US Launch Vehicles and Spacecraft: Discussion & News

US gov increasing funds for NASA meanwhile Russian govt cutting funds for its Aerospace Industry.

Aerospace company Blue Origin announced that it has successfully landed a booster that was previously launched and landed, marking a first in the pursuit of reusable space technology.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160126/1033700072/blue-origin-reuses-rocket.html#ixzz3yWzQgekM

NASA Wants to Use Spy Telescope for Science

What once was used to spy on rival nations will now be turned toward the cosmos.

After nearly 30 years of flawless service, the Hubble Space Telescope is expected to go into retirement in 2020. After capturing thousands of stunning images and contributing to humanity’s fundamental understanding of the universe, Hubble will have degraded beyond functionality, and will be left to drift in orbit before being pulled by Earth’s gravity to a fiery end during reentry.

To make up for the loss, NASA will need new tools. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to launch in 2018, but scientists have another trick up their sleeve. With the permission of the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA will use hardware repurposed from spy satellites to launch the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).

"WFIRST has the potential to open our eyes to the wonders of the universe, much the same way Hubble has," John Grunsfield, Hubble repair astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

"This mission uniquely combines the ability to discover and characterize planets beyond our own solar system with the sensitivity and optics to look wide and deep into the universe in a quest to unravel the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter."

To accomplish these goals, the telescope will be equipped with several instruments. A wide-field camera, similar to the one installed on Hubble, will be used to measure how fast the universe is expanding.

Those measurements will rely partially on observing distances between supernovas.

"WFIRST is designed to address science areas identified as top priorities by the astronomical community," said Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, in a statement.

"The Wide-Field instrument will give the telescope the ability to capture a single image with the depth and quality of Hubble, but covering 100 times the area. The coronagraph will provide revolutionary science, capturing the faint, but direct images of distant gaseous worlds and super-Earths."

The telescope will also feature a coronagraph, a device that blocks light from stars, in order to hunt planets circling close to their host, and use atmosphere scanning equipment to better characterize exoplanets.

NASA hopes to launch WFIRST in the mid-2020s.

"In addition to its exciting capabilities for dark energy and exoplanets, WFIRST will provide a treasure trove of exquisite data for all astronomers," said Neil Gehrels, project scientist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a statement.

"This mission will survey the universe to find the most interesting objects out there," he claims.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160223/1035195339/nasa-wfirst-telescope.html#ixzz40ziZva8p

Launch of Dragon Spacecraft to ISS Postponed Until April

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160310/1036097362/dragon-laaunch-postponed-april.html#ixzz42dYw5Vf3

Cygnus rocket carrying supplies for ISS blasts off from Cape Canaveral

More:
http://tass.ru/en/science/864414

US Aerospace Company Completes Preliminary Design Review for Vulcan Centaur

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20160324/1036926371/us-vehicle-launch-engine.html#ixzz43vJlCxYb

Dragon Spacecraft to Fly to International Space Station on Friday

The US SpaceX aerospace manufacturer will carry out the first Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in nearly a year on Friday, also attempting yet another drone ship landing.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The launch of the Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled for 20:43 GMT, April 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The robotic spacecraft will be launched using the Falcon 9 carrier rocket.

In June 2015, A Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon cargo ship carrying supplies to the ISS exploded 3 minutes after it had been launched from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX has since modified the Falcon 9 rocket and the Friday launch, which is the first Dragon mission since last year’s accident, will be carried out using the upgraded model.

SpaceX will also try to get the first stage of the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket to land on a drone ship.

In December 2015, SpaceX succeeded in making Falcon’s reusable first stage land upright about 6 miles from where it was launched at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rest of the company’s attempts to have rocket boosters land on a drone ship have failed.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160408/1037669810/dragon-flies-iss-friday.html#ixzz45DnLCJAC

DARPA to hold open competition for XS-1 demonstration phase

DARPA has been working with industry teams Boeing-Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems-XCOR Aerospace and Northrop Grumman-Virgin Galactic to mature three competing designs. However, it will select just one team for Phase II and III, worth up to $140 million.

Brad Tousley, who heads the agency’s tactical technology office, says there are now enough mature concepts on the market to warrant a full and open competition.

His believes that enough progress has been made in the commercial space sector since the original solicitation for Phase Zero in 2013 that it will be worthwhile accepting bids from incumbents and those not involved in the initial government-sponsored design phases.

“We expect that the current three performers will bid,” Tousley said at the 32nd annual space symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado on 12 March. “We don’t think it’s necessary for some to go through phase zero and phase one because of their maturity. There’s a lot going on in the commercial sector.”

Boeing's XS-1 spaceplane design:



The XS-1 programme aims to launch 10 payloads into space over 10 days using a two-stage launch system comprised of a business jet-sized spaceplane and second-stage launch vehicle or rocket.

The spaceplane would have a turnaround time between recovery and relaunch of less than 24h, and would ultimately be capable of putting a 1,360kg (3,000lb) payload into low Earth orbit for under $5 million.

DARPA is preparing a solicitation for the next phase, Phase II, which covers “final design, fabrication, and integration assembly and test”. A “proposers day” will be held in Arlington, Virginia on 29 April.

Northrop's XS-1 concept :

Tousley expects that XS-1 will succeed where other spaceplane programmes like the Rockwell X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) and Lockheed Martin X-33 failed by focusing on affordability and technological maturity.
“This is not quite the challenge of the Space Shuttle, because obviously the Mach numbers are much less,” he says, noting that the maximum speed required will be Mach 10. “In contrast to other programmes we’ve had in the past, we’re not developing new engines here. It’s about integrating existing engines, and making sure those existing engines have been robustly tested.”

Those propulsion systems must be “ready for flight no later than fiscal year 2020,” according to the 7 April XS-1 proposers day notice.

If successful, Tousley believes there will be an immediate need for the XS-1 system to launch both commercial and national security payloads.

“It’s very difficult. It’s worth going after,” he says. “We think it has national security applications and commercial applications and will have a positive impact on the launch market.”

Masten' XS-1 proposal:

Delta 4 Heavy rocket with a US intelligence satellite was launched in Florida

Delta 4 Heavy rocket launched in Florida carrying US intelligence satellite.

It is considered the most powerful rocket used by US, it displays the satellite into orbit for the central control of the military and space exploration.

In this start, which took place today at 20:51 Moscow time, I was supposed to occur more June 9 but was postponed due to weather conditions.

As reported by "RIA Novosti", the machine can be used for listening and collecting intelligence.

SpaceX launches satellites but fails to recover rocket

SpaceX successfully launched two satellites into orbit on Wednesday, but failed in an attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket undamaged on a barge in the Atlantic.

The rocket apparently malfunctioned some 330 feet (70 meters) off the ground and was in flames when it reached the platform on the powered barge—known as a drone ship—live images via a SpaceX webcast showed. SpaceX chief Elon Musk later confirmed the failure on Twitter.

"Ascent phase & satellites look good, but booster rocket had a RUD on droneship," he wrote, using an acronym for "rapid unscheduled disassembly," or explosion.

The rocket shook the barge when it landed, causing the ship's camera to freeze. The final images showed the craft standing upright, enveloped in flames and thick smoke. The rocket earlier successfully boosted into orbit a communications satellite for the French firm Eutelsat and another for Bermuda-based ABS.

The launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral took place at 10:29 am (1429 GMT) and the satellites deployed around 30 minutes later.
It was SpaceX's sixth launch of the year.Wednesday's failure ends a recent streak of landing successes. The California-based company has successfully landed the first stages of its Falcon 9 rockets three times—twice on water and once on land.

Musk wants to revolutionize the launch industry by making rocket components reusable, much the same way as commercial airplanes.
Expensive rocket parts are currently jettisoned into the ocean after each launch. SpaceX is next set to launch a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA next month.

Explosion rocks SpaceX launch site in Florida during test — AP

Eyewitnesses reported that a cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky

EW YORK, September 1. /TASS/. - An explosion has rocked the SpaceX launch site in Florida during a routine test firing of an unmanned rocket, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The test was conducted in advance of an Israeli satellite launch planned for Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Eyewitnesses reported that a cloud of dark smoke filled the overcast sky.

Florida Today news portal said quoting the local emergency management office that the blast was no threat to general public.


More:
http://tass.com/science/897110

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ

I have never seen such a failure mode before. It is as if the final stage rockets ignited while the rocket was still on the ground.

Maybe Hollywood can use this actual footage for some Superman vs. Batman movie in the future instead of a cheesy edit of a
Soyuz rocket explosion that never happened.

Beautiful... I mean, how tragic.

Such a failure will be expensive.

Not just exploding on the launchpad with the payload on board, but added to previous failures to recover the rocket after use will be putting enormous pressure on them.

After all if you plan to be able to recover and reuse rockets and you can't because they are exploding on landing, or worse... exploding before launch with the expensive payload on board it becomes very very hard to make that money back.

This will really screw up their business model if they can't sort this out.

The project of company's Blue Origin space heavy launcher



http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2124516.html

US’ SpaceX launches Dragon spacecraft to ISS

More:
http://tass.com/science/931777

SpaceX conducts first re-launch of Falcon 9 rocket

The booster of a previously flown Falcon 9 carrier rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral and successfully landed on a drone ship

NEW YORK, March 31. /TASS/. The first stage of a previously flown Falcon 9 carrier rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral and successfully landed on the SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, SpaceX representatives announced.

Thursday’s mission, carrying the SES-10 telecoms satellite, took off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 18:27 local time (22:27 GMT) and successfully landed the booster again.

The mission made use of the rocket that blasted off for the first time in April 2016 to deliver the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket performed the company's first ever successful ship landing when it landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic.

Thursday’s launch marks another success in the project by SpaceX to build reusable rockets that can be launched, landed and relaunched several times before they reach operational limits.

So far, SpaceX has managed to land eight Falcon 9 boosters, but no re-launches were carried out to date.


More:
http://tass.com/science/938601

What is the reliability of the rocket engine after using 1 times. I heard that Musk's company take 4 months to refurbish and repair the used rocket, didn't they ? What is the price and cost of that refurbishing ? Is it cheaper than purchasing a brand new Soyuz or Proton ?

Atlas-5 rocket carrying Cygnus spacecraft blasts off from Cape Canaveral

More:
http://tass.com/science/941933

US Preps for Limitless War With Proposed New ‘Space Corps’

Lawmakers in Washington are seeking to create a brand-new military branch – the first since the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947 – to make sure the country can wage war in space.

Two top lawmakers in Washington DC have added a line item to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would create a brand new Space Corps military branch to specifically address the needs of warfare beyond the atmosphere of Earth.

The proposed legislation would create a Space Corps, to be folded into the the military as part of "a separate military service within the Department of the Air Force," according to the proposal. The US already has an Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps.

US Representatives with the Strategic Forces Subcommittee — a group in charge of Pentagon operations in space working under the aegis of the House Armed Services Committee — Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Jim Cooper (D-TN), on Tuesday introduced legislation that would create a US Space Corps.

In announcing the move, the two lawmakers stated: "There is bipartisan acknowledgement that the strategic advantages we derive from our national security space systems are eroding."

"We are convinced that the Department of Defense is unable to take the measures necessary to address these challenges effectively and decisively," Rogers and Cooper said, "or even recognize the nature and scale of its problems," cited by Theantimedia.com.

Included in the legislation is the acknowledgment that the Space Corps would be under the direction of the US Air Force, similar to how the Marines are under the direction of the US Navy.

Unlike the Marines, however, the proposed US Space Corps would have a leader equal to the Air Force Chief of Staff, and also have a seat with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A spokesman for the US Air Force responded to the proposed legislation by downplaying the idea, however, arguing that coordination between the military branches is more important than creating new separate entities with the Pentagon.

"We think right now it's important to take the capabilities and the resources that we have," said the Air Force spokesperson, "and focus on implementation and integration with the broader force, versus creating a separate service."

The secretary or the Air Force, Heather Wilson, bolstered that sentiment on Wednesday, saying, "The Pentagon is complicated enough. This will make it more complex, add more boxes to the organization chart, and cost more money."

"And if I had more money, I would put it into lethality, not bureaucracy… I don't need another chief of staff and another six deputy chiefs of staff, " she added, according to Anti-Media.

Many levels of legislative bureaucracy must sign on before a Space Corps can see its first space cadets, however, and the House Armed Services Committee must first unanimously approve its subcommittee's addition to the NDAA. The creation of a Space Corps would then move to the House floor for an early July vote.

Forward-thinking military futurists, including current Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, an Obama appointee, are supportive of moving the jurisdiction of the Pentagon into space.

In 2015, Work asserted that extraterrestrial domains, including the near-Earth planets, the asteroid belt, the gas giants and even the reaches of outer space must "be considered a contested operational domain in ways that we haven't had to think about in the past."

https://sputniknews.com/military/201706241054950360-new-us-space-corps-proposed/

US Dragon cargo ship launched from Cape Canaveral to ISS

More:
http://tass.com/science/960339

The first launch of the American launch vehicle Falcon Heavy will take place in late December 2017

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/2943562.html