[Spacetalk] https://www.nasa.gov/index.html; https://spaceflightnow.com; http://www.spacex.com

Gabe Gabrielle gabe at educatemotivate.com
Mon Feb 12 22:05:15 CST 2018


Hi all,
 The last two weeks were amazing with Brazil, then South Carolina….I attended a ballet in Newberry, SC...Wonderland, on Sat to see a very special young friend perform, then visited Whitmire Community School, Newberry Middle,  Boundary Street Elementary, Newberry Elementary, and  Mid Carolina Middle, on Mon &Tues….and spent all day Wed with home school kids….it was an amazing time, it is always so very special with the kids. Hope you were able to see the Falcon Heavy Launch... it was awesome with the two booster rockets returning to the launch Pad…the Falcon heavy develops 5 million pounds of thrust and will some day take astronauts to Mars….go to this site http://www.spacex.com you will be bale to find so many amazing, short videos I hope you can share with the kids…you can also go to NASA TV to see the replay of the supply ship…those of you on European time can watch it live, if you have a few minutes...We must always remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, make each day special, let those we care about most know, be thankful for the good in our lives, smile and have fun....gabe



NASA Updates Russian Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking Coverage
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/9409230346_9c567ca705_k.jpg>
An uncrewed Russian Progress cargo resupply spacecraft approaches the International Space Station to deliver food, fuel, and supplies to the crew members
Credits: NASA
 <applewebdata://EEF71CCF-F10B-49CC-A776-DD0250B2D62B#>
Loaded with three tons of food, fuel and supplies, a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 3:13 a.m. EST (2:13 p.m. Baikonur time) Tuesday, Feb. 13, to resupply the International Space Station <http://www.nasa.gov/station>. The previous launch attempt on Feb. 11 was automatically aborted shortly before liftoff. The rescheduled launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency’s website <https://www.nasa.gov/live> beginning at 2:45 a.m. The Progress 69 cargo vehicle will dock automatically to the aft port of the Zvezda service module of the station two days later at 5:43 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15. NASA TV and web coverage will begin at 5 a.m. The new Progress spacecraft will remain at the orbiting laboratory until late August.


Falcon Heavy: A Multi-User Spaceport Success Story
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ksc-20180206-ph_kls02_0183.jpg>
Lifting off at 3:45 p.m. from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy begins its demonstration flight. This is a significant milestone for the world's premier multi-user spaceport. In 2014, NASA signed a property agreement with SpaceX for the use and operation of the center's pad 39A, where the company has launched Falcon 9 rockets and prepared for the first Falcon Heavy. NASA also has Space Act Agreements in place with partners, such as SpaceX, to provide services needed to process and launch rockets and spacecraft.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/2-38583831555_9ae89f5c10_o.jpg>
In a photograph taken Dec. 28, 2017, the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy stands at Launch Complex 39A during testing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Credits: SpaceX
 <applewebdata://EEF71CCF-F10B-49CC-A776-DD0250B2D62B>
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/3-2015-3366a.jpg>
Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center has undergone modifications by SpaceX to adapt to the needs of the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. A horizontal integration facility has been constructed for processing rockets prior to rolling out for liftoff. In 2014 NASA signed a property agreement with SpaceX for the use and operation of the historic pad used during the Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs.
Credits: NASA
The launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on its demonstration flight is another sign that NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is continuing to grow as the nation’s premier, multi-user spaceport. The new vehicle lifted off from NASA’s historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy at 3:45 p.m. EST on Feb. 6. Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot congratulated the entire SpaceX team on the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy. "All of us in this business know the effort it takes to get to a first flight of any new vehicle and recognize the tremendous accomplishment we witnessed today," he said. "I am really proud of the hard work of our NASA team, in particular at Kennedy, for the transformation into a multi-user spaceport. Watching the Falcon Heavy rise above the historic pad that has been the launch point for so many critical missions is a true testament to the hard work transitioning our nation’s launch infrastructure in support of the commercial launch industry.” Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana also expressed congratulations to Space X on the launch of the Falcon Heavy. "The successful launch of a new vehicle on its first flight is a significant accomplishment they can be very proud of," he said. "As a multi-user spaceport, I look forward to the continued expansion of commercial spaceflight from Kennedy and the integration of a new class of launch vehicle into our Nation’s space program.” In 2014, NASA signed a 20-year property agreement with SpaceX <http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-spacex-sign-property-agreement-for-historic-launch-pad/> for the use and operation of the launch pad. Beginning in 2011, Kennedy sought partnerships with the U.S. aerospace industry to use former space shuttle facilities. Today, NASA has partnerships with more than 90 companies that enable commercial space manufacturing, processing and launch operations along Florida’s Space Coast.
Kennedy’s first significant partnership with industry allowed Boeing to use Orbiter Processing Facility 3, now known as the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility, or C3PF. Here Boeing is manufacturing and processing its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which is slated to carry astronauts to the International Space Station <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html> for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program <http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew>. SpaceX will similarly launch astronauts from Launch Complex 39A for NASA.

A handful of NASA employees serve as customer advocates and support the space center’s commercial partners. Through reimbursable Space Act Agreements, NASA provides services that are needed at a spaceport.

"We support launch campaign activities such as propellant and life support services, which includes providing commodities such as helium and nitrogen to support launch, flight hardware transport and roadblock security support near the launch pad," said Robyn Mitchell, the NASA customer advocate who supports SpaceX.

In her customer advocate role, Mitchell monitors the partner’s processing and facilities schedules to help ensure their operations and mission milestones are met. This includes integrating support plans in response to the partner's requests for services.

"When partners, such as SpaceX, are preparing for a launch, we have Support Readiness Reviews," Mitchell said. "While SpaceX is responsible for the launch vehicle and payload, NASA organizations verify support requests are complete and confirm the readiness of Kennedy's facilities, equipment and infrastructure for launch."

Mitchell noted that the ongoing responsibilities of her office are key to establishing and maintaining a multi-user spaceport capability at Kennedy, specifically working with commercial partners to help them identify technical requirements, anticipate operational impacts and develop solutions taking advantage of the center's unique launch infrastructure and capabilities.

The test is evidence of the transformation of NASA's Kennedy Space Center as a multi-user spaceport. NASA and its commercial and international partners are looking to return humans to the Moon and beyond, and there will be opportunities for a wide range of rockets and capabilities.

NASA’s Space Launch System <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/rocket.html> (SLS) rocket and Orion <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html> spacecraft is targeted to lift off next year from nearby Launch Complex 39B. The initial SLS rocket is expected to have a liftoff thrust of 8.8 million pounds, and is designed to be an evolvable launch vehicle able to meet the most challenging deep space crew and cargo needs.

“As SpaceX continues to refine operations of its Falcon Heavy rocket, we welcome this capability to be added to those available soon from NASA’s SLS,” said Tom Engler, Kennedy’s director of Center Planning and Development.

Last Updated: Feb. 7, 2018



Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and Starman Leave Earth Forever in This Final Photo

Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and Starman cruise away from Earth in this final photo from the car after its launch on SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket on Feb. 6, 2018.
Credit: SpaceX
Farewell, Starman. We hardly knew you.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the final photo of his Tesla Roadster and its Starman mannequin leaving Earth in the rear-view mirror after launching on the first Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday <https://www.space.com/39607-spacex-falcon-heavy-first-test-flight-launch.html> (Feb. 6), and the view is spectacular.

The photo, which Musk shared Wednesday on Instagram, shows Starman in the Roadster <https://www.space.com/39623-elon-musk-tesla-roadster-space-easter-eggs.html> with the entire Earth in background.


NASA TV to Air US Spacewalk at the International Space Station

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei captured this selfie with his helmet visor up during a spacewalk on Jan. 23, 2018.

Credits: NASA

Download a high-resolution version here. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/28132252559/>

Astronaut Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency tries on a pair of spacesuit sleeves inside the Quest airlock on Jan. 2, 2018.

Credits: NASA

Download a high-resolution version here. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/39048101375/>
Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Thursday, Feb. 15, to move components for the station’s robotic system into long-term storage. Live coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 5:30 a.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency’s website <http://www.nasa.gov/live>.


Expedition 54 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei <https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei> of NASA and Norishige Kanai <http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/astro/biographies/kanai/index.html> of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are scheduled to begin the spacewalk at 7:10 a.m. and finish about 1:40 p.m.


The two spacewalkers will move a Latching End Effector (LEE), or hand, for the Canadian-built robotic arm, Canadarm2 <https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mss.html>, from a payload attachment on the station’s Mobile Base System rail car to the Quest airlock. This LEE was replaced during an Expedition 53 spacewalk in October 2017, and will be returned to Earth to be refurbished and returned to the orbiting laboratory as a spare. They also will move an aging, but functional, LEE that was removed during a Jan. 23 spacewalk from its temporary storage outside the airlock to a long-term storage location where it will be available as a spare part for the Mobile Base System, which is used to move the arm and astronauts along the station’s truss structure. The spacewalk originally was scheduled Jan. 29 but was postponed when a new LEE installed during the Jan. 23 spacewalk encountered startup issues. Those issues were resolved Jan. 27 through software updates written by Canadian Space Agency robotics specialists. The spacewalk will be the 208th in support of space station assembly and maintenance and the third station spacewalk this year. The spacewalk will be the fourth spacewalk in Vande Hei’s career and the first for Kanai, who will become the fourth Japanese astronaut to walk in space. Vande Hei will wear the suit bearing the red stripes and Kanai’s suit will have no stripes. For more information about the International Space Station, its research and crews, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station <https://www.nasa.gov/station>

The Next Falcon Heavy Will Carry the Most Powerful Atomic Clock Ever Launched into Space

A NASA illustration shows the clock in its testbed satellite.
Credit: NASA
An ultra-precise atomic clock the size of a four-slice toaster is set to zip into outer space this summer, NASA said.

This isn't your average timekeeper. The so-called Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) is far smaller than Earth-bound atomic clocks, far more precise than the handful of other space-bound atomic clocks, and more resilient against the stresses of space travel than any clock ever made. According to a NASA statement <https://phys.org/news/2018-02-nasa-atomic-clock-deep-space.html>, it's expected to lose no more than 2 nanoseconds (2 billionths of a second) over the course of a day. That comes to about 7 millionths of a second over the course of a decade. [5 of the Most Precise Clocks Ever Made <https://www.livescience.com/50195-most-precise-clocks-ever-made.html>]


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