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Simulator for Testing Spacecraft Separation Devices

A report describes the main features of a system for testing pyrotechnic and mechanical devices used to separate spacecraft and modules of spacecraft during flight. The system includes a spacecraft simulator [also denoted a large mobility base (LMB)] equipped with air thrusters, sensors, and data-acquisition equipment. The spacecraft simulator floats on air bearings over an epoxy-covered concrete floor. This free-flotation arrangement enables simulation of motion in outer space in three degrees of freedom: translation along two orthogonal horizontal axes and rotation about a vertical axis. The system also includes a static stand. In one application, the system was used to test a boltretraction system (BRS) intended for separation of the lifting-body and deorbitpropulsion stages of the X-38 spacecraft.

Simulating Attitudes and Trajectories of Multiple Spacecraft

A computer program called “42� simulates the attitudes and trajectories of multiple spacecraft flying in formation anywhere in the Solar System. The rotational dynamics are represented by high-fidelity models of spacecraft, each comprising as many as three connected rigid bodies and containing as many as four flywheel mechanisms for storing angular momentum for controlling attitude. The translational dynamics are represented partly by Encke’s method of orbit perturbation, which enables the use of a reference trajectory shared by multiple spacecraft and, in so doing, enables separation of gigameter-scale trajectory features from nanometer-scale formation adjustments to preserve the numerical accuracy needed for simulating precise multi-spacecraft formations.

Failed systems prompted manual docking of cargo spacecraft to ISS -Mission Control Center (Part 2)

KOROLYOV, Moscow region. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - Failed systems of the first 'digital' Progress M-01M cargo spacecraft prompted its manual docking to the International Space Station (ISS), Vladimir Solovyov, Russian Mission Control Center's Flight Director for the ISS, told journalists. "A number of problems with automatic approach emerged at the final stage of the docking," Solovyov said. "Frequency information was lost and the Kurs (Course) system trackers were toggling," he said. "As a result we brought the spacecraft 30 meters from the ISS and ordered the crew to switch to the manual control of the spacecraft," he said. Mission Control Center experts will study reasons behind the failures, he said, acknowledging that this was not the first failure aboard the cargo spacecraft.

Dawn Spacecraft Glides Into New Year

NASA's Dawn spacecraft shut down its ion propulsion system this week as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby in February of next year.

Diamagnetic Cavity Shields For Spacecraft?Satellite Images Help Aid Groups Track AtrocitiesAstronauts Ride in Style in New Moon TruckAstronauts Could Get Computer TherapistWhat a View! Space Bubbles Would Thrill Tourists

A spacecraft could be protected from radiation with a dipolelike magnetic field and plasma; it could surround a spacecraft like a 'mini magnetosphere.' Reseachers in the UK, Portugal and Sweden announced the work in this month's Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.

Expert: Shenzhou VII spacecraft requires improvement in two aspects

Shenzhou VII spacecraft had completed its spaceflight tasks very smoothly and successfully, deserving a full mark, said Jin Yong, the deputy Chief Commander of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft in a recent interview with People's Daily Online.

Stowaways Revealed on New Horizons Spacecraft

The New Horizons spacecraft has now spent over 1,000 days wending its way to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. To celebrate the milestone, the New Horizons team decided to reveal the secret stowaways on board the spacecraft. Nine objects (can you guess why there are nine?!) were attached and sent along on the ten-year journey to the outer reaches of our solar system. Believe it or not, included in the items are one actual person, and parts of several thousands of other people…

Enhanced Pseudo-Waypoint Guidance for Spacecraft Maneuvers

An enhanced version of the scheme reported in “Pseudo-Waypoint Guidance for Proximity Spacecraft Maneuvers� (npo-42753), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 6 (June 2007), page 73 was developed. To recapitulate: the scheme provides algorithms for guidance and control (G&C) of a spacecraft maneuvering near a small astronomical body. The open-loop guidance problem is solved in advance or in real time by use of the pseudo-waypoint generation (PWG) method. Feedback control is implemented to track PWG trajectories, in a manner that enables updating of G&C in a model-predictive manner. The scheme includes silent periods following each thruster firing.

Electrostatic Detection System Prevents Injuries and Damage During Spacecraft Assembly

Electrostatic charges impact the safety of both workers and spacecraft, and have been recognized as one of the main problems at the NASA spacecraft assembly facilities. Prevention currently depends on time-consuming, handheld electric-field devices scanning each individual worker’s clothing. Quasar Federal Systems has developed a new electrostatic detection system with support from NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory.

Romain Jerome Launches Watches With Moon Dust, Pieces of Apollo, Soyuz Spacecraft

November 12, 2008 - Geneva, Switzerland – Timepieces made from fragments of the Apollo XI spacecraft, and the Soyuz spacecraft, dials with mineral structure containing Moon dust, with straps partly woven with fibers from an International Space Station spacesuit were launched here tonight by Romain Jerome, DNA of Famous Legends.

Cargo-Positioning System for Next-Generation Spacecraft

A report discusses a proposed system for mounting loaded pallets in the cargo bay of a next-generation space-shuttle-like spacecraft, such that the center of mass of the cargo would lie within a 1-in. (2.54- cm) cube that would also contain the center of mass of the spacecraft. The system would include (1) an algorithm for planning the locations of the pallets, given the geometric and weight properties of the pallets, and the geometric restrictions of the cargo bay; (2) quick-connect/ quick-disconnect mounting mechanisms similar to those now used on air hoses; (3) other mounting mechanisms, comprising mostly spring-loaded pins, in a locking subsystem that would prevent shifting of the pallets under load; and (4) mechanisms for performing fine position adjustments to satisfy the center-of-mass requirement.

Chandrayaan-1 Successfully Reaches 100km Lunar Orbit

Matt_dk writes "Today, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has successfully reached its intended operational orbit at a height of about 100 km from the lunar surface. This followed a series of three orbit reduction manoeuvres conducted during the past three days by repeatedly firing the spacecraft's 440 Newton Liquid Engine. The next major event of Chandrayaan-1 mission planned in the coming days is the release of Moon Impact Probe (MIP) from the spacecraft and its eventual hitting of the moon's surface."

XML-Based SHINE Knowledge Base Interchange Language

The SHINE Knowledge Base Interchange Language software has been designed to more efficiently send new knowledge bases to spacecraft that have been embedded with the Spacecraft Health Inference Engine (SHINE) tool. The intention of the behavioral model is to capture most of the information generally associated with a spacecraft functional model, while specifically addressing the needs of execution within SHINE and Livingstone. As such, it has some constructs that are based on one or the other.

Spacecraft Transmital Of New Mercury Photos

A U.S. spacecraft has, for the second time this year, transmitted new photos and data about previously unseen areas of Mercury.

Spacecraft Transmits New Data On Mercury

A U.S. spacecraft has, for the second time this year, transmitted data about previously unseen areas of Mercury.

Spacecraft enters lunar orbit

BANGALORE: India's first unmanned spacecraft has entered lunar orbit, 18 days after an Indian-built rocket transported it into outer space, officials here announced.

Spacecraft Shenzhou VII ready for Airshow China

Workers hoist the orbital module of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou VII onto its showcase berth, in preparation for the forthcoming 7th Airshow China, in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 30, 2008. The core components of the spaceflight Shenzhou VII, among them the prototype of orbital module and a model of the re-entry module, are set to be shown at the airshow, slated from Nov. 4 to 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Li Jianshu)

Spacecraft Shenzhou VII ready for Airshow China

Workers hoist the orbital module of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou VII onto its showcase berth, in preparation for the forthcoming 7th Airshow China, in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 30, 2008. The core components of the spaceflight Shenzhou VII, among them the prototype of orbital module and a model of the re-entry module, are set to be shown at the airshow, slated from Nov. 4 to 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Li Jianshu)

Spacecraft?s final orbit manoeuvre over

BANGALORE: The fifth and final orbit raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was successfully carried out on Tuesday.

Spacecraft transmits new data on Mercury

The planet Mercury is pictured on October 6, 2008. NASA's spacecraft MESSENGER captured the high-resolution images as it successfully completed its second flyby of Mercury. (UPI Photo/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)

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