May 13, 2018

UK Space Needs 'Bold National Plan' (Source: BBC)
The UK needs to beef up its national space programme if it wants to win a bigger slice of the global market. That is the conclusion of a new policy document that identifies the areas where Britain should concentrate efforts to win more business. The industry-led Space Growth Partnership (SGP) says there are major opportunities in Earth data, in in-orbit robotics and launch services.

But it says a robust national program is key to unlocking private investment. This is an observation that has been made frequently down the years. Perhaps the best illustration of the issue is the comparison of the proportion of money the British government spends through the European Space Agency (ESA) versus its investments at home. Currently, the UK puts a third less directly into domestic activity, whereas countries like France and Italy inject a third more than their ESA subscription. (5/11)

Musk Details Block 5 Improvements to Falcon 9 (Source: Space News)
Musk said the Block 5 is designed to be “the most reliable rocket ever built.” “That is the design intent,” he said. “I hope fate doesn’t punish me for these words, but that is unequivocally the intent. And I think our most conservative customers would agree with that.”

SpaceX put great effort into creating extremely reliable COPVs, or composite overwrapped pressure vessels, used to store helium to pressurize the propellant tanks in the launcher’s second stage. "The COPVs now have a burst pressure “more than twice what they are actually loaded to on the pad.”

Each of the nine Merlin engines used to power the Falcon 9’s first stage now have an 8 percent increase in thrust at sea level to 190,000 pounds-force. The single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine on Falcon 9’s second stage has a 5 percent thrust increase to 220,000 pounds-force, he said. The Block 5 Falcon 9 is around twice as powerful as the Falcon 9 that first launched a demonstration resupply mission for NASA in 2010. (5/11)

Biggest Test Yet Shows Einstein Was Wrong About 'Spooky Action at a Distance' (Source: Space.com)
A groundbreaking quantum experiment recently confirmed the reality of "spooky action-at-a-distance" — the bizarre phenomenon that Einstein hated — in which linked particles seemingly communicate faster than the speed of light. And all it took was 12 teams of physicists in 10 countries, more than 100,000 volunteer gamers and over 97 million data units — all of which were randomly generated by hand.

The volunteers operated from locations around the world, playing an online video game on Nov. 30, 2016, that produced millions of bits, or "binary digits" — the smallest unit of computer data. Physicists then used those random bits in so-called Bell tests, designed to show that entangled particles, or particles whose states are mysteriously linked, can somehow transfer information faster than light can travel, and that these particles seem to "choose" their states at the moment they are measured. Click here. (5/11)

India Set to Develop Smart Propellants for Reusable Launches (Source: Times of India)
ISRO is planning to develop world class propulsion technology to ensure cost effective re-usable, recoverable, re-startable and reliable space launches, said ISRO Chairman K Sivan.

Now, the latest in propulsion including electric, hybrid, cryogenic and nuclear power propulsion system is being developed indigenously at LPSC, Sivan said. The attempt is to control the engine thrust to explore all landing modes including vertical and soft landing of launch vehicles, so that it can be reused, he said. (5/11)

Space Nation Navigator Could Send You to Space (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A new mobile app could help you win a trip into space if you successfully complete a program that has trained astronauts before they head into space. The Space Station Navigator app puts users through games, quizzes and fitness challenges that are some of the same tests astronauts must navigate.

It’s a way to democratize astronaut training using available technology, Space Nation CEO Kalle Vaha-Jaakola said in a release. “Astronaut training opportunities have so far been for a select few,” said Vaha-Jaakola. “These astronaut skills — team building, problem solving, positive life hacks — are not just vital to survive in space. They are also crucial in your daily life.” (5/8)

SLS Requires Advanced Boosters by Flight Nine Due to Lack of Shuttle Heritage Components (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
NASA has issued a new Request For Information (RFI) that shows there is a deadline for the Space Launch System (SLS) to transition to “Advanced (Evolved) Boosters” no later than the ninth flight. This is due to a future obsolescence issue with the current booster design which relies on Shuttle heritage components of which there is only a limited amount of stock remaining. NASA intends to purchase another six SLS flight booster sets before the stock runs out, prior to moving to the Advanced Boosters.

The Space Launch System includes a mix of former Shuttle and Constellation (CxP) hardware, a winning design from numerous studies conducted by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) via political guidance provided in the 2010 Authorization Act.

The commonality of design was aimed at protecting flight-proven technology – such as the RS-25 engines that served the Space Shuttle Program with distinction, through to large investments in the Ares I program – ranging from the Mobile Launcher (ML) to the five segment Solid Rocket Booster design that was to serve as the entire first stage of the in-line ‘stick’ rocket. (5/8)