Did they get pictures of little green men yet?
InSight Landing on mars happens soon.
- Thread starter Cowboy_Ken
- Start date
No “Little Green Men” but plenty of orange/red men and possibly women dancing and taking samples from our lander.
And now the Chinese are heading to the Dark Side of the Moon…
China's Rover Is on Its Way to the Far Side of the Moon
The Chang'e-4 team aims to be the first to send a successful mission to the barely explored half of the moon.
By Avery Thompson Dec 10, 2018
XINHUA
We’ve landed more than a dozen people on the moon, sent countless rovers and orbiters to survey it, yet a full half of our closest solar system neighbor remains mostly unexplored. The far side of the moon is so intriguing that China is sending a rover just to explore it, and that spacecraft just started on the first leg of its long journey.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
China’s Chang’e-4 spacecraft has been in development for years, and on Saturday it finally launched into space. The spacecraft will be only the second Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon, after Chang’e-3 landed in 2013. Chang’e-3 landed on the moon’s near side, however, which makes Chang’e-4 a very ambitious jump. If successful, it will become the first spacecraft ever to land on the far side of the moon.
Landing on the moon’s far side isn’t as simple as just pointing the spacecraft down when it’s in orbit. On top of the difficulty of a normal landing, a far-side mission presents one additional challenge: the spacecraft can’t communicate with anyone on Earth once it’s hidden behind the moon. To get around that problem, China’s space agency had to launch a relay satellite back in May.
image
The far side of the moon, imaged by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Chang’e-4 will land inside the darker patch by the south pole.
NASA/LRO
Chang’e-4 will touch down—probably some time in early January—in the Von Kármán crater in the moon’s southern hemisphere. That crater is part of the larger South Pole–Aitken basin, which is one of the largest and oldest craters in the solar system. With this mission, scientists will finally be able to get a good, up-close look at that region and learn more about the history of our solar system.
The Chang’e-4 spacecraft contains both a mobile rover and a stationary lander, both equipped with a wide range of scientific instruments. The small rover will have a camera and some tools for analyzing surface materials, while the larger lander will have similar instruments plus a radiation-measuring device. Scientists plan to collect radiation data in anticipation of a possible human return to the moon.
I like that China State Flag attached to the side.
China's Rover Is on Its Way to the Far Side of the Moon
The Chang'e-4 team aims to be the first to send a successful mission to the barely explored half of the moon.
By Avery Thompson Dec 10, 2018
XINHUA
We’ve landed more than a dozen people on the moon, sent countless rovers and orbiters to survey it, yet a full half of our closest solar system neighbor remains mostly unexplored. The far side of the moon is so intriguing that China is sending a rover just to explore it, and that spacecraft just started on the first leg of its long journey.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
China’s Chang’e-4 spacecraft has been in development for years, and on Saturday it finally launched into space. The spacecraft will be only the second Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon, after Chang’e-3 landed in 2013. Chang’e-3 landed on the moon’s near side, however, which makes Chang’e-4 a very ambitious jump. If successful, it will become the first spacecraft ever to land on the far side of the moon.
Landing on the moon’s far side isn’t as simple as just pointing the spacecraft down when it’s in orbit. On top of the difficulty of a normal landing, a far-side mission presents one additional challenge: the spacecraft can’t communicate with anyone on Earth once it’s hidden behind the moon. To get around that problem, China’s space agency had to launch a relay satellite back in May.
image
The far side of the moon, imaged by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Chang’e-4 will land inside the darker patch by the south pole.
NASA/LRO
Chang’e-4 will touch down—probably some time in early January—in the Von Kármán crater in the moon’s southern hemisphere. That crater is part of the larger South Pole–Aitken basin, which is one of the largest and oldest craters in the solar system. With this mission, scientists will finally be able to get a good, up-close look at that region and learn more about the history of our solar system.
The Chang’e-4 spacecraft contains both a mobile rover and a stationary lander, both equipped with a wide range of scientific instruments. The small rover will have a camera and some tools for analyzing surface materials, while the larger lander will have similar instruments plus a radiation-measuring device. Scientists plan to collect radiation data in anticipation of a possible human return to the moon.
I like that China State Flag attached to the side.
Here’s something to watch for … https://fox5sandiego.com/2018/12/18...esday-evening-may-light-up-san-diego-sky/amp/
And then we have this ; SpaceX, Blue Origin Postpone Rocket Launches Again Due to Technical Issues
Tariq Malik | Dec 19, 2018 9:30 am ET
SpaceX, Blue Origin Postpone Rocket Launches Again Due to Technical Issues
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Original Image
Credit: SpaceX
Two back-to-back launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin will have to wait a bit longer for liftoff after technical issues forced both companies to call off launch attempts scheduled for today (Dec. 19).
It's the second day of launch delays for both companies. On Tuesday, a ground equipment issue forced Blue Origin to call off the attempted suborbital launch of its New Shepard spacecraft from West Texas. A short time later, a sensor issue on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delayed the launch of a new GPS III navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
This morning, SpaceX representatives said the company is still studying the sensor issue that twarted Tuesday's launch attempt.
"Standing down from today's launch attempt of GPS III SV01 to further evaluate out of family reading on first stage sensors; will confirm a new launch date once complete," they said in a Twitter update.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin is now targeting a Friday launch for its resuable New Shepard rocket and space capsule. The rocket is carrying nine NASA-sponsored experiments into space, but won't go into orbit as New Shepard is built for suborbital flights only.
"Still working through ground infrastructure issues and monitoring incoming weather in West Texas," Blue Origin representatives wrote on Twitter. "Slating next launch window NET Friday 12/21 pending further review."
While the SpaceX and Blue Origin launches are on hold, two other missions that were also delayed on Tuesday will attempt to launch today.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Original Image
Credit: SpaceX
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket is scheduled to launch the CSO-1 spy satellite for the French military at 11:37 a.m. EST (1637 GMT) from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Later, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch the U.S. NROL-71 spy satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 8:44 p.m. EST (0144 Dec. 20 GMT). Both launches were delayed Tuesday by unacceptably high winds over their respective launch sites.
You can watch the ULA launch live on Space.com, courtesy of ULA, beginning at about 8:24 p.m. EST (0124 GMT).
Another space mission has already successfully launched today: The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched the GSAT-7A communications satellite at 5:40 a.m. EST (1040 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The mission launched on India's upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and is the third launch for India in just over a month, according to the Times of India.
Finally, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will return to Earth with three members of the International Space Station's crew tonight. The Soyuz is due to undock from the space station at 8:42 p.m. EST (0142 Dec. 20 GMT) and land in a remote region of Kazakhstan early tomorrow at 12:03 a.m. EST (0503 GMT). You can watch that Soyuz landing on Space.com today.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.
Tariq Malik | Dec 19, 2018 9:30 am ET
SpaceX, Blue Origin Postpone Rocket Launches Again Due to Technical Issues
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Original Image
Credit: SpaceX
Two back-to-back launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin will have to wait a bit longer for liftoff after technical issues forced both companies to call off launch attempts scheduled for today (Dec. 19).
It's the second day of launch delays for both companies. On Tuesday, a ground equipment issue forced Blue Origin to call off the attempted suborbital launch of its New Shepard spacecraft from West Texas. A short time later, a sensor issue on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delayed the launch of a new GPS III navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
This morning, SpaceX representatives said the company is still studying the sensor issue that twarted Tuesday's launch attempt.
"Standing down from today's launch attempt of GPS III SV01 to further evaluate out of family reading on first stage sensors; will confirm a new launch date once complete," they said in a Twitter update.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin is now targeting a Friday launch for its resuable New Shepard rocket and space capsule. The rocket is carrying nine NASA-sponsored experiments into space, but won't go into orbit as New Shepard is built for suborbital flights only.
"Still working through ground infrastructure issues and monitoring incoming weather in West Texas," Blue Origin representatives wrote on Twitter. "Slating next launch window NET Friday 12/21 pending further review."
While the SpaceX and Blue Origin launches are on hold, two other missions that were also delayed on Tuesday will attempt to launch today.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV01 navigation satellite for the U.S. military stands atop its launchpad ahead of a Dec. 18, 2018 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Original Image
Credit: SpaceX
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket is scheduled to launch the CSO-1 spy satellite for the French military at 11:37 a.m. EST (1637 GMT) from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Later, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch the U.S. NROL-71 spy satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 8:44 p.m. EST (0144 Dec. 20 GMT). Both launches were delayed Tuesday by unacceptably high winds over their respective launch sites.
You can watch the ULA launch live on Space.com, courtesy of ULA, beginning at about 8:24 p.m. EST (0124 GMT).
Another space mission has already successfully launched today: The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched the GSAT-7A communications satellite at 5:40 a.m. EST (1040 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The mission launched on India's upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and is the third launch for India in just over a month, according to the Times of India.
Finally, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will return to Earth with three members of the International Space Station's crew tonight. The Soyuz is due to undock from the space station at 8:42 p.m. EST (0142 Dec. 20 GMT) and land in a remote region of Kazakhstan early tomorrow at 12:03 a.m. EST (0503 GMT). You can watch that Soyuz landing on Space.com today.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Originally published on Space.com.
FCC slams spaceflight company with $900,000 fine over illegal satellite launch
Plus: more paperwork
By Loren Grush on December 20, 2018 5:53 pm
An Indian PSLV rocket, which was used to launch the Swarm satellites Photo: Indian Space Research Organization
Space startup Swarm Technologies, which launched four tiny satellites without government approval earlier this year, has agreed to pay $900,000 to the US Treasury for the unauthorized flight. The fine is part of a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, which investigated the incident. The company will also have to adhere to a “strict compliance plan” and must submit extra documentation to the FCC whenever it hopes to launch more satellites in the future.
Swarm Technologies is a fairly new player in the space field, with hopes of eventually sending up to 100 satellites into orbit to beam global internet coverage to Earth for connected devices. On January 12th, the company launched its first satellites on an Indian PSLV rocket, four tiny devices known as the SpaceBEEs. However, it soon emerged after the launch that Swarm had been denied a license for the satellites by the FCC, which is responsible for designating which radio frequencies US companies can use to communicate with their spacecraft. The agency was worried that the SpaceBEEs were too small and would be difficult to track from Earth, making it hard to know if they might collide with other satellites.
PART OF A SETTLEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
In March, the FCC opened an investigation into the incident. The agency found that not only had Swarm launched without a license, but it had also illegally used ground communication stations in Georgia to communicate with the satellites for over a week while the spacecraft were in orbit. Plus, the company had done some unlawful tests with weather balloons and other equipment before the launch. The FCC is responsible for authorizing all of these procedures, but hadn’t approved Swarm to do them.
One of Swarm’s 1/4U SpaceBEE satellites. Photo: Courtesy of Swarm
Along with paying a massive fine, Swarm has agreed to submit reports to the FCC before every satellite launch it wants to make for the next three years. These reports must include all of the details about the launch vehicle that will carry the satellites, the time and location of the launch, and contact information for who is coordinating the launch. And Swarm has to do this a lot, too. Reports need to be submitted within five days of Swarm purchasing a ride on a rocket, or within 45 days of the flight. Additional reports must be submitted when the satellites are shipped to be integrated on the rocket, whenever the satellites are actually integrated, and around the time the launch is supposed to take place.
Within the next two months, Swarm must also establish its own “compliance plan” and appoint a compliance officer to make sure the company adheres to all of the regulations surrounding a satellite launch. This entails crafting clearly defined procedures and checklists that every employee must follow to confirm that the FCC’s licensing requirements are being met.
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said the FCC and Swarm had come to a different agreement earlier, but some within the agency considered the settlement too low and ultimately rejected it. Negotiations had to resume again to reach this final agreement. And now, Swarm says it will comply with all the terms. “We accept the decision of the FCC as reflected in its consent decree and appreciate the FCC’s ongoing support for Swarm’s mission,” Sara Spangelo, Swarm’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement to The Verge.
“THE NEGATIVE PRESS COVERAGE IS LIKELY TO PREVENT THIS COMPANY AND OTHERS FROM ATTEMPTING TO DO THIS AGAIN.”
In the future, the FCC says it will review Swarm’s launch applications on a case-by-case basis. But it seems likely that the company will get licenses in the future. In fact, the agency already approved the launch of three additional Swarm satellites, which successfully flew to space on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in early December. And the FCC says that since the January incident, Swarm has not engaged in any further unauthorized satellite activity.
Today’s settlement may serve as an effective deterrent for other satellite operators, especially fledgling companies, that might consider launching satellites without a license. Having to do even more paperwork to go to space could decrease efficiency, and a fine of nearly $1 million isn’t a small amount, even for companies used to dealing with astronomical sums of money. But the cost to their public reputation might be even more effective than the blow to their bank account. “The size of the penalty imposed is probably not significant enough to deter future behavior, but the negative press coverage is likely to prevent this company and others from attempting to do this again,” O’Rielly said in a statement.
And to amplify its seriousness, the FCC also sent out an advisory in April, warning other satellite operators not to do what Swarm did or else they would also suffer consequences.
“We will aggressively enforce the FCC’s requirements that companies seek FCC authorization prior to deploying and operating communications satellites and earth stations,” Rosemary Harold, Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement. “These important obligations protect other operators against radio interference and collisions, making space a safer place to operate.”
Plus: more paperwork
By Loren Grush on December 20, 2018 5:53 pm
An Indian PSLV rocket, which was used to launch the Swarm satellites Photo: Indian Space Research Organization
Space startup Swarm Technologies, which launched four tiny satellites without government approval earlier this year, has agreed to pay $900,000 to the US Treasury for the unauthorized flight. The fine is part of a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, which investigated the incident. The company will also have to adhere to a “strict compliance plan” and must submit extra documentation to the FCC whenever it hopes to launch more satellites in the future.
Swarm Technologies is a fairly new player in the space field, with hopes of eventually sending up to 100 satellites into orbit to beam global internet coverage to Earth for connected devices. On January 12th, the company launched its first satellites on an Indian PSLV rocket, four tiny devices known as the SpaceBEEs. However, it soon emerged after the launch that Swarm had been denied a license for the satellites by the FCC, which is responsible for designating which radio frequencies US companies can use to communicate with their spacecraft. The agency was worried that the SpaceBEEs were too small and would be difficult to track from Earth, making it hard to know if they might collide with other satellites.
PART OF A SETTLEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
In March, the FCC opened an investigation into the incident. The agency found that not only had Swarm launched without a license, but it had also illegally used ground communication stations in Georgia to communicate with the satellites for over a week while the spacecraft were in orbit. Plus, the company had done some unlawful tests with weather balloons and other equipment before the launch. The FCC is responsible for authorizing all of these procedures, but hadn’t approved Swarm to do them.
One of Swarm’s 1/4U SpaceBEE satellites. Photo: Courtesy of Swarm
Along with paying a massive fine, Swarm has agreed to submit reports to the FCC before every satellite launch it wants to make for the next three years. These reports must include all of the details about the launch vehicle that will carry the satellites, the time and location of the launch, and contact information for who is coordinating the launch. And Swarm has to do this a lot, too. Reports need to be submitted within five days of Swarm purchasing a ride on a rocket, or within 45 days of the flight. Additional reports must be submitted when the satellites are shipped to be integrated on the rocket, whenever the satellites are actually integrated, and around the time the launch is supposed to take place.
Within the next two months, Swarm must also establish its own “compliance plan” and appoint a compliance officer to make sure the company adheres to all of the regulations surrounding a satellite launch. This entails crafting clearly defined procedures and checklists that every employee must follow to confirm that the FCC’s licensing requirements are being met.
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said the FCC and Swarm had come to a different agreement earlier, but some within the agency considered the settlement too low and ultimately rejected it. Negotiations had to resume again to reach this final agreement. And now, Swarm says it will comply with all the terms. “We accept the decision of the FCC as reflected in its consent decree and appreciate the FCC’s ongoing support for Swarm’s mission,” Sara Spangelo, Swarm’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement to The Verge.
“THE NEGATIVE PRESS COVERAGE IS LIKELY TO PREVENT THIS COMPANY AND OTHERS FROM ATTEMPTING TO DO THIS AGAIN.”
In the future, the FCC says it will review Swarm’s launch applications on a case-by-case basis. But it seems likely that the company will get licenses in the future. In fact, the agency already approved the launch of three additional Swarm satellites, which successfully flew to space on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in early December. And the FCC says that since the January incident, Swarm has not engaged in any further unauthorized satellite activity.
Today’s settlement may serve as an effective deterrent for other satellite operators, especially fledgling companies, that might consider launching satellites without a license. Having to do even more paperwork to go to space could decrease efficiency, and a fine of nearly $1 million isn’t a small amount, even for companies used to dealing with astronomical sums of money. But the cost to their public reputation might be even more effective than the blow to their bank account. “The size of the penalty imposed is probably not significant enough to deter future behavior, but the negative press coverage is likely to prevent this company and others from attempting to do this again,” O’Rielly said in a statement.
And to amplify its seriousness, the FCC also sent out an advisory in April, warning other satellite operators not to do what Swarm did or else they would also suffer consequences.
“We will aggressively enforce the FCC’s requirements that companies seek FCC authorization prior to deploying and operating communications satellites and earth stations,” Rosemary Harold, Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement. “These important obligations protect other operators against radio interference and collisions, making space a safer place to operate.”
First, look at the date of article and my birthday. Hmmm? And then it’s called secret and then they tell us. Seems we are missing lots with the shut down!!!
The secret NROL-71 reconnaissance satellite was scheduled to lift off Wednesday evening (Dec. 19) atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But controllers called the attempt off about 10 minutes before the planned launch, after noticing an issue with the rocket.
The secret NROL-71 reconnaissance satellite was scheduled to lift off Wednesday evening (Dec. 19) atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But controllers called the attempt off about 10 minutes before the planned launch, after noticing an issue with the rocket.
So the mystery behind the first planned launch being called off is that I wasn’t willing to go there for a birthday launch party. I’d go to California now if the money wasn’t all tied up further to the south.
