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By Daniel Fischer Every page present in Europe & the U.S.!
| Ahead | Awards 
The latest issue!
| An experimental German companion. Current mission news: MGS (latest pictures!) + Cassini + Galileo + NEAR |
with two satellites: Mission Status Center and Launch Journal. IMAGE launch remains set for March 25 at 20:34 UTC: Homepage, NASA, LMMS, Space Daily, ASTRONET, CNN.
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Iridium folds, all 74 satellites to be wreckedFallout goes far beyond collapse of one company - 'Iridium effect' threatens whole segment of space industryIt may go down in history as the biggest failure in the commercial use of space: Iridium, the pioneer of mobile satellite communications with hand-held devices, will shut down and liquidate its assets - which includes the deorbiting of all the 74 satellites it had launched in rapid succession (and without a single loss). Now the space industry in general is worried about the so-called 'Iridium effect': Many companies interested in developping new launchers, including reusable ones, had counted on customers like Iridium that have to deploy dozens of spacecraft quickly. With that part of the customer base crumbling, these launcher efforts might fall short of investors - to the detriment of all potential users, including innovative cheap space science missions.Iridium officials had to tell a judge in bankruptcy court in New York on Feb. 17th that no qualified buyers had been found to purchase the company's assets and keep its global phone system in operation - earlier in the week Iridium had received a number of offers to purchase the company, but decided that none of them met their qualifications, including an up-front deposit of $10m in cash. Iridium had also been in talks with NASA to have the space agency take control of the satellite constellation, company officials said in court. However, NASA apparently decided it lacked either the budget and/or an interest in operating the system. Getting up the constellation had cost $5b, and Motorola has lost about $1b in its operation and maintenance. Contrary to earlier threats, Motorola - which had started the Iridium project a decade ago and had so far operated the satellites without payment - will not shut down the sophisticated satellite network at once. But its (all too few) customers can expect disruptions at any time - and will have to look for alternatives anyway: Motorola will command the spacecraft to fire their thrusters to gradually lower their orbits, then allow atmospheric drag to take over, lowering the spacecraft into the atmosphere where they would harmlessly burn up. It would take up to nine months to rewrite software and fire the thrusters for the initial orbit-lowering maneuver, and up to two years until all the satellites have been deorbited. |
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XMM-Newton handed over to the astronomersThe XMM-Newton space observatory has formally been handed over to the science team that will be operating it for the years to come. Following a commissioning phase review, held at the mission's Science Operations Centre in Villafranca on 8/9 March, ESA management has declared that the commissioning of the spacecraft and the instruments is completed. Operations can now commence with the start of the calibration of its science instruments, essential before regular science observations can begin in June. The successful end of commissioning means, in effect, that ESA can now formally recognise that prime contractor Dornier Satellitensysteme has fulfilled its part of the contract.It also confirms that the mission's ground infrastructures, the Mission Operations Centre at ESOC in Darmstadt controlling the satellite and the Science Operations Centre VILSPA in Villafranca receiving and processing the science data, are ready for the operational phase. Over the course of the next two months the calibration phase will proceed rigorously, with a series of observations of celestial targets whose characteristics are known and/or understood such that the performance of XMM can be measured and quantified. During this process a certain flexibility will be maintained to focus on astronomical events or phenomena that might suddenly arise. Whilst guest observers are impatient to start using the observatory, everyone knows that an accurate calibration is crucial. |
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New discoveries about the Leonids show amateur astronomy at its bestThe systematic observation of meteors with the naked eye, photographic and especially image-intensified video cameras has become one of the rare fields in astronomy in which amateurs can not only contribute to science - but where the science produced from the amateur data can be crucial to advance the whole field. This has become clear again at the annual meeting of the German Working Group for Meteors (AKM) at the hospitable Sternwarte Radebeul on March 17-19, where both new insights into the workings of the Leonids were revealed but also the high state of 'routine' observations these days.Surprising fine structure in the ZHRThe main discoveries about the Leonids, as derived from a torrent of data from the 1999 storm (see Updates # 158 and 160 story 2 for early analysis) presented at Radebeul were:
There is life beyond the meteor storms, tooRoutine meteor observing can be a tough job, especially under bad sky conditions and when no major meteor streams are active: Only a handful of super-dedicated observers have spent more than 1000 hours gazing at the sky (with Jürgen Rendtel's breaking of the 4000 hour mark in 1999 an epic exception) - but video comes to the rescue. The image-intensified video cameras have by now been automated to such a degree that a couple of them watches the (mostly poor...) German sky every night, feeding the signal directly into a PC where all meteors are detected and logged.Since not only numbers but also (very rough) brightness values, the direction and angular speed are recorded, many advanced studies can be done on the basis of these data - especially checking the reality of 'new' weak meteor streams that visual observers believe to have discovered now and then. Thanks to such video coverage in January and February 2000 its was possible, e.g., to dismiss the existence of the 'Xi Bootids' while discovering possible other radiants in that region of the sky. Within 3 to 5 years there could be enough video cameras at work that all meteor activity in the sky is monitored all the time and from anywhere in the world. |
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Calcium found in Mercury's atmosphereAfter sodium and potassium now a third atomic species has been found in the tenuous atmosphere of the planet Mercury: a small amount of calcium that is very hot, however, at 12 000 Kelvin. The "calcium corona" as this component of Mercury's exosphere is called was detected by its spectral emission with the HIRES spectrograph on the Keck I telescope. It is apparently very dynamic, has velocity structure with altitude and varies both spatially and temporally. The localized distribution and high temperature suggest an origin by surface sputtering caused by ions in Mercury's auroral zone. The sodium in contrast leaves the surface minerals by photon-stimulated desorption and has only 1500 Kelvin. (Bida & al., Nature of March 9, 2000, p. 159-61) |
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The Vikings might have overlooked organic traces on MarsThe Viking 1976 Mars landers did not detect organic molecules on the Martian surface, even those expected from meteorite bombardment: This result suggested that the Martian regolith might hold a potent oxidant that converts all organic molecules to carbon dioxide rapidly relative to the rate at which they arrive. But that conclusion may have been premature: Nonvolatile salts of benzenecarboxylic acids, and perhaps oxalic and acetic acid, should be metastable intermediates of meteoritic organics under oxidizing conditions. Salts of these organic acids would have been largely invisible to the Vikings' GC-MS instrument. Experiments show that one of these, benzenehexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid), is generated by oxidation of organic matter known to come to Mars and is rather stable to further oxidation.But that acid would not have been easily detected by the Viking experiments. Approximately 2 kg of meteorite-derived mellitic acid may have been generated per square meter of Martian surface over 3 billion years, though how much remains depends on decomposition rates under Martian conditions. As available data do not require that the surface of Mars be very strongly oxidizing, some organic molecules might be found near the surface of Mars, perhaps in amounts sufficient to be a resource: Missions could seek these and scientists must also recognize that these complicate the search for organics from entirely hypothetical Martian life. |
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Again defective seals found in shuttle, STS-101 slips to April 17For the second time in a few months, defective engine seals have turned up on a space shuttle instead of in the trash where they belong - two seals that should have been thrown away are apparently in one of Atlantis' main engines which have to be replaced before next month's launch (which will be pushed back slightly to no earlier than April 17th): Status, AP, Space.com, Fla. Today, Discovery, SpaceViews, CNN, Spaceflight Now.Zvezda remains 'go' for July launch - "we have confidence the first crew will begin to live aboard the space station this year," NASA boss Dan Goldin says: Discovery, Fla. Today. Unresolved safety issues with the module? Fla. Today, Space.com, Fla. Today (earlier). ISS astronauts must have enough time to conduct the scientific experiments for which the station was intended, an NRC study advises: Press Release, the Report, AP, Space.com. NASA Looking at Alternatives to ISS Crew Return Vehicle - NASA has delayed until 2002 a decision on the CRV which might morph into a spacecraft of its own: AvNow, SpaceViews. Actor officially off the Mir mission - the film's producers had failed to pay the full fee for flying Steklov on Mir. His removal from the crew does not affect other aspects of the mission, and a payload container will be fitted in place of Steklov's seat on board the Soyuz spacecraft: SpaceViews, Fla. Today, Space.com. Mir's computers restarted: AP. Sea Launch failure blamed on Zenit's second stageOfficials say the rocket failed to gain enough velocity to achieve orbit although it reached an altitude of about 160 km - sensing the rocket was not functioning properly, an onboard safety system had shut down the second stage's main engine about 7 1/2 minutes into flight, sending the rocket plummeting back to Earth: Space.com, Spaceflight Now. Ukraine, Russia spar over who's to blame: SpaceViews.A broken blade brought down Japan's H-2 rocket last November: Investigators looking at the recovered wreckage of the 1st stage engine have found a broken blade from a liquid hydrogen turbopump. Perhaps bubbles in the LHX caused excessive vibrations that destroyed the blade rotating at 42 000 rpm. (AW&ST of March 13, p. 19) Second Fregat test flight again a successThe 2nd test of the new Russian upper stage with multiple burn capability was a success on March 20, clearing the way for its use in launching the 4 Cluster satellites into different orbits with only two rockets. This time the Fregat didn't have a reentry system like during the maiden flight in February: StarSem Press Release (all releases), Space.com, Spaceflight Now, RP, SpaceViews, ESA Science News. More on the Cluster preparations: ESA Science News.Buckyballs may contain ET gasesExtraterrestrial noble gasses have been found encapsulated within "buckyballs" and other fullerene carbon molecules present in meteorites and sediments - a new tool for tracing extraterrestrial events in Earth's geological and biological record and support to the theory that throughout time atmospheric gasses and organic compounds were delivered to the surface of planets via asteroid and comet strikes: PNAS Abstract, NASA Release (SpaceRef version), U HI Release, SpaceScience, Space Daily, SPIEGEL, BBC, EZ, CNN, SpaceViews.A weird hypothesis about a mass extinction 35 Myr ago at the end of the Eocene invokes a ring of tektites around the Earth, spewed out by lunar volcanoes - a long-dismissed idea: Space Daily. Weird 'skybeam' pollutes Seattle skiesIt may be the most drastic example of light pollution yet documented - the 85 million candle power lamps atop the Seattle 'Space Needle' shoot a brilliant beam of light into the sky, sometimes causing a giant bright UFO hovering over the city when a cloud layer is encountered: Photos.Call to save Meudon's great telescope - the dome roof cannot move and rust gnaws at the telescope which had allowed lots of discoveries like variable stars, observation of Mars, the ground of the moon, Mercury, clouds on Venus and the rings of Saturn: Save la Grande Lunette. Gemini mirror #2 arrives in ChileThe 8.1 meter mirror is now at the observatory site, waiting to be coated: Press Release.SOHO CD-ROM will be distributed through magazines, though only in Europe - or download it from the web: ESTEC info site. |
Point the HST at your favorite target!If you could point the Hubble Space Telescope at any object in the sky, which one would you choose? The Hubble Heritage Project, a team of astronomers working with the space-based telescope, are asking for the answer to this question - from March 21 to June 6, 2000, votes are accepted: announcement.Colorful gas jets from a group of young stars have been imaged with Hubble - two of the newborns remain in a tightly knit binary star system orbit, but the third left their company altogether: STScI, BBC, SPIEGEL, Space.com, CNN, EZ. JPL awards 4 design contracts for the Terrestrial Planet Finder or TPF, a key mission in NASA's Origins Program targeted for launch in 2011 that will seek to identify Earth-like planets around nearby stars: JPL, LMMS Press Releases, Space.com. First full-scale mock-up for Planck on exhibit in Bologna - the structure of wood and aluminium recently built for technical purposes will now serve to explain how the satellite will answer the most fundamental questions about the Universe from 2007: ESA Science News. Milky Way gobbling up smaller galaxiesTwo surprisingly dense concentrations of stars in a narrow strip of sky along the celestial equator are adding strong support to a decades-old suggestion that the Milky Way is still putting on weight by snacking on smaller galaxies - if astronomers confirm that the pair of star clusters identified in the new collection of stars seen in images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey originated in the same galaxy, it will be convincing evidence that our galaxy is still in the process of forming itself: Discovery.Dusty spirals around many galactic centers have been imaged with Hubble - these "nuclear spirals" may be the feeding mechanism for their central engines: Ohio State Press Release, Space.com, SpaceViews stories. Central Engines' mass correlates with age - the older the galaxies the fatter the compact object in the center: Nottingham Press Release, BBC, Discovery. 'Rocket-cam' sees Globalstar satellites flying free in spaceBoeing's home video collection from the Delta 2 rocket has expanded to include stunning views of the recent deployment of four Globalstar satellites - the camera tracked one satellite for more than a minute as the craft seemingly moved toward the blue Earth below: Spaceflight Now. More on the fun of having cameras on rockets: Space.com.
Another budget battle ahead for NASA?Congressional lawmakers said they were doubtful NASA's "great budget" for next year could be realized due to a GOP plan to reduce government spending. The chair of the House Appropriations VA-HUD subcommittee, Rep. James Walsh, R-NY, told NASA administrator Dan Goldin he was "not very optimistic" that NASA would see all of the $14 billion requested: Space.com."NASA's Changing Fortunes" - the vision of 'faster, better, cheaper' missions is under fire with a string of recent failures in space: Popular Science. Ikonos images show Pakistani nuclear effortsAnd India's facilities will be imaged next - the 'Public Eye' project of the Federation of American Scientists at work: FAS 'Public Eye' special page with many media stories linked, an AvNow story.Dispute over 1 meter satellite image access between the U.S. government and private industry - by the year 2003 at least 11 companies in five countries will have high-resolution, remote-sensing cameras in orbit that are of spy-satellite quality: Space.com. Radar satellites as an earthquake evaluation tool - some seismologists consider satellite imagery the best tool for understanding Earth's surface physics since the invention of the seismograph in 1855: Space.com. One more picture from the SRTM: a 3-D Perspective View of Miquelon and Saint Pierre.
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All other historical issues can be found in the Archive.
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Compiled and written by Daniel Fischer
(send me a mail to dfischer@astro.uni-bonn.de!), Skyweek