Monthly Archives: April 2014

Space Policy

Space policy roundup – April.6.14

A selection of space policy/politics related links:

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A Progress cargo module is scheduled to fly to the ISS on Wednesday. I heard a rumor that it will only carry cargo for the Japanese and Russian modules.  Probably not true, but it will be interesting to see how and when Russia will retaliate for the Administration’s cutting of NASA ties with the Russia except for ISS related matters.

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Webcasts:

* Dwight Steven-Boniecki, Friday, 4-4-14 | Thespaceshow’s Blog – A discussion with Steven-Boniecki about his new book,  Live TV From The Moon,  which focuses on the transmission of television in NASA missions since the Apollo program.

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Radio

AMSAT, student satellites, and space radio – Apr.6.14

Go to AMSAT News for the latest headlines about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.

ANS 096 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – April 5, 2014:
* Memorial Service for Anthony “Tony” J. Monteiro, AA2TX (SK) Scheduled
* W1AW/4 VA Young Operator Award
* Dayton Hotel Reservations
* Jerry Buxton, N0JY selected as AMSAT’s VP-Engineering
* Steve Coy, K8UD joins the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors
* ARTSAT Project INVADER satellite Receives an OSCAR Number
* AMSAT Awards

Other smallsat news:

Solar Science

Videos: Recent solar activity

The  Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)  imaged a big solar flare this week :  Science of the sun: NASA releases solar flare footage – BBC (includes video).

And here are a couple more videos of solar activity from the SDO Youtube gallery:

Caption:

Powerful magnetic forces above an active region on the Sun twisted and pulled at a blob of plasma until it lost its connections and blew out into space (Mar. 26, 2014). The resultant swirling presented its own kind of graceful, almost ballet-like bends and sweeps. To offer some kind of size perspective that blob, before it broke away, was easily larger than several Earths. The event was observed in extreme ultraviolet light over about 5.5 hours beginning at 7:00 UT. The still image was taken at 10:45 UT. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA

Caption:

The Sun unleashed a M-9.3 flare, just short of an X class (the largest) from an active region right at the Sun’s edge (Mar. 12-13, 2014). The bright flash is the tell tale sign of a flare. The brightness of the flare causes very bright saturation and blooming above and below the flare region on the CCD detector and caused extended diffraction patterns to spread out across the SDO imager. The video clip shows a smaller flare preceded this one as well. The video covers about 15 hours. The still shows the peak of the flare at 22:38UT on Mar. 12. Images were taken in extreme ultraviolet light, showing ionized iron at 10 million degrees. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.

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Check out real and near real-time solar images and data on the HobbySpace  Sun & Space Weather page.

Contests and Games, Space participation, The Moon

NASA’s ‘Take the Plunge’ Challenge: Guess when LADEE hits the Moon

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NASA invites you to make a guess as to when the LADEE spacecraft will smack the Moon:

Take the Plunge: LADEE Impact Challenge

 NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft is gradually lowering its orbital altitude over the moon. LADEE will continue to make important science observations before its planned impact into the lunar surface later this month.

When will it impact the lunar surface? NASA wants to hear your best guess!

Take the Plunge LADEE Impact Challenge

LADEE mission managers expect the spacecraft will impact the moon’s surface on or before April 21. On April 11, ground controllers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., will command LADEE to perform its final orbital maintenance maneuver prior to a total lunar eclipse on April 15, when Earth’s shadow passes over the moon. This eclipse, which will last approximately four hours, exposes the spacecraft to conditions just on the edge of what it was designed to survive.

This final maneuver will ensure that LADEE’s trajectory will impact the far side of the moon, which is not in view of Earth and away from any previous lunar mission landings. There are no plans to target a particular impact location on the lunar surface, and the exact date and time depends on several factors.

“The moon’s gravity field is so lumpy, and the terrain is so highly variable with crater ridges and valleys that frequent maneuvers are required or the LADEE spacecraft will impact the moon’s surface,” said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at Ames. “Even if we perform all maneuvers perfectly, there’s still a chance LADEE could impact the moon sometime before April 21, which is when we expect LADEE’s orbit to naturally decay after using all the fuel onboard.”

Anyone is eligible to enter the “Take the Plunge: LADEE Impact Challenge.” Winners will be announced after impact and will be e-mailed a commemorative, personalized certificate from the LADEE program. The submissions deadline is 3 p.m. PDT Friday, April 11.

For more information about the challenge and to enter, visit: http://socialforms.nasa.gov/ladee

“We want to thank all those that watched LADEE launch and have followed the mission these past months,” said Jim Green, NASA’s Director for Planetary Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our Moon holds a special place in so many cultures, and because of LADEE, we’ll know more than ever before about our nearest neighbor.”

LADEE’s mission marked several firsts. It was the first demonstration of Optical Laser Communications from space (sent data six times faster than radio), and the first deep space spacecraft designed and built “in house” at NASA’s Ames Research Center.  It was also the first payload to launch on a U.S. Air Force Minotaur V rocket integrated by Orbital Sciences Corp., Va., and was the first deep space mission to launch from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., when millions watched the night launch on Sept. 6, 2013.

The vending-machine size spacecraft has been orbiting the moon since Oct. 6. On Nov. 10, LADEE began gathering science data, and on Nov. 20, the spacecraft entered its science orbit around the moon’s equator. LADEE has been in extended mission operations following a highly successful 100-day prime science phase.

LADEE’s three science payload instruments have been working to unravel the mysteries of the lunar atmosphere and dust environment acquiring to date more than 700,000 measurements. In its previous orbit, LADEE’s closest approach to the moon’s surface was between 20 and 50 km, and its farthest point was between 75 and 150 km – a unique position that allows the spacecraft to frequently pass from lunar day to lunar night, approximately every two hours. This vantage provides data about the full scope of changes and processes occurring within the moon’s tenuous atmosphere.

Scientists hope to address a long-standing question: Was lunar dust, electrically charged by sunlight, responsible for the pre-sunrise glow detected during several Apollo missions above the lunar horizon? LADEE also is gathering detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere.

A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets.