewalk components, including tools and video cameras, Hines delivered today and installed them on a pair of Russian Orlan spacesuits. The duo will conduct a spacewalk on Aug. 17 to continue outfitting the European robotic arm. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov focused on network cable connections inside the Nauka and Zvezda modules.

Related links:

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

U.S. Destiny laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/us-destiny-laboratory

Human immune system: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8343

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

AstroBee: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891

Kibo Robotic Programming Challenge 3: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8705

Fluid Science Laboratory: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=258

Ring Sheared Drop: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383

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

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

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

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA’s Fermi Confirms Star Wreck as Source of Extreme Cosmic Particles

 

NASA - Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope logo.

Aug 10, 2022

Astronomers have long sought the launch sites for some of the highest-energy protons in our galaxy. Now a study using 12 years of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope confirms that one supernova remnant is just such a place.

Found: A PeVatron

Video above: Explore how astronomers located a supernova remnant that fires up protons to energies 10 times greater than the most powerful particle accelerator on Earth. Video Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Fermi has shown that the shock waves of exploded stars boost particles to speeds comparable to that of light. Called cosmic rays, these particles mostly take the form of protons, but can include atomic nuclei and electrons. Because they all carry an electric charge, their paths become scrambled as they whisk through our galaxy’s magnetic field. Since we can no longer tell which direction they originated from, this masks their birthplace. But when these particles collide with interstellar gas near the supernova remnant, they produce a tell-tale glow in gamma rays – the highest-energy light there is.

“Theorists think the highest-energy cosmic ray protons in the Milky Way reach a million billion electron volts, or PeV energies,” said Ke Fang, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “The precise nature of their sources, which we call PeVatrons, has been difficult to pin down.”

Trapped by chaotic magnetic fields, the particles repeatedly cross the supernova’s shock wave, gaining speed and energy with each passage. Eventually, the remnant can no longer hold them, and they zip off into interstellar space.

Boosted to some 10 times the energy mustered by the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, PeV protons are on the cusp of escaping our galaxy altogether.

Image above: Illustration of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at work. Image Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

Astronomers have identified a few suspected PeVatrons, including one at the center of our galaxy. Naturally, supernova remnants top the list of candidates. Yet out of about 300 known remnants, only a few have been found to emit gamma rays with sufficiently high energies.

One particular star wreck has commanded a lot of attention from gamma-ray astronomers. Called G106.3+2.7, it’s a comet-shaped cloud located about 2,600 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus. A bright pulsar caps the northern end of the supernova remnant, and astronomers think both objects formed in the same explosion.

Fermi’s Large Area Telescope, its primary instrument, detected billion-electron-volt (GeV) gamma rays from within the remnant’s extended tail. (For comparison, visible light’s energy measures between about 2 and 3 electron volts.) The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona recorded even higher-energy gamma rays from the same region. And both the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory in Mexico and the Tibet AS-Gamma Experiment in China have detected photons with energies of 100 trillion electron volts (TeV) from the area probed by Fermi and VERITAS.

Animation above: This sequence compares Fermi results in three energy ranges. Pulsar J2229+6114 is the brilliant source at the top, the northern tip of supernova remnant G106.3+2.7 (outlined in green). In each energy range, the sequence first shows the number of gamma rays and then the excess amounts compared with expectations from a model of the background. Brighter colors indicate greater numbers of gamma rays or excess amounts. At the highest energies, a new source of gamma rays emerges, produced when protons accelerated by the supernova’s shock wave strike a nearby gas cloud. Animation Credits: NASA/Fermi/Fang et al. 2022.

“This object has been a source of considerable interest for a while now, but to crown it as a PeVatron, we have to prove it’s accelerating protons,” explained co-author Henrike Fleischhack at the Catholic University of America in Washington and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The catch is that electrons accelerated to a few hundred TeV can produce the same emission. Now, with the help of 12 years of Fermi data, we think we’ve made the case that G106.3+2.7 is indeed a PeVatron.”

A paper detailing the findings, led by Fang, was published Aug. 10 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The pulsar, J2229+6114, emits its own gamma rays in a lighthouse-like beacon as it spins, and this glow dominates the region to energies of a few GeV. Most of this emission occurs in the first half of the pulsar’s rotation. The team effectively turned off the pulsar by analyzing only gamma rays arriving from the latter part of the cycle. Below 10 GeV, there is no significant emission from the remnant’s tail.

Above this energy, the pulsar’s interference is negligible and the additional source becomes readily apparent. The team’s detailed analysis overwhelmingly favors PeV protons as the particles driving this gamma-ray emission.

“So far, G106.3+2.7 is unique, but it may turn out to be the brightest member of a new population of supernova remnants that emit gamma rays reaching TeV energies,” Fang notes. “More of them may be revealed through future observations by Fermi and very-high-energy gamma-ray observatories.”

NASA explores cosmic mysteries – and this particular puzzle took more than a decade of cutting-edge observations to solve.

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership managed by Goddard. Fermi was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the United States.

Related links:

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/main/index.html

University of Wisconsin: https://www.wisc.edu/

CERN - Large Hadron Collider (LHC): https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider

Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS): https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/facilities-technology/telescopes-instruments/very-energetic-radiation-imaging-telescope

Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/facilities-technology/cfa-facilities/fred-lawrence-whipple-observatory-mt-hopkins-az

High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory: https://www.hawc-observatory.org/

Tibet AS-Gamma Experiment: https://www.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/em/index.html

Catholic University of America: https://www.catholic.edu/index.html

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): https://www.nasa.gov/goddard

Journal Physical Review Letters: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.071101

Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, by Francis Reddy/Claire Andreoli.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

SpaceX Starlink 54 launch

 

SpaceX - Falcon 9 / Starlink Mission patch.

Aug 10, 2022

Falcon 9 carrying Starlink 54 liftoff

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched 52 Starlink satellites (Starlink-54) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 10 August 2022, at 02:14 UTC (9 August, at 22:14 EDT).

SpaceX Starlink 54 launch & Falcon 9 first stage landing, 10 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 (B1073) previously supported two missions: SES-22 and one Starlink mission.

Related links:

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

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

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

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

CASC - Long March-6 launches 16 satellites

 

CASC - CZ-6 Y10 TSLC / Long March-6 Mission patch.

Aug 10, 2022

Long March-6 carrying 16 satellites liftoff

A Long March-6 launch vehicle launched 16 satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province, China, on 10 August 2022, at 04:50 UTC (12:50 local time).

Long March-6 launches 16 satellites

According to official sources, the satellites have entered the planned orbits successfully and will “mainly be used for commercial remote sensing and atmospheric imaging”.

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

Image, Video, Text, Credits: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)/China Central Television (CCTV)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

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SpaceX completes Starship Super Heavy Booster static test

 

SpaceX - Starship Super Heavy patch.

Aug 10, 2022

SpaceX has overcome a major barrier that is leading it closer to the Starship system's first orbital test. The company has successfully completed a static fire trial of the Booster 7, its current prototype, one month after an earlier attempt went wrong. Once again, SpaceX used the Booster 7 for this test, but it only fired a single Raptor engine on the orbital launch pad, igniting it for a few seconds so researchers could get up close and personal with how well it's working.

Starship Super Heavy Booster static test. Image Credit: SpaceX

The Booster 7 is powered by 33 Raptor version 2 engines that are designed to provide it with the lift it needs to launch both the first stage and its upper stage companion, the Starship spacecraft. On the launch pad, during a previous static fire test attempt, one of the boosters caught fire. "Going forward," CEO Elon Musk tweeted after that incident, " SpaceX won't do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once."

SpaceX on Twitter

SpaceX tested Booster 7 in addition to conducting a static fire test on two of the six Raptor engines on Starship 24. That's the current prototype for the system's upper stage, and it will fly into space for the system's first orbital flight test. It's still uncertain when SpaceX plans to put the Starship into space for the first time, but it will almost certainly require more testing before then, including static firing more of its Raptors.

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

Images (mentioned9, Text, Credits: SpaceX/Gagadjet.com/By Michael Korgs.

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Astra Suspends Launches in 2022 to Work on Next Launch System

 

Astra Space logo.

Aug 10, 2022

Astra Space is ending use of its Rocket 3.3 iteration after two launch failures and moving to the next version of its launch system.

The rocket, part of Space Launch System 1.0, successfully reached orbit in a mission for the U.S. Space Force in November and then again in a March mission. But the rocket failed in a NASA Venture Class Launch Services 2 mission in February and more recently in its first NASA TROPICS mission on June 12.

Image above: An Astra rocket takes off from Astra Spaceport in Kodiak, Alaska, on March 15. Photo Credit: Astra Space.

Astra said the new launch system will be designed to deliver 600 kg versus the current 300 kg. At this payload capacity, Astra believes the rocket will allow them to serve more than 75% of the total addressable market for small satellites including many mega constellations. The target for base bulk launch price for dedicated launches is under $5 million.

“We’re working with all of our launch service customers to remanifest and Launch System 2.0. Thus, we will not have any additional flights in 2022,” CEO Chris Kemp said. “Whether we’ll be able to commence commercial launches in 2023 will depend on the success of our test flight,” he added.

Astra plans to increase investment in rocket testing and qualification which will add time to the schedule of returning to commercial service.

Animation above: Astra’s LV0008 during the failure of its fairing and the following second stage release and spinning out of control after engine ignition. Animation Credits: Footage provided by NASASpaceflight LLC and Astra Space Inc.

The company entered into a $100 million committed equity facility with B. Riley Principal Capital provides, which it said will provide “improved financial flexibility” to execute on the next version of its launch system.

The company released the update in its second quarter 2022 financial results. In the second quarter, revenues were $2.7 million, with $2 million from launch services and $.7 million from space products, the Astra Spacecraft Engine which Astra acquired from Apollo Fusion.

Astra Rocket family, Astra 1, Astra 2, Astra 3.2, Astra 3.3. Image Credit: Celeste_EL

Engine orders are one bright spot for the company, and Kemp said orders for the engine were up 69% during Q2 compared to Q1, and Astra had 103 committed orders at the end of the second quarter.

Cost of revenues was $17.4 million, including $4.1 million for the cost of launch services and space products and $13.3 million of inventory write-downs. $10.2 million of inventory write-downs is for the discontinuation of Launch System 1.0.

Adjusted net loss for the quarter was $53 million. Astra ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $200 million and no debt.

Related articles:

Astra Rocket 3.3 failed to launches TROPICS-1
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/06/astra-rocket-33-failed-to-launches.html

Astra Rocket 3.3 launches Astra-1
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/03/astra-rocket-33-launches-astra-1.html

Astra Rocket 3.3 launches ELaNa 41 (failed)
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/astra-rocket-33-launches-elana-41.html

Astra Rocket 3.3 reaches orbit on fourth attempt
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/11/astra-rocket-33-reaches-orbit-on-fourth.html

Astra Rocket 3.3 launch test
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/08/astra-rocket-33-launch-test.html

Astra Space Rocket 3.2 launch
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/12/astra-space-rocket-32-launch.html

Two failed launches in one day: Astra Rocket 3.1 and Kuaizhou-1A
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/09/two-failed-launches-in-one-day-astra.html

Related link:    

Astra Space: https://astra.com/

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text Credits: Via Satellite/By Rachel Jewett.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

The first flight of India’s small satellite vehicle results in loss of payload

 

ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation logo.

 

Aug 10, 2022

The maiden flight of India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) ended in failure when the rocket failed to insert its payloads into the target orbit.

India Space Research Organization (ISRO), the country’s space agency, confirmed on Twitter that the satellites “are no longer usable” after the rocket’s kick stage placed the satellites into an elliptical, rather than circular, orbit.

The vehicle took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sunday. In a video statement, ISRO’s Chairman Shri Somanath confirmed all three rocket stages performed nominally. The rocket also has a terminal stage, the velocity trimming module, which was tasked with deploying the payload. The satellites separated from this final stage at around 356 kilometers, which is when ISRO noticed the anomaly, Somanath said.

ISRO's new SSLV "Small Satellite Launch Vehicle" first liftoff

“We found that this issue related to the SSLV has been reasonably identified, but we will go deeper into it,” he said, calling the issue “failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure.” Because the satellites were injected into an elliptical orbit, rather than a circular one, they were essentially pulled back down into Earth’s atmosphere at the orbit’s lowest point.

“But for that problem, we couldn’t see any other anomaly […] Every other new element that has been incorporated in this rocket has performed very well,” he added. He said a committee has been assembled to investigate the anomaly and provide a set of recommendations for implementation before SSLV’s second developmental flight.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) configuration

SSLV is India’s answer to the burgeoning small satellite launch market, standing at 111-feet tall and capable of lifting up to 500 kilograms to low Earth orbit. It is designed, according to ISRO, as a “launch-on-demand” solution. The vehicle was carrying two payloads: an Earth observation satellite designed by ISRO called Eos-02, and an 8U CubeSat carrying 75 payloads built by students from rural India.

India has a long history of developing its own launch vehicles, starting with Satellite Launch Vehicle which had its first successful mission in 1980. SSLV is India’s answer to the burgeoning small satellite launch market, and it joins three other operational rockets as part of the country’s fleet.

Related article & link:

ISRO - The first launch of SSLV-D1
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/08/isro-first-launch-of-sslv-d1.html

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO): https://www.isro.gov.in/

Images, Text, Credits: ISRO/TechCrunch/Aria Alamalhodaei.

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