Space Science Now: December 2010

Thursday, December 30, 2010

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Tank Scans Complete, New Small Cracks Detected

Cracked foam on external tank during fueling

operations November 5, 2010 caused by cracking

in top of two of 108 vertical stringers

Image credit: NASA

Technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are essentially done with the latest round of X-ray type image scans of space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank.

The computed radiography images of all 108 support beams, called stringers, on the outside of the external tank’s intertank section, which technicians began taking Sunday, are being evaluated by engineers.

However, preliminary analysis indicates small cracks were detected on the tops of three stringers on panel 6, which is on the opposite side of the tank from Discovery. The newly detected cracks currently are under evaluation and there has been no decisions on what affect, if any, the these cracks will make on future plans.

The new data, along with previous testing and analysis, will help engineers and managers determine what caused other small cracks on the tops of two stringers during Discovery’s launch countdown on Nov. 5.

Space Shuttle Program managers are meeting this afternoon (December 30, 2010) to decide whether testing and analysis indicate modifications are needed on some of the stringers. If required, modifications would begin next Monday (Jan. 3, 2010).

X-ray radiography work on the external tank
Image Credit NASA

Reference:

http://www.nasa.gov/rss/133_update.xml

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Aerojet AJ26 Engine Tested at NASA Stennis for Orbital Sciences Taurus II Launch Vehicle

Test firing of the Aerojet AJ26 engine on Stennis

Space Center E-1 test stand Dec. 17, 2010.

Image Credit: NASA

Aerojet AJ26 Rocket Engine Arrives at Stennis

Image Credit: NASA

Aerojet AJ26 Engine Test
Image Credit: Aerojet

Aerojet AJ26 Engine
Image Credit: Aerojet

Artist rendering of Taurus II on the
launch pad at the Wallops Flight Facility
Image Credit: Orbital

Artist rendering of Taurus II Launch
Image Credit: Orbital

The second test 55-second test firing of the liquid-fueled Aerojet AJ26 engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on December. 17, 2010. Test firing of 55 seconds on E-1 test stand and into 27-foot-deep flame deflector trench. One in sequence of development tests performed by NASA Stennis. Next hot fire test to verify tuning of engine control valves. Stennis has a long history of rocket engine testing going back through all the space shuttle engine tests and the Apollo Lunar program.

Taurus II
Two Aerojet AJ26 engines each with independent thrust vectoring will be used for first stage propulsion of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus II launch vehicle.The Aerojet AJ26 engine is an oxidizer-rich, staged-combustion LO2/Kerosene engine that achieves very high performance in a lightweight compact package. It is based on the NK-33 engine originally designed and produced in Russia for the Russian N1 lunar launch vehicle. Aerojet has developed and delivered over 1300 bipropellant engines typically using either monmethyl hydrazine (MMH) or hydrazine (N2H4) as fuel with nitrogen tetroxide (NOT) as oxidizer. Oxidizer and fuel streams meet and react to produce thrust. The Taurus II medium-class space launch vehicle is being developed to boost payloads into a variety of low-Earth and geosynchronous transfer orbits and to Earth escape trajectories. Taurus II will also be capable of supporting mid-inclination and polar orbiting spacecraft weighing 10,500 lbs. and 5,500 lbs., respectively.

Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va. is under a $1.9 billion commercial contract with NASA to provide eight cargo missions to the International Space Station from 2011 through 2015. NASA Stennis tests the rocket engines in the partnership agreement. The first Taurus II mission will be flown in support of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) cargo demonstration to the International Space Station. Taurus II Initial Launch Capability (ILC) is expected in the third quarter of 2011.

Aerojet Engine History in the News

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1977, and are the oldest operational spacecraft. At launch, each spacecraft carried two propulsion systems, a Delta-V system, including four 100 lbf and four 5 lbf monopropellant hydrazine thrusters made by Aerojet, and an attitude control system including 16 0.2 lbf monopropellant hydrazine thrusters. The Delta-V systems have long since been jettisoned, but the attitude control systems remain operational today. The 100 lbf thrusters are the original version of the thrusters intended for Orion’s crew module and the 0.2 lbf thrusters are the original version of the thrusters currently in use for the Global Positioning System Block IIR, and are similar to those newly in service for GPS Block IIF.

References:

NASA:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/news/newsreleases/2010/HQ-10-266.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/news/newsreleases/2010/HQ-10-266-cptn.html

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/aj26_test_fire.html

Orbital http://www.orbital.com

Orbital and Aerojet Complete Main Engine Lifetime Testing for Taurus II Space Launch Vehicle
http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=724

Orbital’s Taurus II rocket:
http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/ImagesMultimedia/Images/ExplorationSystems/index.shtml

Aerojet:
http://www.aerojet.com/

Aerojet AJ26 Rocket Engine Arrives at Stennis:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1716.html

Aerojet Propulsion Remains Operational as Voyager 1 Approaches Interstellar Space (Dec. 23, 2010)
http://www.aerojet.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=262

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Space: the signs of love. Космос: знаки любви. #2

Roscosmos Video Space: the signs of love. Космос: знаки любви. #2

tvroscosmos December 27, 2010

From the Earth to orbit about 400 kilometers. It is this distance that now separates families and friends of the astronauts. While they will work in space, on Earth they will have to wait. And the wait is always harder. Six months of weightlessness - 152 days apart.Occasional phone calls and conversations directly connected with the Mission Control Center. Brief e-mails - so in the future. And now, before the start, separated by thickglass, they are trying to convey your feelings to those who remain on Earth. Who waves his hand, who pulls a stuffed toy - a talisman, sends a secret, one they know the signs or just looking, mentally trying to convey their words to loved ones. Space, as a test of the senses. Separation, as a proof of love. What can be more than signs of love from outer space?

Includes video clips of Soyuz TMA-20 launch on Dec 17, docking with ISS, and news conference with some of the memorable moments, especially ISS Flight Engineer Catherine Coleman talking with her family. Watch how stuffed animals are used between the astronauts and family members, especially the smiles :))

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Roscosmos launch of Proton-M and KA-SAT telecommunication satellite Dec 27 2010 at 00:51 Moscow time

Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV)
Proton-M/Breeze M/KA-SAT
on Launch pad
Image Credit: Khrunichev

Roscosmos will launch Proton-M with Breeze M upper stage and Eutelsat's KA-SAT spacecraft Dec 27, 2010 at 00:51 Moscow time from launch complex 200 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. TsENKI provides live TV and Internet broadcasts of space launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch will be televised on the internet at http://www.tsenki.com/broadcast/
Moscow Standard Time (MSK) is 3 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+3. Launch time is Dec 26, 2010 21:51 UT.
Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV) = Proton-M with Breeze M upper stage and KA-SAT

KA-SAT deployed

KA-SAT is a high-capacity Ka-band multi-beam satellite owned by European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat) configured with over 80 spotbeams. Spot beams draw smaller cells on the ground (beam footprint) and more efficiently use satellite transmission power. KA-SAT will be parked in geo-synchronous obit at at 13° E (some references say 9 deg East) near three Eutelsat HOT BIRD Ku-band broadcasting satellites. KA-SAT was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform and has a 15 year life expectancy. KA-SAT is the first European satellite that will operate exclusively in high capacity Ka-band frequencies. With its High Throughput of 70 Gbps, KA-SAT is ranked as the world's most powerful satellite. It will provide satellite-delivered broadband and data services across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

Spot Beam Earth Coverage over Europe with KA-SAT

Ka-band:

Downlink 27.5 GHz - 30.0 GHz
Uplink 17.7 GHz to 20.2 GHz

Proton-M Booster Rocket

Proton M Rocket Booster

Overall height 42.3 m (138.8 ft).
Three stages
Built by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
http://www.khrunichev.com/
A Proton M/Breeze M stack was first launched on April 7, 2001

First stage

Length 21 m
Diameter 7.4 m
Six RD-276 engines
Thrust 11.0 MN (2,500,000 lbf).
central fuel tank containing the nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) oxidizer surrounded by six outboard fuel tanks containing Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) hypergolic fuel
http://www.khrunichev.com/main.php?id=42

Second stage

Diameter 4.1 m (13.5 ft)
Length 14 m
Three RD-0210 engines plus one RD-0211 engine
Thrust 2.4 MN (540,000 lbf).

Third stage

Diameter 4.1 m (13.5 ft)
Length 2.61 m
RD-0213 engine
Thrust 583 kN (131,000 lbf)
Contains guidance, navigation, and digital control system

Breeze-M upper stage

Max. lift-off mass 22,500 (kg)
14D30 liquid propellant engine (main)/1 ea./2000 kgf
11D458 liquid propellant engines (vernier)/4 ea./40 kgf
17D58E engines (attitude control and stabilization)/12 ea./ 1.36 kgf
Payload
http://www.khrunichev.com/main.php?id=49

Launch Sequence

The first three stages of the Proton-M use a standard ascent profile to place the Breeze M upper stage with KA-SAT into a sub-orbital trajectory. Breeze M maneuvers the orbital unit to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geostationary orbit.

Proton-M first stage showing six RD-276
engines and UDMG fuel tanks
surrounding central N2H2 oxidizer tank
Image Credit: Roscosmos

Set up of Proton-M with Breeze-M upper stage

and payload KA-SAT at Baikonur Cosmodrome,

Kazakhstan site 200 launch facility

YouTube Video by Roscosmos

Proton-M/KA-SAT Launch Team
Image Credit Khrunichev

References:

Roscosmos News: http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=11117

KA-SAT Image Gallery at International Launch Services (ILS)
http://www.ilslaunch.com/ka-sat-gallery

Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-M

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(rocket)

International Launch Services (ILS): http://www.ilslaunch.com/
Mission description *** Excellent resource
http://www.ilslaunch.com/assets/pdf/KA-SAT%20Mission%20Overview%20final.pdf

Proton Breeze M/КА-SAT Integrated Launch Vehicle on Launch Pad

http://www.khrunichev.com/main.php?id=1&nid=649

Update 12/27/2010:

ILS PROTON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES THE KA-SAT SATELLITE FOR EUTELSAT

http://www.khrunichev.com/main.php?id=1&nid=650

YouTube:

Set up of Proton-M with Breeze-M upper stage and payload KA-SAT at Baikonur Cosmodrome,

Kazakhstan site 200 launch facility http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8n1sRFga4

Saturday, December 25, 2010

ISRO GSLV Mission Fails