SpaceBug-5000

RIP David Bowie

haven't actually put anything new up recently, my apologies. to be honest, time is such a pain in the ass right now that i don't have enough available and free hours to be able to do all the research behind a post to ensure its pretty okay.

Out for a week

Source: NASA

Agena Target Vehicle seen by Gemini 8 in 1966.

The Agena Target Vehicle was a modified second stage of the Atlas-Agena launch booster. During the Gemini missions the second stage, called the Agena stage, would be outfitted with a passive docking adapter and placed into orbit with extra fuel to allow the engine to be reignited. It was designed to help the US get ready for the in orbit rendezvous and docking of the Apollo capsules to their LEMs, along with lifting the Gemini spacecraft into higher orbits, among other experiments as well 1.

Originally intended for Gemini 6’s mission, the first Agena Target Vehicle was to be launched an hour before Gemini 6, and would act as a docking target for the mission. However due to the destruction of the vehicle during launch, the first Agena Target Vehicle to reach orbit and dock with a spacecraft was during the Gemini 8 mission. The Agena Target Vehicle in the photo remained in orbit after the Gemini 8 mission ended, and was used again during the Gemini 10 mission, in which Gemini 10 docked both with its own Agena, and Gemini 8’s Agena.

What is interesting is that the Agena Target Vehicle suffered a short life with only 4 successful flights, and 2 failures, with the only Targets being used on Gemini 8, 10, 11 and 12, however the Atlas-Agena booster was used quite successfully for launching unmanned probes out of Earth’s orbit2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agena_target_vehicle ↩︎

Source: NASA

Gemini 6A Launch on December 15th, 1965.

Gemini 6 was originally suppose to launch in October of 1965 and complete docking objectives with an Agena Target Vehicle1. However 6 minutes into the launch of the Agena target, it suffered a Rapid-Unplanned-Deconstruction which resulted in a complete loss of the target. As a result the original launch of Gemini 6 was aborted and revised for a later launch date with different objectives, resulting in Gemini 6A.

Gemini 6A was to original on December 12, 1965 however about 1.5 seconds into main engine ignition, they shut down, resulting in a scrubbed launch. A few days later, after the cause of the premature engine shutdown was determined to be a combination of a loose electrical connection and a dust covering that had been left in the booster stage of the Titan II launch vehicle. After remedying these, Gemini 6A successfully launched on December 15th, 196523.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agena_target_vehicle ↩︎

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-104A ↩︎

Source: NASA/JSC

The TSS-1R as seen from Columbia during STS-75 in 1996.

The TSS-1R, or Tethered Satellite System, was a NASA/Italian Space Agency joint mission to investigate tethered satellite systems.

TSS-1R was originally flown on board Atlantis during STS-46 as TSS-1 in 1992, where it was deployed out to a length of around 256m before a protruding bolt prevented the tether to be deployed any further. It was then chosen to refly on STS-75 after the bolt had been taken care of, to continue its investigation of electrical generation from tethered systems 123.

NASA TSS-1 seen being prepped on the ground before STS-46

The tether was a 20.7km long strand of a 2.54mm thin combination of Nomex, Kevlar, Teflon and copper wire and was electrically connected to the 1.6m spherical satellite and the space shuttle. Inside of the satellite were 6 scientific experiments, their supporting hardware and batteries and some cold-gas Nitrogen thrusters to assist in the deployment and control of the satellite.

NASA TSS-1 being deployed during STS-46.

During the deployment the tether snapped after around 19.7km had been deployed, causing the satellite to fly off into a higher orbit, where it remained for several weeks before reentering the atmosphere4.

The effect of the tether/satellite passing through earth's magnetic field would cause it to generate electricity through the principle of electromagnetic induction5. Although the tether was broken, the batteries onboard the satellite allowed it to continue transmitting scientific data for about 3 days after that, and during the time the tether was extended, reports showed that the root-square of the voltage generated could be as high as 1200 volts 6.

The neat thing about space tethers is that not only can they be used for electrical generation, they can also be used to keep a satellite or other orbital outpost in orbit, by applying current to the tether, causing it to act like a motor and push the satellite away from the Earths magnetic field. They can also be used to help stabilize systems or be used to do a controlled release of small payloads into earths atmosphere without the need to complete a deorbit burn7.

NASA TSS-1R Seen during deployment on STS-75

http://science.nasa.gov/missions/tss/ ↩︎

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-46 ↩︎

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-75 ↩︎

http://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff1996/6.html ↩︎

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrodynamic_tether#Tethers_as_generators ↩︎

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/97GL02958/abstract ↩︎

Source: NASA

Photo of Soyuz TMA-6 from the ISS on April 16th, 2005.

The Soyuz TMA was the Russian Federal Space Agency's capsule for ferrying crew to and from the ISS. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on top of the Soyuz FG rocket, the crafts were modified from earlier Soyuz designs to fit within several requests from NASA and to function as a crew ferry to the ISS.

First launched in 2002 and last launched in 2011, the TMA series has been superseded by the currently operating Soyuz TMA-M which most reentry launched expedition 43 to the orbiting station. Both the TMA and the TMA-M are designed to ferry 3 humans into space and dock to the ISS, along with function as lifeboats for the ISS while they are docked12.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz-TMA ↩︎

Source: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

View of a small section in Terra Sirenum1 on Mars from HiRISE on February 8th, 2015.

Terra Sirenum is an area in the southern hemisphere of Mars that shows signs of what scientists believe are recent water flows, as a result of the many gullies that appear to be relatively young.

HiRISE is the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and is under the direction of the University of Arizona2. It is used to survey the martian surface with a resolution of about a foot, allowing it to resolve features about a meter in size. HiRISE is also used to keep tabs on the MER-B Opportunity3 and MSL Curiosity4, the two rovers which are still in operation on the martian surface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Sirenum ↩︎

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HiRISE ↩︎

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover) ↩︎

Source: ESA

The ESAs ATV-5 Georges Lemaître seen approaching the ISS on August 12, 2014.

The Georges Lemaître was the 5th and last ATV1 to launch to the ISS. The ATV crafts were 4.5m in diameter and 10.3m tall, designed to deliver 8 metric tonnes of cargo per launch to the International Space Station as part of the ESAs 8% slice of operational cost for the ISS. Along with delivering cargo, the ATVs also served to take waste away from the station, as each craft was deorbited into a fiery death2.

Automated Transfer Vehicle, contrary to the Agena Target Vehicle of the same initialism from the Gemini missions. ↩︎

Source: NASA/ASU/LBJSC/March to the Moon

Photo of Gemini 7 from Gemini 6A during the revised Gemini 6A mission.

Gemini 6A launched 11 days after Gemini 7 had launched, and rendezvoused with Gemini 7 about three hours into its flight. During this time the two crafts came within nearly a foot of each other and Gemini 6 did several fly arounds of Gemini 7 allowing for some pretty unique photos of the two crafts.

Gemini 6A lasted 1 day, 1 hour and 51 minutes and was crewed by Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford1 while Gemini 7 lasted 13 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes and was crewed by Frank Borman and James Lovell2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_6A ↩︎