TESS is Back Online

Posted on by onespaceman2000

As of May 3, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was functioning again after flipping into safe mode back on April 23.

NASA shared this info regarding the shutdown:

The operations team determined this latest safe mode was triggered by a failure to properly unload momentum from the spacecraft’s reaction wheels, a routine activity needed to keep the satellite properly oriented when making observations. The propulsion system, which enables this momentum transfer, had not been successfully repressurized following a prior safe mode event April 8. The team has corrected this, allowing the mission to return to normal science operations. The cause of the April 8 safe mode event remains under investigation.

TESS is currently on an extended mission after accomplishing it primary two-year mission that located 66 confirmed exoplanets and 2,100 exoplanet candidates. Click here for a story about exoplanet HD 21749c, the first Earth-sized exoplanet discovered by TESS.

Based on NASA’s latest information, TESS has already located 440 confirmed exoplanets and 7,147 exoplanet candidates. And now that its back online, the search can continue.

China Returns to the Far Side of the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province prior to the launch on Friday. (CNSA)

Last Friday, China launched the Chang’e-6 lunar probe towards the moon with the goal of returning the first lunar soil sample from the far side of the Moon. An earlier mission in 2020, Chang’e-5, successfully returned lunar soil samples from the near side of the Moon for the first time in 44 years. Before that, in 2019, China place a rover on the far side of the Moon via the Chang’e-4 mission.

China is making some bold strides in space with, it might be added, some help from the Europeans. While the US bans any cooperation with the Chinese, France, Italy and Sweden have contributed to the Chang’e-6 mission. For example, Sweden added the Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument to the lunar probe.

Maybe one day we can join the Chinese on some of these missions, but that day seems to be far away. That said, we were able to find a way with the Russians, which allowed for the ongoing success of the International Space Station.

Audit Report: Is NASA Ready for Artemis II?

Posted on by onespaceman2000

The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report earlier this week, NASA’s Readiness for the Artemis II Crewed Mission to Lunar Orbit, that expressed concerns about problems with the Artemis I test flight mission in late 2022. For example, the report noted:

…the Artemis I test flight revealed critical issues that need to be addressed before placing crew on the Artemis II mission. In particular, the test flight revealed anomalies with the Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of the crew…Specifically, NASA identified more than 100 locations where ablative thermal protective material from Orion’s heat shield wore away differently than expected during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere…Beyond the Orion anomalies, the Artemis I launch-induced environment caused greater than expected damage to ML-1 elevators, electrical equipment, enclosure panel doors, and pneumatic tubing, requiring extensive repairs that will cost more than $26 million, roughly 5 times more than the $5 million the EGS Program had originally set aside for postArtemis I launch repairs.

While NASA is already working on repairs and improvements in each of these areas, it still puts a bit of a damper on NASA’s earlier video about all of the successes of Artemis I. NASA has already lost too many astronauts to heat shield issues in the past, so this is a serious matter that needs to be resolved before putting humans in the Orion capsule.

The OIG auditors made six recommendations to NASA management. NASA concurred with these recommendations, but noted that the audit was conducted at a difficult time, stating:

Being audited in the middle of a development process presents several challenges including disruptions to ongoing workflow and priorities due to the reallocation of resources and the coordination challenges associated with audit activities.

Of course, auditors are never really welcome at any point in the process. If they come too late, they are accused of shooting the dead.

NASA conducted the test flight to learn about such issues, so in that sense it was a success. Hopefully, the space agency can make the necessary improvements while keeping the Artemis II mission on track given that it has already been delayed.

NASA Experiences Early Success with its Solar Sail

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in Earth Orbit. (NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart)

On Tuesday, NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System was launched from New Zealand aboard a Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The successful launch was followed shortly thereafter by the deployment of an 80 square meter experimental solar sail.

In describing the mission, NASA noted:

Like a sailboat turning to capture the wind, the solar sail can adjust its orbit by angling its sail. After evaluating the boom deployment, the mission will test a series of maneuvers to change the spacecraft’s orbit and gather data for potential future missions with even larger sails.

If all goes well, larger sails will be developed to potentially replace large rocket engines and accompanying fuel tanks for future trips to the Moon, Mars, other parts of the solar system, and even interstellar locations.

You might be able to see the solar sail in the night sky as it orbits the Earth, so keep looking up.

Pic of the Week: New Crew Launched to the Tiangong Space Station

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): April 25, 2024 launch of the Shenzhou 18 mission to the Tiangong space station. (CMSA)

This week’s image shows today’s launch of three astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station on the Shenzhou 18 mission aboard a Long March 2F rocket. The crew successfully reached the space station 6.5 hours after launch.

One of the new crew members has already spent 182 days in orbit aboard the Tiangong space station. The Tiangong space station has been continuously crewed since June 2022.

Image (Credit): Shenzhou 18 crew members Li Cong, commander Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu. Guangfu has logged 182 days in orbit during a stay aboard the Tiangong space station in 2021-22. (CMSA)