Russian Soyuz Rocket Launch of Expedition 72 Crew | International Space Station

Russian Soyuz Rocket Launch of Expedition 72 Crew | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Russia, successfully launched aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft atop a Soyuz rocket at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio completed a short ride to the International Space Station and docked at 3:32 p.m. to the Rassvet module before opening the hatches and joining the Expedition 71 crew in orbit, where they will spend approximately six months living and working in space.

NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/donald-r-pettit/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/donald-r-pettit/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credit: Roscosmos/Natalya Berezhnaya (Russia)

Capture Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #BaikonurCosmodrome #Kazakhstan #SoyuzRocket #SoyuzMS26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Russian Soyuz MS-26 Crew Arrival & Launch | International Space Station

Russian Soyuz MS-26 Crew Arrival & Launch | International Space Station

The Russian Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Russia approaches the International Space Station.

The Russian Soyuz MS-26 crew spacecraft 258 miles above a cloudy Atlantic Ocean.

A Russian Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner of Russia, onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner launched on a Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 11, 2024. A little over three hours later, the trio docked to the Rassvet module of the International Space Station for the start of a six-month mission on the orbital laboratory as members of the Expedition 71 and 72 crews.

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credits: NASA/JSC/Bill Ingalls

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SoyuzRocket #SoyuzMS26 #СоюзМС26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education 

Polaris Dawn Mission: First-ever Commercial Spacewalks & EVA Spacesuit Tests

Polaris Dawn Mission: First-ever Commercial Spacewalks & Spacesuit Tests

Sarah Gillis during first commercial spacewalk

Sarah Gillis during first commercial spacewalk

Jared Isaacman during first commercial spacewalk

Earth - Polaris Dawn crew shared via Starlink from space

Orbital sunset

Orbital sunset

Orbital sunset

The Polaris Dawn Crew - shared via Starlink from space

The Polaris Dawn Mission completed two spacewalks (extravehicular activities) on September 12, 2024. The first extravehicular activity was performed by Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (EV1). The second was conducted by Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (EV2). Both exited SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft traveling in an elliptical orbit up to 700 km+ above Earth. This was the first commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) in history. The Polaris Dawn crew successfully tested SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn has completed the first commercial spacewalks from Crew Dragon. It has tested Starlink-laser based communications and is conducting a wide range of research in microgravity. Polaris Dawn will return to Earth and splash down off the coast of Florida to end its five day mission.

The Polaris Dawn Mission is flying a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn is conducting research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: SpaceX/Polaris Program

Image Dates: Sept. 11-12, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalks #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Starlink #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Earth to Mars: Keeping the Curiosity Rover Connected | NASA/JPL

Earth to Mars: Keeping the Curiosity Rover Connected | NASA/JPL

NASA’s Curiosity rover is exploring a scientifically exciting area on Mars, but communicating with the mission team on Earth has recently been a challenge due to both the current season and the surrounding terrain. In this Mars Report, Curiosity engineer Reidar Larsen takes you inside the uplink room where the team talks to the rover. See why Curiosity’s location in Gediz Vallis channel makes it difficult to send direct commands—and how the team ensures they always stay connected to the rover.

Curiosity landed in 2012 to look for evidence that Mars’ Gale Crater had the conditions to support microbial life in the ancient past. Curiosity has confirmed those conditions existed on the crater floor as well as on various parts of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain within the crater that the rover has been ascending since 2014. 

Celebrating 12 years on Mars!

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more about Curiosity, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/University of Arizona/UC Berkeley

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #GedizVallis #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #RoverAntenna #DSN #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pan of Digel Cloud 2S: Outer Region of Milky Way Galaxy | Webb Telescope

Pan of Digel Cloud 2S: Outer Region of Milky Way Galaxy | Webb Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope has observed the very outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Known as the Extreme Outer Galaxy, this region is located more than 58,000 light-years from the Galactic center. To learn more about how a local environment affects the star formation process within it, a team of scientists directed the telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) towards a total of four star-forming areas within Digel Clouds 1 and 2: 1A, 1B, 2N, and 2S.

In the case of Cloud 2S, shown here, Webb revealed a luminous main cluster that contains newly formed stars. Several of these young stars are emitting extended jets of material from their poles. To the main cluster’s top right is a sub-cluster of stars, a feature that scientists previously suspected to exist but has now been confirmed with Webb. Additionally, the telescope revealed a deep sea of background galaxies and red nebulous structures that are being carved away by winds and radiation from nearby stars.

Image Description: At center is a compact star cluster composed of luminous red, blue, and white points of light. Faint jets with clumpy, diffuse material extend in various directions from the bright cluster. Above and to the right is a smaller cluster of stars. Translucent red wisps of material stretch across the scene, though there are patches and a noticeable gap in the top left corner that reveal the black background of space. Background galaxies are scattered across this swath of space, appearing as small blue-white and orange-white dots or fuzzy, thin discs. There is one noticeably larger blue-white point with diffraction spikes, a foreground star in the upper right.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Ressler (NASA-JPL), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #StellarNursery #DigelCloud2S #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #JPL #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Digel Cloud 2S: Located in Milky Way Galaxy's Outer Region | Webb Space Telescope

Digel Cloud 2S: The Milky Way Galaxy's Outer Region | Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope has observed the very outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Known as the Extreme Outer Galaxy, this region is located more than 58,000 light-years from the Galactic center. To learn more about how a local environment affects the star formation process within it, a team of scientists directed the telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) towards a total of four star-forming areas within Digel Clouds 1 and 2: 1A, 1B, 2N, and 2S.

In the case of Cloud 2S, shown here, Webb revealed a luminous main cluster that contains newly formed stars. Several of these young stars are emitting extended jets of material from their poles. To the main cluster’s top right is a sub-cluster of stars, a feature that scientists previously suspected to exist but has now been confirmed with Webb. Additionally, the telescope revealed a deep sea of background galaxies and red nebulous structures that are being carved away by winds and radiation from nearby stars.

Image Description: At center is a compact star cluster composed of luminous red, blue, and white points of light. Faint jets with clumpy, diffuse material extend in various directions from the bright cluster. Above and to the right is a smaller cluster of stars. Translucent red wisps of material stretch across the scene, though there are patches and a noticeable gap in the top left corner that reveal the black background of space. Background galaxies are scattered across this swath of space, appearing as small blue-white and orange-white dots or fuzzy, thin discs. There is one noticeably larger blue-white point with diffraction spikes, a foreground star in the upper right.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Ressler (NASA-JPL)

Release Date: Sept. 12, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #StellarNursery #DigelCloud2S #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Polaris Dawn Mission: Sarah Gillis Spacewalk & Spacesuit Test

Polaris Dawn Mission: Sarah Gillis Spacewalk & Spacesuit Test

The Polaris Dawn Mission completed two spacewalks (extravehicular activities) on September 12, 2024. The first extravehicular activity was performed by Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (EV1). The second was conducted by Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (EV2). Both exited SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft traveling in an elliptical orbit 700 km above Earth. This was the first commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) in history. The Polaris Dawn crew successfully tested SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn has completed the first commercial spacewalks from Crew Dragon. It has tested Starlink-laser based communications and is conducting a wide range of research in microgravity. Polaris Dawn will return to Earth and splash down off the coast of Florida to end its five day mission.

The Polaris Dawn Mission is flying a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn is conducting research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Video Credit: SpaceX/Polaris Program

Duration: 11 minutes, 33 seconds

Capture Date: Sept. 12, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Polaris Dawn Mission: Jared Isaacman Spacewalk & Spacesuit Test

Polaris Dawn Mission: Jared Isaacman Spacewalk & Spacesuit Test

The Polaris Dawn Mission completed two spacewalks (extravehicular activities) on September 12, 2024. The first extravehicular activity was performed by Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (EV1). The second was conducted by Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (EV2). Both exited SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft traveling in an elliptical orbit 700 km above Earth. This was the first commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) in history. The Polaris Dawn crew successfully tested SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn has completed the first commercial spacewalks from Crew Dragon. It has tested Starlink-laser based communications and is conducting a wide range of research in microgravity. Polaris Dawn will return to Earth and splash down off the coast of Florida to end its five day mission.

The Polaris Dawn Mission is flying a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn is conducting research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Video Credit: SpaceX/Polaris Program

Duration: 10 minutes, 38 seconds

Capture Date: Sept. 12, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #PolarisDawn #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EVA #Spacewalk #Spacesuits #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #JaredIsaacman #ScottPoteet #SarahGillis #AnnaMenon #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Russian Soyuz MS-26 Crew: Launch Day Highlights | International Space Station

Russian Soyuz MS-26 Crew: Launch Day Highlights | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner launched aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 11. A little over three hours later, the trio docked to the Rassvet module of the International Space Station for the start of a six-month mission on the orbital laboratory as members of the Expedition 71 and 72 crews.

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Video Credit: NASA

Duration: 32 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SoyuzMS26 #СоюзМС26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 72 Crew: Russian Soyuz Hatch Opening | International Space Station

Expedition 72 Crew: Russian Soyuz Hatch Opening | International Space Station

 

At 3:32pm EDT today, the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module as the International Space Station was flying 262 miles over central Ukraine. NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Russia launched at 12:23pm EDT Sept. 11, 2024, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner have begun a six month long duration mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Video Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

Duration: 2 minutes, 46 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SoyuzMS26 #СоюзМС26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Red Giant Star R Doradus: Stellar Bubbles Captured by ALMA | ESO

Red Giant Star R Doradus: Stellar Bubbles Captured by ALMA | ESO

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has captured images of the bubbling surface of the red giant star R Doradus—the first time this motion has been imaged in detail in a star other than the Sun. This video summarizes the discovery. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an ALMA partner.

Learn more about ALMA:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/alma/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner

Editing: Angelos Tsaousis

Written by: Louisa Spillman

Footage & Photos: ESO / Luis Calçada, Cristoph Malin, Martin Kornmesser, Babak Tafreshi, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/ W. Vlemmings et al.

Scientific Consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova

Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Star #RDoradus #RedGiant #Dorado #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #DSS #STScI #ALMA #RadioTelescopes #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zooming in on Red Giant Star R Doradus | ESO

Zooming in on Red Giant Star R Doradus | ESO

This video zooms into R Doradus. This red giant star has a diameter roughly 350 times that of the Sun and is located about 180 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dorado. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has recently captured images of the bubbling surface of the star R Doradus—the first time this motion is imaged in detail in a star other than the Sun. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner.

The various images shown here, all are actual images rather than artist’s impressions, were taken by a variety of telescopes at different times. They have been blended together to create this zoom. The inset at the end shows a timelapse of images of the stellar surface taken with ALMA.

A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses) in a late phase of stellar evolution. These stars have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in their cores and have begun thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in the shell surrounding their cores. They have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of our Sun. However, their outer envelope is lower in temperature, giving them a yellowish-orange hue. A red giant will usually produce a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf at the end of its life. It is our Sun’s destiny to become a red giant star as well.

Credit: ESO / L. Calçada, N. Risinger, DSS, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/W. Vlemmings et al. 

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Star #RDoradus #RedGiant #Dorado #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #DSS #STScI #ALMA #RadioTelescopes #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Red Giant Star R Doradus: Wide-field view | Digitized Sky Survey 2

Red Giant Star R Doradus: Wide-field view | Digitized Sky Survey 2

This wide-field view, created from Digitized Sky Survey 2 images, shows the region around R Doradus, the bright, orange star in the center that is 178 light years away. The image shows a dark sky filled with thousands of stars, mostly tiny dots. Right at the center of the image is a large, very bright, orange star. To its bottom left are some small stars that stand out from the background. To the bottom right of the image is another slightly bigger, white-yellow star.

A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses) in a late phase of stellar evolution. These stars have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in their cores and have begun thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in the shell surrounding their cores. They have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of our Sun. However, their outer envelope is lower in temperature, giving them a yellowish-orange hue. A red giant will usually produce a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf at the end of its life. It is our Sun’s destiny to become a red giant star as well.

The surface of R Doradus was recently imaged in detail using the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA). The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Star #RDoradus #RedGiant #Dorado #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #DSS #STScI #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

China's LandSpace Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 Completes 10km Vertical Flight

China's LandSpace Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 Completes 10km Vertical Flight

This video, broadcast on September 11, 2024, shows the LandSpace Blue Arrow Aerospace Zhuque III VTVL-1 test vehicle successfully completing a ten-kilometer vertical takeoff and landing return flight test mission for its reusable stainless steel rocket, powered by methane-liquid oxygen.

Chinese launch startup Landspace executed its first vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) with a reusable Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 test article on Jan. 19, 2024, via a launch and recovery site from Landspace facilities at the Jiuquan spaceport in Inner Mongolia.

The methane-liquid oxygen test article reached an altitude of around 350 meters during its roughly 60-second flight before setting down in a designated landing area. The landing had an accuracy of about 2.4m and a landing speed of about 0.75m/second, according to Landspace.

Those tests were part of the development of the stainless steel Zhuque-3 rocket first announced in November 2023. The company is aiming for the first spaceflight of Zhuque-3 in 2025. 

The two-stage Zhuque-3 will be 4.5 meters in diameter and have a total length of 76.6 meters. Mass at liftoff will be about 660 tons and be powered by nine Tianque-12B engines. Payload capacity to LEO will be 21,000 kilograms when expendable. It will carry up to 18,300 kg when the first stage is recovered downrange, or 12,500 kg when returning to the launch site. 

China’s Reusable Rocket Race

The Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 test follows similar “hop” tests conducted by fellow Beijing-based launch startup iSpace in November and December 2023. The Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 is powered by an engine model that will be used for orbital flight, as with iSpace’s tests.

The recent hops also highlight the competition within the Chinese commercial launch sector to develop a reusable launch vehicle.

The Chinese government first opened up sections of the space sector to private capital in late 2014. These developments are seen to be a reaction to commercial developments in the U.S. The first launch vehicles developed were small, light-lift solid rockets. The first Chinese commercially-developed liquid propellant rockets launched last year.

Regarding Zhuque-3’s roadmap, Landspace CEO Zhang Changwu told Chinese media in December 2023 that the firm is working on a 200-ton full-flow staged-combustion-cycle engine, to be ready in 2028. 

This engine would power a two-stage reusable launch vehicle with a diameter of 10 meters. The launcher appears to challenge the planned Long March 9 reusable rocket being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the country’s state-owned main space contractor.

A series of Chinese state-owned and commercial launch entities are currently developing reusable rockets.

Video Credit: Landspace/CNSA Watcher

Duration: 54 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #China #中国 #LandSpace #蓝箭 #ZhuQue3Rocket #Zhuque3 #VTVL1 #LaunchVehicle #VTVL #MethaneLiquidOxygen #CH4LOX #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #InnerMongolia #CommercialSpace #CommercialSpaceflight #Satellites #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Russian Soyuz Rocket Launches Expedition 72 Crew | International Space Station

Russian Soyuz Rocket Launches Expedition 72 Crew | International Space Station

The Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner of Russia, onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz rocket is seen in this 90-second exposure photograph as it launches to the International Space Station.

Official Expedition 72 Crew Portrait: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, left, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner of Russia

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Russia, successfully launched aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. The trio will take a short ride to the International Space Station and dock at 3:33 p.m. to the Rassvet module before opening the hatches and joining the Expedition 71 crew in orbit, where they will spend approximately six months living and working in space.

NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/donald-r-pettit/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/donald-r-pettit/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Capture Date: Sept. 11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #BaikonurCosmodrome #Kazakhstan #SoyuzRocket #SoyuzMS26 #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #DonPettit #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #AlexeiOvchinin #IvanVagner #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Expedition 72 Crew Launch on Russian Soyuz Rocket | International Space Station

Expedition 72 Crew Launch on Russian Soyuz Rocket | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner of Russia, successfully launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. The trio will take a short ride to the International Space Station and dock at 3:33 p.m. to the Rassvet module before opening the hatches and joining the Expedition 71 crew in orbit, where they will spend approximately six months living and working in space.

NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/people/donald-r-pettit/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/donald-r-pettit/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Video Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

Duration: 1 minute

Capture Date: Sept. 11, 2024

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