January 18, 2018

NASA Says Skyscraper-Sized Asteroid Headed Toward Earth is ‘Potentially Hazardous’ (Source: BGR)
Imagine a piece of rock the size of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper speeding through space 15 times faster the world’s fastest manned aircraft. Now imagine that piece of rock buzzing toward Earth on its way to making a nearby pass (and by “nearby,” we mean more than 11 times the distance between our planet and the moon).

If you were a scientist at NASA, you’d probably deem that object as “potentially hazardous,” too. But thankfully, we shouldn’t need any stunts like the one pulled off in Armageddon to save us. That said, NASA likes to label any asteroid that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth as “potentially hazardous,” so Asteroid 2002 AJ129 isn’t getting any kind of special treatment.

The space object is 0.7 miles wide, some 0.2 miles bigger than the massive Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. It’s speeding through space at 67,000 mph. 2002 AJ129 will pass Earth on Feb. 4 at a distance of more than 2.6 million miles. The distance between the Earth and the Moon, meanwhile, is 238,855 miles. (1/18)

Moon Rush: These Companies Have Big Plans for Lunar Exploration (Source: Space.com)
The moon may soon be a very busy place. A number of private companies and national governments are planning missions to the lunar surface in the next few years, and the spate of activity could lay the foundation for human outposts on Earth's nearest neighbor in the not-too-distant future.

"It's a pretty pivotal moment, we think, for the moon, and the country, and the world," Dan Hendrickson, vice president of business development for the Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic, said Wednesday (Jan. 10) at the Lunar Science for Landed Missions Workshop, which was held here at NASA's Ames Research Center. Click here. (1/17)

GAO Expects Delays in SpaceX and Boeing Astronaut Flight Certification (Source: Engadget)
It's no secret that NASA is pretty far behind schedule when it comes to returning to human spaceflight. The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology asked NASA some hard questions about the delays, and it turns out the setbacks aren't over yet. Cristina Chaplain from the GAO said, "We've found that the program's own analysis indicates that certification is likely to slip into December 2019 for SpaceX and February 2020 for Boeing."

Both companies are currently scheduled to be certified in the first quarter of 2019, and both companies maintained during the hearing that they are confident in their current schedules. According to NASA's William Gerstenmaier, the US is currently covered through fall of 2019, thanks to seats we've purchased on Russian Soyuz rockets. After that, though, it becomes a real problem. If there are additional delays to either of these schedules, Russia can't build more Soyuz capsules in time to accommodate the US, and there are no more seats reserved for U.S. astronauts.

While Gerstenmaier said that NASA is brainstorming about how to find additional flights if such an action becomes necessary, that doesn't change the constraint here. There's currently one vehicle able to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. It's not clear where NASA expects to find more choices there. It's important to note that certification is different than a first flight. While SpaceX and Boeing are both scheduled to send their first crewed flights into space by the end of 2018, it's likely they will slip into early next year. Human-rating certification, on the other hand, is a rigorous process to ensure that the system (crew capsule and launch vehicle) is safe to regularly carry astronauts. (1/17)

America’s Fastest Spy Plane May Be Back—and Hypersonic (Source: Bloomberg)
For years, Lockheed Martin Corp. has been developing a successor to one of the fastest aircraft the world has seen, the SR-71 Blackbird, the Cold War reconnaissance craft that the U.S. Air Force retired almost three decades ago. Lockheed officials have said the hypersonic SR-72—dubbed the “Son of Blackbird” by one trade journal—could fly by 2030.

But a rather curious talk last week at an aerospace conference by a Lockheed Skunk Works executive implied that the SR-72 might already exist. Referring to detailed specifics of company design and manufacturing, Jack O’Banion, a Lockheed vice president, said a “digital transformation” arising from recent computing capabilities and design tools had made hypersonic development possible. Then—assuming O’Banion chose his verb tense purposely—came the surprise. (1/16)

Earthquake-Causing Meteor Leaves Michigan Residents Awestruck (Source: ABC News)
Residents of southeast Michigan were left a bit shaken Tuesday night after a big bright flash lit up the sky and the ground beneath them shook. A flying saucer? No. A shooting star? Not quite. The National Weather Service eventually solved the mystery, tweeting "USGS confirms meteor occurred around 810 pm, causing a magnitude 2.0 earthquake." (1/17)

Museum Plans an Aerospace Nexus on the Colorado Front Range (Source: Aurora Sentinel)
The Wings Over the Rockies museum is set to open a second campus, the Exploration of Flight, at Colorado's Centennial Airport this summer. The 15-acre campus will serve as the home to two galleries, focused on the future of aviation and space travel, and a school that will serve middle and high school students who desire to make their career among the clouds.

The first phase of the ambitious project by Wings will be the 18,000-square-foot Boeing Blue Sky Aviation Gallery, which will open up this summer and showcase the present and future of aviation in an interactive environment, including the potential for real-life airtime. Yes, plans call for patrons to make reservations and take a ride in the sky. The second phase in 2019 will bring the Ozmen Black Sky Gallery, a 12,000-square-foot facility, which will focus on the final frontier, the solar system and space travel. (1/17)

Air Force to Create 3-Star Space Post in DC (Source: Space News)
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has notified the congressional armed services committees of a new plan to create a three-star position that would directly support U.S. Space Command. The post would be “vice commander of Air Force Space Command,” and would be based in Washington  — not in Colorado Springs, where Air Force Space Command is headquartered. This is part of a broader effort by the Air Force to comply with a legislative mandate to increase focus on space and make it a higher priority on the Air Force’s agenda. (1/16)

Next Mars Analog Mission will Help Improve Efficiency and Reduce Dust Exposure (Source: Space Daily)
Research by an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor hopes to reduce the risk when astronauts and equipment used in space are exposed to lunar dust. Minimizing the coverage of lunar dust is just one of the many research experiments Dr. Ryan Kobrick, assistant professor of Spaceflight Operations for Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach Campus, will be conducting at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah starting at the end of January.

The space analog facility was established in 2001 by the Mars Society, a space-advocacy nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. As mission commander on the International Space University's six-person alumni MDRS Crew 188, Kobrick will be in the two-story, eight-meter diameter cylindrical habitat for two weeks, and will be involved in experiments studying everything from planetary dust and spacesuit mobility to enhancing the amount of work that can be conducted outside the spacecraft. (1/18)

When Will Astronauts Launch From U.S. Soil Again? (Source: The Atlantic)
Brian Babin, a Republican congressman from Texas, said SpaceX and Boeing are “behind schedule, may not meet safety and reliability requirements, and could even slip into cost overruns.” “Both companies are making progress, but certainly not at the rate that was expected and not without significant challenges to safety and reliability,” Babin said. “In order to remedy these problems, NASA may seek additional funding or accept significant risks. Neither of those options is viable.”

Right now, the United States pays between $70 million and $80 million per seat for a ride on Russian Soyuz spacecrafts to the ISS. And the government has bought a couple more rides through 2019, just in case delays of the Commercial Crew Program continue. After that, if SpaceX or Boeing still aren’t ready to fly, NASA may be out of luck. If the space agency wanted to attempt to buy seats from Russia then, it may need to wait until new Soyuz launch vehicles are assembled and built, a process that takes three years. (1/17)

SpaceX Reiterates Falcon 9 Performed as Planned for Zuma Launch (Source: Space Policy Online)
SpaceX’s Hans Koenigsmann reiterated that the Falcon 9 performed as planned and took issue with statements made in a recent Loren Thompson commentary critical of SpaceX. The leading theory is that it reached orbit, but did not separate from the Falcon 9 second stage and was destroyed when the second stage automatically deorbited shortly thereafter.  SpaceX built Falcon 9, but Northrop Grumman provided the payload adapter that connects the satellite to the rocket.  Because everything is classified, what exactly happened and who is to blame remains unknown on the public stage at least.

“Falcon performed as specified and it actually performed very well as specified.” He added that SpaceX is continuing with its launches as planned, another indication that it is confident the rocket was not to blame. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), read extensively from Thompson’s Jan. 15 commentary that intimated that the Falcon 9 was, indeed, at fault, and even if it was the Northrop Grumman payload adapter, SpaceX nonetheless is responsible because it was the launch provider. He also criticized SpaceX for other failures. Thompson is a frequent critic of SpaceX. His own critics note that his Lexington Institute is funded by companies including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, SpaceX’s competitors in the launch services business. (1/17)

Europe's Space Agency Braces for Brexit Fallout (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) is drawing up contingency plans for projects, commercial deals, and staffing that may be adversely affected by Brexit, senior officials said Wednesday. Programs thrown in flux by Britain's pending departure from the European Union (EU) include the Copernicus satellite constellation to monitor environmental damage, and the Galileo satellite navigation system. (1/17)

Cassini Finds Saturn Moon Has 'Sea Level' Like Earth (Source: NASA)
Saturn’s moon Titan may be nearly a billion miles away from Earth, but a recently published paper based on data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reveals a new way this distant world and our own are eerily similar. Just as the surface of oceans on Earth lies at an average elevation that we call “sea level,” Titan’s seas also lie at an average elevation. This is the latest finding that shows remarkable similarities between Earth and Titan, the only other world we know of in our solar system that has stable liquid on its surface.

The twist at Titan is that its lakes and seas are filled with hydrocarbons rather than liquid water, and water ice overlain by a layer of solid organic material serves as the bedrock surrounding these lakes and seas. Smaller lakes on Titan, it turns out, appear at elevations several hundred feet, or meters, higher than Titan’s sea level. Lakes at high elevation are commonly found on Earth. The highest lake navigable by large ships, Lake Titicaca, is over 12,000 feet [3,700 meters] above sea level.

The new study suggests that elevation is important because Titan’s liquid bodies appear to be connected under the surface in something akin to an aquifer system at Earth. Hydrocarbons appear to be flowing underneath Titan’s surface similar to the way water flows through underground porous rock or gravel on Earth, so that nearby lakes communicate with each other and share a common liquid level. (1/17)

Japan's Epsilon Rocket Launches Small Satellite (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
Japan launched a small radar-imaging satellite Wednesday. The Epsilon rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center at 4:06 p.m. Eastern and placed the ANSARO-2 satellite into orbit. ANSARO-2, developed by NEC Corporation, carries a synthetic aperture radar payload with a resolution of one meter. The launch was the third for the Epsilon, a small launch vehicle, and its first in more than one year. (1/17)

Cloud Constellation Plans 12-Satellite System (Source: Space News)
A company that wants to develop a satellite constellation for cloud computing hopes to close a key funding round in the next few months. Cloud Constellation is developing SpaceBelt, a network of 12 satellites that will provide the ultimate cloud storage solution for sensitive data. The company has launch agreements with Virgin Orbit and a memorandum of understanding with Space Systems Loral to build its satellites, but needs to raise $480 million to develop the system. The company's CEO said he is working to close a $200 million round in the near future. (1/18)

California Tax on Space Companies Would End Under Assembly Bill (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
A bill introduced in the California legislature would exempt companies from a space transportation tax. The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Tom Lackey, would repeal a "space tax formula" enacted last year and exempt spaceflight income from state taxes. Lackey said the bill is intended to retain space companies that might be tempted to move to states with lower tax burdens. Companies, though, supported the tax formula last year because it gave them more certainty about how they would be taxed. (1/18)

Luxembourg and China Agree to Space Cooperation (Source: SpaceResources.lu)
Luxembourg signed an agreement with China to cooperate on research related to space resources. Under the deal, signed this week by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy, China will establish a research laboratory devoted to deep space exploration in Luxembourg. An agreement between Luxembourg and the China National Space Administration also covers potential cooperation on the economic, legal, regulatory and technological aspects of the utilization of space resources. (1/18)

Chinese Commercial Launch Startup Plans Suborbital Test (Source: GB Times)
A Chinese commercial launch vehicle startup is planning its first, albeit suborbital, launch this summer. OneSpace is developing the OS-X1 suborbital rocket for research and technology demonstration applications, and expects its first launch in June after successful tests of its solid rocket motor last month. The OS-X1 is a precursor to a small orbital launch vehicle, the OS-M1, that the company plans to launch for the first time at the end of this year. OneSpace has raised more than $75 million from private sources and government agencies. (1/18)