The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond

Cosimo · 5 Oct 2011 at 22:47

PermaBanned said:
I don't know if i should find that funny or sickening

Come on, which is it?

Cosimo · 6 Oct 2011 at 10:21

A Land Launch Zenit-3SLB rocket successfully launched the Intelsat 18 satellite from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan at 22:00 BST yesterday:

Intelsat 18 is quite a beast at 3,200 kg and will have a life expectancy of 15 years delivering a communication bridge across the Pacific:

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publications/Intelsat18_Fact.pdf

Cosimo · 6 Oct 2011 at 16:05

A look at the progress on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV):

Glaucus · 6 Oct 2011 at 16:08

Nice video, I didn't realise they had done an abort test.

Cosimo · 6 Oct 2011 at 16:19

AcidHell2 said:
Nice video, I didn't realise they had done an abort test.

That was the first test done in 2010, the next test(s) will be in 2012:

http://vimeo.com/11631855

PermaBanned · 6 Oct 2011 at 16:43

Is the capsule itself actually the whole spacecraft? Even with advances in technology i doubt they could completely get rid of the bulky unpressurised service module of Apollo (and Gemini)...

Cosimo · 6 Oct 2011 at 17:16

PermaBanned said:
Is the capsule itself actually the whole spacecraft? Even with advances in technology i doubt they could completely get rid of the bulky unpressurised service module of Apollo (and Gemini)...

The exploration vehicle consists of three parts:

Launch Abort System

The launch abort system (LAS), positioned on a tower atop the crew module, activates within milliseconds to propel the crew module to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or climb to orbit. The system also protects the crew module from dangerous atmospheric loads and heating, then jettisons after the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is through the initial mission phase of ascent to orbit.

Crew Module

The crew module is the transportation capsule that provides a safe habitat for the crew, provides storage for consumables and research instruments, and serves as the docking port for crew transfers. The crew module is the only part of the MPCV that returns to Earth after each mission.

Service Module

The service module supports the crew module from launch through separation prior to reentry. It provides in-space propulsion capability for orbital transfer, attitude control, and high altitude ascent aborts. When mated with the crew module, it provides the water, oxygen and nitrogen needed for a habitable environment, generates and stores electrical power while on-orbit, and maintains the temperature of the vehicle's systems and components.

This module can also transport unpressurized cargo and scientific payloads.

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/index.html

Cosimo · 9 Oct 2011 at 14:11

Another look at Orion this time from Lockheed Martin the prime contractor:

Cosimo · 11 Oct 2011 at 08:18

More from Lockheed Martin on Orion including missions to the ISS:

PermaBanned · 11 Oct 2011 at 17:06

Here's an interesting one:

An attempt to win the Carmack Micro Prize (legend) at BALLS 20 (heard something about somebody making a 1:1 scale Mercury-Redstone for launch there, not sure what happened to that), which is to get an amateur rocket above 100,000ft (don't ask me why they use imperial :rolleyes:

), and it's max altitude was ~121,000ft. It reached Mach 3 and melted the plastic around one of the cameras. Impressive

More here:

http://ddeville.com/derek/Qu8k.html

Cosimo · 11 Oct 2011 at 17:34

PermaBanned said:
Here's an interesting one:

PermaBanned · 11 Oct 2011 at 17:45

Fixed, not sure what happened there

Amazing what people can do with readily available amateur technology nowadays. That's where the future of space flight lies, not in the private industry but in the hobbyists and back yard engineers. Speaking of which, another milestone for Copenhagen Suborbitals:

Cosimo · 14 Oct 2011 at 08:08

We are back on track with missions to the ISS. NASA has told congress that it agrees with Russia’s findings on the failure of a Soyuz rocket's third stage in August during a Progress launch to the ISS. Subject to a successful Soyuz launch on October 30th, the next mission to ISS, Expedition 29 should launch on November 14th.

Cosimo · 14 Oct 2011 at 14:44

Galileo:

The first operational satellites of Europe’s own global navigation satellite system Galileo will be launched next week. This will happen be the first Soyuz rocket to launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Launch is scheduled for Thursday, 20 October at 11:34 BST (12:34 CEST, 07:34 local time).

PermaBanned · 14 Oct 2011 at 20:39

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15313471

Cosimo · 18 Oct 2011 at 09:36

We have another launch. The ViaSat 1 broadband communications satellite on board a Russian Proton rocket is due to be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday 19th, at 19:48 BST (22:48 local time). The rocket and its payload arrived by train at the pad on Sunday:

PermaBanned · 19 Oct 2011 at 21:15

Looks like the launch was successful

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15372534

This looks like it could be interesting, haven't had a chance to watch it yet:

http://vimeo.com/30742999

Cosimo · 20 Oct 2011 at 12:09

PermaBanned said:
Looks like the launch was successful

It looked good:

Cosimo · 20 Oct 2011 at 16:53

So how do you power a Mars Rover:

Time to start getting excited as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch is scheduled November 25th:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

PermaBanned · 20 Oct 2011 at 20:13

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/20/soyuz-launch-delayed-fuel-valve

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

The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond