August 21, 2023

Ingenuity Helicopter Makes 55th Mars Flight (Source: Space.com)
The Ingenuity Mars helicopter has made its 55th flight. The helicopter flew 264 meters across the Martian terrain at an altitude of 10 meters on the Aug. 12 sortie. The flight took place after engineers diagnosed a glitch that caused a flight in July to end early. (8/21)

Russian Lander Crashes on Lunar Surface (Source: Space News)
Russia's Luna-25 lunar lander crashed over the weekend while performing an orbital maneuver. Roscosmos said that the spacecraft encountered an "emergency situation" during the maneuver early Saturday, which was intended to place the spacecraft into a final orbit before a landing then scheduled for Monday. By early Sunday, Roscosmos acknowledged that the spacecraft had crashed but did not provide further details about its cause.

Unofficial accounts suggest that the spacecraft fired its thrusters for longer than planned during that maneuver, although it is not clear why. Luna-25 had planned to land near the south polar region of the moon on Russia's first lunar mission in nearly half a century. The failure could raise new doubts in China about partnering with Russia on the International Lunar Research Station project announced two years ago. Meanwhile, India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft remains on track for a landing attempt on the moon Wednesday morning. (8/21)

Axiom Raises $350 Million (Source: Space News)
Commercial space station developer Axiom Space has raised $350 million. The company said Monday its Series C round was led by Saudi Arabian investment bank Aljazira Capital and South Korean pharmaceutical company Boryung Co., Ltd., with participation from a "diverse array" of other investors. The funding will allow Axiom to continue development of a series of commercial modules it will start installing on the International Space Station by 2026, which will later separate and form the core of a commercial station. Axiom also has a NASA contract to develop spacesuits for the ISS and Artemis. Axiom has now raised more than $505 million. (8/21)

Redwire and Sierra Space Collaborate on Biotech Platform for Commercial Space Module (Source: Space News)
Redwire and Sierra Space are working together on a biotech experiment platform for a commercial space module. The companies said Monday that Redwire will provide the experiment hardware for Sierra Space's Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) module, a pathfinder version of which will launch later this decade. The equipment will be used for commercial pharmaceutical experiments. The companies called the agreement the first of its kind to support commercial pharmaceutical microgravity research, which they see as an area of growing interest. (8/21)

Russian Progress Cargo Capsule Departs ISS (Source: TASS)
A Progress cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Sunday night. The Progress MS-22 spacecraft undocked from the station at 7:50 p.m. Eastern and reentered several hours later over the south Pacific. The departure clears the way for the launch of a new Progress cargo spacecraft Tuesday evening. (8/21)

China Launches Earth Observation Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched an Earth observation satellite Sunday. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off at 1:45 p.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and placed the Gaofen-12 04 satellite into orbit. The satellite is the latest in a series of high-resolution imaging satellites. (8/21)

All Set for India's Moon Lander to Touch Down on Lunar Soil (Source: Tribune India)
India’s moon lander is all set to make a landing on the lunar soil on August 23, 2023, evening as the final deboosting operation got over in the wee hours of Sunday. The moon lander or the lander is part of the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. The spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg). (8/20)

Why That NASA T-Shirt You Wear Is Behind the Curve (Source: Newsweek)
The NASA logo has been having a moment in fashion. But one designer believes a new hot technology deserves its time in the sun. Since 2017, requests for the use of the space agency's logo have reached an all-time high, according to NASA's multimedia liaison, Bert Ulrich. The distinctive blue circle has been adopted by everyone from Balenciaga to Ariana Grande, and Ulrich told CNN that he had received over 11,000 requests to use the branding in 2021 alone.

But space exploration may not be the only scientific achievement worth celebrating, especially in the age of climate crisis. Gabriela Hearst is one of New York's most influential and acclaimed fashion designers. Her fanbase includes the likes of Kate Middleton, Angelina Jolie and Jill Biden. But, since 2021, her focus has turned to a more unusual muse: nuclear fusion. (8/20)

Ambitious Plans for Space Economy in Brownsville Area Have Flamed Out (Source: Texas Public Radio)
During the height of SpaceX fever in Brownsville, city officials rephrased the city's motto, “On the border, by the sea,” by adding, “and beyond.” Brownsville claimed it was on its way to becoming the new “Silicon Valley of Space.” Officials publicized the arrival of space industry startups and venture capital funds. However, a recent compliance audit conducted by the city suggested that few of the companies publicized by officials remain today.

The audit, which describes a partnership between the city's economic development corporation and 9Point8 Capital, a venture capital firm, found that some of the businesses that promised to set up shop in Brownsville may have never established themselves after their publicized arrivals. 9Point8 Capital is a space-focused venture capital firm, one of several companies promoted by former Mayor Juan "Trey" Mendez and then-GBIC Executive Director Helen Ramirez as the future of Brownsville's new space economy.

Joseph Brant Arseneau, 9Point8's owner, said in a November 2021 the company would help Brownsville pioneer the new space industry. The city-led audit of the $1 million, two-year contract between 9Point8 Capital and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) showed that the company’s plans to operate in Brownsville never came to any meaningful fruition. According to the audit, GBIC paid 9Point8 Capital $250,000 within five days of the contract being signed in October 2021, then another $250,000 in April 2022, without the company proving it had done any work. (8/18)

How Space Factories Are Becoming A Reality (Source: CNBC)
Space offers a unique environment for research and development because its higher levels of radiation, microgravity and near vacuum-less state allow companies to come up with new manufacturing methods or materials that are not possible on Earth. It's a fledgling market that analysts and several startups are predicting will take off. The market for materials manufactured in space could reach $10 billion by 2030, according to estimates from McKinsey & Co. In-space manufacturing is not entirely new.

The International Space Station has hosted several experiments from academics, government agencies and commercial customers for things such as growing human tissue, making purer semiconductors and developing new or better drugs. But access to the ISS has always been competitive and interest continues to grow. A number of space startups see an opportunity to fill this gap for in-space manufacturing demand using compact space factories. Click here. (8/20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZJv_YGpjeI

NASA Flew a Modified U-2 Spy Plane Into Thunderstorms to Study Super-Energetic Gamma Rays (Source: Space.com)
NASA pilots flew a high-altitude science aircraft directly into thunderstorms and recorded incredible data on gamma-ray flashes. Thunderstorms can create powerful updrafts and downdrafts of wind that accelerate air and water to high speeds. As ice crystals collide in these swirling air currents, electrons are stripped away from them, generating the electric fields that produce lightning. Under certain conditions, these free electrons can also create flashes of gamma rays.

Thunderstorms can emit two different types of gamma-ray radiation: Short gamma-ray flashes and longer gamma-ray glows that can last from minutes to hours. To better understand these phenomena, an international group of scientists flew NASA's high-altitude ER-2 (Earth Resources 2) aircraft as close as safely possible to thunderclouds that stretched as high as 10 miles, according to a statement from NASA's Marshall Flight Center in Alabama. Doing so allowed the team to gather "the most detailed airborne analysis of gamma rays and thunderclouds ever recorded," according to the statement. (8/20)

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Mission Only Has One U.S. Astronaut Onboard. Here's Why That's OK (Source: Florida Today)
NASA's next crewed mission to the International Space Station is set to launch on an American rocket and capsule built by SpaceX. What sets Crew-7 apart from the others in the series of long-duration missions is that only one of the four astronauts flying is from the United States – and that’s a good thing, experts said. It reflects the changing nature of space in ways that echo the experiences of other industries: more automation and more globalization.

For the astronauts flying, there are a lot of positives, two former astronauts said. More automation means training is quicker and less tedious. That opens more opportunities to be considered for flights on varied spacecraft, from SpaceX's Dragon to the Russian Soyuz, and — when it starts flying — Boeing's Starliner. And while international cooperation between the U.S., Russia, Canada, and 11 European Space Agency-represented countries has been a cornerstone of the space station operation stretching back to 1998, the United States’ partner agencies increasingly have claims on more of the seats. (8/20)

NASA's Europa Probe: Bridging Vast Distances With Advanced Antenna Technology (Source: SciTech Daily)
The addition of a high-gain antenna will enable the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft – set to launch in October 2024 – to communicate with mission controllers hundreds of millions of miles away. NASA’s Europa Clipper is designed to seek out conditions suitable for life on an ice-covered moon of Jupiter. On August 14, the spacecraft received a piece of hardware central to that quest: the massive dish-shaped high-gain antenna. (8/20)

SpaceX’s New Bandwagon Program is a Big Threat to Small Launch Providers (Source: Tech Crunch)
SpaceX is expanding its rideshare program with a new series of missions aimed at meeting the demand for launches to mid-inclination orbits. The new program, which was quietly announced at a space industry conference earlier this month, is the latest sign that SpaceX intends to take no prisoners in the small launch market.

A satellite in an equatorial orbit is at 0 degrees inclination; a satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is slightly higher than 90 degrees; and a mid-inclination orbit is around 45 degrees. Currently, SpaceX offers rideshare services on the Falcon 9 rocket to SSO through the Transporter program, which is in notoriously high demand. But mid-inclination orbits (MIOs) are appealing to a growing number of customers, especially to remote sensing companies that want to strengthen their coverage over areas like parts of Asia and the Middle East. (8/18)