NASA sees Tropical Storm Sandra being shredded by wind shear

• A NASA animation of satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite showed Tropical Storm Sandra has become decoupled by strong wind shear as it was approaching landfall in western Mexico on the morning of Nov. 28.

• At 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC) on Saturday, Nov. 28 the center of Tropical Storm Sandra was located near latitude 21.4 North, longitude 109.2 West. Sandra was 115 miles (180 km) south--southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. There are no coastal watches or warning in effect.

• Sandra is moving toward the north near 2 mph (4 kph), but a turn to the north-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected today. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1000 millibars. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 kph)and a is forecast to become a remnant low early Sunday or sooner.

• An animation of visible and infrared imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite from Nov. 26 to Nov. 28 shows Tropical Storm Sandra approaching the coast. The center of circulation was still over water, while the bulk of clouds and showers were pushed east of center by strong vertical wind shear. Sandra is weakening rapidly. The animation was created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. The National Hurricane Center noted that Sandra's top layer was decoupled from the lower layer by very strong upper-level winds, and now consists of a tight swirl of low clouds devoid of deep convection (clouds and thunderstorms).

• Sandra is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches across the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, southern Sinaloa, western Zacateca and southern Durango. This rainfall could produce life-threatening flash flood and mudslides.

Keywords - Satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite showed Tropical Storm Sandra, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland,Rainfall accumulation,life-threatening flash flood and mudslides.

Orion Gets Beefed Up, Silver-Metallic Thermal Protection Coating for Next Flight on EM-1

• NASA’s supremely successful inaugural test flight of the Orion deep space capsule on the EFT-1 mission in Dec. 2014, NASA is beefing up the critical thermal protection system (TPS) that will protect astronauts from the searing heats experienced during reentry as the human rated vehicle plunges through the Earth’s atmosphere after returning from ambitious expeditions to the Moon and beyond.

• Based in part on lessons learned from EFT-1, engineers are refining Orion’s heat shield to enhance the design, ease manufacturing procedures and significantly strengthen is heat resistant capabilities for the far more challenging space environments and missions that lie ahead later this decade and planned further out in the future as part of NASA’s agency-wide ‘Journey to Mars’ initiative to send humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s.

• On all future flights starting with Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1), the Orion crew module must withstand the higher temperatures and speeds experienced during return from more distant destinations such as the Moon, near-Earth Asteroids and Mars.

Keywords-Orion deep space capsule on the EFT-1 mission,Critical thermal protection system ,Orion’s heat shield ,Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1).

ExoMars Work at Frenzied Pace To Make 2016 Launch Date

• Europe’s two-launch ExoMars mission to Mars in 2016 and 2018, which has run a budgetary obstacle course from the start, remains in dead lined-stressed mode with triple-shift work days on the eve of first mission’s  shipment to Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome to prepare for a March launch,government and industry officials said Nov. 24.

• Contrary to what several European Space Agency governments thought as they reluctantly financed the 1.2 billion-euro ($1.28 billion) Exo Mars project — Europe’s principal space exploration mission — the industrial team led by Thales Alenia Space has been able to keep to the schedule and save the 2016 launch date.

• A component defect discovered only this summer forced a slip in the schedule and the loss of the January launch window. But a backup date of March 14-25 has been secured on a Russian Proton rocket. Russia is ESA’s partner in ExoMars and is providing two Proton rockets for the launches, plus considerable scientific hardware for the 2018mission.

• The 2016 mission features a Mars orbiter that will test for trace gases in the atmosphere, plus a lander that will be carried by the orbiter and then ejected to operate for several days on Mars’ surface after having demonstrated the entry and landing capability aided by a supersonic parachute, also made in Europe.

• Pending several final system validations with ESA that Thales Alenia Space characterized as routine, the 2016 mission’s construction phase ends Dec. 10. Three Antonov cargo jets then will carry the more than 50,000 kilograms of Exo Mars gear from Turin, Italy, to Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan between Dec. 18 and Dec. 21.
• For now, ESA still needs to complete the financing for ExoMars. The 2018 mission is missing around 175 million euros and maybe more depending on how negotiations with the industrial team conclude hen will carry the more than 50,000 kilograms of Exo Mars gear from Turin, Italy, to Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan between Dec. 18 and Dec. 21.
• While all the small component builders are under contract to prevent schedule delays for the 2018 mission, the principal hardware development contract with Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence and Space’s British division and OHB SE of Germany has not been signed Dec. 21.
• As was the case with the 2016 package, the 2018 mission, which includes much more Russian participation as well as a European rover vehicle, has little schedule margin. Already some are talking about a 2019 launch that would use a different route to Mars to arrive at about the same time.
  

Keywords-Dead lined-stressed mode with triple-shift work days,Russian Proton rocket,Thales Alenia Space Airbus Defence and Space’s British division and OHB SE of Germany.

The Mars Curiosity Rover Found a Martian Mouse

             Remember when keen-eyed fans of the photos provided by the Mars Curiosity Rover found an alien crab? That was a massive breakthrough in the “this could be a rock, or it could be an alien” community. Today, folks have spotted an alien mouse in the latest NASA photo dump or, at least, a rock that looks like a mouse.

             

                It’s probably not a mouse. And that other picture of an alien crab? Wishful thinking, If there is alien life on Mars, it’s probably microscopic at best and regardless, it’s probably not evidenced in any of the public photos on NASA’s website.At least people are excitedly looking at all of the Curiosity Rover photos, right? That means they’ll also get to see some of these beautiful shots of the Mars basalt dunes, which almost look like a churning sea.

Keywords-keen-eyed fans,alien crab, alien mouse in the latest NASA photo dump,Mars basalt dunes.

NOAA Weather Satellite Breaks Up in Orbit

• A U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite retired in 2014 has suffered an apparent breakup, the second time in less than a year that a polar-orbiting weather satellite has generated orbital debris.

• The Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) announced Nov. 25 that it had identified a possible breakup of the NOAA 16 satellite. The center, which tracks objects in orbit and warns of potential collisions, said it first detected the breakup at 3:41 a.m. Eastern time and was tracking an unspecified number of “associated objects” in the orbit of NOAA 16.

• JSpOC said later Nov. 25 that the debris from NOAA 16 posed no current threat to other satellites in orbit. It added that it did not believe the debris resulted from a collision with another object, suggesting that NOAA 16 broke up on its own.

• NOAA 16 launched in September 2000 with a planned lifetime of three to five years. The spacecraft continued to operate in a backup role until June 2014, when NOAA retired the spacecraft after an unspecified “critical anomaly.”

• The breakup, if confirmed, would be the second time in less than a year for a satellite in polar orbit. In February, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 satellite exploded in orbit, creating several dozen pieces of debris. A sudden temperature spike in that spacecraft led spacecraft engineers to conclude a battery in the spacecraft ruptured because of a design flaw. Seven other DMSP spacecraft have a similar design flaw.

• Orbital debris mitigation guidelines developed by the U.S. government recommend removing all sources of on-board energy on a spacecraft, including venting propellant tanks and discharging batteries, when a spacecraft reaches the end of its mission. It’s not clear if spacecraft controllers were able to carry out those procedures when the NOAA 16 spacecraft encountered its mission-ending anomaly last year.

• September 2000 with a planned lifetime of three to five years. The spacecraft continued to operate in a backup role until June 2014, when NOAA retired the spacecraft after an unspecified “critical anomaly.”

• The breakup, if confirmed, would be the second time in less than a year for a satellite in polar orbit. In February, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 satellite exploded in orbit, creating several dozen pieces of debris. A sudden temperature spike in that spacecraft led spacecraft engineers to conclude a battery in the spacecraft ruptured because of a design flaw. Seven other DMSP spacecraft have a similar design flaw.

Keywords - Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 satellite exploded in orbit, creating several dozen pieces of debris,DMSP spacecraft.

International Space Station and crew awaiting Atlas 5 launch of Cygnus

• CAPE CANAVERAL — Lending a helping hand to resume the stalled U.S. supply chain to the International Space Station, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send a commercial Cygnus cargo craft in pursuit of the outpost Thursday.

• With Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket and the Space X Falcon 9 both grounded by failures, a pair of Atlas 5 boosters stand ready as gap-fillers to launch Cygnus vessels over the next 100 days from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

• Space X and Orbital ATK — the two providers under NASA’s privatized Commercial Resupply Services program that took over after retirement of the space shuttles — have been the conveyer belts to ferry cargo, food and new science experiments to the station from U.S. soil since 2012.

• But the Antares failure in October 2014 and the Falcon mishap this past June left the station solely dependent on its international partners to carry out resupply in the interim.

• Six weeks after the Antares rocket exploded above its Virginia launch pad, destroying the third operational Cygnus, Orbital ATK struck a deal with United Launch Alliance for its first Atlas 5 rocket. The deal to purchase the second Atlas for Cygnus was announced this past August.

• The Atlas 5 launches, bought commercially by Orbital ATK, will occur Thursday and March 10, boosting more than 15,000 pounds of cargo to the station on the two flights.

• “When we lost Orb-3 (in Oct. 2014), literally the next day we were on the phone to other launch providers. We probably talked to half or two-thirds of all the possible providers in the world about getting a ride for Cygnus,” said Dan Tani, a former astronaut who spent 120 days living and working aboard the station on Expedition 16 and now serves as Orbital ATK’s manager of mission and cargo operations.

• “Atlas had the magic mixture of the performance we needed, electrical and mechanical interfaces that we could make compatible with us and, most importantly, they had an open opportunity late in 2015,” Tani said.

• The Atlas 5 has flown 59 times since 2002, all successfully, completing 23 flights for the Department of Defense, 12 for the National Reconnaissance Office, 12 for NASA and 12 commercial missions.

• It is very humbling that Orbital ATK and NASA put the confidence in ULA for this critical mission. The new supplies and science need to get there,” said Kevin Leslie, ULA’s OA-4 mission manager.

• But they allow Orbital ATK to fulfill its duties to NASA while working in parallel to redesign its Antares rocket, removing the Soviet-era main engines and replacing them with modern Russian powerplants.

• “CRS is one of the biggest contracts we carry in the company, and we have a moral and financial obligation to deliver the cargo to the space station,” Tani said.

• The company hopes to complete testing and restart Antares launches from Virginia as early as next May.

• Falcon could resume its Dragon capsule flights to the station in early 2016.

• “It’s important that we restart cargo deliveries to ISS,” said Randy Gordon of KSC’s International Space Station mission support office.

Keywords -United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send a commercial Cygnus cargo craft,Space X and Orbital ATK,

NASA Announces Awards for ‘Tipping Point’ Technologies

• NASA awarded contracts and unfunded agreements Nov. 19 for 22 projects to advance space technologies that the agency believes are on the verge of significant advancement. 

• NASA awarded nine projects to advance technologies in four satellite technology areas. The contracts are fixed-price, milestone-based deals valued at between $1 million and $20 million each over two years, with each company required to contribute at least 25 percent of the overall value. The four technology areas are: robotic in-space manufacturing and assembly of spacecraft and space structures; low size, weight and power instruments for remote sensing applications; small spacecraft attitude determination and control sensors and actuators; and small spacecraft propulsion systems.

• In addition to the nine contracts, NASA awarded 13 unfunded Space Act Agreements to companies to advance work in other space technologies. The non reimbursable agreements give the companies access to NASA expertise and test facilities, but the agency provides no funding.

• The technology areas covered by these agreements include: Nano satellite and suborbital reusable launch systems development; thermal protection system materials and systems development; green propellant thruster technology demonstration; and small, affordable, high-performance liquid rocket engine development.

Keywords -NASA awarded 13 unfunded Space Act Agreements to companies to advance work in other space technologies.

NASA's 'Chemical Laptop' could help future rovers find life on alien planets

• NASA scientists have a new device up their sleeves to help find life on other planets. The rectangular box is being called the "Chemical Laptop," but it's really more of a portable, automated chemistry lab that can be built into future NASA rovers.

• The Chemical Laptop has one primary goal, according to NASA: to find molecules associated with life. Specifically, it's designed to find amino acids and fatty acids, which are key to proteins and cell membranes, respectively, in life here on Earth.

• Chemical Laptop uses something researchers are likening to an espresso machine to heat up and dissolve the samples in water. Dyes and other chemical additives will be used to help mark molecules in the samples, and anything that's obtained will be analyzed by a laser in the device but the tool won't just be able to tell if there are amino acids or fatty acids on an alien planet.It can determine additional information that could help determine whether those amino acids actually came from a life form 

Keywords - The rectangular box is being called the "Chemical Laptop,It's designed to find amino acids and fatty acids.

NASA tests Orion spacesuit in low-gravity environment

Since NASA modified its old "pumpkin suit" for future missions aboard the Orion spacecraft, it has to undergo testing to ensure that it's tougher and more mobile than its predecessor. These days, NASA has been testing it aboard a C 9 aircraft, which can fly in parabolas to simulate weightlessness. The agency even built a mock-up Orion cabin inside in order to see if astronauts will be capable of performing various tasks while wearing the suit. Since the Orion capsule is meant for deep space missions, the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit is being developed to be able to sustain crew members in case of emergency and to protect them during spacewalks. Unfortunately, it'll take almost a decade before we see it used for an actual trip to space, as Orion's first manned mission won't happen until 2023.

Keywords-Orion spacecraft,the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit is being developed to be able to sustain crew members in case of emergency and to protect them during spacewalks.

First mirror installed on NASA's James Webb Telescope

• NASA has successfully installed the first of 18 flight mirrors onto the James Webb Space Telescope, beginning a critical piece of the observatory's construction to replace the Hubble Space Telescope in 2018.
• At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland this week, the engineering team used a robot arm to lift and lower the hexagonal-shaped segment that measures just over 1.3 meters across and weighs approximately 40 kilogrammes. After being pieced together, the 18 primary mirror segments will work together as one large 6.5-metre mirror. The full installation is expected to be complete early next year.
• Several innovative technologies have been developed for the Webb Telescope, which is targeted for launch in 2018, and is the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Webb will study every phase in the history of our universe, including the cosmos' first luminous glows, the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, and the evolution of our own solar system.
• The 18 separate segments unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium chosen for its thermal and mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. Each segment also has a thin gold coating chosen for its ability to reflect infrared light.
• The telescope's biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sun shield that attenuates heat from the Sun more than a million times.

Keywords -18 flight mirrors onto the James Webb Space Telescope,Hexagonal-shaped segment,The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium,A tennis court sized five-layer sun shield.

• NASA is upgrading its Orion spacecraft, a deep-space capsule which may one day take men all the way to Mars, with a new silver heat shield. The metallic-based coating will protect Orion from “the harshest set of conditions yet” during its next mission.

• The spacecraft is set to go back to space for more than three weeks in 2018. This would be Orion’s second mission since 2014, when it successfully completed a historic four-and-a-half-hour-long, double-orbit journey. In its next return-trip to Earth, scheduled to come after a three-week space mission, Orion is expected to encounter hotter and faster conditions than on its last flight.

• This new silver, metallic-based thermal control coating will be crucial for future astronauts, who take Orion to return to Earth from deep space destinations. Its main purpose is to retain heat when Orion is heading to space and going through cold temperatures, and protect it from high temperatures when the spacecraft is exposed to the sun 

• The thermal control coating will help the back shell maintain a temperature between -150 and 550 degrees Fahrenheit (-101 and 287 degrees Centigrade).
  
  
  

Keywords-Orion spacecraft, a deep-space capsule ,Main purpose is to retain heat when Orion is heading to space and going through cold temperatures,

NASA's New Horizons probe captures stunning images of Pluto

              NASA's New Horizons probe has captured some stunning images of how the day progresses on Pluto and its largest moon Charon. Pluto’s day is 6.4 Earth days long. The images reveal many details about Pluto, including the differences between the encounter hemisphere and the so-called “far side” hemisphere seen only at lower resolution. The images were taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and the Ralph/Multi spectral Visible Imaging Camera on board New Horizons. The more distant images contribute to the view at the 3 o’clock position, with the top of the heart-shaped, informally named Tombaugh Regio slipping out of view, giving way to the side of Pluto that was facing away from New Horizons during closest approach on July 14.The side New Horizons saw in most detail - what the mission team calls the “encounter hemisphere” - is at the 6 o’clock position.

Keywords-The images were taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and the Ralph/Multi spectral Visible Imaging Camera on board New Horizons

NASA orders first crewed mission from SpaceX to the International Space Station

• NASA has officially ordered its first commercial crew mission from private spaceflight company Space X. That means Space X has NASA's authority to proceed with the first crewed launch of the company's Crew Dragon capsule, which can carry up to seven people in lower Earth orbit. The mission is slated for sometime in late 2017, but the exact date has not yet been determined.

• Space X and Boeing hold contracts with NASA through the space agency's Commercial Crew Program. The initiative tasks the two companies with creating and operating spacecraft that can ferry NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Currently, NASA is without a primary space vehicle and must rely on the Russian Soyuz rocket, which costs $80 million to get just one US astronaut into lower Earth orbit. Commercial Crew will allow American astronauts to get to the ISS on American-made vehicles once again, and for much lower costs.

• According to the contracts, NASA guarantees it will make at least four orders from Space X and Boeing for crewed missions to the ISS. Boeing received its first official order in May of this year, beating out Space X by six months. However, the race is still on to see that will launch their mission. NASA says it will figure out later when the launches will take place.

• Mission orders are made two to three years prior to launch date, according to NASA, so that the companies have time to assemble their launch vehicles and their spacecraft. Neither Space X nor Boeing has actually built their respective crew vehicles yet. Boeing is getting started on manufacturing its CST-100 Star liner spacecraft, and SpaceX is working on its Crew Dragon, which is an enhanced version of its Dragon cargo capsule.
  
  
• Additionally, it's possible that SpaceX's crewed mission for NASA won't happen in 2017 as planned. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has admonished Congress several times, claiming the Commercial Crew Program has been consistently underfunded. If NASA doesn't gets adequate funds in time, the first launch under the program — whether it is from Space X or Boeing  will likely be pushed back to 2018.
• The order also comes at an odd time for Space X. The company's fleet of rockets has been grounded since June, after a Falcon 9 carrying supplies to the ISS exploded post-launch. Space X figured that a faulty strut in the rocket's upper fuel tank was to blame, but its flights have been on hold as the company conducted a complete investigation into the incident. Space X is expected to return to launch sometime in December, but no official date has been set.

Keywords-NASA guarantees it will make at least four orders from Space X and Boeing for crewed missions to the ISS, SpaceX's crewed mission for NASA won't happen in 2017 as planned.