Subtly Shifted Star Could Force
Rethink of Dark Matter (Source: Science)
For decades, astrophysicists have thought that some sort of mysterious
dark matter must provide most of the gravity that glues galaxies
together. For nearly as long, scientists have tried to spot the stuff
interacting with ordinary matter in some other way—say, by looking for
particles of it bouncing off atomic nuclei.
Now, a team of astronomers reports a potential sign of dark matter
interacting—although not with ordinary matter, but with itself. If it
holds up, that interpretation would require a major rethink of
astrophysics and cosmology. But more prosaic explanations are possible,
others caution. Click here.
(4/14)
Which is the Better Approach to Rocket
Engine Reuse (Source: SPACErePORT)
SpaceX and ULA now are both planning to reuse their first-stage Falcon
and Vulcan engines. SpaceX will fly their first stages for a soft
landing on a waiting barge or a spaceport-based landing site. ULA will
parachute its engines for a mid-air snatch with a helicopter. Each
approach has unique challenges. Which will be more effective?
Both approaches add complexity to the launch preparation and approval
process. Conditions required for launching are not the same for
landing/retrieval, so more launch scrubs are likely (unless recovery is
an option easily dismissed). At first glance, SpaceX's approach may
seem more prone to failure due to hard landings, flight accuracy and
barge stability. ULA's approach is based on a proven air-snatch
capability, but it requires some challenging unproven engine-separation
and inflatable heat-shield technologies.
Can ULA's helicopter loiter long enough and close enough during lengthy
launch windows? Will SpaceX be able to fly its first stages all the way
back to the spaceport? With nine engines per stage to re-use, SpaceX
seems to have more to gain from the fly-back concept. ULA's Vulcan
might benefit less with only two engines recovered from each mission
(the company claims, however, that these engines represent 65% of the
total booster cost). (4/15)
Falcon Launch Was First in LISC Era
(Source: Space News)
SpaceX’s April 14 launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral
Spaceport marked the first launch from a U.S. Air Force range since a
Raytheon-led team took over launch range support duties earlier in
April. In November, the Air Force awarded the industry team dubbed
Range Generation Next LLC a contract potentially worth $2 billion to
support the service’s two main launch ranges.
LISC — short for Launch and Test Range System Integrated Support
Contract — consolidates three contracts that previously supported Cape
Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The 10-year
effort is part of a broad strategy by the Air Force to consolidate many
of its ground support contracts as operating budgets shrink and the
possibility of the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration
lingers. (4/15)
Alaska's Kodiak Spaceport is Now the
"Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska" (PSCA) (Source: KTVA)
The Kodiak Launch Complex has a new moniker, one its owners say more
accurately reflects the complex’s commitment to the entire Pacific
region. Alaska Aerospace Corporation announced the new name for the
complex Tuesday: Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA).
“The Pacific Spaceport Complex provides launch services throughout the
region, as well as from our traditional home in Alaska,” wrote AAC
President and CEO Craig Campbell in a statement. “We are ready and
willing to serve customers to meet their polar orbit and certain
equatorial orbit needs beyond the fixed location in Kodiak.”
Editor's Note:
"Equatorial orbit needs beyond the fixed location in Kodiak"? Maybe
they plan to offer their mobile launch range capability for use by
air-launch systems or at other spaceports. (4/14)
Spaceport America Awaits Successful
Falcon Landing to Host Further Tests (Source: Albuquerque
Journal)
Spaceport America will likely keep waiting for SpaceX to begin testing
a reusable rocket in New Mexico after the company’s Falcon 9 didn’t
survive its landing Tuesday on a seafaring “droneship.” The company
tested technology that could eventually bring its Falcon 9 rocket back
down to Earth safely onto a floating landing pad — technology it plans
to refine at New Mexico’s Spaceport America once it’s able to recover
the rocket.
SpaceX has constructed a $2 million vertical launch pad and support
facilities at Spaceport America and plans to test its Falcon 9 there,
Christine Anderson said. “They have already built a facility with us,”
she said. “We’re anxious to have them.” (4/15)
Cabana: Obama's Space-Center Vision On
Track (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
[Orion's test flight] was a big step for a re-energized space program.
It is helping us open a new era, meeting the president's challenge to
the agency five years ago this month. On April 15, 2010, he announced
his vision for NASA from the historic high bay of what now is the Neil
Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center.
"By 2025, we expect [a] new spacecraft designed for long journeys to
allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into
deep space," the president said. "We'll start by sending astronauts to
an asteroid for the first time in history. By the mid-2030s, I believe
we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a
landing on Mars will follow."
Here at the Kennedy Space Center, we are well on our way. We are
continuing to help develop the Orion crew vehicle, Space Launch System
rocket and exploration ground systems that will one day send astronauts
on those trips beyond low-Earth orbit. ... Our future is now. Today,
the Kennedy Space Center has become a 21st-century, multi-user
spaceport regularly launching to low-Earth orbit and beyond. (4/15)
KSC's 'Swamp Works' Lab Boosts R&D
at Spaceport (Source: MyFox Orlando)
In a small corner of the Kennedy Space Center where astronauts once
trained for missions to the moon, a group of 20 NASA scientists and
engineers work in a new lab, with old school style. "In a couple of
days we made an asteroid boulder for pretty cheap" says Jack Fox the
director of NASA's Swamp Works Innovation Lab at KSC.
Fox says the over arching theme of the lab is coming up with ways to
detect, extract, and use resources in space. That's important
technology NASA needs to develop for its stated goal of sending
astronauts to Mars. Fox says many of the 30 projects his team is
working on may one day give future space explorers the tools to survive
on another planet. Click here.
(4/15)
SpaceX Launches Dragon Cargo Mission,
Comes Close to Barge Landing (Source: Space News)
After a one-day delay due to weather, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched
a Dragon cargo spacecraft on a mission to deliver cargo to the
International Space Station, but the rocket’s first stage failed to
survive a hard landing on a ship. Meanwhile, during an interview before
Tuesday’s launch and failed landing attempt, SpaceX President Gwynne
Shotwell said that the first attempt to put the Falcon 9 booster down
on a land-based platform could come as early as this summer. Click here for the video. (4/14)
Four-State Aerospace Alliance Meets at
Embry-Riddle in Florida (Source: Aerospace Alliance)
Leaders in the aerospace industry will not want to miss the 2015
Aerospace Alliance Spring Summit featuring dynamic presentations from
aviation and aerospace CEOs to the leading minds who study this
critical industry sector. Get a glimpse into what is predicted for the
industry in upcoming years and how the communities in which these
companies reside can support growth.
The Aerospace Alliance is a four state partnership aimed at
establishing the Southeast region as a world-class aerospace, space,
and aviation corridor. The members include business leaders, economic
development professionals and government officials from the states of
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. Click here.
(4/14)
Turbopump Flaw Blamed for Antares
Launch Failure (Source: Space News)
A report on the October failure of an Antares launch vehicle is due to
be delivered to the Federal Aviation Administration within days, with a
problem in an engine turbopump identified as the most likely cause of
the failure, an Orbital ATK executive said Tuesday.
Ronald Grabe, president of the company’s flight systems group, said
that an Orbital-led investigation into the Oct. 28 failure concluded
there was “excessive bearing wear” in the turbopump of one of the two
AJ-26 engines in the Antares first stage. That bearing wear causes
rotating and stationary parts of the turbopump to come into contact,
which in turn caused the failure of the turbopump and the engine
itself. (4/14)
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