Swarm of Nanosatellites
Could Visit Over 300 Asteroids (Source: SpaceFlight
Insider)
European scientists have proposed a mission consisting of 50 tiny
spacecraft, which could visit and study over 300 asteroids in a
timespan of just over three years. The concept, named Asteroid Touring
Nanosat Fleet, envisions a swarm of nanosatellites propelled by
innovative electric solar wind sails (known as E-sails) taking images
and studying the composition of asteroids. The tiny spacecraft would
perform flybys of their targets at a range of around 620 miles (1,000
kilometers). Each nanosatellite would visit six or seven space rocks
before returning to Earth. (11/12)
Orbital ATK: Continued
Antares Success, More Antares Launches (Source: Space News)
The launch is the first in a string of cargo missions that Antares will
fly over the next few years. Three of the previous four Cygnus missions
used United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5, in part because of upgrades to
the Antares after an October 2014 launch failure. Orbital ATK officials
said the remaining missions under its original Commercial Resupply
Services (CRS) contract, as well as at least the first two missions
under its CRS-2 contract, will use the Antares. The company has not
been successful in marketing the Antares to other customers, although
it says it continues to seek additional business for the vehicle.
(11/13)
Triton Messed With
Neptune's Moons (Source: New Scientist)
Neptune likely had an ordinary collection of moons until Triton came
along. Models of Neptune's moons suggest that it had a "well-behaved"
set of moons, similar to Uranus, until the planet's gravity captured
Triton, a Kuiper Belt object that formed separately. Triton flung
around Neptune's smaller moons, and crashed into others. That explains
why the planet has several small moons either very close or very far
from the planet, and also how Triton ended up in a circular orbit after
being captured into an elliptical one. (11/13)
World View Tourism Craft
Takes a Back Seat to Stratollite Business (Source: Arizona
Daily Star)
World View says it's seeing growing customer interest in its
"stratollite" high-altitude balloons. The company said it flew four
stratollites from late September through October for several customers,
including NASA, and will be on a pace for 100 flights a year by the
second half of next year. The company originally planned to use the
balloons to provide a near-space experience for tourists, but the
company says it's deferring that work to focus on the uncrewed
stratollites, with flights carrying humans to "fall in" at some point
in the future. (11/13)
A Tale of Two Rockets
(Source: Space Review)
An Orbital ATK Antares rocket successfully launched a Cygnus cargo
spacecraft on Sunday, the rocket’s first flight in more than a year.
Jeff Foust reports on the launch and the challenges that medium-class
rocket is facing in the launch market. Click here.
(11/13)
The Outer Space Treaty
and States’ Obligation to Remove Space Debris: a US Perspective
(Source: Space Review)
It’s widely believed that cleaning up orbital debris requires new laws
or even international treaties. However, Ram S Jakhu and Md Tanveer
Ahmad argue that existing laws give the US the authority it needs to
remove orbital debris. Click here.
(11/13)
An Open Letter to Vice
President Pence and the National Space Council on Space Traffic
Management (Source: Space Review)
As the National Space Council starts its work, one topic it will likely
address is space traffic management. Three authors, in an open letter
to the council and its chairman, suggest establishing a new agency to
deal with this issue. Click here.
(11/13)
The Moon and America’s
(and the World’s) Defense (Source: Space Review)
Some Mars exploration advocates seen a return to the Moon as an
unnecessary detour. Gary Fisher proposes a lunar base that could
support future Mars missions and other applications, although in a very
unconventional way. Click here.
(11/13)
China Teases Hypersonic
Military Attack Aircraft Designs (Source: Sputnik)
A news report on the Chinese CCMF channel has revealed a glimpse of a
top-secret JF-12 hypersonic wind-tunnel in which prospective - and
presumably military - hypersonic aircraft are being tested. Aerodynamic
tunnels are commonly used to test the properties of machines prior to
full scale production. In the case of aircraft that tend to be big and
expensive, small models of new plane designs are positioned in wind
tunnels to reveal how the new craft withstand high winds. Click here.
(11/13)
In the case of hypersonic planes, a tunnel is required that can
simulate an aircraft movement at speeds much faster than the speed of
sound. China has now demonstrated their own version. Built in 2012, the
JF-12, dubbed ‘Hyper Dragon,' has been a carefully kept secret. The 2.5
meter wide, 265 meter long installation reportedly cost almost $7
million to construct and is capable of creating wind speeds up to 10
times the speed of sound, or about 7,680 mph. (11/13)
Thousands of Scientists
Issue Bleak 'Second Notice' to Humanity (Source:
Washington Post)
In late 1992, 1,700 scientists from around the world issued a dire
“warning to humanity.” They said humans had pushed Earth's ecosystems
to their breaking point and were well on the way to ruining the planet.
The letter listed environmental impacts like they were biblical plagues
— stratospheric ozone depletion, air and water pollution, the collapse
of fisheries and loss of soil productivity, deforestation,
species loss and catastrophic global climate change caused by
the burning of fossil fuels.
“If not checked,” wrote the scientists, led by particle physicist and
Union of Concerned Scientists co-founder Henry Kendall, “many of our
current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human
society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living
world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we
know.” But things were only going to get worse.
To mark the letter's 25th anniversary, researchers have issued a
bracing follow-up. In a communique published Monday in the journal
BioScience, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries assess the
world's latest responses to various environmental threats. Once again,
they find us sorely wanting. “Humanity has failed to make sufficient
progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges,
and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse,” they write. (11/13)
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