Fwd: Mars Odyssey Launched 15 Years Ago

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: April 6, 2016 at 7:05:53 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Mars Odyssey Launched 15 Years Ago

 

April 5, 2016

Mars Longevity Champion Launched 15 Years Ago

At 11:02 a.m. EDT on April 7, 2001, crowds watch a Boeing Delta II rocket lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, carrying NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft into space on its seven-month journey to Mars. Image Credit: NASA
› Full image and caption

The NASA spacecraft that was launched 15 years ago this week carried the name 2001 Mars Odyssey and the hopes for reviving a stymied program of exploring the Red Planet.

Back-to-back failures of two Mars missions launched in 1999 had prompted an overhaul of NASA's Mars plans. It worked: Not only has Odyssey itself operated successfully longer than any other spacecraft ever sent to Mars, but during Odyssey's lifespan so far, all six subsequent NASA missions sent to Mars have also succeeded.

A Delta II launch vehicle lifted Odyssey from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on April 7, 2001. When the spacecraft reached Mars on Oct. 24, 2001, it fired its main engine to enter orbit. A three-month "aerobraking" phase followed, using carefully controlled dips into the upper atmosphere of Mars to adjust the size and shape of the orbit in preparation for systematic mapping of the Red Planet.

The year of the launch and arrival played into NASA naming the mission 2001 Mars Odyssey as a tribute to the vision and spirit of space exploration portrayed in the works of science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, including the best-seller "2001: A Space Odyssey." Clarke (1917-2008) endorsed the mission's naming before the launch.

Odyssey completed its prime mission in 2004. With repeated mission extensions, it became the longevity champion of Mars spacecraft in December 2010.

"Every day for more than five years, Odyssey has been extending its record for how long a spacecraft can keep working at Mars," said Odyssey Project Manager David Lehman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "The spacecraft is remarkably healthy, and we have enough fuel to last for several more years."

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the Odyssey spacecraft and collaborates with JPL in mission operations.

"In addition to the quality of this spacecraft, the careful way it is operated has been crucial to how it has stayed so productive so long," said Odyssey Project Scientist Jeffrey Plaut of JPL. "Odyssey was designed for a four-year mission. We're in the 15th year, and it keeps doing everything we ask it to do."

Some of Odyssey's important findings were accomplished within the first year after launch. One suite of instruments found evidence for water ice close to the surface in large areas of Mars. Another investigation measured the natural radiation environment on the way from Earth to Mars and in orbit around Mars, gaining information vital for design of human missions in what has become NASA's Journey to Mars.

Odyssey's longevity has enabled other feats, such as complete global mapping of Mars both in daytime light and in nighttime infrared emissions.

Each full year of changing seasons on Mars lasts about 26 months, so Odyssey has observed the planet through more than six Martian years. These observations have revealed some seasonal patterns that repeat each year and other seasonal events, such as large dust storms, which differ significantly from year to year.

Just in the past year, Odyssey's orbit has put the spacecraft in position to observe Mars in early-morning light. Previously, the spacecraft flew over ground that was either in afternoon lighting or pre-dawn darkness. Maneuvers in 2014 and 2015 were designed to alter the geometry of the orbit with respect to the sun. The new geometry enables studies of morning clouds and fogs and comparison of ground temperatures in the morning to temperatures of the same sites in the afternoon and pre-dawn.

In addition to its direct contributions to planetary science, Odyssey provides important support for other missions in NASA's Journey to Mars through communication relay service and observations of candidate landing sites. More than 90 percent of the data received from NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers has been relayed via Odyssey. Relay support for NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is shared between the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey.

For more information about Odyssey, visit:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey

 

News Media Contact

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.w.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

2016-096  

 

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Fwd: Static fire complete in run-up to launch of SpaceX supply ship

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: April 6, 2016 at 7:04:47 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Static fire complete in run-up to launch of SpaceX supply ship

 

 April 5, 2016

MEDIA ADVISORY M16-035

NASA Progresses Toward SpaceX Resupply Mission to Space Station

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), developed for NASA by Bigelow Aerospace, is lifted into SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft for transport to the International Space Station when the spacecraft launches at 4:43 p.m. Friday, April 8, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida

Credits: SpaceX

NASA provider SpaceX is scheduled to launch its eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on Friday, April 8. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is targeted to lift off on the company's Falcon 9 rocket at 4:43 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews.

NASA TV also will air two briefings on Thursday, April 7. At 1 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, followed by a briefing by mission managers at 3:30 p.m. The briefings also will stream live on the agency's website.

About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon will reach its preliminary orbit, deploy its solar arrays and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station.

The spacecraft will arrive at the station Sunday, April 10, at which time NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake will use the station's robotic arm to capture the Dragon spacecraft. Ground commands will be sent from Houston to the station's arm to install Dragon on the bottom side of the Harmony module for its stay at the space station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 5:30 a.m. on NASA TV, with installation set to begin at 9:30 a.m. 

The following day, the crew will pressurize the space between the station and Dragon and open the hatch between the two spacecraft.

The Dragon spacecraft will deliver almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital outpost and its crew. The cargo includes the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be attached to the space station to test the use of an expandable space habitat in microgravity. Scheduled to return to Earth in May, the Dragon spacecraft will bring back biological samples from astronauts, including those collected during NASA's one-year mission.

The new experiments arriving to the station will help investigators study muscle atrophy and bone loss in space, use microgravity to seek insight into the interactions of particle flows at the nanoscale level and use protein crystal growth in microgravity to help in the design of new drugs to fight disease.

Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on May 11. About five-and-a-half hours after it leaves the station, it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

Media at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings on April 7 and 8, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov.

If the launch does not occur on Friday, April 8, the next launch opportunity is 4:20 p.m. Saturday, April 9, with NASA TV coverage starting at 3:15 p.m.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-8-briefings-and-events

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Learn more about the SpaceX mission to the International Space Station at:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

-end-

Tabatha Thompson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4811
tabatha.t.thompson@nasa.gov

Gregory B. Harland
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-861-7401
gregory.b.harland@nasa.gov

Last Updated: April 5, 2016

Editor: Karen Northon

 

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Static fire complete in run-up to launch of SpaceX supply ship

April 6, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is pictured inside the hangar at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad before rollout leading up to Tuesday's static fire test. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX ran a Falcon 9 rocket through a customary preflight checkout Tuesday, filling it with super-cold propellants and firing its nine Merlin first stage engines in preparation for liftoff Friday on a resupply run to the International Space Station.

The static fire test Tuesday night at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad is a critical milestone ahead of Friday's scheduled takeoff of the Falcon 9 rocket with SpaceX's Dragon supply ship with 6,913 pounds (3,136 kilograms) of cargo for the space station and its six-person crew.

The cargo load includes live mice for an experiment studying how long-duration spaceflight can waste muscle mass, and an expandable module made by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace to be attached to the space station for a technology demonstration that could inform the designs of future inflatable space habitats.

SpaceX announced the completion of the static fire on social media Tuesday night. Engineers plan to review data from the test before convening a launch readiness review later this week to formally approve the start of final launch preps.

Liftoff is set for 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) Friday, kicking off a one-and-a-half-day pursuit of the massive research complex before arrival early Sunday.

The space station's Canadian-built robotic arm, under the control of astronauts aboard the outpost, will grapple the approaching Dragon cargo capsule around 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Sunday, assuming an on-time launch Friday.

The cargo delivery mission is SpaceX's eighth operational resupply flight to the space station. Based in Southern California, SpaceX has at least 18 more space station cargo flights on contract after Friday's launch.

NASA selected SpaceX and Orbital ATK to ferry supplies and experiments to the space station in 2008. Their multibillion-dollar contracts currently extend through 2018.

The space agency has picked SpaceX, Orbital ATK and newcomer Sierra Nevada Corp. for commercial resupply missions to the space station from 2019 through 2024.

Credit: SpaceX

Friday's launch will mark the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, and the third launch of an upgraded version of the two-stage booster producing higher thrust and burning a super-chilled mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants.

It will also be SpaceX's first cargo flight to the space station in nearly a year.

The last time a Dragon spaceship flew to the complex was in April 2015, two months before a Falcon 9 rocket disintegrated minutes after blastoff on the Dragon capsule's next space station resupply mission.

The launch failure grounded the Falcon 9 rocket for six months, and kept Dragon missions from flying for nearly a year.

The preliminary forecast for Friday's instantaneous launch opportunity calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather.

A weak cold front is forecast to move over Cape Canaveral on Thursday, bringing gusty winds and rain showers to the area. But conditions are expected to improve Friday.

"On Friday, skies are expected to clear behind the boundary with only a few lingering cirrostratus clouds associated with the jet stream digging in along the eastern seaboard," the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron wrote in an official launch forecast issued Tuesday. "Surface winds will remain off-shore and elevated throughout the day on Friday, gusting into the mid-twenties."

The primary weather concern Friday is liftoff winds.

The outlook for launch time Friday calls for a few clouds at 35,000 feet, west winds at 18 to 23 mph, and a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

If liftoff is delayed to Saturday, there is a 90 percent chance weather conditions will be favorable at launch time.

 

 

© 2016 Spaceflight Now Inc.

 

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Fwd: Russia plans to build lunar base in 2030-2035

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: April 6, 2016 at 7:08:28 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Russia plans to build lunar base in 2030-2035

 

Russia plans to build lunar base in 2030-2035 — space corporation

April 05, 18:05 UTC+3
The base will include a solar power station, telecommunication station, technological station, scientific station, long-range research rover, landing and launch area, and an orbiting satellite

 

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

 

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. It is planned to build Russia's base on the Moon in the period from 2030 to 2035, executive director of manned space programs of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation Sergey Krikalev said on Tuesday.

"Landing on the Moon is planned by 2030, and in the following period until 2035 the assembly of the lunar base, lunar station will be carried out," he said.

The proposed base will include a solar power station, telecommunication station, technological station, scientific station, long-range research rover, landing and launch area, and an orbiting satellite.

Krikalev said that there will be no full-fledged settlement on the Moon in the near future, however. "There will be no settlement like a village in which people live, tending cows, for a rather long time yet, most likely."

 

Infographics

 

Russia's Moon exploration program

Russia is developing a new generation Advanced Crew Transportation System. Its first flight to the Moon is planned for 2028. Infographics by TASS

© 2016 TASS

 

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Get commercial shuttle going re nasaproblems.com--- TWEET your DC reps!!!

Set up blogs, get all your friends to do this, you can make this happen!
The Country needs this capability!

Only you can make it happen. Don't give up! Don't forget----- SSME 's & solids are in the sls design!!!!!!

DARPA Space Efforts Address U.S. Reliance on Space

http://spacenews.com/darpa-space-efforts-address-u-s-reliance-on-space/


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DARPA Picks Up Where The Space Shuttle Left OffTrending | Labroots | Virtual Events, Webinars and Videos

http://www.labroots.com/trending/space/1151/darpa-picks-up-where-the-space-shuttle-left-off


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