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Great Egret (m) Ardea alba
full frame
Dallas Texas
UT Southwestern Medical Center Rookery.
Photographers note: When I tried to process this image with photoshop. Photoshop curves or Photoshop levels told me that the photo was overexposed and I could not get details in the highlights. So then I used Canons raw software (I never normally use that one). And that software had zero problem recovering details in the highlights. Whew! Almost sent this image to the recycle bin.
Christopher's website
international crew of seven in support of the Spacelab D-2 mission. D-2 became the second Spacelab flight under German mission management. Two teams performed around-the-clock operations, conducting 88 experiments covering materials and life sciences, technology applications, Earth observations, astronomy, and atmospheric physics. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as “science central” for the International Space Station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s science experiments. After 20 years of continuous human presence, the space station remains the sole space-based proving ground and stepping stone toward achieving the goals of the Artemis program. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
#tbt #nasa #marshallspaceflightcenter #msfc #marshall #space #history #marshallhistory #STS55 #SpaceShuttleColumbia #Columbia #nasamarshall #nasahistory #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #PayloadOperationsIntegrationCenter #POIC #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation
Launched from Vandenberg SFB, it looked like this from Santa Barbara, CA about 50 miles away. Bright white spots are the two fairings which cover the payload and the booster which returned to earth.
This week in 2001, Canadarm2, launched aboard STS-100, was installed on the International Space Station. Here, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield stands on one Canadian-built robot arm while working with Canadarm2. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center serves as “science central” for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s science experiments. After 20 years of continuous human presence, the space station remains the sole space-based proving ground and stepping stone toward achieving the goals of the Artemis program. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
#tbt #nasa #marshallspaceflightcenter #msfc #marshall #space #history #marshallhistory #STS100 #SpaceShuttleEndeavour #Endeavour #nasamarshall #nasahistory #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #PayloadOperationsIntegrationCenter #POIC #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation
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****This frame was chosen on June 12th 2014 to appear on FLICKR EXPLORE (Highest Ranking: #83. This is my Forty ninth photograph to be selected, which for me is both amazing and exciting, as I never view my images as worthy compared to some of the awesome photography out there. EXPLORE is Flickr's way of showcasing the most interesting photos within a given point in time -- usually over a 24 hour period.
Flickr receives about 6,000 uploads every minute -- That's about 8.6 million photos a day! From this huge group of images, the Flickr Interestingness algorithm chooses only 500 images to showcase for each 24-hour period. That's only one image in every 17,000!..... so I am really thrilled to have a frame picked and most grateful to everyone who visited, favourite and commented on the frame*****
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Ninety one metres, prior to the magic of the Golden Hour around sunrise (Sunrise was at precisely 04:38am), at 03:11am on Thursday 12th June 2014 off Lullingstone Lane and Eagle Heights overlooking the field adjacent to Eynsford Viaduct in the village of Eynsford, Kent, England.
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Nikon D800 70mm 1/3s f/5.0 iso100 RAW (14 bit) Nikon RC-DC2 remote shutter release. AF-S Single point focus. Manual exposure. Matrix metering.
Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED IF VRII. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Manfrotto MT057C3 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections (Payload 18kgs). Manfrotto MH057M0-RC4 057 Magnesium Ball Head with RC4 Quick Release (Payload 15kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 410PL-14.Jessops Tripod bag. Optech Tripod Strap.Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 22m 8.15s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 11m 46.15s
ALTITUDE: 91.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 103.00MB
PROCESSED FILE: 13.27MB
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Processing power:
HP Pavillion Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. HD graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.90 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit
This week in 1996, STS-78 and its primary payload, the Life and Microgravity Spacelab, launched. During the 17-day spaceflight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations.
Five space agencies -- NASA, European Space Agency, French Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency and Italian Space Agency -- along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the laboratory.
LMS investigations, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, conducted the most extensive telescience to date, similar to investigations on the International Space Station.
Today, Marshall is home to the Payload Operations and Integration Center -- the command center for all science operations on the ISS, ensuring successful science operations to benefit people on Earth and to pave the way for deep space exploration. Flight controllers are on the clock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help astronauts in orbit and scientists on the ground.
For more fun throwbacks, check out Marshall's History Album by clicking here.
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage, click here.
The Multiple User Suborbital Instrument Carrier or MUSIC payload was successfully launched at 9:50 a.m. today on a Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
The payload flew to approximately 115 miles apogee and preliminary analysis shows good data was received. Payload recovery is in progress.
The next launch from Wallops is between 7 and 10 a.m. EST, Monday, March 7. Three space technology payloads will be carried on a Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket.
Credit: NASA/Wallops/Allison Stancil
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Taken with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi.
**Settings**
ExposureTime : 1/1250Sec
FNumber : F4.0
ExposureProgram : Aperture Priority
ISOSpeedRatings : 100
ShutterSpeedValue : 1/1250Sec
ApertureValue : F4.0
ExposureBiasValue : EV0.0
MaxApertureValue : F3.8
MeteringMode : Division
Flash : Not fired(Compulsory)
FocalLength : 28.00(mm)
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View my Most Interesting Photos on FlickRiver
The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission moving from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility to the Florida spaceport’s Launch Abort System Facility on July 10, 2021.
In that package is the Orion spacecraft which consists of the NASA’s Crew Module, the Crew Module Adapter and ESA’s European Service Module. Together these modules will power the spacecraft around the Moon and back. Over 30 engines, four solar wings, 8.6 tons of propellant and 11 km of cables are inside. For the first Artemis mission they will work in harmony to travel from Earth to the Moon, make two flybys and return.
For the European Service Module this is just another small step on its way to the Moon. With parts made in ten countries in Europe and assembled in Bremen, Germany, the complete module was flown to Kennedy Space Center at the end of 2018 to be integrated with the crew module.
The spacecraft is now being integrated with the launch abort system. This module placed on top kicks in if an anomaly occurs during launch and will propel astronauts to safety away from the rocket.
Launching later this year, Artemis I will be a test of the Orion spacecraft and its SLS rocket ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.
Credits: NASA–Isaac Watson
The Ariane 6 launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana now hosts for the first time a fully assembled example of ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket, following the addition of an upper composite to the core stage and four boosters already in place. The upper composite – consisting of two half-fairings and a payload mock-up with the structural adapter needed to join it to the core stage – made the 10 km trip from the encapsulation building to launch pad on 12 October.
Assembly, transfer and installation of an upper composite validates the Ariane 6 assembly process. Now, over the next several weeks, teams from ESA, ArianeGroup and French space agency CNES will make the mechanical, electrical and fluid connections which join this test model of the Ariane 64 configuration to the launch pad.
With Ariane 6 fully integrated with the pad, so-called combined tests will validate the rocket, launch pad and shared electrical, fluid and mechanical systems as a complete system. The combined tests include tank filling and drainage operations which guarantee smooth-running of a launch sequence. Flight and control bench software will also be tested.
Then, the launch pad will serve as a test bed for static hot-fire tests of the Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine, including aborted firings and long firings with disconnection. Vulcain 2.1 is derived from Ariane 5’s Vulcain 2.
Separately, static hot-fire tests of the Ariane 6 upper stage and its all-new Vinci engine began in October on a purpose-built test bed at Germany’s DLR centre for engine and stage testing at Lampoldshausen.
The reignitable Vinci engine allows Ariane 6 to deliver multiple payloads to different orbits on a single launch. After payload separation a final engine burn deorbits the upper stage so that it does not become a debris threat in space.
The Ariane 6 launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana now hosts for the first time a fully assembled example of ESA’s new heavy-lift rocket, following the addition of an upper composite to the core stage and four boosters already in place. The upper composite – consisting of two half-fairings and a payload mock-up with the structural adapter needed to join it to the core stage – made the 10 km trip from the encapsulation building to launch pad on 12 October.
Assembly, transfer and installation of an upper composite validates the Ariane 6 assembly process. Now, over the next several weeks, teams from ESA, ArianeGroup and French space agency CNES will make the mechanical, electrical and fluid connections which join this test model of the Ariane 64 configuration to the launch pad.
With Ariane 6 fully integrated with the pad, so-called combined tests will validate the rocket, launch pad and shared electrical, fluid and mechanical systems as a complete system. The combined tests include tank filling and drainage operations which guarantee smooth-running of a launch sequence. Flight and control bench software will also be tested.
Then, the launch pad will serve as a test bed for static hot-fire tests of the Vulcain 2.1 core stage engine, including aborted firings and long firings with disconnection. Vulcain 2.1 is derived from Ariane 5’s Vulcain 2.
Separately, static hot-fire tests of the Ariane 6 upper stage and its all-new Vinci engine began in October on a purpose-built test bed at Germany’s DLR centre for engine and stage testing at Lampoldshausen.
The reignitable Vinci engine allows Ariane 6 to deliver multiple payloads to different orbits on a single launch. After payload separation a final engine burn deorbits the upper stage so that it does not become a debris threat in space.
Credits: ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut
This week in 1965, SA-9, the eighth Saturn flight, launched from Cape Kennedy Launch Complex in Florida. This was the first Saturn flight with an operational payload – the Pegasus I meteoroid detection satellite. Pegasus was developed by Fairchild Stratos Corporation for NASA through the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center. A Pegasus satellite also flew aboard the SA-8 and SA-10 missions in 1965. After being placed in orbit around Earth, the satellite electronically recorded the size and frequency of particles in space and compared the performance of protected and unprotected solar cells as important preliminaries to crewed flights to the Moon. Today, Marshall is playing a vital role in the Artemis program by developing the Space Launch System, the backbone of NASA’s exploration plans and the only rocket capable of sending humans to the Moon and Mars. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
#tbt #nasa #marshallspaceflightcenter #msfc #marshall #space #history #marshallhistory #nasamarshall #nasahistory #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #apollo #saturn
This week in 2007, the space shuttle Atlantis, mission STS-117, landed at Edwards Air Force Base following the completion of a successful 14-day mission to the International Space Station. The primary mission objective was to deliver the second and third starboard truss segments, S3 and S4, and another pair of solar arrays to the station. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center serves as "science central" for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory's scientific experiments. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
NASA successfully launched the RockSat-X education payload on a Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket at 7:33:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 17 from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Students from eight community colleges and universities from across the United States participated in the RockSat-X project.The payload carrying the experiments flew to an altitude of 95 miles. Data was received from most of the student experiments. However, the payload was not recovered as planned. NASA will investigate the anomaly.
Credit: NASA/Wallops/A. Stancil
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
NASA science research on the International Space Station reached an extraordinary milestone June 14. The vital, versatile EXPRESS Racks – properly known as “EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station” multipurpose payload shelving units – logged 1 million hours of combined powered duty on station. That’s the equivalent of nearly 115 years’ worth of scientific research completed in just two decades. In this image, NASA astronaut Kayla Barron monitors experiments in one of the International Space Station’s 12 EXPRESS Racks during Expedition 66, which ran from October 2021 to March 2022. As many as 100 experiments at a time can be simultaneously conducted in the station’s full complement of racks, helping NASA achieve 1 million hours of powered EXPRESS Rack duty between 2001-2022.
Image credit: NASA
#nasa #marshallspaceflightcenter #msfc #space #nasamarshall #PayloadOperationsIntegrationCenter #POIC #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #EXPRESSRacks
I couldn't figure out a way to fit a working unfolding solar array in there, and in fact even those 1x2 hinge plates wouldn't fit there with the cone half installed- but it's acceptable for a cross section like this.
Next I'll build the in-orbit version, with protective blanket and unfurled arrays.
Flying silently through the void of space around a globe of blue and green is the most advanced science laboratory ever developed: the International Space Station. Inside humanity’s orbiting outpost is a buzz of activity as explorers, pilots, doctors, and scientists from around the world conduct experiments, maintain the facility, and develop new technologies.
For the past 20 years, between two and six humans regularly inhabit and work aboard the space station. The Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, schedules, assists with, and coordinates all of the experiments on the U.S. Orbital Segment – the USOS.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
#NASA #space #NASAMarshall #msfc #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #POIC #PayloadOperationsIntegrationCenter
The Ultra Fitz Roy (Panama) delivers it's payload to Granite State Minerals in Portsmouth (NH) on a brisk January late afternoon.
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Small French truck with 100HP, empty weight 3.6t and a payload of 5.7t.
1/87 model by Roskopf.
Other interesting 1/87 models in:
www.flickr.com/photos/193542172@N07/albums
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Pequeño camión francés con 100CV, peso en vacío 3.6t y una carga útil de 5.7t.
Modelo 1:87 de Roskopf.
Otros interesantes modelos 1:87 en:
www.flickr.com/photos/193542172@N07/albums
🇩🇪
Kleiner französischer Lastwagen mit 100PS, Leergwicht 3.6t und einer Nutzlast von 5.7t.
1:87 Modell von Roskopf.
Weitere interessante 1:87 Modelle in:
www.flickr.com/photos/193542172@N07/albums
🇫🇷
Petit camion français de 100CV, poids à vide 3,6 t et charge utile de 5,7 t.
Modèle 1:87 par Roskopf.
Autres modèles 1:87 intéressants dans:
ENGLISH:
Wooden flatbed lorry with Ford 4-cylinder 3.6L 85hp gasoline engine. Payload 3 tons.
What is probably on the advertising poster that the men are now mounting?
It is Proverbs 3: 5 from the Bible.
I took an Eko model and changed it to a Ford. I added a wooden bed I made out of wood.
ESPAÑOL:
Camion con plataforma de madera con motor de gasolina FORD 4-cylinder 3.6L 85CV. Carga útil 3 toneladas.
¿Qué es probablemente en el póster publicitario que los hombres ahora están montando?
Es proverbios 3: 5 de la Biblia.
“Confía en el Señor de todo corazón, y no en tu propia inteligencia.”
Cogí un modelo Eko y lo cambié por en un Ford. Agregué una cama de madera que hice de madera.
DEUTSCH:
LKW mit Holzpritsche und Ford 4-Zylinder 3.6L 85PS-Benzinmotor. Nutzladung 3 Tonnen.
Was steht auf dem Werbeplakat, dass Männer jetzt gerade montieren?
Es ist aus Sprichwörter 3: 5 der Bibel.
„Vertraue auf den Herrn von ganzen Herzen und verlasse dich nicht auf deinen eigenen Verstand“
Ich nahm ein Eko Modell und änderte es zu einem Ford. Ich ergänzte es mit einer Holzpritsche, die ich aus Holz herstellte.
This week in 1991, space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-40, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying the fifth Spacelab mission. The Spacelab Life Sciences-1 module was the first Spacelab mission dedicated solely to life sciences. The main purpose of the mission was to study the mechanisms, magnitudes and time courses of certain physiological changes that occur during spaceflight and was designed to explore the responses of the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys and hormone-secreting glands to microgravity and related body fluid shifts. Today, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Life Sciences Glovebox and monitors International Space Station science and communications from its Payload Operations Integration Center. Scheduled to launch to the station in September 2018, the Life Sciences Glovebox will be used to study the long-term impact of microgravity on human physiology, revealing new ways to improve life on Earth while protecting human explorers during long-duration deep space missions. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
My first build of 2015 leaves the hangar!
Primary shaping was strongly inspired by Geoffrey Ernault's awesome concept art. I was the lucky beneficiary of suggestions on the work-in-progress from Rob and Cole.
A test version of the payload module of ESA's exoplanet-detecting Plato spacecraft underwent a prolonged vacuum soak within Europe’s largest thermal vacuum chamber, to evaluate its endurance of space conditions.
There are tasks in space where multiple smaller imagers are better than one big equivalent. ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars mission, Plato, is to detect Earth-scale exoplanets using an array of 26 cameras to perform prolonged observations of target stars. This combination of cameras will pick up tiny variations in their light output due to the transit of exoplanets across them.
But in order for the mission to perform as planned, the optical bench securing these cameras in place must maintain a fixed optical-quality rigidity, despite the extreme conditions of deep space, as Plato operates from out at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, 1.5 million km from Earth.
So this initial ‘structural and thermal model’ of Plato’s optical bench has been built specifically for testing in space-like conditions. Testing includes ‘thermal cycling’ to assess how the optical bench responds to the in orbit temperature variations, and ‘thermal balance’ to measure the operating temperature that it maintains in these conditions.
Testing took place inside ESA’s Large Space Simulator, the largest thermal vacuum chamber in Europe, based at the Agency's ESTEC establishment in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Standing 15m high by 10m wide the LSS is cavernous enough to encompass an upturned London double decker bus.
Once the chamber’s top and side hatches are sealed, high-performance pumps create a vacuum a billion times sparser than standard sea-level atmosphere, and this can be held for weeks at a time during test runs. At the same time liquid nitrogen is pumped through the walls to recreate the cold of space in the shade.
The LSS testing began at the end of March and was successfully completed in the third week of May.
This current test campaign has been preceded by environmental testing of the Plato camera design, performed both at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre and at SRON, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research.
For the flight version of Plato, thermal vacuum testing of the 26 cameras required will be divided between SRON in Groningen, IAS in Paris and INTA in Madrid, running this autumn into 2024, to be ready for Plato’s 2026 launch date.
Credit: ESA-Remedia
This week in 1973, the second crewed Skylab mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following a successful 59-day mission in the orbiting laboratory. Here, astronaut Owen K. Garriott retrieves an image experiment from the Apollo Telescope Mount during an extravehicular activity. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as "science central" for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory's scientific experiments. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
A team working on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft transitioned it from a vertical to a horizontal test configuration during prelaunch processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 9, 2022. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.
Image Credit: NASA
#SolarSystemandBeyond #NASAMarshall #jpl #psyche #asteroid
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) being fuelled inside the payload preparation facility at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana ahead of its launch on an Ariane 5 on 13 April.
Juice will use this propellant to make critical course manoeuvres on its journey to and around the Jupiter system, and to go into orbit around Jupiter then its largest moon, Ganymede. Juice has a bi-propellant chemical propulsion system, using mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) fuel and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON) oxidiser. This results in a propellant that spontaneously ignites when the two come into contact with each other.
Fuelling any satellite is a particularly delicate operation requiring setup of the equipment and connections, fuelling, and then pressurisation. The propellants are extremely toxic so only a few specialists wearing protective Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, or ‘scape’ suits, remained in the dedicated hall for fuelling.
Juice is humankind’s next bold mission to the outer Solar System. It will make detailed observations of gas giant Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. This ambitious mission will characterise these moons with a powerful suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments to discover more about these compelling destinations as potential habitats for past or present life. Juice will monitor Jupiter’s complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe.
Find out more about Juice in ESA’s launch kit
Credits: 2023 ESA-CNES-ARIANESPACE / Optique vidéo du CSG - JM GUILLON
The B-414 Stratobomber the "Iron Condor" is armed with four forward facing 18mm machine guns and a payload of six 3000lb bombs. Unusually for a bomber of this size, the crew consists of a single pilot.
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payload 0.7t
Four Swiss soldiers in four-fruit pajamas (camouflage suit).
This H0 Wiking model is one of the first that I bought from Franz Carl Weber in Oerlikon around 1972.
Since then I've improved it a bit.
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carga útil 0,7 t
Cuatro soldados suizos en pijama de cuatro frutas (traje de camuflaje).
Este modelo H0 Wiking es uno de los primeros que le compré a Franz Carl Weber en Oerlikon alrededor de 1972.
Desde entonces lo he mejorado un poco.
🇩🇪
Nutlast 0.7t
Vier Schweizer Soldaten im Vierfruchtpyjama (Tarnanzug).
Dieses H0 Wiking Modell ist eines der ersten, das ich ca. 1972 bei Franz Carl Weber in Oerlikon gekauft habe.
Seitdem habe ich es noch ein bischen verschönert.
An Amtrak payloader rests at the site of the Niantic River drawbridge replacement project as Providence & Worcester train NR-2 continues west along Niantic Bay
This week in 1992, the United States Microgravity Payload-1 was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-52, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The USMP program was a series of missions developed by NASA to provide scientists with the opportunity to conduct research in the unique microgravity environment of the space shuttle’s payload bay. The USMP-1 payload carried three investigations. Two were basic fluid and metallurgical processes in microgravity. The third characterized the microgravity environment onboard the shuttle. The USMP program was managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Here, USMP-1 is seen in the cargo bay of Columbia. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy making it's way to the southeast past onlookers on the beach in Vero Beach. The Falcon Heavy delivered two classified payloads into geostationary orbit for the U.S. Space Force. This is only the fourth time the Falcon Heavy has been launched.
JS Class locomotive, 8167, thrashes out of the open pit at SanDaoLing with its payload of coal destined for the wash plant. Meanwhile, another JS locomotive waits for the green light to reverse to the loading point to collect coal. On a busy afternoon we would see coal trains pretty much every 20 minutes or so. Xinjiang Province, northwest China.
This week in 1994, the space shuttle Columbia launched on mission STS-62 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Primary payloads consisted of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-2 -- USMP-2 -- and the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-2 payload, better known as OAST-2. USMP-2 was a package of microgravity experiments for Spacelab, a reusable laboratory that flew in the shuttle cargo bay, and included five experiments investigating materials processing and crystal growth in microgravity. OAST-2 featured six experiments focusing on space technology and spaceflight. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center developed and managed Spacelab and USMP-2, while Marshall’s Spacelab Mission Operations Control Center commanded and monitored the instruments and analyzed the data. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as "science central" for the International Space Station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory's scientific experiments. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving the agency's remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image credit: NASA
Technicians have loaded the last of 10 CubeSats into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's five-foot-tall Orion stage adapter at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the Orion spacecraft separates from the SLS rocket for a precise trajectory toward the Moon, the shoebox-sized payloads are released from the Orion stage adapter to conduct their own science and technology missions.
SLS's main goal for the Artemis I mission is to successfully send the uncrewed Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit where it can test out critical spacecraft systems and then return to Earth testing the spacecraft's heat shield at lunar reentry speeds. The Orion stage adapter connects the rocket to Orion and contains room inside the adapter to provide a rare opportunity to send the CubeSats to deep space using extra lift-capacity on the uncrewed mission. The CubeSats will study everything from the Moon to asteroids to the deep space radiation environment. Each CubeSat provides its own propulsion and navigation to get to various deep space destinations.
Here, the Jacobs team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida installing the last of 10 CubeSats in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s Orion stage adapter. Biosentinel, the final CubeSat to be loaded, will study how radiation affects living organisms in deep space. Biosentinel joins nine other CubeSats that will be studying a variety of destinations, including the Moon, and scientific areas important to deep space exploration.
Image Credit: NASA
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The A-17K “Thunderstruck” is a Korean-operated attack aircraft of American design. Purchased as part of the 2012 “Peace Hawk” arms deal, the Thunderstruck represents a quantum leap in ROKAF anti-tank and CAS capability, taking over the role from elderly F-4 Phantoms and F-5 Tigers. Designed specifically for down-low agility, survivability, and payload, the Thunderstruck features immensely unusual and cutting-edge forward-swept gull wings and twin tail booms. The split booms allows the fuselage to be smaller and assists in compartmentalizing any potential battle damage.
The Thunderstruck is an immensely nimble aircraft “down in the weeds,” where its mission mandates fast, precise strikes against heavily armored targets. A major change from the A-10 Warthog that it was designed to replace is the deletion of the massive GAU-8 cannon in favor of twin 35mm M276 revolver cannons. The lower rate of fire is not as effective at suppressing hostile infantry, but the larger round ensures it is more lethal against modern armored targets, and also helps increase time-on-station by expending ammunition more slowly. Despite the new cannon armament, the most utilized weapons are the large array of laser and GPS guided bombs as well as either laser or electro-optically guided ATGMs. This specific aircraft, belonging to the 201st Fighter Squadron “Dragon Busters” at Suwon Air Base, is carrying two 2,000lb “dumb bombs,” 4 GBU-27 Paveway III laser guided bombs, 2 ATGMs and 2 AIM-9Ms for self-defense.
A collaborative build with Corvin Stichert. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this wouldn’t have been built without Corvin’s stupendous building skills (and TLG-direct parts supply). This build is definitely more his than mine!
Also, it would be negligent to post this without citing Magnus' Forktail. plane that served as inspiration for both Corvin and I.
A big thanks to Evan for taking photographs of this beast.
This week in 2001, space shuttle Endeavour and STS-100 returned to Earth after a successful 11-day assembly mission to the International Space Station. The main objective of the mission was to deliver and install the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System, or Canadarm2. In this photograph, NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski works on the station while anchored to Canadarm2. The first shuttle mission launched in April 1981, and for the next 30 years the program’s five spacecraft carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the space station -- the largest structure in space. Today, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Payload Operations Integration Center serves as "science central" for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory's scientific experiments. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
For more fun throwbacks, check out Marshall's History Album by clicking here.
This highly compact beam forming network has been designed for multi-beam satellite payload antennas. Generating a total of 64 signal beams outputted from a single antenna, this novel design could cover the entire Earth with multiple spot beams from geostationary orbit.
“The traditional solution for a multibeam telecommunications satellite payload would be a single feed per signal beam, but only a limited number of feeds are able to be accommodated in front of the satellite antenna, with each feed requiring a dedicated amplifier,” explains Petar Jankovic of ESA’s Radio Frequency Equipment and Technology section.
“This is a highly integrated, lower mass alternative, developed with Airbus in Italy.”
What looks like a sunburst design is actually a ‘Rotman’ lens, laid down on a printed circuit board, used to direct and focus microwaves. These are commonly employed in terrestrial radar systems, for instance aboard high-end drones or in-car radar, and are also being looked at for future 5G base stations.
A single flat Rotman lens allows beam scanning along a single axis. For this design, eight of these Rotman lenses are stacked horizontally, and eight more are arranged vertically. The result is a two-dimensional array of 64 pencil-shaped signal beams – and this architecture can be leveraged up as desired.
“Testing of our prototype demonstrator shows high performance, demonstrating low insertion loss and with the measured worst-case return loss for the beam ports and array ports always better than 15 decibels throughout the full Ka- operative band,” adds Petar. “For all our measured beams very regular pointing has been achieved.”
Almost perfect alignment between simulation and measurement results have been achieved, guided by ESA in-house software that converts mathematical models of the lenses into geometric structures, combined with commercial software used to simulate the prototype in advance of its manufacture and testing.
Developed through ESA’s long-running Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) programme, this beam forming network demonstrator was designed and built using space-qualified solutions, materials and processes. The next step would be to manufacture a qualification model to qualify the design at equipment level for flight.
Credits: ESA-P. Jankovic
The 3-inch telescope tube rings arrived today, so I was able to assemble the major components, get the payload onto the mount, and get the mount balanced.
To read about the earlier steps in developing this system, read:
- A good start for a wide field imaging system to read my full imaging system description, and where I checked out the initial lens/adapter/camera interface.
- A second step toward a wide field imaging system where I switched to a different EF series lens adapter that mated to the ZWO filter wheel.
Next steps are:
- Decide on locations for the mini PC, nano router, and dew controller, and attach them to the mount.
- Make or order data and power cables, and bundle them together.
- Power up the system and check ASCOM connections.
- Run a test session under a clear, dark sky.
I hope to complete the remaining steps and have a fully functional wide field imaging system by the end of this weekend.
Mirror, mirror, on the Moon, how far away are you?
MoonLIGHT or Moon Laser Instrumentation for General relativity/geophysics High-accuracy Tests is seeking the answer to this and more questions on general relativity, the gravitational dynamics of the Earth-Moon system and the deep lunar interior.
MoonLIGHT is a laser retroreflector, imaged here, which allows laser beams sent from Earth to be reflected back from the Moon to receivers on our planet. This allows very precise measurement of the distances between the reflector and the ground station.
Known as lunar laser ranging, this technique has been in use since the Apollo missions to investigate Einstein’s theory of general relativity, lunar geophysics and the Earth-Moon dynamics, among other fields of study. However, data from retroreflectors of the Apollo era is not as precise due to lunar vibrations, or the perceived lagging and wanning of the Moon when viewed from Earth, caused by its eccentric and tilted orbit of our planet.
The MoonLIGHT retroreflector can reduce this error thanks to its next-generation compact design. The single, larger reflector with a front face 100mm in diameter can improve accuracy to within millimeters.
Developed by the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and managed by ESA, MoonLIGHT will launch in 2024 on NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative to the Reiner Gamma region of the Moon, which has one of the most distinctive and enigmatic natural features on the Moon, called lunar swirl, characterized by high surface luminosity (albedo) and the very rare presence of a local magnetic field.
Credits: INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), Frascati (Rome), Italy
ENGLISH:
Truck Saurer 3BLD from 1934, 6-cylinder engine with 100hp. Payload 4.5 tons. Total weight 10.2 tons. Speed 55km/h (34 miles/h).
Self made building and truck in scale 1/87.
Max Walther A-G., Fueling Materials Store, Bachstrasse 111, 5000 Aarau, Telephon (064) 2 11 05.
The distribution of fuel is family tradition; Because already in 1820 was traded next to the Post horses holding with firewood. Later, coal and afterwards heating oil were enclosed in the sortiment.
In December 1967 Max Walther AG and Paul Schneider AG (both fuel trade) merged.
ESPAÑOL:
Camión Saurer 3BLD de 1934, motor de 6 cilindros con 100CV. Carga útil 4.5 toneladas. Peso total 10.2 toneladas. Velocidad 55km/h.
Edificio y camion hecho a sí mismo en escala 1/87.
Max Walther A-G., Tienda de materiales de combustible, Bachstrasse 111, 5000 Aarau, Teléfono (064) 2 11 05.
La distribución del combustible es la tradición familiar; Porque ya en 1820 se negoció junto a los caballos para los carruajes postales también con leña. Más tarde, el carbón y el aceite de calefacción después estaban encerrados en el rango.
En diciembre de 1967, Max Walther AG y Paul Schneider AG (tanto el comercio de combustible) se fusionaron.
DEUTSCH:
Saurer 3BLD Lastwagen von 1934, 6-Zylinder-Motor mit 100PS. Nutzlast 4.5 Tonnen. Gesamtgewicht 10.2 Tonnen. Geschwindigkeit 55km/h.
Gebäude und Lastwagen selbstgemachtes im Massstab 1:87.
Max Walther A-G., Brennmaterialiengeschäft, Bachstrasse 111, 5000 Aarau, Telephon (064) 2 11 05.
Der Vertrieb von Brennmaterialien ist Familientradition; denn schon im Jahre 1820 wurde neben der Postpferdehaltung mit Brennholz gehandelt. Später kam zuerst Kohle und dann Heizöl dazu.
Im Dezember 1967 erfolgte der Zusammenschluss von Max Walther AG und Paul Schneider AG (beides Brennstoffhandel).
Lights, camera, action for NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover. The duo will install European payloads outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk on 27 January, guided by the know-how of their colleagues.
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen is seen in this image installing the Columbus Ka-band or ColKa terminal that will enable faster communication with Europe during a ‘dress rehearsal’ in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in 2018.
Andrea will serve as ground IV, directing Mike and Victor through the installation of the small fridge-sized device by radio from NASA’s mission control.
ColKa will connect the Columbus module to the European Data Relay System, satellites in geostationary orbit that transfer data via European ground stations. This will enable faster uplink and downlink speeds between the European segment of the Space Station and European researchers on the ground.
In addition to installing ColKa, the pair will also complete cable and antenna rigging for the Bartolomeo science platform outside Columbus.
The Bartolomeo service will provide end-to-end access for external payloads on the Space Station. A new community of start-ups and space entrepreneurs will benefit from an unobstructed view of Earth, direct control of experiments from the ground and the possibility of retrieving samples.
Tomorrow’s spacewalk will begin at 13:00 CET and will be streamed live via NASA TV. Follow live updates on the spacewalk on social media via @esaspaceflight.
Credits: NASA EVA NBL