Spaceflight & Cosmology

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SKB
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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Buran - 30 Year Anniversary
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Its thirty years to the day today when the Soviet Union launched its first space shuttle Buran on its first and only flight.


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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Mars InSight lander touchdown!
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NASA's InSight lander has safely landed on the surface of Mars. :clap: The black dots are dust and debris on the outer camera lens cover, which will be removed later.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Opportunity rover mission ends
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Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, is a robotic rover that was active on Mars from 2004 to 2018. Launched on July 7, 2003, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program, it landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin Spirit (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90 sol duration of activity (slightly more than 90 earth days), Spirit functioned until getting stuck in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, while Opportunity was able to stay operational for 5352 sols after landing, exceeding its operating plan by 14 years, 294 days (in Earth Time), 55 times its designed lifespan. By June 10, 2018, when contact was permanently lost during a global dust storm, the rover had traveled a distance of 45.16 kilometers (28.06 miles).

Mission highlights included the initial 90 sol mission, finding extramartian meteorites such as Heat Shield Rock (Meridiani Planum meteorite), and over two years of exploring and studying Victoria crater. The rover survived less severe dust-storms and in 2011 reached Endeavour crater, which has been described as a "second landing site".

Due to the 2018 dust storms on Mars, Opportunity ceased communications on June 10 and entered hibernation on June 12, 2018. It was hoped it would reboot once the atmosphere cleared, but it did not, suggesting either a catastrophic failure or that a layer of dust has covered its solar panels. NASA hoped to reestablish contact with the rover, citing a windy period that could potentially clean off the solar panels of the rover. On February 13, 2019, NASA officials declared that the Opportunity mission was complete, after the spacecraft failed to respond to repeated signals sent since August 2018.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 capsule has just docked with the ISS for the first time for a planned 5 day stay.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47430432

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Splashdown!
After undocking from the International Space Station on Friday, 8 March 2019, the SpaceX Crew Dragon completed a deorbit burn to reenter Earth's atmosphere, deployed parachutes and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. These are the final milestones of the Demo-1 flight test, in which SpaceX demonstrated systems which will be used to carry astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.

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(NASA) The ISS passed directly over the UK.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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South America Total Solar Eclipse
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The rare celestial event will take place on Tuesday, 2nd July 2019, shortly after 16:30 local time (20:30 BST).

The moon will first appear to make contact with the sun above the Pacific Ocean at 12:55 EDT (17:55 BST). This will be the beginning of the partial phase of the eclipse.

Totality will first be seen over Oeno Island, a British territory in the South Pacific Ocean, at 10:24 local time (17:24 BST).

The first place in South America to see totality will be near La Serena in Chile, where the total eclipse will be visible at 16:39 local time (20:39 BST).

LIVESTREAM

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Apollo 11 launched 50 years ago today


(CBS News)
Apollo 11, containing Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, launched from the Kennedy Space Centre's Pad 39A on 16th July 1969, fifty years ago today. They lifted off at precisely 09:32 EDT - or 13:32 UK time.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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CBS News 1969 Live Coverage

(CBS) 20 July 2019
At 4:17 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969, NASA's "Eagle" lunar lander touched down on the surface of the moon. Six hours and 39 minutes later, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong made history when he stepped on lunar soil and uttered his now-famous phrase: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
UK times were:
Landing: 21:17 BST, 20th July 1969
Neil Armstrong's First Step: 03:56 BST, 21st July 1969
Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin's 'first' step: 04:15 BST, 21st July 1969
Liftoff: 18:54 BST, 21st July 1969

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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SKB wrote:CBS News 1969 Live Coverage

(CBS) 20 July 2019
At 4:17 p.m. EDT on July 20, 1969, NASA's "Eagle" lunar lander touched down on the surface of the moon. Six hours and 39 minutes later, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong made history when he stepped on lunar soil and uttered his now-famous phrase: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
UK times were:
Landing 21:17 BST, 20th July 1969
Neil Armstrong's First Step: 03:56 BST, 21st July 1969
Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin's 'first' step: 04:15 BST, 21st July 1969

And the moon landing broadcast live from Parkes Australia,


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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Alexei Leonov (1934-2019).
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Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov (30 May 1934 – 11 October 2019) was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first human to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for 12 minutes and 9 seconds of extravehicular activity (EVA). In July 1975, Leonov commanded the Soyuz capsule in the Soyuz-Apollo mission, which docked in space for two days with an American Apollo capsule.

He was one of the 20 Soviet Air Force pilots selected to be part of the first cosmonaut training group in 1960. Leonov was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (the only cosmonaut who was not was Konstantin Feoktistov). His walk in space was originally to have taken place on the Voskhod 1 mission, but this was cancelled, and the historic event happened on the Voskhod 2 flight instead. He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and nine seconds on 18 March 1965, connected to the craft by a 4.8-metre (16 ft) tether. At the end of the spacewalk, Leonov's spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit's pressure to bleed off and was barely able to get back inside the capsule.] Leonov had spent eighteen months undergoing weightlessness training for the mission.



In 1968, Leonov was selected to be commander of a circumlunar Soyuz 7K-L1 flight. This was cancelled because of delays in achieving a reliable circumlunar flight (only the later Zond 7 and Zond 8 members of the programme were successful) and the Apollo 8 mission had already achieved that step in the Space Race. He was also selected to be the first Soviet person to land on the Moon, aboard the LOK/N1 spacecraft. This project was also cancelled. (The design required a spacewalk between lunar vehicles, something that contributed to his selection.) Leonov was to have been commander of the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission to Salyut 1, the first crewed space station, but his crew was replaced with the backup after one of the members, cosmonaut Valery Kubasov, was suspected to have contracted tuberculosis (the other member was Pyotr Kolodin).

Leonov was to have commanded the next mission to Salyut 1, but this was scrapped after the deaths of the Soyuz 11 crew members, and the space station was lost. The next two Salyuts (actually the military Almaz station) were lost at launch or failed soon after, and Leonov's crew stood by. By the time Salyut 4 reached orbit, Leonov had been switched to a more prestigious project.

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^ Apollo-Soyuz crew in 1975

Leonov's second trip into space was as commander of Soyuz 19, the Soviet half of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission – the first joint space mission between the Soviet Union and the United States.

From 1976 to 1982, Leonov was the commander of the cosmonaut team ("Chief Cosmonaut") and deputy director of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, where he oversaw crew training. He also edited the cosmonaut newsletter Neptune. He retired in 1992.

Leonov was an accomplished artist whose published books include albums of his artistic works and works he did in collaboration with his friend Andrei Sokolov. Leonov took coloured pencils and paper into space, where he sketched the Earth and drew portraits of the Apollo astronauts who flew with him during the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. Arthur C. Clarke wrote in his notes to 2010: Odyssey Two that, after a 1968 screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Leonov pointed out to him that the alignment of the Moon, Earth, and Sun shown in the opening is essentially the same as that in Leonov's 1967 painting Near the Moon, although the painting's diagonal framing of the scene was not replicated in the film. Clarke kept an autographed sketch of this painting—which Leonov made after the screening—hanging on his office wall.

Together with Valentin Selivanov, Leonov wrote the script for the 1980 science fiction film The Orion Loop.

In 2001, he was a vice president of Moscow-based Alfa-Bank and an adviser to the first deputy of the Board.

In 2004, Leonov and former American astronaut David Scott began work on a dual memoir covering the history of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Titled Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race, it was published in 2006. Neil Armstrong and Tom Hanks both wrote introductions to the book.

Leonov was interviewed by Francis French for the book Into That Silent Sea by Colin Burgess and French.

Leonov died on 11 October 2019 after a long illness. His funeral is expected to take place on 15 October. He was 85 and the last survivor of the cosmonauts in the Voskhod programme.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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Which planet is the closest to Earth? The answer may surprise you.... ;)


(CGP Grey) 30th October 2019

Answer:
Mercury. Mostly.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

Post by Defiance »

Great little video - thanks for posting!

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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If you could see every satellite, what would the sky look like?
(360 video, click/hold & drag)

(Scott Manley) 14th November 2019

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NASA to launch manned mission from US soil tomorrow!

SpaceX's first ever manned Demo-2 mission is currently scheduled to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station on a Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is set for May 27 at 4:33 p.m. EDT (21:33 BST (20:33 GMT)), with the mission lifting off from NASA's Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre.

It will, if all goes well, become the first US manned and US built vehicle to be launched from the US since the final flight of the Space Shuttle in 2011. SInce 2011, all US astronauts have been launched from Russian Soyuz vehicles.

An earlier unmanned Demo-1 test mission in March 2019 proved successful, after docking and undocking from the International Space Station.

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NASA/SpaceX LIVE coverage of Demo-2 launch attempt.

Launch is scheduled for 21:33 BST (20:33 GMT)


(NASA) 27th May 2020

Launched scrubbed 16 minutes before launch due to bad weather. Second attempt scheduled for 30th May 2020.

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NASA/SpaceX LIVE coverage of Demo-2 successful launch attempt.

Launch was 20:22 BST (21:22 GMT)


(NASA/SpaceX) 30th May 2020

:clap: :clap:

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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SpaceX Demo-2 capsule (C206) named Endeavour.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule C206 was the first American spacecraft to carry astronauts into space since Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2011. Shortly after entering orbit, NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken named their Dragon C206 capsule Endeavour, honouring Space Shuttle Endeavour, on which they both took their first space expeditions.

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^ Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour (OV-105) is preserved as an exhibit at the California Science Centre, Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

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^ Apollo 15's Command Module was also named Endeavour and is also preserved as an exhibit at the National Museum of the USAF, Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio.

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NASA/SpaceX LIVE coverage of Endeavour docking at the International Space Station


(NASA/SpaceX) 31st May 2020

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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A truly stunning achievement from space x the satisfaction to many hundreds who but this together over the last 15 years must be very proud. The difficulty of bring something like this to market shouldn’t be underestimated.

The tech around getting the rocket booster to land back is incredible every time you see it.

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Endeavour crew return to Earth safely

(NASA) 2nd August 2020 (Highlights video)
The SpaceX Demo-2 test flight for NASA's Commercial Crew Program was the first to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth onboard a commercially built and operated spacecraft.

The crew launched on Saturday, May 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the orbiting laboratory on May 31. The SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Sunday, Aug. 2 at 2:48 pm EDT following their undocking from the International Space Station Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7:35 pm EDT.

During their 62 days aboard station, Behnken and Hurley contributed more than 100 hours of time to supporting the orbiting laboratory’s investigations, participated in public engagement events, and supported four spacewalks with Behnken and Cassidy to install new batteries in the station’s power grid and upgrade other station hardware.

These activities are a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which has been working with the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil the International Space Station for the first time since 2011. This is SpaceX’s final test flight and is providing data about the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown and recovery operations. 

The test flight also will help NASA certify SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission that will occur following NASA certification, which is expected to take about six weeks.

The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station. This could allow for additional research time and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s testbed for exploration, including helping us prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Crew Press Conference

(NASA) 2nd August 2020
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley return to Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston after splashing down inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft on Sunday, Aug. 2. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Johnson Director Mark Geyer and invited guests provide a warm, socially distanced welcome. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down at 2:48 p.m. EDT Aug. 2 in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida, following a 63-day mission. The astronauts in the Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A at 3:22 p.m. EDT on May 30 and arrived at the station’s Harmony port, docking at 10:16 a.m. EDT on May 31. This is SpaceX’s final test flight and is providing data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations.

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Re: Astronomy & Spaceflight

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NASA's Perseverance Rover’s Descent and Touchdown on Mars
ONBOARD VIDEO CAMERA VIEWS

(NASA) 22nd February 2021
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance mission captured thrilling footage of its rover landing in Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. The real footage in this video was captured by several cameras that are part of the rover's entry, descent, and landing suite. The views include a camera looking down from the spacecraft's descent stage (a kind of rocket-powered jet pack that helps fly the rover to its landing site), a camera on the rover looking up at the descent stage, a camera on the top of the aeroshell (a capsule protecting the rover) looking up at that parachute, and a camera on the bottom of the rover looking down at the Martian surface.

The audio embedded in the video comes from the mission control call-outs during entry, descent, and landing.

For more information about Perseverance, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/perseverance
:clap: wow!

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Re: Cosmology & Spaceflight

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First powered flight on Mars !

(NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) 19th April 2021
In this video captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.

The rover was parked at “Van Zyl Overlook,” about 211 feet (64.3 metres) away in Mars' Jezero Crater and chronicled the flight operations with its cameras.

These images from the rover’s Mastcam-Z cameras show the helicopter hovering above the Red Planet's surface. During this first flight, the helicopter climbed to an altitude of 10 feet (3 metres), hovered, and then touched back down on the surface of Mars.

Ingenuity is a technology demonstration. The 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft will help determine whether future explorations on Mars could include an aerial perspective.

Perseverance touched down at "Octavia E. Butler Landing" with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18, 2021. The helicopter was deployed to the surface on April 3.

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(NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) 25th April 2021
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter takes off and lands (it's third flight) in this video captured on April 25, 2021, by Mastcam-Z, an imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. As expected, the helicopter flew out of its field of vision while completing a flight plan that took it 164 feet (50 metres) downrange of the landing spot. Keep watching, the helicopter will return to stick the landing. Top speed for today's flight was about 4.5 miles-per-hour, or 2 metres per second.

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Re: Cosmology & Spaceflight

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Following the recent news that both Russia and China are dropping out of the International Space Station project, China starts building its own space station

https://www.newscientist.com/article/22 ... s-new-spac

As it's behind a paywall
China is about to launch the first section of a new space station, beginning an orbital construction project that is expected to end in 2022 with an outpost about a quarter of the size of the International Space Station (ISS).

While the exact date hasn’t been announced, China is expected to launch its 18-metre-long core module, called Tianhe, this week. Tianhe will contain living quarters for up to three astronauts, along with the station’s control centre, power, propulsion and life-support systems. It will be followed by two other main modules, both designed to house scientific experiments.

The Chinese Space Station (CSS) will be the 11th crewed space station ever built. It is China’s third station, although the previous two were significantly smaller. The CSS will be slightly larger than Mir, the Soviet space station that preceded the ISS.
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
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