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SpaceX successfully test fired their new SuperDraco engines. These engines will be part of the new launch escape system for manned rockets. Unlike most proposed designs. SpaceX’s launch escape system will utilize built in engines rather than a launch escape tower that is seen on most older rockets. The goal of these engines (or launch escape system) is to jettison the capsule away from the launch site in the event that something horribly goes wrong on the launch pad. SpaceX hopes that these same engines will eventually help land the capsule in a pre-determined location when astronauts return to Earth.

Video: SpaceX

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Tomorrow morning (Nov. 26), NASA plans on launching the Mars Science Laboratory dubbed “Curiosity” aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta V rocket from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41. Curiosity is the most complex, scientifically capable rover that has ever been built to study another celestial body. The $2.5 billion rover will be land on Mars in August 2012 in pursuit of microbes and signatures beyond Earth. When the orbiter arrives in 2012, it will land on the Gale Crater where it is believed that water once flowed millions of years ago. NASA hopes this area will have evidence of microbes because water is considered a prerequisite to any  life.

If you wish to want to watch the launch, it will be available on NASA TV on either your TV or on the NASA website. I bet the United Launch Alliance will also be airing it on their website as well since it will be riding aboard a ULA-built rocket. Launch time is at 10:02am with the launch window closing at 11:14am Eastern Time.

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Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever wanted a chance to have all the data that the folks at ISS control have? Well, now it’s possible with ISS Live. NASA is releasing this information as part of an initiative for a more “open” government. ISS Live has been out of beta for the past month and I got to say, It’s awesome!

ISS Live includes live mission control console information:

• Console Handbook – Embedded PDF files that give information regarding console-related systems on board the International Space Station.
• OPS Planner – What the crew is doing at the present moment.
• Crew Timelines – A look at the crew’s individual schedules for the day.
• CAPCOM – Live audio from the capsule communicator. Live audio feed of the communications from the International Space Station to the ground.
• EVA – Spacewalking information. Information includes Spacesuit equipment information. Only available during spacewalks.
• ADCO – Attitude Determination and  Control Officer.  Various telemetry data.
• CRONUS – Communication Radio Frequency Onboard Network Utilization Specialist. includes various onboard computer and radio information.
• ETHOS –  Environmental and Thermal Operating Systems. Life support system information.
• SPARTON – Power system information.
• TOPO – Trajectory Operations Officer. Orbital Position information.
• VVO – Visiting Vehicle Officer. Docking information.

The website also has a lot of information regarding the building and operation of the International Space Station. According to the website, Iphone, Ipad, and Android apps are coming soon. I think this would work pretty well on an Ipad. One thing that I can recommend to them is to make the website easier to find. It took me almost an hour to find the site again. I guess I won’t torment them any more at the moment since this service is still in beta phase.

Heres the Link: NASA: ISS LIve!

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The New Heavy Lift Vehicle (NASA)

On Wednesday, NASA announced that they are developing a heavy-lift vehicle that will start launching in 2017. The Space Launch System (SLS) will be able to carry the Orion Multipurpose Launch Vehicle and will be able to launch crew to and from the International Space Station and eventually carry humans to a near-Earth asteroid and even Mars.

NASA says the rocket will use a liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propulsion system like the Space Shuttle and will use Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) on the initial flights. The rocket will be able to carry a little more than 154,000 pounds of cargo with the capability to go to 286,600 pounds.

NASA originally got the idea of this rocket from DIRECT, which was an idea developed by a bunch of space enthusiasts and costs much less than the cancelled Project Constellation because it uses many of the technologies used by the Space Shuttle. This launch vehicle basically uses the External Tank and attached Solid Rocket Boosters but instead of using the shuttle, they put the Orion crew capsule on the top with launch pad abort system.

The Shuttle With The White External Tank

Although the concept shows the whole vehicle painted white (which makes it look a lot like a Saturn V), I think the white paint will be eliminated just like it was for the shuttle program. The paint adds a good amount of weight and costs a bit of money to use.

DIRECT's version of the rocket gives us a clear look at what the rocket looks like without white paint.

This was the project I was cheering for because It’s much more cheaper to create because It uses existing parts and it looks much more attractive than the proposed Ares 1 vehicle, but I just hope that Obama doesn’t decide to cancel this one.

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Image Credits:
First Image: NASA
Second Image: NASA
Third Image: DIRECT artwork from Philip Metschan

Continue reading »]]> NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured its sharpest images of the Apollo 12, 14, and 17 landing sites which goes into so much detail that it even shows the tracks of the astronauts and the infamous “Moon Buggies”. The images point out the different scientific instruments left there by the Apollo astronauts.

Apollo 12 Site taken from LRO (Click to Enlarge)

Apollo 14 Site (Click to Enlarge)

Apollo 17 Site (Click to Enlarge)

LRO took these clearer images after its orbit was changed to be more elliptical (more oval-shaped) which lowered it’s distance from the Moon surface from 31 to 13 miles. These pictures are much better than the ones that were taken a few months ago. NASA was cautioning everyone that the newer images my not be as clear as we hope due to the rotation of the satellite. It looks like we got the best possible images.

If you go onto NASA’s website, you can get some before and after shots of the “far” orbit and the  “close” orbit. Check it out!

Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU

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Image: NASA

UPDATE: NASA’s Grail mission has been pushed to Saturday at 8:29am EDT.

The launch of two Moon probes this morning from Cape Canaveral Air Station was scrubbed this morning due to upper-level winds. NASA’s Grail twin probes were scheduled to lift off aboard an unmanned Delta II rocket this morning at 8:37am EDT however NASA did not want to risk losing the vehicle. Another opportunity to launch was at 9:16am, however conditions did not improve.

The next launch attempt will be tomorrow at 8:33am EDT with a second attempt at 9:12am, but forecasts only show a 40% chance of favorable weather. If the launch does not go tomorrow, we’ll have to wait for later this weekend when weather conditions are expected to improve. NASA has a 42 day window to launch Grail, giving it till October 19th to launch.

The $496 million will study the Moon’s composition from crust to core and will also study its gravitational field so that scientists can get a better understanding of the evolution of the Moon.

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Image via Wikipedia

According to Universe Today, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will be moving from its usual orbit to an orbit about 20km above the Moon so that it can take closer and clearer pictures of the Apollo landing sites. The spacecraft will then snap pictures between August 14th and August 19th before going back to its 50km orbit.

The LRO Twitter Feed stated “This will allow me to obtain images of the Apollo sites that are about 4 times sharper than my current best images” However later in the day, the Twitter feed claimed that due to their inability to slow the spacecraft down could cause some blurriness. The post did say that it would be interesting to compare the photos from both orbits.

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Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX and NASA came to an agreement on the first Dragon cargo delivery for the International Space Station. The target date as of Thursday July 22,2011 is November 30th with the target docking date of December 7th. Currently, SpaceX and NASA are trying to sort out how to launch two satellites on the same rocket without causing an impact hazard for the International Space Station. This flight will be a combination of the second and third COTS demonstration for the Dragon capsule.