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International Space Station Gets Its Second Half Of The Expedition 48 Team

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The International Space Station will be receiving a lot of upgrades

The Expedition 48 Team is finally united on the International Space Station.

STATES CHRONICLE – On the morning of Saturday, July 9th, three astronauts arrived at the International Space Station. The trip was made in an upgraded Russian Soyuz spacecraft and lasted two days, as the three performed several tests on the systems of their ride.

Astronaut Kate Rubins from NASA, Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin from Russia, and Astronaut Takuya Onishi from JAXA launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They were the first humans to take the upgraded Soyuz craft to the stars. Cosmonaut Ivanishin was active commander for the duration of the trip and this was the first actual space mission for Rubins and Onishi.

The team was tasked to perform several tests on the Soyuz-MS spacecraft. The improved communications systems and the thruster configurations both received a healthy shakedown for the entire duration of the trip. Upon arriving. The team declared that the upgraded Soyuz vehicle behaved perfectly throughout and that all their tests passed.

The International Space Station

The ISS’ Rassvet module was docked at 12:06 AM EDT by the Soyuz-MS craft. The hatches opened at 2:26 AM EDT and the team was greeted by the International Space Station’s previous three residents.

Astronaut Jeff Williams from NASA, Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin had been hard at work on the International Space Station ever since their arrival.

Astronaut Williams had previously installed laboratory machinery for a future experiment regarding life-sciences. A meteor-hunting observation rack had also been recently installed by the ISS’ initial three members.

With Expedition 48’s full team of six now gathered, the command is to remain with Astronaut Williams. Over the following months, they will receive and install an international docking adapter. The adapter will then be able to perform automated docking for both manned and unmanned space crafts.

The International Space Station will be receiving future visits from SpaceX and Boeing crafts and automating the docking process is the safest and most efficient procedure to take care of first.

A SpaceX Dragon cargo is planned to deliver the adaptor. Following the Dragon, the International Space Station is scheduled to receive a visit from an Antares-powered Cygnus spacecraft from Orbital ATK. Both visitors will also be dropping off more supplies and gear for the team.

Afterward, at the end of September, the International Space Station is scheduled to receive Astronaut Shane Kimbrough from NASA. Cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko, and Cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Successfully Delivers and Returns

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"SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Successfully Delivers and Returns"

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage

STATES CHRONICLE – Private aerospace company SpaceX sends SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a Japanese satellite into orbit and successfully returns.

This mission was SpaceX Falcon 9’s first one, ascending last Friday and returning Monday night without any complications on a drone ship in Port Canaveral, Florida.

It’s the second landing on a floating barge.

SpaceX Falcon 9 landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship owned by the SpaceX Company. Its curious name comes from the General Contact Units spacecraft commanded by AI in The Player of Games novel, by Iain M. Banks.

The booster’s mission target was to set the Japanese commercial satellite, the JCSAT-14, into orbit; a process called “geostationary transfer orbit.” The spacecraft belongs to SKY Perfect – a Japanese television and communication corporation who’s plan is to deliver Internet services and broadcasting to Japan and other countries.

The service will be done through the help of the spacecraft drifting in the geostationary orbit 22,000 miles from Earth.

Traveling two times the speed of its previous prototypes, SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket needed an addition of two engines to “minimize gravity losses,” – like Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, tweeted.

Its specs made the booster subject to higher temperatures during descent and less fuel for the return, but it was all carefully designed for the mission’s primary goal.

The first next step now is to transfer the booster back to SpaceX headquarters for inspection and further testing.

After the successful descent and recovery, the 140-foot tall rocket is now included in the general SpaceX plan to launch again. Its previous SpaceX “sibling”, the CRS-8 Dragon recovered in April, will probably qualify for another mission re-launch in this year’s June. This mission is the 3rd landing scenario SpaceX masters, after the one in December 2015 and the previous in April.

With the rockets being programmed to land themselves back to the drone ship or landing pad, they all returned, to Musk’s delight, safely as expected.

According to the company’s announcements, they plan to “ramp up” the launches and send rockets every 2-3 weeks by the end of the year.

It’s incredible what these private companies can accomplish with their funds. The success of SpaceX Falcon 9 mission and its precursors have now set the bar higher for our expectations.

Image source: Flickr

Texas Chosen as SpaceX Launch Site

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Elon Musk has given so much already to the field of technological development. After founding the online payment system PayPal, he did not rest. He founded Tesla, the successful electric car company. The high-tech entrepreneur dreams big. For example, last year he presented the plans for a high-speed rail road linking San Francisco and Los Angeles in just 30 minutes. Space X is one of the most optimistic space programs right now. Eventually, Elon Musk’s company aims to start a Mars colonization program. From what the entrepreneur achieved so far, the goal must be seriously taken into consideration.

Space exploration has historically been a public affair. After WWII, the Cold War drove some of the most spectacular technological achievements with the Moon exploration at its top. After the power statement was made, NASA’s budget has been periodically decreased. Even if the agency still runs numerous space programs, there is an overall discontent with the speed of the exploration process. Right now, NASA focuses on Earth too with its climate analysis satellite.

SpaceX Launch Site set to Texas

Elon Musk plans to take matters into his own hands with the SpaceX program. SpaceX is a transport company with Californian headquarters. SpaceX is not the only private space flight company, but it is definitely the most successful one. It has literally gone further than any other private competitor. With Elon Musk by its side, it could not have done otherwise.

SpaceX Launch Site not in the traditionally spaceflight oriented Florida

The company applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for a launch site. FAA responded on Tuesday and agreed upon a SpaceX launch site. The site is placed in Cameron County, Texas, to the dissatisfaction of Florida officials. SpaceX operates two reusable rockets, the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. The FAA allows SpaceX to do up to 12 launches per year. This might be enough for now, but Elon Musk plans to offer commercial space travel to the masses, meaning that he aims for several launches per day.

Further on, the spaceport will probably be the departure point for the subsequent Mars exploration. A short while back, Elon Musk ambitiously stated that in 10 to 20 years SpaceX is going to fly people to Mars. With Texas Chosen as SpaceX Launch Site, the plan to have the Mars Colonial Transporter able to carry up to 100 people by 2025 starts to seem feasible.

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