SuomiKaataa2

Manned Orbiting laboratory (MOL) was developed from early NASA manned space station concepts for military space exploration. MOL evolved into single used laboratory, with a crew onboard and duration 40 days, using a Gemini B spacecraft. Gemini B prototype - used for tests: displayed in the museum Air Force Space & Missile Museum (credit to unknown author, it was released to public domain) The MOL program was announced in December 1963 and was based on the Gemini spacecraft. The Gemini B had several modification including hatch in the heat shield for the transition between the spacecraft and the laboratory. The project was cancelled in 1969 since it was shown that unmanned satellites cost less with the same efficiency achieving the same purposes. Instead of this project NASA built civilian space station Skylab ( Skylab ), based on Apollo experiences. Soviet Union launched 3 Almaz military stations during 1970s as a response to the announcement of the MOL. 3 Almaz space st...

Parker Solar Probe is NASA's huge mission to get so close to any Star. The main purpose of the mission is knowledge of our own Sun, how the changes influence the solar system, and affects the Earth. This mission will undergo such a condition of heat and radion, it will get closer to the Sun than any satellite before in the history. Parker Solar Probe Insignia It was launched on August 12, 2018 from the Cape Canaveral in Florida using Delta IV Heavy with Upper Stage . The Delta IV Heavy is an heavy lift launch vehicle largest from the Delta IV family rockets. The Delta IV Heavy uses 2 additional Common Booster Cores as liquid rocket boosters. During the lift off, all 3 cores are at full thrust, after 44 second the middle ones is lower down to 55 per cent. The boosters burn out after 242 second after the launch. After the separation the middle booster throttles back to the full thrust. The middle burns out 86 second later after the separation and the second stage can finish t...

Vanguard 1 was the fourth satellite in the orbit after Soviet Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and US Explorer 1. It was the first satellite using solar energy. The communication was lost 1964, but it remains in the orbit and thus it became the oldest man made object in Earth orbit. The satellite has spherical shape (16.5 cm in diameter) made from aluminium and weight was 1.46 kg.  The 10mW 108 MHz telemetry transmitter was powered by a mercury batter and the 5mW 108.03 MHz Minitrack beacon transmitter was powered by 6 solar cells on the surface of the spherical body. It contained 6 sticking aluminium antennas, 30 cm long and of 0.8 cm diameter. They passed through the center of the sphere. Vanguard 1 carried two thermistors which measured the interior temperature over 16 days in order to follow the thermal protection. Vanguard was name both for the satellite and launch vehicle. It had 3 stages. The first stage was powered by liquid rocket engine propelled by RP-1 and liquid oxygen. It d...

Buran program is also known under VKK - air spaceship and it was Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft program which started in 1974 and was canceled in 1993. Buran was also name of Orbiter K1, unmanned spaceflight in 1988, which was the only Soviet reusable spacecraft ever launched into space. It was generally opponent of the US Space Shuttle. Even Orbiter K1 was successfully recovered, it was never used again. It was crashed in the collapsing of the hangar in Kazakhstan on May 12, 2002. Maintenance, launches and landings of Buran vehicles occurred in Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. Note: Let's skip the part why the objective of the program. I do not want to come into politics and since the program ended 25 years ago, I hope it is not needed anymore.  The original ideas about reusable come back to 1950s. There was not clear project, and it was not continuous idea all the time. The program itself started in 1970s as a response to the US Space Shuttle. Soviet's en...

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster  @ SuomiKaataa Solid rocket boosters part of the space shuttle stage provided the biggest thrust during the first two minutes of the flight up to the height about 45 km. After they burned out, they were jettisoned. About 75 seconds after SRB separation from the space shuttle it reached the altitude about 67 km and parachutes were deployed and impacted the Atlantic ocean in 226 km range. After that they were recovered, they were examined, and used again.  Except one parachute malfunction and Challenger disaster all were safely recovered.   Solid rocket boosters separation The meaning of solid rocket booster includes the entire rocket assembly, such as rocket motor, recovery parachutes, electronic instrumentation, separation rockets, safety destruct system and thrust vector motor.  Each booster was attached to the external tank of the space shuttle. Each booster was also attached to the mobile launcher pl...

Saturn V was US expendable rocket used by NASA between the years 1967 and 1973. The three stage super heavy lift launch vehicle was developed to support the Apollo program (see articles Apollo program , The Space Race, all together ), and later it launch also Skylab, the first US space station. The Saturn V was launched 13 times, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle which carried manned crews to the outer space, beyond the Earth orbit. All together 15 vehicles ready to fly were built, from which was 13 used for launch. 3 vehicles were used for testing purposes. Apollo 17: The last one Saturn V was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph. Saturn V's design originated from the Jupiter series rockets. The C-1 was developed into the Saturn I and C-2 rocket dropped out due to C-3 design. C-3 was planned as a part of Earth orbit rendezvous ( EOR ), but even bigger C-4 crossed the plans. C-4 ...

Titan is US family of expendable rockets in use between years 1959 and 2005. Totally it was launched 368 rockets, including all the manned Gemini project flights.  Titan was part of the US intercontinental ballistic missile, Titan was used to launch probes out to the Solar system. The HGM-25A Titan I was the first rocket version used between years 1962 and 1965. It was first as a backup ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) in case that Atlas would be delayed. It was 2 stage rocket powered by RP-1 and liquid oxygen.   The Titan II uses modified version of the LR-87 engine, that used combination of nitrogen tetroxide for its oxidizer and Aerozine 50 (50/50 mix of hydrazine and UDMH=unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) for its fuel instead of the liquid oxygen and RP-1 used in the Titan I.  All together 12 Titan II Gemini launch vehicles were launched, including 2 unmanned tests and 10 manned flights with two-man crews.  Launch of Gemini 11 on Titan...