March 23, 2023

Oumuamua Was a Comet After All, Study Suggests (Source: New York Times)
Was it alien space junk? A wandering interstellar asteroid? Or a weird comet from another sun? Ever since 2017, when astronomers in Hawaii discovered an object they called Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “scout”) zipping through the solar system, they have been arguing about what it was. Initially Oumuamua was pegged as an asteroid, as it exhibited none of the sizzle and flash typical of comets. (Comets are basically dirty snowballs; when warmed by sunlight, they emit jets of steam, carbon dioxide and dust, which create bright tails or comas.) There was no evidence of gas or dust around the object, and radio telescopes heard nothing when pointed at it.

But further analysis revealed that something was making Oumuamua speed up as it exited the solar system, leaving scientists with a delicious puzzle. Now, two astronomers have found what they call “a surprisingly simple explanation” for Oumuamua’s behavior: The object was a comet after all, propelled by minuscule amounts of hydrogen gas spurting from an icy core.

“We show that this mechanism can explain many of Oumuamua’s peculiar properties without fine-tuning,” write the researchers in a paper published on Wednesday in Nature. “This provides further support that Oumuamua originated as a planetesimal relic broadly similar to solar system comets.” The controversy is not likely to evaporate anytime soon. Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard who has proposed that Oumuamua could have been a light-sail or some other alien artifact, was quick to take issue with the new paper. (3/22)

Searching for Life with Space Dust (Source: Space Daily)
Following enormous collisions, such as asteroid impacts, some amount of material from an impacted world may be ejected into space. This material can travel vast distances and for extremely long periods of time. In theory this material could contain direct or indirect signs of life from the host world, such as fossils of microorganisms. And this material could be detectable by humans in the near future, or even now.

Tomonori Totani from the University of Tokyo's Department of Astronomy has an idea for space dust that might sound like science fiction but actually warrants serious consideration. The basic idea is that large asteroid strikes can eject ground material into space. There is a chance that recently deceased or even fossilized microorganisms could be contained in some rocky material in this ejecta. Grains in the region of 1 micrometer could not only host a specimen of a single-celled organism, but they could also potentially escape their host solar system altogether, and under the right circumstances, maybe even venture to ours. (3/23)

NASA Seeks Student Solutions for Managing Moon Landing Dust Cloud (Source: Space Daily)
As NASA and industry partners develop new human landing systems to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface and back as part of Artemis, the agency is asking university students to investigate solutions to one particularly dusty aspect of landing spacecraft on the lunar surface. NASA's new Human Lander Challenge invites college students to explore ways to manage or prevent the cloud of dust a spacecraft stirs up when using rocket engines to land on unprepared surfaces like the Moon. This effect is called plume surface interaction and can increase risks caused by lunar dust on future human missions. (3/23)

Relativity Launches at Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Upper Stage Fails (Source: Space News)
Relativity Space launched its first Terran 1 rocket Wednesday night, exceeding expectations even while falling short of orbit. The Terran 1 lifted off at 11:25 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral on a test flight called "Good Luck, Have Fun" by the company. The rocket's first stage performed as planned, passing through Max-Q, or the maximum dynamic pressure on the vehicle. The rocket's upper stage separated nearly three minutes after liftoff but its engine appeared to malfunction and shut down seconds later, keeping the rocket from reaching orbit. Despite the failure to reach orbit, Relativity still celebrated the launch, arguing that it demonstrated the rocket's 3D-printed structures could handle the rigors of flight. (3/23)

Upgraded Starlink Satellites Glitchy, Could be De-Orbited (Source: Space News)
The first set of upgraded Starlink satellites launched last month are experiencing problems. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that the first set of "V2 Mini" satellites launched in late February are having "some issues" that could require SpaceX to deorbit some or all of them. The satellites stopped their orbit raising earlier this month and have started to descend, although all 21 are still in orbit. Musk did not elaborate on the problems the satellites are facing. The V2 Mini satellites are significantly larger than earlier Starlink satellites, with greater capacity and new electric propulsion systems, and are a stopgap for its Gen2 constellation until the company's Starship vehicle is able to start launching even larger satellites. (3/23)

Saudi and UAE Money Could Fund SpaceX (Source: The Information)
SpaceX is reportedly considering raising a multibillion-dollar round from Saudi and Emirati investors. According to representatives of SpaceX and Morgan Stanley, which is supporting the new funding round, both Saudi Arabia's Water and Electricity Holding Company, part of the country's Public Investment Fund, and Alpha Dhabi in the UAE are seeking to invest in the round. It was not clear how much they were planning to invest or the size of the overall round, which has yet to close. (3/23)

NRO Picks Six for Hyperspectral Imagery (Source: Space News)
The National Reconnaissance Office has selected six companies to provide hyperspectral imagery. The NRO announced Wednesday five-year agreements with BlackSky Technology, HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel, Planet and Xplore. Under these agreements, the NRO will first assess the companies' technical capabilities as well as their business and cybersecurity plans. At a later stage, it will examine their on-orbit assets and procure data for demonstrations. The companies selected are a mix of those that currently operate satellites and those still in early phases of development. (3/23)

NRO to Fly on Penultimate Delta 4 From Florida in April (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
An NRO payload will fly on the next-to-last Delta 4 Heavy next month. The NRO said this week the launch of the NROL-68 mission is scheduled for April 20 from Cape Canaveral, carrying a classified payload. United Launch Alliance recently completed a practice countdown for the mission, which will be the 15th for this version of the rocket. A final Delta 4 Heavy launch is scheduled for next year. (3/23)

Soyuz Launches Military Satellite at Plesetsk (Source: TASS)
A Soyuz rocket launched a military satellite early Thursday. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 2:40 a.m. Eastern and placed a satellite designated Cosmos-2567 into orbit. Russian officials did not disclose details about the payload, but it is believed to be a reconnaissance satellite. (3/23)

Italy's Avio Gets Government Funds for New Launcher and Engine Development (Source: Space News)
Avio has secured Italian government funding for a new methane rocket engine and prototype small launch vehicle. The company formally signed agreements earlier this month for the two projects, funded by Italy's pandemic stimulus effort for a combined $308 million. One project will develop a methane-liquid oxygen engine larger than the M10 engine that Avio is currently testing, while the other project will develop a prototype small launch vehicle that also uses methane-fueled engines. That rocket could be a precursor for a new commercial small launcher. Avio is also making progress on returning the Vega C rocket to flight after a December failure, with a static-fire test of its second-stage motor, with a new nozzle component, planned for May or June. (3/23)

Missed Space Opportunities for Australia? (Source: ABC)
As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson continues his tour of Australia, some see a missed opportunity by the country's government to do more in space. Australian industry sources said that Nelson has used the visit to encourage more activities by the country in space, including offering to fly an Australian astronaut. The government's new industry minister, meanwhile, declined this week to commit to completing a policy review called the Space Strategic Update started by the previous government, but argued there would be "a huge opportunity" for space with an initiative called the National Reconstruction Fund. (3/23)

SEC Sues One-Time Blue Origin Auction Winner Over Crypto (Source: Coindesk)
A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who planned to buy an entire New Shepard suborbital flight is in legal trouble. The SEC announced Wednesday it was suing Justin Sun for selling unregulated securities and manipulating the price of a crypto token. Sun made headlines in late 2021 when he announced he was the high bidder for the seat Blue Origin auctioned on the first crewed New Shepard flight, but was unable to go because of unspecified schedule conflicts. Sun said he would instead buy a New Shepard flight and take with him five "space warriors" he would select in the following months. That flight has not taken place and Sun has not released additional details about his plans. (3/23)

SPACS Complicate ETF (Source: Quartz)
Diversification is an investing rule of thumb, and exchange-traded funds (ETF) that assemble stakes in related assets on behalf of public investors are a key way to do that. A company called ProcureAM put together an ETF focused on space that trades under the name UFO. Since it began trading in 2019, UFO has lost more than 14% of its value, while the S&P 500 has gained nearly 50%. Not a great record, but that’s in part because we’re in a moment of transition. Large space firms are having their lunch eaten by smaller firms, who are fighting among themselves to see who stays on top, even as tighter market conditions have made raising new capital a challenge.

The rise of space SPACs in recent years has complicated the ETF’s strategy. Six of the firms currently included in the ETF went public through SPACs. Another six were removed from the ETF during its last reallocation in December 2022 for violating rules about trading volume, including Virgin Orbit. There’s one benefit to low share prices for space companies: The opportunity for acquisitions. Maxar, the satellite maker and space-imaging firm, is about 5% of UFO’s holdings, and is set to be acquired by a private equity firm at more than twice the price of its stock when the acquisition was announced. (3/23)

Nuclear Power Could Be of Some Use in Space as Well (Source: FNN)
The idea of a nuclear-powered spacecraft goes back decades. Now it may become reality. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, and NASA are teaming up on a demonstration project. They want to see if a nuclear rocket engine could power flight to Mars. NASA program manager Dr. Anthony Calomino spoke to Federal News Network’s Tom Temin about the project. Click here. (3/22)

NASA Nixes Suborbital Training Flights for Astronauts (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA has nixed the idea of suborbital training flights for its astronauts aboard vehicles launched by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Chris Gerace, manager of NASA’s Suborbital Crew program, told attendees at last month’s Next-generation Suborbital Researchers conference that the space agency had evaluated its program and decided the suborbital training flights don’t meet the needs of astronauts heading to the International Space Station or the moon.

Astronauts train for spaceflights on parabolic aircraft flights that provide brief periods of microgravity. They also train in a neutral buoyancy pool at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Virgin Galactic charges $450,000 for a seat on its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane. Blue Origin has not announced what it charges for seats on its New Shepard vehicle. (3/22)

Starlink Internet is Going From Rural Savior to Unreliable Luxury (Source: XDA Developers)
Don't get me wrong. Without Starlink, I wouldn't have been able to cut the cord, work from home, or participate in other modern connected amenities I now enjoy. Initially, I averaged around 100-150/10-25Mbps for my speeds and rarely disconnected. Coming from 15/3, if I was lucky, this was borderline life-changing.

However, since I first began using these low-orbit satellites to power my internet, not only has the price gone up $30 per month, but the speeds and reliability have degraded significantly. I've talked to others in my area who use Starlink, and since January, we've experienced frequent downtime and fluctuating speeds between 30-50/2-10Mbps. I'm aware Starlink states that what I'm getting served is within stated expectations. I could deal with that if it were consistent and reliable and also if I wasn't getting charged $120 per month. (3/22)

Astronauts Hibernation on Long Spaceflights is Not Just Sci-Fi. We Could Test it in 10 Years (Source: Space.com)
Despite being a sci-fi trope, putting humans into long-term induced torpor may not be a far-fetched idea after all. Jennifer Ngo-Anh, a research and payload coordinator of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA and a co-author of a recent paper outlining the space agency's approach to hibernation research, told Space.com that depending on funding availability, the first human torpor trials could take place as early as the mid-2030s.

This fine-tuning is already underway. First studies have shown that it's possible to induce torpor in otherwise non-hibernating animals, such as rats, and bring them safely back to life a few days later. The process of triggering hibernation is rather intricate and involves reduced exposure to daylight and a period of intense feeding followed by a strict fast.

The question is whether induced torpor could ever be safe enough to be administered to space travelers in tiny spacecraft with minimal medical supervision and equipment. Ngo-Anh sees the problem from a different perspective. Torpor, she said, could, in fact, be the only way forward for long-duration space missions. (3/21)