December 11, 2023

Do We Still Have the Right Stuff? (Source: City Journal)
It’s an exciting time for space travel—or it should be. The space industry’s second Golden Age has not captured the public imagination. As the rockets climb toward the heavens, in fact, much of the media and political commentary has been startlingly negative. Oligarchs and their toys! What about world hunger? We need a wealth tax. What about climate change? We need a wealth tax. What about universal health care? Time for a wealth tax!

Apathy, cynicism, bitterness: Why is this the way so many Americans, especially among the progressive elite, react to such stunning feats of imagination, perseverance, and ingenuity? The response suggests a stunted view of the human condition, and it raises an unsettling question: Does the United States still have what it takes to lead the world into space? Do we still have the right stuff? Click here. (12/10)

Australian Laser Technology to Help Future NASA Missions to Mars (Source: Voice of America)
A new optical ground station has been built by the Australian National University to help the U.S. space agency, NASA, and others explore space and safely reach Mars. The Australian team has developed a new type of space communication using lasers. Researchers say the system will allow them to connect with satellites and NASA-crewed missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The project is supported by the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative. (12/10)

GPS Turns 30: A Look at the Revolutionary System Operated by a Space Force Unit in Colorado Springs (Source: The Gazette)
Surrounded by large monitors, a group of 10 people, eight military members and two contractors work 24/7 at Schriever, east of Colorado Springs, to operate and monitor the GPS satellites. No one operates a satellite alone, to prevent mistakes, Wray explained. The crew also takes calls from users experiencing anomalies. Click here. (12/10)

How Could The Big Bang Arise From Nothing? (Source: IFL Science)
Some cosmologists believe a previous, cold dark empty universe like the one which lies in our far future could have been the source of our very own Big Bang. Quantum field theory tells us that even a vacuum, supposedly corresponding to empty spacetime, is full of physical activity in the form of energy fluctuations. These fluctuations can give rise to particles popping out, only to be disappear shortly after. This may sound like a mathematical quirk rather than real physics, but such particles have been spotted in countless experiments.

The spacetime vacuum state is seething with particles constantly being created and destroyed, apparently “out of nothing”. But perhaps all this really tells us is that the quantum vacuum is (despite its name) a something rather than a nothing. (12/9)

Life Might Have Been Possible Just Seconds After the Big Bang (Source: Space.com)
Perhaps it's possible to have life without chemistry. It's hard to imagine what these creatures might be like. But if we take our broad definition — that life is anything subject to evolution — then we don't need chemicals to make it happen. Sure, chemistry is a convenient way to store information, extract energy and interact with the environment, but there are other hypothetical pathways.

For example, 95% of the energy contents of the universe are unknown to physics, literally sitting outside the known elements. Scientists aren't sure what these mysterious components of the universe, known as dark matter and dark energy, are made of.

Perhaps there are additional forces of nature that work only on dark matter and dark energy. Maybe there are multiple "species" of dark matter — an entire "dark matter periodic table." Who knows what interactions and what dark chemistry play out in the vast expanses between the stars? Hypothetical "dark life" may have appeared in the extremely early universe, well before the emergence of the first stars, powered and mediated by forces we do not yet understand. (12/10)

Henry Kissinger and the Birth of Space Diplomacy (Source: The Hill)
Henry Kissinger, former national security advisor and secretary of State, recently died at the age of 100 years. He was famous for the opening of mainland China, the Paris Peace Accords that ended American involvement in the Vietnam War and the negotiated end of the Yom Kippur War between Israel and several Arab states.

Admired by some, reviled by others, he bestrode the last third of the 20th century like a colossus where foreign policy was concerned. Kissinger also had a role in creating space exploration as a tool of diplomacy. The strategy fit neatly into the policy of détente that he and President Richard Nixon devised to manage the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. (12/10)

Artemis' Next Giant Leap: Orbital Refueling (Source: Hackaday)
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have essentially the same problem: their landers, when you include the propellant they’ll need to land on the Moon and lift back off again, are simply too heavy to launch. Both companies are developing heavyweight boosters to get their respective landers out of Earth’s gravity well and into low Earth orbit, but that’s the best they can do. So how will they get astronauts to the Moon?

While the techniques differ slightly, both companies will need to load their landers with the propellants necessary to complete the missions while they are already in space. And in both cases, the lander’s human crew wouldn’t launch from Earth until their ride to the lunar surface is fueled up and waiting for them. If Artemis is going to return astronauts to the Moon, this is a problem that needs to be solved quickly.

Despite the fact that both Blue Origin and SpaceX have hung the success of their respective lunar landers on the ability to quickly and safely refuel them while in orbit, there’s simply no precedent for such an operation. Studies so far have focused on refueling small satellites, using relatively simple monopropellants like hydrazine. But topping off the tanks on Starship or Blue Moon will mean autonomously moving hundreds of tons of cryogenic liquid oxygen, methane, and hydrogen between spacecraft. The couplings, pumps, piping, valves, and insulation required to facilitate that sort of propellant transfer have never been tested in space and could take many iterations to perfect. (12/7)

Rail Industry Urged to Consider Safety Risks of Space Weather (Source: Lancaster University)
Train accidents could be caused by solar storms switching signalling from red to green according to new research examining the impact of space weather. Solar storms can trigger powerful magnetic disturbances on Earth, creating geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) which could potentially interfere with electricity transmission and distribution grids.

A team led by PhD researcher Cameron Patterson and Professor Jim Wild from Lancaster University modelled how GICs flowed through the track circuits of AC electrified lines powered with overhead cables. Using two routes - the Preston to Lancaster section of the West Coast Main Line, and the Glasgow to Edinburgh line – the team modelled how GICs induced in the rails could cause rail signalling to malfunction. (12/11)

GHGSat to Measure Greenhouse Emissions at Every Industrial Site, Worldwide, Every Day (Source: Spectra)
GHGSat, the global leader in greenhouse gas emissions intelligence, today announced plans to measure methane and carbon dioxide emissions at every major industrial site worldwide, every day, by 2026. These will include oil & gas production and storage facilities, waste management centres, coal mines, power stations, steel mills, aluminium smelters, chemical plants and cement works. The goal is to provide accurate, independent and site-specific data on a global basis, so industrial operators, governments and other stakeholders can better understand, control and reduce emissions.

GHGSat will take over 2 million facility measurements this year using its unique fleet of 12 space-based high-resolution sensors - the biggest greenhouse gas monitoring constellation in the world. The company also provides data to the United Nations, NASA, the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency. GHGSat’s monitoring ambition leans on the rapid expansion of its constellation and deployment of new proprietary technologies and combines their measurements with third-party information in order to cover c.5m+ industrial locations worldwide. (12/3)

Rethink the Mars Program (Source: Space News)
NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program is in crisis. A recent review of the plan of its flagship Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission pegged its cost at $10 billion, a price tag that threatens to preclude funding any other exploration missions to the Red Planet for the next decade and a half. While the decadal plan issued by a National Academy of Science committee identifies the MSR mission as the top priority for NASA’s Mars exploration program, given the cost and schedule numbers now available, it is time for the rest of us to question whether the program of record still makes sense.

Let us consider the alternative. For the same $10 billion now projected to be spent on the MSR mission over the next 15 years, we could send 20 missions averaging $500 million each in cost. These could include landers, rovers, orbiters, drillers, highly capable helicopters, and possibly balloons or other more novel exploration vehicles as well. Instead of being limited to one exploration site, these could be targeted to 20 sites and carry a vast array of new instruments provided by hundreds of teams of investigators from around the world. (12/7)

Why 2024 Will Be an Epic Year in Spaceflight (Source: Gizmodo)
A Martian moons mission, a plethora of private lunar landers, probes to Venus and Jupiter, and reusable heavy-lift rocket tests are among the many highlights we’ll be watching in the coming 12 months, in what looks to be an extraordinary year in spaceflight. Here’s your 2024 calendar. (12/9)

First Vulcan Launch LIkely to Slip to January (Source: Space News)
The first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur is likely to be delayed to early January to give the company time to complete a full dress rehearsal. In a social media post Dec. 10, Tory Bruno, chief executive of ULA, said the company was not able to complete a practice countdown called a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) two days earlier at Cape Canaveral. During the WDR, the Vulcan booster and its Centaur upper stage were loaded with propellants and went through a countdown that would stop just before engine ignition. (12/10)

The Race to the Moon: The Urgent Need for U.S. Innovation in Lunar Colonization (Source: LinkedIn)
Each day, the race for lunar colonization gains momentum, yet the U.S. finds itself increasingly at risk of falling behind. The recent collaboration between China and Russia in establishing a lunar base underscores a pivotal moment: the U.S. must urgently innovate its approach to lunar colonization or risk losing its position as a leader in space exploration.

The International Lunar Research Station, a joint venture between China's National Space Agency and Russia's Roscosmos, represents a significant leap in lunar exploration. This partnership benefits from China's advancements in bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS), such as the Beijing Lunar Palace, and Russia's decades of space exploration experience. Meanwhile, the U.S., having diverted funds from life support research to the SLS/Orion transportation system, now faces a daunting catch-up game.

To remain a key player in space exploration and reap the potential economic and geopolitical benefits, the U.S. must prioritize the development of innovative life support and colonization technologies for the Moon. Click here. (12/9)

Group Raises Concerns About GPS (Source: Space News)
An advisory group warned that GPS is in danger of falling behind Chinese and European satellite navigation systems. At a meeting last week of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, members said they were disappointed by a lack of U.S. government funding for a planned GPS enhancement called High Accuracy and Robustness Service (HARS), a proposed augmentation that would provide improved accuracy and robustness to GPS signals. Bradford Parkinson, vice chair of the committee and the former chief architect of GPS, said there was a valid concern that without HARS and other upgrades, GPS could lag China's Beidou and Europe's Galileo systems. (12/11)

Momentus' Failed Satellite Deployment Questioned (Source: Space News)
Momentus said three satellites it launched last month failed to deploy, but one of its customers thinks otherwise. Momentus said last week that a problem with a third-party deployer likely prevented three cubesats from deploying from the Falcon 9 upper stage during the Transporter-9 launch. The satellites would have been destroyed when the upper stage reentered hours after launch. One of the customers affected, Lunasonde, had earlier claimed its Picacho cubesat had deployed and unfurled its antenna. Lunasonde now says that while telemetry suggests its cubesat might not have deployed, it is still searching for it. The other affected cubesats were from Oman and South Korea. (12/11)

Polaris Dawn Mission Slips to April (Source: Space News)
The Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission has slipped again, this time to April. In social media posts over the weekend, Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who is leading the Polaris program of private astronaut missions, provided the revised schedule after previously saying the mission was scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. When Isaacman announced the Polaris program in February 2022, he said Polaris Dawn would take place as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022, but that schedule has since repeatedly slipped. Isaacman said development of spacesuits and modifications to the Crew Dragon spacecraft needed for a spacewalk have caused the delays. (12/11)

Orbit Fab and ispace Collaborate on Lunar Propellant Delivery (Source: Space News)
Space refueling company Orbit Fab and lunar lander developer ispace plan to work together on lunar propellant delivery services. Under a memorandum of understanding announced Monday, the two companies said they will collaborate on a series of demonstrations focused on lunar resource mapping and in situ resource utilization. Ultimately, Orbit Fab will refuel ispace lunar landers, and ispace will help Orbit Fab obtain propellant for fuel shuttles and depots. (12/11)

Tekniam and Rivada Collaborate to Enhance Emergency Communications and Disaster Recovery (Source: Space Daily)
In a strategic alliance aimed at bolstering emergency communications and disaster recovery efforts, Tekniam, a US-based company specializing in emergency connectivity solutions, is joining forces with Rivada Space Networks to use the company's OuterNET system to create a resilient and swiftly deployable network in the face of catastrophic events. (12/8)

Satellogic and Uzma Join Forces to Revolutionize Geospatial Services in Southeast Asia (Source: Space Daily)
Malaysia's Uzma has joined forces with Satellogic to revolutionize satellite imagery capabilities and geospatial services in Southeast Asia. This collaboration includes the deployment of a cutting-edge EO satellite named "UzmaSAT-1," designed and manufactured by Satellogic, scheduled for launch in the second half of 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with comprehensive tasking access to the Satellogic satellite constellation. (12/8)

Chinese Underground Observatory to Unravel Universe's Mysteries (Source: Space Daily)
Deep beneath a hill in the rural Kaiping area of Jiangmen, China's largest underground laboratory, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), is on the verge of completing a decade-long construction project that promises to shed light on some of the universe's most enduring mysteries. Our expedition to this clandestine scientific haven began with a 15-minute journey in a dimly lit cable car, traversing a 1,266-meter-long sloping tunnel. Here, in the depths of the earth, the environment was unexpectedly warmer, with rocky walls radiating heat up to 31 degrees Celsius in a stifling, damp atmosphere. (12/11)

NASA Laser Reflecting Instruments to Help Pinpoint Earth Measurements (Source: Space Daily)
The best known use of GPS satellites is to help people know their location whether driving a car, navigating a ship or plane, or trekking across remote territory. Another important, but lesser-known, use is to distribute information to other Earth-viewing satellites to help them pinpoint measurements of our planet. NASA and several other federal agencies, including the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency are improving the location accuracy of these measurements down to the millimeter with a new set of laser retroreflector arrays, or LRAs. (12/11)

Maritime Launch Secures Additional Funding for Canada's First Commercial Spaceport (Source: Space Daily)
Maritime Launch Services has successfully closed a non-brokered private placement of unsecured convertible debentures, amassing gross proceeds of $2,282,000. This funding, secured on December 8, 2023, marks a crucial step in advancing the ambitious Spaceport Nova Scotia project and its planned activities for 2024, including hosting two launches of the suborbital program, DART. (12/11)

Artificial Intelligence and NASA's First Robotic Lunar Rover (Source: Space Daily)
When NASA's VIPER (short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lands on the surface of the Moon on a mission to better understand the environment where NASA plans to send astronauts as part of the increasingly complex Artemis missions, its journey will be guided by the human ingenuity of its human team - and several key tools that use artificial intelligence. From helping the science team choose a landing site at the lunar mountain Mons Mouton, to planning out its path, the VIPER team has developed and used artificial intelligence algorithms to help assess risk and optimize decision making. (12/4)

China Leverages Space With Other Investments to Advance Interests in Africa (Source: Integrity ISR)
China combines space science and cooperation in Africa with investment deals, medical assistance, cultural and educational exchange, arms deals, and military assistance. China has also demonstrated strategic flexibility: space cooperation in Nigeria is accompanied by Chinese investment in telecommunications, while cooperation in Tunisia has been part of a comprehensive infrastructure construction package. Since 2005, African nations have spent US $4 billion to acquire and manufacture satellite technologies. Of this, $2.6 billion worth of contracts went to France, $871.5 million went to China, $587 million to Russia, $101 million to the United Kingdom, and $250 million to the United States. (12/11)