Nouvelle Génération: Asteroid mining equipment, satellites and ISS supplies

John Barnes of the University of Missouri has sensationally claimed that drawings of what were thought to be hunting scenes may be constellations
His findings are based on the analysis of an ancient Greek vessel
The two-handled cup called a skyphos was found north of Thebes, Greece
It is thought to date back to around 625 BC
On the side it has drawings of animals that correspond to constellations
These include a bull (Taurus), a lion (Leo) and a dolphin (Delphinus)
Mr Barnes says it is unusual for these animals to be drawn together
And he says instead they seem to be grouped into seasons
This suggests the cup is one of the earliest replicas of Greek astronomy
Companies reveal losses after Nasa's unmanned vehicle and its $200 million cargo blew up just six seconds after taking off
Equipment that would have helped find asteroids to mine has been lost on yesterday's rocket launch
Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded six seconds are lift off yesterday evening at 6.22pm EDT
The launch was taking place from their site in Wallops Island, Virginia and there were no casualties
There were also 26 mini satellites on board that would have performed experiments in Earth orbit
Officials also said there was 'classified' material on board that had to be recovered immediately after the failure
And there was various food and supplies on board for astronauts on the ISS
However the astronauts will not be devoid of supplies - a Russian rocket successfully took off just hours later
It's thought the error may have been caused by antiquated Soviet engines used on the Antares rocket
One of these rockets failed in a test firing back in May of this year
Orbital Sciences may not be able to launch again for a year owing to the damage
Team said there appeared to be 'no issues' before launch and 'no early indications' of what happened
Self destruct command was sent to rocket before it hit the ground but it's unclear how much of the explosion was caused by this and how much was the malfunction
Public urged to stay away from debris with officials warning it may be 'hazardous' - and there is also classified material
Rocket launch is part of $1.9bn private contract to launch cargo to space station
Flight would have been visible from Massachusetts all the way to South Carolina
An attempt to launch the day before was abandoned with seconds to go after a sailboat entered a 'hazard zone' area

A rocket that exploded yesterday evening at 6:22pm EDT was carrying equipment that would have helped hunt for asteroids to mine and also a number of Earth-observation satellites, it has been confirmed.

The Nasa-funded rocket exploded on its way to the International Space Station just six seconds after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia.

And today organisations were counting the cost as more than £125 million ($200 million) worth of equipment went up in smoke in the explosion.

The launch appeared to be going perfectly, and the Antares rocket bound for the ISS left the launchpad - but then exploded

WHAT WAS ON THE ROCKET?

The Antares rocket was carrying the Cygnus spacecraft, which is an unmanned resupply vessel for the ISS.

On board this spacecraft was a variety of equipment from private companies to perform experiments in Earth orbit,

It had on board the Arkyd 3 satellite, which would have tested technology from Planetary Resources to search for asteroids to mine.

It also had 26 Doves, which are miniature cubesats. These small satellites designed by Planet Labs were intended to conduct experiments in Earth orbit.

There were also 18 student experiments investigate crystal formation, seed germination, plant growth, and other processes in microgravity as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.

One of the payloads was the Arkyd 3 satellite built by Planetary Resources, a company that intends to begin mining asteroids in Earth orbit in the coming decades.

This satellite, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, was to be a demonstrator of the technology that will ultimately be used to find asteroids that are suitable to mine.

But its loss will be a major setback in Planetary Resources’ attempts to begin the age of asteroid mining.

They were publicly upbeat on their Twitter page however, tweeting: ‘Live to fly another day. Onward! #Antares.’

And their chief Chris Lewicki later tweeted: ‘Cheer up everybody - A3 was just a robot! We are making more.’

Arkyd 3 would have been taken to the ISS and then released from an airlock on the Japanese Kibo module.

It would have tested the control system and also the propulsion system for the probes that will ultimately be used to find asteroids in the future.

Another payload lost was a group of 26 small cubesat satellites known as Doves, made by Planet Labs.

These would have been used to observe Earth, taking pictures of the ground, as has been performed by similar Dove satellites.

However, the company too was upbeat, highlighting that they spread their spacecraft across many different launches to mitigate the effects of a disaster such as this.

The beauty of this approach is the very fact that this event is not catastrophic to our company,’ the company writes on their website.

‘Our eggs were not all in one basket.’

In videos, the rocket is seen leaning to the right on purpose after launch to avoid pad equipment.

It has been reported that officials did send a self-destruct signal to the rocket, which is standard procedure in such an abort, but it’s unknown how much of the explosion was due to the initial malfunction or the self-destruct.

The explosion will also have caused a lot of damage to ground systems and the launchpad used by Orbital to reach space.

This is the only launchpad that can be used by Orbital’s Antares rocket, meaning it could take more than a year until they can begin flying again.

There has been speculation that the cause of the explosion may have been an engine called the AJ-26 used by Orbital.

This is an old Russian engine once used on their ill-fated lunar rocket, the N1, that had been upgraded for use on the Antares rocket. Back in May of this year one of the engines exploded in a test firing.

Officials finished their first assessment of the island on Wednesday and found that the damage was mostly centered on the third of the Wallops Island in the immediate vicinity of the launch pad. However, it will take months to complete the investigation into what went wrong and the consequences of the explosion

'I want to praise the launch team, range safety, all of our emergency responders and those who provided mutual aid and support on a highly-professional response that ensured the safety of our most important resource -- our people,' said Bill Wrobel, Wallops director.

'In the coming days and weeks ahead, we'll continue to assess the damage on the island and begin the process of moving forward to restore our space launch capabilities. There's no doubt in my mind that we will rebound stronger than ever.'

Investigations found that many of the buildings surrounding the launchpad had broken windows and imploded doors. However, sampels showed there were no hazardous substances detected in the air or in the waters surrounding the island. Officials will continue to monitor the situation, but the north side of the island has been reopened for the U.S. Navy to return to work.

Fears that the latest explosion would leave the astronauts on the ISS devoid of essential supplies were unfounded, though, as a Russian rocket launched perfectly just hours later from Kazakhstan.

But the explosion of the Antares rocket in Virginia is a major setback for Orbital Sciences, which is one of several companies competing for launch contracts from Nasa and elsewhere.

'A mishap has occurred. We have lost the vehicle,' controllers said seconds after blast off.

The rocket had been delayed from launching for a day after a sailboat strayed into the hazard zone on Monday, causing that launch to be scrubbed.

And conditions seemed to be perfect for the latest launch attempt, until seconds after it left the pad when it exploded.

'This is a tough evening,' said Frank Culberston of Orbital Sciences, which is working with the FAA to investigate the explosion.

'We want to express our disappointment, especially to the researchers who had science on board.’

Meanwhile William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator of Nasa’s Human Exploration and Operations Directorat, said: ‘While Nasa is disappointed that Orbital Sciences' third contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station was not successful today, we will continue to move forward toward the next attempt once we fully understand today's mishap.

‘The crew of the International Space Station is in no danger of running out of food or other critical supplies.

‘Orbital has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in its first two missions to the station earlier this year, and we know they can replicate that success.

‘Launching rockets is an incredibly difficult undertaking, and we learn from each success and each setback.

‘Today's launch attempt will not deter us from our work to expand our already successful capability to launch cargo from American shores to the International Space Station.’

WHERE WAS THE ROCKET GOING?

Antares was due to launch an unmanned Orbital-3 Cygnus spacecraft to deliver more than 5,000lbs of supplies to the International Space Station - including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions - as part of a $1.9billion deal with Nasa.

Outfitted with a new, more powerful upper-stage engine, the Antares rocket was packed with 5,055 pounds (2,293 kg) of supplies, science experiments and equipment, a 15 percent increase over previous missions.

Fire engulfed the launchpad, which it appears has sustained major damage - although Nasa says there were no casualties from the launch. It may be a year before Orbital Sciences can fly their rockets again

The rocket exploded six seconds after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia

+14

One of the payloads was the Arkyd 3 satellite (shown left) built by Planetary Resources, a company that intends to begin mining asteroids in Earth orbit in the coming decades. A company called Planet Labs, meanwhile, had 26 miniature Cubesat satellites on board called Doves. Some of these have already been used for experiments in Earth orbit (shown right)

Elon Musk, the CEO of rival launch company SpaceX, also expressed his regret at the launch failure, saying: ‘Sorry to hear about the @OrbitalSciences launch. Hope they recover soon.’

In a statement Orbital Sciences Corporation said they had formed an anomaly investigation board that would work with government agencies to determine the cause of the explosion.

‘It is far too early to know the details of what happened,’ said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group.

‘As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations.

‘We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident.

‘As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.’

The launch appeared to be going perfectly - until the rocket left the ground

At a press briefing following the accident, Nasa said that none of the cargo on the rocket was critical to the space station.

The spacecraft was carrying the unmanned Cygnus capsule, a resupply vehicle used to take equipment to the ISS.

Residents near the launch site have also been warned not to touch debris as it could be hazardous.

Mr Culberston warned locals from collecting ‘souvenirs’ from the launch site.

And in a statement Nasa added: 'Damage related to the Oct. 28 launch attempt of an Antares rocket was contained to the hazard area, but there may have been a scattering of debris. Public safety is our No. 1 priority.'

The rocket was also carrying some classified cryptographic equipment, and immediately following the explosion engineers were told to secure the equipment on the launch site.

After the launch an unidentified official said the cargo contained ‘class-5 crypto’, although what this was exactly is unknown.

Just hours later a Russian supply ship called Progress lifted off from Kazakhstan at 3:09am EDT this morning (07:09am GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This had with it nearly 5,200 pounds of food, fuel and supplies for the crew on the ISS.

Meanwhile the next SpaceX spacecraft, called CRS-5, is scheduled to launch to the station in early December.

Orbital Sciences stock fell 12.7 percent after hours on news of the explosion, down $3.87 per share at $26.50.

The spacecraft was carrying 'some classified cryptographic equipment, so we do need to maintain the area around the debris in a secure manner,' said Mike Pinkston, the company's Antares program manager.

'Before launch the Orbital team was not tracking any issues.

Mike Suffredini, Nasa's ISS programme manager, said 'We keep enough on board to keep going for 4-6 months.

'From a consumables standpoint, we are in good shape - and tomorrow morning a Russian cargo vehicle will launch to ISS.

'The crew were disappointed, but they are continuing on with their tasks.'

'SpaceX also has a flight on December 9th. we lost some spares we'll have to replace - but the station is in great shape.'

However, Suffredini admitted the space agency would now juggle the items being taken by SpaceX.

Bill Wrobel of Nasa said 'Preliminary reports show damage was contained to the south of Wallops Island.

'There is a possiblity of debris washing up on beaches in the area.'

The space agency aid it was letting the fires of rocket propellant in the area burn themselves out.

'No injuries have been reported, and Orbital reports that all personnel around the Wallops Flight Facility launch site have been accounted for.'

The launch director confirmed that all personnel we accounted for, meaning there were no injuries.

Cygnus was to loiter in orbit until 2 November, then fly itself to the station so astronauts can use a robotic crane to snare the capsule and attach it to a berthing port.

The station, a $100 billion research laboratory owned and operated by 15 nations, flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth.

Operators were forced to abandon the first attempt at a launch the day before, despite perfect weather conditions, because a boat appeared in a 'hazard area' nearby.