November 14, 2020

What's the Post-Election Outlook for NASA and Planetary Exploration? (Source: Planetary Society)
In the event that Republicans retain control of the Senate, there will be a renewed push for fiscal restraint and domestic spending cuts, particularly after the government's enormous expenditures this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And while no one in the Biden administration or the next congress is against planetary exploration, the search for life, or planetary defense, few have made those a high priority, politically-speaking. This is not unusual. But it becomes salient in the context of restricted budgets.

NASA's budget tends to follow overall trends. If overall spending continues to increase, NASA generally increases as well. If the overall budgetary pie shrinks, so does NASA's slice. If this occurs, the Biden administration will likely prioritize areas of NASA that intersect with its national policy goals: climate change, the economy, and education. The challenge is on advocates to ensure that planetary exploration, the search for life, and planetary defense is strongly considered in light of these priorities. We believe the case for these is quite strong, and it's a case The Planetary Society intends to make in the coming months. (11/12)

Indonesia Plans Launch Vehicle Development (Source: Antara)
Development of a satellite orbiting rocket (RPS) will have a major impact on improving Indonesia's economy, Head of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) Lilis Mariani stated. "The development of a satellite orbiting rocket will have a large enough impact on the space economy where there are new jobs created and there is data sales service. Then, there is also the absorption of labor on the manufacturing side," Mariani stated.

Mariani highlighted the importance of developing an RPS since it will offer benefits to propel the country's economy through the creation of new jobs and sales of data and services. Citing another benefit of developing the RPS, Mariani noted that it was important for space exploration to increase human understanding of the universe, support space tourism and space mining, and find earth-like planets. Furthermore, development of the RPS is required for launching satellites for communication, welfare, disaster prevention, and human security on earth. (11//13)

NASA Expects Elon Musk to Isolate After Positive COVID Test, Skip Launch (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Elon Musk tweeted he had received two positive results, but also two negative results for COVID-19, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine weighed in during a press conference ahead of Saturday’s Crew Dragon launch by SpaceX to the ISS. “So as far as any contact with the crew, I am unaware of it,” Bridenstine said. “That contact tracing should be underway right now and of course NASA and SpaceX are going to work through it together and come to the right conclusion.”

“Technically, I tested positive, then negative twice, then positive again, so ‘Elon Musk Tests Negative for COVID’ is an equally correct title. The ‘rapid antigen test’ from BD seems to be about as useful as a flipping a coin.” Musk went on to tweet that he was experiencing cold-like symptoms and that he expected a more sophisticated PCR test result back in about 24 hours. But Bridenstine was asked several times about Musk’s status and whether or not contact tracing might reveal a threat to the astronauts and force a delay to Saturday’s launch.

"I will tell you our astronauts have been in quarantine for weeks, and they should not have had contact with anybody. They should be in good shape... When somebody tests positive for COVID here at the Kennedy Space Center and across NASA it is our policy for that person to quarantine and self-isolate,” Bridenstine said. “So we anticipate that that will be taking place.” (11/13)

ULA Launches Military Spy Satellite From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
After multiple delays and equipment malfunctions, United Launch Alliance sent up its powerful Atlas V rocket with a spy satellite on Friday moments after sundown Friday. The rocket carried a classified national security satellite known as NROL-101 built for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The agency has not disclosed any details about the payload other than to say it will provide data to the military and senior U.S. policymakers. (11/14)

Local Officials Concerned About Launch Spectator Crowds During Pandemic (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Amid a worsening pandemic, as many as half a million people are expected to swarm the Space Coast for a chance to witness SpaceX’s next crewed mission, only the second time in almost a decade that astronauts will have launched from American soil. Don Walker, Brevard County’s communications director, said the tourism office “guesstimated” about 250,000 locals and another 250,000 out-of-towners will show up to watch the launch in person. The Titusville Police Department warned of heavy traffic and road closures and detours.

The launch was originally scheduled for Saturday evening, but was delayed because of “onshore winds and recovery operations,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted. In earlier talks with reporters, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management Benji Reed said it monitors weather all along the North American Eastern Seaboard, so if the crew had to abort, it would be safe to splash down in multiple locations. (11/14)

Senators Want DoD to Buy Launches Through NSSL Program (Source: Space News)
Senate defense appropriators criticized the Pentagon for allowing some agencies to make direct purchases of launch services. The report accompanying the Senate bill criticized programs that made launch arrangements "through direct commercial contracts or delivery on orbit contracts" rather than going through the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. Those approaches may be designed to save money, but appropriators said they are undermining NSSL because the program is not benefiting from economies of scale. (11/10)

Future Asteroid Miners Might Be Bacteria (Source: BBC)
Future asteroid miners might be bacteria, not Belters. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh said a research project flown on the ISS demonstrated that bacteria can extract elements from rocks. One microbe extracted rare earth elements from a rock just as effectively in microgravity as it does on Earth. While researchers said the finding doesn't improve the near-term business case for asteroid mining, it does demonstrate its feasibility for extracting resources for future exploration missions.  (11/11)

Vice Chair Joint Chiefs Hyten To Leave Next Year (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will step down after just two years on the job, thanks in part to a little-noticed change in the law in the 2017 defense bill. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who was sworn in last year, will step down at the end of his first two-year term. He will not seek a second two-year term. A new rule passed by Congress in 2017 requires that the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs serve four-year terms. A second term would have meant Hyten would be in office for six years and worn the uniform for 44 years. (11/13)

UCF Delivers Engineering Options for Arecibo Observatory (Source: UCF)
The University of Central Florida today delivered engineering options to address the Arecibo Observatory to the National Science Foundation. UCF manages the facility under a cooperative agreement with Universidad Ana G. Méndez and Yang Enterprises Inc. for NSF. A main cable failed at AO about 7:30 pm on Nov. 6. A safety zone has been set up around the reflector dish and only personnel needed to respond to the incident are allowed onsite.

A monitoring team has been closely watching all the cables and platform. Drones and remote cameras are being used to minimize risk. Preliminary analysis indicates the main cable, which failed on Nov. 6, should have easily handled the extra load based on design capacity. Engineers suspect it is likely that the second cable failed because it has degraded over time and has been carrying extra load since August. A final determination could not be made without retrieving and analyzing the second cable.

The engineering firms cannot verify the integrity of the other cables at this time supporting the 900-ton platform. Each of the structure’s remaining cables is now supporting more weight than before, increasing the likelihood of another cable failure, which would likely result in the collapse of the entire structure. (11/13)

DESTINY+ as Germany and Japan Begin New Asteroid Mission (Source: Space Daily)
How did life arrive on Earth? To investigate this and to address fundamental questions about the evolution of celestial bodies in our Solar System, the Japanese-German space mission DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science), will launch in 2024 on a journey to asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The German DESTINY+ Dust Analyzer (DDA) instrument on board the Japanese spacecraft will examine cosmic dust during the entire cruise phase to Phaethon, with dust particles that have escaped from the asteroid and are measured in its vicinity of particular interest to scientists. (12/13)