The latest episode of NASA’s Space to Ground report on the latest ISS activities starts with brief videos of cubesats ejected from the ISS (see previous posting):
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Image: Nanosats shot into orbit from the ISS
Below is a great picture posted by NASA of a recent ejection of nanosats from the International Space Station into orbit. The company NanoRacks developed the deployer and installed it on the ISS with their own funds and made a deal with the Japanese space agency to have their astronauts do the deployments from their habitat module with the use of the station’s robotic arm.
There were 33 nanosats delivered in January to the station for NanoRacks by the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo module. The 33 nanosats included 28 earth observation satellites owned by the startup company Planet Labs. One of the other five is a NanoSatisfi Ardusat and the rest are university research satellites. The deployments started in early February and they finished sending all 33 satellites into orbit yesterday.
NanoRacks is getting so many orders, they are working to increase launch capacity from the ISS: Demand for CubeSat Deployments Nearing Space Station Limit – Via Satellite.
There are many innovative low-cost commercial space activities like these that are in operation or moving quickly towards implementation. Follow the latest developments in this NewSpace era with a subscription to NewSpace Watch, where I am the Managing Editor.
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Deploying a Set of CubeSats From the International Space Station
A set of NanoRacks CubeSats is photographed by an Expedition 38 crew member after deployment by the NanoRacks Launcher attached to the end of the Japanese robotic arm. The CubeSats program contains a variety of experiments such as Earth observations and advanced electronics testing. International Space Station solar array panels are at left. Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.
Two sets of CubeSats were deployed late Wednesday, Feb. 26 and early Thursday, Feb. 27, leaving just two more launches to go of the 33 CubeSats that were delivered to the station in January by Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo ship. The latest CubeSats were sent on their way at 8:50 p.m. EST Wednesday and 2:40 a.m. Thursday. CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites and have small, standardized sizes to reduce costs. Two final batches of CubeSats are set for deployment at 11:20 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 a.m. Friday, but more are scheduled to be delivered to the station on the second Orbital commercial resupply mission in May.
Space policy roundup – Feb.28.14 [Updated]
A selection of space policy/politics related posts:
- Response to Venus/Mars flyby hearing (see earlier post with video):
- Can NASA Find its Way With Inspiration Mars ? – Innerspace.net
- Dennis Tito’s Congressional Infomercial – in 5 Tweets – NASA Watch
- Former NASA Official Says Crewed Mars Flyby is Feasible by 2021 – SpaceNews.com
- House panel examines Mars flyby mission – Florida Today
- Lawmakers discuss potential Mars flyby mission in 2021 – NASASpaceFlight.com
- Letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden from Frank Wolfe and Lamar Smith regarding human spaceflight policy (pdf) –
- NASA Officials to Discuss Fiscal Year 2015 Budget – NASA
- Space Launch System: ‘No longer a paper rocket’ – Huntsville Times
- Prime Contractor Invited for Development and Launch Services by New National Flagship Launch Vehicle – JAXA
- India unveils its first home-grown astronaut capsule – New Scientist
Update:
- More reaction to yesterday’s hearing:
- Statement from Inspiration Mars Chairman Dennis Tito on Feb. 27 “Mars Flyby 2021” Hearing – IM (pdf)
- Committee Examines Mars Flyby Mission – Committee on Science – U.S. House of Representatives
- Committee Democrats Emphasize Need for Human Space Exploration Roadmap – Democrats -Committee on Science
- At hearing, some argue Mars flyby mission can provide direction for NASA human spaceflight program – Space Politics
- Official: Plan flyby Mars trip in 2021: Space panel chair pushes NASA to send 2 around Red Planet – Florida Today
- Lawmakers Skeptical Of 2021 Human Mars Flyby Idea – Aviation Week
- House Hearing Underscores Lack of Consensus on Next Steps in Human Spaceflight – SpacePolicyOnline.com
Update 2: Rick Boozer tells me he will be a guest on tomorrow’s Spacevidcast show to discuss his recent op-ed at Space.com: Spacevidcast Live 7.06 on Livestream – Saturday Mar 1, 2014 4:00pm – 5:30pm EST
Video: SciTech Kids film featuring Pongsats shown in the White House
A short film made by 8 year olds Gabrielle Nafie and Miles Pilchik about the SciTech Kids program was shown in the Student Film Festival at The White House. The film included a segment about the Pongsat experiments their class sent to the “edge of space” with the help of JP Aerospace:
Virtual SpaceTV 3D – February 2014
Here is the latest episode of The Virtual SpaceTV 3D show with Amanda Bush. The programs are created by BINARY SPACE (www.binary-space.com) with story content from HobbySpace.com.
In this show, Amanda Bush talks about the following topics:
01:24 — 03:02 The ISS releases a Flock of Doves
03:03 — 04:06 Low cost Satellites multiplying
04:07 — 05:16 Google planning a Space Invasion?
05:17 — 07:08 Blue Origin powering up in West Texas
07:09 — 08:41 A lame lunar Rabbit and lots happening on Mars
Other Virtual SpaceTV 3D shows are available on the HobbySpace Youtube Channel.
These videos are intended as educational programs and as demonstrations of an experimental technique for generating animated presentations. The show was generated autonomously by software according to a text script. The project is described in the Virtual Producer whitepaper (Release 1.1, Oct.2013, pdf). For further information contact info@binary-space.com.