Donnerstag, 9. Januar 2014 - 12:40

Raumfahrt - Antares-Start mit Orbital Cygnus ORB-1 Mission zur ISS - Update

The Crew Trains for Cygnus Arrival While Working Medical Science

The International Space Station is getting ready to welcome a new commercial cargo vehicle. The orbital laboratory's six crew members also continued more science work to benefit life on Earth and in space.

Orbital Sciences will launch its Cygnus resupply craft Dec. 17 at 10:07 p.m. EST from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus will arrive early in the morning Dec. 20 when it will be captured with the Canadarm2 and berthed to the Harmony node. Astronauts Koichi Wakata and Mike Hopkins practiced those robotic maneuvers Thursday morning.

Quelle: NASA

Our Antares and Cygnus teams are in the advanced stages of preparation for the company's first operational resupply mission to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. The launch to the Station originating from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is currently scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, at approximately 10:04 p.m.

Over the next 11 days, major operational events are scheduled to take place, beginning this weekend with the movement of the Antares rocket to the transporter/erector/launcher (TEL) and the mating of the Cygnus spacecraft with the Antares rocket that will carry it to orbit. Following the mating process, a series of tests to ensure all systems are properly working together will ensue, as will late- and final-loading of cargo, the encapsulation of Cygnus by the rocket's payload fairing, and finally, the roll-out and initial on-pad operations that are currently scheduled for December 15.

An Antares rocket carrying Orbital’s Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft is scheduled to lift-off from Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia no earlier than December 17, 2013. Antares will boost Cygnus to a target orbit of 210 km by 298 km, from which Cygnus will use its on-board thrusters to raise its orbit to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station (ISS). Berthing with the ISS is scheduled to occur on December 20, 2013. For this mission Cygnus will be carrying approximately 1459 kg (3,217 lbs.) of cargo to the ISS for NASA.

The Orb-1 mission is the first of eight commercial cargo resupply missions to the ISS under the NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, under which Orbital is slated to deliver up to 20,000 kg of supplies to the station.

Antares Mission Description

The two-stage Antares space launch vehicle utilizes a liquid-fueled first stage powered by two Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 engines and a solid motor ATK CASTOR 30B upper stage to boost Cygnus into orbit. The powered launch sequence will last about ten minutes from liftoff through the separation of Cygnus from the launch vehicle.

Cygnus Mission Description

After separation from Antares, Cygnus will deploy its solar arrays and undergo initial check-out. The spacecraft will conduct a series of thruster burns to raise its orbit to bring it within 4 km of the ISS prior to receiving authorization to autonomously rendezvous with the station. When the vehicle approaches to within 12 meters, the astronauts will use the station’s robotic arm to grapple Cygnus and berth it to the Harmony node of the station. Cygnus is planned to remain berthed at the ISS for 42 days during which time the station crew will load Cygnus with materials for disposal. At the end of the mission Cygnus will depart the station and reenter the Earth’s atmosphere.

Quelle: Orbital

Update: 11.12.2013

NASA Television Coverage Set for Cygnus Launch to International Space Station

NASA Television will provide coverage of the upcoming Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo spacecraft mission to resupply the International Space Station this month.

On the heels of a successful demonstration flight to the space station in September, Orbital Sciences is scheduled to launch a Cygnus capsule on an Antares rocket at 9:42 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 18, from Launch Pad 0A at Wallops Flight Facility, Va.

Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 9:15 p.m. NASA TV will air a comprehensive video feed of launch preparations and other footage related to the mission beginning at 6:45 p.m.

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, briefings previewing the mission's science and a prelaunch status from Wallops will be broadcast on NASA TV at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The briefings will be replayed at Dec. 18 at 7 p.m., leading up to live coverage of the launch.

The cargo craft will be filled with 2,780 pounds of supplies for the station, including vital science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory, crew provisions, spare parts and experiment hardware. Also aboard the flight are 23 student experiments that will involve more than 10,000 students on the ground. These experiments will involve life sciences topics ranging from amoeba reproduction to calcium in the bones to salamanders.

This and future Cygnus flights will ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical science research to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new science investigations to the only laboratory in microgravity.

If Cygnus launches Dec. 18, the spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Saturday, Dec. 21. Astronauts Michael Hopkins of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will be standing by to capture the capsule with the station’s robotic arm and install it on the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module.

NASA TV coverage of capture and installation will begin at 4:45 a.m. Dec. 21. Grapple is scheduled at 5:38 a.m. Coverage of the installation of Cygnus onto Harmony will begin at 6:45 a.m.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 14.12.2013

Cygnus Launch Slips to Dec. 19

NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. Saturday moved the targeted launch date of the Orbital-1 resupply mission to the International Space Station to no earlier than Thursday, Dec. 19 to enable engineers to continue their analysis of data involving a suspect Flow Control Valve in a pump module on the starboard truss of the station that malfunctioned on Wednesday. Orbital’s Antares rocket and the Cygnus commercial cargo vehicle are now scheduled to launch from Pad 0A at the Wallops Flight Facility, Va. no earlier than Dec. 19 at 9:19 p.m. EST. NASA TV coverage of launch will begin at 8:45 p.m. EST.

The delay will allow Orbital’s engineering team to load late scientific cargo into the Cygnus craft on Sunday to protect several days of launch opportunities through the end of next week. Under current planning, the Antares rocket with Cygnus would rollout to the launch pad at Wallops in the early morning hours on Tuesday, Dec. 17. A launch on Dec. 19 would result in Cygnus arriving at the space station for a grapple and berthing to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module on Sunday, Dec. 22.

The launch is still dependent on NASA engineers resolving a problem with the station’s pump module flow control valve that experienced a problem Wednesday in properly positioning itself so that ammonia coolant can flow properly through the cooling lines of the station’s truss while keeping heat-rejecting equipment at the correct temperature.

Overnight, engineers conducted testing with a component in the Pump Module called a Radiator Return Valve, which is a ball valve that operates in concert with the suspect Flow Control Valve in the pump to control heating in the cooling lines to the Interface Heat Exchangers. The Radiator Return Valve was commanded to various positions to see how the Flow Control Valve might be placed in a fixed position to help actively control cooling loop A, and in turn, allow the system to warm up sufficiently so that the heat exchangers in the loop can operate at a proper temperature. Engineers continue to pore over the data and other techniques to manage the flow control valve. The cooling of station systems is currently being managed through cooling loop B that employs a pump module on the port truss.

In the meantime, Expedition 38 crewmembers Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins worked Saturday in the Quest airlock to begin preparing their spacesuits in the event they are called upon to conduct spacewalks to change out the faulty pump module. If managers direct the crewmembers to perform those spacewalks beginning late next week, the launch of the Orbital-1 mission would be delayed until January.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 17.12.2013

This morning, the Antares crew rolled the rocket out to launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Our operations team expects that they will erect the rocket to a vertical position by late morning. In parallel to the roll-out operation at Wallops, NASA is continuing to work on the cooling loop issue aboard the International Space Station. We do not yet have a "go/no go" decision for the launch on the 19th. The roll-out operation preserves that option for NASA in the event they are able to develop a plan that will allow the Cygnus spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with the ISS on December 22. Other launch and rendezvous/berthing date scenarios are also being considered. We expect NASA to provide additional guidance on the launch schedule either later today or tomorrow.

Antares Roll Out to Pad 0A Dec. 17, 2013 (NASA photo)

An Orbital Science Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it is rolled out to launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Tuesday, December 17, 2013 in advance of a Thursday launch, Wallops Island, VA. The Antares will launch a Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences' first contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Among the cargo aboard Cygnus set to launch to the space station are science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and other hardware. Launch is scheduled for 9:19 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 19. Weather permitting, it may be widely visible along the east coast of the United States. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Quelle: Orbital

Update: 18.12.2013

Spacewalks Set to Fix Broken Space Station Pump / The launching will now occur no earlier than Jan. 13.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will venture outside on three spacewalks to replace a malfunctioning pump that has shut down part of the station’s cooling system, NASA announced on Tuesday.

The space agency also postponed until January the launching of a cargo supply ship, which had been scheduled to lift off on Thursday.

The first spacewalk is on Saturday, with the second on Monday and the third next Wednesday.

Two loops of circulating ammonia cool equipment on the station. The problem started last Wednesday with a malfunction of a valve inside the pump, which is on one of the station’s exterior trusses. Flight controllers shut down that cooling loop. The remaining loop is sufficient for regulating the temperature of critical equipment, and NASA said there was no immediate danger to the six crew members.

NASA managers want both cooling loops to be operating before the cargo ship is sent into orbit. The Orbital Sciences Corporation, a private company hired by the space agency to bring cargo to the space station, had rolled out its Antares rocket, carrying 3,230 pounds of supplies, to the launching pad on Wallops Island in Virginia. The launching will now occur no earlier than Jan. 13.

During the spacewalks, each lasting six and a half hours, the NASA astronauts Richard Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins will remove the malfunctioning pump module, which had been installed three years ago, and replace it with a spare one.

NASA also said it has fixed a problem with a spacesuit that led to the near-drowning of Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut, when his helmet started filling with water during a spacewalk in July. A faulty part has been replaced, and tests showed no further leaks.

Quelle: The New York Times

Update: 22.12.2013

Cygnus Launch Date Set for No Earlier Than Jan. 7, 2014

NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. have established a new "no earlier than" (NET) launch date of Tuesday, Jan. 7, for the Orbital-1 CRS cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. A launch on Jan. 7 within the targeted window of 1:55 to 2:00 p.m. EST would result in a grapple and berthing at the space station in the early morning hours of Jan. 10. The launch date will continue to be evaluated as NASA proceeds with three upcoming spacewalks by the Expedition 38 crew to replace a cooling pump aboard the orbiting complex.

Following the postponement of the originally targeted Dec. 19 launch, Orbital's Antares team rolled the rocket off the launch pad and back to the Horizontal Integration Facility yesterday at Wallops. The time sensitive payloads that were on Cygnus are being removed today. They will be "refreshed" by the payload provider and returned for reloading into Cygnus. That operation would take place on Jan. 3. Rollout to the launch pad would occur on Jan. 4 to meet a Jan. 7 launch.

A conflict with a previously scheduled operation on the Wallops range has been resolved to allow the Antares launch to be proceed earlier than was originally thought possible after the decision was made to postpone the Dec. 19 launch attempt.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 30.12.2013

Antares Launch Scheduled Jan. 7

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Orbital Sciences’ Corp. Antares rocket at 1:55 p.m. EST, Jan. 7.

The Antares rocket will carry Orbital’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region from New York City to North Carolina.

Public viewing of the launch will be available at the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops and at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge/Assateague National Seashore. Visitors are reminded that alcohol and pets are not allowed on the Visitor Center grounds.

Quelle: NASA

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

Quelle: NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

Update: 3.01.2014

NASA Television Coverage Set for Orbital Sciences Mission to Space Station

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the Jan. 7 launch of the Cygnus cargo spacecraft mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).

On the heels of a successful demonstration flight to the space station in September, Orbital Sciences is scheduled to launch the spacecraft on an Antares rocket at 1:55 p.m. EST from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

Beginning at 1 p.m., NASA TV will air a comprehensive video feed of launch preparations and other footage related to the mission, followed by launch coverage at 1:30 p.m.

Prior to the launch, NASA TV will broadcast briefings from Wallops Monday, Jan. 6, previewing the mission's science cargo and pre-launch status at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. EST, respectively.

Cygnus will carry a total of 2,780 pounds of supplies to the station, including vital science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory, crew provisions, spare parts and experiment hardware. Also aboard the flight are 23 student experiments that will involve more than 10,000 students on the ground. These experiments will involve life sciences topics ranging from amoeba reproduction to calcium in the bones to salamanders.

The spacecraft will arrive at the ISS Friday, Jan. 10. Astronauts Michael Hopkins, of NASA, and Koichi Wakata ,of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will capture the resupply vehicle with the station's robotic arm and install it on the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module.

NASA TV coverage of capture and installation will begin at 5 a.m. EST Jan. 10. Grapple is scheduled for 6:01 a.m. Coverage of the installation of Cygnus onto the Harmony module will begin at 7 a.m.

This and future commercial resupply missions by Orbital Sciences and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will help ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical science research to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new science investigations aboard the space station.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 4.01.2014

Freezing forecast forces Antares launch delay

Orbital Sciences has pushed back next week's launch of a commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by at least one day to Wednesday to dodge frigid temperatures expected on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Liftoff of the privately-developed Antares rocket was set for Tuesday after a three-week delay from mid-December to make room for spacewalks to repair a problematic ammonia coolant loop on the space station, but the long-range forecast for early next week predicts freezing temperatures.

"The new target date was set due to the extreme cold temperatures that are forecasted for early next week, coupled with likely precipitation events predicted for Sunday night and Monday morning," Orbital Sciences said in a statement.

The company said it is preserving the option to launch Wednesday, Jan. 8, but it is more likely the launch will take place on Thursday, Jan. 9, because of a much improved weather forecast later in the week.

The National Weather Service forecast for NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, the Antares launch site, shows partly sunny skies expected for Thursday with a high temperature of 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures must be above about 20 degrees Fahrenheit to launch the Antares rocket, according to Barry Beneski, an Orbital spokesperson. The forecast high temperature for Tuesday is in the mid-20s Fahrenheit.

The launch window Wednesday opens at 1:32:33 p.m. EST (1832:33 GMT) and extends for five minutes. The launch window Thursday begins at 1:10 p.m. EST (1810 GMT), according to Orbital Sciences.

Rollout of the Antares rocket is scheduled to begin around 8:30 p.m. EST Saturday. The rocket will make the one-mile trip from its horizontal integration facility to launch pad 0A riding a self-propelled motorized transporter.

Once at the launch pad, the 13-story Antares rocket will be hoisted upright on its launch mount by hydraulic pistons to begin several days of umbilical connections, vehicle closeouts and arming.

The Antares was already on the pad in mid-December awaiting a launch attempt. Technicians rolled the launcher back to the hangar Dec. 18 and removed the rocket's 12.8-foot-diameter nose shroud to access time-sensitive experiments and other cargo from the Cygnus spacecraft for refurbishment.

A launch readiness review is scheduled for Monday to give senior managers an opportunity to discuss any unresolved issues before proceeding with final launch preparations and the countdown.

The Antares rocket will put Orbital's Cygnus cargo freighter on course toward the space station. If the launch goes ahead Jan. 8, the unmanned resupply ship will arrive at the complex Jan. 12 after an automated rendezvous guided by GPS and laser navigation aids.

Once the visiting spacecraft gets to a point about 30 feet below the space station, astronauts will extend the lab's 58-foot robotic arm to grapple the Cygnus and maneuver it to a berthing port on the Harmony connecting node for several weeks of cargo transfers.

The mission is the first of eight Cygnus resupply flights to the space station under a $1.9 billion contract signed by Orbital Sciences and NASA in December 2008.

NASA and Orbital jointly financed development of the Antares and Cygnus vehicles. The space agency paid Orbital $288 million in a public-private partnership agreement that concluded with last fall's successful Antares and Cygnus demonstration mission to the space station.

Quelle: SN

BioServe will conduct experiments in space

BOULDER - BioServe Space Technologies will launch an experiment to the International Space Station next week that ultimately could lead to new drugs that work better on antibiotic-resistant diseases and infections.

BioServe is a NASA-funded research center in the aerospace engineering sciences department at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Funding information for the antibiotics experiment was not immediately available.

The experiment will test the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs on E. coli bacteria in space, according to a statement from the University of Colorado-Boulder. The idea is to find particular genes that resist antibiotics, which could lead to new drugs, improved testing on Earth, and new approaches doing research on antibiotic resistance, said David Klaus, the lead researcher on the project and an associate professor at CU-Boulder.

In past experiments, bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics was reduced during space flight, although researchers have not yet figured out why, Klaus said. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics kills an estimated 100,000 Americans annually, Klaus said. It represents an estimated $20 billion annual expense to the U.S. government in excess health-care costs, he said.

The experiment will be launched Tuesday, Jan. 7, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. Another experiment that involves ant behavior in microgravity also will be launched Tuesday. The ant experiment also was designed by BioServe Space Technologies at CU-Boulder.

In the past 25 years, the BioServe research center has designed life science research experiments for more than 40 space missions. Past BioServe partners include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and NASA-funded researchers, according to the press statement.

Quelle: NCBR

Update: 6.01.2014

Quelle: Orbital

Station Crew Conducts Research; Cygnus on Track for Wednesday Launch

Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket rolled out to the launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island., Va. on Sunday, Jan. 5. Launch of the first Orbital commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 1:32 p.m. EST. NASA TV coverage of launch will begin at 1 p.m. EST.

The Expedition 38 crew of the International Space Station kicked off the workweek Monday with biomedical research and routine maintenance, while the newest cargo vehicle to join the station’s resupply fleet continued its progress toward a Wednesday launch.

The Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket with its Cygnus cargo vehicle is now sitting on the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia awaiting its launch to the station Wednesday at 1:32 p.m. EST. Antares and Cygnus were rolled out to Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Sunday, following a one-day delay due to a hydraulic sensor issue on the transporters.

International Space Station Program managers met Monday morning and gave their approval to proceed with Wednesday’s launch, which will put Cygnus on track to rendezvous with the station on Sunday. That launch was previously set for Tuesday, but the station program and Orbital Sciences decided late Friday to reschedule due to the forecast of cold temperatures at the launch site.

When Cygnus arrives at the station Jan. 12, Flight Engineers Mike Hopkins and Koichi Wakata will be standing by to capture the capsule with the station’s robotic arm and install it on the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 7.01.2014

Orbital Set to Launch Cargo Supply Mission to International Space Station Tomorrow

-- Company’s Upcoming Mission Is the First of Eight Operational Cargo Delivery Missions for NASA Scheduled Over Next Three Years --

-- Mission Marks the Third Flight of Antares Rocket and Second Deployment of Cygnus Spacecraft --

(Dulles, VA 7 January 2014) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that it is in final preparations to launch the company’s Antares™ rocket carrying its Cygnus™ cargo spacecraft destined for the International Space Station (ISS). Pending completion of final vehicle testing and acceptable local weather conditions, the launch will take place on Wednesday, January 8, with lift-off scheduled for 1:32 p.m. EST, and will originate from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The Antares medium-class rocket will boost the Cygnus spacecraft into a targeted orbit of approximately 130 x 185 miles (210 x 298 kilometers) above the Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator. Following in-orbit activation and testing after launch, Cygnus is slated to rendezvous and berth with the Space Station in the early morning hours on Sunday, January 12. Live coverage of the cargo supply mission will be available on NASA Television and at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

“Orbital conducted a very successful demonstration mission of the Antares/Cygnus system last September, proving that the company can reliably carry out regularly scheduled operational missions to the ISS for NASA,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Now our team is focused on executing another flawless launch and in-orbit operation to deliver much-needed supplies to the astronaut crew on board the Space Station.”

Under a $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA, Orbital will use Antares and Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over eight missions through late 2016. For these missions, NASA will manifest a variety of essential items based on ISS program needs, including food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts and equipment, and scientific experiments.

For the first CRS mission, the Cygnus spacecraft is carrying 2,780 pounds (1,260 kilograms) of supplies to the Space Station, including science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory, along with crew provisions, spare parts and experiment hardware. Also aboard the flight are 23 student experiments that will involve more than 8,600 elementary, junior high and high school students from the United States and Canada. These experiments address life sciences topics ranging from vaccine effectiveness and amoeba reproduction to calcium loss in bones and liquid behavior in space. This mission, together with future Cygnus flights, will ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical research equipment and samples to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new scientific investigations in the only laboratory in microgravity.

Orbital privately developed the Antares launch vehicle to provide low-cost, reliable access to space for medium-class payloads. It is the largest and most complex rocket the company has ever produced. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) joint research and development initiative with NASA, Orbital also developed the Cygnus spacecraft, which is an advanced maneuvering vehicle that meets the stringent human-rated safety requirements for ISS operations. Together, these products showcase Orbital’s ability to apply rigorous engineering approaches and commercial business practices to significantly shorten development timelines and lower operational costs of sophisticated space systems as compared to traditional government-run programs.

Quelle: Orbital

Update: 8.01.2014

Quelle: NASA

NASA to launch Peruvian satellite tomorrow

Satellite designed by students and faculty from the Universidad Alas Peruanas will be launched on Jan. 8, 2014.

Representatives of Universidad Alas Peruanas (UAP) have announced that NASA will launch a satellite designed by faculty and students from the university tomorrow afternoon.

This launch will be the first time that NASA has sent a Peruvian satelliate into space, but it won’t be the first Peruvian satellite to leave the planet. In November, students and faculty from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru celebrated the launch of their two satellites, the PUCP-Sat 1 and the Pocket-PUCP, the first two satellites constructed completely in Peru to be sent into space. The satellites were launched from the Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia.

Not to be left behind by their counterparts at PUCP, the scholars at UAP designed their own satellite. According to Andina news agency, the satellite, known as UAP SAT-1 will be taken into space by NASA’s Antares rocket at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Antares will take the satellite to the International Space Station (ISS). From the ISS, the satellite will be placed in orbit with the help of a robotic arm.

Andina reports that the satellite is shaped like a cube and weighs less than a kilogram. Its mission in space is to collect data about the climate in outer space, which will be monitored by researchers here on earth.

The project has been underway since 2010, reports Andina, and represents an investment of around US$500,000. The launch will take place at 1:32 pm Peru time.

Quelle: Peru this Week

Update: 17.00 MEZ

Orb-1 Start wegen ungewöhnlich hoher Raumstrahlung verschoben auf Donnerstag

Early this morning, Orbital Sciences Corp. decided to scrub today's launch attempt of the Antares rocket and the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on the company's first resupply mission to the International Space Station due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded constraints imposed on Antares.

The solar flux activity that occurred late yesterday afternoon resulted in an increasing level of radiation beyond what the Antares engineering team monitored earlier in the day. Overnight, Orbital's engineers conducted an analysis of the radiation levels, but the Antares team decided to postpone the launch to further examine the potential effects of the space radiation on the rocket¹s avionics. The Cygnus spacecraft would not be affected by the solar event.

Today, in consultation with NASA, Orbital Sciences will continue to monitor the levels of space radiation with a goal of setting a new launch date as soon as possible. If a launch can be scheduled for Thursday, the targeted launch time would be 1:10 p.m. EST, with Cygnus arriving at the ISS Sunday morning, Jan. 12, for a grapple at 6:02 a.m. EST. If a launch can be conducted Thursday, NASA TV coverage would begin at 12:45 p.m. EST.

At Mission Control in Houston, the flight control team reported that the ISS crew is not affected by this solar event and does not require any special precautionary measures.

Quelle: NASA

January 8, 2014

Orbital will hold a press briefing via teleconference to discuss the postponement of today's Antares launch of Orbital's first Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the International Space Station due to the current space radiation environment generated by recent solar flux activity. Please note: This teleconference is for media ONLY.

WHO

- Frank Culbertson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Orbital's Advanced Programs Group

- Antonio Elias, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Orbital Sciences

WHEN

Wednesday, January 08, 2014, 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST

- Introduction by Barron Beneski, Orbital's Vice President of Corporate Communications

- Opening statements by Mr. Culbertson and Dr. Elias

- Media Q&A

DIAL-IN INFORMATION

Dial In: (888) 541-8767

Access code: 31500887

January 8, 2014

Early this morning the Antares launch team decided to scrub today's launch attempt due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded by a considerable margin the constraints imposed on the mission to ensure the rocket's electronic systems are not impacted by a harsh radiation environment. The solar flux activity that occurred late yesterday afternoon has had the result of increasing the level of radiation beyond what the Antares engineering team was monitoring earlier in the day. Overnight, Orbital engineers who are experts in the field ran numerous models to ensure that all possibilities to preserve the launch were examined. However, due to significantly elevated flux levels, the Antares team decided to postpone the launch to spend the day further examining the potential effects of the space radiation on the rocket's avionics suite. Cygnus would not be affected by the solar event.

Today, in consultation with NASA and outside experts in the field of "space weather," Orbital will continue to monitor the levels of space radiation with a goal of setting a new launch date as soon as possible. If we are able to launch on Thursday, the launch targeted launch time would be 1:07 p.m. (EST), with Cygnus arriving at the ISS Sunday morning, January 12.

Quelle: Orbital

Update: 23.00 MEZ

Wednesday Cygnus Launch Scrubbed; Light Duty Day on Station

Early Wednesday morning, Orbital Sciences Corporation decided to scrub the launch attempt of the Antares rocket and the Cygnus cargo spacecraft on the company’s first resupply mission to the International Space Station due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded constraints imposed on Antares.

The solar flux activity that occurred late Tuesday afternoon resulted in an increasing level of radiation beyond what the Antares engineering team monitored earlier in the day. Overnight, Orbital’s engineers conducted an analysis of the radiation levels, but the Antares team decided to postpone the launch to further examine the potential effects of the space radiation on the rocket’s avionics. The Cygnus spacecraft would not be affected by the solar event.

In consultation with NASA, Orbital Sciences will continue to monitor the levels of space radiation with a goal of setting a new launch date as soon as possible. If a launch can be scheduled for Thursday, the targeted launch time would be 1:10 p.m. EST, with Cygnus arriving at the station Sunday morning, January 12 for a grapple at 6:02 a.m. EST. If a launch can be conducted Thursday, NASA TV coverage would begin at 12:45 p.m. EST.

At Mission Control in Houston, the flight control team reported that the station’s Expedition 38 crew was not affected by this solar event and does not require any special precautionary measures.

For Flight Engineers Mike Hopkins, Koichi Wakata and Rick Mastracchio, Wednesday was a mostly off-duty day aboard the complex as they took a welcome opportunity for a breather between the holiday spacewalks in late December and the upcoming arrival of Cygnus. When the space freighter arrives at the station with its 2,780 pounds of cargo, Hopkins and Wakata will use Canadarm2, the station’s 57-foot robotic arm, to reach out and grapple Cygnus and berth it to its docking port on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node.

Hopkins spent some time changing out a recycle tank in the Environmental Control and Life Support System’s Water Recovery System, which recycles condensation and urine into drinkable water, thereby reducing the amount of fresh water that must be sent to the crew aboard resupply ships.

Hopkins and Wakata also had an opportunity to talk with students around the world through the station’s amateur radio. Wakata reached out to students in Poland and Italy, while Hopkins made contact with Berkeley Middle School in Williamsburg, Va.

Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, Expedition 38 flight engineer, works in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

On the Russian side of the complex, Commander Oleg Kotov spent some time packing trash inside the ISS Progress 52 cargo ship. That unmanned cargo vehicle is set to undock from the Pirs docking compartment in early February for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific ocean.

Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin collected dosimeter readings for the Matryoshka experiment. Named after the traditional Russian nesting dolls, Matryoshka analyzes the radiation environment onboard the station. Afterward he and Kotov replaced lights in the Russian segment.

Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy conducted the Albedo experiment, which takes a look at using the solar radiation reflected from the Earth to provide power for the station. He also participated in the Coulomb Crystal experiment, gathering data about charged particles in a weightless environment.

Ryazanskiy rounded out the day performing routine maintenance on the life-support system inside the Zvezda service module.

Quelle: NASA

Update: 9.01.2014

Launch of ORB-1 on a Antares rocket from Wallops Island, VA launch complex 0A
Launch scheduled for 9 Jan 14 18:07:00 GMT
Local Time : 9 Jan 14 13:07:00 EST

An Antares rocket will launch the inaugural mission to the ISS for the second commercial company to resupply the Space station. Following Orbital Sciences proving flights the ORB-1 mission will be the first of eight contracted CRS missions.

The Antares medium-class rocket will boost the Cygnus spacecraft into a targeted orbit of approximately 130 x 185 miles above the Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator. Following in-orbit activation and testing after launch, Cygnus is slated to rendezvous and berth with the Space Station in the early morning hours on Sunday, January 12.

Quelle: Orbital

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