NIAS SPACEPORT

Under China's three-phase lunar probe plans for orbiting the moon, landing on the moon and returning back to Earth, China is scheduled to launch the Chang'e-3 and softly land it on the moon, where it will release a moon rover to explore the lunar surface, by 2013.

China will carry out an unmanned lunar landing around 2017 before making manned lunar landings and building research bases on the moon, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's lunar probe program, in Shanghai on May 9.

Ouyang made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

He said that the Chang'e-2 has operated safely for 200 days as of May 1. During the operation of the Chang'e-2 in space, four tiny cameras on the satellite recorded clear photographs, marking China's first-ever aerospace application of CMOS imaging technologies, first space surveillance engineering application, first photograph captured at the moment of igniting the 490N engine and first photograph of the Earth taken by a camera on an orbiting lunar orbiter.

However, is the ultimate mission of the Chang'e-2 to test soft-landing technologies for the Chang'e-3 or to test Earth reentry technologies for follow-up Chang'e series satellites after their lunar landings? Ouyang said that the ultimate mission of the Chang'e-3 Satellite has yet to be determined. Whatever mission is selected, the Chang'e-2 will test key technologies for follow-up tasks of Chang'e series satellites before completing its lunar trip.

For instance, the Chang'e-2 can either make a "pilot" soft-landing in order to test technologies for the Chang'e-3 or return to Earth orbit under ground control and simulate the return of future Chang'e series satellites to earth after 2013.

Ouyang said that the Chang'e-3 will be equipped with a 70-kilogram lander and a 120-kilogram moon rover. The satellite will weigh about 500 kilograms and will have a designed life of three months. As the intelligent robotic technology develops, the rover will be able to determine its own routes, climb slopes, avoid obstacles and pick a good spot to perform science experiments with a collection of sensors. Furthermore, it will even be capable of collecting samples from the moon and sending them back to Earth for further studies.

Ouyang said that China plans to send recoverable rovers and humans to the moon at appropriate times. In addition, China is also considering building a research base on the moon and exploring Mars and other parts of outer space. To achieve its goal, the country is building a new satellite launch center and is making great efforts to develop more advanced rocket engines.

The head of Iran Space Agency (ISA) has expressed optimism about the re-launch of the country's Kavoshgar (Explorer) 4 satellite carrier following the probe's successful mission.

“All the predetermined objectives of launching the bio-capsule, which was designed by the [country's] aerospace experts, have been achieved,” ISA chief Hamid Fazeli told ISNA on Friday.

“Of course, our colleagues are analyzing data” collected from the March 17 blastoff of the Kavoshgar 4, he added.

The probe carried into space Iran's first domestically-made bio-capsule capable of 'sustaining life' by producing oxygen in a new way. Iranian researchers developed a new system for generating oxygen by the use of dry ice.

The ISA chief went on to say that the Kavoshgar's first mission was intended to assess the performance of the space explorer's systems and subsystems along with the launching pad, elevating mechanism, and the bio-capsule.

Fazeli expressed hope for the final launch of the Kavoshgar 4 with a living creature (a monkey) as its first passenger.

He further pointed out that the oxygen-producing system aboard the probe was 'the first' of its kind.

Kavoshgar 4 (Explorer 4) was scheduled to take a 120-kilometer course and carry out studies on solar radiation, as well as astronomical and meteorological studies.

On February 7, Iran unveiled four national satellites -- the Fajr (Dawn), Rasad (Observation), Amir Kabir I, Zafar (Victory) and the Kavoshgar 4satellite carrier.

Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite, the Omid (hope), into orbit in 2009.

The Omid data-processing satellite was designed to orbit the Earth 15 times every 24 hours and transmit data via two frequency bands and eight antennas to an Iranian space station.

Iran is one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was set up in 1959.

Indonesia's space agency, LAPAN, unveils its first prototype of satellite launch vehicle (SLV) or RPS (Roket Pembawa Satelit) in Indo-Defence, Indo Aerospace, and Indo Marine 2010 exhibition (IDAM 2010). The exhibition arranged by The ministry of defense is part of Indonesia's effort to explore outer space for the benefit of human kind, especially, Indonesians. The exhibition occurred in 10-13 November 2010 in JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta.

Tiga roket RX-200 berhasil diuji terbangkan oleh LAPAN, Minggu (20/06). Ketiga buah roket tersebut merupakan rangkaian uji coba muatan satelit LAPAN-ORARI.

Roket pertama diluncurkan pada pukul 06.00 WIB. Menurut Deputi Teknologi Dirgantara Dr. Ing. Soewarto Hardhienata mengatakan uji roket pertama adalah untuk menguji karakteristik roket.

“Sedang roket kedua dan ketiga menguji muatan Satelit LAPAN-ORARI”, terangnya.
Uji terbang yang berlangsung di Stasiun Peluncuran Roket LAPAN Pameungpeuk Garut ini, dihadiri oleh Ketua Umum ORARI Sutiyoso dan Kabalitbang Kementerian Pertahanan Pos Hutabarat dan Sekretaris Balitbang Kementerian Pertahanan Eddy Priyono. Dalam kesempatan tersebut, Bang Yos bersama dengan Pak Warto menekan tombol firing roket ketiga.

“Keberhasilan ini (uji terbang) sangat penting dalam usaha menjamin kelancaran komunikasi bencana”, tegas Bang Yos saat jumpa pers yang digelar seusai peluncuran roket kedua.

AVATAR (Sanskrit: अवतार) (from "Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace Transportation") is a single-stage reusable rocketplane capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, being developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization along with Indian Space Research Organization and other research institutions; it could be used for cheaper military and civilian satellite launches.

When operational, it is planned to be capable of delivering a payload weighing up to 1000 kg to low earth orbit. It would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about US$67/kg. Each craft is expected to withstand 100 launches.

Operation

AVATAR would take off horizontally like a conventional airplane from a conventional airstrip using turbo-ramjet engines that burn air and hydrogen. Once at a cruising altitude, the vehicle would use scramjet propulsion to accelerate from Mach 4 to Mach 8. During this cruising phase, an on-board system would collect air from the atmosphere, from which liquid oxygen would be separated and stored. The liquid oxygen collected then would be used in the final flight phase when the rocket engine burns the collected liquid oxygen and the carried hydrogen to attain orbit. The vehicle would be designed to permit at least a hundred re-entries into the atmosphere.

Dr. M R Suresh, a senior ISRO official, stated that, "The dream of making a vehicle which can take off from a runway like an aircraft, and to return to the runway after deploying the spacecraft in the desired orbit (or Single-stage-to-orbit or SSTO) can be fulfilled only by the availability of more advanced high strength but low density materials so that the structural mass of the vehicle could be reduced considerably from the present levels. The advent of nano-technology could play a deciding factor in developing such exotic materials. However, the material technology available today can realize a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) vehicle only and the configuration of the vehicle which is being considered. However, the before realizing the RLV-TSTO it is important to perfect many critical technologies pertaining to hypersonic reentry vehicles. Hence a technology demonstrator vehicle (RLV-TD) is being developed."

The Kimbo-IV flight team successfully launched the Kimbo-IV vehicle on Saturday, 3 June 2000 at the Reaction Research Society's Mojave Test Area. To the best of our knowledge, this flight represented a technical milestone in the history of rocketry- it was the first time that a composite LOX tank has ever been flown. Such technology (provided by Microcosm) has the potential to reduce the weight of next-generation launch vehicles.

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Seeking to preserve the site where humans first set foot on the moon, a California state panel on Friday registered a collection of 106 objects left by the Apollo 11 mission as an historical resource.

The move by the state Historical Resources Commission marks the first such designation for cultural artifacts located other than on Earth, said Lisa Westwood, part of a team of scholars and museum professionals who applied for the listing.

The group hopes that placing the moon objects on California’s registry of historic landmarks and resources will lead ultimately to designating Tranquility Base as a United Nations World Heritage Site.

“We are elevating the profile of this resource, and instilling upon the public, which could include space travelers at some point, a sense of site stewardship and the importance of preservation,” said Ms. Westwood, an archeologist who teaches at Chico State University.

The collection encompasses about 2,270 kg of objects, ranging from the bottom stage of the lunar lander to the American flag planted on the moon’s surface on July 16, 1969 by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

It also includes a seismic monitor left behind to record moonquakes and a high-tech mirror used to reflect laser beams aimed at the lunar surface from Earth to measure the precise distance between it and the moon.

Less lofty is an assortment of junk cast off by the astronauts -- space boots, tools, arm rests, empty food containers and bags of human waste -- to lighten their load for the takeoff from the moon back to Earth.

An inventory of the items was made through independent research conducted for several years by Ralph Gibson, a program manager at the Placer County Museums near Sacramento, with US$22,000 in grants from NASA.

The artifacts were left spread over an area nearly 100 metres across.

But the listing was carefully written to include only the objects -- not the site itself or even the astronauts’ footprints -- because international law precludes any country or state from making a claim to the lunar surface, said Jay Correia, a state historian who oversees the registry.

California’s recognition was sought because aerospace firms and institutions based there led the way in “researching, developing and manufacturing the machinery that got men to the moon,” Mr. Correia said.

Ms. Westwood said her group would seek historic designations next from four other states -- New Mexico, Texas, Alabama and Florida -- that played a major role in the space program, before trying to get Tranquility Base listed as a national historic landmark and a United Nations heritage site.

“That would put it on the same level as the Great Wall of China or the Pyramids of Giza” in Egypt, she said. “This is the very first time a cultural resource not located on Earth has been listed on an historical registry.”