Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
Tag: ISS
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Sarah Brightman’s visit to ISS in doubt.
Sarah Brightman’s visit to ISS in doubt.
Soyuz taxi flights normally visit the International Space Station for a period of about eight days. NASA and Roscosmos are considering extending a 2015 visit to one month, however. If that happens, Brightman would have to give up her seat to a scientific researcher, who would perform some short-term experiments aboard the space station.
Roscosmos manned space flight director Alexei Krasnov had previously indicated that Russia might consider carrying two paying customers on the 2015 taxi flight. So, it would be theoretically possible for Russia to fly Brightman and the researcher. It’s unknown whether Brightman would want to spend that long aboard the space station, however, and pricing policy to longer-duration stays have not been worked out.
Sarah Brightman’s visit to ISS in doubt.
Soyuz taxi flights normally visit the International Space Station for a period of about eight days. NASA and Roscosmos are considering extending a 2015 visit to one month, however. If that happens, Brightman would have to give up her seat to a scientific researcher, who would perform some short-term experiments aboard the space station.
Roscosmos manned space flight director Alexei Krasnov had previously indicated that Russia might consider carrying two paying customers on the 2015 taxi flight. So, it would be theoretically possible for Russia to fly Brightman and the researcher. It’s unknown whether Brightman would want to spend that long aboard the space station, however, and pricing policy to longer-duration stays have not been worked out.
The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
Dragon has been successfully berthed with ISS.
Dragon has successfully berthed with ISS.
The naysayers will focus on the thruster problems on Friday. The yaysayers will focus on the fix and berthing today. The bottom line, however, is that this mission once again proves that SpaceX is a real player in the space business. Every other company has to match its achievements, most especially in price. The result will be the eventually lowering in the cost to low Earth orbit, which will then make all things possible.
And in fact, we are already seeing this, with the appearance of many new private companies or organizations, proposing all sorts of new space efforts, such as mining asteroids or sending people to Mars. The lower cost allows dreamers to consider their wild new ideas more doable. And they then go ahead and try to do it.
Dragon has successfully berthed with ISS.
The naysayers will focus on the thruster problems on Friday. The yaysayers will focus on the fix and berthing today. The bottom line, however, is that this mission once again proves that SpaceX is a real player in the space business. Every other company has to match its achievements, most especially in price. The result will be the eventually lowering in the cost to low Earth orbit, which will then make all things possible.
And in fact, we are already seeing this, with the appearance of many new private companies or organizations, proposing all sorts of new space efforts, such as mining asteroids or sending people to Mars. The lower cost allows dreamers to consider their wild new ideas more doable. And they then go ahead and try to do it.
After reviwing the results from the Antares hot fire on February 22, Orbital Sciences is now planning the first launch of the Antares rocket in April.
The competition heats up: After reviewing the results from the Antares hot fire on February 22, Orbital Sciences is now planning the first launch of the Antares rocket in April.
The competition heats up: After reviewing the results from the Antares hot fire on February 22, Orbital Sciences is now planning the first launch of the Antares rocket in April.
SpaceX has been given the go-ahead to have the Dragon capsule rendezvous with ISS on Sunday.
SpaceX has been given the go-ahead to have the Dragon capsule rendezvous with ISS on Sunday.
SpaceX has been given the go-ahead to have the Dragon capsule rendezvous with ISS on Sunday.
SpaceX has announced that they now have all of Dragon’s thrusters operating and are go for docking with ISS.
SpaceX has announced that they now have all of Dragon’s thrusters operating and are go for docking with ISS.
They have not announced when the docking will occur, but with the solar panels operating the capsule can function in orbit for a considerable time, giving them breathing room. And time will be necessary as both NASA and the Russians are nervous about letting any spacecraft approach ISS and will want a good number of tests to make sure all is well. The Russians are especially nervous, since they had the unfortunate experience of several collisions when they operated their space station Mir.
SpaceX has announced that they now have all of Dragon’s thrusters operating and are go for docking with ISS.
They have not announced when the docking will occur, but with the solar panels operating the capsule can function in orbit for a considerable time, giving them breathing room. And time will be necessary as both NASA and the Russians are nervous about letting any spacecraft approach ISS and will want a good number of tests to make sure all is well. The Russians are especially nervous, since they had the unfortunate experience of several collisions when they operated their space station Mir.
Dragon’s docking with ISS will not happen on Saturday as originally scheduled due to the problems with the capsule’s thrusters.
Dragon’s docking with ISS will not happen on Saturday as originally scheduled due to the problems with the capsule’s thrusters.
Dragon’s docking with ISS will not happen on Saturday as originally scheduled due to the problems with the capsule’s thrusters.
After a three hour outage NASA has regained communications with ISS.
After a three hour outage NASA has regained communications with ISS.
After a three hour outage NASA has regained communications with ISS.
NASA mission control in Houston has lost all communications with ISS.
NASA mission control in Houston has lost all communications with ISS.
Communications are still possible each orbit for short periods with Moscow.
NASA mission control in Houston has lost all communications with ISS.
Communications are still possible each orbit for short periods with Moscow.
The next flight of Dragon to ISS has been set for March 1.
The next flight of Dragon to ISS has been set for March 1.
The next flight of Dragon to ISS has been set for March 1.
A Russian Progress freighter successfully docked with ISS yesterday only six hours after launch.
A Russian Progress freighter successfully docked with ISS yesterday only six hours after launch.
A Russian Progress freighter successfully docked with ISS yesterday only six hours after launch.
The robotic refueling demo on ISS successfully did a simulated refueling on Friday.
The robotic refueling demo on ISS successfully did a simulated refueling of a satellite on Friday.
The robotic refueling demo on ISS successfully did a simulated refueling of a satellite on Friday.
After a short delay due to software issues, the satellite servicing demo on ISS has begun.
After a short delay due to software issues, the satellite servicing demo on ISS has begun.
The actual refueling is scheduled to take place late Thursday.
After a short delay due to software issues, the satellite servicing demo on ISS has begun.
The actual refueling is scheduled to take place late Thursday.
Orbital Sciences has published an updated schedule for its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has published an updated schedule for its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule.
Key dates:
February: Hotfire test of the Antares first stage.
March: First test flight of Antares.
May/June: First test flight of Cygnus, on Antares, docking with ISS.
Third quarter 2013: First operational flight of Cygnus to ISS.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has published an updated schedule for its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule.
Key dates:
February: Hotfire test of the Antares first stage.
March: First test flight of Antares.
May/June: First test flight of Cygnus, on Antares, docking with ISS.
Third quarter 2013: First operational flight of Cygnus to ISS.
A software issue has forced a delay in the robot refueling experiment on ISS.
A software issue has forced a delay in the robot refueling experiment on ISS.
A software issue has forced a delay in the robot refueling experiment on ISS.
Some more details have been revealed about Bigelow’s deal with NASA to send one of its modules to ISS.
Some more details have been revealed about Bigelow’s deal with NASA to send one of its modules to ISS.
This is apparently going to be another test of a smaller prototype, similar to Bigelow’s Genesis I and Genesis II modules already in orbit, but this time docked to a manned station.
What is interesting however about this article above is that reveals the names of the seven countries that have signed an agreement with Bigelow for future use of the company’s orbiting stations:
In another interesting development, Bigelow has named the seven sovereign customers who’ve expressed interest in leasing space aboard a future Bigelow commercial space station. Bigelow has preliminary agreements with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden and the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, according to Reuters. According to another report by Leonard David, Bigelow expects to have two BA 330 modules ready for construction of Space Station Alpha by late 2016. The Bigelow 330 is a much larger module, weighing 43,000 pounds with a diameter of 22 feet and length of 31 feet.
Bigelow Aerospace previously announced that it plans to charge sovereign customers $23 million for a 30-day stay aboard a Bigelow space station. That price includes space transportation, astronaut training, and consumables.
Some more details have been revealed about Bigelow’s deal with NASA to send one of its modules to ISS.
This is apparently going to be another test of a smaller prototype, similar to Bigelow’s Genesis I and Genesis II modules already in orbit, but this time docked to a manned station.
What is interesting however about this article above is that reveals the names of the seven countries that have signed an agreement with Bigelow for future use of the company’s orbiting stations:
In another interesting development, Bigelow has named the seven sovereign customers who’ve expressed interest in leasing space aboard a future Bigelow commercial space station. Bigelow has preliminary agreements with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden and the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, according to Reuters. According to another report by Leonard David, Bigelow expects to have two BA 330 modules ready for construction of Space Station Alpha by late 2016. The Bigelow 330 is a much larger module, weighing 43,000 pounds with a diameter of 22 feet and length of 31 feet.
Bigelow Aerospace previously announced that it plans to charge sovereign customers $23 million for a 30-day stay aboard a Bigelow space station. That price includes space transportation, astronaut training, and consumables.
How the Bigelow module added to ISS will change the space equation.
How the Bigelow module added to ISS will change the space equation.
Looking a bit further down the road, the potential launch of a Bigelow BEAM module, particularly if it takes place on a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster could be a harbinger of much greater things to come. As Mars visionary Robert Zubrin and many others have observed, the addition of an inflatable module similar to that being considered for the station, to the SpaceX Dragon 2.0 capsule greatly increases the available space and capability of a future Dragon to serve both as a Mars transfer vehicle, and / or surface habitat. Add in the introduction of Falcon Heavy, and the pieces for an alternate vision of far more affordable (and timely) inner system exploration begin to fall into place.
Stewart Money has it exactly right. I have never accepted the claim that Orion was the only spacecraft being built that would be capable of going beyond low earth orbit. Add the right components to any manned vehicle, and you have an interplanetary spaceship.
The trick of course is adding the right components. For both Orion and Dragon, the present assumptions are much too nonchalant about what those components are. For humans to prosper on an interplanetary mission, the vessel requires a lot more than a mere capsule and single module.
How the Bigelow module added to ISS will change the space equation.
Looking a bit further down the road, the potential launch of a Bigelow BEAM module, particularly if it takes place on a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster could be a harbinger of much greater things to come. As Mars visionary Robert Zubrin and many others have observed, the addition of an inflatable module similar to that being considered for the station, to the SpaceX Dragon 2.0 capsule greatly increases the available space and capability of a future Dragon to serve both as a Mars transfer vehicle, and / or surface habitat. Add in the introduction of Falcon Heavy, and the pieces for an alternate vision of far more affordable (and timely) inner system exploration begin to fall into place.
Stewart Money has it exactly right. I have never accepted the claim that Orion was the only spacecraft being built that would be capable of going beyond low earth orbit. Add the right components to any manned vehicle, and you have an interplanetary spaceship.
The trick of course is adding the right components. For both Orion and Dragon, the present assumptions are much too nonchalant about what those components are. For humans to prosper on an interplanetary mission, the vessel requires a lot more than a mere capsule and single module.
The demo mission of robotic refueling of satellites on ISS goes forward this month.
Robot refueling of satellites: The demo mission on ISS goes forward this month.
As much as I celebrate this work, conceived and designed by engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center (the same people who ran the missions that maintained the Hubble Space Telescope), I worry that nothing will come of it. The demo mission itself is designed to duplicate exactly the refueling of several climate satellites already in orbit whose lifespans are ending merely because they are running out of fuel. If the ISS demo succeeds, the next natural step would be to plan an actual robotic mission to refuel these satellites.
The worrisome part is that NASA rarely follows through on this kind of research. For example, the agency did tests of an ion engine back in the early 1970s, and it wasn’t until the late 1990s before they finally flew a mission using that technology. Worse, the federal budget situation probably means there is no money to fly such a mission.
Hopefully, some private company will take a look at this engineering, which is all in the public domain, and decide to use it for their own purposes.
Robot refueling of satellites: The demo mission on ISS goes forward this month.
As much as I celebrate this work, conceived and designed by engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center (the same people who ran the missions that maintained the Hubble Space Telescope), I worry that nothing will come of it. The demo mission itself is designed to duplicate exactly the refueling of several climate satellites already in orbit whose lifespans are ending merely because they are running out of fuel. If the ISS demo succeeds, the next natural step would be to plan an actual robotic mission to refuel these satellites.
The worrisome part is that NASA rarely follows through on this kind of research. For example, the agency did tests of an ion engine back in the early 1970s, and it wasn’t until the late 1990s before they finally flew a mission using that technology. Worse, the federal budget situation probably means there is no money to fly such a mission.
Hopefully, some private company will take a look at this engineering, which is all in the public domain, and decide to use it for their own purposes.
The coming of private space stations
Bigelow and NASA have signed a contract for doing preliminary work on the construction of a Bigelow module for ISS.
This is a significant story, with important ramifications:
» Read more
Orbital Sciences will do a hot fire launchpad test of its Antares rocket in January, followed by a test launch to orbit in February, and a first flight of the Cygnus capsule in April.
Schedule update: Orbital Sciences will do a hot fire launchpad test of its Antares rocket in January, followed by a test launch to orbit in February, and a first flight of the Cygnus capsule in April.
Schedule update: Orbital Sciences will do a hot fire launchpad test of its Antares rocket in January, followed by a test launch to orbit in February, and a first flight of the Cygnus capsule in April.
The Soyuz capsule with ISS’s new crew of three astronauts has successfully docked with the station.
The Soyuz capsule with ISS’s new crew of three astronauts has successfully docked with the station.
The Soyuz capsule with ISS’s new crew of three astronauts has successfully docked with the station.
Russia today successfully launched a new three man crew toward ISS.
Russia today successfully launched a new three man crew toward ISS.
Russia today successfully launched a new three man crew toward ISS.
One small dish for man
NASA used Orbital Sciences’ Taurus 2 rocket for the failed launch of its Glory climate satellite in 2011, even though the agency knew the company had not fixed the problem that caused the loss of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009.
NASA used Orbital Sciences’ Taurus XL rocket for the failed launch of its Glory climate satellite in 2011, even though the agency knew the company had not fixed the problem that caused the loss of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009.
The investigators believed there was as much as a 50% chance the faulty component — a fairing separation system for ejecting the protective shroud that covered the satellite during launch — would fail again. Sadly, it did, destroying Glory. More significant for the future, however is this:
Other Orbital vehicles, including the air-launched Pegasus and a new Antares rocket, use a version of the same fairing separation system that is most likely responsible for the combined $700 million loss of two key climate-study satellites. Orbital’s original name for Antares was Taurus II.
So far, NASA has not accepted the Antares shroud-separation configuration for operational flights. Dulles, Va.-based Orbital says it has made a number of changes to its frangible joint fairing separation system in the wake of the Glory launch failure, including modifications to the frangible rail used on Antares. The company is developing that rocket under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to carry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).
If NASA isn’t satisfied with Orbital’s design changes to this system, it could significantly delay the launch of Cygnus and Antares to ISS.
Update: I had mistakenly referred to the Taurus 2 in the first sentence when the rocket used to launch Glory and OCO was the Taurus XL. This is now corrected.
NASA used Orbital Sciences’ Taurus XL rocket for the failed launch of its Glory climate satellite in 2011, even though the agency knew the company had not fixed the problem that caused the loss of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009.
The investigators believed there was as much as a 50% chance the faulty component — a fairing separation system for ejecting the protective shroud that covered the satellite during launch — would fail again. Sadly, it did, destroying Glory. More significant for the future, however is this:
Other Orbital vehicles, including the air-launched Pegasus and a new Antares rocket, use a version of the same fairing separation system that is most likely responsible for the combined $700 million loss of two key climate-study satellites. Orbital’s original name for Antares was Taurus II.
So far, NASA has not accepted the Antares shroud-separation configuration for operational flights. Dulles, Va.-based Orbital says it has made a number of changes to its frangible joint fairing separation system in the wake of the Glory launch failure, including modifications to the frangible rail used on Antares. The company is developing that rocket under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to carry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).
If NASA isn’t satisfied with Orbital’s design changes to this system, it could significantly delay the launch of Cygnus and Antares to ISS.
Update: I had mistakenly referred to the Taurus 2 in the first sentence when the rocket used to launch Glory and OCO was the Taurus XL. This is now corrected.
SpaceX has pinpointed the cause of the Falcon 9 engine shutdown during its October 7 Dragon launch.
SpaceX has pinpointed the cause of the Falcon 9 engine shutdown during its October 7 Dragon launch.
At the moment, however, they are not telling anyone what that cause is. They are telling us that the next Dragon launch is going to happen in late February or early March, which is slightly earlier than previous reports.
SpaceX has pinpointed the cause of the Falcon 9 engine shutdown during its October 7 Dragon launch.
At the moment, however, they are not telling anyone what that cause is. They are telling us that the next Dragon launch is going to happen in late February or early March, which is slightly earlier than previous reports.
Russia and the U.S. have named the two astronauts who will spend a year in space beginning in 2015.
Real progress: Russia and the U.S. have named the two astronauts who will spend a year in space beginning in 2015.
This mission will also make room for a Russian tourist flight during that same time period.
Real progress: Russia and the U.S. have named the two astronauts who will spend a year in space beginning in 2015.
This mission will also make room for a Russian tourist flight during that same time period.
Sources in Russia indicated that the contract for Sarah Brightman’s space tourist flight has not yet been signed.
Sources in Russia indicated today that the contract for Sarah Brightman’s space tourist flight has not yet been signed.
Brightman will have turned 55 by that time, which means she will become one of the 20 oldest cosmonauts of the world, among which there is now only one woman (Barbara Morgan, which made a shuttle flight in 2007). “It is not known how the next three years, which the singer will spend in permanent travel around the world, will affect her health,” the source said. It is most likely that only Russian cosmonauts will take part in the 2015 ISS mission, who will take all three spaces in the Soyuz, he said.
The story focuses on the publicity gained for Brightman by making her announcement, but the actual scoop, assuming the source is correct, is that she doesn’t have a contract.
Sources in Russia indicated today that the contract for Sarah Brightman’s space tourist flight has not yet been signed.
Brightman will have turned 55 by that time, which means she will become one of the 20 oldest cosmonauts of the world, among which there is now only one woman (Barbara Morgan, which made a shuttle flight in 2007). “It is not known how the next three years, which the singer will spend in permanent travel around the world, will affect her health,” the source said. It is most likely that only Russian cosmonauts will take part in the 2015 ISS mission, who will take all three spaces in the Soyuz, he said.
The story focuses on the publicity gained for Brightman by making her announcement, but the actual scoop, assuming the source is correct, is that she doesn’t have a contract.
“Long-term budget pressures on NASA mount.”
Why SLS will surely die: “Long-term budget pressures on NASA mount.”
Whether the cheaper, more efficient, and competitive commercial space program will survive remains unknown. It could be that our brilliant Congress, which wants SLS, will keep that very expensive program alive just long enough to choke the life out of the commercial space program. Then, with the government part of private space dead from lack of support, they will suddenly be faced with the gigantic bill from the NASA-built SLS and will, as they have done repeatedly during the past four decades, blanch at paying the actually construction and launch costs, and will kill that too.
Why SLS will surely die: “Long-term budget pressures on NASA mount.”
Whether the cheaper, more efficient, and competitive commercial space program will survive remains unknown. It could be that our brilliant Congress, which wants SLS, will keep that very expensive program alive just long enough to choke the life out of the commercial space program. Then, with the government part of private space dead from lack of support, they will suddenly be faced with the gigantic bill from the NASA-built SLS and will, as they have done repeatedly during the past four decades, blanch at paying the actually construction and launch costs, and will kill that too.