The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond

Cosimo · 25 Apr 2016 at 15:47

Rollout of a Soyuz 2-1B/Fregat with the Mikhailo Lomonosov, Aist-2, SamSat-218 satellites at the new Vostochny Cosmodrome:

Launch is on the 27th.

Cosimo · 25 Apr 2016 at 16:10

The scrubbed Sentinel-1B/CubeSats mission is not set for launch today at 22:02 BST. It will be live here:

http://livestream.com/ESA/Sentinel1BLaunch

Cosimo · 26 Apr 2016 at 06:40

Sentinel-1B/CubeSats launch:

Glaucus · 27 Apr 2016 at 23:54

Awesome, spaceX finish the bulk of an agreement with nasa to send a red dragon to mars in 2018, although fully suspect that timeline to slip a few years

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/04/spacex-debut-red-dragon-2018-mars-mission/

We’re particularly excited about an upcoming SpaceX project that would build upon a current ‘no-exchange-of-funds’ agreement we have with the company,” noted NASA deputy Administrator Dava Newman. “In exchange for Martian entry, descent, and landing data from SpaceX, NASA will offer technical support for the firm’s plan to attempt to land an uncrewed Dragon 2 spacecraft on Mars.”

Do find it odd that they say no money, but then looks like it will be nasa scientific payload.

NASA is yet to announce the list of scientific instrumentation that may fly on the Red Dragon, although both NASA Ames and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were understood to be involved with the formulation of the agreement as of last year.

We'll just have to wait fir more news I guess.

PDF agreement all contractual like speak, so not an easy read
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_ccsc_saa_modification_1_-_redacted_1.pdf

Cosimo · 28 Apr 2016 at 06:22

Soyuz 2-1B/Fregat with the Mikhailo Lomonosov, Aist-2, SamSat-218 satellites is the first launch from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome:

Cosimo · 28 Apr 2016 at 06:31

360 panorama of Curiosity Mars Rover at Naukluft Plateau:

The 360-degree panorama was acquired by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on April 4, 2016. The scene is presented with a color adjustment that approximates white balancing, to resemble how the rocks and sand would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.

The view combines dozens of images taken during the mission's 1,302nd sol, or Martian day, by Mastcam's left-eye camera from a location on top of what rover team members call "Naukluft Plateau" on lower Mount Sharp, which stands inside Gale Crater. The science goals of this panorama called only for terrain images, which is why frames showing the sky and rover hardware were not imaged or included in the mosaic.

This science mosaic is part of long-term campaign to document the geology along the rover's traverse since landing in August 2012.

The foreground and middle distance show a geologic scene dominated by eroded remnants of a finely layered ancient sandstone deposit. The sandstone here appears to be dominated by thick layers of windblown sand, suggesting that these deposits formed in a drier epoch.

More:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6452

Cosimo · 28 Apr 2016 at 09:06

Take a look through the window for some spectacular views:

Cosimo · 28 Apr 2016 at 14:46

Continuing with Space Station 360° we have Tranquility (Node 3):

Node-3 Tranquility provides life-support for the International Space Station. Part of Tranquility is ESA's Cupola observation module, a seven-window dome-shaped structure from where the Space Station's robotic arm, Canadarm 2, is operated as it offers a panoramic view of space and Earth. Launched on Space Shuttle flight STS-130 in February 2010, Node-3 was attached to the port side of Node-1 Unity.

More:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Node-3_Cupola

Glaucus · 29 Apr 2016 at 10:41

Hands-On with NASA's HoloLens Mars Demo

very cool,
but always thought this would be best for problem solving. imagine if they had this on ISS or even Apollo 13. here's how you fix it. rather than trying to explain everything verbally. or just highlighting which switch, wire or what ever else they mean.

is it worng the main reason I want vr is to walk around iss/mars etc. hope nasa releases more and more VR stuff as well as others like SpaceVR.

now which is the best vr googles you stick a phone in, loads at like £20

Cosimo · 29 Apr 2016 at 14:17

Tim Peake has run the distance of the London Marathon on a treadmill in about three hours, 35 minutes:

Cosimo · 30 Apr 2016 at 06:57

The OSIRIS-REx mission, launching in September 2016, plans to return a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in 2023 so that scientists can study pristine material left over from the early solar system:

More:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/index.html

http://www.asteroidmission.org/

Cosimo · 30 Apr 2016 at 07:09

This week:

Cosimo · 30 Apr 2016 at 08:15

SpaceX 360 View for the Falcon first stage landing on the drone ship:

Cosimo · 30 Apr 2016 at 11:51

New IMAX £3 film: 'A Beautiful Planet'

Experience life on the International Space Station and breath taking views of Earth from space:

Screening in UK starts on May 27.

It will be on in the Science Museum:

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators/things-to-do/events/imax-films/a-beautiful-planet

Cosimo · 1 May 2016 at 11:54

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

The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond