SPACE - random thread about space stuff

[stessier]

Well there is your problem.

11:45am UK (6:45am ET), October 20: According to the ESA, it appears that the Schiaparelli lander jettisoned its parachute earlier than expected, and that the retrorockets that were meant to fire for about 30 seconds to slow the craft's descent only fired for three or four seconds. After the thrusters cut off, Schiaparelli continued to beam back telemetry data for 19 seconds. The likely scenario is that the probe crash landed at high speed, but investigations are ongoing.

[Isgrimnur]

Mars is hard.

[Holman]

Mars is hard.

...but it's harder if you're Soviet.

[Isgrimnur]

Mars is hard.

...but it's harder if you're Soviet.

I found Kraken's alt!

[The Meal]

[Max Peck]

I'd've expected the Europeans to have a leg up, what without the need to convert to/from SI units.

[stessier]

All the problems seem time related. Perhaps part used GMT and part did not?

[raydude]

All the problems seem time related. Perhaps part used GMT and part did not?

Interplanetary spacecraft use an internal oscillator to function as their on-board clock. All instruments and spacecraft subsystems are commanded and referenced to that clock in units of 'spacecraft clock time'. It's only on Earth that we convert that s/c time to units like GMT or some other time reference for human readability. All commands going up to the spacecraft are tagged in units of spacecraft clock time as well.

It could still be a timing issue in that the descent was supposed to be regulated by a radar altimeter, which measures distance from the surface and lander velocity by measuring the time between the pulse sent out and pulse returned. But since there should only be one spacecraft clock I would expect that any timing anomalies should have shown up during the cruise phase to Mars.

[stessier]

'Twas a joke, but thanks for the info. Interesting.

[Max Peck]

Beagle 2 'was so close to Mars success'

Beagle 2, the failed British mission to Mars in 2003, came "excruciatingly close" to succeeding, a study shows.

A new analysis of pictures of the Beagle 2 spacecraft shows that it did not crash-land on the Martian surface.

Instead, it indicates that the landing went to plan and at least three of its four solar panels opened successfully.

The analysis also suggests that the probe may even have worked for several months, but was unable to send its data back to Earth.

Prof Mark Sims of Leicester University, who commissioned the study, told BBC News that there is an extremely small possibility that Beagle 2 might still be working on the Martian surface.

"It may have worked for hundreds of days depending on how much dust was deposited on the solar panels and whether any dust devils were cleaning the panels - as happened with Nasa's Mars Exploration Rovers," he said.

"One possibility is that it could still be working today - but it is extremely unlikely and I doubt that it is."

[Daehawk]

Was this the one where there was a mix up between metric and imperial measurements?

[Max Peck]

Was this the one where there was a mix up between metric and imperial measurements?

No, that was the NASA Mars Climate Orbiter.

[DD*]

Random web searching found me this interesting article about why we'll never build a space elevator from Earth - but might from the moon. Thought it was an interesting read...

[Max Peck]

<insert tired 2016 meme here>

Vera Rubin, pioneering astronomer, dies at 88

Astronomer Vera Rubin, whose pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates led to the theory of dark matter, has died at the age of 88, her son says.

Allan Rubin said she died on Sunday of natural causes, AP reported. She was living in Princeton, New Jersey.

Her studies earned her numerous honours, including being the second female astronomer to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.

But many questioned why she was never awarded a Nobel Prize.

In 1974, Rubin discovered that the stars at the edges of galaxies moved faster than expected.

Gravity calculations using only visible matter in galaxies showed that the outer stars should have been moving more slowly.

To reconcile her observations with the law of gravity, scientists proposed there was matter we cannot see and called it dark matter.

Dark matter is an unidentified type of matter comprising approximately 27% of the mass and energy in the observable universe.

[Jeff V]

Random web searching found me this interesting article about why we'll never build a space elevator from Earth - but might from the moon. Thought it was an interesting read...

I knew the breadcrumbs in that article would dredge up a name from ancient history. Professor Gerard O'Neill (who had some involvement with the founding of the L3 Society) wrote about this back in the 70's and 80's. I saw him lecture in 1978 on the construction of space colonies...it's nice to see his work is still be carried on. He thought a space elevator might be a means to get materials from earth into space (he also suggested reusable aircraft, such as the Space Shuttle, could serve). Additionally, he thought mass drivers could fling raw materials mined on the moon the the construction site of the space colony.

[Kraken]

Random web searching found me this interesting article about why we'll never build a space elevator from Earth - but might from the moon. Thought it was an interesting read...

I knew the breadcrumbs in that article would dredge up a name from ancient history. Professor Gerard O'Neill (who had some involvement with the founding of the L3 Society) wrote about this back in the 70's and 80's. I saw him lecture in 1978 on the construction of space colonies...it's nice to see his work is still be carried on. He thought a space elevator might be a means to get materials from earth into space (he also suggested reusable aircraft, such as the Space Shuttle, could serve). Additionally, he thought mass drivers could fling raw materials mined on the moon the the construction site of the space colony.

Mass drivers seem like a much more practical solution for lunar launching, if only for maintenance reasons. It's much easier to tend to something on the surface...and if the ISS has taught us anything, it's that maintenance is constantly required.

Space elevators are a nifty idea, and likely to remain so. But I won't say "never"; who knows what materials we'll invent in the next 100 years? 'Course, one hopes that we'll develop a more efficient alternative to chemical rockets by then too.

[DD*]

Random web searching found me this interesting article about why we'll never build a space elevator from Earth - but might from the moon. Thought it was an interesting read...

I knew the breadcrumbs in that article would dredge up a name from ancient history. Professor Gerard O'Neill (who had some involvement with the founding of the L3 Society) wrote about this back in the 70's and 80's. I saw him lecture in 1978 on the construction of space colonies...it's nice to see his work is still be carried on. He thought a space elevator might be a means to get materials from earth into space (he also suggested reusable aircraft, such as the Space Shuttle, could serve). Additionally, he thought mass drivers could fling raw materials mined on the moon the the construction site of the space colony.

And we are closer to mass drivers with the adoption of electromagnetic catapults to launch planes from the new Gerald Ford CVNs - just supersize that puppy!

[Holman]

Proxima Centauri b is 4 light years away, Earth-sized, rocky, and orbits in the Goldilocks zone.

Let's call them and see if they're home!

[LordMortis]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/weather/t ... ards-earth

They're coming from "the dark objects" to take our toys.

One little turn from a mere 32 million miles away. That's all it takes. Although if KSP has taught me anything, they should start changing their orientation now.

[DD*]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/weather/t ... ards-earth

They're coming from "the dark objects" to take our toys.

One little turn from a mere 32 million miles away. That's all it takes. Although if KSP has taught me anything, they should start changing their orientation now.

Just don't start shooting the pylons, that'll wake that sucker up for sure and then we have real problems!

[Daehawk]

Be ready in 2022 to see a Blue Nova explosion in the night sky. Its name is KIC 9832227 and it is predicted to be as bright if not brighter than the North Star. A binary star systems suns are going to collide and explode. Or well they did do that 1800 years ago but we'll finally see it happen. Its like looking back in time.

[Daehawk]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/us/saturn ... index.html

Saturn's moon Tethys is the Death Star.

[The Meal]

Meh, Mimas is the true Death Star.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

That's no moon!



Oh wait, yes it is.

[Isgrimnur]

ars

In recent years, the Russian space program has had a series of problems with its flagship rockets, the heavy-lift Proton booster and the smaller Soyuz rocket used to launch crews and cargo to the International Space Station. The Proton rocket has been grounded since last summer, and the Soyuz has not flown since December, when its third stage engine failed and a Progress cargo spacecraft was lost.

Most of these problems have been traced to engines that power the second and third stages of the Proton and Soyuz rockets. The majority of these engines are built at the Voronezh Manufacturing Plant in southwestern Russia, near the Ukrainian border. Russian Space Web reports that Ivan Koptev, director general of the engine manufacturing facility, has resigned.

According to the news reports, the final straw may have come after recent tests of engines to be used by future second and third stages of the Proton rocket that resulted in more failures. "The failure of the engine was reportedly traced to illegal replacement of precious heat-resistant alloys within the engine's components with less expensive but failure-prone materials," Zak writes. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has already recalled some of the engines to be used in the upper stage of its Soyuz rockets, and now it is also recalling dozens of Proton upper stage engines. The next Proton launch could be delayed into this summer.
...
For now, Russia's next Progress launch is scheduled for a launch no earlier than March 1, according to Russian officials. That will have to occur before the next crew launch, of cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA's Jack Fischer, which may well slip past March. A source told Ars the launch date for Yurchikhin and Fischer should be firmed up in the "next week or two."

It's also worth noting that the Voronezh manufacturing facility is distinct from the NPO Energomash, which manufactures the more powerful first-stage engines for many of Russia's rockets. This facility also builds the RD-180 engines used by the Atlas V rocket, the workhorse for the United Launch Alliance. There is no indication of problems with these engines.

[Daehawk]

So is this just theft and embezzling or is it outright sabotage?

[Lassr]

MAF (Michoud Assembly Facility) was hit by a tornado today. MSFC manages the facility and they build parts for Orion and SLS. A lot of damage. All I know now.

Damage: https://youtu.be/iTyfwGLNUkc

Tornado: https://youtu.be/6SmcQIcPvtQ

[Daehawk]

Triple threat / treat Friday

Full moon, penumbra eclipse, comet...all on one night. Fun. A dark moon....a full dark moon is what I call it. Should be neat.

[The Meal]

Penumbral eclipses are less fun than full-blown lunar eclipses, but they all take on a life (and color) of their own. This one will be low-to-the sky for North Americans (which is more fun for moony stuff, especially photography) and occurs in the early evening (which is convenient).

Eclipses always occur at full moons, so that's not much for the triple threat.

I don't know a thing about the comet (other than it's out there, and it's a late-nighter). If it's a strong visible-eye comet then yowza! as those are fun. If it's a bino/telescope comet then zzzzz. If it's right on the verge of being a visible-eye comet, then that's cool I suppose. More to see if you can find yourself a dark sky for your viewing pleasure.

[Holman]

MAF (Michoud Assembly Facility) was hit by a tornado today. MSFC manages the facility and they build parts for Orion and SLS. A lot of damage. All I know now.

Damage: https://youtu.be/iTyfwGLNUkc

Tornado: https://youtu.be/6SmcQIcPvtQ

That's awful.

Any more assessment?

[Lassr]

All the SLS and Orion hardware was untouched. Just a lot of structural damage to many buildings. One, which I am sure is the one in the video above, is half destroyed.

I heard one of the buildings was the NASA Financial Center. A lot of NASA's payroll and vendor invoice payments were consolidated there, so not sure if that was the building hit or not.

[Lassr]

From our Center Director

While several buildings and 200 cars were damaged, hardware for NASA’s heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, and Orion spacecraft is secure, and no damage from the storm has been identified to hardware or the barge Pegasus docked at Michoud.

Approximately 40-50% of the buildings at Michoud have some kind of damage; about five buildings have some form of severe damage. The most extensive damage is to Building 350, where the USDA National Finance Center is the tenant.

Power was restored to a Michoud Assembly Facility substation last night, and the team will work in a methodical way beginning today to bring the power back online to the individual buildings and facilities. Teams today are working to restore power to Buildings 320, the main NASA administration building, and 207, the boiler house, and the U.S. Coast Guard facilities. Meanwhile, the team has prioritized completing the assessment of damage at Building 103 so we can restore environmental controls as quickly as possible for the manufacturing there of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.

[Holman]

Could be worse, but yuck.

[Isgrimnur]

Glad to hear it wasn't worse.

[Max Peck]

American satellites outsourced to India.

India successfully launched 104 satellites in a single mission on Wednesday, setting what its space agency says is a world record of launching the most satellites at one go.

Of the 104, 101 are foreign satellites to serve international customers as the South Asian nation seeks a bigger share of the $300 billion global space industry.

[...]

The launch of PSLV-C37 in a single payload, including the Cartosat-2 series and 103 co-passenger satellites, together weighed over 650 kg (1,433 lb)

Out of 101 nano satellites, 96 were from the United States and one each from Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

[Paingod]

American satellites outsourced to India.

Tech support's going to be a bitch.

[Isgrimnur]

American satellites outsourced to India.

Tech support's going to be a bitch.

No, I can't see the back of the satellite!

[malchior]

Major announcement today scheduled by NASA.

It isn't clear what they are going to announce - perhaps more planets - but some people are talking that they may have found a planet with an oxygen atmosphere. That'd possibly imply a biosphere - so there is a lot of buzz around this news with a Reddit AMA scheduled as well.

[Kraken]

Major announcement today scheduled by NASA.

It isn't clear what they are going to announce - perhaps more planets - but some people are talking that they may have found a planet with an oxygen atmosphere. That'd possibly imply a biosphere - so there is a lot of buzz around this news with a Reddit AMA scheduled as well.

I find NASA's recent practice of announcing that they're going to announce something irksome, and I wonder if it's counterproductive as well. It drums up expectations that are usually deflated (life on Mars! Earth 2.0! SETI signals!), at least among the general public. Probably does gin up press coverage, though.

That said, I'm definitely curious.

[Max Peck]

Star's seven Earth-sized worlds set record

Astronomers have detected a record seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star.

The researchers say that all seven could potentially support liquid water on the surface, depending on the other properties of those planets.

However, three of these worlds are within the traditional "habitable" zone where life is considered a possibility.

The compact system of exoplanets orbits Trappist-1, a low-mass, cool star located 40 light-years away.

The planets were detected using Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope and several ground-based observatories are described in the journal Nature.