August 21, 2019

Elon Musk Ponders Solar Reflectors Instead of Nuking Mars to Warm it Up (Source: CNET)
When SpaceX founder Elon Musk gets on a Twitter roll, it can be hard to keep up. One moment, he's suggesting we nuke Mars to speed up Red Planet warming for colonists, the next he's pondering solar reflector satellites. While nuking Mars is the more eye-catching notion, there's some pretty intriguing science behind the concept of orbital Mars mirrors.

Let's turn back the clock to 2006 when University of Arizona undergrad Rigel Woida won a NASA prize to study "the use of large aperture, lightweight orbital mirrors for 'terraforming' an area of the martian surface so humans could affordably colonize the Red Planet." It's a sci-fi dream to find a way to make Mars more habitable for human life. Mars can get viciously cold and would require significant investments in creating safe habitats and space suits that can handle the extreme temperatures. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just heat it up a bit?

Musk didn't specifically call out Woida's research, but the work ties directly into the reflector concept. Woida published a report in 2007 (PDF link) detailing how a system like this might function. The idea would be to place a series of satellites in orbit that would strategically reflect the sun's warmth down onto the surface of Mars. "Might make sense to have thousands of solar reflector satellites to warm Mars vs artificial suns," Musk tweeted on Tuesday, suggesting that the best option is still "to be determined." (8/20)

With Gerstenmaier Gone, Decision to Fly NASA Astronauts May Be More Contentious (Source: Ars Technica)
William Gerstenmaier may not have been not particularly well-known to the general public, but as the associate administrator for human spaceflight at NASA he carried considerable influence in the space community. So when he was effectively terminated from his position on July 10, it reverberated throughout the spaceflight community. Jim Bridenstine, who moved Gerstenmaier aside because of ongoing delays with the Space Launch System rocket and a concern that the senior official was not moving ahead quickly enough with the Artemis Moon program, has said new leadership will be in place "soon."

There will almost certainly be some sort of controversy with the first commercial crew flights, given the overall stakes with humans on board and the more purely commercial nature of the contracts. Moreover, both SpaceX and Boeing have had accidents just before, during, or after hot-fire tests of the thrusters to be used during a launch abort emergency. "Somebody is going to be unhappy," Wayne Hale said of the Flight Readiness Reviews for the first crewed flights of the new vehicles. "There will be a contentious meeting and somebody is going to have to say, 'Well, I heard the story and I think we ought to go ahead.'"

That somebody will almost certainly be the new associate administrator for human spaceflight. And depending on his or her experience, NASA managers and rank-and-file employees may decide they don't know the new person or don't think he or she has the technical capacity to make such a complex decision. As a result, they may go talk to newspapers or members of Congress to air their concerns. Because Gerstenmaier had credibility, no one went public to complain about the process or raise concerns prior to liftoff. (8/6)

US Govt Issues New Safety Rules for Launching Nuclear Systems Into Space (Source: Space Daily)
The US government has issued new safety rules governing the launch of nuclear systems into space, President Donald Trump announced in a new National Security Presidential Memorandum. "This memorandum updates the process for launches of spacecraft containing space nuclear systems," the document said on Tuesday. "The ability to use space nuclear systems safely and sustainably is vital to maintaining and advancing United States dominance and strategic leadership in space."

Space nuclear systems include radioisotope power systems such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators and radioisotope heater units as well as fission reactors that can be utilized for power and propulsion, the National Security Presidential Memorandum said. The new procedures and safety guidelines approved in the memo "are forward-looking and amenable to effective use of space nuclear systems for heating, power, and propulsion." (8/21)

Gravitational Astronomy Proves its Maturity (Source: The Economist)
On August 14th, just after 9pm Universal Time, a ripple of gravitational waves reached Earth. Until a few years ago no one would have noticed such an event. But 2015 saw the reopening, after an upgrade, of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), a pair of detectors in Washington state and Louisiana. These were joined in 2017 by Virgo, an upgraded instrument in Italy. Together, the three instruments not only recorded the wave’s passage, they also worked out where in the sky it had come from and then texted that information to the world’s astronomers.

This stimulated the deployment of a host of other devices, to look at the wave’s point of origin near the border between the constellations of Cetus and Sculptor. Telescopes capable of examining all parts of the spectrum, from gamma rays to radio waves, were brought into play. And, courtesy of IceCube, an instrument at the South Pole, the sky was also scanned for tiny particles known as neutrinos that might have been released by whatever humungous event it was that had disturbed the fabric of the space-time continuum to create such a gravitational ripple. (8/20)

Molecular Gastronomy In Microgravity (Source: MIT Media Lab)
“Molecular Gastronomy in Zero G” explores the artistic and technical aspect of preparing food in space. Studying how food is created and consumed in zero gravity can help shed light on how our experiences of food extend far beyond mere nourishment. Food is not simply fuel—it’s part of what makes us human. Debriefs with astronauts tell us that food is a key creature comfort in spaceflight, and it will play an even more significant role on long duration spaceflight and future space habitats.

The current space food system offers some variability in menu items, but does little outside of sustenance. It’s freeze-dried and pre-packaged in ways consistent with the demands of present day space travel. For longer trips these self-contained meals will be detrimental to astronauts’ mental health. Promoting new culinary techniques and interactions between different sensory modalities will assist in improving the experience of food in space. Click here. (8/20)

Dragonfly Spacecraft to Scour the Sands of Titan for the Chemistry of Life (Source: Smithsonian)
The NASA rotorcraft, resembling a large quadcopter drone, will fly through the orange clouds of the ocean moon in the outer solar system. obody knows exactly what the sand is made of on Titan. Saturn’s largest moon, a bit larger than the planet Mercury, has a layer of crust primarily formed of water ice, frozen rigid as rock in the minus-180-degree-Celsius environment and, in some places, thrust up to mountain peaks reaching higher than 10,000 feet.

While sand on Earth is primarily ground-up bedrock of silica, the sand on Titan doesn’t come from the icy bedrock, at least not entirely. The surface is dusted rather in organic compounds—molecules that include carbon as well as elements like hydrogen and nitrogen. The Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, making 126 close flybys of Titan, was able to spot organics on the surface but could not determine exactly what compounds were present. Scientists believe these materials, when exposed to water and energy, can spark the reactions that generate living, reproducing cells. (8/20)

US Space Command Will Launch This Month, Ahead of Trump's Space Force (Source: USA Today)
The Space Force is getting closer to launch. Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the National Space Council, Vice President Mike Pence and Pentagon officials announced that a key step in creating the newest branch of the military would happen next week. The U.S. Space Command officially starts Aug. 29, serving as the launching pad for the Space Force, they said. Air Force Gen. John Raymond has been tapped and confirmed by the Senate as its first leader. (8/20)

Aerospace Corp. Awarded Potential $621M Engineering Services Contract by NASA (Source: Aerospace Corp.)
The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) has received a sole-source nine-year follow-on contract with a total potential value of $621 million from NASA, the company’s third-largest customer, to provide NASA-wide Specialized Engineering, Evaluation and Test Services (NSEETS). The contract has a five-year base period that becomes effective on Oct. 1, 2019 with an additional four-year option.

The IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract provides NASA access to Aerospace resources and personnel with deep understanding across the U.S. space enterprise characterized by technical depth and breadth, objectivity and independence, long term stability, and available to perform work closely associated with inherently governmental functions. (8/20)

Nuclear Propulsion Could Be 'Game-Changer' for Space Exploration, NASA Chief Says (Source: Space.com)
Humanity's next giant leap could be enabled by next-gen nuclear tech, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. During the sixth meeting of the National Space Council (NSC) today (Aug. 20), the NASA chief lauded the potential of nuclear thermal propulsion, which would harness the heat thrown off by fission reactions to accelerate propellants such as hydrogen to tremendous speeds.

Spacecraft powered by such engines could conceivably reach Mars in just three to four months — about half the time of the fastest possible trip in a vehicle with traditional chemical propulsion, said NSC panelist Rex Geveden, the president and CEO of BWX Technologies Inc. And that's a big deal for NASA, which is working to get astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.

That dose increases, of course, the longer astronauts spend in deep space, away from the protective bubble of Earth's magnetosphere. And recent research suggests that the radiation dose accumulated by Mars-bound astronauts could damage their brains, affecting their moods as well as their ability to learn and remember. Bridenstine also stressed the utility of nuclear thermal propulsion for applications closer to home. For example, the increased power could potentially allow Earth-orbiting craft to steer out of the line of fire of anti-satellite weapons, he said. (8/20)

Japan's GITAI Raises $4.1M for Space Robot (Source: Deal Street Asia)
A Japanese space robotics startup has raised $4.1 million. GITAI raised the money from several funds, led by Spiral Ventures, and the company said it is in talks with additional investors to provide up to $10 million. The startup is developing a "task substitution" robot intended to perform work normally done by astronauts. A prototype of the robot will be flown to the ISS by the end of next year. (8/21)

Meet Skybot F-850, the Humanoid Robot Russia Is Launching into Space (Source: Space.com)
When a Russian Soyuz spacecraft launches from Kazakhstan for the International Space Station tomorrow night, it will carry a single, if strange, passenger — a humanoid robot, sitting in the commander's chair of the crew capsule. The robot, dubbed Skybot F-850, is one of the latest versions of Russia's FEDOR robots, which have been developed as an all-purpose stand-in for humans in everything from rescue work to driving cars — and now, flying into space.

It's the first time that a robot will take the commander's place in a Soyuz — the Skybot will monitor and report on conditions during the otherwise uncrewed flight, including the forces on the spacecraft as it enters orbit and the start of zero gravity. Russia has been developing the FEDOR robots since 2014. Bloshenko said the Skybot version that will fly to the ISS is made from robust materials designed to withstand vibrations during the launch and the demands of operating in space. (8/20)

Elon Musk Hails Newt Gingrich's Plan to Award a $2 Billion Prize to the First Company That Lands Humans on the Moon (Source: Business Insider)
Elon Musk on Monday evening tweeted his approval of a plan spearheaded by Newt Gingrich to offer $2 billion to the first private company to land and settle on the moon. Gingrich's proposal, first reported by Politico on Monday, was cooked up by the former Republican House speaker and a varied cast of characters ranging from NASA advisers to a former publicist for Michael Jackson and Prince. The idea is to reduce public spending on space exploration by providing private companies the cash incentive. (8/20)

Secret Russia Weapon Project: Gamechanger or PR Stunt? (Source: AFP)
Russia still has an "obsession" over American missile defence dating back to the Cold War and the presidency of Ronald Reagan who championed the Strategic Defence Initiative program known as "Star Wars". "They fear that the Americans one day will have a capacity to neutralise their arsenal using offensive and defensive means... Russia is multiplying its options to be certain to be able to penetrate American missile defence systems," he added.

Are the risks too great? The technical demands of manufacturing such a missile are huge, requiring the miniaturization of a nuclear reactor to a scale where it can be put on the missile. And the risks for the scientists and operators -- especially in the early phase of development -- are clear. A former chief of a French intelligence service, who asked not to be named, told AFP that such safety considerations would normally act as a brake on the development of the weapons. But "Russia does not respect the same security guidelines because they consider them to be too heavy," he said, noting that France only used nuclear reactors in submarines and its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. (8/14)

SpaceX Starship Announcement/Update Delayed (Source: Teslarati)
Elon Musk says he's delaying an update on development of Starship that was scheduled for this weekend. In an exchange on Twitter, he said he was postponing a presentation scheduled for Saturday in Boca Chica, Texas, until SpaceX completes additional work on the Starship Mark 1 prototype under construction there, which he estimated to be around mid-September. A planned 200-meter "hop" by another prototype, Starhopper, has also suffered delays getting approvals from the FAA. (8/21)

NRO and Space Command to Collaborate on Command Structure (Source: Space News)
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the new U.S. Space Command will form a joint command structure for space operations. Under an agreement announced at the National Space Council meeting Tuesday, intelligence community space assets would be under the operational and tactical control of the military during a conflict if U.S. satellites came under attack. The joint command structure will operate out of the National Space Defense Center in Colorado Springs. At the council meeting, Vice President Mike Pence said the formal standup of U.S. Space Command will be Aug. 29 in Colorado Springs. (8/21)

Pence: NASA Artemis 'On Track' (Source: Space News)
At the National Space Council meeting, Vice President Pence said NASA's exploration efforts were "on track." Unlike the previous council meeting in March, where Pence instructed NASA to speed up plans to return humans to the moon, he made no major civil space policy announcements at Tuesday's meeting, instead reviewing NASA's progress since that meeting. There was, though, a greater emphasis on a "moon-to-Mars" vision with a long-term goal of sending humans to Mars. The meeting also discussed commercial regulatory reform, with a final rule for revised commercial remote sensing regulations expected to be completed by the end of October. (8/21)

Snoopy Promotes Space at McDonald's (Source: CollectSPACE)
NASA, and Snoopy, have landed at McDonald's. The fast food chain is now offering Happy Meals with space-themed Snoopy toys and books intended to promote NASA's space exploration plans. The toys include one with Snoopy riding an SLS and another with him on a Mars rover. The space-themed Happy Meals will be available through September. (8/21)

Scientists Find Troubling Signs Under Greenland Glacier (Source: CNN)
Greenland lost 12.5 billion tons of ice to melting on August 2, the largest single-day loss in recorded history and another stark reminder of the climate crisis. Warmer ocean temperatures are having a signficant effect on ocean currents which in turn accelerate the melting of Arctic ice. Click here. (8/20)

The Weird, Repeating Signals From Deep Space Just Tripled (Source: CNET)
Scientists suddenly have a whole lot more data on one of the strangest and most recent mysteries in the cosmos, so-called fast radio bursts. First discovered in 2007, these fleeting blasts of radio waves originate thousands, millions or even billions of light-years from Earth. FRBs have influenced the design of new radio telescopes like the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). And now a team of Canadian and American researchers using CHIME has reported a major new set of FRB detections that could fine-tune our understanding of where these enigmatic signals come from and what produces them.

The group says it's discovered eight new bursts that repeat. Follow-up observations could provide details about the origins of the strange bursts, he added. A larger sample size of repeating FRBs to study could also help scientists answer one of the obvious questions about non-repeating FRBs: Could they actually be repeating FRBs that just haven't been recorded as repeating yet?

While dozens of FRBs have been detected and cataloged over the past 12 years, few of those deep space signals had been known to repeat themselves. Two have been documented so far in published, peer-reviewed journals. Two others -- one via a Russian radio telescope, the other via Australia -- have been reported but not yet reviewed. (8/19)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Explosion Investigation Almost Complete (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability Hans Koenigsmann was significantly more confident that the company is just days or weeks away from wrapping up a serious Crew Dragon failure investigation. On April 20th, flight-proven Crew Dragon capsule C201 experienced a catastrophic failure mode – largely a surprise to SpaceX – that completely destroyed the vehicle milliseconds prior to a planned static fire test. Given the obvious mortal danger such a failure would have posed to any crew aboard, SpaceX’s plans to conduct its first crewed Crew Dragon launch (Demo-2) in Q3 2019 were thrown out the window.

Thankfully, Hans believes that SpaceX is just shy of concluding that investigation, “hopefully” permitting the launch of a critical abort test and Demo-2 before 2019 is out. More specifically, Koenigsmann noted that SpaceX is currently planning to conduct a critical Crew Dragon in-flight abort (IFA) test in October or November, more or less in line with a recent report from NASASpaceflight.com that the test is targeted for November 11th, 2019. NASASpaceflight also confirmed that SpaceX still plans to fly Falcon 9 booster B1046.3 on the critical test flight, currently the only established plan to launch a thrice-flown booster, a potential first for SpaceX’s reusability program. (8/19)

How SpaceX Plans to Move Starship From Cocoa Site to Kennedy Space Center (Source: Click Orlando)
Long before SpaceX can fly Starship to the moon or Mars, a prototype of the spacecraft must be moved from its construction site in Cocoa to the Kennedy Space Center for testing. SpaceX representatives declined to answer questions about how the company will transport the spacecraft more than 20 miles between the two facilities or when the relocation will occur. However, records obtained exclusively by News 6 reveal that in September the 180-foot-tall spacecraft could be towed along the State Road 528 Beachline Expressway before being placed on a barge in the Indian River for shipment to Launch Complex 39.

Cargo transport company Roll-Lift USA recently submitted a permit application to the Florida Department of Transportation seeking to move a "tank" to KSC over a two-week period in September. A diagram attached to the application indicates the cargo is the SpaceX Starship, which is currently being constructed in multiple segments at a steel facility on Cidco Road in Cocoa. (8/20)

Tectonic Shift As NRO Moved Under Space Command In Wartime (Source: 8/20)
If war in space erupts, the new US Space Command will have the power to order the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to take “defensive space operations” under a new joint concept of operations. The new chain of command represents a tectonic plate shift in US national security space, which has long been plagued by often testy relationships between the Intelligence Community and DoD.

“For the first time, there will be a unified structure that fully integrates Intelligence Community and Department of Defense space defense plans, authorities and capabilities to ensure seamless execution of space defense systems,” Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire told the National Space Council today. (8/20)

Scientists Have Been Underestimating the Pace of Climate Change (Source: Scientific American)
Recently, the U.K. Met Office announced a revision to the Hadley Center historical analysis of sea surface temperatures (SST), suggesting that the oceans have warmed about 0.1 degree Celsius more than previously thought. The need for revision arises from the long-recognized problem that in the past sea surface temperatures were measured using a variety of error-prone methods such as using open buckets, lamb’s wool–wrapped thermometers, and canvas bags. It was not until the 1990s that oceanographers developed a network of consistent and reliable measurement buoys.

Then, to develop a consistent picture of long-term trends, techniques had to be developed to compensate for the errors in the older measurements and reconcile them with the newer ones. The Hadley Centre has led this effort, and the new data set—dubbed HadSST4—is a welcome advance in our understanding of global climate change.

But that’s where the good news ends. Because the oceans cover three fifths of the globe, this correction implies that previous estimates of overall global warming have been too low. Moreover it was reported recently that in the one place where it was carefully measured, the underwater melting that is driving disintegration of ice sheets and glaciers is occurring far faster than predicted by theory—as much as two orders of magnitude faster—throwing current model projections of sea level rise further in doubt. (8/20)

Virgin Galactic Opens the Doors to the ‘Gateway to Space’ (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic today revealed the first look at the interior fit-out of its Gateway to Space building at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The work completed showcased two floors of the building primarily focused on spaceflight operations, which also incorporates communal spaces designed for use in the future by Virgin Galactic customers, along with their friends and families. Completion of this interior work means the spaceport facility is now operationally functional and able to support Virgin Galactic’s flight requirements.

One of the hallmarks of the Virgin brand for over nearly half a century has been the use of inspired and bold design to transform customer experiences. It is an ethos that has been successfully applied across industrial sectors and design disciplines. From aircraft cabins to hotel bedrooms and from fitness classes to bank accounts.

Virgin Galactic has striven to remain faithful to that tradition by choosing an elegant, experience-focused concept for the space launch system itself. Similarly, the company’s choice to operate from Spaceport America in New Mexico was due in no small part to the state’s decision to commission landmark architecture for the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport. The Foster + Partners Gateway to Space facility pays homage to the past in its respect for the ancient surrounding landscape while powerfully embracing the future through energy efficiency and sustainability. It was also specifically designed to enable Virgin Galactic to create an unparalleled experience as its customers prepare for journeys of a lifetime before graduating as astronauts. (8/15)

Despite Elon Musk's Alarmist Tweet About an Asteroid Hitting Earth, NASA Says There is No Known Threat (Source: CNN)
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, tweeted that a "big rock" is going to hit Earth, and that we "currently have no defense." But NASA, seems to disagree. Musk's tweet was a response to another by comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan, who shared an article reporting that NASA has begun preparations for the 1,100-foot-wide asteroid Apophis, which is scheduled to pass by Earth on April 13, 2029. Apophis named after an Egyptian god of death. (8/20)

NASA Mission to Jupiter Moon Europa Moves Step Closer to Launch (Source: The Guardian)
A NASA mission to explore the most tantalising of Jupiter’s 79 moons has been given the green light to proceed to the final stages of development. Europa – which is slightly smaller than our own moon – has long been considered a possible candidate in the hunt for alien life. Evidence suggests there is an ocean below the moon’s thick, icy crust that might be tens of miles deep. Scientists believe this body of water could contain the right chemical cocktail for life and could even be home to some form of living organisms.

Europa appears to have the hat-trick of conditions needed to kick off life: water, possibly chemistry, and energy in the form of tidal heating, a phenomenon arising from gravitational tugs acting on the moon. This could not only drive chemical reactions but also aid movement of chemical substances between rock, surface and ocean, possibly through hydrothermal vents. It is proposed that the NASA mission, named Europa Clipper, will make a number of close flybys – it cannot orbit the moon as Jupiter’s radiation belt would fry its electronics – carrying cameras and intruments to measure the moon’s magnetic field. (8/20)

NASA Advances Plans for Robotic and Crewed Moon Landings (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com)
NASA’s plans to land both robots and humans on the moon have taken several steps forward. A solicitation for scaled-up robotic landers has been released by the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and plans for human moon landers have changed to make room for more innovation by private partners. NASA will be supporting the development of these vehicles with new partnerships, aiming to mature technologies for both Moon and Mars missions.

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is how NASA plans to land uncrewed research missions on the moon in support of the crewed Artemis program. Providers are asked by NASA to provide end-to-end transportation from Earth to the lunar surface, including both launch services and a lunar lander. The first phase of the program saw nine companies selected to be eligible to bid for transportation services. Of these nine providers, three were selected as part of the first task order to deliver NASA payloads to the lunar surface: Orbit Beyond, Astrobotic, and Intuitive Machines. (8/20)

Scientists Discover Stardust in Antarctic Snow (Source: Phys.org)
A team of scientists hauled 500 kilograms of fresh snow back from Antarctica, melted it, and sifted through the particles that remained. Their analysis yielded a surprise: The snow held significant amounts of a form of iron that isn't naturally produced on Earth. Other scientists had previously spotted the same rare isotope of iron in deep-ocean crusts. Called iron-60, it has four more neutrons than Earth's most common form of the element. But the iron-60 in the crust likely settled on the Earth's surface millions of years ago, as opposed to what was found in fresh snow in Antarctica that had accumulated over the past two decades.

"This is the first evidence that someone saw something that recent," said Dominik Koll, a physicist at Australian National University in Canberra and lead author of the study. Outer space objects ranging from dust to meteors regularly fall to Earth, but they are generally made of the same materials as our planet, since everything in the solar system, including the sun itself, assembled from the same building blocks billions of years ago. Because iron-60 is not among those common materials, it must have arrived from somewhere beyond the solar system. (8/20)

Astrobotic's Private Moon Lander Will Launch on a Vulcan Centaur Rocket in 2021 (Source: Space.com)
A private moon lander now has a ride for its historic 2021 mission. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket will send Astrobotic's Peregrine lander on its way toward Earth's nearest neighbor two years from now, representatives of both companies announced today (Aug. 19). The mission will be the first operational flight for both vehicles.

The mission is flying via NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which this May awarded Astrobotic $79.5 million to deliver up to 14 NASA payloads to the lunar surface on Peregrine. The lander will tote a variety of other payloads as well; 16 different customers have signed up for the flight to date. Vulcan Centaur is the successor to ULA's workhorse Atlas V rocket, which has launched many high-profile spacecraft over the years, including NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, New Horizons Pluto probe and OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission. ULA has been developing the next-gen Vulcan since 2014. (8/20)