The New (Improved?) NASA

NOTE: Cross-posted to Getting There From Here.

If you follow space-related news, then by now you are surely aware that the White House released President Obama's budget plan for 2011-2015 today, and there is no funding for the Constellation Program (the Vision for Space Exploration created under Bush in 2003). So what does that mean? Everybody has their own opinion, but here's mine:

First, it means that the more than $8 billion spent over the past 5-6 years is basically wasted money (along with an additional $2.5 billion that will be spent to close down the program). A lot of people thought that Constellation was a flawed program—including me—but that's a lot of money to flush down the toilet. Sure, not all of it was wasted money. For example, we produced a few new scientific and technical innovations out of that money, but spending $8-9 billion to get what little we got (a single demo flight with non-representational hardware) was a bit crazy. And if Constellation had continued the way it was going, it would have been massively over-budget and late on delivering on its goals. Still, that means that the government will have spent more than $3,500 for each man, woman, and child in this country on a program that effectively accomplished very little.

At the same time, a new generation of rocket scientists got some first-hand experience at designing and building new (or at least updated versions of old) rocketry systems. Again, a pretty expensive price to pay to get some people some good experience, but given that the average age of our rocket scientists has been climbing since the 1960s, that's not really a bad thing.

But that's what it means for the past. What does it mean for the future? Well, that's pretty tough to say, since predicting the future is always a challenge. But here is what is being proposed: NASA will abandon low-earth orbit (LEO) to companies like SpaceX, encouraging and financially supporting a commercial space industry. Instead, NASA will focus on the heavy lift programs necessary to get us to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids.

NASA will spend $7.8 billion between 2011 and 2015 on advanced technology demonstration programs to explore more advanced exploration options. This includes in-orbit propellant transfer, closed-loop life support, automated maneuvering and docking systems, and inflatable space modules (similar to the ones that Bigelow Aerospace is experimenting with... perhaps the new focus on partnerships will allow NASA and Bigelow to work together on these). All of these technologies will be essential to exploring our solar system and beyond.

In addition, NASA will spend $3.1 billion on research into new propulsion systems (hopefully solar sails and VASIMR will be included in this spending) and another $3 billion on robotic missions to pave the way for human exploration.

All of this means that—with the Space Shuttle fleet retiring later this year—NASA does not have any way to get crew into orbit other than to pay $51 million per flight to the Russian Space Agency for launches aboard Soyuz capsules. To alleviate this, NASA is encouraging commercial spaceflight companies to pick up the slack by allocating $5.8 billion for crew launches provided by commercial operators. With the money already allocated to SpaceX and Orbital as part of the COTS program, they have an advantage over other small operators. But with that much money on the line, you can bet that Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and others (including, perhaps, the joint venture United Space Alliance, which operates the Space Shuttle program) will jump into the fray with commercial offerings.

And with the cancellation of Constellation and the end of the massively-expensive Space Shuttle program, more money will be available for basic scientific reasearch in the areas of Earth Observation and Astrophysics. Most interesting to me are added funding to get Mars Science Laboratory launched in 2011 and a probably 2014 launch for the James Webb Space Telescope.

I personally like NASA's renewed focus on research and development, while letting business enterprises commercialize the results on behalf of the government. Too much of NASA's budget over the past two decades has been spent on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. While those programs have provided benefits (notably in the areas of living and working in orbit, including orbital construction methods), the costs once again far outweighed the benefits. The new plan will hopefully shake a lot of complacency out of the system and encourage creative thinking and innovation, while also spurring commercial development of space travel and exploration.

Discovery Lands Safely

Discovery landed safely in Florida shortly before noon eastern time this morning, capping a smooth, successful mission to the International Space Station. During the mission, the shuttle crew delivered a large piece of the Japanese Kibo laboratory, the largest, most sophisticated laboratory ever placed in orbit. In addition—and much to the relief of the space station crew—Discovery delivered a new pump for the Russian toilet which had failed shortly before the shuttle's launch.

The next shuttle launch will not be until October, and it will be the only remaining shuttle mission not going to the International Space Station. That mission will be used for repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Object Floats Away From Discovery

Early this morning, as space shuttle Discovery was in preparations for returning to Earth, members of the crew noticed an object floating away from the shuttle into space. Most likely, the object broke free from the shuttle during maneuvers to position the orbiter for re-entry. Commander Mark E. Kelly also noticed what he called a "bump" sticking out from the side of the shuttle's tail rudder.

NASA is reviewing photos and video of both anomalies before allowing the shuttle to land, and the crew may re-deploy the robotic arm so that the camera mounted on the arm can get a better look to verify that Discovery is safe for landing.

At this point, it seems likely to me that landing will be delayed by at least a day in order to ensure the safety of the astronauts and the shuttle. In a worst case scenario, the crew will return to the International Space Station and dock while awaiting pickup by the emergency backup shuttle, which has been a part of every mission since the return-to-flight after the Columbia accident.

Discovery On Its Way

Space shuttle Discovery successfully launched on-time yesterday on its way to the International Space Station. The astronauts are already ahead of schedule and are proceeding with a scan of the orbiter's heat-shield, even though they do not have the laser-tipped probe that they have been using on the last several missions (their cargo was too much this time and they had to leave some things out).

Discovery is scheduled to dock with the ISS tomorrow at 1:52pm EDT. Once docked with the station, they will perform a more detailed analysis of the heat shield using a boom arm stored on the space station.

Discovery on Schedule for Launch Tomorrow

According to NASA, all systems are go for tomorrow's launch of space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Discovery will be transporting additional pieces of the Japanese Kibo laboratory module—including the large Japanese Pressurized Module and a robotic arm—as well as a new toilet pump to replace on that has failed (talk about trouble getting a plumber out to your house!). Additionally, Discovery will deliver Greg Chamitoff and return Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who has spent the past three months on the space station.

This mission will be the largest payload ever transported to the ISS and includes three spacewalks to install equipment.

With launch scheduled for 5:02pm EDT, NASA expects an 80 percent chance of favorable weather at launch time. And since this launch will be happening at a time when I'll be awake, I expect to watch the streaming webcast of it.

NASA Schedules Hubble Repair Mission for Oct. 8 Launch

NASA has announced the new target launch date for the fifth (although it's called Servicing Mission 4) and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will launch for STS-125 on October 8 of this year, if all goes well. The mission was previously delayed due to NASA's need to build fuel tanks and for Endeavour to get ready. Endeavour is necessary as a back-up if a problem happens with Atlantis, as the shuttles trajectory to Hubble will make it impossible to make an emergency trip to the ISS.

If everything goes well and Endeavour is not needed for a rescue mission, then that shuttle will fly on November 10, 2008, to deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS.

When Servicing Mission 4 is complete, not only will Hubble's useful life be extended, but the quality of science it can achieve will be enhanced. These enhancements include new batteries to replace the batteries that have been in use since 1990 and replacement of some of the gyroscopes that keep Hubble pointed at its targets for observation.

The crew will also be repairing the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and some of Hubble's insulation, as well as installing a new cooling system, the Wide Field Camera 3, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.

Endeavour Launches Tonight

Space Shuttle Endeavour launches tonight or early tomorrow morning, depending on what time zone you live in. The launch is scheduled for 2:28 AM EDT (1:28 AM here in the Central time zone) which means this will be the first launch in quite a while I have not watched live online.

This is a major mission, the longest duration flight to the ISS so far at 16 days. Over the course of the mission, the Japanese Kibo laboratory module will be added to the space station, along with a newer, improved robotic arm system (with two arms and fine manipulator "hands") from the Canadian Space Agency.

Additionally, Endeavour will be delivering Garrett Reisman for a stay aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 16 and will bring European astronaut Leopold Eyharts home from the space station.

Forecasters are projecting a ninety percent chance of good weather, and no problems have been indicated as of now, nine hours before the launch.

Atlantis Reaches Space

The weather turned out to be benign (at least at Cape Canaveral) and the fuel sensors worked successfully, allowing Atlantis to launch on-time at 2:45 PM EST. The shuttle reached space several minutes later and is on its way to the International Space Station carrying the Columbus science laboratory (Europe's single largest contribution to the station).

Columbus is about 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 "racks" of experiments, each approximately the size of a phone booth. Five NASA racks will be added to the laboratory once it is in orbit. Each rack provides independent controls for power and cooling, as well as communication links to earthbound controllers and researchers. These links will allow scientists all over Europe to participate in their own experiments in space from several user centers and, in some cases, even from their own work locations.

Atlantis Passes Fuel Sensor Checks; to Launch at 2:45 PM EST

Space Shuttle Atlantis passed all checks on the low-fuel sensors that failed in December, prompting NASA's two-month delay. The shuttle is due to launch in just a few minutes, at 2:45 PM EST, if the weather holds.

Launch Postponed

12/17/2007 - 9:28 AM - UPDATE: In order to give their staff some time off over the holidays, NASA has pushed the shuttle's launch date back again, this time to January 10. If they dalay much longer, the launch of Atlantis could impact the timeline for 2008's remaining shuttle launches. NASA has a pretty limited lifespan for these shuttles, which are supposed to be retired by 2010, so any delay in launching missions this year could have serious repercussions.

12/10/2007 - 8:11 AM - UPDATE: Still unable to find and correct the fuel sensor glitch, NASA has decided to postpone the launch until January 2, 2008. Doing so will hopefully give their people time to figure out why the sensors are failing (or replace them with a different set that will hopefully work better).

12/08/2007 10:26 AM - UPDATE: NASA has added a further delay, but odds are looking pretty good for a launch tomorrow. These sensors are a four-piece backup system, and when they fueled the shuttle on Thursday only two of the four registered. NASA's rules call for at least three to be functioning in order to launch, but they may relax that rule. They are also planning to shorten their launch window from the normal five minutes to just one minute to conserve a little extra fuel. The reason is that the sensors in question are designed to shut off the engines after fuel gets pretty low, and this way if they fail to shut off there will be a little bit more fuel left at the end of the burn.

12/07/2007 8:09 AM - UPDATE: It's not going to be today, either. NASA is going to spend a little time trying to figure out how to fix the wiring to the sensors. If they can't come up with a solution quickly, they may just launch tomorrow, anyway. These sensors are redundant systems, so not having them won't impact the launch unless the primary systems fail.

So the weather was perfect, but the shuttle wasn't. Two of four low-level fuel sensors on the Atlantis' external fuel tank malfunctioned, prompting a delay of at least 24 hours. Hopefully they'll get things fixed and launch the shuttle tomorrow.

Shuttle Launch Tomorrow

So you probably know by now, but Atlantis is due to launch tomorrow at 4:31 pm EST (3:31 pm here in the Midwest) carrying the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. The weather looks good, so barring any unforseen complications, the next step in space-borne science should be getting underway pretty soon.

A Perfect Launch

Endeavour's launch last night went off on-time and without any problems, which apparently only happens about 40% of the time for space shuttles.

Endeavour Launches Tonight

NASA's space shuttle Endeavour launches tonight at 6:36:36 PM EDT. Unfortunately, that will be 5:36 my time, and I will be at the gym, so I won't be able to watch it like I usually do. If you want to watch the launch, however, you can see it at Space.com.

Since the last time it launched, Endeavour has undergone a major overhaul replacing most of the key systems and updating the shuttle with the latest technology. When it launches, it will be the most advanced shuttle NASA has ever sent into orbit.

Atlantis to Launch Tonight

Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch this evening at 7:38 PM EDT, and NASA expects only a 20% chance of inclement weather interfering with the launch.

This launch, delayed three months by damage from a freak hailstorm, will be going to the International Space Station to attach two more pieces of structural framework and a new set of solar panels. The astronauts will also relocate an existing set of solar panels and install a rotary joint allowing the panels to track the sun.

Shuttle Launch Delayed

The U.S. Space Shuttles are fragile beasts, with (so far) a catastrophic failure rate of about 1-in-60. For that reason, NASA takes even small amounts of damage to the shuttles very seriously.

When a severe storm pounded Florida a couple of days ago, Atlantis was already sitting on the launch pad, and consequently the foam protecting its external fuel tank was damaged by severe hail. Since degraded foam doomed Columbia a few years ago, NASA has taken damage to the foam protectant very seriously.

As a result, NASA has decided to roll the shuttle back into the Vehicle Assembly Building to repair the damage, which will result in a roughly six week delay in launching the shuttle (they cannot launch to the ISS while the crews are being changed out due to traffic congestion). So the new expected launch date for Atlantis will be in late April.

By the way, I'm not an expert on launch pad processes, but it seems to me that rolling the shuttle out to the pad a month before launch is just asking for this kind of trouble. This isn't the first time NASA has had to delay a launch because of something like this. I know they get to have drills and practice the launch a couple of times by having the launcher on the pad, but do they really need a month to do all of that, or could they be server by having it out 7-10 days before launch?

Discovery Beats the Odds

Despite predictions of bad weather threatening the launch, the space shuttle Discovery made NASA's first night launch in four years tonight, rocketing off the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This launch is one of fourteen remaining launches for the space shuttle fleet, thirteen of which will focus on completing assembly of the International Space Station. The remaining flight, in 2008, will be the final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.

In addition to supplies and a new piece of the space station, Discovery is delivering a new crew member to ISS, American Suni Williams, and returning German astronaut Thomas Reiter.

No Joy for Discovery

Last night's launch of the Discovery space shuttle was scrubbed due to poor weather, as expected. Since NASA has no expectation for better results today, the next attempt will be Saturday at 8:47 PM EST.