January 12, 2019

It Looks Like Dark Matter Can be Heated Up and Moved Around (Source: Phys.org)
Recently a team of astronomers studied several populations of dwarf galaxies, where the link between dark and normal matter could most easily be examined. They used these samples to hunt for any relationships between star formation and central density. In this scenario, if a galaxy experienced a lot of recent star formation, triggering explosive supernova winds and other temperamental outbursts, then that would drive lots of normal matter out of the core, and gravity would do its thing and pull some of the dark matter along with the normal stuff.

The study found an intriguing result: Dwarf galaxies with a lot of recent star formation ("recent" being within the past six billion years) had smoother central densities, while their less active siblings were much more cuspy in their centers, favoring this hypothesis that normal matter can indeed influence the dark. While this doesn't completely solve the riddle of the nature of dark matter, it is a substantial step forward. (1/12)

Spaceports Represent Latest NewSpace Building Boom (Source: Nanalyze)
Build it and they will come. This paraphrased prediction – famously uttered from a cinematic cornfield, a place notorious for where creepy killer kids tend to congregate – has both metaphorical and literal connotations. One could apply the maxim in everything from ballfields to a Dwarf Empire theme park in Kunming, China. In our case, we’re interested in the sudden boom in commercial spaceports, which cities and local governments are banking on will attract investment and economic growth.

Spaceports are also symbolic of the fledgling industry’s greater ambitions to morph into a trillion-dollar industry. Spaceports are like airports, except they cater more to spaceships and aliens, rather than as another place for a Starbucks location.

Commercial spaceports are part of that growing NewSpace commercial ecosystem. That was especially apparent at the SpaceCom 2018 Expo in Houston last month, which we were invited to attend. You could be forgiven for assuming that most of the rockets launched today are from government facilities at Cape Canaveral in Florida, where magical genies with a thing for men in uniform live in nearby Cocoa Beach. In fact, less than a third of the 90 orbital launches that took place last year even originated in the United States. Click here. (12/5)

Vector Announces Dedicated Launch of Hiber Nanosat This Year from Alaska Spaceport (Source: Vector)
Vector, a space access company serving the over $300 billion space market, today announced it will conduct a dedicated launch of a nanosatellite for Hiber later this year from the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska in Kodiak. Hiber, a Dutch company with two nanosatellites already in orbit, plans to utilize the Vector-R dedicated small satellite launch system to deploy its nanosatellite. (1/11)

Meet the Inspiring 1st Female Head of the National Air and Space Museum (Source: Today)
As the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum prepares to undergo a massive, seven-year renovation, supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss talks to the museum’s director, Dr. Ellen Stofan, about her trailblazing journey and their mutual love of science. Click here. (1/10)

Aerospace Needs To Make New Friends with Deep Pockets (Source: Aviation Week)
A new year’s prediction: 2019 will see “big money” finally buy in on aerospace—or decide to leave it for another generation. The chances are 50-50. No less than U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hopes the money comes. The former banker has become one of Washington’s leading proponents of private-sector-led commercial space. To tempt some of his former business cohorts to the outer space sector, he is hosting a series of summits near the White House for the well-heeled.

“Ventures in space launch, space manufacturing, satellite servicing, space tourism and asteroid mining are on the verge of potentially explosive growth,” Ross says. “But while venture capital continues to support these new endeavors, more traditional financial service participants—big banks and lending institutions—have not been as active. We need to change that.”

The Commerce Department will try to hone metrics and improve financial reporting related to the space sector, including market values and workforce statistics. Wall Street loves data, and Ross and his staff know that the government must provide more and higher-quality data to attract high-powered private investment. Ross points to SpaceX, which The Wall Street Journal reports is raising $500 million, thanks to a fresh $30.5 billion valuation. (1/10)

SpaceX To Lay Off 10 Percent Of Its Workforce (Source: NPR)
SpaceX, the pioneering space technology company led by Elon Musk, will lay off about 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees. In a statement, a company spokesman confirmed the layoff without specifying how many employees will be released. A company source says SpaceX remains financially strong and can continue to "manufacture and launch at a reliable cadence in the years ahead."

"To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," said the statement. "This means we must part ways with some talented and hardworking members of our team. ... This action is taken only due to the extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead and would not otherwise be necessary." (1/11)

Workers at NASA's Johnson Space Center Brace for Missing Paycheck Friday (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA engineer Holly Griffith can hardly stomach the thought of borrowing money as she braces for a missed paycheck Friday courtesy of the government shutdown -- but what's even worse is the thought of borrowing money from her mom, who supports President Trump. "I'm 40 and I've been working since I was 22 or 23 [years old] full time, and so it's just weird because I'm used to always being able to take care of myself," said Griffith, a safety engineer for life support systems on Orion. "I really don't want to take a loan from [my mom] but its free money. You do what you've got to do."

It's a mantra likely on repeat in the minds of many at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The shutdown, which started Dec. 22 and shows no signs of ending, has put 94 percent of the 3,055 federal employees out of work as Trump holds firm on his demand that Congress fund a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. And those workers will undoubtedly miss their first paycheck Friday. (1/10)

China Welcomes World's Scientists to Collaborate in Lunar Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
The Chang'e-4 mission, which accomplished the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, embodies China's hope to combine human wisdom in future space exploration. Chang'e-4 is carrying four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the Saudi Arabia. "International cooperation is the future of lunar exploration. The participating countries would share the costs, risks and achievements, and learn from each other. We hope to have more international cooperation," said Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program. (1/11)

Roscosmos Introduces $15 Billion Cap on Building Yenisei Super-Heavy Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
The leadership of Russian space agency Roscosmos has introduced a limit of 1 trillion rubles (approximately $15 billion) for the project of building the first specimen of the super-heavy Yenisei rocket. In December, a source told Sputnik that the project might require up to 1.5 trillion rubles in funding. Another source said that the specific cost had not yet been agreed upon. (1/11)

US Asks Russia's Roscosmos to Build Lunar Modification of Soyuz MS (Source: Space Daily)
The head of Russia's Roscosmos space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Thursday that the United States had requested the Russian side to create a version of the Soyuz MS spacecraft that could take space missions to the Moon. "Today, the United States is asking us to continue Soyuz flights with US astronauts... and even asking us to develop a version of Soyuz that could fly to the Moon and back in order to create a backup space transport system," the official said. Addressing the issue of the probe into a hole in Soyuz spacecraft, earlier reports stated citing Rogozin as saying that the results of the investigation will be communicated to the Russian leadership in the coming weeks. (1/11)

Steam-Powered Asteroid Hoppers Developed Through UCF Collaboration (Source: Space Daily)
Using steam to propel a spacecraft from asteroid to asteroid is now possible, thanks to a collaboration between a private space company and the University of Central Florida. UCF planetary research scientist Phil Metzger worked with Honeybee Robotics of Pasadena, California, which developed the World Is Not Enough spacecraft prototype that extracts water from asteroids or other planetary bodies to generate steam and propel itself to its next mining target.

UCF provided the simulated asteroid material and Metzger did the computer modeling and simulation necessary before Honeybee created the prototype and tried out the idea in its facility Dec. 31. The team also partnered with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, to develop initial prototypes of steam-based rocket thrusters. (1/11)