On Orbit XII

Phase 1 of China's Lunar Probe Project is complete according to Chinese scientists. The mapping of the lunar surface by the probe Chang'e-1 was performed over the course of a year. As of yet, the Chinese government hasn't release the maps to the general public. There is another probe in the pipeline, Chang'e-2 and a rover scheduled for a 2012 launch as phase two for the China lunar program. Around 2017, sample return rover is scheduled as the third stage.

India's lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 has reached its final lunar orbit. Orbiting at about a height of 100 km above the surface, Chandrayaan-1 takes about two (2) hours complete an orbit of the Moon. Chandrayaan-1 is projected to have a life cycle of two (2) years. The next thing to look forward to is the release of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP)



The MIP has a mass of 35 kg and will be release at some point in the future while Chandrayaan-1 is in its current orbit. Flight time is expected to be about 25 minutes from launch to impact. The primary objective is to demonstrate the technologies required for landing the probe at a desired location on the Moon and to qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. Chandrayaan-2 has been scheduled for no later 2012. The ISRO has long term plans to send probes to both Mars and Venus.

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On Orbit X

SpaceX DragonLab, a free-flying, fully-recoverable, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads

Chandrayaan-1 Enters Lunar Transfer Trajectory

German CESAR rover takes top prize in ESA's lunar rover challenge

KSC takes delivery of the first components of the Ares 1-X

Emergence of the Chinese space industry

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Chandrayaan-1 Lift-off!!!

In what is being touted as the 'Asian Space Race' ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lifted off without a hitch for a two (2) year jaunt around the Moon.  Launching at 0052 GMT into an overcast sky, Chandrayaan-1 reached its orbit in nineteen (19) minutes.  It will be taking the leisurely route to lunar orbit and is expected to arrive in fifteen (15) days.  Chandrayaan-1 is primarily a mapping mission, with instruments from several nations aboard, including two from NASA.  The Moon Mineralogy Mapper will assess mineral resources, and the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar, or Mini-SAR, will map the polar regions and look for ice deposits.  This launch comes on the heels of rival China's first spacewalk.  Also in the Asian space race are Japan and South Korea.  China, Japan, India, Russia and the US are the only countries with active plans for a manned lunar landing.

Mini-SAR is particularly important for NASA's future plans.  NASA has announced that it plans to place America's first lunar outpost near the poles to take advantage of two rare resources in the Moon - ice and constant sunlight.  The Moon has a minimal atmosphere and any volatiles, water included, boil off into space.  At the poles, deep crater floor never receive any sunlight and because of that, the temperatures have remained at cryogenic temperatures, allowing ice to remain in the shadows.  As a direct consequence of having crater floors, in permanent shadow, there are peaks of eternal light at the poles.  These mountains have a constant view of the sun, allowing them to bypass the bi-weekly day-night cycle of the moon and use constant solar power.  Constant solar power is not a viable option for outposts anywhere else on the Moon because during the two (2) week long night, outposts would have to switch to battery power stored during the day or some other form of power like nuclear.  Or even lunar thorium powered reactors.  

Also getting into the satellite launching business is Brazil, with their own domestic launcher, the VLS-1, developed by the Brazilian Space Agency and Air Force with Russian help.

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On Orbit V

From Colony Worlds, China draws on its vast manned spaceflight experience and offers to train other countries astronauts.

Update: India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe is scheduled to liftoff on 22 October with the launch window open until the 26th.

NASA's Cassini probe is scheduled for close flybys of Saturn's moon Enceladus on 9 October and 31 October at a height of 25 km (16 miles!) and 196 km (122 mi) respectively.  Cassini will be sampling Enceladus's many geysers because water vapor and organic compounds have been detected and scientists suspect the existence of underground oceans of water.

China looks forward to its first space station Tiangong 1 to be launched in 2010 or 2011.  Automated flights Shenzhou 8 and 9 will dock with Tiangong 1, a feat made easier given China's demonstrated ability to rendevous spacecraft in space.  The manned flight Shenzhou 10 will bring Tiangong 1's three man crew.  Things are moving quickly in the Middle Kingdom.  Can we keep up?

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Happy Golden Anniversary NASA

Welcome to our readers from Carnivals of Space.

I want to wish a happy 50th birthday to everyone at NASA.

Born out of the desire to prove American technical superiority, today's NASA has to struggle to prove to necessity of existence.  There are those that believe the paltry amount spent on NASA would be better used building smart bombs or funding the federal education bureaucracy.

Currently, NASA is struggling to maintain an aging shuttle fleet, provide American access to the ISS and develop the next-gen launch system Constellation.  The specter of being dependent on long time rival Russia for access to the ISS looms large with the presidential mandate to retire the Shuttle fleet in 2010.  NASA has a rough road ahead but with the right leadership, budget and motivation (Russian and Chinese lunar outposts), NASA can regain its past position of pre-emininence.

Per Aspera, Ad Adstra

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China Sets Sights on the Moon

With the completion of China's third manned orbital flight and first spacewalk, the Middle Kingdom is not content to sit on its laurels.  China has announced plans to build a manned space station and send people to the Moon.  They plan to have the station by 2020 but were vague on the dates for the lunar visit.  NASA administrator Michael Griffin is rumored to be "convinced" that China has the technical capability to land men on the Moon by 2017, a full two years before the planned US landings.  If that doesn't motivate you, what will?

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Chinese Claim Em Drive Works

From wired.com:

The EM Drive is a reactionless drive originally developed by a man named Roger Shawyer.  He to use a magnetron to create and bounce microwaves around a chamber.  The thrust comes from an imbalance in the resultant forces coming from the reflections due to relativistic effects.  The EmDrive has been panned by the scientific community and there has been no independent peer review.

With that said, after the original British and then American interest fell through, the Chinese picked it up.  They now claim to have developed an experimental simulation that confirms the validity of Shawyer's drive.  The thrust produced is comparable to ion drives but the main differences are that there is no reaction mass and weight.  The Em Drive weighs 7 kilos and produces 85 mN (milli-Newtons) of thrust.  NASA's NSTAR ion thruster weighs upwards of 30 kilos, uses four times more power, consumes 10 grams of fuels per hour and produces 92 mN of thrust.  I have not been able to confirm the weight of the NSTAR but according to space.com, NSTAR uses just over 4 grams of fuel per hour.  A bit of an overstatement.

The EmDrive is something that I would need to see to believe until then, its a perpetual motion machine.

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On Orbit I

On Orbit, our news dump.

Shenzhou 7 set to fly China third manned spaceflight.  Unlike Shanzhou 6, -7 will carry three taikonauts (definitely the best sounding astronaut title) into orbit, with the first taking place in 2003.  Sent aloft on the Long March II-F, it will be the 109th launch of a Long March rocket.  Additionally, Chinese authorities report that the Long March series has a 100% success rate.  Once in orbit, one of the taikonauts will perform a spacewalk.

From Space Daily

Update: Russia Looks to Take Lead in Commercial Launch Services

Now with pictures.  Can anyone tell me how they plan to recover the RD-191?

Update: India's Moon Mission May Lift Off October 19

If India misses it October launch window for Chandrayaan-I, cyclone season would prevent a launch until December.

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Iranian Rockets

Spacenut says: Yeah! Ad astra per aspera!

Common sense says: The space race was born out of the need to develop long range ballistic missiles.

Iran says rocket can carry low-orbit satellite 

And in better news,

Iran To Launch Its First Satellite By Next Weekend

Let's make it a party:

China to launch Venezuela's first satellite

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