Humanity was earth bound until Yuri Gagarin made into space. The first ventures into living in space were with Skylab and the Salyut space stations, though none of them were particularly successful at being serious human habitation in space. It was Mir that was really the first time humans lived in space
From February 5th 1987 to August 28th 1999 Mir had up to three people living space. Four men stayed more than a year, Valeri Polyakov for 438 days, Sergei Avdeyev for 380 days, and Vladamir Titov and Musa Manarov who both were on board for 366 days. In total Mir had 44 residents over 12 and half years.
If Mir had been in use full time for only an extra few months we would have had continuous human habitation in space since 1986, but there was about 12 months between Mir and ISS when no one was living in space
Since October 31st 2000 there has been someone on board the International Space Station at all times. From October 31st 2000 to September 18th 2006 there were three at least two people in the ISS at all times with the total rising to four when the replacement crew came up. We are coming up on 13 years of continuous human habitation in space.
Since April 2 2010 the norm has been for six people to be living on board the ISS at any given time. During the transition between crews the on board population drops to three for a two to four weeks. The current plans call for expeditions through to at least 2015 and most likely 2020 and possibly for ten more years after that. By the time the ISS is done, there will be more space stations in operation and more people living in space.
The Russians are already looking at what will replace the ISS. Some of the Russian parts of the ISS were constructed with the intent to be part of the next station.
The Chinese have started down the path towards their own space station with the launch of Tiagong 1 in 2011 and Tiagong 2 in 2015. They hope to reach something of the scale of Mir by 2020
Bigelow Aerospace is currently looking at a 2016 launch date for their first commercial space station.
Realistically by 2020 we are likely to see three to four space stations in orbit with a population of between 10 and 25 people living in space at all times. I know that this still does not sound like a lot, but it is a dramatic step up from where we are now.
Within 10 years it is quite possible we will see eight to ten space stations and a full time resident population of 80 people in space. It is at around this point that I think we may see the first person move to space more or less permanently.
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Space. Show all posts
Friday, August 23, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Canadians in space, some ranking
I last looked at this in January of 2012, before Chris Hadfield's trip to the ISS. As of right now, Canadians have spent 506 days 3 hours and 37 minutes in space. Only Russians, Americans and Japanese people have spent more time in space.
Nine Canadians have been in space, only seven countries have had nine or more people go into space
Canadians have been in space a total of 17 times, only three countries match or exceed this.
Canadians by time is space
Astronaut Time in space Trips to Space
EVAs
Astronaut EVA time EVAs
Dave Williams 17hrs 47min 3
Chris Hadfield 14hrs 40min 2
Steve McLean 7hrs 11min 1
Canada really stands out as a space faring nation when we compare ourselves to other countries.
Other Commonwealth Astronauts
Astronaut Country Time in Space
Muszaphar Shukor Malaysia 10 days 21hrs 14min
Mark Shuttleworth RSA 9 days 21hrs 25min
Rikki Sharma India 7 days 21hrs 40min
Helen Sharman UK 7 days 21hrs 13min
Nine Canadians have been in space, only seven countries have had nine or more people go into space
Canadians have been in space a total of 17 times, only three countries match or exceed this.
Canadians by time is space
Astronaut Time in space Trips to Space
- Bob Thirsk 204 days 18hrs 30min 2
- Chris Hadfield 165 days 16hrs 21min 3
- Marc Garneau 29 days 2hrs 1min 3
- Dave Williams 28 days 15hrs 46min 2
- Julie Payette 25 days 11hrs 58min 2
- Steve McLean 21 days 16hrs 2min 2
- Bjarni Tryggvason 11 days 20hrs 28min 1
- Guy Laliberté 10 days 21hrs 17min 1
- Roberta Bondar 8 days 1hr 14min 1
EVAs
Astronaut EVA time EVAs
Dave Williams 17hrs 47min 3
Chris Hadfield 14hrs 40min 2
Steve McLean 7hrs 11min 1
Canada really stands out as a space faring nation when we compare ourselves to other countries.
Other Commonwealth Astronauts
Astronaut Country Time in Space
Muszaphar Shukor Malaysia 10 days 21hrs 14min
Mark Shuttleworth RSA 9 days 21hrs 25min
Rikki Sharma India 7 days 21hrs 40min
Helen Sharman UK 7 days 21hrs 13min
Monday, January 21, 2013
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module
NASA has agreed on December 20th to buy a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) to add it to the International Space Station. For only $17,800,000 the ISS will gain an extra 16 m3 of space - the total ISS is only 837 m3 in size.
The BEAM unit will be 40% larger than Genesis I and II that were launched in 2006 and 2007 respectively. It is still much smaller than the BA 330 unit which are projected to be the core units of Bigelow's space stations. The BEAM has 1/20th the space of the BA 330.
The module will be launched in mid 2015 and will remain as part of the ISS for two years. This should prove the concept of inflatable habitats to everyone's satisfaction. What seems odd to me is that currently there are no plans to really use the BEAM for much at all. I would think that it could at least function as a storage space to allow for more space in the rest of the ISS
The technology used by Bigelow comes from NASA's TransHab project which NASA dropped in 2000. The weight of the unit will be 1,360 kg, a similar sized rigid module would weigh 4,500 kg. The cost to launch the BEAM will be about $7.5 million, a rigid module would cost about $25 million to launch.
The BEAM would seem to be the prototype for airlocks that will be used by Bigelow Aerospace space station.
The timeline for Bigelow to launch their first space station components has been slipping over the years. In 2005 the date was 2010. In 2010 the date had changed to 2014/15, now it is "as early as 2016". Much of the delay is not the fault of Bigelow but the limitations in getting people into space.
Bigelow is waiting for the SpaceX DragonRider and Boeing CST-100 to be ready for use. There has been a gap between the end of the space shuttle and some new vehicle to launch people into space. The delay has come about because the US government moved from developing their own vehicle to getting the private sector to design and build them. At the moment it looks like mid 2015 before the first human use of the DragonRider will take place.
I suspect that 2017/18 is more likely when we will see the first Bigelow Aerospace space station will launch. It sounds like the initial station will only be two BA 330 units. We do now know the cost of getting to the station - $26.25 million via a DragonRider. You can also get naming rights for a unit for only $25 million. The cost to lease space will be $25 million per 60 days for 1/3 of a BA 330 - on an annual basis this would be $150 million a year for 1/3 of a unit or $450 million a year for a full BA 330.
The BEAM unit will be 40% larger than Genesis I and II that were launched in 2006 and 2007 respectively. It is still much smaller than the BA 330 unit which are projected to be the core units of Bigelow's space stations. The BEAM has 1/20th the space of the BA 330.
The module will be launched in mid 2015 and will remain as part of the ISS for two years. This should prove the concept of inflatable habitats to everyone's satisfaction. What seems odd to me is that currently there are no plans to really use the BEAM for much at all. I would think that it could at least function as a storage space to allow for more space in the rest of the ISS
The technology used by Bigelow comes from NASA's TransHab project which NASA dropped in 2000. The weight of the unit will be 1,360 kg, a similar sized rigid module would weigh 4,500 kg. The cost to launch the BEAM will be about $7.5 million, a rigid module would cost about $25 million to launch.
The BEAM would seem to be the prototype for airlocks that will be used by Bigelow Aerospace space station.
The timeline for Bigelow to launch their first space station components has been slipping over the years. In 2005 the date was 2010. In 2010 the date had changed to 2014/15, now it is "as early as 2016". Much of the delay is not the fault of Bigelow but the limitations in getting people into space.
Bigelow is waiting for the SpaceX DragonRider and Boeing CST-100 to be ready for use. There has been a gap between the end of the space shuttle and some new vehicle to launch people into space. The delay has come about because the US government moved from developing their own vehicle to getting the private sector to design and build them. At the moment it looks like mid 2015 before the first human use of the DragonRider will take place.
I suspect that 2017/18 is more likely when we will see the first Bigelow Aerospace space station will launch. It sounds like the initial station will only be two BA 330 units. We do now know the cost of getting to the station - $26.25 million via a DragonRider. You can also get naming rights for a unit for only $25 million. The cost to lease space will be $25 million per 60 days for 1/3 of a BA 330 - on an annual basis this would be $150 million a year for 1/3 of a unit or $450 million a year for a full BA 330.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Black Brant - a very successful Canadian rocket
The Black Brant is designed and built by Bristol Aerospace, now Magellan Aerospace. This company has been one of the serious aerospace successes of Canada but is still best know for not getting the contract to maintain the CF 18s in 1987. The awarding of that contract to Canadair was a major source of western alienation in Canada as most people thought the contract with Bristol was a better one.
Normally people only think about the rockets that put either people or satellites into space but there is all manner of other research that can be done by launching into space and coming right back down again. It is in this role that no other rocket does as well as the Canadian Black Brant. The family of rockets ranges from ones that can launch from as small as 70 kg 150 km into space to as large as 850 kg 1500 km into space.
Could one use the Black Brandt to launch small satellites into low earth orbit? The Black Brandt XII can reach 1500 kilometers into space which is more than high enough to get into low earth orbit. This is equal to rockets like the Falcon 1e (SpaceX) or the Taurus (Orbital Sciences). I would think with a record of 1000 launches there is a track record one could build from. The only other rocket family that has launched a similar number of times is the Russian Soyuz rockets.
Most of the rockets are launched from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in the southern most part of the Chesapeake Bay but in the past had been launched from Canada. It might be worth considering building a new launch facility here again and experimenting what might be possible.
Sounding rockets may not be the big names in aerospace but it is important. As Canadians we should be aware of how much it is our country that is responsible for the success and that we are the equals of other space nations in the world.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
For the 17th time since 1984 a Canadian is in space
It has been a three year gap since a Canadian was in space. The last time was on December 1st 2009 when Robert Thirsk returned from his six month stay on the International Space Station. Today Chris Hadfield launched to start a six month stint on the ISS. His trip will be the ninth time a Canadian will be on board the ISS and the 17th time a Canadian has been in space.
Chris Hadfield will be the second Canadian to live in space for six months and will become the first Canadian to command the ISS. He is also the second person who is not a Russian or American to command the ISS, the first was Belgian Frank De Winne in 2009. With the return of Chris Hadfield, Canada is also only the fourth country to have a second person stationed on the ISS.
It is amazing how little people in Canada seem to understand that Canada is one of the most advanced space faring countries in the world. Clearly the US and Russia are way ahead, but by almost any measure Canada is in the next tier with Japan, China, Germany and France.
Before his launch today, Canadians had spent a total of 360 days, 13 hours and 49 minutes in space. This means on Christmas Eve the total time for Canadians in space will have passed one year. Early in January Canada will pass the Netherlands and move into 7th in time in space. At the end of January we pass the UK, though they are only that high because four of the US astronauts is a dual citizen. At the end of February we pass France and finally in early May of 2013 Canada passes Germany for time in space and is the nation with the fourth longest time in space.
This is all that much more impressive when you realize that Canada has half the population of the next tier two space nation.
Total time of all Canadians in space as of December 18th 2012
Robert Thirsk 204d 18h 29m - 2 trips, STS-78 1996, ISS Expedition 21/21 2009
Marc Garneau 29d 2h 1m - 3 trips, STS-41-G 1984, STS-77 1996 and STS-97 2000
Dafydd Williams 28d 15h 47m - 2 trips, STS-90 1998, STS-118 August 2007
Julie Payette 25d 11h 58m - 2 trips, STS-96 1999, STS-127 2009
Steve MacLean 21d 16h 2m - 2 trips, STS-52 1992 , STS-115 2006
Chris Hadfield 20d 2h 2m - 2 trips, STS-74 1995, STS-100 2001 - visited Mir in 1995
Bjarni Tryggvason 11d 20h 28m - 1 trip STS-85 1997
Guy Laliberté 10d 21h 17m - 1 trip ISS Tourist 2009
Roberta Bondar 8d 1h 46m - 1 trip STS-42 1992
56.8% of the time Canadians have spent in space is Robert Thirsk and mainly because of his time on the ISS. Once Chris Hadfield ends his time in space about 75% of the time Canadians have been is space will be either Thirsk or Hadfield.
At this time there are no scheduled flights for any Canadians for the next several years. When there was the space shuttle, which could carry as many as seven people, there were more opportunities for larger groups of people to get into space and up to 13 people could be in space at once. As long as there is only the Soyuz there will be fewer people going to space each year. In three years time there should be at least one more human spaceflight option available.
By years the number of Canadians in space.
1984 - 1
1985-91 - 0
1992 - 2
1993-94 - 0
1995 - 1
1996 - 2
1997 - 1
1998 - 1
1999 - 1
2000 - 1
2001 - 1
2002-05 - 0
2006 - 1
2007 - 1
2009 - 3
2010-11 - 0
2012 - 1
Challenger explosion caused a break from early 1986 to 1988, this meant 22 flights were cancelled. Full crew details for all the flights had not been prepared so we only know of a a March 1987 flight for Steve MacLean.
The Columbia disaster in early 2003 caused an almost two and half year break in flights and 25 cancelled flights. Steve MacLean was scheduled to fly in May 2003, Daffyd Williams was scheduled for November 2003. Most of the cancelled flights had no crews assigned, but given that Canadians seemed to be on one of it would seem probable that three more Canadians would have flown.
Chris Hadfield will be the second Canadian to live in space for six months and will become the first Canadian to command the ISS. He is also the second person who is not a Russian or American to command the ISS, the first was Belgian Frank De Winne in 2009. With the return of Chris Hadfield, Canada is also only the fourth country to have a second person stationed on the ISS.
It is amazing how little people in Canada seem to understand that Canada is one of the most advanced space faring countries in the world. Clearly the US and Russia are way ahead, but by almost any measure Canada is in the next tier with Japan, China, Germany and France.
Before his launch today, Canadians had spent a total of 360 days, 13 hours and 49 minutes in space. This means on Christmas Eve the total time for Canadians in space will have passed one year. Early in January Canada will pass the Netherlands and move into 7th in time in space. At the end of January we pass the UK, though they are only that high because four of the US astronauts is a dual citizen. At the end of February we pass France and finally in early May of 2013 Canada passes Germany for time in space and is the nation with the fourth longest time in space.
This is all that much more impressive when you realize that Canada has half the population of the next tier two space nation.
Total time of all Canadians in space as of December 18th 2012
Robert Thirsk 204d 18h 29m - 2 trips, STS-78 1996, ISS Expedition 21/21 2009
Marc Garneau 29d 2h 1m - 3 trips, STS-41-G 1984, STS-77 1996 and STS-97 2000
Dafydd Williams 28d 15h 47m - 2 trips, STS-90 1998, STS-118 August 2007
Julie Payette 25d 11h 58m - 2 trips, STS-96 1999, STS-127 2009
Steve MacLean 21d 16h 2m - 2 trips, STS-52 1992 , STS-115 2006
Chris Hadfield 20d 2h 2m - 2 trips, STS-74 1995, STS-100 2001 - visited Mir in 1995
Bjarni Tryggvason 11d 20h 28m - 1 trip STS-85 1997
Guy Laliberté 10d 21h 17m - 1 trip ISS Tourist 2009
Roberta Bondar 8d 1h 46m - 1 trip STS-42 1992
56.8% of the time Canadians have spent in space is Robert Thirsk and mainly because of his time on the ISS. Once Chris Hadfield ends his time in space about 75% of the time Canadians have been is space will be either Thirsk or Hadfield.
At this time there are no scheduled flights for any Canadians for the next several years. When there was the space shuttle, which could carry as many as seven people, there were more opportunities for larger groups of people to get into space and up to 13 people could be in space at once. As long as there is only the Soyuz there will be fewer people going to space each year. In three years time there should be at least one more human spaceflight option available.
By years the number of Canadians in space.
1984 - 1
1985-91 - 0
1992 - 2
1993-94 - 0
1995 - 1
1996 - 2
1997 - 1
1998 - 1
1999 - 1
2000 - 1
2001 - 1
2002-05 - 0
2006 - 1
2007 - 1
2009 - 3
2010-11 - 0
2012 - 1
Challenger explosion caused a break from early 1986 to 1988, this meant 22 flights were cancelled. Full crew details for all the flights had not been prepared so we only know of a a March 1987 flight for Steve MacLean.
The Columbia disaster in early 2003 caused an almost two and half year break in flights and 25 cancelled flights. Steve MacLean was scheduled to fly in May 2003, Daffyd Williams was scheduled for November 2003. Most of the cancelled flights had no crews assigned, but given that Canadians seemed to be on one of it would seem probable that three more Canadians would have flown.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Mars Exploration - another success by NASA
With the arrival of Curiosity there are now five active missions on or around Mars. Four of the current operating missions are from NASA, Mars Express is from ESA
A total of 17 missions have either orbited or landed on Mars since the first successful orbit by Mariner 9 in 1971. 13 are NASA, 3 are Soviet and 1 ESA. Only NASA has managed to land anything on the planet.
Longest operating missions - bold are landers, red are Soviet, green is ESA, underlined are current missions
From 1988 to 1999 there were 10 missions to Mars launched and only two successes. Since 2001 there have been 10 missions to Mars with only three failures, all three of those were not NASA missions. There has been a lot more success in the last decade than at anytime before when it comes to Mars exploration.
2013 should see the launch of two orbiters, one by India and one by NASA. 2016 could see as many as four more missions launched.
Number of missions active in years in which there have been active Mars missions
- Mars Odyssey has been in orbit around the plant since February 19th 2002
- Mars Express has been in orbit since December 25th 2003
- Opportunity has been roving Mars since Janaury 25th 2004
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting since March 10th 2006
- Curiosity landed yesterday
A total of 17 missions have either orbited or landed on Mars since the first successful orbit by Mariner 9 in 1971. 13 are NASA, 3 are Soviet and 1 ESA. Only NASA has managed to land anything on the planet.
Longest operating missions - bold are landers, red are Soviet, green is ESA, underlined are current missions
- Odyssey 3940 2001-current
- Global Surveyor 3344 1997-2006
- Express 3148 2003-current
- Opportunity 3117 2004-current
- Spirit 2635 2004-2011
- Reconnaissance Orbiter 2342 2006-current
- Viking 1 2308 1976-1982
- Viking 1 Orbiter 1490 1976-1980
- Viking 2 1317 1976-1980
- Viking 2 Orbiter 691 1976-1978
- Mariner 9 350 1971-1972
- Mars 2 270 1971-1972
- Mars 3 265 1971-1972
- Phoenix 170 2008
- Pathfinder 86 1997
- Mars 5 9 1974
- Curiosity 2 2012-current
From 1988 to 1999 there were 10 missions to Mars launched and only two successes. Since 2001 there have been 10 missions to Mars with only three failures, all three of those were not NASA missions. There has been a lot more success in the last decade than at anytime before when it comes to Mars exploration.
2013 should see the launch of two orbiters, one by India and one by NASA. 2016 could see as many as four more missions launched.
Number of missions active in years in which there have been active Mars missions
- 1971 3
- 1972 3
- 1974 1
- 1976 4
- 1977 4
- 1978 4
- 1979 3
- 1980 3
- 1981 1
- 1982 1
- 1983-1996 0
- 1997 2
- 1998 1
- 1999 1
- 2000 1
- 2001 2
- 2002 2
- 2003 3
- 2004 5
- 2005 5
- 2006 6
- 2007 5
- 2008 6
- 2009 5
- 2010 5
- 2011 4
- 2012 5
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Canadians in Space
To date 9 Canadians have gone flown in space a total of 16 times in 28 years. Canadians have spent a total of 364 days, 13 hours and 12 minutes in space, when Chris Hadfield returns to space in March 2013, Canada will be the sixth nation to have logged more than a year in space.
Canada has chosen 12 people to become astronauts of which 8 have been in space to date - people in bold are still active
Guy Laliberte paid Space Adventures to go into space in 2009.
By Time in Space
By Date of Birth
Canada has chosen 12 people to become astronauts of which 8 have been in space to date - people in bold are still active
- 1983 Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Steve MacLean, Robert Thirsk and Bjarni Tryggvason who flew in space and Kenneth Money who did not.
- 1992 Chris Hadfield, Julie Payette and Dafydd Williams who few in space and Micheal McKay who did not fly due to medical reasons.
- 2009 Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques, neither whom has flown yet.
Guy Laliberte paid Space Adventures to go into space in 2009.
By Time in Space
- Robert Thirsk - 204d 18h 29m - June 1996, May 2009
- Marc Garneau - 29d 2h 11m - Oct 1984, May 1996, Nov 2000
- Dafydd Williams - 28d 15h 47m - Apr 1998, Aug 2007
- Julie Payette - 25d 11h 58m - May 1999, July 2009
- Steve MacLean - 21d 16h 2m - Oct 1992, Sept 2006
- Chris Hadfield - 20d 2h 2m - Nov 1995, Apr 2001
- Barni Tryggvason - 11d 20h 28m - Aug 1997
- Guy Laliberte - 10d 21h 7m - Sept 2009
- Roberta Bondar - 8d 1h 46m - Jan 1992
- Julie Payette - 35
- Marc Garneau - 35
- Chris Hadfield - 36
- Steve MacLean - 37
- Robert Thirsk - 42
- Dafydd Williams - 43
- Roberta Bondar - 46
- Guy Laliberte - 50
- Bjarni Tryggvason - 51
By Date of Birth
- Bjarni Tryggvason - Sept 1945
- Roberta Bondar - Dec 4 1945
- Marc Garneau - Feb 23 1949
- Robert Thrisk - Aug 17 1953
- Dafydd Williams - May 16 1954
- Steve MacLean - Dec 14 1954
- Chris Hadfield - Aug 29 1959
- Guy Laliberte - Sept 2 1959
- Julie Payette - Oct 30 1963
- Dafydd Williams - 17h 47m
- Chris Hadfield - 14h 50m
- Steve Maclean - 7h 11m
A number of CSA astronauts have been on NEEMO. NEEMO is and underwater habitat located near Key Largo in Florida. NASA has crews there for a weeks at a time. The program gives astronauts experience living in a space like environment. It also gives astronauts some command experience before becoming an ISS commander in space.
- Daffyd Williams - Oct 2001 and then again in Apr 2006 as commander
- Robert Thirsk - Oct 2004 as commander
- Chris Hadfield - May 2010 as commander - he will be the ISS commander for expedition 35 starting in March 2013
- David Saint-Jacques - Oct 2011
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