December 9, 2017

Is Planet Nine Even Real? (Source: The Atlantic)
When Mike Brown first proposed that a hidden, massive planet lurks in the outer reaches of our solar system, he was confident someone would prove him wrong. “Planet Nine,” as the hypothetical world was nicknamed, was his explanation for the strange movements of half a dozen distant, icy planetoids that are farther away and smaller than Pluto: In theory, this huge, somehow-undiscovered planet could sway their orbits. But surely astronomers would be quick to find a more obvious explanation.

“Shockingly, in a year and a half, nobody has,” says Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology. “There have been so many claims of planets in the last 170 years, and they were always wrong. But I’m clearly a true believer at this point.”

Brown, the self-titled “Pluto Killer” who led the campaign that demoted the dwarf planet, and Konstantin Batygin, his coauthor at Caltech and a young star who plays in his own rock band, know how to spark debate. Since their proposal about Planet Nine, the lack of definitive evidence for or against its existence has divided the planetary community. Other astronomers have put forth alternative explanations, and some contend Brown and Batygin’s data are biased. Until someone clearly spots the new mystery planet in a telescope, they’ve come to an impasse. Click here. (12/8)

USTA Taking Tennis to Outer Space (Source: Baseline)
Feustel will be in space as a member of NASA's Expedition 55, along with another NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold and crew mate Oleg Artemyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Feustel also happens to be a tennis player and fan. “Tennis is one of my loves, actually tennis is because of my love,” Feustel said in a press conference on Thursday. “Tennis came into my life later, after I met my wife. She comes from a huge tennis playing family, and those experiences and those interests rubbed off on me and our kids.” (12/8)

Why Is Fashion Having an Astral Moment? (Source: New York Times)
If anyone can restore proper awe to the notion of space travel, Buzz Aldrin can. At 87, Mr. Aldrin, who made history in 1969 when he set foot on the moon, has hung on to his plain-as-folk charm and easy, infectious enthusiasm.

Those attractions may well factor into pop culture’s resurrected romance with the pioneering astronaut, who raised his profile in recent years with guest spots on shows including “The Simpsons” and “Dancing With the Stars,” and an appearance at the Summer Olympics in Rio last year. In November Mr. Aldrin led the annual Veterans Day parade in New York City, serving as grand marshal.

Unstoppable, it seems, he recently embarked on yet another life chapter: Last winter he strode the runway of the men’s wear designer Nick Graham, showing off a silver foil jacket with distinctly aerodynamic loft. So it may have been only a matter of time before Mr. Aldrin made the leap to a mainstream brand. (12/8)

Procurement Process of Canada’s Next Military Satellite Project Stuck in the 20th Century (Source: SpaceQ)
The Department of National Defence (DND) this week released the long anticipated Request for Information for the Enhanced Satellite Communication Project – Polar (ESPC-P), or simply called Escape. If rapid development and deployment was important to DND then they would be out of luck in getting this satellite project on-orbit and operational anytime soon.

It seems any type of military procurement takes more than a decade from start to finish. The procurement of ESCP-P could take 12 years. A contract award for ESCP-P is anticipated at being no later 2024. By the time the satellite is launched and operational it could be 2029. The estimated costs in 2016 was $1.5B. Why so long? Blame the government. There’s no one else to blame. To design, manufacture, launch and deploy a satellite, even a sophisticated military satellite does not need to take 12 years. (12/8)