NASA & World Space Exploration...News, Views, Photos & videos

bd popeye · Dec 17, 2013

Re: NASA Plans: News, Pics, Videos (SLS, Orion, CCDP, etc.)

Good info Jeff, but we have a thread for the Worlds Space Exploration. TNEE started it.

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/mem...e-exploration-past-present-future-2-6066.html

We will have to wait several years before NASA gets back on it's feet.. they too are an Obamanation. Did I spell that wrong? I don't think so.

bd popeye · Dec 18, 2013

Re: NASA & World Space Exploration...News, Views, Photos & videos

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Release Date: 12/17/2013 8:17:00 PM

By Lieutenant Junior Grade Mike Strauss, Personnel Specialist 1st Class Robert Long and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Corey T. Jones, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 is training and preparing for NASA's unmanned Exploration Flight Test-One (EFT-1) for the Orion spacecraft, scheduled for early next year off the coast of Southern California.

Orion will travel 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface, more than 15 times farther than the International Space Station, and will ultimately re-enter the atmosphere at a speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour, enduring temperatures up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

HSC-8 will embark NASA engineers on two MH-60S Knighthawks to film and monitor the re-entry and recovery of Orion using state of the art debris tracking software and video equipment.

Aside from documenting the initial test phase of this event, NASA will use data gathered from the mission to evaluate parachute deployments and debris patterns to refine Orion's design prior to the manned launch.

HSC-8's aircraft will launch from San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22) and assist the crews that will recover the craft into the ship's well-deck.

Cmdr. Derrick Kingsley, HSC-8's commanding officer, said he is honored to be involved in the beginning stages of the next major phase of space exploration and proud to showcase the multi-mission capabilities of the MH-60S.

The "Eightballers" of HSC-8 operate within U.S. 3rd Fleet's area of responsibility; their missions include vertical lift search and rescue, logistics, anti-surface warfare, special operations forces support, and combat search and rescue.

Joint, interagency and international relationships strengthen 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies.

Jeff Head · Dec 18, 2013

Re: NASA & World Space Exploration...News, Views, Photos & videos

bd popeye said:
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Guess we will be seeing this again out on the high seas:

Been a long time...with the Orion Space craft, it looks like we'll be coming full circle.

bd popeye · Dec 18, 2013

Yes Jeff soon we will see this below. I guarantee you some no-nothing media/blogger will make some ignorant statement wondering why the Navy is not using an carrier to recover the Orion.

NASA teams with the US Navy on Orion handling and recovery procedures.

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NORFOLK (Aug. 12, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) prepare to load an Orion capsule in the well deck of Arlington as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. NASA is partnering with the U.S. Navy to develop procedures to recover the Orion capsule and crew after splashdown. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jackie Hart/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 12, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) load an Orion capsule onto the well deck of Arlington as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. NASA is partnering with the U.S. Navy to develop procedures to recover the Orion capsule and crew after splashdown. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 12, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) inspect the placement of an Orion capsule onto the well deck of Arlington as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 13, 2013) Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) recover an Orion capsule into the well deck of Arlington as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. (U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew Schneider/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 14, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) prepare to deploy a rigid-hull inflatable boat during NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. NASA is partnering with the U.S. Navy to develop procedures to recover the Orion capsule and crew after splashdown. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 15, 2013) An Orion capsule floats before being towed into the well deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) during an exercise as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. NASA is partnering with the U.S. Navy to develop procedures to recover the Orion capsule and crew after splashdown. (U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 15, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) recover an Orion capsule into the well deck of Arlington during an exercise as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. (U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

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NORFOLK (Aug. 15, 2013) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) deploy a rigid-hull inflatable boat during an exercise as part of NASA's first key Orion stationary recovery test at Naval Station Norfolk. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Scott Barnes/Released)

In case you did not know I posted these photos in the USN photos back in August.

TerraN_EmpirE · Dec 19, 2013

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Germany’s Space Agency Takes Interest in SNC’s Dream Chaser

Partners with Private Firm to Explore Use of Sierra Nevada’s Spaceplane

REMEN, Germany -— OHB System AG and the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) signed an agreement providing for the use of funding from the national space program to finance a study to explore possible uses of the U.S. spacecraft Dream Chaser® developed and owned by U.S. company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC).

Named DC4EU (Dream Chaser for European Utilization), the project is to explore ways in which the Dream Chaser®can be used to cover German and European requirements for the transportation of payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and for deployment as a manned or unmanned space vehicle allowing German and European scientists to conduct research under weightless conditions over extended periods of time. Given the capability which the Dream Chaser® has for reaching orbits at a substantially greater altitude than the ISS, the study will determine the extent to which it is able to supply satellites or remove decommissioned satellites from their orbits.

The partner in this project is OHB’s Munich-based subsidiary Kayser-Threde, which is developing a payload element for capturing satellites. SNC’s Space Systems located in Louisville, Colorado, will be contributing its expertise for these developments and will work with OHB on a program for the long-term deployment of the Dream Chaser by Europe. This project will complement the Dream Chaser work that SNC is doing with NASA in the United States under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The project participants intend to explore the potential offered by the Dream Chaser® to achieve more intensive scientific utilization of the ISS and opportunities for high-caliber research in weightless conditions in the post-ISS era. Currently, the members of the ISS program are planning to continue operating the ISS up until 2020 with an option of extending this period.

“Looking forward, DC4EU will provide interested researchers and space agencies with a modern successor to the U.S. space shuttle,” says Dr. Detlev Hüser, head of predevelopment of manned space flight at OHB System, going on to say that “a partnership with the United States will allow Germany to continue participating in manned space flight programs even after the decommissioning of the U.S. space shuttle and the ISS”.

DC4EU seeks to systematically maintain and expand research under weightless conditions and manned space flight capabilities. The project initially entails infrastructure design in the Dream Chaser. In a further step, a reference Dream Chaser® mission is to be defined in conjunction with SNC.

With this project, OHB System is tapping a substantially larger area of business in commercial space transportation and manned space flight.

this is interesting. The ESA has never operated a true manned space program. They have sent Astronauts into space, but via hitchhiking on American shuttle ( when we had the Shuttle) and buying Seats on the Russian Soyuz.
If the Europeans are intrested in DreamChaser it would be a game changer for the ESA. Dreamchaser is designed to fit either the Atlas or Falcon series of Rockets that means its adaptable possibly to the ESA's Ariane series.

Jeff Head · Dec 20, 2013

TerraN_EmpirE said:
this is interesting. The ESA has never operated a true manned space program.

Dreamchaser is designed to fit either the Atlas or Falcon series of Rockets that means its adaptable possibly to the ESA's Ariane series.

This is indeed interesting.

I bet Sierra Nevada is happy about it.

But it could also lead to the US and the ESA having the same vehicle which would be nice.

Hard to say how NASA would read it. On the one hand it would be a big positive and allow it to be vetted by two agencies and then the two would have shared economies of scale, etc. OTHO, certain people at NASA might turn from it, wanting to have their own.

I hope it is the former.

TerraN_EmpirE · Dec 20, 2013

Well Congress mandates the senate launch system spending mere billions each year for a rock that will only be launched once ever four years. They have used the more practical and promising commercial crew as a kicking bag for budget battles. The fact they have not managed to kill it is a sign of Devine intervention.
but even the lord has to compromise. Although NASA's commitment to SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CST100 is absolute they are only partially funding the SNC Dreamchaser. So getting the ESA on the bandwagon is a potential lifesaver for SNC.

Jeff Head · Dec 20, 2013

TerraN_EmpirE said:
Well Congress mandates the senate launch system spending mere billions each year for a rock that will only be launched once ever four years. They have used the more practical and promising commercial crew as a kicking bag for budget battles.

The fact they have not managed to kill it is a sign of Devine intervention.

But even the lord has to compromise. Although NASA's commitment to SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CS100 is absolute they are only partially funding the SNC Dreamchaser. So getting the ESA on the bandwagon is a potential lifesaver for SNC.

I think you meant the Boeing CST-100?

The CST-100 by Boeing looks remarkably similar to the Orion spacecraft crew module that Lockheed seems to have a lock on for the deep space craft.

The Space-X design is already proven, having deliverd cargo to the ISS and returned cargo safely from it. Evne though Boeing has significant legacy experience, I believe the Space-X may have a leg up.

But of the three, I like the Dreamchaser by far the best and believe it is the best go forward option, and most flexible for all types of missions. It will have some very nice characteristics including:

- Standardized proven launch rockets.
- Autonomous flight capability if needed...meaning it has a fly-around capability
- Built-in launch escape system
- Can carry up to seven atronauts
- Larger cargo capabilities
- Ethanol based fuel, easire and safer to handle than the Shuttle was.
- Better tile system that can be removed and replaced in sections rather than tile by tile, and is more durable

I personally hope the Dream Chaser wins the NASA competition AND is selected by ESA.

Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser shuttle

Space-X's Dragon Crew Capsule

Boeing's CST-100 Capsule

TerraN_EmpirE · Dec 20, 2013

Your right about the Boeing capsule, I did forget the T. And I agree with you about the Dream Chaser. I would rather NASA kill the SLS buy Space X falcon heavy and a mix of dream chaser for ISS missions and Dragon for more adventurous missions like the moon, mars and asteroid missions.

TerraN_EmpirE · Dec 23, 2013

future of the Russian Space program

coolieno99 said:
Russia is slowly rebuilding its space program to the level before the collapse of the USSR. Just as the U.S. shut down its Space Shuttle program, the Russian plans to build a new super-heavy launcher, Angara, and re-start the Buran shuttle program. It's performance parameters exceed those of the U.S. shuttle.

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Equation said:
So Russia is bringing back the Buran space shuttle?

TerraN_EmpirE said:
Good luck restarting Buran the only operational until was destroyed, the test rigs are accessible but mostly trashed or placed in amusement parks.
additionally by the time the Russians tested it, they considered Buran obsolete. Seems to me more like the Russian space agency will have to clean slate a new obiter.

chuck731 said:
Russia has been talking big since Putin's ascedancy, but there is little evidence of any real progress in addressing the basic problems that prevents the reemergence of competitive technological and manufacturing economy. It continues to be a declining second rate economy dressing itself up with outward appearences of a major player, but increasingly hallow at the core of its power. So these stories are more to be treated with bemusement than anticipation.

chuck731 said:
I think someone has missed the fact that Russian economy is of the size and level of development similar to Brazil, and probably has less long term growth potential than Brazil.

TerraN_EmpirE said:
even Brazil has a space program. but the chances at success are not very high.

chuck731 said:
Russia has more hand-me-down image, gadgets and old capital than Brazil, but quite appearently less ability or determination to root out the fundamental reason for its current weakness.

The chances of Brazil's success in the medium to long term, say 25-50 years, is IMHO underestimated. It probably won't become one of two or three superpowers, but its size and population means it would probably displace United States to become the regional hegemon of South America, and by that put itself above the likes of France, UK, and Japan as a global power, and become a important, if not dominant, player in the balance of power in the Pacific.

Before that will happen there will probably be a period when the US would attempt to cultivate argentina and Chile to balance the power of emergent Brazil in order to maintain America's dominant role in South America, much as US would attempt to cultivate India and Japan to balance the power of emergent China to maintain America's dominant role in Asia.

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I disagree, And Favor The US and Brazil establishing a strong alliance, I don't see them falling into A rivalry and see Argentina aligning with Venezuela to try and counter but both suffering due to continued degeneration via failed domestic policies. and China suffering form issues identical to Japan in terms of demographics. but those are for another topic.

Now lets limit our selves to the Russian Space program In the Case of the Russian Space program ( still were sorta off topic) the Russian space program is not so much as shooting off left overs as continuing to build the same rockets and systems it's a bit like how Harley Davison used to build motorcycles the same Models were built form the 1960's into the 1980's with only minor changes, as time went by the quality started to fail and the maker kept slipping behind. We can see that with the recent failings of the Russian Launches. Thus far the Russians are trying to deal with this via Putin reestablishing the tight state controls and reemerging the rocket builders into the Government program directly. since 2010 they have had 2 launch fails, one Epic.
[video=youtube_share;EJ5__1PPgNQ]http://youtu.be/EJ5__1PPgNQ[/video]
They also seem to be working in differing directions at the same time and seem committed to building up there government space program with a contract to continue operations at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. and the new Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast Russia. although some have argued the new facility is intended to replace the Kazakstan facility.

personally though I highly doubt any Shuttle class orbiter for Russia in any of our life times. more likely a capsule type replacement for the Soyuz.

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NASA & World Space Exploration...News, Views, Photos & videos

bd popeye

The Last Jedi

bd popeye

The Last Jedi

Jeff Head

General

bd popeye

The Last Jedi

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

Jeff Head

General

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

Jeff Head

General

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King