Space articles are moving

To cut to the chase, they will be on this blog for now on.

Much of this year I have been writing about the space industry (primarily SpaceX and the burgeoning commercial space industry).  And these posts have taken over this blog (which was supposed to be about Macs and computer interests in general).  So I am spinning them off on this new blog.

SpaceX winning more commercial space launch business. Busy year ahead.

SpaceX continues to win commercial space launch business, such as this SpaceX/Boeing deal. Its competitive pricing and recent successes are bolstering its launch backlog.  And in a recent BBC interview, Elon Musk suggested that one of SpaceX's biggest competitors for commercial launches, Arianespace with its very reliable Ariane 5 rocket, would not be able to compete in the future (which he seems to have softened in a tweet that said that he was just implying that they need to move forward with their Ariane 6 vehicle).

So 2013 looks like a busy year, not only for ISS resupply missions and commercial launches (see the SpaceX launch manifest), but for R&D missions such as the Falcon Heavy launch as well.  The Falcon 9 platform is being improved with the introduction of the Merlin 1D engine (changing the rocket's designation to Falcon 9 v1.1), and other initiatives like Grasshopper and the Dragon certification for human flight will also continue full steam.

SpaceX Grasshopper takes another hop

Video of Grasshopper's newest hop.

Part of SpaceX's long term vision is increasing the reusability of its components.  This would allow SpaceX to reduce the all-important cost per pound to orbit even more.

As mentioned here, the Dragon capsule, unlike many other spacecraft, returns to earth to be reused.  But the 178 foot, 368 ton Falcon 9 rocket currently ends up in the Atlantic ocean.

The Grasshopper project is the R&D effort to change that.  The goal is to have the Falcon 9 return to earth using a autonomous, precision landing system.  This system would guide the rocket to make a precise landing at a specified site so that the rocket could be reused.

The first test of Grasshopper was September 21st of this year.  The new test was of Grasshopper occurred last week (November 1st).  The new test, at 17.7 feet, more than doubled the height of the first test which was only 6 feet.  The plan is conduct many tests, with increasingly larger "hops" over the next several years.

Wired did a nice write up of the test here.

Video of the first hop:

SpaceX Dragon is home, safe and sound

The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California at 12:22 p.m. PDT.  The splashdown marked the successful end of the historic first commercial supply mission to the ISS.

Pictures are available along with a video of the splash down..

The Dragon capsule was at the ISS for three weeks before returning to earth with 760 kilos (1,675 lbs.) of cargo. visit to the orbiting laboratory.  Dragon is the first robotic spacecraft ever to be capable of returning cargo to Earth.  The other robotic spacecraft that visit the ISS are loaded with refuse and de-orbited, and then burn up on reentry.

Returning this much cargo from the ISS has not happened since the last Space Shuttle mission over a year ago.  This return capability is, perhaps, the most valuable capability of the SpaceX resupply missions.  ISS commander Sunita Williams said "Literally and figuratively, there are pieces of us on that spacecraft going home to Earth.", referring to the hundreds of blood and urine sample that are being returned.  The samples were taken by space station astronauts as part of two ongoing experiments studying the nutrition of astronauts and how their diet can help protect against the negative health effects of long-term space travel, such as bone loss.


No astronaut blood and urine samples have been returned from the space station since July 2011, the month of NASA's final space shuttle mission before the fleet was retired. Since then, the samples were stored in freezers awaiting the Dragon spacecraft. American astronauts, meanwhile, traveled to and from the station on Russian Soyuz capsules.

Dragon’s return is a milestone in NASA’s effort to turn space station cargo logistics over to private operators. The craft’s splashdown marked the completion of the first mission under Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX’s $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract signed with NASA in 2008. SpaceX has 11 more missions to fly under that contract.

The details of the return flight are as follows:
The Dragon capsule, separated from the "trunk" prior to reentry.  The trunk, filled with refuse, along with the solar arrays, burned up in re-entry as planned.  The remaining Dragon pressurized capsule, 14 ft. tall and 12 ft. in diameter, re-entered earth's atmosphere and splashed at 3:22 p.m. EDT several hundred miles west of Baja California.  The capsule landed safely under the  canopy of all three of it's 116 ft. parachutes.

The return cargo was:
Crew supplies - 74 kilograms (163 lbs.)
Scientific research - 392 kilograms (866 lbs.)
Other hardware - 235 kilograms (518 lbs.)

The SpaceX recovery team secured the capsule and then lifted it onto a 100-foot barge for the trip to a San Pedro, CA port.

As soon as the capsule arrived on land technicians retrieved the refrigerated medical samples, including the vials of blood and urine, for rapid dispatch to laboratories, as well as other sensitive payloads.  The remainder of the cargo is unloaded after the capsule reaches the SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas.

Apple "Special Event" announces new Macs, iPad mini, and iBooks update - as expected

As it becomes harder and harder for Apple to muzzle its huge supply chain, it also becomes harder to spring new products at its press events.  So the announcements today were pretty much as expected by anyone keeping up on the rumors.

But that doesn't make them any the less impressive.  The boys and girls at Apple have really been busy.

• Upgraded 13" Macbook Pro with Retina display, thinner and lighter
• Upgraded iPad (iPad 4) with 2x performance in CPU and Graphics
• Upgraded iMac with enhanced performance in a smaller enclosure
• New iPad mini with new engineering and 7.9" display
• Enhanced iBooks and iBooks author with many enhanced features, including iCloud sync
• New "hybrid" Solid State Device (SSD) and Hard Disk combination that combines the both technologies into a single drive, and automatically moves the most frequently used applications to the SSD (named Fusion)

A lot of details were released, all available on Apple's web site.

A couple things that worth noting, which were not emphasized, are:

• USB 3.0 support in the new Macbook Pro and iMac - Apple's first use of this technology 
• Both of the above Macs have shed the optical device as Apple pushes more content to the cloud
• Mini connector on more devices (was previously on iPhone 5 and iPods)
• iPad 4 is the second device running the new, Apple designed, A6 chip (although interestingly enough, the new iPad mini uses the older A5)

SpaceX COTS Demo 2/3 mission launched May 22nd also a memorial to "Mr. Scott" and others

Celestis New Frontier Flight

The SpaceX COTS Demo 2/3 mission also carried a portion of the remains of James Doohan (who played "Scotty" on the popular Star Trek series), into a ceremonial orbit -- reentering the atmosphere with the SpaceX sustainer rocket on June 26th, after orbiting the earth 576 times.  The company behind this mission is Celestis.  This quote from their homepage describes their services:

"Leaving Earth to touch the cosmos is an experience few have ever known, but many have often dreamed of. Celestis makes it possible to honor the dream and memory of your departed loved one by launching a symbolic portion of cremated remains into Earth orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space. Missions into space that return the cremated remains to Earth are also available."

Also among the 320 participants of the "New Frontier Flight" was Mercury Seven NASA astronaut L. Gordon Cooper.

This was SpaceX's second Celestis flight.  The 3rd Falcon 1 launch, on August 2nd, 2008, was the vehicle for "The Explorer's Flight" (Celestis' 7th flight).  Unfortunately, a launch problem prevented a successful mission.  A symbolic portion of the remains of James Doohan and L. Gordan Cooper were also aboard this flight, and one of the mission graphics reflects this by including a tiny Star Trek patch and Mercury 9 mission patch in it (see below).

SpaceX Falcon 1, Flight 3

SpaceX's Secondary Payload, the Orbcomm satellite falls from orbit

As mentioned in a previous post, the Orbcomm satellite, which was a secondary payload on SpaceX's CRS-1 mission, failed to be placed into a good orbit because of the failure of the Falcon 9's number 1 engine.  While the failure did not impact the primary mission, as the Falcon 9 is able to achieve orbit with up to 2 engine failures, the failure prevented a secondary burn of the second stage required to deliver the Orbcomm satellite into the required orbit.

At the time Orbcomm was working with the satellite manufacturer to determine if the satellite's thrusters could be used to obtain a more stable orbit, but news today reports the satellite has lost orbit.  Despite the failure, usefull data has been obtained, which allowed Orbcomm to validate the satellite and clear the way for the launch of the entire constellation of satellites - for which SpaceX is the contracted launch provider.

Additionally, Orbcomm understood that the satellite was not the primary mission, and there was a possibility that the orbit rising second burn may not be able to be performed if it was in conflict with the primary mission.  NASA agreed to the secondary mission, but with strict parameters, which could not be met after the engine misshap.

SpaceX Dragon completes first leg of mission

With the opening of the hatch to the Dragon spacecraft by International Space Station (ISS) Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide, SpaceX officially becomes the first commercial cargo delivery to the ISS.  This cargo includes the much talked about ice cream.  This mission continues their record-setting streak.  In their May ISS cargo supply demonstration flight SpaceX became the first commercial company to dock with the ISS, and this new first is a continuation of that ground-breaking effort.

In addition to these firsts, the Dragon spacecraft is providing another new capability: the ability to return significant amounts of cargo to earth.  Other resupply spacecraft are filled with trash and allowed to burn up on re-entry, as shown here.  The only other spacecraft that returns to earth after its mission is the manned Soyuz spacecraft, whose primary purpose is returning crew from the ISS and has very limited cargo capacity.

During Dragon's May demo mission, it demonstrated its ability to return cargo safely to earth by bringing back 660 kilograms of cargo.  One of the most significant aspects of the current mission is the scheduled to return 1,384 lb. (about 628 kg) to earth, including scientific experiments and samples.  This capability fills a large gap left by the retirement of the Space Shuttle - which left the severely limited Soyuz spacecraft as the only means to return cargo to earth.

So, while the SpaceX mission is historical in that it is the first commercial resupply mission, it's upcoming return to earth - laden with cargo - is actually the bigger accomplishment.

SpaceX Dragon on it way to ISS

Following last night's successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon spacecraft is in orbit and proceeding with it's CRS-1 mission.  If you missed the launch, here are photos and video.

Dragon is in pursuit of the ISS, as can be seen here (great visualization - highly recommended).  Dragon is conducting a series of burns today to close the distance between the craft and establish a circular orbit.  Tomorrow it is scheduled to slowly approach the station - getting approval to proceed at various distances - until it is within reach of the ISS's Canada arm, where it will be grabbed and moved into docking position.  The following day the hatch will be opened and the offloading of cargo will start.  I wonder if the ISS crew will go straight for the ice cream.

But not all went perfectly, as it appears that one of the engines may have "blown out".  The Falcon rocket is designed to be able to obtain orbit even with an engine failure - which it did by autonomously shutting down the engine and burning the other 8 longer in order to achieve the orbit needed for ISS rendezvous.  And while this successfully demonstrated Falcon's "engine-out" capability (it's ability to survive an engine failure), it may have jeopardized the orbit of the secondary payload that was deployed (an Orbcomm satellite that was supposed to be placed into a 300 × 750 km orbit, but which may have fallen short).  I will followup on this the details emerge.

Still, another good launch for the Falcon rocket.  And SpaceX is on the way to making history... again.  And the U.S. has established an American resupply capability.  We still need to rely on international partners for crew transport - for now - but this is a big step in the right direction.

Congratulations SpaceX!  Congratulations NASA!

[Update]  According to an Orbcomm press release, the satellite was indeed placed into a "lower than intended" orbit.  Orbcomm is working with the manufacturer's engineers to determine if the satellite's on-board propulsion can be used to obtain the required working orbit.  According to the press release, although the engine failure was compensated for, it caused the rocket to fail a "pre-planned International Space Station (ISS) safety gate", which disallowed a second burn that was needed to place the satellite into the desired orbit.

SpaceX: All systems are "Go"

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is on a fiery upward trajectory. 

Please excuse the somewhat cheesy analogy, but they're certainly the current darling of the media and the public.  I visited Hawthorne, CA over the summer, and the local residents are both excited and proud of SpaceX.  It may end up being the biggest thing to come out of Hawthorne since the Beach Boys.  Their location - adjacent to the Hawthorne Municipal Airport, close to a major East-West freeway (the 105), and near the LA International Airport - is in a part of Hawthorne that is undergoing rejuvenation, with new retail businesses springing up in the surrounding area (I happened to be going to the Lowe's which turned out to be a pretty new store, just a block away from SpaceX).  I don't know if SpaceX has any thing to do with the localized boom, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it is helping lift Hawthorne's economy and housing values.

And business is up for the company.  In addition to their recent contract awards with NASA, they have just added several new commercial flight bookings to their backlog.  

Of course the biggest news at the moment is their first International Space Station resupply mission, CRS-1 (SpaceX press kit), scheduled for lift off tomorrow.  This mission comes just over 4 months after having proved their capability with their final COTS demo missions (NASA press kit, NASA COTS - Commercial Orbital Transportation Services).  If you're following SpaceX, or the space industry in general, you've heard the details already from dozens of sources.  But if not, the launch is scheduled for 8:35 pm tomorrow - Sunday, October 7th - from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 40.  Details can be found at this NASA mission page, and the launch will be telecast live from SpaceX as well as on NASA TV.

And while preparing to become the first commercial resupply mission to the ISS may be the current, and most visible initiative - it isn't the only iron the Hawthorne based company has in the fire.  Other projects that are being actively pursued include: 

• A new, more powerful, Merlin engine; 
• The Falcon Heavy launch vehicle; 
• Development of the SuperDraco engine;
• A human rated version of the Dragon spacecraft to provide "Space Taxi" services;
• The development of a new launch site at the Vandenberg Air Force base; 
• The Grasshopper VTVL which had it's initial test flight last week; 
• And DragonLab, an initiative to outfit the Dragon spacecraft as an orbiting laboratory.

In addition to these well defined initiatives, SpaceX (or at least Elon Musk) has loosely defined goals that are not yet in any concrete phase, such as the "Red Dragon" mission to mars.

Further reading (which I deliberately pulled from a variety of sources):
Comprehensive write up of SpaceX launch capabilities
Merlin 1D Engine
Falcon Heavy
SuperDraco
Human rated Dragon progress 
Vandenberg Launch Site
Falcon Grasshopper
DragonLab