Nations Around the World Mark 10th Anniversary of International Space Station
HOUSTON -- Nations around the world will join together to mark a milestone in space exploration this week, celebrating the 10th birthday of a unique research laboratory, the International Space Station. Now the largest spacecraft ever built, the orbital assembly of the space station began with the launch from Kazakhstan of its first bus-sized component, Zarya, on Nov. 20, 1998.
The launch began an international construction project of unprecedented complexity and sophistication. The station is a venture of international cooperation among NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and 11 members of the European Space Agency, or ESA: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
More than 100,000 people in space agencies and contractor facilities in 37 U.S. states and throughout the world are involved in this endeavor. "The station's capability and sheer size today are truly amazing," said International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini. "The tremendous technological achievement in orbit is matched only by the cooperation and perseverance of its partners on the ground. We have overcome differences in language, geography and engineering philosophies to succeed." Only a few weeks after the U.S.-funded, Russian-built, Zarya module was launched from Kazakhstan, the space shuttle carried aloft the Unity connector module in December 1998.
Constructed on opposite sides of Earth, Unity and Zarya met for the first time in space and were joined to begin the orbital station's assembly and a decade of peaceful cooperation. Ten years later, the station's mass has expanded to more than 627,000 pounds, and its interior volume is more than 25,000 cubic feet, comparable to the size of a five-bedroom house. Since Zarya's launch as the early command, control and power module, there have been 29 additional construction flights to the station: 27 aboard the space shuttle and two additional Russian launches.
One hundred sixty seven individuals representing 14 countries have visited the complex. Crews have eaten some 19,000 meals aboard the station since the first crew took up residence in 2000. Through the course of 114 spacewalks and unmatched robotic construction in space, the station's truss structure has grown to 291 feet long so far. Its solar arrays now span to 28,800 square feet, large enough to cover six basketball courts.
The International Space Station hosts 19 research facilities, including nine sponsored by NASA, eight by ESA and two by JAXA. Cooperation among international teams of humans and robots is expected to become a mainstay of space exploration throughout our solar system. The 2005 NASA Authorization Act recognized the U.S. orbital segment as the first national laboratory beyond Earth, opening it for additional research by other government agencies, academia and the private sector. "With the International Space Station, we have learned so many things -- and we're going to take that knowledge and apply it to flying to the moon and Mars," said Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, now aboard the station. "Everything we're learning so close to home, only 240 miles away from the planet, we can apply to the moon 240,000 miles away."
For Space Station collectables and souvenirs please visit the SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
STS 126 Status Report #6
STS-126 Status Report #06
With a new crew member aboard each spacecraft, the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have begun their first full day of docked operations. Endeavour docked with the station a little after 4 p.m. CST Sunday. Less than five hours later, at 8:50 p.m., Sandra Magnus’ custom seat liner was installed in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. At that time Greg Chamitoff officially became a member of Endeavour’s crew. He will return to Earth on the shuttle after about six months in space, most of it as a station flight engineer.
Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Chamitoff, were awakened at 8:35 a.m. CST for a day that will see the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo attached to the Earth-facing port of the space station’s Harmony node. The wakeup music was “London Calling,” performed by The Clash. It was played for Bowen.
Leonardo and its seven-ton-plus cargo will be grappled by the station’s Canadarm2 at about 10:25 a.m. to begin the installation process. Leonardo’s cargo will help prepare the station for a six-member crew. Scheduled next year, that will enable more science to be performed aboard the orbiting laboratory. Also on today’s schedule is transfer of material between Endeavour and the station and preparation for the first of the mission’s four spacewalks. Piper and Bowen will camp out in the Quest airlock under reduced pressure beginning at the end of the crew day to prepare for the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.
There was good news sent up to the crews late Sunday. After examining results of Endeavour’s thermal protection system survey, engineers decided that no focused inspection of the shuttle right wing would be required today. The crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. Monday and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Tuesday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.
Spaceboosters Online Store for NASA related collectables and souvenirs.
With a new crew member aboard each spacecraft, the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have begun their first full day of docked operations. Endeavour docked with the station a little after 4 p.m. CST Sunday. Less than five hours later, at 8:50 p.m., Sandra Magnus’ custom seat liner was installed in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. At that time Greg Chamitoff officially became a member of Endeavour’s crew. He will return to Earth on the shuttle after about six months in space, most of it as a station flight engineer.
Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Chamitoff, were awakened at 8:35 a.m. CST for a day that will see the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo attached to the Earth-facing port of the space station’s Harmony node. The wakeup music was “London Calling,” performed by The Clash. It was played for Bowen.
Leonardo and its seven-ton-plus cargo will be grappled by the station’s Canadarm2 at about 10:25 a.m. to begin the installation process. Leonardo’s cargo will help prepare the station for a six-member crew. Scheduled next year, that will enable more science to be performed aboard the orbiting laboratory. Also on today’s schedule is transfer of material between Endeavour and the station and preparation for the first of the mission’s four spacewalks. Piper and Bowen will camp out in the Quest airlock under reduced pressure beginning at the end of the crew day to prepare for the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.
There was good news sent up to the crews late Sunday. After examining results of Endeavour’s thermal protection system survey, engineers decided that no focused inspection of the shuttle right wing would be required today. The crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. Monday and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Tuesday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.
Spaceboosters Online Store for NASA related collectables and souvenirs.
Rocket Hardware Received for Ares I-X Test flight
NASA Receives First Stage Rocket Hardware for Ares I-X Test Flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomed the arrival Nov. 10 of important hardware for the Ares I-X rocket's upcoming test flight. Called the forward skirt, the component is part of the rocket's first stage. The Ares I-X launch will be the first test flight for NASA's next crew launch vehicle.
The launch is targeted for July 2009 from Kennedy and will provide an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket. The forward skirt began its trip Nov. 7 from Major Tool & Machine Inc. of Indiana, a subcontractor to Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, of Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I rocket.
The rocket's first stage provides the primary propulsion -- 2.6 million pounds of thrust -- for the vehicle from liftoff to stage separation, which occurs 120 seconds into the flight. Part of the first stage, the nearly 14,000-pound forward skirt is constructed entirely of armored steel and stands seven feet tall and 12 1/4 feet wide. The main deceleration parachutes that slow the return of the rocket's boosters to Earth after launch are attached to this hardware. The forward skirt was designed as an empty, buoyant space to be used as ballast, keeping the first stage afloat for recovery. "We could not be more pleased that the vehicle first stage hardware is beginning to arrive," said Pepper Phillips, director of the Constellation Project Office at Kennedy. "This is one of many major milestones and is a testament to the tremendous NASA and contractor team working together to ensure a successful test flight for the new program."
The upper stage simulator was the first major piece of the Ares I-X rocket to arrive at Kennedy on Nov. 4. During the next few months, all of the additional hardware needed to complete the test vehicle will be delivered to Kennedy, beginning with a piece that simulates a fifth segment for the four-segment solid rocket booster and concluding with delivery of the complete motor set in January 2009. United Space Alliance of Florida, under a subcontract to ATK, will complete the integration and assembly of the forward skirt in Kennedy's Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. The hardware then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations in high bay 3 during the spring of 2009.
"The forward skirt has 12 parachute brackets, with each bracket restraining two parachute spools," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "For the Ares I-X launch, six of these spools will be used to measure parachute loads passed on to the forward skirt. ATK is proud to play a critical role in helping NASA achieve its vision to return to the moon." The rocket's deceleration subsystem includes the pilot, drogue and main parachutes. The pilot parachute is deployed at an altitude of 16,210 feet and pulls out the drogue parachute. When the drogue parachute opens, it slows the vehicle and orients it to descend tail first. The main parachutes are deployed as the forward skirt extension separates from the forward skirt. They are used to slow the final decent of the first stage to 48 mph, allowing a safe impact with the water.
The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle.
The test flight also will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals of returning humans to the moon for sustained exploration of the lunar surface and missions to destinations beyond. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the first stage for the Ares I-X project, which is located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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For Constellation, Ares, Orion and Altair Patches
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomed the arrival Nov. 10 of important hardware for the Ares I-X rocket's upcoming test flight. Called the forward skirt, the component is part of the rocket's first stage. The Ares I-X launch will be the first test flight for NASA's next crew launch vehicle.
The launch is targeted for July 2009 from Kennedy and will provide an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket. The forward skirt began its trip Nov. 7 from Major Tool & Machine Inc. of Indiana, a subcontractor to Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, of Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I rocket.
The rocket's first stage provides the primary propulsion -- 2.6 million pounds of thrust -- for the vehicle from liftoff to stage separation, which occurs 120 seconds into the flight. Part of the first stage, the nearly 14,000-pound forward skirt is constructed entirely of armored steel and stands seven feet tall and 12 1/4 feet wide. The main deceleration parachutes that slow the return of the rocket's boosters to Earth after launch are attached to this hardware. The forward skirt was designed as an empty, buoyant space to be used as ballast, keeping the first stage afloat for recovery. "We could not be more pleased that the vehicle first stage hardware is beginning to arrive," said Pepper Phillips, director of the Constellation Project Office at Kennedy. "This is one of many major milestones and is a testament to the tremendous NASA and contractor team working together to ensure a successful test flight for the new program."
The upper stage simulator was the first major piece of the Ares I-X rocket to arrive at Kennedy on Nov. 4. During the next few months, all of the additional hardware needed to complete the test vehicle will be delivered to Kennedy, beginning with a piece that simulates a fifth segment for the four-segment solid rocket booster and concluding with delivery of the complete motor set in January 2009. United Space Alliance of Florida, under a subcontract to ATK, will complete the integration and assembly of the forward skirt in Kennedy's Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. The hardware then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations in high bay 3 during the spring of 2009.
"The forward skirt has 12 parachute brackets, with each bracket restraining two parachute spools," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "For the Ares I-X launch, six of these spools will be used to measure parachute loads passed on to the forward skirt. ATK is proud to play a critical role in helping NASA achieve its vision to return to the moon." The rocket's deceleration subsystem includes the pilot, drogue and main parachutes. The pilot parachute is deployed at an altitude of 16,210 feet and pulls out the drogue parachute. When the drogue parachute opens, it slows the vehicle and orients it to descend tail first. The main parachutes are deployed as the forward skirt extension separates from the forward skirt. They are used to slow the final decent of the first stage to 48 mph, allowing a safe impact with the water.
The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle.
The test flight also will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals of returning humans to the moon for sustained exploration of the lunar surface and missions to destinations beyond. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the first stage for the Ares I-X project, which is located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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Shuttle Endeavour Launch
NASA's Shuttle Endeavour Launches On Home Improvement Mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 7:55 p.m. EST Friday to repair and remodel the International Space Station. Endeavour's STS-126 mission will carry to space about 32,000 pounds, which includes supplies and equipment necessary to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a water reclamation system and a resistance exercise device. The mission's four planned spacewalks primarily will focus on servicing the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow the outpost's solar arrays to track the sun.
The starboard SARJ has had limited use since September 2007. Shortly before launch, Commander Chris Ferguson thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's our turn to take home improvement to a new level after 10 years of International Space Station construction," he said. "Endeavour is good to go." Joining Ferguson on Endeavour's 15-day flight are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace current station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has lived on the outpost since June. She will return to Earth on Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for February 2009. NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Endeavour's mission, which is the 124th shuttle flight, the 22nd for Endeavour and the 27th shuttle mission to the station.
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Wednesday, 12 November 2008
STS-126 Mission Update
The Mission Ahead
The flight of space shuttle Endeavour includes several significant steps to install new crew equipment inside the International Space Station and service the solar array joints of the laboratory. During STS-126, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the space station will:-- Exchange crew members.
Sandra Magnus will swap places with current station resident Greg Chamitoff.-- Conduct four spacewalks. Working in teams of two, astronauts will emerge from the space station’s Quest airlock and work on the two large joints that turn the station’s massive solar array “wings.” They are to service the starboard side joint and perform preventative maintenance on the port side joint.-- Install new crew quarters, a galley, waste water recycling system and oxygen generator inside the space station.
The equipment has been packed inside refrigerator-sized racks that require forklifts to lift them on Earth. But in space, a single astronaut can move a rack around with little problem.
Endeavour and its crew are to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 15 days in space.
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The flight of space shuttle Endeavour includes several significant steps to install new crew equipment inside the International Space Station and service the solar array joints of the laboratory. During STS-126, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the space station will:-- Exchange crew members.
Sandra Magnus will swap places with current station resident Greg Chamitoff.-- Conduct four spacewalks. Working in teams of two, astronauts will emerge from the space station’s Quest airlock and work on the two large joints that turn the station’s massive solar array “wings.” They are to service the starboard side joint and perform preventative maintenance on the port side joint.-- Install new crew quarters, a galley, waste water recycling system and oxygen generator inside the space station.
The equipment has been packed inside refrigerator-sized racks that require forklifts to lift them on Earth. But in space, a single astronaut can move a rack around with little problem.
Endeavour and its crew are to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 15 days in space.
Spaceboosters Online Store
NASA Astronaut Charles Duke U.K. Visit
NASA Astronaut Charles Duke in U.K. Visit
Hi,
Information received regarding Charles 'Charlie Duke' visit to the U.K. February 6th 2009.
More information available soon. Watch this space!
Charles Duke Portrait: Image Credit NASA
Hi,
Information received regarding Charles 'Charlie Duke' visit to the U.K. February 6th 2009.
More information available soon. Watch this space!
Charles Duke Portrait: Image Credit NASA
Charles Duke Biography.When notified of his selection as an astronaut, Duke was at the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School as an instructor teaching control systems and flying in the F-101, F-104, and T-33 aircraft. He graduated from the Aerospace Research Pilot School in September 1965 and stayed on there as an instructor.
He is a retired Air Force Reserve Brigadier General and was commissioned in 1957 upon graduation from the Naval Academy. Upon entering the Air Force, he went to Spence Air Base, Georgia, for primary flight training and then to Webb Air Force Base, Texas, for basic flying training, where in 1958 he became a distinguished graduate.
He was again a distinguished graduate at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, where he completed advanced training in F-86L aircraft. Upon completion of this training, he served three years as a fighter interceptor pilot with the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germanypilot with the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.He has logged 4,147 hours flying time, which includes 3,632 hours in jet aircraft.
Duke was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 10 flight. He was CAPCOM for Apollo 11, the first landing on the Moon and he served as backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 13.
Duke served as lunar module pilot of Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972. He was accompanied on the fifth manned lunar landing mission by John W. Young (spacecraft commander) and Thomas K. Mattingly II (command module pilot).
Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands. Duke and Young commenced their record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes by maneuvering the lunar module "Orion" to a landing on the rough Cayley Plains.
In three subsequent excursions onto the lunar surface, they each logged 20 hours and 15 minutes in extravehicular activities involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments, the collection of nearly 213 pounds of rock and soil samples, and the evaluation and use of Rover-2 over the roughest and blockiest surface yet encountered on the moon.
Other Apollo 16 achievements included the largest payload placed in lunar orbit (76, 109 pounds); first cosmic ray detector deployed on lunar surface; first lunar observatory with the far UV camera; and longest in-flight EVA from a command module during transearth coast (1 hour and 13 minutes). The latter feat was accomplished by Mattingly when he ventured out to "Casper's" SIM-bay for the retrieval of vital film cassettes from the panoramic and mapping cameras. Apollo 16 concluded with a Pacific Ocean splashdown and subsequent recovery by the USS TICONDEROGA.
With the completion of his first space flight, Duke has logged 265 hours in space and over 21 hours of extra vehicular activity.Duke also served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 17.
In December 1975, Duke retired from the Astronaut program to enter private business. He is owner of Duke Investments, and is President of Charlie Duke Enterprises. He is an active speaker and Christian lay witness and President of Duke Ministry For Christ.
Former Astronaut has a very interesting website of his own at CharlieDuke.net Aim High!
Please visit the Spaceboosters Online Store. For Apollo 16 patches and pins and other related space memorabilia.
We will be trading there selling Astronaut/Mission related photos, patches, pins, postcards and other collectables. SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store
Spaceboosters - Update on Eugene Cernan U.K. Visit
Hi,
Details now available for the Eugene Cernan U.K. event for March 6th 2009.
Official Visit Weblink
S A E to
Ken Willoughby
11 Hardistry drive
Pontefract
West Yorkshire
WF8 4BU
Cheque’s Payable To Apollo XIII.
Please include Name & address + telephone/ e-mail address
Trade Stands From 18:00.
Capt. Cernan will stay behind for approx.
30 minutes after the talk to meet people.
Details now available for the Eugene Cernan U.K. event for March 6th 2009.
Official Visit Weblink
Ken Willoughby, Carleton Community High School & St. Wilfrids Catholic High School Present.
'The Last Man On The Moon.'
Capt. Eugene Cernan.
Fighter Pilot-USN, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 & Commander of Apollo 17
Friday March 6th 2009, 19:30 hrs.
@
St.Wilfrids Catholic High School, Cutsyke Road, Featherstone
West Yorkshire WF7 6BD.
Admission £40. Ticket Only.
'The Last Man On The Moon.'
Capt. Eugene Cernan.
Fighter Pilot-USN, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 & Commander of Apollo 17
Friday March 6th 2009, 19:30 hrs.
@
St.Wilfrids Catholic High School, Cutsyke Road, Featherstone
West Yorkshire WF7 6BD.
Admission £40. Ticket Only.
S A E to
Ken Willoughby
11 Hardistry drive
Pontefract
West Yorkshire
WF8 4BU
Cheque’s Payable To Apollo XIII.
Please include Name & address + telephone/ e-mail address
Trade Stands From 18:00.
Capt. Cernan will stay behind for approx.
30 minutes after the talk to meet people.
Congratulations to Ken Willoughby in being instrumental in making these events happen.
Sunday, 2 November 2008
STS-126 November launch
STS-126 November Launch Date.
Image above: These seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-126 crew portrait. Astronaut Christopher J. Ferguson, commander, is at center; and astronaut Eric A. Boe, pilot, is third from the right. Remaining crew members, pictured from left to right, are astronauts Sandra H. Magnus, Stephen G. Bowen, Donald R. Pettit, Robert S. (Shane) Kimbrough and Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA
Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command the STS-126 mission aboard Endeavour to deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Navy Capt. Stephen G. Bowen, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough, Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper and NASA astronauts Donald R. Pettit and Sandra H. Magnus. Magnus will remain on the station, replacing Expedition 17/18 Flight engineer Gregory E. Chamitoff, who returns to Earth with the STS-126 crew.
Magnus will serve as a flight engineer and NASA science officer for Expedition 18. Magnus will return to Earth on shuttle mission STS-119. Endeavour will carry a reusable logistics module that will hold supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, additional exercise equipment, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. STS-126 is the 27th shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
NASA/Korea Future Co-operation
NASA And Korea Sign Statement Of Intent For Future Cooperation
Washington - During a meeting Thursday at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) in Seoul, Korea, NASA’s Assistant Administrator for External Relations, Michael F. O’Brien, and MEST’s Director-General for Big Science, Munki Lee, signed a joint statement of intent identifying potential interest in cooperation in civil space and aeronautics activities. According to the statement, the two agencies agree to conduct discussions to identify new cooperative activities related to space exploration, Earth science, planetary science, human space flight and aeronautics research.
The fundamental goal of these discussions will be to advance the interests of both nations through cooperation in space and aeronautics programs. A joint report is expected eight months from today’s signing. The discussions are intended to explore a wide range of potential cooperative efforts, including exchange of research data and analysis, potential contributions of scientific instruments and hardware to support future missions, and collaborative exploration architecture planning.
The discussions may also include the International Lunar Network, an ongoing multilateral initiative to establish a robotic network on the surface of the moon; the Global Exploration Strategy, a dialogue involving fourteen international space agencies for enhanced international cooperation in space exploration; and the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, a multilateral effort to coordinate space exploration activities among government space agencies.
www.spaceboosters.co.uk
Washington - During a meeting Thursday at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) in Seoul, Korea, NASA’s Assistant Administrator for External Relations, Michael F. O’Brien, and MEST’s Director-General for Big Science, Munki Lee, signed a joint statement of intent identifying potential interest in cooperation in civil space and aeronautics activities. According to the statement, the two agencies agree to conduct discussions to identify new cooperative activities related to space exploration, Earth science, planetary science, human space flight and aeronautics research.
The fundamental goal of these discussions will be to advance the interests of both nations through cooperation in space and aeronautics programs. A joint report is expected eight months from today’s signing. The discussions are intended to explore a wide range of potential cooperative efforts, including exchange of research data and analysis, potential contributions of scientific instruments and hardware to support future missions, and collaborative exploration architecture planning.
The discussions may also include the International Lunar Network, an ongoing multilateral initiative to establish a robotic network on the surface of the moon; the Global Exploration Strategy, a dialogue involving fourteen international space agencies for enhanced international cooperation in space exploration; and the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, a multilateral effort to coordinate space exploration activities among government space agencies.
www.spaceboosters.co.uk
Hubble Servicing Delay
NASA Managers Delay Hubble Servicing Mission
WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have announced that they will not meet a February 2009 launch date for the fifth and final shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The decision comes after engineers completed assessments of the work needed to get a second data handling unit for the telescope ready to fly.
The unit will replace one that failed on Hubble in late September, causing the agency to postpone the servicing mission, which had been targeted for Oct. 14. "We now have done enough analysis of all the things that need to happen with the flight spare unit to know that we cannot be ready for a February launch," said NASA's Astrophysics Division Director Jon Morse at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The February date was an initial estimate, assuming minimal hardware preparations and test durations that are no longer viewed as realistic. We've communicated our assessment to the Space Shuttle Program so it can adjust near-term plans.
We will work closely with the Shuttle Program to develop details for a new launch opportunity." "Getting ourselves in a position to be ready to launch the Hubble mission will involve many steps, and a significant one took place earlier today," said Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We held a flight certification peer review meeting where every aspect for doing this effort -- the inspections needed, all the tests to be conducted, the certification process and the final flight preparations -- was examined.
The conclusion was that we indeed have a very good plan in place." The Hubble flight spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling system, has been at Goddard since it was originally delivered as a back-up system in 1991. The unit currently is undergoing testing and examination to identify and correct any problems. That work will continue until mid-December. The unit will then undergo environmental assessments that include electro-magnetic interference checks, vibration tests, and extended time in a thermal vacuum chamber.
Environmental testing is anticipated to run from mid-December to early March 2009. Final testing will be conducted on the unit, and delivery to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expected in early April. "The equipment we are dealing with has a flight-proven design," said Burch." The original unit on Hubble ran for more than 18 years. We have a lot of spare parts if we encounter problems, and we have most of the same test equipment that was used with the original unit. We also have a lot of experience on our Hubble electrical replica, which uses the engineering model data handling unit." The vast majority of the flight hardware, tools and support equipment that will be used during the mission will be stored at Kennedy. A small amount of new work such as re-lubricating the latches on the Soft Capture Mechanism and testing the motors on the Flight Support System will be conducted.
The Wide Field Camera 3 will remain in its carrier. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is in a special double-layered purge system in its shipping container to help support its environmental needs. The new batteries to be installed during the mission are in cold storage at Goddard and will be returned to Kennedy in 2009. In the meantime, science observations on Hubble that had been suspended continue to move toward standard operations.
The current primary camera on the telescope, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, was brought back online. On Wednesday, calibration images with the Advanced Camera for Surveys' Solar Blind Channel were completed. Regular science observations resumed Thursday, and the first science image from the camera was released.
www.spaceboosters.co.uk
WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have announced that they will not meet a February 2009 launch date for the fifth and final shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The decision comes after engineers completed assessments of the work needed to get a second data handling unit for the telescope ready to fly.
The unit will replace one that failed on Hubble in late September, causing the agency to postpone the servicing mission, which had been targeted for Oct. 14. "We now have done enough analysis of all the things that need to happen with the flight spare unit to know that we cannot be ready for a February launch," said NASA's Astrophysics Division Director Jon Morse at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The February date was an initial estimate, assuming minimal hardware preparations and test durations that are no longer viewed as realistic. We've communicated our assessment to the Space Shuttle Program so it can adjust near-term plans.
We will work closely with the Shuttle Program to develop details for a new launch opportunity." "Getting ourselves in a position to be ready to launch the Hubble mission will involve many steps, and a significant one took place earlier today," said Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We held a flight certification peer review meeting where every aspect for doing this effort -- the inspections needed, all the tests to be conducted, the certification process and the final flight preparations -- was examined.
The conclusion was that we indeed have a very good plan in place." The Hubble flight spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling system, has been at Goddard since it was originally delivered as a back-up system in 1991. The unit currently is undergoing testing and examination to identify and correct any problems. That work will continue until mid-December. The unit will then undergo environmental assessments that include electro-magnetic interference checks, vibration tests, and extended time in a thermal vacuum chamber.
Environmental testing is anticipated to run from mid-December to early March 2009. Final testing will be conducted on the unit, and delivery to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expected in early April. "The equipment we are dealing with has a flight-proven design," said Burch." The original unit on Hubble ran for more than 18 years. We have a lot of spare parts if we encounter problems, and we have most of the same test equipment that was used with the original unit. We also have a lot of experience on our Hubble electrical replica, which uses the engineering model data handling unit." The vast majority of the flight hardware, tools and support equipment that will be used during the mission will be stored at Kennedy. A small amount of new work such as re-lubricating the latches on the Soft Capture Mechanism and testing the motors on the Flight Support System will be conducted.
The Wide Field Camera 3 will remain in its carrier. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is in a special double-layered purge system in its shipping container to help support its environmental needs. The new batteries to be installed during the mission are in cold storage at Goddard and will be returned to Kennedy in 2009. In the meantime, science observations on Hubble that had been suspended continue to move toward standard operations.
The current primary camera on the telescope, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, was brought back online. On Wednesday, calibration images with the Advanced Camera for Surveys' Solar Blind Channel were completed. Regular science observations resumed Thursday, and the first science image from the camera was released.
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