July 10, 2001
Morning Coffee and Planets
Beginning Friday the 13th -- a lucky day for stargazers -- four planets, the Moon, and a giant red star will put on a dazzling show for early-rising sky watchers.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast10jul_1.htm?list448368
Hubble images remarkable double cluster [heic01
The Double Cluster NGC 1850 found in one of our neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an eye-catching object. It is a young globular-like star cluster a type of object unknown in our own Milky Way galaxy. Moreover, NGC 1850 is surrounded by a pattern of filamentary nebulosity thought to have been created during supernova blasts.
For more on this story go to:
http://sci.esa.int/hubble/news/index.cfm?oid=27700
Dust Storm Swallows Half of Mars : Movies by asu &JPL/NASA The largest dust storm to be seen on Mars since NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft arrived in 1997 is currently raging across about half the planet.
"This is by far the largest storm we've seen during the Mars Global Surveyor mission," said Dr. Philip Christensen of Arizona State University in Tempe, principal investigator for the Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The instrument has been monitoring the Martian atmosphere since March 1999. "We expect that the storm will continue to grow -- perhaps becoming a global storm of the type that was seen during the Mariner 9 and Viking missions in the 1970s," Christensen said. Daily observations by the instrument are made into maps that allow scientists to determine both the temperature and the amount of dust in the atmosphere. Mars dust storm maps are posted at http://tes.la.asu.edu. Scientists first noticed the onset of the storm June 15, 2001 when a region of dust began to appear in the Hellas Basin in the southern hemisphere. A week and a half later, on June 26, the storm began to intensify and expand. Since then, the storm has dramatically grown in size and severity. The dust storm has expanded well into the northern hemisphere and has wrapped more than halfway around the planet, Christensen said. This storm also began earlier than normal for Martian dust storms. In the past when a large storm has occurred early in the season, there are usually several large storms during the year. NASA scientists will be monitoring Mars over the next few months to see how this major storm develops and to test their predictions of more storms to come. The storm should not have a major impact on the planned arrival of another spacecraft, the 2001 Mars Odyssey, in October, Christensen said. Odyssey will use repeated passes through Mars' upper atmosphere to slow the spacecraft and lower its orbit around the red planet. "We'll use the instruments on Global Surveyor to monitor the atmosphere on an hourly basis, providing the Odyssey spacecraft team the information they need to keep Odyssey at the proper height where it can safely fly through the atmosphere," Christensen said. Odyssey's orbit height can be adjusted as needed in response to the changing atmosphere as observed by Global Surveyor, he said.
July 9, Mid Day News,2001
Launch - 3 Days-Photos by:NASA
MISSION: STS-104 - 10th ISS Flight (7A) - Airlock VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 LOCATION: Launch Pad 39B KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: July 12, 2001 at 5:04 a.m. EDT KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 23, 2001 at 12:57 a.m. MISSION DURATION: 10 days and 19 hours and 53 minutes CREW: Lindsey, Hobaugh, Kavandi, Gernhardt, Reilly ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: The flight crew for mission STS-104 arrived at KSC last night to begin final preparation for their upcoming launch. Space Shuttle Atlantis' launch countdown began on time today at 8 a.m. and routine preflight processing continues to go well.
Over the weekend, workers completed orbiter aft compartment closeouts. Technicians also successfully replaced and retested an orbiter mass memory unit and a TV monitor on the aft flight deck.
Upcoming Shuttle Milestones: Load cryogenic reactants into Atlantis' onboard tanks . . . . . . . . . July 10 (5:30 - 10:30 a.m.) Stow flight crew equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 11 (5:20 a.m.) Move Rotating Service Structure to park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July 11 (9 a.m.) Begin loading external tank with propellants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 11 (as early as 7:38 p.m.)
Weather Status: Forecasters indicate an abundance of tropical moisture in the central Florida area with disturbances moving in from the north. This will result in a threat of coastal precipitation through the weekend. At launch time on Thursday, clouds are expected to be scattered at 2000 feet and broken at 12,000 feet and 25,000 feet. Visibility will be 7 miles, temperature 74 degrees F., and humidity 93 percent. Winds will be from the west at 8 -12 knots. Coastal showers and thunderstorm anvil clouds are the primary concern. As a result, there is a 40 percent chance of KSC weather prohibiting launch. The 24-hour and 48-hour scrub turnaround forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of violation each day. Also, the late Wednesday afternoon forecast calls for 30 percent chance of weather violating tanking constraints.
SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-104
T-TIME LENGTH OF HOLD HOLD BEGINS HOLD ENDS T-27 hours 4 hours 12 a.m. Tues. 4 a.m. Tues. T-19 hours 4 hours 12 noon Tues. 4 p.m. Tues. T-11 hours 13 hours, 8 minutes 12 a.m. Wed. 1:08 p.m. Wed. T-6 hours 2 hours 6:08 p.m. Wed. 8:08 p.m. Wed. T-3 hours 2 hours 11:08 p.m. Wed. 1:08 a.m. Thurs. T-20 minutes 10 minutes 3:48 a.m. Thurs. 3:58 a.m. Thurs.
T-9 minutes about 45 minutes 4:09 a.m. Thurs. 4:54 a.m. Thurs.
CREW FOR MISSION STS-104 Commander (CDR): Steven Lindsey Pilot (PLT): Charles Hobaugh Mission Specialist (MS1): Janet Kavandi Mission Specialist (MS2): Michael Gernhardt Mission Specialist (MS3): James Reilly SUMMARY OF STS-104 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES
Wed., July 11 5 p.m. Crew wake up 5:45 p.m. Breakfast 6:30 p.m. Medical checks 10 p.m. Photo and Lunch (to be recorded and televised later)
Thurs., July 12 12:33 a.m. Weather Briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2) 12:33 a.m. Don flight suits (MS1 and MS3) *12:43 a.m. Don flight suits (CDR, PLT, MS2) *1:13 a.m. Depart for launch pad *1:43 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress *2:58 a.m. Close crew hatch *5:04 a.m. Launch
* Televised events (times may vary slightly) All times Eastern
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.Photos by:NASA
NASA PLANS X-38 FREE FLIGHT TEST FOR TUESDAY, JULY 10
The sixth free flight of an X-38 is scheduled for tomorrow at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. The X-38 prototypes are proving technologies needed to build a space-worthy Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) that could be docked to the International Space Station like a "lifeboat" for the safe emergency return of a seven-person crew.
Tuesday's X-38 mission is set to begin with a takeoff at 8 a.m., using NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft to take the unpowered X-38 aloft to 37,500 feet for a release between 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. As the unpiloted X-38 descends to land at Edwards, engineers will test and validate aspects of the parafoil flight control software developed by the European Space Agency, a partner in the X-38 program.
The X-38 sequences a parachute and a huge fabric wing parafoil to slowly bring the craft to earth in the space of a football field. The ongoing X-38 free-flight atmospheric tests represent an incremental approach to designing and flying the CRV.
Tomorrow's flight will also examine the parachute deployment and software used to activate control surfaces on the X-38.
Headquarters, Washington, DC
Photos by:NASA
NASA PREPARES TO OPEN A NEW DOORWAY TO SPACE
Space Shuttle Atlantis is poised for launch July 12 to open a new doorway into space.
The shuttle and its five-member crew will deliver the new American-made Joint Airlock to the International Space Station. The six-ton portal will provide astronauts living aboard the space station access to and from space wearing either Russian or American space suits, without the need of a docked shuttle. This gives the orbiting outpost an unprecedented degree of self-reliance.
"Once the airlock is installed, the hatches between a visiting space shuttle and the space station can remain open," said Mike Hawes, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station. "This is important because in previous missions we've had to open and close the hatches several times to maintain correct pressure during spacewalks. Now, we'll be able to keep those doors open, providing greater efficiency during joint orbital activities."
Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff at 5:04 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL. Atlantis' mission, designated STS-104, will be the fourth space shuttle flight this year and the 10th shuttle mission dedicated to assembly of the International Space Station.
Atlantis' mission includes three spacewalks to install and outfit the station's new airlock, including the first-ever outside spacewalk to originate from the station. This mission also features unprecedented use of two robotic arms on two different spacecraft, as the shuttle's Canadian-built remote manipulator system will operate in tandem with the station's newly installed Canadarm2 robotic arm.
Atlantis' crew will be commanded by Air Force Lt. Col. Steve Lindsey, a veteran of two space shuttle missions who flew with John Glenn during STS-95 in 1998.
The crew also includes pilot Marine Corps Maj. Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Mike Gernhardt, Janet Kavandi and Jim Reilly. Gernhardt and Reilly, who have been training for this mission for four years, will perform the planned space walks, while Kavandi will operate the space shuttles robotic arm.
"The term Joint Airlock means that it's applicable to both the U.S. suit, the EMU, and to the Russian suit, the Orlan suit," said Gernhardt. "The main objectives of our flight are to install four High Pressure Gas Tanks -- that would be two oxygen, two nitrogen -- to activate and checkout the airlock, and then to make the first spacewalk from the Joint Airlock, and demonstrate the viability of the whole process and sort of usher in the space station era of EVA."
With the addition of the Joint Airlock, the space station will have about 15,000 cubic feet of inhabitable volume, more room than a conventional three-bedroom house.
Atlantis will be the second shuttle to visit the station during the stay of the Expedition Two Crew, made up of Russian Commander Yuri Usachev and American Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, now in their fourth month aboard the complex
Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 12:56 a.m. EDT July 23.
The sixth free flight of an X-38 is scheduled for tomorrow at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. The X-38 prototypes are proving technologies needed to build a space-worthy Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) that could be docked to the International Space Station like a "lifeboat" for the safe emergency return of a seven-person crew. Tuesday's X-38 mission is set to begin with a takeoff at 8 a.m., using NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft to take the unpowered X-38 aloft to 37,500 feet for a release between 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. As the unpiloted X-38 descends to land at Edwards, engineers will test and validate aspects of the parafoil flight control software developed by the European Space Agency, a partner in the X-38 program. The X-38 sequences a parachute and a huge fabric wing parafoil to slowly bring the craft to earth in the space of a football field. The ongoing X-38 free-flight atmospheric tests represent an incremental approach to designing and flying the CRV. Tomorrow's flight will also examine the parachute deployment and software used to activate control surfaces on the X-38.
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
INFLATABLE WING FLIGHTS PROVE CONCEPTPhotos by:NASA
A deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment has flown at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The inflatable wing project represents a basic flight research effort by Dryden personnel.
Recalling Hugh Dryden's vision for the purpose of flight research, Jeff Bauer, manager of Dryden's inflatable aircraft project, noted "With these tests we have put some reality behind the many imagined applications for inflatable winged aircraft."
Three successful flights of the I2000 inflatable wing aircraft occurred. During the flights, the team air-launched the radio-controlled (R/C) I2000 from an R/C utility airplane at an altitude of 800-1000 feet. As the I2000 separated from the carrier aircraft, its inflatable wings "popped-out," deploying rapidly from pressure provided by an onboard nitrogen bottle. The aircraft remained stable as it transitioned from wingless to winged flight. The unpowered I2000 glided down to a smooth landing under complete control.
As a result, flight data now verifies and validates computer models of inflatable wings for the future. The I2000 was equipped with a miniature flight data recorder designed by engineer Jim Murray. That data, in addition to video and the photographic record, provide valuable insights into the aircraft's flight dynamics.
"We are particularly interested in the dynamics of the vehicle during the rapid wing deployment, the transition from wingless flight to winged flight. We proved that we have a good flying vehicle during the transition to wings fully deployed," says project engineer Joe Pahle.
Flight of the I2000 followed a conservative "build-up" approach common in developmental testing. The Dryden team began flying the I2000 with rigid wings having the same physical dimensions as the inflatable wings. Following successful flights with the conventional rigid wings, the actual inflatable wings were flown pre-inflated on the I2000. These risk reduction efforts were all geared to narrowing the possibility of trouble in launching and flying with the deployable wings. Tony Frackowiak of Dryden's model shop built all the glider models and R/C aircraft used in the project and served as the I2000 pilot.
"There were no suprises since I was well prepared for the actual wing deployment flights," says Frackowiak. "We flew the I2000 build-up style in the powered mode with the wings pre-inflated. The drop and wing deployment was so smooth that the rest of the flight and landing was uneventful," Frackowiak said.
Each inflatable wing is 2.7 feet-long for a wingspan of just over five feet, not including the fuselage. In the undeployed stowed state, the wings fit in a container the size of a small coffee can.
Wing deployment time is typically on the order of a third of a second, almost faster than the human eye can see. The specially designed wings utilize compressed nitrogen gas for the near-instantaneous inflation. A pressure regulator mounted on the nitrogen pressure vessel keeps the internal pressure of the wings at a constant 200-250 pounds per square inch (psi), reducing the possibility of wing-sagging due to low internal pressure or high external pressure. The nitrogen tank was pressurized to 500 psi in order to allow excess gas to make up any pressure losses in the wings due to leakage.
Having completed the I2000 flights, the next goal of the project is to fly a four-foot long X-24A model with the inflatable wings by the end of summer in hopes of proving the concept of using deployable inflatable wings with lifting body vehicle configurations. The X-24A model effort is a complementary but separate effort in demonstrating the utility of inflatable wings.
The X-24A shape was chosen because it has a well-established aerodynamic database. It represents lifting body vehicles in general, and, in particular, has upper body flaps for additional roll control. The inflatable wings do not have flight controls, so the body flaps are critical for flight control. The I2000's tail surfaces filled the gap on that standard configuration airplane. The buildup to the inflatable wing X-24A flights will include flying the model with rigid wings first, the same procedure used for the I2000. Potential advantages of utilizing inflatable wings on future lifting body vehicles include providing greater range, maneuverability, and lower landing speeds than totally wingless vehicles.
Possible future applications of inflatable wings include earth science aircraft, any limited-volume aircraft, and planetary research aircraft. A high altitude, long endurance platform could conceivably carry multiple small deployable inflatable wing aircraft to release as "probes" to more closely investigate areas of interest located by the platform's sensors.
The deployable inflatable wings were constructed by Vertigo, Inc., as a subcontractor for a U.S. Navy Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract. The contract previously utilized the wings tested on a gun-launched munition to add glide capability to it.
National Space Science and Technology Center Huntsville AL 35805
Dr. Norine Noonan named executive director of National Space Science and Technology Center
Norine E. Noonan has been named executive director of the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville, Ala., officials said today. She will begin her duties in August.
Dr. Noonan will be responsible for managing the national science laboratory, according to Dr. Ron Greenwood, director of the Space Science and Technology Alliance (SSTA) and vice president for research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
"With Dr. Noonan's knowledge and experience, the research center will become an exemplary national science and technology environment for the conduct and communication of cutting-edge space research, development and education in support of NASA's mission and the nation's needs," Greenwood said. "She has a strong background in science and technology and has held key positions in government and academia. Dr. Noonan has what it takes to provide outstanding leadership for this important research center."
Noonan said she is excited about her new assignment, and understands the challenges ahead.
"This center brings together outstanding scientists from NASA and academia in an innovative organization that fosters and encourages cutting-edge research," she said. "It's already doing great things. I believe it can be a new model for strong and productive research collaboration between government, academia and industry."
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is providing a core of science and technology expertise to the center, focusing on research space science, Earth sciences, information technology, optics and energy technology, propulsion, biotechnology and materials science.
"We are pleased Dr. Noonan will be leading the National Space Science and Technology Center," said Art Stephenson, Marshall Center Director. "Already, the NSSTC is making great strides in researching topics ranging from solar storms in space to weather right here on Earth. I'm confident that under her leadership, we will continue to see outstanding results from the scientists and engineers dedicated to this research."
The National Space Science and Technology Center recently held its ribbon cutting ceremony for the 120,000 square-foot facility located adjacent to the UAH campus. An 80,000 square-foot addition is under construction and should be occupied next summer.
The center is a partnership between the Marshall Center and the SSTA, which includes Alabama A & M University, Auburn University, The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama. Noonan received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont and received her master's and doctorate from Princeton University. From 1998 to 2001, she served as assistant administrator for Research and Development in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development. From 1992 to 1998, she was vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School at the Florida Institute of Technology.
From 1983 to 1992, Dr. Noonan was a senior staff member of the Energy and Science Division, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D.C. where she served as the chief of the Science and Space Programs branch. She is a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
This Week on Galileo July 9-15, 2001
Cruise activities continue for the Galileo spacecraft this week. On Tuesday, the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) performs an instrument calibration using the Radiometric Calibration Target. This target is a plate that is mounted on the spacecraft and can be heated to a specific, known temperature. This allows the NIMS instrument to determine the accuracy of its heat-measuring sensors. The last such calibration was done in early April. By periodically checking out the instrument in this manner, scientists can determine accurately how the signal from the instrument is changing as the detectors age.
On Friday, the spacecraft performs an Orbit Trim Maneuver (OTM), the 97th such activity planned since Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter in December of 1995, and the second of three planned for this orbit. This burn of the spacecraft's propulsive thrusters adjusts the path the spacecraft in order to accurately reach our next close flyby of Io in early August.
On Saturday, routine maintenance of the on-board tape recorder is performed. Throughout the week, the Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EUV) continues its two-month-long study of interplanetary hydrogen gas.
This week's scheduled playback of data from the tape recorder includes observations from NIMS, the Solid State Imaging camera (SSI), and the suite of Fields and Particles instruments that measure the magnetic field environment of Jupiter. These instruments are the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD), Heavy Ion Counter (HIC), Magnetometer (MAG), Plasma instrument (PLS), and Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS). All of the data to be returned this week were recorded during the close flyby of Callisto in May.
NIMS will be returning global observations of the atmosphere of Jupiter this week. SSI will be returning the highest resolution images of Callisto taken near our closest approach, which was at 138 kilometers (85 miles) altitude. The Fields and Particles data were recorded during a period of approximately one hour centered on the closest approach to Callisto, and will help to study the interactions between the solid body of Callisto and the electromagnetic fields and plasmas of Jupiter's magnetosphere. In addition, these data will add to our understanding of Callisto's own magnetic field. Like Europa, Callisto displays an induced magnetic field, possibly due to the presence of substantial liquid water within a hundred kilometers (62 miles) or so of its icy surface.
July 9, 2001
East meets West on 'Double Star', a joint mission to explore Earth's magnetic field
9-Jul-2001 A new phase in ESA-China scientific collaboration was officially given the green light today at ESA Headquarters in Paris with an historic agreement between ESA and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) to develop a joint project known as 'Double Star'.
Cluster home page The instruments on board ClusterESA Director General Antonio Rodotà and Luan Enjie, Administrator of the CNSA, signed an official agreement that will enable European experiments to be flown on Chinese satellites for the first time.
"This agreement marks a significant advance for international co-operation in the exploration and peaceful use of outer space," said Mr. Rodotà. "It is one of the most important landmarks in scientific collaboration since ESA and the People's Republic of China first agreed to exchange scientific information more than 20 years ago."
"The Double Star programme will be just the first step in substantial cooperation between the Chinese National Space Administration and ESA" said Mr Luan Enjie. "The signing of today's agreement paves the way not only for reciprocal cooperation between scientists, but for the establishment of comprehensive cooperation between the two agencies."
Double Star will follow in the footsteps of ESA's ground-breaking Cluster mission by studying the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment. Conducting joint studies with Cluster and Double Star should increase the overall scientific return from both missions.
A key aspect of ESA's participation in the Double Star project is the inclusion of 10 instruments that are identical to those currently flying on the four Cluster spacecraft. A further eight experiments will be provided by Chinese institutes.
"We hope it will be possible to make coordinated measurements with both Cluster and Double Star." said Cluster Project Scientist Philippe Escoubet. "For example, we would hope to carry out a joint exploration of the magnetotail, a region where storms of high energy particles are generated. When these particles reach Earth, they can cause power cuts, damage satellites and disrupt communications."
Six of the eleven Cluster principal investigators have agreed to provide flight spares or duplicates of the experiments that are currently revolutionising our understanding of near-Earth space. This reuse of Cluster instruments has a number of advantages for both European and Chinese scientists.
"By flying experiments identical to those on Cluster, we can reduce costs and development time," explained Alberto Gianolio, ESA project manager for Double Star. "This will minimise risk and help us to ensure that we are able to meet the spacecraft development schedule."
ESA has agreed to contribute 8 million euros to the Double Star programme. This funding will be used for refurbishment and pre-integration of the European instruments, acquisition of data for 4 hours per day and coordination of scientific operations.
Double Star will be the first mission launched by China to explore the Earth's magnetosphere - the magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet. As its name suggests, Double Star will involve two satellites - each designed, developed, launched and operated by the CNSA - flying in complementary orbits around the Earth.
This orbital configuration will enable scientists to obtain simultaneous data on the changing magnetic field and population of electrified particles in different regions of the magnetosphere.
The duo is expected to be launched by Chinese Long March 2C rockets in December 2002 and March 2003. This schedule may enable them to operate alongside ESA's Cluster mission - a mini-flotilla of four identical spacecraft launched into elliptical orbits around the Earth last summer.
The 'equatorial' spacecraft (DSP-1) will be launched into an elliptical orbit of 550 x 60 000 km, inclined at 28.5 degrees to the equator. This will enable it to investigate Earth's huge magnetic tail, the region where particles are accelerated towards the planrt's magnetic poles by a process known as reconnection.
The 'polar' satellite (DSP-2) will concentrate on physical processes taking place over the planet's magnetic poles and the development of aurorae. It will have a 350 x 25 000 km orbit that takin it round the Earth once every 7.3 hours.
Artemis On Course For Launch Thursday
Artemis is the most advanced telecommunication satellite developed by ESA
and will demonstrate new technologies and play a significant part in developing
Europe's new worldwide satellite navigation system, new mobile communication
services and inter-satellite data relay.Paris - July 9, 2001 ESA's Artemis spacecraft
is on schedule for its 12 July launch date after fuelling problems were speedily
rectified by the Artemis launch team at the tropical Kourou-based launch site late last week.
Difficulties with the loading of hydrazene -- the fuel that drives the spacecraft's thrusters --
meant that the tanks had to be emptied, and refilled. But due to contingencies built into
the pre-launch timetable for such events, Artemis is still well on course for its imminent launch date.
"Minor problems should always be expected, but we are well prepared for all kinds of
circumstances and Artemis will lift-off on its planned date," said Artemis
Project Manager, Mr Gottard Oppenhauser, who is overseeing operations in French Guiana.
The re-fuelled 3100 kg telecommunications satellite was then mated to the SYLDA adaptor --
a ring that is bolted and clamped to the Ariane 5 launcher to keep the satellite secure.
Artemis is now in the special assembly building where a framework was built
around the satellite to attach the spacecraft's protective fairing. Radio links
between Artemis under its protective fairing and the ground support
equipment on the launch table are being checked and validated.
The satellite was then joined to the launcher as upper passenger
together with BSAT 2 on Friday (6 July). The various fuelling
processes of the launcher will take place over the following three
days before the start of a programme of simulated countdown events
involving both the space segment at Kourou, the Control Centre in
Fucino and the other ground stations.
By 10 July all the pyrotechnics on the launcher and the upper
and lower payloads are to be armed and the fairing doors closed
ready for rolling out to the launch pad on 11 July.
Launch will take place at midnight European time on 12 July.
All three photos by: esa
July 7, 2001
Kuiper Belt Object Found Possibly as Large as Pluto's Moon
National Optical Astronomy Observatory Tucson, Arizona
Astronomers from Lowell Observatory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory have discovered an icy planetary body orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt roughly equal in size to Pluto's moon Charon.
"This object is intrinsically the brightest Kuiper Belt Object found so far," says Lowell Observatory Director Robert Millis, leader of the survey team. "The exact diameter of 2001 KX76 depends on assumptions that astronomers make about how its brightness relates to its size. Traditional assumptions make it the biggest by a significant amount, while others make it larger by at least 5 percent."
Assuming a reflectivity (or albedo) of 4 percent, 2001 KX76 would have a diameter of approximately 1,270 kilometers (788 miles), bigger than Ceres, the largest known asteroid. For comparison, Pluto's moon Charon has an estimated diameter of 1,200 kilometers (744 miles).
Earlier this year, a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) called 20000 Varuna was announced with an estimated diameter of 900 kilometers, based on a calculated reflectivity of 7 percent. Applying this albedo to 2001 KX76 gives it a diameter of roughly 960 kilometers (595 miles).
2001 KX76 was discovered in the course of the Deep Ecliptic Survey, a NASA- funded search for KBOs being conducted by the Lowell-MIT-LBT team using the National Science Foundation's telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ, and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The team spotted 2001 KX76 in deep digital images of the southern sky taken with the 4-meter Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo on May 22 by James L. Elliot of MIT and Lawrence H. Wasserman of Lowell Observatory.
2001 KX76 is currently at a distance of just over 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) from the Sun. Its orbit is inclined by approximately 20 degrees with respect to the orbital plane of the major planets, but the detailed shape of its orbit remains uncertain. Available evidence suggests that the newly discovered KBO may be in an orbital resonance with Neptune, orbiting the Sun three times for each time that Neptune completes four orbits.
The brightness and colors of 2001 KX76 have been measured by Elliot, Susan Kern, and David Osip, all of MIT, with the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Magellan Instant Camera (MagIC) on the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The object has a distinctly reddish color typical of many primitive bodies in the outer Solar System.
"2001 KX76 is so exciting because it demonstrates that significant bodies remain to be discovered in the Kuiper Belt," Millis explains. "We have every reason to believe that objects ranging up to planets as large or larger than Pluto are out there waiting to be found. Until the Kuiper Belt has been thoroughly explored, we cannot pretend to know the extent or the content of the Solar System."
The existence of the Kuiper Belt was postulated by J. A. Fernandez and by M. Duncan, T. Quinn, and S. Tremaine in the 1980s to explain the origin of short-period comets. These comets move around the Sun in the same direction as the planets, and are found in orbits that are tipped only modestly with respect to the ecliptic plane. These researchers showed that short-period comets could not have originated from the more distant spherical Oort Comet Cloud as originally believed. They predicted that a second, more flattened reservoir of "proto-comets" must lie beyond the orbit of Neptune.
The first Kuiper Belt Object was found in 1992 by David Jewitt and Jane Luu of the University of Hawaii. Since then, astronomers have found over 400 KBOs, but tens of thousands likely remain to be discovered. These objects are believed to be remnants from the formation of the Solar System, and consequently are among the most primitive and least-evolved objects available for study by planetary astronomers.
About one-quarter of the known KBOs have been found by the Deep Ecliptic Survey Team. Other members of the team are Marc Buie of Lowell and Mark Wagner of the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory on Mount Graham, AZ. The Deep Ecliptic Survey was recently awarded formal survey status at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), assuring that this reconnaissance of the outer Solar System will continue for the next three years.
Much more precise measurement of KBO diameters will be possible with NASA's upcoming Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) mission, due for launch in 2002.
Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory are part of NOAO, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
The survey team's research is supported by the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program through grants to Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ, and MIT in Cambridge, MA.
NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
July 6, evening news, 2001 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Goldstone tracking station on Wednesday, July 4. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. Information on the spacecraft's position and speed can be viewed on the "Present Position" web page, http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/where/ .
Recent spacecraft activities included two Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) high frequency receiver calibrations, two Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) Low Energy Magnetospheric Measurement Subsystem (LEMMS) exercises, a high water mark clear, and Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) photometric calibration and dark frame imaging activities. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) supplemental heater was also powered on via real-time command to maintain the needed thermal conditions for the instrument.
A slow time memory readout of the Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) and a RWA Friction Test were performed. The Friction Test is a periodic test that measures the performance of each of the four reaction Photos by:NASA
wheels and checks for any abnormal wear. The Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem team is still performing detailed analysis of the test results, however preliminary analysis indicate that all four wheels continue to operate normally.
Final sequence products for the C27 sequence were compiled, released, and approved for uplink. The sequence was then successfully uplinked to the spacecraft and verified to be active, with the sequence scheduled to begin execution in the coming week.
The Instrument Operations / VIMS team conducted Integration Test Laboratory (ITL) testing of the new VIMS flight software. Once the data are retrieved from ITL data analysis will begin. This analysis includes check out of the ground software's ability to process the data collected as output from the test of the new flight software.
The Radio Science Team held their post-Project Science Group meeting in Oxford England.
Multi Mission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL) is developing a new, web-based, realtime telemetry processing system to support ISS and VIMS data processing during Tour. MIPL held a two-day peer review that included, on the second day, a series of demonstrations of the new capabilities
The Mission Planning analysis of Titan flyby minimum altitudes was presented at the Mission Planning Forum, with the group assigning action items and identifying next steps in preparing for Titan flybys. Poster byJPL/NASA
John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321 867-2468-Joel WellsPhotos by:NASA
LAUNCH COUNTDOWN FOR SHUTTLE MISSION STS-104 BEGINS JULY 9
NASA will begin the countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-104 July 9 at 8 a.m. EDT at the T-43 hour mark. This mission marks the 10th Shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the 4th Shuttle mission this year. The KSC launch team will conduct the countdown from Firing Room 3 of the Launch Control Center.
The countdown includes 26 hours and 3 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at about 5:04 a.m. on July 12 with a launch window of less than 5 minutes. The exact location of the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) will be determined during the T-9 minute built-in hold. The launch director will at that time determine the exact time of launch.
Mission STS-104 is the 24th flight of the orbiter Atlantis and the 105th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program. STS-104 is scheduled to last 10 days, 19 hours and 53 minutes with a planned KSC landing at about 12:57 a.m. on July 23.
Atlantis rolled into KSC's Orbiter Processing Facility on March 6, 2001, after completing mission STS-98. The orbiter rolled out of OPF bay 3 and into the VAB on May 29. While in VAB high bay 1, Atlantis was mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters. The entire Space Shuttle stack was transferred to Launch Pad 39B on June 21.
On mission STS-104, the five-member crew will deliver the Joint Airlock Module to the Station to be installed during two planned spacewalks.
STS-104 has crew that comprises Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Janet Lynn Kavandi, Michael Gernhardt and James Reilly.
(end of general release)
COUNTDOWN MILESTONES *all times are Eastern
Launch-3 Days (Monday, July 9)
* Prepare for the start of the STS-104 launch countdown * Perform the call-to-stations (7:30 a.m.) * Countdown begins at the T-43 hour mark (8 a.m.) * Begin final vehicle and facility close-outs for launch * Check out back-up flight systems * Review flight software stored in mass memory units and display systems * Load backup flight system software into Atlantis' general purpose computers * Remove mid-deck and flight-deck platforms (4 p.m.) * Activate and test navigational systems (9 p.m.) * Complete preparation to load power reactant storage and distribution system (11 p.m.) * * Launch-2 Days (Tuesday, July 10) * * * Complete flight deck preliminary inspections (12:01 a.m.) * * Enter first built-in hold at T-27 hours for duration of 4 hours (12:01 a.m.) * * Clear launch pad of all non-essential personnel * Perform test of the vehicle's pyrotechnic initiator controllers * * Resume countdown (4 a.m.) * Begin operations to load cryogenic reactants into Atlantis' fuel cell storage tanks * (5:30 - 10:30 a.m.) * * Enter 4-hour built-in hold at T-19 hours (12 noon) * * Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit (12:30 p.m.) * * Resume countdown (4 p.m.) * * Final preparations of Shuttle's main engines for propellant tanking and flight * Begin filling pad sound suppression system water tank (5:30 p.m.) * Resume orbiter and ground support equipment close-outs * Pad sound suppression system water tank filling complete (10:30 p.m.) * Close out the tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform * * Launch-1 Day (Wednesday, July 11) * * Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 13 hours, 08 minutes (12:01 a.m.) * Begin star tracker functional checks (1 a.m.) * Activate orbiter's inertial measurement units * Activate the orbiter's communications systems * Install film in numerous cameras on the launch pad (3 a.m.) * Stow flight crew equipment (5:20 a.m.) * Move Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to the park position (9 a.m.) * Perform ascent switch list * Complete fuel cell flow-through purge * * Resume countdown at T-11 hours (1:08 p.m.) * * Activate the orbiter's fuel cells (2:18 p.m.) * Clear the blast danger area of all non-essential personnel * Switch Atlantis' purge air to gaseous nitrogen (3:23 p.m.) * * Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (6:08 p.m.) * * Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank * Clear pad of all personnel * Chilldown of propellant transfer lines * Begin loading the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (as early as 7:38 p.m.) * * Resume countdown (8:08 p.m.) * * Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants (as early as 10:38 p.m.) * Final Inspection Team proceed to launch pad * * Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at T-3 hours (11:08 p.m.) * * Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration * Align Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA) tracking antennas * * Launch Day (Thursday, July 12) * * Perform open loop test with Eastern Range * * Resume countdown at T-3 hours (1:08 a.m.) * * Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad (1:13 a.m.) * Complete close-out preparations in the white room * Check cockpit switch configurations * Flight crew begins entry into the orbiter (about 1:43 a.m.) * * * Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission Control * Close Atlantis' crew hatch (about 2:58 a.m.) * Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks * Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks * Complete white room close-out * Close-out crew moves to fallback area * Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system * * Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (3:48 a.m.) * * NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings * Complete inertial measurement unit preflight alignments * * Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (3:58 a.m.) * * Transition the orbiter's onboard computers to launch configuration * Start fuel cell thermal conditioning * Close orbiter cabin vent valves * Transition backup flight system to launch configuration * * Enter estimated 45-minute hold at T-9 minutes (4:09 a.m.) * * Launch Director, Mission Management Team and NASA Test Director conduct final polls for go/no go to launch * * Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (about 4:54 a.m.) * * Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes) * Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30) * Start mission recorders (T-6:15) * Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00) * Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00) * Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55) * Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55) * Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30) * Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55) * Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55) * Fuel cells go to internal reactants (T-2:35) * Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57) * Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00) * Transfer orbiter power from ground to internal (T-0:50 seconds) * Ground Launch Sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds) * SRB gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds) * Ignition of three Space Shuttle main engines (T-0:06.6 seconds) * SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0)
SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-104Photos by:NASA
Wed., July 11
5 p.m. Crew wake up 5:45 p.m. Breakfast 6:30 p.m. Medical checks 10 p.m. Photo and Lunch (to be recorded and televised later)
Thurs., July 12
12:33 a.m. Weather Briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2) 12:33 a.m. Don flight suits (MS1 and MS3) *12:43 a.m. Don flight suits (CDR, PLT, MS2) *1:13 a.m. Depart for launch pad *1:43 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress *2:58 a.m. Close crew hatch *5:04 a.m. Launch
July 6, 2001
Even Homes in Space Need a DoorPhotos by:NASA
The International Space Station may be the most technologically advanced house ever built, but at the moment it lacks something found in every home on Earth -- a front door! But not for long. Later this month the space shuttle is slated to deliver a 6-ton airlock to the ISS. US-suited astronauts will finally be able to cross the threshold of their own doorway to space for critical assembly and maintenance tasks -- and for the most thrilling experience of all: spacewalks. This story includes animated tours of the new airlock and a movie showing how the station's robotic arm will install the new chamber.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast06jul_1.htm?list448368
Airlock tested at Marshall. To ensure the airlock's safe performance in orbit, numerous tests were performed by a team of 12 contractors from three countries and three NASA field centers - the Johnson Space Center in Texas, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., where the airlock was manufactured.
PHOTO: NASA Marshall Center
Russian and U.S. spacesuits tested inside airlock. Numerous tests were conducted to ensure the Joint Airlock Module would work with both Russian and U.S. spacesuits. A U.S. suit, left, is lifted by a crane to the airlock hatch for a full-suit test at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., where the airlock was built. The airlock will be delivered to the International Space Station by Space Shuttle Atlantis, set to lift off on July 12.
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. Jane Platt HOW FAST DOES THE WORLD TURN? NEW QUANTUM GYRO MAY TELL US
A discovery that may someday help measure how clouds and earthquakes change Earth's rotation has come from an experiment that made friction-free helium whistle.
By manipulating ultra-cold liquid helium-3 in a hollow, doughnut-shaped container, NASA-funded scientists at the University of California at Berkeley produced a whistling sound that got louder or quieter depending on the orientation relative to the North Pole and Earth's rotation. In principle, small changes in Earth's daily rotation rate will also vary the loudness of the whistle. Although Earth rotates every 24 hours, clouds and the motion of Earth's crust can make any given day slightly longer or shorter. These new findings might provide an unusual new way to measure such changes.
"This research was an exciting breakthrough for us," said Dr. Richard Packard, a U.C. Berkeley professor. "The successful demonstration of this effect may enable scientists to measure extremely slight increases or decreases in the rotation of objects, including Earth." Packard led the research team, along with Dr. Séamus Davis, also a U.C. Berkeley professor.
"Current Earth rotation measurement techniques are not sensitive enough to detect rotational changes caused by earthquakes, even those as large as magnitude 8," said Dr. Richard Gross, a geoscientist at JPL. "If we had more sensitive techniques, like those being developed by Dr. Packard, then we could measure the effects on Earth's rotation. That would help us better understand Earth's structure."
The team cooled the doughnut-shaped vessel filled with liquid helium-3 temperature nearly 1 million times colder than room temperature. At this ultra-cold temperature the liquid becomes a superfluid. A superfluid is a state of matter that has no friction, so the liquid can flow continuously inside the vessel. The liquid in the doughnut acts like a single, super- giant atom that does not follow everyday behavior, but is dictated by the strange rules of quantum physics.
This latest discovery builds on the team's previous research. In 1997, they discovered the quantum whistle when they pushed helium through a single perforated membrane between two superfluid-filled chambers. This experiment demonstrated a phenomenon called the Josephson effect. As they tried to push the fluid through the holes, each 1/500th as thick as a human hair, it jiggled to and fro. The vibration frequency increased as they pushed harder on the fluid. They used the world's most sensitive microphone and ordinary headphones to hear the vibrations--an oscillating, whistling sound.
In this latest research, they put two thin membranes, each with an array of more than 4,000 tiny holes, at opposite sides of the doughnut to divide the fluid. When the researchers tried to push the fluid through the holes with electrostatic pressure, it did not flow in the direction they were pushing. Instead, it flowed in a strange, oscillating pattern, which produced a whistle. In flowing through the doughnut-shaped vessel, the whistle got louder or softer, depending on the vessel's orientation with respect to Earth's rotation axis.
The promising new research might also lead to extremely precise gyroscopes to help navigate future NASA spacecraft. This experiment used a tiny amount of helium-3, but by using a much larger amount, an ultra-sensitive gyroscope might be created.
"Earth is probably too noisy to realize the full potential of this technology," Packard said. "The best environment would be on a free-floating satellite, which could have zero vibration."
The Berkeley team calls the most recent effect they observed "quantum interference of a superfluid." They found that by linking two superfluid quantum systems using a doughnut shape, even a tiny effect of Earth's rotation influences them both through laws of quantum mechanics, and the two systems "interfere" with each other.
"In essence, we demonstrated that two weak links behave as one weak link whose properties are influenced by Earth's rotation," Packard said. "The successful demonstration of this effect has been a goal of low-temperature physicists for more than 35 years."
This research program was conducted under a grant from NASA's Biological and Physical Research Program. Packard co- authored the paper, which will appear in the July 5 issue of Nature, with NASA fellow Ray Simmonds and Drs. Emile Hoskinson and Alexei Marchenkov. More information about the quantum fluids research program at U.C. Berkeley is available at http://physics.berkeley.edu/research/packard and http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~davisgrp .
The whistling helium sound can be heard online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/heliumwhistle .
More information on the Biological and Physical Research Program and Fundamental Physics Program is available at http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov and http://funphysics.jpl.nasa.gov .
JPL manages the Fundamental Physics in Microgravity Research Program for NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
July 5, Mid Day News, 2001
Dolores Beasley Headquarters, Washington, DC
William Steigerwald Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
NEXT SPACE SCIENCE UPDATE: A STELLAR APOCALYPSE AIDS THE HUNT FOR LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS
What can a dying Sun tell us about the possibility for life on other worlds? As a nearby star burns through the last of its fuel and vaporizes its surroundings, it is yielding new evidence that planetary systems around other stars can support life.
At a Space Science Update, 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, July 11, in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC, scientists will present observations by the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) that support the search for life on worlds outside our solar system.
The panelists will be: * Dr. Alan Bunner, Science Director, Structure and Evolution of the Universe, NASA Headquarters * Dr. Gary Melnick, SWAS Principal Investigator, senior astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA * Dr. David Neufeld, professor of physics and astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore * Dr. Alan Boss, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC * Dr. Karen Meech, astronomer, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
The Update will be carried live on NASA Television. Two-way question-and-answer capability will be available at participating NASA centers. NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz. The event will be webcast live at:
Http://www.nasa.gov
Additional information on SWAS is available at:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/Research/swas.html
REVISED - NASA'S GENESIS MISSION BRIEFING SET FOR JULY 11
The mission and scientific goals of Genesis, a NASA mission to collect solar wind and return it to Earth, will be the subject of a news briefing Wednesday, July 11, at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Genesis is scheduled for launch July 30 on a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
Participants will be: * Dr. Jay Bergstralh, Discovery Program, Office of Space Science, Washington, DC * Dr. Donald Burnett, Genesis principal investigator, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA * Chester Sasaki, Genesis project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA * Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa, cosmochemist, the Field Museum, Chicago
The press briefing will originate from the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC, and will be carried live on NASA Television with two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the event from participating NASA centers.
July 5, 2001
Rosetta's CONSERT heads for a real cool venue
What is a comet really like? What is its interior like? Could it be a fluffy agglomeration of snow and dirt? Or perhaps it is solid all the way through like an iceberg encrusted with black organic material? Some have even likened it to a chocolate cake with a dark surface overlying a mixture of porous and solid material! Image by esa
http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=27488
The Rosetta Orbiter swoops over the Lander soon after
touchdown on the nucleus of Comet 46P/Wirtanen
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 35812Photos by:NASA
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION Expedition Two Science Operations Status Report for the week ending July 5, 2001
The Expedition Two crew continued to prepare the first plants and seeds produced on the International Space Station for their return trip on the Space Shuttle Atlantis set to visit the orbiting laboratory next week.
"The plants are the first to successfully go through three stages, seed germination, plant growth and seed development aboard the Station," said Dr. Weijia Zhou, the principal investigator for the Advanced Astroculture plant growth experiment. Zhou is the director of the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- one of 17 NASA Commercial Space Centers that helps companies fly space experiments. Eleven of these centers are managed by the Space Product Development Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. - NASA's lead center for flying experiments that take advantage of low gravity.
"The Advanced Astroculture has provided optimal environmental conditions, and the plants have entered their last stage of development -- seed maturity," said Zhou. "This stage will last another few days, and then we will change the conditions inside the plant growth unit to preserve the seeds."
To help the seeds dry out, Flight Engineer Jim Voss removed fluid from the plant growth chamber this week. Periodically, during Expedition Two, the crew has removed nutrients, fluids and gases so that investigators on Earth could study the growing conditions experienced by the plants in space. When the experiment is returned to Earth, scientists will analyze these samples as well as the plants and seeds. Throughout the flight, investigators on the ground have viewed video of the growing plants.
Zhou and his team at a telescience center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working with the team at the Payload Operations Center in Huntsville, Ala., on a plan for ending the experiment next week so that the Space Shuttle Atlantis can return the plants and seeds to Earth. The Advanced Astroculture was originally scheduled to return on the STS-105 Shuttle mission, but since the plants have finished their growth cycle, they will be brought back on the STS-104 mission. The ADVASC science team is running an identical experiment on the ground to determine how long the experiment will require power before deactivation being planned for next week.
The team at the Payload Operations Center is also planning for the return of the Protein Crystal Growth Single Thermal Enclosure System Units 9 and 10 on the STS-104 Shuttle mission. This experiment contains perishable biological crystals that will be returned to scientists for analysis. By studying the structure of the crystals, investigators can learn about substances that play important roles in humans, animals and plants. Most of the growth cylinders that contain crystals have been deactivated and are ready for return to Earth. Next week, the crew is scheduled to deactivate the last six growth cylinders in Unit 9, right after the STS-104 launch, now scheduled for July 12. Different biological substances require different growth periods. Scheduled for return on STS-104 is the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus, which did not perform as expected and is being returned for analysis.
The three radiation monitoring experiments - Bonner Ball Neutron Detector, Phantom Torso, and Dosimetric Mapping - all continue to collect data. The crew routinely uses the Human Research Facility computers to send data to scientists on Earth for analysis. The Space Shuttle Atlantis will bring back additional data on hard disks.
While a few experiments are being returned to Earth, several investigations are just getting under way on board the laboratory and will continue into Expedition Three, starting in August with the STS-105 mission. One of the main goals of early science operations on the Station is to characterize the laboratory environment so that scientists can accurately analyze the influence it has on their experiments.
In addition to measuring the radiation inside the lab, scientists are measuring the effects of vibrations and evaluating ways to reduce them. Next week when the Shuttle docks with the Station is a critical time for these measurements because more vibrations may be experienced when the Shuttle docks and during the increased activities while it is docked.
The Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System was reactivated last week and will be on for the next four weeks to help characterize the microgravity environment of the Station. The other microgravity measurement device, the Space Acceleration Measurement System, continues to actively record data.
An experiment that could make the Space Station an even better place to conduct microgravity experiments continues to under go tests this week and prepare for more specific tests during docked operations next week. The Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS) located in EXPRESS Rack 2 in the Destiny lab module is designed to act like a powered shock absorber to dampen vibrations from powered equipment and crew activities.
During the past week, the Payload Rack Officer at the Marshall operations center and the science team on the ground prepared the rack system for special tests during docked operations. While the Shuttle is docked, the ARIS ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE) will precisely test and measure the performance of the ARIS vibration dampening system.
"We're continuing checkout tests to get ready for the Space Shuttle docking, which adds greater mass to the Station and will allow us to do low-frequency testing," said James Allen, ARIS-ICE project lead and payload developer, with The Boeing Company in Houston, Texas.
Other payloads continuing to operate nominally include: Commercial Protein Crystal Growth and the Experiment on the Physics of Colloids in Space. The crew is also completing weekly questionnaires as part of the Interactions experiment. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SHUTTLE and PAYLOAD PROCESSING STATUS_REPORT Thursday, July 5, 2001 (2 p.m.) REVISED VERSION NOTE: This is an orbiter processing report and does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of upcoming Space Shuttle flights. Visit http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm on the KSC Home Page for the latest schedule of future Shuttle missions.
Shuttle Processing Note: Processing of Space Shuttle Atlantis toward a July 12 launch date continues on schedule. Earlier this week, workers completed Shuttle ordnance installation, and testing of pyrotechnic initiator controllers concluded Tuesday.
A multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) located in Atlantis' aft avionics bay 4 has been replaced and is undergoing standard retests today. The MDM supports prelaunch ground operation activities and has no in-flight impact. Pre-flight checks of the orbiter space vision system are ongoing.
Atlantis' aft compartment doors will be installed Sunday. The flight crew arrives at KSC Sunday at about 9:30 p.m. to begin final flight preparation. The launch countdown begins Monday at 8 a.m. in KSC Firing Room 3.
Payload Processing Note: The Airlock payload is secure in Atlantis' payload bay with the doors closed for flight. The Wireless Instrumentation System (Micro-WIS) payload is undergoing checks today.
MISSION: STS-105 - 11th ISS Flight (7A.1) - Leonardo MPLM VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103 LOCATION: Launch Pad 39A TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: NET August 7, 2001 at 5:23 p.m. EDT TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: August 19, 2001 MISSION DURATION: 11 days and 20 hours CREW: Horowitz, Sturckow, Barry, Forrester; (ISS up) Culbertson, Dezhurov, Turin; (ISS down) Usachev, Voss, Helms, ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
(KSC Space Shuttle Processing Status Report 7/5/01)
Shuttle Processing Note: Managers decided this afternoon to launch Shuttle Discovery no earlier than Aug. 7. This allows ample time between flights for data review and preserves the earliest STS-105 launch opportunity.
Discovery's main engine pressure transducer replacement is complete. The engine flight readiness test is scheduled for July 21 and 22. Launch pad validations continue to go well at pad 39A.
Payload Processing Note: The Leonardo MPLM is scheduled for transfer to Launch Pad 39A July 23. The Early Ammonia Servicer for the space station has been filled with liquid ammonia. MISSION: STS-108 - 12th ISS Flight (UF1) - MPLM VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105 LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay 1 TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Nov. 29, 2001 EST TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Dec. 9, 2001 MISSION DURATION: 10 days CREW: Gorie, Kelly, Godwin, Tani; (ISS up) Onufrienko, Bursch, Walz; (ISS down) Culbertson, Dezhurov, Turin ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: While Endeavour is powered down, workers are performing planned modifications on orbiter wiring and harnesses. A powered-up checkout is scheduled to begin July 10.
Payload Processing Note: The Raffaello MPLM begins pre-integration checkout in the Space Station Processing Facility July 17.
MISSION: STS-109 - HST Servicing Mission 3B VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 LOCATION: OPF bay 3 TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Jan. 17, 2002 EST TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Jan. 28, 2002 MISSION DURATION: TBD CREW: Altman, Carey, Grunsfeld, Currie, Newman, Linnehan, Massimino ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 308 nautical miles/28.5 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Technicians are inspecting the orbiter's chin panel and nose cap. Standard subsystem testing continues. Columbia's main propulsion system is undergoing routine helium leak checks this week.
Martha J. Heil Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA NASA'S GENESIS MISSION BRIEFING SET FOR JULY 11
The mission and scientific goals of Genesis, NASA's first mission to collect solar wind and return it to Earth, will be the subject of a news briefing Wednesday July 11, at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Genesis is scheduled for launch July 30 on a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
Participants will be: * Dr. Jay Bergstralh, Discovery Program, Office of Space Science, Washington, DC * Dr. Donald Burnett, Genesis principal investigator, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA * Chester Sasaki, Genesis project manager, JPL * Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa, cosmochemist, the Field Museum, Chicago
NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz. The briefing will be webcast at:
http://www.nasa.gov
Happy 4th of July - Independence Day
European Space Agency Science
Rapid heartbeat in Andromeda indicates a new kind of object
There are many kinds of celestial objects in the Universe but we are far from knowing them all. XMM-Newton may have discovered a new one: a very luminous soft X-ray source that is pulsating extremely rapidly in the central region of the Andromeda galaxy. This unusual object could be a new kind of accreting white dwarf.
For more on this story go to: http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=23&cid=45&oid=27568
XMM-Newton X-ray images of the central
region of the Andromeda galaxy (M31)
images by esa
National Space Development Agency of Japan
Launch of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.1
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) set the date of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.1 from Tanegashima Space Center as indicated below.
Details of the flight schedule for the H-IIA No.1 1. Target Launch Date : August 25(Saturday), 2001 2. Reserved Period : August 26(Sunday) - September 30(Sunday) 3. Target Launch Time : 13:00-18:00 4. Launch Site : H-IIA Launch Complex, Tanegashima Space Center
http://www.nasda.go.jp/index_e.html
July 3, Mid Day News, 2001
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 35812-Photo by: NASA/JPL
Jerry Berg
Space-bound coatings from NASA Marshall Center paint possibility of improved earthly products
Researchers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., examine colorful coatings destined for the International Space Station. Engineered to better withstand the punishing effects of the Sun, extreme temperatures and other elements, the samples will be flown 220 miles above the Earth -- outside the Space Station and unprotected by Earth's atmosphere.
By examining how the coatings fare in the harsh environment of space, researchers -- including the Marshall Center's Rachel Kamenetzky, holding tray, and Miria Finckenor -- seek new insight into making paints and other materials last longer on Earth.
The research is part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) - a project that will test the durability of hundreds of samples ranging from lubricants to solar cell technologies.
Joining other experiments from the public and private sectors, the samples from Marshall will be flown outside the Space Station for one year beginning in July.
The MISSE study is a cooperative effort by the Marshall Center; Air Force Material Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; Boeing Phantom Works in Seattle; and other NASA Centers, including Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., Johnson Space Center in Houston and Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
Aphelion Away! Earth is far from the Sun on the 4th of July
On the 4th of July, Earth will lie at its greatest distance from the Sun -- an annual event astronomers call 'aphelion.' But don't expect any sudden relief from the heat. Indeed, say researchers, our planet is actually warmer when we're farther from the Sun than at any other time of year -- an earth science curiosity that this story explains.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast03jul_1.htm?list448368
David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington, DC/Artwork by:NASA
NASA SELECTS PROPOSALS TO STUDY EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT-Art work by:NASA/NASDA/JPL
What element do some researchers jokingly call the "triple whammy" or the "complete trifecta"? It's carbon -- not only the very basis of life, but also the principal source of fossil fuel energy supporting the economy and a key factor in controlling global climate.
NASA will learn much more about the global carbon cycle through 80 research grants valued at approximately $50 million over the next three years that will look at everything from forest health in the U.S. to the role oceans play as the planet's "air filters."
Carbon-containing molecules are a key factor in global warming -- carbon dioxide and methane are the two most important "greenhouse gases" that can affect temperatures around the world. Combustion of fossil fuels, use of land for agriculture or industry, and human interaction with the environment all play a part in how Earth's climate "behaves." Through these awards, researchers will take advantage of the unique vantage point of space and space-age technology to look at the planet and how the global climate works.
"These proposals represent the leading edge of research on the carbon cycle and how it affects our climate. The Administration is committed to providing sound science to government and industry leaders upon which decisions about human stewardship of the Earth can be made," said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Associate Administrator for Earth Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
"We know that about half of the carbon dioxide released by humans is absorbed by Earth's oceans and lands. These investigations will help scientists and policy-makers better understand if this will be true in the decades to come," Asrar said.
"A solid understanding of how carbon cycles act among land, atmosphere and oceans will provide a vital key to reliable projections of carbon levels of the future, and hence a better understanding of what role humans are playing in Earth's climate system. Combined with advances in computational-modeling capabilities, and in teaming with other government agencies and international partners, NASA will advance short-term and seasonal weather forecasting capabilities and create an accurate projection of longer-term climate change around the globe. This research also will benefit our short-term weather and seasonal-prediction capabilities," Asrar said.
The grants will go to researchers at universities, government laboratories and other organizations and will investigate virtually all aspects of the carbon cycle. Scientists will use everything from advanced computers, satellites and lasers to aircraft and other conventional tools to carry out these studies. Applications scientists will extend the benefits of this research to a variety of end users. NASA received 288 proposals in response to the research announcement made in 2000.
A complete listing of the research projects and their principal investigators can be found on the Internet at:
http://research.hq.nasa.gov/
More information on NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long- term research effort dedicated to understanding how human- induced and natural change affects the global environment, can be found at:
http://earth.nasa.gov
July 3, 2001
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF THE RED, WHITE AND BLUEPhotos by:NASA
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF.Photo by CalTech/JPL/NASABIRDSEYE VIEW OF THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed 225 years ago on July 4, 1776, lies in the center of a new image from a NASA Earth-observing satellite. This true- color view of the northeastern United States includes a fitting display of the reddish colors of soils, grayish-whites of urban areas and clouds, and blue hues of water.
The image was taken by the spaceborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The image is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/earth/usa . The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is one of several Earth-observing experiments aboard the Terra satellite, launched in December 1999. The instrument acquires images of Earth at nine angles simultaneously, using nine separate cameras pointed forward, downward and backward along its flight path. More information about the experiment is available at http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov .
JEM-X eager to discover new cosmic 'animals'
Like many of Copenhagen's inhabitants, Dr Niels Lund cycles to work everyday, a 5 km distance from his home to the Danish Space Research Institute. For the past six years, his thoughts whilst peddling have been set on the successful completion of JEM-X, one of the four science instruments aboard ESA's gamma-ray observatory INTEGRAL.
For more on this story:Photo by: esa/NASA http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=27398
Kirsten Larson
Headquarters, Washington, DC James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX NASA NAMES CREW TO SPACE STATION RESEARCH MISSION:Photo by:NASA
NASA today named three astronauts to the crew of space shuttle mission STS-111, scheduled to launch in 2002 to deliver a new International Space Station resident crew and a Canadian-built mobile base for the orbiting outpost's robotic arm. STS-111 is also the second space shuttle mission dedicated to delivering research equipment to the space platform.
Veteran space shuttle commander Kenneth D. Cockrell will command Endeavour on the mission. Paul Lockhart (Lt. Col., USAF) will serve as pilot and Franklin Chang-Diaz, Ph.D., will be a mission specialist. French Space Agency astronaut Philippe Perrin (Lt. Col., French Air Force) previously was named an STS-111 mission specialist
During STS-111 Chang-Diaz and Perrin will perform two spacewalks to install the Canadian Mobile Base System for the station's robotic arm. The system will allow the arm to travel up and down the station truss to aid in station maintenance and assembly tasks.
Cockrell will be making his fifth space flight. He flew once as a mission specialist, once as a pilot and twice as commander. Lockhart, selected as an astronaut in 1996, has held technical positions in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems and Operations Branch and will be making his first space flight. Chang-Diaz will be making his seventh space flight, as many as any astronaut in history. Perrin, after service in the French Navy and as a test pilot in the French Air Force, was selected as an astronaut in 1996 and is making his first space flight.
Also flying aboard Endeavour to the space station will be the station's fifth resident crew. The Expedition Five crew comprises Commander Valeri Korzun (Col., Russian Air Force) and Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson, M.D., and Sergei Treschev. Returning to Earth aboard Endeavour will be the Expedition Four crew, Commander Yuri Onufriyenko (Col., Russian Air Force) and Flight Engineers Carl Walz (Col., USAF) and Dan Bursch (Capt., USN).
Photo by: NASA
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SHUTTLE and PAYLOAD PROCESSING STATUS_REPORT/Photos by:NASA
Shuttle Processing Note: Preparation for the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis continues at Launch Pad 39B. Last week's Flight Readiness Review confirmed the July 12 launch date.
The flight crew's Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test concluded last week and the orbiter's payload bay doors have been closed for flight. Workers completed prelaunch propellant loading activities today. The flight crew's space suits are being installed and functional checks follow tomorrow. Shuttle ordnance installation is in work through tomorrow and aft engine compartment closeouts conclude Sunday, June 8.
MISSION: STS-105 - 11th ISS Flight (7A.1) - Leonardo MPLM VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103 LOCATION: Launch Pad 39A TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: NET August 5, 2001at 7:05 p.m. EDT TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: August 17, 2001 at about 3:30 p.m. MISSION DURATION: 11 days , 20 hours and 25 minutes CREW: Horowitz, Sturckow, Barry, Forrester; (ISS up) Culbertson, Dezhurov, Turin; (ISS down) Usachev, Voss, Helms, ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Space Shuttle Discovery began rolling out to the launch pad today at 1:28 a.m. and was hard down on the pad surface at 7:42 a.m. Launch pad validations are in work through Tuesday. Workers will replace several main engine transducers prior to the planned engine flight readiness test slated for later this week.
(KSC Space Shuttle Processing Status Report 7/2/01)
MISSION: STS-108 - 12th ISS Flight (UF1) - MPLM VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105 LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Nov. 29, 2001 EST TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Dec. 9, 2001 MISSION DURATION: 10 days CREW: Gorie, Kelly, Godwin, Tani; (ISS up) Onufrienko, Bursch, Walz; (ISS down) Culbertson, Dezhurov, Turin ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Technicians have completed inspections of Endeavour's forward overhead window frames and body flap this week. While the vehicle is not powered, workers are performing planned modifications on orbiter wiring and monoball harnesses. A powered-up checkout is scheduled to begin July 10.
Shuttle Processing Note: Technicians are inspecting the orbiter's chin panel and nose cap. Standard subsystem testing is ongoing.
July 2, 2001
NASA PUTS AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION OUT OF THIS WORLD
The Nation's largest Independence Day celebration will be joined by visitors from outer space -- not aliens, but NASA's International Space Station crew, orbiting more than 200 miles above the Earth.
The two NASA members of the space station crew will send their "out of this world" birthday message, reflecting on the birth of America, during the 4th of July gala concert beginning at 8 p.m. EDT from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
"This annual concert and fireworks display has evolved into the premier celebration of patriotism," said Joseph H. Rothenberg, Associate Administrator for Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. "We're glad NASA and the hardworking crew on board the International Space Station have an opportunity to help mark the pioneering spirit that makes this 225th birthday celebration possible."
Spectacular video images from space will be shown on large screens as the National Symphony Orchestra performs "2001, A Space Odyssey." Music from a variety of entertainers will be followed by the traditional finale of fireworks over the Washington Monument. More than half a million people are expected to travel to the Mall in downtown Washington to attend the festivities.
The event can be seen live on PBS and will be heard in stereo over National Public Radio. Armed Forces Radio and Television Networks also will carry the celebration.
The Expedition Two crew is made up of Russian Commander Yury Usachev and American Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms. Additional information on "A Capitol Fourth," the International Space Station and the Expedition Two crew, is available on the Internet at: http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
EATING RIGHT FOR LONG-DURATION SPACE MISSIONS
Catherine E. Watson Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
During long-duration space flights, astronauts often don't eat as much as they should, which can cause weight loss and other nutritional concerns, such as low levels of vitamin D. A study released today of astronauts who lived aboard the Russian space station Mir, and counterparts living in seclusion on Earth, has validated a tool for measuring astronauts' dietary intake during long space flights.
"We have developed a program that helps us ensure that crewmembers go to space with an optimal nutritional status, and that we do everything we can to help them remain healthy while they are there," said Dr. Scott M. Smith, lead author on the paper and a nutritionist in the Life Sciences Research Laboratories at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas.
"When you are going to spend a few months in space, it's important to be sure you meet your body's nutritional needs," Smith said. One nutrient of particular concern during long-duration space flights is vitamin D, which is important for bone health. The lack of ultraviolet light due to spacecraft shielding takes away the body's ability to produce this vitamin naturally during space flight. "This is just one example of why food becomes even more important during long space flights," Smith added.
The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, focused on two NASA astronauts who each spent more than four months aboard Mir. They were compared to two groups of men and women who lived in a semi-closed chamber at JSC for 60 and 91 days, respectively. Blood and urine were collected from the astronauts both before and after their flights, and from the chamber groups before, during and after their chamber stays. These samples were used to measure the amounts of nutrients present, including proteins, vitamins and minerals. A specially designed questionnaire to monitor food consumption also was completed on a regular basis by all the participants. Finally, each participant's body mass was measured at various times throughout the study to look for weight loss or gain.
"These studies provided scientific data validating the space flight Food Frequency Questionnaire," Smith said. "That questionnaire is now part of a comprehensive nutrition program designed to help ensure the health of long-duration astronauts."
Smith and his team of researchers are continuing this study with crews aboard the International Space Station. Like the Mir astronauts and chamber participants, the station crews receive a comprehensive assessment of their nutritional status before and after flight, and complete the computerized Food Frequency Questionnaire while in space.
"This unique software program allows crewmembers to relay food intake information to the ground," Smith said. "It takes only five to ten minutes per week to complete, and it provides us with very important real-time information. When necessary, recommendations can be made for the crew to adjust their dietary intake while on orbit."
"These studies will help ensure the health and safety of the astronauts working aboard the International Space Station," Smith added. "They also will provide a better understanding of how the body's nutritional needs change during prolonged weightlessness, and will further our knowledge about nutrition on Earth."
ESA and NASA agree a new mission scenario for Cassini-Huygens/Photos by:NASA
The European Space Agency and NASA have identified a new mission scenario in order to solve the Huygens radio communications problem and fully recover the scientific return from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its giant moon Titan. Art by:NASA/JPL/esa
For more on this story go to: http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=27650
All Art Work By NASA/JPL/esa
This Week on Galileo July 2-8, 2001?Photos by:NASA
This holiday week sees the Galileo spacecraft continue its normal cruise activities. On Monday, an attitude maintenance turn is performed to keep the spacecraft's communications antenna pointed at the Earth. On Thursday, a standard test of the on-board gyroscopes is performed. Due to repeated dosages of the intense radiation near Jupiter, some of the electronic components used to report data from the gyros have degraded.
These periodic tests check the current health of the electronics, and also determine if updates are needed to software parameters used by the spacecraft's computers to correct the measurements from the gyros.
On Sunday, we take the final step in a series of reconfigurations of the radio communications parameters during the recent period of solar conjunction, when Galileo appeared to pass behind the Sun as seen from Earth. In this final step, as Galileo and Jupiter continue to move away from the Sun (as seen from Earth), the spacecraft returns to its normal configuration for telemetry.
The Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EUV) instrument continues its two-month-long study of the interplanetary medium. Playback of data stored on the tape recorder from the May flyby of Callisto also continues. This week will see the conclusion of our first survey pass through the Solid State Imaging (SSI) pictures on the tape, and the beginning of the second pass, including data from the other instruments. Expected SSI data include global color pictures of Callisto and pictures of hot spots in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) will return measurements of Io taken while that satellite was in Jupiter's shadow, as well as additional global coverage of that volcanic moon.
The Photopolarimeter Radiometer instrument (PPR) will return data from global observations of Io and measurements of a white oval in Jupiter's atmosphere.
For more information on the Galileo spacecraft and its mission to Jupiter, please visit the Galileo home page at one of the following URL's:
http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo
July 1, 2001
SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO ROLL OUT TO LAUNCH PAD 39A ON MONDAY The Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A on Monday, July 2. The 3-mile trip will begin at about 2 a.m. from the Vehicle Assembly Building, marking a major milestone in the final preparations for launch of Shuttle mission, STS-105, currently targeted for no earlier than August 5, 2001. Photo by:NASA
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MAP blazes the way for Planck, ESAs probe into the birth of the Universe
In trying to explain the origins of the Universe scientists have taken a step-by-step approach, and ESA,s Planck is currently at the top of the staircase. Several experiments, both on Earth and in space, are blazing the trail which will soon be travelled by Planck, on its search for the holy grail of cosmology: the set of 'magic numbers' which define our Universe. Planck, the 'ultimate' tool to find out how everything started, is the first European space mission to study the Big Bang and will be launched in 2007. Art by: esa
More on this story at: http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=1&cid=1&oid=27639
July News 1-10, 2001