Starliner: Third Time’s the Charm

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren greet “Rosie the Rocketeer” inside the Boeing Starliner spacecraft shortly after opening its hatch. (NASA)

Finally, we have another spacecraft that appears capable of bringing astronauts into orbit. After two earlier tries, Boeing’s Starliner was successfully launched on Thursday and then connected with the International Spaced Stations (ISS) today. Now we just need it to undock on Wednesday and safely return.

In a press release, Jim Chilton, Boeing’s senior vice president for Space and Launch, stated:

Starliner has proven safe, autonomous rendezvous and docking capability…We’re honored to join the fleet of commercial spacecraft capable of conducting transportation services to the space station for NASA.

We needed this redundancy in our ISS program and now we have it.

You can read more about the mission here.

Update: The Starliner spacecraft safely returned to Earth on Wednesday, May 22nd. Joel Montalbano, manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program, stated:

Congratulations to the NASA and Boeing teams…I am excited to see the completion of a critical step in bringing another system online to transport long-duration crew members to and from the International Space Station. Soon, we hope to see crews arrive to the space station on Starliner to continue the important microgravity scientific research and discovery made possible by the orbiting laboratory.

Image (Credit): Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lands at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

KSC: Upcoming Launch Schedule & More

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA)

If you are interested in what is being launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), you can easily view this information at this website. For example, on May 19th, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner will be tested in orbit as it becomes another candidate to resupply the International Space Station. The site also highlights other interesting events and anniversaries, such as the December 7th 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17th launch.

One place holder on the KSC schedule with no clear date is the inaugural launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the first phase of the Artemis Program. In a recent press release, NASA outlined the parameters for such a launch as well as the remaining days in 2022 that would satisfy these parameters. The four parameters are:

  1. The Moon’s position in its lunar cycle;
  2. A trajectory so Orion is not in darkness for more than 90 minutes at a time so that the solar array wings can receive and convert sunlight to electricity and the spacecraft can maintain an optimal temperature range;
  3. A trajectory that allows for the skip entry technique planned during Orion’s return to Earth; and
  4. Daylight conditions for Orion’s splashdown to initially assist recovery personnel when they locate, secure, and retrieve the spacecraft from the Pacific Ocean.  

The calendar still has plenty of possible dates. The question now is whether NASA can get all of the pieces together in time to make this happen in 2022.

Credit: NASA

Space Quote: A Mature Rocket Market?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Space Launch System rocket. (NASA)

“The launch industry is at a point where the technology is so mature that it may not be necessary to have the U.S. government invest in it… It may be we’re at a tipping point with this rocket.”

-Statement by Dan Goldin, a former NASA administrator, regarding NASA’s expenditures on the Space Launch System (SLS) in a Wall Street Journal article, “NASA Is Building Moon Rockets, Maybe for the Last Time.” The SLS and Orion spacecraft are part of NASA’s Artemis Program to return astronauts to the Moon.

Profile: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Rocket being launched from Virginia’s spaceport. (Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport)

When you think of NASA space launches you most likely think of Cape Canaveral in Florida, but what about Virginia? The Eastern Shore of Virginia hosts the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), which is currently being used for resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Created by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1995 at the site of a World War II Navy air station, it is the only other official spaceport on the east coast.

Northrup Grumman has been using the site for various missions, including resupplying the ISS as well as other federal payloads. Orbital Sciences Corporation (now part of Northrup Grumman) launched NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission from the site in 2013. In addition, last year Rocket Lab announced it planned to use MARS for launches of its new reusable Neutron rockets.

In February 2022, Northrop Grumman successfully launched its 17th ISS resupply rocket from the spaceport. The Cygnus space freighter carried needed supplies to the astronauts conducting research in orbit. The freighter will also be used to “boost” the ISS, or adjust its orbit, as noted by NASA:

This Cygnus mission is the first to feature enhanced capabilities that will allow the spacecraft to perform a reboost, using its engines to adjust the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA. The agency has one reboost is planned while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting laboratory. A test of the maneuver was performed in 2018 during Cygnus’ ninth resupply mission.

You may recall that such boosting is something the Russian’s claimed earlier could not occur if they abandoned the space station. Fortunately, NASA has other rocket options should they be needed. Moreover, we have additional spaceports to keep our astronauts in the sky and well supplied.

Image (Credit): Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments before its capture with the International Space Stations’s robotic arm in February of 2021. (NASA)

Extra: Below is a map showing the location of MARS on the Wallop Islands. The address of the facility is 7414 Atlantic Rd, Wallops Island, VA 23337.

Image (Credit): Location of MARS on the Virginia shore. (Google Maps)

Another Member of the Reusable Rocket Club

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Rocket Lab

Blue Origin did it, SpaceX did it, and now Rocket Lab wants to do it. The “it” is to successfully retrieve rocket boosters so they can be reused in the future. Back on April 6th, Rocket Lab stated:

For the first time, Rocket Lab will also attempt a mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage as it returns from space after launch, the next major step in the Company’s development program to make Electron a reusable rocket. Rocket Lab will be attempting the catch with a customized Sikorsky S-92, a large twin engine helicopter typically used in offshore oil & gas transport and search and rescue operations.

According to CNN, after a few delays the Rocket Lab mission called “There and Back Again” was successful in grabbing the rocket booster. Time will tell whether the captured booster is in fact reusable. As of this posting, Rocket Lab had yet to post its own press release on the mission.

It seems like a risky approach to use pilots rather than a self-controlled landing, but Rocket Lab has explained that its Electron rocket is too small to carry the amount of fuel necessary to land itself. The CNN article also pointed out that the U.S. retrieved material mid-air in the past when planes were used to capture film canisters dropped from spy satellites.

Rocket Lab has been a quiet player so far in the space race, but its showing steady gains. It’s website stated it has already launched 146 satellites, and another 1,700+ satellites in orbit are using Rocket Lab technology. It is great to have some depth in the commercial space market.