interplanetary.tv on LinkedIn: Roscosmos (12 June 2024): On June 12, 2024, Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub… (2024)

Roscosmos (14 June 2024): Cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner are preparing for their upcoming flight to the International Space Station in September. They are preparing for their flight by performing typical operations before and after work outside the station, with instructors modeling emergency situations for astronauts. The Mobile Tower of Service (MBO) is a hallmark of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, providing comfortable conditions for preparing the Soyuz missile for launch. The MBO is 52 meters tall and has seven tiers of service, providing convenient access for working with all parts of the rocket. The images show the Soyuz-2.1B with "Meteor-M" being shot from different levels of the tower on the day of launch before the refueling of the carrier. The main space news released this week includes work on the scientific program on the ISS, the project of Roscosmos and Gazprom Neft, the visit of the head of Roscosmos to Kaliningrad, and the All-Russian engineering competition in the capital.

Space to Ground: Flight Test (14 June 2024) - NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. https://lnkd.in/dpd7HQq; https://lnkd.in/dGazEVY; https://lnkd.in/d5wvM5h; https://lnkd.in/dMsuGZe. - Video credit: NASA Subscribe here for full access : https://lnkd.in/gzwxmvfg -

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed that a group of young stars called WL 20 is actually twins that formed about 2 million to 4 million years ago. - by Frederic Eger/NASA/JPL - The discovery was made using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and was presented at the 244th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on June 12. MIRI also found that the twins have matching jets of gas streaming into space from their north and south poles. The twin stars are nearing the end of their early period of their lives, which means scientists will have the opportunity to learn more about how the stars transition from youth into adulthood. The combined results indicate that the twin stars are nearing the end of this early period of their lives, when the processes that formed them are petering out.WL 20 resides in a much larger, well-studied star-forming region of the Milky Way galaxy called Rho Ophiuchi, a massive cloud of gas and dust about 400 light-years from Earth. In fact, WL 20 is hidden behind thick clouds of gas and dust that block most of the visible light (wavelengths that the human eye can detect) from the stars there. Webb detects slightly longer wavelengths, called infrared, that can pass through those layers. MIRI detects the longest infrared wavelengths of any instrument on Webb and is thus well equipped for peering into obscured star-forming regions like WL 20. Radio waves can often penetrate dust as well, though they may not reveal the same features as infrared light. The disks of gas and dust surrounding the two stars in WL 20S emit light in a range that astronomers call submillimeter; these, too, penetrate the surrounding gas clouds and were observed by ALMA. But scientists could easily have interpreted those observations as evidence of a single disk with a gap in it had MIRI not also observed the two stellar jets. The jets of gas are composed of ions, or individual atoms with some electrons stripped away that radiate in mid-infrared wavelengths but not at submillimeter wavelengths. Only an infrared instrument with spatial and spectral resolution like MIRI’s could see them. ALMA can also observe clouds of leftover formation material around young stars. Composed of whole molecules, like carbon monoxide, these clouds of gas and dust radiate light at these longer wavelengths. The absence of those clouds in the ALMA observations shows that the stars are beyond their initial formation phase. The JWST is the world’s premier space science observatory, solving mysteries in our solar system and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. MIRI was developed through a 50-50 partnership between NASA & ESA. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL led the U.S. efforts for MIRI, and a multinational consortium of European astronomical institutes contributes for ESA. George Rieke with the Uni Arizona is the MIRI science team lead. Gillian Wright is the MIRI European principal investigator.

Roscosmos (13 June 2024): Vyacheslav Dmitrievich, the Soviet Union's pilot-cosmonaut, passed away on June 12, 2024. He began his space expedition in October 1976 as the commander of the Soyuz-23, along with V. Rozhdestvensky. - by FredericcEger/Roscosmos - The two-day space flight was dramatic, with the first and only emergency landing of the Soviet manned spacecraft on water. The descent apparatus led two kilometers from the shore, but technical problems caused the main parachute to not shoot back, causing the fabric to be saturated with water and turning the descent apparatus, causing the crew to be unable to leave it.Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Zudov was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his courage and heroism. He has the title of Honorary Builder Baikonur and was awarded the medal "For Merit in the Development of Cosmos" in 2011.The farewell ceremony with Vyacheslav Dmitrievich will take place on June 14 at 13:00 at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Mytishchi. The Volga region, located at the intersection of the most important international transport corridors "North-South" and "West-East," is home to the longest river embankment in the Volga region and one of the most beautiful protected corners - Zhigulevsky mountains.From June 11 to 12, Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebyankin continued to unload the Progress MS-27, participating in scientific experiments, medical research, and physical exercises during an orbital trip. By the end of the year, another case for the production of spacecraft engines will be built in the OKB "Torch."Yuri Borisov visited the Kaliningrad enterprise, where the director of Fakela, Gennady Abramenkov, demonstrated production sites to the head of Roscosmos. The repair and technical re-equipment have been completed, and all production equipment will be moved to the workshop to put the facility into operation. The new building will organize serial assembly of thermocatalytic engines for spacecraft on the principle of the conveyor.

NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo Astronaut Williams Anders - The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on the passing of Apollo astronaut Maj. Gen. (ret.) William “Bill” Anders, who passed away June 7, in San Juan Islands, Washington state, at the age of 90. “In 1968, as a member of the Apollo 8 crew, as one of the first three people to travel beyond the reach of our Earth and orbit the Moon, Bill Anders gave to humanity among the deepest of gifts an explorer and an astronaut can give. Along with the Apollo 8 crew, Bill was the first to show us, through looking back at the Earth from the threshold of the Moon, that stunning image – the first of its kind – of the Earth suspended in space, illuminated in light and hidden in darkness: the Earthrise.“As Bill put it so well after the conclusion of the Apollo 8 mission, ‘We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.’“That is what Bill embodied – the notion that we go to space to learn the secrets of the universe yet in the process learn about something else: ourselves. He embodied the lessons and the purpose of exploration.“The voyage Bill took in 1968 was only one of the many remarkable chapters in Bill’s life and service to humanity. In his 26 years of service to our country, Bill was many things – U.S. Air Force officer, astronaut, engineer, ambassador, advisor, and much more.“Bill began his career as an Air Force pilot and, in 1964, was selected to join NASA’s astronaut corps, serving as backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 flights, and lunar module pilot for Apollo 8.“He not only saw new things but inspired generation upon generation to see new possibilities and new dreams – to voyage on Earth, in space, and in the skies. When America returns astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, and ultimately ventures onward to Mars, we will carry the memory and legacy of Bill with us.“At every step of Bill’s life was the iron will of a pioneer, the grand passion of a visionary, the cool skill of a pilot, and the heart of an adventurer who explored on behalf of all of us. His impact will live on through the generations. All of NASA, and all of those who look up into the twinkling heavens and see grand new possibilities of dazzling new dreams, will miss a great hero who has passed on: Bill Anders.”More about Anders’ NASA career, and his agency biography:https://lnkd.in/gpym8thy

NASA organizes a media event for the Rollout of Artemis II Moon Rocket Stage - The core stage is the backbone of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s Artemis II mission to send a crew of four astronauts around the Moon in 2025. Here, the core stage is currently behind scaffolding to allow work to continue at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The stage’s two massive propellant tanks hold a collective 733,000 gallons of liquid propellant to power the four RS-25 engines at its base. Following hardware acceptance reviews and final checkouts, the stage will be readied for delivery via the agency’s Pegasus barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Artemis II launch preparations. (NASA/ Eric Bordelon) - NASA will roll the fully assembled core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch. Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025.Building, assembling, and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company.NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. The SLS rocket is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. The SLS rocket is the only rocket designed to send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch. NASA’s Artemis campaign:https://lnkd.in/dNCvt3K8

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“NASA is proud to continue its commitment to the creation and elevation of tech that blaze trails in space and on Earth,” said Jenn Gustetic, director of early-stage innovation and partnerships for NASA Space Tech Mission Directorate. NASA will award funding to nearly 250 small business teams to develop new tech to address agency priorities, such as carbon neutrality and energy storage for various applications in space and on Earth. The new awards from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Tech Transfer (STTR) program invest in a diverse portfolio of American small businesses and research institutions to support NASA’s future missions. About 34% of the companies selected are first-time NASA SBIR/STTR recipients. Each proposal team will receive $150,000 to establish the merit and feasibility of their innovations for a total agency investment of $44.85 million. The Phase I SBIR contract awards small businesses and lasts for 6 months, while the Phase I STTR contract awards small businesses in partnership with a research institution and lasts for 13 months. In total, 209 small businesses received SBIR awards, and 39 small businesses and their research institution partners – including eight Minority Serving Institutions – received STTR awards. Exquadrum Inc., a minority-owned small business in Victorville, California proposes a tech that will contribute to NASA’s effort to make the U.S. carbon neutral by 2050. The proposed tech offers higher energy conversion efficiency with no emission of pollutants. The fuel and its products are safe to handle. The propulsion system is reliable under extreme weather conditions, compact and lightweight and has the potential to aid the exploration of planets that have atmospheres like that of Mars. The new SBIR/STTR investments will impact 41 states, including a team with Energized Composite Tech, in Orlando, partnering with the University of Central Florida. Together, they will explore using carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite structural batteries for repurposable space applications, offering a multifunctional solution that integrates structural integrity with energy storage capabilities. The proposed structural battery panels integrate energy storage functionality into the structural components of the spacecraft, minimizing the additional space required for electrical storage while maximizing the available volume for payload. The structural battery panels used for the space vehicle could be repurposed after landing because the thermoplastic-based structural panels can be reshaped for other uses. NASA selected Phase I proposals to receive funding by judging their technical merit and responsiveness to known challenges. Based on their progress during Phase I, companies may submit proposals for up to $850,000 in Phase II funding to develop a prototype and subsequent SBIR/STTR Post Phase II opportunities. NASA SBIR/STTR program for future opportunities: https://sbir.nasa.gov/

NASA Funds Study of Proposals to Investigate Space Weather Systems -11 June 2024 - Aurora and airglow are seen from the International Space Station in 2015. - Credits: NASA/JSC/ESRS -NASA has selected three proposals for concept studies of missions to investigate the complex system of space weather that surrounds our planet and how it’s connected to Earth’s atmosphere. The three concepts propose how to enact the DYNAMIC (Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling) mission, which was recommended by the 2013 Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics. The DYNAMIC mission is designed to study how changes in Earth’s lower atmosphere influence our planet’s upper atmosphere, where space weather like auroras and satellite disruptions are manifested. This knowledge will benefit humanity by helping us understand how space weather can interfere with crucial technology like navigation systems and satellites. “Earth and space are an interconnected system that reaches from the heart of our solar system, the Sun, to the lowest reaches of the atmosphere where we live and extends to the edge of our heliosphere – the boundary of interstellar space,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The DYNAMIC mission will expand our understanding of how Earth itself shapes space weather events that influence our home planet.” The DYNAMIC mission is designed to make measurements within Earth’s upper atmosphere between about 50-125 miles (80-200 kilometers) in altitude. With multiple spacecraft, DYNAMIC’s simultaneous observations from different locations can give scientists a more complete picture of how waves propagate upwards through this part of the atmosphere. NASA’s fiscal year 2023 appropriation directed NASA to initiate this first phase of study. As the first step of a two-step selection process, each proposal will receive $2 million for a concept study. NASA solicited missions with a cost cap of $250 million, which does not include the launch. The studies will last nine months. The selected concept teams are: University of Colorado, Boulder, led by principal investigator Tomoko Matsuo Key partners include Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; NASA’s JPL in Southern California; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts. University of Colorado, Boulder, led by principal investigator Aimee Merkel Key partners include BAE Systems in Westminster, Colorado, and the Naval Research Labin Washington. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, led by principal investigator Scott Bailey Key partners include Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences in Newport News, Virginia, and Computational Physics, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado.NASA heliophysics missions, visit: https://lnkd.in/d2cu3BXx

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NASA Sets Coverage for U.S. Spacewalk 90 Outside Space Station - Photo: NASA astronaut pictured completing an installation outside of the ISS. - NASA will provide live coverage, beginning at 6:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 13, as two astronauts conduct a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and last about six and a half hours. NASA will stream the spacewalk on NASA TV (nasa.gov/nasatv). NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick will exit the station’s Quest airlock to complete the removal of a faulty electronics box, called a radio frequency group, from a communications antenna on the starboard truss of the space station. The pair also will collect samples for analysis to understand the ability of microorganisms to survive and reproduce on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory. Dyson will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Dominick will serve as spacewalk crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. U.S. spacewalk 90 will be the fourth for Dyson and the first for Dominick in support of the space station. Following the completion of the spacewalk, NASA will announce participating crew members for U.S. spacewalks 91 and 92, scheduled for Monday, June 24 and Tuesday, July 2, and will provide additional coverage details.More about ISS research and operations at:https://lnkd.in/dCw3aT-U