LITEROTICA PODCAST
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

pretty planes

A commercial spaceplane capable of orbital flight is ready for NASA testing​

Story by Kris Holt
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/oth...&cvid=b5faa5c9e17b49499c309c35814531a5&ei=142

NASA will soon start testing what is dubbed as the world’s first commercial spaceplane capable of orbital flight, which will eventually be used to resupply the International Space Station. The agency is set to take delivery of Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser, which should provide an alternative to SpaceX spacecraft for trips to the ISS.

In the coming weeks, the spaceplane (which is currently at Sierra Space’s facility in Colorado) will make its way to a NASA test site in Ohio. The agency will put the vehicle, which has been named Tenacity, through its paces for between one and three months. According to Ars Technica, NASA will conduct vibration, acoustic and temperature tests to ensure Tenacity can survive the rigors of a rocket launch. NASA engineers, along with government and contractor teams, are running tests to make sure it's safe for Tenacity to approach the ISS.

All going well, Tenacity is scheduled to make its first trip to space in April on the second flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. The rocket has yet to make its own first test flight, which is currently expected to happen in December. However, given how things tend to go with spaceflight, delays are always a possibility on both fronts.

The spaceplane has foldable wings, which allow it to fit inside the payload of the rocket. On its first mission, Tenacity is scheduled to stay at the ISS for 45 days. Afterward, it will return to Earth at the former space shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida rather than dropping into the ocean as many spacecraft tend to do. Sierra says the spacecraft is capable of landing at any compatible commercial runway.

“Plunging into the ocean is awful," Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice told Ars Technica. "Landing on a runway is really nice." The company claims Dream Chaser can bring cargo back to Earth at fewer than 1.5 Gs, which is important to help protect sensitive payloads. The spaceplane will be capable of taking up to 12,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS and bringing up to around 4,000 pounds of cargo back to terra firma. Sierra plans for its Dream Chaser fleet to eventually be capable of taking humans to low-Earth orbit too.

As things stand, SpaceX is the only company that operates fully certified spacecraft for NASA missions. Boeing also won a contract to develop a capsule for NASA back in 2014, but Starliner has yet to transport any astronauts.to the ISS. Sierra Nevada (from which Sierra Space was spun out in 2021) previously competed with those businesses for NASA commercial crew program contracts, but it lost out. However, after the company retooled Dream Chaser to focus on cargo operations for the time being, NASA chose Sierra to join its stable of cargo transportation providers in 2016.


https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1ji5kA.img?w=768&h=512&m=6
Sierra Space's first Dream Chaser spaceplane, dubbed "Tenacity."© Sierra Space
Dream Chaser's first trip to the ISS has been a long time coming. It was originally planned for 2019 but the project was beset by delays. COVID-19 compounded those, as it constricted supply chains for key parts that Sierra Space needed before the company brought more of its construction work in house. The company is now aiming to have a second, human-rated version of Dream Chaser ready for the 2026 timeframe.


NASA has long been interested in using spaceplanes, dating back to the agency's early days, and it seems closer than ever to being able to use such vehicles. Virgin Galactic (which just carried out its fifth commercial flight on Thursday) uses spaceplanes for tourist and research flights, its vehicle is only capable of suborbital operations. With Dream Chaser, Sierra has loftier goals.
 

Ken Mattingly, Apollo 16 astronaut, dies at 87​

Story by Cara Tabachnick
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...&cvid=214036942a1740999151bed2cd1a4624&ei=138

Thomas K. Mattingly, a key commander during the Apollo 16 mission to the moon, died at age 87, NASA announced Thursday.

Mattingly, known as Ken or T.K., died on Oct. 31, NASA confirmed in a statement.

"NASA astronaut TK Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.



https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1jiG10.img?w=768&h=470&m=6&x=2158&y=461&s=499&d=499
Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II in 1969. / Credit: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images© Provided by CBS News

A skilled pilot, Mattingly was hailed for his accomplishments as the command module pilot for the Apollo 16 mission that landed on the moon in 1972. During that mission, the astronaut team was able to collect samples from the lunar highlands and achieve all its major objectives.

But he was also well known for being removed from the ill-fated Apollo 13 crew 72 hours before its scheduled launch.

Mattingly was removed at the last minute after exposure to German measles. Backup command module pilot Jack Swigert replaced Mattingly. On April 11, 1970, the Apollo 13 blasted off with Swigert at the helm and astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise.



https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1jiyso.img?w=768&h=611&m=6&x=1140&y=967&s=1637&d=290
The original Apollo 13 crew, from left to right: Fred Haise, Jim Lovell and Ken Mattingly. Mattingly could not go on the mission, which narrowly avoided tragedy when its spacecraft malfunctioned and had to return to Earth without landing on the moon. / Credit: Bettmann / Getty Images© Provided by CBS News

Almost 56 hours after take off, oxygen tank No. 2 exploded on Apollo 13, causing tank No. 1 to fail as well. "Houston, we've had a problem," Lovell famously called down to mission control.

Mattingly played an important role in helping bring the crew back to Earth. "He stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13," Nelson said in the statement.

Born in Chicago, Mattingly began his career with the U.S. Navy in 1958, and became a pilot two years later. He was deployed on the battleship USS Franklin D. Roosevelt from which he flew planes for two years.

In 1966, NASA chose him to be one of 19 astronauts in that year's class. He served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 8 and 11 missions, and was instrumental in the development and testing of the Apollo spacesuit and backpack.

After being a command module pilot for the Apollo Program, he had a stretch almost of almost a decade before he took the helm again. In 1982 and 1985, Mattingly was the spacecraft commander for two space shuttle missions and he flew 504 hours in space.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BrightShinyGirl
How far along are you in your Thanksgiving prep?
Replies
12
Views
145
BrightShinyGirl
BrightShinyGirl
JDSavanyu
Madison Ave killing Christmas, etc.
Replies
2
Views
124
coati
C
ILikeIt
How many orgasms can the average woman have in one session
2 3
Replies
61
Views
2K
sarahbear85
S
C
Curvy girl lingerie
2
Replies
46
Views
6K
stargame
stargame
Wolfie605
Any DnD players or DnD podcast listeners.
Replies
10
Views
219
Wolfie605
Wolfie605
Back
Top