“On Monday, February 25, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET, SpaceX conducted a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket, in advance of a targeted March mission to the International Space Station. The nine-engine test took place at the company\’s Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as part of a full launch dress rehearsal leading up to SpaceX CRS-2, the second official cargo resupply mission under NASA\’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. The first launch opportunity for CRS-2 is currently scheduled for 10:10 AM ET on Friday, March 1.”
“On Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the sun. If all went according to plan, SDO would provide incredibly high-resolution data of the entire solar disk almost as quickly as once a second.
When the science team released its first images in April of 2010, SDO\’s data exceeded everyone\’s hopes and expectations, providing stunningly detailed views of the sun. In the three years since then, SDO\’s images have continued to show breathtaking pictures and movies of eruptive events on the sun. Such imagery is more than just pretty, they are the very data that scientists study. By highlighting different wavelengths of light, scientists can track how material on the sun moves. Such movement, in turn, holds clues as to what causes these giant explosions, which, when Earth-directed, can disrupt technology in space.
SDO is the first mission in a NASA\’s Living With a Star program, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. NASA\’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. built, operates, and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA\’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.
“This animation shows NASA\’s Orion spacecraft as it will appear on its Exploration Mission-1 in 2017, complete with a service module to be provided by the European Space Agency. After Orion blasts off atop a Space Launch System rocket, the ESA-provided service module will fuel and propel the capsule on its journey through space. Exploration Mission-1 in 2017 will be the first mission to incorporate both the Orion vehicle and NASA\’s new Space Launch System. It will follow the upcoming Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014, in which an uncrewed Orion will launch atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket and fly 3,600 miles above Earth\’s surface, farther than a human spacecraft has gone in 40 years.”
2012 DA14 is a near-Earth asteroid with an estimated diameter of 50 meters (160 ft) and an estimated mass of 190,000 metric tons. During its 2013 close passage, the asteroid passed 27,700 km (17,200 mi) from the surface of Earth. This is a record close approach for a known object of this size. The asteroid was discovered on February 23, 2012, by the Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra, Granada in Spain (J75) seven days after passing 0.0174 AU (2,600,000 km; 1,620,000 mi) from Earth. In 2012 there was a cumulative 0.033% risk estimate (1 in 3,030) of 2012 DA14 impacting Earth sometime between 2026 and 2069. In 2012 it was also known that the asteroid would pass no closer to Earth\’s surface than 3.2 Earth radii during the 2013 passage.
On January 9, 2013, the asteroid was observed again by Las Campanas Observatory and the observation arc increased from 79 days to 321 days. On February 15, 2013 at 19:25 Universal Time, the asteroid passed 0.0002276 AU (34,050 km; 21,160 mi) from the center-point of Earth, with an uncertainty region of about 0.0000001 AU (15 km; 9.3 mi). It passed 27,743 kilometers (17,239 mi) above Earth\’s surface, closer than satellites in geosynchronous orbit. It was not visible to the naked eye, but it briefly peaked at an apparent magnitude of roughly 7.2. The best observation location for the closest approach was Indonesia. Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia also were well situated from which to observe the asteroid during its closest approach. The asteroid was not expected to pass any closer than 1950 km to any satellites. Goldstone Observatory will observe 2012 DA14 with radar from February 16 to February 20.
The close approach to Earth reduced the orbital period of 2012 DA14 from 368 days to 317 days, and perturbed it from the Apollo class to the Aten class of near-Earth asteroids. Its next notable close approach to Earth will be on 15 February 2046 when it will pass no closer than 0.014 AU (2,100,000 km; 1,300,000 mi) from the center-point of Earth.
“The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) atop an Atlas V rocket was launched successfully from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:02 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 11. LDCM is a collaboration between NASA and the Department of the Interior\’s U.S. Geological Survey. The mission will continue the Landsat program\’s 40-year continuous data record by Earth\’s landscapes by satellite from space. LDCM will expand and improve on that record with observations that advance a wide range of Earth sciences and contribute to the management of agriculture, water and forest resources.”
On February 11, 2013, an automated Russian cargo ship, Progress M-18M, docked to the International Space Station six hours after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Progress carried more than 2.5 tonnes of cargo: scientific equipment and spare parts for the station, fuel to maintain station orbit, food, water, and air for the station crew.
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