November 16, 2020

The Biggest Challenges to Humans on Long-Term Spaceflights (Source: Astronomy)
To prepare for that eventuality, scientists, engineers, and medical professionals are tirelessly working to identify and mitigate the new challenges interplanetary travel poses to human health and well-being.

Researchers don’t know every possible issue that astronauts will encounter during an extended stay in lunar orbit, a roundtrip flight to Mars, or a journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. But space medicine researchers are taking the data they do have — from analog long-term missions carried out on the ISS and human isolation experiments carried out on Earth, as well as animal studies — to prepare astronauts for what breaking the bonds of Earth will do to both their bodies and minds. Here are just a few problems (and solutions) experts are considering to keep astronauts happy and health on their way to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Click here. (11/13)

Lawmakers Want Arizona Picked for Space Command Headquarters (Source: KCTV)
Members of Arizona's congressional delegation are advocating for the state to be selected as the location of the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command. The offices of Republican U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said the lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett advocating for the selection of an Arizona site and requesting a meeting to discuss Arizona's qualifications.

The other delegation members who also signed the letter were Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar and David Schweikert and Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego, Ann Kirkpatrick, Tom O’Halleran and Greg Stanton. The lawmakers' letter said many Arizona cities meet the specified qualifications and that Arizona would be “the perfect location" for the command's headquarters because of its many aerospace and defense contractors, good climate and existing military installations. (11/14)

Why NASA Wants to Put a Nuclear Power Plant on the Moon (Source: CNBC)
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy will seek proposals from industry to build nuclear power plants on the moon and Mars to support its long-term exploration plans. The goal is to have a flight system, lander and reactor ready to launch by 2026. Anthony Calomino, NASA’s nuclear technology portfolio lead within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, said that the plan is to develop a 10-kilowatt class fission surface power system for demonstration on the moon by the late 2020s. The facility will be fully manufactured and assembled on Earth, then tested for safety and to make sure it operates correctly.

Afterwards, it will be integrated with a lunar lander, and a launch vehicle will transport it to an orbit around the moon. A lander will lower it to the surface, and once it arrives, it will be ready for operation with no additional assembly or construction required. The demonstration is expected to last for one year, and could ultimately lead to extended missions on the moon, Mars, and beyond. The nuclear power plants ultimately will provide enough electrical power to establish an outpost on the moon or Mars. (11/15)

Senate Kills Air Force Push For Funding Flexibility; Space Force Likely Hit (Source: Breaking Defense)
Senate appropriators have put a stake through the heart of an ambitious Air Force effort to speed development of $1 billion in new capabilities, rejecting outright the service’s plea to give managers authority to move funds within broad new “portfolios” comprising multiple programs. The only exception is a consolidation for AFRL’s high-priority Vanguard projects.

The budget portfolio concept is at the center of the streamlined acquisition model for the infant Space Force drafted by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, but yet to be officially proposed to Congress due to internal DoD squabbling. The Senate committee’s move effectively means that the Space Force’s draft plan to overhaul space systems acquisition is in danger. While House appropriators quashed the planned change in their 2021 spending bill, they also cited openness to being persuaded in future. (11/13)

Astronauts Launch to ISS on First Operational Commercial Crew Mission (Source: Space News)
Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after a successful SpaceX commercial crew launch Sunday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and placed the Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit 12 minutes later. The spacecraft, flying a mission called Crew-1, carried four NASA and JAXA astronauts on board. There were a few minor technical issues both during the countdown and after the spacecraft reached orbit, but they were resolved by controllers. The mission is the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon, developed as part of NASA's commercial crew program that started a decade ago. The spacecraft will stay on the station for six months, with the Crew-2 mission to follow in the spring of next year. (11/16)

Israeli Fighter Pilot Joins SpaceX’s First Private Flight for Axiom Next Year (Source: CNBC)
Former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe is the second member of the all-private crew that SpaceX is scheduled to launch late next year for Axiom Space, the company confirmed on Monday. President of Israel Reuven Rivlin made the announcement shortly after SpaceX launched its Crew-1 mission for NASA on Sunday evening. Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who previously worked for NASA and flew to space four times, will be the mission commander for AX-1, with Stibbe set to serve as a mission specialist. Axiom has yet to name the remaining two members of the AX-1 mission. (11/16)

Chinese Crops Bred in Space Produce Heavenly Results (Source: Space Daily)
41 of the nation's 56 ethnic groups have their own myths about the creation of fertile seeds. Now, modern technologies have produced quality seeds from an equally fantastic source: outer space. These seeds have produced a range of crops, from tomato vines that can sprawl across 150 square meters of land and bear 10,000 fruits, to giant black-eyed pea sprouts measuring nearly a meter long, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, or CASTC.

This progress has been achieved through space-induced mutation breeding, also known as space mutagenesis. In China, hundreds of varieties of space crops have been planted nationwide. They are a key pillar supporting food security, as well as an innovative approach to improving farmers' yields and combating rural poverty. Editor's Note: China has long claimed that space-exposed seeds produce gigantic fruits and crops, something I've seen no evidence of from decades of U.S. space agriculture research. (11/16)

Colorado Congressman Urges Aerospace/Defense Focus on Workforce Development (Source: Space News)
A congressman is calling on the military and the space industry to cooperate on plans for workforce development. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said at an event last week that the government and industry should better coordinate efforts to encourage students to pursue careers in the industry in order to meet the projected growing demand for jobs in the field. He cited as one example the ability to get security clearances faster so people can work on military space programs, something he believes the Defense Department can help with. Lamborn, whose district includes several space-related facilities in the Colorado Springs area, said he hopes the Biden administration continues to pay attention to space issues as the Trump administration has. (11/16)

Marine Corps Creates Space Unit (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Marine Corps has established a space unit. The Marine Corps Forces Space Command is a subordinate unit to U.S. Space Command and will be based at Offutt Air Force Base, headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command. Marine Corps Forces Space Command will rely on space experts who previously supported Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command under U.S. Strategic Command. Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy will be dual-hatted as the commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and Marine Corps Forces Space Command. (11/16)

Rocket Lab Launch From Virginia Slips to 2021 (Source: Space News)
The first Rocket Lab launch from the U.S. has slipped to next year. The company had planned to perform an Electron launch this year from its new Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia. However, delays by NASA in certifying the autonomous flight termination system that the rocket will use has pushed the launch into 2021, David Pierce, the director of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, said last week. He said he expects that unit to be certified some time in the first half of 2021, allowing the launch to proceed. (11/16)

Russia May Send Two Non-Cosmonauts to ISS Next Year (Source: Sputnik)
Russian plans to fly spaceflight participants to the ISS next year could require two cosmonauts to remain on the station for a year. A draft plan for upcoming Soyuz missions to the ISS envisions using two seats on an October 2021 flight for an actress who will film a movie on the station as well as another tourist. To accommodate them, comsonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Sergey Korsakov, who will fly to the station on the next Soyuz mission in April, would have to remain on the station until the following spring rather than returning on the October Soyuz mission. (11/16)

"Space Force" Show Renewed by Netflix (Source: Hollywood Reporter)
"Space Force" is coming back for a second season, but with a reduced budget. Netflix announced Friday it was renewing the comedy about the service, starring Steve Carell, with filming to begin some time next year. That filming will move from Los Angeles to Vancouver in a bid to reduce the cost of the series. The first season got mixed reviews from critics, but good ratings from viewers. (11/16)

Major Staff and Pay Reductions at Russia's Space Agency (Source: TASS)
The salaries of the Roskosmos management have been reduced by 15-20%, while the staff of the state corporation has been reduced by 100 people. This was announced by Dmitry Rogozin, General Director of Roscosmos. "Now we have a regime of maximum savings, the salaries of management that were inflated in previous years have been cut by 15-20%, the staff of the state corporation has been reduced by a hundred people," Rogozin wrote. According to the head of the state corporation, the staff of the United Rocket and Space Corporation is being reduced from 100 to 15 people. (11/15)

Virgin Galactic Loses More Money, Plans to Sell More Tickets (Source: Motley Fool)
Shares of space tourism company Virgin Galactic are up a strong 13% since reporting earnings last Thursday. This must mean that the company's results were great, right? Well, no. As my fellow Fool Lou Whiteman pointed out at the time, Virgin Galactic actually fell quite a bit short of even Wall Street's rather low expectations for Q3.

Analysts had forecast that Virgin would lose $0.26 per share. It actually lost $0.34 per share -- and reported zero revenue for its second straight quarter. But if "earnings" aren't the reason that Virgin Galactic stock is rising after earnings, then what is? Let's dig into the report and see if we can find out. Virgin Galactic has $742 million in cash and equivalents to fund its operations as it first completes its test flight program and then ramps up its flight schedule. At a current cash-burn rate of roughly $258 million per year, that gives the company almost three full years to reach a point at which it is bringing in enough revenue to pay for its expenses. (11/15)

Rising Pandemic Worries Ground Virgin Galactic in New Mexico (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Virgin Galactic’s first suborbital flight in nearly two years will have to wait a bit longer due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. The company has postponed a powered flight test of SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity that had been scheduled to take place between Nov. 19-23 from Spaceport America after New Mexico reenacted its shelter in place order as the rising number coronavirus cases have begun to overwhelm hospitals.

“While these new restrictions cause us to adjust our flight schedule, we take this pause in stride and will be prepared to resume our pre-flight procedures and announce a new test flight window as soon as we can. Our team members at Virgin Galactic, our Future Astronauts, and our fans around the world remain incredibly excited for our upcoming spaceflight,” CEO Michael Colglazier said.

Virgin Galactic plans to being flying passengers on suborbital tourism flights after it completes the flight test program. Ticket holders have paid $200,000 or $250,000 for their tickets. (The company raised prices in 2013 after the program’s first powered flight test.) Virgin Galactic’s stock (SPCE) has fallen more than 9.6% on the news. It’s now trading at $20.14, down from its previous close of $22.29. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health officials announced the two-week shelter in place order on Friday. The order will remain in place for Nov. 16-19. (11/16)

Stratodynamics and the University of Kentucky to Conduct Test Flight at Spaceport America (Source: Spaceport America)
Stratodynamics Inc. and research collaborators from the University of Kentucky will conduct a multi-flight campaign along with engineers from autopilot developer, UAVOS at Spaceport America later this year. The two-week campaign is the culmination of an experimental NASA Flight Opportunities project to validate a new method of real time, forward sensing turbulence detection developed by the University and NASA Langley. (11/16)

SpaceX's Starlink Still Provides Rapid Internet Speeds in Bad Weather (Source: Business Insider)
Users of SpaceX's Starlink satellite-internet service said how impressed they were with download speeds in snow and high-speed winds on the Reddit Starlink community. One user reported speeds reaching 175 Mbps in the colder air, which is 20 Mbps faster than usual. The Starlink terminal even withstood a user's 175 mph leafblower. The terminal – or "UFO on a stick" – heats up enough to melt the snow on top of it. But some users said internet speeds drop as the snow initially builds up. (11/15)

How Six Scientists Survived 'Living on Mars' for a Year (Source: New York Post)
Contrary to what we’ve seen in movies like “The Martian,” the greatest danger to early explorers of the red planet might not be massive dust storms and toxic cosmic rays. Instead, it’s more likely the threat of being driven to near insanity by a crew mate’s loud music or her habit of leaving dirty dishes in the sink. A human mission to Mars is the next great frontier to be conquered in space (multiple are planned to blast off in the next two decades), and this trip is going to require a different kind of astronaut.

Gone are the days of recruiting cocky, adrenaline-junkie types — living embodiments of “The Right Stuff” — as with the 1960s American space program. Space agencies these days will need a person who is psychologically strong enough to survive the long trip to Mars and the isolating experience of being there. The NASA-sponsored experiment known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) took place in a 1,200-square-foot dome built atop the rocky face of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, 8,000 feet above sea level and miles from civilization. The experience devolved into a living nightmare.

All of the volunteers were in their 30s and experts in different scientific fields: German geophysicist Christiane Heinicke, French astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux and the Americans, space architect Tristan Bassingthwaighte, physician Sheyna Gifford, soil scientist Carmel Johnston, and engineer Andrzej Stewart. In addition to scientific knowledge, potential participants were screened for a psychological profile that was best suited for the unique life in the dome. They had to tolerate both extreme stress and extreme boredom. Click here. (11/14)