@AkaSci@fosstodon.org
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AkaSci

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org

SatCom Scientist
Writing occasionally about space missions, astronomy, planetary science, satellites and science in general.
He/Him
#science #space #technology #astronomy #satellites #Democracy

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AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

A rare tornado just went thru heavily populated Montgomery County, MD, northwest of Washington D.C. Now headed towards Baltimore.

Not sure if it touched down or caused heavy damage.

Image credit: Victor T.
1/n

AkaSci,
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

@drive
I don't think the Washington D.C. area gets many tornadoes.

AkaSci,
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

The Tornado Risk Index for the Washington area is relatively low compared to that in the Midwest and South.

https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/tornado
2/n

AkaSci,
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

From Noah Bergren -

"The last time there was an F/EF2+ tornado anywhere around the DC or Baltimore area in the month of June was 6/24/1996 when a 20 mile F2 hit in the SW burbs of Washington DC.

F2 6/24/1996
F2 6/3/1980
F2 6/16/1973
F3 6/9/1961

Safe to say at least one EF2+ tornado touched down tonight based of damage and radar which would make it the 1st strong tornado in June in nearly 30 years."

3/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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Here is a map of the area with locations of tornado sightings and damage reports.

Most of the damage seems to be caused by trees falling on homes. Thankfully, it's not like the widespread total destruction we see around TX and OK.

Further tornado sightings being reported from counties east and north of Montgomery county.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/06/05/maryland-tornado-gaithersburg-live-updates-damage/
4/n

AkaSci,
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Some more pics of the tornado in Montgomery County, MD.

Must be terrifying for those who saw or experienced it.

Credit: Pete Piringer, Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue Service.
5/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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The stuff of nightmares - a large tree in one's yard crashing through the roof.
This scene is from Dogwood Dr in Gaithersburg, MD.
😬
6/n

AkaSci, to space
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Preparations for NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Launch are in progress.

Launch time: 12:25 pm ET

"The two NASA astronauts aboard, flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth. After a one-week stay docked to the International Space Station, the Starliner and crew will land under parachutes in the western United States."

https://youtu.be/aEi5boWupRk

1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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After some issues with the Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, Starliner is now proceeding towards the ISS. At the 10m hold point the spacecraft will hold for 6 minutes to wait for nominal lighting.

Next docking time window starts at 13:33 EDT (17:33 UTC).

Webcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaWL0J-Tbw
16/n

AkaSci,
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We have contact!

Starliner and astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have arrived at the ISS.

17/n

AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Incoming! A severe G4 Geomagnetic Storm is expected to arrive around 02:00 UTC Friday night / Saturday morning.

At least 5 Coronal Mass Ejections took place over the past 24 hours, directed towards Earth. These originated from a large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster (NOAA region 3664).

There is potential for disruption of communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.

And bright auroras as far south as Alabama!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
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It's now 27 days since Sunspot region 3664 lobbed the CMEs that produced the great aurora show on May 10.

In 27 days, the Sunspot has undergone one full rotation and region 3664, now renamed as 3697, is back in a similar position as May 10. Although the sunspot region is still quite active - it generated an M6.1 flare today, but no CME - it seems to have thankfully lost some of its punch. No major CMEs have been launched during this round.

https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/
33/n

AkaSci, (edited )
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Another parting shot by sunspot region 3697, as it rotates away from sight. An M9.7 flare at 0128 UTC resulted in Moderate (S2-S3) solar radiation storms today.

A solar radiation storm (also known as a Solar Proton Event or SPE) is caused by protons that travel a fraction of the speed of light and reach earth within hours.

A moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm is expected around 00:00 UTC Jun 12.

https://www.spaceweather.gov/
34/n

AkaSci, (edited ) to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

China's Chang'e 6 mission to the moon was launched today.

The spacecraft and mission are very similar to Chang'e 5, which brought lunar rock samples back to earth in 2020, except that the Chang'e 6 landing site is on the far side of the moon (43.0°S 154.0°W).

Comms will take place via the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which was launched on March 20 and is in an elliptical lunar orbit of 200×16,000 km at 62.4° inclination.

Mission time: 53 days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7a4n-rmBIw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_6
1/n

AkaSci,
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The Chang'e-6 ascender module successfully docked with the probe's orbiter-returner at 08:48 UTC on Thursday.

The container with lunar soil samples was transferred from the ascender to the returner by 09:24 UTC.

Sample return to earth is scheduled for June 25.

Here is a video of the rendezvous taken by a camera on the orbiter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPIJFeKxSE
#Change6
14/n

AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Happy Birthday to the Hubble Space Telescope, launched OTD in 1990, with Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-31 mission.

34 years and 5 servicing missions later, Hubble is still going strong, unfolding the mysteries of the Universe from its perch 540 km above earth.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahubble/albums/72157670398668526/
https://hubblesite.org/home
1/n

AkaSci, (edited )
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Modern spacecraft like JWST use a newer type of gyroscope - the "Hemispherical Resonator Gyroscope" (HRG). It uses a quartz hemisphere vibrating at its resonant frequency in a vacuum; the hemisphere's rate of motion is sensed by the interaction between the hemisphere and sensing electrodes on the HRG housing.

There are no moving parts, flexible leads or bearings.
Extremely reliable but high mfg complexity.
MTBF = 10 million hours!

https://webb.nasa.gov/content/forScientists/faqScientists.html#gyros
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemispherical_resonator_gyroscope

10/n

AkaSci,
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Hubble's gyros contain a wheel spinning at 19,200 rpm on gas bearings. The wheel is mounted in a sealed cylinder, which floats in a thick fluid. The gyro’s motor is powered via hair-thin wires that traverse this fluid.

Rotations of the spacecraft cause tiny movements of the axis of the wheel, which are measured and fed to Hubble’s flight computer.

Hubble's gyros were the most accurate in the world in their time. But prone to failure ...

https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/sm3a/sm3a_fact_sheets.html

11/n

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