Space Industry and Business News  
SPACE TRAVEL
SpaceX launches 19th cargo mission to space station with robot aboard
by Paul Brinkmann
Kennedy Space Center FL (UPI) Dec 05, 2019

file image

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a bright Florida sky Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the company's 19th cargo mission to the International Space Station.

The rocket, lifting off at 12:29 p.m., carried 5,700 pounds of supplies, experiments and a new version of the CIMON robot designed to interact with astronauts. The onboard robot is designed to float in the space station's habitat.

SpaceX had postponed a launch attempt Wednesday because of strong high-altitude winds that could knock the Falcon 9 rocket off course, but company officials said the weather was ideal Thursday and the launch came on time.

The first-stage booster of the rocket, which had not been used previously, landed on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after launch. A live feed showing the barge was interrupted as the booster descended, causing a gasp from the group watching at SpaceX headquarters. The feed was restored a few seconds later and showed the booster standing safely upright.

The Dragon capsule will travel through space for several days as it catches up to the station. On Dec. 8, the capsule will make a slow approach to space station, and astronauts on board will capture it using the station's Canadarm and attach it to an airlock.

After being unpacked and repacked, the capsule is scheduled to leave the space station from the station and re-enter Earth's atmosphere in January, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with 3,600 pounds of return cargo.

The robot being sent to the space station, CIMON - an acronym for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion - is capable of conversing with astronauts, helping them remember procedures and eventually detecting their mood in case of problems on board. It was built by Airbus with help from IBM and the German Aerospace Center.

The first version of CIMON was tested on the station in November 2018 with mixed results. Video showed German astronaut Alexander Gerst switching on the robot and holding a five-minute conversation with it. CIMON appeared to malfunction, floating down toward the deck of the station despite Gerst's attempt to pull it back.

But the robot did answer questions and play a song that was billed as Gerst's favorite in the video, The Man Machine, by German band Kraftwerk. Finally CIMON told Gerst to "Be nice to me," prompting snickers from the crew.

At one point in the conversation, the robot responded with comments about dancing when Gerst told it to "cancel" the music it was playing.

"The first CIMON was sent back to Earth and will go to a museum," said Till Eisenberg, a project manager for Airbus. "The new version has better microphones and software life that can last up to three years in space."

The goal, Eisenberg said, is to have CIMON support the crew's mental health and mood with conversation. It also could be equipped with sensors, such as those that would detect carbon monoxide if astronauts appear groggy.

Other items on the rocket included a high-tech toolbox, designed to be mounted outside the station, and a new hyperspectral Earth imaging system that was developed by the Japanese government for use in oil exploration among other things.

The toolbox will hold two leak detectors, and help reduce preparation time in space because they no longer will be brought through airlocks. The leak detectors are equipped with mass spectrometers that can find small leaks from the space station, NASA said.

The tool stowage assembly was developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Dragon capsule that carried the cargo previously flew on SpaceX's CRS-6 and CRS-11 missions.

Source: United Press International


Related Links
SpaceX
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


SPACE TRAVEL
NASA launching RiTS, a 'Robot Hotel' to the International Space Station
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 04, 2019
Sometimes robots need a place to stay in space, too. NASA is attaching a "robot hotel" to the outside of the International Space Station with the upcoming launch of the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a protective storage unit for critical robotic tools. RiTS is set to launch on Dec. 4 aboard the 19th SpaceX commercial resupply mission. Its first residents will be two Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL). Outfitted with mass spectrometers capable of "sniffing" out the presence of gases such as ammon ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SPACE TRAVEL
Virtual reality becomes more real

First measures of Earth's ionosphere found with the largest atmospheric radar in the Antarctic

Molecular vibrations lead to high performance laser

Smart satellites to the rescue of broken satellites

SPACE TRAVEL
General Dynamics receives $730M for next-gen satcom system

Airbus' marks 50 years in Skynet secure satellite communications for UK

Lockheed Martin gets $3.3B contract for communications satellite work

GenDyn nets $783M for next-gen Navy MUOS operations

SPACE TRAVEL
SPACE TRAVEL
China launches two more BeiDou satellites for GPS system

Russia to launch glass sphere into space before new year to obtain accurate Earth data

Lockheed Martin GPS Spatial Temporal Anti-Jam Receiver System to be integrated in F-35 modernization

GPS III Ground System Operations Contingency Program Nearing Operational Acceptance

SPACE TRAVEL
Electric aircraft - novel configurations open up new possibilities

Bell Boeing awarded $218.7M for V-22 Osprey support

Airbus fires 16 over suspected German army spying: report

The AWACS, NATO's reconnaissance air wing

SPACE TRAVEL
Toward more efficient computing, with magnetic waves

A record-setting transistor

End of an era as Japan's Panasonic exits chip business

Armored with plastic 'hair' and silica, new perovskite nanocrystals show more durability

SPACE TRAVEL
NASA, French space laser measures massive migration of ocean animals

The Eurasian continent remembers and amplifies cold waves as the Arctic warms

China launches new Earth observation satellite

NASA embarks on 5 expeditions targeting air, land and sea across US

SPACE TRAVEL
For some corals, meals can come with a side of microplastics

In Spain, how nutrients poisoned one of Europe's largest saltwater lagoons

Smog in Iran shuts schools, universities

Aegean volunteers battle to turn plastic waste tide









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.