SPACE - random thread about space stuff

[Zaxxon]

[Aliasbuck]

A view of tonight's Falcon 9 launch from the Cape

Nice! We were able to see it from Orlando. It turned out to be such a clear night that we could even see the stage one separation when it happened.

[raydude]

NASA Eyes on asteroids. Pretty cool NASA interactive website. The link shows asteroids and some NASA spacecraft. You can see DART, and if you fast forward the timeline you'll see it get closer and closer to Didymos. Impact should be around Sept 9, this year. You can click on Didymos to get the zoomed-in view and see the smaller asteroid orbiting 65803-Didymos. The smaller one, Dimorphos, is our target.

See if you can find OSIRIS-REx and Bennu. O-REx is headed back to Earth after getting some samples from the Bennu asteroid. If you fast forward the timeline you can even see O-REx as it gets closer to Earth; delivering the samples by Sept 24, 2023.

[Daehawk]

Thats Eyes on Asteroids site is amazing. Bookmarked it. Thanks So cool and easy to use.

[Zaxxon]

Another Starship static fire scheduled for today. No idea when it's going to be yet, but the 12-hour window just opened.

Live cam:

[Zaxxon]

[jztemple2]

Teams Work Final Preparations for Roll Out of Artemis I Moon Rocket

Engineers are conducting the last integrated test before the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft roll out to Launch Pad 39B next week for the launch of the Artemis I flight test. This week, teams began the second part of the flight termination system (FTS) test. The first part of the test was conducted earlier this year prior to the wet dress rehearsal.

For safety purposes, all rockets are required to have a system that the Space Launch Delta 45 can use to terminate the flight if necessary. Following completion of the FTS testing, the Eastern Range requires SLS to launch within a certain timeframe. In order to meet the Aug. 29 launch attempt and backup attempts on Sept. 2 and 5, NASA has received an extension from the Space Launch Delta 45 on the validation of the FTS from 20 to 25 days before the system would need to be retested. The waiver will be valid throughout the Artemis I launch attempts.

In case you didn't know it (I didn't), Space Launch Delta 45 is the new Space Force name of the former 45th Space Wing. More about the history of the Wing, err, Delta(?) is through the link.

[jztemple2]

This is from Visual Capitalist.

Every Mission to Mars in One Visualization. The web page also has a more detailed listing.

Within our Solar System, Mars is one of the most similar planets to Earth—both have rocky landscapes, solid outer crusts, and cores made of molten rock.

Because of its similarities to Earth and proximity, humanity has been fascinated by Mars for centuries. In fact, it’s one of the most explored objects in our Solar System.

But just how many missions to Mars have we embarked on, and which of these journeys have been successful? This graphic by Jonathan Letourneau shows a timeline of every mission to Mars since 1960 using NASA’s historical data.

[raydude]

Teams Work Final Preparations for Roll Out of Artemis I Moon Rocket

Engineers are conducting the last integrated test before the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft roll out to Launch Pad 39B next week for the launch of the Artemis I flight test. This week, teams began the second part of the flight termination system (FTS) test. The first part of the test was conducted earlier this year prior to the wet dress rehearsal.

For safety purposes, all rockets are required to have a system that the Space Launch Delta 45 can use to terminate the flight if necessary. Following completion of the FTS testing, the Eastern Range requires SLS to launch within a certain timeframe. In order to meet the Aug. 29 launch attempt and backup attempts on Sept. 2 and 5, NASA has received an extension from the Space Launch Delta 45 on the validation of the FTS from 20 to 25 days before the system would need to be retested. The waiver will be valid throughout the Artemis I launch attempts.

In case you didn't know it (I didn't), Space Launch Delta 45 is the new Space Force name of the former 45th Space Wing. More about the history of the Wing, err, Delta(?) is through the link.

You know it's a stupid name when the description on Wikipedia says:"The 45th Space Delta is one of two space launch wings..."
If that's the case why not name it "45th Space Launch Wing" ? I hope reporters ask them every single time "So, what exactly is a Space Launch Delta?"

[raydude]

This is from Visual Capitalist.

Every Mission to Mars in One Visualization. The web page also has a more detailed listing.

Within our Solar System, Mars is one of the most similar planets to Earth—both have rocky landscapes, solid outer crusts, and cores made of molten rock.

Because of its similarities to Earth and proximity, humanity has been fascinated by Mars for centuries. In fact, it’s one of the most explored objects in our Solar System.

But just how many missions to Mars have we embarked on, and which of these journeys have been successful? This graphic by Jonathan Letourneau shows a timeline of every mission to Mars since 1960 using NASA’s historical data.

Fun fact about Mars Climate Orbiter, the spacecraft that was lost due to a misunderstanding about metric vs. english units. The navigation team ran the simulated approach track and did find that the spacecraft was going to be outside the safe window for entry. However, management thought it was just the navigation team being extra cautious, as they were known to be, and they did not fully appreciate the scope of how much outside the safe window it was going to be. So the 'go' was given and Orbiter was lost.

[jztemple2]

Artemis I Moon Rocket Ready to Roll to the Launch Pad

UPDATE: For those keeping track, yes tomorrow's rollout will be 2-3 days earlier than originally planned.

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida have completed the final testing and checkouts of the Artemis I Moon rocket ahead of rolling to Launch Pad 39B. NASA is targeting as soon as 9 p.m. EDT of Tuesday, Aug. 16 for rollout ahead of a targeted Aug. 29 launch.

The crawler-transporter will roll inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and under the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft later today. Teams are currently working to prepare the integrated stack for rollout.

Over the weekend the team completed testing of the flight termination system, which marked the final major activity prior to closing out the rocket and retracting the final access platforms in the VAB.

The agency will provide a live stream of the rollout beginning at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 16 on the NASA Kennedy You Tube channel.

[Zaxxon]

#itshappening

[Kraken]

Given that the crawler tops out at 1 mph, that's going to be one unexciting livestream.

[jztemple2]

Given that the crawler tops out at 1 mph, that's going to be one unexciting livestream.

Make it interesting, have everyone chug a beer each time a seagull flies in front of the camera

[raydude]

Given that the crawler tops out at 1 mph, that's going to be one unexciting livestream.

Make it interesting, have everyone chug a beer each time a seagull flies in front of the camera

I'd be up for seeing "crawlercam", with cameras pointed in front of the crawler, and maybe another one pointed at the crawler tracks for a "calming, meditative repetitive motion".

[Zaxxon]

Given that the crawler tops out at 1 mph, that's going to be one unexciting livestream.

Make it interesting, have everyone chug a beer each time a seagull flies in front of the camera

I'd be up for seeing "crawlercam", with cameras pointed in front of the crawler, and maybe another one pointed at the crawler tracks for a "calming, meditative repetitive motion".

Maybe a nice live countdown of the distance to go in mm?

[jztemple2]

From NASASpaceflight.com, SLS ready to roll to LC-39B for launch, teams prepare for multiple launch trajectories. A lot of good info in this article,

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has completed all pre-launch preparations inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is ready for its 4.2-mile (6.7-km) journey to Launch Complex 39B.

The multi-hour rollout process is currently set to begin at 9 PM EDT on Tuesday, August 16 (01:00 UTC on Wednesday, August 17), weather permitting – which should result in a sunrise arrival at the pad.

The rollout is the last major milestone ahead of launch, which will differ from most recent missions in that the rocket’s needed azimuth — or flight path — will continuously change through each day’s launch window.

The Artemis 1 countdown is currently scheduled to begin with Call To Stations at 9:53 AM EDT (13:53 UTC) on August 27. Fueling would begin early in the morning of August 29 for a two-hour launch window opening at 8:33 AM EDT (12:33 UTC).

Overall, Artemis 1 has 25 days to launch after the flight termination system (FTS) testing on the launch vehicle was completed on August 12.

Should Artemis 1 not be able to launch on August 29, launch windows for September 2 and 5 are available.

The two-hour September 2 launch window starts at 12:48 PM EDT (16:48 UTC) while the September 5 window lasts for 90 minutes, starting at 5:12 PM EDT (21:12 UTC).

Should Artemis 1 not be able to make any of the launch windows, crawler-transporter 2 would return to Pad 39B to roll the stack back to the VAB for FTS replacement and any other work the vehicle or ML might need before the next available launch window, most likely October 17 through 31.

[jztemple2]

And in other space news, 'Cannibal' solar bursts may bring auroras as far south as New York

The sun has spat out two clouds of plasma in the past two days, which might trigger beautiful aurora displays observable much farther south than usual.

The two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), eruptions of charged particles from the sun's upper atmosphere known as the corona, burst from the sun on Aug. 14 and 15 respectively, according to the U.K. forecaster Met Office. As the CMEs cross the 900,000-mile (150 million kilometers) distance between the star and our planet, they might cannibalize each other, according to SpaceWeather.com, creating a single super powerful CME.

CME cannibalization occurs when the sun launches two eruptions within a short period of time, with the second of the two being more energetic, and therefore faster than the first.

The double CME is currently expected to reach Earth on Thursday (Aug. 18) and might trigger aurora displays that could be visible as far south as New York and the north of England.

[jztemple2]

But wait, there's more! An in-depth look at the Artemis I program, Artemis 1: The first step in returning astronauts to the moon

Artemis 1 is the first stage of a series of missions designed to send humans to the moon as part of the Artemis program.

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will launch an uncrewed deep space exploration system — the Orion spacecraft — around the moon and back again in an effort to test the Orion module, SLS rocket as well as ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center, laying the foundations for subsequent missions within the Artemis program.

A look at the flight profile:


Snoopy will be the NASA zero gravity indicator:


Your official European Space Agency (ESA) mascot for Artemis I, Shaun!


And finally, Lego minifigs

[jztemple2]

Wouldn't you know? The only thunderstorm cell in all the Florida peninsula and it's so close to the Kennedy Space Center that they are delaying rollout of Artemis I

[Zaxxon]

At least they had moved this up by two days, so they're really just reverting to schedule, I guess.

[jztemple2]

And now we're moving....

[jztemple2]

Artemis I Moon Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad Ahead of Historic Mission

Around 7:30 a.m. EDT the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived atop Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a nearly 10-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building.

In the coming days, engineers and technicians will configure systems at the pad for launch, which is currently targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. (two hour launch window). Teams have worked to refine operations and procedures and have incorporated lessons learned from the wet dress rehearsal test campaign and have updated the launch timeline accordingly.

[jztemple2]

A good reminder that space is still a potentially dangerous place. The story didn't mention it, but I imagine that loss of battery power in the suit would have rendered a lot of his life support inoperable.

Spacesuit power problem cuts Russian spacewalk short outside space station

A Russian spacewalk outside the International Space Station was cut short Wednesday (Aug. 17) after a cosmonaut experienced an electrical problem with his spacesuit.

Moscow Mission Control ordered Expedition 67 commander Oleg Artemyev back to the airlock after he reported a voltage fluctuation in the battery power for his Orlan spacesuit.

"Drop everything and start going back right away!" Vladimir Solovyov, a former cosmonaut and the flight director for the space station's Russian segment, radioed to Artemyev during the spacewalk. "Oleg, go back and connect to station power."

Although Artemyev was not in any immediate danger, were his spacesuit's power to cut off completely, he would have also lost the ability to communicate with his fellow spacewalker, Denis Matveev, and flight controllers on the ground until he was able to plug back into the power supply on the International Space Station.

[Holman]

A good reminder that space is still a potentially dangerous place. The story didn't mention it, but I imagine that loss of battery power in the suit would have rendered a lot of his life support inoperable.

I would hope there's a backup for life support, at least.

I'm really surprised we haven't lost more astronauts than we have (although we probably don't know the full numbers for Russia and China).

[Max Peck]

Countdown to Russia blaming this on American sabotage in 3... 2...

[Kraken]

Nobody has ever died from spacesuit failure (that we know of...the early Soviet program was opaque), although there have been incidents. They have a remarkable safety record.

The lack of a suitable lunar spacesuit is one of the hurdles that could delay Artemis 3. I might have read that the company tasked with designing one recently threw up its hands and walked away from the contract.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm sure we knew a lot more about the Soviet space program than was ever made public at the time.

Document 15: Central Intelligence Agency, The Soviet Man in Space Program, March 1, 1968. Classification Not Available.

Source: CIA Records Search Tool (CREST), National Archives and Records Administration, College Park.

This brief report provides an overview of the Soviet man in space program which it notes was "extremely active and aggressive" but "has now slowed perceptibly" — which the report attributes to the need for development of a new Soyuz spacecraft and the death of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov when the braking parachutes designed to return his spacecraft safely malfunctioned.

[raydude]

Countdown to Russia blaming this on American sabotage in 3... 2...

I'm gonna go with "no" on this one. With all the reports of substandard equipment and equipment failures in Russia's war on Ukraine the last thing they need is to point to another Russian equipment failure - even if they try to blame it on the US.

[Max Peck]

That was just snark, but OTOH it wouldn't be the first time they accused an American astronaut of sabotaging Russian equipment on the ISS.

[Zaxxon]

[jztemple2]

Artemis 1 will help NASA protect astronauts from deep space radiation

A motley crew of mannequins and biological experiments will take a deep-space journey further than any human has been before.

The simulated astronauts and various experiments will ride aboard Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion spacecraft, following a launch no earlier than Aug. 29. The system will explore the radiation environment near Earth and the moon, including flying in deeper space than the Apollo missions, for more than a month.

Moving outside the protective Van Allen radiation belts near Earth that shield the International Space Station astronauts from cosmic rays will cause an increased risk for future crew members that venture out for lunar missions, scientists said in a livestreamed NASA briefing Wednesday (Aug. 17).

A cutaway view of the Orion spacecraft, showing the "motley crew"


The female mannequin named Helga. My wife notes that the mannequin isn't terribly lifelike since her "boobs" (my wife's word ) would be spread off to the sides if she was on her back. Having being an observer for decades of a well endowed woman laying on her back, I can agree

[jztemple2]

More Artemis news

Snoopy is 'home again' on revived NASA poster promoting Artemis I mission success

To celebrate Snoopy's latest spaceflight and continue the character's nearly 55-year-old role as a safety mascot and symbol for mission success, NASA's Space Flight Awareness (SFA) program has a created a new motivational poster based on a design that was first used almost 30 years ago.

Artemis 1 will carry tiny Japanese lunar lander to the moon

NASA's upcoming Artemis 1 mission might be flying to the moon, but it won't be landing there.

One of its payloads will be, however. The OMOTENASHI lunar lander, a CubeSat built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo, will be the only one of the Artemis 1 mission's ten secondary payloads to conduct a controlled landing on the moon.

The lander's name stands for "Outstanding MOon exploration Technologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor," and helps describe the tiny spacecraft's mission.

The mission is designed to be a technical demonstration of the small, low-cost spacecraft's landing abilities, testing everything from trajectory maneuvers to communications systems. As a six-unit (6U) CubeSat, OMOTENASHI only weighs about 30 pounds (14 kilograms) on Earth, which makes it the smallest lunar lander to date. Most landers are orders of magnitude larger — NASA's Surveyor 1 lunar lander, the first American spacecraft to land on the moon, weighed 2,194 pounds (995.2 kilograms).

NASA's Artemis 2 mission: Taking humans to the moon's orbit

Artemis 2 is the second scheduled flight of the Artemis program.

Following the launch and splashdown of the uncrewed Artemis 1, Artemis 2 aims to bring humans into the moon's orbit for the first time since 1972.

Artemis 2 will use the huge Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion spacecraft to launch the crew on an eight-day mission. The astronauts and mission controllers will collect data on Orion and the crew's performance to assess how ready the Artemis program is to send people to the moon's surface.

NASA's Artemis 3 mission: Landing humans on the moon

Artemis 3 is the third scheduled flight of the Artemis program.

The mission aims to put humans on the moon around 2025, assuming that previous missions of the Artemis program go to plan.

Like the uncrewed Artemis 1 and crewed Artemis 2, this mission aims to launch the gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion spacecraft. For landing on the moon, the crew will use SpaceX's Starship, a system that the California company is developing right now for crewed human missions.

[Isgrimnur]

The female mannequin named Helga. My wife notes that the mannequin isn't terribly lifelike since her "boobs" (my wife's word ) would be spread off to the sides if she was on her back. Having being an observer for decades of a well endowed woman laying on her back, I can agree

They're obviously fake.

[jztemple2]

Already starting to talk about the traffic congestion on August 29th, the planned Artemis I launch day. 100-200K? I think that's an underestimate.

<3/6> In addition to the launch, there will also be FIVE cruise ships at Port Canaveral that morning, adding to the influx of people on our roadways. Please plan accordingly, here are some traffic tips leading up to this epic event, and check out the @MyFDOT_CFL traffic map.

[jztemple2]

Artemis 1 virtual reality experience aims to bring epic NASA moon launch to you

It's time for virtual reality space fans to start their engines.

A new Oculus Quest and VR experience called "Artemis Ascending" will provide an immersive view of the launch pad when NASA's historic Artemis 1 mission lifts off for the moon, no earlier than Aug. 29.

There are lots of ways you can participate in the Artemis Ascending livestream: at Horizon Worlds, in Facebook 360 on the Space Explorers page, and through partners that the company Felix & Paul Studios will release later on its website. Felix & Paul has pledged to make the experience accessible via telecommunications providers, as well as a set of domes and planetariums around the world.

The goal is to feel the roar of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket on its debut mission as it lifts the Orion spacecraft on a journey to the moon. Felix & Paul Studios will put cameras around the launch pad area in zones that are too close for humans to enjoy, meaning you'll get to be even closer than any spectators at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

[Unagi]

The female mannequin named Helga. My wife notes that the mannequin isn't terribly lifelike since her "boobs" (my wife's word ) would be spread off to the sides if she was on her back. Having being an observer for decades of a well endowed woman laying on her back, I can agree

They're obviously fake.

I’m also certain JZ’s wife isn’t sporting nearly as much duct tape.

[jztemple2]

The female mannequin named Helga. My wife notes that the mannequin isn't terribly lifelike since her "boobs" (my wife's word ) would be spread off to the sides if she was on her back. Having being an observer for decades of a well endowed woman laying on her back, I can agree

They're obviously fake.

I’m also certain JZ’s wife isn’t sporting nearly as much duct tape.

[jztemple2]

If you are, by some chance, planning to come watch the Artemis I launch attempt on August 29th, here's the plan for post launch outbound traffic flow. The next two attempts are on Labor Day weekend Friday and Monday and heaven knows what we'll do with the traffic , so hoping it goes well on the 29th.

[jztemple2]

Watch NASA's Artemis 1 SLS megarocket moon launch for free with these live webcasts

NASA's huge Artemis 1 rocket is counting down to a planned Aug. 29 launch to the moon and when it does, you'll be able to watch the historic mission live online for free.

The space agency will host a series of Artemis 1 webcasts this week and next leading up to the uncrewed launch on NASA's first Space Launch System megarocket from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefings start on Monday, Aug. 22, and run through launch day and include special guests like actors Chris Evans, Jack Black and Keke Palmer. You can already see live views of the Artemis 1 moon rocket atop its pad in the live feed