The Big Space Exploration Thread

[VelesHomais]

How so? Some of the most interesting missions are ongoing.

[Fallout]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

That article about the "5 most likely places for life" is missing Venus and Jupiter - both of these planets have certain points in the atmosphere that are quite similar in pressure and temperature to those in Earth's atmosphere and contain relatively complex chemicals. Venus's atmosphere is exposed to the solar wind, but Jupiter's is protected by a very strong magnetic field.

Jupiter's magnetic field causes strong radiation though.

[Teslatron]

Just saw live feed of Falcon 9 maiden flight.

Congratz SpaceX!

[Trelawny]

Ok I watched some Stephen Hawking thing about space travel and he said if we could build a spaceship with the speed of light it would slow time done. So we could reach the edge of the universe in 80years.

[ThaiSiamese]

We should colonize Mars.

[Geborgenheit]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

How so? Some of the most interesting missions are ongoing.

Really ? Perhaps they are ongoing with the speed of a turtle.

[Trelawny]

Originally Posted by ThaiSiamese

We should colonize Mars.

If we don't get at least 50 people on mars by the end of this century then we have failed this century in terms of exploration.

[chuck_nbc]

People do realize that mars died for a reason and we cannot fix the "actual" problem?

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by Geborgenheit

Frankly speaking big space exploration is in deep stagnation, isn't it ?

Originally Posted by chuck_nbc

Very much so.

Originally Posted by Geborgenheit

Really ? Perhaps they are ongoing with the speed of a turtle.

And why do you guys think that?

We have regular manned missions to the International Space Station, probes orbiting Mars (and even on the surface) have uncovered some fascinating new discoveries, the Cassini probe has revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn, we've resumed exploration of the moon after literally 35-40 years of disinterest, and probes are en route to many new, unexplored areas of the solar system (and also areas that haven't seen meaningful exploration in decades, such as Mercury, Venus, and also the moon, as mentioned earlier). Not to mention the telescopes we are putting into space are increasingly more interesting and more powerful.

Space exploration is probably thriving more right now than it has since the early 70s.

What do you guys classify as "interesting space exploration"?

Originally Posted by Fallout

Jupiter's magnetic field causes strong radiation though.

Yeah but that's only around the planet.

Jupiter's magnetic field does not cause intense radiation in its atmosphere, just as Earth's magnetic field does not cause intense radiation in our atmosphere.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by Trelawny

Ok I watched some Stephen Hawking thing about space travel and he said if we could build a spaceship with the speed of light it would slow time done. So we could reach the edge of the universe in 80years.

It would only seem like 80 years to the people on the shuttle because of time dilation. To outside observers it would still be a hundred thousand years.

I also doubt the "edge of the universe" thing, perhaps he said "edge of galaxy"?

[VelesHomais]

I guess for some people space exploration means landing a man and planting a flag. For the scientific community, however, exploring new, fascinating worlds, as we have done within the past 10 years and are doing at this very moment is more interesting.

[VelesHomais]

Originally Posted by Geborgenheit

Really ? Perhaps they are ongoing with the speed of a turtle.

Well, yeah, if rushing towards Pluto at a speed of 16.26 kilometers per second is "the speed of a turtle."

[VelesHomais]

Next Stop, Titan: Looking at the Land o' Lakes



NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be eyeing the north polar region of Saturn's moon Titan this weekend, scanning the moon's land o' lakes.

At closest approach on early morning Saturday, June 5 UTC, which is Friday afternoon, June 4 Pacific time, Cassini will glide to within about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) of the Titan surface.

Cassini will make infrared scans of the north polar region, which was in darkness for the first several years of Cassini's tour around the Saturn system. The lighting has improved as northern spring has started to dawn over the area.

The visual and infrared spectrometer will be prime during closest approach, but the imaging science subsystem cameras will also be taking pictures. Among the scientific bounties, Cassini team members are hoping to get another good look at Kraken Mare, the largest lake on Titan, which covers a greater area than the Caspian Sea on Earth.

Although this latest flyby is dubbed "T69," planning changes early in the orbital tour made this the 70th targeted flyby of Titan.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ca...i20100603.html

[chuck_nbc]

I was talking about technological breakthroughs.Propulsion system and power generation system, these two areas need a serious breakthrough.

[VelesHomais]

Originally Posted by Trelawny

If we don't get at least 50 people on mars by the end of this century then we have failed this century in terms of exploration.

We probably won't, just because of the expenses and the difficulties the world will be experiencing due to the climate change. However, sending humans into outer space is somewhat pointless at the moment, apart from the psychological satisfaction. I would rather have them invest a lot more into autonomous robots to explore every corner of the Solar System.

[Teslatron]

Originally Posted by chuck_nbc

I was talking about technological breakthroughs.Propulsion system and power generation system, these two areas need a serious breakthrough.

People had working ideas about new tech since at least 1990s, but NASA will actually start funding those starting 2011 finally under the new Obama plan. So I will expect more stuff like VASIMR, solar sails, etc coming in the next 5 - 10 years. The basic physics is there, now we just need to get the technology up to date and not just recycle same old von Braun stuff from the 60s.

[Drunkill]

Originally Posted by Geborgenheit

Really ? Perhaps they are ongoing with the speed of a turtle.

Space is big. To get anywhere near the outer planets takes a long time. Heres some numbers for how long it takes to only get as far as jupiter.

It took the New Horizons spacecraft about 13 months from its launch in January 2006 to reach Jupiter in February 2007.

Voyager 1 took about 18 months from its launch in September 1977 to its arrival at Jupiter in March 1979.

The Galileo spacecraft took about 6 years from its launch in October 1989 to its arrival in December 1995.

Voyger and New Horizons were flybys, which is why Galileo took longer as it had to play catchup with jupiter to enter it's orbit.

And, even before those travelling times you have to plan, design, build and launch the mission, which could take 4-10 years alone. And once launched mission have various operation lengths. The recent mars rovers were designed for a 90 day mission with possible extension of another 60-90 days. They ended up working for a few years. The rovers themselvs were designed to last a bit longer then 90 days, but the cost of actually running a mission once the probe has landed/reached it's target takes a lot of cash. The mars rovers mission were running at about $20 million a year to maintain operations back here on earth. Although after the initial mission was completed costs did go down.

Basically, time and money are the major factors and seeming those two factors are basically the same (time is money) it takes a hefty effort to get projects up and running. We were lucky that NASA were able to launch the voyger missions when they could due to the unique alignments of the planets allowing such huge missions to take place. Voyger helped set up the deep space communication network in California, Spain and Australia which is still in use today and expands every few years allowing more missions and spacecraft to operate.

Welp, that was a bit more typing then I intended. lol

[mic of Orion]

6 Private Companies That Could Launch Humans Into Space



The era of private spaceflight is breaking new ground with the first test launch of the new Falcon 9 rocket by the company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which hopes to use the booster to fly its Dragon spaceship on space station trips. And with NASA's space shuttles retiring this year, SpaceX is not alone in the bid to launch cargo and astronauts into space.

NASA has tapped SpaceX and another company – Virginia's Orbital Sciences – to build unmanned cargo ships to stock up the International Space Station after its final two shuttle missions fly later this year. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is poised to make its first test flight this week.

After that, the agency plans to modify the Lockheed Martin-designed Orion capsule as a space station lifeboat. Aerospace juggernaut Boeing is also hoping to compete for commercial crew capabilities.

But while giants like Lockheed Martin and Boeing duke it out, some smaller – but equally ambitious – companies have joined SpaceX in the race to build the next spacecraft to put Americans in space. Here's a look at six companies vying for the future of human spaceflight:

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)

Company: SpaceX
Spaceship Name: Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket|
Founder(s): Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal
Backing: $100 million of Musk's personal fortune, $20 million more from outside investors
Location: Hawthorne, California
Launched the Business: 2002
Plans to Launch into Space: Debut launch tests in 2010, first operational flights in 2011.

Number of Passengers: 7 maximum, or fewer with a mixture of cargo and crew

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft are initially expected to be unmanned vehicles to serve NASA's cargo needs for the International Space Station. Musk has said Dragon could be ready to launch astronauts within three years of receiving a contract from NASA to do so. The company currently has a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 unmanned cargo deliveries to the station through 2016.

The Falcon 9 rocket is about 180 feet (57 meters) tall and is a two-stage booster. The Dragon capsule is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to be grappled by the space station's robotic arm and installed on a docking port.



Orbital Sciences

Company: Orbital Sciences
Spaceship Name: Cygnus and Taurus 2 rocket
Founder(s): David W. Thompson, Bruce W. Ferguson, Scott L. Webster
Backing: Publicly traded company, $1.1 billion in revenue
Location: Dulles, Virginia
Launched the Business: 1982
Plans to Launch into Space: 2011

Number of Passengers: So far, the Cygnus is purely unmanned

A veteran hand when it comes to rocket launches, Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to provide eight cargo missions for the International Space Station using its unmanned Cygnus spacecraft and the new Taurus 2 rocket. Orbital is planning the launches in 2011 from Wallops Island in Virginia.

Orbital has not announced plans on whether it may try to convert the Cygnus vehicle for crewed missions. The Taurus 2 rocket stands about 131 feet (40 meters) tall and is a two-stage booster to be topped by the Cygnus spacecraft.

Blue Origin

Company: Blue Origin
Spaceship Name: New Shepard
Founder(s): Jeff Bezos
Backing: His personal fortune as founder of Amazon.com
Location: Kent, Washington
Launched the Business: 2004
Plans to Launch into Space: Mid-2012

Number of Passengers: at least 3 astronauts

Blue Origin has remained extremely secretive about its plans, but has tested a prototype of its New Shepard spacecraft at the company's proving grounds in Texas. New Shepard is expected to be a vertical launch and landing vehicle capable of reaching an altitude of about 75 miles (120 km) .

Earlier this year, NASA awarded Blue Origin $3.7 million to develop an astronaut escape system and build a composite space capsule prototype as part of its commercial crew program.

Bigelow Aerospace


Company: Bigelow Aerospace
Spaceship Name: Sundancer and BA-330
Founder(s): Robert Bigelow
Backing: $180 million of his personal fortune as owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain.
Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada
Launched the Business: 1999
Plans to Launch into Space: 2015

Number of Passengers: Sundancer to support crews of 3, BA-330 to support 6-person crews

Bigelow Aerospace has been paving new ground in inflatable spacecraft and already launched two mini-space station prototypes, called Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. The company's larger Sundancer and BA-330 vehicles are expected to serve as space stations, not capsules. Additionally, company founder Robert Bigelow has set his sights on developing a private moon base using the inflatable technology.

Since Bigelow Aerospace does not have rockets or spacecraft to reach its space stations, the company has been working closely with Boeing on potential crew capsules.

Boeing received $18 million from NASA this year to support development of its own 7-person spacecraft.

SpaceDev/Sierra Nevada Corp.



Company: SpaceDev
Spaceship Name: Dream Chaser
Founder: Jim Benson (deceased), now led by Fatih Ozmen
Backing: Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev.
Location: Poway, Calif.
Launched the Business: 1997
Plans to Launch into Space: Under Development

Number of passengers: 4 on suborbital flights, up to 6 for orbital flights.

California-based SpaceDev is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corp. (which acquired it in 2008) and has been developing the reusable Dream Chaser space plane to launch crew and cargo into space at an Atlas 5 rocket.

In February, Sierra Nevada won $20 million in NASA funds to continue the Dream Chaser's development. The spacecraft's design is based on the HL-20 lifting body tested by NASA and aims to launch on a rocket and land on a conventional runway, for quick turnaround and reuse.



Virgin Galactic

Company: Virgin Galactic
Spaceship Name: SpaceShipTwo
Founder(s): British Billionaire Sir Richard Branson
Backing: His personal fortune as founder of Virgin Group
Location: London, England, and Spaceport, New Mexico
Launched the Business: 2004
Plans to Launch into Space: end of 2011 or early 2012

Number of Passengers: 6 passengers, 2 pilots

The only air-launched vehicle in the group, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicle is still just a suborbital vehicle designed for space tourism jaunts into space. The company envisions launching paying passengers on suborbital thrill rides for about $200,000 per seat. However, the spacecraft's mother ship – the huge WhiteKnightTwo aircraft – could be modified to launch small rockets or satellites for NASA or other users.

SpaceShipTwo is designed by veteran aerospace engineer Burt Rutan and the company he founded, Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. It is a larger version of SpaceShipOne, which successfully flew on suborbital flights in 2004.

[chuck_nbc]

All these private companies are trying crap NASA did 50 years ago.

[mic of Orion]

Obama Space Plan 'Vindicated' by Private Rocket Launch, Builder Says



The successful liftoff of a new private rocket helps vindicate President Barack Obama's plan to rely on commercial spaceships to carry cargo and possibly astronauts to orbit, the rocket's millionaire owner said.

Commercial firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) blasted off its first Falcon 9 rocket Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

"I think this bodes very well for the Obama plan," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said after the launch. "It really helps vindicate the approach he's taking."

It also helps prove the approach of the upstart rocket company, which aims to make space travel cheaper and more accessible to everyone, he said.

"This has really been a fantastic day," said Musk, who earned millions by co-founding the PayPal online payment service before starting SpaceX. "Obviously it's been one of the best days of my life."

SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use Falcon 9 to carry cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttles retire. President Obama has proposed cancelling NASA's existing Constellation program to design a replacement for the shuttle. Instead, his plan depends on eventually transferring responsibility for transporting crews to the commercial sector as well.

NASA also has a $1.9 billion contract with SpaceX rival Orbital Sciences of Virginia for space station cargo flights.

"Space X's accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation effort and puts the company a step closer to providing cargo services to the International Space Station," NASA administrator Charlie Bolden said in a statement after the launch. "This launch of the Falcon 9 gives us even more confidence that a resupply vehicle will be available after the space shuttle fleet is retired."


This view from a camera on SpaceX's first Falcon 9 rocket shows the Earth far below as the rocket soared into orbit on its inaugural launch June 4, 2010. Credit: SpaceX.

Even the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy chimed in on Twitter.

"Congratulations is in order for SpaceX," representatives wrote on the microblogging site under the name "whitehouseostp."

Accolades started pouring in to the company soon after the launch, Muusk said. [Photos: Falcon 9 Rocket's 1st Launch.]

"In President Barack Obama's new plan for NASA, a new player has taken center stage – American capitalism and entrepreneurship – and today's SpaceX launch strengthens my hope that commercial space companies will at long last remove the cost barrier that slows our exploration of the solar system," Peter H. Diamandis, chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, said in a statement from the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group.

But not everyone was convinced that commercial space companies should play such a prime role in NASA's future.

"Even this modest success is more than a year behind schedule, and the project deadlines of other private space companies continue to slip as well," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said in a statement. "This test does not change the fact that commercial space programs are not ready to close the gap in human spaceflight if the space shuttle is retired this year with no proven replacement capability and the Constellation program is simultaneously cancelled as the President proposes."

Musk took offense at her complaints. "I don't understand why she's trying to hurt a Texas company," he said, pointing out that Hutchison represents Texas, and SpaceX has a large workforce in the state.

"This is an important step in the advancement of commercial space," he maintained.

SpaceX even received nods from some space legends.

"As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of the Apollo frontier spirit," said Russell "Rusty" Schweickart, former Apollo 9 astronaut. "It's enormously gratifying to see them succeed today."

Former space shuttle astronaut Byron Lichtenberg also chimed in in a statement: "I expect that there will be a lot more astronauts in the future because of today's success. Lower cost launches means more flights, which means more astronauts. We've only had 500 astronauts in the history of the Space Age, but I hope to see thousands more in the decades to come."