Eigentlich gehört das in den "Wer ist Elon-Musk"-Strang, aber da es zum 🌝 geht, reiht sich das hier ein.
Zitat Japanese moon lander, NASA hitchhiker payload launched by SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral early Sunday with a commercial Japanese robotic moon lander and a NASA hitchhiker micro-payload called Lunar Flashlight that will seek out signs of water ice hidden in the permanently dark floors of craters at the moon’s poles.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 launcher departed from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:38:13 a.m. EST (0738:13 GMT) Sunday, a week-and-a-half after SpaceX grounded the mission to resolve an unspecified problem with the rocket. SpaceX rolled the rocket back into its hangar for troubleshooting after calling off a Nov. 30 launch attempt, then returned the Falcon 9 to the pad for Sunday’s countdown.
The commercial Hakuto-R moon lander, developed by a Japanese company called ispace, will attempt to become the first privately-developed spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing on the lunar surface. Lunar Flashlight will fly to the moon on its own trajectory, eventually settling into an orbit that will repeatedly take the spacecraft as close as 9 miles (15 kilometers) from the moon’s south pole on the hunt for signs of water ice.
The launch Sunday occurred about 10 hours before the scheduled splashdown of NASA’s Orion crew capsule to wrap of a 25-day unpiloted test flight to the moon and back, and occurred on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 landing on the last visit of astronauts to the moon.
The reusable booster, designated B1073 and making its fifth flight to space, reversed course with a retro-rocket engine firing and flew back to Cape Canaveral for a successful touchdown at Landing Zone 2, one of SpaceX’s two seaside rocket recovery pads about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of the Falcon 9’s launching stand. The landing was the second time SpaceX has recovered a rocket onshore at Cape Canaveral in less than three days, following the launch and landing of a Falcon 9 booster Thursday on a mission carrying internet satellites into orbit for OneWeb. ... Assuming all is well with Hakuto-R, the lander will fire its main engine for its first post-launch maneuver about a day into the mission. Additional engine burns are scheduled throughout Hakuto-R’s four-and-a-half month journey from liftoff until it lands on the moon.
The Hakuto-R and Lunar Flashlight spacecraft launched on a course that will take them a million miles from Earth, well beyond the moon, on a long-duration but fuel-efficient low-energy transfer trajectory. ... The first Hakuto-R lander, which ispace calls Mission 1, will carry about 24 pounds (11 kilograms) of customer payloads to the moon’s surface, according to Hakamada. By far, the largest of the payloads is a rover from the United Arab Emirates developed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center. While the rover takes up most of the Hakuto-R lander’s payload capacity, it is still small in stature, measuring just 21 inches by 21 inches (53-by-53 centimeters).
The lander is also hauling an even smaller mobile robot developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Japanese toy company Tomy. The so-called transformable lunar robot weighs just a half-pound (250 grams) and is some 3 inches (80 millimeters) wide before it deploys tiny wheels to roll across the lunar surface and collect data and imagery to aid in the design of a future pressurized rover to transport astronauts on the moon.
Hakuto-R will reach a maximum distance a million miles, or 1.5 million kilometers, away from Earth before gravity pulls it back toward the moon. The Hakuto-R lander will fire thrusters to be captured into lunar orbit, then set up for the final descent to the surface around the end of April.
189th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010 198th launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006 5th launch of Falcon 9 booster B1073 162nd Falcon 9 launch from Florida’s Space Coast 105th Falcon 9 launch from pad 40 160th launch overall from pad 40 129th flight of a reused Falcon 9 booster 1st SpaceX launch for ispace 3rd SpaceX launch of a moon mission 55th Falcon 9 launch of 2022 56th launch by SpaceX in 2022 54th orbital launch attempt based out of Cape Canaveral in 2022
"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 #2Eigentlich gehört das in den "Wer ist Elon-Musk"-Strang, aber da es zum 🌝 geht, reiht sich das hier ein.
Zitat Japanese moon lander, NASA hitchhiker payload launched by SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral early Sunday with a commercial Japanese robotic moon lander and a NASA hitchhiker micro-payload called Lunar Flashlight that will seek out signs of water ice hidden in the permanently dark floors of craters at the moon’s poles.
Zitat The lander itself, built at ArianeGroup GmbH’s facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany, is 2.3 meters tall (7.5 feet), 2.6 meters wide (8.5 feet), and has a dry mass of 340 kilograms (750 pounds).
The landing site chosen for this mission is called Atlas Crater. It is located on the southeastern outer edge of Mare Frigoris, translated in English as the “Sea of Cold.” The exact targeted coordinates, according to ispace, are 47.5° N, 44.4° E. Additional backup sites include Sinus Iridum, Lacus Somniorum, and Oceanus Procellarum, all of which are roughly at the same latitude to allow for adequate sun exposure. Landing is expected to occur about 4.5 months after liftoff.
Additional Payloads
This mission includes additional payloads for both lunar orbit and the lunar surface.
A small lunar rover named “Rashid” will drive around the surface. The small rover was developed by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in the United Arab Emirates.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will also have its own lunar robot which the agency says is approximately the size of a baseball. Additional private experiments will also be onboard, although the exact details of each additional payload are not available.
The company says one final payload was also added; a music disc containing the song “SORATO” by the Japanese rock band Sakanaction will travel to the lunar surface. The song, according to ispace, was written in support of Team HAKUTO during the Google Lunar XPRIZE. In addition, the initial name for the lunar lander was called “Sorato.”
The Falcon 9 carrying these payloads also contained a CubeSat bound for the moon. The secondary payload developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory named “Lunar Flashlight” will enter a highly elliptical lunar orbit which will have it pass approximately 15 kilometers over the moon’s south pole. The goal is to use lasers to look for evidence of water ice.
Als ich das gestern geschrieben habe, hatte ich davon keine Ahnung. Großes Beagle-Ehrenwort!
Zitat von ZR - Beagle an BordImmerhin schließt das an die Tagebuchnotiz an, die Ernst Jünger am 30. Oktober 1983 in Wilflingen notiert:
Zu meiner Frage, ob auf dem Mond Musik möglich, entdecke ich in Nietzsches Notizen aus dem Jahr 1883 ein Analogon: "Das, was uns Wärme oder Licht oder Schall oder Wurf der Gestirne ist - andren Sinnen als den menschlichen mag es etwas Anderes sein."
Noch keine Fährte, doch eine Spur.
Zitat von Ulrich Elkmann im Beitrag #3 The company says one final payload was also added; a music disc containing the song “SORATO” by the Japanese rock band Sakanaction will travel to the lunar surface. The song, according to ispace, was written in support of Team HAKUTO during the Google Lunar XPRIZE.
Zitat HAKUTO-R HAKUTO-R is the Program Name for ispace's first two lunar missions (Missions 1 & Mission 2). it is the world's first commercial lunar exploration program.
Missions 3-9 High-frequency, cost-effective lunar transportation system. During Mission 3-9, we will establish a payload delivery system to the Moon, map water resources in the polar regions, and acquire and sell data for future lunar missions.
Mission 10- From Mission 10 and beyond, we aim to build an industrial platform that enables stable lunar development by utilizing the water resources avaiable on the Moon.
Zitat The lander itself, built at ArianeGroup GmbH’s facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany
Das kam mir etwas merkwürdig vor, weil die ESA in Lampoldshausen nur ein Werk zum Testen von Raumfahrtkomponenten betreibt, u.a. einen Triebwerksprüfstand, aber keine Konstruktion durchführt, & es seltsam wäre, wenn Japan, das seine Raumsonden selbst fertigt, das ausgesourct hätte. "Gunter's Space Page" ist, mal wieder, eine verlässlichere Quelle.
Zitat Assembly of the lander will begin in Japan in 2021 at a JAL Engineering Co., Ltd. facility in Narita, Japan. Final assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) activities for the lander will be carried out by ArianeGroup GmbH at its facilities in Lampoldhausen, Germany. After assembly and final testing in Germany, the lander will be delivered to Cape Canaveral in the United States for its launch.
In addition to supporting the assembly of the lander, ArianeGroup GmbH is supplying the two independent propulsion systems: the main propulsion system (equipped with an apogee engine and bi-propellant thrusters) and a Reaction Control System (RCS) consisting of Hydrazine thrusters. Both propulsion systems are equipped with ArianeGroup components such as valves, pipes and fittings.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Und "Final assembly" heisst, da kommen noch die Aufkleber drauf? ;-)
___________________ Verbote sind Freiheit. Meinungen sind Terror. Quoten sind Leistung. Linke Regierung ist Familie. (c) Rot-Grüne Allianz Prophezeiung: 2022, das Jahr in dem in Deutschland der Schleier für alle eingeführt wird. Nennt sich dann "Maske". "Warum halten sie Begriffe wie 'Zigeunersoße' für rassistisch, aber 'Schei** Juden' für harmlos?", Hamed Abdel-Samad
Fast. Die einzelnen Baugruppen werden getrennt getestet - einschließlich der beiden Rover (Raschid & SORA-Q der japanischen Raumfahrtbehörde JAXA), der Kameras und vor allem die Batterie: im Vakuum, mit Strahlenbelastung (für die Elektronik), mit den zu erwartenden Temperaturen und auf einer Rüttelbank, um die Belastungen beim Start zu simulieren. Danach wird das montiert & fürs Gesamtsystem noch mal wiederholt, in dem Fall bei der IABG in Ottobrunn.
Für den Lander wird eine völlig neue Batterietechnik verwendet, aus einer Spezialkeramik, die auf flüssige Elektrolyte verzichtet & eine erheblich größere Toleranz für die niedrigen Temperaturen der Mondnacht mit -150°C haben soll. Das heißt wohl im Klartext, daß der Lander nicht wie der chinesische Mondrover Yutu jedesmal in den Winterschlaf geschickt werden muß, weil dort das Elektrolyt der Lithium-Ionen-Batterie einfriert.
Was nun wieder eine nette Volte ist. Sowohl der chinesische Mondrover Yutu wie auch der Lander HAKUTO sind nach den jeweiligen Namen des Hasen benannt, der für die Mondgöttin Chang'e (bzw. Joga) in seinem Mörser das Elixir der Unsterblichkeit zubereitet (in der japanischen Folklore ist das Reis für Reiskuchen, Mochi). Und beide wohnen dort im "Palast der grenzenlosen Kälte" - 广寒宫 (Guang hángōng); im Japanischen ist das nur der "Mondpalast", Tsukimiya dono, 月宮殿. (Den Kalauer mit dem "Energizer Bunny" verkneife ich mir mal.)
Der Mörser ist übrigens das Mare Nubium; die beiden Hasenohren sind das Mare Fecunditatis und das Mare Nectaris. HAKUTO soll im Krater Atlas am Rand des Mare Frigoris (Meer der Kälte) landen: das sitzt direkt "über" dem Nacken des Hasen.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Die Flugleitung von ispace steuert auch heute die Mission des Landers. Hier ist ein Bild der Erde und der Raketenstufe, aufgenommen zwei Minuten nach Trennung von Lander und Stufe.
Am 14. Dezember um 16:00 befand sich der Lander in einer Entfernung von 440.000 km (das 万 sind die berüchtigten "zehntausend") und damit weiter entfernt als der Mond. Die Funktionsfähigkeit der Nutzlasten wird zur Zeit geprüft; einige Tests sind bereits abgeschlossen. Sobald dies beendet ist, werden wir im Rahmen des Punktes Success 3 darüber informieren.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat To create a more functional alternative to BB-8 that could easily navigate the surface of the Moon while capturing photos and videos to be beamed back to Earth, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—also known as JAXA—partnered with some experts in the fields of robotics, including researchers from Doshisha University, Sony, and TakaraTomy.
That last company seems a bit out of place when it comes to space exploration as TakaraTomy is a well-known toy maker with product lines that include toys based on Paw Patrol and Thomas the Tank Engine, but it’s best known as the company that Hasbro teamed up with in the early ‘80s to create the Transformers toy line which has been popular with kids for almost 40 years.
Transforming a robot to a car and back again still (mostly) requires a pair of human hands, but TakaraTomy has developed an expertise when it comes to designing objects that are capable of turning into something else, and the partnership with Sony and JAXA has resulted in the SORA-Q rover which can transform all on its own to handle the varying terrain of the moon.
While Star Wars’ BB-8 stood about knee high next to its human co-stars, SORA-Q is actually much smaller, measuring just 80-millimeters wide and weighing in at 250 grams. It’s roughly the size of a baseball or the Transformers toys that have been delighting kids and frustrating adults for decades, and it’s why TakaraTomy was brought on to the project: the company not only knows how to build things small and lightweight, over the years it has also developed countless mechanisms to make things transform.
Once on its own, SORA-Q will transform from a sphere to a rover with semi-spherical wheels on each side and a camera unit on top featuring lenses that face forward and back. The rover’s wheels allow it to roll around on most smooth surfaces like a two-wheeled vehicle (think the self-balancing Segway or hoverboards that were so popular years ago, although SORA-Q will rely on a tail that folds out of the back for balance) but the wheels also have an offset pivot point and can roll out of phase, turning them into a pair of stubby legs that can climb over uneven terrain and obstacles.
How long and far the tiny rover will be able to roam isn’t known, but its range certainly won’t be as impressive as that of the rovers exploring Mars. However, once its batteries are depleted, there’s no reason it couldn’t roll back to the SLIM lander and take advantage of its solar panels to top itself off again. What’s also not known is whether or not TakaraTomy will be able to manufacture toy versions of SORA-Q once the mission launches to the Moon, but there’s little doubt Transformers collectors would line up for days to add a replica to their collections.
Zitat South Korea's 1st moon probe Danuri begins to enter lunar orbit
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter entered lunar orbit Friday (Dec. 16) after a four-month voyage.
Danuri, South Korea's first deep-space exploration mission, is finally arriving at the moon after a four-month voyage.
The Danuri spacecraft was expected to begin entering lunar orbit at on Friday (Dec. 17) at 2:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT, 2:45 a.m. Dec. 17 in South Korea), according to a statement (opens in new tab) from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The maneuver, the first of five planned engine burns through Dec. 28 to refine Danuri's orbit around the moon, will clear the way for the probe to get started on its lunar science objectives.
Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), began its long and circuitous journey to the moon on Aug. 4, launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The moon probe has traveled over 3.3 million miles (5.4 million kilometers) on its journey so far, KARI officials have said.
The successful launch put Danuri into a ballistic lunar transfer orbit, which took the probe on a 134-day-long, looping, fuel-efficient voyage through Earth-moon space. It finally entered a polar lunar orbit with a target average altitude of 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface.
The 1,495-pound (678 kilograms) KPLO is South Korea's first exploration mission to go beyond Earth orbit. That $180 million mission is ambitious; Danuri packs six separate science payloads designed to gather data for a range of science objectives. Five of those instruments — a terrain imager, a Wide-Angle Polarimetric Camera, magnetometer, gamma-ray spectrometer and a new networking technology test payload — were developed by Korean universities and research organizations.
NASA also has a presence on board in the form of the sixth payload: a highly sensitive camera named ShadowCam that's designed to scope out permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles for hints of water-ice deposits. Data from the instrument could be helpful for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to create a sustainable human presence on the moon.
After its first maneuver to enter orbit, Danuri is expected to follow it up with four more during moon approaches on Dec. 21, Dec. 23, Dec. 26 and Dec. 28 before settling into a final orbit on Dec. 29, KARI wrote in a statement. All of those dates are in local time for South Korea.
Zitat von December 21, 2022 3:26 pmArtemis I Orion Spacecraft Departs Naval Base San Diego
The Artemis I Orion spacecraft is on its way back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After completing a 25.5-day, 1.4-million-mile journey beyond the Moon and back Dec. 11, the spacecraft was recovered from the Pacific Ocean and transported to U.S. Naval Base San Diego, where engineers prepared the spacecraft for its trek by truck to Kennedy. Orion is scheduled to arrive to Kennedy’s Multi Payload Processing Facility by the end of the year.
Once at Kennedy, technicians will open the hatch and unload several payloads, including Commander Moonikin Campos, zero-gravity indicator Snoopy, and the official flight kit as part of de-servicing operations. In addition to removing the payloads, Orion’s heat shield and other elements will be removed for analysis, and remaining hazards will be offloaded.
___________________ Verbote sind Freiheit. Meinungen sind Terror. Quoten sind Leistung. Linke Regierung ist Familie. (c) Rot-Grüne Allianz Prophezeiung: 2022, das Jahr in dem in Deutschland der Schleier für alle eingeführt wird. Nennt sich dann "Maske". "Warum halten sie Begriffe wie 'Zigeunersoße' für rassistisch, aber 'Schei** Juden' für harmlos?", Hamed Abdel-Samad
"Payload" ist schlicht Fracht/Zuladung; mit Bakschisch hat das nichts zu tun; höchstens von der Herkunft der Vokabel, wobei in der Raumfahrt in allen Bereichen viel Nautisches muggelt, angefangen vom Astronauten über den Raumhafen bis hin zum кора́бль/Schiff.
PS. Diese "Dissertatio" hat's in sich. Nicht so sehr vom Inhalt, weil Meister Kepler hier nicht viel Originelles zum Galileischen "Sternenboten" anzufügen weiß, außer "habe ich doch schon schon vor Jahren in meiner 'Optik' geschrieben" (S. 107: "...ut Maestlinum adeoque et mea Optica ante annos sex edita praeteream, inque suum locum inferius differam...") - das war aber nur angedacht: man könnte vielleicht mit Linsen eine vergrößerte Sicht erreichen; während Messer G. tatsächlich ein Teleskop gebaut, die Mondkrater gezeichnet & die Jupitermonde entdeckt hatte - sondern von der Leistung her. GG hat mit seinen Beobachtungen in Florenz Ende der ersten Januarwoche 1610 begonnen. Sie laufen bis zum 23.; der "Himmelsbote" ist in der ersten Februarhälfte gedruckt worden. GG hat eins der ersten Exemplare, noch einen Bürstenabzug (noch ohne die Kupfertafeln nach seinen Skizzen der Mondoberfläche & den Stand der 4 mediceischen Monde; der Kupferstecher ist erst im März fertiggeworden) dem ersten Boten mit auf den Weg Richtung Prag gegeben, als die Alpenpässe wieder passierbar waren; der hat das am Mittwoch vor Ostern 1610 dem Sekretär Rudolfs II. überreicht und der hat es auf Geheiß seines Dienstherrn am Morgen des Karfreitags dem Hofmathematicus auf der Kleinseite vorbeigebracht. Kepler hat seine Antwort in zwei Tagen verfaßt, am Dienstag dem Hofdrucker das MS. gegeben & der Bote hat am Donnerstag das erste Druckexemplar mit auf den Rückweg genommen. Galilei hat ihm diese Kiebigkeit ich-war-aber-Erster! furchtbar krumm genommen. Die Broschüre umfaßt in der Ausgabe von Galileis "Opere" (Bd. III, Florenz 1892) 29 Druckseiten.
PPS. Maestlin: von diesem seinem Doktervater hatte Kepler übrigens sein Exemplar von Kopernikus' "Über die Umdrehungen der Himmelskörper," das heute in der Nationalbibliothek in Prag liegt & das von vorne bis hinten mit Keplers Anmerkungen vollgekritzelt ist. U.a. hat er sämtliche Tabellen nachgerechnet & gleich zwei Druckfehler notiert.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat von December 30, 2022Artemis I Orion Spacecraft Returns to Kennedy Space Center
After its 1.4-million-mile mission beyond the Moon and back, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived back at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Dec. 30. The capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11 and was transported by truck across the country from Naval Base San Diego in California to Kennedy’s Multi Payload Processing Facility in Florida.
Now that Orion is back at Kennedy, technicians will remove payloads from the capsule as part of de-servicing operations, including Commander Moonikin Campos, zero-gravity indicator Snoopy, and the official flight kit. Orion’s heat shield and other elements will be removed for extensive analysis, and remaining hazards will be offloaded.
Der Rover hat die beiden letzten Mondtag-Perioden 44 und 45 in Ruhe verbracht, weil es Probleme mit der Lagekontrolle des Relaisatelliten Queqiao in der Lagrange-Parkposition gab. Mittlerweile herrscht am Südpol auf der Mondrückseite Sol 46 & der Rover bewegt sich wieder.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat von January 5, 2023A top priority for the ground team at Kennedy Space Center will be removing hardware from the Artemis 1 spacecraft for reuse on Artemis 2, the moon program’s first flight with astronauts. Eight avionics boxes flown and a crew seat flown on Artemis 1 will be reused on Artemis 2.
The avionics units, which include inertial measurement units, GPS receivers, and phased array antennas, will be retested to ensure they remain healthy after the Artemis 1 mission. Then technicians will install the hardware on the Orion crew module for Artemis 2, which is inside the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center.
NASA decided years ago to reuse some of the hardware elements from Artemis 1 on Artemis 2 as a cost-saving measure.
The Artemis 2 mission will launch a crew of four astronauts on the second flight of NASA’s SLS moon rocket. The trajectory will take the four-person crew on a 10-day flight looping around the far side of the moon and back to Earth.
NASA officials have said it will take about two years to prepare the Artemis 2 spacecraft for launch after Artemis 1, a schedule largely driven by harvesting and recycling hardware from the Orion capsule that just returned from space.
“Right now, we’re still looking at that two-year timeframe from Artemis 1 to 2,” said Jim Free, associate administrator of NASA’s exploration systems mission directorate, in November.
Managers also want ample time to incorporate lessons learned from Artemis 1 into Artemis 2. The Artemis 1 mission was nearly flawless, with only a handful of relatively minor issues during the nearly month-long test flight. Ground teams at Kennedy are also optimistic they can accomplish work on the Artemis 2 spacecraft faster than they did on Artemis 1.
“We obviously want to try and do it quicker,” Free said.
Officials originally tagged 16 avionics units from Artemis 1 for reuse on Artemis 2. But after delays in launching Artemis 1, managers decided to reassign eight avionics elements from the Artemis 3 spacecraft and other future vehicles to the Orion capsule for Artemis 2, according to Tonya Ladwig, Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin, the spacecraft’s prime contractor.
Under NASA’s Artemis program architecture, the Artemis 3 mission will be the first flight to attempt a crew lunar landing, a goal NASA says it could accomplish as soon as 2025. NASA’s inspector general has reported that the agency is unlikely to meet that schedule due to concerns about the readiness of a human-rated lunar lander and new spacesuits needed for walking on the moon.
Zitat 2023 is about to start with something huge for Cornwall - both literally and metaphorically - as it's about to launch its first rocket into space.
In just a few days Sir Richard Branson’s company Virgin Orbit will operate the UK’s first space launch, from Newquay in Cornwall.
What is happening at Spaceport Cornwall for the Virgin Orbit rocket launch?
A rocket is going to be launched into space from Cosmic Girl - a former commercial aircraft originally part of the Virgin Atlantic fleet which once carried passengers more than 800 times before being "up-cycled" as Virgin Orbit's mobile launch pad and mobile mission control in 2017.
Cosmic Girl carries Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket under its wing to an altitude of 35,000ft before dropping the rocket over the ocean.
After the drop, LauncherOne ignites in mid-air before traveling onwards out of the earth's atmosphere to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Cosmic Girl can deploy satellites above inclement weather to unique destinations from sites that were never previously able to access orbital launch due to the limitations of traditional ground launch platforms, making it one of the most responsive launch platforms in the world.
Cornwall was chosen to host the impressive launch due to having the second longest runway in the UK.
Where is Spaceport Cornwall?
Cornwall Airport in Newquay is home to the UK's first satellite launch base in 50 years - Spaceport is within it.
It will be one of the only places in the world where you can be on a passenger aeroplane and look out your window to see a launch to space about to happen.
A live stream of the space launch from Cornwall will be available to watch on this Youtube channel for you to watch from the comfort of your own home. It will also be streamed on ITV News' website.
Zitat Jeff Foust@jeff_foust In an ongoing press conference, Virgin Orbit says they’re “tracking well for launch tomorrow” from UK’s Spaceport Cornwall. 3:15 PM · Jan 8, 2023
Zitat NASA_SLS @NASA_SLS #ICYMI: #Artemis I launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson recently delivered #AstronautSnoopy to Peanuts senior vice president Melissa Menta following the conclusion of the mission. Snoopy served as the zero-gravity indicator inside @NASA_Orion 5:00 PM · Jan 29, 2023
Zitat von Jan 31, 2023Kennedy Prepares Facilities, Spacecraft for Artemis II Mission
On the heels of a successful Artemis I mission, NASA is focused on preparing for Artemis II – the first crewed flight of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will test all of spacecraft’s systems with astronauts aboard. Teams with Exploration Ground Systems are upgrading and modifying facilities at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to support Artemis II, paving the way for human exploration to the Moon and Mars.
Vehicle Assembly Building
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), engineers are replacing the portable purge units used for Artemis I with a new environmental control system (ECS) for crewed missions. The ECS provides air supply, thermal control, and pressurization to the rocket and spacecraft during stacking operations in High Bay 3. The work is scheduled for completion this year, followed by verification and validation tests performed by NASA and contractor Jacobs.
Launch Complex 39B
A new 1.4-million-gallon liquid hydrogen tank is under construction at Launch Complex 39B. The increased volume of liquid hydrogen onsite will help decrease the time between launch attempts. Construction of the emergency egress system terminus area, which is used in the event of an emergency during launch countdown for astronauts to safely exit the spacecraft and launch pad area, is also underway. The emergency egress system will be similar to the system used during the Space Shuttle Program, which had baskets that rode on cables. For Artemis missions, the cables will be deployed from the mobile launcher every time it moves to the pad, and the new basket will include new materials and increased capacity. Like the VAB, the pad ECS system is being upgraded to meet the needs of Artemis II and the new Block 1B SLS rocket for Artemis IV and beyond. Engineers are on track to complete construction and upgrades this year, ahead of verification and validation tests.
Mobile Launcher 1
Modifications to the mobile launcher are underway to support astronauts and emergency egress life safety systems, capabilities that were not required for the launch of the uncrewed Artemis I flight. Modifications include developing the egress path from Orion to the new emergency egress baskets and away from the mobile launcher. The system will enable astronauts to exit Orion at the Crew Access Arm white room through the mobile launcher tower down to the emergency transportation vehicles on the ground and onward to a safe haven. Some subsystems will undergo minor improvements. Technicians also are repairing damage sustained during Artemis I liftoff. Engineers expect to complete modifications later this year.
Crawler-Transporter 2
Teams are in the process of modifying and upgrading the crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2). They will replace the “shoes” on the two large tracks the crawler rolls on. The first shipment of 16 new steering cylinders have arrived and technicians will perform corrosion control on the truck’s interior. Later this year, CT-2 will transport the mobile launcher to Launch Complex 39B for testing.
Orion Processing Facility
Engineers are nearing completion of assembly, integration, and testing for the Artemis II Orion crew module. The module has additional hardware required for astronauts to live in space not included on the Artemis I spacecraft, including normal and emergency communication components, display units, hand controllers, full fidelity side and docking hatches, environmental control and life support subsystems for nitrogen, oxygen, water, and air, as well as waste management, and fire detection and suppression. Crew seats, a system for reheating and rehydrating food, and medical and exercise equipment also will be in the crew module. The crew module will undergo thermal cycle testing this spring, followed by final functional tests and acoustic testing.
Engineers have nearly completed assembly and testing for the service module. Remaining operations include installation of the spacecraft adapter cone, spacecraft separation mechanisms, and nozzle on the orbital maneuvering system engine. Acoustics testing is also planned for this spring, and optical communication hardware also will be installed and tested.
Zitat Livestream gestartet am 08.09.2022 Watch live as NASA's next outer solar system mission, Europa Clipper, is built and tested in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
NASA's Europa Clipper mission will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate whether the moon could have conditions suitable for life.
You are viewing activities in High Bay 1 at JPL. The large aluminum cylinder visible on the stand near the center of the frame is Europa Clipper’s propulsion module, the spacecraft's main body. Measuring 10 feet (3 meters) tall and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, the main body is integrated with electronics, radios, thermal loop tubing, cabling, and the spacecraft’s propulsion system. The large aluminum box at the top of the propulsion module is the avionics vault. The vault will shield sensitive electronics from the harsh radiation environment around Jupiter.
Additional Europa Clipper assembly operations are taking place in clean rooms at JPL and at partner institutions across the United States.
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate whether the moon could have conditions suitable for life. Europa Clipper is not a life detection mission – its main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life.
The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make nearly 50 flybys of Europa at closest-approach altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface, soaring over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon. FAQ: How long will the trip to Europa take?
Europa Clipper will launch in October 2024 and will follow a Mars-Earth Gravity Assist (MEGA) trajectory. The spacecraft will travel for five and half years and arrive at Jupiter in April 2030.
NASA’s Largest Planetary Mission Spacecraft
With its massive solar arrays and radar antennas, Europa Clipper will be the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission. The spacecraft needs large solar arrays to collect enough light for its power needs as it operates in the Jupiter system, which is more than five times as far from the Sun as Earth. The spacecraft will be about 16 feet (5 meters) in height. With its arrays deployed, the spacecraft spans more than 100 feet (30.5 meters) and has a dry mass (no propellant in the tanks) of 7,145 pounds (3,241 kg).
Life Beyond Earth
Europa shows strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. Beyond Earth, Europa is considered one of the most promising places where we might find currently habitable environments in our solar system. Europa Clipper will determine whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life.
The spacecraft's payload will include cameras and spectrometers to produce high-resolution images and composition maps of Europa's surface and thin atmosphere, an ice-penetrating radar to search for subsurface water, and a magnetometer and gravity measurements to unlock clues about its ocean and deep interior. The spacecraft will also carry a thermal instrument to pinpoint locations of warmer ice and perhaps recent eruptions of water, and instruments to measure the composition of tiny particles in the moon's thin atmosphere and surrounding space environment.
Launch 06 Oct 2024 Mars Gravity Assist 27 Feb 2025 Earth Gravity Assist 01 Dec 2026 Jupiter Orbit Insertion 11 Apr 2030
Zitat What Makes Us Think There is an Ocean Beneath Europa's Icy Crust?
Europa and her three large sibling satellites - Io, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered by the astronomer Galileo in 1610, but nearly 400 years passed before any detailed views of their surfaces were seen and the uniqueness of these "Galilean" moons was revealed. In the 1960s, ground-based telescope observations determined that Europa's surface composition is mostly water ice, as are most other solid bodies of the outer solar system.
The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft flew by Jupiter in the early 1970s, but the first spacecraft to image the surfaces of Jupiter's moons in significant detail were the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter occurred in March 1979, with Voyager 2 following in July of the same year. The best imaging resolution of the Voyagers was limited to just over 1 mile (2 kilometers) per pixel. These images revealed a surface brighter than that of Earth's moon, crisscrossed with numerous bands and ridges, and with a surprising lack of large impact craters, tall cliffs or mountains (in other words, a very smooth surface, relative to the other icy moons).
Even though the Voyagers did not pass extremely close to Europa, their images were of high enough quality that researchers noted some of the dark bands had opposite sides that matched each other extremely well, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. These cracks had separated, and dark, icy material appeared to have flowed into the opened gaps, suggesting that the surface had been active at some time in the past. Voyager images showed only a handful of impact craters, which are expected to build up over time as a planetary surface is constantly bombarded by meteorites over billions of years until the surface is covered in craters. Thus, a lack of large impact craters suggested that the moon's surface was relatively young and implied that something had erased them - such as icy, volcanic flows, or settling of the icy crust under its own weight.
Scientists also found that the patterns of some of the longest linear features on the surface did not fit predicted patterns of fractures that should be created by tides as Europa orbits Jupiter. They determined that the patterns would fit very well if Europa's surface could move independently and was not locked to the rest of the interior, as would be the case if a layer of liquid or slightly warmer ice existed between the crust and deep interior.
There also were tantalizing hints that perhaps Europa had a warm interior at some time in the past, and perhaps still does. Studies of how tidal heating should affect Europa suggested that a global subsurface ocean might exist within the icy moon today.
These intriguing findings led to a strong sense of anticipation for the Galileo mission, which launched in 1989 and entered orbit around Jupiter in 1995. Galileo's primary mission included observations of each the four Galilean satellites during repeated flybys. The information about Europa that Galileo sent was so intriguing that the mission was extended to make a total of 12 close flybys of the icy moon. Data from the mission included images of Europa at a range of scales, revealing new details about the surface and providing context for how those details related to the moon as a whole.
One of the most important measurements made by the Galileo mission showed how Jupiter's magnetic field was disrupted in the space around Europa. This measurement strongly implied that a special type of magnetic field is being created (induced) within Europa by a deep layer of some electrically conductive fluid beneath the surface. Based on Europa's icy composition, scientists think the most likely material to create this magnetic signature is a global ocean of salty water.
Europa Clipper will seek to confirm the presence of its ocean. For example, measurements of the amount of flexing due to the tides are one important indicator -- if the ocean exists, the tides should deform the surface by about 30 m (100 feet); if the moon is frozen through, the tides should stretch the surface by only one meter (3 feet). Also of great interest will be the composition of the reddish material on the surface. Scientists would like to know if this material holds clues to the composition of the ocean and whether material is cycling between the surface and the interior.
In addition to Europa Clipper, other potential missions have been suggested which would tackle the most pressing questions about Europa. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) being planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) will address some of these questions, and conduct detailed investigations of Europa's sister moon, Ganymede.
In addition, the proposed Europa Lander mission concept would land on Europa’s surface to perform an in situ study of composition and habitability.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Orion Spacecraft @NASA_Orion A powerful lineup!
A fleet of Orion @esa service modules is in production at @AirbusSpace to power Orion as we carry astronauts to the Moon on #Artemis III, IV, and V. 12:36 AM · Feb 10, 2023
Zitat Bremen, 9 February 2023 – Three European Service Modules (ESMs) are being integrated in parallel in Airbus’ Bremen cleanrooms. Integration of ESM-3 is almost complete and ESM-4 is well under way, and the newly arrived ESM-5 structure is now the focus of initial integration steps.
Each ESM requires the integration of more than 22,000 elements. This is the first time ever that NASA has entrusted a non-US prime, Airbus through ESA, to build a mission-critical element for an American human spaceflight mission.
“Together with the European Space Agency, Airbus is providing half the spacecraft that will return humans to the Moon - taking them further than ever before into space and of course returning them safely to Earth,” said Marc Steckling, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus. “We have already delivered the first two ESMs, with ESM-2 currently being integrated in Orion at Kennedy Space Center. With the arrival of the ESM-4 structure last summer and that of ESM-5 just before Christmas, we have now started the serial production phase. Our cleanroom facilities have been optimised to accommodate three ESMs at the same time, and we are on track to meet NASA’s requirement to deliver one ESM per year going forward.”
ESM-2 was delivered to Florida in October 2021. It is now being tested and integrated at the Kennedy Space Center. It will be part of the crewed Artemis II Mission, which will fly the first astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth since 1972. The Artemis II launch is currently planned for 2024.
ESM-3, undergoing final integration, will power the Artemis III Mission, set to see the first woman and first person of colour setting foot on the Moon. The delivery of ESM-3 is planned for the second half of 2023. This mission is envisaged for no earlier than 2025.
The ESM-4 structure arrived at Airbus’ Bremen cleanroom in June 2022 and is currently being integrated. The recently arrived ESM-5 structure is already being worked on.
ESMs 4, 5 and 6 will be used for the Artemis IV to VI missions, the first two of which are part of the European contribution to the international Gateway, a space station planned to be assembled in lunar orbit. ESA and NASA are aiming to establish a Moon ecosystem (Gateway, Argonaut) to better understand and explore all the Moon has to offer and in the longer-term to prepare for crewed missions to Mars.
Further ESMs 7, 8 and 9 were authorised at the ESA ministerial council in November 2022, and Airbus is currently finalising its offer to provide them.
The Orion ESM is cylindrical in shape and approximately four metres in diameter and height. At launch, it weighs just over 13 tonnes, making up roughly 60% of the Orion spacecraft’s total mass. Its 8.6 tonnes of fuel power the main engine, eight auxiliary thrusters and 24 smaller thrusters used for attitude control. The European Service Module is installed underneath the crew module at Kennedy Space Center in the USA. Together, they form the Orion spacecraft.
Zitat Stephen Clark@StephenClark1 NASA plans to name the Artemis 2 crew “in a month or two,” says NASA astronaut Stan Love in remarks at the Michoud Assembly Facility this morning.
Love will not be on the crew, but he says he will be a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) in mission control for Artemis 2. 5:40 PM · Feb 13, 2023
Zitat Howard Hu@HowardHuNASA #Artemis IV @NASA_Orion crew module pressure vessel arrives at @NASA_Kennedy. Our spacecraft factory is in full swing with 3 Orion vehicles being prepared to carry humans to the Moon. 5:49 PM · Feb 16, 2023
Aus der Rubrik: ich geb' das erst mal unkommentiert weiter:
Zitat Запуск первой в истории современной России миссии на Луну запланирован на 13 июля
Запуск автоматической станции "Луна-25" пройдет в середине июля 2023 года. Об этом со ссылкой на пресс-службу "Роскосмоса" сообщает ТАСС. "Запуск космического аппарата "Луна-25" с учетом астрономического "окна" в 2023 году запланирован на 13.07.2023", – заявили в госкорпорации. "Роскосмос" не первый год готовит научную миссию "Луна-25". Первоначально предполагалось, что датой миссии станет октябрь 2021 года, однако в конце августа запуск перенесли на май 2022 года, а впоследствии и на 2023 год.
TASS heute unter Berufung auf Pressemeldung von Roskosmos:
Der Starttermin der Mondlandesonde Luna-25 (auch als "Luna Glob" bezeichnet) ist jetzt auf dem 13. Juli 2023 festgelegt worden. Ursprünglich für Oktober 2021 vorgesehen, ist der Start im August '21 auf Mai 2022 und später dann auf 2023 verschoben worden. Die letzte russische Mondsonde war Luna 24, die am 1. August 1976 gestartet ist und 2 Wochen später 170 Gramm Mondgestein aus dem Mare Crisium zurückgebracht hat.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
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