SpaceX’s Dragon capsule successfully launched into LOE, and re-enters the atmosphere

The inaugural launch of the Dragon capsule on top of the Falcon 9 rocket shows that SpaceX is ready to move their program forward as planned. They are the first to successfully launch a spacecraft into low-Earth-orbit (LOE), and bring it back successfully into the atmosphere. 

The flight was also the first for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) software, designed to function in delivering of cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS) for the private sector. 

At 10:43 this morning, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket, along with the Dragon Capsule. Nine minutes later Dragon fired it’s thrusters and pulled itself away from the second stage of the Falcon 9, entering orbit. The Dragon then began to orbit the Earth for 2 hours before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. 

The launch was originally scheduled for yesterday, but cracks were discovered in a nozzle extension of the Falcon 9’s second stage.  After working overnight to fix the issue, the go ahead was given for a launch this morning.

With the successful launch of the Dragon and COTS, NASA provided SpaceX with $278 Million. SpaceX has a current contract with SpaceX over the next 6 years to deliver at least 12 cargo deliveries to ISS. SpaceX is hoping to someday acquire a contract to carry astronauts to and from ISS, but the Dragon capsule is not yet rated for human flight.

The second flight of the Falcon 9, and first flight of the Dragon capsule lifted off this morning from Cape Canaveral

The moment of separation. The Dragon capsule separates from the Falcon 9 and begins flying on it's own

This image taken through the Dragon's circular window was taken while the craft was still in LOE

Recovery vehicles approach the Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean only 10 miles from the target spot.

International Space Station to be “open for business” to companies, schools, and researchers.

As the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) nears completion, options are being looked into to provide companies and researches access to the station’s resources.

In the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, NASA is to find an organization to manage the U.S. portion of ISS and station research by other agencies, schools, and private companies. 

Economically, the organization will promote the usefulness of the station outside of the government, to get the best possible return on the investment made in ISS. A wide variety of fields can benefit from the unique laboratory that the station has become. NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden says “By taking this action, we are ensuring the station is available for broad, meaningful, and sustained use”.

For organizations wishing to learn more about the program, NASA will be hosting a public forum this Friday at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC.

May 2006 image of ISS in orbit above the Caspian Sea. Image was taken after the Space Shuttle Discovery departed from the station.

A bio-tech drawer rack onboard the ISS. Soon private firms, schools, and agencies will be able to utilize the ISS for their own research.

Japanese probe sent to study atmosphere of Venus, has a critical malfunction as it entered orbit.

The Japanese Probe, Akatsuki, arrived at the planet Venus after a journey of more than six months, but had a malfunction when it entered into orbit around the neighboring planet. 

After the probe fired it’s thrusters to move itself into orbit around Venus, it went into an expected blackout period which was supposed to be 22 minutes. However, the blackout period lasted over an hour and a half. Once communications resumed contact with the probe, officials stated that they believe Akatsuki is not communicating optimally and that it is not in the proper orbit. 

Akatsuki was launched in May of 2010. The probe would study that planet’s atmosphere, and would use instruments such as an infrared camera to confirm lightning in the clouds, and volcanic activity on the surface. The probe is to be in an elliptical orbit around Venus. Meaning that it’s orbit would take it 300 km to 80,000 km away from the surface. 

The Akatsuki probe prior to launch. Pointed out is the thruster which injected the probe into orbit.

An artist's depiction of Akatsuki (or "Dawn") in orbit around Venus.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter delivers stunning images of diverse geography from the red planet.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera onboard the MRO has delivered some breathtaking new images this month of ancient trails, pits, and huge rocks lanying in the middle of perfectly rippled sand across the Martian surface.

Mud volcanoes appear in the region of Acidalia Planitia, and dark pits with no signs of rims appear in the region of Tharis. Below is just a sample of the thousands of images MRO HiRISE has acquired. You can browse them online through the NASA PDS (http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/) or at the HiRISE team’s website (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu). 

MRO was launched in 2005, and achieved it’s Martian orbit in 2006. It has since then returned thousands of images from Mars. The HiRISE camera is essentially a telescope half a meter wide. It has the resolution of 0.30 meters from an altitude of 300 kilometers. The camera uses three color bands as well. Blue/Green, Red, and near-infrared. 

In the Ascraeus Mons region of Mars, these two dark pits sit in the north western corner.

These mounds which are thought to be mud volcanoes, make the Acidalia Plains an ideal landing spot for a future mission to Mars.

This landform called a graben was formed when the land between two parallel faults sunk in. With the lava flow, it can help determine the ages of features.

Russian proton rocket launch fails, payload of three satellites lost.

The Russian Federal Space Agency, and Krunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Moscow announced that the payload of the three Glonass-M satellites failed to reach orbit after being launched on Sunday.  An inquiry board will begin investigating the cause of the accident.

The outcome could have an effect on International Launch Services, a company in McLean, VA which is owned by Krunichev and handles the Proton launches.

ILS currently has a launch scheduled for the 20^th of this month. Despite the failure of Sunday’s launch, preparations are still being made to launch on time. It will launch with a different upper-stage, the Breeze M, instead of the Block DM used on the failed attempt. They will will be launching a consumer broadband satellite. 

A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying a Russian "GLONASS" global positioning systems satellite prepares to blast off.

Integral navigation availability for GLONASS customer (PDOP≤6) on the diurnal range for elevation not less than 5 degrees on 30 March 2010

Incredible images of Enceladus and Hyperion sent back from Saturn system by Cassini spacecraft

On the 30^th of November, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew by the one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus. The spacecraft sent back images of the South Pole of the moon, as well as flying within 30 miles of the northern hemisphere. 

The darkened terrain of the surface is a sign that the winter months are now in effect in the south. Nonetheless, the background light showed the jets bursting from the surface.

Not the first time Cassini has imaged Enceladus, this flyby and an upcoming flyby will be the closest of the extended Solstice mission. The closest flyby took place in October of 2008 coming within 16 miles of the moon. 

Science wise, Cassini took gravity measurements to better understand the moon’s interior, and particle experiments taking readings of the charged particles around it. 

Also a couple days before the Enceladus flyby, Cassini flew within 45,000 miles of Hyperion and took some interesting images of the surface of this moon as well. 

NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this raw image of the Saturnian moon Hyperion on Nov. 28, 2010. Image credit: NASA/JPL/SS

NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this raw image of the south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI

SpaceX Demo 1 launch set to take place this week

The Demo 1 launch of Space X’s Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule could happen this Monday morning. The launch will take place at Cape Canaveral, Florida at Launch Complex 40. If necessary, Tuesday and Wednesday will be available as backup days.

The demo flight will have a Falcon 9 rocket launching a Dragon Capsule into orbit. It will exceed speeds of over 17,000 MPH and splash down in the Pacific Ocean 3 ½ hours later. 

Onboard the Dragon will feature NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) software. This software will be used in conducting supply missions to the International Space Station. After the shuttle fleet is retired, Space-X is already on board and will fly at least 12 supply missions to ISS. 

Space X will host a webcast of the event on their website. Launch coverage will begin at 8:15 for the necessary launch windows.

Artist's conception of the SpaceX Dragon Capsule in orbit.

Artist's conception of the SpaceX Dragon Capsule in orbit.

Air Force X-37B space plane lands after a 7 month mission

An unmanned, Air Force space plane landed at Vandenberg Air Force base in California early Friday morning after seven months in orbit. 

The X-37B is a joint effort between the 30^th Space Wing, the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, and Boeing. What the exact mission or purpose of the flight was, is still unknown but a spokesperson for the Air Force stated that the X-37B completed all on-orbit objectives that were set for the mission. 

Back in April of this year, the space plane was launched on top of an Atlas V rocket. Since then the X-37B has been a target for skywatchers looking to get a glimpse of the plane in orbit. Eventually after tracking the plane, skywatchers took notice of it’s orbital changes.

Classification of the vehicle’s payload and exact missions has raised speculation that the plane could be used as a spy drone, or as a weapon capable of launching an attack from space. However an Air Force spokesperson stated that the space plane’s purpose is to conduct space-shuttle types of activities. 

The Air Force has ordered another X-37B flight, which may launch in the spring of next year. 

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle waits in the encapsulation cell of the Evolved Expendable Launch vehicle April 5, 2010, at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. Half of the Atlas V five-meter fairing is visible in the background. Scheduled launch is April 20th, 2010.

Amateur image taken of the X-37B in orbit.

A crew of vehicle handlers clad in suits to protect against hazardous materials (like any remaining rocket fuel) approach the X-37B robot space plane after its successful Dec. 3 landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Despite political uncertainty, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter‘s mapping of the moon continues to take the most detailed images ever of potential landing sites.

One of the things taken into consideration when choosing a spot for human or robotic exploration on the moon, is the ability to access the areas with as much diverse geology available locally possible. 

The Prinz area shown in the image here is a great example of that. The riles and massifs along with the surrounding craters are a diverse collection of different types of lunar topography. 

The rilles across the image are traces of lava flow, creating the mare on the surface. Embedded within is layers of lunar bedrock. This provides us with how lava shaped the surface long ago. 

Massifs contain deposits of volcanic eruptions on the moon’s surface. These deposits which are pyroclastic, could be used as resources for future crews. 

The advantages of these regions are made obvious when we see the diverse range of geology we can cover in just one mission. As LRO continues mapping the moon in the highest quality detail we ever seen, we shall continue to find areas which could serve us in the future.

The third and final EVA of Apollo 15 brought the astronauts to the edge of Hadley Rille (lower left). Disturbed regolith is observed along the crater rim at station 9 and at the edge of the rille at station 9A.

LROC WAC mosaic of the rille-rich Prinz crater region. Bench-like features are visible in the Prinz B depression and two flows originating in Prinz B converge just west of the arrow [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

A string of bad luck pushes STS-133 launch back even further

Space Shuttle Discovery waits to launch on her last mission. STS-133 to the International Space Station. After a series of delays, and a number of tests being scheduled, the shuttle will not lift off of launch pad 39d any earlier than Feb. 3 of next year. 

Right now the work is concentrating on processing work such as swapping out batteries, and preparing the shuttle for cold weather expected to come into the space coast. 

After the bad weather clears, testing will be made on the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. Two stringers have been repaired, and a section of foam replaced. These systems have not been cleared for flight as they still have to be tested. 

Investigations into the exact reason the stingers failed are still ongoing, but options to begin tanking tests have been given the go ahead. 

Discovery was to launch back in November, but cracks discovered in the External Fuel Tank were discovered causing the launch to be delayed.

The first pictures of the crack in the space shuttle's external fuel tank were posted not to NASA's website but to a blog.

Space shuttle Discovery is prepared for its final launch into space, which is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2010 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Water vapor and clouds found in atmosphere in super-Earth planet in Gliese system.

Last year the orbiting super-Earth, Gliese 1214b, was discovered as a shadow passing in front of the red dwarf, Gliese 1214. The low density planet is 6.5 Earth masses, and orbits it’s star in just 38 hours.

One of the only ways to analyze the atmosphere of a world 40 light years away, is to use large telescopes to view the planet as it passes in front of its star. This is exactly what astronomers did at the European Southern Observatory. 

As they monitored he light coming through, they noticed the spectrum as featureless. This is a result of the upper atmosphere being covered in clouds, haze, and/or water vapor. 

This is the first super-Earth which has had its atmosphere analyzed in such a way. While the exact composition of the atmosphere is still unknown, one theory that the planet would have a rich hydrogen atmosphere has been proven out of the running.

Atmospheric comparison of Gliese 1214b and Earth.

An artist's impression shows how the newly discovered super-Earth surrounding the nearby star GJ1214 may look. ESO/L. Calçada