NASA on Tuesday selected three finalists to be the agency’s next cheap, robotic exploration mission. Depending on which wins, a probe will head for Venus, the moon, or a near-Earth object no later than 2018.
The latter two missions would include the return of samples, while the Venusian lander would test the planet’s composition much like [...]
We always cite the Mars rovers as examples of missions that perform far beyond their expected lifetimes, but the two Voyager spacecraft are reminding us once again that we have instrumentation at the edge of the Solar System that is still functioning after all these years. Both Voyagers are now in the heliosheath, the outermost [...]
Other editions : Mobile Text News Feeds E-Newsletters Electronic Edition Find it : Jobs Cars Real Estate Apartments Shopping Classifieds Sponsored : by The Flame Trench : United Launch Alliance's quiet , workmanlike success Subscribe via RSS Latest news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Monday , December 28, 2009 United Launch Alliance's quiet , workmanlike success This year has been one of the most eventful in space history , but there's a hidden gem that deserves extra . attention Astronauts installed the last of the international partners' laboratory modules at the space station . The space shuttle program marched toward its retirement . NASA launched a gargantuan new moon rocket on its first test flight . The White House conducted a review of the entire space . program With the future of human space exploration up in the air , it's no surprise that dominated headlines throughout 2009. Let's not let this year pass without recognizing one of the most important achievements in U.S . aerospace in recent years : the successful deployment of the United Launch Alliance The joint venture of The Boeing Co . and Lockheed Martin Corp . has come into its own this
Galileo satellite's 4th birthday today Space blog Galileo satellite's 4th birthday today SSTL is celebrating the 4th anniversary of the launch of its historic GIOVE-A satellite today . As the first of the G alileo I n O rbit V alidation E lement satellites , GIOVE-A was the first step in Europe's visionary Galileo satellite navigation programme when it was launched on December 28th 2005. During the past 4 years , SSTL and GIOVE-A have contributed significantly to the testing and validation of technologies vital to the now imminent operational constellation of satellites . The 660 kg GIOVE-A satellite was built by SSTL for ESA in just 30 months at a cost of just 28m . Euros SSTL CEO Dr . Matt Perkins commented SSTL is proud of its involvement with the Galileo programme and the continuing success of GIOVE-A . This mission has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of SSTL’s small satellite approach for the delivery of operational . missions GIOVE-A was the first part of the in-orbit validation programme for Galileo , broadcasting the first signal to successfully secure the critical Galileo frequency filing with the International Telecommunications Union ITU at 17:25 GMT on the 12th
There I was idly checking out SpaceWeather.com, seeing whether there was any sunspot activity going on… and then I saw this. At first, I assumed it was a highly symmetrical sunspot, but no! It was something far more sinister, but I didn’t recognize the hallmark signature. Neal Wiser saw it instantly and informed me via [...]Post from: Astroengine.comBorg Cube Spotted Near Solar Limb
Physicists working in space plasmas have made clever use of the Ulysses spacecraft and the solar min
: Accessibility links Text only Skip to content Skip to local navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk search Help Accessibility Help Access keys help Previous Main The Ariane rocket celebrates its 30th birthday Jonathan Amos 14:33 UK time , Thursday , 24 December 2009 It's a birthday celebration . Thirty years ago today , the Ariane 1 rocket made its first flight from Kourou in French . Guiana Three decades later via some ups and downs the European rocket programme has become a big . success In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed . Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions . If you're reading via RSS , you'll need to visit the blog to access this content . The Ariane 5 the latest in the series dominates the large commercial satellite business . Its seven missions this year have orbited 10 big telecoms platforms , including the heaviest ever flown the Terrestar-1 satellite that had a launch mass of . 6,910kg The 2009 campaign even had room for a couple of major science telescopes and two missile defence system spacecraft Ariane grew out of the failed Europa rocket programme of the late 1960s . Europa , you will
(Space Fellowship) – Russia’s Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft carrying a crew of three has docked with
With much of the US east coast to the north of me digging out from the recent storm, I can only think how fortunate I am not to be trying to travel right now. The snow-clogged airports and snarled streets that are all over the news do have their effect on my thinking, though, which [...]
Other editions : Mobile Text News Feeds E-Newsletters Electronic Edition Find it : Jobs Cars Real Estate Apartments Shopping Classifieds Sponsored : by The Flame Trench : New station crew whizzing toward outpost Subscribe via RSS Latest news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Monday , December 21, 2009 New station crew whizzing toward outpost A new crew is en route to the International Space Station after launch Sunday from . Kazakhstan Space.com reports that NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer , Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov , and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi launched on time at 4:52 p.m . Eastern time on the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur . Cosmodrome You can read a full report on the launch at space.com and you can follow the arrival at the outpost Tuesday here at The Flame . Trench posted by John Kelly at 9:08 AM 1 : Comments Anonymous said . We did not waste 3 billion getting them . there 2:39 PM Post a Comment Go back to The Flame Trench NASA TV Web Cams Click image above to play NASA TV Click images above to see all web cams Recent posts comments Kosmas Aims To Set Pelosi Straight On Space 13 comments White House , NASA : Obama Decision Still To
The Hubble Space Telescope is capable of extraordinary things, but a 35th magnitude object is beyond its capabilities. In fact, 35th magnitude is 100 times dimmer than what the instrument can see directly. But an ingenious investigation using Hubble’s Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) has turned up the smallest Kuiper Belt Object yet found. Not surprisingly, [...]
SSTL sponsors students scientists Space blog SSTL sponsors students scientists SSTL is sponsoring a team of students that have been enrolled in the Engineering Education Scheme EES to help solve real and live problems for engineering , applied science and technological companies . The Scheme is set up by the Engineering Development Trust EDT with the aim to provide students aged 16 and 17 with experience in engineering , science and technology in order to make informed decisions about their future education and career . During the 6 month programme , the students who all currently attending Farnborough 6th Form College , will take on the task set by SSTL to Investigate possible ways of detecting earthquake precursor signals using satellites , to help us move from disaster monitoring to disaster mitigation” . The project will be mentored by SSTL Radio Frequency team member David Sanderson . David Sanderson , Stephen Birtles school teacher Joe Cleminson , Rhys Llewellyn , Calum Jones and Teodora Ghiuvea David met with the four budding engineers and their school teacher to give them a tour of the SSTL clean rooms , a presentation on small satellite engineering and introduced them to
In the early 1980’s, NASA’s Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) detected a number of unknown objects lurking in the depths of the cosmos.
At the time, these IRAS objects stirred speculation in the press. Were the infrared signals being emitted by comets inside the Solar System? Or were they failed stars (brown dwarfs) lurking beyond the orbit [...]Post from: Astroengine.comStar Birth Dominates Energy Production in Ultra-Luminous Galaxies
Sweeting talks small satellites Space blog Sweeting talks small satellites SSTL will be in attendance at this year’s Global Space Technology Forum which kicks-off on 7th December at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre ADNEC and draws to a close on 9th December . Now in its second year , the GSTF is the region’s only conference and exhibition dedicated to Space Technology and is a platform for many industry experts to share their knowledge with young professionals and students who have an interest in space research and . applications Sir Martin Sweeting Amongst the industry experts taking to the stage is Professor Sir Martin Sweeting who will start the second day of the Global Space Technology Conference with a keynote address on Innovation in Design and Technology for Small Satellites’ . The Forum has a full agenda including the Global Space Technology Conference , Global Space Technology Exhibition , various seminars , workshops , networking events and meetings . SSTL will be represented in the Exhibition Hall at Stand E4 where staff will be on hand to answer queries from the public and industry . SSTL staff are also taking part in many of the workshops and seminars which are
: , Accessibility links Text only Skip to content Skip to local navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk search Help Accessibility Help Access keys help Previous Main Next No pressure there then , Mr Musk Jonathan Amos 14:11 UK time , Wednesday , 18 November 2009 He is the man of the moment Elon Musk , the chief designer and CEO of SpaceX The guy can be forgiven for feeling a little stressed right now . He admitted as much to the BBC when we went to see him at his Hawthorne , California facility last week . SpaceX is getting very close to the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket and Musk knows that the eyes of the world will be watching : On launch day , there is serious pucker factor . For those who haven't been following this quite so closely , the Falcon 9 is probably the leading candidate right now to lead the commercialisation of low-Earth . orbit Fitted with its Dragon capsule the Falcon is being touted by many as the cheaper , faster , but no-less-safe alternative to Nasa's Ares 1 . rocket The Augustine committee 7Mb PDF commissioned by President Barack Obama to review US human spaceflight options , said private operators should be incentivised to provide
Proba-2 Goes Gas Space blog Proba-2 Goes Gas The European Space Agency ESA Proba-2 mission has entered its 2 month commissioning period following a successful launch . SSTL s Microsatellite Gas Propulsion System is on-board the 137kg small satellite and was integrated by the satellite’s manufacturer Verhaert Space . Systems The Microsatellite Gas Propulsion System is based upon SSTL’s heritage xenon resistojet propulsion system . Its highly cost effective design provides an enhancement over conventional cold gas propulsion . SSTL's Gas Propulsion System By using the resistojet thruster to heat the exhaust gas to over 300ºC a 30 increase in efficiency is gained . The electronically controlled pressure regulation improves thrust control compared to conventional mechanically regulated propulsion systems for greater positioning control in . orbit The warm gas propulsion system is simpler , safer and cleaner than chemical propulsion systems . This makes them ideal for launcher injection correction , constellation station keeping and acquisition and orbit height maintenance for small , low cost . spacecraft Proba-2 is the follow-on to the highly successful Proba-1 satellite launched in
After collecting myself from the bout of giggles when I read The Bloggess’ post about the rather bizarre auto-suggestion in Google Search, I was ready to find some more. (Awesome, the old classic, “french military victories” followed by clicking the “I’m feeling lucky” button is still working.)
But what’s this? @Mactavish shoots me a tweet telling [...]Post from: Astroengine.comSome Doomsday Crazy With That Google Search?
Student Moon mission begins Space blog Student Moon mission begins SSTL has been selected by the European Space Agency ESA to manage a pan-European student built mission to the Moon . The European Student Moon Orbiter ESMO programme will place a spacecraft into a lunar orbit to map the lunar surface , acquiring images and other scientific data about our nearest neighbour . Students from at least 10 universities throughout ESA's Member States and Cooperating States will learn about space science and engineering hands on” by collaborating on the design and building of systems that could be launched into orbit around the Moon as soon as 2013. Team ESMO The photo to the left shows the university academics and students that are involved with the ESMO programme , gathered outside SSTL in . Guilford SSTL will draw upon its experience in delivering cost effective space missions and training schemes to project manage the European Student Moon Orbiter ESMO mission , supervising the academic and student teams throughout Europe to help them achieve their goal of a space-ready Moon orbiter . Professor Sir Martin Sweeting , Executive Chairman of SSTL said , SSTL has had its sights on the Moon
CHRIS celebrates 8th year onboard Proba-1 Space blog CHRIS celebrates 8th year onboard Proba-1 SSTL is celebrating the 8th year in orbit of the high resolution CHRIS Imager , which was launched on-board the European Space Agency s PROBA-1 mission , in October 2001. Chichester Harbour , UK The Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer CHRIS is a highly versatile hyperspectral system that was developed by SSTL’s Optical Payload Group . CHRIS was one of many instruments on-board the mission , with the others including a Space Radiation Environment Monitor SREM and a Payload Autonomous Star Sensor PASS CHRIS offers the highest spatial resolution of any hyperspectral system currently in orbit and can provide simultaneous images of the Earth in 19 wavebands . This allows for many features of the images it produces to be identified and . analysed This high resolution imager enables ESA’s Proba-1 mission to acquire detailed images of the Earth . The result stunning images of natural and urban . phenomena A cropped CHRIS satellite image of San Diego Many more images can be seen on ESA’s website including that of the Mauna Kea Volcano , Hawaii and . Tokyo CHRIS can be used for many
Space age composites at new Bordon facility Space blog Space age composites at new Bordon facility SSTL’s new Composites Facility in Bordon , Hampshire will complement its design and engineering capabilities . Composites Facility Composites are fundamental to state of the art engineering , and their inherent versatility , strength and low weight makes this class of materials an essential component in SSTL satellite design . The vertical integration promises lead time and cost savings that will enable the company to deliver excellent value satellite missions by using the best available technologies . The 10,000 square feet facility's primary function is the manufacture of composite components and structures and it has a climate controlled Lay-up Room , Processing Area , dedicated Surface Preparation Area and a Trimming and Finishing facility . A large Processing Oven , Vapour Degreasing Tank , Vapormaster' Shot Blast Cabinet , Walk-in Freezer are already installed and a composites curing Autoclave will also be commissioned in 2010. This entry was posted by Robin Wolstenholme on Tuesday , November 3. 2009 at 08:50. and is filed under In the news You can leave a response or trackback