Russia Has One Less Space Asset

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Earlier photo of the RT-70 radio telescope. (PickPic)

The Urania newspaper Euromaiden Press recently noted the success of its navy in taking out Russian assets, including:

  • the Utios-T radar system;
  • the RT-70 radio telescope;
  • the GLONASS satellite navigation system in its dome;
  • the coastal radar station MR-10M1 “Mys” M1; and
  • the 96L6-AP radar of the S-400 missile system.

One of those items is not like the others, that being the Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope.

This Soviet-era radio telescope was one of the largest in the world, assisted with the study of Mars and Venus, and was used for messaging extraterrestrial intelligence, also known as METI.

Now it is rubble due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia (the destroyed radio telescope is located in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory).

We saw World War II introduce the power of rocket technology that sent us around the solar system, and now we are watching another war show how all that we have built can quickly crumble.

NASA Delivery to the ISS Delayed

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Northrop Grumman’s insignia for the flight of its first Cygnus XL. (Northrop Grumman)

The Russian’s cargo spaceship arrived without incident at the International Space Station (ISS) over the weekend, but the NASA cargo spaceship has not been as smooth. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL cargo ship has experienced engine issues, which will delay its arrival. It was originally supposed to unload its cargo tomorrow morning (September 17).

This latest mission, labeled NG-23, is the first to use the Cygnus XL spacecraft, which has 33 percent more cargo capacity than the spacecraft it replaces.

Northrop Grumman’s vice president of civil space systems, Ryan Tintner, stated:

Our Cygnus XL is another step towards a thriving commercial space economy. The spacecraft carries more cargo, making each mission more efficient. We’ve supported NASA and the space station for decades, and we know what it takes to develop advanced capabilities for exploring space.

This is not a good start for the new spacecraft. Hopefully, the glitch will be quickly resolved. The spacecraft carries 11,000 pounds of needed supplies.

Update: The Cygnus XL mission is back on track. The spaceship is expected to arrive at the ISS on Thursday morning.

Second Update: The Cygnus XL mission was a success with supplies delivered successully to the ISS.

Russian Progress 93 Mission Underway to Resupply the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Russia’sProgress 93 cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (NASA+)

Even with the recent Russian drones invading Polish airspace, things are on schedule at the International Space Station (ISS). A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launched the Progress 93 cargo spaceship into orbit yesterday to resupply the ISS on Saturday.

A similar NASA resupply mission will take place on Sunday to resupply the Expedition 73 crew. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft will be launched from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket.

Things may still be a bit crazy here on Earth, but the ISS mission continues.

Update: The Grumman Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft safely launched on Sunday, September 14. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Wednesday, September 17.

The X37-B Mini-Shuttle Returns to Orbit

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The X37-B space plane. (US Space Force)

While the space shuttles are all safely stored in space museums around the country, the U.S. Space Force’s X37B space plane (or uncrewed mini-shuttle) is still in business.

The spacecraft returned to Earth orbit late last week, launched from the Kennedy Space Center. The X-37B can stay in orbit for multiple years, powered by both batteries and solar cells. The latest launch is the eighth such mission.

While the missions are generally classified, they are thought to be basic experiments to enhance the U.S. Space Forces capabilities. For example, the latest mission is testing a quantum navigation sensor that can detect a spacecraft’s location without GPS. Of course, other have said the spacecraft are spying on the Chinese space station and Russian satellites. It is certainly possible that the little shuttle has been busy with all of this.

The two X-37Bs, called autonomous, reusable orbital test vehicles, were built by Boeing and started flying in 2010, one year before the end of the crewed space shuttles servicing the International Space Station (ISS).

It is odd that Boeing has done so well with this shuttle yet so poorly getting a manned capsule safely to and from the ISS, but maybe it has more to do with the skills of Rockwell International, which build the manned shuttles and was later acquired by Boeing.

Is Ukraine Suggesting an End to US-Russian Cooperation in Space?

Posted on by onespaceman2000

In a recent Washington Post editorial titled “How to Shut Down Putin’s War Machine,” Andriy Yermak, who is the head of the presidential office of Ukraine, states that Roscosmos should not be considered as a “neutral civilian institution.” He notes that the space agency helps to guide Russian missile strikes, so it is just another part of the military-industrial complex.

Mr. Yermak goes on to state that Roscosmos “…must be sanctioned in full and banned from cooperating with Western scientific and academic institutions.”

So how would this apply to the International Space Station (ISS), which is clearly a scientific endeavor?

Russia has already threatened to leave the ISS many times, so its departure is something that has been contemplated by the US and Russia. But here we are talking about about pushing them off the station. Will they take their components and head home? Is a partial station solely dependent on the whims of Elon Musk better than a fully-functional station with the Russians?

Of course, a hot war with Russia is something else. Recent threats by both Russia and the US regarding nuclear weapons has not been helpful, but little has really changed on the ground since the initial Russian invasion (much to President Putin’s chagrin).

It is not only Ukraine questioning the Russian presence on the station. Retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who served as a commander on the ISS, recently said this to Radio Free Europe:

Cooperating with the Russians on the ISS is like going on an Antarctic expedition with Nazis in 1943…It’s just morally reprehensible.

So far both nations have decided that the current arrangement is working, but that may not last forever if the current spat between the former Russian president and the current American president continue. That would be unfortunate with Russia’s program limping along and the US space program looking at drastic cuts.

The last thing we need is an empty space station orbiting the Earth as a memorial to our foolishness here on the ground.