NASA’s Cube Quest Challenge: The
Future in a Shoebox (Source: Space News)
Cubesats, the complete satellite platform that fits in a shoebox, offer
unique advantages and interesting opportunities. This satellite
platform is measured in millimeters and grams, dollars and cents. I
exaggerate but only slightly; procurement and operating costs for
cubesats are cheap enough, in fact, to fall within the budgetary scope
of many smaller companies, laboratories and university departments
across the United States.
A plethora of companies now will happily sell you all of the kit you
need to outfit a fully functional nanosatellite at prices that put
traditional satellite component manufacturers to shame. The question
until now has been what to do with this growing platform. Click here.
(6/8)
NASA Spacecraft Detects Impact Glass
on Surface of Mars (Source: NASA)
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has detected deposits of glass
within impact craters on Mars. Though formed in the searing heat of a
violent impact, such deposits might provide a delicate window into the
possibility of past life on the Red Planet.
During the past few years, research has shown evidence about past life
has been preserved in impact glass here on Earth. A 2014 study led by
scientist Peter Schultz of Brown University in Providence, Rhode
Island, found organic molecules and plant matter entombed in glass
formed by an impact that occurred millions of years ago in Argentina.
Schultz suggested that similar processes might preserve signs of life
on Mars, if they were present at the time of an impact. (6/8)
SpaceX Achieves Pad Abort Milestone
Approval by NASA (Source: SpaceRef)
NASA has approved a $30 million milestone payment to SpaceX under the
agency’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with
the company following a recent and successful pad abort test of its
Crew Dragon spacecraft. Data gathered during the test are critical to
understanding the safety and performance of the Crew Dragon spacecraft
as the company continues on the path to certification for crew missions
to the International Space Station, and helping return the ability to
launch astronauts from the United States. (6/8)
SpaceX Records Fall to Earth with a
GoPro (Source: WIRED)
When you drop a GoPro from space, two pretty obvious things happen. One
is that the camera gradually descends back to Earth, turning and
twisting gracefully at first before plunging, screaming, back to our
planet. The other is that you get some very nice video footage indeed.
While remembering to focus on the important task of building, landing
and supplying Nasa with rockets, Elon Musk's private orbit-explorers
SpaceX recently carried out exactly this "experiment". It placed a
GoPro inside a fairing on one of its recent Falcon 9 launches -- it has
not specified which -- and recorded the fall back to Earth. Click here.
(6/8)
3D Printing Just Made Space Travel
Cheaper (Source: CNBC)
Companies looking to launch satellites into space typically spend
anywhere from $10-50 million per launch but thanks to 3D printing,
those costs are set to drop in a big way. For $4.9 million, businesses
can use RocketLab to send small satellites into orbit. The firm's
engine, called the Rutherford, is powered by an electric motor and is
the first oxygen and hydrocarbon engine to use 3D printing for all its
primary components.
The New Zealand company is set to begin test flights this year and aims
to launch weekly commercial operations next year. "Our 'Electron'
launch vehicle is designed with the purpose of liberating the small
satellite market. The whole program is predicated on reducing costs and
increasing launch frequency, making space more accessible to everyone"
CEO Peter Beck said. (6/7)
Jordanian Students Work with NASA to
Seek Life on Jupiter’s Moon (Source: wamda)
In Jordan campus violence has indeed become a dangerous phenomenon. A
study by the Jordanian Political Science Association said that seven
students were killed between 2010 and 2013. So, in a bid to counter
this new stereotype, the country’s Crown Prince, Hussein bin Abdullah,
launched an initiative last summer, that would see Jordanian
engineering students intern at NASA. Four students from four
universities in different provinces were selected and got to spend two
months with the program. (6/8)
Vulcan Added to Launcher Chart
(Source: SPACErePORT)
I have added a version of ULA's Vulcan rocket to my chart of
international orbital launch vehicles, operational, in-development, and
proposed. I deleted the Liberty rocket, although I'm not totally
certain it isn't still alive somewhere within Orbital ATK. I had to
estimate the Vulcan's length and LEO lift capability, with some
suggestions offered via Reddit. Click here. (6/8)
SpaceX Planning Series Of Experimental
Communications Satellites (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is planning to launch a series of experimental low Earth orbit
communications satellites starting next year to test technologies for a
future low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation the company
announced earlier this year.
In a May 29 filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission,
SpaceX sought an experimental Ku-band communications license for two
spacecraft, named MicroSat-1a and MicroSat-1b, that it plans to launch
in 2016 on a Falcon 9. The satellites will operate in near-polar orbits
at an altitude of 625 kilometers. (6/5)
House Intelligence Panel Boosts Spy
Satellite Funding (Source: Space News)
The U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence increased
funding for the country’s spy satellites as part of its annual
intelligence authorization bill, which passed June 4. The bill, which
is used to authorize funding for intelligence programs, passed by a
voice vote. The overall funding recommendation for intelligence
programs was about 1 percent below the president’s recommended budget,
the release said. (6/8)
Scientists in Europe, China Seek Full
Collaboration on Solar Wind Mission (Source: Space News)
European and Chinese space scientists, in what would be their first
full-collaboration mission, have recommended that their governments
join forces to build a satellite to study the solar wind’s effects on
the Earth’s magnetosphere. The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link
Explorer, or SMILE, mission would be launched in 2021 pending final
approval late this year by the European Space Agency and the Chinese
Academy of Sciences. (6/5)
AF Secretary Describes Space Flight
Milestones, Challenges (Source: Space Daily)
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James outlined the Air Force's
contributions to human space flight advancement and discussed projected
milestones and investments in space. James delivered the keynote
address at the Center for American Progress at an event marking the
50th anniversary of Air Force Maj. Ed White leaving his Gemini 4
spacecraft to become the first American to walk in space. Click here.
(6/8)
Ohio Team Wins Manufacturing Tech
Consortium for Aerospace (Source: OAI)
The Ohio Aerospace Institute is pleased to announce that it has
received a $499,994 grant from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to
form a consortium that will leverage public-private partnerships to
close technology gaps in advanced manufacturing in the aerospace
sector. Team members include RP+M, Lorain County Community College,
Alcoa, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies-Aerospace Systems, NASA
Glenn Research Center, MAGNET, and the FAA. (6/8)
‘Bullet Hole’ Found in Door of Mauna
Kea Observatory (KHON)
Hawaii Island police are investigating a possible shooting at one of
the telescopes atop Mauna Kea. Nobody was hurt, but police say there
was damage. This comes at a time when native Hawaiians continue to
protest against the construction of a giant telescope at Mauna Kea, but
protesters say this goes against everything they believe in and would
never condone anything like this. (6/8)
Costs Increase for FAA-Required Fire
Protection at Spaceport America (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Spaceport America is like a small village isolated in the New Mexico
desert. Like any village that is an hour away from emergency response,
they need on-site security, firefighting and emergency medical service
— especially since this village is known for igniting large amounts of
explosives, deals with hazardous materials and is charged with securing
millions of dollars of infrastructure and high-tech aerospace vehicles.
The spaceport has those facilities and services available in the form
of a contract with Fiore Industries. The emergency and security
services are housed in the spaceport and were part of the original
building cost included in the initial $218.5 million project. Since
then, the spaceport has purchased a $650,000 firefighting truck that is
specially equipped to handle several types of fires and respond to
incidents involving a wide range of fuels. Also purchased were an
ambulance and a brush truck, both in the $100,000 range.
The state now pays Fiore to staff the facility around the clock, seven
days a week. The first year Fiore was selected to provide staffing
services, 2011, the cost was $500,000. Last year, with activity
increasing at the spaceport and additional staff being required to man
the post, the cost has risen to $2.2 million. (6/8)
Editorial: NASA Venture-Class
Procurement Could Nurture, Ride Small Sat Trend (Source:
Mil-Tech)
NASA in recent years has demonstrated a willingness to embrace
innovations in the space industry to everyone’s benefit, hosted
payloads being one example. The latest case in point is its proposed
Venture Class Launch Services procurement, in which the agency is
attempting to simultaneously leverage and support the ongoing cubesat
revolution.
In a draft request for proposals released May 5, NASA said it is
seeking one or two dedicated launches to carry 60 kilograms of U-class
spacecraft — more commonly known as cubesats — to low Earth orbit in
2018. No specific mission was identified, but NASA has about 50
scientific cubesats awaiting rides to orbit under its Educational
Launch of Nanosatellites program.
As everyone knows, cubesats have become hugely popular and, with the
march of technology, are capable of performing ever more demanding
missions, including space and Earth science. Typically they are
launched as secondary payloads or deployed from ports on the
International Space Station, but Garrett Skrobot, director of NASA’s
nanosatellite launch program, said cubesats are increasingly being
designed for complex science missions that require dedicated launches
to specific orbits. (6/8)
Dawn Enters New Orbit Closer to Ceres
(Source: SpaceFlight Now)
NASA’s Dawn asteroid explorer has arrived at its new perch 2,700 miles
from the dwarf planet Ceres, a vantage point scientists say will yield
better views as the probe continues to step closer to the surface. Dawn
is now flying about 2,700 miles, or 4,400 kilometers, from Ceres after
spiraling closer to the Texas-sized dwarf planet over the last four
weeks from an altitude of 8,400 miles. (6/7)
Stratolaunch Dumps Orbital ATK Rocket
as Aircraft Encounters Problems (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Stratolaunch Systems has quietly dumped Orbital ATK’s rocket from its
air-launch system: "As recently as last fall, Beames spoke about a plan
to put a human-crewed spacecraft developed by Sierra Nevada on the tip
of the Orbital booster rocket. But now that human spaceflight plan is
shelved, along with Orbital’s planned rocket."
"Beames said Orbital’s rocket “was not hitting the economic sweet spot
to generate revenue,” so Vulcan has reopened the design plan and is
“evaluating over 70 different launch vehicle variants.” This shift
won’t affect the timetable for flying the carrier plane, he said, but
it could mean “maybe a little delay” in the plans to use it to launch
spacecraft into orbit. Launching a manned spacecraft will be even
further out, “in 10 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, reports out of Mojave indicate that building a twin fuselage
aircraft with 385-foot wing span is turning out to be a lot more
difficult than engineers thought. Word is they’re experiencing all
sorts of problems. (6/7)
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