An uncrewed Russian Progress 77 carrying just over one ton of nitrogen, water and propellant to the International Space Station launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:45 p.m. EST (9:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Baikonur time).
The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned for a two-day rendezvous on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 64 crew members.
After making 33 orbits of Earth on its journey, the spacecraft will automatically dock to the station’s Pirs docking compartment on the Russian segment at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 12:30 a.m.
NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission is targeted to launch in 2024. SPHEREx will help astronomers understand both how our universe evolved and how common are the ingredients for life in our galaxy’s planetary systems. Credits: Caltech
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission.
SPHEREx is a planned two-year astrophysics mission to survey the sky in the near-infrared light, which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies.
It also will search for water and organic molecules – essentials for life as we know it – in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.
The total cost for NASA to launch SPHEREx is approximately $98.8 million, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs.
The SPHEREx mission currently is targeted to launch as early as June 2024 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
NASA’s Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will manage the SpaceX launch service. The mission, which is funded by the Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, is led by the Explorer’s Program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is responsible for the mission’s overall project management, systems engineering, integration, and testing and mission operations.
Years of design, development, and testing have culminated in NASA officially certifying the first commercial spacecraft system in history capable of transporting humans to and from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Resilience for NASA SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission are seen inside the SpaceX Hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 9, 2020, before rollout to Launch Pad 39A. Credits: SpaceX
NASA completed the signing of the Human Rating Certification Plan Tuesday for SpaceX’s crew transportation system after a thorough Flight Readiness Review ahead the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the space station.
“I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “This certification milestone is an incredible achievement from NASA and SpaceX that highlights the progress we can make working together with commercial industry.”
The Crew Dragon, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first new, crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular flights with astronauts since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago. Several critical events paved the way for this achievement, including grounds tests, simulations, uncrewed flight tests and NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley earlier this year.
“Today’s signing is about the people across NASA, SpaceX and other groups that came together to complete an unbelievable amount of hard work to accomplish this task,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operation Mission Directorate. “Certification moves us from the design and test phase into the crew rotation phase of our work, but we will not stop making sure every flight, including NASA’s Space Crew-1 mission, will be approached with the same rigor we have put into making this the best system it can be for our astronauts.”
The launch of the Demo-2 mission on May 30, 2020, marked the first time astronauts flew aboard the American rocket and spacecraft from the U.S. to the space station, and extensive analysis of the test flight data followed the safe return of Behnken and Hurley on Aug. 2.
Prior to Demo-2, NASA and SpaceX completed several demonstration flights to prove the system was ready to fly astronauts. In 2015, teams completed a Crew Dragon pad abort test during which the spacecraft demonstrated the ability to escape the launch pad in the event of an emergency prior to liftoff.
In March 2019, NASA and SpaceX took another major step toward restoring America’s human spaceflight capability when Crew Dragon returned safely to Earth after spending five days docked to the space station for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-1 mission. The test flight was the first launch, docking and return of the commercially built and operated American spacecraft.
In January 2020, NASA and SpaceX completed a launch escape demonstration of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. During the test, SpaceX configured Crew Dragon to intentionally trigger a launch escape prior to 1 minute and 30 seconds into flight to demonstrate Crew Dragon’s capability to safely carry the astronauts to safety in the unlikely event of an in-flight emergency.
“Thank you to NASA for their continued support of SpaceX and partnership in achieving this goal,” said SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk. “I could not be more proud of everyone at SpaceX and all of our suppliers who worked incredibly hard to develop, test, and fly the first commercial human spaceflight system in history to be certified by NASA. This is a great honor that inspires confidence in our endeavor to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately help humanity become multi-planetary.”
Dozens of tests of the spacecraft’s parachute system were successfully completed, which began in 2016 and wrapped up this year. Several key events have occurred since 2018, including the completion of electromagnetic interference chamber testing on Crew Dragon at the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne, California, and acoustic chamber testing on the spacecraft at the NASA’s Plum Brook Station test facility at Glenn Research Center in Ohio. Hundreds of tests have been performed on the spacecraft’s eight SuperDraco abort engines, which would provide astronauts an escape from the rocket in the unlikely event of an emergency at liftoff.
NASA and SpaceX also coordinated with the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct crew rescue training. The DoD Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division is prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice to quickly and safely rescue astronauts in the unlikely event of an emergency during ascent or splashdown.
“NASA’s partnership with American private industry is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science and more commercial opportunities,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA. “We are truly in the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight.”
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will be the first flight to use the certified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and will fly NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, on a six-month mission to and from the space station. Crew Dragon is targeting launch on a Falcon 9 on Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit. With NASA certification of the SpaceX crew transportation system complete, the agency can proceed with regularly flying astronauts to the space station, ending sole reliance on Russia for access. Commercial transportation to and from the orbiting laboratory will provide additional research time and broader opportunities for discovery.
For more than 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration to the Moon and Mars.
NASA will be testing super foods for space and more on Blue Origin Suborbital Flight and agency’s television and the website will air the company’s webcast, scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 24.
It’s no surprise to most of us that regularly eating fresh produce is a great way to support a healthy diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables benefit astronauts on the International Space Station, too – and soon the Moon and beyond. Scientists are investigating sustainable ways to grow highly nutritious foods in microgravity, to give space explorers a readily available supply of daily greens.
On an upcoming flight facilitated by the Flight Opportunities program, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, Space Lab Technologies will test their microgravity LilyPond, a hydroponic chamber for growing edible aquatic plants in space. Along with several other technologies selected for testing, LilyPond will launch on Blue Origin’s next New Shepard mission. The payloads will fly to space and experience several minutes of microgravity before returning to Earth, giving researchers valuable data about how their technologies perform.
Blue Origin is targeting Thursday, Sept. 24, at 11:00 a.m. EDT for the New Shepard launch. NASA Television and the agency’s website will air the company’s webcast, scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.
“In space, we need crops that produce a lot of nutritious material with minimal resources and volume – and those that can grow very fast, tolerate environmental extremes, and of course taste good are even better,” said Christine Escobar, vice president of Space Lab and principal investigator for the microgravity LilyPond.
The microgravity LilyPond growth chamber uses capillary action to provide a stable water surface on which duckweed (and potentially other veggies, like microgreens) can grow. LED panels provide an efficient light source, and a salad spinner-like sieve helps separate the water from the plants when ready to harvest. Credits: Space Lab Technologies
Looking at these parameters, Space Lab zeroed in on duckweed (also known as water lentils) – as their test crop. With its high protein content (up to 45%) and a rich supply of antioxidants, amino acids, and Omega-3s, the crunchy vegetable is sometimes called a superfood. Escobar said these rapidly growing plants are ideal for space because they do not require soil or another growing media – which means fewer materials, less mass, and less waste for resource-intensive space missions. But realizing the promise of such plants requires the right technology.
“The two biggest issues with growing a floating aquatic plant in space are providing a stable water surface that is open to the air, and harvesting the plant,” explained Escobar.
In the absence of gravity, getting water to stay where you put it can be a challenge. To address this issue, Space Lab began developing the microgravity LilyPond in collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2017 with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program. Closely stacked shallow growth trays provide a stable water surface on which the plant grows, with water delivered via open capillary channels and LED panels providing an efficient light source. When the plants are ready to eat, a rotary sieve separates them from the water, which can be recycled for the next crop.
“The more we explore, the more we discover that it pays to reuse, recycle, and regenerate consumable resources on board a spacecraft, rather than carrying them all with you and then throwing away the waste,” said Escobar.
Following the upcoming test flight, Space Lab will use video data to verify the performance of their growth chamber, and make any necessary design changes prior to proposing the technology for an orbital test on the space station.
“Suborbital flights facilitated by Flight Opportunities give us the ability to advance our technology at a much lower cost before we move on to that next step,” said Escobar.
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