Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Down to Earth – The Fragile Earth – NASA Johnson
In celebration of the upcoming #SpaceStation20th anniversary, European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano, who has flown two missions, shares his new awareness of how we are changing and influencing our planet in this this episode of “Down to Earth – The Fragile Earth.”
** Expedition 63 Inflight CBS News, Fox Business, CNN Business – June 16,2020 – NASA
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Flight Engineers Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley of NASA discussed the progress of their mission on the orbital outpost during a series of in-flight interviews June 16 with CBS News, CNN Business News and Fox Business News. Behnken and Hurley launched on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft May 30 and arrived at the station on May 31, marking the first launch of U.S. astronauts on an American spacecraft from American soil to the station since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
** A Recipe for Cooling Atoms to Almost Absolute Zero – NASA JPL
NASA’s Cold Atom Lab aboard the International Space Station cools atoms down to a billionth of a degree above absolute zero, or the temperature at which atoms should stop moving entirely. Nowhere in the universe are there atoms that reach this temperature naturally. But how do scientists accomplish this feat? It’s a three-step process that starts with scientists hitting the atoms with precisely-tuned lasers to slow them down.
The colder atoms are, the slower they move, and the easier they are to study. Ultracold atoms can also form a fifth state of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Learning about the fundamental properties of atoms has laid the foundation for technologies that most of us use every day, such as computers. As the first ultracold atom facility in Earth orbit, Cold Atom Lab is opening up new avenues for investigation. You can learn more about Cold Atom Lab here: https://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/
A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):
NASA is inviting additional teams to compete in the Cube Quest Challenge. You can still participate in the in-space phase of the challenge and be eligible to win part of a $4.5 million prize purse.
The Cube Quest Challenge, NASA’s first in-space competition, incentivizes teams to design, build and deliver small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the Moon. To compete, new teams meeting the eligibility criteria must obtain a ride to deep space for their CubeSats – either through commercial launch opportunities or programs like NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
“We welcome new teams to join us in this challenge in pursuit of advancing space exploration,” said Monsi Roman, program manager for NASA’s Centennial Challenges. “When we established the Cube Quest Challenge in 2015, commercial flight opportunities weren’t as available. Now that technology has advanced and commercial partners are flying payloads, it is a great time to make potential participants aware of the opportunity.”
Fifteen university and private developer teams have already competed for prizes to showcase creative CubeSat technologies through ground-based tournaments, or phase one, of the Cube Quest Challenge, which was completed in 2017.
Three winners received spots as secondary payloads on Artemis I, the first integrated test flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. These teams have been working on their CubeSats, readying them for launch. Once deployed from the rocket, the teams will begin phase two, the in-space competition.
In-Space Competition
All Cube Quest Challenge competitors, both new and current, will compete in one of two arenas. The Lunar Derby is where CubeSats are to maintain a verifiable lunar orbit. There’s also the Deep Space Derby, in which CubeSats reach approximately 1.8 million miles from Earth.
Once in orbit, the CubeSats must complete various tasks outlined in the competition rules document to be eligible for prize money. To ensure data integrity, each satellite must transmit NASA-provided communications data to be eligible for prize money.
The Next Frontier
“The Cube Quest Challenge opens the lunar and deep space environment, thanks to the mastery of several technologies,” said Elizabeth Hyde, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and technical advisor for the challenge. “The three technology areas we see as important for jumping from low-Earth orbit to deep space are communications, propulsion and radiation tolerance for CubeSats.”
Initiatives such as the Cube Quest Challenge aim to make deep space exploration more accessible and open up commercial space opportunities beyond low-Earth orbit.
“The next frontier is small satellites. Development efforts are aimed at pushing the boundaries of CubeSat exploration beyond low-Earth orbit,” Hyde said.
The competition is a part Centennial Challenges, based at the NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Centennial Challenges is a part of the Prizes and Challenges program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The challenge is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
** Code In Space! initiative challenges students to create software to upload and run on a CubeSat in orbit. The 1U CubeSat is named QMR-KWT. Both the satellite and the initiative are sponsored by the Kuwaiti company Orbital Space and developed in partnership with EnduroSat of Bulgaria. The educational program “is open to all students from all schools and universities around the world“.
individual, or team based and should include a mentor (teacher/ university faculty member or scientist affiliated with a school or academic/ research institution)
Software apps will be selected on the basis of how well they provide
a solution for current challenge or limitation in the satellite industry or new concept that could be of value to satellite technology.
The CubeSat will get to orbit in February 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9. After deployment from the F9 upper stage, it will get to its target orbit with the help of a Momentus Vigoride transfer vehicle:
… release eight small satellite sensors in space to form a first-of-its-kind free-flying mesh network capable of delivering uniquely comprehensive data mapping of magnetic fields and space weather to our smart phones here on campus.”
Illustration of the ANDESITE 6U cubesat with picosat deployments. Credits: BUSAT
Funding Aims to Boost Mini-Satellite Program for Space Exploration
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly’s partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory will direct roughly $2.5 million to enhance the university’s Aerospace Engineering Department and boost its mini-satellite program, which was the catalyst for a substantial expansion of space research two decades ago.
The Education Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Air Force provides a total of $5 million to be split evenly between Cal Poly and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. Funding for the partnership was secured by three U.S. representatives from California — Salud Carbajal, Norma J. Torres and Grace Napolitano — through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (H.R. 1158).
The EPA’s agreements between a defense laboratory and an educational institution allow the labs to provide laboratory equipment and personnel to the schools, plus career and academic advice to students while involving faculty and students in research.
The EPA will help the Air Force Research Lab pioneer transformative aerospace technologies and accelerate its long-term strategic objectives in key areas, such as energy security, energy optimization, reusability, maneuverability and multi-mission mobility.
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In particular, the funds for Cal Poly will support a thermal vacuum chamber with upgraded facilities to support it. A thermal vacuum chamber can be used for testing spacecraft or spacecraft parts under a simulated space environment.
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Cal Poly became a major contributor to space research roughly 20 years ago, when former Aerospace Engineering faculty member Jordi Puig-Suari co-created the CubeSat standard with Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. CubeSats are mini-satellites that are affordable and easy to make, allowing governments, schools and private companies worldwide to more easily and affordably explore space and conduct research.
The new vacuum chamber will allow researchers to test and develop propulsion for CubeSats, allowing for greater control of the satellites for space exploration. Currently, most CubeSats cannot be controlled in space, and propulsion and maneuverability are often viewed as the next major step in CubeSat technology.
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Multiple small satellites will be launched at once on the Vega VV16 mission from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This flight will demonstrate the modular SSMS dispenser resting on its upper stage intended to bring routine affordable launch opportunities for light satellites from 0.2 kg CubeSats up to 400 kg minisatellites. Until now the smallest classes of satellites – all the way down to tiny CubeSats, built from 10 cm modular boxes – have typically ‘piggybacked’ to orbit. They have to make use of any spare capacity as a single large satellite is launched, meaning their overall launch opportunities are limited. The new Vega Small Spacecraft Mission Service switches this into a ‘rideshare’ model, with multiple small satellites being flown together, splitting the launch cost…
A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):
** SpaceX launches Starlink and Planet SkyNet satellites. Early Saturday morning, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral for the second time in June with a batch of satellites for the Starlink broadband Internet constellation. Rather than the usual 60 satellites, however, this flight carried 58 Starlinks, leaving out two to provide room for three SkyNet earth observation satellites from Planet Labs and their deployment mechanism. Not long after the upper stage reached orbit, the three SkySats could be seen drifting away during the live webcast. The subsequent deployment of the Starlinks took place during a communications gap. The Starlinks will use their onboard propulsion systems to reach their final operating orbits.
Time lapse: SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship docks at Port Canaveral today following Saturday’s Falcon 9 launch of 58 Starlink satellites and three Planet Labs earth observation satellites.
** Rocket Lab sent five smallsats to orbit on the 12th Electron launch from New Zealand just past midnight on Saturday morning US Eastern time. The payload included three test smallsats for NRO, the auroral plasma science ANDESITE 6U CubeSat built by students at Boston University , and the M2 Pathfinder communications test satellite from University of New South Wales campus at Canberra in Australia.
The mission, ‘Pics Or It Didn’t Happen,’ is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Pad A on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula no earlier than 3 July, 2020 UTC— just days after the successful launch of Rocket Lab’s most recent mission, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ on 13 June, 2020 UTC. The back-to-back missions will represent Rocket Lab’s fastest turnaround between missions to date.
‘Pics Or It Didn’t Happen’ will deploy seven small satellites to a 500km circular low Earth orbit for a range of customers, including Spaceflight Inc.’s customer Canon Electronics, as well as Planet and In-Space Missions.
The primary payload aboard this mission, Canon Electronics Inc.’s CE-SAT-IB, was procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight Inc. The mission objective for the CE-SAT-IB satellite is to demonstrate Canon Electronics Inc.’s Earth-imaging technology with high-resolution and wide-angle cameras, as well as test the microsatellite for mass production.
The next five spacecrafts manifested for this mission are the latest generation of SuperDove satellites manufactured by Planet, operator of the world’s largest constellation of Earth-observation satellites. Planet’s satellites are capable of imaging the Earth’s entire landmass on a near-daily basis. This unprecedented dataset helps researchers, students, businesses and governments discover patterns, detect early signals of change, and make timely, informed decisions. These five SuperDoves, Flock 4v, are equipped with new sensors to enable higher image quality with sharper, more vibrant colors and accurate surface reflectance values for advanced algorithms and time-series analysis.
The final spacecraft aboard Electron for this mission has been supplied by British small mission prime, In-Space Missions. The Faraday-1 6U CubeSat is a hosted payload mission providing a low-cost route to orbit for start-ups, institutions, and large corporate R&D groups. In addition, it provides a first flight demonstration of In-Space’s own software-defined payload that will enable uploadable payload capabilities on future missions. Faraday-1 is the first flight of the Faraday service with four future satellites already under contract.
China successfully sent an ocean observation satellite into orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province on Thursday.
A Long March-2C rocket, carrying the satellite HY-1D, lifted off at 2:31 a.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The new satellite will form China’s first satellite constellation for marine civil service together with HY-1C, which was launched in September 2018, and double the current ocean observation data, according to CNSA and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
** Interstellar Technologies of Japan tried to reach suborbital space (100km) last Saturday with a MOMO sounding rocket. The MOMO-5 rocket lifted off and for 30 seconds or so the flight appeared to go well but then there was then a flash and spark-like debris was seen in the plume. The nozzle came apart. Nevertheless, the vehicle continued upward for another 40 seconds and then began to tumble. The engine was shut off remotely and the vehicle fell into the sea about 4 miles offshore from the launch pad.
The rocket reached an altitude of about 11.5 kilometers. Surprisingly low considering how long the engine fired before the fault occurred. Other than the nozzle failure, all the other systems performed well. According to posts on the company’s Twitter account, another vehicle is already under construction.
As its name suggests, Momo-F5 is the fifth sounding rocket built by Interstellar Technologies, which aims to build affordable rockets to “make space more accessible,” according to a statement. It stands 32 feet (10 meters) tall and weighs about 1 metric ton. The company has launched one successful mission, the Momo-F3 rocket flight of May 2019, out of its five to date.
Interstellar Technologies used the Campfire crowdfunding site to raise $391,000 (42 million yen) for the Momo-F5 launch, well above the mission’s goal of nearly $84,000 (9 million yen). The mission was named for the book “Poupelle of Chimney Town” by Akihiro Nishino.
Early shutdown.⁰MOMO-F5 was shut down earlier than planned by the abort command.
The vehicle had safely splashdowned to ocean.
Detailed announcements will be given after further investigation.#PoupelleOfChimneyTownMOMOF5#InterstellarTechnologies
**** The Director General of Roscosmos not thrilled with SpaceX success in launching crew to the ISS and taking commercial satellites to GEO:
This English translation of Dmitry Rogozin’s comments on Crew Dragon is something. My favorite part is his comparison of Soyuz to Renaissance artists. “In the same manner the paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Titian are priceless…”https://t.co/B48S4zIzYA
Responses to Rogozin plus comments on the Raptor engine:
Elon Musk: “Quite a piece! I should credit Soviet/Russian engine work in the 80’s as being a factor in deciding to switch from H2 to CH4. They demonstrated excellent performance on test stands, with Isp up to 380 secs.”
Elon Musk “Combined with SpaceX deep subcooling of propellants to near liquefaction temp of N2, use of common dome (CH4 & O2 liquid at similar temps) & higher T/W of engines enables de facto higher delta-V than an H2/O2 stage”.
Just a Tinker: “Folks don’t realize the mass penalty using hydrogen as rocket fuel. The Space Shuttle’s External Tank carried about four time the volume of liquid hydrogen than its liquid oxygen. Hydrogen is light but takes room that equates to larger tanks. Liquid methane takes much less room.“
Elon Musk: “Also, insulation of a deep cryogen ( which I’d call anything that liquifies nitrogen aka 78% of air) is heavy & prone to heat leaks. H2 is hell.“
Everyday Astronaut: “I know you’d never add unecessary complexity in the manufacturing line, but I’m still surprised you never made a closed cycle Merlin Vacuum to get closer to that 380 mark. Especially with SpaceX’s experience with ox rich preburners now with Raptor Rocket“.
Elon Musk: “We could never reach 380 Isp with RP/kerosene. CH4 has higher Isp potential on paper, but even better in practice. With CH4, you can reach >99% of max theoretical combustion efficiency, but RP is ~97% on a good day & requires desooting of turbines between flights.”
Elon Musk: “Important technical note: due to higher O/F of CH4 vs RP1 (oxygen is dense) & significant density increase of subcooled CH4 (plus no common dome insulation needed), plus cryo strength bump of CH4, tank mass of CH4/O2 stage is almost same as RP1/O2.“
Everyday Astronaut: “So now that Raptor’s been pushed through its paces and more and more in actual production, how’s it looking? Manage any full duration tests yet? Re-firing / re-using looking better than Merlin yet?“
Nick Wijngaards: “I’m curious to see new test footage or specs improvements of the raptor engine. SN1 vs SN20 Rocket“
Elon Musk: “Hundreds of improvements in manufacturability primarily (this is by far the hardest problem), mass down, thrust up, Isp up. Current improvement list continues past SN50. As the saying goes, it’s 1% inspiration & 99% perspiration …”
James Tyrrell: “We’re on SN5/6/7 and there are plans continuing past SN50!! well.. holy shit.“
Elon Musk: “Actually, we’re on SN30 for Raptor.“
Everyday Astronaut: “Some day can we get a video compilation, “How not to run a full flow staged combustion engine” like the booster landing montage. Face with tears of joy I’ll bet there’s some speculat failures when pushing Raptor, that would be an amazing video“
Elon Musk: “Sure. That’s long montage.“
**** Amazing Camera Views From Inside SpaceX Rocket Fairings – Scott Manley
On Tuesday a great video was posted from the fairing of a SpaceX rocket carrying a payload of Starlink Satellites. It was one of the best looks at the interior of the fairings which are practically independent spacecraft able to control their entry & descent to steer their way to a rendezvous with the recovery vessels.
The rocket company launched by billionaire Elon Musk will spend $10 million on infrastructure improvements at its rocket-testing facility in McGregor. The upgrades will include “noise suppressors,” which should prove welcome to those within earshot of SpaceX’s rumbling, window-rattling rehearsals.
Waco City Council and McLennan County Commissioners Court will vote Tuesday on sending SpaceX $2 million from the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. fund, with each entity allocating $1 million.
**A cool view of the separation of the booster from the upper stage and of the booster using its thrusters to reorient itself for its return for landing:
****** Labeled SN7 by observers, a shortened version of a Starship tank was moved to the launch area at Boca Chica Beach last week. (A similar shortened tank named SN2 was pressure tested back in March to check wielding techniques.) On Monday the tank was pressured tested until it failed. A rupture was much less dramatic than previous failures in which parts and metal were hurled about.
Elon said the test results were positive:
Tank didn’t burst, but leaked at 7.6 bar. This is a good result & supports idea of 304L stainless being better than 301. We’re developing our own alloy to take this even further. Leak before burst is highly desirable.
****** The full scale Starship prototype SN5 is expected to roll out to the pad area in a few days. It will mount on a new stand that’s nearly complete. The previous stand was destroyed by a fiery explosion when methane fuel ignited after leaking from a failed disconnect mechanism at the base of the SN4 vehicle. A ram mechanism has been installed in the stand for pushing on the bottom of the tank. This presumably simulates the stresses on the tanks during a launch to orbit. Arocket’s tank must deal not only with the internal pressure of the propellant but also the increase in the propellant’s effective “weight” as the rocket accelerates.
The original plan was for SN4 to do a low altitude hop powered by its single Raptor engine. SN5 would then do higher altitude flights using 3 Raptors. The presumption of observers is that SN5 will still get 3 Raptors despite SN4’s destruction before it had a chance to fly.
Assembly of prototype Starships SN6 is also nearly complete. See videos below for views of the construction of the Starship prototypes.
****** Elon Musk has indicated that launches of the huge Starship/Super Heavy booster combo will most likely require an offshore facility due to safety issues and loudness. It appears the preparations for development of such a facility are underway:
SpaceX is hiring for Offshore Operations Engineers in Brownsville.
From the post: “Work as part of a team of engineers and technicians to design and build an operational offshore rocket launch facility”
— Gavin – SpaceXFleet.com (@SpaceXFleet) June 16, 2020
****** June 11: SpaceX Boca Chica – 304L Starship Sections Appear as Roll Lift Rides In – NASASpaceflight – YouTube
Lots of pre-rollout preps ongoing at SpaceX Boca Chica for SN5 and SN7 test tank as more Starship Sections – made from the new 304L Steel rings – appear at the production facility. Video and Pictures from the awesome Mary (@bocachicagal).
June 14: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN6 Stacking as SN5 heads outside. – NASASpaceflight – YouTube
With SN7 Test Tank at the launch site, Two “Grown Up” Starships – SN5 (now outside of the High Bay) and SN6 – (into final stacking) are preparing for the test campaigns. Video and Photos from Mary (@BocaChicaGal) – Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)
June 16: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN7 test tank reaches 7.6 bar during pressure test. – NASASpaceflight – YouTube
The SN7 test tank reached 7.6 bar during pressure testing to failure, per SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. With some improvements, Musk expects the next test tank to be able to achieve even higher pressures. Video and Pictures from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by (@thejackbeyer)
** Webcast rocket reports:
**** SpaceX Starship is now the top priority, Crew Dragon updates, Starlink launch with Planet rideshare – Marcus House
** SpaceX Starship Updates – Super Heavy Preparations – What about it!?
Today we will take a first look at SpaceX’s preparations for the largest booster Rocket ever built. Super Heavy. We will recap everything, that’s happened since the last Episode, look at the latest Starship Prototype progress, look into what Elon Musk had to say and last but not least, take a look at possibly the first efforts of getting infrastructure in place to support Super Heavy.
1. Monday, June 15, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No special programming.
2. SPECIAL TIME: Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 5 pm PDT (7 pm CDT, 8 pm EDT) : We welcome back for the first segment, Dr. Harold Sonny White regarding advanced propulsion and physics. The balance of this program will fold over to Open Lines on any topic. Dr. White is with us for a limited amount of time so if you have a question or want to talk to him, be prompt in calling.
3. Wednesday, June 17, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.
** Thurs. June.11.2020 – Dr. Namrata Goswami on space policy, China space policy and plans, the virus and China, space law, why the Moon, commercial space, Artemis Accords and much much more.
** Weds. June.10.2020 – Hotel Mars – John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston spoke with William “Bruce” Banerdt, PI of the NASA InSight Mission “about the Mole instrument or heat probe that needs to drill down to about 16 feet through the Martian surface to take the “Martian temperature.” Our guest described the drilling problems, challenges and methods used to get the drilling back on track. We talked about drilling on Mars, Martian soil surprises, the actual temperature probe and much more.”
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
Jim Bridenstine on Twitter: “The cost-saving success of @Commercial_Crew is based on @NASA establishing high-level requirements and letting private companies innovate. For the Artemis Moon base, NASA will establish a cost per ton delivered and once again let private companies innovate.” https://t.co/KFhlI9KzHU” / Twitter
Episode 004 features special guest Roxy Guellmeister, Associate at Foster + Partners in London. Roxy sees our society in a state of massive change and expects numerous fundamental shifts to our familiar lives. She also sees the nascent race for space as a gigantic opportunity for many of our earthly challenges.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joins Jake and Anthony for the first episode of Off-Nominal Origins. We talk about how he got interested in space and aviation, his time at Rice University, his years as a Navy pilot, his continuing fascination with the Rocket Racing League, and a whole lot more.
