1.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
–
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services was a NASA program to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The program was announced on January 18,2006 and successfully flew all cargo flights by September 2013. NASA has suggested that Commercial services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015, COTS is related but separate from the Commercial Resupply Services program. COTS relates to the development of the vehicles, CRS to the actual deliveries, COTS involves a number of Space Act Agreements, with NASA providing milestone-based payments. COTS does not involve binding contracts, CRS on the other hand does involve legally binding contracts, which means the suppliers would be liable if they failed to perform. Commercial Crew Development is a program, aimed specifically at developing crew rotation services. All three programs are managed by NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office, NASA signed agreements with SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler in 2006, but later terminated the agreement with RpK due to insufficient private funding. NASA then signed an agreement with Orbital Sciences in 2008, independently, NASA awarded contracts for cargo delivery to the International Space Station in December 2008, to Orbital Sciences and SpaceX to utilize their COTS cargo vehicles. NASAs Final Report on the Commercial Orbit Transportation Services program considers it an unqualified success, NASA will contract for missions as its needs become clear. This is more challenging than existent commercial space transportation because it requires precision orbit insertion, rendezvous, while NASA funded Alt Access no further than preliminary studies, this program convinced numerous entrepreneurs that ISS could emerge as a significant market opportunity. We believe that when we engage the engine of competition, these services will be provided in a more cost-effective fashion than when the government has to do it, NASA asserted that once COTS was operational, it would no longer procure Russian cargo delivery services. NASA anticipates that COTS services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015, NASA projects at most a half-dozen COTS flights a year that would transport 10 tonnes annually. In May 2006, NASA selected six semifinalist proposals for further evaluation, on August 18,2006, NASAs Exploration Systems Mission Directorate announced that SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won Phase I of the COTS program. NASA planned to engage winners in funded Space Act agreements through 2010, on November 8,2006 RpK and ATK announced that ATK would become the lead contractor for the K-1. Boeing submitted a proposal in conjunction with Arianespace to launch the ESA ATV module on a Delta IV rocket, whereas the ESA launches the ATV on an Ariane 5, the two companies worked together to make this proposal. The ATV can carry up to 7.6 metric tons with a suitable launcher, by June 18,2007, NASA had signed separate non-reimbursable Space Act Agreements with four firms. These agreements included no financial support, however NASA agreed to share information to help the companies to develop their proposed vehicles, on October 22,2007, NASA solicited proposals for the $175 million in unawarded first round funds. Some of the new contenders who entered before the deadline in November 2007 for the funding were Spacehab, t/Space, Andrews Space, PlanetSpace and SpaceDev
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
–
Logo used for the COTS program
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
–
In May 2012, SpaceX completed its final demonstration mission.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
–
Cygnus
2.
Commercial Crew Development
–
Commercial Crew Development is a multiphase, space technology development program that is funded by the U. S. government and administered by NASA. The program is intended to stimulate development of privately operated crew vehicles to be launched into low Earth orbit, the program is run by NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office. NASA solicited a second set of CCdev proposals for development projects lasting for a maximum of 14 months in October of that year. In April 2011, NASA announced they would award up to nearly $270 million to four companies as they met their CCDev 2 objectives, NASA awarded Space Act Agreements for the third phase, named CCiCap, in August 2012, this would last until 2014. CCiCap is followed by CCtCap with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 contracts, contracts were awarded to SpaceX and Boeing in September 2014. The NASA CCDev program followed Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, a program for developing commercial launch capability to send cargo into low Earth orbit. In December 2009, NASA provided the description of the CCDev program. Space Exploration policy with investments to stimulate the commercial space industry, the Commercial Crew & Cargo Program is applying Recovery Act funds to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities. ARRA provided $400 million for space related activities. Of this amount, $50 million is to be used for the development of commercial crew space transportation concepts and this effort is known as CCDev. Contract funding for the CCDev program is different from traditional space industry contractor funding used on the Space Shuttle, Apollo, Gemini, contracts are issued for fixed-price, pay-for-performance milestones. The first flight of the CCDev program was planned to occur in 2015, administrator of NASA Charles Bolden attributed the delays to insufficient funding from Congress. Michael López-Alegría, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, also attributed the delays in the program to funding problems, for the fiscal year 2011 budget, US$500 million was requested for the CCDev program, but Congress granted only $270 million. For the FY2012 budget, $850 million was requested but Congress approved a budget of $406 million, for the 2013 budget,830 million was requested but Congress approved $488 million. For the FY2014 budget, $821 million was requested, Congress approved $696 million, the last spaceflight gap was between 1975 and 1981, the current extended from 2011 to the first flight of either CCDev or SLS system. After the last flight of the STS in 2011 the clock began ticking on a U. S. spaceflight gap, the previous spaceflight gap was between 1975 and the first STS flight in April 1981, about six years. Unlike the last human spaceflight gap, the U. S. has bought seats on the still-active Russian launcher as part of their joint international project. U. S. Congress was aware such a gap could occur, at that time the first crewed flight of the planned Ares I launcher would not have occurred until 2015, and its first use at ISS until 2016
Commercial Crew Development
–
Flag left aboard ISS by the crew of
STS-135 is to be retrieved by the next crew launched on an American vehicle
Commercial Crew Development
–
Commercial Crew Program logo
Commercial Crew Development
–
Construction of the CST-100 pressure vessel was one of Boeing's CCDev 1 milestones
Commercial Crew Development
–
The construction of a Dragon crew mock-up was one of SpaceX's CCDev 2 milestones, it is seen here during an event
3.
Commercial Resupply Services
–
Commercial Resupply Services are a series of contracts awarded by NASA from 2008–2016 for delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for 12 cargo transport missions and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for 8 missions, covering deliveries to 2016. In 2015, NASA extended the Phase 1 contracts by ordering an additional three resupply flights from SpaceX and one from Orbital Sciences, after additional extensions late in 2015, SpaceX is currently scheduled to have a total of 20 missions and Orbital 10. SpaceX began flying missions in 2012, using Dragon cargo spacecraft launched on Falcon 9 rockets from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral. Orbital Sciences began deliveries in 2013 using Cygnus spacecraft launched on the Antares rocket from Launch Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, a second phase of contracts were solicited and proposed in 2014. They were awarded in January 2016 to Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada Corporation, US public laws dating back to 1984 and 1990 have directed NASA to pursue commercial options for launching spaceflight missions, whenever such commercial offerings are available. The selection of the firms resupplying the station was publicly discussed by NASA on December 22,2008. NASA announced the awarding of contracts for 12 flights by SpaceX and 8 flights by Orbital Sciences Corporation in a conference on December 23,2008. PlanetSpace submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office after receiving a NASA briefing on the outcome of the award, on April 22,2009 GAO publicly released its decision to deny the protest. The launch vehicles and cargo carriers were developed using Space Act Agreements under NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, SpaceX launched their first Falcon 9 rocket and a mock-up Dragon capsule successfully on June 4,2010. The COTS Demo Flight 2+ mission successfully launched on May 22,2012, delivered cargo to the ISS and on May 31, landed in the Pacific and was recovered. On August 23,2012, NASA announced that SpaceX had successfully completed its COTS Space Act Agreement, SpaceX began their first CRS flight in October 2012. Orbital Sciences completed their COTS certification with a flight on September 29,2013, NASA began a formal process to initiate Phase 2 of the Commercial Resupply Services, CRS2, in early 2014. Three companies were awarded contracts on 14 January 2016, at the time, Dragon was docked at Harmony nadir, while Cygnus was docked at Unity nadir. Transport flights began under phase 1 of the Commercial Resupply Services contract, CRS1, the first CRS mission, SpaceX CRS-1, was scheduled for October 8,2012 at 00,35 UTC from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. It was the first of 12 planned resupply missions, CRS-1 took off on October 8,2012 at 03,03,52 AM GMT, achieved orbit, berthing and remained on station until October 28,2012. Dragon then re-entered the earths atmosphere and successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX CRS-2, the second CRS mission from SpaceX, was successfully launched on March 1,2013. SpaceX CRS-3, SpaceXs third CRS mission, was scheduled for launch on March 30,2014, the launch completed successfully on April 18. m
Commercial Resupply Services
–
In March 2013, a SpaceX Dragon is berthed to the ISS
Commercial Resupply Services
–
The Dragon is seen being berthed to the ISS in May 2012
Commercial Resupply Services
–
The Standard variant of Cygnus is seen berthed to the ISS in September 2013
4.
NASA
–
President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29,1958, disestablishing NASAs predecessor, the new agency became operational on October 1,1958. Since that time, most US space exploration efforts have led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. NASA shares data with various national and international such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite. Since 2011, NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency, from 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1. In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch a satellite for the International Geophysical Year. An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard, after the Soviet launch of the worlds first artificial satellite on October 4,1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created in February 1958 to develop technology for military application. On July 29,1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, a NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA, earlier research efforts within the US Air Force and many of ARPAs early space programs were also transferred to NASA. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs throughout its history. Some missions include both manned and unmanned aspects, such as the Galileo probe, which was deployed by astronauts in Earth orbit before being sent unmanned to Jupiter, the experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, however, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, to date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude,260,000 feet. The X-15 was an NACA experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force, the design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems
NASA
–
1963 photo showing Dr. William H. Pickering, (center) JPL Director, President John F. Kennedy, (right). NASA Administrator James Webb in background. They are discussing the
Mariner program, with a model presented.
NASA
–
Seal of NASA
NASA
–
At launch control for the May 28, 1964,
Saturn I SA-6 launch.
Wernher von Braun is at center.
NASA
–
Mercury-Atlas 6 launch on February 20, 1962
5.
International Space Station
–
The International Space Station is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in space, the ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, the ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft and it completes 15.54 orbits per day. The ISS is the space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz. The station has continuously occupied for 16 years and 156 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous presence in low Earth orbit. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations, Soyuz has very limited downmass capability. The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, the ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment, which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024, Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK. On 28 March 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS. NASA later issued a statement expressing thanks for Russias interest in future co-operation in space exploration. According to the original Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and Rosaviakosmos, the International Space Station was intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory in low Earth orbit. It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy, the ISS was given roles of serving commercial, diplomatic. The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research, the ISS simplifies individual experiments by eliminating the need for separate rocket launches and research staff
International Space Station
–
International Space Station
International Space Station
–
Sunrise at Zvezda
International Space Station
–
Fisheye view of several labs
International Space Station
–
CubeSats are deployed by the
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer attached to the end of the Japanese robotic arm
6.
SpaceX
–
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs, SpaceX has since developed the Falcon launch vehicle family and the Dragon spacecraft family, which both currently deliver payloads into Earth orbit. As of March 2017, SpaceX has since flown ten missions to the International Space Station under a cargo resupply contract, SpaceX announced in 2011 they were beginning a privately funded reusable launch system technology development program. In December 2015, a first stage was flown back to a landing pad near the launch site and this was the first such achievement by a rocket for orbital spaceflight. In April 2016, with the launch of CRS-8, SpaceX successfully vertically landed a first stage on an ocean drone-ship landing platform, in May 2016, in another first, SpaceX again landed a first stage, but during a significantly more energetic geostationary transfer orbit mission. In March 2017, SpaceX became the first to successfully re-launch and this is the main purpose this System was designed for. In February 2017, Elon Musk announced that the company had contracted by two private individuals to send them in a Dragon spacecraft on a free return trajectory around the Moon. Provisionally launching in 2018, this may become the first instance of lunar tourism. Musk tried to buy cheap rockets from Russia, but returned empty-handed after failing to find rockets for an affordable price, on the flight home, Musk realized that he could start a company that could build the affordable rockets he needed. According to early Tesla and SpaceX investor Steve Jurvetson, Musk calculated that the raw materials for building a rocket actually were only 3 percent of the price of a rocket at the time. SpaceX started with the smallest useful orbital rocket, instead of building a complex and riskier launch vehicle. In early 2002, Musk was seeking staff for his new space company, Musk approached renowned rocket engineer Tom Mueller and Mueller agreed to work for Musk, and thus SpaceX was born. SpaceX was first headquartered in a warehouse in El Segundo, California, the company has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2002, growing from 160 employees in 2005 to nearly 5,000 in late 2015 and February 2016. At year-end 2012, SpaceX had over 40 launches on its manifest representing about $4 billion in contract revenue, the contracts included both commercial and government customers. As of December 2013, SpaceX had a total of 50 future launches under contract, Musk has stated that one of his goals is to improve the cost and reliability of access to space, ultimately by a factor of ten. CEO Elon Musk said, I believe $500 per pound or less is very achievable, a major goal of SpaceX has been to develop a rapidly reusable launch system. Musk stated in a 2011 interview that he hopes to send humans to Mars surface within 10–20 years, in 2010, Musks calculations convinced him that the colonization of Mars was possible. After completing its primary burn, the first stage of the rocket detached from the second stage as usual
SpaceX
–
The company's headquarters, located in
Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX
–
SpaceX employees with the Dragon capsule at SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California, February, 2015.
SpaceX
–
Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket cores under construction at the SpaceX Hawthorne facility, November 2014.
SpaceX
–
SpaceX McGregor engine test bunker, September 2012
7.
Rocketplane Kistler
–
Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable launch system firm originally based in Oklahoma. It was formed in 2006 after Rocketplane Limited, Inc. acquired Kistler Aerospace, NASA announced that Rocketplane Kistler had been chosen to develop crew and cargo launch services. However, having missed financial milestones NASA terminated funding for the project and it filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010. In February 2006, Kistler was purchased by the majority owner of Rocketplane Limited, Inc, Kistler Aerospace continued to operate until its closure under the name Rocketplane Kistler. Meanwhile Rocketplane Limited, Inc. changed its name to Rocketplane Global, Inc. with a company, Rocketplane. The plan called for flights between 2008 and 2010. Rocketplane Kistler would receive up to $207 million if they met all NASA milestones, in November 2006, Rocketplane Kistler and Alliant Techsystems announced that Alliant Techsystems would become the lead contractor for Rocketplane Kistler’s K-1 launch vehicle. In February 2007 RpK renegotiated its COTS agreement, agreeing to raise the $500 million of required private financing before the end of May, by August 2007, RpK had failed to obtain that financing, forcing them to cut their workforce. On September 7,2007, NASA notified Rocketplane Kistler that the COTS agreement would be terminated in 30 days due to continued inability to meet its financial milestones, NASA announced in October 2007 that it had terminated funding for the project. Due to financial difficulties, the company had laid off most of its employees by February 2009, and consolidated operations in Wisconsin. Rocketplane Inc. along with its subsidiaries, Rocketplane Kistler and Rocketplane Global, the company collected $18 million in state tax breaks, but its Rocketplane XP spacecraft never materialized. Company closed its Oklahoma City headquarters and relinquished its hangar at Burns Flat, on June 15,2010 Rocketplane Inc. as well as its subsidiaries and its CEO, George French, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Secured liabilities were claimed at $3.7 million, with unsecured liabilities listed at just under $3.7 million, in December 2011 all of the assets of Rocketplane Kistler were acquired by Space Assets LLC, and a new company Kistler Space Systems was founded. Rocketplane XP Rocketplane Limited official site Rocketplane Kistler official site Appealing COTS, RpK’s Avenues for Relief Video Animation of the K-1 reusable rocket concept
Rocketplane Kistler
–
Computer rendering of
K-1 launch vehicle approaching the
International Space Station
8.
Orbital Sciences
–
It was headquartered in Dulles, Virginia and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol OA. Orbital also provided satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories, on April 29,2014, Orbital Sciences announced that it would merge with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc. The merger was completed on February 9,2015 and Orbital Sciences ceased to exist as an independent entity, Orbital was founded and incorporated in 1982 by three friends who had met earlier while at Harvard Business School—David W. Thompson, Bruce Ferguson and Scott Webster. In 1985, Orbital procured its first contract for providing up to four Transfer Orbital Stage vehicles to NASA, in 1987, the seeds for the ORBCOMM constellation were planted when Orbital began investigating a system using Low Earth orbit satellites to collect data from remote locations. In 1988, Orbital acquired Space Data Corporation in Arizona- one of the leading suppliers of suborbital rockets- thereby broadening its rocket business. This was followed by the opening of a new facility in Chandler, in 1990, the company successfully carried out eight space missions, highlighted by the initial launch of the Pegasus rocket, the worlds first privately developed space launch vehicle. Shortly following the successful Pegasus launch, Orbital conducted an IPO in 1990, in 1993, Orbital established its current headquarters in Dulles, Virginia followed by the acquisition of Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation in 1994. In the same year, Orbital successfully conducted the launch of the Taurus rocket. In the early 2000s, Orbital continued expanding its missile defense systems business with a $900 million award to develop, build, test and support interceptor booster vehicles. In 2006 Orbital conducted its 500th mission since the founding with a diverse portfolio of products that included satellites, launch vehicles. Orbital is currently on-track to deliver on this contract with its Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket following the success of Cygnus Orb-D1, the new company will be called Orbital ATK, Inc. and will serve U. S. Orbital was a provider of small- to medium-class satellites, since the companys founding in 1982, Orbital has delivered 150 spacecraft to commercial, military and civil customers worldwide. To date, these spacecraft have amassed well over 1000 years of on-orbit operations, the Communications & Imaging Satellites developed by Orbital are smaller and more affordable. Earth imagery and high resolution digital imaging satellites such as the OrbView series are developed and manufactured by Orbital. In the last 10 years, Orbital has built more scientific, Orbitals space launch vehicles are considered the industry standard for boosting small payloads to orbit. The Minotaur ground-launched rockets combine Pegasus upper stages with either government-supplied or commercially available first-stage rocket motors to boost larger payloads to orbit, Minotaur IV combines decommissioned Peacekeeper rocket motors with proven Orbital avionics and fairings to provide increased lifting capacity for government-sponsored payloads. With the development of the Antares space launch vehicle, Orbital is extending its capabilities to provide launch services for U. S. government. The inaugural launch of Antares occurred on April 21,2013 from Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Orbital is also a major provider of suborbital target and interceptor launch vehicles for the U. S. missile defense systems
Orbital Sciences
–
NASA's Dawn spacecraft built by Orbital
Orbital Sciences
–
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences
–
Cygnus approaching ISS
Orbital Sciences
–
The
GQM-163A Coyote flies over the bow of the U.S. Navy observation ship during a routine test
9.
Orion (spacecraft)
–
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is an American spacecraft intended to carry a crew of four astronauts to destinations at or beyond low Earth orbit. The Orion MPCV was announced by NASA on May 24,2011 and its design is based on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle from the cancelled Constellation program. The Orion command module is being built by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the Orion Service Module, provided by the European Space Agency, is being built by Airbus Defence and Space. However, a July 2016 Government Accountability Office report cast doubt on even the 2023 launch date, the report gave only a 40% confidence in the 2021 launch date, and suggested the aggressive goal may be counterproductive to the program. On January 14,2004, U. S. President George W. Bush announced the Crew Exploration Vehicle as part of the Vision for Space Exploration. The CEV effectively replaced the conceptual Orbital Space Plane, which was proposed after the cancellation of the Lockheed Martin X-33 program to produce a replacement for the space shuttle. Constellation proposed using the Orion CEV in both crew and cargo variants to support the International Space Station and as a vehicle for a return to the Moon. The Orion CEV weighs about 23 tonnes, less than the 30 tonne Apollo command/service module, the crew module would weigh about 8.9 tonnes, greater than the equivalent Apollo command module at 5.8 tonnes. With a diameter of 5 metres as opposed to 3.9 metres, the Orion CEV design consisted of two main parts, a conical crew module and a cylindrical service module holding the spacecrafts propulsion system and expendable supplies. Both were based substantially on the Apollo command and service modules flown between 1967 and 1975, on May 7,2009, the Obama administration enlisted the Augustine Commission to perform a full independent review of the ongoing NASA space exploration program. As a consequence, the commission recommended a significant re-allocation of goals, as one of the many outcomes based on these recommendations, on October 11,2010, the Constellation program was cancelled, ending development of the Altair, Ares I, and Ares V. The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle survived the cancellation and was renamed the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Orion MPCV takes basic design elements from the Apollo Command Module that took astronauts to the moon, but its technology and capability are more advanced. It is designed to support long-duration deep space missions, with up to 21 days active crew time plus 6 months quiescent, during the quiescent period crew life support would be provided by another module such as a Deep Space Habitat. The spacecrafts life support, propulsion, thermal protection and avionics systems are designed to be upgradeable as new technologies become available, the MPCV spacecraft includes both crew and service modules, and a spacecraft adaptor. The MPCVs crew module is larger than Apollos and can support more crew members for short or long-duration missions, the service module fuels and propels the spacecraft as well as storing oxygen and water for astronauts. The service modules structure is also being designed to provide locations to mount scientific experiments, the crew module is the only part of the MPCV that returns to Earth after each mission and is a 57. 5° frustum shape, similar to that of the Apollo command module. As projected, the CM will be 5.02 meters in diameter and 3.3 meters in length, with a mass of about 8.5 metric tons and it was manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. It will have more than 50% more volume than the Apollo capsule, which had a volume of 5.9 m3
Orion (spacecraft)
–
Orion
Orion (spacecraft)
–
Orion CEV design as of 2009.
Orion (spacecraft)
–
Interior of the Orion mock-up in October 2014.
Orion (spacecraft)
–
Test of Orion's parachute system in July 2012.
10.
In-orbit rendezvous
–
A space rendezvous is an orbital maneuver during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance. Rendezvous requires a precise match of the velocities and position vectors of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant distance through orbital station-keeping. Rendezvous may or may not be followed by docking or berthing, procedures which bring the spacecraft into physical contact, in its first human spaceflight program Vostok, the Soviet Union launched pairs of spacecraft from the same launch pad, one or two days apart. The initial separation distances were in the range of 5 to 6.5 kilometers, in 1963 Buzz Aldrin submitted his doctoral thesis titled, Line-Of-Sight Guidance Techniques For Manned Orbital Rendezvous. As a NASA astronaut, Aldrin worked to translate complex orbital mechanics into relatively simple flight plans for my colleagues. The first attempt at rendezvous was made on June 3,1965, McDivitt was unable to get close enough to achieve station-keeping, due to depth-perception problems, and stage propellant venting which kept moving it around. However, the Gemini 4 attempts at rendezvous were unsuccessful largely because NASA engineers had yet to learn the mechanics involved in the process. Simply pointing the active vehicles nose at the target and thrusting was unsuccessful, if the target is ahead in the orbit and the tracking vehicle increases speed, its altitude also increases, actually moving it away from the target. The higher altitude then increases orbital period due to Keplers third law, putting the tracker not only above, as GPO engineer André Meyer later remarked, There is a good explanation for what went wrong with rendezvous. The crew, like everyone else at MSC, just didnt understand or reason out the mechanics involved. As a result, we all got a lot smarter and really perfected rendezvous maneuvers. Rendezvous was first successfully accomplished by US astronaut Wally Schirra on December 15,1965, Schirra maneuvered the Gemini 6 spacecraft within 1 foot of its sister craft Gemini 7. The spacecraft were not equipped to dock with other. When you come to three miles, youve rendezvoused. If anybody thinks theyve pulled a rendezvous off at three miles, have fun and this is when we started doing our work. I dont think rendezvous is over until you are stopped – completely stopped – with no motion between the two vehicles, at a range of approximately 120 feet. Thats when you can go back and play the game of driving a car or driving an airplane or pushing a skateboard – its about that simple. The first docking of two spacecraft was achieved on March 16,1966 when Gemini 8, under the command of Neil Armstrong, Gemini 6 was to have been the first docking mission, but had to be cancelled when that missions Agena vehicle was destroyed during launch
In-orbit rendezvous
–
Gemini 7 photographed from Gemini 6 in 1965
In-orbit rendezvous
–
Gemini 8 Agena target vehicle
In-orbit rendezvous
–
Gemini 8 docking with the Agena in March 1966
In-orbit rendezvous
–
Soyuz TMA-03M docking with MRM-1 Rassvet in Earth orbit, bringing three crew to the
International Space Station in December 2011
11.
Private spaceflight
–
Private spaceflight is flight beyond the Kármán line —or the development of new spaceflight technology—that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency. The European Space Agency was formed in 1975, largely following the model of space technology development. Later on, large defense contractors began to develop and operate space launch systems, Private spaceflight in Earth orbit includes communications satellites, satellite television, satellite radio, astronaut transport and sub-orbital and orbital space tourism. In the 2000s, entrepreneurs began designing and—by the 2010s, deploying—competitive space systems to the national-monopoly governmental systems of the decades of the space age. These new offerings have brought about significant market competition in space launch services after 2010 that had not been present previously, planned private spaceflights beyond Earth orbit include personal spaceflights around the Moon. Two private orbital habitat prototypes are already in Earth orbit, with versions to follow. Planned private spaceflights beyond Earth orbit include solar sailing prototypes, Spaceflight was thus the monopoly province of a small group of national governments. Both the U. S. civilian space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military pilots as astronauts, during this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches. Eventually, private organizations were able to offer and purchase space launches, thus beginning the period of private spaceflight. The first phase of private operation was the launch of the first commercial communications satellites. Communications Satellite Act of 1962 opened the way to commercial consortia owning and operating their own satellites, last ones counts the manned programs also - most famous and important of them are suborbital flights of Virgin Galactic and orbital flights of SpaceX and other COTS participants. Development of alternatives to government-provided space launch services began in earnest in the 2000s, lower prices for launch services after 2010, and published prices for standard launch services, have brought about significant space launch market competition that had not been present previously. In June 2013, British newspaper The Independent claimed that the race is flaring back into life. On 26 March 1980, the European Space Agency created Arianespace, Arianespace produces, operates and markets the Ariane launcher family. By 1995 Arianespace lofted its 100th satellite and by 1997 the Ariane rocket had its 100th launch, arianespaces 23 shareholders represent scientific, technical, financial and political entities from 10 different European countries. OTRAG, a German company founded in 1975, which proposed a radically different, under political pressure, the project was discontinued in the 1980s. Zero2infinity, a Spanish aerospace company, is developing a high-altitude balloon-based launch vehicle termed a bloostar to launch small satellites to orbit for customers, yet one of NASAs early actions was to effectively ban private space flight through a mountain of red tape. From the beginning, though, this met significant opposition not only by the private sector, in 1962, Congress passed its first law pushing back the prohibition on private involvement in space, the Communications Satellite Act of 1962
Private spaceflight
–
Astronaut
Dale A. Gardner holding a "For Sale" sign
Private spaceflight
–
Launch of a Proton rocket
Private spaceflight
–
The
SpaceX Dragon berthing with the ISS during its
final demonstration mission, on 25 May 2012.
Private spaceflight
–
Asteroid mining spacecraft
12.
Manned space mission
–
Human spaceflight is space travel with a crew or passengers aboard the spacecraft. The first human spaceflight was launched by the Soviet Union on 12 April 1961 as a part of the Vostok program, humans have been continuously present in space for 16 years and 153 days on the International Space Station. All early human spaceflight was crewed, where at least some of the passengers acted to carry out tasks of piloting or operating the spacecraft, after 2015, several human-capable spacecraft are being explicitly designed with the ability to operate autonomously. Since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle in 2011, only Russia and China have maintained human spaceflight capability with the Soyuz program, currently, all expeditions to the International Space Station use Soyuz vehicles, which remain attached to the station to allow quick return if needed. The United States is developing commercial crew transportation to facilitate access to ISS and low Earth orbit. While spaceflight has typically been an activity, commercial spaceflight has gradually been taking on a greater role. NASA has also played a role to stimulate private spaceflight through programs such as Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, the vehicles used for these services could then serve both NASA and potential commercial customers. Commercial resupply of ISS began two years after the retirement of the Shuttle, and commercial crew launches could begin by 2017 and these rockets were large enough to be adapted to carry the first artificial satellites into low Earth orbit. The USSR launched the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin into an orbit in Vostok 1 on a Vostok 3KA rocket. The US launched its first astronaut, Alan Shepard on a flight aboard Freedom 7 on a Mercury-Redstone rocket. Unlike Gagarin, Shepard manually controlled his spacecrafts attitude, and landed inside it, the first American in orbit was John Glenn aboard Friendship 7, launched 20 February 1962 on a Mercury-Atlas rocket. The USSR launched five more cosmonauts in Vostok capsules, including the first woman in space, the US launched a total of two astronauts in suborbital flight and four in orbit through 1963. US President John F. Kennedy raised the stakes of the Space Race by setting the goal of landing a man on the Moon, Geminis objective was to support Apollo by developing American orbital spaceflight experience and techniques to be used in the Moon mission. They were able to launch two orbital flights in 1964 and 1965 and achieved the first spacewalk, made by Alexei Leonov on Voskhod 2 on 8 March 1965, but Voskhod did not have Geminis capability to maneuver in orbit, and the program was terminated. In July 1969, Apollo 11 accomplished Kennedys goal by landing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon 21 July, a total of six Apollo missions landed 12 men to walk on the Moon through 1972, half of which drove electric powered vehicles on the surface. The crew of Apollo 13, Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise, survived a catastrophic in-flight spacecraft failure, meanwhile, the USSR secretly pursued human lunar orbiting and landing programs. On losing the Moon race, they concentrated on the development of stations, using the Soyuz as a ferry to take cosmonauts to. They started with a series of Salyut sortie stations from 1971 to 1986, after the Apollo program, the US launched the Skylab sortie space station in 1973, manning it for 171 days with three crews aboard Apollo spacecraft
Manned space mission
–
Apollo 11 crewmember
Buzz Aldrin walks on the Moon, 1969
Manned space mission
–
International Space Station crewmember
Tracy Caldwell Dyson views the Earth, 2010
Manned space mission
–
Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, and the first person to orbit the Earth, 1961
Manned space mission
–
Alan Shepard, the first American in space, 1961
13.
Free market
–
Another view considers systems with significant market power, inequality of bargaining power, or information asymmetry to be less than free. It is a result of a need being, then the need being met, prices for goods and services are set freely by the forces of supply and demand and are allowed to reach their point of equilibrium without intervention by government policy. Others believe regulation might be part of a market, if the regulation is necessary to control significant market power, inequality of bargaining power. The latter view implies a free market is not necessarily deregulated, although some of those with the former belief speak of free markets, friedrich Hayek argued in The Pure Theory of Capital that the goal is the preservation of the unique information contained in the price itself. The definition of free market has been disputed and made complex by collectivist political philosophers, during the marginal revolution, subjective value theory was rediscovered. Various forms of socialism based on free markets have existed since the 19th century, early notable socialist proponents of free markets include Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Benjamin Tucker, and the Ricardian socialists. These economists believed that free markets and voluntary exchange could not exist within the exploitative conditions of capitalism. Advocates of free-market socialism such as Jaroslav Vanek argue that free markets are not possible under conditions of private ownership of productive property. Socialists also point out that free market capitalism leads to excessive disparities in the distribution of income, corporate monopolies run rampant in free markets, with endless agency over the consumer. Thus, free market capitalism desires government regulation of markets to prevent social instability and this implies that economic rents, i. e. profits generated from lack of perfect competition, must be reduced or eliminated as much as possible through free competition. Economic theory suggests the returns to land and other resources are economic rents that cannot be reduced in such a way because of their perfect inelastic supply. Some economic thinkers emphasize the need to share those rents as a requirement for a well functioning market. It is suggested this would eliminate the need for regular taxes that have a negative effect on trade as well as release land. Two features that improve the competition and free market mechanisms, winston Churchill supported this view by his statement Land is the mother of all monopoly. The American economist and social philosopher Henry George, the most famous proponent of this thesis, followers of his ideas are often called Georgists or Geoists and Geolibertarians. Léon Walras, one of the founders of the neoclassical economics who helped formulate the general theory, had a very similar view. He argued that competition could only be realized under conditions of state ownership of natural resources. Additionally, income taxes could be eliminated because the state would receive income to public services through owning such resources and enterprises
Free market
–
Issues
14.
Bureaucracy
–
Bureaucracy means both a body of non-elective government officials and an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials, today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution. The public administration in many countries is an example of a bureaucracy, since being coined, the word bureaucracy has developed negative connotations. Bureaucracies have been criticized as being inefficient, convoluted, or too inflexible to individuals, the dehumanizing effects of excessive bureaucracy became a major theme in the work of German-language writer Franz Kafka and are central to his novels The Trial and The Castle. The elimination of bureaucracy is a key concept in modern managerial theory and has been an issue in some political campaigns. Others have noted the necessity of bureaucracies in modern life, the term bureaucracy is French in origin and combines the French word bureau – desk or office – with the Greek word κράτος kratos – rule or political power. It was coined in the century by the French economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay and was a satirical pejorative from the outset. Gournay never wrote the term down but was quoted at length in a letter from a contemporary. Here, too, the sense was pejorative, with Irish novelist Lady Morgan referring to the Bureaucratie, or office tyranny, by which Ireland has so long been governed. By the mid-19th century, the word was being used in a neutral sense. In this sense bureaucracy was seen as a form of management. In the1920s, the definition was expanded by the German sociologist Max Weber to include any system of administration conducted by trained professionals according to fixed rules, although the term bureaucracy was not coined until the mid 18th century, organized and consistent administrative systems are much older. Ancient Egypt also had a class of scribes that administered the civil service bureaucracy. The Roman Empire was administered by a hierarchy of regional proconsuls, the reforms of Diocletian doubled the number of administrative districts and led to a large-scale expansion in Roman bureaucracy. After the Empire split, the Byzantine Empire developed a complicated administrative hierarchy. In Ancient China, the Han dynasty established a complicated bureaucracy based on the teachings of Confucius, who emphasized the importance of ritual in family, relationships, with each subsequent Dynasty, the bureaucracy evolved. During the Song dynasty, the bureaucracy became meritocratic, following the Song reforms, competitive exams were held to determine who could hold which positions. The imperial examination system lasted until 1905, six years before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, a modern form of bureaucracy evolved in the expanding Department of Excise in the United Kingdom, during the 18th century
Bureaucracy
–
Students competed in
imperial examinations to receive a position in the bureaucracy of
ancient China.
Bureaucracy
–
The 18th century
Department of Excise developed a sophisticated bureaucracy. Pictured, the
Custom House, London.
15.
Michael D. Griffin
–
For other people with the same name, see Michael Griffin. Michael Douglas Mike Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer and he served as Administrator of NASA, the U. S. space agency, from April 13,2005, to January 20,2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as the future of human spaceflight, in April 2009 Griffin, who has an academic background, was named eminent scholar and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Griffin had worked at NASA prior to serving as NASA Administrator, when he was nominated as NASA chief, he was head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. While he describes himself modestly as an aerospace engineer from a small town. In 2007 he was included in the TIME100, the magazines list of the 100 most influential people, Griffins appointment as Administrator was associated with a significant shift in the direction of the agency. He began signaling intended changes at his Senate confirmation hearing, Griffin was born November 1,1949, in Aberdeen, Maryland. He currently holds seven academic degrees, Griffin was also working toward a Master of Science degree in Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University before being appointed as NASA chief. He has worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab and APL and he is the lead author of more than two dozen technical papers, and is co-author with James R. French of the graduate astronautical engineering textbook, Space Vehicle Design. ISBN 1-56347-539-1 Griffin is also an aviation flight instructor and pilot, and owner of a small airplane. I can think of no lesser purpose sufficient to justify the difficulty of the enterprise, Griffin was one of the original signatories of the Mars Society, which is dedicated to human settlement of Mars. On September 28,2007, Griffin said that NASA aims to put a man on Mars by 2037, the short answer is we would have been on Mars 15 or 20 years ago, instead of circling endlessly in low Earth orbit. Griffin has been criticized by space research organizations such as NASA Ames Research Center life sciences group for shifting portions of NASAs budget from science to manned spaceflight, the logic was that funding Project Constellation, a presidentially mandated program, was the top priority of the space agency. Griffin attributed these cuts, along with cuts in the human spaceflight budget, the National Research Council also concluded that NASAs total funding has not been enough to fulfill all its mandates and remain strong in science. However, during Griffins term, science budgets were, as a percentage of NASAs total budget, inline with those during Project Apollo. The Vision for Space Exploration, announced by President Bush in 2004, by June 2006, due to ongoing concerns with the safety of the Shuttle in the wake of the Columbia disaster, only one flight had been performed. Per the Presidential mandate of the Vision for Space Exploration, Griffin mandated that 18 more shuttle flights be performed in the remaining four and a half years. Griffin approved the launch of the space shuttle Discovery for July 2006 to perform the second mission, overriding the NASA Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer
Michael D. Griffin
–
Michael Douglas Griffin
Michael D. Griffin
–
Michael Griffin was formally sworn in by Vice President
Dick Cheney on June 28, 2005.
16.
Vision for Space Exploration
–
The Vision for Space Exploration was a plan for space exploration announced on January 14,2004 by President George W. Bush. It was conceived as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA and it was replaced by the space policy of the Barack Obama administration in June 2010. S. Outlining some of the advantages, U. S. President George W. NASA has also outlined plans for manned missions to the far side of the Moon, all of the Apollo missions have landed on the near side. Unique products may be producible in the nearly limitless extreme vacuum of the surface. The Moon would become a proving ground also toward the development of In-Situ Resource Utilization, the NSS believes that the Moon may be a repository of the history and possible future of our planet, and that the six Apollo landings only scratched the surface of that treasure. For example, Rep. Dave Weldon said, I think this is the best thing that has happened to the program in decades. Throughout much of 2004, it was whether the U. S. Congress would be willing to approve. However, in November 2004, Congress passed a bill which gave NASA the $16.2 billion that President Bush had sought to kick-start the Vision. According to then-NASA chief Sean OKeefe, that spending bill “was as strong an endorsement of the space exploration vision, as any of us could have imagined. ”In 2005, Congress passed S.1281, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, which explicitly endorses the Vision. NASAs Lunar Architecture forms a key part of its Global Exploration Strategy, the first part of the Lunar Architecture is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched in June 2009 on board an Atlas V. The preliminary design review was completed in February 2006 and the design review was completed in November 2006. An important function of the orbiter will be to look for evidence that the increased concentrations of hydrogen discovered at the moons poles is in the form of lunar ice. After this the flights will make use of the new Ares I. However, VSE itself is poised to propel a host of beneficial Moon science activities, including lunar telescopes, selenological studies, with or without VSE, human spaceflight will be made sustainable. However, without VSE, more funds could be directed toward reducing human spaceflight costs sufficiently for the betterment of low Earth orbit research, business, alternatively, VSE could afford advances in other scientific research, in-situ lunar business industries, and lunar-space tourism. The VSE budget required termination the Space Shuttle by 2010 and of any US role in the International Space Station by 2017 and this would have required, even in the most optimistic plans, in a period of years without human spaceflight capability from the US. Termination of the Space Shuttle program, without any planned alternatives and this severely limited any future of low earth orbit or deep space exploration. Ultimately, the lack of funding caused the VSE to fall short of its original goals
Vision for Space Exploration
–
Cover page of report of Aldridge Commission, Report of the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, 2004
Vision for Space Exploration
–
Two planned configurations for a return to the Moon, heavy lift (left) and crew (right)
Vision for Space Exploration
–
This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2015)
17.
ISS
–
The International Space Station is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in space, the ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, the ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft and it completes 15.54 orbits per day. The ISS is the space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz. The station has continuously occupied for 16 years and 157 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous presence in low Earth orbit. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations, Soyuz has very limited downmass capability. The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, the ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment, which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024, Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK. On 28 March 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS. NASA later issued a statement expressing thanks for Russias interest in future co-operation in space exploration. According to the original Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and Rosaviakosmos, the International Space Station was intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory in low Earth orbit. It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy, the ISS was given roles of serving commercial, diplomatic. The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research, the ISS simplifies individual experiments by eliminating the need for separate rocket launches and research staff
ISS
–
International Space Station
ISS
–
Sunrise at Zvezda
ISS
–
Fisheye view of several labs
ISS
–
CubeSats are deployed by the
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer attached to the end of the Japanese robotic arm
18.
Russian Federal Space Agency
–
The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of Russia and general aerospace research. The Corporation was established on the basis of the now-defunct Federal Space Agency on December 28,2015, Roscosmos was previously known as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The headquarters of Roscosmos are located in Moscow, while the main Mission Control space center is located in the city of Korolev. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center is in Star City, the Launch facilities used are Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and Vostochny Cosmodrome being built in the Russian Far East in Amur Oblast. The current Director since January 2015 is Igor Komarov, in 2015 the Russian government merged Roscosmos with the United Rocket and Space Corporation, the re-nationalized Russian space industry, to create the Roscosmos State Corporation. The Soviet space program did not have central executive agencies, instead, its organizational architecture was multi-centered, it was the design bureaus and the council of designers that had the most say, not the political leadership. The creation of a central agency after the separation of Russia from the Soviet Union was therefore a new development, Russian Space Agency was formed on February 25,1992, by a decree of President Yeltsin. Yuri Koptev, who had worked with designing Mars landers at NPO Lavochkin. In the early years, the agency suffered from lack of authority as the design bureaus fought to protect their own spheres of operation. For example, the decision to keep Mir in operation beyond 1999 was not taken by the agency, instead, another example is that the decision to develop the new Angara rocket was rather a function of Khrunichevs ability to attract resources than a conscious long-term decision by the agency. The 1990s saw serious financial problems because of decreased cash flow and this resulted in Roscosmos leading role in commercial satellite launches and space tourism. In March 2004, director Yuri Koptev was replaced by Anatoly Perminov, the Russian economy boomed throughout 2005 from high prices for exports, such as oil and gas, the outlook for future funding in 2006 appeared more favorable. The budget for 2006 was as high as 25 billion rubles, under the current 10-year budget approved, the budget of the Space Agency shall increase 5–10% per year, providing the space agency with a constant influx of money. In addition to the budget, Roscosmos plans to have over 130 billion rubles flowing into its budget by other means, such as industry investments and it is around the time US-based The Planetary Society entered a partnership with Roscosmos. In 2011, the government spent 115 billion rubles in the space programs. The proposed project core budget for 2013 to be around 128.3 billion rubles, the budget for the whole space program is,169.8 billion rubles. By 2015, the amount of the budget can be increased to 199.2 billion rubles, priorities of the Russian space program include the new Angara rocket family and development of new communications, navigation and remote Earth sensing spacecraft. The GLONASS global navigation system has for many years been one of the top priorities and has been given its own budget line in the federal space budget
Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
–
Logo of Roscosmos
Russian Federal Space Agency
–
Cosmonaut on EVA (February 2012)
Russian Federal Space Agency
–
The
Zarya module was the first module of the ISS, launched in 1998.
19.
Soyuz spacecraft
–
Soyuz is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s that remains in service today. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was built as part of the Soviet manned lunar programs. The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on a Soyuz rocket, the most frequently used, the Soyuz rocket design is based on the Vostok launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or R-7A Semyorka, a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile. All Soyuz spacecraft are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the first Soyuz flight was unmanned and started on November 28,1966. The first Soyuz mission with a crew, Soyuz 1, launched on 23 April 1967 but ended with a due to a parachute failure. Soyuz 3, launched on October 26,1968, became the programs first successful manned mission, the only other flight to suffer a fatal accident, Soyuz 11, killed its crew of three when the cabin depressurized prematurely just before reentry. These were the humans to date to have died above the Kármán line. Despite these early incidents, Soyuz is widely considered the worlds safest, most cost-effective human spaceflight vehicle, Soyuz spacecraft were used to carry cosmonauts to and from Salyut and later Mir Soviet space stations, and are now used for transport to and from the International Space Station. At least one Soyuz spacecraft is docked to ISS at all times for use as a craft in the event of an emergency. The spacecraft is intended to be replaced by the six-person Federation spacecraft, the orbital and service modules are single-use and are destroyed upon re-entry in the atmosphere. The orbital and reentry portions are habitable living space, Soyuz can carry up to three crew members and provide life support for about 30 person days. The life support system provides an atmosphere at sea level partial pressures. The atmosphere is regenerated through KO2 cylinders, which absorb most of the CO2 and water produced by the crew and regenerates the oxygen, the vehicle is protected during launch by a payload fairing, which is jettisoned along with the SAS at 2-1/2 minutes into launch. It has a docking system. The ship can be operated automatically, or by a pilot independently of ground control, inspired by the Mercury LES, Soviet designers began work on a similar system in 1962. This included developing a complex sensing system to monitor various launch vehicle parameters, the SAS could also be manually activated from the ground, but unlike American spacecraft, there was no way for the cosmonauts to trigger it themselves. Four folding stabilizers were added to improve stability during descent. Two test runs of the SAS were carried out in 1966-67, the basic design of the SAS has remained almost unchanged in 50 years of use and all Soyuz launches carry it
Soyuz spacecraft
–
Soyuz spacecraft (TMA version)
Soyuz spacecraft
–
Diagram showing the three elements of the Soyuz-TMA spacecraft.
Soyuz spacecraft
–
Soyuz spacecraft's Orbital Module
Soyuz spacecraft
–
Soyuz spacecraft's Descent Module
20.
Progress spacecraft
–
The Progress is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Its purpose is to deliver supplies needed to sustain human presence in orbit, while it does not carry a crew it can be boarded by astronauts when docked with a space station, hence it being classified as manned by its manufacturer. Progress is derived from the manned Soyuz spacecraft and launches on the same vehicle, Progress has supported space stations as early as Salyut 6 and as recently as the International Space Station. Each year there are three and four Progress flights to the ISS. A Progress remains docked until shortly before being replaced with a new one or a Soyuz, then it is filled with waste, disconnected, and de-orbited, at which point it burns up in the atmosphere. Due to the variation in Progress vehicles flown to the ISS, Progress was developed because of the need for a constant source of supplies to make long duration space missions possible. It was determined that cosmonauts needed an inflow of consumables, plus there was a need for maintenance items, such payloads were impractical to launch with passengers in the restricted space of a Soyuz. As of December 1,2016 there have been 155 Progress flights with three failures, all three failures have occurred since 2011. Progress is of much the size and shape as Soyuz. It consists of three modules, A pressurized forward module and this carries the supplies for the crew such as scientific equipment, clothes, prepackaged and fresh food, and letters from home. The docking drogue is similar to that of the Soyuz but features ducting for the UDMH fuel, the reentry module of the Soyuz was replaced with an unpressurized propellant and refueling compartment with ducting along the outside of the spacecraft. This meant that if a leak occurred, the gas would not enter the stations atmosphere. The fuel is carried in two tanks, the propulsion module, at the rear of the spacecraft, remained unchanged and contains the orientation engines used for the automatic docking. It may be used to boost the orbit of the station once docked, reduction in mass was possible because the Progress was designed to be unmanned and disposable. This means that there is no need for life support systems. A small amount of weight is saved due to the lack of rescue crews system. The spacecraft also has no ability to split into separate modules, after undocking, the spacecraft performs a retrofire and burns up in the atmosphere. There were many variations between the different flights, but the major upgrades are reflected in the change of name
Progress spacecraft
Progress spacecraft
–
Launch of Progress M-11M
Progress spacecraft
–
Progress M1-3 seen docked at the bottom of the
Zvezda module of the ISS during
STS-106.
Progress spacecraft
–
Early programme
21.
European Space Agency
–
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states, dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a staff of about 2,000. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 5 is operated through Arianespace with ESA sharing in the costs of launching, after World War II, many European scientists left Western Europe in order to work with the United States. The meeting was attended by representatives from eight countries, including Harrie Massey. The Western European nations decided to have two different agencies, one concerned with developing a system, ELDO, and the precursor of the European Space Agency. The latter was established on 20 March 1964 by an agreement signed on 14 June 1962, from 1968 to 1972, ESRO launched seven research satellites. ESA in its current form was founded with the ESA Convention in 1975, ESA has 10 founding member states, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. These signed the ESA Convention in 1975 and deposited the instruments of ratification by 1980, during this interval the agency functioned in a de facto fashion. ESA launched its first major scientific mission in 1975, Cos-B, ESA joined NASA in the IUE, the worlds first high-orbit telescope, which was launched in 1978 and operated very successfully for 18 years. A number of successful Earth-orbit projects followed, and in 1986 ESA began Giotto, its first deep-space mission, to study the comets Halley and Grigg–Skjellerup. Hipparcos, a mission, was launched in 1989 and in the 1990s SOHO, Ulysses. Recent scientific missions in co-operation with NASA include the Cassini–Huygens space probe, as the successor of ELDO, ESA has also constructed rockets for scientific and commercial payloads. Ariane 1, launched in 1979, brought mostly commercial payloads into orbit from 1984 onward, the successor launch vehicle of Ariane 5, the Ariane 6 is already in the definition stage and is envisioned to enter service in the 2020s. The beginning of the new millennium saw ESA become, along with agencies like NASA, JAXA, ISRO, CSA and Roscosmos, one of the major participants in scientific space research. Although ESA had relied on co-operation with NASA in previous decades, especially the 1990s, changed circumstances led to decisions to rely more on itself, a 2011 press issue thus stated, Russia is ESAs first partner in its efforts to ensure long-term access to space. ESA maintains its scientific and research projects mainly for astronomy-space missions such as Corot, launched on 27 December 2006 and this is the reason space exploration is an integral part of overall space activities. It has always been so, and it will be more important in the future. ESA describes its work in two overlapping ways, For the general public the various fields of work are described as Activities, Member states participate to varying degrees in the mandatory and optional space programmes
European Space Agency
–
ESA Mission Control at
ESOC in
Darmstadt, Germany
European Space Agency
–
Acronym
European Space Agency
–
ESTEC buildings in
Noordwijk, Netherlands. ESTEC was the main technical centre of ESRO and remains so for the successor organization, ESA.
European Space Agency
–
Mock-up of the
Ariane 1
22.
Automated Transfer Vehicle
–
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency. It was operated in conjunction with the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle, a total of five ATVs, Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler, Edoardo Amaldi, Albert Einstein, and Georges Lemaître were launched. Following several delays to the programme, the first of these was launched in March 2008 and it was an unmanned platform that operated with a high level of automation, such as its docking sequence, at no point was it used for transporting passengers. On 2 April 2012, the ESA announced that the ATV program would be terminated following the launch of the fifth ATV in 2014, further use of the ATV has been proposed. In 2012, ESA member states decided that the ATV would be adapted to serve as the module of the NASA Orion spacecraft. On 9 December 1998, the ESA awarded a million contract to proceed with development work on the ATV to French aerospace company Aérospatiale. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, prior to 2000, DASA was to serve as the prime contractor for production, after which the role would be gradually transferred to Aérospatiale. At the point at which the contract had been awarded, it was envisioned that the first flight of the ATV would be conducted during September 2003. By May 2003, it was set to be launched sometime during late 2004.1 billion contract between the ESA and the prime contractor, in October 2005, it was clarified that the new launch date for the first ATV would be during 2007. In September 2006, it was announced that the stage of testing on the Ariane 5s customised ATV stage was within its final phase. In December 2006, it was announced that the first ATV had completed its vacuum test, marking the completion of the key tests. Following multiple restructuring and ownership changes, the contractor for the ATV became Airbus Defence and Space. In order to facilitate the relationship between the contractor and the ESA, an integrated ESA team at the Les Mureaux site was established and maintained for the duration of the development, Airbus Defence and Space builds the ATVs in its facility in Bremen. According to the German Aerospace Center, the development cost of the ATV was approximately €1.35 billion, reportedly, each ATV spacecraft was costed at roughly US$300 million, which did not include launch costs. Within the Airbus Defence and Space led project, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the cargo carrier section of the ATV and manufactures these at the firms facility in Turin. On 31 July 2007, the first ATV, Jules Verne, arrived at the ESA spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 9 March 2008, Jules Verne was launched on top of an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou. On 3 April 2008, Jules Verne succeeded in automatically docking with the ISS, proving the capabilities of the ESAs first fully automated, the arrival of the ATV came at a time at which there were public concerns over the logistical practicality of supplying the ISS. Under the proposal, which had been issued by a joint venture between EADS and Boeing, the ATV would be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using a Delta IV rocket, ultimately, the proposal was not awarded with a corresponding contract
Automated Transfer Vehicle
Automated Transfer Vehicle
–
Jules Verne seen at the bottom of the ISS making the relative size clearly visible
Automated Transfer Vehicle
–
Johannes Kepler Automated Transfer Vehicle's launch as seen from the ISS
Automated Transfer Vehicle
–
Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle approaches the International Space Station
23.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
–
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, is Japans national aero-space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003 and its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize. Before the merger, ISAS was responsible for space and planetary research, NASDA, which was founded on 1 October 1969, had developed rockets, satellites, and also built the Japanese Experiment Module. The old NASDA headquarters were located at the current site of the Tanegashima Space Center, NASDA also trained Japanese astronauts, who flew with the US Space Shuttles. In 2012, new legislation extended JAXAs remit from peaceful purposes only to some military space development. Political control of JAXA passed from MEXT to the Prime Ministers Cabinet Office through a new Space Strategy Office, JAXA is composed of the following organizations. Its headquarters are in Chōfu, Tokyo and it also has Earth Observation Research Center, Tokyo Earth Observation Center in Hatoyama, Saitama Noshiro Testing Center in Noshiro, Akita – Established in 1962. It carries out development and testing of rocket engines, sanriku Balloon Center – Balloons have been launched from this site since 1971. Kakuda Space Center in Kakuda, Miyagi – Leads the development of rocket engines, works mainly with development of liquid fuel engines. Sagamihara Campus – Development of experimental equipment for rockets and satellites, Tanegashima Space Center - currently the launch site for the H-IIA and H-IIB rockets. This is the center of Japans space network and it is involved in research and development of satellites and rockets, and tracking and controlling of satellites. It develops experimental equipment for the Japanese Experiment Module, training of astronauts also takes place here. For International Space Station operations, the Japanese Flight Control Team is located at the Space Station Integration & Promotion Center in Tsukuba, SSIPC communicates regularly with ISS crewmembers via S-band audio. Uchinoura Space Center - currently the site for the Epsilon rocket. JAXA uses the H-IIA rocket from the former NASDA body and its variant H-IIB to launch engineering test satellites, weather satellites, for science missions like X-ray astronomy, JAXA uses the Epsilon rocket. For experiments in the upper atmosphere JAXA uses the SS-520, S-520, prior to the establishment of JAXA, ISAS had been most successful in its space program in the field of X-ray astronomy during the 1980s and 1990s. Another successful area for Japan has been Very Long Baseline Interferometry with the HALCA mission, additional success was achieved with solar observation and research of the magnetosphere, among other areas. NASDA was mostly active in the field of satellite technology
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
–
JAXA
Kibo, the largest module of the
ISS.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
–
Explore to Realize
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
–
Head Office
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
–
Tanegashima Space Center
24.
H-II Transfer Vehicle
–
The H-II Transfer Vehicle, also called Kounotori, is an automated cargo spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the International Space Station. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been working on the design since the early 1990s, the first mission, HTV-1, was originally intended to be launched in 2001. It launched at 17,01 UTC on 10 September 2009 on an H-IIB launch vehicle and it is the vehicle of choice to complete the ACES program, a project designed to put two atomic clocks in space—on the ISS. The HTV is about 9.8 m long and 4.4 m in diameter, total mass when empty is 10.5 tonnes, with a maximum total payload of 6,000 kilograms, for a maximum launch weight of 16.5 tonnes. The HTV is comparable in function to the Russian Progress, European ATV, commercial Dragon, like the ATV, the HTV carries more than twice the payload of the Progress, but is launched less than half as often. Once they reach their closest parking orbit to the ISS, crew grapple them using the robotic arm Canadarm2, the HTV has an external payload bay which is accessed by robotic arm after it has been berthed to the ISS. New payloads can be moved directly from the HTV to Kibōs exposed facility, internally, it has eight International Standard Payload Racks in total which can be unloaded by the crew in a shirt-sleeve environment. After the retirement of NASAs Space Shuttle in 2011, HTVs became the only capable of transporting ISPRs to the ISS. The SpaceX Dragon and Orbital Sciences Cygnus can carry resupply cargo bags, the intention of HTVs modularized design was to use different module configuration to match the mission requirement. However, to reduce the development cost it was decided to fly the mixed PLC/ULC configuration only, both use bipropellant, namely monomethylhydrazine as fuel and mixed oxides of nitrogen as oxidizer. HTV-1, -2, and -4 use Aerojets 110 N R-1E, Space Shuttles vernier engine, later HTVs use 500 N class HBT-5 thrusters and 120 N class HBT-1 thrusters made by Japanese manufacturer IHI Aerospace Co. Ltd. The HTV carries about 2400 kg of propellant in four tanks, after the unloading process is completed, the HTV will be loaded with waste and undocked. The vehicle will then deorbit and be destroyed during reentry, the falling into the Pacific Ocean. Initially seven missions were planned in 2008-2015, with the extension of ISS project after 2015 through 2020, three more missions are planned, possibly replacing the tenth flight with an improved, cost-reduced version. As of March 2015, five subsequent missions are planned—one each year for 2015–2019 —one fewer total mission than had planned in August 2013 at the time the fourth HTV mission was underway. In May 2015, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, re-using the PLC will allow minimizing the development cost and risk. Concentrating the Reaction Control System and the panels to Service Module will allow simplifying the wiring and piping, to reduce the weight. Loading the unpressurized cargo outside the spacecraft allows larger cargo, only limited by the launch vehicle fairing, the aim is to cut the cost in half, while keeping or extending the capability of existing HTV
H-II Transfer Vehicle
–
H-II Transfer Vehicle
H-II Transfer Vehicle
–
Structure
H-II Transfer Vehicle
–
Inside view of the Pressurised Logistics Carrier section of HTV-1.
H-II Transfer Vehicle
–
Canadarm2 removing unpressurised payload from HTV-2.
25.
Crew Exploration Vehicle
–
The Crew Exploration Vehicle was the conceptual component of the U. S. NASA Vision for Space Exploration that later known as the Orion spacecraft. The Orion CEV was part of NASAs Constellation Program to send human explorers back to the Moon, official planning for the vehicle began in 2004, with the final Request For Proposal issued on March 1,2005, to begin a design competition for the vehicle. For the later design and construction phases, see Orion, NASA has posted project status notes at the NASA. gov website, under the name Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. The concept for the vehicle was announced in a speech given by George W. Bush at NASA Headquarters on January 14,2004. The Draft Statement of Work for the CEV was issued by NASA on December 9,2004, the Final RFP was issued on March 1,2005, with the potential bidders being asked to answer by May 2,2005. NASA had planned to have a suborbital or an Earth orbit fly-off called Flight Application of Spacecraft Technologies between two teams CEV designs before September 1,2008. However, in order to permit an earlier date for the start of CEV operations, Administrator Michael D. Griffin had indicated that NASA would select one contractor for the CEV in 2006. On June 13,2005, NASA announced the selection of two consortia, Lockheed Martin Corp. and the team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and The Boeing Co. for further CEV development work. Each team had received a US$28 million contract to come up with a design for the CEV and its launch vehicle until August 2006. The teams would also have to develop a plan for their CEV to take part in the assembly of an expedition, either with an Earth orbit rendezvous. Each contractor-led team included subcontractors that provided the lunar expedition astronauts with equipment, life support, rocket engines, the planned orbital or suborbital fly-offs under FAST would have seen the competition of a CEV built by each team, or of a technology demonstrator incorporating CEV technologies. Under FAST, NASA would have chosen the winner to build the final CEV after actual demonstration of this hardware, fly-offs are often used by the U. S. Air Force to select military aircraft, NASA has never used this approach in awarding contracts. However, as Administrator Griffin had indicated he would abandon the FAST approach, on August 31,2006, NASA announced that the contract to design and develop the Orion was awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. According to Bloomberg News, five analysts it surveyed prior to the award announcement tipped the Northrop team to win, Lockheed Martin plans to manufacture the manned spacecraft at facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Lockheeds proposed craft was a small Space Shuttle shaped lifting body design big enough for six astronauts and its airplane-shaped design made it easier to navigate during high-speed returns to Earth than the capsule-shaped vehicles of the past, according to Lockheed Martin. The head of the Lockheed team was Cleon Lacefield, the Lockheed Martin CEV design included several modules in the LEO and manned lunar versions of the spacecraft, plus an abort system. The abort system was a tower like that used in the Mercury, Apollo, Soyuz
Crew Exploration Vehicle
–
CEV initial concept in Lockheed Martin design, showing delta-wing crew module (at right), with a mission module and propulsion stage (with rocket engines) for
interplanetary flight.
Crew Exploration Vehicle
–
Orion (spacecraft), as a later design, after the initial plans for the Crew Exploration Vehicle led to development of the Orion.
Crew Exploration Vehicle
–
NASA Constellation officials announcing the selected Orion contractor Aug. 31, 2006, at NASA Headquarters
Crew Exploration Vehicle
–
Orbiters
26.
William H. Gerstenmaier
–
William H. Gerstenmaier is the current Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations for NASA, holding this position since 2005. He has been described as arguably the most influential person when it comes to US spaceflight, prior to being Associate Administrator, Gerstenmaier served as the International Space Station Office Program Manager, at Johnson Space Center, a position he began in June 2002. Gerstenmaier was born in Akron, Ohio during September 1954 and graduated from Akron East High School in 1973, as a teenager he followed the early space programs of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. He had early dreams of being a test pilot, and after high school, after seeing so many pilots returning from the Vietnam War, he thought he may not get a chance to fly, and chose to reconsider his path. He transferred to Purdues School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, hoping to get into flight via academics, during his time at Purdue, Gerstenmaier found a great interest in space technology, and chose to focus on this area for his career. Gerstenmaier graduated with a bachelor of science in engineering in 1977. Initially doing research with supersonic wind tunnels, developing air data curve information used during entry on the Space Shuttle, Gerstenmaier continued his education, obtaining his masters degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Toledo in 1981. In 1984, he was a semi-finalist in the selection for NASA Astronaut Group 10, in 1988, he first served as manager of Space Shuttle Program Integration, and then went on to serve as head of the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle Operations Office. Of the time away from NASA, he said, It was the most humbling experience of my life, in 1995, Gerstenmaier returned to NASA as the Shuttle/Mir Program Operations Manager, and was the liaison to the Russian Space Agency for operations and protocols. For the first half of 1996, he was stationed in Russia to support astronaut Shannon Lucid, in December 2000, Gerstenmaier was named Deputy Manager of the International Space Station Program. In 2002, Gerstenmaier was named Manager of the International Space Station Program, mike Suffredini replaced Gerstenmaier as the International Space Station Program manager. Gerstenmaier current position - Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, SNC filed a protest to the US Government Accountability Office alleging a high-ranking agency official opted to rank Boeing’s proposal higher than a previous panel of agency procurement experts. More specifically, Sierra Nevada asserted in their filings with the GAO that Gerstenmaier may have overstepped his authority by unilaterally changing the criteria for the contract award. The GAO also noted that, contrary to SNCs assertions, the RFP did advise all parties their proposals would be evaluated against a goal of certification by the end of 2017, in 2003, he received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives. Also that year he received the Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award, Purdue University, in 2006, the Huntsville National Space Club awarded him the Von Braun Award. In November 2008 he was honored again at Purdue as an Old Master in the 2008 Old Masters Program
William H. Gerstenmaier
–
NASA 's Associate Administrator for Human Exploraton and Operations, as seen in 2007
William H. Gerstenmaier
–
Gerstenmaier (left) working at the Lewis Research Center in 1978
27.
SpaceX Dragon
–
Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, an American private space transportation company based in Hawthorne, California. Dragon is launched into space by the SpaceX Falcon 9 two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle, the Dragon spacecraft was originally designed for human travel, but so far has only been used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. While carrying out missions to the ISS, Space X has continued to work on the production of a human rated model. This model will be able to be controlled by the center in Hawthorne. During its maiden flight in December 2010, Dragon became the first commercially built, on 25 May 2012, a cargo variant of Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with and attach to the International Space Station. SpaceX is contracted to deliver cargo to the ISS under NASAs Commercial Resupply Services program, with the Dragon spacecraft and the Orbital ATK Cygnus, NASA seeks to increase its partnerships with domestic commercial aviation and aeronautics industry. SpaceX began developing the Dragon spacecraft in late 2004, making an announcement in 2006 with a plan of entering service in 2009. Also in 2006, SpaceX won a contract to use the Dragon spacecraft for commercially supplied resupply services to the International Space Station for the American federal space agency, the Dragon spacecraft was a part of SpaceXs proposal, submitted to NASA in March 2006. SpaceXs COTS proposal was issued as part of a team, which also included MD Robotics, on 18 August 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had been chosen, along with Kistler Aerospace, to develop cargo launch services for the ISS. The initial plan called for three demonstration flights of SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft to be conducted between 2008 and 2010, NASA later re-awarded Kistlers contract to Orbital Sciences. On 23 December 2008, NASA awarded a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract to SpaceX, the contract called for 12 flights to the ISS, with a minimum of 20,000 kg of cargo carried to the ISS. On 23 February 2009, SpaceX announced that its chosen phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator heat shield material, the DragonEyes Lidar and thermography abilities were both tested successfully. The COTS UHF Communication Unit and Crew Command Panel were delivered to the ISS during the late 2009 STS-129 mission, the CUCU allows the ISS to communicate with Dragon and the CCP allows ISS crew members to issue basic commands to Dragon. In summer 2009, SpaceX hired former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox as vice president of their new Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance Department, in preparation for crews using the spacecraft. As a condition of the NASA CRS contract, SpaceX analyzed the orbital radiation environment on all Dragon systems, during March,2015, it was disclosed that SpaceX had been awarded an additional three missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. These additional missions are SpaceX CRS-13, SpaceX CRS-14 and SpaceX CRS-15, on February 24,2016, SpaceNews disclosed that SpaceX had been awarded a further five missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. This additional tranche of missions had SpaceX CRS-16 and SpaceX CRS-17 manifested for FY2017 while SpaceX CRS-18, SpaceX CRS-19, the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract definition/solicitation period commenced in 2014 and a result announced on January 14,2016. The CRS2 launches are expected to commence in 2019, and extend to at least 2024, on January 14,2016, NASA announced that three companies had been awarded contracts for a minimum of six launches each
SpaceX Dragon
–
The SpaceX Dragon CRS variant approaching the
ISS during the
C2+ mission in May 2012.
SpaceX Dragon
–
A Dragon capsule being shipped out of SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California, February 2015.
SpaceX Dragon
–
An early Dragon pressure vessel, photographed during factory tests in 2008
SpaceX Dragon
–
The DragonEye system on
Space Shuttle Discovery during
STS-133
28.
Cygnus (spacecraft)
–
The Cygnus spacecraft is an American automated cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital ATK as part of NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services developmental program. It is launched by Orbitals Antares rocket or ULAs Atlas V and is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station following the retirement of the American Space Shuttle. Since August 2000 ISS resupply missions have been flown by Russian Progress, as well as by the European Automated Transfer Vehicle. With the Cygnus spacecraft and the SpaceX Dragon, NASA seeks to increase its partnerships with commercial aviation. Cygnus is the Latinized Greek word for swan and a northern constellation, on February 19,2008 NASA announced that it had chosen Orbital Sciences as the new winner. On December 23,2008, NASA awarded Orbital Sciences a $1.9 billion contract under the Commercial Resupply Services program, under this contract, Orbital Sciences will deliver up to 20 tons of cargo to the ISS through 2016 in eight Cygnus spacecraft flights. The Cygnus demonstration mission was launched on September 18,2013. On January 12,2014, the first scheduled Cygnus resupply mission arrived at the space station and its arrival was delayed, first by the need to repair the station, and then by frigid weather at the launch site and solar flares that forced postponements. With the December 2015 launch of Orb CRS-4 on Atlas V, while it was planned from the beginning to fly on the fifth mission, the Orb CRS-3 failure and subsequent move to Atlas V meant a delay. On the other hand, the learned on packing and the extra capabilities of the Atlas allowed payload to be increased to 3,500 kg. The Cygnus spacecraft consists of two components, the Pressurized Cargo Module and the Service Module. The PCM is manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, the initial PCMs have a volume of 18 m3, the service module is built by Orbital ATK and is based on their GEOStar and LEOStar spacecraft buses as well as components from the development of the Dawn spacecraft. On November 12,2009, Dutch Space announced it will provide the solar arrays for the initial Cygnus spacecraft, the fourth and all subsequent Cygnus spacecraft are planned to be of the enhanced variant. For typical missions, Cygnus is planned to remain berthed for about 30 days, Cygnus does not provide return capability, but can be loaded with obsolete equipment and trash for destructive reentry similar to the Russian Progress vehicles. Another proposed variant would have replaced the PCM with the Return Cargo Module, list includes only currently manifested missions. Eight missions are planned to be launched from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0A on Antares. The PCM of each mission thus far has been named after a deceased NASA astronaut
Cygnus (spacecraft)
–
The Standard variant of Cygnus is seen approaching the ISS.
Cygnus (spacecraft)
–
NASA Administrator
Charles Bolden (third from left) in front of the Cygnus spacecraft in May 2012
Cygnus (spacecraft)
–
Cygnus being unberthed from the
Harmony module
Cygnus (spacecraft)
–
Current
29.
Propellant depot
–
An orbital propellant depot is a cache of propellant that is placed in orbit around Earth or another body to allow spacecraft or the transfer stage of the spacecraft to be fueled in space. It is one of the types of space resource depot that have proposed for enabling infrastructure-based exploration. In-space fuel depots are not necessarily located near or at a space station, potential users of in-orbit refueling and storage facilities include space agencies, defense ministries and communications satellite or other commercial companies. Satellite servicing depots would extend the lifetime of satellites that have consumed all of their orbital maneuvering fuel and are likely placed in a geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft would conduct a space rendezvous with the depot, or vice versa, in 2011, Intelsat showed interest in an initial demonstration mission to refuel several satellites in geosynchronous orbit, but all plans have been since scrapped. A low earth orbit depots primary function would be to provide propellant to a transfer stage headed to the moon, Mars, or possibly a geosynchronous orbit. Since all or a fraction of the stage propellant can be off-loaded. A depot could also be placed at Earth-Moon Lagrange point 1 or behind the Moon at EML-2 to reduce costs to travel to the moon or Mars, placing a depot in Mars orbit has also been suggested. For rockets and space vehicles, propellants usually take up 2/3 or more of their total mass, the boil off from only a few days of delay may not allow sufficient fuel for higher orbit injection, potentially resulting in a mission abort. Additionally, gaseous or supercritical propellants such as used by ion thrusters include xenon, argon. If one assumes that a 130 metric tonne launch vehicle could be flown twice a year for $2. 5B, by using a depot, the launch vehicle size can be reduced and the flight rate increased. Since the accumulation of propellant may take weeks to months. In simple terms, a cryogenic depot is a transfer stage with stretched propellant tanks, additional insulation. In one concept, hydrogen boiloff is also redirected to reduce or eliminate liquid oxygen boiloff and then used for control, power. An active cryogenic depot is a depot with additional power. Other active cryogenic depot concepts include electrically powered attitude control equipment to fuel for the end payload. In the heavy lift architecture, propellant, which can be 2/3s or more of the total mass, is accumulated in fewer launches. Typically the transfer stage is filled directly and no depot is included in the architecture, heavy lift advocates state that the total mass to orbit required for a mission can actually increase because of the need to launch more propellant tanks and boil-off mitigation hardware
Propellant depot
–
Artist's concept of a proposed
United Launch Alliance propellant depot with sun shields.
Propellant depot
–
NASA concept for a propellant depot from 1970
Propellant depot
–
Another NASA concept from 1971
Propellant depot
–
A 2011 NASA proposal for a Depot at GEO
30.
Moon
–
The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being Earths only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, following Jupiters satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 384,400 km, the Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. It is the second-brightest regularly visible celestial object in Earths sky, after the Sun and its surface is actually dark, although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its prominence in the sky and its cycle of phases have made the Moon an important cultural influence since ancient times on language, calendars, art. The Moons gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and this matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future. The Moons linear distance from Earth is currently increasing at a rate of 3.82 ±0.07 centimetres per year, since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only by uncrewed spacecraft. The usual English proper name for Earths natural satellite is the Moon, the noun moon is derived from moone, which developed from mone, which is derived from Old English mōna, which ultimately stems from Proto-Germanic *mǣnōn, like all Germanic language cognates. Occasionally, the name Luna is used, in literature, especially science fiction, Luna is used to distinguish it from other moons, while in poetry, the name has been used to denote personification of our moon. The principal modern English adjective pertaining to the Moon is lunar, a less common adjective is selenic, derived from the Ancient Greek Selene, from which is derived the prefix seleno-. Both the Greek Selene and the Roman goddess Diana were alternatively called Cynthia, the names Luna, Cynthia, and Selene are reflected in terminology for lunar orbits in words such as apolune, pericynthion, and selenocentric. The name Diana is connected to dies meaning day, several mechanisms have been proposed for the Moons formation 4.51 billion years ago, and some 60 million years after the origin of the Solar System. These hypotheses also cannot account for the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. This hypothesis, although not perfect, perhaps best explains the evidence, eighteen months prior to an October 1984 conference on lunar origins, Bill Hartmann, Roger Phillips, and Jeff Taylor challenged fellow lunar scientists, You have eighteen months. Go back to your Apollo data, go back to computer, do whatever you have to. Dont come to our conference unless you have something to say about the Moons birth, at the 1984 conference at Kona, Hawaii, the giant impact hypothesis emerged as the most popular. Afterward there were only two groups, the giant impact camp and the agnostics. Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System, computer simulations of a giant impact have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the present angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system
Moon
–
Full moon as seen from Earth's
northern hemisphere
Moon
–
The Moon, tinted reddish, during a
lunar eclipse
Moon
–
Near side of the Moon
Moon
–
Far side of the Moon
