China to Launch Three or Four More
BeiDou Satellites This Year (Source: Xinhua)
China plans to launch three or four more satellites for its indigenous
global navigation and positioning network this year, the network's
chief designer said. A complete network will take shape by 2020, Yang
Changfeng, chief designer of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
(BDS), was quoted saying by the PLA Daily on Wednesday. (4/1)
After Accident, Virgin Galactic Takes
a Cautious Path to Spaceflight (Source: NBC News)
It's been five months since Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane
broke up in flight, killing one of its pilots and injuring the other.
The results of the investigation have not yet been released, and for
that reason the company's executives are reluctant to say much about
the lessons learned. But there's one lesson they're willing to share:
Don't say too much about what you're planning to do before you do it.
Click here.
(3/31)
Ad Astra Wins $10 Million NASA
Contract for Deep Space Rocket (Source: Tico Times)
Ad Astra, the rocket company founded by Costa Rican astronaut Franklin
Chang, announced a $10 million contract with NASA to develop deep-space
propulsion technology. Spread out over three years, the public-private
partnership will help Ad Astra develop its VASIMR prototype engine for
in-space travel around the Earth, to the moon or – one day – on a
mission to Mars.
The funding, awarded through NASA’s Next Space Technologies for
Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), will help the Houston-based
company demonstrate the engine’s ability to operate for up to 100 hours
continuously. The company says previous tests have proven its success
for short durations of less than a minute. Click here.
(3/31)
Deep Space Exploration Will Demand
Artificial Gravity (Source: Forbes)
Long stays in space have a major hitch. Medical studies on the effects
of microgravity on astronauts after many months in low-Earth orbit
(LEO) can’t get around one hard truth — humans aren’t cut out for life
without gravity. Thus, artificial gravity habitats are now being
discussed as a crucial component of long-duration near-Earth asteroid
(NEA) mining missions.
Artificial gravity will be particularly important for years-long
commercial missions where real-time telerobotics will need to be
performed by crews housed in close proximity to the asteroid itself.
Such gravity habitats would also be useful for years-long exploration
of low-gravity bodies such as the Moon, Mars , or eventually even the
moons of the outer planets. Click here.
(3/31)
Here’s the App That Can Help You Save
the World (Source: Washington Post)
There are a lot of apps out there. But how many of them might help you
save the world from total destruction? At this month’s South by
Southwest festival in Austin, NASA announced the release of desktop
software that lets “citizen scientists” identify asteroids that might
be careening (with potentially apocalyptic consequences) toward Earth.
Using the Asteroid Data Hunter app — which is free, and can be used on
any desktop or laptop computer — amateur astronomers can analyze images
from their backyard telescopes; and if something unexpected shows up,
the app offers a way to report it to the Minor Planet Center at the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. Click here.
(3/31)
ULA's New VP in Washington Specializes
In International Business, Aerospace, Defense (Source: SatNews)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today that Robbie Sabathier was
named the company’s vice president of Washington Operations. “Robbie
brings with her extensive government relations experience specializing
in international business, as well as aerospace and defense,” said Tory
Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO.
“Her strong background interacting with key Washington, D.C., customer
communities, including Congress and White House staff, will be
instrumental in shaping critical policies and decisions related to ULA
business. We could not be more pleased to welcome her to our team.”
Prior to ULA, Sabathier was president of a law office she founded in
Washington, where she represented the European launch company
Arianespace. (4/1)
NASA Gets Sucked Into Russian Space
Agency's Fight for Funds (Source: Moscow Times)
NASA may have been drawn into a political battle taking place within
Roscosmos to protect the Russian space agency's funding streams amid an
economic crisis, Russian space experts said. Roscosmos chief Igor
Komarov on Saturday suggested that Russia and the United States would
join together to build another space station after the current
International Space Station (ISS) project ends in 2024.
But the announcement appeared to be wishful thinking — NASA's chief in
Russia, Sean Fuller, denied to the Moscow Times on Tuesday that an
agreement had been reached, and analysts said the statement was aimed
at influencing space funding decisions in Russia's government. (3/31)
Lunar Lava Tubes Might Make
Underground Moon Cities Possible (Source: Space.com)
Earth's moon is rife with huge lava tubes – tunnels formed from the
lava flow of volcanic eruptions – and new theoretical work suggests
that these features could be large enough to house structurally stable
lunar cities for future colonists.
Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)
mission suggests that lava tubes on the moon could have diameters in
excess of more than half a mile (1 kilometer). These features could
support future long-term human exploration on the moon, offering
shelter from cosmic radiation, meteorite impacts and the wild
temperature swings of lunar day and night, according to scientists with
Purdue University who performed the study.
The edges of the lava cool as it flows to form a pipe-like crust around
the flowing river of lava. When the eruption ends and the lava flow
stops, the pipe drains leave behind a hollow tunnel. "There has been
some discussion of whether lava tubes might exist on the moon," Melosh
said in a Purdue press statement. "Some evidence, like the sinuous
rilles observed on the surface, suggest that if lunar lava tubes exist
they might be really big." (4/1)
No comments:
Post a Comment