Did you leave a hole in the water?
No!
Leave the market and someone will fill the void.
Quit flying the Shuttle and watch what takes its place.
Don't want to put humans on the Moon.
Stand by and see who does.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.russiatoday.com/
Europeans hope to buy Soyuz spacecraft
August, 2009, 03:00
The European Space Agency seeks to buy a Russian Soyuz rocket as
European astronauts make their way into orbit. Europe has asked Russia
to increase the number of spacecrafts they produce from four to five
per year.
The Europeans hope to buy their own vehicle, perhaps with the
Canadians who are also considering participating in the deal.
The prospects of the possible agreement were discussed at the
International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2009 last week.
With the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle program in sight,
Russian craft might soon be the only way of getting to the
International Space Station.
The station is likely to gain one extra ‘room’ as Europe plans to
begin sending its astronauts to space from 2013 and onwards.
------------------------------
and back in March 29, 2008. - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ATV/
Jules Verne demonstrates key capabilities
29 March 2008
Jules Verne ATV today demonstrated its ability to navigate safely from
a point 39 km behind the ISS to a stand-off point just 3.5 km away
using relative GPS navigation. The vessel then executed an Escape
manoeuvre commanded from the ATV Control Centre in which the craft
flew off to a safe distance.
“All systems were completely nominal, which is very satisfying for
this first day of really testing the rendezvous capability of the
spacecraft,” said John Ellwood, ESA ATV Project Manager.
Today’s demonstration also confirmed Jules Verne is able to establish
a continuous two-way data link with the ISS. Using the high-rate
S-band communication link, which was switched on at a distance of 40
km from the ISS, Jules Verne for the first time conducted relative GPS
(Global Positioning Satellite) measurements with the Station. Relative
GPS is a navigation technique executed by computers between the ATV's
GPS receiver and the ISS GPS receiver that enables ATV to navigate
relative to the Station with very high accuracy.
snip
------------------------------
UP, up, and away. Who is going to heavy lift to the ISS? - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.aviationweek.com/
TinyURL for above - http://tinyurl.com/klq9sj
HTV On Target For Sept. 11 Launch
Sep 3, 2009
By Jefferson Morris
Japan's unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) has passed a NASA flight
readiness review and is in final preparations for liftoff from
Tanegashima Space Center on its first mission to the International
Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 11 local time.
On Aug. 30, the encapsulated vehicle was transported to the Vehicle
Assembly Building at Tanegashima, where it is being mated to the
second stage of its H-IIB rocket and having the final elements of its
pressurized cargo installed.
The 10-meter long spacecraft is capable of carrying 4.5 metric tons of
internal cargo and 1.5 tons of external cargo. This first flight will
carry 2.5 metric tons internally - which will mostly be station
logistics, with about 20 percent of the pressurized volume being
occupied by research hardware.
The HTV also carries two external scientific payloads - Japan's SMILES
(Superconduting Submillimeter-Wave Limb Emission Sounder) and NASA's
HREP (HICO-RAIDS Experiment Payload) experiments. SMILES will study
the effects of trace gases on the Earth's ozone layer, and HREP will
study the oceans and map the ionosphere and thermosphere. Both will be
installed on the Japanese Kibo laboratory's exposed experiment
facility on the station.
Launch of the HTV is set for 2:01 a.m. Sept. 11 Japan time, or roughly
noon Central U.S. time Sept. 10. It will be the first flight for the
H-IIB. The launch window will be open until Sept. 30, and will include
about seven liftoff opportunities, according to NASA ISS Program
Manager Mike Suffredini. After that, the next opportunities for launch
won't occur until early next year.
snip
------------------------------
And if SpaceX wants to deliver to the ISS, how say you? - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.spacex.com/press.
Hawthorne, CA – September 1, 2009 – Space Exploration Technologies
(SpaceX) announces delivery of the Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services (COTS) Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communication Unit to
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in preparation for launch on Space Shuttle
Atlantis, STS-129. The unit will be delivered by Atlantis to the
International Space Station (ISS) and integrated in preparation for
SpaceX's future flights to the orbiting laboratory.
Developed by SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, the unit allows for
communication between the ISS, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, and
ground-based mission control. The system also allows the ISS crew to
monitor an approaching or departing capsule. As part of NASA's COTS
competition, SpaceX will conduct flights of the Falcon 9 launch
vehicle and Dragon spacecraft, culminating in Dragon berthing with the
ISS and then returning to Earth.
The unique public-private partnership created through the COTS program
will allow SpaceX's Dragon to serve as a replacement for cargo
transport to the ISS when the Space Shuttle retires. Upon completion
of the COTS requirements, SpaceX will begin to fulfill the Commercial
Resupply Services (CRS) contract, awarded by NASA in late 2008. The
contract includes 12 cargo flights between 2010 and 2015 and
represents a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 kg to be carried to the ISS.
Dragon will deliver pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the ISS and
return pressurized cargo back to Earth.
“SpaceX is pleased to have delivered the two-way communication system
to the Cape in preparation for flight to the ISS,” said Gwynne
Shotwell, President, SpaceX. “The unit had to pass NASA's strict ISS
safety standards and reviews, demonstrating our progress under the
COTS program and laying the groundwork for future F9/Dragon flights to
resupply cargo and possibly crew to the ISS when Shuttle retires.”
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch no earlier than
November 12, 2009, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A.
For more information about the Falcon family of vehicles and the
Dragon spacecraft, please visit http://www.spacex.com/.
snip
------------------------------
Well I wonder who will be going to space in the future?
- LRK -
Will there be an International Space Station or some country wanting
to go their own way?
http://www.parabolicarc.com/
Aviation Week article - TinyURL http://tinyurl.com/mkeff5
China's Space Station May Be Signal To NASA
Posted by Jeffrey Manber at 3/3/2009 7:45 AM CST
Thanks for looking up with me.
Larry Kellogg
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
==============================
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.
White House to receive Augustine summary next week
posted by Mark Matthews on Sep 3, 2009 6:19:10 PM
WASHINGTON -- An independent space panel is expected on Tuesday to
present the White House with a "summary report" of its recommendations
for NASA's future, according to the panel's website.
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/
The report follows weeks of public hearings aimed at finding the best
course for NASA's human spaceflight program, which faces an uncertain
future. NASA plans to retire the space shuttle in 2010 or 2011 but its
successor, called Constellation, is struggling with technical and
financial problems.
The panel, led by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, has said
that it would be impossible for NASA to reach its goal of returning
astronauts to the moon by 2020, given budget shortfalls and technical
challenges with Constellation, which includes the Ares 1 rocket and
Orion capsule.
During meetings this summer, panel members advocated other approaches,
including a free-ranging spaceship that could explore the inner solar
system. They also have backed the idea of using commercial rocket
companies to reach low-Earth orbit, instead of relying on NASA-run
spacecraft.
snip
==============================
http://www.space-travel.com/
SpaceX And NASA To Improve Mission Critical Software Systems
by Staff Writers
Hawthorne CA (SPX) Jun 06, 2008
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and NASA's Independent
Verification and Validation (IV and V) Facility at Fairmont, West
Virginia, working through the Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Maryland, announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement
effort to advance the state of the art in mission- and safety-critical
software that will be used for sending SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to
the International Space Station.
SpaceX was selected by NASA under the Commercial Orbital
Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop and demonstrate
vehicles, systems, and operations needed to perform space flight
demonstrations, including rendezvous and berthing with ISS. SpaceX is
teaming with NASA's IV and V/GSFC facility to enhance confidence in
mission- and safety-critical software elements.
Specifically, NASA's IV and V Facility will provide an additional
layer of assessment and mission assurance, including a full analysis
of the system software for a SpaceX-developed UHF communications unit.
The system provides low-cost, high reliability space-to-space
communications directly between Dragon and ISS.
The Dragon spacecraft also utilizes NASA's Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System (TDRSS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the
Iridium commercial satellite telephone system for maximum flexibility
and performance
snip
==============================
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) is a unmanned resupply spacecraft to
resupply the KibÅ Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and the rest of the
International Space Station (ISS). The Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) has been working on the design since the early 1990s.
Originally intended to be launched in 2001, The first mission is
scheduled on September 11, 2009.
snip
==============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================================================
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