Pulsar Web Could Detect Low-Frequency
Gravitational Waves (Source: NASA)
The recent detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) came from two black holes, each
about 30 times the mass of our sun, merging into one. Gravitational
waves span a wide range of frequencies that require different
technologies to detect. A new study from the North American Nanohertz
Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has shown that
low-frequency gravitational waves could soon be detectable by existing
radio telescopes. (2/24)
SpaceX Loses ViaSat-2 Contract
(Source: Avion)
This month, ViaSa decided to change their launch provider from SpaceX
to Arianespace. The company, which is working closely with Boeing to
develop an ultra-powerful communications satellite named ViaSat-2,
changed their launch provider due to the multiple delays encountered by
SpaceX and their most recent launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy.
ViaSat aims to launch their ViaSat-2 satellite in late 2016, which
would have created an uncomfortably close test flight to commercial
flight window for the Falcon Heavy. The Falcon Heavy, which had
originally been planned to launch from Cape Canaveral in 2013, is now
scheduled to take off in October of this year. (2/24)
Buzz About Future of Space Travel (Source:
Lethbridge Herald)
At 86 years old, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin has spent the majority
of his life looking out into space. More importantly, he has been
finding ways for humans to get out there and stay there. He has
developed a detailed plan to set up a permanent base on Mars. The plan,
called “Cycling Orbit to Occupy Mars,” would involve expanding missions
in stages and making use of cycler spacecraft that would perpetually
orbit between Mars and Earth, with humans landing on Mars by 2035.
(2/24)
Those 2 Colliding Black Holes May Have
Been Born in a Giant Star (Source: Mashable)
The two black holes that sent out ripples in space and time as they
merged were born in the belly of a giant star, new research suggests.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) caught
sight of the two black holes colliding on Sept. 14, 2015, by detecting
the gravitational waves — ripples in space-time — sent out by the
merger.
At about the same time as the merger, the Fermi Space Telescope caught
sight of a bright burst coming from the same part of the sky as the
black holes. Gravitational waves are thought to be "dark" events, so
finding any kind of bright burst associated with them is surprising,
scientists say; however, researchers think they've found some kind of
explanation for the burst.
When an incredibly massive star dies, its core can implode, becoming a
black hole, but in some cases, if the star is spinning quickly the core
can become two black holes instead. That may have been the case for the
two 30-solar-mass black holes seen colliding by LIGO. (2/14)
It’s Preliminary: ULA Won’t Be
Sanctioned (Source: Breaking Defense)
It’s not officially official, but the head of Pentagon acquisition,
Frank Kendall, says the Treasury Department has not found any reason
for sanctions to be applied against the United Launch Alliance. “The
preliminary indications from Treasury (Department) are that they do not
apply,” Kendall told reporters.
The possibility of sanctions agains the national security launch
behemoth was raised by Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee. McCain is furious that Russia is benefiting from
the American purchase of Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines. They are
integral to the Atlas V system’s ability to loft huge satellite
payloads into orbit with great reliability and at relatively reasonable
cost. (2/23)
Iran Plans Next Satellite Launch
(Source: Arms Control Wonk)
Iran appears to be preparing for a launch next week. A satellite image
of the Imam Khomeini Space Center taken last week shows that a new
launch site there has been completed, and that work appears to be
underway to prepare for a launch. Iran has issued a notice to airmen
closing off airspace in the area on March 1 and 2, which suggest those
would be the days Iran will attempt a launch. The launch will likely
involve a rocket called Simorgh launching the small Friendship Testing
Satellite. (2/23)
3D Printer Considered for External
Work on Space Station (Source: Space News)
A company developing 3-D printers for space has ambitious plans for
in-space assembly. Made in Space is starting work with Northrop Grumman
and Oceaneering Space Systems on a concept called Archinaut that would
place a 3-D printer with a robotic arm outside the International Space
Station. Archinaut will be designed to additively manufacture and
assemble a large, complex structure, demonstrating the ability for
in-space assembly and servicing of spacecraft. Archinaut is supported
by a two-year, $20 million NASA contract. (2/23)
Out of 700 Quintillion Other Planets,
Earth Might Be Totally Unique (Source: Science.Mic)
A new model of the universe suggests there could be as many as 700
quintillion other planets out there, and Earth doesn't look like any of
them. This is huge news because it runs contrary to everything we know
about our place in the universe.
To figure this out, a team of astronomers took the information we
already know about exoplanets and the evolution of the universe and
designed a model that simulated the past 13.8 billion years of our
universe's existence. Of all the planets that formed inside the model,
Earth sticks out like a statistical sore thumb. Click here.
(2/24)
SpaceX Wins 5 New Space Station Cargo
Missions Estimated at $700 Million (Source: Space News)
NASA's December award of five new space station cargo supply missions
to SpaceX carries an estimated value of around $700 million. SpaceX's
competitor, Orbital ATK, received no awards in what is likely the final
mission selection before NASA moves to its CRS-2 contract, for which
Orbital ATK, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp. have been selected as
contractors.
It brings to 20 the number of missions now assigned to SpaceX under the
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract first signed in 2008. In
contrast, the other company performing CRS missions, Orbital ATK of
Dulles, Virginia, has been assigned just 10 flights and was not part of
the end-year orders. (2/24)
Search Narrows for Planet Nine
(Source: Space Daily)
US astronomers announced last month they may have found a ninth planet
beyond Neptune, but conceded they had no idea where on an estimated
10,000-20,000-year orbit it might be. On Tuesday, a French science
quartet said they have narrowed the search area. By studying data from
NASA's Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, the seventh planet from the
Sun, they could exclude two zones, the team wrote in the journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The postulated planet is thought to circle the Sun in a lopsided,
highly elongated, oval loop. At its most distant from the Sun, the
planet would be too far too away for any effect on other planets to
ever be detectable, thus limiting astronomers to a searchable zone
representing only about half of the total orbit. Now Laskar and his
team have reduced the search area by 50 percent by eliminating two
zones in which they say the modelling does not match reality. (2/24)
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