NASA has a busy month
Lucas Beveridge
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
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The space shuttle Endeavor was launched to the International Space Station on Mar. 11 to add two new components: the Canadian Dextre robotic arm, and the first component of the Japanese Kibo lab which is designed for various research. All together, five space walks totaling 30 hours are planned for this mission which will spend 16 days in orbit, being the longest mission to the International Space Station.
Three of the space walks are dedicated to the installation and assembly of Dextre, which when completed will resemble a human stick figure with arms. The other two EVA's are supposed to unberth the Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (one of two pressurized modules for the Kibo lab), install a materials experiment, replace a circuit breaker box, and demonstrate a new repair procedure for the space shuttle's heat shield tiles.
The European Space Agency is also busy with the new ATV which is designed to deliver supplies and provide other utilities to the space station. It is unique because it is designed to rendezvous without human control and is cheaper to launch and operate than a manned vehicle such as the space shuttle, which will be retired in 2010. The vehicle is capable of providing thrust from its main engines to maintain the space station's orbit which would decay without occasional pushes from rockets.
The first ATV was launched on Mar. 8 on an Ariane 5 (the ATV is also the largest payload ever launched on an Ariane 5), and will be put through its paces in orbit later this month. One of the more important tests is that of the collision avoidance system, which will allow the ATV to divert itself if it senses that it is heading for a collision with the space station. If it passes these tests as scheduled, the Jules Verne will rendezvous with the space station on Apr. 8.
Further out in the solar system, the Cassini spacecraft completed a close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Mar. 12. The flyby allowed Cassini to take new high quality images of the moon that will help scientists study its unusual geology and collect data about geysers on the surface that were observed previously. The spacecraft approached the moon within 30 miles of the surface so it could pass through the geyser plumes to determine if there is water or organic compounds on the moon. It is hoped that the new data from the flyby will shed some light on the moon's composition.
Finally, on a historical note, it was 82 years ago this month on Mar. 16, 1926 that Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket reached a height of 41 ft., burned for two seconds, and reached an average speed of 60 mph. Despite the ridicule Dr. Goddard faced, he managed to get funding to continue his research, and of course, the descendants of that first rocket would eventually be used to launch the vehicles discussed above.
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