"First Man" released 2018

First Man, released in the US October 12, 2018, is the award winning movie showing the life of Neil Armstrong and the mission that made him become the first man to walk on the moon.  Ryan Gosling played Armstrong.  

First Man won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.  It was nominated for three more: Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Sound Mixing.

It won a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.  

Congratulations Christina Koch, longest space flight by a female!

Back in October, Christina Koch made history by participating in the first all-female spacewalk with fellow astronaut Jessica Meir.  She made history again today by setting the record for the longest space flight by a woman for 289 days, breaking the record set earlier by Peggy Whitson. 

Voyager 1 fires up thrusters after 37 years!

Imagine getting a wake-up arousing you from a 37 year sleep.  Back in 2014, NASA engineers noticed the thrusters on board Voyager 1 have been deteriorating.  These thrusters help keep Voyager 1's attenas pointed toward Earth. 

NASA scientists "examined the software that was coded in an outdated assembler language" to be sure they could test the back-up thrusters, which have been dormant since November 8, 1980.  They waited for 19 hours and 35 minutes, the time it takes for data to be received, to find out if their tests worked.

Last week, they found out that the thrusters worked perfectly.  This will allow NASA to extend the life of the Voyager 1 about 2-3 years.  The spacecraft is the farthest man-made object and the only one in interstella space.




https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2017-310

Book review - "Red Moon Rising" by Matthew Brzezinski

Years ago, I read James Oberg’s awesome book, Red Star in Orbit, which chronicled the Soviet Union’s space program and its competition against the United States’ newly formed NASA, up to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program.  Brzezinski’s work, Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age, reads as a prequel to Oberg’s but from the political side of the situation.

After WWII, the Soviet Union struggled to get back on its feet after the devastation and consumption of its resources.  However, in the United States, life could not have been better.  The economy was booming.  WWII hero Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and the US had a large arsenal of missiles ready for military purposes if the need should arise.

The Soviet Union had only a handful.  Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary, wanted to close that gap.  He was not interested in space.  He just did not want to appear vulnerable and defenseless if the Americans were to launch missiles at them.

Sergei Korolev managed to get Khrushchev to consider putting a satellite in orbit, one that could carry warheads into space where they could be launched to anywhere on the globe with impunity.  With Khrushchev’s blessing, the Chief Designer (as Korolev is referred to in Brzezinski’s work) proceeds to accomplish what no one had done before.  Successfully put an artificial satellite in orbit around the world.

Brzezinski follows Korolev’s journey through set-backs, financial difficulties, disasters, rivalries and mounting pressure from all sides.

I found it humorous that Korolev and Khrushchev did not immediately understand the impact of what they had done.  Not until the whole world reacted with awe at Earth’s new artificial satellite.

Brzezinski did stumble in the epilogue.  He states that when the Chief Designer died in January 1966, “Russia’s moon dreams died with Sergei Pavlovich Korolev”.  As any student of history will recall, during the 1960’s, the space race between the US and the USSR rose to fever pitch and ran hot and heavy from Yuri Gagarin’s 1962 orbital flight until Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon in 1969.

Despite this, the book is an important read for anyone interested in space history.

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project - linking American and Russian spacecraft 1975

In the early 1970's while tensions between Washington, DC  and the Kremlin ran high, a small group of scientists from both country worked toward a collusion...er, a collaboration....perhaps a joint space mission(?) for the space programs of both countries could meet in space.

A cooperative mission was first proposed by NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and the Soviet Academy of Sciences president Mstislav Keldysh accepted.  The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was not universally considered a good idea, with many Americans feeling the ASTP would give the USSR to much access and help them get a step up.

The crew of the Apollo spacecraft was Commander Thomas P. Stafford (from Oklahoma!), Command Module Pilot Vance D. Brand (Colorado) and Docking Module Pilot Donald K. (Deke) Slayton (Wisconsin).  The Soyuz 19 crew consisted of Commander Alexey Leonov and Flight Engineer Valeri Kubasov.

Both spacecraft launched July 15, 1975 within hours of each other and docked on July 17.  The historic handshake between American and Soviet crews too place over Metz, France.  The astronauts and cosmonauts spoke in each other's languages, but because Stafford had a pronounced drawl when speaking Russian, Leonov joed that the languages spoken during the mission were Russian, English and "Oklahomski."

The ships separated after 44 hours and went their separate ways. The Soviets stayed in space for five days while the Americans remained for nine.  Soyuz 19 returned to Earth on July 21.  Apollo returned on July 24, an error occured and the crew was exposed to toxic nitrogen tetroxide fumes.  Brand lost consciousness but Stafford managed to get emergency oxygen masks on him and Brand and gave one to Slayton.  They were hospitalized for two weeks in Oahu (!) but made full recoveries.

Fashionistas in space!

When many of us hear the word ‘fabrics’, we immediately think of avant-garde, haute couture dresses, the latest fashions from Paris, or ‘who-is-wearing-who’ on the Red Carpet.  In space exploration, however, fabrics have more applications than for just snazzy clothes, like antennas, spacesuits and shields for spacecraft.

Raul Polit Casillas, a systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is the son of a fashion designer from Spain, so he grew up familiar with fabrics.  Now he is applying his knowledge and skills to develop woven metal fabrics for applications in space.

The fabrics that Polit Casillas and his colleagues are not hand-sewn but are 3-D printed, using a technique called additive manufacturing, which is cheaper and can be used to create unique materials.   This could also help reduce the costs of building complex, expensive spacecraft.  Fabrics can be manufactured for reflectivity, passive heave management, foldability and tensile strength.  For example, one side of a fabric reflects light while the other absorbs it.  It can be folded and cut into necessary shapes. 

One of the most important applications could be for spacesuits for astronauts.  A fabric that has heat-generating properties can be printed to keep astronauts and spacecraft warm.  It could also be used to help explorers walk on uneven terrain and not melt the ice underneath them.

I previously reported in a post that structures on Mars could be 3-D printed, and now fabrics and materials can be created with similar technology. 

But at first, clothes will be have to be manufactured for substance, rather than style. Sorry, fashionistas!

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6816

China's Chang'e-3 Lunar Probe launched 2013

China launched their lunar lander/rover Chang'e 3, December 2 (local time), 2013 and it became the first soft landing on the moon since the Soviet Union's Lunar 24 in 1976.  Chang'e is the Chinese goddess of the moon and the rover is named Yutu, which is Chang'e's pet rabbit.

Yutu stopped sending signals in March 2015, but as of that time, the Chinese stated that the lander still had working instruments.

USSR launches Mars 1 probe 1962

The former Soviet Union launched the first of its Mars probes, Mars 1, November 1, 1962.  It was intended to perform a flyby of Mars from 6800 miles and until March 1963, it continued to send back large volumes of data on interplanetary space. However, on March 21, 1963 communications ended when (it is assumed) Mars 1's antennae could be oriented to receive commands from Earth.

On June 13, 1963, it made its closest approach to Mars, about 120,000 miles, and then entered a heliocentric orbit.

Britain becomes 6th country in space, 1971

Prospero was the first British satellite successfully lauched on a British  rocket October 28, 1971, joining the U.S., Soviet Union, France, China and Japan already in orbit.  Britain had previously launched a satellite, Ariel 1, in 1962 but that was on an American rocket.

Its operations ceased May 1973 when its tape recorder failed and officially deactivated in 1996 but it was still being heard reportedly in 2004.

Its orbit should decay about 2070, so mark your calendars!

Venera 10 lands on Venus, 1975

Just three days after Venera 9 touched down on the Venusian surface, Venera 10 landed October 25, 1975 at high noon.  It came to rest in the Beta Regio area about 2200km from Venera 9.  Like its sister craft, one of its lens covers failed to come off so Venera 10 could not take panoramic photos and the Soviets had to settle for only 180°.

Venera 10 operated for 65 minutes before failing.

First Chinese Astronaut Lt. Col. Yang Liwei, launched in Shenzhou 5 2003

China became the third nation to send a man into space on October 15, 2003.  Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei took off in Long March CZ-2F rocket in the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.  Liwei completed 14 orbits in about 21 hours.

Soyuz 8 launches 1969

Commander Vladimir Shatalov and Flight Engineer Aleksei Yeliseyev blasted off in Soyuz 8, October 13, 1969, with all intent to dock with Soyuz 7, which launched the previous day.  Soyuz 6 took off just two days before.  It was the first time seven cosmonauts were in orbit at the same time. 

The “official” plan was to dock with Soyuz 7 and transfer one cosmonaut via EVA while Soyuz 6 filmed the whole operation.  However, due to mechanical failures, the docking procedure never happened.  In all, three attempts were made but none were successful.  Therefore, the Soviets stated they never really meant to dock.

Shatalov and Yeliseyev returned to Earth on schedule October 18.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_8

http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-8.htm

http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/trackind/soyuz678/soyuz678.html

We are (probably) not alone! First exoplanet discovered 1995

 

Artist's depiction of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b

October 6, 1995, European scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of a planet orbiting another star.  Planet 51 Pegasi b is about half the size of Jupiter and a "year" is just four Earth days.  And it orbits its sun 51 Pegasi at a distance of 0.05 AU (astronomical units) which is about 1/6 the distance between Mercury and our sun.  That means the surface temperature is around a sultry 2-3000 Kelvin.

In the 21 years since, over 1800 exoplanets have been discovered, including (perhaps) Tatooine, Vulcan and Krypton.

How to find Star 51 Pegasi

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/51peg.html

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4674

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-312

Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendéz, first Cuban in space

Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendez became the first Cuban into space September 18, 1980.  He blasted off in Soyuz 38 with fellow cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko and cocked with Salyut 6.  After almost 8 days in space, they returned to Earth, making a night landing.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of Mr. Tamayo-Mendez in English.

Congratulations, Jeff Williams! - Record for longest time in space for US astronaut

As of yesterday, U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams has spent a total of 520 days in space, the longest of any U.S. astronaut.  He has now surpassed Scott Kelly who held the previous record.  Williams' first journey was back in 2000 on the Space Shuttle Atlantis when he spent 10 days in space.

However, Peggy Whitson is scheduled to break his record next year.

Sputnik 5 (Korabl-Sputnik 2) launched 1960

Sputnik 5 (Korabl-Sputnik 2) was launched by the Soviet Union, August 19, 1960. It was the first flight where animals were sent into space and successfully returned to Earth.  Precious cargo, Belka (Squirrel) and Strelka (Little Arrow), were two dogs among 40 mice and 2 rats who spent a day in orbit.

Strelka had a little of puppies the following year and one of the puppies was sent to then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Yuri Gagarin, first human in space, born 1934

Boyishly handsome and sporting a killer smile, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, born March 9, 1934, was the first man in space.  Although Vostok 1 was his only flight, he remained part of the Soviet space program until his untimely death in 1968.  His flight lasted an hour and 48 minutes and circled the earth once.

John Glenn, first US astronaut to orbit Earth, 1962

February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first US astronaut to orbit Earth.  He made three orbits in just under 5 hours before re-entering the atmosphere.  The USS Noa was 6 miles away from where Glenn splashed down and reached him 17 minutes later.

Japan becomes 4th space power in 1970

Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi, into orbit on February 11, 1970, making it the fourth nation after the USSR, USA and France to release an artificial satellite.  It sent radio signals long enough to confirm a revolution of Earth but the signal level gradually fell.  During its 6th orbit, the signal was very faint and during the 7th orbit, the signal could not be detected any longer. 

However, Ohsumi continued to orbit until August 2, 2003 when it was destroyed when it re-entered the atmosphere over North Africa.

Two months later, China became the fifth space power when it launched Mao 1 into space. 

Luna 9 makes a soft landing on the moon, 1966

A replica of Luna 9

The Soviet space program managed to make a soft landing on the moon, February 3, 1966 with Luna 9.  The previous successful venture by the Soviets was Luna 3 which circled the moon in 1956 and send back images of the 'dark' side.  After that, they had several failures in a row to make a soft landing on the moon.  Luna 4 and Luna 6 both missed the moon, and now Luna 6 is somewhere out there in the cosmos.  Lunas 5, 7 and 8 all crashed onto the moon's surface.  Finally, Luna 9 was successful, landing in Oceanus Procellarum.  It sent signals for 3 days before Earth lost contact with it.