Monday, April 4, 2011
Soyuz TMA-21 "Gagarin" ISS-27 Safely In Orbit
At 6:30 pm EDT, the final stage of the Soyuz rocket completed its burn and the Gagarin capsule was in orbit. Commander Alexander Samokutyaev's daughter sent a small stuffed dog toy that the crew used to indicate when they were weightless. At the moment they were weightless, the dog began to float in front of Alexander. In two days (7:18 pm April 6) they will dock with the ISS. The hatches will be opened approximately two hours later. NASA TV will cover the docking.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Fragile Oasis
Ron Garan has a blog "Fragile Oasis" where he has posted his final thoughts before his launch tomorrow evening. http://www.fragileoasis.org/2011/04/03/last-blog-post-on-earth-for-now/
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Soyuz TMA-21 "Gagarin" ISS-27 Preparing For Launch
Preparing for Launch
Over the break, I've been following Ron Garan's tweets on his progress as he moves closer to launch. @Astro_Ron, Ron Garan's twitter handle, has been sharing photos and videos of the process and blogging as his training and preparation schedules allow. This is the first time I've followed a Soyuz launch this closely so I'm finding myself both fascinated and excited. In a word, it is a very different process than what I've become accustomed to with NASA launches. Not only are the technologies of a completely different design, culturally, it seems very different. It must be quite an adjustment for someone who has been on the shuttle. I know I am busy trying to figure out all of the details to understand the process. The last few days days have been very busy in Baikonur. The timeline for the Soyuz program is much more compressed than what we've observed for the Shuttle. Here are some of the key highlights from the last two weeks:
March 21 (T-14 days): Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and Russian Flight Engineer Andrey Borisenko fly from Star City to Baikonur and begin pre-launch quarantine. Over the next two weeks they will complete their training and preparations for launch and see their spacecraft assembled and moved to the launch pad.
March 22 (T-13 days): Capsule, fairing, and launch vehicle are in the hanger but not yet assembled into the complete spacecraft. Compare that to the Shuttle Endeavour STS-135 assembled and moved to launch pad on March 10 with a scheduled launch for April 19, spending about 6 weeks assembled and loaded, sitting on the launch pad.
March 25 (T-10 days): the capsule section was assembled and enclosed in the fairings that protect it during launch, though it had not yet been mated with its launch vehicle.
March 30 (T-5 days): capsule and launch vehicle are mated in a horizontal orientation.
April 2 (T-2 days): The space craft is moved from the assembly building on a special rail car to the launch pad. This is the same launch pad that Yuri Gagarin was launched from 50 years ago, becoming the first human in space. The spacecraft is moved into a vertical position on the launch pad.
For more photos from NASA, check out the Flicker Album from the Rollout.
April 4: Launch is scheduled for 6:18 p.m. EDT
Stay tuned to this blog for more updates on the Soyuz launch as well as news on from the International Space Station and Shuttle Endeavour.
Over the break, I've been following Ron Garan's tweets on his progress as he moves closer to launch. @Astro_Ron, Ron Garan's twitter handle, has been sharing photos and videos of the process and blogging as his training and preparation schedules allow. This is the first time I've followed a Soyuz launch this closely so I'm finding myself both fascinated and excited. In a word, it is a very different process than what I've become accustomed to with NASA launches. Not only are the technologies of a completely different design, culturally, it seems very different. It must be quite an adjustment for someone who has been on the shuttle. I know I am busy trying to figure out all of the details to understand the process. The last few days days have been very busy in Baikonur. The timeline for the Soyuz program is much more compressed than what we've observed for the Shuttle. Here are some of the key highlights from the last two weeks:
March 21 (T-14 days): Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and Russian Flight Engineer Andrey Borisenko fly from Star City to Baikonur and begin pre-launch quarantine. Over the next two weeks they will complete their training and preparations for launch and see their spacecraft assembled and moved to the launch pad.
March 22 (T-13 days): Capsule, fairing, and launch vehicle are in the hanger but not yet assembled into the complete spacecraft. Compare that to the Shuttle Endeavour STS-135 assembled and moved to launch pad on March 10 with a scheduled launch for April 19, spending about 6 weeks assembled and loaded, sitting on the launch pad.
March 25 (T-10 days): the capsule section was assembled and enclosed in the fairings that protect it during launch, though it had not yet been mated with its launch vehicle.
March 30 (T-5 days): capsule and launch vehicle are mated in a horizontal orientation.
April 2 (T-2 days): The space craft is moved from the assembly building on a special rail car to the launch pad. This is the same launch pad that Yuri Gagarin was launched from 50 years ago, becoming the first human in space. The spacecraft is moved into a vertical position on the launch pad.
The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, April 2, 2011. Photo Credit (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
@Astro_Ron Our Rocket is all set on the launchpad that Yuri Gagarin launched from 50 years ago. In 48 hours will blast off Photo credit: Jake Garan
For more photos from NASA, check out the Flicker Album from the Rollout.
April 4: Launch is scheduled for 6:18 p.m. EDT
NASATV will be airing the launch. (www.nasa.gov/ntv)
Monday, April 4
4:45 p.m. - Video File of the crew pre-launch activities in Baikonur
5:30 p.m. - Launch coverage (launch scheduled at 6:18 p.m.) from Baikonur
9 p.m. - Video File of pre-launch, launch and post-launch interviews
Stay tuned to this blog for more updates on the Soyuz launch as well as news on from the International Space Station and Shuttle Endeavour.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Supermoon
On March 19th, the moon was in its perigee - the closest point to Earth in its orbit. This coincided with the full moon, so the moon appeared very large and very bright as it rose on Saturday evening. About two hours after the moon rose, I was able to go out an photograph the moon.
"Saturday's supermoon was just 221,566 miles (356,577 kilometers) away from Earth—making the supermoon about 20 percent brighter and 15 percent bigger than a regular full moon, said Anthony Cook, astronomical observer for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles."
Interestingly, the large size of the moon when it rises is all an optical illusion. Try looking at the moon upside down when it looks so large and the illusion disappears. Likewise, when you photograph the moon without zooming in (as I did above using a 400mm lens) you will see it as a tiny dot in your photograph.
For more on Supermoons, check out the article on National Geographic's website.
"Saturday's supermoon was just 221,566 miles (356,577 kilometers) away from Earth—making the supermoon about 20 percent brighter and 15 percent bigger than a regular full moon, said Anthony Cook, astronomical observer for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles."
Interestingly, the large size of the moon when it rises is all an optical illusion. Try looking at the moon upside down when it looks so large and the illusion disappears. Likewise, when you photograph the moon without zooming in (as I did above using a 400mm lens) you will see it as a tiny dot in your photograph.
For more on Supermoons, check out the article on National Geographic's website.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tweet from @Astro_Ron in Kazakhstan
@Astro_Ron: #ToOrbit Spent today checking out our spacecraft called "Gagarin" at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Launch is set for the morning of April 4th. This launch will honor the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight, making him the first human in space. They will dock with the ISS on the evening of April 6th.
Launch is set for the morning of April 4th. This launch will honor the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight, making him the first human in space. They will dock with the ISS on the evening of April 6th.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tweet from @Astro_Ron
@Astro_Ron: Leave 4 Kazakhstan tomorrow Once there will use hashtag #ToOrbit On launchday Dan Burbank will tweet 4 me.
Friday, March 18, 2011
'Super Moon' To Rise Saturday Night : The Two-Way : NPR
'Super Moon' To Rise Saturday Night : The Two-Way : NPR
The moon will be especially bright and large on Saturday evening. Take a look as it rises about 6:30 p.m.
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