Final Delta IV Heavy Rocket Carries
NROL-70 on Historic Mission (Source: Space Daily)
The last mission of the venerable Delta IV Heavy rocket, marked by the
launch of the NROL-70 security payload, is scheduled for March 28,
2024, at 1:40 PM EDT from SLC 37, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This event not only signifies the conclusion of the Delta Rocket
lineage but also celebrates its rich history of achievements and
innovations in space exploration. (3/27)
NASA Supports Reliable Robotics'
Autonomous Flight R&D (Source: AIN Online)
Reliable Robotics has secured new contracts from NASA and the
Department of Defense supporting the company's efforts to commercialize
remotely piloted aircraft. NASA, in partnership with Ohio University,
granted $6 million for autonomous flight technology research, while the
Air Force's AFWERX unit has included Reliable in a program potentially
offering up to $1.9 million in matched government funding. (3/26)
Musk Says 'Almost Anyone' Can Afford A
$100,000 Ticket To Mars — But 57% Of People Can't Cover A $1,000
Emergency (Source: Benzinga)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has outlined an ambitious plan for enabling
affordable travel to Mars, potentially opening up space colonization to
a broader segment of Earth’s population. In a conversation with TED
conferences head Chris Anderson in 2022, Musk suggested that a ticket
to Mars could hypothetically be priced at $100,000, a figure he
believes would be accessible to most people.
Musk’s statement has sparked debate regarding its realism and
sensitivity to economic disparities. With the average U.S. annual
salary in the fourth quarter of 2023 reported at $59,384 by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and nearly two-thirds of Americans living
paycheck-to-paycheck, the feasibility of saving $100,000 for a Mars
trip seems distant for many. (3/26)
Orbex Patents Reusability Tech
(Source: Orbex)
Orbex, the only UK owned orbital launch services and rocket
manufacturing company, has successfully patented its REFLIGHT reusable
rocket technology following patent approval in several European markets
as well as the United States. The technology is uniquely suited to
micro-launcher rockets like Orbex’s Prime rocket since it enables
recovery of the launch vehicle by repurposing existing structural
features, while adding very little additional weight to the vehicle.
REFLIGHT enables reusability with very limited overall performance
penalty and no additional rocket propulsion emissions in the upper
atmosphere during re-entry. This should be compared to other reusable
launch systems using powered descent (rocket engine firings) to slow
down the vehicle during re-entry and landing. The REFLIGHT system
repurposes the interstage structure. After Stage 1 detaches from Stage
2, the interstage on top of Stage 1 reconfigures into four ‘petals’
which fold out and create drag forces that passively reorients and
slows the spent rocket stage’s descent to Earth for a low velocity
landing at sea. (3/26)
DIU Contracts Mission for Satellite
Servicing (Source: Space News)
A mission next year will attempt to service a military satellite in
geostationary orbit. The mission, overseen by the Defense Innovation
Unit (DIU), will use the Mission Robotics Vehicle being developed by
Northrop Grumman's subsidiary SpaceLogistics. That spacecraft will
approach a military satellite and use robotic arms to install a camera
built by Katalyst Space Technologies on the satellite's launch adapter
ring. The mission is part of DIU's Modularity for Space Systems
project, an effort to match commercial technologies with military needs
for in-orbit services. (3/27)
China Launches Military Weather
Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched another military weather satellite late Tuesday. A Long
March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
at 6:51 p.m. Eastern and deployed the Yunhai-3 (02) satellite. The
Yunhai series are assessed to be military meteorological satellites by
some Western analysts. (3/27)
In-Orbit Wins AFWERX Spacecraft
Docking Contract (Source: Space News)
Startup In Orbit Aerospace has won an AFWERX contract to develop
spacecraft docking technologies. The electrostatic adhesion technology
being developing under the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
contract, in cooperation with the University of Colorado, will enable
In Orbit's vehicles to dock with one another and could also be used for
docking with other cooperative or uncooperative objects for refueling,
debris removal or other services. In Orbit was founded in 2020 to offer
third-party logistics and infrastructure for in-space manufacturing and
research, and has plans to develop vehicles for transporting cargo to
and from future commercial space stations. (3/27)
Astrobotic Hires NASA Vets to Lead
Next Lunar Missions (Source: Space News)
Astrobotic has hired several industry veterans to help the company as
it develops a second, larger lunar lander. The company announced it
hired Steve Clarke, a former NASA official, as its vice president of
landers and spacecraft and Frank Peri, former head of the safety and
mission assurance office at NASA Langley, as director of engineering.
Two former NASA associate administrators for space technology, Mike
Gazarik and Jim Reuter, will serve as advisers. Astrobotic says it
expects to wrap up the investigation into its Peregrine lander mission
in a matter of weeks and will apply lessons learned from that for its
larger Griffin lander, which will carry NASA's VIPER lunar rover. (3/27)
NASA Optimistic for Voyager 1 Fix
(Source: Space News)
A NASA official was optimistic that a computer problem with the Voyager
1 spacecraft can be fixed. Speaking at a National Academies committee
meeting last week, Joseph Westlake, director of NASA's heliophysics
division, said he believed the project was on "a path now to
resolution" regarding the faulty flight data system (FDS) computer on
the nearly 50-year-old spacecraft. A problem with the FDS has caused
Voyager 1 to transmit unusable data since last November. Westlake said
engineers have concluded a memory unit on the spacecraft has failed,
and engineers are working to move flight software in that section of
memory to another part of the computer. He did not estimate how long
that would take. (3/27)
NOAA Weather Satellite's Falcon-Heavy
Launch Moved to Late June (Source: NOAA)
The launch of a NOAA weather satellite has been rescheduled for late
June. NASA and NOAA announced Tuesday that the Falcon Heavy launch of
the GOES-U geostationary orbit weather satellite is planned for June
25. The launch had been scheduled for late April but was postponed
after SpaceX found a liquid oxygen leak in the rocket's center core
booster. GOES-U is the fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R
program. (3/27)
NASA Picks Instruments for Artemis
Lunar Landing, Including for Plant Growth (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected three instruments to be flown on future Artemis lunar
landing missions. NASA announced Tuesday it will fund development of a
seismometer suite, a crop growth experiment and regolith instrument
that would be deployed by astronauts on the Artemis 3 mission, although
NASA said that final decisions about when the instruments would be
manifested for flight will be made later. NASA said the instruments are
the first step in the agency's response to a report on high-priority
science that should be conducted on Artemis 3. (3/27)
Japans Koichi Wakata Retiring From
Astronaut Corps (Source: NHK)
A Japanese astronaut is retiring after more than three decades of
service. Koichi Wakata will retire from JAXA at the end of the month,
which also marks the end of the current Japanese government fiscal
year. He was selected by Japan as an astronaut in 1992 and has flown to
space five times, including three long-duration missions to the
International Space Station. He most recently was on the Crew-5 Crew
Dragon mission in 2022-23; his previous flights were on the shuttle and
Soyuz. (3/27)
Starliner’s First Commander: Don’t
Expect Perfection on Crew Test Flight (Source: Ars Technica)
While it doesn't have the same relevance to public consciousness as
safety problems with commercial airliners, a successful test flight of
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in May would be welcome news for the
beleaguered aerospace company. This will be the first time the
Starliner capsule flies into low-Earth orbit with humans aboard. NASA
astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are in the final stages of
training for the so-called Crew Flight Test (CFT), a milestone running
seven years behind the schedule Boeing said it could achieve when it
won a $4.2 billion commercial crew contract from NASA a decade ago.
(3/25)
Blue Origin Space Station Taking Shape
for NASA (Source: Business Insider)
NASA has granted Blue Origin $172 million to create Orbital Reef, a
space station designed for astronauts and tourists, emphasizing the
necessity for life support systems. Blue Origin recently achieved
significant progress by completing four milestones, demonstrating the
effectiveness of Orbital Reef's regenerative system, which ensures the
provision of clean air and water for occupants. (3/26)
Sidus Space Releases Quarterly
Financial Results (Source: Sidus Space)
Total revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 totaled
approximately $6.0 million, a decrease of $1.3 million compared to the
same period in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2023 totaled $10.9 million as compared to a loss of $9.7
million for the same period the prior year. Net loss for the twelve
months ended December 31, 2023 was $14.3 million as compared to a net
loss of $12.8 million for the same period the prior year. (3/27)
Incoming Illegal NGSO Service Crackdown
(Source: Space News)
Operators of satellites in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) could be
forced to turn off beams when flying over countries that have not
authorized them, do more to disable bootleg dishes in these
territories, or a mix of both, depending on who you ask about new
global rules in the works. Approval to study ways for cracking down on
unauthorized NGSO services was one of the most surprising outcomes of
the recent 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) in Dubai,
a quadrennial event for updating radio wave regulations.
Depending on the results of these studies, the measures could be put up
for approval as soon as 2027, when the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, will bring countries
together again to update global spectrum regulation. When a broadcast
satellite is being developed, international regulations require every
technical effort to be made to prevent its radio waves from spilling
into countries that have not approved the service.
NGSO satellites currently do not have a similar limitation, making it
possible for users with a compatible antenna to connect to them in a
country that has not given their operator a license. Sources who
attended WRC-23, but did not want to be named, said the crackdown is
mainly targeted at SpaceX’s Starlink, the world’s largest NGSO
broadband constellation currently in operation. (3/26)
Chinese Moon Plans, Commercial Company
Updates, and Wenchang Commercial Pad (Source: NSF)
China detailed its lunar exploration plan for the near future and gave
an outlook for the program beyond that. The next mission to the Moon,
Queqiao-2, launched in March of this year. This mission, though, is
only the beginning of a set of missions for the Chinese lunar
exploration plan. Next up, the Chang’e-6 mission, a 53-day long
exploration mission, will launch in May of this year on a Chang Zheng 5
rocket. Click here.
(3/26)
From Kepler-452b to Proxima Centauri
b: Exoplanets that are just like Earth (Source: Times of India)
Earth is the only planet we know of that harbors life, but it may not
be alone in the universe. Scientists have discovered thousands of
exoplanets, or planets orbiting other stars, and some of them are
remarkably similar to our home world. These exoplanets are of great
interest to astronomers and astrobiologists, who hope to find signs of
life beyond our solar system. Here are seven exoplanets that are just
like Earth, in terms of their size, composition, temperature, and
habitability. Click here.
(3/26)
Missile Defense Agency Executive
Director Accused of Misusing Office for Personal Gain (Source:
WAFF)
The Department of Defense’s Inspector General has made its findings
public regarding the highest-ranking civilian in the Missile Defense
Agency. Inspector General Robert Storch found that Laura DeSimone, the
current Executive Director of MDA, violated a litany of business and
ethics norms. The 3- year investigation found she misused her office
for personal gain by engaging in an intimate, sexual relationship with
a subordinate based in Huntsville. That subordinate is another woman
the IG says she also tried to help promote. (3/25)
Chinese Scientists Call for Focus on
Asteroid Missions (Source: Space News)
China should intensify its asteroid research and focus on sample return
mission plans, according to scientists. China’s future asteroid
exploration should focus on “low-cost, high-frequency sample return
missions, and emphasize strengthening coordination between missions,”
according to a paper published recently in the Chinese Journal of Space
Sciences. Establishing scientific design teams can also help better
serve China’s future asteroid explorations. (3/26)
He Quit Heading the Pentagon’s UFO
Office. Now a Report of His Has Shaken Up Ufology (Source:
Guardian)
Evidence is not the point. Some will never be swayed. “There’s the
absolute true belief, which would suggest it is more akin to a religion
than an actual factual thing,” he says. “And those are the people that
you’re never going to convince, no matter what you put in front of
them. I can lay out the pictures of the classified programs that they
mistook, and they still wouldn’t believe it. They would say, ‘No, that
was derived from alien technology.’”
And what if the government does eventually get its hands on aliens and
their flying saucers? “It’s not their job [to keep it secret],” he
says. “It would immediately get turned over to Nasa, and Nasa would
immediately disclose it to everybody. That’s their job.” Click here.
(3/22)
Engineers Heat Up Dark Universe
Telescope, Restoring Euclid's Sight (Source: Gizmodo)
ESA's Euclid telescope is back in action after an experimental
procedure restored its ability to see the light in the cold, dark
depths of space. After noticing a gradual dip in the amount of light
measured by Euclid from its surrounding stars, the team behind the
mission devised a plan to heat parts of the spacecraft to get rid of
frozen water molecules that had accumulated on the telescope’s mirrors.
The plan was risky and not guaranteed to work, but things are looking
good for Euclid so far.
Mission control de-iced the first two mirrors and, sure enough, more
light began creeping in through Euclid’s optical instruments. Euclid’s
coldest mirror was heated from -232 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit (-147 to
-113 Celsius). “It didn’t need to get hot, because in a vacuum this
temperature is enough to quickly evaporate all the ice,” said Mischa
Schirmer. “And it worked like a charm! Almost immediately, we were
receiving 15% more light from the Universe. I was certain that we would
see a considerable improvement, but not in such a spectacular way.”
(3/26)
SpaceX Wants to Orbit Cellular
Starlink Satellites Closer to Earth (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX is pressing the FCC for even more clearance to orbit Starlink
satellites closer to Earth, citing the performance benefits. A month
ago, the company requested FCC clearance to orbit some
second-generation Starlink satellites between 340 to 360 kilometers
from Earth — or about 200 kilometers (124 miles) below their planned
orbits. On Friday, SpaceX filed the same request, but for its cellular
Starlink satellite system, which will be able to beam connectivity to
phones on the ground. If granted, the company would then be able to
orbit the satellites at the 300km orbits, in addition to the existing
500km altitudes. (3/25)
Governor Announces Membership of Texas
Space Commission, Research Consortium (Source: Click2Houston)
Governor Greg Abbott announced the establishment the Texas Space
Commission. Along with this announcement, the Governor appointed the
inaugural members of the commission’s Board of Directors and the Texas
Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC) Executive
Committee. The Texas Space Commission was formed with the goal of
strengthening the state’s influence in aerospace activity by promoting
innovation in space research and exploration. The organization will be
governed by its Board of Directors, which consists of nine members.
Click here.
(3/26)
NASA Selects First Lunar Instruments
for Artemis Astronaut Deployment (Source: NASA)
NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts
to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed
near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable
scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and
how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which will
help prepare NASA to send astronauts to Mars. Click here.
(3/26)
Russian Soyuz Delivers Crew of 3 to
the International Space Station (Source: CBS News)
Two days after launch, a Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship caught up with
the International Space Station Monday and moved in for a
picture-perfect docking, bringing two short-duration crew members and a
NASA astronaut starting a six-month stay in orbit. (3/25)
Bizarre ‘Hot Jupiter’ Planets Keep
Surprising Astronomers (Source: Scientific American)
Planets the mass of Jupiter are significantly more massive than all
other classes of planets and require a unique process to form.
Jupiter-mass planets must first build a core out of rock and ice and
then build a gaseous envelope large enough to start a process called
runaway accretion, where they hoover up all nearby material and
increase their mass 10-fold in less than a million years. Classic
formation theories predicted that this process would take place far
from the star, past the location where the ambient temperature is below
the freezing point of water. Click here.
(3/25)
A Dead Star Will Soon Spark a
Once-in-a-Lifetime Display in Earth’s Skies (Source: Scientific
American)
T Coronae Borealis—often shortened to T CrB—is what astronomers call a
nova. T CrB last erupted in 1946, and its behavior suggests that its
next paroxysm is due any moment between now and September. When this
occurs, T CrB will become visible to the naked eye as a temporary jewel
in its constellation’s stelliferous crown. And far from treating it as
a mere spectacle, astronomers are going to use this latest outburst as
a chance to learn more about novae, which are oft-overlooked drivers of
cosmic chaos.
To understand why T CrB has got astronomers so hyped, it helps to have
a primer on your average nova. Each one involves a perilous pairing
between a white dwarf, the small carcass left behind at the end of
certain stars’ life, and a “normal” companion star—in the case of T
CrB, a puffy red giant. The white dwarf is so dense that it’s able to
gravitationally pilfer hydrogen from its companion, which snows onto
the dwarf’s surface. This veneer heats up and eventually ignites,
sparking an unstoppable chain reaction that culminates in a nuclear
explosion. (3/25)
Starlink Terminals Are Falling Into
the Wrong Hands (Sources: Bloomberg, ArcaMax)
SpaceX’s Starlink touts its high-speed internet as “available almost
anywhere on Earth.” In the real world, its reach extends to countries
where Elon Musk’s satellite-enabled service has no agreement to
operate, including territories ruled by repressive regimes. A Bloomberg
investigation identified wide-spanning examples of Starlink kits being
traded and activated illegally. How they are smuggled and the sheer
availability of Starlink on the black market suggests that its misuse
is a systemic global problem, raising questions about the company’s
control of a system with clear national security dimensions.
In Yemen, which is in the throes of a decade-long civil war, a
government official conceded that Starlink is in widespread use. Many
people are prepared to defy competing warring factions, including
Houthi rebels, to secure terminals for business and personal
communications, and evade the slow, often censored internet service
that’s currently available. Or take Sudan, where a year-long civil war
has led to accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity and
millions of people fleeing their homes. With the regular internet down
for months, soldiers of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are among
those using the system for their logistics, according to Western
diplomats.
“It is deeply concerning because it’s unregulated and headed by a
private company,” Emma Shortis, a senior researcher in international
and security affairs at the Australia Institute, an independent think
tank in Canberra, said of the Starlink system. “There’s no
accountability on who has access to it and how it’s being used.” (3/25)
Organizing to Deter or Prevail in
Space Warfare (Source: War On The Rocks)
Does the United States need both an armed service and a unified
combatant command to defend its national interests in outer space? The
answer is yes, given the imperatives to counter threats posed by
foreign powers to the freedom of space and assure effective support to
joint or combined military operations. Indeed, as former Vice Chief of
Space Operations Gen. David Thompson stated, “Both China and Russia are
regularly attacking U.S. satellites with non-kinetic means, including
lasers, radio frequency jammers, and cyber-attacks.” (3/26)
PSLV’s POEM-3 Re-Enters Earth, Falls
in Pacific Ocean (Source: Times of India)
The Indian Space Research Organization's PSLV Orbital Experimental
Module-3 (POEM-3) successfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere in a
controlled manner, leaving minimal orbital debris. The spent rocket
stage had been transformed into a stabilized platform for conducting
experiments. (3/25)
Why Scientists Are Making Space Data
Into Sounds (Source: Frontiers)
When you travel somewhere where they speak a language you can’t
understand, it’s usually important to find a way to translate what’s
being communicated to you. In some ways, the same can be said about
scientific data collected from cosmic objects. All telescopes —
including Chandra, Webb, the Hubble Space Telescope, plus dozens of
others — in space need to send the data they collect back to Earth as
binary code, or digital signals. Typically, astronomers and others turn
these digital data into images, which are often spectacular.
By taking these data through another step, however, experts on this
project mathematically map the information into sound. This data-driven
process is not a reimagining of what the telescopes have observed, it
is yet another kind of translation. Instead of a translation from
French to Mandarin, it’s a translation from visual to sound.
Astrophysical data engaging multiple senses like the sonifications
could establish additional avenues of trust, increase access, and
promote awareness of accessibility in sighted and blind or low-vision
communities. In short, sonifications helped people access and engage
with the Universe. (3/25)
Saturn's Moon Enceladus Top Target for
ESA (Source: ESA)
A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst
through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander
collects samples and analyses them for hints of life. ESA has started
to turn this scene into a reality, devising a mission to investigate an
ocean world around either Jupiter or Saturn. But which moon should we
choose? What should the mission do exactly? A team of expert scientists
has delivered their findings. (3/25)
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