A Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Look at Most Spacecraft Are Still at Little Risk.

What is most spacecraft still at little risk?

Most spacecraft are still at little risk is a question that is easiest to address with a list. This post will present them in chronological order, starting with the most famous:

-Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 (1972-2003)

-Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 (1977) 

-Galileo spacecraft (1989-2003 – still operational) 

-International Sun Earth Explorer spacecraft (1979) 

-Mariner 10 spacecraft launched in 1973, it became the first space probe to orbit Mercury and visit Venus before heading out of the solar system. The craft was lost when its transmitter failed in March 1974 while sending data back from Venus. It seems NASA has been lucky enough as of late not too experience any major disasters.

The above list shows that most of the major satellites, from moon missions to Venus probes, have been sent into space. It also shows that there hasn’t been a major disaster in space yet. There is one satellite still in orbit that is not too well known by the populace:

=LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)

-Launch date: December 18, 2009  -Mission duration: 4 years  -Inventory of LRO (Image courtesy of NASA): The LRO spacecraft was launched on December 18, 2009 atop an Atlas V rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 40. The flight was the first of two flights manifested to launch LRO’s science and engineering payloads. Designed to provide important information about the lunar surface, the spacecraft is equipped with a wide-angle camera that takes high-resolution images of the lunar surface during its mission. The LRO has already returned more than 3 million images and holds the record for highest resolution reconnaissance images ever taken from space, which will help us better understand our moon, formulate plans to explore and settle it, and provide insight into other planetary exploration missions. The LRO has been orbiting around the moon since Xmas Day 2009, taking pictures of all parts of it (the near side, far side and poles).

What is the use of it?

Timing of the LRO’s launch was important. The Constellation Program (CxP), NASA’s program that is returning America to the moon with a series of launches that will include an Orion crew vehicle, was to utilize the data from the LRO and provide information about what previous astronauts have seen on the moon – and a look forward, details about future lunar missions.

-Space shuttles:

-The Soviet Union: Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin died when their parachutes failed to open .

-NASA: Astronauts and Controllers were exposed to a toxic mixture of oxygen and nitrogen while flying the space shuttle. 

-The Challenger (STS-51L) Challenger Space Shuttle exploded during ascent on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members.

-The Columbia (STS-107) Space Shuttle disintegrated during reentry on February 1, 2003 resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. 

Some interesting factoids:

-Of the original 24 astronauts that went into space, only three died while in space. The rest died while training or before, during or after their missions  .

What are the features?

LRO is small, it weighs a little more than 1,400 pounds (650 kg) and a little bit over 6 feet (2 meters) long. The spacecraft is coated with a thermal protection system that is similar to the one of the shuttle but LRO does not use fuel to heat up its structure; LRO uses coolant.

LRO has two solar panels that are about 2 meters each and both are made from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic . The total weight of both solar panels plus the plastic fairings around them is about 3,400 pounds (1,550 kg). At present, no major parts of LRO were built using titanium. These parts are being developed in partnership with NASA’s Ames Research Center.

What are the benefits?

-LRO’s cameras will produce images that are sharper, sharper and more detailed than any other imaging system on the moon. 

-While there is some issues about the radiation level that LRO will be faced with when it gets in orbit, the engineers behind the spacecraft have developed a special digital camera that protected from this potentially harmful radiation level.

The actual landing site had to be chosen carefully as a number of factors need to be looked into – one is finding a good spot near a crater or some other flat surface area. It also needs to be not too far away from any major mountain range or crater. In addition, the landing site should be located in a “seismically quiet” area. To choose the right landing site, the team used an orbiter – MRO as they call it (the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) that is orbiting Mars – to look at different areas using its highest resolution camera.

What are the challenges?

The challenge for LRO’s engineers and scientists was to launch a spacecraft on top of an Atlas V rocket without fail. The spacecraft had to arrive in lunar orbit at just the right time and speed – else it would have fallen back towards the Earth or simply crashed onto the moon surface. In addition, the team needed to make sure the communication with the spacecraft is stable and secure. There are also weather issues that need to be taken into consideration – a stiff wind could blow away LRO’s solar panels, causing it to fall back down to Earth. NASA has yet to decide on how they would retrieve it if it were lost. With all this in mind, LRO was launched without incident on December 18, 2009 . 

What is the future?

It remains unknown when NASA will send a man into space again for good and on what type of vehicle. But that doesn’t mean that we have never sent anything into space before. The National Academy of Sciences did a study that showed that the last time America went into space was in the Apollo moon landings. The report entitled “America’s Quest for Spaceflight: A Half Century of Innovation” was published in Dec. 2010. It states that “at least one human has been in space since 1969 and flying another human into orbit or (on a spaceship) is possible as well.”

Are there any drawbacks?

The LADEE project is small, the spacecraft itself is just a fraction of the size of the space shuttle. The total cost of LADEE was a little under $280 million, which is relatively cheap when you compare it to other space projects like the Mars Curiosity Rover that had a total cost to manufacture and launch at more than $2.5 billion.