Author: jappe

Three new crewmembers launched toward the International Space Station early Wednesday morning, embarking on a mission that will boost the orbiting lab’s population to a level not seen in nearly two years.

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying cosmonaut Sergey Volkov, Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency and Kazakhstan’s Aidyn Aimbetov blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket Wednesday (Sept. 2) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT). It was 10:37 a.m. local time in Baikonur at launch time. You can see a video of the flawless Soyuz launch here.

“We’re doing great,” Volkov radioed down to Mission Control in Russia after the successful liftoff. “Everything is in order on board.”

If all goes according to plan, the trio will reach the station on Friday morning (Sept. 4). The arrival will bring the number of crewmembers aboard the $100 billion orbiting complex to nine, a number last reached in November 2013, NASA officials said.

But the abnormally dense population won’t last long. Mogensen and Aimbetov will return to Earth on Sept. 12 along with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who has been living on the International Space Station (ISS) since March.

After that departure, six crewmembers will remain — Volkov and fellow cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Mikhail Kornienko, Japanese spaceflyer Kimiya Yui and NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren.

European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen (top) gives a thumb’s up sign as he launched into space aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft with cosmonaut Sergei Volkov (bottom) and Kazakh Space Agency cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov (out of frame) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Sept. 2, 2015. The trio is headed for the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA TV

Kelly and Kornienko are about halfway through the first-ever yearlong mission aboard the space station. Researchers are studying how they adapt physiologically and psychologically to long-duration spaceflight; the results should help pave the way for future human missions to Mars, NASA officials have said.

(L to R) Aidyn Aimbetov of the Kazakh Space Agency, Sergei Volkov of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, and head to the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA

Kelly’s identical twin brother Mark, who is a former NASA astronaut, is participating in the experiment from the ground, serving as a control against which to compare the data gathered about Scott.

Most crewmembers spend 5 to 6 months aboard the orbiting lab. Mogensen and Aimbetov are flying their brief 10-day mission because Soyuz spacecraft are certified to stay in space for just six months. So Kelly and Kornienko cannot return to Earth in the Soyuz that brought them up; instead, they will come down in the vehicle that is carrying Mogensen, Aimbetov and Volkov to the station.

Aimbetov was a late addition to this “taxi flight.” His seat was supposed to be filled by English singer Sarah Brightman, who was reportedly set to pay about $50 milllion for her orbital experience. But Brightman backed out in May, citing “personal family reasons.”

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

Credit: NASA

A Russian Soyuz rocket stands poised atop its launchpad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan ahead of the Sept. 2 launch of a new three-man crew to the International Space Station. The rocket will launch Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Kazakh astronaut Aidyn Aimbetov into orbit on a Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft. Credit: RSC Energia

Three new crewmembers will blast off toward the International Space Station late tonight (Sept. 1) and you can watch the liftoff live online.

(L to R) Aidyn Aimbetov of the Kazakh Space Agency, Sergei Volkov of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, and head to the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA

Cosmonaut Sergei Volkov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency and Aidyn Aimbetov of the Kazakh Space Agency are scheduled to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT/10:37 a.m. Baikonur time). 

NASA will begin live coverage of the launch at 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT) and you can watch the broadcast on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

The astronauts are scheduled to arrive at the station on Friday, Sept. 4, at 3:24 a.m. EDT (0724 GMT). NASA will also provide live coverage of that event.

Cosmic Quiz: Do You Know the International Space St…

The International Space Station is the largest structure in space ever built by humans. Let’s see how much you know about the basics of this science laboratory in the sky.

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Cosmic Quiz: Do You Know the International Space St…

The International Space Station is the largest structure in space ever built by humans. Let’s see how much you know about the basics of this science laboratory in the sky.

0 of questions complete

The arrival of the three new crewmembers will bring the total crew count on the station to nine. This is the first time nine crewmembers have been on board the orbiting laboratory simultaneously since November 2013, according to a statement from NASA.

Mogensen and Aimbetov will serve short-duration stints, returning to Earth on Sept. 12, along with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who is already on the station. Volkov will stay on the station for six months, joining American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko in the second half of their yearlong mission, the longest mission ever completed aboard the International Space Station.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

An image from the Web comic “Brassens in Space,” by French cartoonist Boulet. In the comic, the artist takes the songwriter Georges Brassens on a tour of the solar system, to show him the wonder and awe made possible by science. Credit: Boulet/bouletcorp.com

Does science kill the poetry of nature, or does it write new volumes of wonder and awe?

A French cartoonist who goes by the name Boulet says it’s the latter, and he expressed his opinion in a gorgeous Web comic called “Brassens in Space,” which you can find here. Boulet’s comic takes readers on a journey through the cosmos, pointing out just a few of the awe-inspiring landscapes made visible by science.

An image from the Web comic “Brassens in Space,” by the French cartoonist Boulet.
Credit: Boulet/bouletcorp.com

Boulet’s inspiration for the comic was a song by the French singer Georges Brassens. The song laments that science has taken away humanity’s belief in ancient gods. “The song always bothered me…” Boulet tells the songwriter. “It sounds like … Like you’re blaming science for killing poetry. And I strongly disagree!” [Fly Through Real Space Photos in Amazing Video]

The comic is Boulet’s attempt to convey that, rather than killing poetry and passion, science has provided new things to be passionate about, by revealing the wonders of the universe that were once hidden.

The Web comic shows a young Boulet looking at the night sky through a telescope in his backyard. From there, he could see some of those incredible cosmic locations, and dreamed of visiting them. He takes Brassens on a tour of the solar system, visiting places like the gas giant Jupiter.

“It’s Hell there, an entire world made of storms so violent that would make a nuclear blast look like a mosquito’s fart,” the comic said. “And it’s just … THERE. Floating in the sky, visible from your garden!”

Throughout their illustrated journey, Boulet tries to show Brassens how knowledge of the universe has opened up more opportunities to be awestruck, humbled, passionate and poetic.

“I see in the night sky a sort of opposite Plat[o]’s Cave: when you shut down the blinding light, you can see billions of things hiding in the dark,” Boulet wrote in the comic. “So many wonders in this ocean, like the lights of the Pleiades, shining like little diamonds…And the emotion you feel the first time you see Saturn and its rings, so tiny in the telescope!”

To get the full experience, go read the entire comic (and thanks to The Planetary Society blog for pointing it out to us). If you’re already a lover of the cosmos, you’ll know exactly what Boulet is talking about. And if you aren’t totally awed by what astronomy has revealed about the universe, this comic might just convince you.  

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Saturn’s moon Dione crosses the face of the ringed planet in an image obtained on May 21, 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

An icy moon of Saturn hangs against the face of its giant parent planet in a breathtaking new image captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

The photo, which Cassini took on May 21, shows the moon Dione crossing Saturn’s disk. Careful study of such “transits” can help astronomers better understand the orbits of Dione and other moons in the solar system, NASA officials said.

Furthermore, NASA’s Kepler space telescope and some other instruments hunt for exoplanets by looking for tiny dips in a star’s brightness caused by transiting alien worlds. Studying the light coming from such extrasolar systems can also reveal details about the composition of these exoplanets’ atmospheres.

At 696 miles (1,120 kilometers) in diameter, Dione is the fourth-largest of Saturn’s sixty-odd moons; only Titan, Rhea and Iapetus are bigger. Parts of Dione are heavily cratered, and the satellite’s trailing side features mysterious ice cliffs and fractures that run for tens or hundreds of kilometers. Cassini has also detected a wispy oxygen atmosphere surrounding the frigid moon.

Cassini snapped the new photo, which was released today (Aug. 31), when the probe was about 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km) from Saturn. The image’s resolution is 9 miles (14 km) per pixel.

Saturn Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Ringed Planet?

With more than 60 known moons to go along with its famous rings, Saturn is as intriguing as it is beautiful. How much do you know about the sixth planet from the sun?

0 of 10 questions complete

Saturn Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Ringed Planet?

With more than 60 known moons to go along with its famous rings, Saturn is as intriguing as it is beautiful. How much do you know about the sixth planet from the sun?

0 of questions complete

But Cassini has gotten much closer looks at Dione, thanks to a handful of flybys over the years. During the most recent one, which occurred Aug. 17, the spacecraft zoomed within just 295 miles (474 km) of the moon’s surface, returning a set of amazing images.

The Aug. 17 maneuver was the last scheduled up-close look at Dione, however; no more close flybys are planned before Cassini ends its mission with an intentional death dive into Saturn’s thick atmosphere in September 2017.

The $3.2 billion Cassini mission, which launched in 1997 and arrived in the Saturn system in 2004, is a joint operation involving NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

The NASA Graphics Standards Manual, which in 1976 defined the use of now-retired NASA “worm” logo, is getting a limited reissue through Kickstarter. Credit: Hamish Smyth

A 40-year-old book that gave rise to one of NASA’s most iconic logos is being relaunched as a limited edition reprint on Kickstarter.

The NASA Graphics Standards Manual, first published in January 1976, defined a new graphic identity for the U.S. space agency. As designed by Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn, the guide introduced a stark logotype, on which the letters “N-A-S-A” were “reduced to their simplest form, replacing the red, white and blue circular emblem with the white block letters,” as Danne’s original introduction to the book described.

The manual debuted the planned deployment of the NASA “worm,” an affectionate or derogatory unofficial nickname, depending on the viewer’s perspective, taking the place of the “meatball,” the space agency’s first insignia. The red-letter, stylized logotype was front and center for the first decade of the space shuttle program, emblazoned on the wings of the orbiters, the astronauts’ spacesuits, and even the body of the Hubble Space Telescope. [Photos: NASA’s Offbeat Mission Posters]

And then in 1992, at the singular order of the then-head of NASA, the worm was rejected and the meatball restored.

Now, two designers who grew up knowing the worm as the only symbol that represented NASA are seeking to reprint the Graphics Standards Manual, to honor what Danne and Blackburn achieved and to ensure that the legacy of the worm is preserved.

“We’re really looking at this as an archival project to really preserve this document so that it can be seen by graphic designers, space enthusiasts and by people who can learn from the manual,” remarked Jesse Reed, who with fellow designer Hamish Smyth is behind the crowd-funding effort that began on Tuesday morning (Sept. 1).

The pair’s 34-day Kickstarter campaignis offering a hard-bound copy of the original manual, supplemented with files from Danne’s own archives, for $79. For the project to go into print, Reed and Smyth need pledges for 2,000 copies of the book, raising at least $158,000.

“We’re really only offering the book as a reward in support of the campaign,” Reed said. “We are not doing packages of items or collectibles. It is really just about the book.”

Reed and Smyth, who work as associate partners for the design firm Pentagram, have experience reissuing a style guide through Kickstarter. Last year, their first campaign rocketed to more than $800,000 — eight times more than what they had set as their goal — for a new reprint of the 1970 New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual, the design reference that solved how to find the way around on the city’s underground subway. [Related: How Crowdfunding is Helping Space Projects]

Like the NYCTA book, the NASA manual has become one of the world’s classic examples of modern design.

“From a graphic designer’s perspective, this document is a very good example of systematic design and the way to take what was a mess of graphic identity and really strip that all away, creating this very analytical system on how to communicate what type of agency NASA is,” described Reed.

Reed and Smyth plan to reproduce the manual in full-scale within the 200 pages of the limited edition reissue.

“Every page of the manual will be completely included. It’ll appear exactly as it appeared in the manual,” Reed said. “Nothing about the design will be altered in any way.”

The most noticeable difference between the 1976 manual and the reissue will be the binding. The original, like most graphics standards manuals of its day, was held together in a ring binder so pages could be taken out and replaced as updates were made.

The new hardcover reissue will include 10 fold-out pages (gatefolds) and will be packaged in a static shield pouch (“like space hardware or computer parts use,” Reed said).

The new edition will also include extra content before and after the pages of the vintage manual.

“What we are doing is including an essay at the beginning of the book written by Christopher Bananos, who writes for New York Magazine. He’ll be doing a historical introduction to NASA, the culture of the administration and the socio-economic view within the country during that period,” Reed told collectSPACE.com.

“Additionally, Richard [Danne] has given us all of his other supplementary material, including the original presentation that he gave to NASA to propose this new identity,” Reed said. “We also have all of these amazing photographs of the shuttle, space food, of [the worm] actually being used in space, that will be included in the book as well.”

Reed and Hamish, as self-described “design nerds,” hold the original NASA graphics manual in high regard as “a beautiful example of rational, systematic design.” Initially, after the success of their NYCTA reprint in 2014, they had no plans to take on a similar project but were attracted by what the worm represented.

The Danne & Blackburn Graphics Standards Manual provided a reference for how the NASA logo was to be applied across the space agency.
Credit: Hamish Smyth

“I think what is great about the worm logo is that it visually communicates what NASA does. It really communicates the idea of streamlining and interconnectivity without any frivolous or extra components that are not necessary to do the job,” said Reed. “I think that is what the worm does.”

“When you look at it, the reason I think that most people like it from a subconscious point of view, is that it actually look likes space,” he said.

Watch a video about the NASA Graphics Standards Manual, its history and legacy, at collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2015 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Sunday, Sept. 27, evening. There will be a triple treat for observers in eastern North America as sun, Earth, and moon align: a total lunar eclipse, the…Read More » moon at its closest, and a full moon, all in one evening. At 8:12 p.m. EDT, the lunar eclipse will begin with the first faint lunar shadow creeping onto the moon. At 9:48, the moon reaches an extreme perigee, the closest it will get to Earth in all of 2015: 221,753 miles (356,877 km). Total phase of the eclipse will begin at 10:11 p.m. and mid eclipse will be at 10:47. At 10:51 it will be the instant of full moon, the largest full moon in 2015. At 11:23, the total phase of the eclipse will end, and at 1:23 a.m. the last of the Earth’s shadow will leave the moon. In western North America, the moon will already be in eclipse when the moon rises. Observers in South America, Europe, and Africa will also see most of this eclipse. The illustration shows the moon just entering the umbral shadow of Earth at 9:12 p.m. EDT.   Less «