OrbitalHub

Credits: NASA/Tony Gray and Kevin O’Connell

… or to be more exact, the cheese re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and performed a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean onboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on December 8, 2010. The same day, roughly three and a half hours earlier, the Dragon spacecraft was placed into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 on COTS Demo Flight 1.

On this flight, several key components of the Dragon spacecraft were tested: the Draco thrusters, which control the spacecraft throughout flight and reentry; the PICA-X heat shield, which is the SpaceX variant of NASA’s phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) heat shield; avionics; telemetry; and the drogue and main parachutes used for stabilization and landing.

The Dragon spacecraft is capable of fully autonomous rendezvous and docking, can carry over three metric tons in each of the pressurized and unpressurized sections, and it supports five to seven passengers in crew configuration. SpaceX’s primary goal for this demo flight was to collect as much data as possible.

Before the launch, Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and CTO, made the following statement:

“When Dragon returns, whether on this mission or a future one, it will herald the dawn of an incredibly exciting new era in space travel. This will be the first new American human capable spacecraft to travel to orbit and back since the Space Shuttle took flight three decades ago. The success of the NASA COTS/CRS program shows that it is possible to return to the fast pace of progress that took place during the Apollo era, but using only a tiny fraction of the resources. If COTS/CRS continues to achieve the milestones that many considered impossible, thanks in large part to the skill of the program management team at NASA, it should be recognized as one of the most effective public-private partnerships in history.”

Credits: SpaceX

The first test launch attempt for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is set for Friday, June 4, 2010. A second launch may be attempted on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

From the SpaceX press release:
“It’s important to note that since this is a test launch, our primary goal is to collect as much data as possible, with success being measured as a percentage of how many flight milestones we are able to complete in this first attempt. It would be a great day if we reach orbital velocity, but still a good day if the first stage functions correctly, even if the second stage malfunctions. It would be a bad day if something happens on the launch pad itself and we’re not able to gain any flight data.”

Rocket science is hard.

A webcast of the event will be available starting 20 minutes prior to the opening of the launch window, which is at 11:00 AM Eastern. A user guide of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is available here.

I wish you the best of luck, SpaceX! I will keep my fingers crossed…

Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace РOptique vid̩o du CSG, L. Boyer

Arianespace was founded in 1980. With twenty-four shareholders from ten European countries (among which CNES holds 34% and EADS 30%), Arianespace is the world’s first commercial space transportation company.

The workhorse of Arianespace has been the Ariane launch vehicle.

Five versions of Ariane have served the company so far: Ariane 1, with the first successful launch on December 24, 1979, Ariane 2, launched for the first time on November 20, 1987, Ariane 3, starting its service on August 4, 1984, Ariane 4, launched on June 15, 1988, and Ariane 5, with the first successful flight on October 30, 1997.

The first launch of Ariane 5, a.k.a. Flight 501, ended with the vehicle being destroyed by its automated self-destruct system, after the high accelerations caused the inertial guidance system to crash. The crash was caused by, I quote, one of the most infamous computer bugs in history. If you like, you can take a look at the Ada code that caused the malfunction. But enough with the dark memories, this is an anniversary after all…

Since its inception, Arianespace has signed over 300 contracts that resulted in more than 277 satellite launches. According to Arianespace, Ariane launchers have delivered more than half of all commercial satellites now in service. The year 2009 was a very successful year for Ariane 5. The launcher orbited nine commercial satellites, the Herschel space telescope, the Planck scientific observatory, and the Helios 2B observation satellite. Ariane 5 has proven to be a versatile launch vehicle, capable of handling a wide range of missions.

The challenges for 2010 are many, as Arianespace is planning up to seven Ariane 5 launches. Two new launch vehicles will join Ariane 5 as part of the Arianespace family of launchers: the Vega small launcher and the Soyuz medium launcher.

You can read more about Arianespace, its mission, and the solutions provided to customers around the world on the Arianespace website.

Credits: ESA – S. Corvaja, 2009

Arianespace is getting closer to the first Soyuz launch from Kourou, in French Guyana.

On November 7, 2009, two Soyuz launchers were loaded on MN Colibri, which transports them from Russia to French Guyana. The journey of the two Soyuz 2-1A launchers from St. Petersburg to Kourou takes two weeks.

Each launch vehicle is loaded in ten containers, which hold the four first-stage strap-on boosters, the Block A core stage, the Block I third stage, the Fregat upper stage, and the Soyuz 2-1A ST-type payload fairing. MN Colibri is also carrying the refined kerosene propellant used by the boosters, the Block A and Block I stages, as well as the unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and the nitrogen peroxide (N2O4) needed to fuel the Fregat upper stage.

The Soyuz launch site at Kourou is in its final stage of construction. While sharing common features with the cosmodromes at Baikonur in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk in Russia, the launch site at Kourou will have a fifty-two meter tall mobile gantry, which will be used for vertical payload integration and final pre-liftoff processing.

If you ask yourself how safe is Soyuz, it has been in production since 1957, continuously upgraded, and has more than 1,740 successful launches on record to date. Soyuz will become the medium-size launcher in the Arianespace family of launch vehicles. Taking advantage of the low latitude of the European spaceport, Soyuz will be able to deliver three-ton payloads to geostationary orbits.

Credits: NASA/MSFC

Delta II is a space launch system operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), which was initially built by McDonnell Douglas, and by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems after McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997.

As any other early space launch system, it evolved from a ballistic missile. In the 1960s, the Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile was modified to become the Delta launch vehicle. In 1981, after being operated for 24 years, Delta production was halted due to a change in U.S. space policy. However, in 1986, after the Challenger accident, it was decided that the Space Shuttle fleet would not carry commercial payloads anymore, paving the way for the return of the Delta launch vehicle. Delta II had its maiden flight on February 14, 1989.

Delta II launch vehicle is 38.2 to 39 m long, with a diameter of 2.44 m, and a mass that can range from 151,700 to 231,870 kg, depending on configuration. Delta II can be configured with two or three stages.

Delta II can inject a payload having a mass of 2,700 to 6,100 kg in low Earth orbit (LEO). Payloads deployed to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) can have a mass from 900 to 2,170 kg.

The first stage, Thor/Delta XLT-C, is powered by one Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A liquid fuel engine. The RS-27A engine is fueled by RP-1 and liquid oxygen. The RS-27A engine provides around 1,000 kN of thrust.

Credits: NASA

The solid boosters are used to increase the thrust of the launch vehicle. The first solid boosters used by Delta II 6000 series were Castor 4A motors. The 7000 and 7000 Heavy series use GEM 40 and GEM 46 solid motors respectively. The increase in thrust from Castor 4A to GEM 46 is substantial, from 480 kN to 630 kN.

Stage two, Delta K, is powered by a hypergolic restartable Aerojet AJ10-118K engine that can provide 43 kN. The AJ10-118K can fire more than once in order to insert the payload into LEO. The engine uses dinitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer and aerozine 50 (which is a mix of hydrazine and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) as fuel. Besides having hard to pronounce names, the oxidizer and the fuel are very toxic and corrosive. The second stage contains the flight control system, which is a combined inertial system and guidance system.

The third stage, if present in the configuration, is a Payload Assist Module (PAM). This stage is powered by an ATK-Thiokol motor, which provides the velocity change needed for missions beyond Earth orbit. The stage has no active guidance control and it is spin-stabilized.

The de-spin mechanism used to slow the spin of the spacecraft after the burn and before the stage separation is a yo-yo de-spin mechanism. This mechanism consists of two cables with weights on the ends. The weights are released and the angular momentum transferred from the stage reduces the spin to a value that can be controlled by the attitude control system of the spacecraft.

Delta II can launch single, dual, or multiple payloads during the same mission. There are three fairing sizes available: composite 3-meter diameter, aluminum 2.9-meter diameter, and stretched composite 3-meter diameter.

Credits: NASA

Delta II is assembled on the launch pad. After hoisting the first stage into position, the solid boosters are hoisted and mated with the first stage. The second stage is then hoisted atop the first stage.

Delta II launch vehicles have a four-digit naming system. The first digit can be either 6 or 7, designating the 6000 or 7000 series. The second digit indicates the number of solid boosters used for the mission. Delta II can have three, four, or nine solid boosters strapped to the first stage. The third digit denotes the engine type used for the second stage. This digit is two for 6000 and 7000 series Delta II, which indicates the Aerojet A10 engine. The last digit designates the type of the third stage. Zero means that no third stage is used, whereas five indicates a third stage powered by a Star 48B solid motor, and 6 marks a third stage powered by a Star 37FM motor. A Delta II 7426 has 4 solid boosters and a third stage powered by a Star 37FM motor.

Delta II proved to be a very reliable Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV). Some NASA missions that used Delta II as launch vehicle include: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers (MER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunity), Mars Phoenix Lander, Dawn, STEREO, and Kepler.

After long years of service, Delta II is getting close to retirement. The final mission for Delta II is currently scheduled for 2011.

You can find more information about the Delta launch vehicles on the Delta web page on Boeing’s web site.

Credits: Arianespace

An updated version of the Soyuz launch vehicle will liftoff at the end of the year from the European Spaceport at Kourou in French Guyana.

Soyuz will complete the range of launchers operated by Arianespace, which already includes the Ariane 5, with the Vega small launcher soon to come.

The construction of the Soyuz site in Guyana has reached a major milestone: the construction of the launch system has begun. The launch system supports and services the launch vehicle when it is erected for liftoff.

The concrete launch pad supports a multi-segment steel ring inset (known as the support crown). Two umbilical masts have also been positioned on top of the support crown. The masts, together with four support booms, will keep the launch vehicle in position on the launch pad. The two towers visible at the launch site will protect the Soyuz vehicle from lightning strikes.

Credits: Arianespace

One interesting detail about the launch site is that the support crown is fixed on the launch pad, in contrast to the launch pads built for Soyuz in Russia and Kazakhstan, as the updated Soyuz operated from Kourou is able to manage the launch azimuth during ascent.

You can read more about the Kourou Spaceport on the Arianespace website.