The Space Race

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The biggest rocket on Earth takes shape: Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS)

Watch Nasa build the engine that could take man to Mars in two minute timelapse. Four RS-25 engines will power NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System, on missions to deep space, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.

There will be two versions of the rocket.

The smaller, 70-metric-ton SLS will stand 321 feet tall, provide 8.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, weigh 5.5 million pounds and carry 154,000 pounds of payload.
The massive 130-metric-ton-configuration will be the most capable, powerful launch vehicle in history.
Towering a staggering 384 feet tall, it will provide 9.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and weigh 6.5 million pounds.
It will be able to carry payloads weighing 286,000 pounds to orbit.

Testing will resume in April after upgrades are completed on the high pressure industrial water system, which provides cool water for the test facility during a hot fire test.

Eight tests, totaling 3,500 seconds, are planned for the current development engine.

Another development engine later will undergo 10 tests, totaling 4,500 seconds.

The second test series includes the first test of new flight controllers, known as green running.

The first flight test of the SLS will feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system.

As the SLS is upgraded, it will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system.

Nasa has signed a $2.8 billion contract with Boeing to build the giant rocket it is hoped will take us into deep space.

'Our teams have dedicated themselves to ensuring that the Space Launch System (SLS) – the largest ever - will be built safely, affordably and on time,' said Virginia Barnes, Boeing SLS vice president and program manager.

For that first flight test, the rocket will be able to launch 70 metric tons (77 tons) of payload into low-Earth orbit, almost three times what the space shuttle could carry.

From there, SLS will be evolved to a configuration that will be able to carry 130 metric tons (143 tons), more weight than any rocket ever has been able to carry.

'Depending on how large you make it, it can only go so fast, which in some cases limits where you can go.

'Today, if you want to send a mission to the outer planets, you have to be able to make it fit within that box. With SLS, we're about to make that box much larger.

'With the space shuttle, for example, we were able to launch missions like NASA's Hubble Space Telescope that were about the size of a school bus.

'With SLS, you can design a spacecraft even larger than the space shuttle that carried Hubble.

'It's going to open up an entirely new way of thinking about how we plan and design planetary science missions.'

'The Space Launch System could be really game-changing for space science,' said ACO manager Reggie Alexander.

'For some missions, it makes it much easier and quicker to carry them out.

'A Mars sample return mission, for example, could be flown using only one rocket instead of three.

'But for other destinations, SLS lets you do things we could only dream of before – like collecting samples from the geysers of Saturn's moon Enceladus.'

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

NASA now aims to launch a flight test on Thursday (June 4) of an innovative "flying saucer" that could help humans land on Mars in the future, and you can watch the dramatic action live.

The space agency's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test vehicle is scheduled to launch from the Hawaiian island of Kauai no earlier than 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT; 0730 local Hawaiian time) on Thursday, borne aloft by a giant balloon. You can watch the test live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT). The launch was originally slated for Tuesday, but NASA delayed the flight test twice, first to today and then to Thursday, due to rough ocean conditions.

Once launched, it will take more than two hours for the balloon to get high enough for the LDSD test to proceed, so you'll have to be patient. Coverage of the flight test will likely cut out about 30 minutes after liftoff, then resume 20 minutes before the LDSD test vehicle is dropped from the balloon and begins flying freely, NASA officials said.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/06/nasa-ldsd-test-mars-landing-tech/

http://www.space.com/29542-flying-saucer-test-flight-watch-live.html?cmpid=NL_SP_weekly_2015-06-03

 

[revin]

Legacy Rocket Engine Test-Fired For Behemoth NASA SLS | Video

This was an astounding 500 second burn test of the RS-25. Shuttle was aprox a 300 sec. burn,
It was said it's "similar" to the Shuttle's Main Engine, so not sure what has been changed.
Although it's not the most awesome Apollo F-1, ........it'll do !! Enjoy

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches and (hopefully) lands again on Sunday.

check how long it tries to stabilize before finally falling over
http://www.space.com/29111-spacex-r...eo.html#ooid=VvOXNqdDrp0H38NnyAboWPS7J_2nZrr7


SpaceX is hoping it will be third time lucky on Sunday, when it once again attempts to land a reusable rocket on a barge.

This time, a new drone ship named 'Of Course I Still Love You' will be waiting in the Atlantic Ocean, taking over from the original barge, 'Just Read the Instructions'.

Both ships have been named after vessels in the Iain Banks novel 'The Player of Games.'

The rocket launch is planned for 10:21am EDT (4:21pm CET) on Sunday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

After the Falcon first stage gives the launch vehicle a boost into orbit, it will separate, and fall back to Earth, attempting an upright landing on a barge.

WHAT WENT WRONG DURING THE PREVIOUS TWO ATTEMPTS?
SpaceX' first two landing attempts took place in January and April this year.

Both ended with an explosion, although April's attempted landing was an improvement on the first.

The rocket hovered over the platform, but touched down at an angle, causing it to fall over and explode

January's landing attempt saw the rocket crashing into the platform without ever hovering.

Since then, SpaceX says it has taken steps to prevent the sources of the previous two failures, which were a lack of hydraulic fluid in January and a broken throttle valve April.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Spacex webcast launch and landing today

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

A launch failure this time

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33305083

The accident happened about 2 1/2 minutes into the flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A billowing white cloud emerged in the sky, growing bigger and bigger, then fiery plumes shot out of where the rocket was supposed to be, and pieces could be seen falling into the Atlantic. More than 5,200 pounds of space station cargo were on board, including the first docking port designed for future commercial crew capsules.
"We appear to have had a launch vehicle failure," announced NASA commentator George Diller. Data stopped flowing from the Falcon 9 rocket around 2 minutes and 19 seconds, he said. No astronauts were on board.

The rocket shattered while traveling at 2,900 mph, about 27 miles up. Everything appeared to go well in the flight until the rocket went supersonic.

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk later said an over pressurization occurred in the liquid-oxygen tank of the rocket's upper stage.

Losing this shipment — which included replacements for items lost in two previous failed supply flights — was a huge setback for NASA in more than one way. The space agency is counting on private industry to transport cargo — and eventually astronauts — to the orbiting lab. The California-based SpaceX is one of the contenders.

"This is a tough day," said NASA's top spaceflight official, William Gerstenmaier. He said there was nothing common among the three accidents, "other than it's space and it's difficult to go fly."

Russia expects to take another crack at launching supplies on Friday from Kazakhstan. And the Japanese Space Agency is on track to send up supplies in August.

But it wasn't immediately clear whether Russia's plans to launch three more men on July 22 would stay on track. Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield — a former station commander — said the supply situation could prompt another delay in sending up the crew. The Soyuz mishap in April already has delayed the trip by two months.

"You don't want to launch another crew if there's not going to be enough food, enough water," Hadfield said in an online chat. But Gerstenmaier said the crew flight would go on as planned.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

A Russian cosmonaut has broken the record for the longest total time spent in space by a single person.

Gennady Padalka, who is the current commander of the International Space Station, has now been in orbit for more than 804 days across five missions.

It beats the old record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes set by fellow cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev across six missions from 1998 to 2005, who has since retired.

Gennady Padalka

Padalka is seen here performing a spacewalk on the ISS on 12 August 2012. The veteran spacewalker has participated in an impressive nine spacewalks during his distinguished career.

Space Flight Records
Of the 25 people who have spent the most time in space, the top 23 are Russian - with only the 24th and 25th spots occupied by Americans.
This is thanks in large parts to the long stays the Soviet Union undertook aboard the Mir station in the 1990s.
This is despite Russia and the Soviet Union sending a total of just 120 people to space, compared to the 334 sent by the US.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

It looks like a robotic cargo ship will actually make it to the International Space Station this time.

Russia's Progress 60 freighter launched smoothly toward the orbiting lab atop a Soyuz rocket at 12:55 a.m. EDT (0455 GMT) Friday (July 3) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, starting its resupply run off on the right foot after two consecutive cargo-mission failures.

Last Sunday (June 28), SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded less than three minutes after liftoff, scuttling the company's latest unmanned supply flight. And the previous Progress mission, Progress 59, crashed back to Earth in early May after the third stage of its Soyuz booster suffered a glitch. [See photos of the failed Falcon 9 launch]

VID of the launch
http://www.space.com/29843-russia-p...ch.html#ooid=s3NHIwdjq4nM29gawx90MHaOPyV4GMY1

 

[RCoon]

It looks like a robotic cargo ship will actually make it to the International Space Station this time.

Russia's Progress 60 freighter launched smoothly toward the orbiting lab atop a Soyuz rocket at 12:55 a.m. EDT (0455 GMT) Friday (July 3) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, starting its resupply run off on the right foot after two consecutive cargo-mission failures.

Last Sunday (June 28), SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded less than three minutes after liftoff, scuttling the company's latest unmanned supply flight. And the previous Progress mission, Progress 59, crashed back to Earth in early May after the third stage of its Soyuz booster suffered a glitch. [See photos of the failed Falcon 9 launch]

VID of the launch
http://www.space.com/29843-russia-p...ch.html#ooid=s3NHIwdjq4nM29gawx90MHaOPyV4GMY1

It always impresses me when the Russians launch something that isn't supposed to explode, usually explodes, but for some bizarre reason doesn't end up exploding. Gratz to Russia!

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Stuff in Space tracks thousands of satellites, spent rockets and debris as they orbit the Earth in real time


(Click on the link for interactivity)
Stuff in Space allows users to see exactly what objects are floating around out there, giving their location, orbit and speed.

Most of the junk can be seen clustered in a low orbit around the Earth, perilously close to the orbit of the International Space Station.
These include fragments of the first ever collision between two intact satellites in orbit – Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251.
The derelict Cosmos 2251 ploughed into the Iridium 33 in 2009, sending a shower of debris into higher orbits around the Earth.
The remains of rockets and other satellite debris can also be seen in higher orbits.
Satellites and telescopes, termed payloads, are highlighted on the debris map in red while spent rockets are shown in blue and other debris is grey.
Some of the most distant manmade junk to appear on the debris map are disabled astronomy satellites like the Astron UV space telescope launched by the USSR in 1983 which is currently 160,000km (99,000 miles) from Earth.
A piece of rocket booster used to launch the Chandra X-ray Observatory by Nasa also sits around 71,000km (44,117 miles) from Earth.
According to Nasa all this debris poses an increasing risk to spacecraft and safe operations in space.
It said: 'Operational spacecraft are struck by very small debris routinely with little or no effect.
'Debris shields can also protect spacecraft components from particles as large as 1cm in diameter.
'The probability of two large objects, greater than 10cm (4 inches) in diameter, accidentally colliding is very low.
'Orbital debris poses a risk to continued reliable use of space based services and operations and to the safety of persons and property in space and on Earth.'
According to Nasa, there is an estimated 500,000 pieces of space debris in orbit around the Earth that are between 1cm and 10cm in size. The number of particles smaller than 1cm exceeds 100 million.
Nasa uses found based radar systems and telescopes to track space debris in orbit and assess the risk it poses to missions, satellites and the space station.
Much of the debris orbiting the Earth are the remains of rocket boosters, nuts, bolts and lumps of aluminium slag from rockets left behind by spacecraft.
Old satellites that have now become defunct are also posing a growing risk as their orbits slowly decay back towards Earth.
Debris created by accidental collision between the US and Russian satellites and the deliberate destruction of a satellite by China in 2007 have also created large amounts of debris.



This image shows the orbit of the Astron space telescope that was launched by Russia in 1983. Now defunct it is adding to the junk orbiting the planet and is one of the furthest out pieces of debris to be shown in the tracking system

 

[rtwjunkie]

SpaceX is not likely to get ANYone to agree to fly on one of their rockets. They are having all the teething problems the U.S. and Russia had in the 40's and 50's trying to get rocket after rocket to stop exploding or crashing.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Today marks the day Man first stepped on the Moon.

Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin spent a total of 21 hours on the Moon, two-and-a-half of them outside the landing module.
After re-joining the Columbia mothership the astronauts - including Collins - left the Moon's orbit on 22 July and returned to Earth on 24 July.
The three men spent the next 21 days in quarantine at an American military base - a procedure dropped in subsequent missions since no alien organisms were found.
The Moon landing marked the pinnacle of the space race and American investment in the space programme declined accordingly.
A further 10 astronauts travelled to the Moon in another six missions with the final manned lunar landing, Apollo 17, completed in December 1972.


more info and a couple of historic vids
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/21/newsid_2635000/2635845.stm

 

[Ferrum Master]

SpaceX is not likely to get ANYone to agree to fly on one of their rockets. They are having all the teething problems the U.S. and Russia had in the 40's and 50's trying to get rocket after rocket to stop exploding or crashing.

And there are no Nazi German scientists to employ and solve the problems too anymore . Remember the engine that Tu-95 Bear uses still was constructed by a Austrian from Junkers fab...

I remember Elon Musk made fun about Antares using NK33 engines from USSR N1... Being a thing from 60ties and so on... I guess karma struck back...

There are no differences whenever they made the designs by hand at the drawing board(and Stalins threat sending all bureau to some gulag in Siberia in case of failure), than using modern CAD software now... The physics have not changed that much in this department, hell it is rocket science... It just much faster and easier to design one now, but debugging and making the design real and alive hasn't changed much...

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

SpaceX reveals broken strut caused its rocket to explode - and says launches won't restart until at least September


A flawed steel strut holding a helium pressurisation bottle likely gave way, dooming a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last month, company chief Elon Musk has revealed.
The June 28 accident destroyed an unmanned Dragon cargo ship about two minutes after it lifted off from Florida for the International Space Station.
SpaceX founder, Musk, said flights will not resume until September at the earliest.

The company also plans to delay the debut flight of its heavy-lift Falcon rocket from this year to spring 2016.
It said it will use different struts to hold the helium bottles and also test each unit prior to flight, rather than rely on materials certifications.
Future Dragon ships also will include new software to deploy parachutes in case of a launch failure, potentially saving the cargo.
A similar system already had been planned for passenger versions of Dragon under development in partnership with Nasa, Musk said.

The flawed strut, provided by a vendor Musk declined to name, held a bottle of helium needed to pressurise the rocket's upper-stage liquid oxygen tank.
The privately-held company, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has flown 18 successful missions with the Falcon 9 before last month's failure.
Initial analysis pointed to a problem with the rocket's second-stage motor liquid oxygen tank, SpaceX said.
'There was an overpressure event,' Musk wrote on Twitter after the accident.

'There's a huge, huge question about the cause of this failure,' said Carissa Christensen, managing partner of The Tauri Group, a Virginia-based space and technology consultancy.

'Not from a point of view of finger-pointing, but for understanding if we should expect new vehicles to operate reliably from the beginning.'

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft carrying the new ISS crew blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday evening after a two months delay. The image above shows the trail left behind by the rocket as it carried the three astronauts towards the space station orbiting 250 miles above the Earth

The mission, which is the 45th expedition to the ISS, was not without hiccups though as one of the solar panels on the Soyuz capsule did not deploy properly.

Officials decided to press ahead with the rendezvous with the space station as planned, however, as the starboard array had deployed along with its navigational antenna.

The capsule docked with the space station at 10.45pm EDT (3.45am BST) last night as it passed 250 miles (400km) above the Pacific Ocean near Ecuador.

At 12.56am EDT (5.56am BST), the hatches between the Soyuz capsure and the space station were opened and the two crews greeted each other.

 

[revin]

The Crew Portrait For ISS Expedition 45 Is Star Wars Themed

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Spacecraft carrying three astronauts embarks on historic journey to the International Space Station

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts has successfully blasted off towards the International Space Station.

The trio - including the first Danish citizen to fly into space - blasted off in the Soyuz rocket on schedule at 0437 GMT (1237 EDT) from the same launchpad that Yuri Gagarin used for his historic entry into the cosmos in 1961.

The take off also marked the 500th launch from the Gagarin launchpad in Kazakhstan, named after the Soviet space pioneer.

'The crew is doing well, everything is in order onboard,' relayed mission control.

Veteran cosmonaut Sergei Volkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos is leading a team that also includes first-time flyers Aidyn Aimbetov from Kazakhstan and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency.

They are expected to make the journey to the ISS in two days, docking on Friday. Volkov will stay on at the ISS, while both Aimbetov and Mogensen will return to Earth next week.

Mogensen is the first Dane to enter space while Aimbetov, who replaced British singer Sarah Brightman after she pulled out of the mission in June, is the third from his country to do so.

'It's a great honour for me to represent Denmark as an astronaut,' Mogensen said last month.

The launch from Baikonur is the first since July 23, when Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and US astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yu of Japan blasted off into space.
Prior to that, Russia had put all space travel on hold after the failure of the unmanned Progress freighter in late April. The doomed ship lost contact with Earth and burned up in the atmosphere, forcing a group of astronauts to spend an extra month on the ISS.

Space travel is one of the few facets of international cooperation between Russia and the West that has remained unaffected by the Ukraine crisis.


VIDEO of launch
https://www.rt.com/news/314055-soyuz-launch-500th-manned-space/

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Atlas V rocket launches secure military 'smartphone for soldiers' satellite in perfect weather conditions

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning at 6:18 in perfect weather. It carries a military satellite designed to let soldiers around the globe communicate secretly.
Launching 19 minutes later than planned after resolving a technical problem during fueling, the United Launch Alliance rocket lit up the dark sky as it roared from Launch Complex 41 with 2.5 million pounds of thrust.

As the 21-story rocket arced southeast over the Atlantic Ocean, the morning's first light enveloped the exhaust plume and surrounding atmosphere in a glowing white oval that stretched as the rocket plowed forward, producing stunning images.
On top of the rocket was the fourth satellite in the Navy's $7.6 billion Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS.
The system is designed to help troops on the move and in combat make secure calls and send texts, video or other mission data, enabling hand-held radios in the field to work much like smartphones.
Using commercial cellphone technology, the MUOS program promises a tenfold increase in capacity for the Navy's 'narrowband' communications network.
However, that capability is about 18 months behind schedule, however, and won't be deemed fully operational until late next year or early 2017.

MUOS-4 is the latest addition to a network of orbiting satellites and relay ground stations that is revolutionizing secure communications for mobile military forces. Users with operational MUOS terminals can seamlessly connect beyond line-of-sight around the globe and into the Global Information Grid. MUOS' new smart phone-like capabilities include simultaneous, crystal-clear voice, video and mission data, over a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

The addition of MUOS-4 completes the initial constellation and provides the MUOS network with near-global coverage, extending the reach of communications further toward the North and South poles than ever before.

This morning, the MUOS-4 satellite separated from its Atlas V rocket approximately three hours after its successful launch.

Over the next few days, MUOS-4 will transition to reach its geosynchronous orbit location approximately 22,000 miles (37,586 km) above the Earth.

The satellite's solar arrays and antennas will then be deployed, and on-orbit testing will start for subsequent turn-over to the Navy for test and commissioning to service.

'The most dangerous part of a satellite's life is launch and getting into orbit. I really want to thank our entire team whose hard work prepared MUOS-4 for this mission-critical event and the Atlas team who ultimately carried us safely to our transfer orbit,' said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin.

'We look forward to completing our on-orbit health checks and delivering this important asset to the U.S. Navy and these new capabilities to our mobile forces.'


The program is overcoming challenges developing the new technology and integrating it with a network of four ground stations and thousands of Army radios that will be upgraded to use the improved communications capabilities.

The fourth MUOS satellite — the second launched by United Launch Alliance this year — gives the constellation nearly global coverage.

That will allow troops to communicate with commanders wherever they are, no longer being limited to connections within a single satellite's footprint.

After three burns by the rocket's Centaur upper stage engine, the 15,000-pound spacecraft separated as planned just under three hours after liftoff.

The mission was delayed two days by Tropical Storm Erika as it approached Florida

 

[Drone]

iriss mission liftoff

 

[RealNeil]

An old photo from my 40GB IDE drive on the shelf.

"Shuttle Orbiter Discovery, taken from the International Space Station."

After Columbia took off from KSC (and an errant piece of ice from the main tank came off during launch and struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging it fatally) NASA insisted that future flights to the international space station would include a roll maneuver within camera distance of the ISS for an inspection of it's exterior flight surfaces prior to docking.
Any dangerous damage would be discovered and measures could be taken to mitigate any loss of life.

You can see vapor trails behind the Orbiter in this pic showing movement created by the OMS Pod rockets. (Orbital Maneuvering System)
This picture makes a good desktop background for those that may want it.

 

[Drone]

Atlas V

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Boeing today opened a massive facility in Florida to develop its Apollo-star, spacecraft, which it has named 'Starliner'. The Starliner CST-100 is expected to begin ferrying astronauts to the space station within two years.
Orbiter Processing Facility 3 (OPF-3) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Until earlier today, Boeing's still-under-development capsule was known simply as the CST-100, an abbreviation for Crew Space Transportation and 100 kilometres, the threshold of space.

Boeing is one of two private U.S. companies contracted by Nasa to transport space station astronauts from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX, the other company, is developing an enhanced version of its cargo-carrying Dragon capsule 0 a super Dragon.

Nasa wants its astronauts launching from U.S. soil again rather than hitching expensive rides from Kazakhstan with the Russian Space Agency. That hasn't happened since the last shuttle flight in 2011. By adding the workweek of a single new crew member to the capabilities of the space station, the amount of research time available to astronauts in orbit will double to about 80 hours a week. Nasa had used the facility for 20 years as a shuttle processing hangar and for the extensive preps and testing of the space shuttle main engines in the engine shop.

The Starliner name was revealed by the commander of the last shuttle flight, Chris Ferguson, now deputy manager of operations for Boeing's commercial crew program. 'We get asked a lot, 'When are you going to pick a name for that wonderful spacecraft?'' Ferguson told the crowd.

'Well, I've always said, 'Just wait. It's coming.' Well, guess what? The wait is over.'

Pictured is the concept of the floor of the Starliner CST-100 assembly facility that Boeing envisions at Kennedy Space Center

In choosing the name, Starliner CST-100, Boeing wanted to give a nod to the next generation of space and the next 100 years of flight

Starliners will fly from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard Atlas 5 rockets, which are built and flown by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing

'Please welcome the CST-100 Starliner,' Ferguson said as a temporary wall behind him rose and revealed, to dramatic music and flashing lights.

In choosing the name, Boeing wanted to give a nod to the next generation of space and the next 100 years of flight for Boeing, Ferguson said.

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden, also a former shuttle skipper, talked up the space agency's plans to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, with Boeing and SpaceX picking up the get-crews-to-orbit slack.

'If you're not excited, then there's something wrong with you, to be quite honest,' Bolden said.

The most senior astronaut present, Gemini and Apollo's Thomas Stafford, liked what he saw.

'It's a great name,' said Stafford, 79, who flew to the moon on Apollo 10, two months before the first manned moon landing in 1969.

He said the spacecraft is reminiscent of the capsules from the Apollo moon program.

Nasa's commercial crew contract with Boeing to certify, test and fly the Starliner capsules totals $4.2 billion. The SpaceX contract is worth $2.6 billion

Pictured is engine testing for the Starliner

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) was the first high orbital test flight for the Orion spacecraft. The flight tested systems that are critical to crew safety. EFT-1 is a significant step forward for America’s space program; it’s our first step on a journey to deep space.

Lockheed Martin is prime contractor building Orion, NASA’s next-generation spacecraft designed to transport humans to destinations beyond low Earth orbit and bring them safely home. Orion is the most reliable, safe and affordable option to provide human spaceflight to destinations in deep space such as asteroids, the moon, and Mars.

This video was recorded during NASA’s Orion return through Earth’s atmosphere. The video provides viewers a taste of what the vehicle endured as it returned through Earth’s atmosphere during its Dec. 5 flight test.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

China is planning the first ever landing of a lunar probe on the far side of the Moon, an engineer has said.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program

The lunar far side would be an excellent place to site a radio telescope

The Chang’e 4 mission is planned for sometime before 2020, Zou Yongliao, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ moon exploration department, told state broadcaster CCTV in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Zou said the mission’s objective would be to study geological conditions on the moon’s far side.

That could eventually lead to the placement of a radio telescope for use by astronomers, something that would help “fill a void” in man’s knowledge of the universe, Zou said.

Radio transmissions from Earth are unable to reach the moon’s far side, making it an excellent location for sensitive instruments.

China’s next lunar mission is scheduled for 2017, when it will attempt to land an unmanned spaceship on the moon before returning to Earth with samples. If successful, that would make China only the third country after the United States and Russia to have carried out such a manoeuvre.

China’s lunar exploration programme, named Chang’e after a mythical goddess, has already launched a pair of orbiting lunar probes, and in 2013 landed a craft on the moon with a rover on board.

China has also hinted at a possible crewed mission to the moon.

China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003 and has powered ahead with a series of methodically timed steps, including the deploying of an experimental space station.



Mans first sight of the dark side of the Moon

The first image returned by Luna 3 showed the far side of the Moon was very different from the near side, most noticeably in its lack of lunar maria (the dark areas)

The camera took 29 pictures over 40 minutes on 7 October 1959, from 03:30 UT to 04:10 UT at distances ranging from 63,500 km to 66,700 km above the surface, covering 70% of the lunar far side. Seventeen (some say twelve) of these frames were successfully transmitted back to the Earth (tracking stations in Crimea and Kamchatka), and six were published (frames numbered 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, and 35). They were mankind's first views of the far hemisphere of the Moon.

The imaging system was developed by P.F. Bratslavets and I.A. Rosselevich at the Leningrad Scientific Research Institute for Television and the returned images were processed and analyzed by Iu.N. Lipskii and his team at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute. The camera AFA-E1 was developed and manufactured by the KMZ factory

Spoiler: Maps of dark side

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/luna/moon_farsidemap.htm

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Elon Musk's SpaceX today gave the first look inside the Space Dragon, which Nasa hopes will begin ferrying US astronauts to the International space Station.

The capsule measures about 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and will carry up to 7 astronauts at a time.

SpaceX's revolutionary design uses eight 'Draco thrusters' on its side, which will one day also be used to land the spacecraft softly on the ground. Two of the thrusters are shown here. They are also the first rocket engines to be designed entirely by 3D printing

The thrusters on the side will ultimately be used to enable the spacecraft to land softly back on the launch pad, shown in the illustration on the left, even when returning from a regular operational flight. And they may also be used on future missions to Mars,

'Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the space station, a feat previously achieved only by governments,' SpaceX said.

'But Dragon was also designed from the beginning to carry people, and today SpaceX is finalizing the necessary refinements to make that a reality.'

'Crew Dragon was designed to be an enjoyable ride,' SpaceX said - despite the images showing a rather basic seating plan.

'With four windows, passengers can take in views of Earth, the Moon, and the wider Solar System right from their seats, which are made from the highest-grade carbon fiber and Alcantara cloth.'

The craft will replace the Russian Soyuz craft US astronauts currently have to hitch a ride on.

Within two years Nasa hopes that two private space companies - SpaceX and Boeing - will begin taking astronauts into orbit, reducing its reliance on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

Unlike Soyuz, the Crew Dragon will use thrusters to land, instead of splashing down in the ocean.

According to SpaceX, 'This system also enables Dragon v2 to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with the precision of a helicopter, making possible interplanetary trips that would otherwise be constrained by ocean landings.'

The Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (which was tested earlier this year) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland.

Crew Dragon Crew Dragon has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/104840main_eclss.pdf