August 29, 2017

How SpaceX is Able to Achieve its Amazing Rocket Landing Accuracy (Source: Teslarati)
Falcon 9’s ability to land as accurately as it does is due to a combination of multiple technologies and vehicle modifications. Most visible are S1’s cold gas maneuvering thrusters and aluminum or titanium grid fins, both of which are designed to provide some level of control authority and maneuverability to the first stage during its trip within and without Earth’s atmosphere. At the peak of its trips, the first stage is often completely outside of the vast majority of the atmosphere, meaning that aerodynamic forces are no longer relevant or useful for the vehicle. Click here. (8/28)

Rocket Scientist Putting Singapore's Spacetech Scene On The Map (Source: Forbes)
Dr. Bidushi Bhattacharya wants Elon Musk to come to Singapore. The former NASA scientist is determined to make the Southeast Asian city-state a global center for spacetech research, and she believes companies such as Musk’s SpaceX will find ample talent and opportunities in the region. “Asia is a huge untapped talent pool for spacetech,” Bhattacharya said. “You have cultures that value education, you have people who are highly competent in math and science. There are no issues here in drawing students into STEM, like there are in the U.S.”

While Singapore isn’t geographically suited to hosting space launches, Bhattacharya told The Straits Times that the island is home to a wealth of entrepreneurial talent who can develop "sub-system innovations" that help companies like SpaceX develop rockets and satellites. Singapore is particularly advantageous for spacetech entrepreneurs and researchers because of its hospitable business environment, Bhattacharya points out. (8/28)

Blast Off Into Eternity: Russian Company to Send the Dead Into Space (Source: RBTH)
The dead bodies of cryogenically frozen people and pets, DNA samples, and even organs, such as brains, might soon be sent to space. Russia's first and only cryonics company, KrioRus, announced an agreement with Space Technologies, a new science and tech consortium. “Satellites with cryo-capsules will be launched into orbit by Russian rockets,” said Yulia Arkhipova, general director of Space Technologies.

The cryo-capsules won’t be just hanging about in orbit, Arkipova promised. Freezing bodies and cryogenic experiments might be necessary for the future development of space travel to distant planets or galaxies. Cryogenic freezing is the process of preserving a dead body with liquid nitrogen. Currently, it can only happen at the moment when someone has just been declared dead. The freezing process must begin as soon as the patient dies in order to prevent brain damage. (8/28)

Fully Reusable SpaceX Rockets Would be Lower Cost Than Skylon Spaceplanes (Source: NextBigFuture.com)
Skylon remains uncompetitive when compared with even the partially reusable (let alone the fully reusable) Falcon rockets: Skylon costs about 30 times more than a Falcon 9 and 20 times more than a Falcon Heavy. While it is hypothetically more reliable (though I question this), such an enormous difference has a significant impact on insurance costs, which drives up operating costs further.

Using an exotic and relatively expensive combination of jet and rocket propellants, it costs about six times more to refuel Skylon than a Falcon 9, and twice as much as a Falcon Heavy. Skylon still needs a decade of development and testing – and £14 billion in investment. Click here. (8/29)

Black Hole Models are Wrong, World's Most Energetic X-Ray Machine Shows (Source: Newsweek)
Models showing what happens to matter just before it is sucked into a black hole may need to be revised after laboratory experiments using the world’s most powerful X-ray machine contradicted one of our best theories. Black holes are regions of space where the gravitational field is so intense nothing—including light and radiation—can escape. This makes studying them extremely difficult.

However, just before matter is consumed by a black hole, it becomes an “accretion disk”—a structure formed from material orbiting the black hole as it spirals inwards. The disk radiates in the X-ray spectrum and, at present, examining this is one of the best ways for scientists to study black holes. (8/29)

Without Repeal, New Mexico Spaceport Tax Continues After Construction Bonds Are Paid Off (Source: KRWG)
Critics have long contended that money from Dona Ana County’s spaceport gross receipts tax should only be used to pay off construction bonds. But a KRWG News investigation has revealed that the county ordinance authorizing the tax does not restrict the use of the money in that way. In fact, the ordinance does not even specify a date when the tax will be repealed.

Some critics have been disappointed that money from the county’s spaceport gross receipts tax has been used for operations.  Former state Senator Lee Cotter even introduced a bill that aimed to prevent the practice. Cotter and others note that many voters thought the spaceport tax placed on the ballot a decade ago was to pay for spaceport construction. But a KRWG News investigation has revealed the ordinance passed by the county commission in 2007 does not include that specific restriction. And in fact, without a repeal, the tax will continue after the construction bonds are paid off in the next decade. (8/28)

Is the 'Alien Megastructure' Around Tabby's Star Actually a Ringed Gas Giant? (Source: Universe Today)
KIC 8462852 (aka. Tabby’s Star) continues to be a source of both fascination and controversy. Ever since it was first seen to be undergoing strange and sudden dips in brightness (in October of 2015) astronomers have been speculating as to what could be causing this. Since that time, various explanations have been offered, including large asteroids, a large planet, a debris disc or even an alien megastructure.

The latest suggestion for a natural explanation comes from the University of Antioquia in Colombia, where a team of researchers have proposed that both the larger and smaller drops in brightness could be the result of a ringed planet similar to Saturn transiting in front of the star. This, they claim, would explain both the sudden drops in brightness and the more subtle dips seen over time. (8/25)

Senator Nelson and Governor Scott in Close Race for Nelson's Seat (Source: Sunshine State News)
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, and Republican Gov. Rick Scott are running close in a new poll looking at what is expected to be one of the leading Senate races in the nation come 2018. Florida Atlantic University (FAU) released a poll on Tuesday showing Nelson with a narrow lead over Scott, taking 42 percent while 40 percent are for the governor and 18 percent remain undecided. Editor's Note: Expect space and aerospace industry issues to be a factor as this race heats up. (8/29)

ESA and RUAG Collaborate to Improve Rocket Fairings (Source: ESA)
Rocket fairings are now lighter, faster to produce and less costly thanks to a manufacturing process adopted by RUAG Space in Switzerland through a partnership with ESA.

The fairing protects satellites from the thermal, acoustic and aerodynamic stresses on the ascent to space. The new fairings have already flown on the latest Ariane 5 and Vega missions, and fairings for the future Ariane 6 and Vega‑C vehicles will be produced in the same way.

Typically, high performance fibre-polymer composite structures are cured in an autoclave, a large heated container that keeps them under pressure. Autoclaves are expensive and limited in size, so large components are made in segments and then joined together. This constrains the design while increasing weight and the production time. (8/28)

NASA Proposes Rapid Mars Sample Return Architecture (Source: Space News)
NASA is studying a “lean” architecture for Mars sample return that could allow the agency to bring back Martian rocks as soon as the end of the 2020s. The concept, discussed at an Aug. 28 meeting of a National Academies committee performing a midterm review of the 2011 planetary science decadal survey, would focus on getting samples cached by the upcoming Mars 2020 mission off the planet and back to Earth as soon as possible.

“This is a much more lean architecture,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science. “It goes straight for what I would consider the jugular issue, which is how to land and take off the planet.” The concept, which he said is just one of many the agency is looking into, would involve the launch of a Mars lander no earlier than 2026, equipped with a sample collection rover and a rocket, known as a Mars ascent vehicle. (8/28)

High-Res Satellites Want to Track Human Activity From Space (Source: WIRED)
Hundreds of miles above the Eclipse crowd, high-resolution satellites stared down, snapping images of the sprawl. These satellites belong to a company called DigitalGlobe, and their cameras are sharp enough to capture a book on a coffee table. But at that high resolution, they can only image that book (or the Kentucky crowd) at most twice a day. And a lot can happen between brunch and dinner. Click here. (8/28)

SES Flips SpaceX, Arianespace Launches to Speed NSS-806 Replacement (Source: Space News)
Seeking to restore capacity for customers impacted by a satellite malfunction earlier this year, fleet operator SES is swapping launches between SpaceX and Arianespace, the company announced today. SpaceX, previously contracted to launch SES-14, will instead launch SES-12. Arianespace of Evry, France, will launch SES-14 on an Ariane 5 rocket during the first quarter of 2018, saving “a couple of weeks” on bringing the satellite into service. (8/28)

After Webb: Scientists Make the Case for Even Bigger Telescopes (Source: Space.com)
With NASA's James Webb Space Telescope set to launch in late 2018, researchers are already talking about the next generation of telescopes. That's because massive instruments take years, if not decades, to plan, build and launch, and scientists don't want the science to stop when Webb wraps up its mission.

When it comes to telescopes, larger mirrors collect more light, allowing researchers to see even fainter objects. Many are looking forward to a primary mirror far larger than JWST's 6.5-meter diameter, which is already the largest to ever be launched into space. (8/28)

Does Dark Energy Change Over Time? (Source: Sky & Telescope)
Of late there’s been some scientific ado over a small but notable conflict in measurements of the universe’s expansion rate. The present rate, called the Hubble constant or H0 (pronounced “H-naught”), connects the redshift in an object’s spectra to its physical distance. It also tells us the universe’s age and size, as well as the density required to make the universe geometrically flat.

It is, in short, a rather important number. The universe’s expansion was one of the biggest discoveries of the 20th century. But after nearly a century of study, astronomers still don’t entirely agree on how fast the current expansion is. Those using the cosmic microwave background favor a value of about 65 kilometers per second per megaparsec (km/s/Mpc, where a megaparsec is 3.26 million light-years). (8/28)

NASA Langley to Dedicate Building in Honor of Katherine Johnson (Source: WTKR)
NASA Langley is set to name a building in honor of Katherine Johnson, one of the inspirations behind the novel and film “Hidden Figures.” On September 22, the building will be officially known as the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility. (8/28)