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Jeff Bezos with ULA’s Tony Bruno and model of BE-4 Engine at September 2014 news conference in Washington DC Credit: Seattle Times

Table of Contents

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

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

Blue Origin Suborbital Test Flight ................................................................................................................. 3

SpaceX Launches 2nd Falcon 9 in 13 Days ...................................................................................................... 4

United Launch Alliance Sees SpaceX Bet and Raises ........................................................................... .......... 5

Sahara Dust Feeds Amazon Forests .............................................................................................................. 8

Mars has Glaciers of Frozen Water Covered by Dust ........................................................................... .......... 9

The Little Engine that Could ....................................................................................................... ................ 10

NASA’s EM Drive Has Skeptics ................................................................................................................... 11

NASA Researches Space Biology ................................................................................................................. 12

Space News ............................................................................................................................................... 14

Progress 59 Spins Out of Control ..................................................................................................................... 14

Ariane 5 Completes 222nd Launch .................................................................................................................... 14

XCOR Committed to Texas ............................................................................................................................... 14

VG Constructs 2nd SpaceshipTwo ..................................................................................................................... 15

Sierra Nevada Releases Video .......................................................................................................................... 15

We Must be Our Own Kennedy ....................................................................................................................... 15

Dragon 2 Abort Test Is Successful .................................................................................................................... 16

Compare Dragon and Orion ............................................................................................................................. 16

Star Trek Actress Dies ....................................................................................................................................... 16

Orbital Is Replacing Antares Engines ................................................................................................................ 17

That’s All Folks .......................................................................................................................................... 18

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Blue Origin

Suborbital Test Flight On April 29, 2015, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket

performed a successful suborbital launch 60 + miles into space. The empty passenger capsule separated and parachuted back to Earth. The flight clearly establishes Blue Origin as a commercial spaceflight

contender. Jeff Bezos is Blue Origin

owner,

Amazon.com founder, and Washington Post owner.

Oklahoma Space Alliance

What’s Happening

May 2015 Copyright © 2014 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 15th Street NW, Suite 500

Washington DC 20005 Exec Director TBD

nsshq@nss.org 202-429-1600

Oklahoma Space Alliance May 2015 Page 4 of 19

Credit: Blue Origin

See article at http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/04/blueorigins-

new-shepard-test-flight/’ See launch video at YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEdk-XNoZpA.

SpaceX Launches 2nd Falcon 9 in 13 Days

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Falcon 9 Launch 4/28/2015 Screenshot Credit: SpaceX/Space Pod/YouTube

See video and narrative at Space Pod 4/28/2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwr2hlxE-Fk

United Launch Alliance Sees SpaceX Bet and Raises

ULA Press Release: April 13, 2015 Colorado Springs, Colo., (April 13, 2015) -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) unveiled

its Next Generation Launch System (NGLS) today at the 31st Space Symposium.

The new rocket, Vulcan, will transform the future of space by making launch

services more affordable and accessible. The NGLS brings together decades of

experience on ULA’s reliable Atlas and Delta vehicles, combining the best features

of each to produce an all-new, American-made rocket that will enable mission

success from low Earth orbit all the way to Pluto. At today’s news announcement, Bruno also unveiled the Sensible, Modular,

Autonomous Return Technology (SMART) initiative, which will be introduced into

NGLS and allow ULA to reuse the most expensive portion of the first stage – the

booster main engines – via mid-air capture. This allows a controlled recovery

environment providing the confidence needed to re-fly the hardware. Step one of NGLS will consist of a single booster stage, the high-energy Centaur

second stage and either a 4- or 5-meter-diameter payload fairing. Up to four solid

rocket boosters (SRB) augment the lift off power of the 4-meter configuration,

while up to six SRBs can be added to the 5-meter version. In step two, the Centaur second stage will be replaced by the more powerful,

innovative Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES), making the NGLS capability

that of today’s Delta IV Heavy rocket. ACES can execute almost unlimited burns,

extending on-orbit operating time from hours to weeks.

Oklahoma Space Alliance May 2015 Page 6 of 19

See Announcement Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCceCh68oos

New booster with Methane LOX engine

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Advanced second state for flexible extended operations

Reusable engine recovery via parachutes and helicopter

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Support of multiple launch missions

Sahara Dust Feeds Amazon Forests

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Screenshot video Credit: NASA

Photo images from orbit show dust migration from the Sahara Desert to South

America. See video presentation at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7lVGhTPQAY&feature=youtu.be

Mars has Glaciers of Frozen Water Covered by Dust

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Mars and its Glaciers Credit: Niels Bohr Institute

Using data collected by Mars orbiting satellites, researchers at Niels Bohr Institute conclude that 150 billion cubic meters of ice are located in Martian glaciers. Layers of dust covering the ice prevent evaporation. Enough ice exists to cover the whole surface of Mars with a 1.1 meter thick layer. If their analysis holds true, water to support colonies on Mars exists in abundance. See article at http://spaceref.com/mars/mars-has-belts-of-glaciers-consisting-

offrozen-water.html.

The Little Engine that Could

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Electromagnetic Engine Tested by NASA Credit: NASA Eagleworks

Researchers in NASA Eagleworks group at the Johnson Space Center verified thrust from an engine that defies the laws of motion. Scientists doubted earlier tests performed in an air environment. New tests performed in vacuum produced thrust without any propellant. The concept of an EM Drive is that electromagnetic microwave cavities might provide for the direct conversion of electrical energy to thrust without the need to expel any propellant—a concept with profound implications for space travel. The applications of such a propulsion drive are multi-fold, ranging from low Earth

orbit (LEO) operations, to transit missions to the Moon, Mars, and the outer solar

system, to multi-generation spaceships for interstellar travel. See article at http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/04/evaluating-

nasasfuturistic-em-drive/.

NASA’s EM Drive Has Skeptics

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Skeptics say that any claim violating Newton’s Third Law requires extraordinary

evidence. Skeptics say “Even though the thrust experiment has been performed by three

different international research teams, the amount of thrust detected is so small

that it is within the range of error in the measurement sensors.” Consequently,

reputable scientific journals have not yet published the claim. Has NASA made a fundamental breakthrough? Hopefully, proof will come. The

Galaxy awaits! See skeptical article at

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ethansiegel/2015/05/04/nonasa-did-not-

accidentally-invent-warp-drive/.

NASA Researches Space Biology

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Oklahoma Space Alliance May 2015 Page 14 of 19

Slides are from presentation by Jeffery D. Smith, NASA Space Biology Project

Manager. See complete presentation at

http://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/spacebiosciences/space-biology-project-

manager-presents-2015-benson-memoriallecture.

Oklahoma Space Alliance A Chapter of The

National Space Society

Space News

Progress 59 Spins Out of Control

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Russian ISS resupply ship fails and cannot dock with the ISS.

See video from Progress 59

at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r9zq

6pMP00.

Airanespace launched Two Comm Sats. On

April 26 from French Guiana.

See Video at

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/

2015/04/Ariane_5_flight_VA222_liftoff_re

play.

XCOR

Committed to Texas

XCOR’s new president reaffirms move to

Midland, Texas. See article at

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/03/21

/xcor-heading-for-texas-eventually/.

Image Credit: XCOR/Mike Massee

XCOR Lynx Suborbital Spacecraft

Screenshot, Video Credit: NASA/YouTube

Ariane 5 Completes 222nd Launch

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VG Constructs

2nd SpaceshipTwo

Virgin Galactic is hard at work on the

second Spaceship Two. “Soon, we hope to

take our new spaceship off of the

construction fixtures and place her onto

her own landing gear for the first time—a

big milestone for the team.”

See article at

http://www.virgingalactic.com/mojave-

SpaceshipTwo Construction update-spaceshiptwo-construction/ Credit: Virgin Galactic

Sierra Nevada Releases Video

SNC releases video of Dream Chaser Cargo version. SNC is not giving up on

Dream Chaser.

See article and video at http://spaceref.biz/company/sierranevada/video-

sierra-nevada-corporation-

May 5,

Space

News

published

Part 1 of

Rick

Tumlison

article on motivation for space exploration.

See article at http://spacenews.com/oped-we-must-be-our-own-kennedy/’

Dream Chaser Cargo Spacecraft Screenshot, Video Credit: SNC

presentation-of-the-autonomous-versionof-the-dream-chaser.html.

We Must be Our Own Kennedy

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JFK at Rice University 9/16/1962 Delivering famous Moon Speech

Dragon 2 Abort Test Is Successful

SpaceX successfully completed Dragon 2’s

abort test from the launch pad. No name

Dummy survives in good shape.

See video at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsg6

WR4BWhw&feature=youtu.be.

Image cropped from screenshot of video

Credit: NASA

Compare

Dragon and Orion

Space Review article compares SpaceX

Dragon 2 NASA’s Orion. Dragon, as the

Future, and Orion, as the Past, comparison

shows Dragon to be much more advanced.

See article at

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2

743/1.

Star Trek actress Grace Lee Whitney dies at

85. She was in 8 of the original TV shows and

in many of the movies. We express or

thanks to the contribution of Star Trek cast

members to the general awareness and

interest in space exploration. See article at

http://www.space.com/29305-star-trek-

Grace Lee Whitney 1930-2015 grace-lee-whitney-obituary.html.

Orion Descent Phot Credit: US Navy

Star Trek Actress Dies

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Orbital Is Replacing Antares Engines

Six months after Antares explosion, Orbital

ATK is busy with plans to replace the AJ26

engines—Americanized version of Russian

NK-33. The re-engined Antares will have

higher performance. First launch expected

in March, 2016. See story at

Antares Failure October 28,2014

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2 Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

744/1.

.

Oklahoma Space Alliance May 2015 Page 19 of 19

That’s All Folks