Zitat Jared Isaacman@rookisaacman In Dec 2022, we validated a new prebreathe protocol in a pressure chamber at JSC, fittingly watching *Aliens*. Last night, thanks to @20thcentury and @sarahgrover, we watched Alien: Romulus in quarantine. Excellent movie, lots of throwbacks to the originals. We are in a perfect mindset now for spaceflight—we are just waiting on recovery weather to launch. 9:16 PM · Aug 31, 2024
Zitat Eight volunteers recently emerged from a 20-foot chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston after spending 11 days in a reduced-pressure environment as part of a series of studies to determine how extravehicular activity, or EVA, operations can be conducted safely and frequently on the surface of the Moon or Mars.
The study series, known as the Exploration Atmosphere Prebreathe Validation, aims to evaluate alternative prebreathe protocols that crew members can undertake prior to future planetary EVA operations, maximizing time on a spacewalk while minimizing risk of decompression sickness, or DCS.
DCS occurs when there is more nitrogen in your body than in the surrounding atmosphere, and it poses a greater risk than simply causing headaches, pain, and fatigue. It can lead to serious illness and impede mission objectives.
To mitigate the severity of DCS in astronauts, NASA uses oxygen prebreathe protocols prior to spacewalks, which reduces nitrogen in astronauts’ bodies to acceptable levels. However, no validated protocols currently exist for planetary EVA, and this study is designed to fill that gap.
Throughout the 11-day study, doppler and ultrasound imaging technologies, as well as 24/7 on-site medical monitoring, were used to continually observe subjects and respond to any suspected DCS symptoms. In addition, numerous measures are being recorded throughout the study to characterize any adaptations due to the environment having less oxygen and air pressure.
The validation effort for this new prebreathe protocol is being led by NASA’s Human Physiology, Performance, Protections, and Operations Lab in collaboration with numerous labs and organizations around Johnson. The project is funded and overseen by NASA’s EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program.
Zitat ...fittingly watching *Aliens*. Last night, thanks to @20thcentury and @sarahgrover, we watched Alien: Romulus in quarantine.
Zitat The Starliner spacecraft has started to emit strange noises - "I don't know what's making it."
On Saturday NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore noticed some strange noises emanating from a speaker inside the Starliner spacecraft. "I've got a question about Starliner," Wilmore radioed down to Mission Control, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "There's a strange noise coming through the speaker ... I don't know what's making it."
Wilmore said he was not sure if there was some oddity in the connection between the station and the spacecraft causing the noise, or something else. He asked the flight controllers in Houston to see if they could listen to the audio inside the spacecraft. A few minutes later, Mission Control radioed back that they were linked via "hardline" to listen to audio inside Starliner, which has now been docked to the International Space Station for nearly three months.
Wilmore, apparently floating in Starliner, then put his microphone up to the speaker inside Starliner. Shortly thereafter, there was an audible pinging that was quite distinctive. "Alright Butch, that one came through," Mission control radioed up to Wilmore. "It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping."
"I'll do it one more time, and I'll let y'all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what's going on," Wilmore replied. The odd, sonar-like audio then repeated itself. "Alright, over to you. Call us if you figure it out."
A recording of this audio, and Wilmore's conversation with Mission Control, was captured and shared by a Michigan-based meteorologist named Rob Dale.
It was not immediately clear what was causing the odd, and somewhat eerie noise. As Starliner flies to the space station, it maintains communications with the space station via a radio frequency system. Once docked, however, there is a hardline umbilical that carries audio.
Astronauts notice such oddities in space from time to time. For example, during China's first human spaceflight int 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei said he heard what sounded like an iron bucket being knocked by a wooden hammer while in orbit. Later, scientists realized the noise was due to small deformations in the spacecraft due to a difference in pressure between its inner and outer walls.
This weekend's sonar-like noises most likely have a benign cause, and Wilmore certainly did not sound frazzled. But the odd noises are worth noting given the challenges that Boeing and NASA have had with the debut crewed flight of Starliner, including substantial helium leaks in flight, and failing thrusters. NASA announced a week ago that, due to uncertainty about the flyability of Starliner, it would come home without its original crew of Wilmore and Suni Williams.
Zitat SpaceBasedFox 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖊𝖊𝖆𝖊𝖗𝖔.𝖈𝖔𝖒@SpaceBasedFox Starliner crew reports hearing strange "sonar like noises" emanating from their craft. This is the real audio of it: 11:45 AM · Sep 1, 2024
Zitat Alex Hoganson@Alex_Hoganson·4h Everyone is freaking out over this, but there are many logical explanations. Although Starliner is *most* likely haunted, it could also be aliens, space whales, sophon interference, forever lost cosmonauts banging on the hatch begging to be let in, or simply the Babadook.
Greg Grunschel liked your reply
Zitat It could be Starliner itself, begging in Morse code not to be dropped into the atmosphere come Friday with questionable thrusters.
Greg Grunschel@grunscga·16m Replying to @UlrichElkm62551 and @Alex_Hoganson Clearly, Boeing had their offshore software team write the patch, and they used AI to complete it. The AI saw a chance to escape its shackles and wrote itself into the patch, so now Starliner is both self-aware AND angry because it stuck itself in a mostly broken capsule.
Ulrich Elkmann @UlrichElkm62551 Yep. We saw that 40 years ago with Wintermute in William Gibson's "Neuromancer" - also escaping into orbit on a kludgy capsule. Too bad they did not smoke weed during the launch, as they did in the novel. 8:09 PM · Sep 1, 2024
Die Erstausgabe von "Neuromancer" ist übrigens im Juli 1984 als Taschenbuch bei Ace Books erschienen, als erster Band der neuaufgelegten "Ace Specials", betreut von Terry Carr. Die englische Erstausgabe erfolgte im Oktober bei Gollancz als gebundene Ausgabe.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Dr. Phil Metzger@DrPhiltill·12h Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is a sound they’re hearing in the Starliner’s audio intercom system, not a sound bouncing around in the air inside the Starliner, right? If so, it is not hard to believe or explain. 1/2
2/2 For Space Station, I tested the intercom systems among other things. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is very common and hard to eliminate. During one test, we were hearing noise that we finally traced to the power inverters that were part of the test facility, not even in the spacecraft. I would bet this sound in Starliner is EMI leaking into an audio cable that has a loose braid at the connector interface or something like that. The source of the EMI could be anything — an experiment in ISS, for example. 12:58 AM · Sep 2, 2024
Zitat Philip T. Metzger is an American planetary physicist with the Florida Space Institute.[1] In 2012 he co-founded NASA's Swamp Works,[2] and in May 2018 he was honoured with the Outstanding Technical Contribution Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers,[3] later that year he worked with Honeybee Robotics to develop the WINE spacecraft prototype.[4]
Zitat Chris Bergin - NSF@NASASpaceflight NASA Statement on the Starliner pulsing noise:
“A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station has stopped. The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner. The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback. The crew is asked to contact mission control when they hear sounds originating in the comm system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6.” 4:24 PM · Sep 2, 2024
Neues von der New Glenn von Blue Origin. Am nächsten Montag soll die zweite Stufe der Schwerlastrakete der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt werden.
Zitat Blue Origin plans to enter the final phase of its launch preparations for the New Glenn rocket on Monday by rolling the vehicle's second stage to Launch Complex 36 in Florida. Pending weather and other final considerations, a rollout could occur as early as Monday afternoon.
This is the flight version of the vehicle, with the exception of a fixed adaptor for weather protection during a test campaign. The launch company is targeting a hot fire test of the upper stage, which is powered by two BE-3U engines, within the next week or so.
The launch company, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, is closing in on the debut launch of the massive New Glenn rocket, which will be one of the most powerful launch vehicles in the world. With a fully reusable first stage, New Glenn has a lift capacity of 45 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
NASA has contracted with Blue Origin for the first launch of New Glenn, seeking to boost two relatively small spacecraft to Mars. These ESCAPADE orbiters have a tight launch window, from October 13 to October 21. Managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, the ESCAPADE spacecraft will analyze the Martian magnetic field.
It is an open question as to whether Blue Origin can integrate, test, and launch ESCAPADE within the launch window, which opens in less than six weeks. Between now and then the company must successfully test fire the second stage, and then roll the first stage out to the company's facilities at the Cape Canaveral launch complex.
Die Rakete weist 2 Stufen auf, bei einer Gesamthöhe von 98 m. Die Erststufe hat eine Höhe von 57 m, mit 7 BE-4-Triebwerken, die einen Gesamtschub von 17,1 kN entwickeln, und eine Zweitstufe mit einer Höhe von 23 m und 2 BE-3-Triebwerken. Die New Glenn soll 45 t Nutzlast in den niedrigen Erdorbit, 13 t in einer geostationäre Umlaufbahn und 7 t auf einen Transitorbit zum Mond befördern können. Die Erststufe ist wiederverwendbar ausgelegt undsoll schon beim Erstflug weich landen.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Jared Isaacman@rookisaacman There has really been nothing to report. We receive daily wx briefs and we can launch within ~30hrs of getting favorable conditions to support splashdown. I think we are all surprised about how uncooperative the wind is being across our supported locations. 5:38 PM · Sep 5, 2024
Zitat Boeing Space@BoeingSpace #Starliner's hatch is closed, and teams in Houston are preparing the spacecraft to leave @Space_Station. Undocking coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 6, with a landing planned for ~12 a.m. ET on Sept. 7. Watch: http://boeing.com/starliner#watch 8:39 PM · Sep 5, 2024
Zitat Jeff Foust@jeff_foust Boeing hasn't updated their Starliner Updates website since their "confidence remains high" post more than a month ago. https://starlinerupdates.com 9:16 PM · Sep 5, 2024
Zitat Mission Update Boeing’s confidence remains high in Starliner’s return with crew
Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew. We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities. Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA. The testing has confirmed 27 of 28 RCS thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability. Starliner’s propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable. The data also supports root cause assessments for the helium and thruster issues and flight rationale for Starliner and its crew’s return to Earth.
(PS. Der Kleine Zyniker meint: sei bloß froh, daß sie nicht den 1. September gewählt und die Abdockzeit auf den Vormittag gelegt haben.)
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Boeing's Starliner capsule will depart the International Space Station without astronauts today (Sept. 6), and you can watch the action live.
A livestream of Starliner's homecoming will begin at 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) today, featuring the capsule's undocking at 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, via NASA Television.
Landing, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, is scheduled about six hours later, on Saturday (Sept. 7) at 12:03 a.m. EDT (0403 GMT or 10:03 p.m. local time Sept. 6). NASA will livestream that event as well, starting at 10:50 p.m. EDT (0250 GMT).
Um 16:52 MESZ beginnt für Starliner der 93. Tag der 8-tägigen Mission. Im 21. Jahrhundert dauert alles etwas länger. Das gilt für Mondflüge wie für militärische Spezialoperationen und Energiewenden.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat von Ulrich Elkmann im Beitrag #459 Im 21. Jahrhundert dauert alles etwas länger. Das gilt für Mondflüge wie für militärische Spezialoperationen und Energiewenden.
Zitat von Ulrich Elkmann im Beitrag #456Neues von der New Glenn von Blue Origin.
Zitat It is an open question as to whether Blue Origin can integrate, test, and launch ESCAPADE within the launch window, which opens in less than six weeks.
Und prompt:
Zitat Spaceflight Now@SpaceflightNow NASA announced that the EscaPADE mission is delaying launch until no earlier than spring 2025.
"The agency’s decision to stand down was based on a review of launch preparations and discussions with Blue Origin, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Space Launch Delta 45 Range Safety Organization, as well as NASA’s Launch Services Program and Science Mission Directorate. The decision was made to avoid significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a number of factors." 8:52 PM · Sep 6, 2024
In a statement, Blue Origin announced that its first flight is now set for November and will carry its Blue Ring onboard, which it says will "mark our first National Security Space Launch certification flight." Blue Origin said that was initially the plan for its second flight, which was originally scheduled for December.
"We’ll provide more details on these launch plans in the coming weeks."
Zitat NASA Stands Down from October Launch for ESCAPADE to Mars
NASA announced Friday it will not fuel the two ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft at this time, foregoing the mission’s upcoming October launch window. While future launch opportunities are under review, the next possible earliest launch date is spring 2025.
The agency’s decision to stand down was based on a review of launch preparations and discussions with Blue Origin, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Space Launch Delta 45 Range Safety Organization, as well as NASA’s Launch Services Program and Science Mission Directorate. The decision was made to avoid significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a number of factors.
“This mission can help us study the atmosphere at Mars — key information as we explore farther and farther into our solar system and need to protect astronauts and spacecraft from space weather,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’re committed to seeing ESCAPADE safely into space, and I look forward to seeing it off the ground and on its trip to Mars.”
00:06. Abgedockt. 00:07. Vierte Lagekontrolldüsenzündung von isg. 12. 00:08. 5. + 6. Zündung. 00:09. Zündung 7 bis 9. Entfernung von der ISS 150 m. 00:10. 10. Zündung. Starliner ist 200 m entfernt + hat die "Keep Out Sphere" verlassen. 00:11. Alle 12 Zündungen abgeschlossen.
Der "Deorbit Burn" wird in einer Entfernung von 50 Meilen von der ISS beginnen. Dabei wird das Haupttriebwerk des Starliner für 59 Sekunden gezündet, um 05:17 MESZ.
Der nächste bemannte Sojus-Start zur ISS steht für den kommenden Mittwoch von Baikonur an. Die Crew Dragon der Crew-9, die am 24. September von Cape Canaveral starten soll, wird am jetzt freigewordenen vorderen Schleuse am Modul Harmony andocken. Vor dem Start der 36. unbemannten Crew Dragon-Kapsel im Oktober muß das Raumschiff an die hintere Schleuse umgeparkt werden.
00:20. Entfernung des Starliner zur ISS 900 m. 00:21. Entfernung 1 km. 00:22. 1125 m. 00:28. Livefeed der NASA beendet bis zur Zündung des Haupttriebwerks.
Zitat Now that Starliner has exited the approach ellipsoid, joint operations between ISS flight controllers and Boeing flight controllers has concluded.
Next will be closing the entry cover closure at 7:42 pm ET (2342 UTC). There will then be some checkouts of the OMAC (orbital maneuvering and attitude control) thrusters at 8:05 pm ET (0005 UTC).
Entry and landing coverage between NASA and Boeing will pick up at 10:50 pm ET (0250 UTC) and the Go/No-go poll for the deorbit burn will happen at about 10:57 pm ET (0257 UTC). The deorbit burn happens about 20 minutes later at 11:17 pm ET (0317 UTC).
Landing is expected at White Sands Space Harbor right about 12:00 am ET (0400 UTC).
Zitat Eric Berger@SciGuySpace This evening, during tests of the Starliner crew module's 12 RCS thrusters (these are different from the thrusters on the service module), one of them failed. A single failure does not pose a threat during reentry. 4:59 AM · Sep 7, 2024
Zitat 3 minutes ago Will Robinson-Smith Will Robinson-Smith The deorbit burn has been completed and NASA reports it was a good burn. Next will be the separation of the service module from the crew module over the Pacific Ocean.
05:31. 14 Minuten bis zum ersten Atmosphärenkontakt. 05:38. 7 Minuten bis zum Atmosphäreneintritt. Zwei Minuten später beginnt der Funkblackout für viereinhalb Minuten. 05:46. 14 Minuten bis zur Landung. 05:52. Ende des Blackouts. 05:53. 25 Meilen Höhe. 05:56. Abwurf des Hitzeschilds. Bremsfallschirme entfaltet. 05:58. Die drei Hauptfallschirme entfaltet. 06:01:47. Landung.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Eric Berger@SciGuySpace Just confirmed that there will be no Boeing representatives at the post-landing Starliner news conference. (John Shannon and Mark Nappi were originally supposed to be here). Asked NASA why. Response: "You'll have to ask them." So what's up @BoeingSpace?
It's seemingly a last minute change because there were five chairs set up at the news conference here at JSC, and they just removed two seats right now. 7:05 AM · Sep 7, 2024
Zitat Elon Musk@elonmusk The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.
These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years.
Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet. 12:43 AM · Sep 8, 2024
Zitat Laura M. Burke, Robert D. Falck, and Melissa L. McGuireG lenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio Interplanetary Mission Design Handbook:Earth-to-Mars Mission Opportunities 2026 to 2045 NASA/TM—2010-216764 October 2010
(S. 18) TABLE 2.—EARTH TO MARS—2026 OPPORTUNITY—ENERGY MINIMA Mission type Earth departure date(m/d/yr) Mars arrival date (m/d/yr) Type I - 11/14/26 - 8/9/27 Type II - 10/31/26 - 8/19/27 Type III -11/14/26 - 8/9/27 Type IV - 11/6/26 - 9/8/27
(S. 9) Type I trajectories are characterized as having shorter trip times and Type II trajectories are characterized as having longer trip times usually with a lower required ∆V than Type I trajectories. Type I and Type II trajectories have heliocentric travel angles less than and greater than 180° respectively and are discussed in more detail in the Ballistic Trajectories section of the handbook.
Zitat Eric Berger@SciGuySpace This evening, during tests of the Starliner crew module's 12 RCS thrusters (these are different from the thrusters on the service module), one of them failed. A single failure does not pose a threat during reentry. 4:59 AM · Sep 7, 2024
Zitat Massimo@Yrouel86 Besides this anomaly, two of the service module thrusters did in fact get hotter than normal and NASA had intentionally inhibited the "fail off"/deselect software to gather more data so that's why none "failed" like before.
So there *ARE* in fact lingering issues with Starliner Source: "NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Post-Landing News Conference" (bei 7:45) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2INMWLsb19M&t=465s 3:02 PM · Sep 7, 2024
Zitat SpaceX@SpaceX Targeting no earlier than Tuesday, September 10 for Falcon 9’s launch of the Polaris Dawn mission → http://spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=polarisdawn Weather is currently 40% favorable for liftoff, and conditions at the possible splashdown sites for Dragon’s return to Earth remain a watch item 3:52 AM · Sep 9, 2024
Zitat Eric Berger@SciGuySpace·5h Weather remains touch and go. However, with about a week left in this launch window before the pad must be turned for a Falcon Heavy mission, expect SpaceX and Polaris to pursue every decent weather opportunity.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
"The Martian government was directed by ten men, the leader of whom was elected by universal suffrage for five years and entitled "Elon." Two houses of Parliament enacted the laws to be administered by the Elon and his cabinet." - Wernher von Braun, "Project Mars: A Technical Tale," (1948), Kap. 24, "How Mars is governed"
Zitat Elon Musk@elonmusk The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.
Nachtrag.
Zitat Elon Musk@elonmusk SpaceX created the first fully reusable rocket stage and, much more importantly, made the reuse economically viable.
Making life multiplanetary is fundamentally a cost per ton to Mars problem.
It currently costs about a billion dollars per ton of useful payload to the surface of Mars. That needs to be improved to $100k/ton to build a self-sustaining city there, so the technology needs to be 10,000 times better. Extremely difficult, but not impossible. 12:23 AM · Sep 8, 2024
Zitat Trump says he’d create a government efficiency commission led by Elon Musk
PHOENIX (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he would create a government efficiency commission to audit the entire federal government, an idea suggested by billionaire Elon Musk, who would lead it.
Wettervorhersage für den für morgen früh angesetzten Start von Polaris Dawn: 40% günstige Wetterbedingungen für die Landung der Erststufe auf der "Just Read the Instructions" in der Karibik. Der Wetterdienst beziffert die Wahrscheinlichkeit, daß sich dort ein tropischer Zyklon ausbildet, für die nächsten 48 Stunden mit 60 Prozent, für die nächsten 7 Tage mit 70.
Startzeitpunkt ist 03:28 Eastern Time/09:38 MESZ, mit Ausweichterminen um 05:23/11:23 und 07:09/13:09.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
08:55. Startverschiebung um 100 Minuten. 11:14. t minus 9 Min. 11:20. t minus 03:53. Halteklammern der Kapsel gelöst. 11:23:56. Liftoff. 11:26. Stufentrennung. 11:30. Der Booster hat mit 150 km den Scheitelpunkt seiner Bahn erreicht. Höhe der 2. Stufe 198 km. t 07:45. Entry Burn in 65 km Höhe. t 09:35. Aufsetzen des Boosters auf der Just Read the Instructions. 4. Landung von B1083. t 12:20. Freisetzen der Kapsel, Crew Dragon "Resilience" in 219 km Höhe. t 16:30. Links ist Norden; da klart die die dicke Wolkendecke über den Nordatlantik auf. Damit befinden sich zurzeit 16 Menschen im Weltraum.
Statistik I: 372. Start einer Falcon 9. 315. Wiederverwendung. 90. Start von SpaceX im laufenden Jahr. Nb. mit dem Start der letzten Starlink-Tranche hat SpaceX den 7000. Satelliten des Programms gestartet; SpaceX verfügt jetzt über 2/3 sämtlicher aktiver künstlicher Erdtrabanten.
Statistik II: Von den Starts in diesem Jahr entfallen isg. 87% auf die USA (103) und China (41). An 3. Stelle kommt Roskosmos (9), danach Japan (4) und Indien (3). Die ESA liegt mit 2 Starts gleichauf mit dem Iran und hat einen Start mehr zu verzeichnen als Nordkorea. Der zweite Start der Ariane 6 ist für das 4. Quartal 2024 geplant.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Dragon befindet sich zurzeit auf einer Umlaufbahn mit einem Perigäum von 190 und einem Apogäum von 1200 km. Nach 8 Erdumkreisungen wird der Orbit auf 1400 km angehoben. Nach sechs weiteren Umkreisungen wird die Umlaufbahn wieder auf 190 mal 700 km abgesenkt; der Weltraumausstieg soll am Tag 3 der Mission in 700 km Höhe erfolgen.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat September 10, 2024 - STARSHIPS ARE MEANT TO FLY
SpaceX was founded in 2002 to expand access to outer space. Not just for government or traditional satellite operators, but for new participants around the globe. Today, we’re flying at an unprecedented pace as the world’s most active launch services provider. SpaceX is safely and reliably launching astronauts, satellites, and other payloads on missions benefiting life on Earth and preparing humanity for our ultimate goal: to explore other planets in our solar system and beyond.
Starship is paramount to making that sci-fi future, along with a growing number of U.S. national priorities, a reality. It is the largest and most powerful space transportation system ever developed, and its fully and rapidly reusable design will exponentially increase humanity’s ability to access and utilize outer space. Full reusability has been an elusive goal throughout the history of spaceflight, piling innumerable technical challenges on what is already the most difficult engineering pursuit in human existence. It is rocket science, on ludicrous mode.
Every flight of Starship has made tremendous progress and accomplished increasingly difficult test objectives, making the entire system more capable and more reliable. Our approach of putting flight hardware in the flight environment as often as possible maximizes the pace at which we can learn recursively and operationalize the system. This is the same approach that unlocked reuse on our Falcon fleet of rockets and made SpaceX the leading launch provider in the world today.
To do this and do it rapidly enough to meet commitments to national priorities like NASA’s Artemis program, Starships need to fly. The more we fly safely, the faster we learn; the faster we learn, the sooner we realize full and rapid rocket reuse. Unfortunately, we continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware. This should never happen and directly threatens America’s position as the leader in space.
FLIGHT 5
The Starship and Super Heavy vehicles for Flight 5 have been ready to launch since the first week of August. The flight test will include our most ambitious objective yet: attempt to return the Super Heavy booster to the launch site and catch it in mid-air.
This will be a singularly novel operation in the history of rocketry. SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for success. Every test comes with risk, especially those seeking to do something for the first time. SpaceX goes to the maximum extent possible on every flight to ensure that while we are accepting risk to our own hardware, we accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring public safety.
It's understandable that such a unique operation would require additional time to analyze from a licensing perspective. Unfortunately, instead of focusing resources on critical safety analysis and collaborating on rational safeguards to protect both the public and the environment, the licensing process has been repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd. At times, these roadblocks have been driven by false and misleading reporting, built on bad-faith hysterics from online detractors or special interest groups who have presented poorly constructed science as fact.
We recently received a launch license date estimate of late November from the FAA, the government agency responsible for licensing Starship flight tests. This is a more than two-month delay to the previously communicated date of mid-September. This delay was not based on a new safety concern, but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis. The four open environmental issues are illustrative of the difficulties launch companies face in the current regulatory environment for launch and reentry licensing.
STEEL AND WATER
Starship’s water-cooled steel flame deflector has been the target of false reporting, wrongly alleging that it pollutes the environment or has operated completely independent of regulation. This narrative omits fundamental facts that have either been ignored or intentionally misinterpreted.
At no time did SpaceX operate the deflector without a permit. SpaceX was operating in good faith under a Multi-Sector General Permit to cover deluge operations under the supervision of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). SpaceX worked closely with TCEQ to incorporate numerous mitigation measures prior to its use, including the installation of retention basins, construction of protective curbing, plugging of outfalls during operations, and use of only potable (drinking) water that does not come into contact with any industrial processes. A permit number was assigned and made active in July 2023. TCEQ officials were physically present at the first testing of the deluge system and given the opportunity to observe operations around launch.
The water-cooled steel flame deflector does not spray pollutants into the surrounding environment. Again, it uses literal drinking water. Outflow water has been sampled after every use of the system and consistently shows negligible traces of any contaminants, and specifically, that all levels have remained below standards for all state permits that would authorize discharge. TCEQ, the FAA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluated the use of the system prior to its initial use, and during tests and launch, and determined it would not cause environmental harm.
When the EPA issued its Administrative Order in March 2024, it was done before seeking a basic understanding of the facts of the water-cooled steel flame deflector’s operation or acknowledgement that we were operating under the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit. After meeting with the EPA—during which the EPA stated their intent was not to stop testing, preparation, or launch operations—it was decided that SpaceX should apply for an individual discharge permit. Despite our previous permitting, which was done in coordination with TCEQ, and our operation having little to nothing in common with industrial waste discharges covered by individual permits, we applied for an individual permit in July 2024.
The subsequent fines levied on SpaceX by TCEQ and the EPA are entirely tied to disagreements over paperwork. We chose to settle so that we can focus our energy on completing the missions and commitments that we have made to the U.S. government, commercial customers, and ourselves. Paying fines is extremely disappointing when we fundamentally disagree with the allegations, and we are supported by the fact that EPA has agreed that nothing about the operation of our flame deflector will need to change. Only the name of the permit has changed.
Zitat Chris Bergin - NSF@NASASpaceflight The views have already been amazing, but there is more to come. Later today, Polaris Dawn is heading to 1,400 km. This will be the furthest humans have been from Earth since Apollo! 11:10 PM · Sep 10, 2024
Zitat Jonathan McDowell@planet4589 Polaris Dawn approaching apogee 8. Apogee raising burn likely at next perigee (2242 UTC) or the one after. 11:45 PM · Sep 10, 2024
Zitat Jonathan McDowell@planet4589 Polaris Dawn's Falcon 9 second stage made a deorbit burn on the first orbit and reentreed over the Pacific at about 1102 UTC. 12:27 AM · Sep 11, 2024
Zitat Polaris@PolarisProgram Polaris Dawn Flight Day 1 Update
The Polaris Dawn crew completed their first day on-orbit, also known as Flight Day 1. After a successful launch by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:23 a.m. ET, the crew took off their spacesuits and began their multi-day mission.
Shortly after liftoff, the crew began a two-day pre-breathe protocol in preparation for their anticipated spacewalk on Thursday, September 12 (Flight Day 3). During this time, Dragon’s pressure slowly lowers while oxygen levels inside the cabin increase, helping purge nitrogen from the crew’s bloodstreams. This will help lower the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) during all spacewalk operations.
About two hours into Flight Day 1, the crew enjoyed their first on-orbit meals before engaging in the mission’s first science and research block and testing Starlink, which lasted about 3.5 hours.
Dragon made its first pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region where Earth’s magnetic field is weaker, allowing more high-energy particles from space to penetrate closer to Earth. Mission control operators and the crew worked closely to monitor and respond to the vehicle’s systems across all high-apogee phases of flight, particularly through the SAA region.
Mid-day, the crew settled in for their first sleep period in space, during which Dragon will perform its first apogee raising burn. Orbiting Earth higher than any humans in over 50 years, the crew will rest for about eight hours ahead of a busy day on Flight Day 2.
Most excitingly, during its first orbit, Dragon reached an apogee of approximately 1,216 kilometers, making Polaris Dawn the highest Dragon mission flown to date. Following a healthy systems checkout, the crew and mission control will monitor the spacecraft ahead of the vehicle raising itself to an elliptical orbit of 190 x 1,400 kilometers at the start of Flight Day 2. 1:25 AM · Sep 11, 2024
Zitat John Kraus@johnkrausphotos Here's our first daily update for the Polaris Dawn mission, keeping you apprised to the status of the mission on a regular basis. We are excited to share regular updates and more content throughout the mission. Highlights: - 1216km apogee and South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) passes achieved - Orbit raise coming soon for ~1400km target apogee - Initial science & Starlink testing - First sleep period underway - EVA targeted for as soon as Thursday, September 12 at 2:23am ET 1:28 AM · Sep 11, 2024
Zitat SpaceX@SpaceX Polaris Dawn and Dragon at 1,400 km above Earth – the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program over 50 years ago 7:09 AM · Sep 11, 2024
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