June 21, 2022

South Korea Launches KSLV-2 Rocket with Test Satellite (Source: Space News)
South Korea successfully launched its KSLV-2 rocket Tuesday. The rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center at 3 a.m. Eastern and reached its target altitude of 700 kilometers. It deployed a performance test satellite that will later deploy four cubesats. The launch was the second for the KSLV-2, also known as Nuri, after its inaugural launch last October failed when its upper stage shut down prematurely. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that the successful launch of the indigenously-developed rocket opened a "path to space" for the country. (6/21)

NASA SLS WDR at KSC Close to OK (Source: Space News)
NASA nearly completed a countdown test of the Space Launch System Monday after dealing with several technical problems. The fourth wet dress rehearsal of the SLS made it to the T-29 second mark before computers stopped the countdown about 20 seconds before the planned cutoff. A leak in a "quick disconnect" fitting for a liquid hydrogen umbilical delayed the countdown for several hours, and controllers elected to proceed with the terminal countdown even though they could not stop the leak so they could collect as much data as possible.

Several other issues cropped up during the test but were fixed. This fourth wet dress rehearsal got much closer to completion than the first three attempts in April, but NASA managers said it wasn't certain yet if they will need to perform another test or can proceed into preparations for a launch as soon as late August. (6/21)

ISS Astronaut Pulls Off Perfect 'Gravity' Cosplay in Space (Source: CNET)
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has some serious sci-fi cred. The European Space Agency representative already delivered one of the greatest moments in space cosplay when she dressed as Captain Janeway from Star Trek during an International Space Station stay in 2015. She's done it again, but this time as Sandra Bullock's character Dr. Stone from Gravity.

Gravity, which also starred George Clooney, was a smash hit when it came out in 2013. The story revolved around a space shuttle disaster. The thriller won an Oscar for best visual effects, thanks to how it depicted life and travel in space. On Sunday, Cristoforetti tweeted a photo of herself dressed like Dr. Stone, re-creating a still from the movie. Cristoforetti's photo shows the Dr. Stone moment on a screen above her in the ISS passageway. It's an eerily perfect re-creation. (6/21)

Epsilon3 Raises $15 Million for Space Project Management Software (Source: Space News)
Software startup Epsilon3 has raised $15 million to expand its suite of space project management solutions. Existing investor Lux Capital led the Series A funding round, announced Monday, to support Epsilon3's web-based platform, which provides collaboration tools for spacecraft manufacturing and operations. The company says it has a wide variety of customers for its software, including including Rocket Lab, Virgin Galactic, Sierra Space and the U.S. Space Force. Its software is designed to replace existing tools, like word processors and spreadsheets, for managing complex spacecraft-specific testing and operational workflows. (6/21)

NASA Aborted Lifting of ISS with Cygnus Thrusters (Source: NASA)
NASA aborted an attempt Monday to reboost the International Space Station using a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. The Cygnus NG-17 spacecraft was supposed to fire its thrusters for just over five minutes Monday morning to demonstrate its ability to reboost the station. However, the spacecraft's thruster shut down after just five seconds. NASA said in a statement that the cause of the abort is understood, but did not disclose details. Another reboost attempt is planned for as early as Saturday before the spacecraft departs the station next week. (6/21)

Aerospace Corp. Developing DiskSats (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Corporation will proceed with development and testing of a new satellite design called a DiskSat. Aerospace will build four DiskSats and a dispenser for launch in 2024 to low Earth orbit. DiskSats are one meter in diameter but just 2.5 centimeters thick, providing extensive surface area for solar panels. Aerospace plans to test operations of DiskSats in very low orbits, with perigees below 200 kilometers, using onboard propulsion to counteract drag. (6/21)

Canada Plans $5 Billion Investment for NORAD Upgrades (Source: CBC)
New satellites are part of a Canadian government initiative to modernize NORAD. The Canadian defense minister announced plans Monday to spend nearly $5 billion over six years to upgrade defense capabilities, such as missile tracking radars that are decades old. One part of that initiative will be new satellites to track moving targets, although the government released few additional details about those satellites and how much they will cost. (6/21)

ESA Approves Comet Mission (Source: Nature)
ESA has approved development of a mission that could intercept an interstellar comet. The Comet Interceptor mission, given the green light by ESA last week, will build a spacecraft for launch in 2028, but without a specific destination in mind. Instead, the spacecraft will loiter at the Earth-sun L-2 Lagrange point until astronomers discover a suitable target, which could be either a comet from the distant Oort Cloud or one from outside the solar system.

Comet Interceptor will then attempt to fly by the comet, deploying two probes to go within hundreds of kilometers of the comet's nucleus. Scientists say the mission would allow them to study primordial objects left over from the formation of our solar system or a body from another solar system. (6/21)

Spaceport America Provides Landing Site for Dream Chaser (Source: Sierra Space)
Sierra Space and Spaceport America signed an agreement that adds the world-class New Mexico spaceport to Sierra Space’s portfolio of potential global landing sites for its Dream Chaser, the world’s first and only winged commercial spaceplane. The growing list of compatible runways worldwide where the Dream Chaser could land include the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and airports and landing sites in Huntsville, Alabama, Oita Airport, Japan, and Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom. (6/21)

These Are the Two Space Stocks You Should Buy, Wells Fargo Says (Sources: CNBC, Barrons)
Wells Fargo named space companies Maxar Technologies and Rocket Lab as two stocks investors should buy in the evolving industry. Wells Fargo analysts see a lot of potential. They launched coverage of Rocket Lab (ticker: RKLB) stock with a Hold rating and $5 price target. Rocket Lab closed this past week at $4.18 a share. Equities researchers also started coverage on shares of Maxar Technologies (MAXR), setting an “overweight” rating on the stock. (6/21)

How Lori Garver Launched NASA’s Commercial Space Partnerships (Source: WIRED)
In 2009, the state of NASA’s human spaceflight programs looked dire. The space shuttle fleet would soon be grounded, leaving Russian Soyuz spacecraft as the only means of reaching orbit. NASA’s now-defunct plans for a shuttle replacement, dubbed Constellation, had veered off course, behind schedule and over budget. The glory of the Apollo era and the moon landings of the 1960s seemed far away, and the time for big changes had come.

That was Lori Garver’s view, as she and Charlie Bolden took the helm of the agency under President Obama. As deputy administrator, she helped push NASA in a new direction, investing in the growing commercial space industry, contracting with private companies with the aim of reducing the cost of space travel. She played a leading role in bringing about NASA’s commercial crew program in 2011, through which the agency has partnered with private companies to launch astronauts and cargo to the ISS, most notably leading to SpaceX’s development of the reusable Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule.

She opposed the development of NASA’s own bigger rocket, the Space Launch System, and Orion capsule, which will have their first flight this summer—both of them years later and costing billions more than planned. In a new memoir, Garver chronicles her experiences at NASA and the private sector during this tumultuous time. Garver sought to change the status quo and aided the rise of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other new space companies. Nine years after her departure, the space agency still bears the marks of her efforts. (6/21)

At 60, KSC is a Facility Aimed at the Future While Steeped in History (Source: Florida Today)
In September 1961, NASA requested appropriations to acquire the 200-square-mile swath of land immediately north of the U.S. Air Force's Cape Canaveral facilities. The land was acquired by the Army Corps of Engineers through condemnation and purchases totaling about $71 million.

It was ultimately chosen because the Apollo program would need to launch extremely large and noisy rockets that, for public safety, officials wanted to fly over uninhabited areas. It was also in close proximity to where the Air Force had already been launching missiles since 1958. Today it remains an optimal location for launching rockets because of the clear flight path over the open ocean and a slight gravity assist that is provided by the spin of the planet when rockets are launched near the Earth's equator.

From Apollo to Artemis is a recognizable theme throughout many of the Center's buildings. Take the Center's Swamp Works lab — a bare-bones facility where engineers and machinists can innovate, test and adapt emerging technologies for the purpose of sustaining life on other planets. It's reminiscent of the test, change, test again facility that it once was when used by Apollo astronauts to train to work on the moon. Click here. (6/21)

A Step Closer for Starship (Source: Space Review)
The FAA last week published its final environmental review of SpaceX’s proposed Starship orbital launches from Texas. Jeff Foust reports on the findings of the review and the steps that remain before the company is finally ready to attempt a launch. Click here. (6/20)
 
NASA to Launch Three Rockets from Northern Territory in Boost for Australian Space Efforts (Source: Space Review)
Over the next month NASA will perform three sounding rocket launches from an Australian commercial spaceport. Melissa de Zwart says these launches are signs of growth for the country’s space industry that could soon lead to orbital launches. Click here. (6/20)
 
Gaia Mission: Five Insights Astronomers Could Glean From its Latest Data (Source: Space Review)
The European Space Agency released last week a new set of data from its Gaia mission, tracking the positions of a billion stars. Adam McMaster and Andrew Norton explain how that data could be used in fields from planetary science to cosmology. Click here. (6/20)

NASA Spacecraft Observes Asteroid Bennu's Boulder 'Body Armor' (Source: Space Daily)
Asteroid Bennu's boulder-covered surface gives it protection against small meteoroid impacts, according to observations of craters by NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft.

Planetary scientists can estimate the age of surfaces by measuring the abundance and sizes of craters. Impact craters accumulate over time, so a surface with many craters is older than a surface with few craters. Also, the size of the crater depends on the size of the impactor, with larger impactors generally making larger craters. Because small meteoroids are far more abundant than large meteoroids, celestial objects like asteroids usually have many more small craters than large ones.

Bennu's larger craters follow this pattern, with the numbers of craters decreasing as their size increases. However, for craters smaller than about 6.6 to 9.8 feet (around 2 - 3 meters) in diameter, the trend is backwards, with the number of craters decreasing as their size decreases. This indicates something unusual is happening on Bennu's surface. (6/19)

Martian Meteorite Upsets Planet Formation Theory (Source: Space Daily)
A new study of an old meteorite contradicts current thinking about how rocky planets like the Earth and Mars acquire volatile elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and noble gases as they form. Because the planet is a ball of molten rock at this point, these elements initially dissolve into the magma ocean and then de-gas back into the atmosphere. Later on, chondritic meteorites crashing into the young planet deliver more volatile materials.

So scientists expect that the volatile elements in the interior of the planet should reflect the composition of the solar nebula, or a mixture of solar and meteoritic volatiles, while the volatiles in the atmosphere would come mostly from meteorites. These two sources - solar vs. meteoritic - can be distinguished by the ratios of isotopes of noble gases, in particular krypton. Mars is of special interest because it formed relatively quickly - solidifying in about 4 million years after the birth of the solar system, while the Earth took 50 to 100 million years to form.

By making measurements of minute quantities of krypton isotopes in samples of the meteorite, the researchers could deduce the origin of elements in the rock. Surprisingly, the krypton isotopes correspond to those originating from meteorites, not the solar nebula. That means that meteorites were delivering volatile elements to the forming planet much earlier than previously thought, and in the presence of the nebula, reversing conventional thinking. (6/19)

SpaceX Launch Likely Caused Strange Lights Above New Zealand (Source: The Guardian)
New Zealand stargazers were left puzzled and awed by strange, spiralling light formations in the night sky on Sunday night. Around 7.25pm Alasdair Burns saw a huge, blue spiral of light amid the darkness. “It looked like an enormous spiral galaxy, just hanging there in the sky, and slowly just drifting across,” Burns said. “Quite an eerie feeling.”

Prof Richard Easther, a physicist at Auckland University, called the phenomenon “weird but easily explained.” Clouds of that nature sometimes occurred when a rocket carried a satellite into orbit, he said. “When the propellant is ejected out the back, you have what’s essentially water and carbon dioxide – that briefly forms a cloud in space that’s illuminated by the sun,” Easther said.

“The geometry of the satellite’s orbit and also the way that we’re sitting relative to the sun – that combination of things was just right to produce these completely wacky looking clouds that were visible from the South Island.” Easther said the rocket in question was likely the Globalstar launch from SpaceX, which the company sent into low-earth orbit off Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday. (6/20)

SpinLaunch Wants to Radically Redesign Rocketry. Will its Tech Work? (Source: CNN)
A California startup wants to put satellites into a circular chamber and whip them around to more than 5,000 miles per hour before letting them burst out, allowing a rocket to fire up its engine only after it’s escaped the smothering tug of Earth’s gravity. Is it possible? The answer is different depending on who you ask.

SpinLaunch, as the startup is called, wants to — as the name implies — spin projectiles, using centrifugal force to drum up enough energy to send an object to space. The company plans to use a small rocket, shaped like a razor-sharp ballpoint pen that encapsulates a satellite, and tether it to a motor at the center of a 300-foot wide vacuum-sealed chamber. The rocket would then exit a hatch and tear into the upper reaches of the atmosphere before an onboard rocket motor fires up to propel the vehicle to orbital velocities.

So far, the seven-year-old company has completed nine high-altitude test flights using a scaled-down version of the centrifuge it envisions will be necessary to put objects into orbit, a feat that requires speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour. It’s still the very early stages, and it’s not yet clear if SpinLaunch will be technologically or financially successful. But the hurdles have not proved large enough to scare off SpinLaunch’s investors, including GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, and Airbus Ventures, which have collectively poured tens of millions of dollars into the company. Click here. (6/15)