How the UK followed Apollo 11 to the Moon on the BBC

As part of the BBC Moon season to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11, I recently watched this Sky at Night special on BBC iPlayer, which is a 2 hour documentary of the BBC live coverage of the Apollo 11 mission to land the first men on the Moon. What makes this programme extra special is that it includes actual replay of live pictures and commentary from Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and BBC Science Reporter James Burke of the key stages of the Apollo 11 Moon mission.

The footage we are all familiar with of the Saturn V launch, Lunar landing and first steps on the Moon are all there but they have been extended to include the moments after and leading up to these familiar clips, such as the build up to launch, interviewing the crowd at the Kennedy Space Center, launch up to 1st stage separation and escape rocket jettison, entering the Lunar Module (LEM) in lunar orbit for the first time, detaching from the Command/Service Module, Lunar descent & landing, first steps on the Moon for Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin plus sample collections, photographic tasks & scientific experiments and finally the ascent from the Lunar surface to re-dock with the Command/Service Module.

If you did not get the chance to watch the 1st Lunar landing first time around or you are feeling nostalgic, this will transport you back to July 1969 to experience the tension and excitement of each critical stage of the mission as it was watched live on BBC television in the UK.

This documentary also includes special reports from James Burke which were used as time fillers on the night and include explanations of what would happen if the Astronauts had to evacuate the Command Module prior to launch, dismantling/undressing of a complete Spacesuit and tour of the inside of the Command Module.

If you cannot find this programme on BBC iPlayer (UK locations only and for a limited time period following the date of broadcast) you can purchase the DVD in the UK or USA from Amazon via these links:

Click here to view UK Region 2, PAL version

Click here to view USA NTSC, Region 1 version

WB Blog Store: UK, USA

Meet Timothy Peake the new Brtish Astronaut selected by ESA

The European Space Agency recently selected 6 new astronauts which they intend to train for llong duration missions on the International Space Station.

Timothy Peake was most recently an Apache Helicopter test pilot for Augusta Westland and previous to that was a helicopter instructor in the British Army Air Core.

Interestingly the UK does not currently contribute any money to the ESA human spaceflight program, so it is hoped that this selection may encourage the UK government to start contributing directly to the human spaceflight program.

Scientists explain LRO and LCROSS Lunar mission objectives and instruments

This presentation from the chief scientists working on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) covers the mission objectives of both spacecraft including a guide to the array of sensing instruments and their role during each mission.

LRO will map the topography and surface temperature of the Moon in order to identify regions which are safe for a lunar landing and are of scientific interest.

LCROSS will be a short lived mission in terms of data collection since it sole purpose is to observe a controlled lunar impact by its spent upper stage Centaur rocket prior to its own impact shortly afterward.

In addition to LCROSS other assets will observe the impact of the Centaur rocket and LCROSS itself which will include the Hubble Space Telescope, earthbound telescopes and the LRO.

LRO Video Playlist

LCROSS Video Playlist

Moon Links

Animated simulation of how Virgin Galactic will take you into Space

The journey to Space inside the Virgin Galactic Spaceship will involve an initial climb to 50,000 feet attached to the Virgin Mothership VMS Eve at which point it will be released and the rocket propulsion engine ignited to take the Spaceship on an almost vertical ascent to an altitude of 360,000 feet (68 miles). At maximum altitude or Apogee the space tourists will be allowed to leave their seats to experience zero gravity weightlessness and observe the view of Earth from Space. In preparation for re-entry the spaceship switches to a unique feather wing configuration which act as an air brake and ensures a stable and controlled descent. Once the spaceship returns to an altitude of 60,000 feet the feathered wing tips will be rotated back gradually to enable the spaceship to transition to a glider. The Virgin Galactic spaceship will then land in a similar to which the Space Shuttle does currently with an un-powered glide back to the Spaceport.

Catch up with Astronomy Science News from Astrocast TV for June 09

This June edition of Astrocast includes an overview of NASA LRO/LCROSS mission to the Moon, space observation of Seismic activity, interaction and collision of Galaxies, STS125 Space Shuttle mission to service Hubble Space Telescope, explanation of how Spectrographs analyse the chemical composition of objects by examining their light, finding & observing the Spica variable binary system and finally observing International Space Station & Iridium Satellite flares

Astrocast.TV is a public educational outreach internet broadcast hosted by the following volunteers:
Greg Redfern, Dr Harold Geller, Bente Lilja Bye, Carolyn Collins Petersen, Tavi Greiner

This 1.5min LRO promo is like a big SciFi movie trailer

LRO launched successfully yesterday and this promo demonstrates very succinctly the purpose of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

Surprisingly there is very little known about the geography of the Moon, in fact more is known about Mars, so it is hoped that there will be some exciting discoveries made over the next few years as scientists analyse the data coming back from LRO.

LRO Video Playlist

Lunar Links

STS127 ascent profile, shows you how high and fast during Space Shuttle launch

Notice the thrust reduction as the shuttle passes through the sound barrier where it experiences maximum aerodynamic stress. While listening to mission control, CapCom will announce "Endeavour go at throttle up!" once it has passed this point.

Spaceflight Now | STS-127 Shuttle Report | Ascent Timeline

STS127 launch scrub may bump LRO and LCROSS launch by 2 weeks

They say lightning never strikes twice but it did today, exactly the same reason for launch scrub as STS119. The reason for the scrub was a leaking H2 gas vent on the outside of the upper portion of the shuttle external fuel tank. Now this has happened on two occasions so close together there will probably be a major review of procedures to prevent this happening again on future launches.

Last time this happened the problem was resolved successfully within the predicted timescale on STS119, so assuming nothing unusual is found after inspection on Sunday the main debate will center around the impact on the LRO/LCROSS mission which was scheduled for launch on 17th June. Due to the number of days required for pre and post launch work by the ground support crews its becomes very difficult to overlap launches at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.

With the looming ISS Beta cutout, ISS build/servicing schedule, Soyuz docking, termination of Shuttle program etc... it seems fairly likely that STS-127 will get prioritised and LRO/LCROSS will be bumped by NASA to the next available launch window in 2 weeks, unless they can figure out a way of overlapping launch windows for both STS127 and LRO/LCROSS.

STS127 NASA Briefings

Mike Moses from STS127 MMT on top form here explaining shuttle readiness for launch

STS127 pre-launch briefing from 11th June 2009 with Mike Moses - Mission Management Team Chair, Pete Nickolenko - Shuttle Launch Director, Koki Oikawa - Function Manager - IEM Project Team - CSA Rep, Pierre Jean - Space Station Program Manager - CSA, Kathy Winters - Shuttle Weather Officer includes detailed explanation of risk management of Flight Control System issue from STS125 launch.

STS127 Mission Briefings

Brief introduction to NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) due to launch in Nov 09

SDO will study solar cycles, flares, solar wind, magnetic fields and corona heating in order to understand the Sun's behavior and make better predictions of Atmospheric interference to communications. SDO will be placed in geosynchronous orbit above New Mexico and will stream huge amounts of Solar data down to the dedicated ground station specially built for the SDO mission.

SDO Video Playlist

SDO Reading Links

LCROSS mission to discover water on the Moon by impacting the lunar surface

The LCROSS mission will analyze the impact of the spent upper stage Centaur rocket colliding with the Moon. The impact target will be located in the lunar polar region where it is believed water may exist buried beneath the surface of a crater. The discovery of water on the Moon is important to the long term plans for settling humans on the Moon to conduct long term scientific research. LCROSS is scheduled to be launched with LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) on the 17th June from Cape Canaveral

LCROSS Video Playlist

Buzz Aldrin wants US to push to Mars and Global Alliance to push to Moon

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin lays out his vision for human spaceflight during his keynote speech at ISDC 2009: US should concentrate on going to Mars, establish stronger partnerships with existing ISS participants and also initiate new partnerships with China and India to explore the Moon.

Constellation program for human scientific exploration of our Solar System

NASA's Constellation program to develop the next generation of spacecraft and launch vehicles to take humans back to the Moon and onto Mars and beyond.

Constellation Program Video Playlist

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission to map Moon for optimal landing sites

The purpose of the upcoming LRO mission currently scheduled for 17th June 2009 will be to identify safe places for landing which are also of scientific interest to investigating the Moon's natural resources.

LRO Video Playlist

Post flight readiness review briefing for STS-127 mission - 3rd June 2009

Bill Gerstenmaier - Associate Administrator, Space Ops, Mike Moses - Manager of Shuttle Program Launch Integration and Pete Nickolenko - STS-127 Launch Director brief the press on Space Shuttle Endeavours flight readiness following its move from Pad 39B to 39A. Apart from a slight concern over the short that caused a failure with part of the flight control system on launch of the previous STS125 mission, everything looks good for the target launch date of 13th June.

Ares launch vehicle projects office quarterly progress report 12

Not a single Astronaut in this video, just the engineers working on the development of the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares V heavy-lift cargo launch vehicle. A lot of negative press surrounds this program, but there are precious few government projects that are ever completed on time and inside budget, if they were, funding would never be approved in the first place.

If you take the view that there is far too little public spending on Space Exploration, then perhaps a large unstoppable oil tanker of a space program is the best platform to expand frontiers in Space, spawn new technologies and inspire more of the population to pursue a career in science and engineering.

Leroy Chiao want's your view on future direction for human spaceflight

Now a member of the Augustine Commission which will advise President Obama's administration on the future of NASA's human spaceflight program, Leroy Chiao is inviting you to share your thoughts on the best way to utilize the proportion of NASA's budget allocated to sending men and women into space. At time of posting there are already 125 comments posted, so you may want to browse these even if you do not intend to comment.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Blog: Augustine Human Space Flight Review Commission

Masten Space Systems flight 7 of XA-0.1B-750 reusable launch vehicle demonstrator

This latest test, Masten is obviously making progress with the flight control system and achieving a controlled hover whilst performing 45 degrees rotations.