A draft environmental assessment supports a plan to land SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stages at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), subject to efforts to mitigate adverse impacts on wildlife. The proposed location is Launch Complex 13 (LC-13), which was used to launch Atlas rockets from 1958 to 1978. The U.S. Air Force has since demolished the blockhouse, mobile launch tower and associated infrastructure.
Editor's Note: NASA KSC's new master development plan also includes an area for vertical rocket landings north of the Launch Complex 39B. (1/12)
Life on Mars – the Evidence Mounts (Source Cosmos)
Methane plumes of unknown origin and carbon-based molecules in sandstone rocks have recently been detected on Mars. Both findings add weight to the case that Mars could once and may still support life. Considering most methane on Earth is produced by microbes, this tantalising finding was widely aired by the world’s media.
Less reported was a second result, soon to be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Curiosity unearthed evidence of complex mixtures of carbon-based (organic) molecules in sandstone rocks. The possibility that these complex carbon compounds were produced by life, however unlikely, cannot for now be excluded. Indeed they strengthen the simmering case that life could once have existed on Mars – or perhaps still does below the punishing Martian surface. (1/12)
New U.S. Air Force Space Surveillance Satellites Require Great Precision (Source: Space News)
Two high-orbiting U.S. Air Force space surveillance satellites that launched in July must show “unprecedented” maneuvering accuracy given their potential to cause damage in a heavily used belt of Earth orbit, according to a professional journal published by the service. The Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites are capable of approaching and observing nearly 600 satellites in geosynchronous orbit. (1/12)
Musk Says Rocket Landing Test Ran Out of Hydraulic Fluid (Source: Space.com)
Engineers with the private spaceflight company SpaceX are still trying to piece together what went wrong with a reusable rocket test Saturday, but the company's founder Elon Musk said Sunday (Jan. 11) that the rocket's steering fins ran out of hydraulic fluid during the attempt. Knowing that, Musk said that there's a better chance of a successful landing during a future test.
The drone ship is in good shape, but some hardware on the deck needs to be replaced, Musk said. The "hypersonic grid fins" attached to the rocket stage for stability during landing worked well, Musk added, but they ran out of hydraulic fluid just before touchdown.
"Upcoming flight already has 50% more hydraulic fluid, so should have plenty of margin for landing attempt next month," Musk wrote in another post on Twitter. It is not yet clear when exactly SpaceX will attempt another reusability test. (1/12)
Russia-EU Mars Research Program to Be Completed (Source: Sputnik)
Work on the Russia-EU Mars research program ExoMars will be completed, and two missions will be launched in 2016 and 2018, Sergei Savelev, deputy head of Roscosmos said. In 2016 a special Mars orbiter will be launched, and its main goal will be to explore the planet's atmosphere. Moreover, it will serve for the data exchange with the Mars rover," Savelev told Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper in an interview that will be released on Tuesday. (1/12)
Russia Has No Immediate Plans to Build New Space Station (Source: Itar-Tass)
Russia does not plan to build a new space station of its own till 2025, Sergey Savelyev, chief of Roscosmos, said. “A possibility of creating a new Russian space station does exist in principle. Such project may be implemented in international cooperation, with China for example. But neither the current, nor the draft of a future federal space program have such provisions. Such project can be linked with the lifecycle of the International Space Station,” he said. (1/12)
No comments:
Post a Comment