US Space Program - a thread

[Hamartia Antidote]

SpaceX almost sticks the 4th landing in a row.

Video is slow motion

 

[SvenSvensonov]

SpaceX almost sticks the 4th landing in a row.

Video is slow motion

Even in failure, that's such a beautiful sight. Blue Origins who?

 

[SvenSvensonov]

International space happenings.

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Three Space Station Crew Members Return to Earth, Land Safely in Kazakhstan

Three crew members from the International Space Station returned to Earth at 5:15 a.m. EDT (3:15 p.m. Kazakhstan time) Saturday after wrapping up 186 days in space and several NASA research studies in human health.

Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra of NASA, flight engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos touched down southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan

The crew completed the in-flight portion of NASA human research studies in ocular health, cognition, salivary markers and microbiome. From the potential development of vaccines, to data that could be relevant in the treatment of patients suffering from ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, the research will help NASA prepare for human long-duration exploration while also benefiting people on Earth.

The three crew members also welcomed four cargo spacecraft, including one that delivered the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), an expandable habitat technology demonstration. The BEAM, which arrived in April on the eighth SpaceX commercial resupply mission, was attached to the space station and expanded to its full size for analysis over the next two years. The BEAM is an example of NASA’s increased commitment to partnering with industry to enable the growth of commercial space, and is co-sponsored by the agency’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division and Bigelow Aerospace.

Two Russian Progress cargo craft docked to the station in December and April, bringing tons of supplies. Kopra and Peake also led the grapple of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft to the station in March, the company's fourth commercial resupply mission, and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in April.

During his time on the orbital complex, Kopra ventured outside for two spacewalks. The objective of the first spacewalk was to move the station’s mobile transporter rail car to a secure position. On the second spacewalk, Kopra and Peake replaced a failed voltage regulator to restore power to one of the station’s eight power channels. Kopra now has 244 days in space on two flights, while Peake spent 186 days in space on this, his first, mission.

Having completed his sixth mission, Malenchenko now has spent 828 cumulative days in space, making him second on the all-time list behind Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.

Expedition 48 continues on the station, with NASA astronaut Jeff Williams in command, with crewmates Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The three-person crew will operate the station for three weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are scheduled to launch July 6 (Eastern time) from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Blue Origin's Crew Capsule Just Crashed—And Survived

Blue Origin just launched its crew capsule into space—and then intentionally brought it in for a very soft crash.

Blue Origin’s reusable rocket, which just made its fourth trip to space, hit an apogee of 331,501 feet. It then touched down easily, like we’ve seen in previous flights. But the real action on this test was to see what happened to the crew capsule it was carrying.

Instead of using three parachutes to soften its landing, Blue Origin intentionally failed one to see how it would do with just two. Blue Origin’s commentators during the event said that it would hit the ground at a speed of just 1-2 miles per hour, but the company’s speed monitor appeared to show it at around 20 miles per hour as it hit the ground.

Still—despite that heavy cloud of dust it kicked up at touchdown—the capsule appeared intact at the end. Although, for a full-workup of how the capsule did, we’ll need to wait until Blue Origin retrieves it and checks it out. Assuming all went well, that same rocket and capsule will go back up in a future test flight.

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The whole mission here:

Every time I see that rocket!!

 

[SvenSvensonov]

A test version of the Orion spacecraft is pulled back like a pendulum and released, taking a dive into the 20-foot-deep (6.1 meters) Hydro Impact Basin at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Crash-test dummies wearing modified Advanced Crew Escape Suits are securely seated inside the capsule to help engineers understand how splashdown in the ocean during return from a deep-space mission could impact the crew and seats.

Each test in the water-impact series simulates different scenarios for Orion’s parachute-assisted landings, wind conditions, velocities and wave heights the spacecraft and crew may experience when landing in the ocean upon return missions in support of the journey to Mars.

The interim cryogenic propulsion stage test article made a five-hour journey on the Tennessee River from United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. At Marshall, the hardware will undergo tests critical to the first launch of NASA's Space Launch System -- the world’s most powerful rocket.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

A prototype 13-kilowatt Hall thruster is tested at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. This prototype demonstrated the technology readiness needed for industry to continue the development of high-power solar electric propulsion into a flight-qualified system.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://www.space.com/33229-firefly-rocket-engine-test-photo.html

Firefly Rocket Engine Looks Luminous During Test (Photo)

A test of a single engine from the Firefly Alpha aerospike rocket looks like a work of art in this photo, posted to the company's Twitter account on June 10, 2016.
Credit: Edwards Media, Austin TX
A white, hot column of flame firing out of a rocket engine, backdropped by white clouds and a blue sky, looks like a work of art in this photo from the private company Firefly Space Systems.

This luminous image was posted to the company's Twitter account on June 10, and shows a single engine — one of 12 that will be included on the completed Firefly Alpha aerospike rocket. The aerospike design uses engine nozzles with a slightly different shape compared to the bell-shaped nozzles seen on many other rocket engines.

Firefly is a company aiming to build "low-cost, high-performance space launch capability for the underserved small satellite market," according to the company's website. The company's first launch with its Firefly Alpha vehicle is scheduled for March 2018. That will be the first of four launches contracted by NASA.

In the picture, the engine is attached to the "live ring," which will hold all 12 engines when the rocket is fully constructed. (Many rocket designs have multiple engines, such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which has nine engines.)

The aerospike engine design has been around since the 1960s, a representative for Firefly told Space.com via email, but the company believes it "will have the first aerospike engine in production when Firefly Alpha becomes operational in early 2018," he said.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

SpaceX almost sticks the 4th landing in a row.

Video is slow motion

looks like the barge is ok

 

[indiatester]

looks like the barge is ok

Potty training is not complete yet

 

[SvenSvensonov]

A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will fire up for the second of two qualification ground tests at 10:05 a.m. EDT (8:05 a.m. MDT) Tuesday, June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's test facility in Promontory, Utah. NASA Television will air live coverage of the booster test June 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The test will provide NASA with critical data to support booster qualification for flight. When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the world's most powerful rocket, with the Orion spacecraft atop, to achieve human exploration to deep-space destinations, including our journey to Mars.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Busy upcoming few weeks. An SLS Booster test on June 28th (Live stream at NASA TV) and Juno is set to reach Jupiter on July 4th. Until then, here's some photos taken by NASA missions.

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The dark side of Pluto - New Horizons

Saturn and its rings - Cassini

Saturn and friends Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas - Cassini

Stargazing on the ISS - NASA Earth Observatory

Enceladus - Cassini

CST-100 Starliner - Manned space program

Deep Space Station 35 - Deep Space Network

Starburst Spider - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Just in case I'm not awake yet tomorrow (June 28, 2016) - and there's a good chance of that happening since I work from home on Tuesdays and have no reason to get up early - the SLS booster test can be seen here at 9:30 to 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

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These are monstrous booster:

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As a bonus, here's a pic of Saturn's dark side and Enceladus as taken from Cassini.

And a teaser from Juno, which is due to reach Jupiter on July 4th.

NASA's Juno spacecraft obtained this color view on June 21, 2016, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (10.9 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4.

As Juno makes its initial approach, the giant planet's four largest moons -- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto -- are visible, and the alternating light and dark bands of the planet's clouds are just beginning to come into view.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

The Juno mission.

Juno is powered by three large solar panels.

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[indiatester]

@SvenSvensonov

Off topic, but this is how I remember Juno mission

 

[SvenSvensonov]

SLS Booster test live stream.