Every few years the Orbital Ascender gets an update. We put in everything we’ve learned from our high altitude work, our high altitude airships and engine test firings. This is the Orbital Ascender Variant H1. It has a new airfoil, engine configuration and a hundred other mods.
New Video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/aRtM0hheSjg?si=kK3bGrL6jzSWBHjC
A short of one of our balloons giving it up at 100,000 feet.
Our mission control van being stripped down so it can get built back up again. There’s a couple of decades of desert dust under that frame.
Video! https://youtu.be/N6UdMPT2b4o
We caught the burst of the Away 132 balloon from the ground. It was straight overhead when it burst at 102,900 feet. This video shows the burst from the ground and from on board.
https://youtube.com/shorts/uTfrXf_WHEY?si=Ra60T4e6t5Cd_pJZ
This is a YouTube Short of our MHD test firing #131.
I’m exploring Chat GTP and wondered what it would say about exploring Venus. I was surprised at the quality of the response. It gave a fairly complete and very readable summary of Venus exploration. Impressively it also cited the sources of the information.
My input:
How to explore the planet Venus in 500 words
ChatGPT’s output:
Venus is the second planet from the sun and is similar in size to Earth ¹. It has a thick atmosphere that traps heat, making it the hottest planet in our solar system ¹. Venus has been visited by more than 40 spacecrafts ¹. However, due to its harsh environment, no spacecraft has survived for more than a few hours on its surface ¹.
To explore Venus, scientists have used orbiters, flybys, and landers ⁴. The first successful landing on Venus was done by the Venera-7 space probe in 1970 ³. The Soviet Union sent several probes to Venus during the Cold War era to explore the planet ³. The probes were equipped with cameras, spectrometers, and other instruments to study the planet’s surface, atmosphere, and magnetic field ³.
NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, launched in 1989, mapped 98% of Venus’s surface using radar ¹. The spacecraft discovered that Venus has a young surface with many volcanoes and lava flows ¹.
In 2021, NASA announced two new missions to Venus: VERITAS and DAVINCI+ ². VERITAS will map Venus’s surface using radar and infrared imaging ². DAVINCI+ will study Venus’s atmosphere and surface using a descent sphere ². Both missions are expected to launch in the late 2020s ².
In summary, Venus has been explored by more than 40 spacecrafts, including orbiters, flybys, and landers ¹³⁴. The Soviet Union sent several probes to Venus during the Cold War era to explore the planet ³. NASA’s Magellan spacecraft mapped 98% of Venus’s surface using radar ¹. In 2021, NASA announced two new missions to Venus: VERITAS and DAVINCI+ ². VERITAS will map Venus’s surface using radar and infrared imaging, while DAVINCI+ will study Venus’s atmosphere and surface using a descent sphere ².
(1) Venus – NASA Science. https://science.nasa.gov/venus.
(2) All About Venus | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-venus/en/.
(3) The Surface of Planet Venus – Essay Example – StudentShare. https://studentshare.org/geography/1494515-write-about-the-planet-of-venus.
(4) Mercury and Venus – Lesson – TeachEngineering. https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_solar_lesson03.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/8HTEUSK4o-k?si=kuBUmRc9Z8hfc-Gm
The next step! From MHD test firing No. 130
