OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dixit:

“ULA plans an “incremental approach” to rolling out the vehicle and its technologies. Deployment will begin with the first stage, based on the Delta IV’s fuselage diameter and production process and is expected to use two BE-4 engines. Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR-1 engine is being retained by ULA as a contingency option, with a final decision to be made in 2016. The first stage can have from zero to six solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and in the maximal configuration could launch a heavier payload than the highest-rated Atlas V, though still less than the Delta IV Heavy. A later feature is planned to make the first stage partly reusable. ULA plans to develop the technology to allow the engines to detach from the vehicle after cutoff, descend through the atmosphere with a heat shield and parachute, and finally be captured by a helicopter in mid-air. In April 2015, ULA estimated that reusing the engines would reduce the cost of the first stage propulsion by 90%, with propulsion being 65% of the total first stage build cost.

Initial configurations of Vulcan will use the same Centaur upper stage as the Atlas V, with its existing RL-10 engines. A later advanced cryogenic upper stage — called the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) — is conceptually planned for full development by ULA in the late 2010s. ACES would be LOX and liquid hydrogen (LH2) powered by one to four rocket engines yet to be selected. This upper stage will include the Integrated Vehicle Fluids technology that could allow long on-orbit life of the upper stage, measured in weeks rather than hours.”

Video credit: ULA

ESA dixit:

“The European Data Relay System (EDRS) is the most sophisticated laser communication network ever designed. Dubbed the ‘SpaceDataHighway’, EDRS will help Earth-observing satellites to transmit large quantities of potentially life-saving data down to Europe in near-real time.

EDRS consists of two geostationary nodes and an extensive network of European ground and control centres. The first half of the EDRS space segment is a hosted package on a Eutelsat telecom satellite (EDRS-A, at 9° East) and the second is a dedicated satellite using the SmallGEO platform (EDRS-C, at 31° East). The main EDRS Mission Operation Centre is in Ottobrunn (DE) and managed by Airbus. The backup system is in Redu (BE), also managed by Airbus. MOCs manage the data they receive from both the control centres and the users. EDRS has ground stations across Western Europe, with its payload and spacecraft control centres in Oberpfaffenhofen (DE), managed by the DLR German Space Center. The receiving data and feeder link ground stations are in Redu, Harwell (GB), Weilheim (DE) and Matera (IT), and they pass on the information to the satellite owners. Satellite owners can also use EDRS to give their satellites new instructions in near-real time.”

Video credit: ESA

They will always be remembered…

Apollo 1 (January 27, 1967)

Virgil “Gus” Grissom – Commander, Edward White – Command Pilot, Roger Chaffee – Pilot

STS-51 L (January 28, 1986)

Francis R. Scobee – Commander, Michael J. Smith – Pilot, Judith A. Resnik – Mission Specialist 1, Ellison Onizuka – Mission Specialist 2, Ronald E. McNair – Mission Specialist 3, Gregory B. Jarvis – Payload Specialist 1, Sharon Christa McAuliffe – Payload Specialist 2

STS-107 (February 1, 2003)

Rick D. Husband – Commander, William C. McCool – Pilot, Michael P. Anderson – Payload Commander, David M. Brown – Mission Specialist 1, Kalpana Chawla – Mission Specialist 2, Laurel Clark – Mission Specialist 3, Ilan Ramon – Payload Specialist 1

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“Jason-3, a U.S.-European oceanography satellite mission with NASA participation that will continue a nearly quarter-century record of tracking global sea level rise, lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Sunday, Jan. 17, at 1:42 p.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Jason-3 is an international mission led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in partnership with NASA, the French space agency CNES, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.”

NASA JPL dixit:

“Jason-3 is the fourth mission in U.S.-European series of satellite missions that measure the height of the ocean surface. Launched on January 17, 2016, the mission will extend the time series of ocean surface topography measurements (the hills and valleys of the ocean surface) begun by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite mission in 1992 and continuing through the Jason-1 (launched in 2001) and the currently operating OSTM/Jason-2 (launched in 2008) missions. These measurements provide scientists with critical information about circulation patterns in the ocean and about both global and regional changes in sea level and the climate implications of a warming world.

The primary instrument on Jason-3 is a radar altimeter. The altimeter will measure sea-level variations over the global ocean with very high accuracy (as 1.3 inches or 3.3 centimeters, with a goal of achieving 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters). Continual, long-term, reliable data of changes in ocean surface topography will be generated and will be used by scientists and operational agencies (NOAA, European weather agencies, marine operators, etc.) for scientific research and operational oceanography for the benefit of society.

TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 were cooperative missions between NASA and the French space agency, CNES. Additional partners in the Jason-2 mission included NOAA and Eumetsat. Jason-3 continues the international cooperation, with NOAA and Eumetsat leading the efforts, along with partners NASA and CNES.”

Video credit: NASA

ESA dixit:

“The Sentinels are a fleet of satellites designed to deliver the wealth of data and imagery that are central to the European Commission’s Copernicus programme.

This unique environmental monitoring programme is making a step change in the way we view and manage our environment, understand and tackle the effects of climate change and safeguard everyday lives. It serves European citizens, both directly through its products and applications, and indirectly through social, economic and environmental benefits.

Carrying a suite of cutting-edge instruments, Sentinel-3 will measure systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. It will provide essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.

The mission is based on a two identical satellites orbiting in constellation for optimum global coverage and data delivery. For example, with a swath width of 1270 km, the ocean and land colour instrument will provide global coverage every two days.

With a focus towards our oceans, Sentinel-3 measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice. These measurements will be used, for example, to monitor changes in sea level, marine pollution and biological productivity.

Over land, this innovative mission will provide a bigger picture by monitoring wildfires, mapping the way land is used, provide indices of vegetation state and measure the height of rivers and lakes – complementing the high-resolution measurements of its sister mission Sentinel-2.

While Sentinel-3 will provide enhanced continuity of satellites such as Envisat and Spot, the sheer breadth of data from this new mission means that it is set to be the workhorse for Copernicus.

The mission is the result of close collaboration between ESA, the European Commission, Eumetsat, France’s CNES space agency, industry, service providers and data users.

As a prime example of Europe’s technological excellence, the two Sentinel-3 satellites have been designed and built by a consortium of around 100 companies under the leadership of Thales Alenia Space, France.

Once commissioned in orbit, ESA and Eumetsat will manage the mission jointly, where ESA processes land products and Eumetsat the marine products for application through the Copernicus services. Data are free of charge and open to users worldwide.”

Video credit: ESA

NASA dixit:

“Dwarf planet Ceres is shown in these false-color renderings, which highlight differences in surface materials. Images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft were used to create a movie of Ceres rotating, followed by a flyover view of Occator Crater, home of Ceres’ brightest area.”

Wikipedia dixit:

“Ceres (minor-planet designation: 1 Ceres) is the largest object in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Its diameter is approximately 945 kilometers (587 miles), making it the largest of the minor planets within the orbit of Neptune. The thirty-third-largest known body in the Solar System, it is the only one identified orbiting entirely within the orbit of Neptune that is a dwarf planet. Composed of rock and ice, Ceres is estimated to comprise approximately one third of the mass of the entire asteroid belt. Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt known to be rounded by its own gravity. From Earth, the apparent magnitude of Ceres ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, and hence even at its brightest, it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye, except under extremely dark skies.

Ceres was the first asteroid discovered, by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo on 1 January 1801. It was originally considered a planet, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s when many other objects in similar orbits were discovered.

Ceres appears to be differentiated into a rocky core and icy mantle, and may have a remnant internal ocean of liquid water under the layer of ice. The surface is probably a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals such as carbonates and clay. In January 2014, emissions of water vapor were detected from several regions of Ceres. This was unexpected, because large bodies in the asteroid belt do not typically emit vapor, a hallmark of comets.

The robotic NASA spacecraft Dawn entered orbit around Ceres on 6 March 2015. Pictures with a resolution previously unattained were taken during imaging sessions starting in January 2015 as Dawn approached Ceres, showing a cratered surface. Two distinct bright spots (or high-albedo features) inside a crater (different from the bright spots observed in earlier Hubble images) were seen in a 19 February 2015 image, leading to speculation about a possible cryovolcanic origin or outgassing. On 3 March 2015, a NASA spokesperson said the spots are consistent with highly reflective materials containing ice or salts, but that cryovolcanism is unlikely. On 11 May 2015, NASA released a higher-resolution image showing that, instead of one or two spots, there are actually several. On 9 December 2015, NASA scientists reported that the bright spots on Ceres may be related to a type of salt, particularly a form of brine containing magnesium sulfate hexahydrite (MgSO4·6H2O); the spots were also found to be associated with ammonia-rich clays.”

Video credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA