Europe is investing a record amount in space travel. The ESA has set itself some ambitious goals: preventing asteroid impacts, embarking on a moon mission and clearing away space debris.
It was a good 20 years ago that US actor Bruce Willis set-off into space: In the Hollywood blockbuster “Armageddon”, anasteroid is racing towards the earth. The only way towards stop it is to flyit and blow it up.
What was science fiction back then could soon be reality.The European Space Agency ESA approved the so-called HERA mission, an asteroiddefense mission led by Germany, at its Council of Ministers conference at the end of November.
Protection against asteroid impact
The ESA, together with the US space agency NASA, will investigate how humanity can protect itself from an asteroid impact on Earth: “We know that an asteroid will hit the Earth again at some point, and we have to be prepared for that moment. So far , no one has tried to seriously deflect an asteroid to find out exactly what happens then,” says Thomas Jarzombek, the German government’s coordinator for aerospace, explaining the ambitious project.
What is the ESA?
European Space Agency
Based in Paris, France, founded in 1975
Coordinates the space activities of the 22 member states *Record budget for the next three or five years: 14.4 billion euros, with Germany being the largest contributor with 3.3 billion euros * ESA’s priorities for the next three years: “Earth observation”, “space transport” and “human and robotic exploration”
In June 2021, a NASA probe will fly to the double asteroidDidymos/Didymoon and impact there in October 2022. An ESA probe will then setoff and measure the asteroid and the resulting crater. The mission is intendedto find out whether asteroids can be diverted from their trajectory.
Cleaning up space junk
In addition to asteroid defense, the ESA is also negotiating the issue of space debris. Former astronaut and ESA coordinator Thomas Reitersays: “For the first time worldwide, we will begin to clear away the garbage, because there is more and more space debris flying around up there.It’s time to clean up, to put it very carefully.”
Robotic moon mission
Another flagship project is the robotic moon mission. AnAriane rocket with a landing module will fly to the moon. “This is technically demanding project, because so far there are only three nations that have really managed to land on the moon in a controlled manner – the USA,Russia and China,” says Jarzombek. “This could also contribute to theAmericans’ moon mission. Everyone is interested in finding out where the interesting places on the moon are for later research.”
It is still unclear when the robotic ESA mission will setoff for the moon. The Americans want to start manned lunar flights again with the Artemis program from 2024. “The goal is not, as with the Apollo missions, to fly to the moon, bring back rocks and that’s it. This time it’sabout making it sustainable,” explains Reiter. That’s why cargotransporters are needed to get scientific equipment to the lunar surface and conductance research there on a permanent basis.
To the moon and fill up
“From the moon, with one sixth of the gravity of the earth, it is easier to travel into the depths of our solar system as well as tosupply fuel to satellites in geostationary orbit,” says Reiter.
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who will be the fourth Germanto fly to the ISS in the coming years, adds: “In the future, you could flyto the moon with a smaller rocket, fill up at the gas station there and thentake off, for example towards Mars.”
Earth observation by satellite
The largest share of the new ESA budget, around 2.5 billioneuros, will go to earth observation using satellites. “Especially in timesof climate change, it is important to better understand what is happening in the atmosphere and at the polar caps,” explains Jarzombek.
Much of the data from ESA satellites on weather and climateis already available free of charge on the Internet. It is used by start-upcompanies that are developing satellites with special sensors, says Jarzombek.
“For example, there is a company that supports forestfire fighting. They are developing their own satellites with very special infrared optics. In addition to their own satellite data, however, they needfurther information, which is why they take additional photo data fromESA.”
New satellites and services for climate monitoring, agriculture and disaster prevention are expected to begin operations in thenext few years.
Mass ejections from the Sun
In addition to the weather on Earth, ESA will also beincreasingly studying the weather in space. One mission is looking into theso-called coronal mass ejections of the sun – charged particles that are dangerous for the Earth: “The sun occasionally hurls electrically charged particles towards the Earth, which can have enormous consequences for our modern industrial societies,” explains Reiter. The result could bedisruptions in radio traffic and even blackouts in the power supply.
That is why a mission towards the sun is to be launched in a few years: “We want to fly to a position from which we can look at the sunand the earth from the side. From this perspective, we can see immediately whena coronal mass ejection moves towards the earth,” says Reiter.
ESA mission
A garbage disposal for space
The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching the world’s first cleanup mission in space. “ClearSpace-1” is designed to removedebris. It will start in 2025.
Space may be empty of air, but it is home to a lot ofgarbage. Tens of thousands of pieces of debris from old satellites or rockets are flying around in space. These pieces can fall to Earth or cause collisions.A cleanup mission is intended to reduce the risk of accidents. It is set tobegin in 2025, as the ESA announced in Darmstadt. This was decided by theEuropean space ministers at their most recent conference in Seville, Spain. InGermany, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier is responsiblefor space travel.
In collaboration with a commercial consortium, a Swissstartup has now been commissioned to realize “ClearSpace-1”. ESAexperts will be monitoring the project from Darmstadt, and it is scheduled to start in March next year.
Business with a future
“This example will set a precedent,” said ESADirector General Jan Wörner. He sees a future market in the removal of spacedebris. Space is infrastructure that is used every day for a variety of applications, said Wörner. Protecting this infrastructure is of great value.
Lack of space in endless expansions
Where space is already tight today, space could soon become even tighter. Experts expect thousands more satellites to be launched in the coming years. This increases the likelihood of collisions. According to the ESA, the aim of the “ClearSpace-1” mission is for a space probe to capture an upper stage of an old ESA rocket with four grippers and return it toEarth’s orbit to burn up. Later, other space probes will capture several large pieces of debris.
Donors Germany
The Federal Republic is contributing twelve million euros to”ClearSpace-1″. In total, the ESA member states have decided toinvest 14.4 billion euros in European space travel in the coming years. Germany is increasing its total contribution from 1.9 to 3.3 billion euros compared to the 2016 ESA conference, making it the largest contributor.
ESA Mars mission launched
And the red planet beckons forever
ExoMars is running according to plan: A “Proton” rocket with a satellite and landing unit was launched from Baikonur towardsMars. In 217 days, the satellite will be at the edge of the Martian atmosphere.Sebastian Kisters explains the special features of the ESA mission.
What does ESA want on Mars?
More than 40 space probes have already been sent to Mars.But one question is still unanswered: Is there life on our neighboring planet?The only thing that is certain so far is that there is methane in the Martianatmosphere. On Earth, the gas is mainly released by living things. However, itcould also be of volcanic origin. The “ExoMars” mission is nowintended to provide clarity. “For the first time, there are instruments that are capable of doing this,” says Paolo Ferri, the head of ESA mission operations.
On Monday at 10:31 am Central European Time, the EuropeanSpace Agency (ESA) launched a satellite with a landing unit into space.Together they weigh over four tons. This means that one record is alreadycertain: it is the heaviest Mars mission of all time. With fuel and allignition stages, the rocket has a launch weight of 697 tons.
It will take the satellite 217 days to reach the edge of theMartian atmosphere. Various instruments will then examine its composition. The most exciting part of the mission will begin on October 19 at 4:45 pm Thelanding module will then race towards the red planet at a speed of 5.8kilometers per second. A parachute and three jets will slow it down shortly before impact. The landing will be at a maximum speed of five meters per second, or about 18 km/h. If the maneuver is successful, it will providecrucial information for a second part of the mission.
In 2018, ESA plans to launch a rover with a drill to Mars. So far, robots have only scratched the surface of the planet. In three years, however, samples from a depth of two meters will be available. If there was ever life on Mars – or still is – thenit would only be at this depth. On the surface, intense UV radiation is likely to have destroyed all life.
Who controls the mission?
What Houston is for NASA, Darmstadt is for ESA. The rapidmaneuver is controlled from the European Space Operations Center in southernHesse. However, control is relative in this mission. Each control command takesover nine minutes to reach the probe from Darmstadt, over 75 million kilometers away. For comparison: the moon is 384,000 kilometers from Earth.
Why is the launch taking place in Baikonur?
NASA actually wanted to take part in the mission. But in 2012 it became too expensive for the Americans. ESA was able to gain the Russian space agency Roskosmos as a new cooperation partner. So now the launch willtake place from the legendary spaceport in Baikonur. On October 4, 1957, theRussians launched the first satellite from Baikonur into space:”Sputnik”, which means “companion” or “lanecompanion” in German. The first victory in the race into space went to theSoviets. The West suffered from the “Sputnik shock” “. The first person was also launched into space from Baikonur: Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961.
Baikonur had two advantages for the Soviets: the dry desertclimate and the location. Rockets that were launched in a northeasterlydirection initially flew several thousand kilometers over Soviet territory. The city was long one of the most secret places in the world. To keep spies away, Baikonur was long marked 380 kilometers to the west on Soviet maps.
Today thespaceport is located on Kazakh territory. Russia transfers over 100 milliondollars a year to be allowed to continue using the site. The place is no longer secret: astronauts and satellites from all over the world begin their journey into space here.
How does the launch go?
At 10:31 am the earth shakes in the Kazakh desert. The697-ton “Proton” rocket takes off. It goes straight up for the firstkilometer. The rocket needs 22 seconds to do this. One minute after takeoff ithas already reached a height of ten kilometers and is already traveling at 1500km/h towards Mars. Another minute later the “Proton” is already 45kilometers from Earth.
The “Proton” was long considered a reliable workhorse among launch vehicles. By the turn of the millennium, there had been more than 250 launches. The success rate was 96 percent. In recent years, however, there have been repeated problems. In 2013, a satellite mission was history seconds after launch; the rocket exploded. In 2014 and 2015, satellite board “Proton” rockets also failed to reach their targets. They crashed from a great height.
Experienced scientists are also relying on lucky charms in the control center in Darmstadt in the coming hours. They believe the decisionto fly with the Russians was the right one in any case. Paolo Ferri, ESA’s headof mission operations, says: “I believe science can help solve political problems. We are showing that countries can and must cooperate. This is a signthat politicians must follow.”
When will the first person fly to Mars?
The technology is there. “But the costs and risks makeit impossible to send people to Mars at the moment,” says Paolo Ferri,head of ESA mission operations. The biggest problem is radiation in space.Astronauts cannot yet be adequately protected from it on a long journey toMars. They would probably die quickly of cancer.
ESA contract for Swiss startup
The junk in orbit should be removed
Thousands of remnants of decommissioned rockets and satellites are whizzing around the Earth. The Swiss startup ClearSpace is now to become the world’s first company to dispose of debris in space on behalf of the European Space Agency.
After almost sixty years of space travel with severalthousand launches, a veritable cloud of junk is now orbiting the Earth. Oldrockets, parts of satellites and abandoned aircraft are buzzing around inorbit. In the early days of space travel, no one thought about this, says Luc Piguet.
The 48-year-old electronics engineer is one of the two bosses of the Swiss company ClearSpace, which was commissioned by the EuropeanSpace Agency (ESA) to carry out the world’s first space cleanup mission. The garbage is a danger, says Luc Piguet. “When two objects that no longer function collide, it generates a very large amount of junk in space, and that is a risk for all missions we have in the future.”
Scrap burns up in the atmosphere
Cleaning up is urgently needed. There are now around 42,000objects flying through space. Like projectiles, they can be dangerous forsatellites or space stations. The company ClearSpace was founded in the vice of the EPFL Lausanne technical university. ClearSpace means free spacein German.
ClearSpace wants to help make the orbit free of junk again, says the 48-year-old electronics engineer. “What we’re actually doing istaking these objects that no longer work out of space. We pick them up and bring them back into the Earth’s atmosphere, where they burn up,” explains Piguet.
Braking maneuver is complicated
For the cleanup operation, a satellite called”ClearSpace-1″ will be built and sent into space to collect thegarbage. The device will find objects and slow them down. “We will reduce the speed so that it comes back down into the Earth’s atmosphere, ” says Piguet.
In, it is known where the debris is in orbit. This is made possible by a database that is fed with coordinates from radarmonitoring. The information is accurate to within about two to three kilometers. The satellite must find the exact position of the objects themselves and then seize them for the braking process.
“This is one of the biggest challenges of the mission,” explains Piguet. Since there is no gravitational pull, there isno frictional resistance between the objects. “A very small touch cantrigger large movements. And when the object is moving, it becomes complicatedto even touch it.”
Hope for a new market
The subsequent burning up of the scrap pieces upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, however, is relatively problem-free, because newsatellites in particular are specially designed to be seen in a kind of shooting star shower.
The fact that ESA has awarded the 100 million euro cleanupcontract to the Swiss company ClearSpace is a real accolade for the company,which has around 30 employees. “This is fantastic for us,” saysPiguet. However, the Swiss cannot handle the task alone, so they are working with major partners – such as Airbus.
Everyone involved hopes that in the long term a market willemerge for scrap disposal in orbit. Whether the system actually works will beseen from 2025 onwards. That is when the “ClearSpace-1” satellite isdue to be sent into space.
Anti-Asteroid Program
Forward defense in space
Hundreds of asteroids are on a collision course with theEarth. It is high time for a defense program. ESA and NASA are now going on thehunt together. The contracts have now been signed.
The probability of winning the lottery on a Saturday is 1 in140 million. “I don’t play the lottery,” says Rolf Densing, head ofthe ESA control center in Darmstadt. “But if these were chances ofwinning, you would have to play.”
On his monitor he sees a list of asteroids and theprobability that the Earth will be hit by each of them. For example, there isthe asteroid “2010RF12”. Probability of being hit is 1 in 14 in 2095.Or “2018JD”: Probability of being hit is 1 in 675 in 2067. Or”2008JL3″: Probability of being hit is 1 in 6993 in 2027. The listgoes on and on.
ESA scientists are currently observing more than 1,000asteroids that are on a potential collision course with Earth. Most of theimpacts are only likely to occur in the coming decades. But one thing is clear:something is coming for Earth.
Injuries and damage in Chelyabinsk
People in Chelyabinsk, Russia, have already experienced this. On a winter’s day seven years ago, an approaching asteroid broke over the city. The shock wave shattered around 200,000 square meters of glass. More than 1,000 people were injured. This event has shown once again that it is not a question of “if”. Rather, the question is when the next impact will occur, says ESA specialist Rolf Densing.
Course: Asteroid Dimorphos. Arrival: 2022
Together with NASA, ESA is now launching an asteroid defense program. The corresponding contracts for the European part of the mission we resigned today. An American probe will fly to the asteroid “Dimorphos”next summer. It is scheduled to hit the asteroid in autumn 2022. The plan is to knock the asteroid, which has a diameter of around 160 meters, off course. An European probe will then evaluate the experiment.
Fine work in the vicinity of a small celestial body – this is what Europeans have been experts at since the “Rosetta” mission. For ten years, the ESA navigated the “Rosetta” probe seven billion kilometers through space in order to then land on a comet and study it. A pioneering mission that ended four years ago.
Division of labor in space
The former head of ESA mission operations, Paolo Ferri, says: “The Americans are our masters when it comes to landing on large planets. But we are the only ones who have experience of flying to small celestial bodies such as asteroids and carrying out investigations there.”Division of labor in space, then. The Americans direct a probe into an asteroid, the Europeans then head towards it to examine the crater and determine whether the impact was enough to throw the asteroid off course.
The probe is being built in Bremen
Rehearsals are being carried out on a celestial body that cannot pose a threat to the Earth. Dimorphos flies about eleven million kilometers past the Earth. Things have to move quickly now. After the Americans bombard the asteroid, the Europeans want to launch the control mission in 2024. The probe, which bears the name of the Greek goddess Hera, is being built in Bremen.
It will be no bigger than a desk and will have small mini-satellites onboard that can examine the asteroid up close. An asteroid on a collision course: Americans and Europeans want to rehearse together for an emergency.”We are currently in the middle of the Corona crisis. We don’t need a second crisis of this magnitude,” says Densing.
Space law
Vacuum, but not lawless
There’s a lot going on in space: celestial bodies, hundreds of satellites and, last but not least, a lot of junk. That’s why rules apply even in infinite distances. An ESA conference is now discussing who is allowed to do what in space.
What international agreements are there?
Space does not belong to the sovereign territory of any state. Therefore, five United Nations agreements form the basis of space law. The most important is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which more than 100 states have ratified. Among other things, it regulates that every nation has free access to space and that no country may make territorial claims on other celestial bodies.
The Moon Treaty of 1979 declares the moon and other celestial bodies to be the common heritage of mankind. However, it has so far been ratified by less than 20 states, partly because of possible economic interests in the extraction of raw materials in space.
What rules apply to raw materials in space?
Many celestial bodies are brimming with useful resources,such as rare metals. The USA and Luxembourg have already passed laws that potentially declare raw materials mined in space to be their property.
According to Stephan Hobe, head of the Institute for AirLaw, Space Law and Cyber Law at the University of Cologne, this is “simply and plainly illegal”. One can only pass laws on something that one has control over. And according to the Outer Space Treaty, celestial bodies andtheir raw materials are not included.
What happens to space junk?
There is currently no agreement that obliges spacefaring nations to avoid waste or to dispose of the waste that has already been generated. In recent years, awareness of the problem of waste in space has grown, but legal regulation is still a major challenge, says space lawyer Hobe. It must try to retrospectively define responsibility for actions that werepreviously permitted. “At the moment, no one is responsible for the wastein orbit.”
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the spaceinstitutions have agreed – without any legal obligation – to keep particularlyimportant orbits free of debris. At an ESA conference in Darmstadt, lawyers, engineers and business representatives are now discussing further regulations on space debris and safety.
Is there a space traffic regulation?
There are currently no right-of-way or other traffic rules for spacecraft, explains Holger Krag, head of the ESA Space Debris Office.”A healthy pragmatism has developed in operations.” Around 95 percentof potentially dangerous encounters are with inactive objects such as debris ordeactivated satellites, so the question of right-of-way does not arise. In the remaining cases, the operators of the respective satellites coordinate with each other, reports Krag.
Who is liable for damage caused by space travel?
The UN agreements concerning the legal status of space oblige states to be liable for damage caused by their space activities. A distinction is made between two cases: In the case of damage in space, for example the collision of two satellites, a state is only liable if it can be proven that it was at fault for the accident. If there is damage on earth – for example if a satellite crashes – the state that operates the satellite is always liable.
Can space be used for military purposes?
Space is largely demilitarized. This means that no weaponsmay be stationed in Earth’s orbit or on other celestial bodies. This is stipulated by UN agreements. However, these regulations are now considered tobe outdated.
Because the US government is pushing ahead with its plans to create its own armed forces in space, concerns are growing about an arms race in space. In 2014, Russia and China therefore presented a draft treaty to theUN Disarmament Conference in Geneva that would ban certain weapons. But becausethe development of weapons is progressing so rapidly, many believe that this isnot enough – also because harmless satellites can become weapons if maliciousintent is used.
Who is allowed to conduct research in space?
For peaceful purposes, every nation may build stations inorbit and on other celestial bodies. The principle of mutual openness applies: no state may completely seal off its research station from other states.
How is space law enforced?
There is no separate space court. States could appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the event of violations of the UN space treaties. Companies or private individuals could, under certain circumstances, bring claims against third parties in national civil courts -provided that there is a legal regulation governing the dispute.
US space company commissioned
NASA is developing suits for the moon
The private company Axiom Space is producing new space suits for $228.5 million. NASA commissioned the company because it wants to send people back to the moon with the Artemis mission.
The private US space company Axiom Space is to develop aspacesuit system that NASA plans to use for its first moon landing in over 50years. As part of the “Artemis” program, the “Artemis III” mission is to fly people to the moon and land on the Earth’s satellite in 2025 at the earliest.
Axiom Space, based in Houston, Texas, will be responsiblefor the design, development, certification and ultimately production of thespacesuits and associated equipment, the US space agency said.
The contract also includes testing the suits in a”space-like environment.” However, acceptance and approval ultimately rests with NASA itself.
NASA struggles with technical problems
Axiom made headlines in April with the first private charter flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Three private individuals flew into space in a “SpaceX” space capsule with an experienced pilot -ticket prices were reportedly 50 million US dollars.
Meanwhile, NASA’s “Artemis” space program is struggling with problems. The launch of the “Artemis I” mission hasalready been aborted twice due to technical problems with the newly developedSLS rocket.
Radiation experiment
Dolls in Space
Two dolls flew into space and back in a spaceship as part of a radiation experiment. Thomas Berger from the German Aerospace Center explains why the Artemis I mission is important for the future of manned space travel.
tagesschau.de: In December, the two manikins landed safely back on Earth in the “Orion” space capsule. How happy were you?
Thomas Berger: Very happy. The two dolls, which we scientists have called “Helga” and “Zohar”, have travelled more than two million kilometres in space after around 25 days. Orion is a – in English they say “human-rated” spaceship, a spaceship built for humans that has travelled further away from the Earth than any such spaceship has ever been before. After landing in the Pacific, Orion was brought back to NASA, to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Then “Helga” and”Zohar” were removed from the spaceship by our NASA colleagues and arrived safely at the DLR in Cologne a good two weeks ago.
Dr. Thomas Berger is head of the “Biophysics” working group at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne. His research focuses on radiation protection and the development of radiation detectors.
tagesschau.de: Thousands of detectors were built into the two measuring dummies. They measured how much radiation affected the dummies I nspace. How did that work?
Berger: The dolls are made up of 38 plastic discs that have different densities and thus replicate the different organs of the human body. We measure the radiation with active and passive detectors: The active measuring devices are battery-operated. They save the measured radiation do seat a specific point in time, so every five minutes in the case of our detectors.
This means that after evaluating the measurement data, we can say how high the radiation dose was in free space at a specific point in time, for example when Orion flew past the moon. The active detectors, therefore, provide a time-resolved distribution of the radiation over the entire mission. That is the advantage of these measuring devices.
tagesschau.de: At which points on the dolls did the detectors measure the radiation?
Berger: Several active measuring devices were installed inthe lungs, stomach, uterus and spinal cord. These are the most radiation-sensitive organs in the human body and therefore, after the evaluation, we can say, for example, how high the radiation dose in the lungs was on the fifth day of the mission.
6000 detectors in each doll
tagesschau.de: And what was the purpose of the passive detectors?
Berger: We installed around 6,000 passive detectors – these are small crystals – in each Phantom, so a total of 12,000. 80 percent came from the DLR, 20 percent from NASA. The entire spacecraft was equipped with detectors like a Christmas tree. The crystals are called thermo luminescence detectors. In principle, they store the ionizing radiation that hit them in space in their crystal lattices. When we heat them for analysis, they emit thestored energy in the form of light, and this light can be measured. The light emitted by the crystals is proportional to the radiation dose that they absorbed over the course of the experiment. This means that we can use these crystals to map the total dose over the mission and ultimately obtain a three-dimensional radiation distribution.
tagesschau.de: What are these crystals made of?
Berger: The crystals are made of lithium fluoride. These detectors have been used in radiation protection for ages. For example, if you work in a nuclear power plant or in radiology in a hospital, you also wear dosimeters that measure your radiation dose. These crystals are also built into them.
Test dolls have women’s bodies
tagesschau.de: The test dummies you developed are women’sbodies. Why?
Berger: On the one hand, there are now more femaleastronauts, which is absolutely to be welcomed. Unfortunately, however, the general radiation-induced cancer risk is higher for women than for men. The body’s overall cancer risk is made up of organ cancer risks, and for women, breast cancer is an additional risk. And that is why the overall risk is higher for women than for men. There are not yet so many basic measurements for the female body, and that is why we flew these two female bodies.
tagesschau.de: One of the two dolls wore a radiation protection vest during the flight. What insights are you hoping to gain?
Berger: The doll “Zohar”, which is financed by the Israeli Space Agency (ISA), wore a 26 kilogram vest, the AstoRad vest, which was developed by the Israeli company StemRad and is made of high-density polyethylene. The basic idea behind this vest is that it should give astronauts, when they fly in space – as part of the Orion mission or on future exploration missions to Mars – additional radiation protection, especially in the event of a solar flare. Last week, for example, the northern lights could be seen in northern Germany.
This is a clear sign that charged particles were emitted by the sun, which then created the northern lights by interacting with the molecules in the atmosphere. Then you see the beautiful lights. But at thesame time, these particles emitted by the sun pose a high risk: astronautscould get radiation sickness. This vest was developed to provide additionalprotection against this dose of radiation. Since only one of the two dolls wore this protective vest, we can see what the vest really does.
Analysis of results is ongoing
tagesschau.de: When do you expect to see the results of your evaluations? After all, people are supposed to be on board the Orion spacec raftfor Artemis II in 2024.
Berger: We read the active detectors in January at the Kennedy Space Center immediately after the handover, so we saved the data for posterity and science, so to speak. We are currently working on the analysis. The passive detectors, which were mainly provided by the DLR, will certainly keep us busy for the next six months or a year.
Former astronaut has an accident
“Earthrise” photographer Anders dies
“Earthrise” is the name of one of the most famous photos of the Earth. It was taken by astronaut William Anders on Christmas Eve1968. The Apollo 8 participant has now died in an accident.
Former US astronaut William Anders, who took one of the mosticonic photos in space history, has died. He died when a small plane he was piloting crashed into the sea northwest of the US coastal metropolis of Seattle, US media reported, citing his son Greg. Anders was 90 years old. Hewas flying alone in the plane, it was said. The crash is being investigated bythe authorities.
A special photo on Christmas Eve
In 1968, Anders was part of Apollo 8, the first manned flight to the moon, although it did not land. On Christmas Eve, he happened totake the photo “Earthrise,” which shows the moon in the foregroundand the Earth rising in the background. Along with Anders, the astronauts FrankBorman and James Lovell were on board.
During their mission, the astronauts were supposed to take photos of the moon. “I always call it ‘ironic,’” Anders told the Seattle Times. “We went there to discover the moon. But what we really discovered is the Earth.”
The US space agency NASA later published Anders’ photo underthe simple number “AS08-14-2383”. It changed humanity’s view of the earth and became a symbol of the earth’s fragility. It is sometimes seen as the trigger for the environmental movement.
“Here we are, on an insignificant planet”
It was taken with a Hasselblad camera. Anders himself was dissatisfied with the quality of the picture. It wasn’t completely sharp, he told the Seattle Times. But the sight of the small, blue globe, half in shadow behind the horizon of the gray moon, also changed him and his way of thinking.
Here we are, on an insignificant planet orbiting a notparticularly significant star in a galaxy of millions of stars, which is notsignificant when there are millions and millions of galaxies in the universe -so are we really that significant? I don’t think so.
“Anders has given humanity one of the most profoundgifts an astronaut can give,” commented NASA chief Bill Nelson via theonline platform X.
Career after space career
After his career at NASA, Anders worked as a presidential advisor, US ambassador, and for various nuclear energy and aviation companies. He most recently lived on the San Juan Islands on the northwest coast of th eUSA. Anders was married and had six children.
NASA astronaut
Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman dies
With his crew, he completed the first mission around themoon – and thus paved the way for the landing on the Earth’s satellite a fewmonths later: Now NASA astronaut and Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman has died.
The US astronaut and commander of the Apollo 8 mission FrankBorman has died. Borman died on Tuesday in the US state of Montana at the age of 95, the space agency NASA announced on Thursday (local time). “Today were member one of NASA’s finest. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero,” said NASA Director Bill Nelson.
From the Cape Canaveral spaceport, Commander Borman and hiscolleagues James Lovell and William Anders launched to the moon on December 21,1968 as part of the Apollo program, paving the way for the moon landing a fewmonths later.
Christmas message from lunar orbit
The trio’s journey lasted three days, and on Christmas EveApollo 8 entered lunar orbit. The astronauts sent a Christmas message withBible quotations to Earth via live broadcast. Mission leader Borman concludedby saying: “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, goodluck, and Merry Christmas, may God bless you all – all of you on the goodEarth.”
Apollo 8 orbited the moon ten times. On the fourth orbit,Anders took the iconic “Earthrise” photo, which showed the Earthrising above the lunar horizon. Borman later described what humanity’s homeplanet looked like from a distance.
We were the first people to see the world in its majestictotality, a tremendously emotional experience for each of us. We said nothingto each other, but I was sure our thoughts were identical – they were of ourfamilies on this spinning globe. And perhaps we shared another thought I had:This must be what God sees.
Later head of the Apollo program
A native of Indiana, Borman developed a passion forairplanes at the age of 15, which eventually led him to the Air Force and laterto NASA.
From 1950 he was a fighter pilot and later also an assistantprofessor of thermodynamics at the West Point Military Academy. In 1967 he wasa member of a committee that investigated the Apollo spacecraft fire thatkilled three astronauts. He was later appointed director of the Apollo programand led the team that redesigned the Apollo spacecraft.
Borman with numerous honors
After leaving the Air Force in 1970, Borman became aconsultant to Eastern Airline before holding various senior positions there andbecoming its president. Bormann also served as a special envoy to the U.S.President.
He received numerous awards, including the CongressionalSpace Medal of Honor. In 1990, Borman was inducted into the InternationalAerospace Hall of Fame and in 1993 into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. Borman was married and had two sons and four grandchildren.
Rocket from SpaceX
“Starship” test flight successful on fourth attempt
Transport to the Moon – and Mars?
It worked on the fourth attempt: the giant rocket”Starship” has returned to Earth after a successful test flight. Itis expected to fly humans to the moon for the first time in 2026.
The US space company SpaceX has successfully completed atest flight of its mega rocket “Starship” for the first time on its fourth attempt. The 120-meter-long spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean after a flight around the Earth for about an hour, as the company of multi-billionaire Elon Musk announced on the online service X.
The rockets were lost during the first three test flights.”Splash down confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team for an exciting fourth test flight of Starship!” the company said. The landing onthe sea was also shown in a live stream.
The rocket was launched in the morning (local time) from theStarbase spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas. According to SpaceX, the focus of thefourth test was on the controlled and safe return of the rocket to Earth andits reusability.
SpaceX hopes to eventually take people to Mars with the”Starship” rocket. Before that, the new mega-rocket, which issupposed to be completely recyclable, will transport NASA astronauts to themoon.
In 2026, the US space agency plans to use the”Starship” rocket to bring astronauts to Earth’s satellite for the first time in more than 50 years. For the mission called “Artemis 3”, the new rocket must be able to be brought into orbit and then refueled with several “Starship tankers” for its long journey.
Three failed attempts
During its first test flight in April 2023, the”Starship” rocket staggered and blew up in the air. During the second attempt in November 2023, the rocket exploded after separating from the propulsion stage after a successful launch.
The third test flight took place in mid-March 2024. Therocket traveled a significantly longer distance than in the first two test flights before SpaceX reported its “loss” 49 minutes after launch.
Explosions shortly after takeoff
Second Starship test also ends prematurely
One day, “Starship” rockets will take people tothe moon and beyond. But SpaceX’s second test flight also went differently than hoped: Both rocket stages exploded shortly after launch.
The largest rocket system ever built in the history of spacetravel was also unable to complete a second test flight. The unmanned120-meter-high rocket took off from SpaceX’s Starbase spaceport in the US state of Texas. However, eight minutes later, both rocket stages exploded, SpaceX reported.
A few minutes after launch, the two rocket stages separated. The lower rocket stage exploded shortly afterwards and did not land in the Gulfof Mexico as planned. The upper rocket stage continued to fly for a while andapparently also reached space for the first time. But then contact was lost.”We lost the data from the second stage – we think we may have lost thesecond stage,” said moderator John Insprucker in the SpaceX livestream. Itwas actually supposed to climb to an altitude of 240 kilometers and land in thePacific near Hawaii after about an hour and a half.
A SpaceX spokesman described the test flight as an”incredibly successful day” despite the “rapid unplanneddisassembly” of the propulsion stage and rocket.
First test flight ended after four minutes
In mid-April, a “Starship” set off for an unmannedtest launch for the first time – and four minutes later, it staggered andexploded and broke apart. Billionaire Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX developedand built the “Starship” rocket system, did not see this as asetback, but rather as an “exciting test launch”.
The US aviation authority FAA investigated the incident and demanded numerous improvements as a condition for the next test launch. SpaceX announced that it had implemented numerous improvements and changes. The FAAthen allowed further tests.
The second test launch with a “Starship” wasoriginally scheduled for Friday, but was then postponed to this Saturday. Musk stated that a drive unit on a control surface had to be replaced before hand.
SpaceX wants to go to Mars with “Starship”
The “Starship” – consisting of the approximately70-meter-long “Super Heavy” booster and the approximately50-meter-long upper stage, also called “Starship” – is intended to enable manned missions to the moon and Mars. The system is designed so that the spaceship and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The system, whichis around 120 meters long in total, is expected to be able to transport wellover 100 tons of cargo in the future. NASA wants to use the”Starship” to bring astronauts to the moon on the “Artemis”mission. SpaceX hopes to reach Mars one day.
“Starship” rocket explodes during first test flight
The first test flight of the longest “Starship”rocket system ever built ended with an unplanned explosion just minutes afterlaunch. The space company SpaceX nevertheless rated the test as a success.
The largest and most powerful rocket system ever built,”Starship”, broke apart during its first test flight just minutesafter launch.
Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX nevertheless rated the test a success. “As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, there was a rapid unplanned breakup of Starship before stage separation,” SpaceXsaid on Twitter. “In a test like this, success depends on what we learn,and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”
The team will now extensively evaluate the test data andwork towards the next test launch.
Test should have lasted another 90 minutes
The “Starship” initially lifted off from the earthin Brownsville, Texas, with a lot of fire and smoke. A few minutes later -shortly before the two rocket stages separated – the live images showed how therocket system began to tumble and finally burst into flames.
The test was actually supposed to last another 90 minutesand end with the landing of both stages. During the test flight, the firstrocket stage was supposed to fall into the Gulf of Mexico after separation. The”Starship” space shuttle was supposed to fly to an altitude of morethan 150 kilometers, orbit almost the entire Earth and then fall into thePacific.
“We wanted to make it to the end, but we’re happy wemade it this far,” SpaceX officials said.
“Starship” is intended to enable manned missions to the Moon and Mars
The test flight had been eagerly awaited.”Starship” – consisting of the approximately 70-meter-long”Super Heavy” booster and the approximately 50-meter-long upperstage, also called “Starship” – is intended to enable manned missionsto the Moon and Mars.
The first test launch had actually been planned for Monday,but was then postponed until Thursday due to a problem with a valve. Approvalfor the test flight was only granted by the US aviation authority last Friday.
The “Starship” system is designed so that thespacecraft and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The upper stagehad already been tested several times on its own, but this was the first jointflight test of the entire rocket system.
System total length around 120 meters
On paper, Starship, with a total height of 120 meters, is almost twice as powerful as the “Space Launch System” of the US space agency NASA, which launched the Orion capsule on an unmanned flight around th emoon in November.
The “Starship” system, which is around 120 meters long in total, will be able to transport well over 100 tons of cargo in thefuture. The rocket will be powered by 33 “Raptor” engines that run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The system will be able to be refueled in space.
NASA has selected “Starship” to fly humans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years on the Artemis 3 mission at theend of 2025. The rocket should even be able to make flights to Mars and beyond.
Launch of “Starship” rocket planned
SpaceX plans to launch the largest rocket ever built today. The “Starship” is set to embark on a test flight after the firstattempt failed in April. NASA is relying on the system for future moon missions.
Will it work this time? This question accompanies the launchof the “Starship” rocket system planned for today. Today, the world’slargest rocket ever built, with a height of 120 meters, is scheduled to takeoff from the SpaceX space port in Boca Chica in southern Texas. It will then almost orbit the earth and finally land in the ocean off Hawaii.
SpaceX sent a noise warning to residents of the surrounding Cameron County. It is possible that a “loud noise” will be heard fromthe 33 engines. What one hears on site will also depend on the weather and other conditions. There is a time window of just 20 minutes for the launch. Thetest flight was actually planned for Friday, but had to be postponed due to technical problems.
First test flight failed
A first test flight of the giant rocket in April failed spectacularly. The “Starship” got out of control due to severalengine failures and had to be blown up just minutes after takeoff. Ash rained down miles away and a fire broke out in a park.
Environmentalists filed a lawsuit against the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had approved the launch. The FAA investigated the incident and demanded numerous improvements as a condition foranother test launch. SpaceX announced that it had implemented many improvements and changes.
SpaceX boss Elon Musk called the failed first test not asetback, but an “exciting test launch.”
NASA hopes for “Starship”
The “Starship” – consisting of the approximately70-meter-long “Super Heavy” booster and the approximately 50-meter-long upper stage, also called “Starship” – is intended to enable manned missions to the Moon and Mars and to be able to transport well over 100 tons of cargo. The system is designed so that the spaceship and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. NASA wants to use the rocket system forits “Artemis” moon mission in 2025. It is considered unlikely that the schedule can be met.
Maiden flight is postponed
It is the largest rocket in the world to date: US billionaire Elon Musk’s “Starship” is intended to make transportation into space cheaper. But the first test flight had to be postponed due to technical problems.
The first test flight of the “Starship” rocket from tech billionaire Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX had to be canceled at the last minute. Shortly before launch, there was a technical problem, the company announced during the live broadcast scheduled for the launch.
Musk himself wrote on Twitter that a pressure valve had apparently frozen. According to SpaceX, a new launch attempt will not takeplace until Wednesday at the earliest.
The 120-meter-high heavy-lift rocket was supposed to takeoff in the afternoon Central European Time from the company’s own spaceport, Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas. The “Starship” is considered the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It is planned that it will fly for about 90 minutes after launch.
Both rocket stages in use for the first time
In the future, the rocket system will be able to transportwell over 100 tons of cargo. SpaceX’s new rocket consists of two stages: the”Super Heavy” propulsion stage with 33 engines and the upper stage,the actual “Starship”, with a further six engines. It also serves asa spaceship for cargo and passengers. The “Starship” is designed sothat the spaceship and rocket can be reused after landing on Earth.
During the test flight into Earth orbit, both rocket stages will be used together for the first time. The first rocket stage will separate from the space craft just under three minutes after launch and then sink into the sea. The second stage will continue its flight, orbit the Earth once and then land in the sea off Hawaii.
Plans for flights to the Moon and Mars
There had been repeated set backs in tests in the past, withprototypes of the rocket exploding several times. It was only in February that almost all of the engines of the first “Starship” stage were successfully ignited for the first time.
There are high hopes for the giant rocket. The US space agency NASA wants to use it to bring astronauts back to the moon. It has also commissioned the private company to develop a commercial lunar lander. This is intended to bring astronauts to the Earth’s satellite. The contract is worth 2.89 billion dollars.
The moon mission is considered a stepping stone for the first manned flight to Mars. The USA is the only country to date to have brought twelve astronauts to the Earth’s satellite with the Apollo missions.
Musk wants to reduce the cost of space travel
But Elon Musk also has a declared economic goal: transport should become cheaper. Unlike the test flight, in future both rocket stages will return to the launch pad. If this succeeds, “Starship” would be SpaceX’s first rocket that could be completely reused. This could make rocket launches even cheaper.
Musk hopes that an orbital flight of this spacecraft could cost less than ten million dollars in the future. Customers currently payaround 67 million dollars for a launch of SpaceX’s “Falcon 9” rocket. Musk’s private space company is already a leader among commercial providers.
SpaceX worth an estimated $137 billion
Musk, who was involved in the founding of the payment service provider PayPal and is the head of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, founded SpaceX in 2002. The space company was created with the goal of making cheaper space flights possible.
SpaceX is one of the largest private companies in the world. The space company has an estimated value of $137 billion.
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