December 27, 2020

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.

It is interesting to note that controversy has often followed the construction of large astronomy facilities. From the Maunakea Observatories being built on land sacred to native Hawaiians to labor disputes in the building of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile, to the seizing of lands and racial tensions surrounding the Square Kilometer Array in the Karoo region of South Africa, a pattern emerges of Northern scientific institutions investing in regions with long colonial histories – and stirring up local concern and discontent.

In the case of Arecibo, these disputes flared at the end rather than at the beginning. But a similar lack of interest in how scientific research facilities fit the place they inhabit is clear. In my view, it is time to begin discussions beyond the scientific importance of research facilities. Planners must address their full life cycles and their impact on local communities. (12/11)

Thailand to Launch a Moon Space Program to Boost Efforts to Become a High-Income Economy (Source: Thai Examiner)
Moon spaceship programme to be launched officially in January by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Innovation in what is a serious effort to establish Thailand’s credentials not only in the space race but among the top tier of countries claiming the highest technological expertise as well as giving a boost to national confidence.

The Thai government has announced that it is to send a spacecraft to the moon within 8 years in a project that will be delivered within a budget of ฿3 billion. Further details are expected in January but the move is designed to establish the bona fides of the kingdom in technological terms as Thailand races to break out of the middle-income economic trap which the kingdom is currently stuck in. The Thai government, in January 2021, is to unveil a plan to build a spaceship capable of travelling to the moon and entering its orbit in the coming 8 years.

This announcement by Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Anek Laothamatas, on Christmas Eve has sparked controversy online with many pundits expressing both scepticism and scorn at the proposal given the levels of poverty and inequality currently being experienced in the kingdom still reeling from the economic crisis caused by the Covid 19 pandemic and where many casual workers are unemployed on a long-term basis and without prospects except for short term social welfare schemes. (12/27)

SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics Await NASA Lunar Lander Decision (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics are preparing for a major decision by NASA early in 2021 about which company will build human-carrying landers for trips to the moon. The three space firms were selected in April to submit proposals early this month. Having done that, they now await NASA's decision, which is scheduled for February. The space agency has indicated it could pick one or two of the proposals.

At stake is the future of lunar exploration for the United States and large, multimillion-dollar contracts as part of NASA's planned Artemis program. The agency had a goal of landing people on the moon again by 2024, although Congress hasn't funded NASA's budget requests to meet that schedule. A contract for a human lander may be awarded, but it's not clear if such landers will be built anytime soon, said space analyst Marco Caceres. "Artemis was proposed in another age in our history before the pandemic and the recent election, so I'm not convinced it will happen," Caceres said Tuesday. "From a technical standpoint, the Dynetics proposal has strengths, but NASA tends to pick a known quantity for such spaceflight missions." (12/25)

US May Buy Seat on Russia's Soyuz for Astronaut's Flight to ISS in Spring 2021 (Source: Sputnik)
The United States may buy a seat on Russia's Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft to deliver its astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) in the spring of 2021, a source in the space and rocket industry told Sputnik. In November, the Russian state space corporation of Roscosmos said that the crew of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, whose launch is scheduled for April 9, will consist of three Russian cosmonauts: Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov and Sergei Korsakov.

"The United States may buy a seat on Soyuz MS-18 for the astronaut's flight to the ISS. The talks on the issue are being held with the US private company of Axiom Space," the source said. If such an agreement is reached, US astronaut Mark Vande Hei may replace Korsakov in the crew. The information has been confirmed by two other sources. (12/25)

French Military Spysat Set for Launch Monday (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A sharp-eyed French military surveillance spacecraft is set for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket Monday from French Guiana into a 300-mile-high orbit, where it will collect the highest-resolution imagery ever produced by a European reconnaissance satellite. A Russian Soyuz ST-A rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Guiana Space Center in South America on Dec. 23. Since then, ground teams have hoisted the French military’s CSO 2 spy satellite — already enclosed within the Soyuz payload shroud — on top of the rocket.

The final assembly milestones set the stage for a launch readiness review Sunday, in which officials from Arianespace — the French launch services provider — are expected to give approval for final countdown preparations ahead of an instantaneous launch opportunity at 11:42:07 a.m. EST Monday. (12/26)

Israeli Satellite Strays From Path to Prevent Collision with NASA’s Terra (Source: CTech)
“We typically get two or three alerts like this a month, we check everything and move our satellite due to a risk of it crashing on average once a year,” said a Venus systems engineer, whose name was undisclosed as well. “This time we checked and concluded that we needed to alter its trajectory. On one hand, we received a warning five days in advance, while on the other hand, similarly to a big ship, changing its trajectory is a slow process. You want to start such a maneuver as early as possible, so that you can conduct it while using the least amount of fuel possible, since fuel consumption shortens the satellite’s lifespan.”
 
After the team finished altering the satellite’s trajectory, it passed on the updated trajectory course to the French space agency, who would further verify the calculations, and then to NASA, who would be updated on Venus's altered flight path. Only after the U.S. approved, did the Venus satellite receive the final instructions to change course, merely three days ahead of the potential collision time. (12/27)