Wednesday, April 21, 2021

UPDATE: Watch Live: SpaceX Crew-2 Launch Early FRIDAY AM

The crew for the second long-duration SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2

NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-2 are pictured at the SpaceX training facility in Hawthorne, California. Standing from left-to-right: Mission Specialist Thomas Pesquet of the ESA (European Space Agency); Pilot Megan McArthur of NASA; Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA; and Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide of the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

(Image Sources: SpaceX, NASA)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

UPDATE: Due to unfavorable weather conditions along the SpaceX Crew Dragon flight-path on Thursday, the SpaceX Crew-2 launch has been delayed until Friday Morning, 2021 April 23 at 5:49 a.m. EDT / 9:49 UTC; NASA-TV coverage begins Friday morning at 1:30 a.m. EDT / 5:30 UTC. Originally, the Crew-2 launch had been scheduled for Earth Day (Thursday Morning, 2021 April 22) at 6:11 a.m. EDT / 10:11 UTC, with NASA-TV coverage beginning at 2:00 a.m. EDT / 6:00 UTC. Crew-2 docking with the International Space Station is now scheduled around 5:10 a.m. EDT / 9:10 UTC on Saturday Morning, 2021 April 24; the docking had previously been scheduled at 5:30 a.m. EDT / 9:30 UTC on April 23.

The second operational launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with four Crew-2 astronauts, to the International Space Station (ISS), will occur early on Friday morning. An Internet link to live coverage of the launch can be found near the end of this blog-post.

This SpaceX launch includes two NASA astronauts: Pilot Megan McArthur and Commander Shane Kimbrough, along with two international partner astronauts: Mission Specialist Thomas Pesquet of the ESA (European Space Agency) and Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide of the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). SpaceX was founded in 2002 by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with the Crew-2 astronauts, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to launch early on Friday Morning, 2021 April 23 at 5:49 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 9:49 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The launch will occur from Launch Complex 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island, Florida. This is the same launch pad which saw the launch of the Apollo missions to the Moon, 1968 to 1972, and the Space Shuttle missions beginning on 1981 April 12; Space Shuttle missions concluded on 2011 July 21.

NASA-TV, available through the NASA Internet web-site, will provide live coverage of the launch, beginning on April 23 at 1:30 a.m. EDT / 5:30 UTC (Internet link to the NASA-TV web-page near the end of this blog-post). NASA will provide coverage of the pre-launch, launch, docking, and arrival activities for the second crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT / 9:10 UTC on Saturday Morning, 2021 April 24.

Crew Dragon Crew-1, the first SpaceX operational launch and mission occurred in November of last year, when four astronauts traveled to the International Space Station for a half-year stay. The very first SpaceX astronaut mission to the ISS was a demonstration mission, launching two astronauts, on 2020 May 30. The Crew-2 astronauts will join the other members of Expedition 65, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos (Russian Space Agency), for a six-month mission.

The main mission for Crew-2 is studying how human tissue is affected by micro-gravity. It is a mistaken belief that astronauts are “weight-less” or experience “0-G” (i.e. no gravity). Actually, some gravity always exists, even in Outer Space. Although it may seem that Earth gravity barely affects astronauts, this is not quite true. Astronauts, experiencing micro-gravity, are actually in free-fall (actually falling towards the Earth, but staying in Earth orbit due to the speed of ISS). With the ISS flying at an average altitude of 250 miles / 400 kilometers above the Earth, the astronauts only weigh about 10 per-cent less than what they would weigh on Earth. Also, gravity ensures that the International Space Station stays in orbit of our planet.

The micro-gravity research also will look at possible causes for suppressed immune response in micro-gravity. If micro-gravity affects the immune systems of astronauts, this would be an additional problem for long-term space travel.

Another important goal of the Crew-2 mission is updating the ISS solar power system. A Roll-out Solar Array (iROSA), compact solar panels that roll-out like a large exercise mat, is scheduled to be installed outside the ISS during this mission.

Originally, this launch was to occur just a couple hours prior to the official peak of the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower, which peaks at 8:00 a.m. EDT / 12:00 UTC on Earth Day (Thursday Morning, 2021 April 22). The Lyrid Meteor Shower consists of particles and dust from Comet Thatcher, which enter Earth's atmosphere as Earth traverses the particle stream in Outer Space.

Although for some people in eastern North America, this meteor shower peak occurs after sunrise. The best time to view most meteor showers is between Midnight and Dawn, when Earth is rotating into the meteor shower. So, people who wish to view this year's Lyrid Meteor Shower should do so a few hours before sunrise on Earth Day. However, this year the brightness of the waxing gibbous Moon may drown-out some of the dimmer meteors, so only bright meteors may be visible.

Internet Link to NASA Live-Stream of SpaceX Launch:

Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Internet Links to Additional Informaion ---

 SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-2 Mission -

Link 1 >>> https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/coverage-set-for-nasa-s-spacex-crew-2-briefings-events-broadcasts 

Link 2 >>> https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/crew-2-microgravity-science-space-station

Link 3 >>> https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html 

Link 4 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Crew-2 

SpaceX >>> https://www.spacex.com/

NASA >>> https://www.nasa.gov/

Related Blog-Post ---

"Live Web-cast Sun. Night: Historic SpaceX, 1st Operational Astronaut Launch." Sun., 2020 Nov. 15.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/11/live-web-cast-historic-spacex-1st.html 


"UPDATE: Web & Cablecasts: Historic SpaceX Astronaut Launch Sat. Afternoon." Wed., 2020 May 27.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/05/web-cablecasts-historic-spacex.html 


"SpaceX Public, On-Line Simulator: Docking w/ Space Station." Tue., 2020 May 19.

 Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/05/spacex-public-on-line-simulator-docking.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

                 Wednesday, 2021 April 21.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: Link >>>  http://www.planetarium.cc  Buhl Observatory: Link >>>  http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: Link >>> http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: Link >>> http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc

 

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Watch Live: Mars Helicopter Takes Historic 1st Flight Early Mon. AM

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This image was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on the following sol, April 8, 2021.

 Ingenuity Helicopter / Drone on the surface of Mars, preparing for first test flight.

(Image Sources: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Arizona State University)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Early Monday morning (2021 April 19) will be the re-scheduled attempt at the first test flight of the Ingenuity Helicopter / Drone above the surface of Mars. Results and an event "live-stream" of this historic, first powered flight, over the surface of another planetary body, will be available on-line to the general public, just a few hours after the attempt of the first autonomous flight, due to the distance between Earth and Mars.

An Internet link to the live-stream is located near the end of this blog-post.

NASA states that this attempt will occur “no earlier than” April 19. The time of the re-scheduled attempt on April 19 will be around 3:15 to 3:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 7:15 to 7:30 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). However, the public on-line, live-stream will not begin until about 6:15 a.m. EDT / 10:15 UTC, due to the distance between Earth and Mars.

When the first attempt occurs, it will only last 30 seconds, to enure that flight in the very thin Martian atmosphere is possible. Later in the following weeks will come four more test flights, in which Ingenuity will fly over the Martian surface, not far from the Perseverance Mars Rover.

Engineers at the Space Flight Operations Facility of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California are being very careful with the Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstration Project. If anything happens that tips Ingenuity on its side, there is no one on Mars to up-right the helicopter. This would, probably, mean the end of this technology demonstration project.

This is the reason for the delay in the first test flight attempt, which was originally scheduled for April 11. On April 9, NASA determined that Ingenuity had a command sequence problem. So, the first flight attempt was delayed until JPL engineers had a chance to understand the problem and create a solution. A helicopter spin-test was recently completed by JPL.

The Perseverance Rover will provide flight operations support for Ingenuity, as well as taking images and other environmental data during the flight. Perseverance will also provide the communications link between Ingenuity and the Earth. To provide a safe buffer zone for the helicopter, Perseverance will be located approximately 330 feet / 100 meters from the take-off site.

If the first Mars Helicopter flight does occur on April 19, in addition to the the live-stream of the event that morning, a JPL news conference regarding the historic event will occur later in the afternoon, at 2:00 p.m. EDT / 18:00 UTC.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter / Drone project is the first attempt at powered, controlled flight over the surface of another planet. Making this attempt even more challenging is the fact that Ingenuity must be autonomous. No one at JPL's mission control will be guiding the helicopter, because it takes too long for control commands to be communicated by radio.

Ingenuity is a technology experiment which is separate from the other science experiments on Perseverance. Should the Mars Helicopter test succeed, this could add a new, aerial dimension to future exploration of the Red Planet, and perhaps other planets and moons with an atmosphere.

The Mars Helicopter was launched to Mars, tucked under the Perseverance Rover, on 2020 July 30. They landed together at the Octavia E. Butler Landing Site (named for the renowned American science-fiction author) in the Jezero Crater on Mars on 2021 February 18. Ingenuity separated from Perseverance and was deployed on the Martian surface on April 3. The helicopter's rotors were successfully unlocked on April 8.

On Ingenuity is a small piece of history from the beginning of powered flight on Earth: a piece of fabric from the wing of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Wright Brothers' airplane which was the first to succeed in the first controlled, powered flight on Earth.

Internet Link to NASA Live-Stream of Ingenuity Helicopter First Flight Attempt:

Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Internet Links to Additional Informaion ---

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter / Drone -

Link 1 >>> https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Quick-Facts 

Link 2 >>> https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/ingenuity/landing/ 

Link 3 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity_(helicopter)

Perseverance Mars Rover -

Link 1 >>> https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ 

Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)

Planet Mars: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars

Related Blog Posts ---

"Astro-Calendar: 2021 April / 1st Flight of Mars Helicopter in April." Thur., 2021 April 1.

 Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2021/04/astro-calendar-2021-april-1st-flight-of.html  


"NASA Laser Retroreflector Going to Mars on Perseverance Rover." Wed., 2020 Oct. 7.

 Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/10/nasa-laser-retroreflector-going-to-mars.html

 

"Thur.-AM U.S. Joins China & U.A.E in Race to Mars; Watch Launch Live."

Mon., 2020 July 27.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/07/thur-am-us-joins-china-uae-in-race-to.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

                 Sunday, 2021 April 18.

                             Like This Post?  Please Share!

           More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: Link >>>  http://www.planetarium.cc  Buhl Observatory: Link >>>  http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: Link >>> http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: Link >>> http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc

 

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Astro-Calendar: 2021 April / 1st Flight of Mars Helicopter in April

                    Ingenuity Helicopter with fully deployed legs.png

NASA's Ingenuity Robotic Helicopter is shown on Mars, attached to the underside of the Perseverance Rover in fully vertical position with fully deployed legs before detaching from the rover. NASA plans to conduct the first test flight of Ingenuity sometime this month, no earlier than April 11.

More information: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/

 (Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org, By NASA - https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/SI1_0039_0670409192_132ECM_N0031392SRLC07000_000085J, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=102686127)

Astronomical Calendar for 2021 April ---
Link >>> https://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2021.html#apr

 Related Blog Post ---

"Astro-Calendar: 2021 March / Space Station Space-walk March 5 AM."

Monday, 2021 March 1.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2021/03/astro-calendar-2021-march-space-station.html


Source: Friends of the Zeiss.
            Thursday, 2021 April 1.

                             Like This Post?  Please Share!

            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: Link >>>  http://www.planetarium.cc  Buhl Observatory: Link >>>  http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: Link >>> http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: Link >>> http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc