If There is Life on Mars, it is
Probably Underground (Source: Quartz)
Apart from finding mundane facts about Mars, one of NASA’s Curiosity
rover’s tasks is to search for life on the red planet. But new research
suggests that, if there is indeed life on Mars, our rovers may not be
able to see it. So far, the Curiosity rover has only drilled about 3
inches (7.6 cm) into Mars’ soil, and found nothing.
According to an analysis of Martian meteorites found on Earth, traces
of methane suggest signs of life on Mars are more likely to be found
deep underground, rather than on or near the surface. Scientists are
still divided about what the presence of methane on Mars means. It
could support the existence of methane-feeding bacteria, or it could
suggest the existence of methane-producing organisms that lived on Mars
millions of years ago, when liquid water may have flowed on on its
surface. (6/18)
ULA to Stay in Harlingen Texas for
Rocket Manufacturing (Source: KRGV)
Today, a rocket-building company announced they will continue to build
rockets in Harlingen, and are now hiring new employees. United Launch
Alliance made the announcement today. The company, a direct competitor
to SpaceX, has been building rocket parts for decades in Harlingen. The
company announced their new lease to stay in the Valley International
Airport, for the next five years. (6/19)
SpaceX Augments and Upgrades Drone
Ship Armada (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
SpaceX’s aspirations towards recovering launched Falcon 9 first stages
are continuing to focus on ocean based landings, ahead of realizing the
goal of returning the cores back to land. With continual refinements to
the approach, SpaceX has welcomed new and improved Autonomous Spaceport
Drone Ships (ASDS), one of which has been sighted taking a cruise down
the Panama Canal. (6/19)
UrtheCast Plans Integrated
Optical/Radar Satellite Constellation (Source: UrtheCast)
UrtheCast plans to build, launch and operate the world’s first
fully-integrated, multispectral optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) commercial constellation of Earth Observation satellites, to be
deployed over multiple launches expected in 2019 and 2020. The
Constellation is expected to comprise a minimum of 16 satellites (8
optical and 8 SAR) flying in two orbital planes, with each plane
consisting of four satellite pairs, equally-spaced around the orbit
plane.
Each pair of satellites will consist of a dual-mode, high-resolution
optical satellite (video and pushbroom) and a dual-band high-resolution
SAR satellite (X-band and L-band) flying in tandem. The Constellation
will provide what the Company anticipates to be unmatched space-imaging
capabilities, including high collection capacity, optical and SAR data
fusion, weather-independent high-resolution imaging using the SAR,
target revisit, and imaging latency. (6/19)
A New Era of Space Collaboration
between Australia and U.S. (Source: USGS)
On June 18, 2015 in Canberra, Australia, the U.S. Geological Survey and
Geoscience Australia signed a comprehensive new partnership to maximize
land remote sensing operations and data that can help to address issues
of national and international significance.
A key element of the partnership involves a major upgrade to Geoscience
Australia’s Alice Springs satellite antenna which will see the station
play a much more significant role in the international Landsat
ground-station network. Following this $3 million (AUD) upgrade
committed to by the Australian Government, the Alice Springs antenna
will transmit command-and-control signals to the Landsat satellites and
support downloading of satellite imagery for the broader South
East-Asia and Pacific region. (6/18)
Mexico’s 1st Astronaut Mulls Running
for President (Source: Latin American Herald Tribune)
The first Mexican to go into space, Rodolfo Neri Vela, said on Thursday
that he may run for president in 2018 to break the hold of a political
class he likened to “the mafia itself.” The political parties need to
understand that Mexicans are very unhappy with the state of their
country, Neri Vela said in an interview with Grupo Imagen.
He said the notion of a presidential run began with a flippant response
to a question from a reporter following a book presentation last week
at Universidad Veracruzana. When asked whether he had thought about
going into politics, he replied – “almost as a joke” – that he would
seek the presidency as an independent, Neri Vela recounted in the
interview.
“I didn’t think the media would take it seriously. In less than a week
I have received 100 emails giving me support,” he said, while stressing
that he would take his time making a decision about the 2018 contest.
Mexico’s biggest challenges are improving education and eliminating
corruption, he said. (6/19)
What's Stopping Us from Building
Cities in Space? No, It's Not Tech. (Source: Gizmodo)
The US has a plan for Americans to live in space. In 2012, the National
Research Council was commissioned by Congress to roadmap the future of
human space exploration. Last June, the team published its findings in
a massive report, which called for several action steps to be taken
immediately. One year later, are we on track? Click here.
(6/19)
For Rent: Slightly Used VAB High Bay,
Launch Platforms (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
NASA’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and its massive Mobile
Launch Platforms (MLP) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida are being
offered to commercial users interested in assembling, testing, and
launching their rockets at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. It’s all part
of a 20-year Master Plan aimed at turning NASA’s portion of the
spaceport into a multi-user complex for launches, landings, logistics,
and space research and development.
The space agency is soliciting proposals from the private sector, which
are due by July 31, 2015. An “industry day” is planned on June 30 to
allow an on site evaluation of the infrastructure by interested
parties. (6/19)
Reaction Engines Begins New Round of
Rocket Tests (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Reaction Engines Ltd. have begun their latest round of rocket engine
testing in Westcott, UK. The SABRE engine requires a novel design of
the rocket engine’s thrust chamber and nozzle to allow operation in
both air-breathing and rocket modes, as well as a smooth transition
between the two. The Advanced Nozzle project is demonstrating the
feasibility of this concept and represents a significant technology
development effort towards the SABRE demonstrator engine. (6/19)
Next Space Station Cargo Mission Slips
to NET June 28 (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket and its payload of a Dragon
automated cargo vessel on the seventh operational flight under NASA's
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract - will have to wait a
couple more days before launch. This slip was apparently caused in
order to accomplish the work required to get the booster and spacecraft
ready for flight. (6/19)
Erosion Threatens Iconic NASA Launch
Pads (Source: Florida Today)
The ocean ticks a countdown of its own, along this thin strip of beach
where rockets blasted to space from NASA's two iconic launch pads.
Waves lap ever closer to the concrete pads at Kennedy Space Center, as
the moon that man reached from these sands drives tides that threaten
the pads' foundations.
To keep exploring space from here, KSC needs a bit more room for
comfort along this edge of the Atlantic. The public has until July 20
to comment on the space center's recently released environmental
assessment of four beach-building options under consideration. If
nothing's done, erosion along 4.6 miles of the KSC shoreline, coupled
with sea-level rise, "would result in large-scale inundation, habitat
alteration, and land loss along the coastal strand," the environmental
assessment says.
That could result in damage to launch infrastructure and seawater
flooding into nearby marshes. Sea level at KSC could rise from 6 to 25
inches (2 feet) by the 2050s and 10 to 49 inches (4 feet) by the 2080s,
according to the environmental assessment. Meanwhile, planning is under
way for several potential new launch pads in the same area. (6/19)
Loral Wins Japanese Satellite Contract
(Source: SSL)
Space Systems/Loral said Thursday it won a contract for a Japanese
communications satellite. SSL will build the BSAT-4a satellite for
Broadcasting Satellite System Corp., or B-SAT; terms of the contract,
including the expected launch date, were not disclosed. SSL is believed
to have beaten out Orbital ATK for the contract. (6/19)
Antitrust Concerns for Airbus Safran's
Ownership of Arianespace (Source: Wal Street Journal)
Airbus Safran's plans to own a majority of Arianespace may face
antitrust reviews in the U.S. and Europe. Airbus Safran Launchers
formally agreed this week to buy the portion of Arianespace currently
owned by the French space agency CNES, giving it a 74% stake in the
launch services company. Satellite makers are expected to ask antitrust
regulators to put conditions on the deal to prevent Arianespace from
giving preferential treatment to satellites built by Airbus.
Arianespace officials said they would not oppose such conditions. (6/19)
Los Angeles Port Group Partners to
Host SpaceX Ocean Recovery Vessels (Source: Daily Breeze)
SpaceX will base several recovery ships, including a Falcon 9 landing
platform, at the Port of Los Angeles under an agreement announced
Thursday. The company is partnering with AltaSea, a marine research
center located at the port that is still in in its early phases of
development, to host recovery vessels there. The ships based at the
port include those used for recovery of Dragon capsules as well as
Marmac 303, an "autonomous spaceport drone ship" for landing Falcon 9
first stages launched from Vandenberg. (6/19)
NASA Considers Nukes to Divert Killer
Asteroids (Source: New York Times)
NASA and the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
have signed an agreement to cooperate on planetary defense. NASA and
the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will cooperate on
studies on how nuclear weapons could be used to divert a threatening
asteroid to "deepen the levels of expert cooperation and governmental
planning," according to a report. The agreement, signed Wednesday, has
not been publicly announced by either NASA or the NNSA. (6/19)
Israel Seeks Astronaut Opportunity
(Source: JNS)
Israel's science minister wants to send a Israeli woman to space. Danny
Danon said this week he has asked the Israel Space Agency to start the
search for a female astronaut, and discussed with NASA the possibility
of flying her on a future, unspecified mission. Israel's only
astronaut, Ilan Ramon, died on the shuttle Columbia in 2003. (6/19)
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