Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.
The vehicle was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 9:56 a.m. Eastern or 12:56 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Dragon’s passive common berthing mechanism successfully attached to the orbiting laboratory at 12:02 p.m Eastern.
SpaceX Mission Control at the moment that the International Space Station's grappling arm connects with the Dragon spacecraft (Click Image To Enlarge)
The ISS grappling arm holds the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft pior to docking maneuveur (Click Image To Enlarge)
When asked for his initial thoughts on Dragon’s capture and move into the history books, Elon Musk stated, “just awesome.”
Broadcast quality videos, including video inside of the SpaceX factory, may be downloaded at vimeo.com/spacexlaunch. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. High-resolution photos are posted at spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com.
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft slow moves forward to dock with the International Space Station (Click Image To Enlarge)
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully docks with the International Space Station (Click Image To Enlarge)
SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk will join NASA Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, NASA COTS Program Manager Alan Lindenmoyer and NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings for a press conference to discuss the remarkable achievement at 1:00 PM Eastern.
This is SpaceX's second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.
Mission Highlights:
May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the International Space Station.
May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle was ready to berth with the space station; these tests included maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle came within 1.5 miles of the station.
May 25: NASA gave Dragon the GO to attempt berthing with the station. Dragon approached. It was captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station.
Coming up next:
May 25 - 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
May 31: Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.
COMMENTARY: Congratulations to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his technicians and engineers for a job well done and successful docking with the ISS. Next comes the opening of the hatch, unloading of supplies inside Dragon, loading of supplies returning to Earth and safe return of the Dragon spacecraft to its splash in the Pacific Ocean off of the Southern California coast.
Courtes of a press release dated March 25, 2012 issued by SpaceX
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft to orbit in an exciting start to the mission that will make SpaceX the first commercial company in history to attempt to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station – something only a handful of governments have ever accomplished.
At 3:44 a.m. Eastern, the Falcon 9 carrying Dragon launched from SpaceX’s launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Now Dragon heads toward the International Space Station. On that journey it will be subjected to a series of tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the station.
The Falcon 9 space ship lifts off successfull! Bon Voyage and congratulations SpaceX on the successful launch.
SpaceX staffers outside Mission Control 1 cheering the successful launch of the Falcon 9 space rocket.
The Falcon 9 space rocket is in orbit!! Sorry about the poor quality of the video. Trust me, it's up there!!
SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk high-fives Bulent Altan, SpaceX Senior Director of Avionics, after the successful launch.
More broadcast quality videos, including video inside of the SpaceX factory, may be downloaded at vimeo.com/spacexlaunch and high-resolution photos are posted at spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com.
At a press conference held after the launch, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk began,
“I would like to start off by saying what a tremendous honor it has been to work with NASA. And to acknowledge the fact that we could not have started SpaceX, nor could we have reached this point without the help of NASA… It’s really been an honor to work with such great people.”
SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk stands alonside the Falcon 9 rocket (Click Image To Enlarge)
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the ground at Cape Canaveral in Florida (Click Image To Enlarge)
The vehicle’s first stage performed nominally before separating from the second stage. The second stage successfully delivered the Dragon spacecraft into its intended orbit. This marks the third consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch and the fifth straight launch success for SpaceX.
Musk said.
“We obviously have to go through a number of steps to berth with the Space Station, but everything is looking really good and I think I would count today as a success no matter what happens with the rest of the mission.”
He continued by expressing his gratitude to the more than 1,800 SpaceX employees.
“People have really given it their all.”
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its different configurations depending on the weight of the payload and launch costs in millions (Click Image To Enlarge)
Describing the scene inside of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, he said,
“We had most of the company gathered around SpaceX Mission Control. They are seeing the fruits of their labor and wondering if it is going to work. There is so much hope riding on that rocket. When it worked, and Dragon worked, and the solar arrays deployed, people saw their handiwork in space operating as it should. There was tremendous elation. For us it is like winning the Super Bowl.”
Explaining the significance of the day, Musk stated,
"This mission heralds the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one in which there is a significant commercial space element. It is like the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s when commercial companies entered what was originally a government endeavor. That move dramatically accelerated the pace of advancement and made the Internet accessible to the mass market. I think we're at a similar inflection point for space. I hope and I believe that this mission will be historic in marking that turning point towards a rapid advancement in space transportation technology."
This is SpaceX's second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.
Mission Highlights: During the mission, Dragon must perform a series of complex tasks, each presenting significant technical challenges (dates subject to change):
May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches a Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
May 23: Dragon orbits Earth as it travels toward the International Space Station.
May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems are subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station; these tests include maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle comes within 1.5 miles of the station.
May 25: NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt berthing with the station. If so, Dragon approaches. It is captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station, a feat that requires extreme precision.
May 25 - 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
May 31: After approximately two weeks, Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.
COMMENTARY: Friday, May 25, will be the crucial day. If all Dragon systems checkout okay, and if NASA gives the final okay, the dragon capsule will dock with the International Space Station shortly thereafter, probably over the Memorial Day weekend is my guess. It's a huge step for SpaceX to get American astronauts into space without relying on the Russians, which I don't trust as far as I can throw them. I look forward to the big day.
Congratulations to Elon Musk and his entire SpaceX team for a job well done. I knew you could do it. Now let's dock Dragon with the ISS.
Courtesy of a press release dated May 22, 2012 issued by SpaceX
YOU JUST HAVE TO FIGHT THE OTHER FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS FOR ONE OF THE THREE SEATS.
On Virgin, I’ve appreciated my fair share of soothing purple lighting and touch-screen drink ordering. But for my next cocktail in the sky, I really want to visit their first-class cabin. In a design collaboration of Virgin Atlantic and VW+BS, first-class passengers from NYC to London will have the opportunity to walk not onto a plane, but into a glowing, spacious bar situated right inside the door, fitted like a Tetris piece against passengers’ seats.
Click Images To Enlarge
VW+BS’s Ian Macready tells Co.Design.
“Air travel used to be exciting and rare and we wanted to bring some of that excitement back. We were very much influenced by the rise of the pop up bar and the new speakeasy. We wanted to create a space that created a different dynamic for the passenger rather than just the straightforward bar shape. It should be a part of the aircraft that encourages interaction, that blurs slightly the boundary between the crew and the passenger, and that allows for places to stand, to sit, to lean and to perch.”
The atmosphere is meant to focus on the “immaterial” in which every surface reflects light like a JJ Abrams film, from the polished aluminum stools to the space’s champagne lacquered finish. It’s a mix of plastic, stone, and metal--all punctuated by color-changing LEDs to set the mood--combining to create an ethereal bar experience that might only make sense at 30,000 feet.
Click Images To Enlarge
Macready writes.
“The futuristic aesthetic was very much influenced by aviation. The way the project evolved was a very specific response to being up in the sky and does not necessarily work elsewhere, except possibly on a high-speed train or at the top of a new skyscraper. The language doesn’t have context to anything else on the ground.”
But the design isn’t just an opulent statement of aviation aesthetics; it’s a glitzy red herring for the entire clinical, safety-regulated flight experience. Few will even realize that the bar serves two lives, storing ice buckets, spirits, and stemware for entertainment, but also revealing oxygen kits and wheelchair storage for safety and comfort.
Indeed, what’s most impressive about Virgin’s new bar isn’t that it fits on a plane; it’s that it might not fit anywhere else.
COMMENTARY: That's what I call a cool bar. Drinking a Mai-Tai at 35,000 feet in a new Boeing 787 is going to be a thrill. I would love to fly Virgin Atlantic. All of their planes have names. For some incredible images of Virgina Atlantic's planes and world routes, click HERE.
Artist rendition of a robotic mining mission to a near-Earth asteroid (Click Image To Enlarge)
There’s gold in them there hills. You know, those ones floating around in space. Asteroids contain many tons of precious metals, making them irresistible to scientists, aerospace engineers, futurists, fiction writers … and tech billionaires.
A group of wealthy, adventurous entrepreneurs will announce on Apr. 24 a new venture called Planetary Resources, Inc., which plans to send swarms of robots to space to scout asteroids for precious metals and set up mines to bring resources back to Earth, in the process adding trillions of dollars to the global GDP, helping ensure humanity’s prosperity and paving the way for the human settlement of space.
Eric Anderson, founder of commercial space tourism company Space Adventures, and co-founded a new company along with Peter Diamandis said.
“The resources of Earth pale in comparison to the wealth of the solar system.”
Diamandis started the X Prize foundation, which offers prize-based incentives for advanced technology development.
Nearly 9,000 asteroids larger than 150 feet in diameter orbit near the Earth. Some could contain as much platinum as is mined in an entire year on Earth, making them potentially worth several billion dollars each. The right kinds of investment could reap huge rewards for those willing to take the risk.
Outside of NASA, Anderson and Diamandis are among the most likely candidates to realize such a dream. Space Adventures has sent seven private tourists to the International Space Station while the Ansari X Prize led to a spurt of non-governmental manned spaceships.
Diamandis said.
“We have a long track record of making large-scale space ventures real.”
Despite the promise of astronomical profits, the long time-scales and uncertain return on asteroid mining has historically driven most investors away from such undertakings. But the new company is also backed by a number of other billionaire luminaries, including Google’s CEO Larry Page and executive chairman Eric Schmidt, former Microsoft chief architect Charles Simonyi, and Ross Perot Jr. The venture also counts on filmmaker James Cameron, former astronaut Tom Jones, former JPL engineer Chris Lewicki, and planetary scientist Sara Seager as advisers.
Still, this new undertaking will be much larger and more ambitious than anything Anderson and Diamandis have attempted before. The hurdles are many and high. While the endeavor is technically feasible, the technology has not yet been developed. And beyond their initial steps, the details of Planetary Resources’ plans remain scarce.
The first hurdle will likely be ensuring that Planetary Resources has covered all its legal bases. While some have argued that governments need to set up specific property rights before investors will make use of space, the majority of space lawyers agree that this isn’t necessary to assure the opportunity for a return on investment, said space policy analyst Henry Hertzfeld at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Mining occurs in international seabeds — even without specific property rights — overseen by a special commission dedicated to the task, he said. A similar arrangement would likely work in space.
In terms of extraction, Planetary Resources hopes to go after the platinum-group metals — which include platinum, palladium, osmium, and iridium — highly valuable commodities used in medical devices, renewable energy products, catalytic converters, and potentially in automotive fuel cells.
Platinum alone is worth around $23,000 a pound— nearly the same as gold. Mining the top few feet of a single modestly sized, half-mile-diameter asteroid could yield around 130 tons of platinum, worth roughly $6 billion.
A mock-up of the Arkyd-101 Space Telescope will be used to identify asteroids with potentially valuables metals. Courtesy of Planetary Resources (Click Image To Enlarge)
Within the next 18 to 24 months, Planetary Resources hopes to launch between two and five space-based telescopes at an estimated cost of a few million dollars each that will identify potentially valuable asteroids. Other than their size and orbit, little detailed information is available about the current catalog of near-Earth asteroids. Planetary Resources’Arkyd-101 Space Telescopeswill figure out whether any are worth the trouble of resource extraction.
Within five to seven years, the company hopes to send out a small swarm of similar spacecraft for a more detailed prospecting mission, mapping out a valuable asteroid in detail and identifying rich resource veins. They estimate such a mission will cost between $25 and 30 million.
The next step — using robots to remotely mine, possibly refine ore, and return material to Earth safely — is probably the toughest phase, and Planetary Resources is still tight-lipped about its plans here.
This is an unprecedented challenge — the only asteroid material ever returned to Earth comes from the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa spacecraft, which successfully returned a few hundred dust particles from asteroid 25143 Itokawa in 2010.
One possibility might be to find a useful asteroid and push it closer to Earth. A fairly low-power solar-electric ion engine could nudge a hunk of rock into orbit around the Earth, effectively creating a small second moon that could be easily accessed.
A recent white paper(.pdf) written by a team of scientists and engineers for the Keck Institute for Space Studies looked at exactly this proposition in order to use an asteroid for scientific and manned exploration. The team concluded that the technology exists, though such a plan would need at least $2.6 billion in funding. If Planetary Resources went this route, it would rack up a large initial investment, which doesn’t include actually mining and returning material back to Earth, potentially adding many hundreds more millions of dollars.
JPL engineer John Brophy, who co-authored the paper said.
“It’s one thing to understand the mining and refining processes and another thing to actually build it. And everything in space tends to be harder than you think it will be.”
Another option to simplify the process might be to bring the ore back to Earth for refining, though that presents its own set of challenges. Say for the sake of argument that you send a 5,500-pound robot (roughly the weight of a small car) to an asteroid and it can mine and carry back 100 times its own weight in asteroid material. On most asteroids, chopping up a one-ton chunk of regolith will generate less than an ounce of platinum. Even asteroids with the highest concentration of platinum yield only about two ounces of platinum per ton.
This means that with the current commodity prices, each of your robot miners will generate about $875,000, even on an asteroid with the highest platinum amounts. Given a mission cost that is at least hundreds of millions of dollars, it wouldn’t be advantageous to refine ore on Earth.
There are also unknown financial aspects of a successful asteroid mining operation. The sudden influx of hundreds of tons of platinum into Earth’s economy would certainly drive the commodity’s price down. Looking at historical analogues, the enormous gold and silver reserves the Spanish inherited from their New World conquests led to terrible inflation and possibly the decline of their empire.
But Planetary Resources sees a platinum price drop as one of its potential goals.
Anderson said.
“I would be overjoyed as a company if we brought back so much platinum that the price fell by a factor of 20 or 50.”
Aluminum was incredibly expensive in the 1800s, before new technology allowed it to be easily separated from its ore, said Diamandis. Today, aluminum is used in hundreds of applications, something that Anderson and Diamandis would like to see happen to the platinum-group metals.
While mining platinum and other rare metals is Planetary Resource’s way of bringing wealth to Earth, the world still has ample reserves of such material — South African platinum mines alone are expected to produce for another 300 years.
Brophy said.
“In my view, its questionable how the economics of asteroid-retrieval works if you’re going to bring it to the ground. It makes more sense if you’re going to use the materials in space.”
Asteroids contain one substance that is of extremely high value for astronauts: water. Water can be used for drinking and it can be broken into its constituents. Oxygen is valuable for life support in space-based habitats, while liquid oxygen and hydrogen are both used to produce rocket fuel.
Rather than having to lug all the fuel for a mission out of Earth’s deep gravity well — an expensive proposition — having a “gas station” in space could help enable missions to Mars and beyond. Such a refueling depot might allow people to permanently live and work in space, another goal of Planetary Resources.
Of course, this creates a sort of chicken-and-egg problem. Do you generate tons of resources for your nonexistent space civilization first or do you get your space civilization started and then utilize the available resources?
Wired Science’s resident space historian David S. Portree thinks asteroid mining might make more sense when we have a more established space-based habitats with a different economy and better technology.
He said.
“Right now it would be like a big oil tanker dropping anchor off the coast of medieval England. The medieval English might identify the oil as a useful commodity, but wouldn’t be able use enough to profit the tanker crew. Heck, they wouldn’t know how to get it off the tanker, except in wooden pails and rowboats.”
COMMENTARY: The idea of sendiung robots to mine asteroids for their valuable metals like platinum and gold is complete and total science fiction, and the economics just don't seem to make any sense. I wonder how Google CEO Larry Page and Eric Schmidt got suckered into financially backing Planetary Resources useless idea?
Courtesy of an article dated April 23, 2012 appearing in Wired
NASA's psychodelic concepts from the 1970's. Space colony housing units inside a huge mothership (Click Image To Enlarge)
A REMINDER THAT NASA NEEDS TO REMEMBER THE POWERFUL FORCE OF CONCEPTUAL DESIGN.
Our excitement for space didn’t end when we put a man on the moon in the 1960s. In the late 1970s, we were still obsessed with the voids beyond our atmosphere. A little film called Star Wars came out, of course, but we also had the rise of Carl Sagan as a household name. He was producing a nonfiction series called Cosmos that would be seen by 500 million people worldwide and become the most successful series in PBS history.
Unsurprisingly, it was a time when NASA, too, dreamed on the epic scale.
NASA'S psychedlic concepts from the 1970's. Huge mothership orbits in outerspace (Click Image To Enlarge)
Amongst their many projects at the time, NASA Ames proposed massive spaceships that would orbit communities of 10,000 people around the earth--planned communities in space--and they commissioned a series fantastical artistic renderings of the vision. “These orbital space settlements could be wonderful places to live; about the size of a California beach town and endowed with weightless recreation, fantastic views, freedom, elbow-room in spades, and great wealth,” describes Al Globus, Senior Research Associate for NASA Ames.
NASA's psychedelic concepts from the 1970's. Huge mothership in the shape of a ferris wheel that spins creating artificial gravity (Click Image To Enlarge)
The concepts look like America’s post-WWII suburban settlements popped LSD, as if every manicured bush is humming the national anthem while it soars through the galaxy on a psychedelic rainbow. Today, we’re convincing millionaires to book a glorified bus trip into the closest edge of space. In the 1970s, the same efforts could have leased them a two-bed, two-bath condo in the stars, complete with integrated Hi-Fi.
NASA's psychedelic concepts from the 1970's. Inside a huge space colony mothership shows a landscape enclosed in glass (Click Image To Enlarge)
As of late, NASA has lost something that’s a lot bigger than their funding--and a skeptic might say it’s the very reason they’ve lost their funding. Case in point: These jaw-dropping human colony concepts are now outsourced to students.
While our Mars rovers and the newly modified Hubble telescope have represented some of the greatest scientific accomplishments in human history, when is the last time that the common person was inspired by the vision and scope of the space program? When is the last time we got a wide-eyed, multicolor explosion of ideas from some of the greatest thinkers in the world pondering the largest problems in the universe? When is the last time physicists painted a picture of the future that they’d otherwise only glimpse in their mind’s eye?
NASA's psychedelic concepts from the 1970's. Scene of a space colony mothership in space complete with artificial landscapes that include hills, lakes, rivers, roads and bridges like on Earth (Click Image To Enlarge
Though they’re often silly in retrospect, concept designs are a powerful tool. They’re lucid dreaming that the public gets to share in. NASA, sometimes it’s worth coming down from orbit, just to remind us all how very, very high you’re trying to fly.
COMMENTARY: It's incredible just how much imagination and forward thinking early NASA scientists had about the future of space. The idea that humans would live in space in these humongous motherships or space colonies with lakes, rivers, bridges, mountains, flora and vegetation just like on mother Earth has yet to be realized. We're probably at least 100 years away from this even today. However, given the explosion in population on Earth and predictions of shortages of water and food, and mass famine caused by rising termperatures and sea levels due to due to global warming, probably means we should be planning on living in space. Perhaps we should consider living on the Moon or even on Mars. It's either this or moving our population centers underground.
Courtesy of an article dated April 27, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design
Hawthorne, CA – On Monday, April 30, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will webcast a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket’s nine powerful Merlin engines in preparation for the company’s upcoming launch.
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SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk stands alongside the Falcon 9 Heavy rocket which is equipped with nine powerful rocket engines (Click Image To Enlarge)
The webcast, available at spacex.com, is set to begin on April 30, 2012 at 2:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM PT, with the actual static fire targeted for 3:00 PM ET/ 12:00 PM PT.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy space rocket (Click Image To Enlarge)
The 9 engine test will take place at the company’s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as part of a full launch dress rehearsal leading up to the second Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) launch. During the rehearsal, SpaceX engineers will run through all countdown processes as though it were launch day. The exercise will end with all nine engines firing at full power for two seconds.
Various configurations of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket (Click Image To Enlarge)
After the test, SpaceX will conduct a thorough review of all data as engineers make final preparations for the upcoming launch, currently targeted for May 7. SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. During the mission, Dragon’s sensors and flight systems will be subject to a series of tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station. If NASA decides Dragon is ready, the vehicle will attach to the station and astronauts will open Dragon’s hatch and unload the cargo onboard.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket & Dragon Spacecraft with comparison to Soyuz FG and NASA Space Shuttle (Click Image To Enlarge)
This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, a feat previously performed by only a few governments. Success is not guaranteed. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again. It is also the second demonstration flight under NASA’s program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station.
SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft in outspace orbit (Click Image To Enlarge)
The first SpaceX COTS flight, in December 2010, made SpaceX the first commercial company in history to send a spacecraft to orbit and return it safely to Earth. Once SpaceX demonstrates the ability to carry cargo to the space station, it will begin to fulfill its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract for NASA for at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the space station. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
Artist illustration of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft docking with the International Space Station or ISS (Click Image To Enlarge)
COMMENTARY: I can hardly wait to watch the rocket test webcast and the May 7, 2012 launch of the Falcon 9 Heavy rocket and Dragon spacecraft as it tries to dock with the International Space Station. If you haven't seen the animation of a launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft as it docks with the ISS check out the video below.
Go SpaceX!!
Courtesy of a press release dated April 27, 2012 from SpaceX
Altaeros Energies employs aerospace technologies to lift a small wind turbine to 1,000 feet off the ground where the wind is stronger. The power produced by the airborne wind turbine (AWT) is sent to the ground via conductors with the unit tethered to the earth.
The MIT-, Harvard-, and Air Force-trained team at Altaeros just completed a test of a power-producing prototype which actually works, and lifted a wind turbine 350 feet off the ground to generate double the power at high altitude than at typical tower height. The test in the video was completely automated, according to co-founder, Adam Rein -- unpiloted and able to "lift, generate, and land without any active controls." These tests took place in the middle of winter in northern Maine.
The Air Force still uses tethered helium inflatable technology -- called aerostats, the industrial cousins of blimps -- on project construction. So, the inflatable technology is not entirely new.
Here's the video:
First public video of the 35-foot-wide Airborne Wind Turbine. The scale prototype harnessed strong winds up to 350 feet high to produce over twice the power of traditional wind turbines.
Rein notes that the company uses an "off-the-shelf" 2.5-kilowatt, 3.7-meter, 3-blade wind turbine merged with helium inflatables that have lifted radar systems for decades. The unit is rated to go to about 1,000 feet in the boundary layer. The tallest terrestrial wind turbine is 350 feet high.
Altaeros looks to deploy the units in off-grid and hard to reach spots such as military bases, remote villages, oil and gas sites, eventually even off-shore applications. Power in those areas is typically diesel gensets with an expensive price tag of getting the diesel delivered and a total cost of $0.50 to $0.75 per kilowatt-hour. Altaeros claims it cost will be "a third of that."
Lending itself to these remote sites, the unit AWT is "really easy and cheap to set up," according to Rein, and "the whole system packs down to smaller than a compact car."
Regulatory bodies and the powers that be are beginning to recognize the existence of this new technology. The FAA has put out draft regulations for high-altitude tethered wind turbines. Rein claims the AWT design can overcome some of the challenges of traditional types wind turbines -- making them quieter with less bird and radar impacts. Garrad Hassan, a leading wind consultancy, has taken a look at the technology as well.
However, technical, regulatory, financing, and environmental risks remain for this alluring technology.
Altaeros is funded by private seed investors, the USDA, and the CEC. Other players in this field include Makani Power, SkyWind Power, Magenn, Ampyx, KiteGen -- also exploring this part of the atmosphere.
Altaeros Energies Airborne Wind Turbine prototype test 250-feet in the air (Click Image To Enlarge)
COMMENTARY: Altaeros Energies airborne wind turbines are a neat idea, but the blimps will have to be scaled to lift larger wind turbines with larger electrical generating capacity. 2.5 kiowatts is not a lot of wattage (equivalent to what a small house would consume under normal circumstances). The fact that Altaeros airborne wind turbines completely mobile and can go anywhere power is needed, without the need to erect or build wind turbine towers, is a huge plus.
In a blog post dated September 30, 2010, I reported on the research being conducted to develop viable airborne wind turbines. One of those companies was Altaeros Energies. It looks like Altaeros has scaled its donut-shaped blimp and actually got their technology to work and generate electricity.
Courtesy of an article dated April 20, 2012 appearing in GreenTechMedia
The Personal Air and Land Vehicle or PAL-V One can be configured as a three-wheeled automobile or flying gyrocopter (Click Image To Enlarge)
Flying Car Makes Successful Maiden Flight
In early April 2012, the Dutch company PAL-V Europe NV announced that it had successfully concluded test flights of its flying car, PAL-V One or Personal Air and land Vehicle. Two weeks prior to the announcement, several test flights were conducted at the Gilze Rijen Airport (The Netherlands). The PAL-V One flies in the air like a gyrocopter with lift generated by an auto-rotating rotor and forward speed produced by a foldable push propeller on the back. On the road it drives like a sports car. No new infrastructure is required because it uses existing roads and airstrips.
PAL-V One during its maiden flight (Click Images To Enlarge)
This unique PAL-V One marks the beginning of a new era in flying automobiles. The first deliveries of the commercial version are expected in 2014.
Video below.
About The PAL-V One
The PAL-V ONE is a two seat hybrid car and gyroplane: a personal air and land vehicle. What makes the PAL-V ONE attractive is the convenience of fully integrated door-to-door transportation.
On the ground this slim, aerodynamic, 3-wheeled vehicle has the comfort of a car with the agility of a motorcycle thanks to its patented, cutting-edge, ‘tilting’ system. It can be driven to the nearest airfield and take off just like any other airplane. The single rotor and propeller are unfolded to make the PAL-V ONE ready to fly.
PAL-V One during its maiden flight (Click Images To Enlarge)
When airborne, the PAL-V usually flies below 4,000 feet (1,200 m), the airspace available for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic; so there will be no interference from commercial air traffic. Furthermore, the PAL-V is powered by a very robust, flight certified aircraft engine. It runs on gasoline. It can reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph) both on land and in the air.
The PAL-V ONE has a very short take off and landing capability, making it possible to land practically anywhere. When not using controlled airspace, you can take off without filing a flight plan. Flying a PAL-V is like a standard gyrocopter. It is quieter than helicopters due to the slower rotation of the main rotor. It takes off and lands with low speed, cannot stall, and is very easy to control. The gyroplane technology means that it can be steered and landed safely even if the engine fails, because the rotor keeps auto rotating.
The PAL-V One Experience
On the road, the PAL-V ONE accelerates like a sports car. The razor sharp cornering makes you feel like you are skiing elegantly and effortlessly down a beautiful mountain. When flying, the PAL-V is very safe and easy to handle, opening up new dimensions of the personal freedom you have always wanted to experience. Fly-drive to an island, soar over that traffic jam, sail above water, create your own virtual bridge, cross that mountain range as freely as a bird. Go wherever you want to go whenever you feel like it and… fully enjoy the new experiences your PAL-V ONE offers!
Transformation From Airplane To Automobile
Converting the PAL-V ONE from airplane to automobile is a very easy process which takes about 10 minutes. Once the engine stops, the propeller folds itself automatically into the driving position. Pushing a button then lowers the rotor mast into the horizontal position. The same motion lowers the tail. The outer blades are folded over the inner blades via hinge mechanisms. The last steps in the process are to push the tail into its driving position and secure the rotor blades. This conversion can be executed by the driver/pilot after just a short training lesson. To convert from driving to flying mode, simply reverse the sequence.
Styling and Design
The distinctive look of the PAL-V is the result of an uncompromising design approach that integrates both aerodynamic and stylistic requirements. It is dynamic without being overbearing and delivers elegance rather than extravagance. The result is a timeless exterior that maintains excellent aerodynamics. What the driver/pilot sees, hears, and feels is all in harmony. The reward is total involvement: a level of engagement and experience that truly stimulates the senses.
PAL-V DVC Tilting Technology
The PAL-V drives using the patented DVC™ tilting technologies invented for the Carver ONE (a two-passenger land vehicle). Watch movie: “carver driving”
Steer it like a car and it banks like a motorcycle. It sounds deceptively simple, and it truly is! At the heart of the PAL-V lies the Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC™) system which automatically adjusts the tilt angle of the vehicle to its speed and acceleration, enabling a plane-like ’tilting while cornering’ performance.
The driver’s input via steering torque is distributed between the front wheel steering angle and the vehicle tilting angle. This distribution is automatically adjusted to varying speeds and road conditions to ensure an optimal balance at all times. At lower speeds, the steering torque is directed to the front wheel angle and the passenger compartment remains upright. At higher speeds the steering torque is mainly directed to the tilt angle of the cockpit.
The genius of the DVC™ technology is in its simplicity: essentially a mechanical-hydraulic system. It relies on proven technology resulting in a reliable responsive, and above all, extremely safe steering system.
With the PAL-V ONE, tilting in corners becomes second nature.
Technical Specifications
Click Image To Enlarge
Pricing
Not Available Yet
COMMENTARY: PAL-V Europe NV was started in 2001 by Ir Robert Dingemanse co-founder and CEO to design a roadable aircraft. It evaluated many potential technologies and created numerous concepts in cooperation with well-known research institutes and universities. The most important breakthrough was the maturing of the DVC tilting technology in 2005. This brought into reach the design of a real flying car instead of a roadable aircraft. This technology allowed for safe driving without compromises while having a high centre of gravity and a narrow aerodynamic shape necessary for flying. The first real “flying car” concept was born!
Having designed and patented their findings and concepts, PAL-V Europe NV hired a team of very skilled engineers with automotive, aviation and motorcycle backgrounds and started the engineering of its proof-of-concept prototypes. World-class partners were selected and contracted for several system elements. This led to the first flight of PAL-V’s proof-of-concept prototype in 2012.
Since then the company entered the next phase of development, engineering the first commercial version, optimizing the design, and starting up production. This will result in the market launch of the first model: the PAL-V ONE: the first, exclusive, limited, historic edition in its line-up of flying car models. The next chapter in the history of mobility is being written, by PAL-V, today!
A team of top engineers has been working on the first prototypes since finalization of the design concept in 2008. Renowned institutes such as the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory and Delft University have also been involved in the development. The driving prototype was fully tested in 2009 and now the flying-driving prototype has made its first flights. The PAL-V complies with existing regulations in all major markets, which means that the vehicle is allowed both in road traffic and in the air. Robert Dingemanse, CEO and co-founder of PAL-V commented:
“We are very proud to announce this successful maiden flight of the PAL-V and we now invite investors to create the future with us. We know there is a lot of interest for the PAL-V. Prior to announcing these test flights, we were already approached on a daily basis by potential customers and dealers wanting to be part of this exciting project.”
A PAL-V offers the choice of flying like a plane or driving like a car. This means fast door-to-door mobility for private individuals as well as professionals and organizations. The flying range will be between 350 (220 miles) and 500 km (315 miles), depending on the type, pay load and wind conditions. Driving, a PAL-V will have a range of about 1200 km (750 miles). It runs on gasoline like a conventional car and there will also be versions that use biodiesel or bio-ethanol. It can reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (110 miles/h) both on land and in the air.
On the ground the slim, aerodynamic, 3-wheeled vehicle combines the comfort of a car with the agility of a motorcycle thanks to its patented, cutting-edge, ‘tilting’ system. Driving, a PAL-V accelerates like a sports car and drives through curves like a motorcycle.Flying, a PAL-V is like a standard gyrocopter. It is quieter than helicopters due to the slower rotation of the main rotor. It takes off and lands with low speed, cannot stall, and is very easy to control. This makes a PAL-V one of the safest types of aircraft. Obtaining a licence requires only 20 to 30 hours of training.Thanks to its very short take off and landing capability, it is possible to land a PAL-V practically anywhere. For take-off, a strip of 165 meters (540 feet) is enough and it can be either paved or grass. Governments are already preparing for increasing traffic with Personal Air Vehicles like the PAL-V. In the United States and in Europe government-funded development programs are determining the infrastructure of ‘digital freeways’ to provide a safe corridor using GPS technology. The technology is available today to allow personal air traffic to grow safely. PAL-V Europe N.V. is determined to play a leading role in this market.
Courtesy of various press releases issued by PAL-V Europe NV
A weapon that used to be the size of a passenger jet now fits on the back of a flatbed truck. (Shark mounting apparatus sold separately.)
DARPA is unveiling a portable laser weapons system, HELLADS, which seems like something out of a sci-fi movie. HELLADS stands for High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System. The new laser application, created by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems with a custom power system from Saft Batteries, will help change the way the American military fights future wars. Current military laser systems are bulky contraptions which are mainly the size of a passenger jet, while the proposed DARPA weapon can fit on the back of a flatbed truck. The 150-kilowatt, solid state laser weapon is strong enough to take down drones or other aerial targets; a prototype is expected to be available by the end of 2012.
Since laser beams work at the speed of light, it's effectively impossible for aerial targets to dodge them. The use of laser beams against land targets is complicated by line-of-sight issues, but the miniaturization of laser technology makes them perfect for use against aerial and naval targets. The demonstration laser for DARPA will be the first 150-kilowatt laser weapon of its kind. DARPA plans to use the completed prototypes against targets at White Sands Missile Range in early 2013--this will include ground testing against rockets, mortars, and surface-to-air missiles.
Although video footage of HELLADS is not available yet, this clip of a previously developed American-Israeli laser system (which will be discussed later) from Northrop Grumman gives a good idea of how the system will work.
The big advance with these weapons is in the strength of the lasers and in their portability. Saft's Annie Sennet-Cassity told Fast Company that while previous military laser prototypes were stronger, they were also about the size of a passenger jet. This creates obvious difficulties in battlefield or aerial use. A 150-kilowatt laser beam is powerful enough to destroy aircraft. Previous military laser weapons primarily relied on blinding pilots with laser beams, rather than destroying the aircraft itself. For the United States Air Force, the ultimate goal is to equip bombers and UAVs with HELLADS weaponry.
However, the United States is not the only nation developing laser weapons. The Israeli government and American defense contractors have quietly been working for years on the Nautilus laser system, which in the words of Wired's Danger Room blog, gave the country a “ray gun defense.” Russia has been working on aerial military lasers since at least 2010, and India has also been developing a laser weapon system of its own.
While the idea of military lasers, death rays, and ray guns encourage all sorts of futurist fantasies, there will be major limitations to these weapons. Despite the fact that DARPA's laser can destroy airplanes, the strength of the laser beam is greatly weakened by clouds, haze, and dust clouds—something that can limit on-the-ground use in warzones.
COMMENTARY: HELLADS reminds one of the laser blasters you see in 'Star Wars' sci-fi films. With the ability to be able to integrate HELLADS into combat vehicles, aircraft and ships, this could be a game changer in combat warfare. However, the U.S. is not the only country working this this type of technology. You can bet that the Chinese are working on something similar.
Courtesy of an article dated March 8, 2012 appearing in Fast Company
An artist's illustratino of asteroids, or near-Earth objects, that highlight the need for a complete Space Situational Awareness system. Credit: ESA - P. Carril (Click Image To Enlarge)
Scientists are keeping a close eye on a big asteroid that may pose an impact threat to Earth in a few decades.
The space rock, which is called 2011 AG5, is about 460 feet (140 meters) wide. It may come close enough to Earth in 2040 that some researchers are calling for a discussion about how to deflect it.
Talk about the asteroid was on the agenda during the 49th session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), held earlier this month in Vienna.
A UN Action Team on near-Earth objects (NEOs) noted the asteroid’s repeat approaches to Earth and the possibility — however remote — that 2011 AG5 might smack into our planet 28 years from now.
The object was discovered in January 2011 by Mount Lemmon Survey observers in Tucson, Ariz. While scientists have a good bead on the space rock's size, its mass and compositional makeup are unknown at present.
Gravity Simulator image of 2011 AG5 passing the Earth-Moon system in February 2040. Earth is the blue dot, the moon’s orbit is gray, and 2011AG5 is green. Simulation created with JPL Horizons data. CREDIT: Tony Dunn
An asteroid desktop exercise
Detlef Koschny of the European Space Agency’s Solar System Missions Division in Noordwijk, The Netherlands said.
"2011 AG5 is the object which currently has the highest chance of impacting the Earth … in 2040. However, we have only observed it for about half an orbit, thus the confidence in these calculations is still not very high."
Koschny told SPACE.com.
"In our Action Team 14 discussions, we thus concluded that it not necessarily can be called a ‘real’ threat. To do that, ideally, we should have at least one, if not two, full orbits observed."
Koschny added that the Action Team did recommend to the NEO Working Group of COPUOS to use 2011 AG5 as a "desktop exercise" and link ongoing studies to the asteroid.
Koschny said.
"We are currently also in the process of making institutions like the European Southern Observatoryaware of this object. We hope to make the point that this object deserves the allocation of some special telescope time."
Non-zero impact probability
The near-Earth asteroid 2011 AG5 currently has an impact probability of 1 in 625 for Feb. 5, 2040, said Donald Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Object Observations Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
This impact probability isn't set in stone, however. So far, researchers have been able to watch the asteroid for just a short time — the first nine months of 2011 — and the numbers may change after further observation, Yeomans told SPACE.com.
Yeomans said.
"Fortunately, this object will be observable from the ground in the 2013-2016 interval."
He added.
"In the very unlikely scenario that its impact probability does not significantly decrease after processing these additional observations, there would be time to mount a deflection mission to alter its course before the 2023 keyhole."
Keyholes are small regions in space near Earth through which a passing NEO's orbit may be perturbed due to gravitational effects, possibly placing it onto a path that would impact Earth.
Video of a NASA Mission to intercept and deflect an asteroid
Prudent course of action
2011 AG5 may zip through such a keyhole on its close approach to Earth in February 2023, which will bring the asteroid within 0.02 astronomical units (1.86 million miles, or 2.99 million kilometers) of Earth. One astronomical unit is the average distance between Earth and sun, which is approximately 93 million miles (150 million km).
According to a JPL estimate, the 2023 keyhole — through which 2011 AG5 must pass in order for there to be a real chance of an Earth impact in 2040 – is roughly 62 miles (100 km) wide.
Yeomans noted, referring to the asteroid Apophis, which could threaten Earth in 2036 if it zips through a keyhole in 2029.
"Although this keyhole is considerably larger than the Apophis keyhole in 2029, it would still be a straightforward task to alter the asteroid’s trajectory enough to miss the keyhole – and hence the impact in 2040. The prudent course of action is then to wait at least until the 2013 observations are processed before making any preliminary plans for a potential deflection mission."
He added.
"Processing additional observations in the 2013-2016 time period will almost certainly see the impact probability for 2011 AG5 significantly decrease."
An artist's impression of a giant space rock slamming into Earth 65 million years ago near what is now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. A consortium of scientists now says this was indeed what caused the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. CREDIT: NASA/Donald E. Davis
Wanted: Higher-fidelity assessment
Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Near Earth Objects (NEO) Observations Program Executive in Washington, D.C. said.
"Yes, the object 2011 AG5 was much discussed at the AT 14 meetings last week, but perhaps prematurely."
Johnson said NEO watchers have flagged the asteroid "as one we should keep an eye on." At present, he said, while researchers have better preliminary orbit data for 2011 AG5 than for many other asteroids in the NEO catalog,
Johnson told SPACE.com.
"We have only medium confidence in the derived orbital parameters. Fortunately, we are confident our uncertainties in the current orbit model will be reduced when we will have good observation opportunities in September 2013 with the larger follow-up assets."
Observing opportunities are even better, he added, starting in November 2015 and for several months thereafter.
Johnson said.
"This, in turn, will enable us to better assess the likelihood of any ‘keyhole’ passage in 2023 and therefore a much higher fidelity assessment of any impact probability for the 2040 time frame. So, rather than a need to immediately jump to space mission solutions, the situation with 2011 AG5 shows the value of finding potentially hazardous objects early enough so that there is time for a methodical approach of observation and assessment as input to any need for an expensive spacecraft mission. A more robust survey capability would improve the data available to make such assessments."
A concept spacecraft could use gravity to tow asteroids away from a collision course with earth. CREDIT: Dan Durda - FIAAA / B612 Foundation
Decision challenge
Long-time NEO specialist and former Apollo astronaut Russell Schweickart played an active role in the dialogue about 2011 AG5. He represented the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) Committee on Near Earth Objects and presented to the Action Team an analysis of the situation with 2011 AG5.
Schweickart suggested.
"The space rock presents a decision challenge to the international community, in the unlikely chance that its current low, but significant probability of impacting Earth in 2040 continues to increase after additional tracking becomes available."
Schweickart spotlighted a rough Association of Space Explorers analysis of the options to deflect the asteroid in the future, in the unlikely scenario that the Earth impact probability continues to increase.
He also provided to the Action Team several new appraisals of options for deflection of asteroid 2011 AG5 to avoid a potentially dangerous Earth encounter in 2040.
The key moment of the Don Quijote mission: the Impactor spacecraft (Hidalgo) smashes into the asteroid while observed, from a safe distance, by the Orbiter spacecraft (Sancho). CREDIT: ESA - AOES Medialab
Delayed Deflection Campaign
A decision date for a keyhole deflection is very soon, if not now, Schweickart suggested. Asteroid 2011 AG5 represents an actual threat that underscores the need for a NEO hazard decision-making structure within the UN COPUOS, he said.
Based on the latest analysis, Schweickart reported, a deflection campaign delayed until after the 2023 close approach appears marginally possible, as long as a decision to commit is made immediately thereafter.
"Should a keyhole deflection campaign be foregone — for whatever reason — the international community may be faced with the difficult decision of choosing between an expensive multikinetic impactor or a nuclear explosive to prevent an impact should the NEO indeed pass through the keyhole."
The timelines that would be required to mount a successful deflection of the asteroid, Schweickart told SPACE.com, might be challenging.
But first things first — researchers stress that more study of the asteroid’s trajectory is called for. The next tracking opportunities of 2011 AG5 will occur in September 2013, and then again in November 2015.
NASA chief: We still have time
In response to a letter from Schweickart regarding 2011 AG5, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said.
"2011 AG5 is high on NASA’s list of NEOs to monitor for impact hazard potential. We take these duties very seriously."
Bolden also noted the opportunities for highly accurate ground-based observations in the near future.
He said.
"Based on these observations, a more informed assessment can then be made on the need for any type of mitigation."
Bolden also remarked that the asteroid makes an apparition in 2015, more than seven years before the close keyhole passage in 2023 that could set in motion an Earth impact in the 2040 time frame.
Bolden said.
"As a point of comparison, NASA’s Deep Impact mission [the Deep Impact probe smashed into comet Tempel 1 in July 2005] was conducted in six years from selection to impact under much less urgency, demonstrating the adequacy of a seven-year period for any necessary response."
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is a winner of last year's National Space Club Press Award and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.
COMMENTARY: Since 1999, NASA has developed more powerful space telescopes capable of searching into deep space and locating Near Earth Objects (NEOS) like asteroids and comets which could present a danger of colliding with Earth.
In a blog post dated September 24, 2011, I reported that NASA’s Near Earth Object Program, or NEO, celebrated a milestone earlier in 2011 by announcing that current search programs have discovered more than 90 percent of near-Earth objects more than six-tenths of a mile in diameter. A larger number of smaller objects have yet to be found, however. At the end of August 2011, NEO had discovered over 8,000 near-Earth objects. Over 450 of known near-Earth asteroids discovered to date are 1 kilometer in size or greater. The following graphs shows NEOs by year discovered, large asteroids and known NEOs.
Spacewatch, a program created to discover and track all large asteroids crossing the Earth’s orbit, discovered YU55 in 2005. This close approach had been expected since then, he said.
The majority of these NEOs do not present any eminent danger to Earth, but their discovery helps us keep track of them in case they ever do.
In a blog post dated June 25, 2011, I told you about near Earth object 2005 YU55, an astroid the size of an aircraft carrier that came within 201,000 miles of Earth on November 8, 2011. 2005 YU55 will return in 2028.
In a blog post dated November 8, 2011, Purdue University researchers determined what would've happened if 2005 YU55 had impacted earth. Let's put it this way, the asteroid that hit Earth near Flagstaff, Arizona and is the same size as asteroid 2011 AG5, created a Meteor Crater, a crater over 2.4 miles in diameter and 550 feet deep. If 2005 YU55 had hit Earth, it would've created a crater 4 miles in diameter and 1,700 feet deep.
Courtesy of an article dated February 27, 2012 appearing in Space.com and an article dated October 4, 2011 appearing in Space.com
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