KySat

Big hopes, big goals for Space-X and Falcon 1

Carrying the hopes for the future of low-cost access to orbit, Space-X's Falcon 1 is scheduled for lift off sometime after July 29, according to Smithsonian's Air&Space.

Unlike the previous tries, which were billed as demonstrations, this is not a test. Flight 003, as SpaceX calls it, carries cargo belonging to paying customers: an Air Force satellite called Jumpstart that’s meant to show that small satellites can be built and launched quickly; a test ring adapter for the Malaysian space agency ATSB (a future SpaceX client); and two breadbox-size NASA experiments, one of which aims to be the first solar sail deployed in space.

Fourteen such launches are scheduled through 2011 if all goes well. But Musk has much bigger goals in mind for Space-X and the nascent commercial space transportation sector - sending humans to Mars.

In a speech delivered earlier this month to the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, he said, 'For the first time in the four-billion-year history of Earth, there exists the possibility of extending life beyond Earth to other planets…. It is difficult to predict how long that window will remain open.

'Commercial space transport companies, including possibly SpaceX, are needed to make this happen, as the commercial sector is best suited to optimizing both the cost and reliability of access to space, just as the commercial air and ground transport companies did in their sectors. I believe we will need at least an order (perhaps two orders) of magnitude reduction in present-day space launch costs and flight failures to achieve the goal of becoming a multi-planetary species.'

Rob Coppinger has the ten minute speech here.

Wayne

A Great Flick: Apollo's Orphans

Editor's note: Jeffrey Manber is an adviser to Kentucky Space.

I had the pleasure of attending on Friday evening the premier of Apollo's Orphans at the New Space 2008 conference in Washington, DC. Apollo's Orphans finally brings to life the dramatic story  of how a group of dedicated Americans and Russian space officials came together to save the Russian space station Mir.

Watching the flick in the packed house was strange, as I'm interviewed in the documentary as well. The audience was clearly into the story, though they responded at times differently then me, and that was the strange part. Some incidents shown were more important to me than to them and some things the audience found funny I still just cringe. Riding in Walt Anderson's Gulfstream jet to Moscow to lease the space station while playing the board game Risk; just thinking about that makes me cringe.  But none the less, producer Michael Potter has created a solid piece of journalism. Some really good guys are not in the story, such as Gert Weyers, who held together the office, and James Dunstan, our legal guru who pulled together the lease language in just a few weeks. But other than that, Michael has all the players who were MirCorp. Check his site.

There was also a question and answer session afterward hosted by Roger Lanius, the former historian for NASA. It was all taped, though I'm not sure who has control and when we will be able to watch. Maybe someone from New Space and The Space Frontier can let us know.

What happened with MirCorp has been overlooked by many. Few realize we signed Dennis Tito to his launch contract; few realize we sent two humans into space to inspect the station, the only time in history a private company has launched a space expedition.

MirCorp was a critical signpost in the journey to outer space. The venture was proof positive that commercial entrepreneurs could create a sustainable model for building a commercial outpost.

Reporters laughed at the thought that people would pay millions to visit the Mir space station, until we signed Dennis Tito. And then we signed Mark Burnett of Survivor and NBC to do a game show on the Mir, and we were working with  others, including movie director James Cameron, when the Mir was de-orbited.

MirCorp showed, and the film reminds us, that there was an alternative to the space status quo. And funny enough that alternative is now becoming the heart and soul of our program, when entrepreneurs like Bigelow and Musk and Bezos are building both launch vehicles and manned stations.

Documentaries about failed efforts are sometimes not that relevant. Apollo's Orphans is different. It is the timely story of how close we came to bringing about a revolution in space activities almost a decade ago. For me, it was a great chance to see old friends, and not look back but forward to an even more exciting future for space exploration.

Jeffrey

Watching other worlds

One of several proposals for observing exoplanets, the New Worlds Observer might offer astronomers the chance to directly observe planets orbiting other nearby stars. The principle investigator for the mission, Webster Cash, describes how the observatory might go about imaging exoplanets.

A decade following the discovery of the first extra-solar planet, the count stands at 300+.

Wayne

Carnival of Space 63

The very latest Carnival of Space is up and includes the post from Kentucky Space on Balloon-1, "Grassroots Space: Build. Fly. Repeat." Go check out the entire carnival. There are a lot of great stories linked this week.

Wayne

KySpace Balloon-1 Update

Blog note: the following news release was issued today by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, the managing partner for Kentucky Space.

On July 14, 2008, Kentucky Space, supported by the Kentucky National Guard and the Department of Homeland Defense, successfully launched from the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport a high altitude balloon to the edge of space (Kentucky Space Balloon-1). 

Balloon-1 sees Space

This image was snapped at or near the top of Balloon-1's ascent. Pretty cool!

Wayne

Education Sky-High

Well, Kentucky Space balloon-1 was a success on all levels. For the first time in Kentucky, a scientific payload soared into the stratosphere, reaching a height of almost 90,000 feet before plunging back to the earth.

Everything went real smooth: the scientific data was collected and we could watch the ascent the whole way up until the black sky could be seen against the earth's curvature. Equally amazing, the payload was recovered about three hours after the mission began, having traveled about 80 miles from the launch site.

For me, invited as an observer, the most wonderful moment was not the launch, or the live images, but the sight of students from different Kentucky universities working together on the countdown check while just a few feet away, kids just six or seven years old were sitting on the floor carefully assembling the pong-sats, or pearl-sats. These tiny "satellites," which are made from ping-pong balls, are stuffed with all sorts of fun things, such as marshmallows, to demonstrate what happens when the payload reaches the low-density of the stratosphere.

Two levels of students engaged in two levels of education, genuine excitement from those attending the launch, great help from Kentucky's Homeland Security and it was a unique demonstration on the power of an event like this to inspire.

I can't wait to get the results from the scientific payloads, and see what we can do next.

Jeffrey

Grassroots space: Build. Fly. Repeat.

Having two small children in elementary school, what they are learning is of course extremely important to me. Science is absolutely vital to our economy and future national competitiveness.

But it's how they are being taught that might be of even greater importance, according to a Space Review essay, "Student Satellites: Encouraging Trend or Sign of Panic?"

KySpace Balloon-1 images online

Quite a few images from the KySpace Balloon-1 mission can be found in a Flickr badge in the blog sidebar.

Wayne

Holding inflated Balloon-1 right before launch

Holding inflated Balloon-1 right before launch
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace team with Balloon-1 ready to fly

KySpace team with Balloon-1 ready to fly
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace Balloon-1 payload

KySpace Balloon-1 payload
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace Balloon-1 inflating

KySpace Balloon-1 inflating
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace Balloon-1 Buttoned Up

KySpace Balloon-1 Buttoned Up
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace Balloon-1 payload2

KySpace Balloon-1 payload2
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

KySpace Balloon-1 payload

KySpace Balloon-1 payload
Originally uploaded by wwhalljr_2000

Some pictures from this morning

"Balloon-1" images soon

Images from the high altitude balloon mission today will be posted as soon as possible.

Wayne

Consortium to hitch ride to Venus

JAXA has awarded a consortium of Japanese universities a free boost toward Venus aboard its Venus Climate Orbiter, scheduled for a May 2010 launch. Ars Technica:

The one that will be headed to Venus will be built by a team from the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC), a group of 20 Japanese universities. The probe will measure about 35x35x35 centimeters and weigh approximately 15 kilograms. Once on trajectory toward Venus, it will test several computers built by UNISEC member universities, and hold a competition that will determine which computer survives the longest in the space environment. It will also carry out experiments in deep-space communication technologies using commercially available equipment in collaboration with amateur ham radio operators. 

Wayne

Carnival of Space no. 62 out

The very latest Carnival of Space is out at Discovery Channel, which features some great images along with the accompanying blog posts. Check them out.

Wayne

Near Space launch set for July 14

Kentucky Space announced today the scheduled launch of its first near space (high-altitude balloon) mission at 11:00 AM (CST) on Monday, July 14 at the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport. This launch marks the beginning of a new Kentucky Space initiative involving upper atmospheric experiments and research.

Kentucky Space is an ambitious enterprise involving a consortium of universities and private and public organizations for the purpose of pursuing space related R&D, innovation, education and small spacecraft design, launch and operation.

This mission”Balloon-1”will carry a scientific payload designed and built by Kentucky Space college and university students. The payload aboard the balloon is expected to reach an altitude of 100,000 ft. (nearly 20 miles). At this altitude the experiments will reach the upper regions of the Earth’s stratosphere, where intense interactions among radiative, dynamical, and chemical processes are studied to better understand the Earth’s atmosphere and climate.

A key science payload carried by Balloon-1 involves a magnetometer and an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, which is the main component of inertial guidance systems used in air and spacecraft, including guided missiles. These instruments will record valuable data at the edge of space for attitude control and determination and will aid in the design of future Kentucky Space orbital satellites. Other experiments will also be undertaken in preparation for future orbital missions.

In addition, the mission will carry an experimental communication package to be tested for possible use in the event of a major natural or related disaster in Kentucky. Balloon-1 will also involve prototype instruments and sensors that will be used in conjunction with other experiments in future flights to study regional climate change. Cameras will video the flight, viewing the Bluegrass from the edge of space.

The collected data will be transmitted over VHF, for live tracking on launch day by anyone through a special internet link and recovery by mobile Earth stations operated by the students and Kentucky Space mission advisors.

Advising Kentucky Space for this mission is the High Altitude Research Corporation out of Huntsville, Alabama.

Individuals should check the Kentucky Space website for the latest Balloon-1 launch information.

KySat Enterprise Members are: University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Western Kentucky University, Kentucky Space Grant Consortium, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Belcan, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation, Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (Managing Partner).

What is the state of high school astronomy education?

Saying she regularly gets emails from people who wish they'd taken astronomy in high school, Dr. Pamela Gay, a.k.a., StarStryder, asks: What is the state of astronomy education in the Unites States? Not so good.

In today’s educational environment, there isn’t always room to fit in astronomy. There are no states in these United States that have astronomy education certifications. Astronomy is an extra. When something needs cut, it is one of the first programs to go.

But isn’t astronomy vast enough (encompassing the whole universe and all that) that it can be used to teach other things? When I was in middle school I took part in a curriculum called “Project STAR”.... The STAR is in all caps because it stands for “Scientific Teaching Through its Astronomical Roots.” This program sought to teach math, and physics, and much much more, while teaching astronomy.

Is it too much to wish that 10%, or any other double digit number, of students were able to take astronomy in high school from teachers who have taken a university level course in astronomy?

While certainly not capable of the math that the provides the syntax for much of astronomy, I'm currently reading the Elegant Universe, which nonetheless ably imparts some mind-blowing concepts from Specific and General Relativity and Quantum mechanics.

I'd have to agree with some of her writers, it's certainly making me wish I had taken more astronomy in high school.

Wayne

P-POD animation

Tyler recently uploaded this animated clip of a KySat cube exiting the Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, or P-POD. Housed in the launch vehicle, the P-POD will carry KySat to orbit.

Wayne

Voyager: heliosphere is lopsided

Voyager 2, on its way out of our solar system toward interstellar space, has relayed new information about the boundary region where the sun's solar wind, which dominates that heliosphere, ebbs, and the heliosheath begins.

The heliosphere appears to be lopsided.

If all goes well, the two Voyager craft should still have enough energy to transmit their findings as they make their way across the heliosheath and toward the heliopause, which marks the beginning of intersteller space, and area where our sun loses all influence.

NASA engineers believe that they have enough power onboard to return data until 2025, perhaps long enough to provide information after the two craft have left the solar system for good.

Wayne

61st Carnival of Space online

The 61st Carnival of Space is now online.

Wayne

Video: cubesat solar sail

As promised yesterday, here is a video of the deployment mechanism for the innovative CubeSat NanoSail-D. It's amazing how 10 square meters of sail can be packed into the space the size of three cubes.

[Update:] Dean Alhorn, the engineer in the video, wrote to say that "the actual sail and deployment mechanism is packed in the volume that is less that 2 cubes. The first cube is all electronics and batteries. The next two cubes [house] the sail, boom mechanism and some deployment electronics. There is room for 40 sq. meter of sail, but not enough volume for more boom length."

Thanks for the clarification!

Wayne

NASA considering student-led satellite-building initative?

According to news released today, NASA appears to be in the process of developing "a university-based, student-led satellite development initiative" to build a student moon orbiter. NASA:

Under the [American Student Moon Orbiter] concept, teams would learn directly from NASA mentors as part of a diverse, nationwide, higher education initiative that enables students to design, build, launch, operate and own a small spacecraft and its payload. Students would acquire in-depth experience with satellite mission protocol and procedures, communications and project management. NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are leading the ASMO initiative.

Wayne

NanoSail-D: Solar sail cubesat

A rocket flight scheduled for later this summer is turning into a series of firsts. The first payload flight of the Falcon will also deliver some interesting technology to space.

Hold down tests of its motors that Space-X said were part of a dress rehearsal for a flight were conducted recently. Space.com has more on a recent delay of Falcon's flight. 

Of more interest to me: one of the payloads for the flight is the NanoSail-D, a 3U CubeSat, which will deploy a solar sail, another first. Aviation Week:

Dubbed NanoSail-D, the aluminum and plastic payload weighs less than 10 pounds, and unfurls to a four-segment square about 10 feet on a side on four spokes that roll out from a central hub.

It is designed to ride in P-POD [what KySat will use to deploy]... and open up in a 685-by-330 kilometer orbit at an inclination of 9 degrees to demonstrate solar-wind propulsion.

....From its initial orbit NanoSail-D is set to use drag from the tenuous atmosphere at that altitude to slow it back to a reentry five to 14 days after launch, according to Edward Montgomery of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the payload manager.

'NanoSail-D will be the first fully deployed solar sail in space, and the first spacecraft to use solar pressure as a primary means of attitude control or orbital maneuvering,' Montgomery says.

I'll post video of the solar sail tomorrow. It's amazing how a 10 square meter sail can be unfurled from such a small space. 

As usual Paul Gilster at Centauri Dreams has more, quoting Sandy Montgomery at the Marshall Space Flight Center on how much faster solar sails would move over long distances than current technologies.

Wayne

Settling Mars

Fraser Cain and Pamela Gay at Astronomy Cast recently have posted a two part podcast on settling Mars - part two is here - pointing out that while there are very serious obstacles to long term residence on the planet, there are also nutrients, minerals and oxygen, and, not to be discounted, a roughly similar day/night cycle.

The entire podcast is devoted to the kind of questions that will need to be answered in order live on Mars. Check it out.

Wayne

New new Worlds: "But wait, there's more!"

[Cross-posted from the IdeaFestival] I enjoyed this quote from the recent article, "For Alien-Life Seekers, New Reason to Hope," regarding the results from a new sky survey:

Whether habitable or abominable, planets are inescapable. 'You make a star, you’re probably going to get planets,' said Seth Shostak, a senior scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. 'They’re like those knives that get thrown in for free when you order a Veg-o-matic.'

The idea that there might be other planets like ours orbiting distant stars is hardly new - exo-planet hunters have cataloged over 300 in the past dozen years - but the notion that Earth-sized planets might be fairly common is a more recent development. As one planetary theorist says in the article above, it's very suggestive that just as soon as astronomers were able to find low-mass planets, they found them. And as observational techniques are further refined, the detection of an exo-planet very similar in mass to ours now seems almost a matter of time.

Wayne

Wikipedia: planetary formation

Earth pic from CubeSat Cute 1.7

Tyler passed along the second of two picture of Earth from the CubeSat Cute 1.7 + APD II. It's orbiting altitude is roughly similar to the altitude that KySat will fly.

Thanks Tyler!

Wayne

KySat antenna deployment video

Tyler uploaded this video of the antenna deployment using the KySat engineering model. Think of it as a kind of "proof of concept." The team is currently testing the cube and getting the flight model ready to go.

All the antennas are quarter wave monopole at their respective frequency. The shortest antenna - about 5 cm long - is for the S-Band up- and downlink. The 19cm UHF antenna is used for downlink, and the 50cm antenna - the longest - is used for uplink.

Wayne

KySat hammer test images

I didn't mention it at the time, but images from the hammer test have been added to the right sidebar of the blog as a Flickr badge.

Wayne

Nanosat Prize founder interviewed

The Space Fellowship has published an interview with Dr. Paul Dear, who has sponsored the N-Prize or "nanosat prize." He clearly has a different take on space. From the interview:

Why a Space Prize?

It brings together a lot of things that had been simmering in the back of my mind for long time. First, I’m a space enthusiast (which is very, very different from being an expert!). I have this half-memory of sitting in front of a big old black-and-white TV watching the moon landings, and it’s stuck with me since then. I think space exploration is just something we need to do because of the type of species we are – it’s as natural as wanting to see what’s over the next hill or across the ocean. Second, I get frustrated by how long everything takes, by how conservative we’ve become, by how risk-averse we are, and by how we always have to justify every pound or cent spent. We’ve regressed since the 60’s and 70’s, if not in our abilities then in the boldness of our ambitions. The N-Prize is a way to say 'Stop taking space so seriously – it’s not rocket science!', and to get people playing again. People become very creative when they play, and the N-Prize is an invitation to play.

The entire interview is here.

Wayne

Carnival of Space no. 58 posted

The very latest Carnival of Space is out, hosted by Fraser at Universe Today. Check it out. My favorite story is about Plutoids, the newly suggested name for bodies, like Ceres, tucked away in our solar system.

Wayne

Cute 1.7 snaps Earth Portrait

Courtesy of the Southgate Amateur Radio Club, here is a terrific picture taken of Earth by CubeSat Cute-1.7 + APD II, recently launched from India along with many other cubes.

The image is from an altitude of 620 kilometers. Tyler has said that the KySat cube will fly at roughly 650 kilometers in altitude, so the perspective is about the same.

It's thrilling to think that a satellite built by Kentucky students may join other satellites in orbit!

Wayne

"Keep your fingers crossed"

Dr. Jim Lumpp, faculty adviser for Kentucky Space, was kind enough to offer an update on the status of the CubeSat on Tuesday.

Wayne

Carnival of Space 55 online

Organized around the theme of real estate(!), the very latest Carnival of Space is out. Enjoy.

Wayne

Future Kentucky Space

[KySat Space readers: the next couple of posts will consist of my live notes from the Kentucky Space Conference '08 session held on Wednesday in Lexington.]

Dr. Jim Lumpp, KySat faculty advisor from the University of Kentucky, will talk briefly about future missions.

Beginning with high altitude balloons, he explains that near-space can be used for a wide variety of things because at 100,000 feet, only one percent of the atmosphere is left.

"You can also look up," he says.

Suborbital missions will continue to play a part in the Kentucky Space program. As a test bed for systems, the experience is invaluable.

Displaying a picture of KySat-1, orbital missions are, of course, critical and picking up a theme of Dr. Malphrus', he says that the infrastructure being built around orbital missions is impressive.

Given enough experience, perhaps a lunar mission is possible. Could a P-Pod ride to the moon and eject a cube for lunar orbit?

The satellites being built at MIT, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley and Stanford are big - cubesats are different and KySat has discussed with each of these schools the possibility of working together to contribute cube technology being developed in-house.

Because CubeSats are such a disruptive technology, he adds, the National Science Foundation is looking to launch 3-6 missions a year to do space weather and atmospheric research.

Transitioning to the current project, KySat-1, Dr. Lumpp says that KySat-1 will be passively magnetically stabilized. Since there is nothing "to lever off of" in space, being able to point cubes will be the subject of future efforts. And he offers this thought: perhaps by inducing an electronic current, a magnetic field can be created. This field could be turned on and off. When it's off, the Earth's magnetic field can take over to passively orient the cube.

It's a brief session and in response to a question, Dr. Lumpp describes how cubes can be used for life sciences research. Pharmasat is doing an E. Coli study, for example.

In fact, he adds, it's the launch opportunities that are holding up science.

Wayne