** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

[Cosimo]

Am update on work carried out for future space missions:

 

[Cosimo]

So you fancy a trip to space, well you can have your name etched in microchip aboard a spacecraft headed to the asteroid Bennu in 2016:

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/janu...-an-asteroid-mission-and-beyond/#.Utbp_mRdWie

http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/messages/bennu/

 

[Cosimo]

GPM makes it to Japan:

More:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GPM/overview/index.html

http://pmm.nasa.gov/GPM

 

[Cosimo]

More steps towards the future:

 

[Glaucus]

Nasa get $800 million funding raise.

space Launch System
Orion
James Webb telescope

Are all safe and they are also looking for companies to develop a soft Lander for the moon transport, no finding but know how, test facilities etc. http://news.softpedia.com/news/NASA-Wants-Private-Space-Companies-to-Go-to-the-Moon-417879.shtml

Officials with the American space agency announce new collaboration opportunities with the private space sector, this time for landing commercial spacecraft on the Moon. NASA wants to apply the same model to this project as it did for delivering cargo to the International Space Station.

The agency is already working with a number of companies, supporting the development of private spacecraft capable of resupplying the space lab. Orbital Sciences Corporation, of Dulles, Virginia, and SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, have already successfully launched such missions.





The two companies have also partnered up with NASA to develop manned versions of their cargo capsules, thus ensuring American access to space on American-built spacecraft. The space agency now plans to apply the same partnership model to landing payloads on the Moon.

In a recent announcement, NASA officials said that the organization is looking to support the development of reliable and cost-effective commercial robotic lunar lander capabilities. Gaining this type of access to the Moon would enable both scientific and economic breakthroughs.

The proposed program has been dubbed the Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) initiative. NASA hopes to receive several proposals from private companies soon, and is ready to sign Space Act Agreements (SAA) to support viable proposals.

NASA will not be supporting the development of these new lunar landers through federal funding. Its role in the partnership will be to provide know-how and expertise for the private companies, as well as access to test facilities and equipment, and to computer software for spacecraft control.

All this talk of going back to the moon, sols and Orion. But nothing set in stone.

Why can't the senate just back nasa.
Go we want to go to mars, but before that. Lets land the 3d printer that builds habitats in the moon, test hydroponics greenhouses long term, robot helpers (gardeners, ice collectors etc) lets see how well everything copes, close to home where its much cheaper, as part of a long term plan.

 

[Cosimo]

 

[Cosimo]

 

[Cosimo]

Work in progress:

 

[Spook187]

On the 20th January, after 957 days of hibernation in deep space, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft is set to wake up automatically. The journey started in 1994.

More:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Europe_s_comet_chaser

Was just checking on this, good luck Rossetta on wake up call

Love the way they can sling shot a probe with pin point accuracy so many years in advance, great stuff.

 

[Cosimo]

ROSETTA WAKE-UP

Rossetta wake up event will be live here, starting at starting at 09:15 GMT:

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/esalive

and

http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency

Rosetta’s computer is programmed to re-establish contact with Earth on 20 January, starting with an ‘alarm clock’ at 10:00 GMT. Immediately afterwards, the spacecraft’s startrackers will begin to warm up, taking around six hours. Rosetta will then send a signal to Earth to announce that it is awake. The first window of opportunity to receive a signal is between 17:30-18:30 GMT.

Detailed programme:

www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Call_for_Media_Rosetta_wake_up_event

Rosetta info:

www.esa.int/rosetta

 

[Cosimo]

Lol asking for questions and there are none. Time to watch will be from 17:30.

 

[Cosimo]

 

[Cosimo]

Now waiting for a signal from Rosetta which will travel 500 million miles to earth. Live update coming at 17:30 GMT.

 

[Glaucus]

Where about for the live update?

 

[Cosimo]

Where about for the live update?

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/esalive

and

http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency

 

[Glaucus]

After all the hype what a boring thing, thought they might of thrown together a two hour show. Reward the launch, explain the mission etc.

 

[Cosimo]

Signal has been received!

 

[bitslice]

Oh no, Rosetta crashed soon after awakening because of a Windows Update

I told them not to use Windows-For-Space-Probes, as it'll be out of support by the time it gets there.

 

[Spook187]

Oh no, Rosetta crashed soon after awakening because of a Windows Update

I told them not to use Windows-For-Space-Probes, as it'll be out of support by the time it gets there.

Please not on here with that, already seen comments on other sites about a waste of money on this probe, which it is not.

 

[bitslice]

Please not on here with that, already seen comments on other sites about a waste of money on this probe, which it is not.

Actually I was going to make a thread on it until I guessed it might have already been discussed in here, so no I don't think it's a waste of money
(...I just had a pic uploaded and going to waste)

Pretty impressive landing a robot onto a speeding chunk of ice, well it will be if they manage it.