The International Space Station taken
from Space Shuttle Discovery as the Sun rises from behind Earth. The
STS-119 and Expedition 18 crew took this picture after leaving the Space
Station in March 2009. (NASA/ESA)
View large image
International Space Station Salutes the Sun
12.07.12
The International Space Station taken from Space Shuttle Discovery as
the Sun rises from behind Earth. The STS-119 and Expedition 18 crew took
this picture after leaving the Space Station in March 2009. (NASA/ESA)
View large image
SOLAR consists of three complementary instruments: SOVIM (SOlar Variable
and Irradiance Monitor) covers the near-ultraviolet, visible and
thermal-infrared regions of the spectrum; SOL-ACES (SOLar
Auto-Calibrating Extreme UV/UV Spectrophotometers) measures the extreme
ultraviolet; and SOLSPEC (SOLar SPECtral Irradiance measurements) covers
the 180–3000 nm wavelength range. (ESA)
View large image
The Belgian User Support and Operations Centre is part of the ground
segment for the International Space Station. It is open 24 hours a day
to make sure in-orbit payloads operate as planned, provide astronaut
training and process scientific data received from the experiments. It
is located in Uccle, Belgium on the premises of the Belgian Institute
for Space Aeronomy. (BUSOC)
View large image
SOLAR installed on ESA's Columbus laboratory on the International Space
Station. SOLAR consists of three complementary instruments: SOVIM (SOlar
Variable and Irradiance Monitor) covers the near-ultraviolet, visible
and thermal-infrared regions of the spectrum; SOL-ACES (SOLar
Auto-Calibrating Extreme UV/UV Spectrophotometers) measures the extreme
ultraviolet; and SOLSPEC (SOLar SPECtral Irradiance measurements) covers
the 180–3000 nm wavelength range. (ESA/NASA)
View large image Recently the International Space Station turned itself to position the European Space Agency's SOLAR instrument for a better view of the sun. It was the first time the station changed attitude for scientific reasons alone.
"The European scientists requested this so they could increase science and bridge over the two solar cycles," said Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program scientist. "The International Space Station Program took a look at the request and we were glad that we could change attitude to support the scientists."
SOLAR has been monitoring our sun's output since it was installed on ESA's Columbus laboratory module in February 2008. The package will celebrate its fifth anniversary next year.
"That is quite an achievement," says Nadia This, operations engineer at the Belgian User Support and Operations Centre, which controls SOLAR. "The instrument was designed to work for only 18 months."
SOLAR needs to be in direct view of the sun to take measurements but the space station's normal orbit obscures the view for two weeks every month.
"We want to record a complete rotation of the sun and that takes around 25 days," explains This.
The solution is to rotate the whole station, but moving the almost 925,000-pound orbital outpost -- the size of a typical block of apartments -- is not a simple undertaking.
Aside from calculating the correct orbit to keep SOLAR in view of the sun, other factors need to be taken into account such as ensuring the solar panels that power the station are not left in the dark.
Communication antennas need to be reoriented to stay in contact with Earth and other scientific experiments must be adjusted.
High-level discussions with all five space station partners were needed before the go-ahead was given.
SOLAR started recording a full rotation of the Sun on Nov. 19. On Dec. 1 the station spent two hours turning about 7 degrees so that observations could continue. It held this angle for 10 days before returning to its original attitude. As usual, the Belgian center will be following SOLAR's progress 24 hours a day.
SOLAR's observations are improving our understanding of the sun and allowing scientists to create accurate computer models to predict its behavior. The more accurate data we acquire, the more we will understand our nearest star's influence on Earth.
Recently, the 11-year solar cycle has shown irregularities, and the next maximum is expected in 2013, so SOLAR's spectral readings are of particular interest to scientists.
This original story was written and published by the European Space Agency on Nov. 28, 2012.
NASA Progressing Toward First Launch of Orion Spacecraft
WASHINGTON
-- Recent engineering advances by NASA and its industry partners across
the country show important progress toward Exploration Flight Test-1
(EFT-1), the next step to launching humans to deep space. The uncrewed
EFT-1 mission, launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in
2014, will test the re-entry performance of the agency's Orion capsule,
the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, which will carry astronauts
farther into space than ever before.
"These recent milestones are laying the foundation for our first flight test of Orion in 2014," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The work being done to prepare for the flight test is really a nationwide effort and we have a dedicated team committed to our goal of expanding the frontier of space."
A tool that will allow the titanium skeleton of the Orion heat shield to be bolted to its carbon fiber skin is at the Denver facility of the spacecraft's prime contractor Lockheed Martin. This will enable workers to begin assembling the two pieces of the heat shield. Almost 3,000 bolts are needed to hold the skeleton to the skin. A special stand was built to align the skin on the skeleton as holes for the bolts are drilled. Work to bolt the skeleton to the skin will be completed in January. The heat shield then will be shipped to Textron Defense Systems near Boston where the final layer, an ablative material very similar to that used on the Apollo spacecraft, will be added. The completed heat shield is scheduled to be ready for installation onto the Orion crew module at Kennedy next summer.
To test the heat shield during EFT-1's re-entry, Orion will travel more than 3,600 miles above Earth's surface, 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbital position. This is farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. Orion will return home at a speed almost 5,000 mph faster than any current human spacecraft.
This week, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., received materials to begin manufacturing the adapter that will connect the Orion capsule to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy-lift rocket for EFT-1. Two forward and two aft rings will be welded to barrel panels to form two adapters. This adapter design will be tested during EFT-1 for use during the first launch of NASA's next heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), in 2017. SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads beyond low Earth orbit, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration.
Data from the adapter on the flight test will provide Marshall engineers with invaluable experience developing hardware early in the design process. Designing the adapter once for multiple flights also provides a cost savings.
Of the two adapters welded at Marshall, one will attach Orion to the Delta IV heavy-lift rocket used for EFT-1. The other adapter will be a structural test article to gain knowledge on the design.
NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program also has passed a major agency review that lays the groundwork at Kennedy to support future Orion and SLS launches. The GSDO Program completed a combined system requirements review and system definition review, in which an independent board of technical experts from across NASA evaluated the program's infrastructure specifications, budget and schedule. The board confirmed GSDO is ready to move from concept development to preliminary design. The combination of the two assessments represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program reviews. The team is streamlining processes to provide the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable launch facility.
The GSDO program last week also led the third Stationary Recovery Test Working Group session in Norfolk, Va. The team presented to the U.S. Navy detachment that will recover the capsule during EFT-1 a complete list of tasks required to accomplish stationary recovery test objectives. The working group outlined the plan for roles and responsibilities to accomplish required test procedures. Included in these presentations were the commanding officer of the USS Mesa Verde and the fleet forces command director of operations, who both expressed complete support for the test.
For more information about NASA's exploration programs:
"These recent milestones are laying the foundation for our first flight test of Orion in 2014," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The work being done to prepare for the flight test is really a nationwide effort and we have a dedicated team committed to our goal of expanding the frontier of space."
A tool that will allow the titanium skeleton of the Orion heat shield to be bolted to its carbon fiber skin is at the Denver facility of the spacecraft's prime contractor Lockheed Martin. This will enable workers to begin assembling the two pieces of the heat shield. Almost 3,000 bolts are needed to hold the skeleton to the skin. A special stand was built to align the skin on the skeleton as holes for the bolts are drilled. Work to bolt the skeleton to the skin will be completed in January. The heat shield then will be shipped to Textron Defense Systems near Boston where the final layer, an ablative material very similar to that used on the Apollo spacecraft, will be added. The completed heat shield is scheduled to be ready for installation onto the Orion crew module at Kennedy next summer.
To test the heat shield during EFT-1's re-entry, Orion will travel more than 3,600 miles above Earth's surface, 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbital position. This is farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. Orion will return home at a speed almost 5,000 mph faster than any current human spacecraft.
This week, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., received materials to begin manufacturing the adapter that will connect the Orion capsule to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy-lift rocket for EFT-1. Two forward and two aft rings will be welded to barrel panels to form two adapters. This adapter design will be tested during EFT-1 for use during the first launch of NASA's next heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), in 2017. SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads beyond low Earth orbit, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration.
Data from the adapter on the flight test will provide Marshall engineers with invaluable experience developing hardware early in the design process. Designing the adapter once for multiple flights also provides a cost savings.
Of the two adapters welded at Marshall, one will attach Orion to the Delta IV heavy-lift rocket used for EFT-1. The other adapter will be a structural test article to gain knowledge on the design.
NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program also has passed a major agency review that lays the groundwork at Kennedy to support future Orion and SLS launches. The GSDO Program completed a combined system requirements review and system definition review, in which an independent board of technical experts from across NASA evaluated the program's infrastructure specifications, budget and schedule. The board confirmed GSDO is ready to move from concept development to preliminary design. The combination of the two assessments represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program reviews. The team is streamlining processes to provide the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable launch facility.
The GSDO program last week also led the third Stationary Recovery Test Working Group session in Norfolk, Va. The team presented to the U.S. Navy detachment that will recover the capsule during EFT-1 a complete list of tasks required to accomplish stationary recovery test objectives. The working group outlined the plan for roles and responsibilities to accomplish required test procedures. Included in these presentations were the commanding officer of the USS Mesa Verde and the fleet forces command director of operations, who both expressed complete support for the test.
For more information about NASA's exploration programs:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario