Tag Archives: Discovery

Discovery’s final space trip begins

February 26, 2011 4:47 AM ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

NASA launched the Space Shuttle Discovery on its last journey into space today. Six crew members commanded by NASA astronaut and Air Force officer Steven W. Lindsey, will stay in space 10 days and 19 hours and land at the Kennedy Space Center on 7 March 2011 at approximately 16:50 UTC. Discovery will spend two days heading toward its rendezvous with the International Space Station. On the second day of the flight, the crew will perform the standard scan of the shuttle’s thermal protection system using the orbiter boom sensor system attached to the end of Discovery’s robotic arm. On the third day of the flight, Discovery will approach and dock with the space station.

The mission will transport the Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo and the third of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELC4) to the ISS. The Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) is a large, reusable pressurized element, carried in the space shuttle’s cargo bay, originally used to ferry cargo back and forth to the station. For STS-133, the PMM, known as Leonardo, was modified to become a permanent module attached to the International Space Station. Once in orbit, the PMM will offer 70 additional cubic meters of pressurized volume for storage and for scientific use. The module is carried in the cargo bay of Discovery and will be connected to the Unity node on the station.

Almost 200 people from 15 countries have visited the International Space Station, but so far the orbiting complex has only ever had human crew members – until now. Robonaut 2, the latest generation of the Robonaut astronaut helpers, is set to launch to the space station aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-133 mission. It will be the first humanoid robot in space, and although its primary job for now is teaching engineers how dexterous robots behave in space, the hope is that through upgrades and advancements, it could one day venture outside the station to help spacewalkers make repairs or additions to the station or perform scientific work.

Discovery was NASA’s third space shuttle orbiter to join the fleet at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery also is known inside the space agency by its designation Orbiter Vehicle-103, or OV-103. Construction of Discovery began on Aug. 27, 1979 and was completed four years later. Discovery rolled out of the assembly plant building in Palmdale, California, October 1983 and was first launched Aug. 30, 1984 (STS-41D).

Discovery flew its maiden voyage on Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Later missions included NASA’s return to flight after the loss of Challenger (September 1988) and Columbia (July 2005), launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990, the final Shuttle/Mir docking mission in June 1998 and Senator John Glenn’s shuttle flight in October 1998.

When first flown, Discovery became the third operational orbiter, and it currently is the oldest orbiter in service. It was named after two historic, Earth-bound exploring ships of the past. One was a vessel used by Henry Hudson in the early 1600s to explore the Hudson Bay and search for a northwest passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The other was one of two ships used by the British explorer James Cook in the 1770s. Cook’s voyages in the South Pacific led to the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. Another of his ships was the Endeavour, the namesake of NASA’s newest shuttle.

After STS-133 Discovery will be the first space shuttle to retire from NASA’s fleet, having flown in space 39 times – more than any other shuttle.

News and Photo Credit : NASA

Posted in: Astronomy News, Featured, Solar System, Space Agencies ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

2010: A Year of Historic Milestones in Spaceflights

December 31, 2010 5:18 PM ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

2010 was a big year for spaceflight

This year was a big one for spaceflight, with governmental agencies and the private sector alike marking many key milestones.

During this watershed year, for example, NASA changed course to pursue new goals, the first private space capsule was launched into orbit and the International Space Station reached the 10-year mark of continuous human habitation.

A decade of Continuous Occupation in International Space Station

The first live-in crew arrived at the International Space Station on Nov. 2, 2000. Since then, individuals have come and gone, but NASA and its international partners have been occupying the station uninterrupted. This year, they reached the 10-year anniversary of continous human presence on the orbital laboratory.

The fact that humanity has an established,decade-long presence on a space outpost 220 miles (354 kilometers) above Earth's surface is a big deal, NASA officials have said. It highlights the progress we've made in becoming a true spacefaring civilization, and it hints at bigger achievements to come.

Assembly of the station began in 1998 and is almost complete. The station, now nearly as long as a football field, has hosted more than 600 science and technology experiments over its lifetime, NASA officials have said. That number should rise substantially as the station transitions fully from its assembly phase to a fully-functioning research laboratory.

NASA plans to operate the space station until at least 2020.

First Successful Solar Sail Mission

For years, engineers have dreamed about powering a craft through space using nothing but the constant stream of photons from the sun. That dream finally became a reality this year with the launch of Japan's Ikaros spacecraft.

Ikaros lifted off on May 20 along with Japan's troubled Akatsuki Venus probe. In June,Ikaros successfully deployed its solar sail, which catches photons the way a ship's sail catches wind. The probe is now riding that photon wind, speeding toward the far side of the sun.

Ikaros is demonstrating the viability of solar sail technology, showing that probes can travel through space without relying on costly (and heavy) chemical propellant. Its success could lead to the development and launch of many more solar sail craft.

Japan's space agency, for example, is planning to launch a solar sail mission to Jupiter around 2019 or 2020, officials have said.

Space Shuttle Program Winds Down

Three of the last-ever space shuttle missions lifted off this year, as NASA prepares to shut down the shuttle program in 2011.

All of the 2010 shuttle missions delivered key parts and supplies to the International Space Station, helping put the finishing touches on the orbiting outpost. On Feb. 8, the shuttle Endeavour blasted off on mission STS-130, ferrying a cupola with seven windows and a robotic control station.

The STS-131 mission of the shuttle Discovery launched April 5, bringing up racks for scientific experiments, as well as new sleeping quarters for the station's crew. Then Atlantis launched May 14 on the STS-132 mission to deliver the Russian-built module known as Rassvet. Rassvet provides additional storage space and serves as a new docking port for Russia's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

Discovery was supposed to make another trip to the station this year. Its STS-133 mission — which will deliver a storage room and a humanoid robot called Robonaut 2  — was slated to launch in November, but the discovery of cracks in the shuttle's external fuel tank pushed the mission back to February 2011.

SpaceShipTwo's First Flights

Space tourism made some big strides in 2010, as Virgin Galactic's suborbital space plane SpaceShipTwo took to the skies for the first time.

SpaceShipTwo will eventually ferry customers on joyrides to suborbital space, at $200,000 a pop. The space plane is designed to ride a mothership known as WhiteKnightTwo up to about 50,000 feet (15,240 meters); at that altitude, it will drop off, fire its own rocket engines and cruise up to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson publicly unveiled SpaceShipTwo in December 2009. In March 2010, it made its first flight, staying firmly anchored to WhiteKnightTwo the entire time. Then, on October 10, the space plane flew free for the first time, detaching from WhiteKnightTwo and gliding back down to Earth.

Next up is a powered test flight, giving SpaceShipTwo the chance to fire its rocket motors. That could take place in early 2011. If all goes well, tourists could be flying to the edge of space by late 2011 or 2012, Virgin Galactic officials have said.

SpaceX Launches, Returns Dragon Capsule

NASA will need help getting cargo to the space station after the space shuttle fleet retires in 2011, and late this year a private company served notice that it's just about ready to step up.

On Dec. 8, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) became the first commercial outfit to launch and re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit — something only six nations or governmental agencies had ever done before.

The California-based company lifted its Dragon capsule into space aboard its Falcon 9 rocket. Dragon orbited Earth twice, then splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico, where SpaceX crews retrieved it.

The mission was the first test flight under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, which is designed to foster the development of private vehicles capable of carrying cargo and crew to the International Space Station.SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion NASA contract to make 12 supply flights to the station with Dragon through 2016.

Dragon's next test flight could take it directly to the space station, SpaceX officials have said. The capsule could begin making bona fide supply runs as early as next year.

NASA's New Space Plan

President Barack Obama's new plan for NASA, announced as part of his administration's 2011 budget request, calls for the space agency to shift gears, goals and priorities.

Gone, for example, is the Constellation program, which aimed to take astronauts back to the moon using Ares I and Ares V rockets, along with a spacecraft called Orion. Instead of Constellation, President Obama proposed that NASA work to gethumans to an asteroid by 2025 and then to Mars by the mid-2030s.

NASA's new direction isn't responsible for mothballing the shuttle fleet in 2011; that plan has been in place since 2004. But the new plan looks outside of the space agency to fill the looming hole in low-Earth orbit transportation capability that the shuttle retirement will create.

In the short term, Russian Soyuz spacecraft will ferry cargo and crew to and from the International Space Station. But NASA's new plan aims to spur the development of American commercial space capabilities, with private companies — such as SpaceX and the Virginia-based outfit Orbital Sciences — soon shouldering much of the load.

NASA would then be free to concentrate on more ambitious projects to explore deeper space — the asteroid and Mars missions, for example.

V S/AASTRO/space.com

Posted in: AASTRO, Astronomy News, Events, Featured, Space Agencies ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Chandrayaan’s M3 discovers new lunar rock type

February 10, 2010 10:49 AM ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

The Moon Minerology Mapper (M3) on Chandrayaan-1, which famously discovered the presence of water and hydroxyl molecules on the lunar surface material last year, has now identified a new lunar rock type on the far side of the moon. The M3 is a NASA instrument. This was reported here on Monday by Carle Pieters of Brown University, lead author of the present study, at the Sixth Chandrayaan-1 Science Meeting being held at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), a unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The rock-type is dominated by a mineral termed as ‘magnesium spinel.’ Spinel is a generic name given to a class of minerals having the chemical formula AB{-2}O{-4} and the usual spinel formations found in lunar rocks is an iron-magnesium admixture of the form (Mg, Fe)(Al, Cr){-2}O{-4}. These rocks are usually found along with magnesium-iron silicate (olivine) and calcium-rich aluminium silicate (pyroxene).

Unique feature

According to Professor Pieters, the interesting feature of the new rock type is that it is exclusively composed of magnesium-rich spinel “with no detectable pyroxene or olivine present.” This, she said, does not easily fit with current lunar crustal evolution models.

Rich in anorthosites

The generally accepted characterisation of the lunar crust is based principally on retrieved lunar material by the Apollo-Luna missions and meteorite samples. The crust is described as a rocky accumulation, basically rich in calcium-aluminium silicates (anorthosites) infused with a mix of compounds containing magnesium and iron (‘mafic’ minerals).

However, the western ring of the Moscoviense Basin of the moon appears to be one of the several discrete areas that exhibit unusual compositions relative to their surroundings, but without morphological evidence for separate geological processes leading to their exposure.

The findings are based on data acquired by M3 in January 2009 during the first observation period of Chandrayaan-1 from its initial 100 km altitude orbit over a 40 km wide strip field of view, with a spatial resolution of 140 m/pixel. The mapping was done using the emission spectrum of the surface over the wavelength region 460-3000 nanometres with a spectral resolution of 20-40 nm.

Five anomalous areas

The general composition of the area observed had a low abundance of mafic minerals and a high abundance of feldspathic minerals such as pyroxene. While this was consistent with earlier observations, five anomalous areas that are widely separated were seen along the lower elevations of the ring (see pic.). Interestingly, no unusual feature or any compositional boundary was seen for any of these areas.

Calcium-rich pyroxene is prominent in areas 2 and some parts of 3 and 4. Olivine is prominent across 5 and parts of 4. In contrast, the whole of region 1 and part of region 3 were exceptionally dark in the images. This, according to Professor Pieters, is because of the high absorption that the areas seem to have in the 2000 nm region, together with the near complete absence of pyroxene or olivine (less than 5 per cent) as indicated by the lack of any absorption around 1000 nm.

While regions rich in olivine or pyroxenes have been seen in other basins, this is the first time a magnesium-rich spinel region has been identified. “The clear interpretation of these spectra is that the surfaces represent a new rock type dominated by magnesium-rich spinel with no other detectable mafic minerals,” Professor Pieters said.

No easy explanation

There does not seem to be any easy explanation for the occurrence of these spinel formations. Since magnesium-spinels have been seen in some asteroids, one possible explanation is that the source is exogenous asteroid or comet impacts. However, there is no evidence of any impact or dispersion of rubble pile and the like from the impact’s aftermath.

An interesting feature of the Moscoviense Basin is that the crust in the region is much thinner, compared to other basins. This is indicative of a magma upturning over much recent time scales as compared to other regions. Also this offers one possible explanation for the occurrence of magnesium-rich minerals because these are very dense and would have been deposited right at the bottom during the cooling and crystallization of the crust. The recent upturning may have brought it up from the lunar deep crust during the basin formation, Professor Pieters pointed out.

Lunar crust origin

But that still does not explain the localised nature of the anomalous regions that extend only about a few kilometres across, she said. “Creating foreign deposits without a trace of their origin is hard to do. We, therefore, favour a lunar crust origin,” she said. “But even that interpretation is not entirely satisfactory. We need to fully characterise the morphology of the anomalous regions with high resolution data from TMC [ISRO’s Terrain Mapping Camera] images,” she added.

Posted in: AASTRO, ASTRO NEWS, Astronomy News, Featured, Solar System ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , ,