Very cool video of an Atlas 5 launch [launch details here] that leaves ripples in the clouds as it breaks the sound barrier.  If you notice there is a “Sun Dog” there too that gets dispersed from the sound shock waves.

Really Cool.

Sonic Boom Meets Sun Dog from barbara tomlinson on Vimeo.

Video from Kennedy Space Center Apollo Center February 11, 2010. Launch of Solar Dynamics Observatory on an Atlas V rocket. About 1 minute 14 seconds after liftoff the vehicle went supersonic. The shock wave obliterated a sun dog. It was really beautiful, and poetic for this mission. A sun dog or parhelion is a bright rainbow effect in the sky caused by refraction of sunlight through ice crystals.

So, I can only assume everyone has noticed the big news, that President Obama has not funded the return to the moon program in his current proposed NASA budget.  What the new budget does is:

• Actually adds $5.9 billion to NASA's budget
• Extends the support of ISS through 2020
• Funds commercially developed launches to support ISS (ie Falcon 9)
• Does not leave enough money to support development of the Ares launch vehicle

In general, these are all good things, except the idea of giving up on returning to the moon, which is moronic.

In fact NASA has already spent more than $9 billion on the return to the moon program, which includes $3.5 billion on Ares I and $3.7 billion on Orion.  This shows what NASA is really good at - wasting money!

Of course I do not mean the space program is a waste of money, or returning to the moon would eb a waste of money.  What IS a waste of money is the actual programs NASA intends to use to accomplish this goal. 

Some engineers at NASA have proposed an alternative program, Direct 2.0.  Direct 2.0 is essentially a shutte without the orbiter/re-entry vehicle component.  Instead you bolt a shuttle main engine directly on the bottom of the external tank.  According to the engineers, this would overcome several of the cost and risk problems of Ares, would not require developing 2 new launch platforms, and would be a more capable vehicle.  Another alternative to Ares is to use existing heavy launch vehicles, like Delta or Atlas, which actually have a better safety record than the space shuttle, even though they are not officially "man rated" launch systems.  And of course the obvious other possibility is to use commercially developed transportation, which is exactly what Obama did fund.

So, why are NASA engineers working on this project essentially in their spare time, while the "official" plan is to pursue ARES, which has know technical issues, include significant vibration from the solid rocket booster stage and a tendency to drift into the gantry at launch?  Frankly, the aerospace companies that are profiting from this program wield enormous influence in the white house and in congress.  They don't care if we get to the moon or not, so long as we spend billions doing it.  And frankly the more money we spend, or waste, the better.

My personal opinion?  The commercial route is definitely better.  How long would it take for Armadillo aerospace to put pixel on the moon?  What if we gave Carmack $100 billion dollars to do it?  As for cancelling the moon program?  It seems like our current administration is serious about that, unfortunately.  But china definitely plans to go to the Moon.  I think when China starts putting astronauts on the moon, the movers and shakers in DC will get their panties all in a twist and decide, in fact, we need to go there too.  So, it's going to happen.  The only question is when and what will it cost. 

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/02dec_troy.htm?list1357767

Spirit has been stuck in one place for the last 6 months which would be bad except for where Spirit got stuck.  It got stuck half in an ancient sulfur/steam vent and half out of it.  They have found a treasure trove of information due to the stuck event.

"And most amazingly, the boundary between the sulfate-rich soil and the soil with just the generic concentration of sulfates runs right down the middle of the stranded rover. Spirit is lodged on the edge of a crater -- sitting astride the boundary!"

The ripple is taller than the Earth and that moves across the surface of the sun at 560,000 Miles Per Hour.  [Science @ NASA]

This is cool

http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/

Following on the heals of the successful Aires launch on Wednesday, here is a very interesting simulation video of the Constellation program.

Following on the heels of Rich’s post regarding the successful launch of the Ares 1-X launch, is this article at Popular Mechanics that calls into question the need for the NASA program and even the term “success”.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4335662.html

The two main points of the article are:

1. Was it a success?  There was a potential gantry collision, a reduced performance margin and what appeared to be a 1st stage to 2nd stage collision…it calls into question the “success” of the mission.
2. Cost and efficacy.  This mission cost an estimated 500 million dollars.  That is an astsronomical number for one launch.

The article sums it all up in the last few paragraphs when it talks about the SpaceX program:

For what NASA proposes to spend on Ares I itself…seventy SpaceXs could be formed.

Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go

An article posted by Buzz Aldrin and 12 other astronauts making a proposal to which I completely agree.  Let NASA handle the new space efforts and leave the tried and true road to low earth orbit to the commercial companies.

We wholeheartedly agree. NASA should put its unique resources into pushing back the final frontier and not in repaving the earth-to-orbit road it cleared a half century ago. Commercial human spaceflight is not competitive with NASA. It is complementary.

It has been the prevailing wisdom up until now that for NASA to successfully implement a Moon or Mars mission or other long term manned mission it would need to have heavy launch capability.  The latest study conducted by the Augustine Panel suggests that a much more economical and sustainable model could be built on the use of smaller commercial launch vehicles with Fuel Depot launches.

"This architecture encourages the exploration of the moon to be conducted not in single, disconnected missions, but in a continuous process which builds orbital and surface resources year by year. The architecture and vehicles themselves are directly applicable to Near Earth Object and Mars exploration and the establishment of a functioning depot at Earth-moon L2 provides a gateway for future high-mass spacecraft venturing to the rest of the solar system."

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4330793.html

Sounds very reasonable.  Especially with all the private space programs underway right now.

Remarkable concept.

Here is the key paragraph:

If it sounds unrealistic to suggest that astronauts would be willing to leave home never to return alive, then consider the results of several informal surveys I and several colleagues have conducted recently. One of my peers in Arizona recently accompanied a group of scientists and engineers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on a geological field trip. During the day, he asked how many would be willing to go on a one-way mission into space. Every member of the group raised his hand. The lure of space travel remains intoxicating for a generation brought up on “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.”

A One-Way Ticket to Mars

Good article on the potential for nuclear power on the moon.

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23247/

I wonder how they satisfy treaty agreements surrounding nuclear power in space?

Plus: Powerpoint presentation on the expected requirements for the suit: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/csss/Suit%20Systems.ppt

And if you are a glutton for information overload, the entire Request For Proposal (RFP) are listed over here:  http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/csss/

cool stuff.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

NASA is teaming up with Microsoft to integrate NASA content into the Worldwide Telescope.  This is awesome!  The Worldwide Telescope is already a stellar product and incorporating NASA content will just enhance its value.

Microsoft, NASA put universe back on the Web

Deep Space

I’m putting this first because this is the coolest news.  COROT has discovered the smallest exoplanet yet, COROT-Exo-7b.  The planet is just 2x earth’s diameter, orbiting very close to a sun like star once every 20 hours.  The surface temperature is predicted to reach 1000-1500 C.

Also, the Kepler mission, which is designed to search for earth like planets around other stars, is more or less ready for launch on 3/6/09

Near Earth Space

You’ve probably already heard about the spectacular collision of two satellites last week.

But you might not have heard about the 35 m asteroid 2009 DD45 which passed within 72,000 km of the earth on 3/2/09. That's less than twice the distance of a geosynchronous communication satellite.

And finally, Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft, an asteroid sample return mission, has managed to restart engines after 16 months.  It is now expected to return to earth with a sample of the surface of asteroid Itokawa some time in 2010, after traveling 4.5 billion kilometers.

The Moon

A quick summary of the news form our nearest neighbor:

• SELENE releases new more detailed moon map Thursday 2/12. 
• Chang'e-1 successfully impacts moon, no news yet on any science data collected from the impact. 
• NASA study's small robots for manned lunar landing site preparation
  

Mars

Spirit has recovered recovered from it’s fault .  Most likely explanation of earlier fault was a cosmic ray hit.  Also, it seems another cleaning event has occurred, increasing total output of the solar panels by 15%.  However, this increases the discretionary power budget from from 30 to 60 watt hours per day.  The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has entered safe mode.  And, Phoneix data finds possibility of thin films of liquid water on Mars.  In similar environments on earth, in particular the dry valleys in Antarctica, microorganisms survive using these thin films of water, sometimes only nanometers thick.  The possibility of life on Mars surviving under these conditions is tantalizing.

Deep space Report 2.2

Sorry Rich, but the promise of the liquid ocean of Europa beats out the promise of exotic methane based life forms on Titan.

Search for Life Heads to the Outer Solar System

"Does life require liquid water as the liquid medium, or are other liquids possible hosts for, if not life as we know it, some kind of organized chemistry?" asks Jonathan Lunine, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona and a member of the team pushing for a Titan mission. "You'd be testing the limits of what the word 'life' really means in the cosmos."

In any case, cool beans.

In the spirit of the new year, I have compiled a list of the 10 coolest topics covered last year in the Deep Space Report

1. 3 planets orbiting other stars were imaged, Fomalhaut, HR8799, and beta pictoris, in that order.
   
   
   
2. The discovery of an ancient shoreline provided proof that Mars once had an ocean of liquid water in the northern hemisphere.
   
   
   
3. Phoenix detected actual snow falling from the sky on Mars.
   
4. Armadillo Aerospace wins Lunar Lander Challenge level 1, and also announces partnerships with the Rocket Racing League to provide rocket motors for their racers, and also work on a joint venture to provide commercial space tourism flights.
   
   
   
   
   
5. India successfully sends Chandrayaan-1 to the moon.
   
6. China send's it's first moon probe too, Chang'e-1
   
7. Catalina Sky Survey program detected a meteorite before impact.
   
   
   
8. A spectacular fireball meteorite was seen over Alberta, Canada.
   
   
   
   
9. Cassinni makes 2 flybys of Encleadus, the first passing within just 16 miles of the tiny moon.
   
10. NASA tests out several new lunar rover designs, including ATHLETE and PILOT
    
    

I apologize for the missing reports over the holidays, but not much has been happening anyway

Luna

The US DoD has proposed the idea of using Atlas and Delta rockets as a platform for launching manned missions to the moon.  Both rockets have been in service for decades and have a proven flight record, but neither is "man rated".  They have never been used to launch astronauts that is.  however, the safety record has been proven by hundreds of successful launches, and they are probably as safe as or safer than the space shuttle.  the big advantage would be cost.  With such a long program history, NASA could save as much as $3.4 billion over the proposed Ares program.

Also, a NASA instrument on Chandrayaan-1 has detected the signature of iron bearing minerals on the moon.  This is mildly exciting.  lunar materials containing aluminum and titanium are already known, this discovery may add iron as a potential material available from resources on the moon.

Mars

Lets give it up for the little rovers that could as they celebrate their 5th anniversary on Mars.  As I'm sure everyone remembers like it was just yesterday, Spirit landed on 1/3/04, and Opportunity landed 1/24/04.  Those little robots have surely exceeded all expectations of success by a wider margin than any other program in NASA history.  Of course there is Voyager, still going, but voyager was DESIGNED to last decades, not mere months.  The MER program is a shining example of success that should be used as a model for future NASA programs.

Jupiter

University of Arizona Professor Richard Greenberg has published a new book on his thin ice theory for Europa, and the implications this has for the possibility of life there.  The more conventional theory is that, if Europa has an ocean at all, it is covered by a thick mantle of ice, tens of kilometers thick.  Greenberg's thin ice theory, which is supported by his analysis of surface features on the moon, is the ice is no more than a few kilometers thick.  This would allow more flexing and cracks which reach the surface, allowing material to be exchange more easily between the surface and the deep ocean.  The theory also supports periodic melt troughs, where the liquid ocean would be exposed directly to the surface.

Saturn

According to Dr. Rosaly Lopes, new data collected from Titan supports the theory that the moon may have active cryovolcanoes.

Human Space Flight

MIT has released a comprehensive independent review of NASA's future plans for manned space exploration.  MIT's review actually calls for a much more aggressive program of exploration, with more international cooperation, clearer stated goals, and less pressure on NASA to do more with less. 

Deep Space Report 1.12

The top news this week is the golf ball astronaut Alan Shepard launched from the moon in 1971 has been located more than 200 million miles away, on Meridiani Planum

Actually, this appears to be close to the largest, if not the largest example of a Martian "blueberry", or hematite spherule.  They have been found in various sizes, usually 5 mm or less in diameter.  But some extraordinarily specimens have been found in various pancam images, this one appears to be more or less the size of a golf ball.

MSL delayed 2 years

NASA has finally admitted defeat in getting MSL off the ground on time, the only alternative is to slip the schedule nearly 2 years to the next launch opportunity.  That sucks, and it's going to add $400 million to the overall cost, just for the schedule slip.

Possibility of Life on Mars?

In a recent experiment, scientists have determined that certain organisms can survive in a sporified form for an indefinite period of time on Mars, provided they are buried under the surface by as little as 4 cm.  In this form, life could survive for tens of thousands of years through Mars' climactic cycles, perhaps remaining dormant until the planet warms slightly, just enough to support thin films of liquid water for even a few years, and then go dormant again. 

The experiment exposed earth bacteria to accelerated martian conditions, including both the daily temperature fluctuations, near vaccum, and intense UV radiation.  The martian soil simulant was sterilized down to a depth of 4cm, but sporified bacteria below 4cm were preserved.  Some bacteria have been shown to survive for millions of years trapped inside salt crystals on earth.  Sporified martian bacteria could survive just as long, waiting for climatic changes to bring water and life back to the long dormant planet.  On much shorter timescales, sporified bacteria may remain dormant and become active seasonally.  For example, some locations on Mars, such as areas of the Hellas basin, may support liquid surface water for a few days per year.  Bacteria could survive under these conditions, remaining dormant in the soil for the rest of the year.  Life in this form could follow annual cycles, not unlike desert life in places like Death Valley on earth.

HiRISE releases new high res 3-D images

More than 300 new high resolution stereo anaglyphs have been published on the HiRISE web site.  These are the highest resolution stereo images of Mars ever released, and among the highest resolution images period.  You need those goofy red blue glasses to see them properly, but the effect is impressive.  They also have the stereo pairs as individual images.  I have found a simple blink animation, alternating the left and right images at about a 500 ms time interval, works very well, better than 3-D glasses, and doesn't require the glasses.  It takes a little time to do that, I'll see if I have time to publish some of the images in that format.

Deep space Report 1.10

Mars

Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Russian Space Agency have announced plans to develop a joint mission to Mars.  The mission plans to land a spacecraft on Phobos and sample the surface material directly.  This may confirm the presence of water ice on Phobos.

Jupiter

A sophisticated computer simulation has predicted that Jupiter may have solid core of water ice and other rocky materials.  NASA and ESA have also announced plans to work on a joint mission to Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, the Europa-Jupiter System Mission (EJSM).

Saturn

Measurements of Encleadus' mysterious plumes have shown the material is moving at 1360 mph.  It is difficult to imagine how to achieve this velocity without liquid water near the surface of the tiny moon.

Alberta Meteorite Update

The spectacular fireball seen last week over Alberta, Canada has now been estimated to have been an approximately 10 ton asteroid which entered the atmosphere at approximately 14 km/s.  This is relatively slow, compared to an average velocity of around 20 km/s.  Several security cameras recorded the event.  Dr. Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario hopes to find as many video recordings as possible, as this will help to determine the original orbit of the asteroid.  Although no fragments of the actual meteorite have yet been recovered, it is likely that some will be found.  Only 9 other meteorites have been associated with a known orbit prior to impact.  With any luck this will be the tenth.

Noting that meteorites have substantial commercial value, under Canadian law, meteorites are the property of the landowner of the property on which they are found.

Luna

Britain is now planning it's own moon mission, MoonLITE, focusing on studying moon quakes.

Water on Mars

There were two exciting discoveries this week related to water on mars.  First, they have identified what seems to be an ancient shoreline, indicating an ocean once existed that would have been as large as the Mediterranean, and possibly even larger.

The other, perhaps more exciting, discovery is buried glacial ice in Hellas basin, between 35 and 60 degrees latitude.  The ice is buried by less than a meter of rock and debris, which acts as an insulating blanket, otherwise the ice would have sublimated long ago.  The ice containing deposits, which appear as gently sloping aprons at the bases of taller features, have puzzled NASA scientists since they were first observed in the early 70s.  Conclusive evidence from the ground penetrating radar from MRO show these aprons are in fact made of ice.

Opportunity Continues on to Endeavour

Hortonheardawho has posted some awesome new color panoramas from Oppy's journey to Endeavour.  They've set several new daily records, But what's amazing is the consistent distance they are putting on.

Sol 1704

Sol 1707

JPL has also published an updated an updated traverse map from sol 1713.  Be sure to check it out at full res.  This is a terrific example or MRO's MOC capabilities.  Image resolution could easily pick out even smaller boulders or ejecta debris, although I haven't spotted any.  I think the JPL page links to the source image from MRO.

MSL site list narrowed

NASA has narrowed down the list of candidates for the MSL landing site to 4:

• Eberswalde Crater - fluvial and possible lacustrine and a fossil delta.

• Gale Crater - stacked layers including clays and sulfates, likely evidence of a large body of water.

• Holden Crater - another crater, similar to Gusev Crater, with and outflow channel, containing alluvial fans, flood deposits, possible lake beds and clay-rich deposits.
• Mawrth Vallis - contains exposed layers containing at least two types of clay.

Deep space

The Dawn spacecraft has shut down its ion motor and will cruise unpowered until February next year, when it will have an encounter with Mars.  Dawn is on schedule for an encounter with Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015.

French astronomers have used the ESO' Very Large Telescope to image yet another extra solar planet, beta pictoris.  Beta Pictoris is a very young star, about 12 million years old, about 70 light years away.  The planet has approximately 8 times the mass of Jupiter and orbits at the distance Saturn orbits our sun.  I think this is perhaps the most earth like solar system yet imaged.

A recent study has detected cosmic rays which appear to be originating from a nearby source, perhaps 300 light years away or less.  The high energy electrons are encountering the earth at such high velocity that they could not have traveled much further than that without losing more velocity. However, the detector is not capable of accurately determining what direction the electrons are coming from, so we really have no idea where the source is, just that it must be relatively nearby.

China as a space threat

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued a report to congress which, among other things, warns of China's space program as a potential military threat.  What does this have to do with deep space?  Well, the biggest space program in US history, Apollo, was a military program.  It was a response to a perceived threat by the USSR, and a demonstration of the US space capability.  In particular it was a demonstration of the US ICBM capability.  What, Saturn V was just a giant ICBM?  Yes it was, why do you think NASA built a disposable launch vehicle?  You don't reuse ICBMs.  And, China has stated that there long term goal is to establish a permanent base on the moon.  Now, if this is seen as a potential military threat, we must follow suit and build our own moon base with equal or greater capability.  Of course we also have plans for a permanent moon base, but the plans of NASA can shift from year to year.  With out a "guns and butter" justification for the expense of such a program, it would be likely to lose support eventually, especially when the enormous cost of a moon base turns into a line item on this year's congressional budget talks.  Whether or not there is a real military threat isn't really the point.  The point is there is a congressional report which at least mentions this as a possibility, and that should be all the support we need.

Deep Space Report 1.8

Lead Pencils.

Neat story about the Mariner IV spacecraft and rocket scientists in Australia being too impatient and too smart by half to wait for NASA.

Each square was divided up into 4 smaller squares. And we armed a team of 8 people each with a lead pencil. As the data came back, according to the video data value we would shade in a number of the squares.

Misc

Patents in space?

Luna

As India begins planning Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-1 successfully entered a lunar transfer trajectory and then achieved capture by the moon.

Mars

After Phoenix began having more serious power issues, NASA has officially ended the Phoenix mission, RIP.

Meanwhile, Opportunity bids farewell to Victoria and its on to Endeavour.  I can't help but ponder the contrast between Phoenix, shortlived as a mayfly, and the MER rovers, which seem to be the Timex of deep space.  They take a licking but keep on ticking.  there's got to be some all time NASA hall of fame for these guys.

Oh yeah, ESA delayed ExoMars again

Saturn

Cassinni had ANOTHER flyby of Encleadus on 10/31, but this time they sent back some great new images.  Check out this blog too.

Deep Space Report 1.6

Luna

NASA tests new rover designs

NASA tested a bunch of new lunar rover designs last week in Black Point, Arizona, including ATHLETE, a 6 leg rover design, and the Small Pressurized Rover Concept vehicle.  This video sort of rambles a bit but watch the whole thing, there are so many rovers being tested at times it looks like a scene from Star Wars.

Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1 has sent back pictures and also adjusted it's orbit for the 4th time.  The orbit now takes the spacecraft 267,000 km from the earth.  The next maneuver should take the spacecraft all the way to the moon.

Google Lunar X-Prize

In a bizarre twist, NASA has announced it will collaberate with Odyssey Moon Ventures LLC to compete for the Google Lunar X Prize.

Shakleton Crater may be xenobiotic deep freeze

Joop Houtkooper presented an interesting paper at Europlanet's latest Planetary Science Congress last week.  He presented the idea that permanently shadowed parts of Shackleton Crater near the moon's south pole should in theory act as an interplanetary deep freeze.  In particular, ancient meteor impacts on earth and even mars could have expelled debris into interplanetary space.  Some of this debris almost certainly would have been collected on preserved deep inside Shackleton Crater.  In fact, over the billions of years of history of life on earth, it is very likely that, at the very least, some samples of very early life on earth would have been preserved on the moon in this way.  It is interesting to note that the same thing is true for Mars.  If at any point in the past microbial life existed on Mars, those microbes would also have been expelled and transported to the moon in the same way.  Although Mars is obviously much further way from the moon, it is also nearer the main asteroid belt and would have experienced more frequent large impacts.

What is unique about the moon is it is not geologically active.  We do not have samples on the surface of the earth which would preserve evidence of life on earth from the time when we believe the origin of life occurred, because the earth is a very active place.  that geologic record has been erased billions of years ago.  However, this record may still be preserved hidden in the shadows of Shackleton Crater.

Mercury

Moving at the speed of interplanetary science, the MESSENGER team has finally released some amazing new images and science results from the recent flyby.  Among other things, they have discovered a mysterious blue material on the surface of Mercury.

Mars

Once again, MER-B Opportunity is roving across the seemingly endless sands of Meridiani, on its way to Endeavor Crater (image credit hortonheardawho)

On a sadder note, the sun is setting on the Phoenix lander.  It has already entered safe mode at least once due to low power, and NASA has begun the shutting down systems to try to squeeze the last remaining watts out of the spacecraft.

Deep space Report 1.5

There is not much to report form Luna and beyond this week.  The big news was really Chandayaan-1.  Other than that, the ESA announced they are delaying ExoMars again, Iowa State Research Center sponsored a symposium for asteroid deflection, and there was some interesting news on using a form of waterless concrete (made largely from lunar regolith) for construction on the moon.  And, of course, Armadillo Aerospace won the LLC level 1.

There was also a NY times article on the possibility of ice on the moon.  In a new study published in Science, infrared images of permanently shaded areas inside Shakleton crater taken by the Japanese SELENE spacecraft were analyzed.  Although the temperature of these areas were found to be cold enough for water ice to be stable, infrared spectra of surface material in these areas did not include any ice.  However, this does not preclude subsurface ice, even if it is only covered by a few centimeters of dust.  In fact, if ice were present, one would expect to find at least a thin covering of moon dust, the moon being an extraordinarily dusty place.  So, although ice was not detected directly, I would say the confirmation of the temperature being cold enough for ice to be stable is more of a positive sign than the lack of direct evidence for ice on the surface, which would not be expected anyway.

Here are some gratuitous video links

After winning the Level 1 LLC, this weekend, Armadillo Aerospace's John Carmack gave an interesting interview.

In the category of what's next for Armadillo, they are obviously working on the Rocket Racing League racers.  They are also planning to start work on the new suborbital space tourism vehicle.  This is going to allow them to do some larger run fabrication of the new rocket motors.  They've also been working with NASA on a LOX / Methane rocket motor.  It turns out getting combustion with methane is allot harder than they expected, which is counter intuitive because it is a gas and should combust more easily.  The problem is both the LOX and methane are very very cold to start with so it turns out to be harder to get them to begin combustion.

They are hoping to start work on the crewed version for commercial flights right away.  "Megapixel" will essentially be a scaled up version of the mod/quad design.  It will probably have 8 fixed mount motors and achieve attitude control by adjusting thrust to each motor, which will be offset slightly from each other.  The crew cabin will eventually be a fully transparent sphere which holds one or two passengers and offers unobstructed 360 degree views.  They are hoping to be able to try an unmanned suborbital test flight next year with existing hardware, and be able to launch manned test flights by 2010.  They've also had allot of interest in trying to break the high altitude sky diving record, a so called "space jump" above 120,000 feet.  They think they could actually try that next year with existing hardware, but obviously they'd need someone with "the right stuff" to attempt the jump.

On the business side, they are hoping to be able to offer flights for $100,000 or less.  That is 1/2 what Virgin galactic is asking, but of course the RRL / Armadillo offering is a vertical take off and powered vertical landing.  Many people just won't ever be comfortable taking off and landing without wings, so obviously there is plenty of room in the market for both offerings.

Things are definitely going well for Armadillo Aerospace.  Carmack commented that they are now operating profitably, even without the prize money from winning the LLC, which is just gravy.  He also shared some interesting views on different approaches to engineering.  Armadillo has always strived to make the engineering process more like software.  You try something, it fails, you learn, and make improvements.  It is an iterative process that is very hands on.  The NASA approach is much more cost intensive, because they spend more time on tests and simulations.  Ironically, the goal of the tests and simulations are to save cost, because they idea is the hardware is so expensive you want to learn all you can by doing simulations.  But, in the long run, you learn allot more, and learn more cheaply, by building test vehicles and maybe blowing them up occasionally.  He says it takes an engineer to build a bridge that will just barely not fall down.  The typical NASA approach is to try to engineer the best vehicle possible, but if you try to build a perfect vehicle it will never happen.  That's why the Armadillo approach is so much more effective and less expensive at the same time.  As a point in fact, before yesterday's launch they went at the vehicle with a hack saw, removing several pounds of extra structure they probably didn't need in the first place.  Of course they didn't need to lose the weight, they had plenty of fuel to spare at the end, but the point is this is experimental science.  Every flight is a test flight, and you always learn and adapt as you go.

As a closing comment, he said once they have the suborbital platform essentially as a solved problem, they will be able to scale it up to deliver a payload to the 100 km mark.  From there they could easily launch a LOX / methane second stage to possibly achieve orbit and deliver a sputnik like test platform into orbit.

Mercury

After it's successful encounter with Mercury a couple of weeks ago, Messenger has increased it's velocity relative to the sun to 63 km/s.  This is the second fastest NASA spacecraft in history, the fastest being Helios 2 back in the 70s.

Earth

The IBEX spacecraft was launched on a Pegasus rocket last week.  Pegasus is an aircraft launched rocket.  IBEX's mission is to observe the boundary of our sun's magnetosphere.  IBEX will use it's own solid rocket boosters to achieve a 100,000 mile earth orbit before beginning the science phase of it's mission.

Also, 9 teams (including Armadillo Aerospace, see RRL article last week) will compete in Northrup Grumman $2 million Lunar Lander Challenge this week.  Here is a video from last year:

Mars

New observations by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft have been used to more accurately measure the mass and density of Phobos.  With a revised density of 1.85 g/cc, which is significantly lower than the density or Martian rock at 2.7-3.3 g/cc, the conclusion is Phobos is most likely a rubble pile.  It is also likely that the mass of Phobos contains significant quantities of water ice, which of course has a density of 1 g/cc.  Of course, it would be nice to obtain a sample of Phobos, and a Russian mission planned to launch next year may do exactly that.  However, with Russia's less than spectacular success record with missions to Mars, I would not bet on seeing those samples return to earth any time soon.

Opportunity is continuing on it's journey to Endeavour Crater, taking one last lap around Victoria first.  Also, a couple of weeks ago, on sol 1671, Oppy acquired this panorama (assembled by Hortonheardawho)

Saturn

After the spectacular encounter with Enceladus last week, Cassini has still not posted any details or results from the encounter.  They did post some raw images from 5000km+, but I was hoping for some extreme closeups.  So far the hihgest res images are these images from August, at 545 km:

Now that is darn good, you can practically see the polar bears and leopard seals lounging on the ice,  but if they got better images in the most recent encounter I'd love to see them.

Deep Space

A new comet was discovered last week, w00t!

Deep Space Report 1.3

Great video here from the NASA EPOXI spacecraft.  This is a re-purposed mission that originally was the one that impacted a comet with a projectile so we could see what was inside said comet.  After that it has been out doing other things.

In this video it was looking back at earth and caught the moon transiting the Earth over a period of about one full day with the pertinent pass in front of the Earth taking approximately 5-6 hours.

Lot's more information over here: HOLY FRAK! Moon transits Earth!

Near Earth Space

For the very first time, our extensive near earth object tracking program has detected an impactor before it hit the earth.  Well, not long before it hit the earth, and it wasn't much of an impactor.  Asteroid 2008 TC3, estimated to measure between 3 and 15 feet in diameter, burned up in the atmosphere over Sudan on 10/7 at 2:46am GMT.  The really cool part is the asteroid actually was detected prior to impact, and being a relatively small chunk of rock, this was quite a feat!

Image Credit: Richard Kowalski and Ed Beshore, Catalina Sky Survey

The asteroid was initially discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson Arizona. The final orbit shows 2008 TC3 was both a Mars crosser and also (obviously) and earth crosser.

But, can anyone say invasion from Mars?  Maybe, just as a precaution, we should send a team of international investigators to the impact location to check things out.  Anyone exhibiting curious behavior or extra limbs should be detained ;-0

But seriously, JPL's Near Earth Object Program posted some nice data on this event:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news159.html

Mercury

On 10/6 Messenger successfully completed the second flyby of Mercury this year.  The spacecraft passed within 125 miles of the planet.

NASA update

Latest images

Mars

MSL was nearly cut this week, but then it wasn't.  It's gone over budget of course.  they've already spent $1.5 billion on the program.  I think the real issue is if they do not get enough funding to keep the program on schedule, it will have to slip to the next launch opportunity for Mars, which come about 18 months apart.  That would add even more cost which would suck even worse.  The project is expected to run at least 30% over budget as is.  Status quo really.

Phoenix is desperately trying to get in some more science before the mission ends from lack of sunlight.  I have to say that compared to MER, Phoenix hasn't delivered much. 

MER continues to be the poster child for the Energizer Bunny on Mars.  If they keep going they may have to pick up Energizer as a sponsor because NASA is going to get tired of funding the mission that refused to die.

Saturn

10/9 was a busy busy day for Cassini.  The big news was a very close flyby of Enceladus, at a distance of less than 16 miles.  But along the way they also passed through the rings and had encounters with Telesto and Janus at 42,000 and 56,000 miles respectively.  The encounter was a success.  Apparently they have sent back data from the encounter, but none of the really close up images have been posted yet.  In addition to acquiring phenomenally high res images of the vents near the south pole, Cassini flew directly through the plumes and sampled them.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=874

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/index.cfm

Pluto

Almost forgot, 10/15 is going to be the 1000 day aniversary for New Horizons mission to Pluto.  Everyone put on a party hat and sing happy birthday new horizons or something like that

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/overview/piPerspective.php

Deep space Report 1.2

Taken from the NASA STEREO Mission.

Here's some background on the NASA STEREO mission: NASA Page.

They [The twin STEREO satellites -ed.] will reveal the 3D structure of coronal mass ejections; violent eruptions of matter from the sun that can disrupt satellites and power grids, and help us understand why they happen.

And intro video for the mission:

This website: http://isstracker.com/ is en example of so many technologies and trends in this world, I find it beautiful.  But then I'm a geek.

1. The ISS.  I know, I know many people argue it doesn't have a compelling mission beyond just being a space station but I still think it's vital.  We are continuing and extending our knowledge about how humans can live, work and build in space.
2. Global mapping tools that are now available at our fingertips.  Like cell phone cameras, maps.live.com and maps.google.com and mapquest and all the others are now ubiquitous in our world.   Remember the Thomas guides to find where you were going? 
3. Mashups: Information and tools put into the hands of ordinary Joes.  Anybody with a modicum of skill can build this site.
4. Now we have a 2+2=5 type of equation.  And you as a member of the intertubes viewing public have an ISS live tracker system at your fingertips.  Think of that.  You don't have to be in the control center of NASA to track the space station.  You can be in your pajamas, click click click.  Oh yeah there she is, over Bermuda.

Cool.

Discover magazine article about it here: badastronomy @ discover.com

It's a gravity lens.

Arcs are common results of lensing. That’s what you’re seeing here; the distant galaxy image split in two, arcs surrounding the spherical galaxy between them. An eye!

Related posts: Hubble Discovers 67 more "lensed" galaxies.

All the news that's fit to print from Luna and beyond!

Luna

Carnegie Mellon University has decided to pursue the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize.  http://www.space.com/spacenews/071001_businessmonday_lunarprize.html

The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has developed a sophisticated x-ray camera for lunar observation.  The camera is scheduled to be launched 10/22/08 on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft - India's first mission to the Moon.
http://www.moondaily.com/reports/X_Ray_Specs_Ready_To_Eye_The_Moon_999.html

Mercury

MESSENGER's second pass by Mercury, a gravitational boost maneuver, is scheduled for 1/14/09.  MESSENGER sill pass within 125 miles of the surface, snapping pictures as it goes.  Although they are planning to eventually orbit Mercury, the planned trajectory uses many gravitational boost maneuvers to save fuel.  They should achieve capture by Mercury in March 2011
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/081001-mercury-flyby-preview.html

Mars

Phoenix

The Phoenix science team held a press conference last Monday.  They have discovered calcium carbonate and sheet silicates.  These two minerals don't usually form without the presence of liquid water.  Calcium carbonate was detected by both TEGA and MECA at 7% or more. In general, evidence of phyllosilicate clays are abundant. MECA lead scientist Michael Hecht commented, "We are seeing smooth-surfaced, platy particles with the atomic-force microscope, not inconsistent with the appearance of clay particles."  Extreme dryness of soil might be related to perchlorate prevalence. So far the science team has not detected organics.

Perhaps more exciting, a laser instrument designed to measure the atmosphere has detected actual snow falling on Mars.  The snow was detected high in the atmosphere.  Similar to dry deserts on earth, This was a "ghost" snow since it evaporated before it reached the ground. 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/ts_alt_afp/usscienceastronomyspacemars;_ylt=Aq1nxcED8qVFptS5WZdCAfwPLBIF
http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2890&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Other Mars news

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered hundreds of small fractures on the surface of Mars which may have served to direct the flow of water through Martian sandstone billions of years ago. 

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080926-fracture-mars.html
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/MRO_Reveals_Rock_Fracture_Plumbing_On_Mars_999.html

A new study based on information collected by the ESA's Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer has come up with an explanation for why Mars' ice caps are slightly offset.  Detailed, accurate measurements of wind flow patterns have revealed that the Hellas Basin reroute  high altitude winds and force weather systems towards the south pole.  This creates a strong low-pressure system in the western hemisphere of Mars, which is responsible for the asymmetry of the southern polar cap.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080929-mm-mars-ice.html

Researchers at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin have analyzed images of the Xanthe Terra region of Mars.  "For years scientists have been suspecting that the current appearance of the landscape has, in part, been shaped by rivers that cut into the surface," comments Ernst Hauber of the German Aerospace Center.  They have concluded that fan shaped sedimentary deposits are the result of flowing and standing water in Mars' ancient past.
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/The_Ancient_Rains_Of_Mars_999.html

Deep Space

The Dawn mission to Ceres and other minor planets has reached it's first anniversary.  Using an advanced ion propulsion system, Dawn has used 67 kg of propellant  to produce 1.68 km/s delta V.  It is difficult to put this amount of thrust in perspective, but it is a huge improvement over less efficient chemical rockets, and is only the beginning of Dawn's mission.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Dawn_Reaches_It_First_Anniversary_999.html

F. Marchis, PI, at the SETI Institute and at UC-Berkeley, and P. Descamps from Paris Observatory announced recently the discovery of two moons around the M-type asteroid 216 Kleopatra, the so called "dog bone" asteroid.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081002/sc_space/twocompanionsfoundneardogboneasteroid;_ylt=AokvI8HNSM.FpcO.QTvy4KqHgsgF

The Kepler planet hunting telescope mission has managed to cut costs and avoid cancellation.  The nearly 1 meter Schmidt telescope was designed to scan a large field of stars, searching for earth size planets in potential habitable orbits.  The new plan would launch the mission in 2009.

http://www.space.com/spacenews/070716_businessmonday_kepler.html

ESA's Stone-6 artificial meteorite tests if a Martian meteorite could transport living organisms to Earth.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Stone_6_Artificial_Meteorite_Shows_Martian_Impactors_Could_Carry_Traces_Of_Life_999.html

Deep Space Report 1.1

Space exploration key to mankind's survival: NASA chief

So in this he agrees with Stephen Hawking.  A couple of pretty *froopy thinkers there.

"I can think of no lesser purpose sufficient to justify the difficulty of the enterprise, and no greater purpose is possible." - Michael Griffin

* FROOPY [fru-pee]: 1. adj. An Azlumic word equivalent to cool, awesome, and somewhat neat.
2. adj. An Azlumic word equivalent to sexy or attractive. (from Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy).

Deep Space Report Vol. 1 Issue 1

This is the first installment of a weekly summary of what's happening in solar system exploration.  My goal is to include all the news that's fit to print from the moon and beyond.

Mars

Mars has been a very busy place recently.

MER Opportunity is leaving Victoria crater and heading for an even larger crater, Endeavor, 12 km away.  This is a very ambitious goal, one which would never have been dreamed of at the begriming of the mission, but the rovers have proven to be two tough little robotic explorers.  Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator on the MER team, says with the new driving software JPL uploaded he believes Opportunity can cover up to 100 meters per day easily.  On the way to the massive 20 km diameter crater, they hope to find some impact debris which may have been excavated from deep beneath the surface.  Studying the ejecta could give them a window into Mars' ancient past.

On the way, Opportunity will be guided by ground imagery from HiRISE, the high resolution imager on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.  HiRISE can image features as small as 50 cm across.  This will allow the MER team to possible identify some impact debris along the way, and navigate the rover to study the debris.  By the way, I posted a thread on the Mars Rover Blog forum 4 years ago, suggesting we visit endeavor crater, although at the time I did not realize this was a crater.  It's so huge I saw the crater rim in some MOC images and thought it looked like an enormous canyon.

Meanwhile, the end is fast approaching the the Phoenix lander in the Martian arctic.  Winter will bring a thick layer of water and CO2 ice which will bury the lander, but long before then the dwindling amount of sunlight will cease to provide enough energy to continue with science operations.  This means the Phoenix team is in a race against time to collect one more sample of ice.  According to Peter Smith, Principal Investigator on the Phoenix science team, soil samples collected by Phoenix do not behave like any of the simulants they worked with prior to launch.  The soil particles seem to be small enough to fit through the sample screen, but they still get stuck.  The particles appear to be sticking to the screen which was designed to prevent larger particles from entering the sample and clogging the mechanism.  Obviously this has been very frustrating for the science and engineering teams.  They have already obtained one small sample of ice, but they want to get one more sample of a high concentration ice deposit before the mission ends.

Saturn

Cassini is sponsoring a scientist for the day competition for high school students.  Sounds like fun!

Cool.  From what I can tell it is a complete floating tour of the inside of the International Space Station.

Paolo gave a pretty good demonstration of the flying technique right there you pretty much gotta look at your target and your body will figure it out if you're not deliberate about it you're liable to go catywampus en route.

This will be the final servicing mission performed by the Space Shuttle.  After this one or the other spacecraft, Hubble or Shuttle, will be decommissioned before a servicing mission 5 will be necessary.

Nasa: Servicing Mission 4 Essentials

What a remarkable piece of engineering the Hubble has been.  One of the true intersections between science and engineering and art and even perhaps spirituality.  If you have looked at the images from Hubble and haven't felt humbled at some point along the way, well, you ain't no geek.

Hubble's triumphs continue to accumulate thanks to a unique design that allows astronauts to repair and upgrade the telescope while it remains in orbit. Repairs keep the telescope functioning smoothly, while upgrades to the instruments bring a slew of new discoveries and science.

Review of the Servicing 4 mission. 

This is fascinating...

At Goddard engineers and astronauts work together developing tools and techniques to resurrect two malfunctioning science instruments currently on orbit inside Hubble.

Of course the astronauts are integrally involved in the training, I keep forgetting they are no longer still rocket jockeys but engineers and physicists.

Detail of what a servicing mission entails.  Cool video from the Space Telescope Operations Control Center (STOCC).

and crew training.

I bet you didn't even know it had one did you.

...well to be honest it isn't much of a moon.  In fact, technically, it isn't a moon of Earth at all (that was just a catchy title to GRAB your attention), but instead it is what is called a a periodic inclusion planetoid.  (sounds like something you treat with antibiotics)

Essentially it orbits the sun with a orbital frequency that is 1:1 with the Earth's.  It passes within 12 million kilometers of Earth which is only 30 times the distance to the moon.

Wikipedia entry: 3753 Cruithne

...but wait, there really is a Second Moon

On another note there is another type of "moonlet" that might fit the description of the Earth's second moon a bit better.  Apparently there is a set of asteroids that are co-orbital satellites.  Meaning they share (or virtually share) the Earth's orbit but not with the same exact frequency.  Therefore they occasionally get captured by the Earth's gravity.

This is the case with asteroid YN107.  It is just now exiting a corkscrew orbit around Earth.  It has been circling the Earth for 9 years now and will soon go on about its solitary orbit of the Sun only to get recaptured by the Earth in approximately 60 years.

Nasa article: Corkscrew Asteroid

So once again I lied it isn't a second moon either, but it's still cool.

...why space poop of course.

This cute short video actually has one of the most succinct explanations of how a space toilet works.

Of course the first thing that jumps to my mind is the ridiculous (and awesome) scene in the movie "Independence Day" where Jeff Goldblum infects the alien mothership with a debilitating virus inserted using some magical interface from is MacBook Pro tm.

But it's more mundane and there is no risk to the ISS.

Computer viruses make it to orbit

Nasa told SpaceRef that no command or control systems of the ISS were at risk from the malicious program.

Apparently there are some very savvy, high tech oriented astronauts that failed to install any anti-virus software on said laptops...that is an epic fail.

The laptops carried by astronauts reportedly do not have any anti-virus software on them to prevent infection.

Original story here: NASA Discovers Computer Virus Aboard the International Space Station

Good (if short) interview with Buzz Aldrin at Popular Mechanics wherein he talks about the current state of NASA manned spaceflight and the potential of a significant Mars mission.

His main point with regards to a manned Mars mission is if we don't go to stay then we shouldn't go at all.

It shouldn't be one-two-three missions, the way we did with Apollo. I think the reason to go to Mars is to establish a permanent colony.

This lines up to Rich's recent posts regarding Mars.

Former Moon Engine Burns Bright Once More

The RS-18 engine has been resurrected and re-purposed to test fuel mixtures for the new Constellation program.

I will take this opportunity to drop in a classic clip of the Apollo 11 launch:

Interesting article over at the Washington Post by Michael Benson: It's All Decked Out. Give It Somewhere to Go.

His premise is we already have a habitable platform built in Earth orbit, the International Space Station, why not give it a little boost and make it an interplanetary spacecraft.

Cool idea.

The one issue he does not bring up is the radiation exposure on humans outside of the Van Allen belt.  The Space Station is not built to protect astronauts against the harsh radiation between planets but relies on the strong protection of the Earth's magnetic field.

...but besides that tiny detail, fairly compelling idea.

Reminds me of a cycler as proposed by Buzz Aldrin: Mars cycler, which could sail on the low energy pathways between the planets: Interplanetary Transport Network

I vote Do It!

Poster of the Apollo 11 radio transcript.

The red line you see in the middle there?...

Found over here at Baekdal.com.  He's gone through the whole thing and pulled out some interesting tidbits.

An interesting read here from Gregg Easterbrook regarding the risks from a major asteroid strike on the Earth.  Once thought to be a terribly remote occurrence, it seems the more the astronomers look at the issue the less rare it appears to be.

The Sky Is Falling

A generation ago, the standard assumption was that a dangerous object would strike Earth perhaps once in a million years. By the mid-1990s, researchers began to say that the threat was greater: perhaps a strike every 300,000 years. This winter, I asked William Ailor, an asteroid specialist at The Aerospace Corporation, a think tank for the Air Force, what he thought the risk was. Ailor’s answer: a one-in-10 chance per century of a dangerous space-object strike.

Although from what I can glean from this table: Sentry Risk Table [NASA], there appears to be only one rock that is of any concern at this time. [this one - 2007 VK184] and that will happen June 3rd...2048.

The whole point of the first article seems to be that we may be more at risk than we had previously thought and spending some money on asteroid defense systems may be prudent.

So.  heh.  Did someone have trouble reading the directions?

The toilet is breaking up on the space station and there is only one.  There isn't a hardware store nearby where you can go buy a new wax seal you know,.  If you need a replacement for it, it's gotta be flown up there.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After being rushed in from Russia, a toilet pump was loaded into space shuttle Discovery on Thursday just in time for this weekend's liftoff to the international space station, where the lone commode is acting up. - [yahoo news]

I wonder if it was small enough to be considered carry-on or if they had to check it.

The toilet isn't completely broken luckily.  Just the urine pump.

While the three space station residents are eager to see the Kibo lab, the bathroom situation has become a more pressing issue. For the past week, the two Russian and one American men have had to periodically manually flush the urine side of the Russian-built toilet. The job takes 10 minutes and requires two people.

Just reminds me of the quotes about the Apollo capsules being flying outhouses.

One of the Apollo 7 astronauts said the smell was so bad it woke him out of a deep sleep. - [linky]

ick.

Here is a roundup of links regarding the successful landing on Mars of the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander.

First of all there are several pictures taken of the lander taken from Mars orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) [now THAT is a mouthfull].

Here is one of the Lander with its solar panels extended on the surface.

And this one is remarkable, the HiRISE satellite captured the Lander during decent!

This is remarkable.  Stop and think for a moment.  We have four eight probes looking at Mars at one time.  Scientists are experiencing a golden age of Martian exploration right now.

Links:

• Phoenix Mars Mission Home: [U. of Arizona, Phoenix Mars Mission]
• Team blogs
• Mission charter and structure: [linky]
• Mission Goals
• Landing method: Entry, Descent, and Landing
• NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Home Page - [linky]
• The main components of the spacecraft: [Spacecraft and Instruments]
• Wikipedia entry
• Yay capitalism! [buy shwagg]

There were two separate articles that are two sides to the same coin that came out this week.

On the 12th Popular Mechanics had this article: NASA Makes Space U-Turn, Opening Arms to Private Industry which spoke of NASA changing its policy.

NASA officials insist that the budding commercial spacecraft fleet represents the only way the United States can realize its dreams of solar-system conquest on schedule and at an affordable cost.

Wow!  This is great news, it opens the door to the protagonist[s] in our second article from Aviation Week: SpaceX Claims Crew Transfer Ability By 2011.

techrivet.com has reported in the past the business plan that SpaceX and it's principal Elon Musk are pursuing.  They want to be the private space delivery system for NASA and other customers.  Specifically the only ones capable of the heavy lifting needed to supply the ISS.

It appears his plan is well on its way to fruition.

Those pesky Soviets...er Russians and there socialist propoganda...er democratic...er dictatorial...er whatever they've got for a government and its pesky propoganda.

The Buran  shuttle itself, otherwise, is quite similar to the U.S shuttle, it is, however, more advanced in the sense that unlike the U.S shuttle it can be piloted unmanned solely by computer, completing even complex two week missions with no-one on board.

To summarise... Buran-Energia was in many ways an improvement on the US Shuttle system, with a much more flexible design, even if sadly, it is not the system that is currently in operation.

The U.S. Shuttle System Vs. Russia's Buran-Energia

heh.

eh...

Wait.  I got lost there somewhere.  Doesn't something have to actually DO something before it can be declared better?  I mean we are up to Shuttle Mission STS-124.  That should count for something don't you think.  Throw me a bone here people.

There are some awesome pictures over there though.  Like this one.

...static..."This is Major Tom, I'm ready for liftoff, tell my wife I love her."...static.

Sorry about the snark...sorta.

More Official Site: Molniya Research Industrial Corporation.

So I found this link out there on the fabulous intertubes. Teh r0><or (that's translated into "the roxor", [that translates one layer further into "That Rocks!"]).  But I digress...where was I again?

Oh yeah space shuttle.

Well being the proud owner of a 3rd grader and a 1st grader the first section of the document regarding the Space Shuttle that I drilled into was the how-do-they-go-to-the-bathroom section:

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/sts-eclss-wcl.html#sts-eclss-wcs

You're welcome.

You can go over the rest of the document here: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/

heh:  Ironically named software platform upon which to build your Shuttle OS -

The software programs are written in HAL/S (high-order assembly language/shuttle) especially developed for real-time space flight applications.

This is fascinating.  We have a private Space Race fully underway.

Several companies pursuing several different strategies.  A couple, like Virgin Galactic, are promoting space tourism with a sub-orbital flight.  SpaceX is looking to create ISS capable rockets.  Bigelow is looking create space hotels.

Heinlein would love it right now.

Anyways check out the pictures of the construction of SpaceShip Two.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4256017.html

Turn it up.

Titan’s surface organics surpass oil reserves on Earth

"Titan is just covered in carbon-bearing material—it’s a giant factory of organic chemicals," said Lorenz.

...maybe when we get there we can bring along our big SUV's.

The much maligned International Space Station keeps moving forward oblivious to its critics.  Yesterday the Shuttle Atlantis blasted off with the Columbus Module aboard.

The Columbus module is another science module with the ability to hold 10 racks of scientific experiments.

It is growing and finally becoming a significant platform in space.  I understand the critics that deride its lack of strategic space location.  Its in-between-ness that doesn't help us much to get anywhere else in the solar system.  I understand the critics that bring up the ROI on a manned space station and compare it to one of our probe missions like the Mars Rovers.

I understand all that.

But I believe it provides other benefits:

1. It teaches us how to construct complicated things in space.  What we are learning from the ISS will be crucial for ANY construction we do in space and if you think there won't be much call for that...well I disagree with you.
   
   This has been done over a period of years.  From a broad base of contributors spanning continents, languages, governments.  It's remarkable.
   
2. We continue to learn how to make livable habitats for humans in space.  We need to have this sussed if we are to do any sort of long range trips in the future - Mars anyone?
   
3. There ARE science experiments that can only be performed by humans in space.  The trick is identifying them and prioritizing them.
   
4. It is a manned presence in space.  Do you realize if things just stumble along like this for another 10 years or so that we might enter an era where mankind will always have a representative in space.  And in my opinion there will be increasing numbers of extra-terran humans as the years go on.  Too many people want to explore "out there".

I also think it is flippin' cool.  And in the grand scheme of government and society expenditures the entire space programs of all the world are hobbies.  NASA has had a 12-15 billion dollar budget since the 1980's.  Through all that inflationary time, where the value of its dollars has steadily decreased, it has maintained the program and accomplished significant things.

It will be fascinating to see if the burgeoning commercial space programs will interface with the existing governmental ones.  Stay tuned...

Update: The final volume of the ISS is going to be approximately 1000 cubic meters. It is more than half done but for the sake of argument let's say there is 500 cubic meters of livable volume in orbit right now.

Well according to the awesome intertubes a standard 40 foot shipping container has 67.5 cubic meters of volume inside it.  That means there are the equivalent of 7.5 shipping containers of habitat up there right now and in the end there will be approximately 15 shipping containers of habitable volume (a little less actually but close enough).

Now that is amazing.  The space boys and girls aren't just whistling Dixie.

...Commercial...Space...Station...

Look, I don't mean to keep talking about all this accelerating change and stuff, but I really think we're on the verge of something here.

1. We have Virgin Galactic releasing their spaceship design and preparing for launches at some undetermined time.

2. We have SpaceX developing a new cost effective rocket system with the intent to be the only ISS supportable US based space system at the time the Shuttle fleet is finally grounded.  They have already had two launches and have several scheduled this year.

And now this news from Bigelow.

Bigelow Aerospace and Denver-based United Launch Alliance (ULA) have been working together for over a year studying what it would take to human-rate the Atlas 5 rocket. Industry sources said Bigelow Aerospace is ready to place an order that includes six launches starting in 2011 to begin assembly and early operation of the new station.

We live in unprecedented times in so many ways this is merely one more manifestation of the change that is taking place all around us.

Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShip Two model.

$200k per trip.

What will be the rate of failure?

What are you chances of getting blowed up?

There are more than 200 people that have already signed up to fly on the SpaceShip Two. I wonder if Branson will fly on one of the early flights. I suppose owing to his nature that he will.

I mean I'm all for space travel and all that, but this is the FIRST commercial spacecraft.  I'm not sure I'd be all fired up to be part of the early adopter crowd in this space.  I think I would prefer to hang back with the pragmatists.

Wait until the statistics get boring and the price comes down a bit...juuuust a bit.

I don't see the benefits in this plan: Space leaders work to replace lunar base with manned asteroid missions

Well let me re-phrase that, I see the benefits, but I don't think they're compelling enough to make a political argument.  Which is the battle the space program needs to always fight.  And in general they suck at it.  They're engineers, not politicians.

What they need to realize is the the whole man-in-space thing is a tough sell to congress.  And the only things that spark the political will when it comes to the whole man-in-space thing is big mountaintops to summit.

Asteroids are small and pointless.  Small foothills in the landscape of space.

The MOON!

MARS!

Those are marketing messages a politician can sell.

So my space program engineer side says, "duh, the moon doesn't help us get to Mars much."  But my congressional lobbyist side says, "Gimme something I can sell to joe sixpack, 'cause the asteroid belt ain't it."

If it was MY space program I'd be spending way more money than 15 Billion, but it isn't mine, and that is the budget and you can't do everything you want and you HAVE to sell the program.

Sell the moon, sell Mars!

Don't try and sell small rocks with names like numbers...it won't work.

2007 WD5 Mars Collision Effectively Ruled Out - Impact Odds now 1 in 10,000

Looks like it will miss by at least 4000 kilometers and most likely by somewhere more in the neighborhood of 26,000 kilometers.

Oh well.

What do we hope to learn?

Well for starters scientists have never had the opportunity to view an asteroid impact as it is happening.  They were able to watch the Shoemaker-Levy comet strike Jupiter, but that is a different type of observation entirely.

Here we are talking about a planet strike.  There it was an impact into the atmosphere.  For the potential Mars impact we have two ground based rovers and an orbiting satellite.  For the Jupiter impact...none of that.

This is historic.

According to the latest data the likelihood of an actual strike keeps going up.  From 1-in-75 down to now a 1-in-25 chance, or approximately a 4% chance.

LA-Times Story

They've been too busy to update the website since August.  And by busy I mean BUSY!

Report from Elon Musk.

Among the many items listed, all of them impressive, is this one that caught my eye.

A few months ago, NASA approved the critical design review (CDR) for the initial flight of our Dragon spacecraft on the Falcon 9 rocket booster. F9/Dragon is intended to provide crew and cargo service to the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle retires in 2010, so passing this review was no small matter. Apart from the flight itself, this was arguably the most important mark of progress in the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

SpaceX is in a unique position.  A place and time in space exploration that is unlikely to come again.  They have a project plan that aligns with a demand from NASA that no-one else will be able to meet.  If they can stay on schedule or near schedule SpaceX could become one of the if not THE private space launch company for the U.S.

Wow!

Overall, the Falcon 9 program remains on track for demonstration of cargo delivery to the International Space Station by the end of 2009.

Go read the whole thing.

Carnival of Space #31

Cool roundup of space news, go check it out.

To paraphrase Austin Powers - "Yay Capitalism!"

I think there is a remarkable group of efforts going on right now in the world of space technologies.  And all of it is being spearheaded by private companies.  Not by huge governments.

Where NASA is struggling to set a roadmap and plan for hundreds of different missions, here we have small nimble private corporations creating solutions to problems.

Here is Armadillo Aerospace attempting to capture the Lunar Lander X-Prize.

They're sponsored by nVidia, which to me seems a cool corporate investment.

Google is in the act as well.

The next couple of decades could be very interesting.  I would like to wholeheartedly encourage the multitude of high-tech billionaires that read the Rivet to invest in the emerging private space race.

C'mon you already have 3 Ferraris, what's left?  How about a moon base.

Related articles: SpaceX Flight Review

Just plain cool:

A java app that displays the ground passing under the Landsat satellite as it is traveling over it (sometimes it is a replay if there is not a satellite over the US at the time you are watching).  It scrolls smoothly, compiled from images made before.

So I've read this great book just lately called: A Man On The Moon. It's really cool.  The author, Andrew Chaikin, does a great job. He interviewed a lot of the astronauts and gives a great telling of the adventure.

I highly recommend it.

Well one of the subjects that he covers in the book is how the first spacecraft were very much like floating latrines.  The capture and disposal of calls-of-nature was a rather crude amalgamation of poorly functioning technology.

I was curious how this might have changed over time.  I mean there are now a significant number of women going up into space as well.  Some of the technology described in the book about the Apollo mission just wouldn't work.  I mean...well...how do they do it?

 Here is a good article from the BBC that describes it clearly.

How do you 'go' in space?

So now you know.  Thought you might like to have that question answered.

Very interesting article over at TCS: [A Modern Day Erie Canal]

The premise being that a functioning space elevator would have a similar impact on space exploration, commerce, migration, and general usage that the Erie Canal had on New York City, New York State, the United states as a whole and in the end the world.

The one point that the author of the piece doesn't hammer home enough is the impact that the Canal had on NY City.  Prior to completion of the canal NYC was the smaller, less important city when compared to Boston.  Soon after its completion, NYC became the hub of the entire eastern seaboard and never looked back.

The Erie Canal alone was what drove NYC to prominence.

A completed Space Elevator at the disposal of the US will only solidify the US preeminence  in the world economy for the rest of the 21st Century.

In honor of the launch of discovery today and marking the first time in history that a woman has commanded both the space shuttle and the international space station at the same time, here is a great video of a shuttle launch from the viewpoint of the cockpit.

Wow.  The rockin' and rollin' inside the cockpit is freaky.  I also think it is interesting how you can hear it get quieter right after they pass through Max Q (maximum air pressure during launch).

Great video.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11oct_undularbore.htm

cool.

And then, why then my dear travelers through this universe of ours, we will have the mind blowing space traveling abilities of the far future.  I speak of the awe inspiring year of 2001.

At least that's how science fiction predicted it.  Funny we're still driving combustion engine cars and the grand total of people who have been in space is still less than 1 thousand.  (I guess that is a lot more than 1, but it is still less than a billion).

Self-sufficient space habitat designed

Now we hear about a "new" set of technologies being refined down under in Oz. [linky]

Devised by an international team of 30 space scientists, Luna Gaia would be a 'closed-loop' environment, meaning that almost all material within the system is recycled with very little need for input from outside sources. The current design caters for a team of 12 astronauts under isolation for up to three years.

This doesn't sound Earth shattering except it is a skill set that we do need to have fully understood before we can successfully deploy a space colony. Shipping up a couple of cases of macaroni and cheese gets a bit prohibitive at thousands of dollars per pound of payload.

A lunar base is unlikely to ever be 100 per cent self-sufficient, said Chartres, because no atmosphere is completely safe from leaks and it could not provide humans with all the nutrients that they need to survive.

Luna Gaia...ugh.  Why not call it Lunar Colony Test Facility? 

NASA's Centennial Challenges to Advance Technologies

"The innovations from these competitions will help support advances in aerospace materials and structures, new approaches to robotic and human planetary surface operations, and even futuristic concepts," said Ken Davidian, program manager for NASA's Centennial Challenges, Headquarters, Washington.

More info here.

http://www.spaceward.org/

Ok so it's only for three people, but Bigelow Aerospace is committed to having their Sundancer module launched before 2010.

This is private enterprise at its best.  Let's review.

Paul Allen is involved with Space Ship One / Scaled composites.
Richard Branson also.
...and Northrop Grumman buys the company.

Elon Musk is working hard with SpaceX on the Falcon project.  Successfully launching a Falcon earlier this year.  Impressive in most accounts.  He has revenue coming in from scheduled launches of satellites (whether that covers his costs is unlikely).

And now we have the ambitious plan of Bigelow Aerospace.  This is an unprecedented influx of private industry into the space exploration realm.

The design of the Bigelow modules are very innovative...they inflate once in space.  As long as the interior is sufficiently safe, this is a very cool evolution.  Space stations cubic interior space would no longer be limited by the carrying volume of the launch spacecraft. 

If it is scalable, it would make vastly bigger constructs possible in space.

More info: [cosmic blog ]

SpaceX has just posted its review of its latest launch. The key parts of the review is the impressive job of "Rapid response capability – launched within 70 minutes after hot launch abort". And lower in the anomalies wherein it discusses the upper stage control anomaly. It appears that was due to Liquid Oxygen sloshing in its tank.

Upper Stage Control Anomaly
An oscillation appeared in the upper stage control system approximately 90 seconds into the burn. This instability grew in pitch and yaw axes initially and after about 30 seconds also induced a noticeable roll torque. This roll torque eventually overcame the 2nd stage’s roll control thrusters and centrifuged the propellants, causing flame-out of the Kestrel engine. There is high confidence that LOX slosh was the primary contributor to this instability. This conclusion has been verified by third party industry experts that have reviewed the flight telemetry.

Falcon 1 did not use slosh baffles in the second stage tanks, as simulations done prior to flight indicated the slosh instability was a low risk. Given that in space there are no gust or buffet effects, the simulations did not take into account a perturbation, as occurred due to the hard slew maneuver after stage separation. Extensive 2nd stage slosh baffles will be included in all future flights, as is currently the case with the 1st stage.

Installing baffles will increase weight though...

Go go Elon.

I was talking about the scale of the solar system with one of my kids and I wanted to find a picture of the Sun taken from Voyager to show how small it was.  I came across this picture.

1970's technology meets 2007.

1970's - Voyager:
Here we have one of the shining stars of the NASA space program, Voyager, sending back to Earth a composite picture of our solar system with all the planets out to Neptune captured in one amalgamation.

Brilliant.

2007 - Google:
And here I am able to go clickety click click and view the fantastic image on my own machine.

Also brilliant.

The vast store of all knowledge that is available to any person with an internet connection is immense, ubiquitous, stupefying and already taken for granted. 

My kids will never know anything different.  Will they ever have the need to open a printed encyclopedia? 

Will their research ever involve going to the school library "stacks" to find a specific tidbit of knowledge squirled away on page 743 from some obscure research scientist from Peru?

Will they even have the need to learn the Dooey Decimal System?

I would argue "no" to all three of those questions.