Alaska's Poker Flat Seeks FAA
Spaceport Status (Source: Alaska Beacon)
A sounding rocket range in Alaska is seeking to become a full-fledged
spaceport. The University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute, which
operates the Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks, announced
Tuesday a partnership with Alaska Aerospace Corporation. That agreement
includes applying for an FAA spaceport license for Poker Flats, which
today is used for launches of sounding rockets for research. That would
allow the facility to launch larger rockets and host commercial
missions. Alaska Aerospace operates launch facilities on Kodiak Island
that have been used by several small launch vehicles. (6/11)
PUNCH Observes Solar Eruptions
(Source: NASA)
A new NASA space science mission has witnessed its first solar
eruptions. NASA released Tuesday images of a coronal mass ejection
observed by the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or
PUNCH, mission. The images show that the four PUNCH spacecraft,
launched in March, are working well as they drift in their orbits into
their final formation. Once in those final orbits, the PUNCH spacecraft
are designed to monitor space weather conditions in three dimensions in
the inner solar system. (6/11)
SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From
Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Tuesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off
from Cape Canaveral at 9:05 a.m. Eastern and deployed 23 Starlink
satellites, 13 with direct-to-cell payloads, on the Starlink 12-24
mission. SpaceX has now launched more than 270 Starlink satellites with
direct-to-cell capabilities so far this year. (6/11)
Out of the String Theory Swampland
(Source: Space Daily)
String theory has long been touted as physicists' best candidate for
describing the fundamental nature of the universe, with elementary
particles and forces described as vibrations of tiny threads of energy.
But in the early 21st century, it was realized that most of the
versions of reality described by string theory's equations cannot match
up with observations of our own universe.
In particular, conventional string theory's predictions are
incompatible with the observation of dark energy, which appears to be
causing our universe's expansion to speed up, and with viable theories
of quantum gravity, instead predicting a vast 'swampland' of impossible
universes. Now, a new analysis by FQxI physicist Eduardo Guendelman, of
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Israel, shows that an exotic
subset of string models-in which the tension of strings is generated
dynamically-could provide an escape route out of the string theory
swampland. (6/11)
Discovery of Giant Planet Orbiting
Tiny Star Challenges Theories on Planet Formation (Source: Space
Daily)
Star TOI-6894 is just like many in our galaxy, a small red dwarf, and
only ~20% of the mass of our Sun. Like many small stars, it is not
expected to provide suitable conditions for the formation and hosting
of a large planet. However, an international team of astronomers have
found the unmistakable signature of a giant planet, called TOI-6894b,
orbiting this tiny star. This system has been discovered as part of a
large-scale investigation of TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey
Satellite) data, looking for giant planets around low-mass stars. (6/11)
AIA Supports Additional NASA Funding (Source:
Yellowhammer)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, has introduced a legislative directive to add
approximately $10 billion that would restore NASA funding as part of
the budget reconciliation process, including funding for the Artemis
program and the International Space Station. "As industry continues to
push into new frontiers and outpace our competitors in space, this
effort shows Congress is dedicated to moving forward with
mission-critical programs and maintaining our space leadership," says
AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning. (6/9)
Air Force Weather Moves Operations to
Amazon Cloud (Source: Defense News)
Air Force Weather is nearing completion of a digital transformation
that began in 2017, migrating operations to the cloud and contracting
Amazon for services. This move, involving a shift of high-performance
computing to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, aims to enhance security
and efficiency by processing 80 terabytes of data daily. The transition
is expected to increase demand for weather products, presenting funding
challenges amid budget constraints and workforce reductions. (6/10)
House Bill Would Increase Space Force
Funding (Source: Space News)
A House spending bill would increase funding for the Space Force. The
House Appropriations Committee released Monday a draft of its fiscal
year 2026 defense bill, which keeps overall defense spending flat at
$831.5 billion as proposed by the White House. However, the bill
increases the Space Force's budget by about 10% from the White House
proposal of $26 billion. The bill includes a significant increase for
research, development, testing and evaluation and a smaller bump for
procurement, partially offset by reductions in personnel and in
operations and maintenance. The committee will mark up the bill this
week. (6/10)
Xplore Releases First Hyperspectral
Imagery From 6-U Cubesat (Source: Space News)
Xplore has released hyperspectral imagery from its first satellite.
XCUBE-1, a six-unit cubesat launched in December, provides imagery with
a resolution of five meters per pixel over a range of spectral bands,
the company announced Tuesday. Xplore envisions defense and
intelligence, agriculture, forestry and other applications for that
hyperspectral imagery, as well as the ability to observe other
satellites and space debris. XCUBE-1 is the first satellite in a
planned constellation. (6/10)
Protest in Ohio for NASA Budget
(Source: WKYC)
A group is planning a protest against NASA's budget cuts in Cleveland
next week. The group Stand Up for Science will host a rally next
Saturday in a park in downtown Cleveland to protest proposed budget
cuts for NASA. The fiscal year 2026 budget would, if enacted, reduce
the workforce at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland by 40% and
threaten programs at the center like the lunar Gateway. (6/10)
Quantum Space Raises $40 Million (Source:
Space News)
Quantum Space has raised $40 million as the company pivots towards
national security applications of its spacecraft. The company said
Tuesday it raised the money as an extension of a Series A round with
support from several investors. The company plans to use the funding to
accelerate work on Ranger, a spacecraft it describes as a highly
maneuverable platform capable of hosting payloads and performing
satellite refueling. Quantum Space once envisioned Ranger as part of a
cislunar architecture, but now is focused on applications such as
supporting the Golden Dome missile defense system. The first Ranger is
slated to launch in late 2026 on a test flight. (6/10)
Chinese Satellites Perform Proximity
Maneuvering (Source: Space News)
Two Chinese Shijian satellites appear to be maneuvering towards each
other in a potential satellite refueling demonstration. China's
Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 spacecraft, designed for servicing and
refueling, were within about two degrees of longitude, or roughly 1,500
kilometers, of each other in geostationary orbit Monday. Shijian-25 was
launched in January to test on-orbit refueling and mission extension
technologies, while Shijian-21 was launched in October 2021. The two
spacecraft are expected to dock, with Shijian-25 possibly refueling
Shijian-21. American surveillance satellites USA 270 and USA 271, part
of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, are in the
vicinity to observe the expected operations. (6/10)
Quebec Supports Launch Startup
Reaction Dynamics with $7.3 Million (Source: Space News)
The government of Quebec is providing funding to a Canadian launch
startup. The provincial government said Monday it would award $10
million Canadian ($7.3 million) to Reaction Dynamics, working with
Canadian software and engineering services firm Maya HTT. The companies
will use the funding to qualify a hybrid propulsion system and
establish a testing facility. That propulsion system would be used on
Aurora, a small launch vehicle Reaction Dynamics is developing with a
first orbital launch slated for 2027 or 2028. The award, Quebec Premier
François Legault said, would ensure that the work is done entirely
within Quebec. (6/10)
EU Unconditionally Clears SES's $3.1
Billion Bid for Intelsat (Source: Channel News Asia)
The European Commission said on Tuesday it had unconditionally approved
the proposed acquisition of Intelsat by SES, confirming a story Reuters
exclusively reported earlier this month. The $3.1-billion bid made by
the European satellite company for its rival will create a major
European player to rival Elon Musk's Space X-owned Starlink. (6/11)
Titan's Weird Wobble Just Got Even
Stranger (Source: Space.com)
For years, scientists have been intrigued by a weird "wobble" in the
atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Now, new research is
revealing clues about Titan's strange atmospheric tilt, but it's also
raising new mysteries. Scientists thought the direction of the tilt
would be influenced by either Saturn's gravity or the position of the
sun, as is often the case in planetary systems — meaning it would
change as Titan orbited Saturn and the sun.
But observations show that the tilt direction doesn't move. Instead, it
stays pointed the same way in space, as if unaffected by those external
forces. If solar heating or Saturn's gravity were controlling the tilt,
it should move over time. Instead, the tilt seems locked in place,
suggesting that some other, still-unknown process is at work. (6/10)
Whitesides Says Budget Proposal Shows
the Administration Does Not Value NASA Science (Source: Space
News)
A leading Democratic member of the House Science Committee says the
proposed steep cuts in NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal show
that the administration does not appear to appreciate the link between
research and competitiveness. “I think that there may be a
misunderstanding on the part of the administration of the underlying
utility of these different scientific pursuits to the full-scale range
of the American economy and our leadership,” he said. (6/10)
No comments:
Post a Comment