Archive for November 2010

Crew Return Vehicle

17. November 2010 by RC Davison.

     In novel, Orbital Maneuvers, the crew was able to return to Earth using the CRV or the Crew Return Vehicle.  NASA just posted a rather neat picture of the CRV hanging from the wing of the B-52 mother-ship.

Crew Return Vehicle X-38 - Image courtesy of NASA

     This is not a full size vehicle of the X-38 but only 80% scale model that was used for drop testing.  It’s very unfortunate that the CRV was not finished, as it would have provided an alternative to using two Russian Soyuz capsules as escape vehicles for a full space station crew compliment.  With the end of the space shuttle’s tour of duty drawing near, we are even more dependent on Russia to get to and from the ISS.  A situation that I sincerely hope does not place politics and international relations above the space science and research we’ve worked so hard to create and do on the ISS.

There is more information and pictures on the CRV and the Soyuz capsule on the website.

Here’s a link to a larger picture of the X-38.  Also, check out NASA’s Picture of the Day site for a daily fix for images of and about space and NASA technology.

Till next time,

RC Davison

Posted in Humans in Space | No Comments »

Comet Hartley 2 and the International Space Station

10. November 2010 by RC Davison.

     Thanks to the efforts of Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society, there is a really neat image that shows to scale the International Space Station next to the nucleus of comet Hartley 2.  (Note that this is a composite picture created using graphic manipulation software.)

Comet Hartley 2 and ISS - Image courtesy of NASA and Emily Lakdawalla

     We have an appreciation for how big the space station is relative to the shuttle but seeing it next to the comet gives one a better sense of how big this small comet is.   Check out Emily’s blog, she does a great job posting the latest developments in planetary science.

Till next time,

RC Davison

Posted in Solar System, Humans in Space | 3 Comments »

The Heart of a Comet

5. November 2010 by RC Davison.

      NASA’s EPOXI mission, formerly the Deep Impact mission that launched an impactor into comet Temple 1 on July 4, 2005, has just sent back some amazing images of the nucleus of comet Hartley 2 as it flew by at a distance of about 700 km or about 420 miles.

Flyby views of Comet Hartley 2 - Image courtesy of NASA

       You can easily see the jets of vapor being back-lit by the Sun at the ends of the nucleus, which is about 2 km, or about 1.2 miles long.  This is a great image that shows just where the large tail and coma, which surrounds the nucleus comes from.  Check out NASA’s site for EPOXI for more pictures and information.

This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten an image of a comet’s nucleus.  The picture below shows a nice comparison of the five comets we’ve peeked at.

5 Comets we've visited. Image courtesy of NASA

 Till next time,

RC Davison

Posted in Solar System, Astronomy | No Comments »

Final Launch of the Shuttle Discovery: STS-133

1. November 2010 by RC Davison.

Space Shuttle Discovery sits on the pad awaiting another leak (actually 2) to be repaired. this time in the pressurization system on the right maneuvering system.  About two weeks ago they were fixing a fuel leak.  Maybe this is routine as shuttle launches go, or maybe it is showing that time and space are beginning to take their toll.

Discovery's Final Rollout - Image courtesy Larry Tanner, United Space Alliance

(Shuttle Image courtesy Larry Tanner, United Space Alliance.  Click for larger image.)

I fear that we are pushing our luck with each launch of these complex machines.  Although well maintained and serviced, they are still operating with equipment and systems that are beyond their specified operating lifetimes.  From an engineering perspective, that’s not a good thing to be doing.  It angers me that we, as a country, have not had the foresight and energy to build a successor to the shuttle fleet such that we could retire these work-horses and continue exploring space and servicing the International Space Station (ISS) without interruption.  We dropped the ball as far back as the  1970’s when the last Apollo missions were canceled.

At this point there are no quick answers.  Commercial space flight may come about in the near future, but that is highly dependent on how successful the initial flights are, and if these companies can make money off the venture.  I’m not very comfortable being tied into using another country to get to the ISS, but for now that is all we’ve got.

For today, I hope Discovery has a flawless mission and returns safely to Earth with her crew.  The time has come for her to return to Mother Earth and reach no longer for the stars.

Till next time -

RC Davison

Posted in Humans in Space | 1 Comment »

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