January 25, 2018

As SpaceX and Boeing Jockey to Land on Mars, Other Companies Eye Lunar Exploration (Source: Futureism)
While Elon Musk may be on a race to get to the Red Planet first, some aerospace companies feel there’s much to be gained by going back to the moon. From colonization to space mining, lunar exploration could pay large dividends. A number of companies and governments around the world that are making concrete plans to get to the Moon within the next few years.

One company, Astrobiotic, is developing a lunar lander named Peregrine. The lander would be used as part of a sort of transportation service which could deliver up to 265 kg (584 lbs) of cargo to the surface of the moon. Click here. (1/19)

Aerospace Day at the Colorado State Capitol on March 19 (Source: CSE)
Join the Colorado Citizens for Space Exploration (CSE), Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT), Aerospace States' Association (ASA), Colorado Space Coalition (CSC), Colorado Space Business Roundtable (CSBR) and Manufacturers Edge in coordination with our numerous aerospace partner organizations, for a day at the Colorado State Capitol.

Enjoy a full day of networking and dialogue with our Colorado Legislators discussing how Colorado became one of the largest space economies per capita in our nation and how they can effectively support aerospace in our state. Click here. (1/23)

NASA, 45th Space Wing Invite Media to 60-Year Anniversary of Explorer 1 Launch (Source: SpaceRef)
Members of the media are invited to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Explorer 1 launch at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The successful launch of Explorer 1 on Jan. 31, 1958, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, marked the beginning of U.S. space exploration. The primary science instrument on board was a cosmic ray detector, which led to Explorer principal investigator James Van Allen's discovery of Earth’s radiation belts, later named the Van Allen belts in his honor. The Air Force Space and Missile Museum is located at the launch site where this pioneering mission began. (1/23)

Russia Is Working On A Reusable Single-Stage Rocket ‘Korona’ That Would Have A Useful Life Of 100 Flights (Source: Inquisitor)
Russia is reportedly developing a reusable, single-stage carrier rocket for interplanetary missions. According to its designers, this rocket, dubbed Korona, will actually be an environmentally friendly space vehicle capable of vertical takeoff and landing. The work on this project started in the 1990s, according to Sputnik News. The aim was to develop a reusable vehicle that would be the Soviet answer to the American space shuttle. Russian scientists worked on this project for some years before it was abandoned due to the lack of funds.

Recently, some reports surfaced revealing that Russia’s Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau is resuming the work on this reusable vehicle. Sergei Molchanov of Makeyev Design Bureau said Korona will have a useful life of approximately 100 flights, and it will have no detachable intermediate stages. Korona will be made of carbon fiber, with the outer layer made of ceramic tiles to protect the vehicle from the intense heat generated during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. It will feature a modular combustion chamber to burn a low-emission fuel, most likely a mixture of kerosene and liquefied oxygen.

The Rocket Center of Makeyev Design Bureau in Miass, Chelyabinsk, has also confirmed that this space vehicle will be designed to carry up to 12 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit or seven tons into space. It will also be designed to carry cosmonauts to space stations moving in the Earth’s orbit. (1/24)

Orbital ATK Joins DARPA to Rresearch Hypersonic Engines (Source: UPI)
Orbital ATK announced on Tuesday that it has been tapped by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to study the integration of turbine and hypersonic engine technologies for use in a new aircraft propulsion system. Orbital is developing other advanced engines, such as a rocket pulse motor for cold weather, and has experience working with hypersonic engine systems.

"The company also maintains a number of state-of-the-art hypersonic test facilities along the East Coast, as well as offers custom test products to organizations to advance these groundbreaking capabilities and meet the needs of tomorrow's warfighter," Orbital said.

DARPA's Advanced Full Range Engine program aims to develop a new aircraft propulsion system that is capable of a full range of speeds and multiple takeoff and landing methods, along with technology and systems that can operate and be sustainable at hypersonic speeds. In addition to Orbital working DARPA on the integrated engine, the company is developing a rocket pulse motor that has the ability to operate in extreme cold temperatures with the goal of providing commanders with increased range and flexibility for both tactical and defense operations. (1/23)

SpaceX Test Tlight Will Mark New Era, Historian Says (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
SpaceX maiden test flight of its behemoth rocket will mark the company’s latest step toward eventually reaching Mars. The company’s Falcon Heavy, a vehicle powered by three boosters similar in size and power to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, has been delayed multiple times since it was first planned to launch in 2015. The Falcon Heavy is designed to carry heavier payloads into orbit and eventually take humans to Mars, with reusable vehicles that lower costs.

Experts say such a Falcon Heavy mission has the potential to magnify newer private companies’ place in the space industry compared to legacy counterparts. It can also expand competition in a niche – the heavy-lift rocket – that has been missing from the industry for some time, experts say. But SpaceX would not be alone. NASA has also been developing its Space Launch System. United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy, which hasn’t flown since June 2016, remains an option. (1/21)

Rocket Lab Launched a Secret Payload Into Space (Source: Ars Technica)
Last weekend, Rocket Lab successfully reached orbit for the first time with its Electron booster. Before the launch from New Zealand, the company publicized a handful of commercial payloads on board. But it turns out the rocket also carried a secret payload into space at the behest of the company's founder, Peter Beck.

This was the "Humanity Star," a disco ball-like geodesic sphere, which measures about 1 meter in diameter. It served no business purpose but rather reflected Beck's philosophy that by going into space, humans can improve our lives on Earth. With his first orbital launch, Beck wanted to make a statement by putting a bright object into space that people back on Earth could observe. Click here to see. (1/24)

SpaceX Fires Up Falcon Heavy in Launch Pad Engine Test (Source: Space News)
SpaceX lit the engines of its first Falcon Heavy this afternoon for a static fire test of the three-core rocket. Founder Elon Musk tweeted that a maiden flight should occur “in a week or so," shortly after the firing. SpaceX didn't release details about the parameters of the test, which appeared to fire for about 10 seconds. The company had been testing the rocket at Cape Canaveral for around two weeks ahead of the firing. Falcon Heavy's first mission will carry Musk's Tesla roadster, sending the sports car on a trajectory past the red planet. (1/24)

ChinaSat-16 Tests Laser Comm (Source: Xinhua)
China's first high-throughput satellite started service this week. Shijan-13, launched last year, provides 20 Gbps of throughput for telecommunications services. China's National Space Administration said service commenced following a "first of its kind" two-way laser communications test between space and ground systems. The satellite is also known as ChinaSat-16. (1/24)

What Happens to Astronauts During a Government Shutdown? (Source: The Atlantic)
Some employees will continue working through the government shutdown, including the three with the longest commute: nasa astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Joseph Acaba, and Scott Tingle. Despite the political tussle that closed most of the government on Saturday, the American part of the International Space Station remains open for business. Mission-control staff, considered “essential” personnel, will keep working, too, to support the astronauts.

Phew. And, well, obviously! After all, nasa can’t exactly press pause on the work of keeping humans alive in microgravity 200 miles above Earth, even if Congress missed the deadline for the government running out of money. “To protect the life of the crew as well as the assets themselves, we would continue to support planned operations of the ISS during any funding hiatus,” states a NASA plan. (1/22)