NASA Prepares to Launch
Climate-Measuring Satellite (Source: Arizona Republic)
An Orbital Sciences satellite built in Gilbert, Ariz., will launch next
week in what NASA hopes will be an investigation into global climate
change. The satellite will measure carbon dioxide levels and produce a
detailed look at emissions. "It's an extraordinary step forward in our
understanding of carbon dynamics in the world," said Osvaldo Sala,
professor of life sciences and sustainability at Arizona State
University. (6/26)
Zubrin Challenges Chang Diaz to Mars
Debate (Source: Mars Society)
“This debate is critically necessary. Dr. Chang Diaz has been actively
propagandizing an argument combining three claims. First, that cosmic
radiation hazards dictate that current day propulsion, which enables
six month transits from Earth to Mars, is too slow to enable human
mission to Mars. Second, that therefore much faster forms of
interplanetary propulsion are necessary before we dare undertake human
Mars exploration missions. Third, that his VASIMR propulsion system
would uniquely enable such quick trips. In fact, all three of these
points are false." (6/26)
Heavyweight SES Leans on Europe To
Meet SpaceX Launch Prices (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator SES on June 25 told investors it is flexing
its muscles to assure that a European commercial electric-satellite
product is developed to compete with Boeing and other U.S. providers,
and to force Europe’s launch vehicle industry to cut prices to keep up
with SpaceX. SES management said the company will be using its
influence as the operator of a 55-satellite fleet to continue to drive
down the cost of delivering a megahertz of satellite bandwidth to its
customers. (6/27)
Leadership Transition Underway at
Commercial Spaceflight Federation (Source: Space News)
Two top executives are leaving the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
(CSF), including former astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who joined the
Washington-based advocacy group two years ago. Combined with the
imminent departure of Stuart Witt as chairman of the group’s board of
directors — the full-time manager and chief executive of the Mojave Air
and Space Port will finish his term as chairman in September — the
stage is now set for a wholesale turnover of CSF leadership by the end
of the year.
Lopez-Alegria’s planned departure was initially confirmed by CSF
Executive Director Alex Saltman, who stepped down June 26 to move to
California with his family. Sirisha Bandla, CSF’s assistant director,
will handle Saltman’s duties until a replacement is announced later
this summer. (6/27)
Commercial Crew Partners Get Extension
(Source: Space News)
NASA has quietly extended its current partnership agreements with two
of the three companies developing space taxis to fly astronauts to and
from the international space station, documents posted on NASA’s
website show. Both Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and
Sierra Nevada Corp. now have until March 2015 to complete milestones
specified in their Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap)
contracts, which began in August 2012. The agreements previously were
slated to end on Aug. 31, 2014. (6/27)
Shotwell: Orbcomm Launch Not Likely
Before July 14 (Source: Space News)
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell on June 25 said the launch of six
Orbcomm commercial messaging satellites, which has been delayed on
multiple occasions since early May, likely will not occur before July
14 as the U.S. Air Force performs scheduled launch-range maintenance
and SpaceX works out Falcon 9 thrust vector control issues. Shotwell
said SpaceX noticed a possible issue with the rocket’s first-stage
thrust vector control actuator June 22. That caused a scrub of the
planned Orbcomm launch. (6/27)
Russian Angara Rocket Launch Halted in
Last Minutes, Reasons Unknown (Source: Radio Liberty)
The inaugural test launch of Russia's Angara rocket -- its first new
design of a space vehicle since the Soviet era -- was canceled on June
27 minutes before blastoff. According to officials, the automatic abort
system was triggered and the launch was halted. No reason was given for
the failure. The launch, from Russia's northern space complex of
Plesetsk, has been delayed until at least June 28. (6/27)
SpaceX Eyeing July 12-14 for Possible
Launch of Orbcomm OG2 (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
SpaceX is looking at a possible July 14-15 launch for the six Orbcomm
OG2 satellites. The cause for this delay is routine maintenance of
systems at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Eastern Range. SpaceX had
tried repeatedly to launch the Falcon 9 v1.1 with the communications
satellites on board between June 11-24. The Hawthorne, California-based
firm had scheduled no-fewer-than seven attempts during this period but
was unable to do so for a variety of reasons. (6/26)
NASA Announces Education Research
Grants (Source: NASA)
NASA is awarding $11.25 million to 15 colleges and universities across
the US to conduct basic research and technology development in areas
including climate change, nanotechnology, astrophysics, aviation and
other areas relevant to the agency's missions. The awards, each valued
at $750,000, are made through NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Click here. (6/26)
US Refusal to Host Russian Navigation
Stations is ‘Political’ (Source: RIA Novosti)
The refusal by the US to set up transmitters for Russia's GLONASS
system is more of a political than a technical move, GLONASS CEO
Alexander Gurko said Thursday. “There is a lot of politics and little
technology in this issue and there is no business at all. This process
has not at all affected our activity,” Gurko said. As part of its
development, GLONASS is building a high-precision positioning network.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said earlier this month that work
on ground stations for GPS, the rival US navigation system could be
suspended. Rogozin also said that in an effort to prevent further
politicization, as of June 1, GPS stations in Russia have been adjusted
so that they cannot be used for military purposes. The measure comes in
response to Washington’s refusal to host Russia’s GLONASS stations.
Rogozin said the decision remains in force until the US meets Russia’s
demands to locate GLONASS stations in the US. (6/26)
NASA's Deep-Space Craft Readying for
Launch (Source: CNN)
The U.S. space shuttle program retired in 2011, leaving American
astronauts to hitchhike into orbit. But after three long years, NASA's
successor is almost ready to make an entrance. Orion, the agency's
newest manned spaceship, is being prepared for its first mission in
December. In future missions, it will journey into deep space -- to
Mars and beyond -- farther than humans have ever gone before.
Orion comes loaded with superlatives. It boasts the largest heat shield
ever built and a computer 400 times faster than the ones on the space
shuttles. It will be launched into space on the most powerful rocket
NASA has ever made. No astronauts will be aboard the December flight,
which will test the spacecraft's systems for future manned missions.
Click here.
(6/26)
Singer Sarah Brightman To Begin
Training For 2015 Space Flight (Source: Radio Liberty)
British singer Sarah Brightman is scheduled to begin training in August
or September for a flight to the International Space Station as a space
tourist in 2015. The director of the Russian Cosmonaut Training Center,
Yury Lonchakov, told reporters on June 27 that Brightman will train
with an international crew at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
Brightman, 53, is a famed soprano who starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's
"Phantom of the Opera." She is reportedly paying more than $50 million
for a 10-day trip aboard the orbiting outpost. She says she hopes to
become the first professional musician to sing from space. (6/27)
Who’s Behind Supply of Russian Engines
to US is Still a Murky Question (Source: Quartz)
The RD-180 is bought from a company called RD Amross. But it doesn’t
actually make the engine; it’s a joint venture between a US firm and
the US subsidiary of a Russian one, NPO Energomash. The subsidiary is
registered in Delaware, a state with strict secrecy rules. NPO
Energomash, which is state-owned, makes the engines and sells them to
RD Amross, which in turn sells them to ULA.
Sen. John McCain wants to know if taxpayers are getting ripped off and
by whom—he’s asked US defense officials to determine the price RD
Amross pays and identify “all nominal and beneficial owners” of RD
Amross and of NPO Energomash’s US subsidiary. The implication is that
they may not be who they claim to be; McCain notes that “the Russian
procurement process is rife with inefficiency and corruption that
benefits insiders while boosting retail prices.”
That will put US defense officials in a bit of a quandary: They’ve
awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to ULA, but apparently without
digging sufficiently into the practices of RD Amross or its pricing.
SpaceX says this is a violation of the government contracting laws.
(6/27)
Space Debris Could Delay Indian Launch
by Three Minutes (Source: India Times)
There may be a three-minute delay in the launch of its Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 from the Sriharikota spaceport on Monday, owing
to the probability of some space debris getting in the way of the
rocket, Indian Space Research Organization chairman K Radhakrishnan
said. In 2011, ISRO delayed the launch of PSLV-C18 by a minute to avoid
space debris. (6/27)
How to Design a Spacesuit for Landing
on an Asteroid (Source: WIRED)
Earlier this year around 230,000 people participated in a vote to
choose the outer skin of NASA's new Z-2 planetary exploration
spacesuit. Yet for humanity's first manned mission into deep space NASA
isn't actually planning to use this brand-new, if bulky, spacesuit.
Instead the two astronauts who land their Orion capsule on an asteroid
yet to be chosen (at some point after 2020) will wear the Asteroid
Redirect Crewed Mission Suit whose technology has its origins in the U2
spy plane missions and the Apollo program. This new suit will actually
be a modified launch/entry suit for the Orion combined with NASA's new
portable life support system (or PLSS) for space walks. (6/26)
Fine, You Reached Pluto. So What’s
Next? (Source: TIME)
It will be a very big deal when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft finally
arrives at Pluto next July, after a nine-year, four-billion-mile-plus
journey. Sure, the tiny, icy world was demoted from “planet” to “dwarf
planet” a few months after launch, but being shuffled ignominiously
into a lesser category doesn’t make Pluto any less interesting. Once
considered to be a weird little world orbiting alone at the edges of
the Solar System, it’s now recognized as just the biggest member (more
or less) of a huge swarm of frozen objects known collectively as the
Kuiper Belt.
But once you’ve spent $700 million on a space probe, it’s a shame to
let it go idle after zipping past its prime target. All along,
therefore, New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern has been
planning to visit a second Kuiper Belt object (or KBO) after the Pluto
encounter. The problem: while planetary scientists are sure there are
billions of KBO’s out there, they’ve only identified 1,500 or so over
the past 22 years—and none of them is on New Horizons’ projected
trajectory. Click here.
(6/26)
Gigantic Ocean Vortices Seen From
Space Could Change Climate Models (Source: WIRED)
The weather is a dance between an odd couple: the frantic atmosphere
and the staid sea. The atmosphere changes quickly, as when a strong
wind suddenly starts to blow or a cyclone careens ashore. The ocean
seems more sedate. Its wide gyres trace the edges of continents,
carrying sun-warmed water from the equator out towards the poles. Even
the rough storms that terrorize sailors are more the sky’s fault than
the sea’s. The waves that toss a ship are whipped up by the wind.
But it turns out that the ocean makes its own gestures; it just makes
them very slowly. Enormous vortices of water, measuring 60 miles
across, spin their way across the sea at a deliberate pace—3 miles per
day. Oceanographers have dubbed them mesoscale eddies for their middle
size, larger than a wake formed by an aircraft carrier and smaller than
a gyre. ach one is like an upside down mountain of water, held together
by its own rotation and extending about 3,000 feet beneath the surface.
Previously, it was thought that the steady currents like the Gulf
Stream were almost entirely responsible for moving stuff through the
ocean. The ocean transports trash, nutrients, radioactive waste,
dissolved carbon dioxide and heat all around the world, and the latter
two are especially important for understanding climate change. Qiu’s
study raises the possibility that eddies also make a substantial
contribution to these transports. (6/26)
Aussie Startup NewSat Signs 3-Year
Lease on Russian Satellite (Source: Space News)
Australian startup satellite operator NewSat Ltd. has purchased
capacity on the Russian Satellite Communications Co.’s Express-AM3
satellite, recently moved to 103 degrees east, in a three-year contract
valued at $13 million, Moscow-based RSCC said. Victoria-based NewSat,
which recently told investors it was cutting costs following reduced
teleport sales to military and energy production customers, appears
nonetheless determined to expand its business as it waits for its own
capacity to reach orbit. (6/26)
Roscosmos Reinstates Rejected Female
Cosmonaut Candidate (Source: CollectSpace)
As it turns out, Anna Kikina will become a cosmonaut after all. The
only woman among Russia's most recent candidates, Kikina was originally
excluded from joining the cosmonaut corps when the new class was
announced on June 16. That decision has now been overturned, a
spokesman for Russia's space agency Roscosmos told the Interfax news
service. (6/26)
New Ion-Propulsion System Could
Deliver Time Capsule to Mars (Source: Space.com)
A student-led mission aims to send a time capsule to Mars, using a new,
more compact kind of propulsion system. The Time Capsule to Mars
mission is designed to bring three tiny "cubesats" containing photos,
videos and other media provided by people around the world to the Red
Planet, using "ion-electrospray technology." This new kind of
propulsion system could deliver the cubesats to Mars in as few as four
months, the mission's organizers say. (6/26)
Recovering SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Ocean
Landing Video (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
When SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket last April, most eyes
were on the vehicle’s passenger, the CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft, en route
to another mission to the ISS. However, for many SpaceX followers, a
hugely interesting aspect of the mission was its secondary objective –
to bring the first stage back from space to a soft splashdown in the
ocean after stage separation. While this goal was achieved, video
footage suffered from heavy interference, leading to a huge crowd
sourcing effort to restore the historic imagery. Click here.
(6/26)
SpaceX Seeks To Amend Lawsuit Against
Air Force Based on McCain Letter (Source: Space Policy Online)
SpaceX is asking permission to amend its lawsuit against the Air Force
for awarding a block-buy contract to ULA in light of statements in a
letter from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to the head of DOD's acquisition
office. McCain's letter on June 20 asked about the price the Air Force
pays for RD-180 engines, saying he is "aware of claims that the engines
have been sold by NPO Energomash to RD Amross at a much lower price
than RD Amross charges ULA for them."
He asked nine detailed questions about RD-Amross including pricing data
between Energomash and RD Amross, between RD Amross and ULA, and
between ULA and the Air Force. In its proposed amendment to the lawsuit
it filed in April, SpaceX asserts that it learned from McCain's letter
that there are questions about the prices the Air Force pays for
RD-180s and whether ULA met the requirement to provide certified cost
and pricing information as part of its bid for the contract, which was
awarded in 2013.
"Based on Senator McCain's letter, it appears that ULA failed to
provide certified cost and pricing data for the RD-180 engines and/or
the Air Force failed to rationally assess whether it was paying a fair
and reasonable price for those engines," the SpaceX amendment states.
If ULA had provided that data, the Air Force "would have been forced to
confront the fact that at least one of its suppliers is fleecing the
United States taxpayer." (6/26)
RockOn Sounding Rocket Launches
Successfully at Virginia Spaceport (Source: SpaceRef)
The RockOn Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket containing multiple
student-built experiments launched successfully on June 26 from Wallops
Flight Facility in Virginia. The payload was recovered and has been
returned to Wallops. According to the preliminary information, the
payload flew to an altitude of 73.3 miles and landed via parachute 43.9
miles downrange. (6/26)
Iconic Saturn 1B Rocket Near
Alabama/Tennessee Border Getting a Facelift (Source: Huntsville
Times)
Delania Rains had just crossed the Tennessee/Alabama border with her
husband, Oscar, on Wednesday afternoon when an unexpected landmark off
Interstate 65 stopped her in her tracks. The massive Saturn 1B rocket,
which is a whopping 168 feet high and 22 feet in diameter and is
stationed at the Alabama Welcome Center in Ardmore, welcomed the
Indiana residents to Alabama for the first time.
The couple took turns taking cell-phone photos of each other with the
rocket. Rains, who was traveling to Destin, Fla., was all smiles as she
talked about the quirky attraction that lured more than 1 million
visitors last year. When visitors look closely, it's not hard to see
the rocket could use a little TLC. Bird droppings, mold and algae
surround the base of the faded rocket, which is need of new paint and a
good cleaning.
The USSRC is working with the Alabama Tourism Department to get the
money to pressure wash and paint the rocket, which will take more than
100 gallons to prime and paint. Shortly after the rocket last was
painted in 2006, a chain-link fence was added around the landmark
because of problems with graffiti. Officials hope to replace the fence
with benches and reader rails featuring information about the state's
role in the space program. (6/26)
Space Ballooning is a Bargain at
£44,000 a Ticket (Source: WIRED)
One US company wants to revolutionize the gentile pursuit of
ballooning, by sending tourists into space aboard a high altitude
version in 2016. World View is one step closer to achieving this, after
completely its first successful test flight in Roswell, while also
breaking the world record for the highest parafoil flight. The company
has been in research and development since 2011, testing all the
smaller components that go into the finished build. This June saw the
first example of the full system being put together and tested, for the
first time.
The vehicle the public goes up in is a pressurised cabin, which even
features a bar and toilet (though for $75,000 (£44,000) a ticket, it's
unlikely you'll be wanting to miss a second of this view). It comes
equipped with internet access, with the company actively encouraging
passengers to spread their photos on social media. Think of the
selfies. (6/26)
We Can Send Humans Back to Space … If
We Fund Elon Musk Instead of NASA (Source: Guardian)
"Elon Musk," the satellite industry insider told me over a beer, "has
got to be the luckiest son of a bitch alive." Musk – the insanely
dedicated, wealthy and polarizing founder of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX –
is on a hot streak when it comes to spaceflight. He's raiding revenue
streams from NASA and the US military to fund a private manned space
program. His main weapon: low prices, with SpaceX offering satellite
launches at about one-fifth the price of competitors at just over $60m
a pop.
Sooner or later, the haters say, Musk's streak will end in a fiery
accident, or a satellite horribly deployed. That kind of disaster,
naturally, would undercut the current soaring confidence in SpaceX,
from investors, private-space believers and even taxpayers. Another
group of doubters on Capitol Hill say the industries needed to keep
private space exploration viable simply don't exist, necessitating a
mini-Apollo push from NASA. (6/26)
Crystal Cocoons Kept Bacteria Safe in
Space (Source: New Scientist)
Asteroids have a killer reputation, taking the blame for death and
destruction on massive scales. But results fresh from a space
experiment show ancient impacts may have been vital for cradling the
first life on Earth. Several hundred million years after Earth formed,
when life was emerging, our young planet had an atmosphere, oceans and
primordial continents. But it did not yet have an ozone layer to shield
the surface from the sun's harshest ultraviolet rays. Because UV
radiation can damage DNA, that would have made it difficult for any but
the most extreme forms of life to survive.
In 2002, a team led by astrobiologist Charles Cockell discovered a
unique group of cyanobacteria in Haughton crater in northern Canada.
The bacteria live in tiny pores and cracks of near-translucent rock,
formed during the intense heat and pressure of the asteroid or comet
impact that made the crater, about 23 million years ago. Cockell's team
found that the altered crystal structure of the rocks absorbed and
reflected UV rays. This suggests the rock could shield the bacteria
while letting enough sunlight through to allow them to photosynthesise.
(6/26)
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