An interesting week or two in space

Probably swamped by the elections, but this was curious.

NASA has accidentally broadcast a simulation of astronauts being treated for decompression sickness on the International Space Station, prompting speculation of an emergency in posts on social media.

At about 5.28pm US Central Time (11.28pm Irish time last night), The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) live YouTube channel broadcast audio that indicated a crew member was experiencing the effects of decompression sickness (DCS), NASA said on its official ISS X account.

Cue hasty retraction.

There is no emergency situation going on aboard the International Space Station. At approximately 5:28 p.m. CDT, audio was aired on the NASA livestream from a simulation audio channel on the ground indicating a crew member was experiencing effects related to decompression…

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) June 13, 2024

A simulation, or emergency practice, no less. Might have been a good idea were that cued up ahead of time. Presumably they’ll put in safeguards from here on out.

More cheerfully, the PRC has managed to land an unscrewed probe on the Moon, get samples and lift off again for Earth. That’s a significant achievement and one presumes it is now just a matter of time until they land a crewed capsule to do similarly.

China’s uncrewed Chang’e-6 probe is on its way back to Earth carrying the first samples from the far side of the moon, in a major achievement for Beijing’s space programme.

The probe landed on the lunar surface on Sunday, within one of the oldest craters on the moon – the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin – then spent two days gathering rock and soil samples using its drill and robotic arm.

 

After successfully gathering its samples, “a Chinese national flag carried by the lander was unfurled for the first time on the far side of the moon”, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

CNSA has confirmed the probe is on its return journey, with its ascender module having “lifted off from lunar surface” and entered a preset orbit around the moon.

Even should something happen to it before the samples are safely returned to Earth – which is planned for the 25th of this month, it is clear the PRC is well able to sustain these sort of missions. And bear in mind that only the United States and Soviet Union have been able to do this previously. Moreover the fact these samples are from the far side of the Moon is a first. 

Meanwhile, back in the US, the first crewed Starliner mission lifted off successfully on Thursday.

Two Nasa astronauts were on their way to the international space station on Wednesday after Boeing’s pioneering Starliner capsule finally made its much delayed first crewed flight from Cape Canaveral.

The visually stunning liftoff, against a mostly clear and blue Florida sky, came seven years beyond the spacecraft’s original target date, five years after the failure of an uncrewed test flight, and following a more recent series of postponements for technical reasons that saw launch attempts abortedtwice.

Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams reached orbit 12 minutes after the 10.52am ET launch. They are scheduled to dock with the ISS shortly after noon on Thursday, and if the eigh-to-10-day mission is successful, Starliner will give Nasa a second privately owned option for ferrying humans to lower Earth orbit alongside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

And:

The hi-tech Starliner capsule, officially called CST-100 (crew space transportation), is designed to totally transform how astronauts fly in space. Its autonomous flight, navigation and course-correct systems make Williams and Wilmore effectively only passengers, although they can step in to take over manually if required.

Innovation includes a weldless design, which reduces the risk of structural failure, and interior space similar to a midsize SUV. Starliner can carry up to seven humans, but will be configured for four astronauts and cargo for space station flights.

Whether the Commercial Crew Program, which is the umbrella under which these flights occur, with private companies ‘partnering’ with NASA to provide launch systems and vehicles, is working as advertised is another matter. The idea was to save public money. Scientific American suggests:

Commercial crew’s genesis extends back to the commercial cargo program, which was first funded in 2006, as NASA used similar models to get private robotic and crewed vehicles running to the ISS. Until then, only government programs had sent supplies to the orbiting lab; agency officials turned to industry to nurture those companies’ independence and resilience while, ideally, saving on taxpayer cost.

Commercial cargo nurtured the development of SpaceX‘s cargo Dragon and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus vehicle, both of which have been flying robotic resupply missions to the ISS for more than a decade, and will soon send Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser to space as well. The success of cargo development helped NASA award its first commercial crew contracts in 2010, collectively totaling $50 million (worth about $72 million in 2024 dollars) to five companies.

After winnowing the field:

SpaceX and Boeing then received the last major contract for final development work, known as Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap), in September 2014. Boeing’s deal was worth $4.2 billion back then, while SpaceX got $2.6 billion. The money was also meant to cover six operational crewed flights to and from the ISS.

But:

As is common with big spaceflight projects, lots of logistical and technical obstacles arose for both companies’ spacecraft. NASA wanted the two CCtCap awardees to fly astronauts in 2017, but SpaceX’s first such test flight launched in 2020, while Boeing’s was delayed even longer, until today. Lots of things contributed to the wait. Congress repeatedly gave less moneythan the White House and NASA requested for commercial crew, and technical obstacles arose. Boeing’s solutions, however, took more flights and more time than SpaceX’s.

SpaceX managed to successfully launch and conduct a full test flight with their Starship rocket.This is the largest rocket built to date, still, to say it’s had problems would be an understatement. Supposedly a key component of a NASA return to the Moon in two years:

Despite Starship’s development appearing quicker than other rocket programmes, it has been slower than Mr Musk originally envisioned.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced this week he has cancelled a planned trip around the Moon on Starship with a crew of artists because he has no idea when it might actually happen.

There’s another vehicle in the offing, the Dream Chaser from Sierra Space which while not winning a contract under the terms above has been proceeding with development nonetheless. It’s an unmanned craft at the moment, but there’s talk of crewed variants.

There’s meant to be a test later this month, but the following caught my eye:

United Nations

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) selected the cargo Dream Chaser for its first space launch. This launch is intended to last for at least two weeks in freeflight to provide space access to United Nations member states that have no space programs of their own. The United States will pay for the mission and provide all support facilities. ^[102]

In 2019, the launch date for the proposed mission, expected to carry up to 35 payloads, was set for 2024.^[103

Scientific American earlier this year noted:

Wise says Sierra Space is focused on making this first mission successful rather than getting overhyped about the future. But the company does have a loose plan with the United Nations, if funding is secured, to launch an uncrewed international mission. Although the details aren’t nailed down, the U.N.’s description says such a mission would carry “experiments, payloads, or satellites provided by institutions in the participating countries.” Sierra Space is also talking to other governments about potential “free-flyer missions,” where the plane would simply loiter in orbit. It could host microgravity experiments onboard or give small satellites a lift and then let them go.

In some ways despite its current profile as an uncrewed cargo carrier its potential is much greater than the other vehicles described above.