Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the prospect of criminal prosecution for recent space failures
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has raised the idea of criminal prosecution for those responsible for his country’s recent space failures.
Tag: spaceflight
Curiousity has launched
Curiousity has successfully launched. More updates here.
SpaceX is expanding its Florida operations
More commercial space news; SpaceX is expanding its Florida operations in anticipation of a increased launch rate of Falcon 9 and Dragon capsules in the coming years.
Building Boeing’s CST-100 manned capsule, the smart way
Building Boeing’s CST-100 manned capsule, the smart way.
From pressure seals used on the international space station to rendezvous and docking sensors developed for the Pentagon’s Orbital Express experiment, Boeing is drawing heavily on heritage space and aviation programs for its proposed CST-100 commercial human spacecraft.
Cheaper also.
A preview of the new Mars unmanned rover Curiousity, set for launch on Saturday
A preview of the new Mars unmanned rover Curiousity, set for launch on Saturday. This is the part of its mission that scares me the most:
The final stages of the entry, descent and landing sequence will be especially tense as the rover, dubbed Curiosity in a student naming contest, is gently lowered to the surface on cables suspended from a rocket-powered “sky crane” making its debut flight. Too large to use airbags like those that cushioned NASA’s Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity rovers, Curiosity will rely instead on landing rockets positioned above the rover, avoiding the challenge of coming up with a reliable way to get a one-ton vehicle off of an elevated, possibly tilted lander. Instead, Curiosity will be set down on its six 20-inch-wide wheels, ready to roll.
If it works.
ESA tracking station loses contact with Phobos-Grunt
The ESA tracking station that had made contact with Phobos-Grunt earlier this week failed repeatedly yesterday to re-establish contact.
An update on the efforts to save Phobos-Grunt
An update on the efforts to save Phobos-Grunt.
“The first pass was successful in that the spacecraft’s radio downlink was commanded to switch on and telemetry was received,” said Wolfgang Hell, ESA’s Service Manager for Phobos–Grunt. Telemetry typically includes information on the status and health of a spacecraft’s systems. “The signals received from Phobos–Grunt were much stronger than those initially received on 22 November, in part due to having better knowledge of the spacecraft’s orbital position.”
The second pass was short, and so was used only to uplink commands – no receipt of signal was expected. However, the following three passes in the early morning of 24 November proved to be more difficult: no signal was received from Phobos–Grunt.
ESA antenna contacts Phobos-Grunt again, this time downloading telemetry data
An ESA tracking station has once again contacted Phobos-Grunt, this time downloading telemetry data.
“We have again established contact with the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, we obtained telemetry reports, they are being analyzed by our colleagues from the Lavochkin Research and Production Association,” ESA spokesman Rene Pischel said.
Training space tourists for their suborbital flight
Training space tourists for their suborbital flight.
In the NASTAR Center’s Observation Lounge, trainees can watch the centrifuge through a large window, as well as see a live video feed of its rider. Meanwhile, Henwood iterates the importance of the correct timing of breaths. “If you’re going to need it, you’re going to want to do it right.” Failing to begin the manoeuvre before the onset of the g’s can result in loss of consciousness.
“You’ll tell me when to breathe?” the first flier of the course says over the intercom to Greg Kennedy, NASTAR Center’s director of educational services and the monitor of participants’ in-flight safety.
“Yes,” Kennedy says. “Are you ready for your flight?”
An ESA tracking station in Australia has made contact with Phobos-Grunt
An ESA tracking station in Australia has made contact with Phobos-Grunt.
It appears that the chances of saving the spacecraft remain slim, though improved.
Debris from destroyed satellite may force ISS astronauts to take shelter
China attacks! Debris from a satellite that China destroyed in an anti-satellite test in 2007 may force ISS astronauts to take shelter tonight.
Russia is considering shifting its planetary research from Mars to the Moon, following the failure of Phobos-Grunt
Russia is considering shifting its planetary research from Mars to the Moon, following the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission to Mars.