October 19, 2017

China Expanding Rocket Fleet, Including Super Heavy Lift (Source: GB Times)
Chinese engineers are developing a new series of Long March rockets, including one comparable to the Saturn 5. At a conference earlier this month, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology said it will soon formally begin development of the Long March 9, a rocket nearly 100 meters tall and 10 meters in diameter, with a payload capacity similar to the Saturn 5. China plans to use that rocket to support future human expeditions to the moon and other exploration missions. In the near-term, China plans to develop the Long March 5B, a variant of the Long March 5 for missions to low Earth orbit; and the Long March 8, a new medium-class rocket. (10/19)

Sprouting the Seed of Georgia's Space Community (Source: Astralytical)
Georgia Space Alliance is state-wide, not just focused on Atlanta. It’s an alliance of the existing groups, companies, organizations, and individuals. It’s not meant to replace or compete with any existing space-related effort. Its goal is to unify, to bring people together, to encourage communication and collaboration, to promote what is already happening and what is to come. Even the word “space” is meaningful. Georgia already has a very strong aerospace industry and aerospace community, aerospace primarily meaning aviation. The focus of Georgia Space Alliance is not aerospace – it’s space –the much smaller but growing branch of aerospace in the state. Click here. (10/18)

Scientists Just Found the Perfect Spot to Build an Underground Colony on the Moon (Source: Gizmodo)
For years, scientists have wondered if dark, crater-like features on the lunar surface might be entrances to giant caverns carved long ago by flowing lava. Researchers from Japan and the United States have uncovered new evidence to prove that these features actually exist—which is good news for future lunar colonists looking for a convenient and safe place to live.

New research published in Geophysical Research Letters shows that several pits located near the Marius Hill region of the Moon are large open lava tubes, and that these ancient caverns have the potential to offer, in the words of the researchers, a “pristine environment to conduct scientific examination of the Moon’s composition and potentially serve as secure shelters for humans and instruments.” The team, which included scientists from NASA and Japan’s space agency, JAXA, combined radar and gravity data to make the finding.

No doubt, these caverns would be perfect for aspiring lunar colonists. Inside these large holes, humans would be protected from the Sun’s dangerous rays, and other hazards. The Moon has no atmosphere to speak of, so these “instant” shelters would be extremely advantageous. (10/18)

What the New Gravitational Waves Discovery Means for the Future of Astronomy (Source: Washington Post)
In August, for the first time ever, scientists witnessed the electromagnetic lightning and gravitational gusts from the stormy collision of two neutron stars in a distant galaxy. The cosmic cataclysm created a “kilonova” — a phenomenon that had never been seen before — and the observations by both traditional telescopes and gravitational wave detectors heralded a new era for science. In the years to come, astrophysicists will use two “messengers” to understand the universe: electromagnetism and gravity.

Those discoveries are just the beginning: “This is opening a new brand of research and science,” Eleonora Troja, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, said Tuesday. Here are just two of the ways the kilonova's detection will likely shift the course of astronomy. Click here. (10/18)

Lego’s Official ‘Women of NASA’ Set Goes On Sale November 1 (Source: TechCrunch)
Lego has a new set that originated by a member of its Lego Ideas fan-sourced creation platform: The Women of NASA, a package that includes NASA pioneers Nancy Grace Roman, Margeret Hamilton, Sally Ride and Mae Jamison, as well as a space shuttle model, the Hubble telescope and display stands for all. The Lego set was originally proposed by MIT News deputy editor Maia Weinstock on the Ideas platform last year, and quickly made its way to the 10,000 mark needed for official project approval by Lego. (10/18)

Spacecom Returns to SpaceX for One, Possibly Two Launches (Source: Space News)
Israeli satellite operator Spacecom has agreed to launch its next satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX in 2019, and will likely launch a second satellite on another Falcon 9 in 2020. Spacecom said it “will use full credits from AMOS-6’s unfulfilled September 2016 launch to fully cover AMOS-17’s launch fees.” Another statement, given to the Israeli stock exchange the same day, said the 2019 mission could launch on a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket.

Amos-6 was destroyed when its Falcon 9 launcher exploded during preparation for a static fire test two days before liftoff. Spacecom agreed to have the satellite atop the rocket to save time between testing and launch. Amos-17, an Africa-focused telecommunications satellite being built by Boeing Satellite Systems International to last 19 years, is a replacement for a different satellite — Amos-5. Spacecom lost the ISS-Reshetnev-built Amos-5 satellite in 2015 to a power glitch  just four years into its mission. (10/18)

How Fit Will Astronauts Be After Years in Space? (Source: Space.com)
After spending months or years in space during future long-term missions, returning to Earth can be challenging for astronauts — and one set of researchers is finding out just how challenging using a life-size spacecraft model. Using a mock-up of NASA's Orion spacecraft, scientists monitored the health and fitness levels of "astronauts" as they performed emergency escape maneuvers, simulating what crews undergo during their return to Earth.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is designed to take astronauts to asteroids, Mars and other faraway space destinations. However, living in the microgravity environment of space can cause muscle loss and dramatically decrease an astronaut's overall fitness. And when crews return to Earth, they need to be able to climb out of the space capsule that has landed in the ocean and is being tossed around by waves.

"Our goal is to provide information on how fit an astronaut needs to be when they leave so that when they get to the destination or when they return to earth, they will be strong enough to perform mission tasks, even after several months in a zero-gravity environment," Thomas Barstow, professor of exercise physiology at Kansas State, said in the statement. (10/18)

U.S. Detector Flaw Will Delay Europe’s Euclid Telescope (Sources: Aviation Week, Space News)
The launch of Europe’s Euclid telescope, designed to explore the universe’s accelerating rate of expansion, will be delayed due to a newly found flaw in U.S.-built detectors. “The detector systems that we had been developing for delivery for ESA has been failing in their characterization testing before delivery,” Paul Hertz said at a meeting of the Astrophysics Advisory Committee. The problem, he said, is with an electronics package that malfunctions at the cold temperatures it will operate at on the mission. That problem did not appear in earlier qualification tests of the system. (10/18)

No Plans to Turn Kapustin Yar Testing Range Into Space Center (Source: Tass)
Russia has no plans to turn its Kapustin Yar training range into a space launch center, the facility's chief Maj. Gen. Oleg Kislov has said. Kislov said the project will require time and money, and appears unfeasible as Russia already has the Vostochny space center in the Far East, the Plesetsk space center in Northern Russia and the Baikonur space center it leases from Kazakhstan.

"Earlier, tasks similar to those of a space launch center, were indeed carried out at the testing range, but still it was designed with a purpose to test missiles and military equipment. The testing range can be used as a launch center, but it would require financial expenditures to create the required infrastructure, and, of course, it will take time," he said. (10/18)

Moon Express Hires Government Affairs VP (Source: Moon Express)
Moon Express has hired Ben Roberts as its Vice President of Government Affairs. Roberts will oversee legal, policy, regulatory, and compliance functions for the company. He brings over nine years of experience working for the Executive Office of the President, including roles at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Roberts was most recently the Assistant Director, Civil and Commercial Space, for OSTP, where he led the design and implementation of civil and commercial space policies and initiatives on behalf of the Executive Office of the President. (10/18)