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| The Lion Squadron |
Hello Troops,
The Voyager Club's 2016 Long Duration Mission is off to a great start. Two of our six squadrons finished their first round in the last two weeks.
The Lions have several new club members on their roster. Their first time on bridge was captained by a long time veteran to LDM's, the great Orion himself.
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| The Tiger Squadron |
Capt. Andrew Ward commanded the Tigers. He is another returning survivor of the last year's LDM. His previous experience was evident in how well he led his squadron.
Odyssey Set Director Found in the Phoenix Simulator's Control Room When No One Was About!
Devin Sudwicks is the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center's Odyssey Set Director. The Troubadour's all seeing camera recently found him in the USS Phoenix Control Room. His look of guilt revealed his intent. Could it be sabotage?
The Odyssey and Phoenix have long been rivals - totally understandable due to the fact that they share the same classroom space at the Space Center. The two control rooms are one step from each other. Things get crowded when they're both flying. Then there are rumors of intra ship staff postering. Has Devin had enough of Jordan and his Phoenix team? Did he take matters into his own hands? Where did he get the passwords to enter the backdoor into Phoenix's simulator controls? Is Jordan in for a nasty surprise when he starts the Phoenix next? Stay tuned for developments
OR, there is the slight chance I am misreading the situation. That being understood, which story is more entertaining?
Space and Science News
by Mark Daymont
Spacerubble.blogspot.com
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016
4th Cygnus Cargo Ship Undocks, Burns Up
Farewell to the "Deke Slayton II." Credit NASA TV.
On Friday Feb. 19, Orbital ATK's 4th Cygnus resupply mission ended when the "Deke Slayton II" undocked from the ISS and maneuvered away from the station. It had arrived in December 2015 with supplies and experiments for the station, blasting off using an Atlas V rocket. Orbital ATK's own rocket, the Antares, is being redesigned following a catastrophic explosion the year before.
Fiery re-entry of a Cygnus spacecraft.
Once the spacecraft had been carefully maneuvered away from the station, engineers sent commands that propelled the craft into a de-orbit burn high over the Pacific Ocean. Since the craft is not designed for re-use, it broke apart and burned up safely away from habitable areas.
50 Years Ago: Preparing for AS-201
Apollo AS-201 on the pad at Cape Kennedy.
Fifty years ago, in 1966, NASA was ready to begin an intensive testing program of the Saturn rocket with the Apollo spacecraft components. The first unmanned launch would be mission AS-201 scheduled for February 26. The launch vehicle was the Saturn 1, designed for getting Apollo into Earth orbit and testing command, service, and lunar module components before sending them to the Moon. There had been ten Saturn 1 test launches since 1961, using boiler-plate mock-up equipment in place of actual command and service module elements. In the latter half of 1965, the Saturn 1 rocket segments were brought to Cape Kennedy and stacked on the pad at Launch Complex 34.
Components of the Saturn 1 first stage.
Chrysler was the manufacturer of the first stage. Yes, the same company that manufactures cars. On this model, the stage featured eight J-2 engines that could produce thrust of 1,600,000 pounds of force. It arrived at the Cape in August 1965. It was set up directly on the pad.
Components of the Saturn 1 second stage.
The second stage of the rocket is actually the Saturn IVb stage, built by Douglas Aircraft Company (now part of Boeing). It also worked as the third stage of the Saturn V rocket. It used one J-2 engine for propulsion. It was mated to the rocket, on the pad, in October 1965.
Command and Service modules being mated.
The Block 1 Command and Service modules joined the rocket in December 1965. They were built by North American Aviation. The Block 1 design was intended for all Earth-orbit testing and manned missions, before the Lunar Orbit rendezvous scheme was adopted by NASA, and the capsule did not include a docking hatch in its nose. Once the plan for landing in the LEM was included, the Block II was developed, and manned mission planning with Block I was shortened to only two missions.
Finishing the Stack.
Testing of the rocket continued both night and day. In late 1965, the automation testing computer developed malfunctions which slowed down the rate of testing, but it was of course repaired and plans continued for the February 26 launch.
Theater Imaginarium
The Imaginarium
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