Earth Sky Stars » Rocketry http://earthskystars.net/blog blog for earthskystars Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:35:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Is Ending NASA’s Constellation Program a Bad Move? http://earthskystars.net/blog/2010/03/03/is-ending-nasas-constellation-program-a-bad-move/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2010/03/03/is-ending-nasas-constellation-program-a-bad-move/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:06:06 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=209 Probably not, IMHO. Doing a manned spaceflight program on the cheap was a bad idea. Shifting money from NASA’s unmanned science program to fund this bad idea was even worse.

Many former astronauts believed that Constellation was an accident waiting to happen. Instead of recycling old ideas and hardware let’s do the research and engineering required for a successful space program.

Obama did the right thing by killing a poorly conceived program.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2010/03/03/is-ending-nasas-constellation-program-a-bad-move/feed/ 0 Build Your Own Lunar Lander Computer … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/07/14/build-your-own-lunar-lander-computer/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/07/14/build-your-own-lunar-lander-computer/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:01:12 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=181 Talk about “old school”! Here’s a link to building your own working replica of the Apollo 11 LEM guidance computer. It took John Pultorak, who is a 54 year old Lockheed Martin software engineer, 4 years to build and program it in his basement. He even documented the construction and posted the plans here. The computer contained a whopping 4k of RAM!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/07/14/build-your-own-lunar-lander-computer/feed/ 0 ESA’s Earth Explorer Satellite Program http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/17/esas-earth-explorer-satellite-program/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/17/esas-earth-explorer-satellite-program/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:31:38 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=159 ESA (European Space Agency) will be launching a series of satellites named Earth Explorers. Each of these satellites will examine our planet with a different set of instruments. Our planet is changing in many ways and these robotic explorers will help us understand how and why.

The first mission, Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), just launched from Russia and will map the Earth’s gravitational field in detail. An unique mission, the GOCE satellite flies at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere with constant orbital corrections provided by an ion engine. The next missions are listed below from ESA’s web site:

ADM-Aeolus
The prime aim of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission is to demonstrate measurements of vertical wind profiles from space, using a high performance Doppler Wind Lidar based on direct-detection interferometric techniques. ADM-Aeolus is due for launch in 2011.

EarthCARE
Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) will improve the representation and understanding of the Earth’s radiative balance in climate and numerical forecast models. EarthCARE is due for launch in 2013.

Opportunity missions:

SMOS
The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, scheduled for launch in 2009, will exploit an innovative instrument designed as a two-dimensional interferometer for acquiring brightness temperature observations at L-band (1.4 GHz) for the estimation of soil moisture and ocean salinity to further our understanding of the Earth’s water cycle.

CryoSat-2
The CryoSat-2 satellite replaces CryoSat, which was lost as a result of launch failure in October 2005. Scheduled for launch towards the end of 2009, CryoSat-2 will measure fluctuations in the thickness of ice on both land and sea to provide conclusive evidence as to whether there is indeed a trend towards diminishing ice cover, furthering our understanding of the relationship between ice and global climate. CryoSat-2 will carry an innovative SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL).

Swarm
The objective of this mission is to provide the best-ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution in order to gain new insights into the Earth system by improving our understanding of the Earth’s interior and climate. Swarm is due for launch in 2010.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/03/17/esas-earth-explorer-satellite-program/feed/ 0 While I’m waiting for the solar install … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/07/while-im-waiting-for-the-solar-install/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/07/while-im-waiting-for-the-solar-install/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:08:42 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=65 I’ve starting work on another hobby, amateur rocketry. I have many kits around the house waiting to be built. This one is an Estes Saturn V, 30th anniversary edition. I’ve always liked the big moon rocket and building a scale model is always a challenge.  Fortunately most NASA stuff was designed to be stable, unlike the “twitchy” military rockets. This stability usually scales down to smaller rockets. It increases the chances of getting my hard work back in one piece!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/07/while-im-waiting-for-the-solar-install/feed/ 0 Fire in the Sky 2006 http://earthskystars.net/blog/2006/07/03/fire-in-the-sky-2006/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2006/07/03/fire-in-the-sky-2006/#comments Mon, 03 Jul 2006 20:04:05 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=13 This past Memorial Day weekend at Mansfield, WA saw the 2006 edition of the Fire in Sky rocket launch. Started by Scott Binder of BSD rocketry this event continues to grow in size. The event has grown to include amateur astronomy groups and near space groups.

Unfortunately Friday and Saturday saw intermittent showers and clouds which restricted launching and night time star viewing. Sunday and Monday provided better weather allowing many more launches, clear star viewing, and a near space balloon launch. This FITS showed a wide range of rocketry equipment. Rockets ranged in size from model rockets all the way up to a complex “N” powered rocket flown by Vern Knowles.

Another great project was the Dreams in Flight rocket built for Tom Van Etten by a team of rocketeers led by John Hawkins. Tom was diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago and was forced to put his rocketry on hold. John bought the Dreams in Flight rocket from Tom and finished it for Tom’s Level 3 attempt. Normally for Level 3 the builder and flyer need to be the same person, but Tripoli, the certifying organization, recognized this as a special case. The flight was flawless and Tom is now a Level 3 flyer!

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