December 13, 2020

Virgin Galactic Aborts SpaceShipTwo Suborbital Spaceflight (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo aborted an attempted suborbital spaceflight Dec. 12 from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, carrying the SpaceShipTwo vehicle named VSS Unity by the company, took off from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico at 10:24 a.m. Eastern. Piloting SpaceShipTwo were Dave Mackay, the company’s chief test pilot, and former NASA astronaut CJ Sturckow.

VSS Unity separated from WhiteKnightTwo at about 11:15 a.m. Eastern. According to a webcast from NASASpaceFlight.com, the spaceplane appeared to ignite its hybrid rocket engine but almost immediately shut it down. The vehicle then glided back to Spaceport America, landing at 11:27 a.m. Eastern, the company announced on Twitter. “Pilots and vehicles back safe and sound,” the company said. (12/12)

Russian Oxygen Production System Fails on ISS (Source: RIA Novosti)
On board the International Space Station , the Russian system for obtaining oxygen "Electron-VM" has again failed, it follows from the negotiations of the crew with the Earth, broadcast by NASA. The system in the Zvezda module failed three times in October. As then told RIA Novosti in " Roskosmos ", the ISS crew under the leadership of the main operational control group of the Russian segment disassembled "Electron-VM" and studied it for malfunctions. In December, the state corporation announced that the system had been restored. (12/12)

Power Supply Failure Occurred on the American Segment of the ISS (SourceL RIA Novosti)
On the American segment of the International Space Station, a power failure occurred, some of the equipment was turned off, it follows from the crew's negotiations with the Earth, broadcast by NASA. Outside the US segment of the ISS is a truss with eight solar panels, each of which generates electricity for its own power channel.

In the morning, a specialist at the Houston Mission Control Center informed US astronaut Kathleen Rubins that the battery discharge-charging unit had turned off outside the station. As a result, the power supply to one of the eight channels of the segment was reduced by a third. Because of this, the American Unity module had to turn off the smoke detectors and the computer, high-speed communication with the Earth and one of the four gyroscopes that support the station's orientation in space did not work. (12/12)

Arecibo Telescope’s Fall is Indicative of Global Divide Around Funding Science Infrastructure (Source: The Conversation)
It is tempting to blame the demise of Arecibo on the physical damage it sustained earlier in 2020, when an auxiliary metal cable snapped – perhaps a delayed consequence of Tropical Storm Isaias or the earthquakes that shook Puerto Rico. But Arecibo’s downfall was, in reality, caused by years of financial struggles. As someone who studies technology and infrastructure development, I see what happened at Arecibo as a classic example of the tension between facility maintenance and scientific progress.

U.S. commitment to Arecibo began to falter in 2006. The National Science Foundation, which supported Arecibo, implemented a 15% budget cut that year across its Division of Astronomical Sciences. Arecibo was among the first facilities on the chopping block, despite its continued productivity. The decision to cut Arecibo’s funding was met with resistance from the scientific community and beyond, including the then-governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, who wrote to the NSF requesting reconsideration.

But in 2007 Arecibo’s budget was slashed from $10.5M to $8M. With a second major cut scheduled for four years later, the closure of the facility seemed imminent. Instead, the NSF tasked a new consortium to take over the management of Arecibo in 2011, changing it from a federally funded institution to one that could seek funds from other sources. NSF continued to support Arecibo, with NASA pitching in a third of costs. However, the balancing act of a flat NSF budget and the promise of other new observatory projects once again threatened the observatory. In 2015, Robert Kerr, then facilities director of Arecibo, quit – allegedly over funding clashes. (12/11)