Space Up Close: Space, Astronomy & Science News.
A new Space News website by Dr. Ken Kremer. Dedicated to impactful reporting on topical aspects of Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science across the globe from an UpClose perspective about the High Frontier
The Air
Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 successfully landed at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility Oct. 27, 2019. The X-37B OTV is
an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable,
reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.Credit: Jeremy Webster/USAF
Ken Kremer - - 27 October 2019 For Space
Upclose.com and RocketSTEM CAPE
CANAVERAL, FL – The U.S. Air Force X-37B secretive reusable mini spaceplane
landed in the middle of the night under cover of darkness this morning, Sunday,
Oct. 27, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a record breaking mission
of well over two years in orbit. Read the entire story at Space UpClose: https://www.spaceupclose.com/2019/10/u-s-air-force-x-37b-spaceplane-breaks-record-lands-after-780-days-in-orbit/
Blue Origin’s founder, Jeff Bezos, announces the national team at the 2019 International Astronautical Congress in Washington, D.C. on Oct 22, 2019. Credit: Blue Origin
Ken
Kremer – 25 October 2019 For SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL- The race to develop a human lunar
lander for NASA’s new Artemis program to a great leap forward this week when Blue Origin's founder billionaire
Jeff Bezos announced the formation of a ‘national team’ of four highly
experienced US industrial giants – including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman,
Draper Labs and Blue Origin - aiming to win NASA’s contract to build the new
three stage vehicle for NASA - at the 2019 International Astronautical Congress
in Washington, D.C. on Oct 22, 2019. Read the entire story at Space UpClose: https://www.spaceupclose.com/2019/10/blue-origin-announces-national-team-for-nasas-artemis-human-lunar-landing-program/
This GIF shows NASA InSight’s heat probe, or “mole,” digging about a centimeter (half an inch) below the surface last week. Using a technique called “pinning,” InSight recently pressed against the mole using a scoop on its robotic arm to help the self-hammering heat probe dig so that it can “take the temperature” of Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ken
Kremer – 25 October 2019
For SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL- The
German Mole is on the move at last on Mars on NASA’s InSight lander after a lot
of hard work by engineers on both sides of the Atlantic have has finally paid
off trying to save the stuck
deep penetrating heat probe on the agency’s spacecraft designed explore the
deep interior of Mars - since successfully soft landing last November.
The crew module of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted onto its service module on Oct. 16, 2019 inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the company’s Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Credits: Boeing
Ken Kremer - - SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM - - 24 October 2019
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION – At last after years of development effort and delays its finally getting real as all the key flight hardware for the maiden uncrewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner commercial crew capsule is coming together for its first blastoff on a shakedown cruise to the International Space Station (ISS) on a contracted mission under NASA’s commercial Crew Program (CCP) initiative – just before the Christmas holiday season.
Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have structurally mated the first of four RS-25 engines to the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will help power the first Artemis mission to the Moon. Credit: NASA/Jude Guidry
Ken Kremer - SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM - - 23 October 2019 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL/MICHOUD ASSEMBLY FACILITY, LA – The first of four RS-25 engines that will ultimately help power the first launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the Moon on the first Artemis mission has been mated to the mammoth rockets core stage by engineers and technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Read the entire story at Space UpClose:
Fisheye view shows core stage pathfinder mock-up for NASA’s Space Launch System lifted to vertical position inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 17, 2019 by technicians using two cranes to practice critical moving, lifting and stacking maneuvers into High Bay 3 above and behind, in this view 196 ft above ground from level 16 catwalk. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Ken
Kremer – – 20 October 2019 For SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The recently arrived and massive 212
foot long, 228,000 pound core stage Pathfinder mock-up for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)
megarocket was lifted
to the vertical position inside the Vehicle Assembly Building's (VAB) transfer
aisle and then into High Bay 3 this past week at NASA's Kennedy Space Center - by
KSC and contractor teams carrying our critical work to practice offloading,
moving, and stacking maneuvers required for assembly when the real SLS hardware
for launch of the first Artemis moon mission arrives sometime around the middle
of next year in 2020. Read the entire story at Space UpClose: https://www.spaceupclose.com/2019/10/sls-core-stage-pathfinder-goes-vertical-in-vab-at-ksc-photos/
A front view of the Zero G Kitchen space oven launching to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-12 cargo ship, showing where food samples are placed for cooking. Credit: Zero G Kitchen
Jean Wright - 21 October 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – In what can only be described as the perfect example of “Bake The World A Better Place,” Space UpClose had the opportunity to do a pre-flight interview with co-Chefs and co-Founders of Zero G kitchen, LLC, Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, who have teamed with NanoRacks and Double Tree by Hilton to make space history as the 1st fresh-baked food item – the chocolate chip cookie and NanoRacks’ prototype oven, which will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Cygnus cargo ship from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in VA currently set for Nov. 2 Read the entire story at Space UpClose: https://www.spaceupclose.com/2019/10/bringing-the-taste-of-home-to-space-baking-cookies-in-zero-g-on-iss/
NASA spacewalkers Christina Koch
(foreground, suit with red stripe) and Jessica Meir (suit with no stripes)
replaced a failed battery charge-discharge unit with a new one during a 7-hour,
17-minute spacewalk on Oct. 18, 2019 outside the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA TV
Ken Kremer -- 19 October 2019 For Spaceupclose.com and RocketSTEM Cape Canaveral, FL – A dynamic duo of NASA women astronauts
- Christina Koch and Jessica Meir - made
history Friday, Oct. 18 when they carried out and successfully completed history’s
1st all-female spacewalk soaring some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth
while working and floating outside the International Space Station (ISS) on a
critical job to swap out a failed power distribution unit and thereby restored
full power to the orbiting research complex – all the while generating enormous
global interest from the public. Read the entire story at Space UpClose: https://www.spaceupclose.com/2019/10/nasa-astronauts-complete-historic-1st-all-female-spacewalk-complete-video/
Amy Ross, a spacesuit engineer at NASA’s Johnson
Space Center, left, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, second from left,
watch as Kristine Davis, a spacesuit engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center,
wearing a ground prototype of NASA’s new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility
Unit (xEMU), and Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival Systems Project Manager at
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, wearing the Orion Crew Survival System suit,
right, wave after being introduced by the administrator, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019
at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Ken Kremer - Spaceupclose.com -- 15 October 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Culminating years of design
effort NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine unveiled a pair of hi tech Artemis
generation astronaut spacesuits to be worn by the 1st woman and the
next man who will journey to the Moon in Orion capsules and walk on the lunar South
Pole by 2024 – during a rousing event held Tuesday, Oct 15, at NASA
Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Read the entire story at Space UpClose:
Final water wet flow
test at the mobile launcher on Launch Pad 39B on October
12, 2019 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, FL, tests the sound suppression system
that will be used for launch of NASA’s Space Launch System for the Artemis I
mission.Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Ken Kremer--SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM -- 12
October 2019 CAPE CANEVERAL, FL - Legendary Russian cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov - the first human to walk in space – passed away on Friday, October 11 at
the age of 85 after a long illness at the Burdenko military hospital in Moscow.
Read the entire story at Space UpClose:
Ken Kremer – 14 October 2019 Hello Space fans throughout the Galaxy, Today I’m announcing the relaunch of Space UpClose
main news website here at Spaceupclose.com as my primary outlet for
covering the latest news about space. The website has been completely revamped and henceforth
will report daily news and analysis related to both short and long term impact. Spaceupclose.comforthwith will now immediately
take over the task as my primary new website outlet from the intermediate
heritage Space UpClose website located at kenkremerblogspot.com– which has served me very well over a year after finally resolving a
variety of technical issues with the primary. The Space UpClose heritage kenkremerblogspot.com website
will continue to exist hosting some 400 articles from 2019 and 2018. So please
feel free to visit it. Here is the purpose of
Space UpClose: Space Up Close: Space, Astronomy & Science News. A new Space
News website by Dr. Ken Kremer. Dedicated to impactful reporting on topical
aspects of Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science across the globe from an
UpClose perspective about the High Frontier We are diligently working to import all those heritage
articles – virtually complete - while fixing significant formatting issues Please note that Spaceupclose.com
news website is still a work in progress. Multiple items on the website, menu
bar and elsewhere are still under construction- and will continue for awhile However the main purpose to regularly publish a news feed of topical
articles has now been enabled and accomplished. My grateful thanks to RocketSTEM Executive Director Chase
Clark for enabling this About Us Dr. Ken Kremer is a Research
Scientist and Space Journalist
and Managing Editor for Space UpClose website - based nearby the Kennedy
Space Center in Titusville, FL., active in outreach and interviewed regularly on
TV and radio about space topics. Dr. Kremer offers independent analysis about
space topics. He lectures about both human spaceflight and robotic spaceflight
especially Mars Please consider
supporting and donating to Space UpClose which features no advertising at time My space and rocket
photos and Mars mosaic imagery are for sale Thank you Ken Ken Kremer Spaceupclose.com
Ken Kremer--SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM -- 12
October 2019 CAPE CANEVERAL, FL - Legendary Russian cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov - the first human to walk in space – passed away on Friday, October 11 at
the age of 85 after a long illness at the Burdenko military hospital in Moscow. That first 12 minute long Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, conducted
on March 18, 1965 on the Voshkod 2 mission -for what was then the Soviet Union -
nearly killed him when his spacesuit ballooned in size and he barely was able
to crawl back into the capsule and squirm his way back inside and close the
hatch with his fellow cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev. Leonov later flew again to space on another history making space
spectacular when he commanded the Soyuz 19 mission that conducted the first
link up in orbit with an American Apollo spaceship during the Apollo Soyuz Test
Project mission in July 1975 – in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet
Union that represented a significant easing of tensions at least for a brief moment
between the nuclear powered adversaries.
Altogether
Leonov flew two space missions for the Soviet Union for a total of 7 days and
20 minutes.
Russian cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov and artwork showing his 1st spacewalk by a human in history on
March 18, 1965. Credit: Roscosmos
“Roscosmos State Corporation is sad
to announce the passing away of Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov,” Roscosmos announced
in a statement. "The legendary Soviet cosmonaut No.
11 was the first human in the world to perform a spacewalk, was twice awarded
with Hero of the Soviet Union title.” “One of the first
cosmonauts of the world space era, Alexey Leonov was committed to his
Motherland and his cause, his name is lettered in gold in the world space
exploration history.” “Roscosmos State
Corporation management and employees express deep condolences to the friends
and relatives of Alexey Leonov. A telegram with condolences was sent to the
friends and relatives on behalf of Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin”
Russian cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov during his 1st spacewalk by a human in history on March 18, 1965.
Credit: Roscosmos
He was
among the first 20 cosmonauts selected for spaceflight training.
Two NASA astronauts were conducting a spacewalk outside the
International Space Station (ISS) as new of Leonov’s death was announced. Leonov was also an accomplished artist and lifelong friend
to American astronauts following the ASTP mission – as well as beloved good
will ambassador to the entire world for space and science and humanity working together
peacefully. “Legendary Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Leonov passed
away on Oct. 11, 2019. He was 85 years old. Leonov was the first human to walk
in space on March 18, 1965. His venture into the vacuum of space began the
history of extravehicular activity. On Oct. 11, as a spacewalk was underway,
astronauts on the International Space Station recognized and
celebrated his accomplishments,” NASA announced on Oct. 11. “We’re saddened by the loss of legendary @roscosmos
cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who became the first human to walk in space on March
18, 1965. His venture into the vacuum of space began the history of
extravehicular activity that makes today’s @Space_Station
maintenance possible,” NASA tweeted. During his dramatic 12 minute spacewalk the pressure inside
his spacesuit increased and ballooned the suit so that he could not get back
inside the capsule. So he decided to open a valve and relieve the pressure – a dangerous
procedure that could cause the bends. But he had no alternative if he wished to
live. “Famously, Alexei displayed nerves of steel
when his spacesuit expanded in the vacuum of space so much that he was unable
to squeeze back into the spacecraft. Taking a hair-raising decision, he opened
a valve on the suit to let enough air escape for him to enter the airlock. His
spacewalk lasted only 12 minutes but proved that astronauts could work outside
a spacecraft," ESA wrote in a statement.
Russian cosmonaut Alexei
Leonov during his 1st spacewalk by a human in history on March 18, 1965.
Credit: Roscosmos
NASA interviewed Leonov about the history making spacewalk in
May 2014. “In this May 2014 interview, Leonov relives the
highlights of the spacewalk he conducted over 50 years ago — the first
spacewalk in history — during an interview with NASA Public Affairs Officer Rob
Navias. Leonov stepped out of his Voskhod 2 spacecraft on March 18, 1965 for a
12-minute spacewalk to test his spacesuit and maneuverability. He was followed
two months later by American astronaut Edward White, who performed the first
U.S. spacewalk in history during the Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965. Leonov
went on to command the Soyuz 19 spacecraft that conducted the first docking
with an American space vehicle — the Apollo spacecraft commanded by Thomas
Stafford — during the historic
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975,” according to a NASA statement.
Video Caption: Leonov stepped out of his Voskhod 2 spacecraft on
March 18, 1965 for a 12-minute spacewalk to test his spacesuit and
maneuverability. He was followed two months later by American astronaut Edward
White, who performed the first U.S. spacewalk in history during the Gemini 4
mission on June 3, 1965. Leonov went on to command the Soyuz 19 spacecraft that
conducted the first docking with an American space vehicle --- the Apollo
spacecraft commanded by Thomas Stafford --- during the historic Apollo-Soyuz
Test Project 40 years ago in July 1975.Credit: NASA
Watch for Ken’s continuing
onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman
and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human
spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com
–www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a
research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and
interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
………….
Ken’s photos are for
sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
