SpaceX Dragon Completes Key Tests as it Heads to Space Station

Today, Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft completed key on-orbit tests as part of a historic attempt to be the first commercial company in history to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

In the days since SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the vehicle has steadily completed one task after another as it prepares to berth with the International Space Station. Only minutes after the spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage, its solar arrays successfully deployed, providing power to the spacecraft. The door that had been covering sensors needed for proximity operations opened successfully.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Dragon traveled in orbit, firing its thrusters to catch up to the space station. During that time, the vehicle hit a series of milestones. Dragon showed its Absolute Global Positioning System (GPS) is in good working order. The vehicle demonstrated both a pulsed and a full abort. It also demonstrated free drift, floating freely in orbit as it will when grappled by the space station's robotic arm. And its proximity operations sensors and SpaceX's COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU) are up and running.

Early this morning, Dragon's thrusters fired, bringing the vehicle 2.4 kilometers below the International Space Station. The vehicle completed two key tests at that distance. Dragon demonstrated its Relative GPS and established a communications link with the International Space Station using CUCU. Astronauts commanded on Dragon's strobe light to confirm the link worked. A video of Dragon as seen by the space station is available at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=144472261

With these tests complete, Dragon has started the trip flying around the space station, returning the spacecraft to its original approach location.

Dragon has been performing well, but the most difficult aspects of the mission are still ahead.

FRIDAY MORNING - Final Approach, Dragon Grapple

Around 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern NASA will decide if Dragon is GO to move into the approach ellipsoid 1.4 kilometers around the space station. If Dragon is GO, after approximately one hour Dragon will move to a location 250 meters directly below the station. Dragon will then perform a series of maneuvers to show systems are operating as expected. If NASA is satisfied with the results of these many tests, Dragon will be allowed to perform the final approach to the space station.

Sometime around 6:00 AM Pacific/9:00 AM Eastern, astronauts on the space station will grapple Dragon with the space station's robotic arm and the spacecraft will attach to the station.

SATURDAY MORNING - Hatch Opening

If all goes well, at approximately 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern, the crew will start procedures to open Dragon's hatch. It will take around 2 hours to complete all operations leading to the hatch opening. Once the hatch is opened, astronauts will enter Dragon for the first time in space.

All dates and times are approximate and could easily change.

What is a "Super Moon" ?

We are slated to have a Super Moon tonight and tomorrow morning.

What is a Super Moon?

A Super Moon is when the moon will be at its closest point to the Earth all year — appearing 14 percent bigger and as much as 30 percent brighter than other full Moons of 2012, according to NASA. Technically, it’s a perigee moon, which occurs when the moon reaches the nearest point in its oval orbit.

Scientists May Start Mining Asteroids

There's gold in them asteroids!

It sounds like a plot to a very bad sci-fi movie, but reports say it's true.

The idea is to use commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable minerals out of the rocks that routinely whizz by Earth. One of the company founders predicts they could have their version of an outer space-based gas station up and running by 2020.

Scientists say the plan daring, difficult – and very pricey. They do not see how it could be cost-effective, even with platinum and gold worth nearly $1,600 an ounce. An forthcoming NASA mission to return just 2 ounces (60 grams) of an asteroid to Earth will cost about $1 billion.

Investors and advisers to the new company include Google CEO Larry Page and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and explorer and Cameron, the man behind the blockbusters "Titanic" and "Avatar."

The idea that asteroids could be mined for resources has been around for years. Asteroids are the leftovers of a failed attempt to form a planet billions of years ago. Most of the remnants became the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but some pieces were pushed out to roam the solar system.

NASA also has had an interest in asteroids.

Because asteroids don't have any substantial gravity, targeting them costs less fuel and money than going to the moon,and there are probably 1,500 asteroids that pass near Earth.  It all sounds good on paper.

Even though the start-up costs are "astronomical", Richard Binzel, professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the effort "may be many decades ahead of its time. But you have to start somewhere."

New Plant Discovered and Dubbed "Planet San Diego"

Forget Planet Hollywood, Planet Radio, or anything else with "Planet" in it, we now have "Planet San Diego"

NASA discovered a new planet this week with a climate that resembles the Southern California city of San Diego.

"Planet San Diego" is located in the habitable zone around its star: Kepler-22b, which is estimated to have a pleasant surface temperature of 70 degrees and the capability to support liquid water.  Sounds good to me.

But as with most great discoveries, the discovery of Kepler-22b raised more questions than it answered: Specifically, what is the composition of the planet’s surface? Is it rocky, primarily liquid, or gaseous, and is it close to a dirty tourist planet that is known for cheap souvenirs and downtrodden strip clubs?  Let's call it Planet Tijuana.

We hope to learn more about the Planet next summer when it again become visable at night, kind of like an underachieving baseball team called the Padres.

Next summer, scientists hope to estimate the mass of the planet, with and without Tony Gwynn.  If everything checks out, one option would be to send an exploration team to the planet led by Norv Turner and Philip Rivers.  Many are against this team going because the expedition would start slow and then get intercepted as they moved to their touchdown spot.  

One thing that has been settled is the air between earth and Planet San Diego will be known as "Air Coryell."  

That's enough for now.  Can't wait to see the beaches in outer space.

Curiosity Heads to Mars

NASA's $2.5 billion robotic rover Curiosity has begun its long journey to Mars on a mission that the space agency hopes will further its understanding of life in the universe.

The Mars Science Laboratory blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday aboard an Atlas V rocket. Less than an hour after launch, the rover sent back a signal to NASA, reporting that it had successfully separated from the rocket and was flying free on its way to the Red Planet.
Its main mission is to determine if life in some form exists on Mars, or if it ever did.

Curiosity will collect soil and rock samples and analyze them for evidence that the area has, or ever had, environmental conditions favorable to microbial life.

The rover is the size of an SUV and equipped with 10 science instruments, is expected to land on Mars in August 2012.

Curiosity weighs 1 ton and is twice as long and five times heavier than previous rovers. The extra instruments and mobility should be a big help to NASA, which has been down one Mars robot since the rover Spirit, a robotic twin to Opportunity, stopped functioning earlier this year.