Port Commissioners Delay Decision on
SpaceX Expansion Agreement (Source: BayNews9)
SpaceX will have to wait at least a month longer to move forward with
plans of expanding at Port Canaveral. At the Port Canaveral Commission
meeting Wednesday morning, port leaders postponed a vote to approve a
lease agreement with SpaceX. The rocket company is aiming to take over
new facilities at Port Canaveral to store and work on its first stage
boosters after they return from launch.
Port Canaveral Commissioners on Wednesday were going to decide if
SpaceX can take over the former SpaceHab building to refurbish and
process rockets. One commissioner called the postponement
disappointing, but port leaders said SpaceX has a temporary use permit
to use the existing hangar for their use. They say they're still
working on the lease agreement and SpaceX will have to wait until next
month’s port meeting before they can expand any more at the port.
(11/16)
Teenage Girls to Launch Africa's First
Private Space Satellite (Source: CNN)
They may be teenagers, but 17-year-old Brittany Bull and 16-year-old
Sesam Mngqengqiswa have grand ambitions -- to launch Africa's first
private satellite into space. They are part of a team of high school
girls from Cape Town, South Africa, who have designed and built
payloads for a satellite that will orbit over the earth's poles
scanning Africa's surface.
Once in space, the satellite will collect information on agriculture,
and food security within the continent. Using the data transmitted, "we
can try to determine and predict the problems Africa will be facing in
the future", explains Bull, a student at Pelican Park High School.
(11/15)
My Personal Mission To (And For) Mars
(Source: Huffington Post)
Frankly, I was ignorant. I freely admit that. Before I joined the
cast of the National Geographic series, Mars, I didn’t know very much
about Mars ― and to be honest I didn’t really care. Like many
people, I didn’t see how it related to me and why we should spend the
money to go to Mars when there are so many problems in the world today
that I deemed more important. Click here.
(11/15)
Dutch Firm Unveils Concept Space Suit
for Mars Explorers (Source: Daily Maverick)
Dutch company Mars One, which aims to send people to the Red Planet
within a decade, on Tuesday unveiled its first concept for a space suit
to protect humans "under the most difficult conditions." The
pressurised suit will include an impact resistant helmet with a
see-through bubble. It will "make maximum use of local Mars resources
to provide a safe and comfortable environment for crew members," Mars
One said in a statement.
Made from material similar to that used for NASA's astronauts when
exploring the Moon, the suit's design also takes into account "new
challenges" presented by Mars' surface. This included dealing with
omnipresent red dust, which the company admitted still "needed more
work." Consisting of interchangable parts, the suit will have to ward
off life-threatening radiation and be able to fit many different seizes
of would-be Martian explorers. (11/15)
What Branson Thinks of Bezos and Musk
(Source: Fortune)
Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are the three billionaire
entrepreneurs leading the 21st century privately-funded space race.
While Elon Musk’s SpaceX focuses on launching satellites and
transporting humans to Mars, Branson doesn’t necessarily see him as a
direct competitor. “I suppose I see [Musk] as a younger version of
myself,” he says.
As for Bezos? Branson plans to beat him in the tourism space race.
Branson is behind Virgin Galactic — a private company that’s already
signing up passengers to pay $250,000 per ticket to experience a few
minutes of weightlessness in outer space. In a recent interview,
Branson said he welcomes the competition because it will give customers
more options while also driving ticket prices down. (11/15)
NewSpace Sector Is Likely Facing
Recession (Source: Forbes)
Markets are rife with rumblings about an impending global recession,
but at least one prominent commercial space analyst thinks a U.S.
newspace downturn is already here. If so, it would come on the heels of
a decade and a half of nearly double digit commercial space sector
growth. “We are just beginning to see the realized effects of a
contraction that has been happening since the beginning of 2016,” said
Jeff Matthews. “And the full effects will not be realized until mid-to
late-2017.”
Even so, venture capital firms are increasingly reticent to invest in
early-phase start ups. That is, in a once burgeoning sector that
offered the promise of everything from Earth-orbiting nano-sats, lunar
and/or asteroid mining, Mars colonization, to space condos. Post
election, venture investors across the board may slow down even further
while they wait to see how the Trump Administration’s policies and
initiatives will play out, says Matthews.
Many newspace firms are already in the economic repair or recovery
phase. In 2016, the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research reported
that space companies still in economic recuperation include SpaceX,
Virgin Galactic, Skybox, Nanoracks, Planetary Resources, Planet, Blue
Origin and Spire. (11/15)
The Race to Mine the Moon Heats Up
(Source: WBAL)
The last time a human went to the moon was aboard Apollo 17 in 1972.
Now there is a fierce competition to get an unmanned spacecraft back to
the moon. Moon Express, which is based in Florida but has ties to the
University of Maryland, is trying to send a spacecraft there to mine
precious minerals from the moon. Some are raising the question of
whether we should be messing with the moon.
It used to be global powers competing to get to the moon, but now it is
private companies jockeying to be the first thanks to the Google Lunar
X competition. Google will pay $20 million to the first private company
that successfully lands an unmanned craft on the moon, moves it 500
meters and then transmits HD pictures back to Earth. Moon Express,
founded by a pair of Silicon Valley billionaires, aims to be that
company. Its mission is to mine the moon mainly of tritium, a very rare
and valuable element used for fuel and fusion.
The University of Maryland will be piggybacking on that mission.
University of Maryland astrophysicist Douglas Currie has arranged with
his colleagues to deliver a new set of lunar laser ranging rays.
Experts hope the new generation of reflectors or mirrors, which are
small yet very expensive, will help study and lead to an understanding
of the mysteries behind dark matter, which makes up about 70 percent of
the universe. (11/15)
Could Human Beings Ever Reach 'Earth
2.0'? (Source: NBC)
How far away is 1,400 light-years? Even in science fiction, that is not
a quick journey. If Captain Jean-Luc Picard wanted to travel from Earth
to Kepler-452b, it would take the USS Enterprise more than 16 months
traveling at warp 8 to reach its destination. That is for a ship that
can go faster than the speed of light — which, as far as we know, is
impossible. Sticking to existing technology, a trip to Kepler-452b
might take so long human beings could evolve into a different species
before the spacecraft completed its mission. (11/15)
Space-Bound Bacteria May Actually Keep
Astronauts Safe (Source: BTN)
U-Maryland Seniors Yaniv Kazansky, Aaron Solomon and Gary Soroosh
devised a study of how bacteria might develop in the microgravity of
space through bacterial pathogeny. Astronauts have been shown to be
more susceptible to bacteria, and researchers would like to know why as
humans begin to travel to space in greater numbers. Click here.
(11/15)
Venture Investment Takes Space Travel
to New Heights (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Venture funding has flowed more freely into space businesses in recent
years, bringing the industry into the mainstream and boosting
confidence that new space-related products can both make money and
provide useful data. Click here.
(11/15)
NASA Shows How Close its SLS Rocket is
to Getting a Big Squeeze (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA brought the media to one of the rarest rocket test sites in
America Tuesday to show how close it is to a big squeeze test of
critical parts of the Space Launch System (SLS). In early January,
Vancleave and her team will begin a series of more than 50 tests to
squeeze, jam and shift the stack to simulate the forces of a rocket
launch. She said she'll be "very nervous" during Thursday's crane move,
but eager to get started with the tests. (11/15)
For NASA Commander, Breaking Glass
Ceiling Meant Aiming for Outer Space (Source: Badger Herald)
Highly decorated astronaut Eileen Collins visited the University of
Wisconsin Monday to discuss her adversity in NASA’s mostly-male
industry. Collins is best known for being the first female to both
pilot and command the NASA shuttle Columbia in 1999. Collins is also
recognized as a decorated colonel for the United States Air Force.
To achieve her dream of being a pilot, Collins began working at a young
age at various jobs to pay for her own flying lessons and college
tuition at Syracuse University, Stanford University and finally Webster
University where she earned degrees in mathematics, economics,
operations research and space systems management.
What was scariest for Collins, though, was going to the local airport
during her junior year at Syracuse University and asking them to teach
her how to fly. “It scared me to go up there because I thought they
were going to say no because I was a girl, but it didn’t matter to
them,” Collins said. (11/16)
Babin backs Pence-led National Space
Council (Source: Space News)
The chairman of the House space subcommittee said he believes Vice
President-elect Mike Pence would do a good job running a reconstituted
National Space Council, a key element of the Trump campaign’s proposed
space policy. In a video address given at the Space Commerce Conference
and Exposition, or Spacecom, Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) also endorsed
other elements of the Trump space policy, including a greater focus on
human spaceflight versus Earth science research. (11/16)
If Aliens Call, Does Humanity Have a
Plan? (Source: Live Science)
What would happen if humans really did make contact with an intelligent
alien civilization? If E.T. calls, is there a plan? The answer is yes,
and no, said astronomer Seth Shostak, who leads efforts to detect radio
signals from extraterrestrial civilizations at the SETI Institute in
Mountain View, California. "There are some protocols, but I think
that's an unfortunate name, and it makes them sound more important than
they are," Shostak said.
In the 1990s, Shostak chaired a committee of the International Academy
of Astronautics (IAA) that prepared a revised version of the
"post-detection protocols" for researchers who watch for possible alien
transmissions using radio telescopes, a field known as SETI (short for
the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
The protocols were first drawn up in the 1980s to help scientists in
the United States and the Soviet Union share information about any
potential SETI signals. But, Shostak explained, the SETI post-detection
protocols are guidelines for governments and scientists, rather than a
global action plan for dealing with alien contact. (11/16)
SpaceX Exec Quits to Fight Trump
'Nightmare' (Source: CNN Money)
On the eve of the election, Dex Torricke-Barton wrote an impassioned
blog post urging readers to choose "diversity and openness" and vote
for Hillary Clinton. For Torricke-Barton, head of communications at
SpaceX, it was personal. He is the son of a refugee from Burma and
emigrated to the U.S. from the U.K. He also spent much of his career
pushing for a more connected world with roles at Facebook and Google.
Like much of Silicon Valley, Torricke-Barton was surprised and saddened
to see Donald Trump win. Unlike some in the industry, however, he is
now looking to do something about it. Torricke-Barton announced Tuesday
that he was quitting his job at SpaceX after just six months in order
to do grassroots work to combat the rise of Trump and bridge the
"growing gulf... between coastal elites and communities left behind by
globalization." (11/15)
Putin Calls on Roscosmos to Take Part
in More Commercial Projects (Source: Tass)
Russia must retain and strengthen its positions in the space sector,
including through more active participation in commercial projects,
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at a government
meeting dedicated to the strategy of development of Russia’s state
space corporation Roscosmos till the year 2030.
Thus, in his words, it is necessary to develop Russia’s orbital
grouping not only by means of increasing the number of spacecraft but
also by means of improving their quality and reliability. Moreover, it
is necessary to expamd the range of good and services offered by
Roscosmos. (11/15)
Trump NASA Transition Set In Motion
(Source: Aviation Week)
Now that the Electoral College vote count has made Donald Trump the
U.S. president-elect, NASA is preparing to brief its “Agency Research
Team (ART),” as presidential transition teams are officially
designated. Unofficially known within NASA as the “boarding party,” the
team will spend the next month or so perusing tablet computers provided
by NASA headquarters that are chock full of what one insider terms
“eye-glazing” detail on the agency. (11/16)
Hawaii Land Board Seeks Quick
Dismissal of Telescope Appeal (Source: ABC)
Hawaii's land board is urging the state Supreme Court to quickly
dismiss an appeal by opponents of a proposed telescope on a dormant Big
Island volcano that is viewed as sacred by some Native Hawaiians.
The appeal filed last week is premature because no final decision has
been made on whether the Thirty Meter Telescope will receive a
construction permit, state lawyers say in a motion. The opponents are
appealing various decisions that have been made during an ongoing
contested-case hearing process, including time limits for parties to
question witnesses.
"Because of the statewide importance of the underlying contested-case
hearing, the board requests that this court act as soon as possible,"
the motion said. In 2011, telescope opponents requested so-called
contested-case hearings before the land board approved a permit to
build on conservation land. The hearings were held, and the permit was
upheld. Opponents then sued. (11/15)
Favorable Signs for a Lunar Return
(Source: Air & Space)
Pointing out that morale in the lunar community has been low over the
past few years isn’t news. Since the decision was made to terminate the
lunar portion of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) in 2010,
proponents of a sustainable, incremental space faring program have been
living on faint yet still detectible fumes of hope for an eventual
return to a sane and a sound space program—one that takes advantage of
what the Moon offers.
The general mood of lunar scientists and engineers at the recent
meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) seemed different
from what had become more of a yearly crepe hanging exercise. Like
ancient Romans watching the portentous appearance of a comet in the
skies, there was an undercurrent of feeling that perhaps our fortunes
might be improving. (11/14)
'Project Blue' Space Telescope
Launches Crowdfunding Campaign (Source: Space.com)
Project Blue, an ambitious initiative to directly image planets around
the double suns of Alpha Centauri, has started crowdfunding for its
space telescope.
The initiative would launch a small space telescope designed
specifically to look at Alpha Centauri, which, along with Proxima
Centauri, is the nearest stellar neighbor to Earth's solar system.
Because of the star system's closeness, that small telescope would be
able to take a "pale blue dot" image of any potentially Earthlike
planets orbiting there — a photo of a small blue speck like the one the
Voyager spacecraft 1 took of Earth from afar. A blue hue would indicate
potential oceans or atmosphere surrounding the planet. (11/15)
Boeing to Cut 500 Jobs in
Defense/Space Unit Consolidation (Source: Reuters)
Boeing will cut 500 jobs over four years and shut two plants as it
revamps its defense and space unit. The company, which is shutting
plants in El Paso, Texas and Newington, Virginia, said some jobs in
Huntington Beach plant would move to El Segundo, Long Beach, and Seal
Beach in Southern California. Boeing also said many positions in Kent,
Washington will move to nearby Tukwila.
The company said about 1,600 positions will move to Los Angeles County,
California; 500 to St. Louis, Missouri and about 400 to Huntsville,
Alabama as part of the consolidation. Boeing's defense, space and
security business, which had about 48,000 employees as of Oct. 27,
accounted for 31.4 percent of the company's total revenue of $23.9
billion in the latest quarter. (11/15)
International Space Station Crew to
Downsize in Early 2017 (Source: Ars Technica)
The International Space Station has usually been home to six astronauts
since May 29, 2009, when Roman Romanenko, Frank de Winne, and Bob
Thirsk arrived on the station, expanding the crew to its full
complement for the first time. But that will change in March, as Russia
scales back its involvement in the partnership by flying two fewer
cosmonauts to the station per year.
NASA announced Tuesday that a March launch of its Expedition 51/52 to
the station will contain just two crew members, NASA astronaut Jack
Fischer and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian space agency,
instead of the more typical three. They will join the crew of Peggy
Whitson, Thomas Pesquet, and Oleg Novitskiy aboard the station to make
for a semi-permanent crew complement of five. (11/15)
Clouds Form Beautiful Hexagon in New
Photo of Saturn's North Pole (Source: Mashable)
Saturn is perhaps the most photogenic planet in our solar system, and a
new photo taken by the Cassini spacecraft shows the world off in a big
way. Bands of clouds look like they were painted on the planet in the
new photo, which shows Saturn's north pole dominated by the planet's
hexagonal jet stream surrounding the "hurricane-like storm" at the top
of the world. Click here.
(11/15)
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