Dragon Solar Panels Visible
Image Credit: NASA TV
This image was captured moments before ISS contact was lost. Several minutes later, Dragon crossed directly under the International Space Station and disappeared into the shadow of the Earth.
All tests so far have been concluded successfully. Today, Dragon will continue its flight around the space station.
Tomorrow, it will approach and eventually be berthed with the space station.
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On May 7 the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 5326 − Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013.
The statement included the following section on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), quoted in full:
The Administration strongly opposes the level of funding provided for the commercial crew program, which is $330 million below the FY 2013 Budget request, as well as restrictive report language that would eliminate competition in the program. This would increase the time the United States will be required to rely solely on foreign providers to transport American astronauts to and from the space station. While the Administration appreciates the overall funding level provided to NASA, the bill provides some NASA programs with unnecessary increases at the expense of other important initiatives.
A new NASA outreach project will enlist the help of amateur astronomers to discover near-Earth objects (NEOs) and study their characteristics. NEOs are asteroids with orbits that occasionally bring them close to the Earth.
The amateur astronomers are about to make observations that will affect current and future space missions to asteroids. Some will use custom-made, often automated, telescopes equipped with CCD cameras in their backyards. Others will use home computers to make remote observations with more powerful telescopes states or continents away. Many belong to leading national and international amateur astronomy organizations with members ranging from retirees to school kids.
Researchers on NASA’s robotic asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, are turning to amateur astronomers for new data on near-Earth asteroids in a citizen science observing campaign called “Target Asteroids!” The campaign starts in April 2012 and will last at least to the end of this decade.
The full name of the OSIRIS-REx mission is Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is to launch in 2016, reach a well-characterized primitive asteroid called (101955) 1999 RQ36 in 2019, examine that body up close during a 505-day rendezvous, then return at least 60 grams of it to Earth in 2023.
“Asteroids are a rich and accessible historic archive of the origin of our Solar System and life, a valuable source of mineral resources, and potentially hazardous Earth impactors that civilization must learn to deal with,” said OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. “Our mission will address all these issues.”
1999 RQ36 — a 500-meter-diameter, dark carbonaceous asteroid — is difficult for even powerful Earth-based telescopes to observe at this time because it is relatively distant from Earth.
“Amateur astronomers are asked to observe asteroids selected because they are in near-Earth orbits that can be reached by current-generation spacecraft and are at least 200 meters in diameter,” said Target Asteroids! scientist Carl Hergenrother, head of the OSIRIS-REx astronomy working group.
“Precise orbits, sizes, rotation rates, physical composition and other important characteristics for these asteroids are largely unknown, ” Hergenrother said.
“We want amateur astronomers to do astrometry (which precisely measures positions of objects), photometry (which measures brightness) and spectroscopy (which measures the colors, or wavelengths, of light) to discover as much as we can about these objects,” he said.
“These will be challenging objects to observe because they are very faint,” said Target Asteroids! coordinator Dolores Hill of the OSIRIS-REx education and public outreach program. “Amateur astronomers may have to make what are called ‘track and stack’ observations,” a technique that acquires and adds multiple short images.
“One of the major goals of having amateur astronomers on board is they can observe these objects every night, unlike professional astronomers who may get to telescopes once every few nights, or more typically once a month or every three months,” Hergenrother said.
People don’t need to own their own telescopes or live under clear skies to work on Target Asteroids!, Hergenrother and Hill emphasized.
For not much money, observers can now go online and sign up to use a growing network of quality robotic telescopes sited at some of the choicest astronomical spots in the country, they added.
Scientists will compare data from amateur and professional astronomers’ ground-based observations with data from OSIRIS-REx spacecraft instruments to learn more about Earth-crossing asteroids and identify likely candidates for future asteroid missions, they said.
For more information see the Target Asteroids! web page.
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Previously delayed, the European Space Agency is ready to launch the Edoardo Amaldi this evening. The mission is to provide supplies to the International Space Station, including a spare Fluids Control Pump Assembly (FCPA). This is a critical component on the ISS used to recycle urine into drinkable water and the spare is going up with ATV-3. Following ESA’s formal Launch Readiness Review on Monday, which revealed no problems with the vessel, the launch was officially set for Friday 23 March at 0434 UTC. This is Thursday evening at 9:34 PM Phoenix time, tonight. On Wednesday, Ariane and ATV Edoardo Amaldi were rolled out to the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. The total vehicle mass is 777 tonnes –the heaviest ever for an Ariane. This ATV is also the rocket’s heaviest payload so far. As the launch countdown progresses, we will add updates and images from Kourou. Live video from Arianespace can be seen here. |
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At the moment, it is 3:34 PM in Phoenix, and we are six hours from launch. The Ariane 5 carrying ATV-3 rolled out to the launch pad yesterday, Wednesday. |
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With four hours until launch, there are light rain showers. The temperature is 77° Fahrenheit. Thunderstorms are predicted for later tonight with 50% chance of rain. One hour to launch. At 9:16 PM Phoenix time, we are less than 20 minutes from the launch of the Edoardo Amaldi. All systems are currently green. This is the 65th Ariane 5 NASA TV is also covering the launch live. At T-minus 7 minutes we are moving into automatic computer operations. Any operational problem would require recycling to T-minus 7. T-minus 2 minutes, and weather is good, synchronized sequence is running. Launch and everything looks good at the moment. At three (3:00) minutes into the launch, the boosters have separated, and now we have fairing separation. |
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We now have Main Engine Cutoff. Stage Separation and second stage burn. At twelve minutes into the flight, all systems are performing nominally. At 18 minutes into the mission, ATV-3 is at altitude of 147.4 kilometers, and a velocity of 7.56 km/sec/ |
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For die hard fans of the launch sequence and flight times, here is the ESA time-line for the Edoardo Amaldi Mission:
At the moment, all systems are green and ATV-3 is set to automatically dock with the Station’s Russian Zvezda module during the night of 28–29 March. |
The National Space Society salutes former astronaut and member of the NSS Board of Governors, John Glenn, Jr., on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight as the first American to orbit the Earth. On February 20, 1962 Glenn boarded his Mercury spacecraft – dubbed Friendship 7, honoring his fellow “Mercury Seven” astronauts – and rocketed into space, further opening the new frontier.
Soaring on the call of “Godspeed, John Glenn” from mission control, Glenn orbited the Earth three times over the course of the five-hour mission. The flight was not without its problems, however, as Glenn addressed issues with his control and re-entry systems, which led flight controllers to believe the capsule’s heat shield and landing bag had moved to an unlocked position. Rather than risk a catastrophic event, the controllers ordered Glenn to leave the capsule’s retrorocket pack in place, a decision that resulted in a dramatically fiery, yet successful, re-entry.
“A true American hero, Glenn ushered in American orbital spaceflight 50 years ago and brought the U.S. into the space age in earnest,” said NSS Executive Director Paul E. Damphousse. “His service to this nation reminds us of the bravery, determination, and excitement needed to achieve these ambitious goals – we hope his example will serve to further motivate our progress in space.”
Following his years with NASA, Glenn went on to serve four terms as a United States Senator from the state of Ohio. In 1998 at age 77 he became the oldest person to travel to space as he joined the crew of STS-95 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery for a nine-day mission, marking his second space flight.
“As a member of the NSS Board of Governors, we are proud to call John Glenn one of our own,” Damphousse said. “We expect to build upon his legacy as we advance our goals in space over the next 50 years.”
Feb. 16, 2012
WASHINGTON — Feb. 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the day in 1962 when U.S. Sen. John Glenn piloted his Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first U.S. orbital. In the next two weeks, NASA Television will broadcast a series of live events and special programming to commemorate 50 years of Americans in orbit, including the premiere of a new documentary and special interactive online features.
Here is a list of scheduled activities, all of which will be broadcast on NASA Television:
An interactive online feature about the Mercury program and Glenn’s flight is available on the agency’s Internet homepage at:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/glenn50/
For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
While falling short of the recommended levels needed for a “space program worthy of a great nation” as proposed by the Augustine Committee in 2009, the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2013 budget plan for NASA does spare the agency from significant overall cuts. The National Space Society (NSS), with its goals of creating a spacefaring civilization and of using the resources of space for the betterment of life on Earth, is guardedly optimistic about portions of the budget while calling for increased support for others.
“This budget for NASA reflects the realities we’re unfortunately now facing: ‘flat is the new up,’ and, while continuing to advocate for increased funding, we’ll have to work hard with what we have to achieve our goals,” said NSS Executive Director Paul E. Damphousse. “That being said, we will push the Administration, Congress, and NASA to meet these goals. The programs of record must come in on schedule and on budget; support for commercial spaceflight must be unwavering; and our Mars program, while undergoing restructuring, must still strive to make upcoming launch windows with relevant missions.”
NSS, as the nation’s preeminent voice on space, will continue its engagement with the nation’s leaders as this plan is debated in the coming months. In association with the Space Exploration Alliance, NSS will conduct a grassroots Legislative Blitz on Capitol Hill later this month with over 100 meetings scheduled with Members of Congress and their staffs. The Blitz allows NSS members to voice their support for our goals and to urge our elected officials to enact policies which will enable our sustainable future in space.
“The new budget and its impact on NSS’ long-term goals will feature prominently in our Legislative Blitz this year,” Damphousse said. “The Blitz, as well as our recently released space development position paper, are just two examples of how NSS is fighting for our future in space.”
More information and ways to register for the upcoming Legislative Blitz can be found on the NSS home page at www.nss.org. The position paper can be found here: The Development of Space: Opportunities to Improve Life on Earth.
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The European Space Agency’s Edoardo Amaldi mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for 1000 UTC on 9 March 2012. It is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 0138 UTC on 19 March, and stay attached until the end of August, when it will detach and de-orbit with tons of garbage and burn up in the atmosphere. This is the third mission by ESA to the ISS and will carry almost six tons of cargo:
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This striking “Blue Marble” image of the Earth was taken January 4th by NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP). The satellite was named after the late Verner E. Suomi, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin who is recognized widely as “the father of satellite meteorology.” The image was taken by the largest of the satellite’s instruments, the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). This composite image was created using a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface over the course of four orbits. More information.
