MESSENGER's Last Day on Mercury

The first to orbit Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft came to rest on this region of Mercury's surface yesterday. Constructed from MESSENGER image and laser altimeter data, the scene looks north over the northeastern rim of the broad, lava filled Shakespeare basin. The large, 48 kilometer (30 mile) wide crater Janacek is near the upper left edge. Terrain height is color coded with red regions about 3 kilometers above blue ones. MESSENGER'S final orbit was predicted to end near the center, with the spacecraft impacting the surface at nearly 4 kilometers per second (over 8,700 miles per hour) and creating a new crater about 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter. The impact on the far side of Mercury was not observed by telescopes, but confirmed when no signal was detected from the spacecraft given time to emerge from behind the planet. Launched in 2004, the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemisty and Ranging spacecraft completed over 4,000 orbits after reaching the Solar System's innermost planet in 2011. via NASA http://ift.tt/1EygYcP

Mars Exploration Rovers Special Update: MERathon Celebrates Opportunity's Marathon

MER mission ops team members joined other engineers and scientists, some who previously worked on the MER mission, to take on the challenge of a relay marathon to celebrate Opportunity's milestone achievement.

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Farewell, MESSENGER

There is one less robot exploring the solar system today. MESSENGER, which has orbited Mercury for four years, finally ran out of fuel and crashed into the planet at 17:26 UT on Thursday, April 30, 2015.

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Dawn Journal: Getting Down to Science at Ceres

Dawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman gives a status update on the mission, having finally arrived at dwarf planet Ceres.

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Ten-Engine Electric Plane Prototype Takes Off

A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QU3iz8

ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/30/15

Robotic Refueling Mission-2 (RRM-2): Virts worked with ground teams to configure the Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) and extend the JEMAL slide table to position the RRM for transfer. The Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) operators on the ground are currently using the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) to remove task board (TB)3 from the RRM On-Orbit Transfer Cage (ROTC) followed by a Mobile Transporter (MT) translation from Work Site (WS)7 to WS2 for TB3 installation.  This is day 1 of at least 6 days of ground operations to transfer RRM-2. Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Kelly set up equipment and the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) for fixative swap operations. He retrieved the test subject samples prepared 24 hours ago, removed the preserving fixative and replaced with fresh fixative. The primary objective of this research is to monitor the effects of the space environment on the musculoskeletal and neurological systems of mice as model organisms of human health and disease. Living in microgravity results in significant and rapid effects on the physiology of mice that mimic the process of aging and some diseases in humans on Earth, including muscle atrophy and the loss of bone mineral density. This project will help scientists to discover new molecular targets that can facilitate the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of muscle and bone-related diseases. Long-duration exposure to microgravity will also induce changes in gene expression, protein synthesis, metabolism, and eye structure/morphology that will be identifiable as a series of assessable biomarkers for tracking the onset and progression of disease. Defining the Relation Between Biomarkers of Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress and Atherosclerosis Risk in Astronauts During and After Long-duration Spaceflight (Cardio Ox): Cristoforetti, with Virts as the Crew Medical Officer (CMO) and remote guidance from the ground, performed the return minus 14 day (R-14) ultrasound scans for Cardio Ox followed by blood pressure measurements and logging results. The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts. Crew members provide blood and urine samples to assess biomarkers before launch, three sessions while in space, and again post-flight. Ultrasound scans of the carotid and brachial arteries will be obtained at the same time points, as well as through 5 years after landing as an indicator of cardiovascular health Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF):  Cristoforetti performed the third and final on board cable reconfiguration on the SCOF to support ground checkouts. This is in preparation for the Soret Facet cell2 experiment planned for May 12. The Soret effect in fluids is a thermodynamic phenomenon in which different particles respond in different ways to varying temperatures. The effect, studied by the Swiss chemist Charles Soret, has been difficult to examine in detail on Earth because of gravity. The Study on Soret effect (thermal diffusion process) for the mixed solution by the in-situ observation technique facilitated at SCOF (Soret-Facet) is the first investigation to verify Soret conditions in steady and changing conditions, and to compare the Soret effect in microgravity with results on the ground, an important measurement for calibrating future investigations.  European Physiological Module (EPM):  Cristoforetti performed a software update of EPM laptop by reloading software using a ghost image and EPM Universal Serial Bus (USB) stick.  Space Aging:  Cristoforetti retrieved the Space Aging sample #1 from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF), placed it in a sample return bag and stowed in the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).  Space Aging is an investigation to study of the effects of space flight on the aging of the C. elegans roundworm, a model organism for a range of biological studies. Microgravity causes a number of physiological changes, like heart and bone deconditioning, involving mechanisms that are poorly understood and may affect the rate at which organisms and astronauts age. Space Aging will grow millimeter-long C. elegans roundworms in microgravity and compare their health and longevity with control specimens kept on Earth.  Nanoracks Module 24:  Kelly answered questions regarding the NanoRacks module install that was performed on April 18. The ground is currently unable to “see” Module-24 or the USB drive that was installed. These answers will help troubleshooting efforts and assist in the development of future ops products.  Body Measures:  Kelly, acting as an operator, assisted Virts in setting up equipment to collect his third and final calibration and body pose photographs and the circumference measurements in support of the Body Measures experiment. Currently, NASA does not have sufficient in-flight anthropometric data (body measurements) gathered to assess the impact of physical body shape and size changes on suit sizing. This study will involve collecting anthropometric data (body measurements) using digital still and video imagery and a tape measure to measure segmental length, height, depth, and circumference data for all body segments (i.e., chest, waist, hip, arms, legs, etc.) from astronauts for pre-, post-, and in-flight conditions. S-Band String 1: Yesterday evening following a Loss of Signal (LOS), Ku-Band and S-Band did not lock up on Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) 171.  Ku-Band was reacquired on the following pass on TDRS 41 but the S-Band outage persisted.  Ground controllers were able to regain ISS telemetry.  Ku-Band Contingency Command and Telemetry (CCT) mode was enabled over a Russian Ground Pass to allow ground controllers to use Ku-Band commanding to swap S-Band from String 1 to String 2.  Once configured on String 2, good command link and telemetry link were established.  Initial review of data from troubleshooting shows the Baseband Signal Processor (BSP)-1 is performing nominally and S-Band String 1 has been configured as a hot backup.  The team is continuing to investigate. Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Flush Water Pressure Relief T-Hose Installation: Virts installed a pressure relief hose on Dose Pump PY-3 and routed it through panel WHC-03 with the Urine Receptacle Hose. This configuration eliminates the need to […]

May 01, 2015 at 01:18AM
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Blue Origin Makes a Surprise Rocket Launch

I’m a big fan of commercial space—private companies building rockets to get into space. I write about SpaceX a lot, of course, since it is very public about its progress. I don’t write as much about Blue Origin, run by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, because it’s more secretive, keeping things very close to the vest.

So I was caught a bit off-guard Thursday when the company announced that it had performed a test flight of its suborbital New Shepard rocket! The video is very impressive:

On Wednesday, the rocket lifted an uncrewed test capsule to a height of 93.5 kilometers. The capsule, which is designed to hold up to three passengers, separated cleanly from the vehicle, and landed under three parachutes safely on the West Texas ground.

The rocket itself is designed to land vertically, slowing under thrust and settling down on deployable landing legs. This part of the test didn’t perform so well; the hydraulics for the legs didn’t work, and it presumably crashed. This is similar to the problem SpaceX had with its first attempted landing of the Falcon 9 booster in January.

This is pretty amazing news, and very welcome. The plan is that Blue Origin will offer seats on its capsule in two years, selling tickets for suborbital flights—that is, straight up and down (or, more accurately, a ballistic arc), not going around the Earth as in orbital flight. It eventually plans to build rockets capable of achieving orbit.

The current engine it has designed, the BE-3, uses liquid oxygen and hydrogen and has 110,000 pounds of thrust. It is already working on the BE-4, which will produce 550,000 pounds. That upgraded version will be for its next-generation rocket, Very Big Brother, which will be used to go into orbit. The company expects that to be flight-ready in 2017, and it also have a contract with United Launch alliance to provide the BE-4 engines for the new ULA Vulcan rocket.

I’ll note this test flight didn’t quite reach space, technically. That is (somewhat arbitrarily) designated as 100 km above sea level and is called the Kármán line. But I think getting 93.5 percent of the way is still pretty danged impressive.

These are exciting times for space exploration. Although the U.S. doesn’t have the capability to launch Americans into orbit from American soil, that day is fast approaching. The gap we’re in right now is comparable to the amount of time between the end of the Apollo program and the first Space Shuttle launch. The difference now is that instead of relying on a single (and arguably over complex) launch vehicle, we’ll soon have several to choose from, and they’ll be far less expensive than the Shuttle.

It is my fervent hope that in 10 years we’ll be looking back at this crewed launch gap as a very small stumble on the way to space. And that the number displayed here will be will also be headed skyward.

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