Category Archives: Space Exploration

After years of persistence with her passion for space exploration, Dr. Sian Proctor is now a commercial astronaut known for representing prosperity and serving as the Mission Pilot aboard SpaceXs Inspiration4 the first-ever all-civilian spaceflight in the world. Apart from being one of the initial commoners to orbit Earth, Sian is only the fourth Black woman to go into outer space and the first Black woman pilot, which, as examined on Netflixs Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, will open the doors for many more. So now, lets learn more about her, shall we?

Dr. Sian Proctor was born on March 28, 1970, in Hagta, Guam, to Edward Langley Proctor Jr. and Gloria Deloris. Shes the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Edward Proctor III and Christopher Proctor, and sister Robyn Selent. In her own words, Sian is an Apollo 11 moon-landing celebration baby as shes born exactly eight and a half months after its success and her father was a Sperry Univac engineer who worked at NASA at that time. After the Apollo era, though, Edward Jr. changed several jobs, so Sian has lived in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and other northern states.

Im #almost50 & reflecting on my life. Its a sad birthday for me because my parents are both gone & crazy times. Ive got a box of stuff from my mom that Im determined to go through to #celebrate my #life & their story. This is my only photo of just me & my parents! #mystory pic.twitter.com/XBLvMX95so

Dr. Sian Leo Proctor (@DrSianProctor) March 26, 2020

Due to the frequent moves and the surrounding situations, Sian developed an outgoing and adventurous personality, which helped her see the world in a different light. She even got labeled a tomboy because she loved to fish, play sports, & most of all I loved building airplanes and dreaming of being a fighter pilot. With this, its evident that her father was her biggest inspiration, but more importantly, he was also Sians proudest supporter.

In 2020, Sian tweeted, What I loved about my dad is he supported me w/ EVERYTHING I wanted to do. I liked building model airplanes so he took me to the hobby store. I wanted a Rambo knife -he bought it for me. I wanted to play baseball -not a problem. He never told me I couldnt do it. Unfortunately, Edward Jr. passed away at the age of 48 in 1989 following a severe asthma attack, and Gloria Deloris followed unexpectedly in April 2018. It seems like Sian is closest to her brother Chris as they attended college together, yet all the siblings share quite a good bond with one another.

Going to college with my brother Chris turned out to be the best thing ever! I remember the day he came to find me. I figured it was going to be the same old BS but instead he said, Lets go. I was like where? Lets go party! We spent 3.5 yrs together & became super close. pic.twitter.com/uGVczKHPiI

Dr. Sian Leo Proctor (@DrSianProctor) March 28, 2020

Dr. Sian Proctor has a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science, a Masters degree in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Science Education, which has helped her serve as a geoscience and sustainability professor for over 22 years at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Along with that, shes an Open Educational Resource Coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District, the Vice President of Education at Star Harbor Space Academy, and an international Public Speaker.

Before Sian was elected to be a commercial astronaut, she was a science communication specialist who has completed four analog missions. These were the all-female Sensoria Mars 2020 mission at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA-funded Mars mission at HI-SEAS, the Mars Desert Research Station, and a Moon mission in the LunAres Habitat. Sian was also a finalist for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Program but got eliminated in the last round.

As if all this wasnt enough, the Dr. even has a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and has published a cookbook titled Meals for Mars. Her motto is Space2Inspire, and she uses her Afrofuturism art to encourage conversations about the same, along with how more women of color can be included in the space industry. Sian wants to establish a J.E.D.I. (Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive) space for everyone, which is why she was selected to be in Explorers Club 50: Fifty People Changing the World.

From what we can tell, Dr. Sian Proctor prefers to keep her love life private. However, as per a few reports, shes married to Stephen Borth, whom she met during her time at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Institute around 2012. Whatever the case may be, though, she seems perfectly content at the moment.

Read More: Is Jared Isaacman Married? Does He Have Kids?

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Inspiration4's Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know About Her Parents, Family and Dating Life - The Cinemaholic

Sep 06, 2021 11:42 AMET

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Jacobswas selected as NASA's Agency-Level 2020 Small Business Industry Award (SBIA) Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year for NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Agency-Level award follows Jacobs' FY-20 Center-Level SBIA Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award at two NASA Centers: Langley Research Center (LaRC) and Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

"Jacobs' relationship with NASA goes back 60-plus years, and we truly value our longstanding collaboration to help to solve the most complex and hazardous challenges of space exploration," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions Executive Vice President and PresidentDawne Hickton. "As NASA's largest service provider, we are committed to providing integrated solutions in support of the agency's mission and the nation's space program."

Jacobs was nominated for its most recent award by NASA KSC, where the company serves as the prime contractor for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems program, responsible for the development and operations of flight vehicle components. The KSC nomination acknowledged Jacobs for its ground and flight application software team effortsin support of the Artemis programand critical missions toresupply the International Space Station, as well as overall service to the Test and Operations Support Contract.

NASA's goal of traversing space resonates strongly with Jacobs' workforce. As part of NASA's team at nine different facilities across the country (Wallops, Goddard, Langley, Kennedy, Marshall, Johnson, White Sands, Ames and Glenn), Jacobs is a provider and integrator of full lifecycle aerospace capability. This includes design and construction; base, mission and launch operations; sustaining capital maintenance; and secure and intelligent asset management, development, modification, and testing processes for fixed assets supporting national government, military, defense and NASA, as well as commercial space companies.

For more on how Jacobs is redefining what's possible, from launch to flight to splash down, visitwww.jacobs.com/insights/space-exploration.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With$14 billionin revenue and a talent force of approximately 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visitjacobs.com

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NASA Names Jacobs Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year - Law.com

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which operates and maintains a helium storage reservoir, enrichment plant, and pipeline system not far from Tex-Air in Amarillo, Texas, once supplied over 40% of domestic demand for helium, but is in the process of decline. Various exploration projects in the US and Canada hope to result in new helium sources to ease concerns that the US will soon have to rely on overseas sources in Qatar and Russia to meet demand.

Jim Prowell, whose dad Jim Sr. founded the company as a welding supply business in 1952, runs Tex-Air with son Joe (President). Executive Vice-President Jim has seen enough in the business to recognize how significant a moment this is in the evolution of the helium market, and an opportunity for Tex-Air to become more than just a helium distributor.

Its going to be a huge change with the BLM, depending on the success of the exploration, Jim told gasworld. I think its a good thing for the industry overall, especially in the western US theres a lot of exploration right now that can be finished out and youll have some independent plants and as long as they dont do multi-year contracts with the majors at dirt cheap agreements. Weil Group, Desert Mountain Energy, Tumbleweed have all had some degree of success. I feel the eventual way to proceed in this business is to have your own source and be 100% vertically integrated. If we are to ever grow our business, and do more than nibble around the edges of what majors dont want, we will have to have our own source and refinery.

Pricing is one of the main reasons Jim and Joe are hoping to secure their own helium source.

Different geographical areas seem to have different pricing for helium from the same major producers, i.e. Messer, Air Products, Praxair, MATHESON Tri-Gas, Jim said. The prices are just all over the place. It makes it quite difficult in that we are sole product distributor, just of helium, so if I dont have a good supplier at a good price, it makes it extremely difficult to compete. Thats why we are looking to become vertically integrated and have our own source of supply to have a helium gas well, purification plants and trailer filling facilities.

Joe, who joined the family business in 2018 after serving in the US Navy and then as a Defense Contractor, is working with a partner to make the Prowell dream a reality.

With the gold rush all you needed was a spade, a floppy hat and pair of burlap sack overalls and you had a chance, but with helium its more like the gold rush for millionaires, Joe told gasworld.

I got an oil and gas attorney out of Amarillo to team up with us, Patrick Weir [of McCarn & Weir, P.C.], and with him we have been navigating the waters of what is the best way to find your own source of helium. Weve had meetings in Oklahoma, Texas, and weve hit a lot of speedbumps along the way. We looked at potentially acquiring a plant that was already built, but we finally came down to doing a bit of wildcatting, with the help of geologists to find the best area, and just go drill for helium. Then Covid happened.

After attending an energy capital conference in Dallas and speaking to investors and banks, the Prowells had a rethink of what they could do in the short term. The company has a fleet of jumbo gaseous tube trailers which are all configured the same, rated at 3,165 PSI, and hold approximately 163,000 SCF.Joe wanted to add a liquid trailer to the fleet before streamlining the companys production process further by securing its own source.

We then just focused on our distribution business and weve taken a couple steps to help us get better deals, Joe said. We wanted to either get into either the liquid helium business or get our own liquid helium trailer and build our own transfill plant here in Amarillo. But theres only one manufacturer of liquid trailers in the US, Gardner Cryogenics, theres over a year long wait to order one of these trailers too. But I found a used trailer in Denver, we bought it, had a new chassis fitted, and pretty soon they are going to start testing it, inspecting it, replacing valves. If that works out the plan is to invest in our own transfill plant in Amarillo and streamline the business that way. Hopefully that will allow us to be a little bit more competitive in such a volatile market where every one of the major industrial gas suppliers just decide what price its going to be today.

Plans arent on hold to find their own helium source for Tex-Air, they are just evolving.

My partner in exploration, a company called Five Nines Energy, LLC, and I are having meetings again about potentially acquiring some wells, Joe said. The demand for helium is only going to go up so we do need to find a way to increase supply otherwise the price of helium is going to skyrocket. I love space exploration and I want Star Trek to be real one day, but I also want early cancer detection and MRIs to be affordable to anybody. I dont want to see helium pricing continue to go through the roof and people cant then afford an MRI because its too expensive and they die.

With demand for helium driven from high-tech applications, Jim believes supply could tighten again in 2022 before independent wells are started up.

I feel as if theres been a loosening of the market recently but its going to come to a screeching tightening around the first part of 2022, when I think the pricing is going to continue to stay high, the amount of product that is coming to market is going to be throttled back for a variety of factors, Jim said.

If those new fields in Canada and the US dont come to fruition to some volume that makes sense, and if they market that product all to the major industrial gas suppliers, then that cartel is going to control the pricing of the product to keep it extremely high. Thats just the law of supply and demand. I think there will be opportunities for independents like Tex Air, which you can count on one hand.

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Is this the way? | Features | gasworld - gasworld

ExplorSpace Technologies, an Australian company which develops healthcare solutions forhuman space exploration, has signed an MoU withispaceand Stardust Technologiesto build a moon rover with a multipurpose robotics arm.

ExplorCEO Dr Joshua Chou also a researcher and senior lecturer at UTS FEIT School of Biomedical Engineering will contribute to the technology which will be launched onan international lunar missionin2023.

The robotic arm would providehaptic feedback for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) educational purposes and equipped with a 3D camera, allowing people on Earth to experience the mission in virtual reality.

ExplorandStardust willequip the robotic arm and 3D camera, whileispacewilldevelop the rover as a future generation model.

We are very excited and proud of this MoU,which again demonstrates the innovation from EXPLOR and the collaborative environment at UTS to support such a great demonstration of international collaboration to accelerate human space exploration,Chou said.

NSW ishome tosome ofthe best and brightest in space technology and advanced manufacturing, according toNSW minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres.

Were thrilled to see our homegrown technology reaching for the moon, he said.

The mission will showcase several space technologies and expertise from NSW businesses and researchers ranging from communication, data transfer, remote operation and robotics.

This kind of collaboration is necessary to accelerate interest in lunar resources utilisation among a broad spectrum of stakeholders, ispace CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said.

In order for humanity to succeed in space,it is vital that we establish partnerships such as this one which will ultimately benefit and empower countless of generations to come,Stardust Technologies founder and CEOJason Michaud said.

For more details of the collaboration on the moon rover, visit the ispace website here.

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Collaboration will build moon rover with robotic arm for 2023 mission - Manufacturers' Monthly

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ARKX - Market Data & News

Today, ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF Incs (CBOE: ARKX) stock fell $0.095, accounting for a 0.45% decrease. ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF opened at $21.00 before trading between $21.08 and $20.92 throughout Tuesdays session. The activity saw ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETFs market cap fall to $614,222,000 on 222,614 shares -below their 30-day average of 270,199.

Visit ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF's profile for more information.

CBOE operates the largest options exchange and the third largest stock exchange in the U.S. CBOE runs a total of four separate stock exchanges that it acquired through the acquisition of Bats Global Markets in 2017. Collectively, these exchanges account for about 17% of total US equities volume.

To get more information on ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF and to follow the company's latest updates, you can visit the company's profile page here: ARK ETF Trust - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF's Profile. For more news on the financial markets be sure to visit Equities News. Also, don't forget to sign-up for the Daily Fix to receive the best stories to your inbox 5 days a week.

Sources: Chart is provided by TradingView based on 15-minute-delayed prices. All other data is provided by IEX Cloud as of 8:05 pm ET on the day of publication.

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ARK ETF - ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) falls 0.45% in Light Trading on August 31 - Equities.com

Christopher Hanks Sembroski has made numerous headlines these past few months due to his involvement in SpaceXs Inspiration4, the first-ever all-civilian spaceflight, where he not only serves as the Mission Specialist but also represents generosity. The 42-year-old wasnt the person initially chosen from the donation to St. Judes lottery, but hes managed to make the most of it.

A close friend of Chris was selected, but as they had prior commitments, they made a recommendation, and officials agreed. So now that he has also featured on Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, lets find out more about Chris Sembroski, shall we?

Christopher Chris Sembroski, who has received the call sign of Hanks, was born in August 1979 to Gwen and Steve Sembroski. He primarily grew up in the city of Kannapolis, North Carolina (where his parents still reside) and developed an interest in STEM materials at a very young age. In fact, after attending A.L. Brown High School, when Gwen landed a stable job in the Charlotte region, Chris went on to study and graduate from Durhams North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1997.

Chris work in ProSpace, the United States Air Force, and degrees in Electronics Engineering and Professional Aeronautics further prove his passion. Thus, when Chris parents heard that his dream of going to space was now a close reality, they were extremely happy for him. Im still in awe of it. Awe and shock, Steve said. I just love the fact that hes getting an opportunity to have an adventure of his lifetime.

Like any parent would, they want their son to be okay, yet theyre not too nervous because Chris is not, and they also understand that space exploration has come a long way. There is an inherent risk, of course, but so is driving down the highway. His father then added, Gwen and I are extremely proud of him, and happy for him that he has this amazing opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.

Chris Sembroski is happily married to Erin Duncan-Sembroski, who seems to be a teacher in a school at Mukilteo School District in Washington State, where the couple resides. On the other hand, Chris works in the aerospace industry as a Commercial Astronaut as well as a Machine Fault Detection and Diagnostics Lead. From what we can tell, the couple met in Montana at a friends home shortly after graduating college, and the very first thing Chris did was ask Erin if she had watched the Space Shuttle launch that day.

Since Chris was also in an old space camp T-shirt, Erin thought he was a complete nerd, but she was also charmed by his personality and aspirations. Chris and Erin ultimately tied the knot, and even though they prefer to keep their personal lives well out of the limelight, in Netflixs Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, he revealed that they are parents to two beautiful daughters. Their names or any other details are not known, but its evident the girls are the couples top priority.

Knowing that her husband loves space and every aspect surrounding it, Erin supports him to the best of her abilities. Except, her fears do rise up when she thinks about the risks involved. Thats why she has indicated that shell probably only grasp the extent of what Chris has achieved once hes safely back on Earth on September 18, 2021.

Read More: Dr. Sian Proctor: Everything We Know

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Who Is Inspiration4's Christopher Sembroski's Wife? Does He Have Kids? Who Are His Parents? - The Cinemaholic

Updated Fri 4:00 PM

IRELAND HAS PLAYED a real part in the advancement of space science and technology in Europe and there are plenty more opportunities out there.

So, how long before we have an Irish astronaut? Does Ireland really have a place in space?Should Ireland contribute more to the European Space Agency? We answer these questions and more with the help of our special guest, space commentator,Leo Enright.

The Good Information Project has been looking at Ireland and the EUs role in space exploration, and during todays Open Newsroom we delved into some of our recent research andtackled the questions sent in by readers.

You can catch up on the series so far here.

This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the authors own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.

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Open Newsroom: Everything you want to know about space with Leo Enright - TheJournal.ie

The Diplomat reported on Sept. 4 that South Koreas first lunar orbiter will be launched in August next year in cooperation with NASA. On Aug. 30, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the lunar orbiter currently in the process of development is now equipped with NASAs high-precision camera for lunar surface research.

South Korea joined the Artemis Accords in May this year. The agreement concluded in 2017 by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is to build a lunar gateway by international cooperation. The high-precision camera of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter is to collect lunar surface data as a part of the accords.

Until recently, South Koreas space exploration programs were limited by U.S. missile guidelines on the ranges and weights of ballistic missiles and so on. South Koreas first artificial satellite was launched in 2013 in cooperation with Russia. The United States decide early this year to lift the guidelines and South Korea is planning to accelerate its space development programs.

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South Korea's First Lunar Orbiter to be Launched in August Next Year - BusinessKorea

26-Aug-2021

Cleaning | Design and Build | Hi Tech Manufacturing

The success of newcomer companies such as SpaceX shows one thing above all: there is a spirit of optimism in commercial space travel and there is one sector that will benefit from the growth of the aerospace market: cleanroom technology. Gernod Dittel and Berthold Vogt from Dittel Engineering talk about how the sectors works together

Not only private companies, but also state space agencies have set themselves ambitious goals. According to forecasts by management consultants, the global market for space technology will increase tenfold in the next 20 years to 2,700 billion euros (2040).

Many scientists, engineers, suppliers and service providers will benefit from this growth - and cleanroom technicians. Because almost all those involved in space travel have one thing in common: a cleanroom.

In space travel, it is the small things that make big projects fail. When an Ariane 4 was launched in 1990, it was a cleaning rag in a pipeline that caused the crash. In 1994 there were two false starts because dirt had paralysed a turbo pump. This happens not only to the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA needed five repair missions to iron out a manufacturing defect in the Hubble telescope. The primary mirror was ground a few micrometers too flat. This was found out too late, namely only at the top.

The examples show the special nature of technical requirements in space travel: Aggregates and satellites must be and remain 100% functional when they arrive at the site of operation and are to be operational in orbit for several decades. Once in space, repair and cleaning are usually impossible.

Even small particles are capable of endangering missions. Smeared optics, dirty solder joints, unclean bearings are weak points that must be prevented. The engineers have learned this in a painful and costly way, through error analysis after accidents.

Automation offers no way out; satellite integration remains a manual task

The most important consequence of this learning curve is the continuously developed cleanroom. Even its creation is closely connected with space travel.

In order to further develop the German V2 rocket, the Americans built one of the first technical cleanrooms for the assembly of gyroscopic devices. Because the control and monitoring functions of airplanes and rockets were to become more and more precise, the need for precision in production also increased.

Thus the further development of cleanroom technology supported the aerospace industry, just as it set trends for the cleanroom guild with its requirements and budgets. Maximising reliability, i.e. reducing the failure rate for launchers and payloads, is the essential contribution of today's cleanrooms to space travel. Satellites are created along a long cleanroom chain. This ranges from component production and integration to transport to the launch site and into space.

Apart from technology, the critical factor is always the human. He is the main source of contamination in the cleanroom, as he releases one to 30 million particles of the size >0.3 m per minute. Therefore the personnel active in the clean area carries special protective suits. These protect the product rather than the personnel - unlike suits for space travellers.

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The highest demands on purity are made by missiles that are to land on other celestial bodies. They must have neither particles nor germs on board. If spores or bacilli were to travel with them, they would falsify the measurements in the search for extraterrestrial life. They would also violate part of the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967 in the run-up to the Viking missions to Mars.

At that time, the US and the Soviet Union agreed to exercise caution, at least on the other side of the world. No foreign planet should be influenced in its development by the entry of terrestrial flora and fauna.

Meanwhile, 110 space travelling nations have joined this principle. Because such missions only rarely take place, existing cleanrooms are converted for their integration.

During work breaks UV lamps kill germs in the air. Assemblies are radioactively irradiated, gassed with chlorine or heated above 140C. Sterilisation measures are applied until a lower limit for the number of germs is reached. Completely germ-free integration is not possible. For this reason, comprehensive sterilisation is unavoidable for landing units.

At the other end of the spectrum of cleanliness requirements is the category "Visible Clean". This lowest of all classes does not exist in any set of regulations of other industries, only in the space standard ECSS-Q-ST-70-01C (European Cooperation for Space Standardization - ECSS).

Visible Clean is a standard for development labs, not for integration. The personnel constantly change between laboratory and office, there is no airlock. A pressure control is also missing and the air flow in the room is not defined. Only direct contamination by street clothes is prevented. Rooms of this lowest permissible level can also be described as ISO class 9 or as a basically controlled area.

All higher-class cleanrooms are air-conditioned. Their temperature is usually 22C (+/-3C) and their relative humidity is 55 % (+/-10 %). Controlled humidity protects electronic components: Dry air can cause electrical flashovers. ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) floors also prevent flashovers. ESD equipment includes dissipative clothing, shoes and gloves, all suitable for preventing voltages above 100 volts.

Other equipment features include specially equipped cranes with encapsulated drive units and coated belts. This is because impellers generate abrasion while lubricated suspension ropes outgas.

Satellites that only have electronic components such as radar or communication systems on board have medium requirements. Most satellites originate from cleanrooms of ISO Class 7 and 8, but their sensitive components deserve more attention. These satellites are also equipped with star sensors for autonomous (self-sufficient) positioning, and with attitude control systems that operate with liquid or gas. The valves must be tight. Leakage shortens the service life. These components are usually covered during integration.

Missions to other celestial bodies are rare so existing cleanrooms are converted for their integration

In ISO Class 8, an air exchange with conditioned filtered air takes place up to 40 times per hour. There is an overpressure of 20 to 30 Pascal in the room. Laser particle sensors monitor that no more than 3,520,000 particles of size 0.5 m and 29,300 particles of size 5 m per minute per m3; are in the air. ISO Class 7 shows 352,000 particles of size 0.5 m and 2,930 particles of size 5 m.

The cleanroom itself has requalification and calibration once a year.

Cleanroom gowns or overalls, cleanroom shoes and headgear are mandatory, as is a beard bandage for beard wearers. Anyone handling the aircraft must wear gloves. Components only enter and leave the aircraft through airlocks. Although it is a cleanroom, the room is not dust-free and must be cleaned according to plan and regulations. Contaminants are deposited in quiet zones on the ground or on surfaces. Once a day a mop and distilled water is used to wipe the room.

Satellites with extremely sensitive optical systems, such as reconnaissance satellites, are integrated in a Class 5 cleanroom. Particles on optical surfaces increase the scattered light component, while molecular impurities cause spectral interference. Cleaning with a soft brush is time-consuming and can scratch the coating. After washing, streaks may remain. Priority is therefore given to trying to avoid all contamination. Thus, no silicone should be used in the cleanroom. Silicone evaporates in >20 years, thus releasing molecules.

Vapours during operation must be eliminated via the ventilation system. A vertical low-turbulence displacement flow from the ceiling to the floor is ideal.

Another possibility is a horizontal flow. The discharge surface consists of a grille with many Filter Fan Units with fan and terminal filter. Surfaces of workbenches/worktables are usually perforated to allow the air to flow through without creating disturbing turbulences. Employees enter the ISO 5 cleanroom via an airlock system of cleanroom classes ISO 7/8, where they adjust their clothing to the higher requirements.

When looking into the future of cleanrooms for space travel, the higher requirements and costs stand out. The integration of a satellite with a length of about 5 m requires an area of about 300 sqm. The price per sqm is based on a usage fee of several 100 euros per day. This means that the cleanroom costs alone already swallow up millions.

When dealing with these costs, it can be seen in commercial projects that tenants tend to choose a cheaper, i.e. too low cleanroom class or reduce the useful life. Automation offers no way out; satellite integration remains a manual task.

Especially optical systems increase the requirements for cleanrooms. They should look further and further into space or take more detailed pictures of the earth. Humans currently see only a fraction of the estimated 10 billion trillion stars. A deeper look into space requires more precise technologies.

One example of this is the ESA project ATHENA, an X-ray telescope with a mirror construction made of millions of micrometre-sized silicon wafers. Miniature satellites with edge lengths of just 10 cm also require higher cleanroom quality.

The more miniaturised the systems are, the more sensitive they are to dust. In the future, such satellites will have to be integrated in rooms of class ISO 5 or higher. This can be achieved in a cost-conscious manner by establishing a higher class only for a limited area.

Even this will not be enough for satellites with sophisticated optical systems. They no longer focus on particles alone, but on molecules (AMC - Airborne Molecular Contamination), especially organic components in the air.

If an employee even breathes on a solar panel, there is a measurable reduction in performance. This is permanent, and cleaning does not change this. Molecules can be filtered out with non-specific activated carbon filters for supply and circulating air. A standard that will soon be available in every cleanroom of ISO class 5. Stricter standards must also be applied to the measurement technology. Up to now, after several days of exposure to a sampler, only a subsequent analysis can be performed. In order to eliminate sources immediately, it would be necessary to measure in real time.

Satellite integration requires many transports. The weakest link in the chain determines the final quality. Therefore, the conditions for transport must be the same as for integration. The transport container is in principle a robust mobile cleanroom of Class 8 including climate control.

It is often flooded with dry nitrogen and pressurised under slight overpressure. Before the satellite fuselage enters from above or from the side, the roughly pre-cleaned transport container is finely cleaned in an air lock.

The container only meets the satellite in the main airlock. Bulky attachments like solar collector and antennas travel separately. When transporting with a flatbed truck, shocks may only be transmitted in a damped manner. For this purpose, the container and the satellite's supporting structure are decoupled by spring elements.

The satellite is put through its paces in test centres with large ISO Class 7 and 8 cleanrooms, which are not available at every integration site. Access to the test facilities, in which space conditions such as negative pressure, temperature scenarios and vibrations are simulated, is from a central cleanroom.

Satellite integration requires many transports

On the "shaker", the satellite is shaken in the same way as during launch. If components break off in the process, the mountings can be reinforced or redesigned and dimensioned in good time. In order not to unnecessarily increase the quality requirements for the cleanroom, sensitive subsystems are covered. After successful tests, the satellites are brought directly to the launch site, usually by cargo plane. A transport container for air transport must meet the requirements of the IATA (International Air Transport Association). These include a bursting disk that ensures pressure equalisation when the cabin pressure drops.

Cleanroom quality must also be maintained at the launch site. Either the satellite is assembled in a cleanroom in a separate closed payload capsule. The advantage of the spatial separation of integration room and rocket is bought with an additional adapter. Another possibility is to mount the satellite directly on the carrier. In this case, the interface level of the carrier to the payload extends into a cleanroom where the satellite is placed and connected with a clamping ring. Before the outer hull (fairing) is closed, a check is made to see whether stowaways have crept in.

But not only these are responsible for contamination, the atmosphere itself is also responsible. In Internet forums, technicians report on geckos and spider webs that had to be prevented from travelling, whether by nitrogen flooding or with the help of a vacuum cleaner. When the outer shell is blown off at an altitude of 100 km, the atmosphere is so thin that there is no longer any risk of contamination from stowaways.

As hard as humanity is trying to send up its sky messengers in a clean state, it is negligent with its satellites at the other end of the life cycle.

At the end of March 2020, 2,700 functional satellites were orbiting the earth, 1,300 of them from the US.

However, they are in the company of around 17,000 satellites that are either broken or no longer needed. The ESA model MASTER-2005 assumes that there are more than 600,000 objects with a diameter of more than 10 mm in orbits around the Earth. Other simulations estimate 150 million objects in mm size. The US Space Surveillance System continuously keeps track of objects larger than 50 mm. When approaching, evasive manoeuvres are required and the ISS space station is also forced to make course corrections from time to time.

The ideas for a cleaning crew range from space vacuum cleaners to the shooting of space debris.

Whichever cleaning method is used, there is a lot of work waiting for the space nations if they want to clean up in Earth orbit. If they succeed in sweeping up in front of their doorstep, this would prove the effort of mankind to settle down in the solar system in the long run - in order to set off from here perhaps later to new worlds.

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No space exploration without cleanrooms: What makes them so special? - Cleanroom Technology

Published: Mon 30 Aug 2021, 5:47 PM

Last updated: Wed 1 Sep 2021, 5:14 AM

One of Ireland's leading science communicators is set to host a very interesting talk on space exploration in Birr Theatre and Arts Centre next week.

Dr. Niamh Shaw is an engineer, scientist, writer and performer and one the leading STEAM specialists (merging science, technology, engineering and matchs" and she will be in Birr on Wednesday, September 8 nect, at 7.30pm for a public talk titled "Space Exploration - do we care?"

Dr. Shaw will speak about the relevance of space in society, what the perspective of space can show us, and why space exploration is important to us and our futures.

Weve all looked up at the night sky and seen the moon, the stars and perhaps more. Space has inspired so many: it inspires artists, philosophers & cosmologists to consider the big questions about our existence and who we are in the vastness of our Universe. It inspires space agencies and now private companies to seek what lies beyond. And at this time, its given great comfort to many of us, reminding us that we are part of something bigger, and that this pandemic will pass. Niamh, who believes in dreaming big, and is on a mission to get to space, will take us on a journey to understand how far we have come since humans landed on the Moon in 1969, and why she believes that we need to keep exploring the cosmos.

As part of the 'Exploring Birr Skies' community project which is inspired by Birr's astronomy heritage from the time of William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (1800 - 1867) to I-LOFAR's astrophysical observing facility within Birr Castle Demesne, Niamh will be in Birr throughout September hosting a range of additional activities including:

* a walking tour of I-LOFAR on Wed Sept 15 at 6pm with Dr. ine Flood from the Education Centre at Birr Castle Demesne,

* A Night Sky Stargazing event in association with Midlands Astronomy Club on Culture Night, Fri Sept 17, from 8.30pm at Birr Castle Demesne, and

* On Thurs Sept 23 at Birr Theatre, the screening of 'Contact', a 1997 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, based on the 1985 novel by astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan, about a SETI scientist who finds evidence of extraterrestrial life and is chosen to make first contact. For

Full information on the upcoming programme of events and getting involved in the accompanying stitching project, go to http://www.birrtheatre.com

To book your place for 'Space exploration - do we care?' with Dr. Niamh Shaw on Wed Sept 8, 7.30pm, go to http://www.birrtheatre.com or ring 057 9122911 (Mon- Fri: 2 5pm). As places are limited booking is essential. All events will take place in line with current government guidelines. See website for future details.

'Exploring Birr Skies' is a community project in collaboration with Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, Birr Tidy Towns, Birr Castle Demesne and AstroLands with I-LOFAR, led by Trinity College Dublin. Supported by the Creative Ireland Programme (2017 -2022) in partnership with Offaly County Council.

Published: Mon 30 Aug 2021, 5:47 PM

Last updated: Wed 1 Sep 2021, 5:14 AM

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Birr Theatre to host public talk on space exploration - Offaly Independent