月份：九月 2017

NASA and Russia Partner Up for Crewed Deep-Space Missions

NASA and Russia Partner Up for Crewed Deep-Space Missions
By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | September 27, 2017 04:35pm ET

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NASA and Russia Partner Up for Crewed Deep-Space Missions

An artist’s concept of NASA’s deep-space gateway, an orbital outpost in cislunar space that would serve as a stepping stone for crewed Mars missions.

Credit: NASA

NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos have announced a new partnership for human exploration of the moon and deep space. Both agencies signed a joint statement on cooperation today (Sept. 27) at the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia.

The decision to partner with Russia on human missions to the moon and beyond came about as NASA continues to flesh out ideas for its “deep-space gateway” concept, a mission architecture designed to send astronauts into cislunar space — or lunar orbit — by the 2020s. Traveling to and from cislunar space will help NASA and its partners gain the knowledge and experience necessary to venture beyond the moon and into deep space.

A crewed mission to the moon and ultimately deep space would likely involve NASA’s gigantic new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion space capsule. “This plan challenges our current capabilities in human spaceflight and will benefit from engagement by multiple countries and U.S. industry,” NASA officials said in a statement. [Photos: NASA’s Space Launch System for Deep Space Flights]

Roscosmos and NASA already work together with other space agencies around the world to run research projects aboard the International Space Station. Now the international partners will work together to build a miniature space station in lunar orbit – a type of infrastructure that could serve as a steppingstone for future crewed missions to Mars, NASA officials said.

In a separate statement, Roscosmos officials said the new partnership would “develop international technical standards … for the establishment of the station in the near-moon orbit.” According the Roscosmos, the partners also discussed the possibility of using a Russian superheavy rocket to complete construction of the orbital moon station.

“At the first stage, [the deep-space gateway] is supposed to use the American superheavy SLS in parallel with the domestic heavy rockets Proton-M and Angara-A5M,” Roscosmos officials said. “After the creation of the Russian superheavy rocket, it will also be used [for] the lunar orbital station.”

However, those plans are not concrete at this point, and NASA will continue to work with Roscosmos to research the best ways to transport astronauts to and from cislunar space.

“While the deep space gateway is still in concept formulation, NASA is pleased to see growing international interest in moving into cislunar space as the next step for advancing human space exploration,” Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s acting administrator, said in a statement.

“Statements such as this one signed with Roscosmos show the gateway concept as an enabler to the kind of exploration architecture that is affordable and sustainable,” Lightfoot added.

Meanwhile, NASA is also asking the private space industry to contribute to the deep-space gateway. The agency has already awarded contracts for deep-space habitat designs to Bigelow Airspace, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and others.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Arecibo Observatory ‘Still Standing’ After Hurricane Maria Ravaged Puerto Rico

Arecibo Observatory ‘Still Standing’ After Hurricane Maria Ravaged Puerto Rico
By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | September 27, 2017 07:11am ET

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Arecibo Observatory 'Still Standing' After Hurricane Maria Ravaged Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory houses the second-largest radio telescope in the world.
Credit: Dennis van de Water/Shutterstock

Nearly a week after Hurricane Maria pulverized Puerto Rico, staff members at the island’s Arecibo Observatory are remaining optimistic as they continue to survey the damage to their enormous radio telescope.

The Arecibo Observatory contains the second-largest radio telescope in the world, and that telescope has been out of service ever since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20. Maria hit the island as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving behind a swath of downed trees, battered buildings and gushing rivers running through the streets.

While Puerto Rico suffered catastrophic damage across the island, the Arecibo Observatory suffered “relatively minor damages,” Francisco Córdova, the director of the observatory, said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Sept. 24). [The Arecibo Observatory: Puerto Rico’s Giant Radio Telescope in Photos]

Last week, officials reported that a 96-foot (29 meters) line-feed antenna that was suspended from a platform above the telescope’s dish had broken offand punctured some of the mesh panels that make up the 1,000-foot (305 m) dish below.

A smaller, secondary dish located nearby on the premises was reported “lost” on Friday (Sept. 22) by officials with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), which helps to run the observatory.

However, officials are now saying that the damage to this secondary dish wasn’t quite as serious as they thought. “There was some damage to it, but not a lot,” Nicholas White, a senior vice president with USRA, told NPR. “So far, the only damage that’s confirmed is that one of the line feeds on the antenna for one of the radar systems was lost,” he added.

Along with the aforementioned Facebook post, Córdova shared a photo of two Arecibo employees standing in front of the damaged telescope dish and holding up the flag of Puerto Rico. “Still standing after Hurricane Maria!” Córdova wrote in the post.

Despite Córdova’s optimistic message, staff members and other residents of Puerto Rico are in a pretty bad situation. Power has yet to be restored to the island since the storm hit, and people are running out of fuel for generators. And with roads still blocked by fallen trees and debris, transporting supplies to people in need is no simple task.

National Geographic’s Nadia Drake, who has been in contact with the observatory and has provided extensive updates via Twitter, reported that “some staff who have lost homes in town are moving on-site” to the facility, which weathered the storm pretty well overall. Drake also reported that the observatory “will likely be serving as a FEMA emergency center,” helping out members of the community who lost their homes in the storm.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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AMSAT and AMSAT-Related Nets

AMSAT and AMSAT-Related Nets

AMSAT Nets on HF

AMSAT nets are also operated on HF to provide coverage of the entire world, and especially North America. These nets are much like the local nets, though they are somewhat more formal and busy. The 15m and 17m nets are inactive until propagation improves.

Net Designation                 Day     Time             Frequency
AMSAT International          Sun      1900 UTC   14.282 MHz
AMSAT-India Sat-chat        Sun      0730 IST     7.070 MHz

Regional AMSAT VHF/UHF Nets

In many areas, local AMSAT volunteers run a net, usually once a week, on a wide-coverage repeater or simplex frequency. The Houston area net is a good example, and is also available via TVRO when a transponder can be arranged. These nets generally feature AMSAT bulletins, and answer many questions from newcomers and oldtimers alike. If you don’t hear the net listed, please let me know. Likewise, if you know of an AMSAT net that isn’t listed, please let me know so I can add it.

Local
Area                                  Day     Time    Frequency
AR-LA-TX QCWA Net       Mon    1930    146.670 MHz (2000 during summer)
Central CA (Mt. Oso)        Tue      2030    145.390 MHz CTCSS 136.5 Hz
51.800 MHz  CTCSS 136.5 Hz
See SARA Sat Net
Central NY                         Mon    2000    146.880 MHz
Central OH                        Sun     2000    145.490 MHz
Colorado                           Thu      2000    449.625 MHz W0KU
See Colorado Amateur Satellite Net
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX         Wed     2100    147.140 MHz
Harrisburg, PA                   Sun     2000    145.210 MHz
Houston Area, TX              Tue     2000     145.470 MHz CTCSS 123.0 Hz
See Houston AMSAT Net
Long Island, NY                 Tue     2000    147.075 MHz
Portsmouth, NH                Thu     2000    146.805 MHz
Rockford, IL                       Sat     2000    147.255 MHz + Tone 114.8 Hz
Tri-State AMSAT Net, WX9MCS repeater
Saco, ME                           Sun    2000    146.775 MHz
SW Ohio                            Tue     2000    145.110 MHz
Tucson Area, AZ                Wed   1900    146.880 MHz
Waltham, MA                     Thu     2030    146.640 MHz
Washington, DC Area        Mon    2000    146.350 MHz

D*STAR                             Thu     0200 UTC  REF 60B

The Australian National Satellite Net is held on the second Tuesday night of every month, starting at 2030 local time in Sydney and Melbourne (0930 UTC October-March, 1030 UTC April-September).  Check-ins are taken starting at 5 minutes before the net’s starting time. The net is available on IRLP reflector 9558 and EchoLink conferences *VK3JED* and *AMSAT* (audio may sound clearer on *VK3JED*), along with the following systems across Australia:

In New South Wales:

  • VK2RMP Maddens Plains 146.850 MHz (-600 kHz)
  • VK2RIS Saddleback 146.975 MHz (-600 kHz)
  • VK2RBT Mt Boyne 146.675 MHz (-600 kHz)

In South Australia:

  • VK5TRM Loxton 146.575 MHz (simplex, 123.0 Hz CTCSS) / EchoLink 4263
  • VK5RSC Mt Terrible 439.825 MHz (-5 MHz) / IRLP 6278 / EchoLink 399996

In Queensland:

  • VK4RRC Redcliffe 146.925 MHz (-600 kHz) / IRLP 6404 / EchoLink 44666

In the Northern Territory:

  • VK8MA Katherine 146.750 MHz (simplex, 91.5 Hz CTCSS) / IRLP 6800 / EchoLink 8913

In Tasmania:

  • VK7RTV Gawler   53.775 MHz (-1 MHz) / IRLP 6124
  • VK7RTV Gawler 146.775 MHz (-600 kHz) / IRLP 6616

Unless otherwise noted, all net times are local. To report new nets, inactive nets, or changes to existing nets, please contact the webmaster.

Updated 7 December 2016