SSI News
Soyuz TMA-06M is docked with International Space Station
The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft has docked to the International Space Station (ISS) at 1229 GMT on 25 October. The docking took place at the Poisk docking port. Aboard were mission commander Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer Evgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford.
Breeze M upper stage blows up in orbit causing potential debris hazard
It has been announced that the Russian-built Breeze M (Briz-M) upper stage that was responsible for the faulty Proton M launch in August of Telkom 3 and Express MD-2 satellites, has blown up on 16 October. The explosion is thought to have been caused by the mixing of residual hypergolic propellants which are designed to ignite on contact. NASA and the US Air Force are monitoring the debris cloud to see if it threatens the International Space Station or any other spacecraft. US Space Command has catalogued at least 80 pieces of debris.
Opinion: The madness of imprisoning earthquake scientists may halt satellite seismic forecasting research
To world scientific dismay, on 22 October, seven scientists working at the Italian National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks received jail terms of six years for “negligence” and “manslaughter” in failing to provide adequate warning of the earthquake that struck the Italian city of L’Aquila on 6 April 2009.
Soyuz TMA-06M launches successfully with three aboard
At 1051 GMT on 23 October a Soyuz FG rocket successfully launched the Soyuz TMA-06M/ISS-32S spacecraft into orbit from the Baikonur launch site near Tyuratam, Kazakhstan. The flight carried to the International Space Station carried mission commander Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer Evgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford on its way to the International Space Station. The flight also carried some live fish.
History: Solar/geomagnetic storm which knocked out Telesat Anik E-1 and E-2 in 1994 was caused by “Coronal Hole”
On 20th January 1994 a major solar/geogmagnetic event knocked out satellites and partially shut down the power grid in Canada. The satellites most seriously affected were the Telesat Anik E-1 and E-2 communications satellites which were knocked out for a time after failure in their momentum wheel control systems after Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). The website Canada.com reports from the journal Space Weather that a team of scientists from Natural Resources Canada have now found the cause of the storm. Specifically, by examination of images taken by the Japanese Yohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope a “coronal hole” was discovered as having formed which allowed charged particles to be spewed out towards the Earth.
Budget cuts force US Air Force to throw out reusable booster baby with the bathwater
As reported by Flightglobal, the US Air Force has now its its back on liquid-fuelled flyback boosters as it shut down its Reusable Rocket Booster programme due to budget cuts. This total halt, which included its Pathfinder technology demonstrator programme, is actually against the advice of the US National Research Council. In a report, the council doubted the business case for going into full operation with boosters but noted that the research should at least continue.
GOES 13 has been recovered after sounder fix
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that the GOES 13 meterological satellite has now been recovered to service. The spacecraft, which had suffered a failure to its temperature and humidity sounder and multi-spectral imager on 23 September was returned to service as the official “Goes-East” satellite 1444 GMT on 18 October. In doing so, GOES 13 retakes this role from GOES 14 which took over when GOES 13 fell out of service. GOES 13 was repaired using an outgassing technique to prvent the lubricant-related vibration in the sounder’s filter wheel. GOES 14 will be retained as a back up to GOES 13.
NASA tests SLS Block 1 configuration in supersonic wind tunnel
NASA has released Schlieren photographs of a supersonic wind tunnel test of a scale test model of the initial 70 tonne capable Block 1 configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS), The tests have been taking place in the Trisonic wind tunnel at the NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center. The Schlieren imaging system allows shadows to be cast by changes in refractive indexes caused by density gradients in a fluid to be projected and imaged. It is usually used to check aircraft and launch vehicle configurations for shock interactions and air flow instabilities at various attitudes.
ISRO goes to Arianespace for launch of GSAT 7 naval comsat and INSAT 3D weather sat
After issuing an international call for tenders, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has chosen Arianespace to launch the GSAT 7 and INSAT 3D satellites. The contract also includes two more launch options for ISRO, the Indian space agency.
President Obama gets support from first US man in orbit John Glenn
While former Apollo astronauts including the first man to set foot on the Moon, the late Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, and the last lunar walker Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan, were, for a time, at loggerheads with President Obama over his then apparent reluctance to build a heavy lift launch vehicle, Obama does still have old-astronaut support in his campaign to remain IUS President. Veteran Democratic Party Senator John Glenn has appeared in an Obama-supporting video telling the world why Obama should be supported. Glenn was the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth and later flew on a Shuttle mission.
Stay Informed with Seradata
Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.