#nasa commercial crew

[lonestarflight]

At this point, might as well.

(in all seriousness, I wish Boeing would get their shit together.)

Posted on Facebook: link

[gemini-enthusiast]

Boeing’s Starliner docked with the ISS today at 1:34 PM EST. They ran into a few hiccups along the way, primarily with the RCS system, so they were unable to dock during the first window and had to delay to the second window, but they made it. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend about a week at the Space Station before returning to earth.

Screencaps taken from the NASA live feed.

[michaelgabrill]

NASA Boeing to Provide Commercial Crew Space Station Update

Leadership from NASA’s International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs, as well as Boeing, will participate in a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, June 28. NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system performance before returning from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Crew Flight Test. The agency also […] from NASA https://ift.tt/tUMVKFk

[nasa]

One Giant Leap for Mankind

Millions of people around the globe will come together for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games later this month to witness a grand event—the culmination of years of training and preparation.

Fifty-five years ago this July, the world was watching as a different history-changing event was unfolding: the Apollo 11 mission was landing humans on the surface of another world for the first time. An estimated 650 million people watched on TV as Neil Armstrong reached the bottom of the ladder of the lunar module on July 20, 1969, and spoke the words, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

While the quest to land astronauts on the Moon was born from the space race with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, this moment was an achievement for the whole of humanity. To mark the world-embracing nature of the Moon landing, several tokens of world peace were left on the Moon during the astronauts’ moonwalk.

“We came in peace for all mankind”

These words, as well as drawings of Earth’s western and eastern hemispheres, are etched on a metal plaque affixed to a leg of the Apollo 11 lunar lander. Because the base of the lander remained on the Moon after the astronauts returned, it is still there today as a permanent memorial of the historic landing.

Microscopic messages from kings, queens, and presidents

Another artifact left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts is a small silicon disc etched with goodwill messages from leaders of 74 countries around the world. Each message was reduced to be smaller than the head of a pin and micro-etched on a disc roughly 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter. Thailand’s message, translated into English, reads: "The Thai people rejoice in and support this historic achievement of Earth men, as a step towards Universal peace."

Curious to read what else was inscribed on the disk? Read the messages.

An ancient symbol

The olive branch, a symbol of peace and conciliation in ancient Greek mythology, also found its way to the Moon in July 1969. This small olive branch made of gold was left on the lunar surface during Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s 2.5-hour moonwalk. The olive branch also featured on the Apollo 11 mission patches sewed on the crew’s spacesuits. Designed in part by command module pilot Michael Collins, the insignia shows a bald eagle landing on the Moon holding an olive branch in its talons.

We go together

As NASA’s Artemis program prepares to again land astronauts on the Moon, including the first woman and the first person of color, this time we’re collaborating with commercial and international partners. Together we will make new scientific discoveries, establish the first long-term presence on the Moon, and inspire a new generation of explorers.

Is aerospace history your cup of tea? Be sure to check out more from NASA’s past at www.nasa.gov/history.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[nctrnm]

#NowPlaying: "Houston We Have a Podcast: Low Earth Orbit 2030" by NASA

[apas-95]

Did you know that NASA engineers considered the failure rate of some critical shuttle parts to be about 1 in 100 (significantly greater than what NASA upper-management considered the failure rate to be, and what was considered at all acceptable by the certification process)?

Do you know that NASA engineers currently have no idea how many rocket launches the next mission in the Artemis program (in 2 years!) is meant to involve, because the mission plan relies on SpaceX being contracted to deliver a supply of cryogenic fuel to the crewed Orion (™ Lockheed-Martin) capsule in orbit - a procedure that 1: has never been attempted before on any spacecraft, let alone the Orion™ capsule, not even in uncrewed technology demonstration flights; and 2: would require an as-of-yet unknown number of SpaceX 'Starship' launches, because said vehicle does not actually exist at time of writing?

Did you know they're planning on using this 'starship' as the crewed lander? A design for a lunar ascent vehicle, that is, that does not use hypergolic fuel, that relies on a swing-out crane as the only entry and egress point? During the original moon landings, the LEM had so many redundant methods to make sure it got astronauts off the surface of the moon, that in the most absurd, extreme case, where every single mechanism fails, there's a procedure trained into the astronauts to climb around the outside of the capsule, take a pair of bolt-cutters from the equipment box, physically cut the couplings holding the capsule to the lander stage, and take off to get home. Artemis' proposed lander, on the other hand, is planned to be a vehicle whose design didn't even include heatshields until it was realised it would obviously need heatshields, which are ceramic tiles bolted after-the-fact directly through the steel hull, because SpaceX had decided to mass-produce the original-design hull sections all at once for all the 'starships' first, before doing any integrated testing.

We're seeing the exact attitude that led to the shuttle disasters not being prevented now expressing itself in (and even through) the Artemis program, a project pushed harder and faster through the gates than it should be, by a government (and NASA administration thereby) desperate to advance the eponymous Artemis Accords (that goes unsigned by China, Russia, and much of the world) and reneg on all previous space charters that onsidered ownership, commercial exploitation, and military usage of space forbidden. Something bad is going to happen, and it's going to happen for the sake of SpaceX and the military-industrial complex at large.

[mindblowingscience]

Two NASA astronauts will stay longer at the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot problems on Boeing's new space capsule that cropped up on the trip there. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday did not set a return date until testing on the ground was complete and said the astronauts were safe. "We're not in any rush to come home," Steve Stich, NASA's commercial crew program manager, said. Veteran NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule for the orbiting laboratory on June 5. It was the first astronaut launch for Boeing after years of delays and setbacks.

Continue Reading.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

She’ll be even loonier if she gets to go to Washington and mingle

Nothing is stopping her from doing that now.

Oh, wait. Except:

That time she bungled paid parental leave by calling senators on personal private lines.

The time she sent lemons to Jill Biden and then blabbed to everyone about how she was a close confidante to the First Lady.

The time she tried to use President Biden and Air Force One as her own personal Uber.

The time she crashed Michelle Obama's event at the London O2 arena and broke a bunch of protocol rules.

The time she gaslit the world into thinking she was besties with Michelle Obama by telling us they were having lunch and eating fish tacos, when really it was an email exchange.

The time she made public comments that the Obamas were personally advising her and Harry during Megxit and the Obamas had to put out a press release saying "no we are not."

The time she tried to access secure spaces in the United Nations headquarters without authorization and with private camera crews in tow.

The time she booked it to Uvalde with a private camera crew in tow to merch her grief as a mother while even the President knew to stay away from the community to let them grieve privately.

The time she, and her husband, used their British titles for a motivational commercial about voting.

Plus a few others like:

All the times she lied about the BRF, the family of the UK's head of state. (US government officials will prioritize the US/UK special relationship over the whines of one single woman.)

The time she was NFI to the US/UK state dinner, held at Buckingham Palace. (It was explained as maternity leave but yeah, she wasn't invited. If she was frothing at the mouth to wear a tiara in Fiji, she would've done the Trump State Visit for a tiara.)

All the times she hasn't been invited to the White House for state dinners or advocacy since 2021 since she has COVID vaccinations, motherhood, and supporting military veterans/families in common with Jill Biden.

The times the White House sent the Secretary of Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and other not-well-known government officials to represent them at 2022 and 2023 Invictus Games.

The time Nancy Pelosi's office laughed when a reporter asked them about Meghan's political prospects.

The time she aligned with the unimportant side of the Kennedy family (versus the "real" Kennedy).

And that's just the stuff that's been confirmed. We haven't even scratched the surface of the alleged gossip (like her work to lobby Newsome for Feinstein's recess appointment or her manipulations of Gloria Steinem).

So all that considered...makes one think that the establishment doesn't like Meghan and won't engage with her. Which says a lot about her standing in political Washington.

She loves the idea of Washington IG in theory, but she's gonna hate it once she's here. And that's just the dignitaries attending the ceremonies. We haven't even started to talk about the weather and what the humidity is going to do to her appearance (since the brief sounds like it's going to be a spring/early summer event).

[lonestarflight]

"The Starliner Calypso spacecraft on NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 263 miles above Quebec, Canada. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard Starliner would dock to the orbital outpost's forward port on the Harmony module at 1:34 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 6."

Date: June 6, 2024

NASA ID: iss071e171112

[gemini-enthusiast]

Was able to get some way better pictures of some of the launch complexes et al visible from the Apollo-Saturn V Center at KSC with my new phone camera. Now I'm pretty sure I got all these right but I mix them up sometimes so let me know if I did lol.

From top to bottom:

LC-39B: One of two launchpads used at KSC, LC-39B was constructed during Apollo and was sparsely used, the only Saturn V launch being that of Apollo 10. It was then used to launch Saturn IB Skylab missions and Apollo-Soyuz. After the Apollo program wrapped, LC-39B was used for Shuttle missions, with the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster being the first launch from the complex. The launchpad was most recently used for the Artemis I launch, and will continue to support launches of upcoming Space Launch System launches.

LC-39A: Every human mission to land on the moon was launched from LC-39A. The Saturn V launch of the Skylab space station and a majority of shuttle launches lifted off from LC-39A, making it an incredibly storied launchpad. Now, it is leased to spaceX for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

SLC-41: This launch complex is one of the many located on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (formally Patrick AFB) and has been used throughout history for Titan launches, being used to launch the Voyager probes amongst a myriad of others. The pad is now utilized by ULA, who launches their Atlas V and Vulcan rockets from the pad. The latest use of the pad was to launch the Starliner Crewed Test Flight on an Atlas V.

Vertical Integration Facility: This building is a facility used by ULA and its partners to support launches. Similar to NASA's VAB, the vertical integration facility is used to stack rockets and prepare them for flight.

[michaelgabrill]

NASAs Commercial Partners Deliver Cargo Crew for Station Science

NASA partners with commercial companies to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation of cargo and crew members to and from the International Space Station. A platform for long-duration research in microgravity, the station has operated continuously for more than 23 years, its crew members conducting a broad range of technology demonstrations and thousands of experiments […] from NASA https://ift.tt/kHoYhaL

[spacenutspod]

Say hello to Anna, our newest host and the latest addition to the Astronomy Daily Team. **Featured Topics:**

**SpaceX Crew-7's Triumphant Return:** Reflecting on the achievements of the international crew and their record-setting mission aboard the Endurance spacecraft.

**The Black Hole's Feast:** Diving into the tidal disruption event in galaxy NGC 3799, shedding light on the nature of supermassive black holes.

**AtLAST's Vision:** Exploring the potential of the proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope to unlock the universe's radio wave secrets.

**Nuclear Power on the Moon:** Discussing Roscosmos and CNSA's plans for a nuclear reactor on the moon to power the International Lunar Research Station.

**SLS Block 1B's Evolution:** Anticipating the enhanced capabilities of NASA's SLS Block 1B and its role in the Artemis program's expansion.

For a daily dose of the cosmos, visit astronomydaily.io and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates. Connect with us and share your thoughts; we're eager to hear from our community of star gazers. Remember, the mysteries of the universe await, and we're here to guide you through them.

[nasa]

What’s It Like to Work in NASA’s Mission Control Center?

In the latest installment of our First Woman graphic novel series, we see Commander Callie Rodriguez embark on the next phase of her trailblazing journey, as she leaves the Moon to take the helm at Mission Control.

Flight directors work in Mission Control to oversee operations of the International Space Station and Artemis missions to the Moon. They have a unique, overarching perspective focused on integration between all the systems that make a mission a success – flight directors have to learn a little about a lot.

Diane Dailey and Chloe Mehring were selected as flight directors in 2021. They’ll be taking your questions about what it’s like to lead teams of flight controllers, engineers, and countless professionals, both agencywide and internationally, in an Answer Time session on Nov. 28, 2023, from noon to 1 p.m. EST (9-10 a.m. PST) here on our Tumblr!

Like Callie, how did their unique backgrounds and previous experience, prepare them for this role? What are they excited about as we return to the Moon?

🚨 Ask your questions now by visiting https://nasa.tumblr.com/ask.

Diane Dailey started her career at NASA in 2006 in the space station Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) group. As an ECLSS flight controller, she logged more than 1,700 hours of console time, supported 10 space shuttle missions, and led the ECLSS team. She transitioned to the Integration and System Engineering (ISE) group, where she was the lead flight controller for the 10th and 21st Commercial Resupply Services missions for SpaceX. In addition, she was the ISE lead for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-1 and Demo-2 crew spacecraft test flights. Dailey was also a capsule communicator (Capcom) controller and instructor.

She was selected as a flight director in 2021 and chose her call sign of “Horizon Flight” during her first shift in November of that year. She has since served as the Lead Flight director for the ISS Expedition 68, led the development of a contingency spacewalk, and led a spacewalk in June to install a new solar array on the space station. She is currently working on development of the upcoming Artemis II mission and the Human Lander Systems which will return humanity to the moon. Dailey was raised in Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. She is married and a mother of two. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time outdoors.

Chloe Mehring started her NASA career in 2008 in the Flight Operations’ propulsion systems group and supported 11 space shuttle missions. She served as propulsion support officer for Exploration Flight Test-1, the first test flight of the Orion spacecraft that will be used for Artemis missions to the Moon. Mehring was also a lead NASA propulsion officer for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and served as backup lead for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. She was accepted into the 2021 Flight Director class and worked her first shift in February 2022, taking on the call sign “Lion Flight”. Since becoming certified, she has worked over 100 shifts, lead the NG-17 cargo resupply mission team, and executed two United States spacewalks within 10 days of each other. She became certified as a Boeing Starliner Flight Director, sat console for the unmanned test flight in May 2022 (OFT-2) and will be leading the undock team for the first crewed mission on Starliner in the spring of next year. She originally is from Mifflinville, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from The Pennsylvania State University in State College. She is a wife, a mom to one boy, and she enjoys fitness, cooking and gardening.

[darkmaga-retard]

In a Saturday announcement calculated to fly below the media radar and the attention of the public, NASA announced that astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore would have their eight-day stay aboard the International Space Station extended to eight months. When they do return, it will be aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon rather than the Boeing Starliner “autonomous” capsule that had been their way home.

“It was just too much risk for the crew,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager. The highly anticipated decision, one of the most consequential by the space agency in years, is a devastating blow to Boeing, which had argued vehemently that Starliner was safe even though it suffered a series of thruster problems and helium leaks as it brought NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore to the International Space Station in early June. The decision means that the autonomous Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth, likely in early September, without anyone on board and that Williams and Wilmore will have their stay on the space station, originally intended to last eight days, extended to about eight months — the next Dragon return flight is scheduled for February.

To say Starliner is troubled is to do disservice to the word. It seems to be an unstoppable Doomsday machine in search of victims.

[mysticstronomy]

HOW MUCH SPACE JUNK IS THERE??

Blog#322

Saturday, August 12th, 2023

Welcome back,

The United States Space Surveillance Network currently tracks more than 23,000 pieces of space junk that are larger than a softball. This includes about 3,000 defunct satellites that have been left to decay in orbit, according to the Natural History Museum of London.

However, most pieces of orbital debris are far too small to be tracked. Researchers estimate that there are more than 100 trillion untracked pieces of space junk in Earth orbit, according to the Science study. The vast majority of this untracked debris is likely less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) wide, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Even tiny pieces of space junk can cause incredible damage. That's because objects in orbit move incredibly quickly, typically reaching speeds of greater than 15,600 mph (25,200 km/h), or 10 times the speed of an average bullet shot on Earth.

If two objects moving in opposite directions collide with one another in space, then the impact becomes even greater.

This means that even pea-size objects can become dangerous missiles in orbit. This was illustrated in 2016, when a small paint fleck collided with a window on the International Space Station, gouging a quarter-inch dent into the glass. (Fortunately, the window held).

Yes, space junk frequently falls to Earth. On average, anywhere from 200 to 400 pieces of tracked space debris plummet through Earth's atmosphere every year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Most of this free-falling junk is small enough that it burns up entirely in the atmosphere, never reaching the ground. Larger objects that can survive the fall (like satellites) typically splash down into the ocean, but not always.

In August 2022, a charred, spike-like chunk of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft fell through the atmosphere and landed on a sheep farm in Australia.

On Feb. 10, 2009, a defunct Russian spacecraft crashed into a functioning U.S. Iridium commercial spacecraft, destroying both and adding more than 2,300 pieces of trackable space junk to orbit, according to NASA.

In March 2021, a piece of a Russian rocket collided with and destroyed a functioning Chinese military satellite.

In June 2021, a small piece of unidentified space junk slammed into the International Space Station's robotic arm, damaging but not destroying it.

Incidents are occuring more frequently as more space junk is added to orbit each year.

Originally published on livescience.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, August 16th, 2023)

"WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU WERE IN SPACE WITHOUT A SPACESUIT??"

[marrow-and-bone]

Title: Major Malfunction Pairings: Quackity/Wilbur, Quackity/Schlatt Rating: Explicit Words: 10,700 A gift for @regicidal-optimism, as part of the @mcytblrholidayexchange Summary:

“I just think it’s a little ridiculous, that’s all,” Wilbur says around a mouthful of hash brown. “I mean the theater of it, you know? The spectacle.” “Of course it’s a spectacle," Quackity says. “We’re launching a fucking rocket.” “We launch rockets every day. This one just so happens to have people sitting on top of it.” “I’m not a chump for being excited about this,” Quackity says, setting up all the familiar defenses. “It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal every fucking time.” “I never said you were a chump, Quackity, let’s not be dramatic.” Quackity’s eyes stay on the road, but he can hear the eyeroll in Wilbur’s voice. “I only said that it’s depressingly mundane.” “For you, maybe," Quackity says, and swallows down the rest.  or Quackity and Wilbur are Space Shuttle flight control officers for NASA in the 1990s.

There's also a playlist (course there is) on Spotify | on YouTube

A selected list of sources (below the fold)

Videos

Space Shuttle Abort Modes Explains the different abort modes for the shuttle, when they would be used, and generally how they work.

Mission Control Practices Launching Discovery Interviews with flight controllers, and footage of both the main control floor and the backrooms 

STS-51L - Launch Flight Directors Loop Includes audio and video from the Mission Control Floor during the Challenger launch, explosion, and immediate aftermath

Columbia Breakup in real time Compiles footage from various sources and includes annotated diagrams of the systems which failed.

Inside Mission Control During STS-107 Columbia's Failed Re-entry and disaster No commentary or shuttle footage, audio and video of the flight controllers only

STS-107 Re-entry live NASA TV coverage of the Columbia accident Includes Public Affairs Officer commentary

STS-71 launch & landing TV coverage of a shuttle launch from 1995

NASA RTLS Launch Abort Simulation - Discovery with Orbiter visuals added Audio from a simulated shuttle launch abort at NASA Johnson

Commercial Crew Progress Status Update 2013 presentation describing NASA’s commercial crew program and its progress at the time

Podcast is Not an Option, Episode 73 (with Gary Jordan) Interview with present-day Public Affairs Officer 

Space Shuttle Flyout Series: Launch Directors Interviews with launch directors from NASA Kennedy, as well as footage of the firing room floor 

Articles, documents, and diagrams (not including wikipedia we all know about wikipedia already)

Rogers Commission Report on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident excerpted and adapted in the text of the story (see page 198)

Transcript of Mission Control flight loop for Columbia's final flight

Challenger timeline includes transcripts of audio from the NASA Select broadcast as well as the flight controller loops

Space Shuttle: Orbiter Processing from Landing to Launch  (PDF)

Going boldly: Behind the scenes at NASA’s hallowed Mission Control Center

The Final Count Down: A Review of Three Decades of Flight Controller Training Methods for Space Shuttle Mission Operations (PDF) includes a diagram of the control floor and descriptions of controller positions

Mission Control Center: The Heart of US Manned Spaceflight Operations this is the personal website of a former Flight Dynamics Officer [FDO] flight controller, the layout is a little wacky but there’s good stuff in here

Launching a Shuttle: NASA Countdown to Blastoff focuses on Launch Control at the Kennedy Space Center

Space Shuttle Propulsion Systems (PDF)

Building on a Mission: The Houston Mission Control Center

SPACE SHUTTLE EAST COAST ABORT MODES FOR HIGH INCLINATION LAUNCHES (PDF)

A McDonald’s menu from the 90s