June 2016 Update (pdf format) - NSS Chapters

Update
June 2016
Oklahoma Space
Alliance
A Chapter of The
National Space Society
A free email newsletter of the Oklahoma Space Alliance
NSS Art Contest
April OSA Meeting
Saturday, June 11, 2016
2:00 PM
Earl’s Rib Palace
920 SW 25th, Moore, OK
405-793-7427
Program—Video:
Economics of Interstellar
Flight by Dr Robert Zubrin,
Space News and Events,
ISDC News by Claire
McMurray
Pioneers of the Cosmos
by Adrianna Allen
Grand Prize Winner
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Quote of the Month
“The sons and daughters of earth will seize the course to sail
among the stars nurturing and spreading the songs of life, the
laughter of children and the joy of being. They will seek new
wonders, build great civilizations, cherish new life and become
what they can be while dancing among the stars.”
Stephen Swift
President Oklahoma Space Alliance
Dancing Among the Stars, © 2014
Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 1 of 15
June, 2016
Table of Contents
President’s Message .................................................................................................................. 1
April OSA Meeting ..................................................................................................................... 1
Quote of the Month................................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................... 2
Lynx Development Shelved by XCOR.......................................................................................... 3
San Francisco Bay Area from Orbit............................................................................................. 4
SWOSU Students Tackle Mars Sand ........................................................................................... 5
ISRO Launches India’s First Space Shuttle .................................................................................. 6
Time Lapse Photo of Falcon 9 Launch ........................................................................................ 7
SpaceX Launches Thaicom 8 and Lands First Stage .................................................................... 8
Ride the Falcon 9 Booster Down to Landing............................................................................... 9
King Tut’s Dagger Made from Meteor...................................................................................... 10
Beam Modue Expanded to Full Size ......................................................................................... 11
Antares Test Fire Sets Stage for Return to Flight ...................................................................... 12
Blue Origin Clears Land for ‘Massive’ Rocket Factory ............................................................... 13
That’s All Folks ......................................................................................................................... 14
Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 2 of 15
June, 2016
Oklahoma Space Alliance
Update
Lynx Development Shelved by XCOR
June 11, 2016
Editor
Stephen Swift
sswift42@aol.com
405-496-3616
The Oklahoma Space Alliance Update is a bimonthly newsletter of the Oklahoma Space
Alliance a chapter of the National Space
Society,
a
non-profit
organization
headquartered in Washington, D.C. The
address of OSA is 102 W. Linn, #1, Norman,
OK 73071.
Unless otherwise noted, all contents of
articles herein do not necessarily reflect the
opinion of anyone but the writer. Reprint
rights are granted to recognized chapters of
NSS, provided credit is given.
Articles may be submitted by U.S. mail or
electronically. Articles may be sent to the
Editor at 1125 S Air Depot Blvd. No112,
Midwest
City,
OK
73110
or
to
sswift42@aol.com. Each submission should
include the author’s name and either e-mail
address or phone number (for verification
only). A text or Microsoft Word file is
preferred. Please contact the Editor by phone,
e-mail or texting before mailing your
information.
OSA Officers for 2016
President &
Stephen Swift
Update Editor
sswift42@aol.com
405-496-3616
Vice President
David Sheely
sheely@sbcglobal.net
405-821-9077
Secretary &
Syd Henderson
Outreach Editor
sydh@ou.edu
405-321-4027(H)
405-365-8983(C)
Treasurer
Tim Scott
ctsscott@mac.com
405-740-7549(H)
NSS Headquarters
1155 15th Street NW, Suite 500 Washington DC
20005
Exec Director
Lynx Spacecraft Artwork Credit: XCOR
It’s a sad day to see the Lynx spacecraft set aside.
XCOR reduced staff and shelved Lynx in order to focus
on development of a rocket engine for United Launch
Alliance.
Randy Baker, chief operating officer for XCOR, told
SpaceNews May 31 that the company laid off a
number of employees at its facilities in both Mojave,
California, and Midland, Texas on May 27. Baker
declined to state how many employees were laid off,
but other reports, including comments by former
employees on social media, indicated that about two
dozen people lost their jobs at a company that, prior
to the layoffs, had about 50 to 60 employees.
See article at http://spacenews.com/xcor-lays-offemployees-to-focus-on-engine-development/.
TBD

nsshq@nss.org
202-429-1600
Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 3 of 15
June, 2016
San Francisco Bay Area from Orbit
Bay Are by Tim Peake Credits: ESA/NASA
See article at http://spaceref.com/onorbit/san-francisco-bay-area-viewedfrom-orbit.html.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 4 of 15
June, 2016
SWOSU Students Tackle Mars Sand
International Space Station in Orbit Credit: NASA
The International Space Station completed its 100,000 orbit early morning on May
16 after its first component, the Zarya cargo module, launched Nov. 20, 1998. That
is over 2.6 billion miles traveled.
th
See article at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/05/16/station-reaches100000-orbits-deploys-cubesats/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 5 of 15
June, 2016
ISRO Launches India’s First Space Shuttle
RLV-TD Moving to Launch Pad Credit: ISRO
NEW DELHI, May 23 (UPI) -- India's space agency successfully launched its first
space shuttle on Monday. The unmanned shuttle is known as the Reusable Launch
Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator, or RLV-TD.
The vehicle was powered to an altitude of 40 miles by an HS9 solid rocket booster
before making a supersonic atmospheric re-entrance and a controlled glide
descent into the Bay of Bengal.
See article at http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/05/23/India-testlaunches-first-space-shuttle/2911464018522/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 6 of 15
June, 2016
Time Lapse Photo of Falcon 9 Launch
Credit: Mike Killian/AmericaSpace.com
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket appears to take its place among the stars in a stunning
skywatcher image.
Astrophotographer Mike Killian took the photo on May 6 as the Falcon 9 launched
the JCSAT-14 commercial communications satellite into orbit from Florida's Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station.
"I've waited years to try this shot," Killian, the managing editor of the website
AmericaSpace.com, wrote in an email to Space.com. "Finally, all the conditions
came together for an attempt."
See article at http://www.space.com/32891-spacex-rocket-launch-skywatcherphoto.html.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 7 of 15
June, 2016
SpaceX Launches Thaicom 8 and Lands First Stage
Falcon 9 Launch with Thaicom 8 Credit: SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket soared into a near-perfect
early-evening sky on May 27 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, lofting with it the
Thaicom 8 communications satellite. Less than 10 minutes later, the first stage of
the company’s booster successfully landed downrange on a drone ship—the third
successful sea landing and fourth overall.
See article at http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/commercial/spacexlaunches-thaicom-8-lands-falcon-9-first-stage/’
See video at
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=spacex+launches+thaicom+8+video+yout
ube&qpvt=spacex+launches+thaicom+8+video+youtube&view=detail&mid=0CAE0
F59658D4602A7110CAE0F59658D4602A711&FORM=VRDGAR.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 8 of 15
June, 2016
Ride the Falcon 9 Booster Down to Landing
Falcon 9 Booster Approaching Barge Credit: SpaceX
The 156-foot-tall booster detached from the Falcon 9’s second stage less than
three minutes after Friday’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 5:39 p.m. EDT (2139
GMT) with the Thaicom 8 communications satellite.
The video from a rocket-mounted camera shows the first stage opening four grid
fins in an X-wing configuration for aerodynamic stabilization, then flipping around
for a re-entry burn and a landing burn, targeting SpaceX’s drone ship “Of Course I
Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean.
See article at https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/28/ride-aboard-the-falcon-9rockets-first-stage-on-descent/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 9 of 15
June, 2016
King Tut’s Dagger Made from Meteor
Credit: Egyptian Museum in Cairo
See article at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113414339/king-tutdagger-meteor-iron-060116/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 10 of 15
June, 2016
Beam Module Expanded to Full Size
A series of photos tracks the expansion of the BEAM module on the ISS May 28.
Credit: NASA –
NASA announced that the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) had
expanded to its full size shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern, more than seven hours after
ground controllers, working with ISS astronaut Jeff Williams, started the
deployment process. A short time later, air tanks inside BEAM released air to bring
the module’s pressure up to the same level as the rest of the station. BEAM
reached its full size after a gradual, and at times tedious, process of manually
adding air to the module. NASA took a slow approach, sometimes asking Williams
to open an air valve for as little as one second before waiting for an extended
period to see how the additional air affected the expansion.
See article at http://spacenews.com/beam-module-fully-expanded-on-space-station/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 11 of 15
June, 2016
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Antares Test Fire Sets Stage for Return to Flight
Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Test Fire at Wallops Island Credit: NASA
“Early indications show the upgraded propulsion system, core stage and launch
complex all worked together as planned," said Mike Pinkston, the general manager
and vice president of the Antares program at Orbital ATK, in a statement, adding
that it "appears to be a successful test."
See article at http://www.space.com/33055-antares-rocket-test-return-to‘flight.html
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 12 of 15
June, 2016
Blue Origin Clears Land for ‘Massive’ Rocket Factory
(Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)
Bulldozers and excavators this week continued clearing land at Kennedy Space
Center’s Exploration Park where Blue Origin will build a rocket factory rivaling the
area's largest spaceflight facilities.
The 475,000 square foot manufacturing center, which will stand eight stories tall
and stretch longer than two football fields, is expected to be in place as soon as
the end of next year or early 2018.
A new orbital rocket built there could be ready for a first launch from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 before the end of the decade.
See article at
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2016/06/03/blue-originclearing-land-massive-rocket-factory/85198336/.
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
Page 13 of 15
June, 2016
That’s All Folks
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
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June, 2016
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Oklahoma Space Alliance Update
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June, 2016