February 7, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Why Europe might have backed off sending its astronauts to Tiangong-3
Eric Berger essentially repeats my initial one sentence analysis, just in more detail.
- JUICE ready for shipment to launchpad in French Guiana
If all goes as planned, this Jupiter orbiter will arrive at Jupiter in 2029.
- China’s space tracking ship heads to sea for 2023 launches
Jay thinks the the theme from “Love Boat” would be better background music for the video at the link.
- Progress freighter has undocked from Zvezda port, to be replaced by new Progress to be launched on February 9, 2023
Previously the Russians and NASA had said there would be no more dockings at Zvezda’s port to reduce the possibility of more stress fractures to the hull of that module. Apparently, they and NASA have changed their minds. It would be nice to know the reasoning behind that decision.
- Old Russian satellite breaks up in orbit, producing 85 pieces of space junk
The breakup was tracked by U.S. Space Defense Squadron, and occurred on January 4, 2023.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Why Europe might have backed off sending its astronauts to Tiangong-3
Eric Berger essentially repeats my initial one sentence analysis, just in more detail.
- JUICE ready for shipment to launchpad in French Guiana
If all goes as planned, this Jupiter orbiter will arrive at Jupiter in 2029.
- China’s space tracking ship heads to sea for 2023 launches
Jay thinks the the theme from “Love Boat” would be better background music for the video at the link.
- Progress freighter has undocked from Zvezda port, to be replaced by new Progress to be launched on February 9, 2023
Previously the Russians and NASA had said there would be no more dockings at Zvezda’s port to reduce the possibility of more stress fractures to the hull of that module. Apparently, they and NASA have changed their minds. It would be nice to know the reasoning behind that decision.
- Old Russian satellite breaks up in orbit, producing 85 pieces of space junk
The breakup was tracked by U.S. Space Defense Squadron, and occurred on January 4, 2023.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
What causes a satellite “break up” ?
Chris asked: “<emWhat causes a satellite 'break up' ?”
There are several possibilities. A satellite may break up on deployment if things go badly during the process. Since Kosmos 2499 was launched eight years ago, this is certainly not the cause.
Another reason is an out of control situation, such as a thruster sticking and the satellite spinning too fast for its structure to hold together. Since there are at least 85 pieces, I think this is also unlikely.
Another possibility is an overpressure event in a propellant tank, battery, or other part that may be able to rupture. Although I have little more knowledge other than the very short and uninformative announcement at the link, I suspect this to be the most likely cause.
This article gives another example of a decommissioned satellite breakup, a couple of years ago:
https://sputniknews.com/20210319/us-space-force-confirms-breakup-of-decommissioned-weather-satellite-noaa-17-1082390238.html
I worked on communication satellites that used nickel-hydrogen batteries, and they had to be carefully managed in order to assure that they did not overpressure and explode.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batteries_in_space
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_2499
If it were an experimental anti-satellite weapon, this may explain why it broke up. If it were a collector of space debris, then this breakup would be ironic.
Mars Observer was lost during or after a trajectory maneuver on its way to Mars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Observer
On January 4, 1994, an independent investigation board from the Naval Research Laboratory, announced their findings: the most probable cause in the loss of communication was a rupture of the fuel pressurization tank in the spacecraft’s propulsion system. It is believed that hypergolic fuel may have leaked past valves in the system during the cruise to Mars, allowing the fuel and oxidizer to combine prematurely before reaching the combustion chamber. The leaking fuel and gas probably resulted in a high spin rate, causing the spacecraft to enter into the “contingency mode”; this interrupted the stored command sequence and did not turn the transmitter on. The engine was derived from one belonging to an Earth orbital satellite and was not designed to lie dormant for months before being fired.
Although it is not known whether Mars Observer broke up, in my mind this is what happened from the presumed ruptured tank and possible external ignition.
Space is dangerous to work in, not just for people but for the hardware. Care must always be taken. A car crash on Earth can be cleaned up, but in space the parts are often around for a long time, posing a hazard to travel and navigation.
Thanks Edward
Not sure where else would be appropriate to offer this, but apparently, at the CST conference today, Gwynne Shotwell says that SpaceX is going to attempt a 33-engine Starship static fire tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1623391044464156674
Richard M: I have added this to today’s quick links, and given you a hat tip.
No acknowledgement was necessary – but thank you just the same, Bob!
BTW, Mary, aka Bocachicagal, has now confirmed that she has received an overpressure notice for tomorrow, which makes this even more real, I suppose. https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/status/1623483447791476736
Unexpected technical difficulties could force a cancellation. But it definitely appears that SpaceX is going to *attempt* a 33 engine static fire tomorrow.
P.S. A side note, but one other interesting item came out of Shotwell’s talk: She indicated that Starlink is now making money. “This year Starlink will make money. We actually had a cash flow positive quarter last year.” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/spacex-prepares-test-fire-all-starship-engines-at-once.html