SpaceX Falcon 1 Finally Makes It Into Orbit

Well I guess SpaceX CEO Elon Musk won't have to commit suicide after all. His company finally got their Falcon 1 rocket into orbit today following a successful launch from the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Defense Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll. This was Falcon 1's fourth launch attempt with the previous three resulting in failure. The most recent, Flight Three, took place less than one month ago. But today is a new day, and Falcon 1 has become the first privately developed launch vehicle to reach Earth orbit from the ground. This is quite an amazing feat they've accomplished even without the help of Star Trek's beloved Scotty. "As the saying goes, the fourth time's the charm," Musk told his employees after the launch. "It's great to have this giant monkey off my back." While today's launch was only carrying a dummy satellite, this is just the beginning for the space launch startup. Musk and SpaceX are planning several commercial launches in the future as they continue to develop the Falcon family of rockets that they intend to one day use to provide launch services for NASA to the ISS. My hat is certainly off to SpaceX today on their momentous achievement, but I have to concur with PointNiner regular J.B. Does this mean we have corporate-owned ICBMs now?

You can watch SpaceX's webcast of the entire launch of Falcon 1 Flight 4 below. The video is long at 10 minutes, but it is interesting. Note how you can hear the SpaceX employees celebrating in the background following a successful first stage separation. That is because this failed to happen on Flight 3 which resulted in a vehicle loss. Obviously they become overjoyed also when the Kestrel second stage engine shuts down following a successful orbital insertion. Congrats SpaceX!

[Space.com]

Home to PointNiner

Chinese Wrap Up Whirlwind Space Mission

I'll hand it to those Chinese, they are efficient, even in their orbital space missions. Launch one day, spacewalk the next and land on the third day. That's exactly what the Chinese did by wrapping up their three day manned mission this morning by landing their Shenzhou spacecraft in a Mongolian field. Shenzhou 7 was only China's third manned mission, but it was their first to include an EVA making China the third nation to have the capability of independently launching astronauts, and now conduct spacewalks. Designed to pave the way for future missions including rendezvous and docking of spacecraft and an eventual space laboratory, Shenzhou 7 was huge step forward for the pride of the Chinese people. Some are even speculating that the Chinese are trying to get to the Moon before NASA makes their return in a new "Space Race". If that's the case, they'll have to increase the frequency of launches as their last took place nearly three years ago. While the Chinese are about 40 years behind NASA and the Russians in terms of achievements, I still applaud their determination to chart their own story in space exploration history, even if they make it up before it happens.



[Space.com]
AP Photos


Home to PointNiner

ISS Gets Wi-Fi

Here's another case of NASA finally catching up to the rest of the world in terms of technology. Just a few weeks after finding out a computer on board the International Space Station had a virus, the orbiting ISS has officially gone wireless (internet that is). Now astronauts and cosmonauts can do all their web surfing and illegal movie downloading from the cozy confines of their bunks instead of always being in the labs. I sure hope they turn on the WEP key though. I'd hate to see those pesky Chinese trying to pirate some free WiFi on their rare and occasional space flights. Here's more from NASA Watch:

"After transitioning the JSL (Joint Station LAN) network to the new Netgear wireless APs (Access Points, WAPs) which provide the ISS with WiFi (wireless+Ethernet) connectivity, Gregory today repeated functionality tests, abandoned earlier this week, in three Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) locations from the wireless SSC -11 laptop, and later also in the COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory). Afterwards switching to "Proxim" APs, the new WiFi "Dolphin" BCRs (Barcode Readers) were also tested."

[NASA Watch via Gizmodo]

Home to PointNiner

NASA UAV Is Micro Hurricane Hunter

With Gustav and Hanna under the belt, and Ike and Josephine right behind them, make no doubt, the 2008 Hurricane season is in full swing. With that, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) are teaming up with Aerosonde North American to deploy a UAV that flies directly into hurricanes in an attempt to understand them better. While hurricane flying is nothing new, the new aerosonde will do it a little differently than its manned counterparts. The Aerosonde Hurricane Boundary Layer Mission takes the little UAV into the core of a hurricane system at only 500 feet off the water. This is an area of a hurricane typically considered too dangerous for manned missions, but also containing critical storm dynamics that scientists know little about. First deployed during Hurricane Noel last October, the aerosonde is controlled via satellite link from NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL.

[NASA]

Home to PointNiner

The Big Picture Highlights Upcoming Hubble Servicing Mission

We've made it clear on PointNiner before that the Boston Globe's The Big Picture is one of our favorite blogs. Today the site released a post of pictures from NASA highlighting its upcoming Space Shuttle mission, STS-125, that will provide the Hubble telescope with its final servicing. As always, The Big Picture delivered with some superb photography to document the preparations under way with this risky mission. Set to launch next month, the Space Shuttle Atlantis will deliver critical new instruments, batteries and gyroscopes to keep Hubble alive. Click HERE to see all of the sweet shots from The Big Picture's feature on this mission. I also found the video below in the forum on The Big Picture. It's a nice trailer for what NASA will do on STS-125. Enjoy.

Photo: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
[The Big Picture]

Home to PointNiner

Video Of Recent NASA/ATK Rocket Explosion

On Friday PointNiner brought you the story of an ATK sounding rocket launched from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility that didn't quite hit its mark. In fact, the Alliant Techsystems ALV X-1 rocket was abruptly terminated by the Range Safety Officer (RSO) following a "launch anomaly", according to a NASA press release. Now an amateur video has surfaced that shows the launch and subsequent abortion of the rocket that was carrying NASA's Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition (HYBOLT) and Sub-Orbital Aerodynamic Re-entry Experiments (SOAREX). Judging by the sound delay, I'm guessing the photographer was about 1.5 to 2 miles from the launch site. Sure makes for pretty fireworks, though.

[LiveLeak]

Home to PointNiner

NASA-Launched Rocket Explodes After Liftoff

An unmanned rocket carrying two NASA experiments exploded about 27 seconds after a 5:10 a.m. liftoff this morning on Wallops Island, just off the Virginia coast.  NASA actually aborted the takeoff, self-destructing the rocket.  No injuries or property damage reports have been made so far.  NASA did issue a warning for falling debris, but thought most, if not all, of the debris would end up in the Atlantic ocean.  NASA is investigating the cause, but is currently calling the issue an "anomaly." 

The Alliant Techsystems ALV X-1 rocket was carrying HYBOLT, a NASA experiment testing temperature and pressure during hypersonic flight, which is anything over Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. It also carried SOAREX, a new design for more efficiently delivering astronauts or equipment through the atmosphere on Earth or Mars.

Too bad for NASA.

[Daily Press]

Home to PointNiner

NASA's Orion Parachute Test: Phail!

I imagine there are some astronauts in Houston that cringed when they saw this video. Last month NASA crashed a mockup of their new Orion spacecraft in the desert during a test of the launch abort parachute system. After being pushed out of the back of a C-17 to simulate an aborted launch altitude, things got a little out of hand and a little nasty. Wired Science writes:

"In the test, a number of "set-up" parachutes are deployed. Some are used to pull the pallet out of the plane. Then the capsule is pyrotechnically separated from the pallet, which has its own parachute recovery system. The capsule then has a "programmer" parachute and two stabilizer parachutes that are used to set up the test configuration. It was this programmer chute that failed to inflate properly causing the capsule to fall much faster then planned. All this happened before the Orion parachute test could even begin."

Needless to say, the mockup was heavily damaged from the free fall. NASA engineers are reviewing the test setup while managers assure astronauts that Alaskan King Crab fishing is by far the most dangerous occupation.

[Wired Science]

Home to PointNiner

NASA to Test Plasma Rockets on ISS

Plasma rockets are the rockets of the future, forget all the liquid oxygen mixtures or other solid rockets.  As Discovery explains, rather than heating chemicals and directing the resulting gases through high temperature metal nozzles, plasma (VASMIR) uses radio waves to create and speed up free flying electrically charged particles.  Those charged particles are then herded through nozzles made of magnetic fields.  How is that for your Friday science lesson?

The plasma rocket was designed by Frank Diaz, a former NASA astronaut, and it will use solar energy to produce the energy needed for movement.  This makes it green and reusable for moving things from low-Earth oribit (from the ISS) to low-Lunar orbit.  NASA intends to test this rocket engine in 2011 or 2012 from the ISS platform.  Should be pretty awesome considering both the sun and stars are made up of plasma.

(Discovery News)

Home to PointNiner

Some Good News For SpaceX: Falcon 9 Test Successful

It wasn't exactly a good week for SpaceX, what with their Falcon 1 rocket failing to reach orbit...for the third time in a row. But at least they were able to squeak one good piece of news in the few days that has been August. On August 1st the company announced that it had successfully test fired the first Falcon 9 launch vehicle 1st stage consisting of nine Merlin 1C rocket engines. This milestone helped SpaceX complete a major NASA requirement for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program; in which NASA hopes to use commercial services, like SpaceX and the Falcon 9, to deliver crewmembers and cargo to the International Space Station. The static test firing at their Texas Test Facility outside McGregor had a Falcon 9 first stage burn through 3,200 lbs. of kerosene and liquid oxygen and generated 832,000 pounds of force (lbf). To put it into perspective, that would equate to the maximum thrust of four 747s combined. SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, said in a statement, “This was the most difficult milestone in development of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and it also constitutes a significant achievement in US space vehicle development." The company has scheduled the first flight of its heavy lifting Falcon 9 rocket for 2009. Hopefully it will have better luck than it's little brother, the Falcon 1.

(SpaceX)

Home to PointNiner

Amazing Shot: Space Station Passes In Front Of Sun

NASA recently released this picture from German amateur photographer Martin Wagner of the International Space Station passing in front of the Sun back in June. Note the Port side solar arrays aimed towards the big ball of fire in order to soak up as much energy as possible.

(NASA APOD via Wired Science)

Home to PointNiner

White House Briefed: Life Could Exist On Mars

A day after NASA announced it had officially discovered water on Mars (again), the agency alerted the White House that it has plans to make another announcement soon. This one pertains to major new discoveries made by the Phoenix lander that indicate the "potential for life" on the red planet according to Aviation Week & Space Technology. Sources say they have not discovered past or present life on Mars, only the potential for the planet to support life at the site of the Phoenix lander. While the recent discussion of the "discovery" of water has consumed the worldwide media, scientists indicate that more complex data not openly discussed yet contains much more "provocative" results. Allegedly much of this information was specifically withheld so NASA could present these findings to the White House and prepare a further announcement. The Presidential Science Advisor's office in the Bush Administration was informed of this new data as NASA hopes to release it publicly by mid-month or early September as further analysis allows. Scientific instruments on Phoenix do have the capability to detect organic life at the bacterial level, although NASA has said this has not occurred (yet).



(Aviation Week)

Home to PointNiner

Inflatable Moon Base Gets Proposed

Experimental architecture firm Architecture and Vision is pitching their idea for an inflatable Moon base to accommodate the return of human exploration on the Moon. Their Moon Base Two design would be sent to the surface of the Moon via an Ares V heavy-lifter rocket where it would automatically deploy and inflate itself in preparation for occupancy by four astronauts for up to six months. Although it is designed to be a "long term" motel, Moon Base Two would allow for the study of a permanent human settlement on the Moon. If Bigelow says you can use blow-up space stations, why not a blow-up Moon base? No official response from NASA yet.



(Images: Architecture and Vision)
(Architecture and Vision via Gizmodo)

Home to PointNiner

NASA Needs Your Urine

NASA is at it again. This time their number one priority is collecting all the urine they can find, from anyone. NASA engineers are in the process of designing the Orion space capsule, which is one of the vehicles that will eventually take astronauts to the moon and be in space for a much longer time than any previous NASA missions, orbiting unoccupied in space for up to six months.

What is the big deal you ask? Getting rid of all the stored urine. According to NASA, urine is full of solids which clog up the urine venting system over a period of time. During a mission, the Orion capsule will be expected to process 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons of straight up urine. There is no such thing as "simulated urine" and there is only one way to get it, from the tap.

I hope they can get the toilet issue resolved so no other problems come up like the recent toilet issues on the ISS.

Below is what the memo actually said:

Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: Urine Collection Study Donor Request
Who: All Houston-SLS Associates, employees at 2200 Space Park, and any visitors to the building
What: Please donate your urine to our study
When: Monday, July 21 - Thursday, July 31 from 6 a.m. until goal amount is collected each day including weekends

The Orion Program will be holding a urine collection study starting Monday, July 21 and running through Thursday, July 31, 2008. We are looking for
donors as we need to collect a large amount of urine per day for the entire
11 day period. [...]

We will be hosting an informational meeting with encouraged attendance for
potential urine donors from 11-11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 17, 2008 in the
first floor conference room. In this meeting we will go over instructions
and guidelines for the study and introduce volunteers to the equipment that
will be used in the study. [...]

Please see the attached Donor Guide for further information on donating.

(NASA Watch)

Home to PointNiner

Hate your job? Be an astronaut!

Maybe you didn't make the cut or forgot to apply to be an astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps recruitment a few months ago. Well, don't worry. Here's a new chance to blaze a trail into space and possibly to the Moon or Mars. NASA is recruiting new astronauts for its 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class now, but the deadline is fast approaching so act now! Imagine being one of the first individuals to hitch a ride in an Orion spacecraft on top an Ares I rocket, or even better, being the first to step back on the moon after 36 years. Sign me up!

Deadline Approaching to Apply for New NASA Astronaut Class

HOUSTON — NASA's deadline for accepting applications for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class is July 1. Those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon.

To be considered, a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience are required. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science, or extensive experience flying high-performance jet aircraft.

Teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, is considered qualifying. Educators with the appropriate educational background are encouraged to apply.

After a six-month period of evaluation and interviews, NASA will announce final selections in early 2009. Astronaut candidates will report to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston during the summer of 2009 to begin the basic training program to prepare them for future spaceflight assignments.

To apply to be an astronaut, click here.

(via Gizmodo)

Home to PointNiner

Buzz Lightyear floats around the International Space Station

An intergalactic space plunger wasn't the only thing the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery took with them to the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this month. An action figure of Disney's Buzz Lightyear joined the crew of STS-124 for the two week journey into space. Here is some video of his time on the ISS.



Home to PointNiner

NASA shelves science, uses reasoning to discover ice on Mars

There are a lot of real happy scientists out there today after NASA announced they have officially discovered ice on Mars with their Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. The whole purpose of the Phoenix mission was to find ice, and hopefully organic life in the ice, which NASA is one step closer to today. So just exactly how do you determine if you've discovered ice on another planet? Forget fancy experiments and tests. All you have to do is take a picture of the ground one day, then do it again four days later, and see if anything has changed. That's what NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) did when examining the silvery looking substance in the bottom of the trench dug by Phoenix's robotic arm as seen in the picture. They show more of the substance on the left photo than in the right which was taken four days later from the same trench, referred to informally as "Dodo-Goldilocks". NASA scientists believe the substance is ice that has vaporized through the process of sublimation because the stuff obviously didn't get up and walk away on its own. Cheers to you, NASA! I hope you have the same luck finding organic life on Mars , unless they turn out to be evil Martian aliens.

Photo: NASA

Home to PointNiner

NASA's new space suits (codpiece included!)

NASA announced recently that they have awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston to manufacture it's next space suits to be used on the Constellation Program. The program is requiring two different suits for two distinct purposes. The first suit, Configuration One (white-suit), will be used on Orion missions to "support dynamic events such as launch and landing operations; contingency intravehicular activity (IVA) during critical mission events; off-nominal events such as loss of pressurization of the Orion crew compartment; and microgravity EVAs for contingency operations." The second suit, Configuration Two (blue-suit) will support operations on the surface of the moon. This suit simply adds components to the Configuration One suit to make it "Moon mobile". Configuration One will have to be ready by the time manned Orion missions start in 2015, and Configuration Two will need to be ready for astronauts to walk on the Moon by 2020. That's funny to say, "astronauts walking on the Moon".

Home to PointNiner

Phoenix starts digging up Mars

The Phoenix Mars lander finally got its first scoop of Martian dirt yesterday. The image above was taken as a closeup of the scoop of dirt and was illuminated with LEDs. The tiny white particles are suspected to be either ice or salt. The bottom photo shows where the dirt was removed, an area referred to as "the Knave of Hearts." NASA should have Phoenix begin running tests on the dirt soon to determine composition. If only I could get one that scoops up dog poop.



Home to PointNiner

Astronauts Got No Place to Pee

I refuse to drop the familiar phrase when NASA runs into an orbital snafu, but there is a problem on board the International Space Station ("ISS").

A plugged toilet is the current issue plaguing the ISS inhabitants. Yes, the only toilet on board the ISS, aside from the one inside the Soyuz escape module (which only has 3 days of waste capacity with a full three-person ISS crew). The ISS needs spare parts pronto, luckily, if they can determine the root of the stoppage, NASA could get parts loaded onto Discovery which is currently sitting at the launch pad.

As you may have guessed, these toilets aren't found at Home Depot, they are high-tech toilets of the space world with zero grav. The toilets are driven by air flow (vacuum) to transport the poo away from a crew member's body into a sanitary storage receptacle. Back in the Apollo days, there wasn't even the vacuum driven toilets, rather they used bags with sticky openings to seal the poo inside. Believe it or not, history has been saving the current ISS crew as they have dipped into their emergency supply of Apollo era ziplock bags.

There seems to be an intermittent problem with air/water separator...a fabrication flaw of the toilet's original compressor unit (and a backup unit!). The toilet has been returned to service several times over the past several days only to be then taken back out of service shortly after NASA or the Russians thought they had 'er working. One (yes, anonymous) source in Houston said that the hardware used there for crew training may be flown to Florida for launch aboard Discovery, even though it too is expected to fail quickly after installation. A new toilet device, developed to accommodate a six person crew as opposed to the current three, was already planned for delivery later in 2008. It apparently can't come soon enough as NASA is expecting to rely on the ever-faulting current toilet compressor and the Apollo poo bags until that time.

This may not seem to be an Apollo 13-esque emergency, however, no doubt NASA and the Russians will contrive some goofy fix all held together with duct tape.

Home to PointNiner