Zitat von January 21, 2025 3:52 pmBlue Ghost Conducts First Burn, Science Operations, Captures Eclipse
Firefly’s Blue Ghost continues its journey to the Moon carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments. Four days into the mission, the lunar lander completed its first main engine burn. This milestone is the first of several maneuvers that will position the lander in a trajectory towards the Moon. After 25 days orbiting Earth, Blue Ghost will continue its four-day journey to lunar orbit and orbit the Moon for 16 days before it begins descent operations to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Jointly developed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency, the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) technology demonstration acquired Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, and calculated a navigation fix at nearly 52 Earth radii: more than 205,674 miles (331,000 kilometers) from Earth’s surface. This achievement suggests that Earth-based GNSS constellations can be used for navigation at nearly 90% of the distance to the Moon, an Earth-Moon signal distance record. It also demonstrates the power of using multiple GNSS constellations together, such as GPS and Galileo, to perform navigation. Throughout its journey, LuGRE will continue expanding our knowledge of Earth-based navigation systems in space as it acquires and tracks signals on its way to the Moon, during lunar orbit, and for up to two weeks on the lunar surface.
During this Earth transit phase, the Firefly mission team has continued to ensure the spacecraft remains healthy. The most recent visuals from space include footage of Earth eclipsing the Sun.
Zitat von 11 minutes agoIntuitive Machines Delivers Second Lunar Mission Lander to Cape Canaveral, Florida
Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) (“Intuitive Machines” or the “Company”), a space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, announced that it has delivered its IM-2 mission lunar lander, named Athena, to Cape Canaveral, Florida following a historic southeast Texas snowfall.
In coordination with SpaceX, the liftoff of the IM-2 lunar mission is targeted for a four-day launch window that opens no earlier than February 26. In case of unfavorable launch conditions, such as inclement weather, backup opportunities will be determined based on the lunar blackout window and other factors.
Commanded using Intuitive Machines’ commercial Lunar Data Network, IM-2 will be the Company’s second of four manifested lunar missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (“CLPS”) initiative. ... Athena’s mission is designed to validate resource prospecting, mobility, and communications infrastructure in the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, one of nine potential Artemis III landing sites.
"Mons Mouton" war mir als topographische Bezeichnung auf dem Mond bislang unbekannt; ich sehe, daß die offizielle Benennung durch die IAU erst im Mai 2022 erfolgt ist. Es handelt sich um die höchste Erhebung auf dem Mond, was auf der Lewone mangels eines Normalnull als Höhe über dem durchschnittlichen umgebenden Mare-Boden gerechnet wird (die hohe Anzahl der sogenannten Mascons, der verbliebenden Impaktorkerne, die für die Entstehung der Mare verantwortlich sind, hat zu einer ziemlich "verbeulten" Verteilung geführt), das ist in diesem Fall das South Pole-Aitken-Basin; der Berg selbst liegt 6 km höher. Als potenzieller Landungsort ist die Gegend aufgrund zahlreicher Areale im "ewigen Mondschatten" ausgewählt worden, an denen man auf Eisvorkommen auch an der Oberfläche hofft.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Firefly Aerospace@Firefly_Space Another payload milestone achieved on our way to the Moon! Our #GhostRiders began calibrating the LEXI X-ray imager to maximize its performance levels and prepare for operations on the lunar surface. Developed by @BU_Tweets, @NASA, and @JohnsHopkins, LEXI will be calibrated daily until we land on the Moon. The payload will then capture a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field that drives geomagnetic disturbances and storms on our home planet. #BGM1 9:28 PM · Jan 28, 2025
Seitenstück. Die XB-1 von Boom Supersonic hat heute auf ihrem Testflug zum ersten Mal die Schallmauer durchbrochen.
Zitat Plans to revive supersonic air travel have taken a leap forward after a test plane broke the sound barrier above the Mojave Desert in California.
A demonstrator aircraft, known as the XB-1, surged past Mach 1.1 (850 mph) in three high-speed runs spanning 35 minutes on Tuesday.
Boom Supersonic, the company behind the test, said the flight represented the most significant milestone yet in its efforts to return to the golden age of supersonic air travel.
The US company is seeking to revive the technology more than two decades after Concorde was retired by British Airways amid struggles to make the finances add up.
The test plane, flown by chief test pilot Tristan `Geppetto’ Brandenburg, pushed through the sound barrier at around 8:30am local time in a four-minute high speed run through a specially designated supersonic corridor close to Edwards Air Force base.
Boom plans to launch passenger flights cruising at Mach 1.7, or twice the speed of the fastest commercial aircraft today. Supersonic travel could cut the journey time between Paris and New York in half to around four hours.
The Overture plane, which would carry about 65 passengers and cost around £200m, according to Boom, has received outline orders from airlines including United and American.
Boom aims to produce 33 aircraft a year at its factory in North Carolina, which was completed in June, and double that number when a second assembly line is added.
Mr Scholl said the market for Boom’s plans was more than 1,000 aircraft, based on the number of people flying business class today on routes where demand for supersonic travel would be sufficient to boost profits.
Taking the project from the first supersonic test flight through to service entry will be a formidable task at a time when even regular flights are being challenged by climate campaigners as an unnecessary luxury.
4:34pm Concorde successor breaks the speed of sound The XB-1 demonstrator has broken the speed of sound, hitting Mach 1.1. It is the first civil supersonic aircraft in US history and the first to do so since Concorde was retired in 2003.
4:39pm Plane breaks sound barrier for second time during flight The XB-1 demonstrator swiftly achieved a second supersonic flight in an effort to secure more data for owner Boom Supersonic. It has eased back down to Mach 8, which ex-Concorde pilot Mike Bannister pointed out is about the maximum speed achievable by today’s airliners. (Ein offensichtlicher Tippfehler für "Mach 0.8")
4:44pm XB-1 demonstrator goes supersonic for third time The plane is back up to Mach 1.09 as Boom Supersonic aims to gather as much data as possible during this test flight.
4:46pm Make that Mach 1.12 The plane is now decelerating and descending back to the runway in the Mojave Desert after its third surge into supersonic speed, where it hit Mach 1.12.
4:56PM Plane lands safely The plane has landed on what ex-Concorde pilot Mike Bannister has called a “really successful day”.
Zitat Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander snaps its 1st photos of the moon (images)
irefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander has snapped its first photos of its distant target.
On Monday (Jan. 27), Texas-based Firefly released two photos of the moon that Blue Ghost captured from Earth orbit. One shows the natural satellite all alone, a small grayish dot in an empty black sea; the other is a selfie, showing the moon glowing above some of Blue Ghost's golden hardware.
Everything seems to be going well for Blue Ghost so far. The lander remains healthy in orbit and has completed two engine burns on schedule, according to Firefly. In about 10 days, the spacecraft will conduct its most important engine firing yet — a translunar injection burn, which will set it on course for the moon.
Zitat Firefly Aerospace@Firefly_Space T-5 days until Blue Ghost says goodbye to Earth! With the accuracy we achieved on our first two burns, we were able to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver. Blue Ghost is already in a good position to perform our trans-lunar injection in just under a week. Our #GhostRiders continue to capture some incredible shots of our home planet along the way. #BGM1 5:00 PM · Feb 3, 2025
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