Author Topic: The Official Space Exploration Thread  (Read 230807 times)

Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #645 on: September 23, 2008, 10:57 AM »
Yeah, that pic is sweet. Reminds me of the X-71 Shuttle's from the flick Armageddon, both waiting for the launch.

Here's a high rez pic of that shot. Just clicky the picture.



Space shuttle Atlantis (foreground) sits on Launch Pad A and Endeavour on Launch Pad B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At the left of each shuttle are the open rotating service structures with the payload changeout rooms revealed. The rotating service structures provide protection for weather and access to the shuttle.

For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during Atlantis' upcoming STS-125 mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The missions is slated to launch Oct. 10.

After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Image Credit: NASA/Troy Cryder.

Another neat pic, a panorama view showing both shuttle's & the vehicle assembly building. Clicky pic.  8)



Do they usually roll out the shuttle that far in advance of the launch?  Especially given the time of year, wouldn't they be concerned with Hurricanes, etc.  I'd think they would roll them out at most a week before.  Then again, do they have the capacity to have both those shuttles inside at this point, IIRC from the tour I went on about 15 years ago, I think there is only one assembly facility where they could shelter the shuttle.
 

The Vehicle Assembly Building is bloody huge & can hold alot, even 2 external fuel tanks, & the whole ball of wax.  ;)

The Space Shuttle: The Vehicle Assembly Building

 

Offline Keonobi

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #646 on: September 23, 2008, 11:02 AM »
Thanks DSJ, I was hoping that someone at NASA had thought that one through :)  Like I said, I couldn't recall all that well.  Those are some pretty dramatic and beautiful pictures.
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #647 on: September 25, 2008, 10:13 AM »
Been sitting here watching the live coverage of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft launch on the TV channel CCTV-4 server from China.

What an awesome launch, looked lika a plastic model sitting there then she fired up...  8)

You can catch the launch on youtube here.

I have been also following the launch on the NASASpaceFlight.com forum where members have been watching closely & posting some great screen caps of the mission. It's a big thread & worth looking through.

Can't wait for the spacewalk, good luck to them.  :)



The Shenzhou 7 manned spacecraft launches from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province on Thursday Sept. 25, 2008, in this photo distributed by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua. Credit: AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Gang.

Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #648 on: September 27, 2008, 04:18 AM »
I'm following the live broadcast of the spacewalk, great feed from cctv.com English Version.

Depressurization of the orbital module is taking place, Zhai Zhigang wearing a Chinese made Feitian spacesuit will be making the space walk & Liu Boming will be wearing a Russian suit & will stay in the orbital module while Jing Haipeng will stay in the re-entry module.

When Col Zhai steps out, attached to the orbiting module by two wires, he will retrieve a test sample of solid fuel lubricant attached to the outside of the craft in order to give the test walk realism. He will then release a small satellite to circle and take photographs of the mission.

No major experiments are planned: the main purpose of the flight is to prepare the technical skills necessary, including docking two orbiters together, one day to develop a Chinese space station.

The space walk is planned to take between 20 minutes and half an hour. The main risks are the difficulties of maintaining pressure in the orbiting module, and malfunction in the spacesuit.

The taikonauts spent 10 hrs putting on the suits.

Depressurization has been completed & they are about to open hatch!  8)

Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #649 on: September 27, 2008, 05:45 AM »
Holy crap! They did it, it was a short spacewalk but wow! Kudo's China.

Enjoy the screen grab's, I really like the 2nd taikonaut popping out of the orbiting module & the flag waving.  ;D



 

 













The Shenzhou 7 spacewalk is up on youtube.

ShenzhouVII Space Walk ★part 1★

ShenzhouVII Space Walk ★part 2★

ShenzhouVII Space Walk ★part 3★

Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #650 on: September 28, 2008, 09:05 AM »
China astronauts return to Earth triumphant



The Shenzhou 7 reentry module, after landing Sept. 28 on the plains of Inner Mongolia. Credit: CCTV/Xinhua.



The three Shenzhou 7 crewmembers, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng, after landing in Inner Mongolia Sept. 28. Credit: CCTV/Xinhua.

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #651 on: September 28, 2008, 10:31 AM »
May China's success motivate congress to increase funding to NASA.
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #652 on: September 29, 2008, 02:52 AM »
SpaceX launches 1st commercial rocket into orbit



SpaceX's fourth Falcon 1 rocket successfully launches into orbit from the Kwajalein Atoll on the Pacific Ocean late Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008. Credit: SpaceX.



This still from a video camera attached to SpaceX's fourth Falcon 1 rocket reveals the limb of the Earth as the booster's second stage successfully reached orbit on Sept. 28, 2008. Credit: SpaceX.



A view from SpaceX's third Falcon 1 rocket shortly before video transmission terminated two minutes and 20 seconds into the third test flight on August 2, 2008. A SpaceX spokesperson said that mission control had reported an "anomaly." Credit: SpaceX.

More on SpaceX can be found at spacex.com check it out, cool video of the launch & the orbit.  8)

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #653 on: September 29, 2008, 02:17 PM »
Hubble telescope fails, NASA may delay shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Hubble Space Telescope has stopped sending science data, forcing NASA to regroup and possibly delay the space shuttle mission planned in just two weeks to upgrade the telescope.

The system that failed Saturday night means the telescope is unable to capture and beam down the data needed to produce its stunning deep space images, officials said Monday.

A team of astronauts has been preparing to blast off on the space shuttle Atlantis on Oct. 14 to make other repairs and upgrades. But the data transmission breakdown is a brand new problem.

NASA is reviewing whether the mission should be delayed a couple of months so that plans can be made to send up a replacement part for the failed component, said NASA spokesman Michael Curie.

It would take time to test and qualify the old replacement part and train the astronauts to install it in the telescope, Curie said. NASA also would have to work out new mission details for the astronauts who have trained for two years to carry out five Hubble repair spacewalks.

"The teams are always looking at contingencies, and this is just something that has cropped up we have the ability to deal with. They're just trying to decide what direction we want to go," he said.

There is a backup channel for the science instruments' command and data-handling system, and NASA may be able to activate it successfully so that data transmission resumes, Curie said. But if NASA relies solely on the backup channel, there would be no other options if it malfunctioned.

"They're looking at all the different possibilities," he added.

Curie stressed that the telescope is not in trouble; it's just that it cannot send science information to ground controllers. That means NASA is unable to receive the dramatic pictures Hubble is known for.

The mission by Atlantis and a seven-person crew would be the fifth and final servicing mission to Hubble.

Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #654 on: September 30, 2008, 12:17 AM »
NASA pushes Hubble's makeover back to February

NASA has delayed the last shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope until early 2009 in order to repair a broken device that is blocking the orbital observatory from sending its iconic images of the cosmos back to Earth, agency officials said late Monday.

Canadian laser gadget finds snow in Martian sky

Phoenix Mars Lander "Sees" Falling Snow

September 29, 2008.
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth.

A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars has detected snow from clouds about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground.

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."

Phoenix experiments also yielded clues pointing to calcium carbonate, the main composition of chalk, and particles that could be clay. Most carbonates and clays on Earth form only in the presence of liquid water.

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #655 on: September 30, 2008, 09:31 AM »
At least we have Spitzer up there to make up for the loss of Hubble.
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Offline DSJ™

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #656 on: October 2, 2008, 11:18 AM »
Just want to throw this out here, looks like this may finally be closed.

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #657 on: October 7, 2008, 12:29 PM »
Mercury, up close and personal: Photos revealed

Messenger Images of Mercury



This view is one of the first from the MESSENGER probe's Oct. 6, 2008 flyby of Mercury. The bright crater south of the center of the image is Kuiper, identified on images from the Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s. For most of the terrain east of Kuiper, toward the limb (edge) of the planet, the views are the first ever of that portion of Mercury. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/CIW.



This portion of Mercury's surface was previously imaged under different lighting conditions by Mariner 10, but this new MESSENGER image mosaic is the highest-resolution color imaging ever acquired of any portion of Mercury's surface from its Oct. 6, 2008 flyby. The largest impact feature at the top of the image is about 133 kilometers (83 miles) in diameter and is named Polygnotus. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/CIW.

Keep checking the link below for more added pics from this mission.  8)

Mercury as Never Seen Before

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #658 on: October 7, 2008, 12:36 PM »
Wow!  Amazing images Dale.  Thanks for posting them!


On a related note, I did a little reading online about the early Soviet space program.  Specifically about the lost Cosmonauts.  Jim Oberg of NASA has apparently done some writing on the topic.  However even with the demise of the Soviet Union, the secrets of the Soviet space program are still under lock and key.  But the reports of a Soviet launch in the 1960's that failed to go into orbit and went directly into deep space were somewhat startling.
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Offline jedipurge

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Re: The Official Space Exploration Thread
« Reply #659 on: October 7, 2008, 06:02 PM »




WOW the crater at, what I'd guess to be the N. Pole, almost looks like it "spiderwebbed" the planet with all the "cracks" that look to originating from that spot.

Wow!  Amazing images Dale.  Thanks for posting them!


On a related note, I did a little reading online about the early Soviet space program.  Specifically about the lost Cosmonauts.  Jim Oberg of NASA has apparently done some writing on the topic.  However even with the demise of the Soviet Union, the secrets of the Soviet space program are still under lock and key.  But the reports of a Soviet launch in the 1960's that failed to go into orbit and went directly into deep space were somewhat startling.


Where did you read that Nick?  Sounds very interesting.
« Last Edit: October 7, 2008, 06:04 PM by jedipurge »
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