Avaruus

[fulcrum]

USA:n oma teollisuus vaan kiittää pitkällä juoksulla, kun saadaan kotimaahan rakettien tuotantoa ja työllisyyttä.

Tuosta RD-180 -riippuvuudesta on haluttu eroon jo pitkään, ja muistaakseni ihan alunperinkin kaavailtiin että tuotanto siirtyy USAan, mutta tämä ei koskaan tapahtunut: linjan käynnistys oli liian kallista.

 

[Jukkis]

Tuosta RD-180 -riippuvuudesta on haluttu eroon jo pitkään, ja muistaakseni ihan alunperinkin kaavailtiin että tuotanto siirtyy USAan, mutta tämä ei koskaan tapahtunut: linjan käynnistys oli liian kallista.

Sen sijaan koko Atlas V-raketista (johon nuo moottorit olivat) on päätetty luopua ja korvata se Vulcan-raketilla. USA oli jo aikaisemmin vastaanottanut viimeisen RD-180-moottorin mitä tulee tarvitsemaan. Niitä on varastossa riittävästi että kaikki sovitut Atlas 5-laukaisut (Boeing Starliner huom!, Vulcan ei ole "man rated" pitkään aikaan) voidaan suorittaa.

 

[Olympiakasarmi]

Sen sijaan koko Atlas V-raketista (johon nuo moottorit olivat) on päätetty luopua ja korvata se Vulcan-raketilla. USA oli jo aikaisemmin vastaanottanut viimeisen RD-180-moottorin mitä tulee tarvitsemaan. Niitä on varastossa riittävästi että kaikki sovitut Atlas 5-laukaisut (Boeing Starliner huom!, Vulcan ei ole "man rated" pitkään aikaan) voidaan suorittaa.

Isompi ongelma tulee NorthropGrummanin Antares raketin kanssa. Heillä ei ole samanlaista varastoa RD-181 moottoreita.

 

[Jukkis]

Isompi ongelma tulee NorthropGrummanin Antares raketin kanssa. Heillä ei ole samanlaista varastoa RD-181 moottoreita.

Hitsi. Toisaalta tuo raketti on vähemmän tärkeä USAn avaruusohjelmille... paitsi että ilman Roscosmosta Cygnus on kai ainoa alus joka tällä hetkellä pystyy ISS:n kiertorataa korottamaan. Moottorin vaihto uudestaan vaatii taas aikaa ja työtä, vaikka tuossa kokoluokassa parikin vaihtoehtoa on kehitteillä. Aerojetin AR1 suoraan jenkeistä ja Intialaisten SCE-200. Polttoaineen vaihtaminen tarkoittaisi tankkienkin uudelleensuunnittelua, jolloin koko 1. vaihe menee käytännössä uusiksi. Ja eiköhän ne Cygnukset saada tarvittaessa taivaalle Vulcanillakin.

 

[ctg]

 

[ctg]

RocketLab rupeaa näyttämään kovalta vaihtoehdolta

 

[ctg]

The dusty faces of the Moon and Mars conceal unseen hazards for future explorers. Areas of highly oxidising material could be sufficiently reactive that they would produce chemical burns on astronauts' unprotected skin or lungs. Taking inspiration from a pioneering search for Martian life, a Greek team is developing a device to detect these 'reactive oxygen species' - as well as harvest sufficient oxygen from them to keep astronauts breathing indefinitely.

The US Viking landers that touched down on Mars in 1976 carried experiments looking for Martian life whose results are still debated more than four decades later.

Viking's 'Labeled Release' experiment applied micro-nutrient liquid to a Martian soil sample, which released copious amounts of oxygen in response. Some authorities interpreted this result as evidence of microbial life on Mars - except that even after the sample was sterilised with 160 C heat this oxygen production continued. Meanwhile other Viking experiments found no traces of organic chemicals.

"The leading interpretation today is that the results were due to an abiotic chemical reaction," notes Prof. Elias Chatzitheodoridis of the Geological Sciences Department of the National Technical University of Athens.

"The oxygen production was caused by a reactive oxygen species reacting with water in the nutrient liquid," notes Prof. Christos Georgiou of the Biology Department at the University of Patras. "Such reactive species may originate from metal salts of superoxides, peroxides or perchlorates - the latter of which was indeed detected by NASA's Mars Phoenix lander in the Martian Arctic in 2008.

"Charting such highly reactive species will be important for Martian and lunar settlers, not only because their presence will be inimical to human settlement and crop growth but also because they will erase any trace of possible Martian bio-fossils, so these areas can be ruled out of the search for life on Mars."

Moon and Mars superoxides for oxygen farming

Paris (ESA) Mar 07, 2022 - The dusty faces of the Moon and Mars conceal unseen hazards for future explorers. Areas of highly oxidising material could be sufficiently reactive that they would produce chemical burns on astronau

www.marsdaily.com

 

[ctg]

 

[ctg]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced it has chosen a team to make oxygen on the moon. The team, led by aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space, will design and build a payload to create oxygen from lunar soil.

As the moon has no atmosphere, future explorers will need to bring everything they need to survive with them. But carrying oxygen into space using rockets is inefficient, so it would be better if astronauts could find ways to make what they need in the places they are exploring. This principle is called in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and is a key idea for future missions to the moon and Mars.

Building an experimental payload to make oxygen on the moon | Digital Trends

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced it has chosen a team to make oxygen on the moon.

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[ctg]

Industry experts say US and European economic sanctions against Russia for military action against Ukraine could create economic opportunities for the Indian space sector, rather than burden it with economic costs.

He also felt that to seize the opportunity, India should accelerate its satellite launching capabilities, and announce Productivity Concessions (PLI) schemes for the aerospace sector.

"All countries that are feeling the pinch due to the absence of Russian rockets for launching satellites may consider alternatives. While the bulk of the satellite launch agreement will be taken up by the United States and Europe, there There will be others who may consider other options. India's neutrality has created a new segment of the market, "Chetnia Gree, founder, DAWON Advisory and Intelligence, told IANS.

He added that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) should increase its satellite launching capacity as there are no more than two launches every year.

Private rocket companies are also in the process of developing their own small rockets. ISRO should actively hold their hands so that they too can quickly recognize their launch vehicles.

India's market share in the 60 360 billion global space sector market is negligible.

Industry experts agree that sanctions against Russia will not have a major impact on India.

Space is an important sector and there is a possibility that the United States will ask India to become a party for or against Russia.

So what if the United States and the West add India to the sanctions list because of its relations with Russia?

In the case of satellites, about 60% of the cost components are now imported from Europe.

"India imports memory chips, sensors, on-board processors, relays and other items. We get spare parts from Japan and Singapore. Due to language barriers, spare parts procurement from Russia is low," said Tapan Misra, co-founder and The Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Cesar Radar Pvt. Ltd., told IANS.

Misra was previously director at ISRO's Space Applications Center, and Cesar Radar plans to build an X-band artificial aperture radar with a resolution of 0.5 meters.

Another retired senior ISRO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS: "As a matter of policy, ISRO will have inventory of components for 15 satellites. The level of component inventory will be reduced to 10 satellites. "

The official added that in the last two years, ISRO has not built many satellites and therefore, given its launch record and plans, inventory levels will remain comfortable for a few more years.

However, there are short life items, such as adhesive and soldering paste, that are imported. This requires planning through appropriate supply chain links.

GABBO said, "India has to walk a tightrope to import some rare earth materials and space-grade metals. The Russia-Ukraine war will cool down, but the secondABBO effects of sanctions may take time to subside." Yes, "said GABBO.

In terms of rockets, India has localized the majority of its rocket-making products - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the upcoming Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

"Most of the Russian and European parts and materials for making ISRO rockets are local. The effect of sanctions on India will be minimal. For Skyroot, the effect is zero because the supply chain is mostly inside India. Decades, "Pawan Kumar Chandna, co-founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, told IANS.

Sanctions against Russia could provide opportunities for India's space sector

New Delhi (IANS) Mar 14, 2022 - Industry experts say US and European economic sanctions against Russia for military action against Ukraine could create economic opportunities for the Indian space sector, rather than burden it with

www.spacewar.com

 

[Olympiakasarmi]

New Funding Propels Missile Warning and Tracking Satellites Forward

New Funding Propels Missile Warning and Tracking Satellites Forward

www.nationaldefensemagazine.org

 

[ctg]

Today, NASA announced that it has successfully completed two further steps to align the mirrors of the Webb telescope. The resulting performance indicates that Webb will meet or exceed its design goals. "So far, we're finding that the performance is as good [as] or better than our most optimistic projections," said Lee Feinberg, the Webb optical telescope element manager.

The announcement was accompanied by a spectacular image that showed a sharp focus on the target star and included many in-focus galaxies in the backdrop.

NASA releases first image from an in-focus Webb telescope

Distant galaxies come into focus as Webb is on track to meet or exceed expectations.

arstechnica.com

 

[ctg]

SLSä menossa hakemaan.

Artemis 1 moon rocket rollout: Meet the NASA crawler carrier doing the heavy lifting

NASA's crawler-transporter 2 is the size of a baseball infield and weighs more than 6 million pounds.

www.space.com

 

[rty19]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504496750043836423

 

[Olympiakasarmi]

Venäjän kosmonautit saapuivat avaruusasemalle Ukrainan väreissä – näin he perustelivat värivalintaansa

Miehistön jäsen perusteli värivalintaa käytännön syillä.

www.is.fi

 

[tviiru]

Mietin tossa taannoin miksi miehitetty avaruuden valloitus loppui aika pian 1969 tehdyn ekan kuukävelyn jälkeen..eikä ole 40 vuoteen elpynyt. Siis vaikka kuussa käytiin taskulaskimen tehoisella jääkaapin kokoisilla tietokoneilla jne. Onko kukaan löytänyt hyvää syytä sille...science fiction sen sijaan kukoistaa.

Ensimmäinen kuulento oli poliittisesti tärkeä ja siihen panostettiin kaikki. Yhdysvalloilla oli menossa myös Vietnamin sota, joka vei resursseja. Rahat ja resurssit ohjattiin muihin asioihin.

 

[ctg]

 

[ctg]

In the popular conception of a technological breakthrough, a flash of genius is followed quickly by commercial or industrial success, public acclaim, and substantial wealth for a small group of inventors and backers. In the real world, it almost never works out that way.

Advances that seem to appear suddenly are often backed by decades of development. Consider steam engines. Starting in the second quarter of the 19th century they began powering trains, and they soon revolutionized the transportation of people and goods. But steam engines themselves had been invented at the beginning of the 18th century. For 125 years they had been used to pump water out of mines and then to power the mills of the Industrial Revolution.

Lately we’ve become accustomed to seeing rocket boosters return to Earth and then land vertically, on their tails, ready to be serviced and flown again. (Much the same majestic imagery thrilled sci-fi moviegoers in the 1950s.) Today, both SpaceX and Blue Origin are using these techniques, and a third startup, Relativity Space, is on the verge of joining them. Such reusable rocketry is already cutting the cost of access to space and, with other advances yet to come, will help make it possible for humanity to return to the moon and eventually to travel to Mars.

Vertical landings, too, have a long history, with the same ground being plowed many times by multiple research organizations. From 1993 to 1996 a booster named DCX, for Delta Clipper Experimental, took off and landed vertically eight times at White Sands Missile Range. It flew to a height of only 2,500 meters, but it successfully negotiated the very tricky dynamics of landing a vertical cylinder on its end.

The key innovations that made all this possible happened 50 or more years ago. And those in turn built upon the invention a century ago of liquid-fueled rockets that can be throttled up or down by pumping more or less fuel into a combustion chamber.

How Flyback Rocket Boosters Got Off the Ground

What seems a rapid revolution was decades in the making

spectrum.ieee.org

 

[ctg]

Startup Ursa Major announced Wednesday that it had completed qualification of its Hadley rocket engine for use by both a space launch vehicle and a hypersonic launch system. The Colorado-based company said it has already started delivering flight-ready Hadley engines to two customers, Phantom Space and Stratolaunch, and plans to produce a total of 30 engines this year.

The Hadley engine is relatively small as rocket engines go, with about 5,000 pounds of thrust. At that performance level, the Hadley is comparable to Rocket Lab's Rutherford engine, nine of which power the first stage of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.

In its announcement, Ursa Major touted the versatility of the Hadley engine being used in two different environments. Phantom Space is developing its Daytona rocket as a small-lift booster, using seven Hadley engines in its first stage to lift up to 450 kg to low Earth orbit. A single, vacuum-optimized Hadley engine will power the upper stage. Phantom says it is booking launches for 2023.

Stratolaunch, by contrast, has built the world's largest aircraft, with a 385-foot (117 m) wingspan. Known as Roc, the aircraft recently completed its fourth test flight and reached an altitude of 15,000 feet (4.6 km). This massive carrier aircraft will be used to launch the rocket-powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicles, which will serve as a test bed for hypersonic research. Stratolaunch plans to begin test flights this year and offer commercial and government service in 2023.

Ursa Major says its Hadley engine supports vertical launch and hypersonic uses

"Having an engine off the shelf is going to save you five-plus years."

arstechnica.com

 

[ctg]

Now Earth-to-moon communications are poised for a new era. With dozens of missions planned for the next decade, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has partnered with the Italian aerospace company Argotec to design a satellite-based lunar network that would provide coverage to most of the moon at any given time. The plan calls for 24 satellites to move in four highly elliptical orbits, relaying signals between the lunar surface and Earth. The network wouldn’t be very fast—it would deliver tens of megabits per second, which is less than a decent fiber-to-the-home hookup.

But the Argotec-JPL concept is just one of several budding initiatives to design future lunar communications infrastructure, including proposals to serve future lunar residents. These explorers would need enormously powerful data links to conduct experiments, control remote equipment, receive and issue warnings about dangerous space weather, rescue stranded surface travelers, and even combat homesickness. The largest project to return humans to the moon, NASA’s Artemis, has already spawned several proposals for such lunar networks. NASA itself has developed an architecture it calls LunaNet, which it recently shared with industrial and government partners. And the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency recently awarded separate contracts to ArkEdge Space and Warpspace Co. to perform studies for robust and technologically advanced lunar networks.

It’s not too much of a stretch to envision these future moon dwellers gaping at the landing sites of the Apollo missions. There, amid the lander descent stages, nail clippers, US $2 bills, and vomit bags, they’ll see the S-band erectable antennas, television cameras, and lunar rovers. With their 21st-century smartphones, they might even take selfies alongside some of the most remarkable communications gear of the 20th.

Engineering Lunar Network 2.0

Artemis and other moon missions will need high-speed communications

spectrum.ieee.org