ISS: The View from the Cupola.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson doing what any one of us would do in space: Look back at Earth. (NASA)

When members of the International Space Station aren't doing experiments, maintaining the station, eating, or doing hours of exercise, they share a common interest: looking at home. In the photo above, posted by astronaut Peggy Whitson, she comments that even after 638 days in space, she finds the view incredible. She is pictured above during some personal time in the cupola, the station's best viewport of the planet Earth. Click to enlarge. There is a Russian spacecraft visible in the upper left, and a solar panel just off to the center left.

What would you most want to view from space?

Astronaut Jeff WIlliams Breaks Space Endurance Record

Jeff Williams on the recent EVA to install the International Docking Adapter.

 

Expedition 48 Commander and NASA astronaut Jeff Williams broke the US record of being in space the longest, passing the recent record made by year-long ISS astronaut Scott Kelly, who had reached 520 days in space, cumulative, from his several missions and year-long stay on the ISS. On August 24, Williams passed that mark, and by the time he returns home on September 6, he will have 534 days to his record. Williams has been on 4 missions.

Williams displays patches from the missions he has been involved with through his career.

Williams first went into space on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in May 2000, on mission STS-101, a resupply mission to the new ISS, during which he performed his first EVA. In 2002, he also spent a week as a diver in the deep sea lab Aquarius. He returned to space in Expedition 13 in 2006 for a six month stay and performed two more EVAs. In September 2009, Williams returned for another 6-month stay on ISS and became commander of Expedition 22. He was the back-up astronaut for Scott Kelly on the 1-year mission, which comprised expeditions 43 through 46. He is on his 4th mission, serving first as flight engineer on Expedition 47, now as Commander of Expedition 48. He is scheduled to return home on Tuesday, September 6.

Goodbye, MESSENGER!

Last image sent by the Messenger space probe.

A new crater is detected on Mercury! Er - rather, a new crater was created on Mercury, as the Messenger space probe crashed into the far side of the little planet. After 4 years and 250,000 images, the NASA Messenger spacecraft program came to a close, and the satellite was allowed to smack into the surface at about 8,700 miles per hour. The are no images of the crash itself, as it occurred on the side of Mercury facing away from Earth telescopes, and space telescopes were unable to face the crashpoint as the planet was too close to the glare of the Sun.

NASA infographic of the success of Messenger.

Messenger completed its mission in 2012, but it was in good enough shape to continue experiments and reconnaissance. It successfully discovered Mercury's off-set internal magnetic field, imaged water ice deposits at the poles, and helped scientists unravel the geological history of the planet.

50 Years Ago: Soviet Cosmonaut Walks in Space

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov.

Fifty years ago on March 18, 1965 the Soviet Union again pulled ahead of the United States in the Great Space Race. From Baikonur in the province of Kazakhstan, a forerunner of the Soyuz rocket lifted off carrying the two-man Voskhod 2 capsule. Aboard the spacecraft were cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Commander Pavel Belyayev. The Voskhod 2 had been modified for this flight with the addition of a special airlock in preparation for the first EVA, or Extra-Vehicular-Activity (spacewalk).

Comparison of the Voskhod 1 and version 2 with undeployed airlock.

Once the spacecraft reached orbit, the special airlock was inflated so that the outer hatch was moved a distance from the descent module. In the EVA plan, a cosmonaut would pressurize the extended airlock, then enter the airlock, named Volga. The hatch to the cabin would then be closed, and the airlock depressurized. This was necessary because the Voskhod controls and avionics were air-cooled, and would not function properly if the cabin were depressurized.

Illustration of the EVA elements.

In the actual event, post-flight statements from the Soviet government that the EVA went perfectly turned out not to be true. After leaving the airlock, Leonov floated to the end of his umbilical hose, and his pressure suit began to "balloon" and stiffen due to over pressurization. Finding it very difficult to move freely, he was unable to activate a switch on his suit that would allow him to take pictures from a chest-mounted camera. He was also unable to control his movements enough to retrieve an exterior-mounted camera recording his EVA. After 12 minutes he finally managed to re-enter the airlock, but had entered head-first, not according to procedure. He became stuck trying to turn around, and finally solved the problem by risking "the bends" by lowering his suit pressure so that he could bend. Supposedly, Leonov could have been ejected with the airlock if he could not recover and the commander would return alone. The EVA was so difficult that doctors later reported that Leonov could have suffered from heatstroke, and he admitted later that he was sweating profusely so much that water "sloshed" in his spacesuit. Fortunately, he did manage to return, repressurize the airlock, and then re-enter the cabin.

Leonov outside the airlock entrance.

Before re-entry, the airlock was jettisoned. Unlike the earlier Vostok capsules, the Voskhod had no escape method and so instead of parachuting to ground after re-entry, the crew would ride the descent module to a harder landing with retro-rockets just before touchdown. The crew did land safely despite a problem with the descent module not separating cleanly from the service and instrument sections. They landed in the Ural mountains area so far from their rescue teams that they had to spend the night in their capsule, while wolves were heard outside.

Leonov, second from right, in Salt Lake City in 2005.

These days, Alexei Leonov is a great promoter of space exploration, a businessman, and is an artist as well. In 2005 he attended the XIX COngress of the Association of Space Explorers held in Salt Lake CIty, UT. As part of the ceremonies, our Space Center staff was able to participate and later meet with the astronauts from around the world. I took the picture above of Leonov standing with cosmonauts from the former Soviet Union, and of course I got his autograph.

Man Breaks Sound Barrier - In Freefall!

Moments after leaving the balloon's capsule, Felis begins the descent. Picture from the open door. All photos credit Red Bull Stratos.

Three world records were broken Sunday when Felix Baumgartner of Austria ascended to a record 128,100 feet (highest manned balloon ascent), and then jumped in a free fall descent to land by parachute in Roswell, New Mexico. Yes, THAT Roswell.

Felix leaves the capsule.

The attempt was hit by trouble. Once he had left the capsule, a heating problem with the visor caused fogging, and he immediately began a dangerous spin. Later he reported that he was concerned he could pass out from the spin forces. However, as he encountered thicker atmosphere, he managed to controlled his spin and continue the fall as planned.

On the way down, he broke another record when his speed reached an incredible mach 1.24, becoming the first person to exceed the sound barrier without a jet or rocket. Upon reaching the determined altitude, his chute opened to slow him, and then his parasail was deployed so he could maneuver to the designated landing zone.

Plenty of advertising space on the chute!

When he had safely reached the ground he fell to his knees and triumphantly raised his arms in victory. He was soon joined by his mentor, Col. Joe Kittinger (ret.) who was the previous record holder. Felix had now become the man with the highest parachute jump.

The record making jump occurred exactly 65 years from the day that another man, American Chuck Yeager, made his world record becoming the first to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, on October 14, 1947.

65 years ago, Chuck Yeager standing beside the Bell X-1.

Neil Armstrong is Remembered

Neil Armstrong, official NASA photo. Known as a "WSS," or "White Space Suit" image, this type of portrait became the iconic image of the American Astronauts.

It was inevitable, you know. Last Saturday the family of astronaut Neil Armstrong announced that he had passed away due to complications from heart surgery performed a couple of weeks before. Born in 1930, Armstrong was 82 when he died.  All of our Apollo astronauts are getting along in age. Some have passed on already, like Alan Shepard (First American in space, and commander of Apollo 14) and Jack Swigert (command module pilot, Apollo 13). The Apollo astronauts all remain in our hearts as heros of space education.

But Neil Armstrong, and his Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, have the distinction accorded to few astronauts who have ever flown. Because of their famous and dangerous first landing on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission, their names are forever enshrined in our memories. Perhaps because school textbooks have only so much space for history, or perhaps because television documentaries mention them more than the others, it seems to me that theirs are the first astronaut names that come to mind of the general public.

I know this, because for years, working at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center, I have questioned children and adults alike as they visited us. I've asked "trivia questions" to see what the general public really knows about our space exploration history. And I've come to several generalized conclusions:

1) Ask any kid "which  astronaut" did whatever, and their first response is almost always Neil Armstrong. Asked to name a second astronaut, they often respond Buzz Aldrin (although some kids enjoy saying, "Buzz Lightyear".

2) Older people always know about Apollo 11. Some people remember Jim Lovell in command of Apollo 13 (thank you Tom Hanks and Ron Howard!).

3) Many older people remember Alan Shepard as the first American in space, but have forgotten that he also walked on the Moon (and played golf there!).

4) Many people remember a Russian was first is space, and half of them remember his name was Yuri something.

5) The number of kids and adults who have a good knowledge of the other astronauts in space history is rare.

With the passing of Neil Armstrong, I've enjoyed talking to people about what they remember that incredible day of July 21, 1969. Everyone who witnessed it on TV remembers where they were and what they were doing. It was a world-wide event, and one of those generational moments when the world and nation came together in awe. I won't go into Armstrong's career here, as there are many other tributes being published this week. But I would like to take a moment and let you know that Neil was not alone, he served with a team of heroes that prepared for and/or went to the Moon, and here they are:

Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong (deceased 2012), Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins

Apollo 1:   Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White II, Roger Chaffee (All perished in the Apollo 1 fire-1967)

Apollo 7:  Wally Schirra (deceased 2007), Don Eiselle (deceased 1987), Walt Cunningham

Apollo 8:  Frank Borman II, Jim Lovell, William Anders

Apollo 9:  James McDivitt, David Scott, Russell (Rusty) Schweickart

Apollo 10: Tom Staffard, John Young, Eugene Cernan

Apollo 12: Pete Conrad, Jr (deceased 1999), Richard Gordon, Alan Bean

Apollo 13: Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert (deceased 1982), Fred Haise

Apollo 14: Alan Shepard Jr (deceased 1998), Stuart Roosa (deceased 1994), Ed Mitchell 

Apollo 15: David Scott, Alfred Worden, James Irwin (deceased 1991)

Apollo 16: John Young, Thomas "Ken" Mattingly II, Charles Duke

Apollo 17: Eugene Cernan, Harrison "Jack" Schmidt, Ronald Evans (deceased 1990)

Please remember them all.

50 Years Ago: Vostok 3 and 4 Attempt Rendezvous

The R-7 rocket, type used in Vostok missions. Photo by Sergei Arssenei.

Fifty years ago the Soviet Union launched twin missions at the same time. On August 11, 1962 the Vostok 3 spacecraft blasted off on top of a Russian R-7 rocket (technically the Vostok-K) with cosmonaut Andrian Nikolyev on board. A day later, Vostok 4 took off with cosmonaut Pavel Popovich in an attempt to meet up with the first spacecraft.

Andrian Nikolyev.

Cosmonaut Nikolyev was the first space traveller to undo his safety restraints and float freely in his capsule. He spent a record four days in 64 orbits above the Earth.

Pavel Popovich in Vostok 4.

A new record was sent when cosmonaut Pavel Popovich entered orbit a day after Vostok 3. It was the first time two manned spacecraft had been in space at the same time. The Vosotk 4 spacecraft was entered in a trajectory to bring it close to the Vostok 3. The two spacecraft actually did pass four miles from each other. Radio contact was established between the two ships. Popovich stated that he briefly saw the Vostok 3.

Vostok Capsule shell.

Unfortunately, the Vosotk 4 mission ended early. A mission controller evidently misunderstood a statement made by Popovich and thought that he had spoken a code word that told the ground to end the mission early. Remote signals were sent beginning the re-entry process. 

This early mission in Soviet history has a personal meaning for me, as I had the honor of meeting cosmonaut Popovich when he visited the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center here in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Rest assured I have his autograph!

Pavel Popovich, Hero of the Soviet Union, sitting in the captain's chair of the Phoenix spaceship simulator at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. Seated next to him is cosmonaut Victor Savinykh, who flew several Soyuz missions and was one of the last crewmembers of Salyut 6 space station. The cosmonauts had come to Utah to participate in the Planetary Conference of the Association of Space Explorers in Salt Lake City.

Mars Science Laboratory Lands on Mars

First Picture from the Curiosity Explorer on Mars. One of the rover's wheels appears in the corner. The horizon is curved due to a fish-eye lens on the camera.

"Seven minutes of terror" was a good prediction! As the Mars Science Laboratory hurtled from space into the atmosphere of Mars, ground controllers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and NASA were biting their nails and anxiously awaiting signals from the sensors. Of course, since Mars is so far away, it takes about 15 minutes for the signals to reach Earth, and there is nothing the controllers can do; the landing (or crash!) had already happened! As the signals came in, though, each signal received showed each step in the landing proceeding as expected, and the rover Curiosity made a safe landing on Martian soil.

The JPL control room erupted in cheers.

You would have thought Neil Armstrong had just walked on Mars. But after all, it was just a robot. Then again, this was no ordinary robot! Unlike the tiny Sojourner, or the medium sized Spirit and Opportunity rovers, Curiosity is a big auto-sized robotic rover that will explore a good chunk of Martian territory over the next two or more years. Instead of using the inflatable bounce-landing balloon approach, NASA opted for a new risky landing due to the rover's size. When the re-entry shield dropped off, a large hypersonic parachute deployed to slow the craft's descent to the surface. Just before reaching the surface, the protective structure (Mars Science Laboratory) housing and protecting the rover (Curiosity) fired thrusters to hover above the surface. The rover was then lowered by cables below the MSL's structure. With the rover ready, the thrusters reduced power and the entire system moved down until Curiosity landed, and sensors on the cables indicated to the MSL that there was no weight on them anymore. With that signal, the cables released the rover and the MSL rocketed away from the rover site.

Curiosity experiment diagram.

The landing actually occurred at about 11:15 p.m. MDT, with the signals reaching us on Earth at about 11:32 p.m. MDT. Within minutes, as the cheering continued at JPL, the first pictures arrived as "thumbnails" (small in signal size) showing the shadow of the rover and the horizon of Mars. Over the next couple of days, color pictures and images with higher HD resolution will be plastered all over the Internet and television screens as Curiosity begins its exploration. The mission: a 2-year investigation of Gale Crater, 96 miles in diameter and what NASA thinks is the best chance so far to examine the geology of Mars searching for signs of past or present life.

The current Mars Scoreboard.

Lest anyone get the idea that this landing was easy, NASA published a "Scoreboard" showing our human success rate at sending probes to Mars. So far, only the USA and Russia have been sending probes at the red planet, and to show you how hard that really is, take a look at the score: 15 successful missions and 24 failures! Unfortunately for Russia, they have experienced nothing but failures. Rather than look at their efforts as cursed, however, it's valuable to realize how HARD it is to send a probe through 350 million + miles of radiation-filled space and land it or orbit it exactly where you want.

It's just that NASA is REALLY good, and they make it look easy.

Astronaut Sally Ride passes away

Astronaut Sally Ride in space on Shuttle Challenger.

Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut in space, passed away yesterday at age 61, from a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer.  Not only an astronaut, but a brilliant scientist also, Sally Ride inspired millions with her journey to space and her continuing work afterwards to interest girls and women in science and space exploration.

Challenger blasts off on June 18, 1983.

Her first, and historic, spaceflight was on space shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 18, 1983. On that mission, as a Mission Specialist she helped deploy two satellites into orbit and conducted a series of science experiments. That mission lasted six days.

Her second flight was on mission STS-41G in 1984. During that 8-day flight, the crew deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, and tested satellite refueling and made Earth observations. Although she was assigned to a third mission, the Challenger explosion occurred. She was assigned to the accident investigation board. After that assignment, she accepted a position to help the NASA administrator with long range planning. After leaving NASA, she was recalled to participate in the AUgustine commission, which investigated NASA's future space flight options in 2009, and resulted in the cancellation of the Constellation program. She was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and received a long list of awards and honors.

50 Years Ago: First Steps toward a Space Shuttle

Famous MoonWalker with X-15 in 1962.

You may or may not recognize the famous pilot in the picture above. But you certainly would recognize his name. Fifty years ago, NASA and the US Air Force were conducting tests with various test craft that would eventually help us build the Space Shuttle. One of those programs was certainly the X-15. In the picture above, Neil Armstrong stands near the nose of one of the three X-15 test rocket planes. At this point, Armstrong had not yet left the X-15 program to train for being an astronaut, yet he had already flown missions to the edge of our atmosphere.

X-20 DynaSoar mock-up. Credit: Boeing

Beside the X-15, the US Air Force was also working on a potential spacecraft that would glide back to Earth. Designated the X-20 DynaSoar, it would be boosted into space on a rocket, orbit the Earth, dock with a planned orbital space station, then re-enter the atmosphere and glide to a runway landing. Sound familiar? Many of the studies done preparing this spacecraft would be studied by engineers who later designed the Space Shuttle. But in 1962, it was just being developed.

Conceptual art of DynaSoar on Titan booster.

The Titan rocket figured prominently in the studies. Engineers were already preparing to advance from the Atlas rocket to the Titan when NASA would shift from the single-seat Mercury capsule to the double-occupant Gemini capsule. Fifty years ago in June, the USAF was testing how to add power to the Titan by strapping solid-rocket motors to the main body.

Computer art of DynaSoar testing. Credit: DeepCold. Learn more about the DynaSoar program as it could have been by visiting http://www.deepcold.com/

In June of 1962, Neil Armstrong was reported to be preparing for the DynaSoar missions. Flying an Air Force F-5 fighter jet, he was practice runway landings using data given to him by the DynaSoar engineers. But DynaSoar was not a lasting project for Neil. In the summer of 1962, he was selected with 8 other test pilots as "the New Nine", the second group of astronauts to work in NASA.

Northrop YF-5, prototype test aircraft.

F-5 control panel.

50 YA: Launch Delays Again

Mercury-Atlas on the pad with Gantry in place.

It's a familiar story for us now, but it was just becoming familiar to Americans intently watching the television broadcasts of NASA's launch attempts fifty years ago. On May 7, 1962, NASA had the courtesy to tell the public of an up-coming delay to the launch of MA-7. Originally planned for May 15, NASA announced that engineers were having check-out problems with the Atlas booster, and so the blast off would occur several days later.

M. Scott Carpenter, astronaut.

By then, astronaut Scott Carpenter was used to NASA delays, and was probably thankful that the engineers were being extra cautious with his ride into space. In the last flight, he and other NASA personnel were greatly relieved when John Glenn's capsule made it back safely to Earth after a suspected failure of the heat shield. Of course, that problem turned out to be a false signal, but during the flight no one was sure and tense moments passed before Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule safely landed in the ocean for recovery. No one wanted any failures for Carpenter's flight.

Carpenter in Mercury simulator.

During the delay, Carpenter made good use of the extra time. The Mercury astronauts endured extensive and exhausting testing and training, so it was back to the simulators to keep training for the upcoming flight. 

Carpenter climbs aboard F-106B for flight experience.

50 YA - Astronaut Selection Changes in 1962

The Mercury 7 astronauts with model of Mercury-Atlas.

With the success of Mercury-Atlas 6 and John Glenn orbiting the Earth in his capsule Freedom 7, NASA continued preparations for the next mission. However, there was an unexpected change in mission assignments. DUring the continuous medical examinations of the astronauts, NASA doctors detected an "erratic heart rate" in astronaut Deke Slayton (second from left front in picture above). The Air Force medical board and the assigned civilian cardiologists recommended that he be disqualified for assignment as an astronaut. In his place would go astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Scott Carpenter in the "White Room" inspecting the bulkhead of his capsule, which he nicknamed "Aurora 7."

Scott Carpenter was a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. After WW2 he learned aeronautical engineering, and during the Korean War he flew anti-submarine patrols in Navy patrol planes. He became a test pilot for the Navy, and eventually was selected as an astronaut. He served as backup pilot for John Glenn on the MA-6 mission. Now, he was moved to be the prime pilot for MA-7.

Astronaut Deke Slayton in Mercury spacesuit during tests.

Donald "Deke" Slayton was trained by the US Air Force as a B-25 bomber pilot and flew 56 combat missions in Europe during World War 2. Later he flew the A-26 attack bomber in the Pacific against the Japanese for 7 missions before the war ended. After the war, he studied aeronautical engineering and became a test pilot, eventually flying such famous planes as the F-101, F-102, F-105, and F-106 jet fighters. No doubt he was deeply disappointed by the medical decision to cut him from assignments. In fact, there were many pilots and astronauts who sided with Deke against this decision but could not change NASA management's decision.

With his assignment changed, Deke decided to stay in the program for the time being and continue helping to test and prepare missions for the Mercury Program.

50 YA - American Atlas problems delay launch

Friendship 7 on Atlas rocket.

Fifty years ago, it was the USA experiencing all sorts of rocket problems. NASA was behind the Russians on launching men into orbit of the Earth, and was eager to send up astronaut John Glenn in the Mercury Capsule, nicknamed "Friendship 7," on top the Atlas rocket. The Atlas had more thrust and fuel than the Redstone, used to launch Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom into sub-orbital flights over the Atlantic.

The launch would have taken place on January 27, but weather played a part in cancelling that flight. Astronaut Glenn had patiently waited for more than five hours strapped in the capsule until word came down that the bad weather would prevent flight controllers from monitoring his liftoff during the first critical few minutes.

Then on January 30, worse news was given to the press and the waiting American public: a fuel leak in the Atlas booster would need repairs. As John Glenn put it: "Sure, I'm disappointed, but this is a complicated business. I don't think we should fly until all elements of the mission are ready. When we have completed all our tests satisfactorily then we'll go." On February 1st, NASA announced that repairs would be completed by February 13, and the flight could be launched then.

John Glenn practices entering Friendship 7, with the help of Gunther Wendt, the famous German rocket scientist-turned-American-rocket-engineer-now-pad leader who led the team of engineers working on the launch pad.

Also on February 1st, the American public began showing their frustration with the delays. Politics were involved in space back in 1962, just like today. Congressman James G. Fulton, who was the top Republican on the House Committee on Science and Astronautic, said "There's no doubt our overall space program is slipping despite the high words and fine praise coming from the White House... if it continues to slip we'll be lucky to get a man on the Moon before 1980."

Remaining positive, on February 3rd Glenn announced to the press that the scheduled rocket flight on February 13th "can only bode success." He was still unaware, of course, of further delays to come.

Meanwhile, on February 4th, the world was quite relieved to see a prediction fail to come to pass. It just so happened that Hindu astrologers had predicted that because of an unusual alignment of five planets and the Sun occurred. According to their prediction, a previously unknown and invisible planetoid named Khentu would also move into alignment and cause Earthly disasters. Of course, nothing happened, and the Indian Prime Minister chided the astrologers and their public believers for such nonsense.

50 YA: Enos the Chimp Goes to Space

MA-5 lifts off from Cape Canaveral.

Fifty years ago, NASA launched its last test of a Mercury-Atlas rocket before placing a human in orbit. MA-5 blasted off from Launch Complex 14 at 8 am MST on November 29, 1961. Engineers had been preparing this flight for 40 weeks. It seems that as new technology continued to improve, the mission of MA-5 kept changing. Finally it was decided to test the capsule with a live occupant. But instead of an astronaut, a chimpanzee was placed aboard.

Enos in his space couch.

Until the flight of MA-5, the most famous space chimp was Sam, who had flown in a test of the Mercury-Redstone rocket before Alan Shepard flew his mission. This time the task fell to Enos, which means "man" in the Hebrew language. Five hours before liftoff, Enos was secured into his spacesuit-couch and placed in the capsule. The launch went well and Enos was placed into orbit.

However, once in orbit, things "went south". The attitude control system malfunctioned. The auto correction thrusters were engaged 9 times to keep the craft in proper attitude before retrofire. The environmental control system also malfunctioned, and the capsule began heating up inside. Enos' body temperature reached 100.5 degrees F and mission controllers worried about the health of the chimp. Then the environmental system corrected itself and normal temperature was restored. Because the thruster problem was using up fuel, it was determined to bring back the capsule after the 2nd orbit. The capsule splashed down in the Pacific off the coast of California. After search planes spotted the craft bobbing on the waters, the destroyer USS Stormes retrieved the capsule and extracted Enos the Space Chimp.

With the success of MA-5, the qualifications had been met for the launch of humans aboard the Atlas rocket, and preparations began for the launch of the first American to orbit the Earth. As for Enos, the brave animal passed away about a year later after contracting a form of dysentery.

GRAIL heads for the Moon

Delta II with GRAIL launches from LC-17B.

Well, if we can't send people, at least we're sending satellites. The GRAIL probe is on its way to the Moon. Blastoff was at 7:08 a.m. MDT this morning, from the Cape Canaveral AF station. The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory will reach the moon on New Years eve and go into orbit on Jan 1, 2012. It's purpose is to map the intracacies of the lunar magnetic fields to study the makeup of the Moon's core.

50 YA - Ranger 1 Test launch Failure

Ranger 1 on display before launch day.

Fifty years ago, America began its first true attempts to explore the Moon. The Ranger series of space probes was designed to reach the moon, orbit, and take photos and sensor readings of the surface. Ranger 1 itself was designed to go into a large Earth orbit to test the equipment and features of the spacecraft, and to examine the properties of space between the Earth and the Moon.

Schematic of Ranger 1.

On board the Ranger 1 were several telescopes, radiation detectors, particle detectors and a magnetometer. Of course the craft was also provided with a solar panel power supply and communications system.

Agena second stage being connected to an Atlas rocket.

To place Ranger 1 in its orbit, NASA decided to use the Agena second stage motor placed on an Atlas D rocket. Atlas D is the same rocket which would be used to launch the next manned mission. In the actual launch however, problems developed. In fact, before launch on August 23rd there were eight prior attempts which were cancelled due to equipment problems. When it finally did take off, the Atlas rocket performed well, but the Agena second stage failed to ignite, placing the Ranger 1 in a low Earth orbit and the spacecraft began to tumble. Its decaying orbit ensured that Ranger 1 would burn up in the atmosphere on August 30. Although the mission orbital goal was not achieved, scientists did have enough time to test out the equipment in the environment of space, which would help them prepare for the next Ranger mission.

50 YA - Explorer 12 Goes into weird orbit

Thor Delta rocket.

On August 15th, 1961 NASA managed to launch Explorer 12 into a highly eliptical orbit around the Earth. When we think of orbiting the Earth, we usually think of a circular pattern, but this craft followed a more egg-shaped path around the planet. The orbit ranged from 50,000 miles to 170,000 miles from the Earth, studying a number of physical properties of energetic particles found in space.

The rocket was launched from the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral on a Thor-Delta rocket. Blast-off occurred from Launch Complex 17, where Delta rocket launches are made even to this day.

Because of the strange orbit, it took several days for scientists to confirm that Explorer 12 had reached its intended path. Data for the experiment stopped arriving in December of 1961, and the satellite re-entered the atmosphere in 1963.

50 YA - Vostok-2 leads manned spaceflight

Gherman Titov.

Fifty years ago, Americans were still feeling the pressure from the Soviet lead in manned spaceflight. The Russians were making full use of their propaganda, proclaiming the superiority of the Communist Man over their Western counterparts. On August 6, 1961 cosmonaut Gherman Titov ascended into Earth orbit aboard Vostok 2.

Vostok 1 in a museum. Vostok 2 would have been very similar.

Titov remained in space for a shocking 17 orbits. He was the fourth man to fly in space, after Gagarin, Shepard, and Grissom. His flight was noted for many firsts: First to spend a day in space, first to sleep in space and get space sick (!), first to pilot a spacecraft personally, and first to manually take pictures from space. Amazingly, he was only 25 years old at the time.

Vostok-2 mission patch.

For his feat, Titov was named a Hero of the Soviet Union (and awarded other medals as well). Perhaps more lasting than that, his name was given to a very large crater discovered on the far side of the Moon!

Titov Crater in false color imaging.

Soviet postcard commemorating Gagarin and Titov, Russia's first two cosmonauts.