Category Archives: Space Station

Theresa Cross

May 26th, 2021

The Inspiration4 crew. From left to right: Chris Sembroski, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Jared Isaacman. This flight is expected to be the first orbital space tourism mission since 2009 and the first 100% civilian crew to fly to low Earth orbit. Credit: SpaceX

Within a span of about six months, as many as a dozen new space tourists could fly into low Earth orbit on four flights beginning as early as this September.

2021 may mark a resurgence of the space tourism market, which took a hiatus in 2009, starting with SpaceX sending the first 100% civilian mission to low Earth orbit.

Launching inside Crew Dragon Resilience atop a Falcon 9 rocket in September from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments Jared Isaacman will be the commander of the Inspiration4 mission. Hell be flying along with fellow crewmembers Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Christopher Sembroski.

The crew will orbit around Earth every 90 minutes on a mission slated to last several days before reentering the atmosphere for a soft water landing off the coast of Florida.Elon Musk has said that flying on a Falcon 9 is akin to riding a really intense roller coaster.

SpaceX is developing a special window to take the place of the docking port for Inspiration4. Credit: SpaceX

Meanwhile, Blue Origin is expected to fly its first astronaut crew to suborbital space on New Shepard as early as July 20, 2021. The company has offered one seat to the winner of an online auction, slated to culminate June 12. The winning bid amount is expected to go toward Blue Origins foundation, Club for the Future, meant to inspire a career in STEM science, technology, engineering and math in future generations.

Another suborbital spaceflight company, Virgin Galactic, has recently announced its space tourism program has been pushed to 2022. Problems began with a disappointing launch in December of 2020, when a rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo did not ignite. The hope was, had the flight performed as expected, technicians would shift their focus on improvements for private commercial spaceflight.

Finally, on May 22, 2021, from Spaceport America in New Mexico, Virgin Galactic successfully performed the first human spaceflight from that location putting the company on a path towards furthering its quest for human space flight and tourism.

SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity coasts toward apogee after its first spaceflight from New Mexicos Spaceport America. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Back on the orbital side of space tourism, Axiom Space and NASA recently announced plans to launch the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station as early as January 2022 from Kennedy Space Center.

The private astronauts for the Ax-1 mission, slated to fly in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, are Michael Lpez-Alegra, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe. Mission commander for this mission will be Lpez-Alegra, a former NASA astronaut, and current vice president of Axiom with Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner as alternates.

Several more private Axiom Space missions are planned over the next several years.

On the other side of the world, Russia also hopes to attract more private customers for flights to the ISS.

Two of the three seats in a the next Soyuz capsule, Soyuz MS-19, are slated to be occupied by a Russian director and actor for an upcoming Russian film. The director for the film, called Challenge, is Klim Shipenko. Hell be flying with actor Yulia Peresild.

Soyuz MS-18 launches from Kazakhstan on a two-orbit trek to the International Space Station in April 2021. The spaceflight participants flying to the ISS in Soyuz MS-19 in October are expected to return in Soyuz MS-18. Credit: NASA

The launch is scheduled for early October 2021 and will also bring Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov to the ISS for a six-month stay. After about a week, the Shipenko and Peresild are expected to return to Earth in Soyuz MS-18 with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky.

Also recently announced was the first Soyuz mission to not deliver ISS crewmembers to the outpost, Soyuz MS-20.

While Soyuz MS-20 will still visit the orbiting laboratory for about 10 days as early as December, it will include two spaceflight participants, Yusaku Maezawa (who is also expected to fly around the Moon later this decade in a SpaceX Starship spacecraft) and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano. Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin is slated to command the flight.

In total, as many as 12 private spaceflight participants are hoping to fly into low Earth orbit in the span of about six months starting this September.

For comparison, in 2001 the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, launched to the ISS for a week in a Soyuz spacecraft via a company called Space Adventures, which partnered with Roscosmos. Between then and 2009, only six others had completed the same trip with one, Charles Simonyi, flying in 2007 and 2009.

Dennis Tito, left, the first orbital space tourist, floats inside the International Space Station in 2001. Credit: NASA

Tagged: Ax-1 Axiom Space Blue Origin Human Spaceflight inspiration4 Lead Stories NASA Roscosmos Space Adventures Space Tourism SpaceX Virgin Galactic

Theresa Cross grew up on the Space Coast. Its only natural that she would develop a passion for anything Space and its exploration. During these formative years, she also discovered that she possessed a talent and love for defining the unique quirks and intricacies that exist in mankind, nature, and machines.Hailing from a family of photographersincluding her father and her son, Theresa herself started documenting her world through pictures at a very early age. As an adult, she now exhibits an innate photographic ability to combine what appeals to her heart and her love of technology to deliver a diversified approach to her work and artistic presentations.Theresa has a background in water chemistry, fluid dynamics, and industrial utility.

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Orbital space tourism poised to take off later this year - SpaceFlight Insider

The Lewis Center for Educational Research has been selected as one of only nine educational institutionsacross the United States toparticipate in a program allowingstudents to communicate with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The program known as NASAs Amateur Radio on the International Space Station,or ARISS is an international organization comprised mostly of volunteers that lets students talk to the space travelers using radio equipment in use by the general public.

We are thrilled to be included in this years group of schools to receive an ARISS contact, said Lisa Lamb, the Lewis Centers president/CEO. As soon as the new school year begins, our students will engage in weekly lessons to make the most of our radio contact with the astronauts on the ISS.

Students will learn about life aboard the space station, and participate in lesson plans and after school activities implemented to enhance the education experience, according to a school statement.

Our students have long studied robotic and radio missions in space, said Amy Ritter, the Lewis Centers STEMcoordinator.With ARISS, they will talk directly to our astronauts and learn about living in the space they have studied. This is such a powerful way to connect them to the future Artemis missions.

Artemis is a NASA program that intendsto send the first woman and person of color to the moon with an additional goal of establishing a sustainable community there.

The Lewis Center has a longstanding partnershipwith NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and operates the Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope, or GAVRT, a donation from the space agency.

Earlier this year, students cheered inside the schools Mission Control as the Perseverance Rover landed on Mars in February.

Lewis Center officials said students were already waiting in anticipation for the upcoming ARISS communication.

Im super excited to get to talk to astronauts living on the Space Station, student Natalie Ritter said in a statement.

Scheduling will take place after Lewis Center officials submitan equipment plan that demonstrates the educational institutions ability to execute the ham radio contact, according to ARISS.

In addition tothe Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, the Lewis Center also operates the Norton Science & Language Academy in San Bernardino.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

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Lewis Center selected for NASA program that connects students to International Space Station astronauts - VVdailypress.com

The view from SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour of the International Space Station, as well as the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience, as the capsule approached to dock on April 24, 2021.

NASA TV

Discovery on Tuesday announced a competitive adventure TV show called "Who Wants To Be An Astronaut?" that will launch the winning contestant to the International Space Station.

The eight part series is scheduled to take place in 2022, with the winner expected to get a seat on Axiom Space's AX-2 mission and spend eight days onboard the ISS. Axiom is currently working toward its AX-1 mission, scheduled for January 2022, which will launch a fully private crew using a SpaceX rocket and capsule.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for space storytelling that gives us an opportunity to see the Earth from a vantage point few have ever experienced," Discovery's Science Channel executive vice president Scott Lewers said in a news release. "It is truly the next frontier for those who not only dream of traveling into space, but are also curious about the mysteries of the universe. We are looking forward to taking our audience on this unprecedented journey."

Discovery's TV show is open to members of the public, with an online application asking for a one-minute video and answers to questions including: "Why you deserve a chance to travel to space, what it would mean to you, and why you want to participate."

The TV show itself "will be grueling," with a series of "extreme challenges" that Discovery says are designed to test contestants "on the attributes real astronauts need most, and as they undergo the training necessary to qualify for space flight and life on board the space station."

A panel of expert judges, yet to be named, will pick "one lucky candidate" to then fly to space.

It is the latest in a number of spaceflight contests, with Elon Musk's SpaceX set to launch the Inspiration4 mission in September (which held public competitions for two of the four seats), Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin holding an online public auction for a seat on its first space tourism flight scheduled for July 20, and U.S. production company Space Hero announcing a similar reality TV show to Discovery's also launching with Axiom and scheduled for 2023.

The TV show's announcement comes after telecom giant AT&T on Monday announced the combination of content unit WarnerMedia with Discovery to form a new media giant.

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Discovery adventure TV show to launch winning contestant to the space station - CNBC

This might look like Mars, but it's actually a shot of Earth snapped by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

Earth and Mars look pretty different from each other. We see Mars as a dry dusty, reddish place while Earth looks blue and green with swirly white clouds. Can planets cosplay as each other? Earth tried.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet had to question where he was in the solar system when he looked out the window of the International Space Station this month and snapped a photo of Earth looking a lot like Mars.

From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.

"No cloud in sight and the red and ochre colors stretching to the horizon,"Pesquet wrote. "This is how I imagine the Perseverance rover would have seen Mars on its approach to landing."

ESA highlighted the image last week after Pesquet shared the photo on social media, saying, "I had to do a double-take when I saw this view: not Mars but our own amazing planet!"

The wide desert expanses of Earth can act as Mars doppelgangers when seen from the proper angle. Despite initial appearances, there are some clues this isn't Mars. There are hints of clouds on the right side of the image and the curving blue area across the top is a telltale sign of our planet's more substantial atmosphere.

Pesquet is part of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission that arrived at the ISS in April. He's had his eye on the desert parts of Earth recently and captured a nice view of the "Eye of the Sahara," a dome-shaped geologic structure in Mauritania in Africa.

The ESA astronaut used the occasion of his Earth/Mars photo to give a shout-out to the various science teamscurrently operating missions at the red planet: "Mars robotic exploration and human exploration go hand in hand: exploring farther and extending human presence."

FollowCNET's 2021 Space Calendarto stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.

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Earth looks like Mars in surprising astronaut photo from the ISS - CNET

This oblique photograph captures an astronauts perspective of Thailand at night as viewed from the International Space Station. The prominent lights of BangkokThailands capital and most populous cityare the focal point, with the lights of other cities lining the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

The dark swath of land in the top left is the Malay Peninsula, which separates the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand. The darker, forested Tenasserim Hills stand out from the lighter-toned, lower coastal plains to the east.

Bangkok is considered a primate citywhere the population is at least double the size of the countrys second largest city. Bangkoks population of more than 10 million is many times greater than Chon Buri (population 1.4 million), the next largest. City lights provide a visual indication of the high population density in and around the city center.

Laem Chabang is visible along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bangkok. It is the countrys largest deep seaport and sees most of the international shipping reaching Thailand.

The green dots sprinkled throughout the Gulf are fishing boats using lights to attract plankton and squid. Fishing is an important industry, as most of Thailands consumption of animal protein comes from seafood. Companies around the Gulf of Thailand are also among the largest foreign suppliers of fish to the United States.

Astronaut photograph ISS064-E-37842 was acquired on February 26, 2021, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 58 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 64 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Laura Phoebus, Jacobs, JETS Contract at NASA-JSC.

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One Night in Bangkok - NASA

A week after its successful Mars landing, China said on Saturday that it had deployed a land rover on the planets surface, a feat that only the United States had accomplished before.

The solar-powered rover, named Zhurong after a god of fire in Chinese mythology, drove down from its landing platform and reached Martian soil on Saturday morning, the China National Space Administration said. It is expected to explore the planets surface for at least 90 days.

The Mars mission, Chinas first, may seem less glamorous than NASAs latest, since it is essentially repeating feats that the Americans accomplished decades ago. Still, it represents another milestone in Chinas ambition to make itself a great space power, as its top leader, Xi Jinping, put it last month.

More potential milestones lie ahead. Heres what to know about them.

In January 2019, China became the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon, the part that perpetually faces away from Earth. It was Chinas second successful moon landing, after one in 2013.

That year, it put a rover on the moons surface that still operates today, far beyond the three months it was expected to last. As of late April, it had roamed nearly half a mile from its starting point in the Von Krmn crater near the moons southern pole, according to a report on Chinese state television.

In December, China sent yet another craft to the moon. It scooped up nearly four pounds of rocks and soil near a volcanic feature called Mons Rmker and brought them back to Earth the first lunar samples since the ones collected by the Soviet Unions Luna 24 mission in 1976. Some of the samples were put on public display in Beijing with great fanfare.

China names its moon probes after Change, a moon goddess in its mythology. Three more are planned by 2027, featuring additional rovers, a flying probe and even a proposed experiment in 3-D printing in space, according to statements from Chinas space agency.

The missions are meant to lay the foundation for a lunar base and visits by astronauts, or taikonauts, as the Chinese call them, in the 2030s. So far, only the American Apollo programs have put people on the moon.

In March, Russias space agency, Roscosmos, said it would work with China on the construction of a lunar research station, though the countries have yet to offer details of any joint plans.

Chinas launch in April of the main module for its newest orbiting space station drew more international attention than expected for the wrong reasons. After reaching orbit, the main rocket booster tumbled ominously back to Earth in what is called an uncontrolled re-entry. The debris landed in the Indian Ocean in May, narrowly missing the Maldives and spurring criticism of how China carries out the launches of its heaviest rocket, the Long March 5B.

That mission was the first of 11 needed to build Chinas third, and most ambitious, space station by the end of 2022. Two more Long March 5B rockets will carry additional modules, and other variants will launch smaller parts. Four missions, one planned for June, will return Chinese astronauts to space after more than four years.

Chinas first two space stations were short-lived prototypes, but this one is intended to function for a decade or longer. Mr. Xi compared it to the two bombs, one satellite exhortation of Mao Zedongs era, which referred to Chinas race to develop a nuclear weapon, mount it on an intercontinental ballistic missile and put a satellite in orbit. Like all of Chinas accomplishments in space, it is being touted as evidence of the prowess of the Communist Party-run state.

The International Space Station, jointly developed by the United States, Russia and others, is nearing the end of its intended life in 2024. What happens after that is unclear. NASA has proposed keeping the station going for a few more years; Russia has said that it intends to withdraw by 2025.

If the station is decommissioned, Chinas could be the only game in town for some time.

The station named, like the first two, Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace will be able to house three astronauts for long-term missions and as many as six for shorter periods. China has selected a team of 18 astronauts, some of whom are civilians (only one is a woman). The first three are scheduled to spend three months in space, which would surpass the 33-day record for Chinese astronauts set in 2016.

Hao Chun, the director of Chinas Manned Space Agency, told the state news media that astronauts from other nations would be allowed to visit, whether aboard Chinese spacecraft or their own, though they would need a docking mechanism in line with Chinese standards, which differ from those on the International Space Station. He said some foreign astronauts were learning Mandarin in preparation.

In one go, Chinas Mars mission, called Tianwen (Questions to Heaven) after a classic poem, completed a trifecta of feats that NASA accomplished over a number of years. It reached orbit around the planet in February, safely put a craft on the surface on May 15 and has now released a land rover.

The Soviet Union was the first country to land a craft on Mars, in 1971, but seconds after touching down, the lander stopped communicating, probably because of a sandstorm. It transmitted a single incomplete or indecipherable image. Since then, a number of other attempts to reach the surface, made by several countries, have failed.

Until this month, only the United States had managed successful Mars landings eight in all, the most recent by the Perseverance rover in February. (China tried to send an orbiter to Mars in 2011, but the Russian rocket that was carrying it failed to get out of orbit, and both crashed back to Earth.)

Four days after Chinas lander touched down on Utopia Planitia, a large basin in the northern hemisphere where NASAs Viking 2 landed in 1976, the countrys space agency released its first photographs from the planets surface and said the mission was proceeding as planned.

The agency released two black-and-white photos on Saturday of the rover on the surface. The rover will conduct experiments studying Marss topography, geology and atmosphere. One goal is to better understand the distribution of ice in the region, which, in theory, could help sustain future visits by people.

China has said it plans to send a second lander to Mars by 2028 and, ultimately, to bring samples back from the planet. Its a complex feat that NASA and the European Space Agency are already working on, with hopes that soil and rocks collected by Perseverance can be brought home in 2031. Chinas mission could happen this decade, setting up a potential race.

In addition to the possibility of a future crewed mission to Mars, China is planning a single, 10-year mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and pass by a comet. It has also proposed orbiters for Venus and Jupiter. In 2024, it plans to launch an orbiting telescope similar to the Hubble, which first launched in 1990.

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Chinas Ambitious Plans in Space: The Moon, Mars and Beyond - The New York Times

A GLOWING UFO was spotted flying past the International Space Station during a live stream.

Video shows the triangular-shaped vessel with four beaming lights travelling through space - and the clip has sent sky-watcher's tongues wagging.

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The sighting was analysed by YouTube account UFO Sightings Daily, but the footage of the unexplained flying object was originally broadcast as part of the ISS HD Earth Viewing Experiment.

UFO enthusiast Scott Waring, who analyses the clip, adamantly told viewers he believed it was "100% alien".

"This is a single glowing object," he explained. "This object has four powerful glowing areas, each corner of it is glowing and the centre of the front of it is also glowing which I assume is either part of a cockpit or part of the propulsion.

"It's absolutely mind-blowing... It is an alien craft... I believe this is 100% alien."

He excitedly details the events of the live stream while continually zooming in on the UFO to gain a closer look at the craft.

Scott continued: "We've seen lots ofaliencraft lately, released by United States military, it's getting in the news. People are shrugging it off like it doesn't matter.

"You can't ignore the facts that are right in front of us and this was recorded by the multi-billion dollar camera on the International space station.

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"That makes it undeniable evidence recorded by NASA themselves on live cam."

The alien expert then uses digital software to focus on the features of the triangle-shaped object, and suggests a "solid" structure can be seen between the glowing lights.

Scott's opinions of the sightings were echoed by extraterrestrial fanatics in the comment section, who thanked him for sharing the "undeniable" content.

One exclaimed: "This is really good evidence Scott as you said undeniable!"

"Definitely a triangle looks like one ship, amazing. I cant wait to see what else they( U.S) are going to show us," another wrote.

A third commenter said:"Agree this is definitely a triangle craft .. as everyone is so focused on Mars Scotty picks up the Golden stuff I love to view especially by the ISS! TRUE GOLD!"

Some conspiracy theorists took the opportunity to dig deeper, suggesting the footage should prompt: "NASA and the government to be giving the people the truth now."

"How can they keep this hidden any longer when the evidence is in front of people's eyes," the viewer continued.

It comes amid a number of unexplained sightings by the US military that are shrouded by claims of a cover-up.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee has now asked the Director of National Intelligence to work with the Defense Department to provide a report by June 25 on the observations.

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The request came after revelations in 2017 that the Pentagon was researching a series of unexplained intrusions into military airspace, including mysterious objects captured on video stalking US Navy ships.

Defense officials have since confirmed a number of UFO sightings and even shared sensational videos which document unexplained encounters in the sky, now often referred to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).

The most recent footage was confirmed as genuine to The Sun Online last month - with a video and series of photos showing a mysterious phenomena encountering US warships and fighter planes.

Excerpt from:
Triangle-shaped UFO spotted flying past International Space station as viewers claim glowing aircraft is... - The Irish Sun

Acting Secretary of the Air Force John P. Roth, tours Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., May 17, 2021. During his visit, Roth toured several facilities at CCSFS and met with Airmen and Guardians supporting space launch operations. (U.S. Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Sjoberg)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA The acting Secretary of the Air Force, John P. Roth, and the Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force Gen. John W. Jay Raymond, visited Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, May 17, 2021.

During the visit, Roth and Raymond toured the Morrell Operations Center, the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC), and the Spaceflight Operations Processing Center.

U.S. Space Force Guardians and our space systems are absolutely vital for homeland defense, global operations with partners and allies, and many comforts that have become normal in the American way of life, Roth said.

One of the goals of the visit for Roth and Raymond was to educate congressional leaders about the U.S. Space Force and its missions. Members of the House of Representatives participated in the tour including several members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Formerly known as the 45th Space Wing, Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45) operates the Eastern Range and aims to provide on demand launch support for commercial mission partners and Department of Defense missions. SLD 45 does this by providing launch partners with weather analysis, mission assurance, and operating range support radar and equipment.

Over the past year, this support has enabled numerous successful launches, including the third crewed space flight in less than a year.

Im grateful for the support of the Congressional members who joined us and their willingness to learn more about the Space Force and the Guardians who defend the ultimate high ground, said Roth. The Nation is making efforts to improve our space defense architecture and deter conflict in space from a position of strength.

During a tour of United Launch Alliances ASOC, the dignitaries learned about the Atlas 5 rocket and the plan to launch the United States fifth Space Based Infrared Geosynchronous satellite on May 18. The satellite will enhance a constellation that provides 24/7 global strategic missile warning capabilities that contribute to national defense.

In January 2020, the SBIRS constellation detected 16 ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward two U.S. installations in Iraq.

Recalling the event, Raymond said, The critical missile warning provided by Guardians allowed U.S. service members and coalition partners to seek shelter and mitigated the risk of casualties, and ultimately saved lives.

Roth and Raymond concluded their visit by recognizing Airmen and Guardians for all they do to support the USSF.

Assured access to space is a vital national interest; it underpins our security and economic prosperity, Raymond said. I couldnt be more proud of the Space Launch Delta 45 team!

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Acting Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Space Operations Visits Cape Canaveral Space Force Station - SpaceCoastDaily.com

5:27am, 21 May 2021

A rivalry that has been a stable of rugby in Japan reaches its conclusion on Sunday when Sean McMahons Suntory Sungoliath take on Robbie Deanss Panasonic Wild Knights in the last Top League final.

While global knowledge of the league has grown through its lifetime, interest in the decider is quite literally out of this world.

The final seconds to kick-off will be beamed in from the International Space Station, counted down by the stations commander, Japanese astronaut Akihito Hoshide.

With the league going fully professional next year, the game is the closing chapter of a semi-professional format that has operated since 2003.

Suntory and Panasonic have shared nine of the 19 titles, with the Sungoliath twice edging the Wild Knights in finals.

Deans, who has been associated with the Wild Knights since the 2013-14 success, is bidding to add a fourth Top League to five Super Rugby titles.

The former Wallabies and Crusaders coach presides over a squad with a heavy Australian influence.

Centre Dylan Riley, No.8 Jack Cornelsen, loose forward Ben Gunter, winger Semisi Tupou and veteran lock Dan Heenan all have strong Aussie affiliations.

Heenan, who has been at the club for 14 years, could be playing the final match of a career that, while significant in its achievements, has largely been out of the sight of his homeland.

Suntory is missing former Wallabies vice-captain Samu Kerevi due to injury, but the final will give his compatriots McMahon and Harry Hockings the chance to showcase their wares in case Wallabies coach Dave Rennie decides he needs either in preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

While he often treads a fine line, McMahons destructive ability at the breakdown is key, with the former Test flankers ability to slow down opposition ball thwarting Kubota in last weeks semi-final.

Hockings and English lock Tom Savage have also been a key part of Suntorys dominance this year.

Their battle against Heenan and the Wild Knights England Test second row, George Kruis, will be critical to the outcome.

Suntory have averaged 58 points per game and in Beauden Barrett (162) has the competitions leading point-scorer.

The final is his last chance to show why he should be the flyhalf when the All Blacks assemble in July.

Panasonic boasts the leagues most miserly defence, having conceded just 16 tries in 10 matches.

Their attack is led by Japanese winger Kenki Fukuoka, who has bagged 13 tries, including two hat-tricks.

The 28-year-old plays the final 80 minutes of his career at Tokyos Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, before walking away to fast-track medical studies as Japan struggles under the weight of COVID-19.

While grim reminders of the of the pandemic are ever present, and only a small crowd will attend, Fukuoka is providing a feel-good factor.

It is a story the populace has embra ced to the extent that most of Japan will be willing the World Cup star to success.

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International Space Station to play starring role in Top League final - RugbyPass

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Bengaluru: Moon check. Mars check. Crewed missions check. Its own space station first module launched, work underway to launch operations by next year. On the agenda: Asteroids, Jupiter by 2035, and Uranus at the far end of the solar system after 2040.

Chinas ambitious space programme has made giant strides in recent years. In its latest feat, China became only the third country to perform a successful soft landing on Mars when its Zhurong rover reached the Red Planet this week.

Over the past few years, China has also performed a soft landing on the Moon (Change 3) as part of its lunar exploration programme Change. Only the US and former Soviet Unionhave pulled this off before.

China is the only nation apart from the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union to bring back lunar rocks to Earth (Change 5), and the first country ever to land a rover (Change 4) on the far side of the moon a mission it pulled off in 2019.

The upcoming Chinese space station is another manifestation of the countrys ambitions to go deeper into the universe. After a decade of tests and two prototypes, the country launched the first core module of the space station into orbit earlier this year.

However, this particular mission landed China in a spot of controversy because it did not correctly deorbit the core booster stage of the rocket that launched the module. Amid doubts about where exactly the debris from the 18-tonne rocket would land, many voiced concerns about the aggressive nature of Chinese expansion into space.

The rocket finally fell into the Indian Ocean off the Maldives on 9 May, with much of it burnt during re-entry into the Earth.

The Chinese space programme was initiated in 1956, when the countrys first rocket research institution was founded. It launched its first rocket carrying white mice into space on 19 July 1964.

Its first crewed mission took place in 2003, making it the third country again after the US and the USSR, the protagonists of the Cold War space race to carry out an independent manned space flight.

Also Read:India must boost start-ups to catch up with Chinas private space firms

Chinas latest launch for its space station did not come without prototypes.

The Tiangong (translating to Heavens Palace) programme, which began in 1992, is Chinas attempt to create a Soviet-style space station along the lines of Mir, a historic mission that stayed in space for 15 years.

The space station will be assembled and operated entirely by one nation, unlike the International Space Station (ISS).

After planning and construction, the first prototype, Tiangong-1 was launched in 2011. Once in orbit, it was visited multiple times by Chinas Shenzhou modules, which carried crew members for test flights and laboratory experiments.

After extending its two-year mission multiple times, the Chinese authorities finally conceded in 2016 that they had lost control of the station. It slowly decayed in its orbit, ultimately burning up in the Earths atmosphere in 2018.

China launched the Tiangong-2 prototype, a much more sophisticated orbiting laboratory, in 2016. This spacecraft, too, was visited by both crew and cargo vehicles, and was deorbited as planned, with controlled re-entry, in 2019.

Currently, China is assembling the Tiangong-3 space station, which will be the final functional version. It will weigh 66,000 kg and begin operations by 2022 at an orbit of about 350-450 km.

The completed module will be T-shaped, and is expected to be operational for 10 years. Its design contains multiple modules, including the Tianhe core module, with science labs. The dockable Shenzhou crew capsule or lifeboat and the Tianzhou robotic cargo ship will also be a part of the station on either ends of the core module.

The country launched Tianhe, which translates to Harmony of the Heavens, on 28 April atop a Long March-5B Y2 rocket, from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the Hainan province. The cylindrical module is the largest spacecraft China has ever developed so far, and will make up the central core of the space station.

The core module contains the main living area for the future crew of the space station. It is 16.6m long and 4.2m wide, with life support. It can support six astronauts, and will provide power and propulsion to the station.

To finish assembling the station, China plans to perform 10 more launches over this year and the next one. These will include two more module launches, four crewed missions, and four cargo vessels.

The Chinese National Space Agency has confirmed that the next launch will be that of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft in May, followed by the Shenzhou-12 crewed craft in June. Three astronauts will stay in orbit for three months aboard the Shenzhou-12.

In September, the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft will be launched, followed by Shenzhou-13 with three astronauts who will stay in the Tianhe module for six months.

In 2022, there will be two more crewed spacecraft with three astronauts each, who will stay in the module for six months.

Designed to function for 10 years, the Tiangong-3 is expected to function for at least 15 with good maintenance.

Also Read:Chinas Mars landing will be a greater feat with the release of more data

China has accomplished two interplanetary landings that only the former Soviet Union and the US have done so far: On the surface of the Moon and Mars.

The Change (pronounced Chung-uh) missions are named after the Moon goddess Change in Chinese mythology. The programme was launched in 2004, and has so far spawned five successful missions.

Change-1 and 2 were orbital missions, while Change-3 and 4 were lander-rovers. These four made up phases 1 and 2 of the programme. Phase 3 was sample-return, carried out by Change-5.

Three more missions are expected to follow as part of Phase 4, which focuses on building a lunar research station.

Change-6, to be launched in 2023 or 2024, will study the lunar composition, strength, subsurface geography, topography, and more, to finalise a landing site for a station. This is also a sample-return mission, overlapping with Phase 5.

Change-7, to be launched in 2023, will head to the South Pole and conduct a study on resources. It will consist of an orbiter, a lander, a rover, and a small flying probe. The mission will be one among many heading to the lunar South Pole over the upcoming years, including those from India and Japan.

Change-8, expected to take off in 2027, will attempt to develop and extract natural resources in-situ on the Moon. It is expected to include payloads like a 3D printer and a sealed biological experiment.

It will consist of a lander, rover, and a flying robot, and will operate as a technology demonstrator for the construction of a lunar science base.

Chinas Mars mission is called Tianwen (Questions to Heaven) after a classic poem. Its orbiter was among three that reached Mars this February. Once in orbit, it surveyed the Utopia Planitia landing site in the northern hemisphere for a couple of months until the Zhurong rover landed this month. The CNSA has since released the first photos taken by the lander.

The astro-biolgoical rover will study the geology and topography of Mars, as well as its atmosphere and magnetism.

China also plans to send another lander to Mars in 2028, and perform a sample-return mission.

Asteroids are on Chinas radar as it plans a number of other deep space missions. A proposed mission, called ZhengHe, will collect a sample from the asteroid 469219 Kamooalewa, which orbits near Earth, and drop it to Earth before heading to the asteroid 311P/PANSTARRS for a year-long flyby study.

The country is also planning to send an orbiter to Jupiter by 2030, expected to reach the planet by 2035. The proposed mission to Jupiter is called Gan De, and will study the magnetic field and the atmosphere of Jupiter, as well as the surface, ice, and tectonics of the largest Jovian moon Ganymede.

There is also a proposed mission to Uranus, that will be aimed to arrive at its destination around 2040.

Apart from these, China is planning five deep space probes that will be scientific in nature, to be developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. These will study a wide variety of Earth, solar, and space phenomena.

These include a space-weather observatory mission in collaboration with the European Space Agency, called the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a global Water Cycle Observation Mission (WCOM), the Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Thermosphere mission (MIT), the X-ray mission scanning for exotic high-energy phenomena called the Einstein Probe (EP), and the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) to study solar eruptions and other explosive phenomena on the surface of the Sun.

There are other scientific missions in the pipeline, including the X-ray Timing and Polarization (XTP) probe to test the fundamental laws of physics in extreme space conditions, and the Search for Terrestrial Exo-Planets (STEP) to find Earth-like exoplanets close to the Sun, and a probe to study solar magnetism called the Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT) mission.

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)

Also Read:2 Indians are trying to predict how junk flies in space, could help ISRO protect satellites

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Moon & Mars done, Jupiter & Uranus next on the list Chinas racing away in space too - ThePrint