OrbitalHub

SpaceX dicit:

On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX’s second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas.

Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8), SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.

The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle. All four flaps are actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enable precise landing at the intended location. During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD.

These test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.

Video credit: SpaceX

Wikipedia dicit:

On December 9, 2020, Starship serial number 8 (SN8) completed a high-altitude flight test as it successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and demonstrated a first-of-its-kind controlled aerodynamic descent and landing flip maneuver – which will enable landing where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, including the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Video credit: SpaceX

Wikipedia dicit:

The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is being developed as a large second stage for Block 1B of the Space Launch System (SLS), succeeding Block 1’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. It will be powered by four RL10-C3 engines burning liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to produce a total of 440 kN (99,000 lbf) thrust. As of February 2015, the SLS Block 1B will provide thrust of 105 t (103 long tons; 116 short tons). The EUS is expected to first fly on Artemis IV in 2025.

Video credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne

NASA dicit:

Scientists using NASA’s telescope on an airplane, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, discovered water on a sunlit surface of the Moon for the first time. SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that allows astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. Molecular water, H2O, was found in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.

Video credit: NASA’s Ames Research Center

NASA dicit:

While NASA is working aggressively to meet our near-term goal of landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, our Artemis program also is focused on taking steps that will establish a safe and sustainable lunar exploration architecture. NASA is taking a critical step forward by releasing a solicitation for commercial companies to provide proposals for the collection of space resources.

To meet NASA’s requirements, a company will collect a small amount of Moon “dirt” or rocks from any location on the lunar surface, provide imagery to NASA of the collection and the collected material, along with data that identifies the collection location, and conduct an “in-place” transfer of ownership of the lunar regolith or rocks to NASA. After ownership transfer, the collected material becomes the sole property of NASA for our use.

NASA’s goal is that the retrieval and transfer of ownership will be completed before 2024. The solicitation creates a full and open competition, not limited to U.S. companies, and the agency may make one or more awards. The agency will determine retrieval methods for the transferred lunar regolith at a later date.

Over the next decade, the Artemis program will lay the foundation for a sustained long-term presence on the lunar surface and use the Moon to validate deep space systems and operations before embarking on the much farther voyage to Mars. The ability to conduct in-situ resources utilization (ISRU) will be incredibly important on Mars, which is why we must develop techniques and gain experience with ISRU on the surface of the Moon.

Video credit: NASA/Sonnet Apple

NASA dicit:

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will power NASA’s next-generation Moon missions through the agency’s Artemis program. NASA’s iconic “Worm” logo is depicted on the side of each of the SLS rocket’s solid rocket boosters. The letters are 8.3 feet tall with the entire worm logo stretching 28.7 feet from end to end on the boosters, which are taller than the Statue of Liberty. The simple, red logo was first introduced to the public in 1975. The original NASA insignia — nicknamed “the meatball” — rides to space on the top of the SLS rocket. The worm marking also appears on the Orion spacecraft riding atop the SLS rocket.

Video credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center