January 15, 2018

What in the World Is Metallic Hydrogen? (Source: Space.com)
Solid. Liquid. Gas. The materials that surround us in our normal, everyday world are divided into three neat camps. Heat up a solid cube of water (aka ice), and when it reaches a certain temperature, it changes phases into a liquid. Keep cranking the heat, and eventually, you'll have a gas: water vapor.

Every element and molecule has its own "phase diagram," a map of what you should expect to encounter if you apply a specific temperature and pressure to it. The diagram is unique to each element because it depends on the precise atomic/molecular arrangement and how it interacts with itself under various conditions, so it's up to scientists to tease out these diagrams through arduous experimentation and careful theory. (1/15)

King's Dream of Equality Must Extend to Space Science (Source: Space.com)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a reminder of what King called "the fierce urgency of now," of the need to act quickly and decisively for the good of an inclusive America. It also serves as a summons from a minister whose heavenly mission speaks to our urge to explore the heavens. Few things would be a greater honor to King's memory, and there is no greater way for us to also honor ourselves, than to make space-based research as diverse as the world is.

Recruiting these men and women is no act of tokenism; we need the best Americans, regardless of race or gender, to maximize the best of America. These citizens are students at our colleges and universities, pupils at our primary and secondary schools, and our dreamers — and doers — throughout this country of 300 million people.

Now is the time to introduce these individuals to the power of space-based research, continuing King's work. This is not the work of a single day or of a single person, or even of a single generation. But today — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is a singular day honoring a singular leader. It is a day to seize the moment. (1/15)

Shake-Up at Pentagon Intelligence Agency Sparks Concern (Source: Foreign Policy)
When Kim Jong Un gears up to launch a ballistic missile, analysts at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency comb through satellite imagery, looking for distinct signs on the the ground in North Korea indicating test preparations are underway. Now, the U.S. agency is in the midst of a concentrated push—what some have called a reorganization—emphasizing the use of advanced technology to do analysis typically done by humans, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Foreign Policy.

That shift in priorities is worrying some veteran imagery analysts who fear that their jobs might drastically change, and the technology being pushed isn’t mature enough to replace human skill and analytic capability. Those working inside and with the agency say it’s unclear exactly what the changes entail, but it’s scaring some employees, who worry the reorganization is part of a push to move work done by human analysts to artificial intelligence, and to outsource some of NGA’s work. (1/15)

Air Force Launches New Project to Update Missile-Warning Ground Software (Source: Space News)
Air Force officials are talking to potential vendors this week about an upcoming project to update the software used to control the military’s missile-warning satellites and to analyze the data beamed from space. The ground-based systems are the less exciting but nonetheless important piece of the SBIRS space-based infrared surveillance satellites that provide initial warning of a ballistic missile attack on the United States, deployed forces and allies.

The plan is to shift the current ground software architecture — a closed system developed by traditional defense contractors that is not compatible with commercial software from competing vendors — to an open-systems platform that the Air Force would own and update with new technology as it becomes available.

The project is called “future operationally resilient ground evolution,” or FORGE. It is part of a broader $173.5 million SBIRS modernization plan. And it is one of several projects where Air Force hopes to attract nontraditional vendors that can bring fresh ideas and cutting-edge products. (1/15)

Bridenstine’s Bid to Become NASA Head Stumbles Amid Partisan Brawl (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Rep. James Bridenstine’s controversial nomination to head NASA faces mounting troubles, and the uncertainty threatens to further delay potentially major changes in agency programs favored by the White House. For the second time in three months, the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday is expected to narrowly approve the Oklahoma Republican on a party-line vote. His name never came up for floor action in 2017 because not a single Senate Democrat signaled support and Republican leaders were worried about rounding up the necessary votes. (1/15)

Boeing, SpaceX Have Razor-Thin Margins to Fly Crew Missions in 2018 (Source: Ars Technica)
Almost since the beginning of the commercial crew program in 2010, the old and new titans of the aerospace industry have been locked in a race to the launch pad. Boeing, with five decades of aerospace contracts, represented the old guard. SpaceX, founded in 2002, offered a new, leaner way of doing things.

Through the years, as other participants in the commercial crew program fell away, Boeing and SpaceX remained on course to deliver US astronauts into space. It has not been easy for either company or for their sponsor, NASA. The space agency has only ever led the development of four spacecraft that carried humans into orbit, and three of those programs came in the 1960s, with the fourth and final vehicle in the 1970s—the space shuttle.

As both companies sought to climb this steep learning curve, they have missed deadlines. An original deadline of 2015 melted away after some key members of Congress diverted funds for the commercial crew program to other NASA programs, notably the Space Launch System rocket. But in recent years, Congress has fully funded the efforts by Boeing and SpaceX, and they were told that would yield flights in 2017. (1/13)

Spaceport America Welcomes Back Visitors Through Public Tours (Source: Spaceport America)
Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport located in southern New Mexico, announced today the relaunch of the Spaceport America Experience Tour. In partnership with Las Cruces-based Final Frontier Tours, space enthusiasts and visitors can now have a hands-on, fun experience inside a real commercial space launch facility.

"We are excited to welcome back visitors from around the world to Spaceport America and to New Mexico,” said Rosa Bañuelos, Spaceport America Business Development. Visitors begin their journey at the Spaceport America Visitor Center, an historic adobe building located in Truth or Consequences, where the old frontier meets the new. The Visitor Center is packed with exciting educational and interactive space exhibits and is the point of embarkation for the tour to the spaceport. (1/15)

Why Humans May Not Be Ready for Commercial Space Travel (Source: Salon)
There’s an infinitely modifiable English analogy that's been floating around for decades, which goes something like “You can take the person out of the place, but you can’t take the place out of the person.” I imagine that sometime in the future, humans will be repeating this phrase with a new twist: “You can take the human out of Earth, but you can’t take the Earth out of the human.” In terms of the human body and its needs outside of our planet, this couldn’t be more true. Click here. (1/14)

Our Chance to Boldly Go (Source: The Sunday Times)
Britain’s space industry is a success story — a story of invention and innovation, of enterprising spirit and global ambition. Space is fundamental to our country; the space sector underpins industries worth £250 billion to our economy, it enables the defence and security of our nation, and empowers our society. Now, we are entering a period of unparalleled opportunity for growth and the Government’s Space Industry Bill is designed to help British-based businesses take advantage of that opportunity.

We have already secured 6.5 percent of the global commercial space market. But we want to increase our share to 10 per cent by 2030. To achieve that, we aim to make Britain the most attractive hub in Europe for commercial spaceflights. (1/15)

First Las Cruces Space Festival Planned in April (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
Palm Springs has its film festival. Coachella is synonymous with its music and arts festival. Now a group of civic, business and aerospace leaders aim to follow suit by launching the Las Cruces Space Festival. Organizers say the first edition of the Las Cruces Space Festival, to be held April 12 and 14, will be a small affair and they hope it will grow over the years. The idea is to showcase the region’s aerospace industry, show people what has been accomplished in southern New Mexico and encourage new generations of Las Crucens to enter the growing aerospace field. (1/14)

The Mystery of Zuma (Source: Space Review)
We know that a Falcon 9 lifted off last week carrying a classified payload known only as Zuma, but what happened to Zuma, and why, remain a mystery. Jeff Foust reports on what is known, and what is speculated, about the mission, and the implications for SpaceX as it begins a big year. Click here. (1/15)
 
PSLV-C40: A Multipurpose Mission (Source: Space Review)
Last week India launched its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for the first time since a failure in August. Ajey Lele explains that this mission did more than demonstrate that the problem that caused the failure had been corrected. Click here. (1/15) 
 
Simply Fix the Moon Treaty (Source: Space Review)
The Moon Treaty, not ratified by major spacefaring nations, has been criticized for its “common heritage of mankind” language. Vidvuds Beldavs argues that modest changes to the treaty could address those concerns while leaving in place a framework for enabling commercial extraction of resources from the Moon and asteroids. Click here. (1/15)
 
NASA Has Too Much on its Plate to Return to the Moon (Source: Space Review)
A space policy directive signed last month directs NASA to return humans to the Moon, but how? Gerald Black argues that NASA can’t afford to do it in traditional ways, and needs to instead work in partnership with the private sector. Click here. (1/15)

Life in Solar System Likely Exists and is More Common Than We Think (Source: Newsweek)
It’s one of the most compelling questions humanity has tried to answer: Is there life beyond Earth? Scientists are closer than ever to answering that question, thanks to a host of technological advances and each new spacecraft that launches—and sometimes even thanks to evidence falling right onto our laps.

Evidence like two meteorites that crashed into Earth in 1998. Nestled within those space rocks were tiny bright blue salt crystals, and inside of those crystals were tiny pockets of extraterrestrial water filled with organic compounds, the building blocks of life, according to new research published on Wednesday.

“I think it’s likely” that there is other life within our solar system, first author on that work, Queenie Chan, a planetary scientist at Open University in the U.K., told Newsweek. And even better, she says, we’re doing the science that might finally find it. “That’s why we like searching missions, isn’t it?” (1/14)

Canadian Company’s Repertoire Includes Space Experiments (Source: Globe and Mail)
Doug Milburn wasn't looking to venture into space when he co-founded Protocase Inc. 17 years ago, but having successfully made the journey from Nova Scotia to NASA, the now 140-person company's horizons reach beyond the sky. And it's not just the American space agency that Protocase counts among its clients, but also many others in the aerospace industry. (1/15)

Why an Old Theory of Everything Is Gaining New Life (Source: Quanta Magazine)
Twenty-five particles and four forces. That description — the Standard Model of particle physics — constitutes physicists’ best current explanation for everything. It’s neat and it’s simple, but no one is entirely happy with it. What irritates physicists most is that one of the forces — gravity — sticks out like a sore thumb on a four-fingered hand. Gravity is different.

Unlike the electromagnetic force and the strong and weak nuclear forces, gravity is not a quantum theory. This isn’t only aesthetically unpleasing, it’s also a mathematical headache. We know that particles have both quantum properties and gravitational fields, so the gravitational field should have quantum properties like the particles that cause it. But a theory of quantum gravity has been hard to come by.

physicists have made several other attempts at quantizing gravity in the hope of finding a theory that would also work when gravity is strong. String theory, loop quantum gravity, causal dynamical triangulation and a few others have been aimed toward that goal. So far, none of these theories has experimental evidence speaking for it. Each has mathematical pros and cons, and no convergence seems in sight. But while these approaches were competing for attention, an old rival has caught up. Click here. (1/15)