Spacers

Penultimate Discovery On Easter Monday

Space Shuttle Discovery has been cleared to launch on its penultimate mission on April 5th - Easter Monday. NASA mission managers announced the date after an intensive flight review that took into account a potentially mission threatening leaky helium pressurization valve on Discovery. The launch date for Discovery on the STS-131 mission is set for 6:21am EDT on Easter Monday, April 5th.


After a system test that showed the valve had stuck, tests were conducted that subsequently showed the reading was a one-off and couldn't be reproduced. The impact of the valve failing during the mission is low, so the decision to proceed was taken after a unanimous vote by mission managers. Another minor issue of a potentially loose ceramic inserts around the heat shield tiles of the flight deck was also deemed low risk.

Keep an eye on Spacers as the launch date approaches.

SpaceHead

NASA Aims For Warp Drive

The term they use is 'novel engines', but we can dream can't we. NASA announced on Friday that it was awarding $50 million in grants to companies for novel engine research, which focus more on the use of electricity and non-toxic chemicals than the current batch of engines in use today. Worried by the pollution of the space around Earth and the exodus of precious Earth resources into space, NASA has taken the bold step of looking toward a cleaner future of space travel by taking a closer look at some of the more innovative ideas currently being researched.

The grants were not only hailed by the agency as helping to "explore space as much as we can", but also to look into improving aviation technologies as well. Alternative fuels for aircraft and low-noise propulsion are an ongoing effort by NASA as it looks into ways of improving aviation.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of President Obama's new plans for exploration outlined in the 2011 budget, which include call for NASA to move away from 'concrete' plans for space exploration and focus on new technology and bringing private enterprise into the space arena.

SpaceHead

ISS Timeline In A Flash

Check out this cool Flash animation of the ISS assembly sequence from USA Today.

http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

It's easy to forget the sheer volume of work that has went in to the construction of the International Space Station to date, it is quite simply a marvel of human achievement that each of the partner nations should be deservedly proud of. There is often a barrage of criticism aimed at the station, from being over budget to focusing on Low Earth Orbit too much, from diverting funding from more 'needy' projects to its exclusivity to astronauts, but I think it will go down in history as a vital step in our early learning. The Apollo era space race was a rush job that got us to the moon with a big slice of luck on our shoulder. Political pressures got us to another world and what we learned from that experience was a tiny fraction of what we have learned since, and we still have a huge amount to learn. The ISS program has not only provided us with much needed knowledge of how to build large scale structures in the harsh environment of space, but also that to cooperate with each other to do so is by far the best approach. As we stand on the cusp of an era of private and commercial space travel, we should look back with a sense of wonder and pride at what we - mere humans built.

Tip of the space helmet to Spacer Jeff for finding this little gem.

SpaceHead

Virgin Loses Its Virginity...

...in the skies that is. Today saw the inaugural flight of Virgin Galactic's suborbital aircraft SpaceShipTwo from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Designed to be carried aloft by a mother aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, the future spacecraft rolled down the desert runway and took to the skies gracefully for the first time, staying aloft for over three hours. This was of course a shakedown flight and represented a systems and hardware test, but still the significance of the first flight of the first commercial suborbital carrier is a significant event on the human spaceflight calendar.


After winning the $10 million Ansari X-Prize in 2004, Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne concept was adopted by Sir Richard Branson and developed into a fully viable passenger space vehicle launched from the belly of a mother aircraft. Virgin Galactic is aiming to begin passenger operations in late 2011 or early 2012, but at $200,000 a pop it isn't going to make it into that many Christmas stockings in the first year. Maybe year two... here's hoping.

Things are definitely moving forward in the Human Spaceflight department. Slowly, deliberately, but still forward. Let's just hope it takes off (pun intended) and is a commercial success so the cost can be brought down to a level where us pleb Spacers can have a go!

Happy Dreaming, Spacers!

SpaceHead

Soyuz Plunges To Icy Earth

American astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev undocked their Soyuz spacecraft from the ISS early on Friday and plunged into a fiery re-entry before making a soft landing on - snow! After six months of observing the snowstorms on Earth from the comfort of orbit, the two space fliers got to experience 20f (-6c) temperatures first had as they cracked open the hatch. The capsule itself was pulled on to its side and dragged by strong winds in the main parachute, but it was not as exciting or dangerous as a bobsled run. The recovery vehicles were delayed by the heavy snow, but helicopters were able to land straight away and assist as the two got used to a steady gravity again.


During their mission the Expedition 22 crew played host to two Shuttle missions and saw the installation of the new Tranquility node and Cupola. The departure of Williams and Suraev leaves a three person crew on the ISS for about two weeks until the compliment goes back up to six with the arrival of the Expedition 23 crew set to launch on April 2nd. Three days later on April 5th, Space Shuttle Atlantis is set to make its penultimate jaunt into space on a resupply mission to the station.

It's going to be a busy spring in orbit, so keep an eye on Spacers for a fix of space news.

SpaceHead

SpaceX Takes One Step Closer

Private rocketeer company SpaceX took a step closer to becoming a viable space transportation provider last Saturday, with the successful completion of a test engine firing of its Falcon 9 rocket platform. The test was dogged by delays from glitches and weather, but with it now under their belt the next step is a test launch for flight qualification, which could occur as early as April 12th. Sitting on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral's U.S. Airforce facility, the Falcon 9 rocket has been tentatively scheduled for the first available opportunity between March and May.


Nine Merlin engines power the first stage of the Falcon 9, each one delivering 125,000 pounds of thrust, which will send its Dragon payload spacecraft into orbit with a capacity for 20 tons of cargo. The Dragon module is capable of reaching the ISS, and once the cargo phase is thoroughly tested it will be qualified for human spaceflight.

For more information check out the SpaceX website: http://www.spacex.com

SpaceHead

Another Mars Avalanche!

In a blatant outburst of nostalgia, the HiRISE satellite in orbit around Mars revisited an old favorite that was feature on the very first Spacers post - an actual photograph of an avalanche in progress on Mars!


This time HiRISE has caught a snap of the actual debris falling. To give it a bit of perspective, the pale blue area at the bottom left is Martian ice, in this case the most likely substance is carbon dioxide, or dry ice. We are looking down the cliff almost vertically which makes it a pretty sheer face. I haven't seen the radar data but I would guestimate the height in hundreds of meters.

It was cool the first time I saw it, and it's just as cool this time. Mars is a planet we really should be exploring in person, and images like this can only serve to inspire us to try harder and make that first step.

You can check out more images from HiRISE at: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

SpaceHead