April 23, 2019

NASA Astronaut Assigned Record-Setting Mission (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Having been aboard the International Space Station for about a month, NASA astronaut Christina Koch is set for an extended stay of about 11 months. While Koch was already expected to spend extra time aboard the outpost, NASA and Roscosmos have made it official and moved the planned landing date of Soyuz MS-13—Koch’s ride home—from December 2019 to February 2020.

“I have known that this was a possibility for a long time and it’s truly a dream come true to know that I can continue to work on the program that I have valued so highly my whole life,” Koch said from the space station in a NASA interview. “To be able to contribute to that and to give my best every day to that for as long as possible is a true honor and a dream come true.”

This extension means Koch’s mission is now expected be “just shy” of the single-flight duration record for any NASA astronaut—340 days—and the longest for a woman, which is currently set at 288 days. Currently, NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Peggy Whitson hold those records, respectively. Additionally, another NASA astronaut is getting a mission extension. Andrew Morgan, who is launching to the outpost in July 2019, is expected to remain aboard the ISS until at least March 2020. Morgan is launching aboard Soyuz MS-13 and will trade his spot in that spacecraft with Koch for her return home. (4/23)

As Coachella Raged, the L.A. Tech World Made Plans to Live on Mars (Source: LA Times)
The only in-flight beverages on the 11-seat private jet were bottled water and a genetically modified bacterial slurry designed to prevent the worst effects of hangovers. A handful of passengers on the short evening flight from Hawthorne to the edge of the Mojave — venture capitalists, a man with a mushroom-based manufacturing company and this reporter — downed the mixture. The pilot, along with two senior SpaceX engineers, politely declined.

At the Apple Valley Airport, a helicopter waited to take us beyond a far ridge, farther from civilization. Miles from paved roads were two tents, a ring of shipping containers and an “H” painted on the dirt marking a makeshift helipad. One hundred miles to the southeast, masses of festival heads were gathering in the desert for Coachella’s first April weekend. But this small crew of space scientists, synthetic biologists, investors, entrepreneurs and one partygoer with flamethrower had higher ambitions.

Through sheer force of festive networking, its organizers hoped to spawn the companies and concepts that could allow humanity to establish bases on Mars (or maybe the moon) or “terraform,” as they say, our nearest neighbors into habitable worlds and spin off technologies for us earthbound humans in the process. The invitation promised Betaspace would be the place where “Burning Man and the Consumer Electronics Show collide.” There was a lamb roast and an open bar with space-themed cocktails. Click here. (4/23)

What Would it Be Like to Get High on Mars? (Source: VICE)
This may seem like an absurd question given that we will not colonize Mars anytime soon—if ever. And even if we do eventually set up a Martian colony, that settlement will be small and fragile. But there is reason to probe this question: Some researchers predict it’s almost certain that, at some point, someone will try to bring some chronic to Mars.

The governmental or business forces behind colonization may try to introduce it as a medicine, as the broad therapeutic utility of cannabis becomes increasingly clear on earth. They may be particularly interested in its potential to manage the anxiety of the prolonged isolation and confinement of long-distance space travel and life in a compact habitat on Mars, if cannabis continues to show promise in that field. Settlers may also push to bring cannabis to Mars, or smuggle up seeds, in search of intoxication-as-recreation.

Regardless of the motive for bringing weed to Mars, it seems safe to say that settlers would have to farm it there rather than import it from earth, as importing anything will be insanely expensive. Mars is an incredibly hostile environment for anything earthly, and reengineering the planet's atmosphere and landscape to be friendly to earth-based life is still an entirely sci-fi idea. So cannabis cultivation would have to take place in the enclosed, controlled habitats we would build for settlers to live in. (4/22)

Russia May Soon Decommission the World’s Most Historic Launch Pad (Source: Ars Technica)
Site no. 1 in dusty Baikonur, Kazakhstan, is where it all began. In October 1957, an R-7 missile launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space. Less than four years later, Yuri Gagarin reached orbit from this launch pad, and the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, followed two years later. Even today, all Russian, American, Canadian, European, and Japanese astronauts launch into space from Site no. 1—which is also known as Gagarin's Sart—as it has been reconfigured for launches of the Soyuz FG rocket. But soon, that will change.

Crewed launches of the Soyuz MS-13 and Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, in July and September, will be the final flights of the Soyuz FG vehicle. After this point, Gagarin's Start will be decommissioned because there are no funds to upgrade it for launches of the Soyuz 2 rocket. Presently, the Soyuz 2 rocket launches from another location at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Site 31, as well as two other launch facilities in Russia and Europe's Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Future crew launches of the Soyuz rocket and spacecraft will take place from Site 31 in Baikonur. (4/23)

Astronomers Just Found a 2nd Galaxy Containing No Dark Matter (Source: Business Insider)
The scientists' discovery of galaxies with little to no dark matter is unprecedented and somewhat surprising. "The fact that we're seeing something that's just completely new is what's so fascinating," said Shany Danieli, who first spotted the galaxy two years ago. "No one knew that such galaxies existed, and the best thing in the world for an astronomy student is to discover an object, whether it's a planet, a star, or a galaxy, that no one knew about or even thought about."

The researchers followed the movements of 10 star clusters, allowing them to ascertain the mass of each galaxy. They found that the galaxies contained only as much mass as the stars would normally have had, meaning that most likely there was probably only normal matter. The second galaxy found to be absent of dark matter was dubbed NGC 1052-DF4 — a discovery that's just as exciting for the researchers as that of DF2. (4/22)

Supercooled Water in “Snowball Chamber” Might Find Dark Matter (Source: Ars Technica)
A so-called "snowball chamber," which relies on a newly discovered property of supercooled water might be able to support the hunt for dark matter, that most elusive of substances. The detector could also be useful for detecting nuclear weapons in cargo, for understanding cloud formation, and for studying how certain mammals supercool their blood when they hibernate.

The detectors typically contain a target material (germanium, silicon crystals, or liquid xenon). Whenever an incoming dark matter particle collides with the nucleus of an atom in the target material, there should be a recoil effect, producing a tiny flash of light called a "scintillation." If the dark matter particle manages to transfer sufficient energy in that collision, the flash will be strong enough to be detected.

The snowball chamber complements existing particle detectors known as bubble chambers and cloud chambers. Like the YouTube water bottle trick, it relies on supercooling, which makes the water "metastable." It's the mirror image of superheating. "If you tried to boil water in a very clean microwave, [held in] a very pure, smooth mug, instead of boiling, it makes superheat," explained Szydagis. "This is the other way around." The water he used is very low in impurities like dust particulates, supercooled down to -4º F (-20º C). (4/22)

Cape Canaveral Preparing for Key Military Launches (Source: Space News)
The Air Force 45th Space Wing is gearing up for three high-profile space launches at Cape Canaveral over the coming months. If all goes as planned, the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-5) and the Space Test Program-2 missions will fly in June, and the second vehicle of the Global Positioning System-3 constellation in July.

Lockheed Martin on Saturday shipped the $1.4 billion AEHF-5 satellite from a facility in Sunnyvale, California, to Cape Canaveral on a C-5 cargo plane to prepare for a June 27 launch. The company also completed the checkout testing of the $568 million GPS-3 SV-2 in anticipation of a July 25 launch. Meanwhile, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is getting ready to launch STP-2. This will be Falcon Heavy’s third launch and, of larger significance to the Air Force, it will be powered by reused side boosters from the rocket’s recent Arabsat mission, paving the way for the Air Force's future certification of reused rockets. (4/23)

Kennedy Space Center Team Leading Effort to Combat Lunar Dust (Source: Space Daily)
Dust can be a nuisance - on Earth and the Moon. Astronauts exploring the Moon's South Pole will need a way to help keep pesky lunar dust out of hard to reach places. A team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida may have the solution. The technology launched to the space station April 17, 2019, from Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)-11 mission.

"This is the first flight of the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) and the first exposure to the space environment," said Kennedy scientist Dr. Carlos Calle. "It is a big deal, and we are very excited. We've been working on this for a long time."

The senior principal investigator for the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Lab, Calle has worked at KSC for 20 years, including 15 on the EDS. He currently leads a team of about eight researchers striving to perfect the technology that uses dynamic electric fields to remove dust from surfaces. They have had many successes and performed hundreds of hours of testing in vacuum chambers. But the upcoming year spent on the space station will provide Calle and his team invaluable data that can be used for future missions on the Moon and Mars. (4/23)

NASA Takes Advantage of Innovative 3-D Printing Process for SLS Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
America's powerful new deep space rocket, NASA's Space Launch System, will face harsh conditions and extreme temperatures in flight when launching NASA's Orion spacecraft and potential cargo to lunar orbit, and for that, it'll need strong protection. Technicians and engineers have qualified 3D printing to aid in the application of the thermal protection system to the smaller, more intricate parts of the rocket. Spray-on foam or traditional insulation is applied to both large and small components of SLS; it protects the rocket from heat during launch and keeps the propellant within the large tanks cold.

However, small hardware or cramped areas like the internal ducts of the engine section require technicians to either manually spray the foam on or apply a foam casting using, in some cases, a 3D printed mold. During the process, the foam, which is mixed and poured into the mold, expands to perfectly fit the part. This decreases overall processing time by reducing the need for complex and tedious post-process trimming. (4/16)

Stratolaunch Hopes to Avoid Spruce Goose's Fate (Source: Flight Global)
Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose – more formally known as the H-4 Hercules – was until 13 April this year the largest aircraft ever to have flown. Conceived as a WWII transatlantic troop carrier, the fighting had, mercifully, ended before the flying boat finally flew, for just a few seconds, in 1947. Retirement followed. The fact that development proved challenging and the war ended before it flew does not change the fact that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Stratolaunch, usurper of Spruce Goose’s biggest-ever title, might seem equally ridiculous. Composite construction, two fuselages, six engines and other bits hacked together from old 747s, lots and lots of wheels and bogeys… But it flies, and apparently flies very well. What we do not know is whether Stratolaunch has an economically viable future. Built to heft huge rockets to 35,000ft for air-launch, it is expected to start commercial life in 2020 launching Pegasus rockets, whose payload capacity is less than 400kg – a load easily orbited by any number of existing launchers. Moreover, Pegasus – normally air-launched from a modified Lockheed L-1011 – has flown only 35 times. Not a lot of demand there.

A company founded by Paul Allen, the Microsoft billionaire turned spaceflight visionary, presumably has the financial clout to keep moving forward. Technically, there is little reason to doubt it can achieve its goal of launching 6t payloads and maybe even spaceplanes. What remains to be seen is, will those missions make for a profitable business that maybe even needs a fleet of Stratolaunchers? (4/23)

The Ghosts of Flagships Past and Future (Source: Space Review)
As astronomers prepare to begin a decadal survey that will recommend the next flagship-class mission to pursue, the top selections from the previous two surveys have yet to launch. Jeff Foust reports on how this is weighing on astronomers who seek to balance bold scientific ambitions with uncertain budgets. Click here. (4/22)
 
China Tests Winged Reusable Launcher (Source: WeiXin)
The "Tianxing I-1" rocket is a general-purpose, reusable rocket carrier platform developed by Optima Skywalk. This flight is the "Jia Geng No. 1" experimental launch vehicle jointly developed by Xiamen University Aerospace Academy and Lingkong Tianxing Company based on "Tianxing I-1". The total length of the rocket is 8.7m, the wingspan is 2.5m, the take-off mass is 3700kg, and the whole sub-orbital flight is carried out. The maximum flight speed exceeds 4300km/h.

The main load of "Jia Geng No.1" is the XTER double-passing wave aircraft of Xiamen University. It is also equipped with the in-cabin wireless communication system and the adjacent space high-energy particle detection system developed by Xi'an University of Electronic Science and Technology. This flight test successfully obtained the test data of the real flight process and successfully completed the customer test requirements. At the same time, it also verified a number of key technologies including ground wireless measurement and control, low-cost electrical systems, etc., which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent research on rocket re-use technology. Click here. (4/23)

How Safe is Safe Enough for Point-to-Point Suborbital? (Source: Space Review)
An important aspect of point-to-point suborbital passenger demand is whether it’s prudent for a company to permit key personnel to travel via a higher-risk mode of transportation. Sam Dinkin estimates what level might support a judgement that such travel is safe enough. Click here. (4/22) 
 
The Notre Dame Fire and the Space Movement (Source: Space Review)
The first that damaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris last week led to a debate about the value, and expense, of symbols. Jeffrey Liss argues that the same debate applies to the cost and benefits of space exploration. Click here. (4/22)
 
China Launches Beidou Satellite on 100th Long March 3 Rocket (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China launched a new Beidou navigation satellite Saturday. A Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 10:41 a.m. Eastern and placed the satellite into an inclined geosynchronous orbit. The satellite will enhance navigation services in the Asia-Pacific region. The launch was also the 100th for the Long March 3 family of rockets. (4/21)

Space Development Agency Accelerates Mike Griffin's Vision for DOD Space (Source: Space News)
Establishing the Space Development Agency has been a major victory for Mike Griffin. In a speech shortly after becoming undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, Griffin said a top priority was creating a "proliferated space sensor layer" for tracking hypersonic missiles, and to do so far more quickly than conventional procurement systems would allow. This led to the Space Development Agency as a separate organization with the sole mission to accelerate the development and fielding of new military space capabilities despite criticism from some that it duplicated existing capabilities. He also handpicked trusted allies, many with space backgrounds, to lead his overall efforts to reform military space acquisition. (4/22)

DARPA Blackjack: Who’ll Get Prized Satellite Tech, Air Force Or SDA? (Source: Breaking Defense)
Everybody wants Blackjack. The DARPA program, meant to demonstrate how the military can use commercially-derived technology for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, is slated to make the transition out of the DARPA-run tech demo phase and into an actual acquisition program in 2022. But who will get to run it?

Both the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and the Pentagon’s brand-new Space Development Agency (SDA) are laying plans to transition Blackjack’s technology into their own acquisition programs. It’ll be a high-stakes test case for whether the two agencies will cooperate or clash. “SMC is currently partnered with DARPA and providing funding for Blackjack. When Blackjack is proven successful, SMC is planning a transition of the architecture to a program called CASINO [Commercially Augmented Space Inter Networked Operations],” said Col. Dennis Bythewood, Program Executive Officer for Space Development at SMC.

However, SDA chief Fred Kennedy was enthusiastic about his agency’s intentions to take up Blackjack when it comes to fruition. SDA is heavily focusing on the same basket of “proliferated LEO” missions in its “notional architecture” scheme that DARPA is trying to prove feasible with Blackjack. In fact, in early March Pentagon chief of research and development Mike Griffin (whose shop oversees SDA) mentioned Blackjack as one of SDA’s cornerstone inputs. (4/22)

Lockheed Martin Considering Space-Based Cloud Computing? (Source: GeekWire)
Lockheed Martin may be considering a space-based cloud computing service. The company is scheduled to give a presentation titled "Solving Earth's Biggest Problems With a Cloud in Space" at Amazon's re:MARS conference in June. Lockheed is already a partner with Amazon Web Services for the AWS Ground Station service announced last fall, while Amazon recently revealed plans to develop a broadband satellite constellation. (4/21)

A New Fund for Space Investing (Source: CNBC)
A new fund allows investors to put money into a wide range of companies in the space industry. The Procure Space exchange-traded fund (ETF), which goes by the ticket symbol "UFO", includes 30 publicly traded companies involved in various aspects of the space industry. ProcureAM, which created the ETF, says it gives investors a way to make diversified investments into the overall market. The ETF is also the first "certified space data product" of the Space Foundation. (4/22)

Even Space Isn’t Safe From Ads (Source: Slate)
Imagine you’ve stepped outside on a crisp, clear autumn evening. Ah, the beautiful night sky! The awe of the cosmos! How very small we are in this vast universe, tiny specks on this pale blue dot, lucky to exist in this geological instant that Earth is hospitable to life. Truly, the sky gives us the gift of perspective—wait, is that the Pepsi logo?

It could be, at least starting in 2021. Earlier this month, Russian company StartRocket confirmed to Futurism that it was working on launching satellite ads to be viewed in the night sky. Its first client, the company said, was PepsiCo. A PepsiCo rep later confirmed to Gizmodo that the company did partner with StartRocket for an “exploratory test” advertising an energy drink but had no plans to continue advertising in space. It’s unclear whether StartRocket may have more clients lined up.

In a video detailing its vision, StartRocket’s ads rise in the sky behind the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, a Bali temple, London’s Tower Bridge, and Arctic icebergs, competing with the aurora borealis. (StartRocket’s website depicts a dystopia that I cannot possibly capture in words.) The ads would be projected by a constellation of satellites orbiting at about 280 miles above Earth, each equipped with light-reflecting Mylar sails. (4/22)

Embry-Riddle Research Park Startup Sensatek Wins Major NSF Award (Source: ERAU)
Technology entrepreneur and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University alumnus Reamonn Soto has secured a $743,200 National Science Foundation (NSF) award for his company, Sensatek Propulsion Technology. His latest grant brings his grand total in seed funds to nearly $1.5 million, all of which has allowed him to add jobs to Central Florida’s economy – a key goal of the Embry-Riddle Research Park, where Sensatek is a fledgling business.

Sensatek will be adding two full-time employees to its current roster of four, as well as moving from a small incubator space in the Research Park’s MicaPlex facility to a 1,000-square-foot tenant space, where it will advance into research and development and production. The patented technology that Sensatek has licensed allows gas turbine operators to prevent failures and optimize engine performance by modifying temperatures according to precise monitoring. (4/23)

Britain Must Scale Up its Space Ambition (Source: The Times)
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen further proof of a revolution going on in space. India has conducted its first anti-satellite test, the first private moon mission reached its destination, and the first pictures of a black hole were revealed to the world. As political leaders look for ways of reasserting the UK’s national ambition and drawing the country together after Brexit, this is an area ripe with opportunity. But there is an urgent need to address the lack of awareness and public debate on space, in Whitehall and beyond. Heather Wilson, the US secretary of the air force is present for the launch of the first dedicated space policy unit of any UK think tank. (4/23)

UAE's Mars Hope Probe Project Nears Completion (Source: Arabian Business)
The UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) have announced that 85 percent of the Hope Probe project has been completed. In a joint statement, the two organizations confirmed that most of the main parts of the project have been completed and are currently undergoing testing.

The probe has already entered an intensive testing phase to ensure its readiness before the launch date, with less than 500 days are remaining for the launch, the statement added. It is planned to reach Mars by 2021, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE. Several aspects related to the design, assembly of the structure, cameras and control have been verified. So far, the probe’s systems and components, as well as its ability to communicate with the ground station have been checked by the team. (4/22)

NASA Dedicates Big New Office Building at its Alabama Center (Source: AL.com)
NASA officially opened its big new “green” office building at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville on Earth Day today. Building 4221, a five-story glass and steel structure, houses 440 workers in NASA programs including Human Exploration Development, Science & Technology, and Engineering & Safety. The building replaces the existing Building 4201 built in Marshall’s early years on Redstone Arsenal and now awaiting demolition. (4/22)

Orlando's WonderWorks, Astronaut Team Up on Educational Project (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
WonderWorks, a science-focused attraction on International Drive, has created a program that’s culminating with kids having quality time with an astronaut. Participants in WonderKids will be interacting this week with Don Thomas, who flew on four Space Shuttle missions and has orbited the Earth almost 700 times.

Thomas also will visit Orlando schools Thursday and Friday. Then he will participate in two official ceremonies for WonderKids on Saturday, and a public meet and greet at the I-Drive attraction from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. “His insight and experiences will be fascinating to the children and will hopefully further inspire a love of science,” said Brian Wayne, WonderWorks Orlando’s general manager. A limited number of students are accepted into the WonderKids program, which aims to make science fun and interesting. (4/23)

Space Comedy 'Avenue 5' Ordered to Series at HBO (Source: Hollywood Reporter)
As Veep is hurtling toward its series finale, HBO is officially getting back in business with series creator Armando Iannucci. The premium cable network has handed out a series order to Avenue 5, a futuristic space comedy from the Veep creator. The pickup comes as little surprise as HBO had already commissioned backup scripts along with the pilot order. A formal episode count and premiere date have not been determined.

Avenue 5 is described as a space tourism comedy set 40 years in the future when the solar system is everyone's oyster. Hugh Laurie (House) stars as the captain. Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rebecca Front, Lenora Crichlow, Suzy Nakamura and Ethan Phillips round out the cast. Avenue 5 was picked up to pilot last September and filmed in London, where Iannucci lives. The project marks his return to HBO after he stepped down as showrunner on Veep at the end of season four. (4/22)

Japan Is Testing Earth's Asteroid Defense System (Source: Popular Mechanics)
From the giant comet that once wiped out 75 percent of life to the equally intimidating sucker that once killed off Téa Leoni, asteroids have long presented threats both real and imagined to our big blue marble. And we've tried our best to stop them in their tracks, or at least limit the damage. Earlier this month, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s spacecraft Hayabusa2 practiced Earth defense against an asteroid striking the planet, planting a small projectile of a near-Earth object known as Ryugu. Later this week, JAXA will return to the site and see what this man-made crater did to the asteroid.

Hayabusa2's main mission? To study how impacts affect asteroids. The spacecraft, which contains a “small carry-on impactor,” or SCI, shot a copper projectile around 5.5 pounds into Ryugu's surface. Ryugu, named after a Japanese folktale, is around 5.5 miles in diameter. Moving at around 4,473 mph, the small projectile was designed to leave an impact. (4/22)

India Considers Investment in Galileo (Source: Business Standard)
The Indian government is likely to contribute over 200 million equity in the European Union's Galileo project. Galileo, the 3.2-3.4 billion satellite navigation system, is being projected by the EU as a rival to the US' Global Positioning System. According to senior European Commission officials, India's participation in the Galileo project was discussed at a meeting with senior Indian Space Research Organization officials in March. "The Indian government is expected to take a final decision on its equity contribution for the project by June," EC officials said. It was not clear if India would have access to the Public Resource Signal (PRS), which was vital for certain commercial applications. (4/23)

Candidate Moulton Plans Diplomacy to Avoid Alien Invasion (Source: Buzzfeed)
Rep. Seth Moulton, a newly announced 2020 presidential candidate and House Democrat, said Monday if he were president during an alien invasion, he would start with diplomacy by giving the extraterrestrial visitors a “classic American meal,” like a beer and a burger. “I would not build a wall between here and Mars,” said Moulton, who bears some resemblance to the president in Independence Day. “I would not do that. No, you got to start — and this is serious, guys — you got to start with diplomacy. You always have to start with diplomacy.” (4/22)

Spaceflight Looks to More Rideshare Missions with Fewer Satellites Per Launch (Source: Space News)
After launching 64 satellites on a single launch last December, Spaceflight plans to launcher smaller numbers of satellites more frequently. The company, which brokers secondary payload accommodations on launch vehicles for smallsats, said the dedicated Falcon 9 launch of the SSO-A mission was near the upper limit of the size of mission they prefer to perform because of the challenges coordinating so many satellites.

Spaceflight is planning 17 missions this year, of which two have already launched, with smaller numbers of satellites flying at a time. The company said it still sees a demand for rideshare missions despite the emergence of small launch vehicles, because even those vehicles have excess capacity that can be used by smallsats. (4/23)

Russian Space Observatory Readies for June Launch (Source: Tass)
A Russian space observatory is scheduled to arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome this week for launch preparations. Spektr-RG, featuring X-ray instruments from Germany and Russia, is slated for launch on a Proton rocket in June. Astronomers plan to use the spacecraft to map the entire sky at X-ray wavelengths to study energetic phenomena like supermassive black holes. (4/23)

Titan's Polar Vortex Lasts Decades (Source: Space.com)
Like Earth, Saturn's moon Titan has a polar vortex, except it lasts for decades. Scientists used observations from NASA's Cassini mission to study patterns in the moon's dense atmosphere, including a polar vortex at the moon's north pole. While Cassini wasn't able to observe the moon's full seasonal cycle, scientists did observe that the polar vortex remained in place until the summer solstice, so they estimate that the polar vortex lasted about 22 years. (4/23)

Russian Firm Develops Space-Based Radar Equipment for European Partners (Source: Tass)
Russia’s Ruselectronics Group (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) has developed space-based radar equipment for the European Space Agency (ESA). "The Ruselectronics Group of Rostec Corporation has developed a matrix of fast-acting switches with the control driver for the European Space Agency. The equipment is intended for its use on space-based radars in the near-Earth orbit," the press office said in a statement.

The device is twice as cheap as its foreign rivals but features better technical parameters. In particular, the device’s total loss does not exceed 0.3dB while its total decoupling (the signal suppression between the device’s certain inputs and outputs) is no less than 60 dB. At the same time, the device has smaller dimensions and weight than its foreign analogs. (4/22)

NASA: Too Early Yet to Revise Crew Capsule Launch Dates (Source: ABC News)
The SpaceX capsule involved in this week's anomaly flew to the International Space Station last month on a crew-less trial run, and it was supposed to be reused in a launch abort test in June. Another capsule was supposed to follow with two astronauts as early as July. Astronauts haven't launched from Florida since 2011.

NASA said Monday it's too early to revise the target launch dates, given that the accident is still so fresh. "This is why we test," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement over the weekend. "We will learn, make the necessary adjustments and safely move forward with our commercial crew program." The March test flight, to the space station and back, went smoothly. The SuperDraco thrusters embedded in the sides of the capsule were not used during the demo. (4/22)