Space

[NUance]

 

[presidentjlh]

'Cherry tree from space' mystery baffles Japan

This tree was grown from a cherry stone that spent time on the ISS. It bloomed far earlier than a normal cherry tree.

Man this is weird.

Space radiation, maybe?

 

[GSG]

Don't go to space

 

[knapplc]

Unmanned Antares Rocket Fails On Launch

The rocket is owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of two companies (the other is SpaceX) that has contracted with NASA to carry out resupply missions to the International Space Station. The company's previous two missions to the space station, both carried out earlier this year, were successful. Orbital Sciences is calling the malfunction a "vehicle anomaly," and during a press conference, NASA reported that the cause is still unknown.

However, based on the video, astronomer and launch expert Jonathan McDowell suspects that the explosion may have originated within the rocket's main engine. "That suspicion gets stronger when you recall that an identical engine had a test failure earlier this year and exploded, which ended up delaying this launch," McDowell says.

The engine model used in the rocket — the Aerojet AJ-26 — is a refurbished version of a decades-old Soviet engine. "These engines were essentially sitting in plastic bags in Russia for 30 or so years, ever since their lunar program was cancelled," McDowell says.




So we're using private firms to continue our space endeavors in this country now, and at least one of those private firms is using mothballed Soviet engines. Perfect.

Click the headline for video of the explosion. Here's a still-shot:

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

Unmanned Antares Rocket Fails On Launch

The rocket is owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of two companies (the other is SpaceX) that has contracted with NASA to carry out resupply missions to the International Space Station. The company's previous two missions to the space station, both carried out earlier this year, were successful. Orbital Sciences is calling the malfunction a "vehicle anomaly," and during a press conference, NASA reported that the cause is still unknown.

However, based on the video, astronomer and launch expert Jonathan McDowell suspects that the explosion may have originated within the rocket's main engine. "That suspicion gets stronger when you recall that an identical engine had a test failure earlier this year and exploded, which ended up delaying this launch," McDowell says.

The engine model used in the rocket — the Aerojet AJ-26 — is a refurbished version of a decades-old Soviet engine. "These engines were essentially sitting in plastic bags in Russia for 30 or so years, ever since their lunar program was cancelled," McDowell says.



So we're using private firms to continue our space endeavors in this country now, and at least one of those private firms is using mothballed Soviet engines. Perfect.

Another LINK: Orbital use of the 1960s-made Russian engines that had been locked up in Siberia somewhere for decades.

. My guess, vodka fueled.

 

[NUance]

Unmanned Antares Rocket Fails On Launch

The rocket is owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of two companies (the other is SpaceX) that has contracted with NASA to carry out resupply missions to the International Space Station. The company's previous two missions to the space station, both carried out earlier this year, were successful. Orbital Sciences is calling the malfunction a "vehicle anomaly," and during a press conference, NASA reported that the cause is still unknown.

However, based on the video, astronomer and launch expert Jonathan McDowell suspects that the explosion may have originated within the rocket's main engine. "That suspicion gets stronger when you recall that an identical engine had a test failure earlier this year and exploded, which ended up delaying this launch," McDowell says.

The engine model used in the rocket — the Aerojet AJ-26 — is a refurbished version of a decades-old Soviet engine. "These engines were essentially sitting in plastic bags in Russia for 30 or so years, ever since their lunar program was cancelled," McDowell says.



So we're using private firms to continue our space endeavors in this country now, and at least one of those private firms is using mothballed Soviet engines. Perfect.

Another LINK: Orbital use of the 1960s-made Russian engines that had been locked up in Siberia somewhere for decades.

. My guess, vodka fueled.

Ha ha! A true Russian would never waste vodka in that manner. Actually a lot of those old Russian rocket engines were fueled by a kerosene mix. They were a LOT cheaper to launch than the stuff we were sending up.

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

http://www.space.com/27617-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-test-flight-anomaly.html

After separated from mothership plane. Weird plane. Another Russian rocket engine?

Our Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engines.

US political (Russia/Ukraine thing) considerations in 2014 led to an effort by United Launch Alliance (ULA) to consider the possible replacement of the Russian-supplied RD-180. Earliest date will be 2019.

 

[ZRod]

Unmanned Antares Rocket Fails On Launch

The rocket is owned by Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of two companies (the other is SpaceX) that has contracted with NASA to carry out resupply missions to the International Space Station. The company's previous two missions to the space station, both carried out earlier this year, were successful. Orbital Sciences is calling the malfunction a "vehicle anomaly," and during a press conference, NASA reported that the cause is still unknown.

However, based on the video, astronomer and launch expert Jonathan McDowell suspects that the explosion may have originated within the rocket's main engine. "That suspicion gets stronger when you recall that an identical engine had a test failure earlier this year and exploded, which ended up delaying this launch," McDowell says.

The engine model used in the rocket — the Aerojet AJ-26 — is a refurbished version of a decades-old Soviet engine. "These engines were essentially sitting in plastic bags in Russia for 30 or so years, ever since their lunar program was cancelled," McDowell says.

So we're using private firms to continue our space endeavors in this country now, and at least one of those private firms is using mothballed Soviet engines. Perfect.

Another LINK: Orbital use of the 1960s-made Russian engines that had been locked up in Siberia somewhere for decades.

. My guess, vodka fueled.

Ha ha! A true Russian would never waste vodka in that manner. Actually a lot of those old Russian rocket engines were fueled by a kerosene mix. They were a LOT cheaper to launch than the stuff we were sending up.

Actually I'm pretty sure the first stage of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket successfully launched ('Merca!) was fueled by kerosene.

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

Ha ha! A true Russian would never waste vodka in that manner. Actually a lot of those old Russian rocket engines were fueled by a kerosene mix. They were a LOT cheaper to launch than the stuff we were sending up.

Actually I'm pretty sure the first stage of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket successfully launched ('Merca!) was fueled by kerosene.

Most powerful, still. I didn't understand why not use Saturn V today ? Very few problems. Reinvent wheel? Oh well, von Braun died a long time ago.

The origins of the Saturn V rocket begin with the US government bringing Wernher von Braun along with about seven hundred Nazi German rocket engineers and technicians to the U.S. in Operation Paperclip. Von Braun was a chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle.

 

[tschu]

SpaceX stock would be skyrocketing, if they were a public company

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

SpaceX stock would be skyrocketing, if they were a public company

I heard Falcon 9 engines (nine of them) use a carbon copy with our lunar module decent engine .... 60's design. If it ain't broke, don't fix it !

The main engine, called Merlin 1C, was developed internally at Space-X, drawing upon a long heritage of space proven engines. The pintle style injector at the heart of Merlin 1C was first used in the Apollo Moon program for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) landing engine, one of the most critical phases of the mission

 

[T_O_Bull]

 

[ZRod]

Space. It's kind of like that ^

 

[AR Husker Fan]

Space. It's kind of like that ^

 

[knapplc]

Birth of Planets Revealed in Astonishing Detail in ALMA’s ‘Best Image Ever’

Astronomers have captured the best image ever of planet formation around an infant star as part of the testing and verification process for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array’s (ALMA) new high-resolution capabilities.

This revolutionary new image reveals in astonishing detail the planet-forming disk surrounding HL Tau, a Sun-like star located approximately 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus.

ALMA uncovered never-before-seen features in this system, including multiple concentric rings separated by clearly defined gaps. These structures suggest that planet formation is already well underway around this remarkably young star.

"These features are almost certainly the result of young planet-like bodies that are being formed in the disk. This is surprising since HL Tau is no more than a million years old and such young stars are not expected to have large planetary bodies capable of producing the structures we see in this image," said ALMA Deputy Director Stuartt Corder.