The space flight thread

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vreihen

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Since the mainstream American press is not covering the Chinese flights very well.....

http://www.space.com/34687-china-tiangong-2-space-crew-robot-tech.html

china-president-calls-tiangong-2.jpg


China's Tiangong-2 Space Lab Crew Tests Robot Tech

By Leonard David, Space.com's Space Insider Columnist
November 12, 2016 07:00am ET

China's ongoing piloted space mission is rounding the corner on a month-long mission, with two crewmen living onboard the country's Tiangong-2 space lab.

The 49-year-old Jing Haipeng and 37-year-old Chen Dong launched into the space on their Shenzhou-11 mission on Oct. 17, docking with the Tiangong-2 two days later. [China's Tiangong-2 Space Lab Explained (Infographic)]

On Sept. 15, 2016, China launched its uncrewed Tiangong-2 space lab to Earth orbit. Learn all about the spacecraft, which China views as a key step toward building a bona fide space station, <a href="http://www.space.com/34614-tiangong-2-china-space-lab-explained-infographic.html">in our full infographic here</a>.

Experiments underway

Wu Dawei, director, overall plan office, Beijing Aerospace Flight and Control Center reports on a CCTV-Plus interview: "The astronauts are in excellent shape. They have completely adapted to the space environment after going through the initial period in the space. They now eat well, sleep well, and work well. As for food, they are very pleased with the food this time. They sleep very well, about seven hours daily. That's their current condition."

Wu said that the experiments onboard Tiangong-2 are proceeding as planned, and the space duo have finished about nine or ten of them. "The remaining ten plus experiments will be finished in the coming week."

Presidential call

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping — also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission — called the two astronauts aboard the Tiangong-2 space lab from the command center of China's manned space program on Wednesday.

Before making the call, Xi watched the brain-computer interaction in-orbit repair experiment on Tiangong-2 at the Command Center.

Arm work

Reports CCTV-Plus, the Tiangong-2 space lab is equipped with an in-orbit repair robotic arm terminal operation system, which is used by astronauts to test the brain-computer interaction in-orbit repair technology that will allow astronauts to control equipment with their thoughts rather than manually.

The system, over 4 feet long (1.35 meters) includes the human-simulated robotic arm, human-simulated robotic hand, binocular global camera, hand-eye camera, controller, data glove and three-dimensional mouse.

The size of the human-simulated robotic hand conforms to the size of the hand of the astronauts in extravehicular spacesuit.

Robotic servicing

Billed as the first such experiment in the world, it was jointly developed by the fifth institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the Harbin Institute of Technology, and the Beijing Institute of Technology.

The experiment verifies the in-orbit technology of the core parts of the robotic arm, exploring the brain-computer interaction mode to accumulate experience of space robots working in orbit.

During the experiment, the robotic hand will simulate the typical moves of dismantling the thermal insulation materials, unscrewing the electric plug, and using electric tools to turn the screws in the orbit.

Other tests include robotic joint stiffness in-orbit identification and grasping floating balls, reports CCTV-Plus.

Lettuce, silkworms

As of today (Nov. 12), astronauts Jing and Chen have been onboard the space lab for 25 days.

During their stay, the space travelers have carried out experiments like planting nine lettuce plants and raising silkworms, in addition to in-orbit maintenance of spacecraft.

Jing and Chen are expected to stay in the space for 33 days. They work six days a week in line with schedules on the ground during this longest piloted mission for China.

The astronauts have a menu with nearly one hundred dishes for their meals. Their menu changes every day for a 5-day period. They also can watch news programs, football games and documentaries in the space lab, a space lifestyle that includes an exercise program.

Leonard David is author of "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet." The book is a companion to the National Geographic Channel six-part series coming in November. A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+.
 
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/rocket-carrying-crew-3-blasts-off-intl-space-202730225.html

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Rocket carrying crew of 3 blasts off for Int'l Space Station

Associated Press
November 17, 2016

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — A Soyuz rocket carrying a veteran American astronaut, a French newcomer and a Russian cosmonaut blasted off for the International Space Station on Friday.

The crew of NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russia's Oleg Novitskiy and France's Thomas Pesquet lifted off from the Russia-leased launch facility in Kazakhstan at 2:20 a.m. Friday (2020 GMT, 3:20 p.m. EST Thursday) and went into orbit eight minutes later. The crew will now travel for two days before docking at the space station.

Whitson, who will celebrate her 57th birthday in February, has now become the oldest woman in space, adding to her long list of barrier-breaking records. This will be the third space station mission for Whitson, an Iowa-born biochemist, and her second stint as commander. She already has spent 377 days in space and performed multiple spacewalks. This six-month mission should push her beyond 534 days in space, the U.S. record set in September by 58-year-old astronaut Jeffrey Williams.

Whitson, Novitskiy, 45, and the 38-year-old Pesquet, who is making his maiden flight into space, will join an American and two Russians at the orbiting lab. They have worked at the station since October.
 
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https://www.yahoo.com/tech/china-astronauts-return-month-long-space-station-stay-062435532.html

10a6b25b8f414cb1bfb0286f2a8e9b05.jpg


China astronauts return from monthlong space station stay

CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press
November 18, 2016


BEIJING (AP) — Two Chinese astronauts returned Friday from a monthlong stay aboard the country's space station, China's sixth and longest crewed mission and a sign of the growing ambitions of its rapidly advancing space program.

Veteran mission commander Jing Haipeng and first-time space traveler Chen Dong were reported in good health after their Shenzhou 11 return vehicle landed on the frozen steppes of Inner Mongolia.

They spent 30 days aboard the Tiangong 2 station conducting experiments and testing equipment in preparation for the launching of the station's core module in 2018. A fully functioning, permanently crewed space station is on course to begin operations six years from now and is slated to run for at least a decade.

The success of the mission "indicates that our manned space program has achieved major new progress and is the latest achievement in building a country of innovation and a world power of science and technology," the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee, the Cabinet and the party commission controlling the military said in a congratulatory message.

"It is the newest achievement of Chinese people in climbing the peak of the world," said the letter, read out by Vice Premier Zhao Gaoli at the space flight control center in Beijing.

Since first launching a human into space 13 years ago, China has launched two space stations, staged a spacewalk, landed a rover on the moon and is now considering sending a crewed lunar mission.

The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," space stations are considered stepping stones to a mission to send a rover to Mars by the end of the decade. Communications with the disused experimental Tiangong 1 station have been cut and it is expected to burn up on entering the atmosphere next year.

China was excluded from the International Space Station mainly due to U.S. legislation barring such cooperation and concerns over the Chinese space program's strongly military character.

Chinese officials are now looking to internationalize their own program by offering to help finance other countries' missions to Tiangong 2, which, at 60 tons when completed, would still be considerably smaller than the 420-ton ISS. The space station was launched on Sept. 15 and is orbiting 393 kilometers (244 miles) above Earth.

In a recent editorial, state newspaper China Daily congratulated the country on having "never given up on its resolve to catch up with the world's leaders in science and technology, as its leadership understands the importance of science and technology for a nation's development."

"That explains why China has achieved such a lot in the development of its space technology in the past two decades and is striving to make new breakthroughs," the paper said.
 
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http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/11/19/Soyuz-rocket-docks-with-International-Space-Station-delivering-three-astronauts/6281479595369/

Soyuz-rocket-docks-with-International-Space-Station-delivering-three-astronauts.jpg


Soyuz rocket docks with International Space Station, delivering three astronauts

By Eric DuVall
Updated Nov. 19, 2016 at 5:50 PM

MOSCOW, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A Russian Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft carrying three astronauts, including one American, docked with the International Space Station on Saturday, delivering the astronauts for a six-month mission orbiting Earth.

NASA flight engineer Peggy Whitson, along with Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, were aboard the Soyuz rocket, which launched two days ago. The trio have orbited Earth inside since then and finally docked with the space station at 4:58 p.m. EST, according to NASA.

The astronauts are scheduled to open the doors to the space station later Saturday. Once they do, they will be greeted by Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, who have been aboard the complex since October.

Expedition 50 is a joint mission on the International Space Station. During their time there, astronauts will study a variety of health and science effects in space including details of microgravity on space-grown plants and on the human body itself.
 
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It would take a heck of a WiFi antenna to get the HEX-NET to work over a distance of a ~400,000 km. :rolleyes:
 
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It would take a heck of a WiFi antenna to get the HEX-NET to work over a distance of a ~400,000 km. :rolleyes:

I'm sure that Jack has some sort of ghetto signal booster that will work..... :)
 
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/12/01/ailing-buzz-aldrin-second-man-on-the-moon-is-being-medically-evacuated-from-the-south-pole/

80c8611fe93f0a8d9fe2323e75e46f15



'Ailing' Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is safely evacuated from the South Pole

By Travis M. Andrews and Sarah Kaplan
December 1 at 2:01 PM

Buzz's Polar Penguins countdown to liftoff has commenced. #Antarctica #WhiteDesert pic.twitter.com/0vDc1yP0gT

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016

Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin was evacuated from the South Pole on Thursday after falling ill during a visit with a tour group.

The 86-year-old Aldrin arrived at a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand early Friday morning local time. According to a statement from the tour company, White Desert, he had fluid in his lungs but was responding well to antibiotics and was in stable condition.

Aldrin, who in 1969 became the second person to walk on the moon, arrived at the South Pole on Nov. 29, according to an away message from his assistant, Christina Korp. He was scheduled to be there until Dec. 8 but his “condition deteriorated” shortly after arriving, according to the White Desert statement.

After a discussion between the White Desert doctor and the U.S. Antarctic Program, the National Science Foundation agreed to provide medical evacuation for Aldrin. He was flown to McMurdo station, a research facility run by the NSF, on ski-equipped LC-130 cargo planes flown by the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard. Hours later, he boarded a Safair cargo plane that transported him to Christchurch, where the logistics hub for the Antarctic program is located.

According to the statement from White Desert, Aldrin will stay overnight for observation at the New Zealand hospital. His manager described him as being in good spirits.

In June, rescuers successfully evacuated two sick workers from Amundsen-Scott research station at the South Pole. It was only the third time such a rescue had been attempted during the brutal Antarctic winter, when the sun never rises and temperatures sink so low that fuel freezes.

Summer evacuations like Aldrin’s are less risky and more common. Several private tour companies run trips to the South Pole during the daylight months between November and February. But conditions at the pole are harsh even during the warmer months: The elevation is about 9,000 feet — nearly twice as high as Denver, Colo. The air is dry, winds are fierce, and temperatures almost never exceed zero degrees Fahrenheit.

On Aldrin’s Twitter account, several photographs have been posted recently of him preparing to travel to Antarctica, including one Tuesday showing him outside an airplane with the caption “South Pole here I come!”

South Pole here I come! #antarctica #WhiteDesert #GYATAntarctica pic.twitter.com/PPjfmKvanZ

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016

Another, posted Tuesday, read: “We’re ready to go to Antarctica! May be our last opportunity to tweet for a few days! We’re go for departure to the launchpad!”

We're ready to go to Antarctica! May be our last opportunity to tweet for a few days! We're go for departure to the launchpad! pic.twitter.com/vFvsu6OQhb

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016

Another, from Sunday, included a joke: “I could be a little underdressed for Antarctica. Although I tend to be hot blooded.”

I could be a little underdressed for Antarctica. Although I tend to be hot blooded. pic.twitter.com/iuCozGptxw

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 27, 2016

Aldrin was born in Montclair, N.J., as Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. He earned the nickname Buzz because his sister pronounced the word “brother” as “buzzer,” according to CNN.

In 1969, Aldrin, along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, flew to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission. He became the second person to walk on the moon, after Armstrong.

This is a developing story, and it will be updated.
 
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19653.gif
:(

http://www.space.com/34875-russian-space-cargo-ship-destroyed-in-failed-launch.html

soyuz-launches-progress-65.jpg


russia-progress-65-ms-04-prelaunch.jpg


Russian Space Cargo Ship Destroyed in Failed Launch, Debris Burns Up

By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | December 1, 2016 01:23pm ET


An uncrewed Russian cargo spacecraft fell back to Earth shortly after launching toward the International Space Station (ISS) today (Dec. 1).

The Progress 65 freighter lifted off atop a three-stage Soyuz-U rocket at 9:51 a.m. EST (1451 GMT) today from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. About 6 minutes into the flight, Russian mission controllers stopped receiving telemetry from the cargo ship, and radar stations were subsequently unable to pick it up on its planned orbit, said officials with Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency.

"According to preliminary information, the contingency took place at an altitude of about 190 km [118 miles] over remote and unpopulated mountainous area of the Republic of Tyva," Roscomos officials wrote in an update today, referring to a rugged region in southern Russia along the Mongolian border. [How Russia's Progress Spaceships Work (Infographic)]

"[Most of the] cargo spacecraft fragments burned in the dense atmosphere," they added. "The State Commission is conducting analysis of the current contingency. The loss of the cargo ship will not affect the normal operations of the ISS and the life of the station crew."

While the investigation into today's launch failure is ongoing, early indications point to an issue with the Soyuz's third stage.

"Basically, what we saw was indications of the third stage sep[aration] occurring a few minutes early, and we haven't had any communications with the Progress at all," mission controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston told NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, the current ISS commander, as the situation was unfolding.

The Progress was loaded up with more than 2.5 tons (2.3 metric tons) of equipment, food and other supplies for the astronauts aboard the orbiting lab. The freighter was supposed to arrive at the ISS on Saturday (Dec. 3).

Progress is one of four uncrewed resupply vessels that currently fly missions to the ISS; the others are Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and the Dragon and Cygnus spacecraft, which are built by the American aerospace companies SpaceX and Orbital ATK, respectively.

Three of these four vehicles have suffered mission failures recently. A Cygnus was destroyed just seconds after liftoff in October 2014 when its Antares rocket exploded, and the Progress 59 mission failed in April 2015 due to a problem with the linkage between the spacecraft and its Soyuz rocket. Then, in June 2015, a Dragon was lost just minutes into flight when its Falcon 9 rocket broke apart.

An HTV is scheduled to launch toward the ISS on Dec. 9.
 
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http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/audi-lunar-rover-launch-scheduled/

AUDI’S LUNAR ROVER GETS THE GREEN LIGHT FOR LAUNCH NEXT YEAR

By Stephen Edelstein — December 1, 2016 7:31 AM

audi-lunar-quattro-4.jpg


Because terrestrial roads apparently aren’t challenging enough, Audi has partnered with a group called Part-Time Scientists to launch a lunar rover. The partners previously discussed a 2017 launch, and now it looks like that might actually happen.

Part-Time Scientists has booked a rocket from Spaceflight Inc. to deliver the rover, called the Audi Lunar Quattro, to the Moon late next year. The carmaker hooked up with Part-Time Scientists, which is a group of 35 engineers spread across three continents, in an effort to win the $30 million Google Lunar XPrize, which goes to the first private team that can get a rover to the Moon, remotely drive it at least 500 meters (164 feet), and send back high-resolution images.

A group of 16 Audi employees have been collaborating with Part-Time Scientists since the partnership was announced last year. Over the past few months, they’ve refined the rover design by enlarging both the vehicle and its wheels, which increases stability, according to Audi. The larger contact patch of the bigger wheels should also increase traction. Engineers also managed to shave 8 kilograms (17 pounds) through “an optimum mix of materials,” as well as 3D printing.

The Audi Lunar Quattro will use four cameras to navigate on the Moon, and to take 360-degree photos to send back to Earth. Like most Earth-bound Audis, the Lunar Quattro is all-wheel drive, thanks to electric motors in each of its wheels. Audi previously quoted a top speed of 3.6 kph (2.2 mph). Slow and steady wins this race, apparently.

A landing module called Alina will actually carry two Lunar Quattro rovers, plus research equipment from other entities, including NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Wikipedia. The lander will touch down near the 1972 landing site of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to reach the Moon. Audi is hoping for a group photo with the Apollo 17 lunar rover that was left at the site when the crew returned to Earth.

Significant testing still needs to be done prior to launch, including stress testing of the Audi rovers and the lander. The entire mission will also be simulated in the Middle East to work out any bugs. When it does launch late next year, it’s possible that the Audi rovers could be lifted aloft by a rocket booster from Elon Musk’s SpaceX. That would be a bit of an ironic twist, given how Musk’s Tesla electric cars are now a thorn in Audi’s side.
 
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Uwe

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^^^^ F1 engines missing the lower portions of their nozzles? ^^^^
 
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^^^^ F1 engines missing the lower portions of their nozzles? ^^^^

Good eye!

Here are three pictures from Wikipedia that show the missing nozzle extensions. Note the aluminum telescoping ladder on top of the center engine!!!!!

800px-F-1_Engines_Being_Installed.jpg


SaturnF1EngineDiagram.png


F-1_rocket_engine.jpg
 
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The next space race is on!!!!!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/report-china-developing-advanced-lunar-mission-spaceship-085506731.html

Report: China developing advanced lunar mission spaceship

Associated Press
March 9, 2017

56e8e654b9524d529a9733ef67977baa.jpg


FILE - In this June 16, 2012, file photo, the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launches from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China. State media say China is developing an advanced new spaceship capable of both flying in low-Earth orbit and landing on the moon. The newspaper Science and Technology Daily cited spaceship engineer Zhang Bainian as saying the new craft would be recoverable and have room for multiple astronauts. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)


BEIJING (AP) — China is developing an advanced new spaceship capable of both flying in low-Earth orbit and landing on the moon, according to state media, in another bold step for a space program that equaled the U.S. in number of rocket launches last year.

The newspaper Science and Technology Daily cited spaceship engineer Zhang Bainian as saying the new craft would be recoverable and have room for multiple astronauts. While no other details were given in the Tuesday report, Zhang raised as a comparison the Orion spacecraft being developed by NASA and the European Space Agency. The agency hopes Orion will carry astronauts into space by 2023.

China's Shenzhou space capsule used on all six of its crewed missions is based on Russia's Soyuz and is capable of carrying three astronauts in its re-entry module.

China came late to crewed space flight, launching its first man into space in 2003, but has advanced rapidly since then. In its most recent crewed mission, two astronauts spent a month aboard a Chinese space station late last year.

A fully functioning, permanently crewed space station is on course to begin operations in around five years and a manned lunar mission has been suggested for the future.

Now firmly established among the big three in space travel, China last year moved ahead of Russia for the first time in number of rocket launches and equaled the United States at 22, according to Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Russia had 17 launches, while the U.S. might have had several more if Space X's Falcon 9 rocket fleet hadn't been grounded following a Sept. 1 launchpad explosion.
 
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-launch-lunar-space-probe-years-end-031116332.html

China to launch lunar space probe before year's end

Reuters
March 8, 2017

BEIJING (Reuters) - China announced plans on Tuesday to launch a space probe to bring back samples from the moon before the end of the year, in what state media cast as competition to U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitions to revitalise U.S. space exploration.

The Chang'e-5 lunar probe is undergoing a final round of tests and is expected to be on standby for launch from August, the official People's Daily said, citing the China National Space Administration.

The launch will involve new challenges for China in sample collection, taking off from the moon and high-speed reentry to the Earth's atmosphere, making it "one of China's most complicated and difficult space missions", Hu Hao, an official from China's Lunar Exploration Programme, told the paper.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for China to become a global power in space exploration.

"Not long ago, the United States' Trump Administration revealed an ambition to return to the moon. Our country also announced a series of deep space exploration plans," said the official Science and Technology Daily.

"The moon is the first stop for humanity's march towards deep space," the paper said.

In February, the Trump administration asked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to look into the possibility of manning a heavy-lift rocket mission, expected to be launched in 2018, perhaps setting the stage for a human return to the moon.

China's new probe is the latest step in its lunar exploration programme. In 2013, it completed its first lunar "soft landing" since 1976 with the Chang'e-3 craft and its Jade Rabbit rover.

China is aiming to send a probe to the dark side of the moon by 2018, the first ever such trip, and hopes to put astronauts on the moon by 2036.

(Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Paul Tait)
 
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Why does the second picture in the article below make me think that some millennial slacker pulled the Skylab blueprints out of mothballs and plans to re-use them?????

Skylab_%28SL-4%29.jpg


http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-crewed-exploration-plans-sls-2017-4

The first Mars astronauts may be trapped inside of a tube for 3 years with no chance of escape

Dave Mosher

* NASA has finally revealed details about its plan to send astronauts to Mars.

* The plan calls for building an outpost to orbit the moon and test Mars hardware.

* A crew of four may have to spend up to three years inside of a Mars spaceship — yet never land on the planet.

* It remains to be seen if NASA's flat budget can facilitate reaching Mars by 2033.


For years, NASA has talked about sending people to Mars with its gigantic new rocket, the Space Launch System, and a new spacecraft called Orion.

But NASA hasn't said exactly how it plans to use this hardware, which it's spending $40 billion to develop — not even with the publication of a 36-page Mars exploration plan in October 2015.

Fortunately, a plan may finally be coming into place.

On March 21, President Donald Trump signed a law that mandates NASA send people to Mars by 2033. Then, a week later, the space agency published its most detailed plan yet for reaching the red planet.

The scheme is neither for the claustrophobic nor the faint of heart. It involves locking astronauts into a tube-shaped spaceship, sending them into deep space for three years, and giving them no form of emergency escape beyond the moon.

What's more, astronauts would only orbit Mars in 2033 — they'd never attempt a landing.

That's according to a document by William Gerstenmaier, the head of NASA's human exploration and operations directorate, that he presented during a NASA advisory council meeting on March 28. We learned about the presentation via a story by Eric Berger at Ars Technica.

"NASA is leading the next steps into deep space near the moon, where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems needed for challenging missions to deep space destinations including Mars," NASA said about the plan in a press release.

Getting to Mars in five phases

58f929307522ca3a268b4d74-1471

An artist's concept of NASA's Deep Space Gateway space station, left, near the moon. NASA

Gerstenmaier's program lists five phases to reach Mars.

Phase 0 involves using the International Space Station "as a test bed to demonstrate key exploration capabilities and operations, and foster an emerging commercial space industry" with partners like SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital ATK, and others. We're currently in this phase.

Phase 1 is ambitious, involving six launches between 2018 and 2025.

First, NASA wants to launch its inaugural SLS rocket, a 321-foot behemoth that's designed to rival the Saturn V rockets that blasted Apollo astronauts to the moon. If the maiden flight and tests of its Orion spaceship went well, the space agency would launch five more SLS rockets.

The first of those five would send NASA's unrelated Europa Clipper probe to Jupiter, where it would study an icy moon with a hidden ocean that may be habitable to alien life. Four other missions would each launch a piece of a new space station, called the Deep Space Gateway, into orbit near the moon — a region called cislunar space — where four astronauts would help assemble and provision it.

"The gateway could move to support robotic or partner missions to the surface of the moon, or to a high lunar orbit to support missions departing from the gateway to other destinations in the solar system," Gerstenmaier said in the release.

58f929300ba0b888008b4f99-1435

An artist's concept of NASA's Deep Space Transport spaceship, right, near the moon. NASA

Phase 2 would build on the lunar space station by launching a Deep Space Transport to it in 2027. Then, around 2028 or 2029, four lucky astronauts would spend up to 400 days inside the 41-ton tube as it orbits near the moon. Their mission: make sure the DST works and nothing critical stops working.

Phase 3 would begin around 2030, assuming the DST and its crew experienced no problems. Another SLS flight would restock the spaceship with supplies and fuel, then yet another launch would load it with four people — the first crew to visit Mars.

Their two- to three-year flight "would likely involve a Venus flyby and a short stay around Mars" and "would offer no hope for an emergency return once the crew leaves cislunar space," Berger wrote.

Phase 4 would happen beyond 2033 and is fairly nebulous at this point. All it calls for in Gerstenmaier's document is "development and robotic preparatory missions" to deliver habitats and supplies to the surface of Mars, plus eventual "Mars human landing missions."

Will NASA put the first boots on Mars?

It remains to be seen whether NASA can pull off this grand plan on the relatively flat budget Congress keeps handing it.

During the Apollo moon missions, NASA made up more than 4% of the US budget. Today, its share has shrunk to about half a percent.

Even if NASA manages to execute this plan, it may have competition from the private partners it hopes to involve. The private sector may even beat NASA to Mars.

Elon Musk, the founder of the rocket company SpaceX, recently said he planned to send people to Mars by 2022. Boeing has also challenged SpaceX in getting to the red planet. Musk said he was OK with this because all he wanted to do was colonize Mars and protect humanity from self-imposed annihilation or a rogue asteroid.

"I think it's good for there to be multiple paths to Mars ... to have multiple irons in the fire," Musk said in August.
 
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2017/04/21/potus-call-space-congratulate-record-breaking-astronaut-peggy-whitson

POTUS to Call Space to Congratulate Record Breaking Astronaut Peggy Whitson

APRIL 21, 2017 AT 11:41 AM ET
BY THE WHITE HOUSE

On Monday, April 24, 2017, President Donald J. Trump will call the commander of the International Space Station, astronaut Peggy Whitson, to congratulate her on breaking the American record for the most total days in space. The current record holder, Jeff Williams stayed in space for 534 days. Whitson will break that record for most cumulative days in space Monday at 1:27 a.m. EDT. In 2002, Whitson flew to space for the first time on the Expedition 5 mission and in 2007 she became the first female astronaut to take command of the International Space Station. Whitson also holds the record for most spacewalks conducted by a female astronaut.

Details for the President’s call with astronaut Peggy Whitson:

When: Monday, April 24, 2017

Time: 10:00 AM EDT

Where: The President will call the International Space Station from the Oval Office

Who: Ivanka Trump and astronaut Kate Rubins will join the President’s call with Commander Whitson and astronaut Jack Fischer will be joining Whitson at the International Space Station.

How to tune in: The 20 minute call will air live on NASA Television and will be livestreamed on NASA’s website and Facebook page.

Get more information on this historic event here.
 
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https://news.uci.edu/press-releases/with-1-million-gift-uci-aims-to-become-first-university-to-launch-rocket-into-space/

With $1 million gift, UCI aims to become first university to launch rocket into space
Donation expands partnership with Base 11 to address STEM talent crisis

ON APRIL 24, 2017

Irvine, Calif., April 24, 2017 — University of California, Irvine students will “shoot for the moon” thanks to a $1 million gift from Base 11, a nonprofit STEM workforce development and entrepreneur accelerator. The “Moonshot Initiative” will establish a rocketry program at The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, with the intent of making UCI the first academic institution to launch a liquid-fuel rocket into space.

The Base 11 donation will turn an existing area on the Engineering Tower’s ground floor into a rocketry lab that enables students to design, build and test rocket prototypes between 15 and 50 feet long. It will also fund a mobile operations center and assembly trailer that can transport rockets to test sites and will allow students to make repairs off-site as needed.

“We’ve found that by exposing our students early to hands-on experiential learning, we have better success in keeping them engaged and inspired in their education,” said Gregory Washington, Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering at the Samueli School. “This partnership with Base 11 will help us create an exciting and innovative opportunity for our students.”

The first liquid-fuel rocket will be built from a prefab prototype that UCI students will modify to travel 25,000 feet high and then further refine to reach 50,000 feet. The ultimate goal is to construct a rocket within two years that breaches outer space, surpassing the Karman line at about 328,000 feet. The rocketry lab will be complete by summer’s end.

The Moonshot Initiative is the latest effort in a growing partnership between the Samueli School and Base 11. In 2016, the nonprofit funded the UCI Base 11 Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy, which introduces community college students to a variety of engineering concepts by having them design and build an unmanned aircraft system, or drone, and then program it to fly. Last summer, five community college students from across the country spent two months at UCI as Base 11 fellows. (See video here.)

The nonprofit has also funded an academic-year internship program that brings high-potential, low-resource community college students from around Southern California to UCI on Saturdays for valuable exposure to university-level engineering concepts. And the Samueli School leads a pilot of Base 11’s STEM Entrepreneur Program, which combines traditional entrepreneurial education with work at the school’s Institute for Design & Manufacturing Innovation.

“Base 11’s partnership with UCI is focused on executing a workforce development strategy that provides the engineering and computer science talent so desperately needed by aerospace, high-tech and transportation industry companies,” said Landon Taylor, CEO of Base 11. “UCI and Dean Washington are ideal partners who share our vision of solving the STEM talent pipeline crisis by transforming underrepresented women and minorities into STEM leaders of the 21st century.”

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

About Base 11: Base 11 is a nonprofit workforce development accelerator focused on solving the STEM talent pipeline crisis being fueled by the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. By establishing Innovation Centers integrated with hands-on, project-based learning and STEM entrepreneurship training, Base 11 and its industry, academic and philanthropic partners set students on direct pathways to four-year STEM degrees, well-paid STEM jobs and the opportunity to launch their own STEM-related businesses. For more information, visit www.Base11.com. Base 11 is a DBA of the Center for Innovation in Education, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) – IRS exemption EIN#26-4365936.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
 
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Base 11 is a nonprofit workforce development accelerator focused on solving the STEM talent pipeline crisis being fueled by the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Yeah, OK then.
 
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