Earth
India lofts 104 satellites to set single-launch record
In a record-breaking flight, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) successfully orbited the 714 kg Cartosat-2 Series satellite along with 103 co-passenger satellites on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. PSLV-C37 lifted off at 9:28 am IST, as planned, from the First Launch Pad. After a flight of 16 minutes …
Stuck on Mars: Comparing Mars analog simulations to ‘The Martian’
I’ve never been stuck on Mars, or any other planets save for this one. But I have had a chance to simulate what life would be like to live on Mars during a long-duration analog simulation. Like fictional astronaut Mark Watney in Andy Weir’s “The Martian”, participants in analog simulations often find themselves having to …
DSCOVR sees the Earth like never before
This animation features actual satellite images of the far side of the moon, illuminated by the Sun, as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and telescope, and the Earth – one million miles away. Credit: NASA Moon seen crossing the face of the Earth A NASA camera aboard the Deep …
Troubleshooting with a ‘dead’ astronaut
I was an electronic technician for Grumman Aircraft Co. from 1964 through 1978. One of my duties was to operate the Lunar Module cabin during trouble shooting and testing. Back then, the astronauts spent as much time in and around the hardware as we did. One day in the MSOB (Manned Spacecraft Operations Building), I was …
Celebrating Mars New Year
The town of Mars, Pennsylvania and NASA marked the Martian New Year with a three-day celebration in the small western Pennsylvania borough. As part of the celebration of the Red Planet’s latest complete journey around the Sun, the town hosted three days of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) activities. This article appeared in the …
Falcon 9 ruptures during ascent
ISS suffers another loss of resupply cargo After a string of 18 successful launches to begin its pedigree, a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by SpaceX suffered a catastrophic failure during its ascent to orbit on Sunday, June 28. The Falcon 9 rocket was attempting to loft the Dragon capsule and service trunk on the CRS-7 …