TOTAL IDIOTS a Majority inCongress--- THE Shuttle OPERATIONAL in 2011---RE DARPRA Ranting How Great Shuttle !! is!!!!

We had it all a few years ago, now DARPA wants it & all experts said keep it in 2011 !!
Appears one part ( or more) of gov. Has no idea what the other is doing!

Reusable spaceplane tops DARPA's budget request, again - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/reusable-space-plane-tops-darpas-budget-request-again/


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America needs this capability-- read DARPA plans

Valid points re muslims

13 hrs · 

An interesting viewpoint.
Whether you agree or not,
these are valid points!!!

Think about America before Obama, there was virtually no visible
presence of Islam in America.

All of a sudden, Islam is taught in schools .

All of a sudden, we must allow prayer rugs everywhere and allow for
Islamic prayer in schools and businesses.

All of a sudden, we must stop serving pork in public places and
institutions.

All of a sudden, we are inundated with law suits by Muslims who are
offended by America.

All of a sudden, we must allow burkas to be worn everywhere even
though you have no idea who is covered up under them.

All of a sudden, Muslim training compounds are popping up throughout
the USA.

All of a sudden, Muslims are suing employers for being expected to do
their jobs.

All of a sudden, all of our aircraft carriers are recalled for
maintenance by Obama rendering the Atlantic unsupported.

All of a sudden, our troops are withdrawn from the middle east.

All of a sudden, there is no money for American poor, disabled veterans,
jobless Americans, hungry Americans, or displaced Americans, but there
is endless money for Obama's refugee programs.

All of a sudden, Obama fills the Federal Government with Muslims in key
positions.

All of a sudden, there is an ammunition shortage in the USA.

All of a sudden, Americans are threatened by the Federal government for
complaining about Muslims.

All of a sudden, the most important thing for Obama to do is disarm
American Citizens.

Has everyone lost their ability to see what is happening in the USA?
Does The Third Jihad have no meaning for America?

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Fwd: Hawking: Russia ahead of America in the space race

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 29, 2016 at 8:14:06 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Hawking: Russia ahead of America in the space race

 

Stephen Hawking: I was impressed that Russia was ahead of America in the space race

Science & Space

March 28, 12:30 UTC+3
World-famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking in an exclusive interview with TASS

 

Stephen Hawking in an exclusive interview has told TASS of future colonization of Mars, prospects for Russia-US cooperation in space and the challenges the humanity may face

- Once you posed an open question on the internet: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?" It was ten years ago in 2006. Since then, have you found the answer?

- For our long term survival, it is important that we are able to escape the boundaries of our fragile planet. There are many threats to our continued existence on Earth. From nuclear war, catastrophic global warming, and genetically engineered viruses, and the number is likely to increase in the future, with the development of new technologies, and new way things can go wrong. We need to spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth, would not mean the end of the human race.

- Some researchers claim that a mysterious Planet X or Nibiru could pose a real threat to the Earth. What do you think?

- The last collision with a major asteroid was 70 million years ago. There are more immediate dangers to our survival.

- According to "My Brief History", you visited the Soviet Union seven times. What has been the most memorable for you during those trips?

- The first time was with a student party in which one member, a Baptist, distributed Russian language Bibles and asked us to smuggle them in. We managed this undetected but on our way out the authorities had discovered what we had done and detained us for a while. However to charge us with smuggling Bibles would have caused an international incident and unfavorable publicity so they let us go after a few hours. The other six visits were to visit Russian scientists who were not allowed to travel to the West.

- After the Soviet Union's collapse, you have not been to Russia. Would you like to visit this country again, for example, with your daughter Mrs. Lucy Hawking who studied Russian at Oxford University?

- I enjoyed my previous visits to Russia and I would like to visit again. 

- Russia will celebrate the 55th anniversary of the first manned flight into space - the Cosmonautics Day or International Day of Human Space Flight. What were your feelings at that moment on April 12, 1961?

- I was impressed that Russia was ahead of America in the space race.

- It has been over 25 years since the Russian Federation took up the torch as a space power. Could you assess its current potential for space exploration?

- The Americans rely on Russia for travel to and from the International Space Station. I think the future is in such international cooperation.

- You backed an ambitious project The Breakthrough Initiatives last year. It is funded by the Russian businessman Yuri Milner and aims to search for extraterrestrial life. Almost immediately some sceptics described it as "a waste of money". What is the likelihood that the project will be successful?

- I am a supporter of the Breakthrough Initiatives, founded by Yuri Milner, to search for extraterrestrial life. By analyzing data from radio telescopes and laser transmissions, they hope to find signs of intelligence, that Earth is not the only source of life in the universe. Such a discovery would revolutionize our view of the Cosmos.

- Progress does not stand still. Roscosmos and NASA are working on a manned flight to Mars project. What is your opinion about its practical importance considering that Mars is not suitable for human life?

- NASA, and other space agencies around the world, are focused on Mars. It is our closest earth-like planet, with soil and an atmosphere. Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge, and would require the colony to be truly self-sufficient. Within 100 years, I have no doubt, there will be humans living on Mars. To do this we need investment, allowing us to advance our knowledge, on how to survive the dangers of cosmic radiation, body deterioration, and how to deal with the lack of vital supplies beyond Earth.

- The fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 was even one of the theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Theoretically, it involves the development of robots and the abolition of human labour. If robots replace us in the nearest future, what will we have to do in that case?

-If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality.

- You are a famous scientist as well as a successful science popularizer. Which of these scientific activities do you like best?

- I am a scientist first. I am very proud that I have been able to contribute to our understanding of the universe. I am also glad that my work has reached a popular audience, because I believe it is important that the public should know, and have the chance to understand, the seemingly mysterious work of scientists.

- Tell us about your day-to-day routine​.

- Due to my condition, I have a lengthy getting up routine in the mornings, and so I usually arrive into work late morning. My work day is broadly split into scientific research and public outreach.  

- How do you prefer to relax?

- In the evenings, I like to relax by entertaining, listening to music, or watching films and current affairs on the television. Despite this I am often restless at night and sleep poorly.

- Professor Hawking, what is your dream?

- I have always dreamed of space flight. But for so many years, I thought it was just that, a dream. Confined to Earth, and in a wheelchair, how could I experience the majesty of space, except through imagination, and my work in theoretical physics. I never thought I would have the opportunity, to see our beautiful planet from space, or gaze outward into the infinity beyond. This was the domain of astronauts, the lucky few, who get to experience the wonder and thrill of space flight. But I may have the chance to go into space with Virgin Galactic.

Interviewed by Igor Brovarnik

 

British scientist Hawking says Mars will be colonized by humans in next 100 years

Science & Space

March 28, 13:23 UTC+3
"Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge," Stephen Hawking said in an interview with TASS

 

CAMBRIDGE, March 28. /TASS/. Mars will be colonized by humans in the next 100 years, famous British scientist Stephen Hawking said in an exclusive interview with TASS on Monday.

"NASA, and other space agencies around the world, are focused on Mars. It is our closest earth-like planet, with soil and an atmosphere. Although colonizing the Moon would be simpler, it is only 3 days away, Mars represents a more interesting challenge, and would require the colony to be truly self-sufficient," Hawking said.

"Within 100 years, I have no doubt, there will be humans living on Mars. To do this we need investment, allowing us to advance our knowledge, on how to survive the dangers of cosmic radiation, body deterioration, and how to deal with the lack of vital supplies beyond Earth," he concluded.

 

British physicist Hawking dreams of space flight

Science & Space

March 28, 14:04 UTC+3
Since 1960s, Hawking, who is one of the most influential scientists of the last century, has been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that has gradually paralyzed him

 

CAMBRIDGE, March 28. /TASS/. World-famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking said in an exclusive interview with TASS on Monday that he dreams of space flight and hopes to get this opportunity soon.

"I have always dreamed of space flight. But for so many years, I thought it was just that, a dream. Confined to Earth, and in a wheelchair, how could I experience the majesty of space, except through imagination, and my work in theoretical physics. I never thought I would have the opportunity, to see our beautiful planet from space, or gaze outward into the infinity beyond," Hawking said.

"This was the domain of astronauts, the lucky few, who get to experience the wonder and thrill of space flight. But I may have the chance to go into space with Virgin Galactic (the company plans to develop commercial spaceflights)," he said.

Since 1960s, Hawking, who is one of the most influential scientists of the last century, has been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that has gradually paralyzed him. He communicates using a single cheek muscle attached to a speech-generating device.

***

The full text of the interview is available here.

 

 

© 2016 TASS

 

---

 

NASA Exploring Cheaper Shuttle Replacement - YouTube

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=68v_IrZz3NA


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Capability declining!

How space is changing the U.S. Air Force's day-to-day operations - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/how-space-is-changing-the-u-s-air-forces-day-to-day-operations/


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Fwd: This Week in The Space Review - 2016 March 28

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Jeff Foust <jeff@thespacereview.com>
Date: March 28, 2016 at 12:23:41 PM CDT
To: <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: This Week in The Space Review - 2016 March 28
Reply-To: Jeff Foust <jeff@thespacereview.com>

This Week in The Space Review View this email in your browser This Week in The Space Review March 28, 2016 Welcome to The Space Review's weekly newsletter! Big Bird and the Big Mother: US intelligence community monitoring of the Soviet lunar program after Apollo Even after Apollo 11 successfully landed men on the Moon, ending the Moon race, the Soviet Union continued to develop its N-1 rocket for several years. Dwayne Day examines how the US monitored those activities using a new generation of reconnaissance satellites.   InSight's second chance A NASA mission to land on Mars was supposed to launch this month, but problems with an instrument cancelled those plans. Jeff Foust reports on plans to fix the problem and launch the mission in 2018, although with cost impacts that could affect other missions.   ExoMars: a long awaited reboot of the Russian planetary program Earlier this month, a Russian Proton rocket launched the ExoMars mission, a joint venture with Europe. Svetoslav Alexandrov discusses how ExoMars is revitalizing Russia's Mars exploration plans, although not in a way all Russian space enthusiasts support.   Improving South Asian space cooperation Pakistan recently rejected a proposal by India to provide a communications satellite to help a group of South Asian nations. Vidya Sagar Reddy examines what India should do to better promote space cooperation among its neighbors in the region.   Review: Blue Gemini What might have happened if the Air Force had continued its manned space program in the 1960s? David Johnston reviews a novel that offers a credible alternative history of those efforts.   We appreciate any feedback you may have about these articles as well as any other questions, comments, or suggestions about The Space Review. We're also actively soliciting articles to publish in future issues, so if you have an article or article idea that you think would be of interest, please email me. Until next week, Jeff Foust Editor, The Space Review jeff@thespacereview.com Copyright © 2016 The Space Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you previously signed up to receive these weekly newsletters from The Space Review. Our mailing address is: The Space Review 12205 Village Square Ter Suite 101 Rockville, MD 20852 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Neil deGrasse Tyson to Elon Musk: SpaceX Is "Delusional" About Mars -- The Motley Fool

Delusional re EO ops too! Bm



http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-to-elon-musk-spacex-delusional.aspx


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Billions wasted on illegals/ refugees BUT CAN'T AFFORD Shuttle---Gross INEPTNESS!

All experts say we need & s/b flying the shuttle indefinitely! Read the articles!


We have a bunch of totally inept people in Congress!

Fwd: Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 17, 2016 at 11:29:20 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

15-Mar-2016

Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

American Institute of Physics

 

Researchers in Japan have grown crystals and measured the growth rate on the ISS by interferometry to better examine the effects of microgravity.

Review of Scientific Instruments

 

 

 

15-Mar-2016

Outsourcing crystal growth...to space

Researchers in Japan have grown crystals and measured the growth rate on the ISS by interferometry to better examine the effects of microgravity

American Institute of Physics

IMAGE: (a) The white ring is a ceramic helical insert on which the screw sample holder is placed. The scale bar is 10 mm. (b) The body of the growth cell is... view more

Credit: K. Tsukamoto et al/Tohoku University

Washington, D.C., March 15, 2016 - Sometimes, distance can lend a new perspective to a problem. For Japanese researchers studying protein crystal growth, that distance was 250 miles up -- the altitude at which the International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth. To better isolate the growth of protein crystals from the effects of gravity, the group of Katsuo Tsukamoto in Tohoku University's Department of Earth and Planetary Science in Sendai, Japan, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency grew crystals in a specially-designed chamber onboard the ISS.

The researchers monitored the very slow growth and dissolution rate -- approximately one centimeter per second of the crystals by laser interferometry. This was the first time the technique had been used onboard the ISS to measure the growth rate of the crystals at various temperatures. To observe this, Yamazaki and his colleagues developed unique growth cells suitable for long-term projects, for about six months.

"We are interested in the growth mechanisms of a space-grown protein crystal -- a lysozyme crystal -- as a model crystal to understand why space-grown crystals sometimes do show better quality than the Earth-grown crystals," said Tomoya Yamazaki, a PhD student in Tsukamoto's lab.

Tsukamoto and his colleagues, which includes collaborators at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan Space Forum, Olympus Optical Corporation, detail their elegant growth method this week in Review of Scientific Instruments, from AIP Publishing.

The experimental process, known as NanoStep, was performed in the Japanese Experimental Module (KIBO) of the International Space Station in 2012. Tsukamoto and his colleagues had previously measured the growth rates of protein crystals under simulated microgravity by using a Russian recoverable satellite and aircraft in parabolic flights.

The researchers took precise measurements of the growth rate of the lysozyme crystals versus their driving force, supersaturation - the natural logarithm of the protein's concentration divided by its solubility -- with measurements of the solution's refractive index distribution obtained through interferometry. This also yielded crucial information about the growth mechanism.

The researchers opted to modify the supersaturation of the solution by increasing or decreasing the growth cell's temperature, which can easily be done remotely. This took place over a range of 10 -- 40 degrees Celsius, which necessitated building a closed growth cell to withstand the stresses caused by the thermal expansion of the growth solution.

The closed, cube-like growth cell was constructed out of quartz glasses with different thickness, an essential component for laser interferometry due to its high chemical and mechanical resistances with a protein seed crystal glued to the top of the sample holder. To relieve the thermal stress on the glass, the researchers attached tubes made out of an elastomer, low-moisture-permeability thermoelastic polymer. This was selected to mitigate evaporation of water in the crystal growth solution, which consisted of 30 or 35 mg/ml of lysozyme and 25 mg/ml sodium chloride in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer solution. They also employed a special spring tension system to reduce stress by keeping the gap between the glass cell and thermal control modules constant amid thermal expansion.

The growth cell could also be used to fine-tune the measurements of extremely small growth or dissolution rates of insoluble minerals on the order of 0.001 nanometers per second of insoluble minerals. For example, it could measure calcium carbonate crystals, where margins of error could become massive across a geological time scale - such as predicting the dissolution of clay minerals surrounding nuclear waste stored underground for 100,000 years.

While the researchers expected growth rates of the crystal solution to be slower because of the suppression of solution convection, the results instead showed an increased growth rate.

This may be due to the suppression of transport speed of impurity molecules with larger diameter to the growing crystal, as analyzed the growth rate versus supersaturation relations. This will appear in forthcoming papers.

Extended projects for the researchers using the same apparatus to test the growth of different crystals, such as glucose isomerase crystals, are currently in preparation.

###

The article, "Development of compartment for studies on the growth of protein crystals in space," is authored by T. Yamazaki, K. Tsukamoto, I. Yoshizaki, S. Fukuyama, H. Miura, T. Shimaoka, T. Maki, K. Oshi, and Y. Kimura. It will appear in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments on March 15, 2016 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4942961). After that date, it can be accessed at: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/rsi/87/3/10.1063/1.4942961

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Review of Scientific Instruments publishes original research and review articles on instruments in physics, chemistry, and the life sciences. The journal also includes sections on new instruments and new materials.http://rsi.aip.org

 

 

 

© American Institute of Physics

 

---

 

Fwd: Cygnus arrives at ISS

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: March 26, 2016 at 6:38:10 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Cygnus arrives at ISS

Orbital ATK's Cygnus Spacecraft Successfully Berths With International Space Station

 

Rendezvous and Berthing Operations of Company's S.S. Rick Husband Spacecraft Proceeded Smoothly

Cygnus Delivered More Than 7,900 Pounds of Cargo to the ISS Including Crew Supplies and Scientific Experiments

Dulles, Virginia 26 March 2016 – Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced that the S.S. Rick Husband CygnusTM spacecraft successfully completed its rendezvous and berthing procedures with the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this morning. This marks the company's fifth successful berthing with the orbiting laboratory, and the fourth under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

Cygnus launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket on March 22 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The spacecraft completed a series of thruster firings and other maneuvers over the past few days to bring the spacecraft in close proximity to the ISS. When it was approximately 30 feet from the ISS, crew members grappled Cygnus with the Station's robotic arm at 6:51 a.m. (EDT). The spacecraft was then guided to its berthing port on the nadir side of the Unity module of the ISS where installation concluded at 10:52 a.m. (EDT).

"As we accomplish our fifth Cygnus berthing to the ISS, we celebrate the completion of a primary mission objective for OA-6," said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. "Our flexible Cygnus spacecraft has a lot of work left to do. Following its stay at the ISS, and for the first time, we will undertake three experiments onboard the unmanned spacecraft."

The crew plans to open the Cygnus hatch and make initial ingress into its cargo module tomorrow to unload the cargo, including food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts, laboratory equipment and scientific experiments. Cygnus will remain berthed at the ISS for approximately two months before departing with approximately 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms) of disposable cargo.

Following departure from the ISS, Cygnus will conduct three payload mission objectives as part of its flight program. Using a deployer provided by NanoRacks, the S.S. Rick Husband will place five CubeSats into orbit to conduct their own autonomous missions. Onboard Cygnus, the Spacecraft Fire Experiment-I (Saffire-I) will intentionally light a large-scale fire that will grow and advance until it burns itself out. The final experiment to take place aboard Cygnus will be the Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR). The ISS crew will install the REBR experiment on Cygnus as they pack the spacecraft with disposal cargo. REBR will measure and record data during Cygnus' safe destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

Orbital ATK has two additional CRS missions scheduled in 2016 to support NASA's ISS cargo and payload mission needs. Following an Antares launch vehicle full-power hot-fire test, flight operations for Cygnus and Antares will resume mid-year from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Under the CRS contract with NASA, Orbital ATK will deliver approximately 59,000 pounds (26,800 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over 10 missions through 2018. Beginning in 2019, Orbital ATK will carry out a minimum of six initial cargo missions under NASA's recently awarded CRS-2 contract. 

B-roll and animation footage for the mission can be found here: http://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/bmc/#.

About Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs approximately 12,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in several international locations. For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com.

# # #

 

 

 

©2016 Orbital ATK Inc. - All Rights Reserved.                                                                                                                            

 

---

 

 

Cygnus cargo ship arrives at ISS

James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 7:27 a.m. EDT March 26, 2016

 

 

Orbital ATK's S.S. Rick Husband Cygnus cargo ship approaching the International Space Station on Saturday morning.(Photo: NASA TV)

Nearly four tons of food, spare parts and science experiments have arrived safely at the International Space Station after a late Tuesday blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

At 6:51 a.m. EDT Saturday, astronauts Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency used the orbiting laboratory's 58-foot robotic arm to snare Orbital ATK's Cygnus supply ship, as both spacecraft flew 252 miles above the southern Indian Ocean.

Orbital ATK gave the Cygnus the honorary name of "S.S. Rick Husband," for the late NASA astronaut who piloted an early space shuttle mission to the ISS and commanded the Columbia crew lost during reentry from space in 2003.

"Excellent work, gentlemen," radioed Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian astronaut communicating with the crew from Mission Control in Houston. "Much appreciated. Made that look easy."

"We're really honored to bring aboard the S.S. Rick Husband to the International Space Station," replied Kopra. "It recognizes a personal hero to so many of us, and this will be the first Cygnus honoree who was directly involved with the construction of this great station."

Husband's wife and two children were present to see the Cygnus launched from Cape Canaveral by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 11:05 p.m. Tuesday.

Among the science experiments packed on the Cygnus was Strata-1, a study of simulated asteroid regolith involving researchers from the University of Central Florida.

Two more supply runs will quickly follow the Cygnus mission dubbed OA-6.

Next up: a Russian Progress freighter is due to blast off at 12:23 p.m. EDT Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and dock two days later.

Then SpaceX is targeting an April 8 launch from Cape Canaveral of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule, the first Dragon to fly since a launch failure last June (the Falcon 9 has launched three times since then).

"The traffic just keeps coming over the short-term here," said Kenny Todd, NASA's ISS operations integration manager, before the Cygnus launch.

SpaceX last week posted a picture of one of the mission's high-profile payloads being loaded into the Dragon's unpressurized "trunk." Bigelow Aerospace's Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, is a prototype habitat module that could be the basis for a private space station.

Vulcan advances

The rocket upon which United Launch Alliance's future hinges has completed an important early design milestone, the company announced last week.

The "preliminary design review" kept the Vulcan rocket on track for a first launch as soon as 2019.

The review assessed a Vulcan powered by a pair of Blue Origin BE-4 main engines, but ULA continues to study an alternative that would use Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine instead.

The BE-4 is the more likely choice because its development is more than a year ahead of the AR1's.

ULA is developing the Vulcan to replace its existing fleet of Atlas V and Delta IV rockets.

Congress has demanded the military stop relying on Russian rocket engines to launch national security missions, limiting the future for ULA's workhorse Atlas V. The Delta IV is prohibitively expensive.

The more affordable Vulcan could allow ULA to compete with SpaceX and others not only for government missions that have been the company's primary reason for being, but also for commercial satellite launches.

However, ULA's parent companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have not yet made a long-term commitment to the Vulcan, funding it only on a quarterly basis.

Antares return to flight

With a second Cygnus spacecraft safely launched from the Space Coast by an Atlas V rocket, Orbital ATK's focus is now on returning its Antares rocket to flight from Virginia.

The company in May plans to test-fire the rocket's new Russian-made RD-181 engines at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.

The next Antares launch of a Cygnus, a mission labeled OA-5, is tentatively expected in July, but the timing depends on NASA's cargo needs.

"We look forward to flying out of there and having a two-launch site capability for the Cygnus," said Frank Culbertson, head of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group.

Test drive

The transporter being upgraded to carry NASA's next exploration rocket to its pad was out for a test drive last week at Kennedy Space Center.

Crawler-Transporter 2 drove between the Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pad 39B to test various upgrades including new generators, bearings and jacking, elevation and leveling cylinders.

NASA first used crawler-transporters to haul Saturn V moon rockets to their pads, then space shuttles that launched for three decades.

NASA's 322-foot Space Launch System rocket, or SLS, is targeting a first test launch in 2018 from pad 39B with an unmanned Orion crew capsule. The rocket and a mobile launch tower will ride atop the crawler-transporter.

"This is going to be our crawler-transporter for the next 30 years," KSC Director Bob Cabana said earlier this month. "We are going to roll out to the pad with the vehicle that will one day take us to Mars on this crawler-transporter."

Rutherfords ready

Rocket Lab, a New Zealand company considering the Space Coast as a site for launches and engine manufacturing, says its Rutherford rocket engines are now qualified for flight.

Test flights of the Electron rocket, which is being designed to launch small satellites, could begin in the second half of this year from the company's New Zealand launch site.

"We are seeing the vehicle come together, and are looking to move to manufacturing at quantity for both our test and commercial flights," said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO, in a press release.

Rocket Lab has a $7 million award from NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, to fly small satellites by April 2018.

Moon Express, which is testing a small lunar lander at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, has chosen the Electron for a planned 2017 launch in its bid to capture the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Walk of Fame auction

The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in downtown Titusville will host a fundraising auction of aerospace memorabilia from noon to 5 p.m. next Saturday.

More than 200 items donated by space workers and astronauts include pins and patches, signed photos, mission manuals and flight plans, and a "Lunar Bible" flown in microfilm form on Apollo 13.

Review the items and place bids online or at the museum located at 308 Pine Street. All proceeds will help the nonprofit expand its education programs refresh its gallery space Visit www.spacewalkoffame.org for details.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 orjdean@floridatoday.com. 

 

Copyright © 2016 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved. 

 

---

 

By William Harwood CBS News March 26, 2016, 1:00 PM

Cargo ship brings 3.6 tons of supplies to space station

A cargo ship loaded with 3.6 tons of equipment, crew supplies and research gear was captured by the International Space Station's robot arm early Saturday to close out a smooth three-day rendezvous.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, which launched Tuesday night atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, pulled up to within about 30 feet of the space station and then stood by while astronaut Tim Kopra, operating the lab's robot arm, locked onto a grapple fixture at 6:51 a.m. EDT (GMT-5).

Flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston then took over arm operations and carefully pulled the cargo craft in for berthing at the Earth-facing port of the station's central Unity module. After a bit of a struggle getting the supply ship precisely aligned, motorized bolts drove home to lock the Cygnus in place.

Kopra and his crewmates plan to open the capsule Sunday to begin the process of moving equipment and supplies into the station. At the same time, they will replace the off-loaded cargo with trash and no-longer-needed gear. The cargo ship is expected to remain attached to the station for 55 days, departing May 20.

The Cygnus is the first of three cargo ships expected to reach the station over the next 15 days, a record for space station operations. A Russian Progress freighter, scheduled for launch next Thursday, will reach the station on April 2, and a SpaceX Dragon supply ship is set for launch April 8, arriving two days later.

British astronaut Timothy Peake, left, assists station commander Timothy Kopra, right, operating the lab's robot arm from the multi-window cupola to capture the Cygnus cargo ship.

NASA

The Dragon's berthing at the Harmony module's Earth-facing port will mark the first time two U.S. cargo ships have been attached to the station at the same time, joining the Cygnus, two Progress freighters and a pair of Soyuz crew ferry craft. All told, the three cargo ships will deliver some 12 tons of supplies and equipment.

The Cygnus, making Orbital ATK's fifth operational station resupply flight -- its second since a catastrophic October 2014 launch failure -- is loaded with 1,713 pounds of science gear, 2,511 pounds of crew supplies, 2,442 pounds of station hardware and another 550 pounds of computer and spacewalk equipment.

The gear includes 29 small "nano" satellites, a 3-D printer and experiments in a variety of fields, including one to study mechanical "grippers" that work on the same principal as a gecko's sticky feet, another to spectroscopically study meteor trails from above to determine their chemical constituents and one to learn more about how the soil of airless moons, comets and asteroids behaves.

One experiment will remain aboard the Cygnus and not be activated until after the spacecraft departs in May. The Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or Saffire, will ignite a relatively large piece of composite material to study how flames propagate in the absence of gravity. The goal is to learn more about fire prevention and safety in spacecraft.

The actual burning will be contained inside the Saffire experiment housing aboard Cygnus, but Kopra called down for additional details after the cargo ship was captured.

"We're somewhat familiar with the experiment that's in Cygnus called Saffire, but we wanted to see if it would be possible to send up some additional technical and safety information about the experiment," he called.

"Yes, we can put that together and get it up to you," Jay Marschke replied from mission control.

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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Traveling Cygnus pulls into port at the International Space Station

March 26, 2016 Justin Ray

CAPE CANAVERAL — Astronauts aboard the International Space Station used the robotic arm to snare a commercial cargo ship and bring it aboard this morning while traveling at five miles per second.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus freighter, dubbed the S.S. Rick Husband, was captured at 6:51 a.m. EDT (1051 GMT) by Expedition 47 commander and arm operator Tim Kopra floating in the station's multi-window Cupola.

"Cygnus capture is complete," Kopra radioed to Mission Control in Houston as the spacecraft flew 252 miles above the southern Indian Ocean.

"Houston copies. Excellent work gentlemen. Much appreciated. Made that look easy," replied Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut serving as CAPCOM in Mission Control.

"And Houston we'd also like to say we are really honored to bring aboard the S.S. Rick Husband to the International Space Station, a personal hero to so many of us. And this will be the first Cygnus honoree who was directly involved with the construction of this great station," Kopra added.

It capped a three-day journey for the ship from the launch pad to its destination, successfully rocketing into orbit Tuesday night atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The freighter's preliminary orbit was more than a hundred miles lower than the space station as it began the chase to systematically raise its altitude through a long series of maneuvers.

Cygnus on final approach this morning. Credit: Astronaut Tim Peake

It was a textbook rendezvous this morning as Cygnus slowly approached the station from beneath the complex, stopping at a series of waypoints to verify all was normal. Expedition 47 flight engineer Tim Peake from the European Space Agency, also in the Cupola, made continual checks to ensure Cygnus was staying on course.

The craft eventually arrived 40 feet below, allowing the robot arm to capture a grapple fixture on Cygnus.

"It was a flawless rendezvous from start to finish for the Cygnus cargo craft, which was solid as a rock in its performance," NASA commentator Rob Navias said.

"All of its rendezvous burns executed perfectly, all of the terminal phase of the rendezvous executed to perfection."

The Canadian-made arm, under remote-operation via Mission Control, then maneuvered the vessel to the underside of Unity, the connecting module near the center of the station. Cygnus was delicately seated in the berthing mechanism, triggering the four "ready-to-latch" indicators at 10:37 a.m. EDT (1437 GMT).

Peake, (left) and Kopra (right) work in tandem in the Cupola. Credit: Astronaut Tim Peake

Sixteen electrically-driven bolts in the Earth-facing port, commanded via laptop computer in the Destiny laboratory module by astronaut Jeff Williams, then engaged to firmly and officially install Cygnus at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 GMT), the 10th Commercial Resupply Services mission to reach the station and fourth by Orbital ATK.

"We are proud to be part of the machinery of human spaceflight and human presence in the exploration of space," said Dan Tani, former space shuttle and station astronaut and now the senior director for mission and cargo operations at Orbital ATK.

"Orbital Sciences was one of the first successful private space companies to get stuff into orbit, back with the Pegasus launch vehicle. Orbital was really instrumental into bringing the private sector into space."

NASA hired Orbital ATK and SpaceX to deliver cargo and goods to the International Space Station after the space shuttle fleet was retired. The next SpaceX launch is a few weeks away.

The Expedition 47 crew, now six-person strong with arrival of three fresh crew mates a week ago, intends to open the hatchway into Cygnus on Sunday morning to begin the arduous task of unloading thousands of pounds of supplies and putting it in the right locations.

"My friends in the astronaut office have sent some personal items for the crew. It is always great to find an Easter Egg, the little hidden surprises that the astronaut friends have put in there for them," Tani said.

Welcome sign placed inside Cygnus before launch. Credit: NASA

A welcome sign is placed just inside the hatch with a picture of Rick Husband, the namesake of the freighter. He was the pilot of the first space shuttle flight to dock with the International Space Station in 1999 and was the commander of Columbia's ill-fated mission in 2003 in which the crew of seven was lost.

The S.S. Rick Husband is carrying:

-Crew supplies: 2,511 pounds
-Vehicle hardware: 2,443 pounds
-Science utilization: 1,713 pounds
-EVA gear: 346 pounds
-Computer resources: 216 pounds

The Cygnus is scheduled to spend 55 days at the station, through May 20, to be emptied of the "upmass" and then filled with about 4,000 pounds of trash and no-longer-needed items to be removed from the outpost.

"Just like your house, if you started collecting the garbage in your basement or your garage, you'd look forward to garbage day. So our departure is garage day on the space station," Tani said.

"As big as the space station is, you'd be surprised how big of an issue storage space is. Anytime they can take this big ball of old food and T-shirts and towels and experiment cartridges and move it out of the way and have more room to store usable stuff, the better."

After it leaves, the Cygnus will perform an internal experiment, called SAFFIRE, to observe the propagation of fire in microgravity, then deploy some cubesats before re-entering to a harmless disposal over the South Pacific.

"We expect to be in orbit about 8 days after unberth until re-entry. And that is to get all of the SAFFIRE data down to the ground," Tani said.

What's more, a Re-entry Breakup Recorder inside the module will characterize the destructive plunge into the atmosphere for playback via satellite to investigators after a survivable unit splashes down.

 

© 2016 Spaceflight Now Inc. 

 

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Easter delivery: Cargo ship arrives at space station

This still image taken from NASA TV shows acommercial cargo ship named Cygnus about to connect to the …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments.

Instead of the usual bunny, Saturday's delivery came via a swan — Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule, named after the swan constellation. The cargo carrier rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night.

NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Indian Ocean. "Excellent work, gentlemen," Mission Control radioed. Four hours later, the capsule was bolted firmly to the complex.

It's the first of three shipments coming up in quick succession. A Russian cargo ship will lift off Thursday, followed by a SpaceX supply run on April 8. NASA has turned to private industry to keep the space station stocked.

The newly arrived Cygnus holds nearly 8,000 pounds of groceries, equipment and research. Among the newfangled science: robotic grippers modeled after geckos' feet and the ingredients for a large-scale, controlled fire. A commercial-quality 3-D printer is packed inside as well; anyone will be able to order prints, for a price, from the Made In Space company. Virginia-based Orbital ATK hints Easter eggs may also be on board.

The blaze — confined to a box inside the Cygnus — won't be set until the capsule departs in May with a load of trash. NASA researchers want to see how fast the cotton-fiberglass fabric burns, in hopes of improving future spacecraft safety. Following the experiment, the capsule will burn up, for real, during re-entry.

As it turns out, the Cygnus had an out-of-the-ordinary ride to orbit. The first-stage booster of the normally reliable unmanned Atlas V rocket stopped firing six seconds early, and the upper stage had to compensate by burning a minute longer, to get the capsule in the right orbit. Rocket maker United Launch Alliance has delayed its next launch, a military satellite mission, to figure out what went wrong.

The commander of the doomed space shuttle Columbia, meanwhile, is being honored with this latest delivery. Orbital ATK named this Cygnus after Rick Husband, who piloted the first shuttle docking at the space station in 1999. He died aboard Columbia during re-entry in 2003, along with six other astronauts. Kopra called him a "personal hero" and said he was honored to welcome the "S.S. Rick Husband" aboard.

 

Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

 

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Cargo ship reaches space station on resupply run

This NASA photo shows a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International Space Station lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 22, 2016 (AFP Photo/United Launch Alliance)

Washington (AFP) - An unmanned cargo ship packed with science experiment materials plus food, water and clothes successfully docked at the International Space Station on Saturday, NASA partner Orbital ATK said.

The cargo ship, Cygnus, which blasted off Tuesday on the resupply run, was carrying 7,900 pounds (3.6 metric tons) of supplies to the station for the ISS crew of six astronauts, as well as components to support dozens of science and research probes.

Cygnus was captured by the space station's robotic arm, operated by crew members, and guided into its berthing port. The operation was over by 1452 GMT.

"Our flexible Cygnus spacecraft has a lot of work left to do. Following its stay at the ISS, and for the first time, we will undertake three experiments onboard the unmanned spacecraft," said Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group.

The pressurized vessel will stay at the ISS until May. After loading it with trash and once it is at a safe distance from the station, NASA engineers will then set off a blaze inside the capsule to see how large flames behave in space.

NASA has set off tiny controlled fires in space in the past, but never tested how large flames react inside an orbiting space capsule.

Cygnus' cargo also includes an instrument that, for the first time, will allow experts to evaluate, from space, the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere.

It was also carrying a new 3D printer and another scientific highlight includes a so-called Gecko Gripper, a mechanism similar to the tiny hairs on the feet of geckos that makes it possible for them to stick to surfaces.

This technology could one day be used on the hands and feet of robots that would move along the exterior of spacecraft to carry out inspections and repairs.

It is Orbital's fifth supply mission to the ISS, as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to deliver necessities to the astronauts living in space.

 

Copyright © 2016 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. 

 

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Space Station Snags Cygnus Supply Ship

By Sarah Lewin, Staff Writer | March 26, 2016 06:00am ET

An Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft slowly approaches the International Space Station on March 26,2016. Astronaut Tim Kopra successfully grabbed the spacecraft with the station's robotic arm.

Credit: NASA TV

An Orbital ATK Cygnus supply spacecraft successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station early this morning (March 26), bringing vital supplies, spacewalk gear and science experiments for the crew of the orbiting lab.

Assisted by British astronaut Tim Peake, American astronaut and space station Cmdr. Tim Kopra grappled the craft with the space station's robotic arm at about 6:51 EDT (1051 GMT) this morning, and the crew will soon begin the long process of transferring nearly 7,500 lbs. (3,400 kilograms) of supplies off of the privately owned craft.

The Cygnus spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut Col. Rick Husband, the commander of space shuttle Columbia (STS-107), which broke apart on reeentry in 2003. Kopra paid tribute to Husband shortly after capturing the craft. 

"Houston we'd also like to say that we're really honored to bring aboard the SS Rick Husband to the International Space Station," Kopra said. "It recognizes a personal hero to so many of us, and this will be the first Cygnus honoree who was directly involved with the construction of this great station."

The Cygnus spacecraft launched March 22 on an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It marks the most cargo ever carried by a Cygnus spacecraft, and is the last in Orbital ATK's current cargo delivery contract with NASA in which the company will launch a Cygnus craft on a rocket built by ULA. (Orbital ATK will use its own Antares rocket to complete the remaining cargo shipments.) [Blastoff! Orbital ATK CRS-6 Mission Launches to Space Station (Video)]

The massive experimental payload includes a camera to investigate meteor showers hitting Earth; a series of samples to test the microgravity movement of the soil-like compound covering asteroids, called regolith; sticky Gecko Gripper pads; and a permanent 3D printer for the station.

In addition, one experiment will stay on the craft while it's docked to the station, and will only be activated once it's filled with trash and released from the space station in May. That experiment, called Saffire-1, will kindle a large-scale fire in a special box to measure how fire grows and spreads in microgravity. On its way out, the spacecraft will also release five minisatellites into orbit.

Soon, the station's U.S. Laboratory Module will be looking much busier:

The @Space_Station US Laboratory Module at bedtime -- this big ship is quiet now. #GoodNight from #ISS. pic.twitter.com/NjJDgDJZCn

— Tim Kopra (@astro_tim) March 23, 2016

The current crew — which includes Kopra and Peake, along with Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko, Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka — will see a lot of traffic to the station in the next few weeks. Next week, a Russian Progress supply craft will leave the station, NASA officials said, and a new one is scheduled to arrive on April 2. Later in April, SpaceX is scheduled to send a supply spacecraft to the station. The craft will be docked simultaneously with the Cygnus capsule. SpaceX's delivery will include an inflatable habitat that will add an experimental extra room to the station.

 

Copyright © 2016 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved. 

 

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