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Table of Contents

Quote of the Month .......................................................................................................... .......................... 1

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. ........... 2

SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 Booster ...................................................................................... .............................. 3

New Shepard Booster Lands after Suborbital Test ............................................................................. ........... 4

Orbital/ATK Cygnus ISS Resupply Launched on Atlas V ................................................................................. 5

Astronaut Scott Kelly Photographs Cygnus Launch ............................................................................. .......... 6

ULA in 2015 ................................................................................................................................................. 7

Arianespace Sets record with 12 Launches in 2015 ............................................................................ ........... 8

International Launch Record for 2015 ....................................................................................................... ... 9

Selected 2015 achievements ................................................................................................. ..................... 10

EU Tests Lifting Body Spacecraft ...................................................................................................................... 10

Dawn Probe Orbits Ceres ................................................................................................................................. 11

Messenger Ends 11 Year Mission ..................................................................................................................... 12

Philae Lander Wakes UP ................................................................................................................................... 13

New Horizon Flies Past Pluto ............................................................................................................................ 14

SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 Booster ........................................................................................................................ 15

Oklahoma Space Alliance 2015 News ......................................................................................................... 16

What’s Coming in ‘Near Future’ .............................................................................................. ................... 17

XCOR Lynx Nears Completion ........................................................................................................................... 17

3-D Printing Grows in Importance .................................................................................................................... 18

Bigelow Aerospace Will Finally Get Transportation ........................................................................................ 19

Satellite Constellations Provide High-Capacity Bandwidth .............................................................................. 20

Anticipated News ............................................................................................................................................. 21

That’s All Folks ........................................................................................................................................ .. 22

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Oklahoma Space Alliance

What’s Happening

January 2016 Copyright © 2016 Oklahoma Space

Alliance Editor Stephen Swift

sswift42@aol.com 405-496-3616

The Oklahoma Space Alliance What’s Happening is a presentation in each monthly meeting of the Oklahoma Space Alliance. Oklahoma Space Alliance is a chapter of the National Space Society, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The address of OSA is 102 W. Linn, #1, Norman, OK 73071. Unless otherwise noted, all contents of articles herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of anyone but the editor or the originating source. Reprint rights are granted to chapters of NSS and to any non-profit organization for education or information purposes only provided credit is given.

.OSA 2015 http://chapters.nss.org/ok/osanss.html

President Stephen Swift Update Editor

sswift42@aol.com 405-496-3616

Vice President David Sheely

sheely@sbcglobal.net 405-821-9077

Secretary & Syd Henderson Outreach Editor

sydh@ou.edu 405-321-4027(H) 405-365-8983(C)

Treasurer Tim Scott

ctsscott@mac.com 405-740-7549(H)

NSS Chapters Claire McMurray

cliffclaire@hotmail.com 405-329-4326(H) 405-863-

9173(C)

NSS Headquarters 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 500

Washington DC 20005 Exec Director TBD

nsshq@nss.org

Oklahoma Space Alliance January 2016 Page 4 of 23

SpaceX Lands

Falcon 9 Booster

On December 21, 2015, SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster rocket (14 stories tall) at Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral after launching 11 commercial satellites into orbit. There is no denying at least the potential for sweeping

change in space access that the successful landing

could make possible, if recovered stages can be readily

and effectively reused. “It’s a revolutionary moment,”

Musk said of the landing. “It’s a fundamental step

change in technology compared to any other rocket

that has ever flown.”

See Space Review article by Jeff Faust at

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2895/1.

202-429-1600

Oklahoma Space Alliance January 2016 Page 5 of 23

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 descends towards a landing at

the company’s “Landing Zone 1” at Cape Canaveral December 21, the first time the company successfully recovered the stage

(of an orbital launch). (credit: SpaceX)

See landing video from SpaceX at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6oiLNyKKI

New Shepard Booster Lands after Suborbital Test

Blue Origin team celebrates after historic first suborbital booster landing. Credit: Blue Origin

Blue Origin’s New Shepard space vehicle successfully flew to space, reaching its

planned test altitude of 329,839 feet (100.5 kilometers) before executing a historic

landing back at the launch site in West Texas. The Payload Capsule achieved a

‘soft landing’ via parachute.

See article and video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pillaOxGCo.

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Orbital/ATK Cygnus ISS Resupply Launched on Atlas V

Atlas V liftoff with Cygnus cargo craft heading to ISS. Screenshot Credit: United Launch Alliance

With a brilliant afternoon launch, the private spaceflight company Orbital ATK

returned its Cygnus cargo ship to flight after a year on hiatus Sunday (Dec. 6),

launching vital supplies and NASA gear to the International Space Station.

See Space.com article and launch at http://www.space.com/31278-

cygnusspacecraft-launch-orbital-atk-return-to-flight.html.

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NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on the International Space Station captured this view from orbit as the Cygnus cargo ship launching spaceward on an Atlas V rocket on Sunday, Dec. 6 2015.

Credit: NASA/Scott Kelly via Twitter (@StationCDRKelly)

Astronaut Scott Kelly Photographs Cygnus Launch

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ULA in 2015

2015 Launch Highlights Page Credit: United Launch Alliance

See ULA 2015 video at http://www.ulalaunch.com/fil e - library.asp x .

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Arianespace Sets record with 12 Launches in 2015

Flight VS13 was the 13th Soyuz liftoff performed from French Guiana since this vehicle’s 2011 introduction at the Spaceport.

With 12 successful launches over 12 months, Arianespace’s mission performance

in 2015 was one for the record book – concluding with today’s Soyuz flight that

further expanded the European Galileo global navigation satellite system.

See article at Airanespace website:

http://www.arianespace.com/missionupdate/12-for-12-arianespace-concludes-its-

record-breaking-2015-with-anothersuccess-for-europe/.

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International Launch Record for 2015

The 2015 space launch record (as of December 30, 2015):

*Failed launch; **Launch vehicle performed as planned, but payload failed to separate from upper stage;

Table from Russian Space.Web by Anatoly Zak

Note: Europe had 12 launches and Russia had 26. Russian writers claim ESA Soyuz

launches at their own.

Selected 2015 achievements See article at http://www.russianspaceweb.com/2015.html.

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EU Tests Lifting Body Spacecraft

On February 11, the European Space Agency, ESA, successfully launched on a

suborbital trajectory and recovered an experimental wingless glider, IXV. It

became the first true "lifting body" vehicle, which reached a near-orbital speed

and then returned back to Earth without any help from wings.

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Dawn Probe Orbits Ceres

On March 6, NASA's Dawn probe entered orbit around Ceres. The spacecraft

beamed back first detailed views of the dwarf planet, including close-up photos of

mysterious bright features. Scientists were split on the nature of the white

material, suggesting that it could be a salty substance or ammonia-rich clays.

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Messenger Ends 11 Year Mission

On April 30, NASA's Messenger spacecraft ended its 11-year spectacular mission

with a controlled crash into a mountain side on Mercury near 54.4 degrees

latitude, 210.1 degrees longitude, becoming the first artificial object to touch the

planet

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Philae Lander Wakes UP

On June 13, 22:28 CEST, ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt,

Germany, received signals from the Philae lander after months of silence on the

surface of comet of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae was dispatched to the

comet's surface from the Rosetta "mother probe," which had entered orbit around

67P in 2014. According to original plans, the Rosetta was to end its mission in

December as the comet had flown beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

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New Horizon Flies Past Pluto

On July 14, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto and its moons, providing

first clear images of the remove world and delivering a treasure trove of scientific

data to the delight of scientists and general public. In the fall, the New Horizons

Oklahoma Space Alliance January 2016 Page 16 of 23

make maneuvers aiming to reach 2014 MU69, a small Kuiper Belt object, on Jan. 1,

2019.

SpaceX Lands Falcon 9 Booster

On December 21, SpaceX succeeded with a rocket-powered landing of a first stage

booster, which lifted the Falcon-9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. It was the first use

of this landing mode in the course of an actual orbital launch attempt, however

the jury is still out on the economics of reusable launch systems.

Oklahoma Space Alliance 2015 News

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1. OSA Invited to Present at Oklahoma City Lions Club

2. OSA Invited to Present at Tinker Engineer and Scientist

Leadership Association

3. Cliff and Clair McMurray Invited to Official Pluto Flyby Event

Oklahoma Space Alliance January 2016 Page 18 of 23

What’s Coming in ‘Near Future’

XCOR Lynx Nears Completion

Lynx Assembly Image (Credit: XCOR)

Hopefully Lynx will finally fly! Suborbital tourisim awaits.

See article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-

2886516/Thepassenger-spacecraft-sit-cockpit-95-000-New-pictures-reveal-XCOR-

Lynx-spaceplane-getting-close-completion.html.

3-D Printing Grows in Importance

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This spacecraft prototype was created on a 3-D printer using metal from a meteorite

found in Argentina. The object is sitting on the part of the meteorite that was left

over. (Credit: Planetary Resources)

Three-Dimensional Printing applications will continue to grow. Eventually, 3-D

printing will be a great enabler for space settlement.

See article at http://www.geekwire.com/2016/planetary-resources-shows-off-

spacehardware-thats-3-d-printed-real-asteroid-metal/.

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Bigelow Aerospace Will Finally Get Transportation

Bigelow Space Station Concept. Artist representation Credit: Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow waits for commercial crew spacecraft and lower cost orbital launches.

Bigelow is ready and waiting. Hopefully, between SpaceX, Boeing, Sierra Nevada

and Blue Origin needed transportation emerges within the next few years.

See Bigelow Aerospace web site: http://bigelowaerospace.com/.

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Satellite Constellations Provide High-Capacity Bandwidth

OneWeb Space Constellation (Image Courtesy www.airbus.com)

Satellite constellations will provide global communications without limits of land

cables and with smaller latency delays than experienced with geosynchronous

satellites.

SpaceX, OneWeb and others plan satellite constellations.

See article at http://www.industrytap.com/4000-spacex-satellites-launch-

20172019/33721.

Anticipated News

1. Blue Origin will make steady progress toward human spaceflight.

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2. SpaceX will move up to 24 launches per year.

3. SpaceX will begin reusing falcon 9 boosters.

4. Falcon Heavy will launch.

5. Boeing Starliner commercial crew spacecraft will begin testflights

6. SpaceX Dragon 2 will begin test flights

7. Virgin Galactic will begin test with second SpaceshipTwo 8. EU will

announce its commitment level to the ISS

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That’s All Folks