International Military Discussion

[SSSalvi]

A simulation of Philae flyoff after 1st touchdown and bounce ( lasting for almost 2 hrs ) by an enthusiast. ( not related to ESA )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF3anN_ ... e=youtu.be

=====

About battery discharge protection on Philae: from its manual : ftp://ftp.irit.fr/IRIT/CSC/4218.pdf

...if the batteries run out of power and the solar arrays are not illuminated to generate power, the Lander will automatically switch-off.
....
..If the solar arrays are illuminated again and power the primary bus, the Lander would automatically switch-on and boot but at a wrong temperature, which might destroy the electronics. To prevent this a Wake-up System is installed, which will disconnect the Lander electronics from the primary bus but still uses the incoming power by routing it to a set of heaters in order to heat up the Lander whenever possible.

( quoting from section : 2.3.6.3.2 Lander Wake-up System )

[PratikDas]

Planet Earth in 4K

A timelapse of Earth in 4K resolution, as imaged by the geostationary Elektro-L weather satellite, from May 15th to May 19th, 2011. Elektro-L is located ~40,000 km above the Indian ocean, and it orbits at a speed that causes it to remain over the same spot as the Earth rotates. The satellite creates a 121 megapixel image (11136x11136 pixels) every 30 minutes with visible and infrared light wavelengths. The images were edited to adjust levels and change the infrared channel from orange to green to show vegetation more naturally. The images were resized by 50%, misalignments between frames were manually corrected, and image artifacts that occurred when the camera was facing towards the sun were partially corrected. The images were interpolated by a factor of 20 to create a smooth animation. The animation was rendered in the Youtube 4K UHD resolution of 3840x2160. An original animation file with a resolution of (5568x5568) is available on request.

To answer frequently asked questions; why are city lights, the Sun, and other stars not visible? City lights are not visible because they are thousands of times less bright than the reflection of sunlight off the Earth. If the camera was sensitive enough to detect city lights, the Earth would be overexposed. The Sun is not visible due to mechanisms used to protect the camera CCD from direct exposure to sunlight. A circular mask on the CCD ensures that only the Earth is visible. This mask can be seen as pixelation on Earth's horizon. The mask also excludes stars from view, although they would not be bright enough to be visible to this camera.

Image Credit: NTs OMZ (http://eng.ntsomz.ru/electro).
Image processing by James Tyrwhitt-Drake

[brar_w]

[Philip]

The Russian Army's Secret Weapon: Enter the Armata Program
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the ... gram-11711

With America's own tanks becoming quite dated and running out of upgrade options, Russia's latest efforts to modernize its armored fighting vehicles should be cause for concern.

Dave Majumdar
November 21, 2014

The Russian Army will induct a new family of armored combat vehicles collectively called the Armata next year to replace its existing armored war machines, according to Russian state media. Production of the new armored vehicles is expected to start at the beginning of 2015 in January and two dozen of the new machines are expected to participate in the Victory Day parade in Moscow next year—as America struggles with the future of its own armored combat vehicles.

“The first batch will be available next year. You will see them in Red Square on May 9,” Oleg Bochkaryov, deputy chairman of Russia’s military-industrial commission, told the state-run ITAR-TASS news agency on November 18.

Developed by the Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) Corporation in the remote city of Nizhny Tagil in the Ural Mountains, the Armata is being developed in multiple variants, including a main battle tank, infantry fighting vehicle, a heavy-armored personnel carrier, self-propelled artillery and two support vehicle variants. The Russian ground forces are expected show off two-dozen machines during the parade—half will be the main battle-tank variant, while the remainder will be the armored personnel-carrier variant.

The Armata will ultimately replace the Cold War–era T-64, T-72, T-80 and comparatively newer T-90 tanks by the 2030s—assuming the Russian government can pay for it. The Armata series will also replace the BMP-series infantry fighting vehicles and a host of other vehicles; production could go into the tens of thousands if Russia were able to replace its existing vehicles on a one-for-one basis.

According to ITAR-TASS, the main battle-tank variant will be armed with a 125-mm cannon—which has been the standard on Soviet-built hardware in the 1960s—but the weapon will be mounted on an unmanned turret. The crew will be housed in a separate armored compartment—which is a unique configuration for any modern main battle tank.

Some Russian media reports have suggested that the Armata’s armor is specifically being tailored to operate well in the Arctic Circle, an area of the world that is becoming increasingly important for that country’s embattled economy.

Further, in a marked departure from the usual Soviet practice, the Armata program appears to place a far higher priority on crew survivability than any previous Soviet or Russian tank. That could be because Russia is trying to transition from a Soviet-era, conscription-based force to a professional army where individual soldiers are not considered expendable.

As such, the Armata-series vehicles are being designed with a completely new armor layout and will have all-aspect protection, Vyacheslav Khalitov, Uralvagonzavod deputy general director, told the Russian News Service radio station. The crew will be separated from the vehicle’s fuel and ammunition stocks, Khalitov said. As such, it’s possible the internal configuration of the new vehicles bears more resemblance to Western machines such as the M1A2 Abrams or German Leopard 2A7+ than to older Soviet tanks.

Little else is known about the Armata project, save for the fact that everything appears to be proceeding more or less on schedule—if Russian reports are to be believed. “Everything is proceeding in line with the contract. Work is being done ahead of schedule. We get ahead of all schedules,” Oleg Siyenko, Uralvagonzavod general director told ITAR-TASS in September. Additionally, Siyenko said that Armata project is currently meeting all of the Russian military’s requirements.

However, the Armata might be proving to be more expensive than the Russian government expected. Bochkaryov told ITAR-TASS that the Armata’s price tag is currently too high. Nonetheless, the Russian government is expected to sign a three-year deal to build the Armata at a set price. “We will continue to work with them, because we disagree with Uralvagonzavod high price,” Bochkaryov told Russia Today, another state-run media outlet. According to ITAR-TASS, Uralvagonzavod officials have promised to reduce the price of the new vehicle.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army has made several abortive attempts to replace the long-serving Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and the Abrams main battle tank. In the early 2000s, the Army launched the Future Combat Systems (FCS) as a family of lightweight vehicles that would replace the service’s heavily armored tanks, infantry fighting vehicle and self-propelled artillery and other machines.

The idea was to develop multiple vehicles based on a common 20-ton lightweight chassis with the same survivability as an Abrams, so that an entire brigade could be deployed in eighteen hours to anywhere on the planet. However, physics intervened. It quickly became obvious that a 20-ton vehicle could never hope to match the protection of a 70-ton tank—short of some sort of miraculous breakthrough.

Some more details from Wiki:

Russian Lieutenant-General Yuri Kovalenko states that the "Armata" combat platform will utilize many features of the T-95 tank, of which only a few prototypes have been built. In the main battle tank variant, the ammunition compartment will be separate from the crew, increasing operational safety while the engine will be more powerful and the armor, main gun and autoloader will be improved.

According to preliminary reports, the new tank designated T-14 will be less radical and ambitious than the failed ‘Object 195’ or T-95, it will weigh less, therefore, become more agile and will be more affordable, compared to its more ambitious predecessors. Additionally, the Kurganets-25 tracked armored vehicle provides high degree of commonality with the new Armata tank. The Kurganets-25 will evolve into various models, gradually replacing BMP and BMD and MT-LB and other types of tracked armored platforms.[8] The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats, be armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon, and have four Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile launchers.[9] *(10km range)

The tank will have an unmanned, remotely controlled turret. It will be digitally controlled by a crewmember located in a separate compartment. It is believed that this would eventually lead to the development of a fully robotic tank.[11]

Vehicles of the Armata platform will be equipped with the radar and other technologies found on the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation jet fighter. They include a Ka band radar (26.5-40 GHz) based on AESA radar. The devices should be ready by 2015.[12]

Some interesting stats about Russian tank production during Sov. times.There were 4 plants like UVZ.UVZ alone produced at one time,1500 tanks/yr! The highest US prod. was 800,Germany 300. According to JDW,whiuch visited Nizhny,once a closed city to firangs,there is no western facility equiv. to UVZ. Avadi should if it wants to fulfill the IA's armour requirements,should produce at least 100/yr new tanks in addition to the upgrading of hundreds of legacy tanks.

[Philip]

Breakthrough which could have huge mil. potential,fuel cells,smart warfare,etc.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 85425.html

Scientists predict green energy revolution after incredible new graphene discoveries

Recently discovered wonder-material could have major new applications
Steve Connor
Wednesday 26 November 2014

A recently discovered form of carbon graphite – the material in pencil lead – has turned out to have a completely unexpected property which could revolutionise the development of green energy and electric cars.

Researchers have discovered that graphene allows positively charged hydrogen atoms or protons to pass through it despite being completely impermeable to all other gases, including hydrogen itself.

The implications of the discovery are immense as it could dramatically increase the efficiency of fuel cells, which generate electricity directly from hydrogen, the scientists said.

The breakthrough raises the prospect of extracting hydrogen fuel from air and burning it as a carbon-free source of energy in a fuel cell to produce electricity and water with no damaging waste products.

“In the atmosphere there is a certain amount of hydrogen and this hydrogen will end up on the other side [of graphene] in a reservoir. Then you can use this hydrogen-collected reservoir to burn it in the same fuel cell and make electricity,” said Professor Sir Andrei Geim of Manchester Univeristy.

Professor Sir Andrei Geim received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 Professor Sir Andrei Geim received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 (Getty)

Ever since its discovery 10 years ago, graphene has astonished scientists. It is the thinnest known material, a million times thinner than human hair, yet more than 200 times stronger than steel, as well as being the world’s best conductor of electricity.

Until now, being permeable to protons was not considered a practical possibility, but an international team of scientists led by Sir Andre, who shares the 2010 Nobel Prize for his work on graphene, has shown that the one-atom thick crystal acts like a chemical filter. It allows the free passage of protons but forms an impenetrable barrier to other atoms and molecules.

“There have been three or four scientific papers before about the theoretical predictions for how easy or how hard it would be for a proton to go through graphene and these calculations give numbers that take billions and billions of years for a proton to go through this same membrane,” Sir Andrei said.

“It’s just so dense an electronic field it just doesn’t let anything through. But it’s a question of numbers, no more than that. This makes a difference between billions of years and a reasonable time for permeation. There is no magic,” he said.

A computer generated illustration of graphene cells A computer generated illustration of graphene cells (Corbis)
The study, published in the journal Nature, shows that graphene and a similar single-atom material called boron nitride allowed the build-up of protons on one side of a membrane, yet prevented anything else from crossing over into a collecting chamber.

In their scientific paper, the researchers speculate that there could be many applications in the field of hydrogen fuel cells and in technology for collecting hydrogen gas from the atmosphere, which would open up a new source of clean energy.

“It’s really the very first paper on the subject so what we’re doing is really to introduce the material for other experts to think about it,” Sir Andrei said.


Click HERE to view full-size graphic

“It was difficult not to speculate. If you can pump protons from a hydrogen-containing gas into a chamber that doesn’t contain anything, you start thinking how you can exploit this?” he said.

“One of the possibilities we can imagine, however futuristic, which has to be emphasised because everything has been shown on a small scale, is applying a small electric current across the membrane and pushing hydrogen though the graphene or boron nitrite membrane,” he explained.

“Essentially you pump your fuel from the atmosphere and get electricity out of this fuel, in principle. Before this paper, this wouldn’t even be speculation; it would be science fiction. At least our paper provides a guidance and proof that this kind of device is possible and doesn’t contradict to any known laws of nature,” Sir Andre added.

Graphene: potential uses

Graphene is tough, about 200 times stronger than steel, yet incredibly light. It is considered the first two-dimensional material because it forms sheets of crystal that are just one atom thick.

It is also an excellent conductor of electricity, so is useful for anything involving electronics, such as bendable mobile phones and cameras, and wearable electrical devices attached to clothing.

Water purification is among graphene’s potential global uses Water purification is among graphene’s potential global uses (Getty)
Medical applications include its possible use as a material for delivering drugs to damaged sites within the body, which could open new avenues for treating patients with brain conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or cancer.

Graphene is also being developed as a new material for membranes involved in separating liquids. It could be used to purify water in the developing world or to create more efficient desalination plants.

Scientists also believe that graphene’s high strength and low weight can be harnessed in the making of new composite materials and polymers for the transport industry, making travel safer and more fuel efficient.

Now, it seems, graphene might also be used to generate new forms of generating clean electricity using hydrogen fuel cells, and even as a technology for harvesting hydrogen fuel from air.

[Lisa]

Apologies if previously posted,

Commercial Jetliner Joined by Virgin Galactic

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/jegalctospc2

[member_28756]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Europ ... t_999.html

Europe to build new-generation Ariane 6 rocket
by Staff Writers
Luxembourg (AFP) Dec 02, 2014



European nations announced Tuesday they would build a new-generation rocket in a multi-billion-euro (dollar) programme to maintain their grip on the world market for satellite launches.

European Space Agency (ESA) ministers "took a major decision -- to develop a new launcher, the Ariane 6, which will replace the Ariane 5, with a maiden flight scheduled for 2020," French Research Minister Genevieve Fioraso said in a statement describing the deal as "historic."

Tuesday's agreement came after months of behind-the-scenes haggling to ease a rift between France and Germany over Ariane 5's successor.

"This is a very important day for the space agency after sometimes very tough but very fair and open discussions," said Luxembourg Economy and Trade Minister Etienne Schneider.

"It's a success -- I even dare to call it a big success," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director-general, explaining that nations had pledged 5.924 billion euros ($7.4 billion) euros for operations in the coming years.

He praised member states for making "an exceptional effort... because we know what the economic situation is."

Four billion euros have been earmarked for Ariane 6, of which 400 million euros will come from industry, officials said. A review of progress will be made in 2016.

Over 10 years, the 20-nation alliance will spend about eight billion euros on its launcher programme, including infrastructure such as a new launch pad at its base in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Ariane 5 traces its roots back nearly three decades.

A medium-to-heavy workhorse with an unbroken string of 62 successful launches to its name, it accounts for more than half of the world's commercial launch market.

Despite its reliability, Ariane 5 comes with high operational costs compared to nimble US commercial newcomers such as SpaceX.

"With this historic decision, the member states have given a strong reply to international competition in a strategic sector for European sovereignty, industry and jobs," Fioraso said.

"They showed that when it is united, Europe is strong and can respond collectively to challenge."

A replacement for the Ariane 5 had been a source of friction for the last two years, with France and Germany -- ESA's two biggest contributors -- pushing alternative approaches.

- Tension -

Germany said a new rocket would take so long to develop that rivals would have grabbed a fat share of the satellite market by the time it was ready.

It argued for a modified version of the existing rocket -- the Ariane 5 ME, for Midlife Evolution -- which would be ready by 2017 and yield early operational savings.

France had lobbied for switching directly to Ariane 6, whose first flight would take place in 2021 or 2022.

It argued the ME would drain crucial resources and lead to duplicated effort and probable holdups.

Under a compromise, the Ariane 6 will incorporate existing designs from the Ariane 5, ME and other projects.

It will culminate in two versions -- a two-booster or four-booster design -- able to take between five and 10 tonnes into orbit.

It will include a solid rocket motor, the P120C, being designed as an upgrade for ESA's Vega launcher that should be operational from 2018, as well as a strap-on booster.

But much of the rest will come from the Ariane 5, thus saving development costs and time, according to engineers.

According to Stephan Israel, head of Arianespace, which markets ESA's services, the current market price for a single launch of two satellites "is around $120 million."

The public face of the wrangle was about different approaches in engineering, driven by arguments of cost overruns and delay.

But an undercurrent was about sharing the funding bounty within Europe's space industry. France and Germany together account for nearly half of ESA's financing for launchers.

In return for climbing down on the ME, Germany lobbied France and Italy to beef up contributions to the International Space Station (ISS), where German firms have a big stake.

ESA had sought a three-year, 820-million-euro budget for the manned outpost in space.

"We have a figure of 800 million euros, it is more or less what we have requested," said Dordain.

[SaiK]

hayabusa 2 to asteroid adventure!

[member_20067]

Live steam of Orion Deep Space Human Carrier Test Launch...

http://www.nasa.gov/

[brar_w]

Live steam of Orion Deep Space Human Carrier Test Launch...

http://www.nasa.gov/

May not happen today as the launch window is fast closing..

Edit: Cancelled for today. Will try agin tomorrow.

Here is a comparison with the Apollo:

[SaiK]

http://rt.com/news/211575-china-hyperso ... sile-test/

China’s hypersonic strike vehicle ‘in third test flight’

why are they showing the falcon?

[NRao]

Pluto-bound spacecraft to be woken from hibernation to start mission

CAPE CANAVERAL: After nine years and a journey of 3 billion miles (4.8 billion km), Nasa's New Horizons robotic probe will be woken from hibernation to begin its unprecedented mission: the study of the icy dwarf planet Pluto and its home, the Kuiper Belt.

A pre-set alarm clock is due to rouse New Horizons from its electronic slumber at 3pm EST (2000 GMT) on Saturday.

The scientific observation of Pluto, its entourage of moons and other bodies in the solar system's frozen backyard begins Jan. 15, program managers said.

Pluto lies in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy mini-planets orbiting the sun beyond Neptune. It is the last unexplored region of the solar system.


An artist's concept of Pluto and its moon Charon. Sun is seen as no bigger than a big bright star in the sky. (Getty Images photo)

"It's hard to underestimate the evolution that's taking place in our view of the architecture and content of our solar system as result of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt," lead researcher Alan Stern said.

Confirmation that New Horizons is out of hibernation should come at 9.30pm EST (0230 GMT). The probe will make its closest approach to Pluto on July 14.

Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has been a mystery, partly because of its comparatively small size. Scientists struggled to explain why a planet with a radius of just 740 miles (1,190km) could come to exist beyond the giant worlds of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

"We wondered why Pluto was a misfit," Stern said.


The launch of New Horizons spacecraft carried by an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 19, 2006. (Getty Images photo)

In 1992, astronomers discovered that Pluto, located about 40 times farther away from the sun than Earth, was not alone in its diminutive size, prompting the International Astronomical Union to reconsider its definition of "planet".

In 2006, with New Horizons already on its way, Pluto was stripped of its title as the ninth planet in the solar system and became a dwarf planet, of which more than 1,000 have since been discovered in the Kuiper Belt.

With New Horizons approaching Pluto's doorstep, scientists are eager for their first close-up look at this unexplored domain.


Pluto and its moon, Charon, photographed by the European Space Agency's Faint Object Camera on Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope. (Via Getty Images)

[member_28756]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China ... n_999.html

China launches CBERS-4 satellite on Long March rockets' 200th mission
by Staff Writers
Taiyuan, China (XNA) Dec 08, 2014


illustration only
China launched the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed with Brazil, on Sunday from the Taiyuan base by Long March-4B rocket, the 200th flight for the Long March rocket family.

The rocket blasted off at 11:26 a.m. and lifted the earth resource satellite into its scheduled orbit, according to the Taiyuan satellite launch center in north China's Shanxi province.

CBERS-4 is one of the satellites of the Chinese-Brazilian Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS) program which began in 1988. Such satellites are used in the monitoring, planning and management of land, forestry, water conservancy, environmental protection and agriculture.

Sunday's mission was the 200th flight for the Long March since April 24, 1970 when a Long March-1 carried China's first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, into space.

[brar_w]

From the Indian Space thread:

There have been problems in reproducing the Saturn V engines.They are restudying those engines and have created 3D models etc etc to understand them again.One problem is that many of those who worked on the original models are dead etc and the younger scientists have a knowledge gap because a lot of the instruction manuals blueprints etc where destroyed

The J2X design was changed from what was to be heavily based on the Saturn's J-2 to a new design that borrowed minimally form the J2 so that it could handle the increased weight that was being projected. This restructuring occurred towards the end of the constellation program (before it was cancelled) and the design effort continued as NASA spun off the Constellation into the SLS program that exists now. The biggest concern is FUNDING with the J2X's likely to be mothballed after testing is completed unless congressional actions funnel more money to keep them alive. Ultimately the J2X is an engine that is still looking for a mission, as it would have been developed and tested years before an application is ready to absorb it because it was a solution for the now cancelled constellation but would also be something required much later in the SLS program (just not yet).

NASA’s J-2X engine, once considered the pacing item for the next U.S. human-rated rocket, will go on the shelf after development testing wraps up next year because it will be years before the engine is needed to push humans toward Mars.

While the agency is actively seeking other missions for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) in the planetary science and military arenas, most of the human flights it has in sight for the big new rocket probably can be accomplished with an upper stage powered by the RL-10 engine instead of the J-2X.

“The J-2X for certain [design reference missions] is somewhat overpowered,” said Todd May, NASA’s SLS program manager.

More here:

http://www.astronautix.com/engines/j2x.htm



The problems with going back and revisiting a design are something that would always be "real". If they decide now to go back and reproduce the F-14, they would find it equally hard to replicate that given Cheney destroyed all the documents and moulds. Its a technical challenge given budgetary constraints because you have timelines to adhere to and a lack of hard data only complicates things. Also the loss of talent at the OEM is more important then at NASA alone. Aerojet is a much different OEM now with a different business goal and different priorities in investment. You will always run into design challenges when dealing with a 294,000 pound thrust requirement, whether your design borrows heavily form a proven system or is a totally clean sheet design...so it is hardly surprising that the challenges they did run are well documented, yet they were overcome and the thing is in development testing as we speak and should be out of it in a matter of months to a few years.

[SaiK]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasaorion ... 969853204/
came back so fast!

[Shalav]

NASA craft to probe Pluto after nine-year journey

This is exciting stuff. Hopefully everything works out ok, and we get to see Pluto and Charon up close soon...

An American probe that will explore Pluto woke up from its slumber Saturday, after a nine-year journey to take a close look at the distant body for the first time.

"New Horizons is healthy and cruising quietly through deep space, nearly three billion miles from home, but its rest is nearly over," said Alice Bowman, the craft's operations manager at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory outside Washington.

The probe came out of hibernation and transmitted a message to Earth.


...


During its mission, New Horizons will collect data on Pluto's topography and its largest moon Charon, giving astronomers an up-close look at the dim surfaces that are difficult to see from Earth.

...

Pluto is about 2,300 kilometers in diameter, smaller than Earth's moon, and has a mass about 500 times less than Earth.

Pluto and its five moons circle the sun every 247.7 years.

This will complete our look into the known planet/oids in the Solar System.

10,000 years and 400 generations (as Carl Sagan would perhaps put it...) after the first Homo Sapiens got curious of what was over the horizon and traveled there to take a look, we will have completed our first looks into our immediate vicinity.

This is exciting!

[brar_w]

Orion’s ‘Trial By Fire’ Delivers Data For Final Design

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/JOHNSON SPACE CENTER – NASA’s new Orion crew capsule flew its first test in space with clocklike precision Friday, using two unmanned orbits that took it deeper into space than any human spacecraft has gone since Apollo 17 before a bull’s-eye splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

On board was a load of recorded engineering data that will shape final design as the agency builds toward astronaut flights to lunar orbit and ultimately Mars. Navy divers recovered the 19,000-lb. capsule – once described as "Apollo on steroids" – using the flooded well deck of the USS Anchorage, after allowing its heat shield to cool down from the 4,000 F heat of re-entry.

Mission Control Center-Houston sent one of its first inflight commands to the next-generation crew vehicle during the 4-hr., 24-min. mission, extending post-touchdown powered operations for 45 min. beyond the automated shutoff once it was clear there was enough battery power left so data on residual cabin heating from the shield could be recorded.

That data, and the recorded input from some 1,200 sensors scattered throughout the flight-test article, will be downloaded and processed at West Coast facilities of Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Some of it may help engineers trim weight from the Avcoat heat shield and other structures as they prepare for the next Orion flight – a second unmanned mission that will take a more complete Orion around the Moon as early as 2017.

"We have every expectation this flight today will be the first of decades of flights of Orion and [the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS)]," said Administrator Charles Bolden, shortly before Orion lifted off on the first and only planned Orion Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) at 7:05 EST, after a one-day delay because of weather.

Testing began almost immediately after the vehicle’s three-barrel United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy dropped its two outermost core stages 3 min., 56 sec. into the flight and its center core stage shut down and separated 1 min., 33 sec. after that. With the single RL-10 engine firing in the upper stage to place the test article in its first orbit, pyrotechnic systems separated the load-bearing panels that protected a boilerplate version of the Orion service module under development by the European Space Agency.

Five seconds later a solid-fuel jettison motor supplied by Aerojet Rocketdyne pulled the inert launch abort system off the vehicle, leaving the Orion capsule and its service module exposed to open space.

The upper stage engine roared to life again at 9 a.m., for 4 min., 40 sec. to achieve a 3,604.2-mi. peak altitude for the mission at 10:11 a.m. The last human-rated vehicle to achieve that altitude was Apollo 17, which launched on Dec. 7, 1972.

On the way to apogee the vehicle passed through the Van Allen radiation belts, which tested the avionics in a real space environment and provided data that will shape the shielding that protects future crews. The only effect noted initially was a video-processor reset, according to Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin’s Orion program manager.

However, flight controllers at Johnson Space Center – space-shuttle veterans all – had some 600 contingency commands at their disposal in case of more serious radiation effects or other problems, according to Larry Price, Hawes’ deputy.

The final testing came on re-entry, when the capsule’s heat shield – built of the same material that protected the Apollo command module but 50% larger – encountered 4,000 F plasma as it re-entered. Engineers were waiting on the recovery vessels to inspect the shield – and the rest of the vehicle – as soon as the divers positioned it for recovery in the Anchorage’s well deck and pumped out the water.

The vehicle performed almost nominally in the atmosphere, jettisoning its back shield to expose its set of 11 drogue and main parachutes. The only visible bobbles came when one of the bags designed to turn the capsule upright failed to inflate, and another inflated only partially. But the Orion landed heat shield down, and stayed that way as the divers waited for it to cool.

The voyage back to Naval Base San Diego was expected to take two days. During the trip to port, the capsule will be repositioned in a special cradle to hasten offloading ashore.

Under the contract covering the $370 million mission, Lockheed Martin must analyze the data it generated and report back to NASA in 90 days, Hawes said. The results will be used in designing the unmanned first Exploration Mission (EM-1) vehicle already in early fabrication, and the EM-2 capsule that will take four astronauts around the Moon as early as 2021.

"We’re trying to build a system that’s manufacturable and fairly easy to reproduce," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and operations. "We want to keep our operating costs as reasonable as we can, so we don’t end up with each spacecraft being totally unique from a manufacturing standpoint."

[brar_w]

US Marine Corps flies data link-equipped MALD-J® for first time

YUMA, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force successfully collaborated with Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) for the first flight demonstration of a Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammer (MALD-J®) equipped with a radio data link. Adding the data link expands the weapon's situational awareness and allows for in-flight targeting adjustments.

Raytheon flew a captive carry mission from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma to support a Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor exercise. The exercise used the USMC's recently released Electronic Warfare Services Architecture protocol and a Tactical Targeting Network Technology radio.

"This flight test shows MALD-J's ability to integrate new technology that will provide the warfighter more capabilities on the battlefield," said Mike Jarrett, vice president of Air Warfare Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. "The Marines are operationalizing the Marine Air Ground Task Force Cyberspace and Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell and Raytheon is part of this forward-thinking solution to a complex problem."

MALD®-J carried out its assigned radar jamming mission on the range and was able to send situation awareness data to the EW Battle Manager (EWBM). The EWBM used this information to adjust the MALD's mission while in flight.

About MALD and MALD-J
MALD is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles. MALD protects aircraft and their crews by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft. MALD-J adds radar-jamming capability to the basic MALD platform.

The ADM-160C MALD-J variant, a highly autonomous stand-in-jammer, can also operate in decoy mode when selected by the warfighter.

MALD confuses enemy air defenses by duplicating friendly aircraft flight profiles and radar signatures.
MALD-J maintains all capabilities of MALD and adds jamming capabilities.
Raytheon began delivery of MALD-Js in the fall of 2012.

[Hari Seldon]

[brar_w]

[SBajwa]

This is how New Horizons will get close to pluto

http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/up ... erSize.jpg

[Paul]

So why does Shukla keep saying PRC is downsizing and making its army TFTA americanish

[brar_w]

[youtube]vfuHNHLJzoM&list=PLD80B16BDCAED440E[/youtube]

[member_28756]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_L ... d_999.html

China's rockets to use pollution-free propellants

Beijing (XNA) Dec 09 - China's next generation carrier rockets using non-polluting propellants may fly as early as 2015, a top space scientist revealed on Monday. The rockets fueled by liquid oxygen and diesel as well as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, will make their maiden flights within the next two years, Lei Fanpei, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the main contractor for the country's space program, said in an interview with Xinhua.

The next generation will include the heavy Long March-5 and the smaller Long March-7. It will take about 15 years for an overall upgrading. The Long March-5 will have a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low Earth orbits, or 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, about twice the current capacity, and could be a serious competitor to the U.S. Delta-4H. The Long March-7 will carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 5.5 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 700 km. It will carry cargo craft for the planned space station. Its maiden flight should be next year.

New Long March launcher on the drawing board
by Zhao Lei for China Daily
Beijing (XNA) Dec 09, 2014

China is conducting preliminary research on a super-heavy launch vehicle that will be used in its manned missions to the moon.

"We are discussing the technological feasibility and requirements of the Long March-9, and research on the solutions to some technical difficulties have started," said Li Tongyu, head of aerospace products at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. "Its specifications will mostly be determined by a host of factors, including the government's space plan and the nation's overall industrial capability, as well as its engine's development."

The senior engineer noted that manned lunar missions will not be the sole use of the Long March-9, hinting that other deep-space exploration projects will also need the super-heavy vehicle.

"The diameter of the Long March-9 should be 8 to 10 meters, and its weight at launch should be at least 3,000 metric tons," he said.

According to an earlier report by China News Service, Liang Xiaohong, deputy head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, disclosed that the Long March-9 is planned to have a maximum payload of 130 tons and its first launch will take place around 2028.

[member_28756]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_Se ... n_999.html

US Senate May Ban Purchase of Russian Rocket Engines Next Week: McCain
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (Sputnik) Dec 08, 2014

Senator John McCain said that the vote in the US Senate on the defense budget, including the amendment to ban the purchase of Russian RD-180 rocket engines, will be held not earlier than next Tuesday.

[NRao]

Analysis: Five Key Global Defence Budget Trends for 2015

[NRao]

U.S. approves sale of 4 Global Hawks to South Korea; 5 Black Hawks to Mexico

[Philip]

The "smart bullet". Whatever nxt!
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 31101.html

US makes bullet that can change direction in mid-air
Exacto allows snipers to hit targets from very far away, even if they move or are being shot through extreme weather
Andrew Griffin

The United States Department of Defense has successfully tested a bullet that can change direction after it has been fired, apparently using fins built into the shell to direct it in the air and account for wind and targets moving.

The Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance weapon, known as Exacto, is made by American industrial company Teledyne Technologies. The firm is making the bullet for the American government’s military research agency, Darpa.

A video made by the company shows the bullet being fired twice, deliberately off target. The second time it swings back in towards the target and hits.

The companies involve have not disclosed how the bullet works, but it is thought to have small fins that re-direct its path. The sniper shines a laser at the target, which the bullet then follows as it moves through the air.

That stops the complicated adjustments that snipers have to make for wind, weather, the dip of the bullet as it flies through the air and any movement by the target, and could mean that snipers’ targets could be hit from much further away.

The record kill by a sniper rifle stands at 8,120 feet. That was done by UK soldier Craig Harrison in 2010, during the war in Afghanistan

[NRao]

Deliveries of the next-generation Russian bombers to Russian armed forces will be started in 2023-2025

[NRao]

The next logical step ...................................

Nasa emails spanner to space station


Astronaut Barry Wilmore asked for a ratcheting socket wrench

Astronauts on the International Space Station have used their 3-D printer to make a wrench from instructions sent up in an email.

It is the first time hardware has been "emailed" to space.

Nasa was responding to a request by ISS commander Barry Wilmore for a ratcheting socket wrench.

Previously, if astronauts requested a specific item they could have waited months for it to be flown up on one of the regular supply flights.

Mike Chen, founder of Made In Space, the company behind the 3-D printer, said: "We had overheard ISS Commander Barry Wilmore (who goes by "Butch") mention over the radio that he needed one, so we designed one in CAD and sent it up to him faster than a rocket ever could have."

Mr Wilmore installed the printer on the ISS on 17 November. On 25 November he used the machine to fabricate its first object, a replacement part for the printer.

Nasa says the capability will help astronauts be more self-reliant on future long duration space missions.

Mike Chen added: "The socket wrench we just manufactured is the first object we designed on the ground and sent digitally to space, on the fly.

"It also marks the end of our first experiment—a sequence of 21 prints that together make up the first tools and objects ever manufactured off the surface of the Earth."

The other 21 objects were designed before the 3D printer was shipped to the space station in September on a SpaceX Dragon supply flight.

[A Nandy]

Video recorded during Orion's return through Earth’s atmosphere provides a taste of reentry



http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december ... #.VJUE3AAM

[deejay]

^^^ Great Video. Thanks for posting.

[Austin]

ILS Proton M marks 400th launch with Yamal-401

[SaiK]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/14/tech/zumw ... ?hpt=hp_c3
check the video.

(CNN) -- The Navy's new super stealthy destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, has a lot in common with Hollywood's starship Enterprise, according to folks who've seen it in person.

Much has been written about the Zumwalt's appropriately named commander, Capt. James Kirk. But aside from that coincidence, the ship's operations center utilizes advanced technology that takes multitasking to a deadly new level on the high seas.

First launched last year, this is a massive $3 billion warship -- the largest type of destroyer in the modern Navy by about 65%. One thing that sets it apart is a very small crew.

Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130.
Photos: U.S. Navy\'s new stealth destroyer Photos: U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer
Pentagon's platform for stealth dirt bike

The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon.

In the operations center -- which in many ways is the heart of the ship -- sailors are surrounded by an array of video displays that have been designed to be used by a generation raised on video games, Knudson says.

Raytheon tested the technology configuration in the operation center with young, gamer sailors, Knudson says. "We've brought them down to our labs and we got direct feedback from them using human-factor engineers in order to make sure that we've integrated all the displays and information in a way that they can use the systems most effectively."

The result, he says, is less chance of making errors on the ship. "The system and the computer provide information to the sailor in a way that they're used to."

Work stations inside the center are outfitted with three common displays, Knudson says. "You can sit down at any of the systems and operate them."
A Raytheon mock-up of a Zumwalt operations center roughly similar to the facility aboard the Navy\'s newest destroyer.
A Raytheon mock-up of a Zumwalt operations center roughly similar to the facility aboard the Navy's newest destroyer.

At 610 feet long and 80 feet wide, the Zumwalt is about 100 feet longer and 20 feet wider than ships in the Navy's current fleet of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers featured in the action-packed 2012 film "Battleship."

Although it's huge, the Navy says this thing is surprisingly stealthy.

Much of the ship is built on angles that help make it 50 times harder to spot on radar than an ordinary destroyer. "It has the radar cross-section of a fishing boat," Chris Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command, told CNN last year.

Meet Capt. James Kirk, commander of the USS Zumwalt

Sean Gallagher, of the self-described "alpha geek" website Ars Technica, got a chance last year to explore a mockup of the Zumwalt's operation center. The workstations are part of the ship's Common Display System -- nicknamed "keds" for short, Gallagher reported.

Sailors operate keds with "trackballs and specialized button panels," Gallagher reported. Operators have an option to interface by using touchscreens, if they prefer, according to Gallagher.

The whole operations center technology array saves manpower by allowing sailors to monitor multiple weapons systems or sensors, Gallagher reported. The Zumwalt, Gallagher wrote, also includes limited wireless networking capability.

"Theoretically, the ship could even be steered from the ops center—the ship is piloted by computer, not a helmsman," Gallagher wrote. CDS displays are built into the "commanding officer's and executive officer's chairs on the bridge," he reported.

The way all the ship's weapons, radar and other systems are displayed to users and the captain, Knudson told CNN, "it really give them unprecedented situational awareness."
The Zumwalt is about 100 feet longer than older Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like this one, the USS Ramage.
The Zumwalt is about 100 feet longer than older Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like this one, the USS Ramage.

"That ability is truly going to be a game-changer."

In its current configuration, the Zumwalt will carry a considerable arsenal of weapons, including two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), which can fire rocket-powered, computer-guided shells that can destroy targets 63 miles away. That's three times farther than ordinary destroyer guns can fire.

But one day it could be fitted with advanced weapons systems that are currently experimental, including a laser weapon and an electromagnetic railgun.

Electromagnetic railguns don't need to fool around with needless explosive warheads or propellants. These fearsome weapons inflict damage by sheer speed. The gun uses electromagnetic force to blast a missile 125 miles at 7.5 times the speed of sound, according to the Navy.

The laser weapon -- which could be fired by one sailor on a video game-like console -- is designed to take on aircraft or small surface vessels.

Read more about the Navy's plans for new weapons

Currently undergoing sea testing, Knudson says the Zumwalt is expected to join the rest of the Navy fleet sometime in 2016.

[SaiK]

another video worth watching

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/tech/inno ... le_sidebar

[govardhanks]

Image I could not get small one so http://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/files/2014/08/Cloud_City.png
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi. ... 016033.pdf

NASA plans to study Venus atmosphere and possibility of building a city/station in upper atmosphere.
HAVOC
The atmosphere of Venus is an exciting destination for both further scientific study and future human exploration. A lighter-than-air vehicle can carry either a host of instruments and probes, or a habitat and ascent vehicle for a crew of two astronauts to explore Venus for up to a month. The mission requires less time to complete than a crewed Mars mission, and the environment at 50 km is relatively benign, with similar pressure, density, gravity, and radiation protection to the surface of Earth. A recent internal NASA study of a High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) led to the development of an evolutionary program for the exploration of Venus, with focus on the mission architecture and vehicle concept for a 30 day crewed mission into Venus’s atmosphere. Key technical challenges for the mission include performing the aerocapture maneuvers at Venus and Earth, inserting and inflating the airship at Venus, and protecting the solar panels and structure from the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. With advances in technology and further refinement of the concept, missions to the Venusian atmosphere can expand humanity’s future in space. - See more at: http://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/branches/spac ... Ug3Vb.dpuf



I have told earlier sarcastically here that ISRO should plan to send satellites to venus after MOM, now I realize wow it is THE most important planet that we should be aiming for studying and a Human colony!

"Space is full of nothing, no heat, no energy source, instead of searching where nothing is there, we should be searching where everything is there, we have to find a planet where energy can harvested max, Mars and planets behind it is not so good it receives less sunlight, energy forms one of major nexus of human life which cannot and never be ignored"

We either go to place where Food and water can be made freely or to a place where energy is freely available.

[Philip]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/ ... -commander
Brazil to acquire 15 conventional submarines and six nuclear subs, says navy commander.
David Pugliese
Published on: December 20, 2014 | Last Updated: December 20,

http://www.janes.com/article/47060/braz ... rine-fleet
Full report here.

[govardhanks]

Lockheed Martin's Plan to Make Fusion (Finally) a Reality

Lockheed Martin's secret fusion power program came out of hiding last week. This week, the Skunk Works engineer in charge of the ambitious effort met with reporters to explain just how the defense giant plans to make fusion the real deal within five to 10 years.

The key to practical fusion power—which has eluded scientists trying to crack the problem for more than 60 years—is to go small. So says Tom McGuire, program manager for the compact fusion program at the Revolutionary Technology Programs group at Lockheed's Skunk Works.

"We think we've invented something that's inherently stable and it's ten times smaller than the mainstream approaches," he told reporters on Monday. "What's really exciting about that is we can develop it more quickly because of its scale." McGuire said he and his team completed much of the theoretical work behind their system over the last four years, and have begun the first experiments.

"We don't have any results that we would want to publicly call out quantitatively," he said. "[But] we know we can heat and ignite the plasma with under a kilowatt of power and get it lit."

In other words, he's saying the team has created and magnetically contained the superheated gas that would be required to eventually get atoms to overcome their natural repulsion and fuse to release energy—for about a second at a time. He said the team would publish their results in a formal paper in the coming year.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... y-17337914

[NRao]

Russian stealth jet technology surpassed by China: Global Times

[brar_w]

Official: Jordanian Pilot Shot Down by Islamic State

DUBAI — A Jordanian security official has confirmed to Defense News that a Jordanian pilot was shot down by Islamic State forces in Syria today.

The official said that pictures posted online of the capture of 1st Lt. Mu'ath Al-Kaseasba were shown to his family and his identity was confirmed.

"At this moment, the Supreme Military and Security Council is meeting with King Abdullah and discussing the matter," he told Defense News. "The Ministry of Defense is expected to release a statement in the next few hours."

The pilot is believed to be an F-16 pilot, however, the official did not confirm.

Jordan has participated along with the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates Qatar and Bahrain in air operations against Islamic State fighters since October.

According to Reuters, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said it had confirmed reports the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a major stronghold for Islamic State fighters.

Islamic State social media published pictures purportedly of the warplane's pilot being held by the group's fighters and said he was Jordanian.

Raqqa province, which borders Turkey, is almost entirely under the control of Islamic State fighters.