April 17, 2022

Central Florida a Finalist in Space Force Search for Training Command Center (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Florida's Space Coast is again on the hunt for a major U.S. military command. Patrick Space Force Base in Brevard County is a candidate to host the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters, according to the U.S. Air Force. Known as STARCOM, it's used to educate and train space professionals, for program testing and evaluation and teaching "warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures." The Air Force will begin site surveys for STARCOM headquarters in late April or early May.

Of course, landing STARCOM would offer big benefits to Central Florida's economy. For one, it would bring military and civilian personnel to the Space Coast. Air Force Magazine previously reported that STARCOM commander Brig. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton said STARCOM is likely to grow from 800 people to nearly 1,500 people by 2026. Plus, it'll put a major military hub close to the region's collection of defense contractors, potentially creating more opportunities to win federal government work.

The recent bidding process for the U.S. Space Command HQ bolstered the state's preparedness to go after future Space Force projects, said Dale Ketcham, vice president of government and external affairs at Space Florida. In addition to STARCOM, the Air Force is searching for the sites of "deltas" that support STARCOM. Patrick Space Force Base also is a candidate for Delta 10, responsible for Space Force doctrine and wargaming. Patrick Space Force Base is the only candidate for Delta 10 "because of its proximity to a Department of Defense modeling and simulation capability with resident space expertise," according to an Air Force news release. (4/15)

Troubles for NASA's New Moon Rocket (Source: TIME)
As NASA reports in an admirably candid blog, the last 15 days out at launchpad 39B have involved one headache after another, with serial breakdowns repeatedly forcing the countdown to be stopped. Among the most serious problems is a stuck helium valve on the rocket's second stage that has prevented that stage from being loaded with fuel. The problem can't be repaired on the pad, but only back in the VAB—meaning that even if the rest of the work went perfectly, the wet-dress rehearsal would still not be run to its planned completion.

And the rest of the work is by no means going perfectly. Among the other problems to beset the giant rocket over the past two weeks: a liquid hydrogen leak in one of the vehicle's umbilical cords; temperature fluctuations in the supercold liquid oxygen fuel which must be kept at -182º C; and a troubling pressure surge in the liquid hydrogen flow line. All of this has prevented ground controllers from loading the liquid hydrogen tank to more than just 5% of its capacity and the liquid oxygen tank to more than 49%.

NASA has not said how many more times it will attempt wet-dress rehearsals before giving up. What it has said is that, one way or another, it will stay on the job and that the SLS will ultimately fly. For that bit of cockeyed optimism, NASA has history on its side. As veteran space reporter Bill Harwood of CBS reports, back in the 1960s, an intended six-day countdown of the venerable Saturn V rocket took 17 days to complete—longer than the SLS has so far been at it. As history notes, the Saturn V ultimately flew, taking nine crews of astronauts to the moon and back. May the SLS have the same good fortune. (4/15)

NASA to Roll Artemis I Rocket Back From Launch Pad as it Delays Test (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA tried three times to get through its launch pad dress rehearsal for the Artemis I moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center, but it’s not hanging around for the fourth. Instead, mission managers announced that they were rolling the massive SLS rocket topped with the Orion capsule on its mobile launcher back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The reason is an off-site supplier of gaseous nitrogen that’s needed during the test. NASA uses the piped in nitrogen to push out oxygen during tanking procedures making it less explosive and safer. (4/17)

New Assembly Muffling Portion of SpaceX Noise in McGregor TX (Source: Waco Tribune-Herald)
SpaceX began to use a new vertical testing assembly in McGregor by March and the production line for Raptor 2 rocket engines there is under construction, according to officials in McGregor. What is new about the new assembly is the pit underneath it to muffle the sound into the ground, Andrew Smith, executive director of the McGregor Economic Development Corp., said Monday. This muffling pit is in addition to flame channels already built on testing assemblies. “They did what they said they would do,” Smith said. Smith said certain tests are now much quieter. Others who live and work nearby said other tests are still quite loud. (4/16)

Far Side: the Moon’s Use as a New Astronomical Site (Source: Space News)
Astronomers have always sought out remote and isolated spots from which their precision observations of the surrounding universe can be made. Now, add one more far-flung location – the moon. But there is growing concern within the international scientific community regarding the need to keep the far side of the moon free from human-made radio-frequency intrusion.

A newly established Moon Farside Protection Permanent Committee of the Paris, France-based International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has started to frame the problem and possible solutions to guard against RFI of the lunar far side, ideal landscape, they say, for a future radio telescope or phased array detector.

Additionally, the International Telecommunication Union, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is engaged in defining and protecting what they label as the Shielded Zone of the moon. However, future moon exploration missions, the ITU warns, could spoil this pristine radio environment through uncontrolled radio emission and even enhance the lunar exosphere, the ultra-wispy layer of gases that acts as an atmosphere. (4/16)