Category Archives: Space Travel

Elon Musk has said humans need to build a base on the moon to get the public "fired up" again about space exploration.

Humans first landed there 48 years ago today [20 July], but nobody has stepped foot on the moon since the final mission of the Apollo programme in 1972.

Speaking at a conference in Washington about the International Space Station, the SpaceX founder complained that the public did not seem to grasp "how cool the ISS is".

Public interest and fascination with space travel exploded during the Apollo missions.

The funding the US ploughed into the space race led to huge advances in the development of new technologies and inspired many people to pursue engineering and science careers.

Elon Musk told the conference there were more technological advances and business opportunities to be grasped with greater space travel.

Satellites could help deliver cheap internet to those who do not have access to broadband infrastructure.

They could also monitor crop growth, climate change and potential natural disasters back on Earth, said Mr Musk.

But the Tesla boss added: "To really get the public real fired up, I think we've got to have a base on the moon."

"Having some permanent presence on another heavenly body, which would be the kind of moon base, and then getting people to Mars and beyond - that's the continuance of the dream of Apollo that I think people are really looking for," he added.

SpaceX has already announced plans to fly two tourists around the Moon next year, although they will not land on the moon itself.

Mr Musk has also spoken about his plans to land humans on Mars.

The banner image on SpaceX's Twitter profile shows a series of images of Mars being terraformed - a hypothetical process of deliberately modifying a planet to make it similar to Earth, and therefore habitable to humans.

Mr Musk said that "to get the public excited, you've really got to get people in the picture. It's just a hundred times different if there are people in the picture."

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Elon Musk: We need moon base to get people 'fired up' about space travel - Sky News

UK air traffic controllers are expecting the busiest day on record for Uk airspace. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

UK air traffic controllers were expecting to handle more than 8,800 flights on Friday the busiest day on record for UK airspace while millions take to the roads as the summer school holidays begin for many pupils.

A record 2.4 million UK holidaymakers will be heading overseas, according to the travel association Abta.

Airports in the south-east are expecting a very busy weekend with more than 500,000 passengers expected to depart from Heathrow, 335,000 from Gatwick, 136,000 from Stansted and 85,000 from Luton.

However, an earthquake said to have been up to a magnitude of 6.7 south of the Turkish city of Bodrum and east of the Greek island of Kos may disrupt travel plans for some holidaymakers.

Air traffic controllers are expecting to manage a record 770,000 flights in UK airspace over the summer, 40,000 more than last year, the BBC reported.

The UKs National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) has warned its ability to deal with the surge is being stretched.

Its director, Jamie Hutchison, told the broadcaster: In the last few weeks we have already safely managed record-breaking daily traffic levels, but the ageing design of UK airspace means we will soon reach the limits of what can be managed without delays rising significantly.

Todays heavy aerial traffic could be a sign of things to come. A UK-wide forecast from the Department for Transport has warned that if airspace remains unchanged, by 2030 delays could be 50 times worse than they were in 2015.

A Government consultation could result in changes to permitted routes to allow more flights, Nats said, and the system could be updated to take advantage of the ability of modern jets to fly further and take steeper approaches to airports, to maximise the use of available space while minimising noise disruption and pollution on the ground.

But redesigning flight paths is a contentious issue as it can mean communities currently unaffected by aircraft noise are put under flight paths.

Fridays record day came as the Government launched its proposed aviation strategy for the years to 2050, in which ministers say they are minded to be supportive of airports that want to make better use of existing capacity.

Proposals included in the Governments aviation strategy include doorstep luggage collection services and town centre check-in desks for passengers flying from British airports.

On the ground, travellers will find their journeys similarly beset by traffic: as families head for the seaside as schools break up this weekend, experts are warning that roads could be even more packed than usual, with many choosing to holiday in the UK because of the impact of Brexit.

About 9 million motorists will take to the roads for the start of the school summer holiday. Some 3.4m journeys will be made on Saturday, according to the RAC. There will be 2.8m trips on Sunday, while those trying to beat the rush by leaving on Friday morning may have found just as much of a jam, with up to 2.5m cars expected to vie for space with commuters.

Traffic chaos is customary at the start of the school holidays with 37m trips regularly made in the first two weeks.

And confidence is high among the domestic tourism industry. According to Visit Britain more than half (55%) of accommodation providers and nearly three-quarters (73%) of visitor attractions in England expected their performance in 2017 to be better than 2016.

This could be attributed to a mix of factors, including the exchange rate, the convenience of holidaying at home and certainty of budgeting and costs, it said.

An analysis of UK travellers by the travel search engine Sojern found a 25% year-on-year increase in searches and bookings for holidays within the country, something it attributes to the unfavourable exchange rate. Sterling has plummeted by 13% against the dollar and 9% against the euro since last Junes referendum.

Research by home-sharing platform Airbnb found that four out of five Brits were choosing to holiday in the UK this year, with Devon and Cornwall the most sought-after staycation destinations. Both areas have seen Airbnb guests increase by 100% over the past year, with more than 136,000 guests arriving in Cornwall and 110,000 in Devon. Of these guests, 84% are travellers from the UK.

Unsurprisingly, those driving to Devon and Cornwall can expect the worst of the traffic, according to the RAC, with long tailbacks inevitable, particularly in the south-west on the M5, which is the main route to the coast.

For those deciding to go abroad, Spain remains the top destination for UK travellers, with the Balearic and Canary islands leading the way, while bookings to Portugal, Greece, Italy and France are also strong, according to Abta.

The Mediterranean still dominates the family market, but the associations members reported strong growth for Bulgaria and Croatia among those seeking summer sun.

Destinations popular with those travelling further afield include Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, with Florida keeping its spot as the number one long-haul family choice.

European cities such as Barcelona, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam are leading the way as city break destinations for families seeking culture and architecture.

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UK airspace faces busiest ever day as big summer getaway begins - The Guardian

A yet unidentified space tourist from an Asian country will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) as a member of the crew in 2019, Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia Director General Vladimir Solntsev said Tuesday.

"The new space tourist, who is set to travel to the ISS in 2019, is being trained already. He is a national of one of the Asian countries," Solntsev told journalists at the MAKS-2017 air show.

Solntsev also said that the RSC Energia was planning to resume the flights of space tourists to the ISS on a regular basis.

"We have signed a contract with a company, specializing in recruiting space tourists. We will prepare the first spacecraft for tourists in 2019 in order to organize it [space tourism flights] on a regular basis," he said.

Space Adventures, Ltd. is the only company that exclusively provides an opportunity for civilians to become space tourists since 2001. In June 2015, Space Adventures issued a press release, saying that a Japanese citizen, Satoshi Takamatsu, who had been training as a member of the Soyuz TMA-18M backup crew before, signed a contract for a future orbital spaceflight mission. According to the press release, Takamatsu was expected to convey his training as a fully-trained astronaut and travel to the ISS in two to four years.

A preliminary contract on a tourist flight around the Moon has already been signed by a foreign company, but investments are still needed to prepare the Soyuz spacecraft for the journey, Vladimir Solntsev added.

"We have already signed a preliminary contract... Another issue is that we need to integrate economic and technical issues. I think it will be difficult to raise this issue without a suitable investor," Solntsev told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2017.

Solntsev stressed that the investments were needed to modernize the Soyuz spacecraft to make it ready for Lunar orbit.

"The Soyuz spacecraft, which flies to the International Space Station [ISS] and Soyuz, which must fly to the Moon are different. This includes another refueling systems and distant radio communication systems, as well as the return at the second space speed," Solntsev said.

RSC Energia has been cooperating with the US-based Space Adventures space tourism company to secure potential clients wishing to fly around the Moon. Space Adventures reportedly priced the Moon trip at $150 million, with the launch itself likely to take place by 2020. The company has so far sent seven tourists to the ISS since 2001, with the tickets ranging from $25-$35 million. Energia has also been in contact with other partners in the United States, according to Solntsev.

The International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2017 is being held in the town of Zhukovskiy, in the greater Moscow Region Tuesday-Sunday.

Source: Sputnik News

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Space Tourist From Asian Country to Travel to ISS in 2019 - Space Daily

Sports brand Reebok has released a space boot designed specifically forastronauts taking part in an upcoming voyage to the International Space Station.

TheFloatride Space Boot SB-01has been developed in collaboration with aerospace equipment expertsDavid Clark Company, which is also producing the spacesuits for the mission.

According to Reebok, the shoe marks the first design change to astronauts' footwear in over 50 years.

The zip-upshell of the boot ismade from afire-resistant polymer named Nomex. Inside, a stretchy, adaptable mesh allows the astronaut a full range of movement while keeping the shoe securely on their foot in a weightless atmosphere.

Rebook has alsoimplemented its proprietary Floatride foam into the space boot, giving lightweight cushioning to the sole.

"Weight is a huge factor in space travel with just a single pound having big financial implications," said Matt Montross, from Reebok Innovation. "Traditional space boots were made of rigid leather with firm soles and were not integrated into the actual space suit."

"Reebok Floatride Foam introduced three revolutionary elements to the space boot," he continued. "It decreased the overall weight significantly, it brought the added comfort in a space boot and support that you would expect in a running shoe and it delivered a new level of sleekness and style."

The minimal design of the shoe features simple white branding printed on top of a blue-to-white gradient. It is meant tocomplement the royal blue spacesuits that the astronauts will be wearing on their mission.

The Space Boot SB-01 is currentlybeing tested by astronauts before they travel to the International Space Station viaBoeing's new shuttle, the CST-100 Starliner.

Reebok is also using the Floatride foam on a number of its consumer models in order to make them as light as possible.

A running shoe, named Floatride 100g Racer, will feature the material on its sole, keeping its weight down to only 100 grams. The trainer is set to be released in 2018.

This isn't the first time Reebok has released a space-related shoe. Last year they launched theclassicAlien Stompers, made famous by actress Sigourney Weaver in the 1986 sci-fi film Aliens.

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Reebok unveils lightweight Floatride Space Boot for astronauts - Dezeen

The key to opening up low-Earth orbit, and space travel in general, is building rockets and spacecraft that are almost entirely reusable, said Elon Musk.

Spacecraft have to become as much like any terrestrial or sea-faring vehicle as possible meaning they can be reused again and again Musk said, speaking at the International Space Station Research and Design conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

SpaceX made history in March when it was the first to launch an orbital class rocket into space twice. The company has excelled in driving down the cost of launches, and SpaceX has said reusing them can further push down costs, and dramatically reduce turnaround time, allowing for more launches.

"It's super hard with space, because we live on a planet with pretty high gravity," Musk said. This is due to the immense stress placed on spacecraft as it travels in and out of Earth's atmosphere.

Still though, it is worth it.

"The analogy I use with my team is 'guys imagine we had 6 million dollars on a pallet of cash,' " Musk said. "Six million dollars is falling through the sky. Would we try to catch it?'"

Musk said he thinks the next reused rocket can be launched for about half the cost of launching a new one.

He also said that the Falcon 9 booster might be able to be reflown in 24 hours, by possibly as soon as the end of next year.

"The key to that is you do inspections, and no hardware is changed, not even the paint," he said.

Link:

Elon Musk says key to opening up space travel is 'near complete reusability' of spacecraft - CNBC

Adidas (ADDYY) subsidiary Reebok Int.'l is making space boots for astronauts.

On Tuesday, July 18, the shoemaker released the Reebok Floatride Space Boot SB-01, made with "floatride foam technology" that the company said makes the boot "extremely lightweight." Inpartnership with David Clark Co., Reebok said it designed the boot because astronauts have essentially been wearing the same bulbous shoesince the U.S. landed on the moon in 1969.

As of May, NASA employed 44 active astronauts and 36 "management astronauts." Not a huge market for Reebok to get into, but the astronauts are likely rejoicing since they've historically lugged around in heavy, snowboard-type contraptions.

"Weight is a huge factor in space travel with just a single pound having big financial implications," Matt Montross of Reebok Innovation said in a statement. "Traditional space boots were made of rigid leather with firm soles and were not integrated into the actual space suit. Reebok Floatride Foam introduced three revolutionary elements to the space boot; it decreased the overall weight significantly, it brought the added comfort in a space boot and support that you would expect in a running shoe and it delivered a new level of sleekness and style."

Reebok expects astronauts to wear the new boot - complete witha feather-light midsole, single-layer engineered mesh upper and weight-optimized full-coverage outsole - as they travel tothe International Space Station on Boeing Co.'s (BA) new vessel, the CST-100 Starliner, which is estimated to take off sometime in 2018.

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Reebok Is Making Space Boots for Astronauts -- And They Are Reportedly Very Light - TheStreet.com

Over the weekend, Disney World unveiled plans to open a restaurant inside the Epcot theme park in Florida that will not just be space-themed, but actually "in" space.

The announcement about the restaurant was made at the D23 Expo, a weekend long event where Disney fans gathered to witness the newest projects the company plans to release in the coming years, including a model of what will be the parks Star Wars Land.

The restaurant, which will be located near the parks Mission: SPACE attraction, where visitors can experience what its like to train to be a NASA astronaut, is a celebration of outer space and will offer diners a simulation of what outer space looks like from Earth. Disney engineer Tom Fitzgerald revealed that the restaurant will apparently invite guests to travel into space for amazing dining experiences in the stars.

At this point, thats about all we know about the restaurant. What the menu looks like, when it will open or even what precisely dining in the stars, will look like, we dont yet know. The only hint we have is that youll be able to eat while enjoying spectacular views high above Earth. Will you need to ride an extremely tall escalator to get there, or will Disney develop their very own restaurant shuttle? One thing we can say for certain: When Disney does anything, its typically bigger, grander, more colorful, more futuristic, and more technologically advanced than any other theme park in the world.

The entertainment company has been making a splash with its food offerings of late. Jos Andrs recently opened a restaurant there, for one thing, and the brand also brought us both the Dragon Frappuccino and the Pink Pegasus Frappuccino. Back in March, one of Disney's restaurants in Pandora, World of Avatar, introduced a mobile ordering app that would let visitors pre-order their food, and notify that the restaurant when they would be arriving to eat. Speaking of Pandora, the new park, filled with collassal glowing purple and green trees, features some the parks most-talked about food yet: neon pink boozy boba drinks, green beer, and Asian-inspired dishes like a cheeseburger bao.

If these ambitious projects are any indication, Disney Worlds space restaurant will likely wow diners with the wonders of space travel when it finally opens.

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Dine in Space at Epcot's Newest Restaurant - Food & Wine

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) Forty-eight years after he landed on the moon, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Saturday rolled out a red carpet for the red planet at a star-studded gala at the Kennedy Space Center.

Aldrin, 87, commemorated the upcoming anniversary of the 1969 mission to the moon under a historic Saturn V rocket and raised more than $190,000 for his nonprofit space education foundation, ShareSpace Foundation . Aldrin believes people will be able to land on Mars by 2040, a goal that NASA shares. The space agency is developing the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft to send Americans to deep space.

Apollo astronauts Walt Cunningham, Michael Collins and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt joined Aldrin, one of 12 people to walk on the moon, at the sold-out fundraiser.

"I like to think of myself as an innovative futurist," Aldrin told a crowd of nearly 400 people in the Apollo/Saturn V Center. "The programs we have right now are eating up every piece of the budget and it has to be reduced if we're ever going to get anywhere."

During the gala, the ShareSpace Foundation presented Jeff Bezos with the first Buzz Aldrin Space Innovation Award. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and the spaceflight company Blue Origin, is trying to bring the cost of space travel down by reusing rockets.

"We can have a trillion humans in the solar system. What's holding us back from making that next step is that space travel is just too darned expensive," Bezos said. "I'm taking my Amazon lottery winnings and dedicating it to (reusable rockets). I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do that."

The foundation also honored former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel in space, with the Buzz Aldrin Space Pioneering Award.

"When Buzz says, 'Get your ass to Mars,' it's not just about the physical part of getting to Mars. It's also about that commitment to doing something big and audacious," Jemison told The Associated Press. "What we're doing looking forward is making sure that we use our place at the table."

Space memorabilia was auctioned at the gala, including an autographed first day insurance "cover" that fetched $42,500 and flew to the surface of the moon. Covers were set up by NASA because insurance companies were reluctant to offer life insurance to pioneers of the U.S. space program, according to the auction website. Money raised from their sale would have paid out to the astronauts' families in the event of their deaths. The covers were issued in limited numbers and canceled on the day of launch.

The gala is the first part of a three-year campaign leading up to the 50th anniversary of the moon landing to help fund advancements that will lead to the future habitation of Mars.

ShareSpace Foundation on Saturday announced a new nonprofit, the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation, to create an educational path to Mars. During the past year, the foundation has gifted 100 giant maps of Mars to schools and continues to work with children to advance education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, or STEAM.

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Buzz Aldrin Is Raising Money to Send People to Mars - TIME

Forty-eight years after he landed on the moon, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin rolled out a red carpet for the red planet at a star-studded gala at the Kennedy Space Center.

Aldrin, 87, commemorated the upcoming anniversary of the 1969 mission to the moon under a historic Saturn V rocket Saturday and raised more than $190,000 for his nonprofit space education foundation, ShareSpace Foundation. Aldrin believes people will be able to land on Mars by 2040, a goal NASA shares. The space agency is developing the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft to send Americans to deep space.

Apollo astronauts Walt Cunningham, Michael Collins and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt joined Aldrin, one of 12 people to walk on the moon, at the sold-out fundraiser.

"I like to think of myself as an innovative futurist," Aldrin told a crowd of nearly 400 people in the Apollo/Saturn V Center. "The programs we have right now are eating up every piece of the budget and it has to be reduced if we're ever going to get anywhere."

During the gala, the ShareSpace Foundation presented Jeff Bezos with the first Buzz Aldrin Space Innovation Award. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and the spaceflight company Blue Origin, is trying to bring the cost of space travel down by reusing rockets.

"We can have a trillion humans in the solar system. What's holding us back from making that next step is that space travel is just too darned expensive," Bezos said. "I'm taking my Amazon lottery winnings and dedicating it to (reusable rockets). I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do that."

The foundation also honored former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel in space, with the Buzz Aldrin Space Pioneering Award.

"When Buzz says, 'Get your ass to Mars,' it's not just about the physical part of getting to Mars. It's also about that commitment to doing something big and audacious," Jemison told The Associated Press. "What we're doing looking forward is making sure that we use our place at the table."

Space memorabilia was auctioned at the gala, including an autographed first day insurance "cover" that fetched $42,500 and flew to the surface of the moon. Covers were set up by NASA because insurance companies were reluctant to offer life insurance to pioneers of the U.S. space program, according to the auction website. Money raised from their sale would have paid out to the astronauts' families in the event of their deaths. The covers were issued in limited numbers and canceled on the day of launch.

The gala is the first part of a three-year campaign leading up to the 50th anniversary of the moon landing to help fund advancements that will lead to the future habitation of Mars.

ShareSpace Foundation on Saturday announced a new nonprofit, the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation, to create an educational path to Mars. During the past year, the foundation has gifted 100 giant maps of Mars to schools and continues to work with children to advance education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, or STEAM.

More on ShareSpace Foundation: https://sharespace.org

Follow Alex Sanz on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/alexsanz

Read the rest here:

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin rolls out the red carpet for Mars - ABC News

July 15, 2017 by Chris Gebhardt

The first spacecraft to leave the inner solar system sailed into the asteroid belt 45 years ago today, 15 July 1972, on a mission that would mark many firsts for NASAs exploration of the solar system. Pioneer 10, the first outer solar system mission, became the first probe not only to leave the inner solar system, but also the first probe to be launched on an escape trajectory from the solar system and the first craft to visit the planet Jupiter. Today, NASAs Juno spacecraft continues the exploration efforts of the Giant Planet begun by Pioneer 10 over four decades ago.

Mission proposal and selection:

The Pioneer 10 mission, and its companion, Pioneer 11, began life as part of NASAs concerted effort to take advantage of a rare outer planetary alignment in the late 1970s and 1980s that would allow a probe to visit all four of the gas and ice giants of the outer solar system.

While Pioneer 10 was never designed to fly this Grand Tour a mission ultimately completed by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes Pioneer 10 was a groundbreaking precursor to those missions, proving that travel through the asteroid belt and Jupiters massive radiation field were in fact possible.

The decision to fly this precursor mission through the pair of Pioneer 10 and 11 probes was taken in 1964, with NASAs Goddard Space Flight Centerproposing that the two launches take place in the 1972 and 1973 periods of favorable launch trajectories to Jupiter that only occur every 13 months.

The Pioneer 10 and 11 missions were formally approved by NASA in February 1969 just three and four years ahead of their planned launch dates.

At the time of mission approval, the probes were known as Pioneer F and Pioneer G before taking on their numerical designations later on.

Construction and scientific experiment/instrument selection:

Unlike the previous Pioneer probes, Pioneers 10 and 11 were specifically designed for exploration of the outer solar system, with enhanced communications systems and hardened radiation shielding to protect their instruments and systems from the damaging radiation fields they would encounter at Jupiter.

Based on formal acceptance and approval of the project in 1969, the traditional bidding process for construction and design of the spacecrafts was curtailed, with NASA awarding TRW the contracts for both Pioneer 10 and 11 in February 1970 just two years before Pioneer 10 would need to be launched.

As design and construction began, more than 150 scientific experiments were proposed for Pioneer 10, with final scientific instrument selection occurring in early 1970.

In all, 11 instruments were chosen for inclusion on Pioneer 10, including the Helium Vector Magnetometer (HVM), the Quadrispherical Plasma Analyzer, the Charged Particle Instrument (CPI), the Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRT), the Geiger Tube Telescope (GTT), the Trapped Radiation Detector (TRD), the Meteoroid Detector, the Asteroid/Meteoroid Detector (AMD), the Ultraviolet Photometer, the Imaging Photopolarimeter (IPP), and the Infrared Radiometer.

Specifically the HVM was included to help define the structure of the interplanetary magnetic field, to map the Jovian magnetic field, and to provide magnetic field measurements of the solar winds interaction with Jupiter.

The Quadrispherical Plasma Analyzer would likewise help detect particles of the solar wind originating from the sun thus aiding the measurements and detection of particles by the HVM.

The CPI was designed to detect cosmic rays inside the solar system, while the CRT would collect data on the composition of cosmic ray particles and their energy ranges.

For radiation detection, the GTT would allow Pioneer 10 to return data on the intensities, energy spectra, and angular distributions of electrons and protons as the vehicle passed through Jupiters radiation belts.

Meanwhile, the TRD would return information on light emitted in a particular direction from particles passing through recording electrons in the energy range of 0.5 to 12 MeV (mega electron volt.

Additionally, as Pioneer 10 was to be the first probe to pass through the asteroid belt, the Meteoroid Detector and the AMD were included to help define the danger micrometeoroids and asteroids posed to probes traversing the belt.

Specifically, the meteorite detectors consisted of 12 panels of pressurized cell detectors that would record penetrating impacts of small meteoroids.

Conversely, the AMD was designed to track close-by objects ranging in size from dust to large distant asteroids.

Also included on Pioneer 10 was the Ultraviolet Photometer, which would help quantify the amount of hydrogen and helium present at Jupiter as well as the amounts that were floating free in space.

The IPP, a unique experiment designed to work in tandem with Pioneer 10s spin rate, was created to help build a visual image of Jupiter by scanning a narrow 0.03 degree wide band of the planet.

The small observation band would gradually move as Pioneer 10 spun, aiming the IPP at different areas of Jupiter.

Finally, the Infrared Radiometer would collect information on cloud temperature and heat emanated from inside Jupiter.

To power the instruments and the spacecraft, Pioneer 10 was fitted with four SNAP-19 Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) positioned on two of the three rod trusses of the spacecraft.

At launch, the four RTGs, powered by plutonium-238, provided 155 W of power, decaying to 140 W by the time the spacecraft encountered Jupiter.

Communications with and from the craft were routed through a series of narrow-band, medium-gain, high-gain, and omni-antenna transceiverswith atransmission rate from Pioneer 10 of256 bit/s at launch, dropping to 255.18 bit/s by the time the craft made its closest approach to Jupiter.

Leaving the inner solar system:

As construction began on Pioneer 10, NASA understood that the 1972 launch window for the craft opened on 29 February and closed on 17 March 1972.

Despite only having two years to construct the spacecraft and finish all preparations for launch, the construction company met their goal.

On 3 March 1972 at 01:49:00 GMT, Pioneer 10 lifted off from SLC-36A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle.

After the Atlas-Centaur duo did their job, a solid fueled third stage, created specifically for the Pioneer missions, imparted 15,000 lbf of additional thrust to increase Pioneer 10s overall speed to 51,682 km/h (32,114 mph) making it the fastest human-made object at the time and the first spacecraft to be launched onto an escape trajectory (though not yet at escape velocity) from the solar system.

More importantly for the missions primary objective, Pioneer 10s velocity was enough to reach Jupiter without any planetary gravity assist maneuver which at that point had not yet been attempted for interplanetary missions.

The third stage also imparted an initial spin rate of 30 rpm onto the spacecraft, a rotation rate which was reduced to the mission standard 4.8 rpm 20 minutes after liftoff when Pioneer 10 extended its three boom/truss structures.

Just 11 hours after launch, Pioneer 10 passed the orbit of the moon and was safely on a trajectory to Jupiter for an arrival in December 1973.

As the mission was originally conceived, Pioneer 10 was to reach Jupiter in November 1974; however, NASA advanced the crafts arrival date before its launch to December 1973 to avoid scheduling conflicts with the Deep Space Network and to avoid a period of communication blackouts with the probe when Earth and Jupiter would be on opposite sides of the Sun from one another.

After all of its instruments were turned on and successfully checked out, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to detect helium in the interplanetary medium of the solar system, as well as the first spacecraft to detect ions of sodium and aluminum in the solar wind.

Then, on 15 July 1972, just over four months after leaving Earth, Pioneer 10 became the first craft to exit the inner solar system 45 years ago today.

Passage out of the inner solar system was marked by Pioneer 10s entrance into the asteroid belt.

Being the first spacecraft to traverse the belt, mission planners extensively planned Pioneer 10s trajectory so that it would avoid by some 8.8 million km (5.5 million miles) the nearest known asteroid.

At the time, the closest known approach Pioneer 10 made to any asteroid came on 2 December 1972 when the craft passed 307 Nike.

During its passage through the asteroid belt, Pioneer 10s onboard meteoroid and asteroid detection systems identified no significant variation in dust particles between 10 100 m (micrometers) between Earth and the outer edge of the belts defined boundaries.

However, Pioneer 10 did return information regarding a threefold increase in 100 m to 1.0 mm diameter particles.

The probe found no evidence of objects larger than 1 mm, indicating that those were far less common than thought at the time.

On 15 February 1973, exactly seven months after entering the asteroid belt, Pioneer 10 exited the belt at which point the craft was less than 10 months away from its big encounter with Jupiter.

Encounter with Jupiter:

Pioneer 10s encounter trajectory was carefully planned to maximize the information returned about Jupiters radiation environment, even at the expense of that environments potential damage to some of Pioneer 10s systems.

On 6 November 1973, while still 25 million km (15.5 million miles) from Jupiter, direct observations of the Jovian system began.

After a series of health checks, mission controllers uplinked 16,000 encounter commands to Pioneer 10 covering the entire 60-day encounter sequence.

The uplinked commands provided the trajectory that would take Pioneer 10 to within three times the radius of the planet.

At the time, controllers believed that was as close as the craft could approach Jupiter and still survive the radiation.

Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of the outer moon Sinope on 8 November and reached the bow shock of Jupiters magnetosphere eight days later on 16 November as confirmed by its instruments via a drop in the velocity of the solar wind.

The craft then passed through Jupiters magnetopause on 17 November, with Pioneer 10s instruments confirming that Jupiters magnetic field was inverted when compared to that of Earths.

By 29 November, Pioneer 10 was still operating flawlessly as its instruments collected data point after data point and image after image of Jupiter.

Over the course of the entire encounter sequence, more than 500 images were collected and transmitted back to Earth, with image quality and resolution exceeding those taken from Earth or Earth orbit on 2 December 1973.

With a trajectory taking Pioneer 10 along the magnetic equator of Jupiter, ion radiation concentration increase dramatically, with a peak flux of electron radiation reaching 10,000 times that of the maximum radiation experienced around Earth.

On 3 December, the radiation began to take its toll on Pioneer 10, with the spacecraft generating several false commands.

Thankfully, Pioneer 10s controllers had prepared for just such a contingency, and most of the false commands were able to be countermanded by contingency commands to the spacecraft.

However, the radiation-induced false commands did result in the loss of one image of Io and several close-ups of Jupiter.

Nonetheless, the trajectory chosen by Pioneer 10s controllers allowed the spacecraft to perform detailed observations of Io.

In all, Pioneer 10 discovered that Ios ionosphere extended 700 km (430 mi) above the moons surface and had a density of 60,000 electrons per cubic centimeter on the day side to 9,000 electrons per cubic centimeter on the night side.

Unexpectedly, Pioneer 10 also discovered that Io orbited within a cloud of hydrogen extending 805,000 km (500,000 mi) in width and 402,000 km (250,000 mi) in height.

On 4 December 1973, Pioneer 10 made its closest approach to Jupiter, passing 132,252 km (82,178 mi) from the tops of Jupiters clouds.

Despite all the radiation fears, the spacecraft came through the encounter in excellent shape, obtaining detailed and close-up images of the planet, including the ever-evocative Great Red Spot.

Since Pioneer 10, observation of Jupiters Great Red Spot has been a prime science target of the probes that have visited Jupiter.

This includes NASAs current mission at Jupiter, the Juno spacecraft which captured stunning high-resolution images of the complex storm system in Jupiters atmosphere when it performed its latest perijove time of closest approach to Jupiter during its orbit on 11 July 2017.

Thanks in large part to the characterization of Jupiters radiation environment first begun in-situ by Pioneer 10, Juno is built to withstand Jupiters harsh radiation environment and allow the craft to come far closer to Jupiter then Pioneer 10 did.

While Pioneer 10 approached to within 132,252 km (82,178 mi) of the top of Jupiters clouds, Juno dives to an impressively close 4,200 km (2,600 mi) above the cloud tops during its perijove science weeps over the planet.

Nevertheless, while the radiation environment around Jupiter is significantly better understood today than it was in 1973, and even though Juno is much more hardened against radiation than Pioneer 10 was, radiation is still the limiting factor for Junos mission.

And for Pioneer 10, its mission certainly didnt end with observation of the Great Red Spot.

Proximity operations to Jupiter increased the crafts overall velocity to 132,000 km/h (82,021 mph) as the craft swung around the planet, imparting the needed extra velocity kick to allow the craft to escape the solar system but not before it passed behind Jupiter as viewed from Earth.

As Pioneer 10 passed behind Jupiter, the radio occultation data transmitted from the spacecraft back to Earth allowed for direct measurement of the temperature structure of Jupiters upper atmosphere, revealing and inversion between the altitudes with 10 and 100 mbar pressures.

Temperature ranges between -113 to -133C (-171F to -207F) into 10 mbar levels and -163 to -183C (-261.4F to -297F) in the 100 mbar levels were also measured.

Pioneer 10 also established definitively that Jupiter radiated more heat than it received from the sun.

Post-Jupiter life and legacy:

Once on its outward trajectory from Jupiter, Pioneer 10 crossed the bow shock of Jupiters magnetosphere a grand total of 17 times due to the shifting nature of the magnetosphere and its dynamic interaction with the solar wind.

The Jovian encounter phase of Pioneer 10s mission officially concluded on 1 January 1974.

After leaving the Jovian system behind, Pioneer 10 crossed the orbital distance of Saturn in 1976 and the orbit of Uranus in 1979.

On 13 June 1983, Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of Neptune and became the first human-made object to leave the major planets of the solar system behind.

Nonetheless, NASA officially maintained the Pioneer 10 mission until 31 March 1997.

At the time of the missions official conclusion, Pioneer 10 was still the farthest human-made object from Earth at 67 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun and was still transmitting coherent data.

This provided engineers an unanticipated ability to study the application of chaos theory (an idea that within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems there are underlying patterns that, if understood, can help avoid detrimental actions/commands) to extract coherent data from the fading signal of Pioneer 10.

On 2 March 2002, just one day shy of the 30th anniversary of its launch and at a distance from the sun of 69.419 AU, Pioneer 10 lost its title of farthest human-made object from the sun when it was overtaken by Voyager 1 which was moving away from the sun 1 AU per year faster than Pioneer 10.

Meanwhile, strong enough signals continued to be received from Pioneer 10 until 27 April 2002. On this day, the final 33 minutes of clean data routed through the Deep Space Network while Pioneer 10 was 80.22 AU away.

Subsequent signals were too weak to return useful information.

The final signal received from Pioneer 10 arrived on Earth through the Deep Space Network on 23 January 2003 from a distance of ~82.2 AU.

All further attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful, with the final attempt made on 4 March 2006 34 years and 1 day after the craft left Earth on its historic mission.

Today, Pioneer 10 assuming it hasnt collided with anything is ~118.5 AU from the sun and is travelling outward at 2.54 AU per year.

It is currently the second farthest human-made object from the sun a position it will hold until April 2019 when Voyager 2 overtakes it.

If left undisturbed, Pioneer 10s trajectory will take it in the general direction of Aldebaran.

[Find related articles about exploration of theouter solar system and beyond here:Voyager 1;Voyager 2; Cassini; Juno;New Horizons; andVoyagers 1 interstellar mission]

(Images: NASA)

Excerpt from:

Pioneer 10: first probe to leave the inner solar system & precursor to Juno - NASASpaceflight.com