North Korea Hopes to Plant Flag on the
Moon (Source: ABC)
North Korean space officials are hard at work on a five-year plan to
put more advanced satellites into orbit by 2020, and don't intend to
stop there: They're also aiming for the moon, and beyond. In an
interview with The Associated Press, a senior official at North Korea's
version of NASA said international sanctions won't stop the country
from launching more satellites by 2020, and that he hopes to see the
North Korean flag on the moon within the next 10 years.
"Even though the U.S. and its allies try to block our space
development, our aerospace scientists will conquer space and definitely
plant the flag of the DPRK on the moon," said Hyon Kwang Il, director
of the scientific research department of North Korea's National
Aerospace Development Administration.
An unmanned, no-frills North Korean moon mission in the not-too-distant
future isn't as far-fetched as it might seem. Outside experts say it's
ambitious, but conceivable. While the U.S. is the only country to have
conducted manned lunar missions, other nations have sent unmanned
spacecraft there and have in that sense planted their flags. (8/4)
Russia Plans Ganymede Lander
(Source: Ars Technica)
After years of pressure from Congress and the scientific community,
NASA has finally begun formal mission planning to send both an orbiter,
possibly launching as early as 2023, and a follow-up lander mission to
the Jovian moon Europa. But the US space agency may not be alone in
sending probes Jupiter's moons. Russia now says it is going to Ganymede.
In a promotional video, engineers from the Russian space agency,
Roscosmos, discuss a proposed orbiter and lander mission to the largest
moon in the solar system. Specific dates are not discussed for this
"Laplace-P" concept, but the Russians have previously targeted a launch
date of 2023, and the video suggests a launch could come in the next
decade. The video appears to suggest that Ganymede may be as good a
candidate (or better) for life than Europa. (8/3)
Suit, Craft Ready, But India's Space
Odyssey Gets A Go Slow Signal (Source: NDTV)
India will not be putting a man in space anytime soon. Jitendra
Singh, the minister in charge of India's space programmes, has recently
told Parliament "as of now, manned space program is not an approved
program".
With a goal to launch Indian astronauts into space on Indian rockets
from Indian soil, the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO had
sought Rs. 12,500 crore from the government. With Russia, USA and China
being the only countries to have successfully conducted human space
flight programs, the scientists were hoping to make India the fourth.
(8/4)
Building a Bright Regulatory Future
for the Commercial Space Industry (Source: Space News)
As a founder and chief technology officer of a U.S. commercial
spaceflight company, I’m proud to live in a country that openly
supports and encourages innovation through action. In that regard, the
Federal Aviation Administration has been a key collaborator, supporter
and enabler of the commercial human spaceflight industry.
They’ve expertly implemented the current legal framework that fosters
innovation and promotes progress, ensuring both U.S. leadership on a
global stage and a favorable climate for private investment and
calculated risk taking. But as U.S. companies inch closer to commercial
operation and our industry evolves, so too must our regulatory
framework. '
The human spaceflight regulatory regime that governs large segments of
our industry has limitations on the FAA’s ability to issue new
regulations intended to ensure occupant safety. Because these
limitations, under what is known as the “learning period,” are due to
expire in 2023, there is an unintended consequence of legal and fiscal
uncertainty. Click here.
(8/3)
A New Reason We Haven’t Found Alien
Life in the Universe (Source: Washington Post)
Italian physicist Enrico Fermi once famously exclaimed “Where is
everybody?” We have been trying to answer his paradox — we exist, so
aliens should exist, too — ever since. According to one new solution,
we have not seen or heard from any galactic neighbors because we are
still waiting for them to be born. And it will, according to the
calculations, be a long time before we can throw other solar systems a
baby shower.
If you grade earthlings on a cosmic curve, as recently hashed out by
Harvard and Oxford University astrophysicists, we’re at the head of the
class. So says a team of astronomers in a new study, to be published in
the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. The researchers
calculated the probability that life as we know it should exist at any
given point in the universe. Based on their assumptions, Earthly life
is quite likely premature. (8/3)
Would You Take a Selfie on Mars?
(Source: CNN)
If you went to Mars, would you take a selfie? In his photo series
"Greetings from Mars," photographer Julien Mauve imagines life as a
tourist on the Red Planet -- selfie-stick and all. The irreverent
photos were awarded the 2016 Sony World Photography Award for
professional conceptual photography. Click here.
(8/3)
Elon Musk Says Tesla and SpaceX Will
Not Merge (Source: Inverse)
Tesla and SpaceX will not combine, Elon Musk, CEO of both companies,
confirmed in a Tesla investor call today. "There’s not a strong
rationale to combine SpaceX and Tesla,” Musk said, unlike his previous
merger — apparently, “there is (rational) for Tesla and SolarCity” to
combine.
Musk is referring to a deal for Tesla to acquire SolarCity (a company
that Musk sits on the board for) in an all-stock buyout that has been
called crazy, bad for business, unethical, sound long-term thinking,
and everything in between. Apparently, though, a single Musk-backed
entity that controls a green future and the future of space
transportation just isn’t in the stars. (8/3)
Tucson Airport Board Backs Spaceport
Operation (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
The Tucson Airport Authority board unanimously passed a resolution
Wednesday backing development of World View Enterprises’ new
headquarters and Spaceport Tucson, despite some lingering safety
concerns. The measure also commits the airport to work with the Federal
Aviation Administration and key stakeholders during the licensing
process, to ensure the safe operation of the high-altitude balloon
operation under construction south of Tucson International Airport.
(8/4)
First Agent Now Offering Virgin
Galactic’s Space Flights (Source: Travel Week)
What do you think the commission is on a $250,000 flight? A
Sydney-based travel agent has become the first agent to offer Richard
Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flights. Gill McLachlan of Lachlan
Travel Group will be offering the 90-minute, $250,000 flights from his
Sydney agency, even though no lift-off date has been confirmed. (8/3)
Spaceport America Needs Experienced
Air, Space Manager (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
We need a go-getter to get going. A spaceport is a business, and that
business is transportation. There are five modes of transportation;
ground, sea, rail, air and space. The state has a secretary of
transportation. I wonder if he has been involved in the discussion
about the qualifications of our next spaceport director.
Running a spaceport is a profession. New Mexicans can look at the
spaceport as an asset. A qualified director would know all about
developing infrastructure, including roads and rail. She or he will be
someone who understands how to run a transportation hub, who can reach
out to the growing network of spaceports across the country, and who
can build an economic engine around the spaceport.
We taxpayers own that facility. Yet, very few people seem to
understand, this is a profession where qualified people work in this
industry and are available. Three people in the industry have contacted
me about this position. They don’t see any job announcement, so I have
suggested they call the chairman of the Spaceport Authority. This is a
pretty low-key approach to telling people in the industry we want the
best person we can recruit to this job. (8/2)
Extinction-Level Asteroid Could
Collide with Earth in 2175 (Source: CTV)
It’s the end of the world as we know it. Well, maybe it’s the end of
the world as our great- great- great- great-grandchildren will know it.
Scientists believe that an asteroid named 101955 Bennu could be on a
direct collision-course with Earth. Possible date of impact? 2175.
“It is what we call an Earth-crossing asteroid,” York University
astrophysics and astronomy professor Paul Delaney told CTV News Channel
on Monday. Bennu is one of hundreds of celestial bodies flying through
space on a possible collision course. Bennu, which measures nearly 500
metres in diameter, is large enough to dramatically alter life on
Earth, if it ever collided with our planet. (8/1)
Spectrolab Creates Most Efficient
Space Solar Cell (Source: Via Satellite)
Spectrolab, a Boeing company, has pioneered efficiency in space solar
cells, reaching a record 30.7% conversion rate. "The increased
efficiency of the XTJ Prime solar cell drives a lower-dollar-per-watt
solution, meaning spacecraft using this new cell will be lighter and
less expensive to build and launch, and more powerful once in space,"
said Tony Mueller, president of Spectrolab. (8/1)
Astronomers Just Found a Huge Void in
the Milky Way (Source: Mic)
Our understanding of the Milky Way galaxy just got turned upside down.
Astronomers have found a chunk of the center of our galaxy that is
completely devoid of any young, pulsing stars called cepheids,
according to new research. Yep, our Milky Way has a bald spot.
There are billions of stars that make up our entire galaxy. Studying
the distribution of those stars helps astronomers figure out the
galaxy's structure. Cepheids are especially useful because it's easy to
measure how bright they are and figure out how far away they are. They
help us map out material in the galaxy and understand how it evolved
over time. This newly discovered bare patch without cepheids could mean
that we have our Milky Way history all wrong.
"We already found some while ago that there are cepheids in the central
heart of our Milky Way (in a region about 150 light-years in radius),"
astronomer Noriyuki Matsunaga explained in a statement. "Now we find
that outside this, there is a huge cepheid desert extending out to
8,000 light-years from the center." (8/2)
NASA to Sample Asteroid That Might One
Day Hit Earth (Source: Australian Geographic)
NASA is launching a mission next month to sample a potentially
hazardous asteroid that's due to come within close range of Earth late
next century. The mission – called OSIRIS-Rex – will take about seven
years, with the explorer spacecraft set to launch on 8 September this
year, to reach the 492m-diameter asteroid – called Bennu – by 2018,
returning with a 60g sample by 2023. (8/2)
China's Unique Space Ambitions
(Source: The Diplomat)
China’s space ambitions and goals are unique. Unlike the space rivalry
between the United States and the former USSR, which was mostly about
“who got where first” (prestige and status) as well as geopolitical
rivalry, China’s space ambition is to harness the vast resources
available in space to benefit and sustain its economic rise. Click here.
(8/3)
Vector Space Systems Successfully
Completes First Sub-Orbital Launch (Source: Vector Space)
Vector Space Systems, a micro satellite space launch company comprised
of new-space industry veterans from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, McDonnell
Douglas and Sea Launch, today announced the successful launch of its
P-20 rocket, a sub-scale test vehicle for the Vector 1, in
advance of orbital launches in 2018. The test, conducted July 30 in
Mojave, CA, also carried Vector's first customer payload through a
partnership with Finnish-based Iceye. (8/2)
Volcanic Moon's Atmosphere Freezes
Daily in Jupiter's Shadow (Source: Cosmos)
Jupiter's massive tidal push and pull bestows explosive volcanism on
its innermost moon Io. But the gas giant's huge shadow also freezes
Io's atmosphere on a daily basis, crystallising sulfur dioxide gas into
ice which falls onto the moon's surface as frost. Constantine Tsang
from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado and
colleagues in the US, France and Spain recorded, for the first time,
how Io's atmosphere behaves during its orbit around Jupiter from
sunshine to shadow.
In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets,
they saw the atmosphere begins to “deflate” when the temperatures drop
from around -150 °C in sunlight to around -170 °C during eclipse which
happens two hours of every Io day (1.7 Earth days). The atmosphere
puffs up again as the surface warms once the moon returns to full
sunlight. (8/3)
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