August 15, 2019

California Officials Worry About Vandenberg's Future with Potential Polar Missions From Florida (Source: Paso Robles Daily News)
California officials are worried that Vandenberg Air Force Base could be losing business to other spaceports, threatening the state's space industry. A group of government and industry leaders met last week to discuss concerns that Vandenberg's historic advantage of being able to launch satellites into polar orbit could be eroding given the emergence of other launch sites and the possibility of being able to conduct polar launches from Cape Canaveral. The workshop concluded with several recommendations, including public-private collaboration on development of spaceport infrastructure and an "integrated master plan for commercial space opportunities" at Vandenberg. (8/15)

NASA Picks Two New Space Science Missions (Source: NASA)
NASA selected this week two space science mission proposals for further study. One, called Spatial/Spectral Imaging of Heliospheric Lyman Alpha, proposes to map the boundary between the sun's heliosphere and interstellar space. The other, Global Lyman-alpha Imagers of the Dynamic Exosphere, would study the variability in the uppermost layers of the Earth's atmosphere. NASA is funding nine-month concept studies of the proposed missions of opportunity, and will later select one to fly as a secondary payload on the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe spacecraft in 2024. (8/15)

Large Collision in Jupiter's Past (Source: Science News)
Jupiter's "weird" core may be the result of a head-on collision in the early history of the solar system. Data from NASA's Juno mission revealed that the giant planet's core is bigger but less dense than expected from models of planetary formation. A new study argues that Jupiter's core can be explained if a protoplanet about 10 times the size of the Earth collided with Jupiter, breaking apart the planet's original core. Scientists say this scenario is plausible, but that internal processes could also explain Jupiter's diffuse core. (8/15)

July Was the Hottest Month Ever Recorded on Earth in 140 Years (Source: ABC News)
The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees above the 20th century average of 60.4 degrees, the hottest temperature that month since scientists began keeping track 140 years ago, according to meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The previous hottest month on record was July 2016.

The period from January through July was also the second-hottest year to date on record, tying with 2017. The global temperature during that time was 1.71 degrees above the recorded average of 56.9 degrees, according to NOAA. However, in some parts of the world, including North and South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the southern half of Africa, it was the hottest year to date. (8/15)

Piezoelectric Tiles Light the Way for Kennedy Space Center Visitors (Source: Georgia Tech)
New technology that could be used in self-powered smart cities of the future will soon be demonstrated at the NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ilan Stern, a senior research scientist with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and colleagues, are collaborating on a $2 million project supported by NASA contractor Delaware North Corporation to build a 40,000-square-foot lighted outdoor footpath demonstrating applications of piezoelectricity for renewable energy.   
 
A small electrical charge is generated when a piezoelectric material is compressed, flexed, or vibrated. Harnessing this technology at the visitor complex, the researchers are using a thin, ceramic disk of lead zirconate titanate, which has the strongest piezoelectric response of any known material. “Just as a sponge squeezes out water,” said Stern, “the piezo element under pressure squeezes out electricity that can be harvested and stored.”

For this unique project, the researchers designed floor cavities of very thin, ultra-high- performance concrete. To fit into each cavity, the Georgia Tech engineers designed a novel system of custom electronics: circuit boards, six mini solar panels, a battery, LEDs, a Bluetooth transmitter, a Wi-Fi transmitter, micro controllers, and the piezoelectric element—all of which are covered by a loadbearing glass tile top. (8/15)

Texas Politicians Want to Delay Shift of NASA Program Leadership to Alabama (Source: Sen. Ted Cruz)
In response to a news report that NASA will designate the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to lead the development of the human-classed lunar lander for the Artemis program over the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas - which has served as NASA's lead center for human spaceflight for more than half a century - U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) along with Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) today urged NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to reconsider his decision and refrain from an official announcement until an official briefing is held. (8/15)

Virgin Galactic Opens Spaceport Flight Center (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
Virgin Galactic took one more step in the journey to commercial space travel Thursday when it showed off the operational capabilities of Spaceport America and mothership Eve took off from the iconic runway in front of media reps from around the world. “It’s a historic day,” said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides as the company unveiled its new operations center. Among those in attendance was Lt. Gov. Howie Morales.

The futuristic, three-story building in southern New Mexico will house all of the company’s space flight activities when it begins commercial trips to space for paying passengers. That includes mission control, flight training facilities for customers, and a social area to accommodate future astronauts and their friends and family before, during and after rocket flights. (8/15)

SpaceX, Blue Origin, and ULA Make Major Progress in Commercial Megarocket Space Race (Source: Teslarati)
A new generation of space race is currently underway, but this time it’s not a race to determine which country will reach orbit first, but rather which spaceflight company will successfully reach orbit first with the world’s second generation of super-heavy launch vehicles (SHLVs). SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA),  Blue Origin, and NASA all have plans to build and operate their own SHLV rockets. All entities are deep into design and development and are, for the most part, at various stages of assembly and integration of their first flight hardware, offering an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast the differing approaches at work. Click here. (8/15)

Eastern Range Updates ‘Drive to 48’ Launches Per Year Status (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Just one week after launching a Falcon 9 and an Atlas V rocket in less than 35 hours of each other, the Air Force 45th Space Wing provided an update to their goal of supporting a significantly increased launch rate from the Florida spaceport – with a prime focus on how safety and support play key roles in this initiative. Part of this drive is the pending requirement that all launch vehicles have Autonomous Flight Termination Systems by 2023 – including NASA’s forthcoming SLS rocket.

The overall goal of supporting at least 48 launches a year was considered a stretch goal a few years back. Now, that capability is here, with the Range demonstrating last week how they can support rapid turnaround at the Florida spaceport. Col. Mark Shoemaker, Commander of the 45th Operations Group, related that “one a week is the average we’re aiming for." Asked about SpaceX’s goal of launching up to 100 times a year from Florida as put forth in their environmental assessment for Starship construction at LC-39A, Col. Shoemaker said, “I wouldn’t say we can’t support that."  

The Range’s ability to support an increased flight rate heavily relies on the new, upgraded computers, equipment, and software the Range bought. This is most strikingly seen in the Risk Analysis that must go into all launches. Prior to this equipment/software improvement, it would take 60 days to perform all the needed Risk Analyses for each mission – including blast danger determinations and air and sea space safety closure zones. Now, it takes his team just 30 days to perform those same assessments. The new software/equipment enables “standard packages” for each Range user – meaning that SpaceX has their standard packages and ULA has their own that are pre-determined and then applied to specific missions. (8/15)