Spaceflight - Blog Posts
HAPPY EUROPA CLIPPER LAUNCH DAY
1989: ‘Shuttle Evolution “Block II”’
(sorry for low resolution, I cannot find a higher-res version anywhere)
1989: A concept drawing for a never-realised next-generation Space Shuttle, capable of carrying 8 astronauts and possibly over 30 tonnes to low-Earth orbit. The most noteworthy feature is the detachable cockpit with engines which could serve as a launch escape-system or a lifeboat during an incident in-orbit. It was to use its lifting body, wings, and body flap to glide to a runway and presumably land on skids. The escape system would enable a crew's escape at any point during launch or orbital flight.
Comments and observations
The inclusion of this escape-system in the orbiter would necessitate a gap in the heatshield at the nose, one of the hottest parts of the vehicle during re-entry. That's obviously a big problem. Further, a pad-abort would seem to be very impractical. 3 seconds at 8 Gs would only send the capsule about 2 km high, probably not high enough to glide towards the nearest runway, especially with those stubby wings. Perhaps an emergency parachute system and a splashdown of the capsule would have been more sensible?
Other changes to the orbiter seem to be in the interest of improving gliding performance, such as two wing-tip vertical stabilisers instead of one tail-mounted one (to eliminate wing-tip vortices), shrinkage of the orbital manœuvring system pods by relocation of the OMS's propellant-tanks into the wings, and the addition of canards which would probably yield greater pitch-authority during landing.
The system also proposes replacement of the solid rocket boosters with liquid-hydrogen–fuelled boosters. These could provide a greater payload capacity, as well as greater control of thrust during ascent, and the possibility of an emergency engine shutdown, improving the crew's safety. The biggest and most obvious downside would be increased cost. The drawing doesn't specify whether the LFBs are intended to recover themselves by deploying parachutes, but what's certain is that saltwater generally damages delicate chemical rocket engines, so they probably couldn't just plop into the ocean like the real Shuttle's SRBs did.
Lots of cool moments with the crew in this video. They seem very easy-going and friendly. The fact that they're doing EVA and docking tests could imply that this crew might get to fly on future Artemis missions!
Especially liked the EVA training in the neutral buoyancy lab. The underwater audio is so relaxing. It must be very comfy for those scuba divers down there.
My thoughts on the upcoming IFT-3 flight of Starship-Super Heavy
As of writing (12th of February), IFT-3 is currently scheduled to occur later this month, but it could still easily get delayed.
My prediction is that IFT-3 will probably achieve orbit and will probably conduct an internal propellant-transfer, but that the upper stage (SN28) will probably suffer a failure of some kind during reëntry, either being destroyed or deviating far from its targetted splashdown-zone.
It's safe to say that successful reëntry is unlikely on IFT-3. Here's why:
The Starship upper stage will be the largest reëntry-vehicle ever built.
This reëntry profile (a belly-first reëntry with four fins used for stability) is unique and has never been done before. Starship's belly-first orientation is inherently ærodynamically unstable, which is why it needs constant corrections from the four fins. It could get trapped in a nose-first or tail-first orientation, both of which might be more stable. Else, a loss of control would just result in endless tumbling.
We've already seen heatshield-tiles falling off during IFT-1 and IFT-2. In fact, more fell off the latter than the former due to higher ærodynamic pressures and engine vibrations.
A failure during reëntry would be consistent with the general pattern of testflight-failures established so far. Essentially, each flight is a failure, but less of a failure than the previous one.
Honestly, I don't know what could happen to the first stage booster (B10). SpaceX knows how to do boostback-burns and propulsive landings. It's seemingly just a matter of preventing the vehicle from blowing itself up. Engine reliability will probably determine the booster's success.
It'll be interesting to watch nonetheless.
The fate of the Artemis Programme now depends on the success of these test flights and in SpaceX rapidly developing and utilising this reüsable launch-system. Development has been ongoing for over five years now, and the vehicle has yet to reach orbit. The landing of astronauts on the Moon is scheduled for September 2026. How likely is it that SpaceX will have humans on the Moon in just two and a half years from now?
A solar cycle: a montage of 10 years worth of x-ray images taken by the ようこう (Yōkō 'sunbeam') sun-observation satellite.
The Sun undergoes a cycle of magnetic activity with a period of about 11 years. At solar maximum, solar observatories see more sunspots on the Sun's surface. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are bigger and more frequent, triggering auroræ in Earth's skies, interfering with some types of radio communication, and irradiating deep space hardware. The Sun's magnetic field also undergoes a polarity inversion during solar maximum, when the north and south magnetic poles on the Sun swap (this happens again 11 years later in the next maximum). By contrast, the solar minimum has very few or no sunspots and the Sun is generally calm; a good time for deep space missions.
The last solar maximum was in February 2014. The last minimum was December 2019, marking the transition from cycle 24 to 25 (records began in 1755). The next maximum is predicted for the second half of 2025.
The most complex flying machine ever created
Underappreciated Space Shuttle photos
Endeavour being serviced in the OPF
Columbia, STS-62. The OMS pods can be seen glowing due to interactions with atomic oxygen in an unusually low perigee of 195km. The hexagonal outline of the Extended Duration Orbiter Pallet is also visible.
Atlantis, STS-98. Approaching the ISS.
Endeavour, STS-54. Reflections in the window.
Challenger, rolling out before STS-6.
Mission Specialist Kathryn Thornton looking out the window while aboard Endeavour, STS-49.
Discovery, stacked ahead of STS-41.
Atlantis, STS-44. Bumped camera.
Discovery ahead of STS-128.
Challenger, STS-41B. Launching for the heavens (zoom in).
Apollo 13 concept art by Ryan Aeronautical
The first all-woman spacewalk
Today the first ever spacewalk consisting of entirely women occured!
Here are the two women who were a part of this EVA.
Christina Koch
Age 40
Two Bachelor of Science degrees, Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering
Jessica Meir
Age 42
PhD in Marine Biology, Master of Space Studies
It is standard procedure for spacewalks to consist of more than one person. That way if something bad happens to one astronaut, the other can be there to help immediately.
Previous spacewalks were either a single male in the early days, multiple males, or a mix of men and women. Today the first ever all-woman spacewalk took place with two women going outside the International Space Station.
NASA has stated "The all-woman spacewalk wasn't something we purposefully planned, though. It was bound to happen eventually because of the increasing number of female astronauts. Koch's and Meir's 2013 class of astronaut candidates was 50 percent women.
"Spacewalk assignments are always made on the basis of which astronauts are best prepared to accomplish the tasks at hand under the conditions at the time. Spacewalks are not easy; astronauts typically describe them as the most physically challenging thing they do."
The mission lasted about 6 hours and was to replace a battery on the exterior of the station that failed to activate after prior testing (most spacewalks have objectives this boring).
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, another female NASA astronaut, remarked "Hopefully this will now be considered normal"
This is a good day for women I think :>
Holding out for the first all non-binary spacewalk
Retired Space Shuttle Endeavour joined with the SCA, flying over Los Angeles (2012)
(Copyright Stephen Confer)
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Views of Earth and Intrepid, Apollo 12, 14 Nov 1969.