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Astronauts in Soyuz Capsule Miss Target, Experience 10G Forces on Re-Entry

A Soyuz capsule returning to Earth on Saturday missed its target by 260 miles, and the astronauts experienced extreme physical forces on re-entry:

MOSCOW —  A Soyuz capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut landed in northern Kazakhstan Saturday, several hundred kilometers off-target, Russian space officials said.

Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the condition of the crew — South Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko — was satisfactory, though the three had been subjected to severe G-forces during the re-entry.

The Russian TMA-11 craft touched down around 0830 GMT some 260 miles off target, Lyndin said — a highly unusual distance given how precisely engineers plan for such landings. It was also around 20 minutes later than scheduled.

Officials said the craft followed a so-called "ballistic re-entry" — a very steep trajectory that subjects the crew to extreme physical force.

Lyndin said the crew had experienced gravitational forces up to 10 times those on Earth during the descent.

The crew were being examined on site by medical officials, and were later to return to Moscow for further evaluation.

It is the second landing in a row of a Soyuz capsule that has gone awry.

Last October, a technical glitch sent a Soyuz spacecraft carrying Malaysia's first space traveler and two Russian cosmonauts on a steeper-than-normal path during their return to Earth.

A similar problem occurred in May 2003 when the crew also experienced a steep, off-course landing. It then took salvage crews several hours to locate the spacecraft because of communications problems.

Kazakhstan Saturday, April 19, 2008. The spacecraft carrying South Korea's first astronaut
Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko
touched down about 260 miles off-target. (AP Photo/Shamil Zhumatov)

I cannot even imagine the discomfort of experiencing 10G forces on re-entry after the weightlessness of space.

There have now been three similar Soyuz re-entry mishaps within five years.  Is this an unavoidable series of glitches in the infancy of space travel, or a sign of serious trouble in Russia's space program?  Let's hear what the head of Russia's space agency, Anatoli Preminov, has to say.  From CBS News:

Asked about the presence of two women on the Soyuz spacecraft, Preminov referred to a naval superstition that having women aboard a ship was bad luck.

"In Russia, we have a sort of omen regarding such occasions," he said, "but thank God, everything ended well. Certainly we will try to somehow avoid a prevalence of females on a crew, though I don't think it will be mandatory."

You've got to be kidding, Mr. Preminov.  When I hear that Russia's "solution" to Soyuz capsules making dangerous, off-course re-entries is to get rid of the women cosmonauts, I know that the Russian space program is deflecting attention from its own mistakes.

The solution to this problem does not lie in bowing to superstition.  It will be found in engineering.

The Stunning Sombrero Galaxy

By DemocracyRules

This is a real picture, taken by the Hubble telescope. This beautiful galaxy has a huge 'dust' ring around it, but it has very few stars in the center.  Instead, the core has a super-massive black hole. 

Black holes are like huge gravitational vacuum cleaners that suck matter in, and the vacuum bag gets VERY FULL (but very squished).  The core of the Sombrero Galaxy has a mass 1 billion times the mass of our sun.

This infra-red picture is just as striking.  Don't get too close, or it will be 'Adios muchachos'.

Mercury's 'Dark Side' Revealed

By DemocracyRules

Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, and it's been very difficult to explore, mainly because it's very hot.

This is an older composite picture of Mercury's 'near side'. The creamy slash is just a data gap.

NASA has sent the Messenger spacecraft to photograph Mercury's 'far side', and it's just now sending pictures.  Messenger is  especially designed to not get burnt up.

The moon also has a 'far side' because each time it circles the earth it also rotates just once.  Thus it's not possible to view the 'far side' or 'dark side' of the moon directly because it's always facing away from earth. It's not really dark, it gets sunlight, but we can't see it.  Mercury is similar, because there is one side we have never seen, until now.  Terra incognita revealed!

Here is a first time ever pic of the far side of Mercury.

This picture appears black & white because it is an infra-red-type photo.  However, the whitish craters and streaks against the dark background will probably also appear in the 'full color' pictures to come.  These look like stars in themselves.  I can't wait until Google Earth expands to include a Google Mercury, so we can 'walk around' on the surface!

Japan Embraces the Moon With a Satellite

Did you know that a Japanese satellite is now orbiting the moon?

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - The Japanese satellite launched last month finally reached orbit around the moon on Friday. The probe is eventually set to move into orbit closer to the moon's surface before starting an observational mission that should last a year.

The $279 million Selenological and Engineering Explorer or SELENE involves launching the main satellite in a circular orbit at an altitude of about 60 miles, as well as the two smaller satellites in elliptical orbits. The data collected will be used the study the moon's origin and evolution.

Many more details about Japan's long-term space plans, which include constructing a research base on the Moon starting around 2025, are here.

Japanese culture has long appreciated and celebrated the moon.  As a techological world leader, Japan has as good a chance as any country on earth of establishing a moon base this century.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. H-2A rocket, loading the Kaguya probe, takes off from Tanegashima island, Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 14, 2007. Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd./JAXA via Bloomberg News at Bloomberg.com

NASA Finding No Evidence to Support Drunken Astronaut Claim

A NASA investigation of space flights going back 10 years has thus far failed to uncover any evidence that any astronauts were drunk when they launched into space.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA has reviewed 10 years of space flights and found no evidence to back up allegations that astronauts boarded a space shuttle and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft drunk, the U.S. space agency's boss said on Wednesday.   . . . .

The claim emerged last month in a report by a panel of health experts who had been asked to check on the astronaut corps' health and screening policies in the aftermath of the arrest of a former astronaut, Lisa Nowak, accused of stalking a love rival.  . . . .

The panel said it was told of at least two occasions in which NASA astronauts were cleared to fly despite indications they were drunk, one involving a space shuttle flight that ended up being postponed for other reasons and the other a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

The panel did not attempt to confirm the allegations but brought them to NASA's attention. NASA managers vowed to reinforce a 12-hour ban on drinking alcohol before launch and started the investigation.

Speaking at a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the space shuttle Endeavour blasted into orbit on Wednesday, Griffin said he would be "extraordinarily surprised" if there was anything to the accusations.

He noted that shuttle crews are under intense supervision on launch day and are not alone from the moment they wake up.

"I mean they would have to really want to drink and hide it really well because from the time they woke up they were with other people," he said, using Endeavour's crew as an example.

As I've written before, even if astronauts were drunk on one or two occasions, it's nothing to get excited about:

Some of the same character traits that make astronauts courageous and bold enough to put their lives on the line also tend to make them unlikely to feel constrained by every last iota of conventional wisdom.

And if NASA decided to look the other way once or twice when an astronaut showed up for a launch looking a bit inebriated, it's because NASA didn't think the problem was a serious threat to the flight. 

It's not the end of the world.  We don't actually have to flog to death every breach of protocol.  All NASA needs to do is to clarify and enforce its rules in the future and move on.

We need to look forward, not back.  Space is our future, and space travel will soon be routine. 

This will all look silly in hindsight.  Was Christopher Columbus inebriated when he sailed?  Did Magellan ever respond to the onset of a terrible storm by taking a stiff drink that argaubly impaired his reflexes and judgment?  Who cares? 

History will write the story of our success.  Only rarely is a kingdom lost for want of a nail. 

America's space program is truly making history, and if we can't take an error or two in stride, we truly lack the right stuff.

Quote of the Day

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 

(Psalm 139:7-10)

________________________________________

Photo: Romeo Koitmäe

A Nation with the "Right Stuff" Doesn't Overreact to Two Drunk Astronauts

Today's news brings the story that astronauts "may" have been drunk when their rockets took off on "at least two occasions":

NASA let astronauts fly drunk on at least two occasions, an independent panel said in a report released Friday.

The report gave no names and did not say when the drinking occurred, how many astronauts were involved, or whether they were flying on the space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz spaceship, or aboard NASA's training airplanes.

It has all the makings of a big, embarrassing scandal, doesn't it?  It's certainly being portrayed that way.

So why am I not impressed?

It's all about perspective.

If an astronaut is about to launch into space sitting on top of a hundred million gallons of highly explosive fuel, in a rocket ship with about two million parts, all of it built by the lowest bidder, a stiff drink or two would seem to be a reasonable response.

Sure, in a perfect world astronauts would never be nervous or would seek only medically-approved sedation, and they would never consume alcohol before a flight.  After all, a space shuttle or any rocket is a very expensive piece of equipment, and a lot is at stake with every flight.

But in a perfect world, test pilot Chuck Yeager would have been grounded before he ever broke the sound barrier.  If you've read Yeager's autobiography, you know he broke important, commonsense rules about every ten days -- probably without exaggeration.  Shot down over occupied France during World War II, he evaded capture and eventually made his way back to his squadron, but was supposed to be sent home because he'd had contact with the French resistance.  He managed to get around that rule and stay in the fight. 

On the day Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, he flew with two broken ribs.  He could barely get into the airplane or shut the door.  How does that compare to being drunk?  I'd say that two broken ribs is the greater impairment.  And a test flight is incredibly demanding on the skills of the pilot.

Or how about this story Yeager tells?:

Back in the days when we were undergoing squadron training, I had got friendly with a Joe & Ma Clifford who had a ranch near Tonopah. Joe had told me that he’d like to get rid of a tree that stood near the roadway to their house. The next day, I umm, kinda buzzed that tree in my P-39 and took the top clean off! When I landed, the Sergeant in charge of maintenance said to me, “What the hell happened there Yeager?” I replied “I hit a bird” he said to me “Well, that son of a bitch must’ve been sitting in one helluva high nest “. So I got grounded from flying the P-39 for a week, but I was lucky I didn’t get court marshaled.”

Read a whole lot more in Yeager's autobiography, which you'll throughly enjoy if you like reading about America's early test pilots and the dawn of space travel:

If you disapprove of his methods -- and his superiors often did -- do you like the results Yeager got?  Did he have the right stuff?

Some of the same character traits that make astronauts courageous and bold enough to put their lives on the line also tend to make them unlikely to feel constrained by every last iota of conventional wisdom.

And if NASA decided to look the other way once or twice when an astronaut showed up for a launch looking a bit inebriated, it's because NASA didn't think the problem was a serious threat to the flight. 

It's not the end of the world.  We don't actually have to flog to death every breach of protocol.  All NASA needs to do is to clarify and enforce its rules in the future and move on.

We need to look forward, not back.  Space is our future, and space travel will soon be routine. 

This will all look silly in hindsight.  Was Christopher Columbus inebriated when he sailed?  Did Magellan ever respond to the onset of a terrible storm by taking a stiff drink that argaubly impaired his reflexes and judgment?  Who cares? 

History will write the story of our success.  Only rarely is a kingdom lost for want of a nail. 

America's space program is truly making history, and if we can't take an error or two in stride, we truly lack the right stuff.

______________________________

Trackback at Point Five

Al Gore's Theories Still Not So Hot

This pretty much speaks for itself:

Gore:  Ignorant or Dishonest?

A good question.  However, I don't see why the two are mutually exclusive.

After responding to Gore's claim that atmospheric carbon is responsible for high temperatures on Venus, George Reisman writes:

It is on the basis of such ignorance or dishonesty that you declare that

we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth. (Italics added.)

The “global warming pollution” you talk about is the production of the energy that lights, heats, and air conditions our homes, powers our automobiles, trucks, trains, airplanes, and ships, runs our refrigerators, television sets, computers, and all other electrical appliances, and powers the machinery and equipment that produces all of the goods we buy. You want to cut this by a staggering percentage!

. . . .

If you understood in personal terms what you are talking about, you would know that your supposedly glorious “spiritual challenge” is a call for Mrs. Gore to scrub your laundry (if you would still have any) against a rock on the bank of a river, the way women do in Third World countries. That’s the actual meaning and measure of your “spiritual challenge.” You want to turn our glorious economic system into a poverty-stricken hell-hole.

Update 1:

In related news, scientists taking ice core samples from Greenland are discovering that Greenland was once much greener than it is today:

Ice-covered Greenland really was green a half-million or so years ago, covered with forests in a climate much like that of Sweden and eastern Canada today.

An international team of researchers recovered ancient DNA from the bottom of an ice core that indicates the presence of pine, yew and alder trees as well as insects.

The researchers, led by Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, say this is the first proof that there was forest in southern Greenland.

Included were genetic traces of butterflies, moths, flies and beetles, they report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

As Ed Morrissey points out:

That has some implications for the climate-change debate. Advocates of anthropogenic climate change use Greenland as key evidence in their argument. They claim that the loss of Greenland's glacial mass -- which is still in dispute -- shows the effect that mankind has had on the Earth's climate. If Greenland's glaciers have only recently formed, then that argument makes little sense.

Update 2:  Some of the scientific data offered in support of claims of global warming was addressed on Sean Hannity's show.

Update 3:  If you haven't seen it already, check out the new guest post from Democracy Rules:  THE GORE-Y TRUTH.

Hawking Floats in Space

Stephen Hawking has floated weightless in a zero-gravity jet:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Free of his wheelchair and tethered only to heart rate and blood pressure monitors, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking on Thursday fulfilled a dream of floating weightless on a zero-gravity jet, a step he hopes leads to further space adventures.

The modified jet carrying Hawking, a handful of his physicians and nurses, and dozens of others first flew up to 24,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. Nurses lifted Hawking and carried him to the front of the jet, where they placed him on his back atop a special foam pillow.

The jet then climbed to around 32,000 feet and made a parabolic dive back to 24,000 feet, allowing Hawking and the other passengers to experience weightlessness for about 25 seconds.

Hawking, a mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge who has done groundbreaking work on black holes and the origins of the universe, has the paralyzing disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The 65-year-old was the first person with a disability to experience the flight by Zero Gravity Corp., which has flown about 2,700 people out of Florida since late 2004 and began offering the flights in Las Vegas this week.

Congratulations to Hawking.

Space tourism is here to stay.

Who Wants to Be an Astronaut?

This sounds like fun:

Former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin is drawing up plans for a lottery-like contest, with space experiences for prizes, in hopes of making orbital spaceflight available to more than just wealthy entrepreneurs.

Billed as the ShareSpace Stakes, the contest is envisioned to function as part of Aldrin's ShareSpace Foundation, a firm designed to promote interest in human spaceflight and science education.

"It's something akin to a sweepstakes or a raffle," Aldrin said Tuesday during the Space Investment Summit here, adding that many details remain to be determined. "We have yet to set up the rules and regulations."

Aldrin said any entrants would have to be age 18 or older to enter the ShareSpace Stakes, and any winners would likely be required to satisfy the appropriate health requirements for spaceflight.

Currently, the only orbital flights available for space tourists head to the International Space Station and are brokered with Russia's Federal Space Agency by the Virginia-based firm Space Adventures for a cost of between $20 million and $25 million. 

. . . .

Aldrin, who made history on July 20, 1969 during NASA's Apollo 11 mission when he became the second human ever to set foot on the Moon, said some 400,000 people, each paying about $50 a ticket, could cover the cost of an orbital tourist flight in one vision of the Stakes raffle.

Other prizes could include weightless flights aboard zero-G aircraft or other experiences, he added.

So . . .

Who wants to be an astronaut?