Testing ESA's Mercury mission - Video

Europe’s Mercury mission is moved through ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in this new video, positioning it for testing inside the largest vacuum chamber in Europe, for a trial by vacuum.

BepiColombo, Europe’s first mission to study Mercury, is a joint mission with Japan. Two spacecraft – the Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter – will fly in two different paths around the planet to study it from complementary perspectives.

Flight hardware for the mission is undergoing testing at ESA’s Technical Centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the largest spacecraft test facility in Europe, to prepare for its 2016 launch.

The Mercury Planetary Orbiter was placed inside the chamber in late October for ‘thermal–vacuum’ testing. It will sit in vacuum until early December, subjected to the equivalent temperature extremes that will be experienced in Mercury orbit.

Liquid nitrogen runs through the walls of the chamber to recreate the chill of empty space, while an array of lamps focuses simulated sunlight 10 times more intense than on Earth.

NASA Plans to test making rocket fuel ingredient on Mars

NASA plans to make oxygen, a key ingredient of rocket fuel, on Mars early next decade.

Space agency officials Thursday unveiled seven instruments they plan to put on a Martian rover that would launch in 2020, including two devices aimed at bigger Mars missions in the future.

The $1.9 billion rover will include an experiment that will turn carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into oxygen.

It could then be used to make rocket fuel and for future astronauts to breathe, said NASA associate administrator for exploration Bill Gerstenmaier.

Taking fuel to Mars for return flights is heavy and expensive.

The device, named MOXIE, works like an engine but in reverse, said Michael Hecht, the scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is running the test project.

It will make about three-quarters of an ounce of oxygen an hour.

If it works, then a larger scale device, 100 times bigger than MOXIE, would be launched two years before astronauts go, currently slated for some time in the 2030s. NASA first plans to send astronauts to an asteroid.

The bigger device would start making enough oxygen for the return trip before astronauts ever launch to Mars, Hecht said.

The other part of rocket fuel, the propellant, can be made from light hydrogen that is brought from Earth or other chemicals mined from Martian dirt or atmosphere.

John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science, said the new rover, a clone of the chassis of the current Curiosity machine, "will lead to getting humans to Mars in the future."

Mars on average is about 140 million miles from Earth and opportunities to send spaceships to there come only every 26 months. The trip to Mars takes about 9 months, but can be as short as half a year.

The rover is scheduled to land on Mars in 2021.

NASA also plans to collect interesting rocks, put them in sealed vials for future flights to pick them up and return them to Earth for detailed study.

This would likely be another robotic mission or it could just wait for astronauts. NASA hasn't yet figured out how the rover will store the rocks.

ESA Samantha Cristoforetti: Testing Sokol spacesuit in a vacuum chamber

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tests her custom-made Sokol spacesuit in a vacuum chamber. 

Samantha will wear this suit during the liftoff and landing for her six-month International Space Station mission set to start in November this year.

Credits: Yuri P. Kargapolov

NASA Engineers Prepare Game Changing Cryotank for Testing

Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton

NASA and Boeing engineers are inspecting and preparing one of the largest composite rocket propellant tanks ever manufactured for testing.

The composite cryotank is part of NASA’s Game Changing Development Program and Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions.

NASA focused on this technology because composite tanks promise a 30 percent weight reduction and a 25 percent cost savings over the best metal tanks used today.

The outer shell of the 18-foot-diameter (5.5-meter) cryotank is the same size as propellant tanks used on today’s full-size rockets.

The tank was manufactured at the Boeing Developmental Center in Tukwila, Wash., and like artists, the team demonstrated their passion and commitment by signing their work.

The silver signatures of the NASA and Boeing team members are visible on the black dome end of the tank. 

NASA’s Super Guppy delivered the tank in March 2014 to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Kmag, a 96-wheeled cargo truck, transported the tank to a Marshall Center test area.

The 28,000-gallons (105.992- liter) tank will be insulated and placed in a test stand where it will be loaded with liquid hydrogen cooled to extremely cold, or cryogenic temperatures.

The orange ends of the tank are made of metal and will attach to the test stand so that structural loads can be applied similar to those the tank would experience during a rocket launch.

This artist rendering shows a wide-angle view of the liftoff of the 70-metric-ton (77-ton) crew vehicle configuration SLS from the launchpad. 

This advanced composite cryotank could benefit many of NASA’s deep space exploration spacecraft including NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the largest most powerful rocket ever built.

Reporters Witness NASA's Latest High Tech Exploration Tool Before Testing

NASA workers at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wearing clean room "bunny suits," prepare the LDSD test article for shipment later this month to Hawaii. 

LDSD will help land bigger space payloads on Mars or return them back to Earth.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL

On April 9 reporters got a chance to don "bunny suits" (protective apparel that sometimes makes people look like large rabbits) and enter a NASA clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

In the room is NASA's latest technology for landing large payloads on planets like Mars or Earth, being processed for shipping prior to testing next June.

NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project will be flying a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space this June from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii.

The LDSD crosscutting demonstration mission will test breakthrough technologies that will enable large payloads to be safely landed on the surface of Mars, or other planetary bodies with atmospheres, including Earth.

These new technologies will not only enable landing of larger payloads on Mars, but also allow access to much more of the planet's surface by enabling landings at higher altitude sites.

The LDSD is one of several crosscutting technologies NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is developing to create the new knowledge and capabilities necessary to enable our future missions to an asteroid, Mars and beyond.

The directorate is committed to developing the critical technologies required to enable future exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit.

NASA continues to solicit the help of the best and brightest minds in academia, industry, and government to drive innovation and enable solutions in a myriad of important technology thrust areas.

These planned investments are addressing high priority challenges for achieving safe and affordable deep-space exploration.

In fact, NASA's space tech team will launch seven major technology demonstrations in next 24 months.

ESA ATV-5 Georges Lemaître: Testing the solar panels for ATV-5

The solar panels for ATV Georges Lemaître undergoing testing at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. 

The launch of ATV-5 on board an Ariane-5 is scheduled for 25 July 2014.

Credits: ESA-CNES-Arianespace /Optique Video du CSG - S. Martin

NASA Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) tests new robotic refueling technologies

A robot servicer could use autonomous rendezvous and fluid transfer technologies to extend the life of orbiting satellites (depicted, artist's concept). 

Credit: NASA

NASA has successfully concluded a remotely controlled test of new technologies that would empower future space robots to transfer hazardous oxidizer – a type of propellant – into the tanks of satellites in space today.

Concurrently on the ground, NASA is incorporating results from this test and the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) on the International Space Station to prepare for an upcoming ground-based test of a full-sized robotic servicer system that will perform tasks on a mock satellite client.

Collectively, these efforts are part of an ongoing and aggressive technology development campaign to equip robots and humans with the tools and capabilities needed for spacecraft maintenance and repair, the assembly of large space telescopes, and extended human exploration.

Technologies to Help Satellites That Help Earth
The Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., checked another critical milestone off their list with the completion of their Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test (RROxiTT) in February 2014.

"This is the first time that anyone has tested this type of technology, and we've proven that it works. It's ready for the next step to flight," says Frank Cepollina, veteran leader of the five servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope and the associate director of SSCO.

Located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but commanded from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the RROxiTT industrial robot mimicked how future space robots could transfer oxidizer to a satellite valve. 

Image Credit: NASA

"RROxiTT gives NASA, and the satellite community at large, confidence that advanced satellite refueling and maintenance technologies aren't a wild dream of the future," says Cepollina.

"They're being built and tested today – and the capabilities that they can unlock can become a reality."

Frank Cepollina

Since 2009, SSCO has been investigating human and robotic satellite servicing while developing the technologies necessary to bring on-orbit spacecraft inspection, repair, refueling, component replacement and assembly capabilities to space.

Taking lessons learned from the successful Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), the SSCO team devised the ground-based RROxiTT to test how robots can transfer hazardous oxidizer, at flight-like pressures and flow rates, through the propellant valve and into the mock tank of a satellite.

While this capability could be applied to spacecraft in multiple orbits, SSCO focused RROxiTT specifically on technologies that could help satellites traveling the busy space highway of geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO.

Located about 22,000 miles above Earth, this orbital path is home to more than 400 satellites, many of which beam communications, television and weather data to customers worldwide.

RROxiTT lead roboticist Alex Janas stands with the Oxidizer Nozzle Tool as he examines the work site. 

Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

By developing robotic capabilities to repair and refuel GEO satellites, NASA hopes to add precious years of functional life to satellites and expand options for operators who face unexpected emergencies, tougher economic demands and aging fleets.

NASA also hopes that these new technologies will help boost the commercial satellite-servicing industry that is rapidly gaining momentum.

Besides aiding the GEO satellite community, a capability to fix and relocate "ailing" satellites also could help mitigate the growing orbital debris problem that threatens continued space operations, ultimately making space greener and more sustainable.


NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and Kennedy Space Center in Florida joined teams and efforts to test new robotic refueling technologies that could help satellites live longer in space. 

During the test, a robotic arm with a highly specialized tool transfered satellite oxidizer -- an extremely corrosive fluid that helps propel satellites in orbit -- through the valve of a simulated spacecraft. 

Adding to the complexity, the test was operated remotely from Goddard while performed at Kennedy's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. 

The test simulated the refueling of a spacecraft in orbit, an extremely challenging task that the team has been tackling since they launched the successful Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) demonstration to the International Space Station in 2011.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst testing his Russian Sokol spacesuit

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst testing his Russian Sokol spacesuit for the last time before his launch to the International Space Station in May 2014. 

Alexander has been training for his mission since 2011 after he was selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009. 

Based at ESA's ESOC, European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, his space adventure has taken him to Canada, USA, Japan and Russia for training with robots, spacecraft, hypergravity and survival techniques. 

Image courtesy GCTC.

The clock is ticking: in 100 days ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst will be launched to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and cosmonaut commander Maxim Suraev.

Strapped on top of 274 tonnes of rocket propellants, they will be boosted to 28 000 km/h to arrive at the orbital outpost in less than seven hours.

The launch will mark the start of Alexander's Blue Dot mission as part of Space Station Expedition 40/41, staying for six months on the ISS, the world's only permanently staffed orbital laboratory.

ASTROBOTIC: Testing begins for real at Masten Space Systems

When Astrobotic's Griffin lander descends to the lunar surface, it will precisely target a small landing ellipse (a small area where it might land) and autonomously maneuver to avoid hazards such as rocks bigger than 25cm and slopes greater than 15. 

Last month Astrobotic introduced the landing sensor package and the concept of map registration - a technique that matches ("registers") a location in an in-flight image to the same location on a map.

Kevin Peterson

Now, an Astrobotic team led by Kevin Peterson is headed out to Masten Space Systems, located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA, to fly the landing sensor package and software system on the Masten Xombie suborbital rocket.

This is the first of three flights on Masten's reusable launch vehicles - all made possible by a NASA Flight Opportunities award.

The first flight will operate the system in an open-loop mode, where Astrobotic's sensor package captures the same data it would use for an autonomous landing, but without actually controlling the vehicle.

The second and third flights, slated for later this spring, will be closed-loop flights where Astrobotic's landing software uses the sensor-package data in real time to guide the vehicle's landing.

Terrestrial simulation of the landing task requires creativity. Over the last year, Astrobotic has used a variety of test environments to exercise the landing system components and gather data about their operation.

NASA testing modified "pumpkin suit" for asteroid mission spacewalks - Video

NASA is taking steps to make spacewalking on an asteroid a reality. 

In the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers are testing a modified version of the pumpkin-orange Advanced Crew Escape System (ACES) worn by space shuttle astronauts during launch and reentry for use by future crew in the Orion spacecraft.

As the agency plans human deep space missions, including a voyage to a relocated asteroid, care is being taken to efficiently use space inside Orion.

The white Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuits used by crews to conducts spacewalks on the International Space Station are too bulky to carry in the spacecraft, so NASA is looking at ways to alter the ACES suits for multiple uses both inside and outside the spacecraft.


"The shell of them is very much the same, and to the casual user you may not even notice the difference, but internally we modified them to work with the plumbing inside Orion," said Dustin Gohmert, Crew Survival Systems Manager at Johnson.

Through a series of tests in the NBL, engineers are learning what features need to be included to improve the suit's mobility beyond the needs of the trip from the launch pad to space and its return to Earth, such as enhanced gloves and elbow joints with improved mobility for spacewalks.

The ACES pumpkin suit was worn by space shuttle crews beginning in 1994 and builds on the earliest spacesuit worn by Ed White during the first venture outside a spacecraft in 1965.

"We're stepping back to our heritage to be able to use one suit for multiple tasks," said Gohmert.

NASA James Webb Space Telescope: backplane arrives at Marshall Centre for testing

The James Webb Space Telescope's backplane element arrives at the Marshall Center. 

Credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton

A major piece of the James Webb Space Telescope, the mirror's primary backplane support, arrived Aug. 22 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for testing in the X-ray and Cryogenic Test Facility.

The backplane is the backbone of the telescope, supporting its 18 beryllium mirrors, instruments and other elements while the telescope is looking into deep space.

The Webb Telescope is the world's next-generation space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

To prepare the telescope for the extreme temperatures of space, engineers at the facility have carefully examined the telescope's mirrors inside a vacuum chamber that simulates the hypercold of space, chilling the hardware from room temperature down to a frigid minus 414 degrees Fahrenheit.

The backplane is the latest and final piece of the telescope to undergo this extreme conditioning at the Marshall Center.

The X-ray and Cryogenic Facility at the Marshall Center (PDF) is the world's largest X-ray telescope test facility and offers a unique, cryogenic, clean-room optical test environment.

Cryogenic testing will take place in a 7,600-cubic-foot, helium-cooled vacuum chamber, chilling the Webb support structure from room temperature to simulate the frigid atmosphere of space.

While the structure changes temperature, test engineers will precisely measure its structural stability to ensure it will perform as designed in the extreme temperatures of space.

The cryogenic testing is targeted to begin in September.

"This testing of the backplane will verify limited movement of the structure when exposed to cryogenic temperatures," said Helen Cole, project manager for Webb Telescope mirror activities at the test facility.

"This is important to overall performance of the telescope."

Crews unload the James Webb Space Telescope's "backplane," which was flown aboard a Lockheed C-5 airplane to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. 

Credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton

"Ensuring the best performance for the telescope requires evaluating the hardware at temperatures just as cold as in the environs of space," said Jeff Kegley, the test facility's manager.

 "This is the last in a series of Webb Telescope tests our facility has been performing since 2008; it's great to have the hardware here."

A joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb Telescope will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars.

ATK built the backplane structure at its facility in Magna, Utah, under a contract with prime contractor Northrop Grumman.

NASA’s Morpheus: Prototype Green Lander Explodes During Testing

The first freeflight of Nasa JSC's Morpheus LOX-Methane vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket vehicle. It appears to have had a guidance failure. The heat of the methane burning then burst a LOX tank.

The lander flew a short distance before spinning head over tail and plummeting to the ground, where it burst into flame and exploded after about half a minute.

No one was injured during the testing of the lander, nicknamed ‘Morpheus’ after the Greek god of dreams.

The test would have marked the first solo flight of the 10-ft-long, 2,300 lb prototype.

NASA's Morpheus “was testing an engine that burned liquid oxygen and liquid methane, a technology NASA believed could benefit future landing or in-space propulsion systems.”

According to Jon Olansen, Morpheus’ project manager, the destruction of the craft, estimated to have cost about $500,000 was almost complete.

While the memory devices that could give a clue to what went wrong were successfully salvaged, in Olansen’s words, “The vehicle itself is lost.”

The team hopes to be able to gather enough data from the craft’s demise to be able to discover what went wrong during the test and fix it in any subsequent prototypes.

“We want to make sure that what we learn today gets applied to that next vehicle,” Olansen

NASA released a statement saying that failure is “part of the development process” and that they are confident the team will discover what’s wrong and fix the issue.

NASA JPL Project Morpheus: Lander undergoes engine testing

Morpheus is a vertical test bed demonstrating new green propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and hazard detection technology.

Designed, developed, manufactured and operated in-house by engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Morpheus Project represents not only a vehicle to advance technologies, but also an opportunity to try out “lean development” engineering practices

Engine Testing
After sticking to the ground for upgrades the past several months, the Project Morpheus prototype lander took to the skies at Johnson Space Center again on Tuesday.

Since its last round of tests in 2011, the Morpheus team has given the liquid oxygen/liquid methane-fueled lander a new engine, new avionics and a power unit redesign.

In addition, the vehicle software has been substantially updated in preparation for the integration of its Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) payload.

The lander has the same oxygen and methane tanks, and the same structure, but otherwise it’s practically an all-new vehicle.

“The first series of tests gave us a basic understanding of our ability to control the vehicle and allowed us to initially characterize the performance of the subsystems on the vehicle,” Morpheus Project Manager Jon Olansen said.

“With that information we were able to go back and design in upgrades to improve performance and reliability.”

Once the upgrades were complete, it was time to start up a new series of tests. Like last time, they started with hot fire tests to demonstrate engine operation, and this week worked up to tethered testing.

On Tuesday, the refitted lander successfully hovered 15 feet above the ground for 40 seconds, firing the engine for a total of 50 seconds with ignition, ascent and descent.

NASA James Webb Space Telescope: Testing in Space Environment Simulator

Several critical items related to NASA's next-generation James Webb Space Telescope currently are being tested in the thermal vacuum test chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

This image shows the Optical Telescope Element Simulator, or OSIM, wrapped in a silver blanket on a platform, being lowered into the Space Environment Simulator vacuum chamber via crane to be tested to withstand the cold temperatures of space.

Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

Smart paint uses Fly Ash to revolutionize structural safety - Scottish Research

Dr. Mohamed Saafi, University of Strathclyde. Credit: University of Strathclyde

An innovative low-cost smart paint that can detect microscopic faults in wind turbines, mines and bridges before structural damage occurs is being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

The environmentally-friendly paint uses nanotechnology to detect movement in large structures, and could shape the future of safety monitoring.

Traditional methods of assessing large structures are complex, time consuming and use expensive instrumentation, with costs spiraling into millions of pounds each year.

However, the smart paint costs just a fraction of the cost and can be simply sprayed onto any surface, with electrodes attached to detect structural damage long before failure occurs.

Dr Mohamed Saafi, of the Strathclyde University's Department of Civil Engineering, said: "The development of this smart paint technology could have far-reaching implications for the way we monitor the safety of large structures all over the world.

"There are no limitations as to where it could be used and the low-cost nature gives it a significant advantage over the current options available in the industry. The process of producing and applying the paint also gives it an advantage as no expertise is required and monitoring itself is straightforward."

The paint is formed using a recycled waste product known as fly ash and highly aligned carbon nanotubes. When mixed it has a cement-like property which makes it particularly useful in harsh environments.

Dr Saafi explained: "The process of monitoring involves in effect a wireless sensor network. The paint is interfaced with wireless communication nodes with power harvesting and warning capability to remotely detect any unseen damage such as micro-cracks in a wind turbine concrete foundation.

"Wind turbine foundations are currently being monitored through visual inspections. The developed paint with the wireless monitoring system would significantly reduce the maintenance costs and improve the safety of these large structures.

"Current technology is restricted to looking at specific areas of a structure at any given time, however, smart paint covers the whole structure which is particularly useful to maximise the opportunity of preventing significant damage."

The research has been carried out at Strathclyde with Dr Saafi working alongside David McGahon, who initiated the work as part of his PhD project.

With fly ash being the main material used to make the paint, it costs just one percent of the alternative widely used inspection methods.

A prototype has been developed and tests have shown the paint to be highly effective. It is hoped further tests will be carried out in Glasgow in the near future.

Dr Saafi added: "We are able to carry out the end-to-end process at the University and we are hoping that we can now demonstrate its effectiveness on a large structure.

"The properties of the fly ash give the paint a durability that will allow it to be used in any environment which will be a massive advantage in areas where the weather can make safety monitoring particularly difficult.

"The smart paint represents a significant development and is one that has possibly been overlooked as a viable solution because research tends to focus on high-tech options that look to eliminate human control. Our research shows that by maintaining the human element the costs can be vastly reduced without an impact on effectiveness."

NASA: James Webb Space Telescope website

Click on the picture to see the recent pictures, images and Sunshield testing

MATRIX: Boeing Laser Weapon Testing

Boeing recently announced it successfully tracked and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser weapon. Actually, it shot down five UAVs at various ranges with the trailer-mounted Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX).

Developed at the request of the Air Force Research Laboratory, MATRIX integrates with standard test-range radar, focusing a single energy beam on moving aerial vehicles and blasting them out of the sky. It's the future of aerial seek and destroy, defending against always-orbiting unmanned craft.

NASA: Ares Solid Rocket Motor testing in Utah

NASA lit up the Utah sky with the initial full-scale, full-duration test firing of the first stage motor for the Ares I rocket.

The 154-foot solid rocket motor produced heat two-thirds the temperature of the sun and its 12-foot-diameter cylinder delivered 3.6 million pounds of thrust.

Genetic Disorders: Europe demands early testing of Children

CHILDREN should be tested for genetic disorders if their family history puts them at high risk, even if they don't show any symptoms, according to new Europe-wide guidelines.

Some European countries already have guidelines on testing children at risk of genetic disorders, but they disagree on when to carry out the tests. There is also the thorny issue of whether to test for disorders that can't be treated or prevented, says Pascal Borry of the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in Belgium, who helped write the new guidelines.

Now the European Society of Human Genetics is recommending immediate testing of children at increased risk of treatable conditions that appear in childhood, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and retinitis pigmentosa. Even if treatment is not an option, testing can be worthwhile as it may forewarn or reassure the family, but the child's interests must come first, says the society (European Journal of Genetics, DOI: 10.1038/ejhg.2009.26).

It also states that minors should be able to choose in the case of conditions that only occur later in life, such as inherited breast cancer, provided they understand the implications of the test. Such tests are particularly valuable if modifying lifestyle can lower the chance of getting the disease.