July 25, 2018

How Can You Tell If That ET Story Is Real (Source: Space Daily)
What are the consequences for the human race if we encountered extraterrestrial intelligence? If you see a story about aliens on TV or online, how excited should you be? A new study, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, revamps a long-used tool for classifying potential signals from extraterrestrial intelligence, making it fit for the modern world of news and social media.

First developed in 2001, the Rio Scale is a tool used by astronomers searching for extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) to help communicate to the public 'how excited' they should be about what has been observed. The scale measures the consequences for humans if the signal is from aliens, as well as the probability that the signal really is from aliens, and not a natural phenomenon or human-made. The scale gives a score between zero and ten, so that the public can quickly see how important a signal really is. (7/25)

Ariane 5 Launches Galileo Navigation Satellites (Source: Arianespace)
An Ariane 5 lifted off this morning carrying four Galileo satellites. The Ariane 5 ES took off from Kourou, French Guiana, on schedule at 7:25 a.m. Eastern. The rocket is carrying four Galileo navigation satellites to bring the overall constellation to 26 spacecraft. The four satellites will be deployed from the upper stage about four hours after liftoff. (7/25)

Falcon 9 Launches Iridium Satellites (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 10 Iridium Next satellites this morning. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 7:39 a.m. Eastern despite heavy fog at the site. The 10 satellites, the next-to-last batch of next-generation Iridium satellites, will be deployed from the upper stage starting about one hour after liftoff. The rocket's first stage made a landing on a droneship downrange despite reports of strong wind shear and high seas in the recovery zone. (7/25)

NOAA Seeing Some Success with Satellite Instrument Fix (Source: Space News)
NOAA has made some progress with the key instrument on a new weather satellite, but has yet to completely resolve or understand the problem. The agency said Tuesday it had seen some improvements to the performance of the Advanced Baseline Imager on the GOES-17 satellite, which NOAA said in May was suffering a cooling problem affecting its infrared and near-infrared channels. However, some channels remain unavailable for part of each day because of the issue, and engineers are still studying what is causing the problem. NOAA expects to put the satellite into service at the GOES-West orbital position later this year, but may delay the launch of the next satellite in the series, GOES-T, to make fixes to the instrument on that spacecraft. (7/25)

DOD Considers Non-GPS Navigation Options (Source: Space News)
The military is studying options to retain navigation services if it is not able to access GPS. The head of Draper Labs, Ken Gabriel, said that there are many options for replacing GPS if needed, with no one single solution likely to work for every user. Those options range from celestial navigation to inertial navigation systems. Draper has worked for decades on alternative technologies to GPS, he said, but the Pentagon only in recent years has expressed interest in exploring them amid warnings that military satellites are being targeted by enemies. (7/25)

Momentus Developing Water Plasma Propulsion (Source: Space News)
A Silicon Valley startup is working on a new satellite propulsion system using water plasma technology. Momentus plans to demonstrate Vigor, its first water plasma thruster, by sending it into orbit in February 2019 on a 16-unit cubesat launched from a Russian Soyuz rocket. The company is also developing a more powerful thruster, Ardor, for use on larger satellites. The thrusters use microwaves to heat up water to extremely high temperatures, ejecting the steam to produce thrust. Momentus is backed by Mikhail Kokorich, who previously founded Russian smallsat company Dauria Aerospace. (7/25)

Former NASA Astronaut Joins Boeing for CST-100 Starliner Testing (Source: Washington Post)
A former NASA astronaut will return to space as a Boeing test pilot. Chris Ferguson, who commanded the final shuttle mission in 2011, will be a pilot on the crewed test flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, he confirmed in a recent report. Ferguson has been Boeing's director of crew and mission operations for the Starliner program at Boeing and had widely been expected to be part of the crew of that test flight, but his role hadn't previously been confirmed by the company. (7/25)

Space Boundary Change Suggested (Source: Science)
A new study suggests adopting a lower altitude as the "boundary" of space. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, concluded in a new paper that Kármán Line of 100 kilometers, widely used as the boundary of space, be replaced with a demarcation around 80 kilometers. He found evidence of several satellites that were able to complete a few orbits at altitudes between 80 and 100 kilometers, and that atmosphere drag becomes negligible between 66 and 88 kilometers. That revised altitude would be more in line with the 50-mile altitude the U.S. government has used for awarding astronaut wings, and could make it easier for companies developing suborbital vehicles to claim they have reached space. (7/25)

Four Huge Rockets are Due to Debut in 2020—Will Any Make It? (Source: Ars Technica)
Rocket enthusiasts are lucky to see the debut of a handful of large, powerful rockets per decade. For example, during the last 10 years, just three rockets with a capacity of 25 tons or more to low-Earth orbit have made their debuts: the Russian Angara A5 flew in 2014, the Chinese Long March 5 in 2016, and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy earlier this year.

However, there is now a chance that up to four large and powerful rockets (Ariane 6, SLS, New Glenn, Vulcan) will make their debuts during a single year, as four boosters have maiden launches scheduled for 2020. Of course, there is also a chance that none of them will fly. Delays are often inevitable in the launch industry, especially with such large and in some ways unprecedented boosters. But given the uncertainty and the unprecedented potential, we thought it might be fun to assess whether any or all of them might make it. Click here. (7/24)

NASA Studying Potential Additional Cuts in WFIRST (Source: Space News)
A NASA astrophysics mission that passed a key milestone after making cost reductions is studying potential additional cuts to one of its instruments. At a meeting July 24 of NASA’s Astrophysics Advisory Committee here, Jeff Kruk, project scientist for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), said the project was asked by NASA Headquarters to study additional ways it could reduce costs for the spacecraft’s coronagraph instrument, which has already been downgraded to a technology demonstration. (7/24)

NASA’s Interplanetary Internet, Coming Soon To A Planet Near You (Source: Discover)
NASA is about to make it a little easier to check your Instagram in zero gravity. Two teams, Science Mission Directorate and Human Exploration and Operations, are working together to finally make interplanetary internet a thing. Previous efforts to bring WiFi throughout the solar system haven’t always been successful, but this time, it could become reality.

It will work using something called Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking, which is pretty similar to the internet you’re familiar with. But conventional internet doesn’t do well in space, plagued with long delays, noisy channels, and high error rates. With DTN, even if your connection gets disrupted, it will guarantee data packet delivery once the next communication path opens. Normally, if you lose connection, the data gets dumped. But by removing the need to retransmit during a lag, it saves time and frees up the limited memory used by spacecraft. (7/23)

Maxar Considering Quitting GEO Satellite Manufacturing Business (Source: Space News)
Maxar Technologies, owner of satellite manufacturer Space Systems Loral, may shut down its geostationary manufacturing line as a result of a multi-year order drought that management considers the new norm. Maxar executives said exiting the business of building large telecom satellites, which operators typically pay $100 million or more for, is one of three mitigation strategies the company is considering. The other two are partnering with another satellite manufacturer, or “right-sizing its GEO operations in Palo Alto,” to match “a more conservative long-term demand outlook,” according to a Bank of Montreal report of a closed-door meeting in June. (7/24)

Parker Solar Probe Launch Now Targeted for Aug. 11 (Source: NASA)
NASA and its mission partners are targeting Aug. 11 for the launch of the Parker Solar Probe mission to the Sun. The 45-minute launch window will open at 3:48 a.m. EDT. During final inspections following the encapsulation of the spacecraft, a small strip of foam was found inside the fairing and additional time is needed for inspection.

The spacecraft will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. The launch has been delayed multiple times and was most recently scheduled for five days earlier on August 6. (7/24)

Delta Faucet and Goodyear Tires Sending Experiments to International Space Station (Source: Space News)
Delta Faucet Co. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced partnerships July 24 with the Center for the Advancement of Science is Space (CASIS) to send microgravity experiments to the International Space Station later this year. Delta Faucet plans to send an oscillating device called a fluidic chip to the space station to further its research into ways to design showerheads to provide good customer experiences in spite of lower water flow.

Goodyear, meanwhile, plans to study silica particles in microgravity in an experiment also scheduled to launch this fall. Goodyear’s test materials will be flash frozen and returned to researchers on the ground for analysis, said Derek Shuttleworth, Goodyear’s external science and technology manager. “Silica is an important ingredient in tires,” Shuttleworth said. “By lowering the energy lost by the tire through manipulation of the structure of silica, we can deliver greater fuel economy.” (7/24)

NASA Defers Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Again—This Time to 2021 (Source: Scientific American)
NASA has delayed the launch of its huge, highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope by another 10 months. The liftoff of James Webb, the successor to the agency’s iconic Hubble Space Telescope, has been pushed back from May 2020 to March 2021. The project’s development cost has risen from $8 billion to $8.8 billion, and its total lifecycle price tag now stands at $9.66 billion, they added.

The rescheduling is the latest in a series of delays for James Webb, which NASA had originally hoped to get off the ground way back in 2007. James Webb is a multipurpose observatory that will allow astronomers to study some of the first stars and galaxies in the universe, hunt for possible signs of life in the atmospheres of nearby alien planets, and do a variety of other high-profile work. (6/27)

Orion Spacecraft at the White House for the Made in America Showcase (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA’s Orion spacecraft that flew Exploration Flight Test-1 on Dec. 5, 2014 is seen on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, July 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. Lockheed Martin, NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, began manufacturing the Orion crew module in 2011 and delivered it in July 2012 to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center where final assembly, integration and testing was completed. More than 1,000 companies across the country manufactured or contributed elements to the spacecraft. (7/24)

Space Miles to Launch Suborbital Spaceflight Competitions (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Space Miles, through their sub-brand The Space Shuffle are soon to launch continuous online competitions to win sub-orbital space flights. The format of The Space Shuffle online competition will be to answer three questions and the winner will be the first correct entry chosen at random when the trigger point of 45,000 entries has been reached. Competitions will start when sub-orbital flights are generally available to the public. Tickets will be $10 but pre-registrants will get 20% discount on their first five entries. (7/24)

SES Government Solutions’ Paul Damphousse Named FAA Space Transport Adviser (Source: Executive Biz)
Paul Damphousse, senior director of business development at SES‘ government solutions subsidiary, has joined the commercial space transportation advisory committee of the FAA. Elaine Chao, secretary of the Transportation Department, appointed Damphousse as COMSTAC’s senior industry representative and member to provide counsel to the government, SES said Wednesday.

Damphousse said he will update the U.S. government on the commercial space sector’s new consensus on standards and regulations for activities such as in-orbit platform servicing, satellite payload hosting and space traffic management. (7/18)

Cornwall Airport Could Launch Virgin Orbit Satellite, the First on UK Soil for 50 Years (Source: International Airport Review)
Cornwall’s Newquay Airport is set to host the UK’s first satellite launch in 50 years. The announcement follows a deal struck between the airport and Virgin’s most recent venture, Virgin Orbit. Blast off could take place at Spaceport Cornwall in the next three years.

As it stands the airport could not facilitate such a large project, and consequently it can be expected to under-go significant development before the launch occurs. Cornwall Airport has been selected for such an undertaking because of its long runway, lack of congested airspace and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. (7/19)

SpaceX Will Use a Parasail Guidance System to Land Falcon 9’s Fairing Into a Huge Net (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX recovery vessel Mr Steven officially departed Port of Los Angeles on the evening of July 23 and is speeding towards its first Falcon 9 fairing recovery attempt since a major series of refits and upgrades. With massive new arms and usable net area increased fourfold, chances are better than they’ve ever been for the iconic clawboat to at last snag its first true ‘catch’ of a parasailing payload fairing.

Set to be stationed roughly 900 km (600 mi) southwest of the California coast, Mr Steven’s vast new net should dramatically even the playing field, cutting the effective error margin for each fairing catch attempt by as much as 60% on its own. An extra ~30 meters of net both length and width-wise would functionally act as a cushion for the ~50-meter accuracy the fairings have demonstrated thus far (i.e. halves missed Mr Steven’s smaller, original net by 50 m).

Still, the question remains for many people: how exactly does Mr Steven ‘catch’ a clamshell fairing half, and how does that fairing half find its way to Mr Steven? Ultimately, GPS-guided parafoils have been done successfully many times over in the past two or so decades. For the most part, the problems preventing SpaceX from recovering fairings in Mr Steven’s net have been almost entirely solved: the fact that six or more halves have been recovered intact after their Falcon 9 launches confirm that much. (7/24)