US Space Program - a thread

[SvenSvensonov]

Ever wondered what the inside of a rocket's fuel tank looked like? Me neither, but now we both know. This is an inside view of the newly completed fuel tank for the Space Launch System.

The photo's pretty big, so resize it to glimpse both details and depth, otherwise it just looks flat.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Time lapse of James Webb Telescope

 

[SvenSvensonov]

First color image from Juno. Up close images will begin to come in around August.

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The JunoCam camera aboard NASA's Juno mission is operational and sending down data after the spacecraft’s July 4 arrival at Jupiter. Juno’s visible-light camera was turned on six days after Juno fired its main engine and placed itself into orbit around the largest planetary inhabitant of our solar system. The first high-resolution images of the gas giant Jupiter are still a few weeks away.

"This scene from JunoCam indicates it survived its first pass through Jupiter's extreme radiation environment without any degradation and is ready to take on Jupiter," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "We can't wait to see the first view of Jupiter's poles."

The new view was obtained on July 10, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT, 5:30 UTC), when the spacecraft was 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kilometers) from Jupiter on the outbound leg of its initial 53.5-day capture orbit. The color image shows atmospheric features on Jupiter, including the famous Great Red Spot, and three of the massive planet's four largest moons -- Io, Europa and Ganymede, from left to right in the image.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Seems like just yesterday that Curiosity touched down on Mars, and we're already planning for the next rover.

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NASA's Next Mars Rover Progresses Toward 2020 Launch

This image is from computer-assisted-design work on the Mars 2020 rover. The design leverages many successful features of NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, but also adds new science instruments and a sampling system to carry out new goals for the 2020 mission.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
After an extensive review process and passing a major development milestone, NASA is ready to proceed with final design and construction of its next Mars rover, currently targeted to launch in the summer of 2020 and arrive on the Red Planet in February 2021.

The Mars 2020 rover will investigate a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for microbial life, probing the Martian rocks for evidence of past life. Throughout its investigation, it will collect samples of soil and rock and cache them on the surface for potential return to Earth by a future mission.

“The Mars 2020 rover is the first step in a potential multi-mission campaign to return carefully selected and sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth,” said Geoffrey Yoder, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This mission marks a significant milestone in NASA’s Journey to Mars – to determine whether life has ever existed on Mars, and to advance our goal of sending humans to the Red Planet.”

To reduce risk and provide cost savings, the 2020 rover will look much like its six-wheeled, one-ton predecessor, Curiosity, but with an array of new science instruments and enhancements to explore Mars as never before. For example, the rover will conduct the first investigation into the usability and availability of Martian resources, including oxygen, in preparation for human missions.

Mars 2020 will carry an entirely new subsystem to collect and prepare Martian rocks and soil samples that includes a coring drill on its arm and a rack of sample tubes. About 30 of these sample tubes will be deposited at select locations for return on a potential future sample-retrieval mission. In laboratories on Earth, specimens from Mars could be analyzed for evidence of past life on Mars and possible health hazards for future human missions.

Two science instruments mounted on the rover’s robotic arm will be used to search for signs of past life and determine where to collect samples by analyzing the chemical, mineral, physical and organic characteristics of Martian rocks. On the rover’s mast, two science instruments will provide high-resolution imaging and three types of spectroscopy for characterizing rocks and soil from a distance, also helping to determine which rock targets to explore up close.

A suite of sensors on the mast and deck will monitor weather conditions and the dust environment, and a ground-penetrating radar will assess sub-surface geologic structure.

The Mars 2020 rover will use the same sky crane landing system as Curiosity, but will have the ability to land in more challenging terrain with two enhancements, making more rugged sites eligible as safe landing candidates.

"By adding what’s known as range trigger, we can specify where we want the parachute to open, not just at what velocity we want it to open,” said Allen Chen, Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "That shrinks our landing area by nearly half."

Terrain-relative navigation on the new rover will use onboard analysis of downward-looking images taken during descent, matching them to a map that indicates zones designated unsafe for landing.

"As it is descending, the spacecraft can tell whether it is headed for one of the unsafe zones and divert to safe ground nearby,” said Chen. "With this capability, we can now consider landing areas with unsafe zones that previously would have disqualified the whole area. Also, we can land closer to a specific science destination, for less driving after landing."

There will be a suite of cameras and a microphone that will capture the never-before-seen or heard imagery and sounds of the entry, descent and landing sequence. Information from the descent cameras and microphone will provide valuable data to assist in planning future Mars landings, and make for thrilling video.

"Nobody has ever seen what a parachute looks like as it is opening in the Martian atmosphere,” said JPL's David Gruel, assistant flight system manager for the Mars 2020 mission. “So this will provide valuable engineering information.”

Microphones have flown on previous missions to Mars, including NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008, but never have actually been used on the surface of the Red Planet.

"This will be a great opportunity for the public to hear the sounds of Mars for the first time, and it could also provide useful engineering information," said Mars 2020 Deputy Project Manager Matt Wallace of JPL.

Once a mission receives preliminary approval, it must go through four rigorous technical and programmatic reviews – known as Key Decision Points (KDP) — to proceed through the phases of development prior to launch. Phase A involves concept and requirements definition, Phase B is preliminary design and technology development, Phase C is final design and fabrication, and Phase D is system assembly, testing, and launch. Mars 2020 has just passed its KDP-C milestone.

"Since Mars 2020 is leveraging the design and some spare hardware from Curiosity, a significant amount of the mission's heritage components have already been built during Phases A and B,” said George Tahu, Mars 2020 program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "With the KDP to enter Phase C completed, the project is proceeding with final design and construction of the new systems, as well as the rest of the heritage elements for the mission."

The Mars 2020 mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Driven by scientific discovery, the program currently includes two active rovers and three NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. NASA also plans to launch a stationary Mars lander in 2018, InSight, to study the deep interior of Mars.

JPL manages the Mars 2020 project and the Mars Exploration Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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Some pics from (and of) Curiosity:

If you're confused about how Curiosity takes a pic of itself, here's a handy link. And another here. One more, just in case you're still really confused.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Pluto and Charon, from New Horizons - from a NASA feature on the mission.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Falcon Heavy Launch site making progress

The rocket will be a beast!! (but not Space Shuttle level)

 

[Technofoxxy]

NASA underwater simulated mission:

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21 mission began on July 21, 2016, as an international crew of aquanauts splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base, 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. The NEEMO 21 crew will perform research both inside and outside the habitat during a 16-day simulated space mission.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

 

[Olaf One-Brow]

The heat shield that will protect the Orion crew module during re-entry after the spacecraft’s first uncrewed flight atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket in 2018 arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 25. The heat shield arrived aboard NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility, and was offloaded and transported to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building high bay today.

The heat shield was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin in the company’s facility near Denver. Orion’s heat shield will help it endure the approximately 5,000 degrees F it will experience upon reentry. The heat shield measures 16.5 feet in diameter.

NASA's Juno mission successfully executed its first of 36 orbital flybys of Jupiter today. The time of closest approach with the gas-giant world was 6:44 a.m. PDT (9:44 a.m. EDT, 13:44 UTC) when Juno passed about 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometers) above Jupiter's swirling clouds. At the time, Juno was traveling at 130,000 mph (208,000 kilometers per hour) with respect to the planet. This flyby was the closest Juno will get to Jupiter during its prime mission.

 

[Olaf One-Brow]

Today, 8.28.16, a NASA funded simulated Mars mission ended after 365.25 days:

Six scientists have completed a year-long simulation of a Mars mission, during which they lived in a dome in near-isolation.

The group lived in the dome on a Mauna Loa mountain in Hawaii and were only allowed to go outside if wearing spacesuits. On Sunday the simulation ended and the scientists emerged.

Read the accompanying article here - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/28/mars-scientists-nasa-dome-hawaii-mountain-isolation

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/spacex-signs-first-customer-for-launch-of-refurbished-rocket-1472594431

SpaceX Signs First Customer for Launch of Refurbished Rocket
Satellite operator SES agrees to launch one of its large commercial spacecraft

ENLARGE
The recovered first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket is transported to the SpaceX hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in May. The company says reusable technology eventually will allow more frequent and significantly less expensive launches of all types of spacecraft. Photo: joe skipper/Reuters
By
Andy Pasztor
Aug. 30, 2016 6:00 p.m. ET
7 COMMENTS
Satellite operator SES SA has agreed to launch one of its large commercial spacecraft on a refurbished Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rocket, marking another advance for reusable boosters.

Scheduled to occur before the end of the year, the mission announced on Tuesday will be the first one to use the lower stage and nine main engines of a Falcon 9 rocket that experienced the rigors of a blastoff and acceleration through the atmosphere on a previous launch. No other commercial space company or military contractor has achieved such a landmark by recovering and reusing the entire lower stage intact, after an initial orbital flight.

Officials of SpaceX, as the Southern California company is called, have been eager to demonstrate such reusable technology, which they describe as a game changer that eventually will allow more frequent and significantly less expensive launches of all types of spacecraft. SpaceX officials have talked about ultimately being able to launch spacecraft at a faster tempo—and for a fraction of their current prices, which typically start at roughly $60 million.

The company so far has returned the main lower portions of six Falcon 9 rockets, by landing them vertically on land or on a specially outfitted floating ocean platform. The booster destined to carry the SES satellite lifted an unmanned cargo capsule toward the international space station in April.

SpaceX officials also have said the engines of boosters that have returned to Earth proved to be in excellent shape, requiring little refurbishment. The engines are slated to undergo extensive analysis, including repeated test firings on the ground, before being readied for repeat launches. Senior SpaceX officials have predicted that Falcon 9 engines could end up being reused multiple times—potentially up to dozens of missions, and other experts have concurred.

SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk hasn’t said how much it is likely to cost to put used boosters back into service, nor has he indicated the extent of discounts available for customers willing to sign up for such launches. Overall, the company has signaled relatively little refurbishment work is expected to be necessary. Detailed structural and other tests are continuing on another returned booster, which experienced the highest re-entry forces.

The U.S. military remains cool to the general concept because it is reluctant to trust its expensive satellites to recycled boosters until the technology is proven. Claire Leon, the Air Force’s top rocket-acquisition official, told a space-industry conference in May: “It’s going to be a long time before we can actually say we’re going to reuse a rocket.” Some satellite industry consultants and SpaceX critics have argued that the company has a long way to go to demonstrate the benefits and most of all, the reliability, of reusable rockets.

But commercial satellite operators generally have been more supportive, and in recent months, SES officials have talked up the potential benefits of reusing boosters. The upcoming mission is intended, among other things, to demonstrate that a blue-chip customer is willing to accept a previously used rocket with a relatively short turnaround time to get it ready for another launch.

SpaceX officials also are betting that the Pentagon and other U.S. government customers, which are independently studying broader reusability questions, gradually will follow the lead of SES.

The decision by Luxembourg-based SES, which operates more than 50 large commercial satellites in high-Earth orbit, is particularly significant for several reasons. The move comes despite the fact that the company’s satellite-deployment plans have been disrupted by previous slips in SpaceX launch schedules.

SES, which years ago was the first commercial operator to launch with SpaceX, also has a reputation for technical expertise and long has been viewed by the rest of the industry as exercising caution in adopting new technologies.

As a result, the upcoming launch could help convince other operators, SpaceX customers and insurance providers that reusable rockets are likely to be a major trend.

In its press release, SES called the recycled booster a “flight-proven Falcon 9.” Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES, said: “We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight, and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management.”

In Tuesday’s joint release, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said “relaunching a rocket that has already delivered spacecraft to orbit is an important milestone on the path to complete and rapid reusability.”

One technical issue industry that officials are likely to be watching closely is whether additional tests and work may be needed before relaunching boosters that previously placed satellites into orbits requiring extra propulsion. Those boosters follow faster trajectories, and undergo greater stresses, when returning to land.

SpaceX Dragon Splashes Down with NASA’s Station Science Cargo

Article Updated: 26 Aug , 2016

by Ken Kremer

SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 returned to Earth with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016 after more than a month stay at the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

A SpaceX commercial Dragon cargo ship returned to Earth today, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, by splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean – thus concluding more than a month long stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The vessel was jam packed with some 1.5 tons of NASA cargo and critical science samples for eagerly waiting researchers.

The parachute assisted splashdown of the Dragon CRS-9 cargo freighter took place at 11:47 a.m. EDT today in the Pacific Ocean – located some 326 miles (520 kilometers) southwest of Baja California.

Dragon departed after spending more than five weeks berthed at the ISS.


This image, captured from NASA Television’s live coverage, shows SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft departing the International Space Station at 6:10 am EDT Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, after successfully delivering almost 5,000 pounds of supplies and scientific cargo on its ninth resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory. Credits: NASA Television

It was loaded with more than 3,000 pounds of NASA cargo and critical research samples and technology demonstration samples accumulated by the rotating six person crews of astronauts and cosmonauts living and working aboard the orbiting research laboratory.

This station based research will contribute towards NASA’s strategic plans to send astronauts on a ‘Journey to Mars’ by the 2030s.

It arrived at the station on July 20 ferrying over 2.5 tons of priceless research equipment, gear, spare parts and supplies, food, water and clothing for the station’s resident astronauts and cosmonauts as well as the first of two international docking adapters (IDAs) in its unpressurized cargo hold known as the “trunk.”


The SpaceX Dragon is captured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

Dragon was launched on July 18 during a mesmerizing post midnight, back-to-back liftoff and landing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in its upgraded, full thrust version.


SpaceX Falcon 9 launches and lands over Port Canaveral in this streak shot showing rockets midnight liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:45 a.m. EDT on July 18, 2016 carrying Dragon CRS-9 craft to the International Space Station (ISS) with almost 5,000 pounds of cargo and docking port. View from atop Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

The SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted off at 12:45 a.m. EDT July 18, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and successfully delivered the Dragon CRS-9 resupply ship to its preliminary orbit about 10 minutes later.

SpaceX also successfully executed a spellbinding ground landing of the Falcon 9 first stage back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Landing Zone 1, located a few miles south of launch pad 40.

The dramatic ground landing of the 156 foot tall Falcon 9 first stage at LZ -1 took place about 9 minutes after liftoff. It marked only the second time a spent, orbit class booster has touched down intact and upright on land.


Moments before dramatic touchdown of SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage at Landing Zone-1 (LX-1) accompanied by sonic booms after launching Dragon CRS-9 supply ship to orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 12:45 a.m., bound for the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

The stage was set for today’s return to Earth when ground controllers robotically detached Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module early this morning using the station’s 57.7-foot (17.6-meter) long Canadian-built robotic arm.

Expedition 48 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) then used Canadarm 2 to release Dragon from the grappling snares at about 6:10 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) this morning.

“Houston, station, on Space to Ground Two, Dragon depart successfully commanded,” radioed Rubins.

The ISS was soaring some 250 miles over the Timor Sea, north of Australia.

“Congratulations to the entire team on the successful release of the Dragon. And thank you very much for bringing all the science, and all the important payloads, and all the important cargo to the station,” Onishi said. “We feel really sad to see it go because we had a great time and enjoyed working on all the science that the Dragon brought to us.”

Dragon then backed away and moved to a safe distance from the station via a trio of burns using its Draco maneuvering thrusters.

The de-orbit burn was conducted at 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT) to drop Dragon out of orbit and start the descent back to Earth.

SpaceX contracted recovery crews hauled Dragon aboard the recovery ship and are transporting it to a port near Los Angeles, where some time critical cargo items and research samples will be removed and returned to NASA for immediate processing.

SpaceX plans to move Dragon back to the firms test facility in McGregor, Texas, for further processing and to remove the remaining cargo cache.

Among the wealth of over 3900 pounds (1790 kg) of research investigations loaded on board Dragon was an off the shelf instrument designed to perform the first-ever DNA sequencing in space and the first international docking adapter (IDA) that is absolutely essential for docking of the SpaceX and Boeing built human spaceflight taxis that will ferry our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in some 18 months.

During a spacewalk last week on Aug. 19, the initial docking adapter known as International Docking Adapter-2 (IDA-2) was installed Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA.

Other science experiments on board included OsteoOmics to test if magnetic levitation can accurately simulate microgravity to study different types of bone cells and contribute to treatments for diseases like osteoporosis, a Phase Change Heat Exchanger to test temperature control technology in space, the Heart Cells experiments that will culture heart cells on the station to study how microgravity changes the human heart, new and more efficient three-dimensional solar cells, and new marine vessel tracking hardware known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that will aid in locating and identifying commercial ships across the globe.

The ring shaped IDA-2 unit was stowed in the Dragon’s unpressurized truck section. It weighs 1029 lbs (467 kg), measures about 42 inches tall and sports an inside diameter of 63 inches in diameter – so astronauts and cargo can easily float through. The outer diameter measures about 94 inches.

“Outfitted with a host of sensors and systems, the adapter is built so spacecraft systems can automatically perform all the steps of rendezvous and dock with the station without input from the astronauts. Manual backup systems will be in place on the spacecraft to allow the crew to take over steering duties, if needed,” says NASA.

“It’s a passive system which means it doesn’t take any action by the crew to allow docking to happen and I think that’s really the key,” said David Clemen Boeing’s director of Development/Modifications for the space station.

“Spacecraft flying to the station will use the sensors on the IDA to track to and help the spacecraft’s navigation system steer the spacecraft to a safe docking without astronaut involvement.”

CRS-9 counts as the company’s ninth of 26 scheduled flight to deliver supplies, science experiments and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station (ISS).

The CRS-9 mission was launched for the crews of Expeditions 48 and 49 to support dozens of the approximately 250 science and research investigations in progress under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

Watch for Ken’s continuing SpaceX and CRS mission coverage where he reported onsite direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news.

 

[Olaf One-Brow]

Opps.

Thank goodness nothing important was onboard when it exploded. Just some Facebook wonk.

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In less explosive news... yeah I got nothing. So here's a pick of NASA's new all-electric aircraft X-57.

With the wing attached the aircraft will look like this:

The X-planes are back.

 

[Olaf One-Brow]

A pic from Juno of Jupiter's Southern Lights.

More pics from the Juno and other NASA missions here:

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Jupiter

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Almost forgot! NASA's got an upcoming launch on September 8th. This is the OSIRIS-REx mission.

OSIRIS-REx will venture to a nearby asteroid, collect samples and return to Earth, becoming the first US spacecraft to do so.

 

[Olaf One-Brow]

Another pic from Juno. This one of Jupiter's South Pole.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://www.theguardian.com/science...-rex-space-probe-asteroid-bennu-samples-video

Nasa launches Osiris-Rex space probe to collect asteroid samples

Nasa launches the Osiris-Rex spacecraft into space on Thursday, on an unprecedented seven-year quest to collect samples from the asteroid Bennu. The United Launch Alliance booster lifts off from Cape Canaveral air force station in Florida, as part of Nasa’s New Frontiers missions. The probe will reach its destination in August 2018, spend two years mapping the asteroid and send back interstellar material that could date back to the origins of the solar system.