Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:1/3/2012
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
NASA’s twin GRAIL spacecraft reunite in lunar orbit
First GRAIL Twin Enters Lunar Orbit – NASA’s New Year’s Gift to Science
GRAIL-A spacecraft achieved Lunar Orbit Insertion on New Year’s Eve.
Artists concept shows twin GRAIL spacecraft orbiting the Moon. The twin GRAIL spacecraft will fly in tandem to map the moon’s gravity field with unprecedented precision to unlock hidden secrets about the moons interior composition, determine if it possesses an inner core, and yield a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. Credit: NASA
See JPL Mission Control photos below
Cheers erupted after the first of NASA’s twin $ 496 Million Moon Mapping probes entered orbit on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) upon completion of the 40 minute main engine burn essential for insertion into lunar orbit. The small GRAIL spacecraft will map the lunar interior with unprecedented precision to deduce the Moon’s hidden interior composition.
“Engines stopped. It’s in a great initial orbit!!!! ”
- NASA’s Jim Green told Universe Today, just moments after verification of a successful engine burn and injection of the GRAIL-A spacecraft into an initial eliptical orbit. Green is the Director of Planetary Science at NASA HQ and was stationed inside Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Ca (see photos below).
“Pop the bubbly & toast the moon! NASA’s GRAIL-A spacecraft is in lunar orbit,” NASA tweeted (…)
Read the rest of First GRAIL Twin Enters Lunar Orbit – NASA’s New Year’s Gift to Science (870 words)
© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2012. |
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NASA’s twin spacecraft on final approach for Moon orbit
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:12/29/2011
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NASAs Unprecedented Science Twins are GO to Orbit our Moon on New Years Eve
Twin GRAIL Probes are GO for Lunar Orbit Insertion on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
GRAIL probes use precision formation-flying technique to map Lunar Gravity. The twin GRAIL spacecraft will map the moon's gravity field, as depicted in this artist's rendering. Radio signals traveling between the two spacecraft provide scientists the exact measurements required as well as flow of information not interrupted when the spacecraft are at the lunar farside, not seen from Earth. The result should be the most accurate gravity map of the moon ever made. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon, including the size of a possible inner core, and it should provide scientists with a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In less than three days, NASA will deliver a double barreled New Year’s package to our Moon when an unprecedented pair of science satellites fire up their critical braking thrusters for insertion into lunar orbit on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
NASA’s dynamic duo of GRAIL probes are “GO” for Lunar Orbit Insertion said the mission team at a briefing for reporters today, Dec. 28. GRAIL’s goal is to exquisitely map the moons interior from the gritty outer crust to the depths of the core with unparalled precision.
“GRAIL is a Journey to the Center of the Moon”, said Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge at the press briefing. (…)
Read the rest of NASAs Unprecedented Science Twins are GO to Orbit our Moon on New Years Eve (949 words)
© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2011. |
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Dawn spirals down to lowest orbit
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:12/13/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
Revolutionary Air-Launched Commercial Rocket to Orbit Announced by Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen
Stratolaunch Systems Carrier Aircraft – Air Launch to Orbit Space Launch System
Developed by Scaled Composites, the aircraft manufacturer and assembler founded by Burt Rutan. The carrier will loft and drop the 500,000 pound multistage SpaceX rocket that will propel payloads to orbit at dramatically reduced costs. It will be the largest aircraft ever flown with a wing span of 385 feet and weighing 1.2 million pounds. Credit: Stratolaunch Systems
Watch complete video animation description below
A mega quartet of luminaries led by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan have joined forces to create a revolutionary new approach to space travel entailing the privately funded development of a mammoth air-launched space transportation system that aims to dramatically cut the high costs and risks of launching both cargo and human crews to low Earth orbit.
Allen and Rutan are teaming up with Elon Musk, founder of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, and Michael Griffin, former NASA Administrator, to build the world’s largest aircraft ever flown and use it as a platform to loft a multi-stage SpaceX rocket that will deliver a payload of some 13,500 pounds into earth orbit, about the same class as a Delta II. .
Allen and Rutan hope to build (…)
Read the rest of Revolutionary Air-Launched Commercial Rocket to Orbit Announced by Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen (608 words)
© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2011. |
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Dawn swoops to lowest orbit around Vesta – Unveiling Spectacular Alien World
Dawn Orbiting Vesta
This artist's concept shows NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbiting the giant asteroid Vesta. The depiction of Vesta is based on images obtained by Dawn's framing cameras. Dawn is an international collaboration of the US, Germany and Italy. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Dawn Asteroid Orbiter successfully spiraled down today to the closest orbit the probe will ever achieve around the giant asteroid Vesta, and has now begun the most critical science observations that will ultimately yield the highest resolution measurements to be obtained of this spectacular body throughout the entire mission.
“What can be more exciting than to explore an alien world that until recently was virtually unknown!” Dr. Marc Rayman gushed in an exclusive to Universe Today. Rayman is Dawn’s Chief Engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.. and a protégé of Star Trek’s Mr. Scott.
Before Dawn, Vesta was little more than a fuzzy blob in the world’s most powerful telescopes. Vesta is the second most massive object in the main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.(…)
Read the rest of Dawn swoops to lowest orbit around Vesta – Unveiling Spectacular Alien World (948 words)
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What’s that strange bright streak?NASA’s WISE mission finds first Trojan asteroid sharing Earth’s orbit
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:7/28/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
First Ever Vesta Vistas from Orbit – in 2D and 3D
First Vesta Vista Captured in orbit by Dawn on July 17, 2011 – Enhanced
Nearly centered on the South Pole, this image taken by Dawn’s framing camera on July 17, 2011 has been enhanced to bring out further detail. It was taken from a distance of about 9,500 miles (15,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 0.88 miles (1.4 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Enhanced and annotated by Ken Kremer. Original NASA version below
The first ever Vesta Vista snapped from the protoplanets orbit has been transmitted back through 117 million miles of space to eager eyes waiting on Earth. Although Vesta had been observed by telescopes on Earth and in space for more than two centuries since its discovery, only scant detail on its surface could be discerned until today.
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft took the new photo of the giant asteroid Vesta on July 17 – enhanced version shown above – less than 2 days after making space history as the first probe ever to enter orbit about an object in the main Asteroid Belt. The team also released their first 3 D image of Vesta. Read my orbital capture story here and see the original NASA image below.
“I think it is truly thrilling to be turning what was little more than a fuzzy blob for two centuries into a fascinating alien world,” said Dawn Chief Engineer Marc Rayman in a new post orbit interview with Universe Today.(…)
Read the rest of First Ever Vesta Vistas from Orbit – in 2D and 3D (994 words)
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NASA’s Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around asteroid Vesta
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:7/18/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
Dawn Exceeds Wildest Expectations as First Ever Spacecraft to Orbit a Protoplanet – Vesta
Enhanced Image of Vesta Captured by Dawn on July 9, 2011
NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011. Dawn obtained the raw image of Vesta with its framing camera on July 9, 2011 – which has been enhanced and annotated here. It was taken from a distance of about 26,000 miles (41,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers).
A massive ancient cosmic collision blasted away Vesta’s south pole – exposing deep and alluring secrets. What will Dawn discover ?
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA.
Enhanced and annotated by Ken Kremer
NASA’s super exciting Dawn mission to the Asteroid Belt marked a major milestone in human history by becoming the first ever spacecraft from Planet Earth to achieve orbit around a Protoplanet – Vesta – on July 16. Dawn was launched in September 2007 and was 117 million miles (188 million km) distant from Earth as it was captured by Asteroid Vesta.
Dawn’s achievements thus far have already exceeded the wildest expectations of the science and engineering teams, and the adventure has only just begun ! – so say Dawn’s Science Principal Investigator Prof. Chris Russell, Chief Engineer Dr. Marc Rayman (think Scotty !) and NASA’s Planetary Science Director Jim Green in exclusive new interviews with Universe Today.
As you read these words, Dawn is steadily unveiling new Vesta vistas never before seen by a human being – (…)
Read the rest of Dawn Exceeds Wildest Expectations as First Ever Spacecraft to Orbit a Protoplanet – Vesta (1,157 words)
© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2011. |
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NASA spacecraft to enter large asteroid’s orbit July 16
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:7/15/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
Double Spaceship Sighting Alert — and Last Chance to See Endeavour in Orbit
Shuttle Endeavour docked to the ISS, backdropped by a thinly lit part of Earth's atmosphere and the blackness of orbital nighttime in space. Credit: NASA
Space shuttle Endeavour will undock from the ISS just before midnight EDT on Sunday night/Monday morning at 11:55 pm EDT (3:55 UTC) and depending where you live, you might have an opportunity to see the two spaceships flying in tandem. People in Europe might have the chance to see the two spaceships right after they separate in the early morning hours, and people in the US/Canada/Mexico might be able to see the two flying close to each other. This is an incredible sight, and will be the last opportunity to see Endeavour in orbit, as she will be retired after she lands and completes the STS-134 mission. The station and shuttle will appear in the night or early morning sky as a closely-spaced pair of bright lights. The ISS is bigger, so will appear as the brighter object trailing the smaller Discovery as they move across the sky.
On Monday night/Tuesday morning, there will be another chance to see the two ships, although they will be widely separated.
To find out if you’ll be able to see the two spaceships in your area, there are a few different sites to check out:
(…)
Read the rest of Double Spaceship Sighting Alert — and Last Chance to See Endeavour in Orbit (103 words)
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Movie Premiere: First Orbit
50 years ago Yuri Gagarin became the world’s first human to go into space. What did he see? He described it fairly well, but there are limited pictures and no video from his time in orbit. Now, through a unique collaboration between a filmmaker and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli on board the International Space Station, high definition video of what Gagarin might have seen has been woven together with historic recordings of the flight (subtitled in English) to create a new, free film called “First Orbit” that has now been released. This movie is a real time recreation of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering first orbit, shot entirely in space from on board the International Space Station. The film combines this new footage with Gagarin’s original mission audio and a new musical score by composer Philip Sheppard. For more information about the movie see the First Orbit website.
Also, the @FirstOrbit twitter feed will tweet the original communications in “real” time (50 years later) on April 12, recreating the events as Gagarin flew on Vostok 1 flew from 6:07-7:55 UTC.
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MESSENGER spacecraft begins orbit around Mercury
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:3/21/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
First spacecraft to orbit Mercury carries University of Michigan device
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:3/15/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
MESSENGER poised for Mercury orbit insertion
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:3/10/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine
X-37B thunders off the pad on its way to orbit
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V carries the second OTV to orbit. Photo Credit: NASAtech.net
CAPE CANAVERAL – Much has been made about the secretive nature of the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). Better known as the X-37B, the second of the U.S. Air Force’s OTVs roared off Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 41 at 5: 46 p.m. EDT. The Atlas V 501 thundered off of the launch pad carrying the second of the two OTVs into orbit. (…)
Read the rest of X-37B thunders off the pad on its way to orbit (295 words)
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NASA’s Glory satellite fails to reach orbit
Astronomy Magazine News Article – Released:3/4/2011
Astronomy.com News – Presented by Astronomy Magazine