February 24, 2024

Math, Mentorship, Motherhood: Behind the Scenes with NASA Engineers (Source: NASA)
Engineering is a huge field with endless applications. From aerospace to ergonomics, engineers play an important role in designing, building, and testing technologies all around us. We asked three engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley to share their experiences, from early challenges they faced in their careers to the day-to-day of being a working engineer. Click here. (2/22)

Did a Solar Flare Cause the AT&T Outage? (Source: Courier Journal)
After a nationwide outage Thursday left tens of thousands of frustrated AT&T and Verizon customers without wireless cellphone service, many were left wondering what caused the interruption. Faulty equipment? Hackers? Solar flares? As it turns out, the answer might have been bad coding on the part of AT&T, the company said. But rumors of solar flares caught the attention of scientists at NOAA. Two powerful solar flares billions of times stronger than a hydrogen bomb erupted from the sun Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

After both solar flares, NOAA issued a statement saying, "No apparent CMEs resulting from these events have been observed as of the time of this writing, but can not be ruled out." Hours later, the agency weighed in on social media, saying the AT&T and Verizon outage was unlikely related to the flares. (2/22)

3 Space Stocks to Turn $10000 Into $1 Million: February 2024 (Source: InvestorPlace)
Take your portfolio to the final frontier with these space stocks to watch. Rocket Lab USA (RKLB): Rocket Lab USA’s features a relatively healthy cash balance. BlackSky Technology (BKSY): BlackSky offers compelling imaging-related services. Terran Orbital (LLAP): Terran Orbital’s tremendous growth trajectory is appealing. Click here. (2/21)

James Webb Telescope Finds Ancient Galaxy Larger Than Our Milky Way, and it's Threatening to Upend Cosmology (Source: LiveScience)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found a galaxy in the early universe that's so massive, it shouldn't exist, posing a "significant challenge" to the standard model of cosmology, according to the study authors. The galaxy, called ZF-UDS-7329, contains more stars than the Milky Way, despite having formed only 800 million years into the universe's 13.8 billion-year life span. This means they were somehow born without dark matter seeding their formation, contrary to what the standard model of galaxy formation suggests. (2/20)

Kerbal Space Program, ULA Announce Winners of Vulcan Rocket Challenge (Source: Space.com)
The winner of the KSP/ULA Vulcan rocket recreation challenge goes to X user The Space Peacock, (@Space_Peacock) with a near-perfect recreation of Vulcan, seen inside the KSP vehicle assembly building (VAB) in their first of a thread of posts. The Space Peacock recreated Vulcan's Cert-1 mission from January, then went on to simulate a flight of Sierra Space's Dream Chaser space plane, and even included a version of Vulcan's future SMART engine reuse capability, returning the first-stage booster's engine's back for an ocean splashdown and recovery. (2/23)

Titan Most Likely Non-Habitable, Astrobiologists Say (Source: Sci News)
Saturn’s moon Titan has an organic-rich atmosphere and surface with a subsurface ocean that may represent a habitable environment. In a new study, astrobiologists determined the amount of organic material that can be delivered from Titan’s surface to its ocean through impact cratering. Unless biologically available compounds can be sourced from Titan’s interior, or be delivered from the surface by other mechanisms, their calculations suggest that even the most organic-rich ocean world in the Solar System may not be able to support a large biosphere. (2/20)

CU Boulder Joins Academic Partnership with U.S. Space Command (Source: CU Boulder)
The University of Colorado Boulder has been selected as a United States Space Command Academic Engagement Enterprise member. The new national program is designed to expand collaboration and academic exchanges between universities and U.S. Space Command. (2/22)

Space Force’s Fixed-Price Push Includes Some Exceptions (Source: C4ISRnet)
The Space Force’s acquisition shop has been bullish about its pursuit of fixed-price development contracts amid rising concern from defense companies that the approach puts too much risk on industry. Space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli said today that while he stands by the fixed-price construct for much of the Space Force’s portfolio, there are some programs that require a more nuanced approach. “When you’re using fixed price, you’re not doing the first-of-its-kind or inventing something new,” he said. “And so, I’m a little bit confused by some of the bigger primes who say they’re against that. They should not be against that.” (2/23)

ULA Cuts Ribbon on New Facility — 'We Build Rockets in Decatur, Alabama' (Source: 1819 News)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) cut the ribbon on a new $300 million expansion to their Decatur rocket facility on Friday. According to chief operating officer John Elbon, this expansion will create an additional 200 jobs and allow ULA to reach its goal of 25 launches per year.

Elbon said, "We are grateful for the partnerships that we've had for many years to allow this kind of growth and allow us to keep going here. We will be continuing to support our space force customer, and then we have, as we've talked about, the largest commercial contract that's ever been awarded from Amazon. We'll be launching their Kuiper Constellation on the Vulcan rockets, and these facilities are a big part of making all that happen." (2/23)

Considerations For the Future of Space Health Data (Source: Newsweek)
Despite considerable advancements in space exploration and technology, astronaut health remains a crucial and ever-changing variable in the equally dynamic space industry. Namely, high-level health data analysis sits at the center of emergent space research and protocol, allowing industry professionals to create a safer, more seamless experience for those venturing beyond Earth's confines and driving the sector forward.

Along the way, we have gained valuable insight into the mitigation of space-related afflictions and responses, sensorimotor adaptations, and other key factors illustrating space's impact on the human body. Now, thanks to ongoing technological and methodological breakthroughs, such findings stand to propel space health infrastructure to new heights. Click here. (2/23)

Moon Lander Described as Tipped Over Sideways But 'Alive and Well' on Lunar Surface (Source: Reuters)
The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is "alive and well" but resting on its side a day after a white-knuckle touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface, and the first from the United States since 1972, the company behind the vehicle said on Friday. The chief executive officer of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which built and flew the lander, said the vehicle is believed to have caught one of its six landing feet on the lunar surface during its final descent and tipped over, coming to rest propped up sideways on a rock.

Still, CEO Stephen Altemus said Odysseus "is stable near or at our intended landing site" near a crater called Malapert A in the region of the moon's south pole. "We do have communications with the lander" and sending commands to the vehicle, Altemus said, adding that teams were working to obtain the first photo images from the lunar surface at the landing site.

The company had said shortly after touchdown on Thursday that radio signals indicated Odysseus had landed in an upright position, but Atlemus said that faulty conclusion was based on telemetry from before the landing. Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crain said the spacecraft, burning a propulsion fuel of liquid methane and liquid oxygen for the first time in space, "performed flawlessly" during its flight to the moon. Altemus said the spacecraft was recharging properly from solar energy and was charged at 100%. (2/23)

Astronomers Spot New Tiny Moons Around Neptune and Uranus (Source: AP)
Astronomers have found three previously unknown moons in our solar system — two additional moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus. The distant tiny moons were spotted using powerful land-based telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and announced Friday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. The latest tally puts Neptune at 16 known moons and Uranus at 28. One of Neptune’s new moons has the longest known orbital journey yet. It takes around 27 years for the small outer moon to complete one lap around Neptune. (2/23)

Embry‑Riddle Device Lands on Moon (Source: ERAU)
Members of the Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University community held their breath and then erupted into thunderous applause as Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus Nova-C class Lunar Lander touched down on the moon. This was no ordinary mission: In addition to marking the United States’ first return to the lunar surface since 1972, the spacecraft was also carrying precious cargo aboard: an entirely student-built CubeSat called “EagleCam.”

After four years of design and development, EagleCam touched down at approximately 6:30 p.m. (EST), becoming the first-ever university student-built project to land on the moon. Due to complications with Odysseus’ internal navigation system, a decision was made to power down EagleCam during landing and not deploy the device during Odysseus’ final descent. However, both the Intuitive Machines and EagleCam teams still plan to deploy EagleCam and capture images of the lander on the lunar surface as the mission continues. (2/23)

Space Force, NRO Will Fly Targeting Satellites ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force is making progress on its plan with the National Reconnaissance Office to enable space-based targeting and replace legacy Air Force aircraft, multiple senior leaders said. For several years now, the Pentagon has explored the idea of space-based moving target indication (MTI). Older Air Force platforms like the E-3 AWACS and E-8 JSTARS are considered unlikely to survive long in a potential conflict with China.  “The ultimate goal of this program is to replace legacy air-breathing platforms with more survivable space assets that can perform targeting activities needed to close long-range kill chains on a global scale,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman. (2/22)

Nuclear Space Warning (Source: 1440)
The US has warned Russia not to deploy nuclear weapons in space, noting it would violate a 1967 treaty that bars weapons of mass destruction in space. It marks the first indication of the Biden administration’s approach to Rep. Mike Turner’s (R-OH) warning last week alluding to a “serious national security threat.” (2/23)

Sidus Space Completes Contract to Deliver Onboard Computing Flight Hardware (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced the successful completion of its contract to deliver critical flight hardware to a prominent European space company. The delivered hardware includes the FeatherEdge edge computing units, which will serve as the on-board computer for the customer's spacecraft. The FeatherEdge flight units provided by Sidus Space play a pivotal role in facilitating communication between peripheral hardware on the satellite bus. (2/23)

SpaceX Seeks Waiver to Launch Starship “At Least” Nine Times This Year (Source: Ars Technica)
As SpaceX nears its first Starship launch of 2024—possibly as soon as within three weeks—the company is pressing regulators to increase its cadence of flights. FAA AST's Kelvin Coleman said the agency is working with the company to try to facilitate the Starship launch-licensing process. "They're looking at, I believe, at least nine launches this year," he said.

After SpaceX decided to launch and attempt to land its Starship vehicle in Texas about five years ago, the company had to undergo an enhanced environmental review of the site. As a part of this process, the FAA completed a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment in June 2022. Following that review, SpaceX received approval to conduct up to five Starship launches from South Texas annually. An FAA official confirmed to Ars that the company is seeking a modification of this five-launch limit to accommodate a higher flight rate. (2/22)

Can SpaceX’s Starship save Mars Sample Return? (Source: Planetary Society)
Amid the cost growth, political division, and management missteps roiling NASA and ESA’s Mars Sample Return program, it is not unreasonable to ask if there are more affordable alternatives to return these samples to Earth, namely SpaceX’s own Mars project, Starship. The answer is almost certainly “no.” At least, not anytime soon. This is due to the unique needs of a scientifically relevant Mars sample return campaign, the uncertain capabilities of Starship, and the one-of-a-kind nature of the samples themselves. (2/22)

Singapore Teams Win Scholarships to Huntsville Space Camp (Source: Kallman Foundation)
Eight Singaporean high school students and an educator were named yesterday as the Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship’s “Mission Team #18” and “Mission Team #19,” the southeast Asian nation’s third and fourth recipients of an all-expenses paid week-long, hands-on astronaut training experience this July at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s Space Camp in Huntsville. (2/23)