More on the the premature engine cut off during the attempt to boost ISS’s orbit earlier this week.
More information on the the premature engine cut off during the attempt to boost ISS’s orbit earlier this week.
Tag: spaceflight
The Russians have pinpointed the cause
The Russians have pinpointed the cause for the August 6 Proton rocket launch failure to a problem during production of the upper stage.
In related news, the head of the space firm that made the rocket has resigned.
A routine engine firing to raise the orbit of the International Space Station failed to come off today.
A routine engine firing to raise the orbit of the International Space Station failed to come off today.
Though it appears the engines on the European ATV cargo craft did not fire as scheduled, the report is very vague and does not make clear what actually happened. Stay tuned.
A test flight of an Air Force hypersonic aircraft failed yesterday when it went out of control before its experimental scramjet engine could be started
A test flight of an Air Force hypersonic aircraft failed yesterday when it went out of control before its experimental scramjet engine could be started.
Though failures during engineering tests are not really failures, as the goal is to find out if the engineering works or doesn’t, this particular failure is a bit more like a real failure. They never got to test the scramjet engine, which was the point of the entire flight. Instead, they had a failure of a control fin on the aircraft, and it appears that this fin was “faulty.” Not a good sign, especially as the previous flight in June 2011 also failed prematurely.
The test of Coperhagen Suborbital’s capsule launch abort system failed spectacularly on Sunday.
The test of Coperhagen Suborbital’s capsule launch abort system failed spectacularly on Sunday. With pictures.
“We had perfect launch, but quickly the entire configuration began to tumble,” said Kristian von Bengtson, co-founder of Copenhagen Suborbitals. “The main chutes clearly did not have complete deployment and the capsule hit water in high speed, buckling the bottom shield.”
An update on Dawn’s reaction wheel failure.
An update on Dawn’s reaction wheel failure.
Essentially, this will delay the journey to Ceres for about nine days. The spacecraft is left with two working reaction wheels, with which it can complete all its science work. However, if they cannot get the failed wheel working again, Dawn will be left with no backup should another wheel fail.
First video from Curiosity – Life on Mars?
An evening pause: Breaking news! The first video beamed back from Curiosity!
One of Dawn’s reaction wheels, used to orient the spacecraft, shut down last week.
Uh-oh: One of Dawn’s reaction wheels, used to orient the spacecraft, shut down last week.
During a planned communications pass on Aug. 9, the team learned that the reaction wheel had been powered off. Telemetry data from the spacecraft suggest the wheel developed excessive friction, similar to the experience with another Dawn reaction wheel in June 2010. The Dawn team demonstrated during the cruise to Vesta in 2011 that, if necessary, they could complete the cruise to Ceres without the use of reaction wheels.
That the spacecraft can get to Ceres without reaction wheels is good. However, can it be oriented precisely to do science without these wheels? The JPL press release does not say.
With its most recent glide test on Saturday it appears SpaceShipTwo has successfully fulfilled its glide engineering goals.
The competition heats up: With its most recent glide test on Saturday it appears SpaceShipTwo has successfully fulfilled its glide engineering goals. Hat tip Clark Lindsay at NewSpace Watch. To quote their flight summary:
With this latest round of six flights we have cleared the full glide-flight envelope for airspeed, angle-of-attack, CG, and structural loads!
Watch the first test flight live this weekend of Copenhagen Suborbitals manned capsule.
Watch the first test flight live this weekend of Copenhagen Suborbitals’ manned capsule launch abort system.
If all goes as planned, the Launch Escape System will rocket [the capsule dubbed Beautiful] Betty and Randy [the crash dummy] from a seafaring launch platform, loft them to a height between 2,620 and 3,280 feet and then splash down in the Baltic Sea. At that point self-inflating bags will emerge from Betty and right the floating spacecraft.
Dawn has begun its slow departure from Vesta in anticipation of its journey to the solar system’s largest asteroid, Ceres.
Dawn has begun its slow departure from Vesta in anticipation of its journey to the solar system’s largest asteroid, Ceres.
The departure was actually announced two weeks ago, but since this is a very slow process it isn’t like we have missed anything. Dawn’s ion engines are very efficient, but they work at a very leisurely pace. It will take a month for the engine’s thrusters to push Dawn out of its orbit around Vesta.
How Curiosity’s nuclear power plant works.
How Curiosity’s nuclear power plant works.
A privately built NASA unmanned lunar lander crashed during a test flight today in Florida.
A NASA unmanned lunar lander crashed during a test flight today in Florida. Video here.
The leading team in the Google Lunar X-Price contest last week successfully tested by remote control the astronomical telescope they intend to include with their lunar lander.
The leading team in the Google Lunar X-Price contest last week successfully tested by remote control the astronomical telescope they intend to include with their lunar lander.
[The Google Lunar X Prize] requires the participants to successfully land a lunar rover on the surface, drive it a minimum of 500 meters (about a third of a mile), and send back high definition video and imagery. Moon Express intends to land this first lunar lander near the Moon’s equator.
Moon Express is planning to send its first robotic lander to the Moon in late 2014. It will be launched atop either SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket or another commercial launch vehicle. It intends to fly ILOA’s shoebox-sized test telescope, called ILO-X, as part of its [X prize] entry. There are additional prizes available which might be won by an educational lunar telescope, such US$1 million prize for the entry which adds the most to diversity within space studies.
Curiosity views its surroundings.
Curiosity views its surroundings. More images here.
In another story, there is speculation that Curiosity’s first image actually captured the dust cloud produced when the spacecraft’s Sky Crane/rockets crashed after placing the rover on the ground and then flying away.
Compare this image, taken right after landing, with this image, taken later. The splotch on the horizon has disappeared.
One of the teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize has signed a launch contract with China.
The competition heats up: One of the teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize has signed a launch contract with China.
The first color image from Curiosity.
The first color image from Curiosity.
And from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, images (scroll down to Update II) showing all of Curiosity’s hardware scattered across the Martian surface. More here.
And here is a good overview of the possible directions Curiosity might roam in the coming days.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp. More here.
SpaceShipTwo has resumed glide tests.
The competition heats up: SpaceShipTwo has resumed glide tests.
Not only was there a test last week, one is expected today. The results will be posted here.
A Russian Proton rocket has failed to put two satellites into their proper orbit.
A Russian Proton rocket has failed to put two satellites into their proper orbit.
This failure of one of Russia’s more reliable rockets comes at a very bad time, as the competition with SpaceX and other competitors for commercial launches is right now heating up. As the article notes,
Moscow, which carries out 40 percent of global space launches, is struggling to restore confidence in its industry after a string of mishaps last year, including the failure of a mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos and the loss of a $265-million communications satellite. …
“The last failures to a certain extent undermine Russia’s position as a country that provides space launch services,” said industry expert Yuri Karash, a member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics.
Such mistakes strengthen Russia’s competitors, such as Europe’s Arian rockets, Karash said, describing Russia’s space industry, struggling to recover after a generation of brain drain and crimped budgets, as “not in the best condition by a long shot.”