ATV-3 set to provide ESA’s annual service to Space Station

ATV

29 February 2012
 
PR 5 2012 – ESA’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ferry, Edoardo Amaldi, is ready for launch on an Ariane 5 to the International Space Station on 9 March from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
 
The liftoff at 10:05 GMT (11:05 CET) will be covered live from Kourou for broadcasters and on the web, and followed at launch events around Europe.

 

 

 

ATV-3 Mission overview

ATV Edoardo Amaldi follows the two highly successful supply missions carried out by ATV Jules Verne in March 2008 and ATV Johannes Kepler in February 2011.

 
 

	Edoardo Amaldi

ATV-3 is named after the Italian physicist and spaceflight pioneer Edoardo Amaldi. A founding father of the European Space Research Organisation – precursor of ESA – and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Amaldi is famous for being part of the group that discovered slow neutrons.

This third vessel in the ATV series is the first to have been processed and launched within the target rate of one per year.

This marks the start of ATV as an annual production-line supply vehicle for the Space Station, positioning Europe as an essential partner in operating the orbital outpost.

 
 
The next ATVs, Albert Einstein and Georges Lemaître, will follow in 2013 and 2014.

The spaceship will deliver essential supplies and propellant as well as reboost the Station’s altitude.

At more than 20 tonnes, the highly sophisticated spacecraft is the heaviest payload ever launched by Europe. It combines an autonomous free-flying platform, a manoeuvrable space vehicle and – when docked – a Space Station module.

To achieve an automated docking under the very tight safety constraints imposed by human spaceflight rules, ATV carries high-precision navigation systems, highly redundant flight software and a fully independent and autonomous collision-avoidance system with its own power supplies, control and dedicated thrusters.

 
 

Ariane 5 for ATV-3

The Space Station depends on regular deliveries of experiment equipment and spare parts, as well as food, air and water for its crew.

Since 2008, every year and a half, an ATV has delivered about 6 tonnes of cargo some 400 km above Earth.

After launch on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, ATV automatically navigates to a precision docking with the Station’s Russian Zvezda module.

It remains attached to the ISS for up to six months before reentering the atmosphere and deliberately burning up together with several tonnes of Station waste.

 
 
About 10 m long and with a diameter of 4.5 m, ATV incorporates a 45-cubic metre pressurised module and a Russian docking system, similar to those used on the Soyuz manned ferries and the Progress supply ships.

With its solar wings deployed, ATV spans 22 m. Almost three times larger than Russia’s Progress, it can also deliver about three times the cargo load.

 
 

	ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi mission logo

Propellant and cargo for the Station
 
ATV is the largest supply ship to travel to the International Space Station since the US Space Shuttle fleet was retired last year. ATV-3 will deliver 4395 kg of propellant, oxygen, air and water to the Station.

Once docked, the propellant will be used by ATV’s own thrusters to raise the Station’s orbit periodically to compensate for the natural decay caused by atmospheric drag.

ATV can also be used to move the Station out of the way of potentially dangerous space debris that come too close to the manned space complex.

 
 
Before leaving the Station, Edoardo Amaldi will be filled with waste bags and unwanted hardware by the crew.

It will then be deorbited over the southern Pacific Ocean to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Astrium is the industrial prime contractor, leading a team of more than 30 contractors in 10 European countries. The ATV Control Centre is located in Toulouse, France, on the premises of the French Space Agency, CNES.

For more information about ATV please visit http://www.esa.int/ATV

Beside a Giant

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, looks small here, pictured to the right of the gas giant in this Cassini spacecraft view.

Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is in the upper right. Saturn’s rings appear across the top of the image, and they cast a series of shadows onto the planet across the middle of the image.

The moon Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across) appears as a tiny white speck above the rings in the far upper right of the image. The shadow cast by Prometheus can be seen as a small black speck on the planet on the far left of the image, between the shadows cast by the main rings and the thin F ring. The shadow of the moon Pandora also can be seen on the planet south of the shadows of all the rings, below the center of the image towards the right side of the planet. Pandora is not shown here.

This view looks toward the southern, unilluminated side of the rings from about 1 degree below the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 5, 2012 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 426,000 miles (685,000 kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 20 degrees. Image scale is 23 miles (37 kilometers) per pixel on Saturn. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

André, my name is Isabelle, do you get homesick? Over…

Talking to André

29 February 2012
 
Space is not all high-tech. Standard radios operated by amateur enthusiasts can be used to communicate with the International Space Station. ESA astronaut André Kuipers talked to children this week using handheld-radios.
 
Students, aged 11–14, from three international schools in the Netherlands were invited to submit a question they would like to ask André.

ARISS, or Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, is an organisation that promotes contact with the Space Station through basic radio technology. Volunteers set up the radio contact yesterday between André and the students in the Erasmus Centre of ESA’s technical site in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

 
 

	André on station

Since the Space Station circles Earth at over 28 000 km an hour, only ten minutes of direct radio contact are available at a time, after which it flies out of range.

The tension grew as the Station flew into range of a home-built relay station in northern Italy. Everything went as planned and reception was loud and clear as André used his call sign ‘PI9ISS’ to make contact.

André had time to answer almost all the children’s questions. He replied to Isabelle Meyers from the American School of The Hague: “It is so special here in the Space Station, the floating and the view of Earth is so fantastic that I do not get homesick.”

 
 
Listen to the full radio contact by clicking on the play button.

 

 
 

	André training to use radio

The schoolchildren and André used the same technology as in normal walkie-talkies. Radio waves travel easily over thousands of kilometres, whereas the Space Station orbits Earth at around 400 km above sea level.

Radio contact is one way to interest students in the science used in everyday technology. A teacher from The British School in the Netherlands explained: “This event brought the concepts behind radio waves down to Earth. This practical demonstration was easy for the kids to understand.”

 
 
Before speaking with André, the schools introduced themselves and the work they are doing for science class.
 
 

Wave demonstration

Students demonstrated cars powered by mousetraps, tested the tensile strength of plastic shopping bags and explained radio waves by asking the audience to participate in a ‘Mexican wave’ and by using springs.

The opportunity to speak with an astronaut highlights how spaceflight is inspiring children to consider a career in science, while illustrating the principles behind everyday phenomena.

More than 700 school contacts have been made in the 11 years that ARISS has been involved with the Space Station. Any school can sign up to have a ten-minute contact with an astronaut using the link to the right.

André’s PromISSe mission extended on Space Station

Soyuz docked to Station

28 February 2012
 
ESA astronaut André Kuipers will stay on the International Space Station for more than a month longer than originally planned. In addition to his normal routine he will spend some of the extra time conducting scientific experiments.
 
The Station partners have agreed that this expedition will be prolonged following a delay in the launch of the next Soyuz crew ferry.

Routine testing revealed problems in the original Soyuz spacecraft, requiring that it be replaced. The new date for André and his crewmates to return to Earth is 1 July – he will now stay on the Space Station for over six months.

The extra time André has in space does not mean he will have time for extra work because the science and maintenance activities continue regardless of which astronaut is available to do the job.

Owing to the delay, the Space Station will operate with only three crewmembers for a longer period than originally planned.

 
 

	Space food

Science experiments
 
André has already completed some of his experiments. He was the tenth astronaut to follow the special SOLO diet to understand why astronauts lose bone density in space.

For five days, André ate only a third of the salt found in a normal diet. The results may offer insights into how bones age on Earth and could be used to combat diseases such as osteoporosis.

André completed the DSC experiment in the European-built Microgravity Science Glovebox, looking at temperature changes in mixtures of different fluids.

The results of this experiment will contribute to improving computer models used in oil drilling.

 
 

André records his brain waves

André recently shared a picture from the Space Station wearing what looked like a bathing cap. Worn for the Neurospat experiment, it is actually a complex network of electrodes for measuring his brain waves.

A total of 64 electrodes were carefully and precisely placed on André’s head by colleague Don Pettit. The goal is to understand if the brain processes some tasks differently in space.

André has also finished the Roald2 biology experiment on human immune cells. Astronauts’ immune systems work less effectively in space and scientists are trying to find out why.

Immune cells taken from volunteers on Earth were chemically frozen on the Space Station at specific intervals. By looking closely at the cells once they return to Earth, scientists hope to gain insight into the workings of the human immune system.

There are many scientific experiments still to finish. Maintenance work waits for no one so André and his crewmates will be busy keeping the Space Station running smoothly.

In the highly unlikely possibility that André has time to spare, the scientists on Earth have a set of ‘back-pocket’ activities available that could be conducted at short notice should the opportunity arise.

Patch available from the Spaceboosters Online Store

NASA Glenn Event to Celebrate John Glenn’s Legacy on March 2

 CLEVELAND — NASA’s Glenn Research Center will host an event on March 2 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s orbital flight, the first by an American.”Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy: 50 Years of Americans in Orbit” will be held at 1 p.m. EST at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., in Cleveland. More than 800 complimentary tickets are being distributed to the general public for this event through a lottery by Cleveland State University in partnership with NASA Glenn.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Glenn Director Ramon “Ray” Lugo will provide remarks during the one-hour program, which will include a welcome from Cleveland State University President Dr. Ronald Berkman. Space shuttle mission STS-95 pilot Steve Lindsey will pay tribute from the astronaut corps to Glenn. The program will culminate with a keynote address by the guest of honor Sen. John H. Glenn Jr.

Musical performances will be provided by the Cleveland Institute of Music, The Singing Angels and a soloist from Cleveland State University’s music program. Doors open at noon and a special pre-program musical performance by the Cleveland Institute of Music will begin at 12:15 p.m., followed by a video tribute to Glenn.

“This is a great opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the achievements of John Glenn,” Lugo said. “We are delighted to combine the 50th anniversary celebration with the anniversary of the center renaming. The inspiration that John Glenn gives to millions of people along with the pioneering spirit that lives in the hearts of all who work at the center will continue to keep our nation on the path of exploration and discovery.”

On March 1, 1999, the Lewis Research Center was officially renamed the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in recognition of Glenn’s contributions to science, space and the state of Ohio. As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Glenn trained in 1960 at Lewis in the Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility.

Others attending the tribute event include agency officials, Ohio astronauts, NASA employees and contractors, elected officials, several hundred high school students throughout northeast Ohio, and 100 Twitter followers selected to participate in a day-long Tweetup event that includes tours of NASA Glenn and its visitor center at the Great Lakes Science Center.

Following the program, Glenn, Bolden and Lugo will participate in a news media opportunity and question and answer session with the Tweetup participants. Reporters interested in covering the program and media availability should contact Lori Rachul at 216-433-8806 by noon on Thursday, March 1.

The program and media opportunity will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

An interactive online feature about the Mercury program and Glenn’s flight is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/glenn50

‘Other Worlds’ – Public Astronomy Event – Birmingham

“Other Worlds” will be presented by The University of Birmingham Astronomical Society and the School of Physics and Astronomy

This event will be from 10am-4pm and will be in and around campus, primarily around the Poynting Physics building.

In recent years the number of known exoplanets, planets around other stars, has exploded to over 750, and with the bright future ahead for exoplanet hunters we aim to celebrate the search with our event Other Worlds. The day will feature talks by Dr Ian Stevens about the science behind exoplanet hunting and Dr Samuel George who will talk about the ways we search for life in the universe. Throughout the day there will also be a number of fun hands-on activities including our classic air rocket contests, and many others.

Other Worlds is for people and families of all ages and will run from 10am-4pm on Saturday 10th March. Entrance and all activities are free so please come along and enjoy the day.

For the latest information on the day and for more details, see the event’s website,
http://www.talkandtelescope.org.uk/exoplanets

Many thanks, and I hope to see you there!

~ Richard Pearson
On behalf of AstroSoc and the School of Physics and Astronomy

www.talkandtelescope.org.uk
www.astrosoc.org.uk

Galileo on the ground reaches some of Earth’s loneliest places

 

Penguins of Kerguelen

27 February 2012
 
A worldwide chain of Galileo ground stations on some of the remotest sites on Earth is nearing completion ahead of this year’s launch of two more satellites.
 
Engineers spent a hectic Christmas and New Year on the main island of the Kerguelen group in the Indian Ocean, working against the clock to install the latest Galileo sensor station – measuring regional signal accuracy so corrections can be made if needed.

There is no airport on this desolate, sub-Antarctic French territory, and a boat calls only four times per year.

 
 

	Kerguelen ground station

Dropped off on 13 December, the team had to install and test the station before departing on 8 January.

“Everything had to be done on a single trip, or else it might not have been ready in time,” explains Fermin Alvarez Lopez, Galileo station engineer.

“Fortunately in this case the team could reuse a surplus protective facility to host the Galileo station.

“Usually, we begin with an empty field to which we need to bring power, construct a housing, install antennas and electronics and finally connect to the Galileo infrastructure via satellite.”

 
 

Ground station on Jan Mayen Island

Inhabited mainly by seabirds and feral cats, Kerguelen is far from the loneliest Galileo site. Up in high northern latitudes, Norway’s Jan Mayen Island, fabled for some of having one of the worst weather in the world, will soon host a sensor station.

The site infrastructure was assembled last spring and summer and will be brought online this year. It sits on a beach of black sand littered with bleached timber – the only flat area on the whole volcanic island.

The islands of Reunion in the Indian Ocean and New Caledonia in the Pacific are much more hospitable, though their tropical conditions are more of a challenge for Galileo electronics, which have to be air-conditioned.

 
 

Jan Mayen Island panorama

Reunion came on line last July and New Caledonia in January.

“All the Galileo stations we construct around the globe are more or less identical but must contend with very different environments,” adds Fermin.

 
 
Galileo ground segment at the ready
 

Galileo IOV ground segment

A worldwide network of Galileo Sensor Stations will continuously monitor Galileo performance for the Galileo Control Centre in Fucino, Italy, to prepare correction messages.

The corrections are sent to the satellites via a network of Uplink Stations every 100 minutes or less.

 
 

Noumea, New Caledonia, station

There are already sensor or uplink stations at Fucino in Italy, Kourou in French Guiana, the Norwegian island of Svalbard, Troll in Antarctica, Reunion and Kerguelen in the Indian Ocean as well as New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, linked to two Galileo Control Centres based at Fucino for navigation services and Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany for control of the satellites.

The ground network is completed by two Telemetry, Tracking and Command stations at Kiruna, Sweden and Kourou, French Guiana, already used for monitoring the first Galileo satellites, launched in October 2011.

 
 
Once four Galileo satellites are up in orbit – the minimum needed for navigation – at the end of summer, ESA can evaluate the performance of the overall system.

“Stations are largely automated – personnel from our host organisations need only replace faulty parts,” concludes Fermin.

“For places like Kerguelen, where logistics are so challenging, we plan the availability of spares very carefully indeed.”

Watch online: Earth from Space – special edition

Earth from Space

27 February 2012
 
Discover more about our planet with the Earth from Space video programme. In this special edition, Henri Laur, Envisat Mission Manager, joins the show ahead of the satellite’s tenth birthday. Watch online Tuesday at 14:00 CET.

Watch online

Droitwich Space Day – Update

A short video with highlights of the day is now available here: Droitwich Space Day

Video courtesy of Alan Marlow DeltaVee Media

A new generation of meteorological satellites

Meteosat Third Generation

24 February 2012
 
Europe’s next fleet of meteorological satellites is set to debut in 2017, following today’s signing of the development contract. While Meteosat Third Generation will ensure full continuity with the current Meteosat satellite family, it will also introduce significant improvements.
 
At an event held today at ESA’s headquarters in Paris, the contract between ESA and Thales Alenia Space for developing the new Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) family of satellites was signed.

Following on from Meteosat Second Generation, MTG is a cooperative venture between Eumetsat and ESA, and will ensure continuity of high-resolution meteorological data to beyond 2037.

The cooperation on meteorological missions between Eumetsat and ESA is a success story that started with the first Meteosat satellite in 1977 and continues today with Meteosat Second Generation and the polar-orbiting MetOp series.

The new series will comprise six satellites: four MTG-I imaging and two MTG-S sounding satellites.

The first two prototype satellites are scheduled for launch in late 2017 and mid-2019, respectively. Both satellites will be positioned in geostationary orbit above the equator at a longitude between 10ºE and 10ºW.

In addition to the advanced imaging capabilities offered by the Flexible Combined Imager, the satellites will offer an all-new infrared sounding capability and imaging of global lightning that will provide early warning of severe storms.

MTG-S will also carry the Sentinel-4 payload for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. This advanced payload will analyse atmospheric chemistry and identify concentrations of trace gases like ozone and nitrogen dioxide.

 
 

	MTG-I

The MTG mission will also provide continued support to global search and rescue monitoring, as well as supporting the Advanced Data Collection System.

At Friday’s event, ESA Director General Jean Jacques Dordain highlighted that Europe can today – and now well into the future – offer state-of-the-art meteorological global monitoring thanks to the 25-year collaboration between ESA and Eumetsat.

Mr Dordain recalled the launch of Meteosat-1 35 years ago, and praised the commitment of ESA, Eumetsat and all industrial partners to continuing the Meteosat legacy.

ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Volker Liebig, looked ahead to the significant improvements in performance from the new satellites.

In these difficult economic times, Prof. Liebig stressed, the programme offers many opportunities for European industrial companies to win substantial and high-technology contracts. The MTG contract has an industrial value of over €1.25 billion.

Speeches were also made by Eumetsat Director General Alain Ratier and Thales Alenia Space CEO Reynald Seznec.

The contract between ESA and Thales Alenia Space was signed by Mr. Liebig and Mr Seznec.

Thales Alenia Space leads the industrial consortium that now building the MTG family. Along with being the prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the MTG-I imaging satellite, including the primary payload, the Flexible Combined Imager.

Bremen-based OHB is responsible for the MTG-S satellites and provision of the common satellite platforms, supported by Astrium GmbH as the System Architect.

The state-of-the-art Infrared Sounding Instrument, to be flown on MTG-S, will be developed by Kayser Threde.