Private space mining company supported by Google founders is ready for an amazing 2015 year

Dear readers and followers,

you might know the company Planetary Resource, formerly known as Arkyd Astronautics, is an American company that was formed in November 2010, and reorganized and renamed in 2012. Their stated goal is to "expand Earth's natural resource base" by developing and deploying the technologies for asteroid mining. Backers includes Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, but also other well known people such as James Cameron.

Their co-Founders Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson often refer to this time in history as being “exponential”. This phrase is ringing true with their team this year, as they forge a path towards asteroid prospecting with two launches in 2015 of their technology demonstration spacecraft!

The first of these spacecraft launched successfully into space today. The Arkyd 3 Reflight (A3R) technology demonstration spacecraft is on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 that is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) as a part of the CRS-6 crew resupply mission.

Once it reaches the ISS, A3R will be brought on board by the astronauts, and be put in a queue for launch from the Kibo air-lock into low-Earth Orbit tentatively in July 2015. A3R will also complete the mission of the first Arkyd 3 that they lost last year in the Antares explosion, by testing the subsystems they’ll need to venture out into the Solar System and prospect for valuable resources on asteroids.

During its 90 day Earth-orbiting mission, it will send back data on the health of its subsystems to their team at their headquarters in Redmond, WA, and complete its mission with a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere as a result of its natural atmospheric orbital-decay.

They’ve learned so much with A3 and A3R on the way to the launch pad and are extremely excited to continue to learn from its performance in Earth orbit.

Keeping with exponential theme of 2015, the private company is launching a 2nd spacecraft later this year, that will be twice the size and even more capable. In parallel with A3R, Planetary resource has been working on a line of robust Arkyd 6U ScienceCraft that they’ll use not only to test the scientific instruments and deep space technologies at the heart of their asteroid prospecting missions, but to also provide a platform that will allow others to fly their mission with their technology.

Credit image: Planetary Resource

Arkyd 6 (A6), will be the first of these missions to launch, and Planetary resource is contracted with Spaceflight Services, Inc. to launch in a ride share configuration with Formosat-5, currently scheduled in December 2015. Built in compliance with the 6U CubeSat standard and designed to accommodate one of their UV, hyperspectral or MWIR instruments, it is a modular and cost-efficient spacecraft that they are making available for technologists and science investigators to further their own research, whether it be in Earth orbit or deep space. The precision pointing capability, high bandwidth communications, and flexible architecture of their Science-craft provides a robust platform for anyone conducting space research and development, without having to build their own space system.

Planetary resource is composed by a team of scientists and engineers who believe that lowering the barriers to the scientific exploration of space is an important step along the path to expanding humanity’s reach into the Solar System. With their Science-craft program, Planetary Resources is working with their science partners at every step of the discovery process, from proposal to publication, to maximize scientific return.

Source: Planetary Ressouce

Remember that this blog is free, but you can support us with Flattr

Stay tuned

The OAS Sky Notes Feb 2014

The Online Astronomy Society Ezine – Dec 13 / Jan 14

Credits: The Online Astronomy Society

ION comet trajectory modeled in 3D

Source: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/ison/

The Online Astronomy Society magazine November 2013

Credits: The Online Astronomy Society

The Online Astronomy Society Word magazine October 2013

The Online Astronomy Society is proposing this magazine, let us know your feelings about

3753 Cruithne the second Moon of Earth ?

Dear followers,

In March of 2012, astronomers at +Cornell University published the result of a computer study, presenting that asteroids orbiting the sun might temporarily become natural satellites of Earth. They are called quasi-satellite. The most famous quasi-satellite is also called the second moon for Earth is 3753 Cruithne. This object is five kilometers wide ( 3 miles). 

Credits: 3753 Cruithne

A quasi-satellite is an object in a co-orbital configuration with a reference planet (for 3753 it's Earth). Scientists would say there is a 1:1 orbital resonance between Earth and this object. In other words, a quasi-satellite is orbiting the sun, like Earth. Its orbit around the sun takes exactly the revolution time as Earth’s orbit, but the shape is slightly different.

Astronomers discovered 3753 Cruithne in 1986, but it wasn't until 1997 that they figured out its complex orbit. It’s not a second moon for Earth; it doesn't orbit Earth. But 3753 Cruithne is co-orbiting the sun with Earth. Like all quasi-satellites, 3753 Cruithne orbits the sun once for every orbit of Earth.

The Online Astronomy Society Word magazine September 2013

The Online Astronomy Society is proposing this magazine, let us know your feelings about

The Online Astronomy Society Word mag August 2013

The Online Astronomy Society is proposing this mag, let us know your feelings about

The Online Astronomy Society Word mag July 2013

The Online Astronomy Society is proposing this magazine, let us know your feelings about

Baikonur Cosmodrome. A different view point.

Dear follower,

today I'm proposing an article written by Alexander Kagalnitskiy who spent some days in the Baikonur cosmodrome during the last take-off of Soyuz to the International Space Station and which share to us these feelings about this great event, enjoy:

This past May 2013, I had the unique opportunity to participate in the 6-day tour to the Baikonur space center to witness a manned space rocket launch. The unusual part about it was the fact that I went there as a tour leader from the tour company where I work – “Country of Tourism LTD”. We had a rare chance to provide travel services for a large group of tourists from all over the world! Since this was my first time actually going to Baikonur, I was a bit worried at first, as I was responsible for the entire group. The worry however, went away completely when I realized how united and passionate everyone was.

          The city of Baikonur is fairly small. It only houses around 70000 people, but that doesn’t affect the population’s friendliness, or the fact that the entire city somehow plays a role in the space industry. One might find it a bit disturbing, or unsettling, however I find it amusing and somehow romantic, that on the background or the Soviet era buildings, and monuments dated back to the 1950’s, the most advanced modern science is being put to work. Walking down the city streets, you will hardly notice the fact that only a few kilometers away, they develop, build, service and launch real rockets into space! On a first glance, one might consider Baikonur one of the desert towns, abandoned by progress, where the time has stopped ticking many years ago. It’s like the entire city is frozen in the Soviet time, and is feeling quite comfortable there. When you look closer though, you start to realize that this is not at all true. Progress has not stopped, and the time is still flowing. Nevertheless, this is a very unique and interesting place! 

Every corner is filled with a monument, landmark of some sort, or a real rocket just sitting on a stand on an empty square. One of the original Soyuz rockets is pretty much free for anyone to climb on! Where else will you see that? They have statues of the first space heroes, starting with Korolev and Gagarin, and continuing with the ground layers of the city. You cannot afford to forget your camera when leaving your hotel for a walk! You are guaranteed to see something new and interesting everywhere you go!

                As a tour leader, I had the chance to work with some amazing people, organizing the excursions for my group. The organizational process was quite difficult, but very doable with the help of my local colleagues. Every day we had to face a new unexpected issue, but considering how many people were in  the group, we resolved every single one of them smoothly, and at the end, everyone was happy with their experience. Being one of the organizers, that is the highest reward I could get!

                It’s funny, but when you ask the locals how they feel about the whole space thing, most of them just shrug. I guess when you’ve been living next door to something all your life, at some point you just stop bothering about it. The cosmodrome exists right outside the city, and the people exist inside. And that seems to be the extent to which the majority of locals are interested or concerned. Of course, they love tourists, because they bring money into the small city, but on the other hand, it seems they would have been just fine without all the commotion… It truly is an amazing contrast.

                Locals aside, the tour was amazing! Being one of the organizers, I had the inside information on everything, which made it a lot more predictable, but for the rest of the group, every new day was an adventure. We did not disclose the detailed itinerary right away, in order to sustain that pleasure of conquering the unknown. Turns out we made the right choice! When the group found out that we’re taking them to the press conference with the astronauts, they went ballistic! Not many dared to even dream of such an honor! When we went to see the rollout of the rocket, everyone appreciated how close we stood to the train tracks, which was only a couple of meters away! On the day of the launch we went to the actual Launchpad, where the rocket proudly stood, awaiting her astronauts and getting all fueled-up for the flight. At that point we were also allowed to stand as close as about 20 meters from it! As far as I know, that’s unheard of in tourism world. All those little things made for a huge impression. When everything was said and done, I couldn't help to smile, as I saw all the happy and excited faces!

                All-in-all, I recommend everyone interested in space, or technology, or history to attend a rocket launch in Baikonur! You will see it all, from the landmark-filled city and the full of artifacts museums, to the in-depth interactive displays of the rocket technology and the real perks, such as the press conference, the rocket rollout, and of course, the launch! Our company “Country of Tourism LTD” has been organizing these tours for many years, and now that I actually took part in one of them, I can say with full assurance, that this is the absolute best experience for a true space fanatic! Nowhere else in the world you will see and do the things you see and do with this tour!

©2013 Alexander Kagalnitskiy, “Country of Tourism LTD” adventure@bestrussiantour.com

Few words about ESA

The +European Space Agency, ESA  (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to share the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

+European Space Agency, ESA  is an international organization with 20 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

What does ESA do?

ESA's job is to draw up the European space program and carry it through. ESA programs are performed to learn more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe. Moreover, ESA take care about the development of satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries. ESA also works closely with space organizations outside Europe.

Who belongs to ESA?

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Canada is also involved in some projects under cooperation agreements. Poland exchanged accession agreements with ESA, in September 2012 to become the 20th Member State of us.

Hungary, Estonia and Slovenia are 'European Cooperating States. " Other countries have signed cooperation agreements with ESA.

Where is the headquarters of the ESA?

ESA's headquarters are located in Paris, where decisions are policies and programs. ESA also has positions in a number of European countries, each of which has different responsibilities:

EAC, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany;
ESAC, the European Centre for Space and Astronomy in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain;
ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany;
ESRIN, ESA's center for Earth Observation in Frascati, near Rome, Italy;
ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
A new ESA center has opened in the UK, at Harwell, Oxfordshire. ESA also has liaison offices in Belgium, the U.S. and Russia; A launch base in French Guiana and ground / tracking stations in various parts of the world.

This article has be written by Alexandra triantopoulou

The astronauts' food

When the Man got away for the first time since the cradle of Earth in the early 1960's, many things unknown about the behavior of the human organism in a new environment. Scientists were, with good reason, extremely cautious.
About nutrition, many scientists thought that the Man could not keep anything in his stomach in weightlessness: the feeling reminds continuous free fall, he will make the astronaut constantly vomit!
When Guerman Titov became the first man in space lunched in the summer of 1961, it seemed that most scientists' fears were unfounded.
A basic menu of foods that could be placed in tightly closed containers to prevent fly around in weightlessness.
Of course, at that time there were so many unknown parameters in spaceflight, the many risks and uncertainties involved, the comfort diet rank very low on the priority list.
On the other hand, as the spaceflight evolved and study the behavior of the period progressed, the ration of the astronauts was the subject of detailed design.
What you ate the astronauts had to be planned properly so that doctors would test pilots after the flight they took to their conclusions.

Imagine that you go camping for more than a week with several friends .. You should be sure that you have plenty of food and all the necessary tools for cooking. Food should be stored properly to avoid their destruction. After each meal or at the end of the tour, you will cringe all your equipment and get rid of all the trash before returning home.
The same basic things astronauts do when they are in space. The preparations vary depending on the type of food. Some foods can be eaten in their natural form, such as cookies and fruit. Other foods require water for cooking, such as spaghetti. Of course, there is provided in oven spacecraft and the Space Station to get food at the proper temperature. But there is no fridge in space missions so the food must be stored and prepared properly to avoid lesions, especially on long missions.
Condiments used as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. Salt and pepper only exist in liquid form. This is because astronauts can not sprinkle salt and pepper on their food, since they would simply float away from food, thereby creating risks clogging vents, contaminate equipment or get in eyes, mouth or nose an astronaut causing irritation.
Astronauts eat three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Nutritionists assert that their diet is balanced in vitamins and minerals. The caloric requirements differ for astronauts. A woman needs only 1900 calories a day, while a large man about 3200. There is great freedom in the choice of foods such as fruits, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, beef, seafood, pastries, etc. As for the drinks, they drink coffee, tea, lemonade, fruit juice and lemonade.

Now let's go the space !

The article has been written by Alexandra Triantapoulou

The Moon's phases

The different shapes, with which emerge the Moon, during its lunar month, called the Moon's phases. The phases are due the illuminated moon's hemisphere the Sun.

The mainly phases of moon are:

1/ New Moon :

It's the phase, the Moon is hard to be seen. Actually, during the days which start the phenomenon of the new Moon, the Sun and the Moon rise and set almost concurrently.

2/ First Quarto :

Seven days and nine hours later, we can see the half part of the Moon, because it shifts eastward. In this phase, the Sun sets, when the moon is in position spuaring and culminates.

3/ Full Moon :

After seven days and nine hours, too, the moon becomes a full tray. During this phase, we are able to admire the phenomenon of full moon, because it is in opposition

4/ Last Quarto :

Seven days and nine hours after the full moon, the moon comes in the last phase. During this phase, the Moon is in squaring and rise at midnight.

The Moon's phases can be find here
The article has been written by Alexandra Triantapoulou

You could find more images of Lunar eclipse on the website of Daniel McVey

MUSCA SEP3: A tool to assess the sensitivity of digital electronics in radiation environments such space

Space radiation environment is known to induce functional errors in electronics.
Particles, such as, neutrons, protons, or heavy ions, are known to induce these errors in electronics devices, so called SEE (Single Event Effects). These energetic particles can be induced by solar flares, comics rays, etc...
It’s critical for industrial and space agencies to evaluate this risk.
In this context, a new methodology of prediction is proposed in order to estimate the operational error rate for integrated devices boarded in space or avionic flights.

MUSCA SEP3 is a prediction tool for Single Event Effects (SEE), adapted to advanced digital technologies. 

It uses the Monte Carlo method, along with multi-scale and multi-physics modeling to estimate the sensitivity of a digital component in a given radiation environment. 

The MUSCA SEP3 predication tool is deployed by ONERA's Space Environment department (DESP), an acknowledged expert in modeling the radiation environment, and especially Single Event Effects (SEE). 

It is designed to assess and anticipate SEE risks, and provide technical and scientific support during the design hardening phases stipulated by the technology roadmap. 

Validations based on experimental data from accelerators and actual in-flight data have clearly demonstrated the performance of the MUSCA SEP3 tool in estimating SEE sensitivity on highly advanced components. 

The basic approach of the MUSCA SEP3 tool means that it can be easily used by manufacturers during the design phase. It simulates these effects by dividing the process into four very distinct stages, giving it a degree of flexibility adapted to SEE hardening.

The calibration of component models is based on ground test data or the results of TCAD simulations.

The description of the component design is based on the extraction of layout geometries from a GDS2 type file.

Physical simulation is based on a physical modeling of the digital component's transient electrical response.

Electrical simulation is carried out by injecting previously calculated transient currents into a circuit modeled under Spice, using the Cadence platform.

MUSCA SEP3 supports assessments for the space, atmospheric and terrestrial radiation environments. It can be used on all types of digital components calling on CMAS technology:

-          SRAM memories

-          Logic circuits and gates (NAND, XOR, MUX, etc.)

-          CMOS image sensors

-          Power PC.

The tool examines SEE sensitivity from an overall, very sophisticated perspective, to help all users (manufacturers, designers, end-users, etc.) meet their specific requirements:

-          Sensitivity mapping (heavy ions, neutrons, protons)

-          Calculating SEU/MCU/SET cross sections

-          Calculating operational SER

-          Aid in hardening design

General evaluation of a library of digital components.

by ONERA - The french Aerospace Lab