Spacers

Buzz Alert!

Earth will be buzzed by a small asteroid tonight that will fly just inside the orbit of the Moon. It's orbit is very well understood though, and there is no danger to the planet whatsoever.

The scary thing is that it was just discovered on Thursday! Our friends over at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona gave it the expected name 2009 TM8. The asteroid is tiny - about 30 feet (7 meters) across - and will get within 216,000 miles (348,000 km) of Earth when it zooms by at a speed of around 18,163 mph (29,232 kph). Closest approach will be 03:44 GMT Saturday October 17th 2009, that's 11:44 pm EDT.

So, what would happen if it did hit us then?

Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL, Pasedena says "If it's typical density, it would create a 4 kiloton explosion in the Earth's atmosphere if it were to hit, which of course it won't. You'd expect an object of this size to fly within the orbit of the moon every few days or so. There are about 7 million of these objects in the near-Earth space. Needless to say we have discovered only a small fraction of them. An asteroid this size can hit the Earth once every seven years or so."

Anyone with a telescope, you might wanna keep an eye on the sky for us, please!

Happy Spacing Spacers!

SpaceHead

The Highlights

So, anything Spacey happening then?

Of course! As always there is a heaped spoonful of space to talk about. Here are the highlights.

Progress 35 launched on Wednesday from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Khasakhstan. In a dazzling dawn launch, the resupply mission produced some amazing imagery as it made its way into orbit to chase down the ISS.

NASA will be Tweeting Atlantis launch. Fans of Twitter can follow the launch in this new initiative from NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/collaborate/tweetup.html

Ares I-X has been delayed on its way to the launch pad by a faulty part in the steering system. The rollout has been put back by at least a day as engineers work to fix the glitch.

Reusable spaceplane prototyoe launched. A reusable rocket plane has made a successful test flight from New Mexico's Spaceport America. The prototype craft was launched using a vertical rail system to demonstrate the viability of the technology.

Looks like there is hope for us plebs getting into space yet.

Happy Spacing Spacers!

SpaceHead

Guess The Painter

Can you guess who painted this?



Yep, you are quite right, it was Mars. This is a stunning image from the HiRISE camera showing sand dunes in a crater drizzled with the trails of dust devils.

Sometimes though, the tech is irrelevant, you just have to look in awe.

SpaceHead

Meteor Caught On Camera

This is pretty cool, a camera at the University of Western Ontario in Canada caught a really bright meteor streaking across the sky.



The apparent brightness was reported as 100 times brighter than a full moon. Wow!

Atlantis Has A Roll

Atlantis has made it to launch pad 39A. Anyone get up at 6:30am EDT to watch it? No! Wow, and you call yourself a Spacer. Well okay then I didn't get up to watch it either - it would have been 3:30am for me here in Arizona anyway.

The launch pad's protective rotating service structure will be closed around the shuttle tonight to create a sealed environment for launch pad teams to begin support preparations for Atlantis' November 12th launch, including attaching and securing the payload items. Unfavourable sun angles at the ISS limit the viable launch dates to before November 19th, and if NASA is succesful in launching Atlantis before the end of the year it will bring the tally to five - the most since 2002. This is a notable achievement given the increased processing workload it imposed after the Columbia tragedy.

The STS-129 astronauts are scheduled to fly to Kennedy on Oct. 19 to participate in the three-day Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, which gives the crew an opportunity to check the fit of their spacesuits, practice emergency evacuation procedures at the launch pad, review firefighting methods and participate in a simulated launch countdown.

In the above picture on the front row are astronauts Charlie Hobaugh (left), commander; and Barry Wilmore, pilot. From the left (back row) are astronauts Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists.

Keep an eye on NASATV as they cover activities in the runup to the launch.

Happy Spacing Spacers!

SpaceHead

U2 Can Be In Space!

U2 pay a visit to Mission Control in Houston to make a call to the International Space Station. The communication delay makes the conversation a little awkward at times, but it's an entertaining exchange.



So, is NASA getting all trendy now?

Well, in my opinion NASA needs to get a lot more trendy than it has been over the years. I find the whole business of space exciting and fascinating to geek level, but to the average person it is presented as somewhat boring at times. There is a vast difference between the Hollywood production image of space and the reality, and I support any attempt to make it more mainstream accessible. This is a good attempt, but even the kids looked bored at times - and kids love space!

Keep it up, NASA - and maybe look into hiring a media guru.

Happy Spacing Spacers!

SpaceHead

The Rollouts Continue

Space Shuttle Atlantis is set to roll out to launch pad 39A tomorrow, Wednesday 14th October. For anyone interested in watching something that moves a little faster than drying paint, you can click one of the NASATV links to the right, and don't forget to set your alarm for 6am EDT!

Mission STS-129 is targetted to launch on November 12th to the ISS as the Shuttle program winds down by finishing construction of the orbital outpost. This is an outfitting mission that will deliver a pair of external logistics carriers and spare parts for the station, including a massive gyroscope used for orientation of the station.

Launch Target:
Nov. 12, 2009
Orbiter:
Atlantis
Mission Number:
STS-129
(129th space shuttle flight)
Launch Window:
10 minutes
Launch Pad:
39A
Mission Duration:
11 days
Landing Site:
KSC
Inclination/Altitude:
51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Primary Payload:
31st station flight (ULF3), EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1), EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 2 (ELC2)

So, is that all that's happening then?

Before then there are two Russian launches to the ISS planned, a Progress resupply mission on Thursday, October 15th, and a Soyuz launch on November 10th that will attach the Mini Research module MRM2 to the Russian segment of the station. It's a busy time in orbit as the completion date approaches. Check out the upcoming launch schedule here.

Happy Spacing Spacers!

SpaceHead