NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
August 5, 2024
Milky Way Over Tunisia
That's no moon. On the ground, that's the Lars Homestead in Tunisia. And that's not just any galaxy. That's the central band of our own Milky Way galaxy. Last, that's not just any meteor. It is a bright fireball likely from last year's Perseids meteor shower. The featured image composite combines consecutive exposures taken by the same camera from the same location. This year's Perseids peak during the coming weekend is expected to show the most meteors after the first quarter moon sets, near midnight. To best experience a meteor shower, you should have clear and dark skies, a comfortable seat, and patience.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
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Cygnus spacecraft suffers glitches after launch
August 4, 2024
A Falcon 9 launched a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station Aug. 4, but the spacecraft suffered problems that have delayed maneuvers needed to reach the station.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:02 a.m. Eastern.
The launch appeared to go as planned, with the Cygnus spacecraft separating from the Falcon’s upper stage in low Earth orbit nearly 15 minutes after liftoff.
The liftoff, delayed a day because of poor weather, dodged the effects of Tropical Storm Debby to the west that, at one point, offered only a 10% chance of acceptable weather for the launch.
There were no updates from NASA or Northrop Grumman after spacecraft separation for several hours.
However, communications between ISS astronauts and mission control indicated that the spacecraft had not performed initial burns to raise its orbit to enable an arrival at the station early Aug. 6.
In a NASA statement issued nearly six hours after liftoff, the agency said that the spacecraft failed to perform a maneuver called targeted altitude burn, or TB1, 42 minutes after liftoff “due to a late entry to burn sequencing.”
The burn was rescheduled for 50 minutes later, but also did not take place because of a “slightly low initial pressure state” in the engine.
“Cygnus is at a safe altitude, and Northrop Grumman engineers are working a new burn and trajectory plan,” NASA stated, adding that the plan should still allow Cygnus to arrive for a capture by the station’s robotic arm at 3:10 a.m. Eastern Aug. 6. NASA added that solar array deployment was completed about three hours after liftoff, as expected.
The Cygnus is carrying 3,857 kilograms of cargo, including 1,560 kilograms of vehicle hardware, 1,220 kilograms of science investigations and 1,021 kilograms of crew supplies.
The hardware included “critical spares and new hardware items,” said Bill Spetch, NASA ISS operations integration manager, at an Aug.
2 briefing, ranging from a spare pump assembly for a urine processing system to a modification kit that will be used for the installation of the final ISS Roll Out Solar Array on the station in 2025.
The science payloads include experiments studying how spaceflight affects DNA in microscopic organisms and a study of stem cells that could be used to treat blood diseases.
Also on board is what Meghan Everett, NASA ISS deputy chief scientist, described at the briefing as a “STEMonstration” or education experiment to demonstrate centripetal force using items in balloons.
Crew supplies include some items for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been on the station nearly two months on the CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test mission.
“We do like to keep our options open,” said Spetch, a reference to the uncertain return date for the mission.
That includes clothes that were taken off Starliner just before launch to make room for spare parts for the station’s urine processor assembly. “We have some clothes, we have some personal food items for them, thanks like that.”
What is not on Cygnus, though, are Crew Dragon pressure suits for Williams and Wilmore, amid speculation that NASA is considering having the two astronauts return home on Crew Dragon rather than Starliner.
“We would have to deal with that later,” he said.
The launch was the second of three Falcon 9 missions that Northrop Grumman procured for Cygnus launches while it works with Firefly Aerospace on a new version of its Antares rocket, the Antares 330.
That version replaces the Ukrainian-built first stage and Russian engines with a stage developed by Firefly and powered by its Miranda engines.
Ryan Tintner, vice president of civil space systems at Northrop Grumman, hedged on the call when asked if the new Antares will be ready to handle Cygnus missions after the Falcon 9 launch of the NG-22 mission, currently projected for the spring of 2025.
“I don’t think I can give specific timelines” about the readiness of Antares, he said.
“That is progressing as planned here and we’re on track.”
“Cygnus is launch-vehicle agnostic,” he added. “We will continue to work with NASA and determine the right launch vehicle after that.”
https://spacenews.com/cygnus-spacecraft-suffers-glitches-after-launch/
China's secretive space plane caught on camera in orbit
That mysterious Chinese space plane has been newly caught on camera by a satellite watcher who snagged new imagery of the high-flying robotic vehicle.
China's space plane, now circling Earth on its third flight, was lobbed into orbit on Dec. 14, 2023 by a Long March 2F rocket.
Space watcher veteran Felix Schöfbänker in Upper Austria took the imagery.
Equipment used
Schöfbänker made use of a telescope having a 14-inch mirror and assorted gear capable of following satellites that keeps them automatically in the center of a field of view, finessing the equipment with a bit of input and corrections, he told Space.com
"I make these images by taking a video during the flyover and then stacking (averaging out) and sharpening the best frames," Schöfbänker said.
What's seen?
The two solar panels that can be seen at the end aren't visible on any of the computer renderings available online, Schöfbänker advised.
"I am not really sure if they are solar panels or some other features like an antenna or something of that nature."
In terms of size, the satellite spotter measures the craft to be more or less 30 feet (10 meters) in length, which would make it longer than the American X-37B space plane operated by the U.S. Space Force.
Schöfbänker noted that the Chinese space plane appears to be oriented with the nose facing the front of the flight path, like a normal plane.
The vehicle recently lowered its orbit to roughly 217 miles (350 kilometers) above Earth. What China is gleaning from the craft's third flight is unknown.
That situation is similar to what the currently flying U.S. Space Force X-37B is accomplishing after its launch on Dec. 29, 2023 and now 216 days into its secretive mission.
https://www.space.com/china-space-plane-caught-on-camera
Hungary and Poland to join India on Ax-4
August 5, 2024
Astronauts from Hungary and Poland will fly alongside an Indian astronaut on Axiom Space’s next private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
Axiom announced Aug. 5 the crew for Ax-4, its fourth private mission to the ISS. The mission will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who also led the Ax-2 mission to the station in May 2023.
Whitson will be joined by Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) astronaut that the agency announced Aug. 2 would be on the mission.
Shukla will serve as pilot for Ax-4, which, like the company’s first three missions, will use a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The two mission specialists for Ax-4 are Sławosz Uznański of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Uznański is a European Space Agency reserve astronaut selected in 2022, eligible for specific missions like this.
Poland announced in August 2023 that it, in cooperation with ESA, signed an agreement to fly an astronaut on a private mission.
Sweden signed a similar agreement earlier in 2023 and flew its ESA reserve astronaut, Marcus Wandt, on the Ax-3 mission early this year.
The Hungarian government selected Kapu through its own human spaceflight project outside of ESA.
A government minister said in 2022 that Hungary would spend $100 million on the project, with the country signing an agreement with Axiom Space in September 2023 for flying the astronaut.
The announcement of the crew was timed to their arrival in Houston for training with NASA, SpaceX and Axiom.
The crewmembers will still need final approval from the station’s multilateral crew operations panel closer to the planned launch date.
“Ax-4 represents Axiom Space’s continued efforts to build opportunity for countries to research, innovate, test and engage with people around the world while in low Earth orbit,” Michael Suffredini, chief executive of Axiom Space, said in a statement.
“Our collaboration with ESA for a second time and the inclusion of Hungary and India underscores Axiom Space’s ability to cultivate global partners, expand the scope of exploration and open up new avenues to grow a global space economy.”
Absent from the announcement was a date for Ax-4. NASA is holding a launch date of as soon as November for the mission, the agency said at a recent briefing, but a slip to at least early 2025 is considered likely.
Axiom Space has won all four private astronaut mission (PAM) opportunities awarded by NASA to date for short-duration commercial missions to the ISS.
NASA has yet to issue a solicitation for future PAMs after Ax-4, but at least one other company, commercial space station developer Vast Space, has expressed an interest in competing for future missions.
https://spacenews.com/hungary-and-poland-to-join-india-on-ax-4/
Suspicious Observers - Massive Sunspots Incoming
Aug 4, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKXYZvb2Kus
Jake Tapper and Astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly Speak on UAPDA
Jul 30, 2024
"If it doesn't have a negative impact on our National Security, I think transparency with the American people is the best option." - Sen. Mark Kelly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYxqqyCkpwU
NASA to Join 300 Global Experts at NZ First Forest Conference
Sun 04 Aug 24
NASA experts will be among hundreds of remote sensing specialists from 30 countries that will descend on Rotorua, New Zealand, next month for ForestSAT 2024, the world’s top conference on remote sensing technologies for forest monitoring and modelling.
Wood Central understands that the September 9 to 13 event will be the first time that ForestSAT has been held in Australasia, and is already attracting more than 300 global remote sensing specialists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, the UK, and the USA.
According to Dr Henri Bailleres, Scion’s General Manager for Forests to Timber Products, the conference is a perfect opportunity for researchers and practitioners to hear from international experts already using the technology to shape the future of forests and timber products.
“The diverse representation underscores the conference’s global appeal and role as a critical platform for addressing international forest monitoring challenges using advanced remote sensing and geospatial technologies."
For Dr Bailleres, the presence of NASA experts provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Trans Tasman users of remote sensing technology to engage with the world’s top tech audiences.
They are now using remote sensing to monitor the world’s forests from space.
Across the world, precision forestry is now helping forest owners and managers realise new value across the supply chain.
In New Zealand alone, the Ministry for Primary Industries anticipates that the value of forest product exports will reach $6.59 billion in 2024.
With the Luxon government eyeing forest products to expand Brand NZ, Scion said it is accepted that progress will accelerate with support from research, innovation and new smart technologies.
Wood Central understands that the information presented at ForestSAT will highlight the transformative potential of geospatial technology in forestry.
Workshops will also include practical applications so attendees can learn how new and advanced tools and techniques can be integrated into everyday forestry operations.
The five-day programme spans 37 sessions.
The programme, which spans 37 sessions, covers general topics such as precision forestry, terrestrial laser scanning, and forest health, as well as more specialised research relating to forestry big data and deep learning, virtual reality in forestry, and forest spectroscopy.
Participants will also have the chance to engage with leading scientists and renowned experts from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, and the United States and Canadian Forest Services.
According to Scion’s Principal Scientist, Dr Michael Watt is a leading expert in the field, and as ForestSAT 2024 chair, the conference is shaping up to be an unmissable event.
“With more than 230 science presentations and 60 posters, there will be something for everyone.”
“The workshops will be packed with value for forestry professionals, including real-world geospatial solutions that will help them tackle challenges in the field,” Dr Watt said.
Participants will also gain hands-on experience with Google Earth Engine (GEE), a leading cloud-based geospatial data platform.”
https://woodcentral.com.au/nasa-to-join-300-global-experts-at-nz-first-forest-conference/