Casual Astronomy, Spaceflight News and Lower California Weather

NASA Ejects Nanosatellite From Microsatellite in Space


On Dec. 6 at 1:31 a.m. EST, NASA for the first time successfully ejected a nanosatellite from a free-flying microsatellite. NanoSail-D ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT, demonstrating the capability to deploy a small cubesat payload from an autonomous microsatellite in space.



Artist concept of a solar sail in space. (NASA)

Nanosatellites or cubesats are typically launched and deployed from a mechanism called a Poly-PicoSatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) mounted directly on a launch vehicle. This is the first time NASA has mounted a P-POD on a microsatellite to eject a cubesat.

FASTSAT, equipped with six science and technology demonstration payloads, including NanoSail-D, launched Friday, Nov. 19 at 8:25 p.m. EST from Kodiak Island, Alaska. During launch, the NanoSail-D flight unit, about the size of a loaf of bread, was stowed inside FASTSAT in a P-POD.

"The successful ejection of NanoSail-D demonstrates the operational capability of FASTSAT as a cost-effective independent means of placing cubesat payloads into orbit safely," said Mark Boudreaux, FASTSAT project manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "With this first step behind us, we have demonstrated we can launch a number of different types of payloads using this common deployment system from an autonomous microsatellite like FASTSAT."

"NanoSail D has multiple enabling technology demonstration objectives for this flight," said Joe Casas, FASTSAT project scientist at Marshall. Casas said when the NanoSail-D sail is deployed it will use its large sail made of thin polymer material, a material much thinner than a single human hair, to significantly decrease the time to de-orbit the small satellite without the use of propellants as most traditional satellites use.

The NanoSail-D flight results will help to mature this technology so it could be used on future large spacecraft missions to aid in de-orbiting space debris created by decommissioned satellites without using valuable mission propellants.

"This is a great step for our solar sail team with the successful ejection of the NanoSail-D satellite from FASTSAT," said Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator and aerospace engineer at the Marshall Center. "We had to carefully plan and calculate the ejection time, so we'd be lined up over the United States and our ground controllers to execute the next phase of the mission."

After ejection, a timer within NanoSail-D will begin a three day countdown as the satellite orbits the Earth. Once the timer reaches zero, four booms will quickly deploy and the NanoSail-D sail will start to unfold to a 100 square foot polymer sail. Within five seconds the sail fully unfurls.

If the deployment is successful, NanoSail-D will stay in low-Earth orbit between 70 and 120 days, depending on atmospheric conditions. NanoSail-D is designed to demonstrate deployment of a compact solar sail boom system that could lead to further development of this alternative solar sail propulsion technology and FASTSAT%u2019s ability to eject a nanosatellite from a microsatellite -- while avoiding re-contact with the FASTSAT satellite bus.

NanoSail-D was designed and built by engineers in Huntsville and managed at the Marshall Center with technical and hardware support from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. This experiment is a combined effort between the Space and Missile Defense Command, Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation, both located in Huntsville, Ala. and NASA.

FASTSAT launched on the STP-S26 mission -- a joint activity between NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program. The satellite was designed, developed and tested at the Marshall Center in partnership with the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation and Dynetics Inc. of Huntsville. Dynetics provided key engineering, manufacturing and ground operations support for the new microsatellite. Thirteen Huntsville-area firms, as well as the University of Alabama in Huntsville, also were part of the project team.

For more information on the timeline of the NanoSail-D deployment visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/501204main_NSD2_timeline_sequence.pdf


To learn more about FASTSAT and the NanoSail-D missions visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats

Quoting Fshhead:
SpaceX gets set for next giant leap

"Musk told me that he's been getting a "quite good" response, even from budget-conscious members of Congress. He's even starting to think ahead to the next giant leap -- the development of a super-heavy-lift rocket, more powerful than the Apollo era's Saturn 5, which could put 150 metric tons of payload into Earth orbit. Musk said facilities in Utah, Alabama, Ohio, Florida and other places around the country could be involved in the project, and he's willing to build the rocket for $2.5 billion. "Anything above that, SpaceX will pay for," he promised."

Very Nice!! ;)

Flippin' awesome! Go, SpaceX

Some more really nice pics, Cal. Thanks!

Quoting LowerCal:
I've added some new WunderPhotos at the end of the blog entry.

The Falcon9 launch is definitely on for tomorrow.

Pat Great news! About time we started both exploiting solar sail technology and mitigating the space junk problem.

Fsh Great article! The time is right for the transition from cost-plus to fixed-bid.

PSL Looking forward to more success tomorrow.

Agreed on all! A pic from FL. Off topic, but I think it's cool.

Dang it! How do I make the image larger?

It's on my profile.

Quoting LowerCal:
Pat We're gonna have an astronaut jones until February at least.

PSL Great sunrise! Click the thumnail in your profile then you can see the full size image then right click on that to "Copy Image Location".

Thank you, Cal. Smacks forehead. Doh! LOL

LIFT OFF! Beautiful launch and a bit of a rumble.

I didn't know.. I was driving south away from the launch, turned east & saw the trail & rocket pretty high up. It was beautiful. Was like what did they launch? Got to the feed store & it was on the TV & how SpaceX will be the new cargo carrier for ISS. This was a joint launch with NASA too (yay). I knew this would come around. Interesting they launched it from a different rocket this time.

It was a test launch so they just put some weight in the capsule to simulate cargo. It is supposed to splash down in the Pacific this afternoon. The news said there was a "surprise' in the cargo they would not reveal until sucessful splashdown.

Splashdown! Dragon Completes First Flight
Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:10:52 PM CST


SpaceX reports that the Dragon capsule has splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean. That ends the Dragon spacecraft's first flight, which was also the first demonstration mission under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, contract. Launch took place this morning at 10:43 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A press conference with SpaceX officials is expected to take place from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Press Site in about an hour or so.


file Photo of Dragon Capsule Drop test

John Raoux, The Associated PressThe SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday.




SpaceX is first private company to return spacecraft from orbit
Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 6:13 PM


NASA took a giant leap away from the spaceflight business Wednesday as a private company launched a spacecraft into orbit and for the first time guided it safely back to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by large national governments.


The capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies Inc. splashed down into the Pacific Ocean, right on target, following a three-hour mission that should pave the way for an actual flight to the International Space Station next summer.



John Raoux, The Associated PressThe SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday.

I dunno ... that top pic in 119 looks more like a contrail to me ... ;')

Hey I saw a meteor. I think. Bright blue-white across the NE horizon, um, sort of from the south or south-east-ish, no tail, fast but not super fast.
I was driving so it could have been a reflection in the windshield but I don't think so.

Where's that site that has meteor sightings, LC? I want to check if someone else saw it.

12/9/10 EDIT: I found the ams reporting site without trouble - but it won't load the reports. *shrugs* guess I'll never know!

The Dragon Capsule in the Pacific post splashdown..

.."Welcome to Dragon Capsule Training 101 "..

Man that was some good news about the Falcon flight!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!
It is looking like perfect conditions here for the meteor shower mon. nightm clear & COLD!! lol

Good stuff Pat! Thanks.

Cheese. They launched cheese.

Hey Commander :)

SpaceX said the choice was a nod to the British comedy troupe Monty Python and its famous Cheese Shop skit.

Quoting sp34n119w:
Cheese. They launched cheese.

Hey Commander :)

Sweet:

"It also may have been the first spaceflight of cheese".

I love MP. British humor rings my bell.

Hi Cal. How are things?

Stilton? heh

That's where I looked, that's what I did - it never loads! It says there are 2 records and "Please Wait ..." forever.
Um. If it's working for you could you maybe copy and paste the info into a wumail or something? <:'(

A good grouping of upcoming events, with links.


Link

Today's apod shows Mars coming out from behind the brand new moon. Amazing.

Image above: An engineer uses a backscatter device to examine space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The device bounces radiation off the tank, allowing technicians to see under the tank's foam insulation. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux


Technicians to Place 89 Sensors on Tank for Test
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:30:34 AM CST



Technicians will work this weekend to prepare space shuttle Discovery's external tank for a tanking test planned for no earlier than Wednesday. Because the test hopes to glean a great deal of information, technicians will place 89 instruments including strain gauges to the tank to precisely record movement and temperatures from the tank's ribbed intertank area as it chills and warms again during the fuel loading and emptying process. The tank holds super-cold liquid oxygen at minus-297 degrees and liquid hydrogen at minus-423 degrees. The cryogenic propellants cause the tank to shrink by about half an inch.

The test will help verify repairs associated with cracks on the tops of two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the external tank and help engineers determine what caused the cracks in the first place. Technicians repaired the cracks and reapplied foam insulation on the stringers last month.

Managers determined last week more tests and analysis were needed before proceeding with Discovery’s STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. Discovery’s next launch opportunity is no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST.

Mars Rovers Mission Using Cloud Computing


PASADENA, Calif. -- The project team that built and operates the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity has become the first NASA space mission to use cloud computing for daily mission operations.

Cloud computing is a way to gain fast flexibility in computing ability by ordering capacity on demand -- as if from the clouds -- and paying only for what is used. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project moved to this strategy last week for the software and data that the rovers' flight team uses to develop daily plans for rover activities. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., which manages the project, gained confidence in cloud computing from experience with other uses of the technology, including public participation sites about Mars exploration.

"This is a change to thinking about computer capacity and data storage as a commodity like electricity, or even the money in your bank account," said JPL's John Callas, rover project manager. "You don't keep all your money in your wallet. Instead you go to a nearby ATM and get cash when you need it. Your money is safe, and the bank can hold as much or as little of the money as you want. Data is the same way: You don't need to have it on you all the time. It can be safely stored elsewhere and you can get it anytime via an Internet connection.

"When we need more computing capacity, we don't need to install more servers if we can rent more capacity from the cloud for just the time we need it. This way we don't waste electricity and air conditioning with servers idling waiting to be used, and we don't have to worry about hardware maintenance and operating system obsolescence."

Quoting sp34n119w:
Cheese. They launched cheese.

Hey Commander :)

CAPTAIN!!!!!! Always a pleasure!! I am really excited about the shower. Conditions here are going to be perfect. You should really make an effort to catch this one. Last year it was an amazing show!!

Private Dragon Spacecraft's Next Mission Could Visit Space Station, SpaceX Says

"Musk was confident that, with NASA's approval, the Dragon spacecraft could fly directly to the space station on its next test flight, which he imagined could occur as early as mid-2011. In the initial scheduling agreement, Musk said, NASA officials agreed to consider allowing SpaceX to fly Dragon to the space station on only its second flight if the first went according to plan."

Evening, LowerCal,

You might want to take a look at a writer I bumped into recently @ The Science Essayist. I thought Seeing and Believing was especially good, and you'll want to read her "About" page, too.

HOORAY! It was clear. I was off-work. The meteors were bright enought to overcome all the light pollution.
Around 3:00am it was a great show. I even saw my first fireball. This thing was cool. Usually the meteors are a silver blue light. This was silver on top and red on the bottom from nose to tail. Yee-haw!

Beautiful clear sky   caught two short bursts within five min.  Temp about 20 with WC about 5-10 deg. No bugs.  Last  night caught  a nice runner  before we were closed out by storm remnants. 

Hiya LowerCal,

Just adding to the reportage, the Geminids lived up to the billing as best meteor shower of 2010 from what I saw... Other than city lights issue, had nice viewing conditions here in SE LA night of Dec 13-14, albeit quite cold w arctic event freezing temps, (however with dewpoints in single digits / teens, it was an almost tolerable dry cold, lol... plus, no mosquitoes!)... Took it in with off-on viewing sessions ranging 10-20 min between 8 PM CST to near 1:30 AM CST... Altogether counted 32, with about 6 being long-trail fireballs (saw 20 before midnight, 12 after)... LOL, who knows how many I missed or didn't count of those peripheral glimpses - was that one? - or when I briefly rested my aching neck! I suspect they "know" when I'm not looking... ;)

Oddly enough, the best was the first one I saw, an "early bird" at 8:30 PM CST - a very long trailer lasting 3-4 secs that streaked E to W fairly low across the southern sky in quite a spectacular display!

I give the 2010 Geminids a "2 thumbs up", was worth braving the cold conditions... Maybe the best I've seen since the incredible 2001 Leonids, which bordered on classing as a "meteor storm", and ranks as all-time most intense that I've witnessed! LOL, yeah that event spoiled us... ;)

Cheers!

Well I hit the bridge for the shower. Clear & COLD!! LOL Had about 10 people out there with me. We saw probably 50 or so over a couple hours. Probably could have seen more but, everyone was freezin' to death & were trying to stay warm. Saw a couple decent ones but, nothing like last year. Best one was green. Nothing compared to the blue one I saw last year. Unfortunately cause of the frigid temps. everyone including myself took off before the height right before sunset.

Hey Cal, it was soooooo funny hearing the ooohs & ahhhs when they got out of their cars & saw all the stars out there. You could also faintly make out the Milky Way. I think I got some people hooked on the bridge spot. ;)