Starliner: So Far, So Good

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA video coverage of the Starliner pulling away from the ISS earlier today. (NASA)

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule has started its journey back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). Soon we will learn whether the spacecraft is operating as expected and could have returned the two astronauts safely.

The extra caution is not unexpected, and this does not spell doom for Boeing, but it is a setback. The real question will be the rate at which the Starliner’s issues can be resolved and another launch attempted.

On August 2, Boeing stated:

Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew. We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities. Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA. The testing has confirmed 27 of 28 RCS thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability. Starliner’s propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable. The data also supports root cause assessments for the helium and thruster issues and flight rationale for Starliner and its crew’s return to Earth.

Let’s hope Boeing is correct and the company is back on the launch pad with an improved Starliner shortly.

Update: NASA reported that the uncrewed Starliner capsule safely landed at 10:01 p.m. MDT on Friday, September 6, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

Europa Clipper and Starliner: Two Missions, Two Dates

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Europa Clipper above Europa. (NASA)

NASA has decided to move forward with the Europa Clipper mission even though there have been some questions about its ability to withstand the moon’s radiation. The launch is set for an October 10 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA is also moving forward with the return of the empty Starliner capsule currently attached to the International Space Station. This Friday, September 6, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will disconnect from the station and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. If all goes well, NASA can continue to study the capsule and learn more about what went wrong.

Stay tuned.

Space Stories: ESA Drill Going to the Moon, ROMAN Takes on the Ever-changing Universe, and Six New Worlds Discovered

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Hadley-Apennine region of the Moon photographed during the Apollo 15 mission of 1971. (NASA)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—European Space Agency: “European Drill and Mini Lab Secure Ride to the Moon“

ESA’s Prospect package, including drill and a miniaturised laboratory, will fly to the Moon’s South Polar region in search of volatiles, including water ice, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative…NASA has selected Intuitive Machines for a flight opportunity in 2027 that will deepen our understanding of the Moon and answer key questions about where and how volatiles can be found on the lunar surface.V olatiles, such as water ice, are chemical components that easily evaporate or vaporise under certain conditions. Prospect is a suite of instruments that will drill up to at least one metre depth beneath the lunar surface, extract samples, and process them in a mini lab. The combination of robotic drill and sample analysis package aims to identify volatiles trapped beneath the surface at extremely cold temperatures down to –150 °C.

—Space Telescope Science Institute: “NASA’s Roman Space Telescope to Investigate Galactic Fossils“

The universe may seem static, only capable of being captured in still frames, but that is far from the truth. It is actually ever-changing, just not on timescales clearly visible to humans. NASA’s upcoming Roman Space Telescope will bridge this gap in time, opening the way to the dynamic universe. RINGS, the Roman Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey, will specifically uncover the dynamic universe by searching galaxies for fossils of their formation history. RINGS will also lead scientists to clues about the true nature of dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up the majority of the mass in our universe. Roman will launch in 2027, prepared to revolutionize how scientists understand our universe and give them access to the vision of the universe as it truly is: changing.

—Science Daily: “Six New Rogue Worlds: Star Birth Clues“

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted six likely rogue worlds — objects with planet-like masses but untethered from any star’s gravity — including the lightest ever identified with a dusty disk around it. The elusive objects offer new evidence that the same cosmic processes that give birth to stars may also play a common role in making objects only slightly bigger than Jupiter.

SpaceX Rockets: The Good and Bad News

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on August 31, 2024. (SpaceX)

First the good news. SpaceX is able to launch its Falcon 9 rockets following a booster issue last week. That led to the immediate launch yesterday of two back-to-back launches of Starlink satellites.

Now the bad news. Russian scientists have reported that SpaceX’s second launch of its Starship rocket last November created a hole in the ionosphere. Specifically, an exploding engine generated the shock wave that created this hole. The scientists claim this is the first time a “human-caused explosion” has had this impact on the ionosphere.

This is the “plain language summary” from the Russian study:

On 18 November 2023, SpaceX launched the Starship, the tallest and the most powerful rocket ever built. About 2 min and 40 s after the liftoff, the Super Heavy engine separated from the Starship spacecraft and exploded at an altitude of 90 km. The main core Starship continued to rise to 149 km and exploded as well. The rocket launch and explosion produced an unexpected response in the ionosphere—the ionized part of the Earth’s atmosphere. The Starship flew at a velocity, exceeding the local sound speed, and generated cone-like atmospheric shock-acoustic waves. Most unexpectedly, the observed disturbances represented long and intensive multi-oscillation wave structures that propagated northward, which is unusual for disturbances driven by a rocket launch. The Starship explosion also generated a large-amplitude total electron content depletion that could have been reinforced by the impact of the spacecraft’s fuel exhaust in the lower atmosphere. This study appears to be the first-time detection of a non-chemical ionospheric hole produced by a man-made explosion.

I like the fact that Russian’s can share results in plain language. However, it is a little disturbing that we needed the Russians to fill us in on the destructive impact of the Starship rockets. Nature noted that “Ionospheric disturbances can affect not only satellite navigation but also communications and radio astronomy.”

We have seen the mess that the rockets can leave on the ground, but this is something else. We need to understand the impact of such launches and related issues if this is to become the new way of doing things. The FAA and NASA should be looking into this matter.

SpaceX Grounded Before Start of the Polaris Dawn Mission

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For the second time in two months, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch has had problems, leading to a temporary grounding of the rocket by the Federal Aviation Administration. In the latest case, a rocket booster crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after a successful launch of Starlink satellites.

As a result of the malfunction, the privately-funded Polaris Dawn mission scheduled for this Friday will most likely need to be delayed. One of the goals for the Polaris Dawn mission is a spacewalk, which will be the first private space walk to date.

Of greater concern is the role of the Falcon 9 in upcoming International Space Station launches, be it crewed or uncrewed. With the Boeing capsule stuck at the station, SpaceX is currently the one game in town for NASA’s station needs.