SpaceX Crew Capsule engine failure

No matter how many precautions are taken and extra safety measures are included, there will always be an element of risk in space travel. This has been brought home to us by the news of a setback for SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon spacecraft.

On April 20th, a routine launch pad engine test resulted in a fire which may have destroyed one of its capsules. It was the same craft which had recently accomplished a successful uncrewed test flight to the International Space station (ISS) the previous month. One of the main selling points of these new space vehicles is their re-usability, so the craft’s engines were being re-tested for faults.

It is unknown what precisely went wrong, but footage has emerged showing the craft well ablaze during the countdown to the engines’ firing. It was only a test firing: the capsule was not intended to take off, but it seems to have resulted in a catastrophic failure. The images have since been removed. It is unclear how badly the capsule was damaged during the blaze, but a rapid repair seems unlikely, and it may even have been destroyed beyond possible recovery.

Investigations continue, but this certainly represents a severe setback. Until the precise causes are uncovered, it is unlikely any further tests or launches will take place. The original timetable proposed a first crewed flight in July this year, but it is now extremely unlikely this will happen. Safety is of paramount importance, and in any case, it was clearly expected that this capsule would be re-used for such flights. A replacement will now be needed.

SpaceX internet satellite launches

In better news for Elon Musk’s space corporation, SpaceX has now begun its plan to complete a global broadband service. Called Starlink, the plan is to launch around 12,000 mini satellites into low Earth orbit in order to provide the world’s first truly worldwide internet service. May 24th saw its Falcon 9 rocket launch sixty satellites to an initial altitude of 440 km.

The satellites will then use their own on futuristic board engines to reach their ultimate orbit of around 550 km above the Earth. These are no ordinary rocket engines though. Instead, a solar array provides electricity to power charged atoms of krypton, which provide the necessary thrust. Fortunately, Superman will not be affected. This method of propulsion will also be used to maintain the correct altitude, and also to remove the satellites from orbit at the end of their working life.

Many further launches are required before a decent global service can be achieved. At least half a dozen more will be needed to produce any kind of coverage at all, with maybe a dozen for any kind of global broadband service. After that – the more there are, the better the service.

SpaceX’s Starlink service is just one of several being planned by various organisations across the world. Blue Origin have already begun their series of launches of the rival Telesat service, while UK based OneWeb launched their first satellites via Russia’s Soyuz rocket in February.

Blue Origin New Shepard mission NS-11

Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule completed a successful launch and landing earlier this month. This was the twelfth successful launch and return of a New Shepard capsule, and the fifth time this particular craft had been to space and back, proving its re-usability. This particular launch was, like all the others, uncrewed, but this is the craft intended to carry tourists into space in the very near future.

On this occasion, the capsule was carrying 38 different payloads on behalf of a variety of government agencies, private companies and educational institutions. The flight reached a height of over 65 miles and lasted for around ten minutes. The booster, engine and capsule all separated as intended and were returned safely to Earth for re-use. It was a textbook mission with everything going according to plan. The first crewed mission surely cannot be far away.

Blue Origin plans for lunar landing and base

Meanwhile, on May 9th, Blue Origin and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled his vision for the future of his space organisation. There was much blue sky thinking for Blue Origin, with futuristic visions of space stations full of idyllic gardens and sustainable populations of happy humans living in space. I’m sure it was all very motivating for his American audience but it came across as a bit “Bond villain” to me. I guess that’s what cultural influences do to us!

His plans for a sustainable lunar base lunar were equally ambitious. Bezos is looking at setting up a base at or near Shackleton Crater, at the Moon’s South Pole. The advantage of locating a base here is the presence of water ice which could be used to supply the lunar colonists. There would then be no need to transport all that water from Earth, saving a fortune in transportation costs.

Another advantage could be the relatively stable temperatures. The difference in lunar climate between night and day is extreme. Temperatures rise from around -170°C at night to about 100°C during the day, which is the boiling point of water on Earth. At the poles, it may be that the temperatures will be less variable, as the Sun will always appear close to, as in just above or below the lunar horizon. If the base was located inside a crater, the temperature would be very cold, but at least if it was situated out of direct sunlight, it would be consistent.

None of these plans are imminent of course. They really are “visions”. But nevertheless, they show Bezos’s dreamlike ambitions. It will not happen tomorrow, but don’t bet against it happening within at least some of our lifetimes…

UK technology company on target to try to answer the life on Mars question once and for all

Engineers based at Airbus UK in Stevenage are working round the clock to finish a special piece of technology which is planned to look for signs of like on Mars. The Analytical Laboratory Drawer (ALD) is a complex box of experiments and instruments which will test Martian rocks for signs of organic molecules which could be indicators of life.

It’s a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian mission, and the ALD is planned for inclusion on the Exomars Rosalind Franklin Rover, which is due for launch in the summer of 2020.

This 50 kg British box of tricks will be on board the 300 kg rover, and will be able to drill down approximately two metres below the Martian surface to look for these crucial organic molecules.