ESA Rosetta mission: Crippled Philae lander endeavours to transmit relevant data

Animator's picture of Philae on the comet 67/P now appears more idealistic and hugely optimistic.

A report on the Philae spacecraft's verified Twitter feed suggests the probe has successfully "hopped" into a new position which may enable its solar panels to work

There was fresh hope for the Rosetta mission after scientists reconnected with the probe which could be holding key information about how life on Earth began.

The 25-year mission was thrown into jeopardy after the Philae craft bounced away from its landing site on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and became stuck under a cliff.

Scientists had been working on attempts to find and move the probe before it ran out of battery power.

But on Friday those plans were abandoned and instead they began drilling beneath the surface of the comet in an attempt to get some samples on board for analysis.

ESA Philae landers' instruments listed. Consert, Romap, SD2 and Mupus have been initiated but results are unknown.

Contact with the lander was lost before the data could be sent back to Earth, but late last night Philae re-established radio contact with its orbiting Rosetta satellite and is sending data from the surface.

However, less than an hour later scientist confirmed the lander was "getting tired" and the battery voltage was approaching the limit.

Daniel Scuka, Senior Editor for Spacecraft Operations at ESOC, said on the mission blog: "While the search for the final landing site is still on-going, the lander is racing against the clock to meet as many of the core science goals as possible before the primary battery is exhausted.

"Under the low illumination conditions at Philae's location, it is unlikely that the secondary batteries will charge up enough to enable extended surface operations."

They confirmed that they had received data from Philae, and that the drill had moved up and down, but they were unsure what data they had.

A report on the spacecraft's verified Twitter feed, Philae Lander @Philae2014, suggests the craft has successfully "hopped" into a new position, possibly one that will enable more sunlight to shine on its solar panels.

The first of two messages at about 11pm read: "I just started lifting myself up a little and will now rotate and try and optimise the solar power."

This was quickly followed by another which said: "My rotation was successful (35 degrees). Looks like a whole new comet from this angle."

Philae has imaged three different spots on the comet, it was confirmed.

This may be the sum total of knowledge taken out of the Rosetta Philae lander chapter of the mission.

However, in a less optimistic update just before midnight Mr Scuka added: "On board Philae, system voltage has fallen very close to 21.5V; below that, the battery won't last much longer. At this time, there is insufficient sunlight to provide power."

Rosetta The comet is a remnant from the early solar system and may hold clues about how life on Earth began.

Many scientists believe that comets were the driving force, delivering water and amino acids to the planet during the "bombardment phase" about four billion years ago.

If the link with the probe is lost, there is a faint possibility that the solar panels will begin working again when the comet's orbit brings it closer to the Sun.

"We can only hope that as we approach the Sun, maybe in August, if we don't have dust or a huge coma [a dust cloud around the comet] blocking the Sun, then perhaps there would be a chance we could come back and at least see how the lander is doing," said Valentina Lommats, of the German Space Agency.

Crucially, the team had still not located the lander on Friday. On Thursday, team members said they believed Philae had bounced twice before settling in a crater east of the original landing site.

However, scans by the Osiris camera on board the Rosetta mother ship failed to locate the probe.

Rosetta has now started scanning other areas.

An animated gif of the Philae lander departing from Rosetta on its risky but calamitous journey onto the comet 67/P.

However, scientists were confident that they had collected a huge amount of a data, around 90 per cent of what they were hoping for before the solar panels were needed to extend the mission.

Even if Philae's job is finished, the Rosetta mission is to continue.

Rosetta will remain alongside the comet as it moves closer to the Sun.

Instruments on board will analyse the gases of the tail and the comet's interior, measure dust grains and study its atmosphere and gravity.

The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on Aug 13 next year, at about 115 million miles, roughly between the orbits of Earth and Mars.

Russian Soyuz TMA-14M Capsule Reaches Space Station - Solar Array Deployment Issue

A Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft, with only one of its two solar arrays deployed, is seen nearing the International Space Station on Sept. 25, 2014 (Eastern Time) to deliver three new members of the Expedition 41 crew. 

The stuck solar array did not hinder the Soyuz capsule's single-day trip to the space station.

Credit: NASA TV

A Russian-built Soyuz capsule carrying a crew of three reached the International Space Station late Thursday (Sept. 25), despite a stuck solar array that failed to deploy just after its launch six hours earlier.

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft linked up with the station at 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed high over the Pacific Ocean.

The Soyuz arrived at the space station with American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts, including Elena Serova, the first female cosmonaut ever to visit the International Space Station.

Russia's Soyuz vehicles are three-person spacecraft made up of a crew capsule, orbital module and service module powered by two winglike solar arrays.

Initially, Russian engineers were concerned the stuck solar array would block a radiator and lead to hotter temperatures inside the Soyuz, but the capsule's crew reported all was well, NASA officials said.



The Soyuz clearly had enough power for a smooth docking, despite being at half-capacity.

"The port solar array isn't deployed but the power situation is fine. It just doesn't look good from the point of view of photographs," one of the Soyuz crew said during the docking.

"We're eating and drinking, and we're in good spirits. Everything is as it should be."

The docking occurred just hours after a flawless launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where Serova and her crewmates, NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev, bid farewell to Earth to begin a nearly six-month space mission.

Trio joined three other space travelers already aboard the station: astronaut Reid Wiseman of NASA; Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency; and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suarev, who commands the station's Expedition 41 crew.

That little red streak hidden behind the SpaceX Dragon solar array is the Soyuz launching.

ISS Spacewalkers Deploy Nanosatellite, Install and Retrieve Science

Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev deploys the Chasqui 1 nanosatellite outside the Pirs docking compartment near the beginning of Monday's spacewalk. 

Image courtesy NASA TV.

Two Expedition 40 spacewalkers, clad in Russian Orlan spacesuits, wrapped up a 5-hour, 11-minute excursion outside the International Space Station at 3:13 p.m. EDT Monday.

Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev deployed a small science satellite, retrieved and installed experiment packages and inspected components on the exterior of the orbital laboratory.

Shortly after the spacewalk began at

10:02 a.m., Artemyev manually deployed Chasqui 1, a Peruvian nanosatellite designed to take pictures of the Earth with a pair of cameras and transmit the images to a ground station.

The project is part of an effort by the National University of Engineering in Peru to gain experience in satellite technology and emerging information and communication technologies.

The spacewalkers installed the EXPOSE-R2 experiment package, a European Space Agency-sponsored suite of experiments, on the exterior of the Zvezda service module.

The package includes two astrobiology studies that will investigate biomaterials and extremophiles - organisms that are tolerant of environmental extremes.

Results from these experiments may contribute to life-detection strategies for future robotic exploration of Mars.

While on the conical section of Zvezda, they attached a handrail clamp holder for the Automatic Phased Array antenna.

Skvortsov and Artemyev set up that communication systems antenna during their first spacewalk on June 19.

The cosmonauts also set up the Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring unit on the Poisk Mini Research Module-2.

Skvortsov and Artemyev retrieved several science packages designed to expose a variety of materials to the harsh environment of space.

While on Poisk, they removed one cassette and install another on a materials experiment known by its Russian acronym SKK. The spacewalkers also retrieved a panel of sample materials from the Vinoslivost payload.

The retrieval of a Biorisk experiment container outside Pirs completed the science package roundup for the two cosmonauts. Biorisk studies the effects of microbes on spacecraft structures.

Skvortsov and Artemyev also collected residue samples from a window on Zvezda.

During the spacewalk, Commander Steve Swanson was isolated to the Poisk module and his Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft docked there due to the closure of hatches in support of the excursion. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev arrived at the station March 27 aboard that Soyuz.

Spaceflight Deploys Dove Constellation From Dnepr Launcher

Spaceflight Inc., the company reinventing the model for launching small satellites into space, has successfully deployed 11 Planet Labs Dove earth-imaging spacecraft from an International Space Company (ISC) Kosmotras-operated Dnepr launch vehicle.

"SmallSat constellations are a critical, growing piece of the space economy," said Curt Blake, president of Spaceflight.

"We are thrilled to expand our launch heritage with Planet Labs and ISC Kosmotras to enable the cost-effective and timely launch of small satellites."

Spaceflight previously deployed Planet Labs' Dove 1 and 2 satellites in April 2013 from an Orbital Sciences' Antares launch vehicle, as well as its Flock 1 constellation from the International Space Station in January 2014 with partner NanoRacks.

Spaceflight then arranged for the launch of 11 more Dove spacecraft from the Dnepr vehicle through partner Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS). The additional 11 CubeSats will complement the existing Planet Labs constellation of 3U imaging spacecraft.

Using its expertise in navigating International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and export law and in the most recent export challenges around shipping ITAR-controlled hardware to Russia, Spaceflight arranged for Planet Labs' U.S. payload to be exported to Russia for launch integration.

On June 19, 2014 at 19:11 UTC the Dnepr launch vehicle sprang out of its underground transport and launch canister, and roared through the atmosphere using its RD-264 first-stage engine. All 11 Dove spacecraft were successfully deployed roughly 30 minutes after first-stage ignition.

"We are excited to launch 11 more satellites, bringing the total number of Dove satellites launched to 43," said Mike Safyan, director of launch and regulatory at Planet Labs. "Through our unique approach to satellite design and frequency of launch, the satellites in orbit continue to get better and better."

Oppressive China deploys spy satellites in search for Malaysia plane

Beijing is deploying as many as 10 of their spy satellites in hopes of tracking down Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, state media reported Tuesday, as the search for the vanished aircraft entered its fourth day.

The high-resolution satellites, which are controlled from the Xian Satellite Control Centre in northern China, will be used for navigation, weather monitoring, communications and other aspects of the search-and-rescue effort.

Nearly two-thirds of the 239 people aboard flight MH370 were from China, and if the loss of the aircraft is confirmed, it would be China's second-worst ever air disaster.

Crews from nine countries have joined the international search effort, including China, Malaysia, the United States, Singapore, Vietnam, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand.

Deployment of NanoRacks CubeSats from the International Space Station

A set of NanoRacks CubeSats is photographed by an Expedition 38 crew member after deployment by the NanoRacks Launcher attached to the end of the Japanese robotic arm. 

The CubeSats program contains a variety of experiments such as Earth observations and advanced electronics testing. 

International Space Station solar array panels are at left. 

Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. 

Two sets of CubeSats were deployed late Wednesday, Feb. 26 and early Thursday, Feb. 27, leaving just two more launches to go of the 33 CubeSats that were delivered to the station in January by Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo ship. 

The latest CubeSats were sent on their way at 8:50 p.m. EST Wednesday and 2:40 a.m. Thursday. 

CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites and have small, standardized sizes to reduce costs. 

Two final batches of CubeSats are set for deployment at 11:20 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 a.m. Friday, but more are scheduled to be delivered to the station on the second Orbital commercial resupply mission in May. 

Image Credit: NASA

NASA ORS-3 Mission: STPSat-3 and 28 CubeSats deployed into Earth orbit

The Minotaur 1 four-stage rocket carrying the Air Force's Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3) and 28 other CubeSats also carried a compact Autonomous Flight Safety System unit that operated in "shadow mode" to track the rocket's path as it lifted off the gantry and streaked across the horizon. 

Credit: Chris Perry /NASA Wallops

A spectacular launch from Virginia's eastern shore recently resulted in the successful deployment of Air Force's Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3) and 28 other CubeSats into orbit, but that wasn't the only first for the mission or the bustling spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

Range safety officers also used the ORS-3 mission, run by the U.S. military's Operationally Responsive Space Office, to carry out the first of three planned certification tests of a new technology that promises to eventually eliminate the need for expensive down-range tracking and command infrastructure to manually terminate rockets if they veer off course.

Barton Bull

According to Barton Bull, the chief engineer of the Wallops Research Range, the Minotaur 1 four-stage rocket carrying the Air Force's Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3) and 28 other so-called CubeSats also carried a compact Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) unit that integrated GPS, an inertial measurement unit and Wallops-developed algorithms to track the rocket's path as it lifted off the gantry and streaked across the horizon.

Developed by ATK, a supplier of aerospace and defense products from its location in Plymouth, Minn., the shoe box-size unit worked in shadow mode during its first certification test.

As part of that test, range officers programmed the unit to respond to a simulated signal indicating that the rocket had gone off course and to send a self-destruct or detonate command at the appropriate time.

Initial Data 'Positive'
"We're still looking at the data, but initial indications are pretty positive," said Bull, whose organization created the unit's software.

"Preliminary data indicate that the unit sent the simulated termination command at the right time."

Traditionally, range-safety officials use radar from ground stations operating in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Bermuda and Antigua to track flight vehicles and a ground-based command system to terminate rockets that deviate from their flight plans.

Due to increasing costs to maintain and staff these systems, NASA and the military launched a program several years ago to develop an autonomous system that would migrate flight-safety functions onto the rocket itself.

"All these systems need to be tied together and that costs money and time," Bull said. "Our objective is to save money and allow faster decision-making." Initial testing of AFSS began more than three years ago.

However, in those flight demonstrations the team used a system cobbled together with commercial, off-the-shelf components married to the Wallops-developed software.

The test during ORS-3, however, employed the actual unit that ATK built under contract.

As a result of the unit's successful function test, the AFSS team plans to execute another test during a rocket launch from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, in the coming months.

A launch date has not been set. Once the team finishes the certification, it believes AFSS will become fully operational in a couple years.

New Mission Graphics System Debuts
In addition to carrying out the first AFSS test toward certification, the mission debuted and tested a new, user-friendly mission-graphics system that updates radar and other data on a computer screen, Bull said.

"It takes an enormous amount of time to set up these systems" and make sure all the data, which typically arrive in different formats, are easily displayed, he added.

The new system is more configurable and faster to set up.


"This was a mission of firsts on many different levels," Bull said. The team deployed a record-breaking 29 CubeSats, including, among others, Firefly (developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.), which is studying lightening and its possible connection to incredibly powerful bursts called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, or TGFs, just miles off the ground.

Also aboard were NASA's so-called "PhoneSat," which is testing a smartphone's capability as a communication technology for nanosatellites, and 11 student-developed research satellites.

A student team from a high school in Alexandria, Va., provided one of the 11, also a first.

"I think we were all pleased with the results," Bull said.

Set of NanoRacks CubeSats Deployed From International Space Station

The Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD), in the grasp of the Kibo laboratory robotic arm, is photographed by an Expedition 38 crew member on the International Space Station as it deploys a set of NanoRacks CubeSats.

The CubeSats program contains a variety of experiments such as Earth observations and advanced electronics testing. 

Station solar array panels, Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.

Image Credit: NASA

ESA Sentinel-1A radar deployment - Video

Testing the deployment of the Sentinel-1A radar antenna (in fast motion) in the cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France.

As the satellite is designed to operate in orbit, it is hung from a structure during tests to simulate weightlessness.

The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), will provide an all-weather day-and-night supply of imagery for services such as the monitoring of Arctic sea-ice extent, routine sea-ice mapping, surveillance of the marine environment, monitoring land-surface for motion risks and mapping to support humanitarian aid and crisis situations.

Sentinel-1A – the first satellite built for the Copernicus environmental monitoring programme – is foreseen for launch this spring from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

NASA NuStar: X-ray mission reaches orbit

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array begins its mission using high-energy x-rays to uncover some of the most powerful structures in the universe.

Image: NASA via UStream

At noon Eastern time on Wednesday, NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) blasted towards low-Earth orbit from a Pegasus XL rocket, after it was dropped from the belly of a carrier jet circling near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

The X-ray mission, a low-cost NASA mission in its small Explorer line of competitive missions, is expected to discover hundreds of new supermassive black holes that lie in the hearts of distant galaxies.

A lot is riding on NuSTAR — it is one of few missions in sight for X-ray astronomers. Just last week, GEMS, a similar-looking mission that would have gathered polarized X-ray light, was canceled because of budget overruns.

While NuSTAR is no replacement for general purpose X-ray observatories like Chandra and XMM-Newton, it will have unprecedented sensitivity in the “hard”, or high-energy, X-ray part of the spectrum.

Fifteen minutes after launch, the science payload had separated from the rocket. By 12:22 pm EDT, all five of NuSTAR’s solar panels had been deployed successfully.

It will be another week before the most nerve-wracking phase of the mission begins — the 26 minutes during which a deployable mast will unfurl itself so that NuSTAR can reach its full 10-metre focal length.

EADS: SES orders 4 multi-mission satellites from Astrium

Global satellite operator SES and Astrium, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS have announced that SES has ordered four multi-mission satellites from Astrium to provide replacement as well as incremental capacity for its SES ASTRA and SES WORLD SKIES divisions.

The new satellites, to be designated ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F, ASTRA 2G and ASTRA 5B, will allow the release of the existing satellites at two orbital positions (28.2 and 31.5 degrees East) and add new capacity as well as fleet deployment flexibility for the SES group over the coming years.

The satellites are scheduled for launch in several steps between 2012 and 2014. The design life of each satellite is 15 years.

"This important investment in new satellite capacity will enhance the prominence of SES ASTRA's 28.2 degrees East position, mainly for the UK and Irish markets, and improve coverage of Eastern Europe from 31.5 degrees East," said Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES.

"It will also allow SES WORLD SKIES to extend its offer to the African and Middle Eastern markets. By adding significant flexibility and improved functionality, these new satellites will allow SES to further drive its DTH, DTT, enterprise and broadband businesses while consolidating space assets and strengthening the international reach of the group. Also, we are pleased to be working again with Astrium. SES has appreciated the quality of their products and their customer dedication in recent and ongoing contracts, and this is exactly what we are looking for in this multi-satellite contract."

The four new satellites will be built on a Eurostar E3000 platform, the latest version of Astrium's Eurostar series which has proven to be highly reliable in commercial service. A total of 60 Eurostar satellites have been ordered to date. SES has already ordered three Eurostar E3000s: ASTRA 1M, which entered into service one year ago; ASTRA 3B, ready for launch early next year; and ASTRA 1N, which was ordered last year and is currently under construction.

"Astrium is extremely proud to have been selected by the world's premier satellite operator, and I would like to profoundly thank SES for their confidence. Following a rigorous selection process among the world's leading satellite manufacturers, Astrium demonstrated that it offered the best solutions for SES. The decision to order four satellites in a single contract increases Astrium's long-term standing as a market leader in satellite production. I would also like to express my gratitude to the teams on both sides of the table for their outstanding professionalism, which ultimately made it possible to sign one of the biggest contracts for telecommunications satellites in the world," said Astrium CEO François Auque.

Three of the new spacecraft, ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 2G, will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2 degrees East.

The Ku-band capacity will allow SES ASTRA to enhance and secure its existing offering to major Direct-to-Home (DTH) markets in the UK and Ireland. With a Ku-band payload specifically designed to meet the requirements of some of Europe's largest DTH broadcasters, the satellites will have spot beam and pan-European beam switching capabilities to accommodate both pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters, and to provide these customers with increased functionality.

SES ASTRA customers in this region include BSkyB, BBC, ITV, Freesat, Channel Four, UK TV, Virgin Media, Five, MTV and Discovery. The Ka-band payload will allow SES ASTRA to develop next generation broadband services in Europe, including its growing ASTRA2Connect product.

ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 2G will also include replacement and new capacity for the SES WORLD SKIES division, serving the African and the Middle Eastern markets with Ku-and Ka-band capacity. The new capacity will provide continuity of service and expansion opportunities for customers that are today already using the ASTRA 2B steerable beam over West Africa, as well as for new customers

ASTRA 5B will be deployed at the orbital position 31.5 degrees East, extending SES ASTRA's transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighboring markets for DTH, Direct-to-Cable (DTC) and contribution feeds to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) networks.

SES' orbital position 28.2 degrees East is currently served by the ASTRA 2A, 2B and 2D spacecraft. The 31.5 degrees East position is currently served by ASTRA 2C.