July 30, 2018

Space Station Experiment Reaches Ultracold Milestone (Source: Space Daily)
The International Space Station is officially home to the coolest experiment in space. NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) was installed in the station's U.S. science lab in late May and is now producing clouds of ultracold atoms known as Bose-Einstein condensates. These "BECs" reach temperatures just above absolute zero, the point at which atoms should theoretically stop moving entirely. This is the first time BECs have ever been produced in orbit.

CAL is a multiuser facility dedicated to the study of fundamental laws of nature using ultracold quantum gases in microgravity. Cold atoms are long-lived, precisely controlled quantum particles that provide an ideal platform for the study of quantum phenomena and potential applications of quantum technologies. CAL will produce clouds of ultra-cold atoms, chilled to about one 10 billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero, or about 10 billion times colder than the average temperature of deep space. At those temperatures, atoms behave in strange ways, allowing scientists to investigate the fundamental nature of matter. (7/30)

Stirling Engine Test Sets Llong-Duration Record at NASA Glenn (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
If you are wanting to perform some science at Neptune, or Pluto, or beyond in the dark depths of the outer solar system, your spacecraft is going to need power for a very long time. Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, are working to make that happen and have, been at it for a very long time.

The engineering team in NASA Glenn’s Thermal Energy Conversion Branch recently set a run-time record for a free-piston Stirling engine at full power. The experimental unit, designated Technology Demonstration Converter (TDC) #13, has now performed more than 110,000 hours of cumulative operation, since 2003. That is more than 12 years of operation. Accomplishing this record makes TDC #13 the longest-running heat engine in the history of civilization. And it is still running today, without any issue or any sign of wear. (7/30)

UF Flies Crowdfunded Squid Experiment (Source: Spark)
Researchers at the University of Florida are studying the effects of microgravity on squids to give humans a better shot at staying healthy in the unforgiving environment of spaceflight, and they are doing it with the help of crowdfunding. Jamie Foster, a UF associate professor of microbiology and cell science in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and her team aim to understand how to maintain health during extended trips in space. This would be particularly useful to astronauts aboard the International Space Station or, in the future, a vessel headed for Mars. Click here. (7/30)

China Launches Beidou NavSats (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China launched a pair of Beidou navigation satellites Saturday night. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:48 p.m. Eastern and placed the Beidou-3M5 and 3M6 satellites into medium Earth orbit. The satellites, also known as Beidou-33 and 34, are part of China's expansion of the Beidou system to provide global coverage by 2020. (7/29)

Countering Next-Generation Space And Missile Threats (Source: Aviation Week)
Growing threats to satellites in space and changing missile threats on the ground are prompting the U.S. to modernize the satellite constellation designed to protect it against the world’s deadliest weapons. While the current Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS)—which executes that nuclear missile-warning mission—is exceeding expectations, the U.S. will need a new, more survivable approach to counter technological advancements by rival nations by the mid-2020s, says Gen. Jay Raymond, commander of the Air Force Space Command.

The Air Force has taken a multipronged approach to the future of missile warning. It has canceled a planned purchase of two future Sbirs satellites, instead launching a new satellite program called Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR). And it is working with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to advance missile-warning and tracking technologies that can counter the increasing threat from Chinese or Russian hypersonic weapons. At the same time, the Air Force is pledging to speed acquisition of a new set of satellites and increase competition in an area where commercial technology has flourished. (7/30)

Pentagon Cutting Acquisition Bureaucracy to Speed Space Procurement (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is seeking to speed up the pace of its procurement processes in order to match the pace of technology development in space and other areas. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said Friday she is cutting the size of the acquisition bureaucracy in order to allow the Defense Department to speed up procurement. That includes, she said, training procurement managers on the use of nontraditional contracting for technologies the military needs and where the private sector is moving fast. (7/30)

NASA Marks 60 Years Since Legal Inception (Source: Voice of America)
America's dream of space exploration took its first official step 60 years ago Sunday when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law authorizing the formation of NASA  - - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Although humanity had been staring at the stars and wondering since they were living in caves, it took the Cold War to fire man into space.

The world was stunned when the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, launched Sputnik  -- the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. The United States was humiliated at being caught short -- not just technologically, but militarily. Eisenhower ordered government scientists to not only match the Soviets in space, but beat them. (7/29)

NASA’s Space-Suit Drama Could Delay Our Trip to the Moon (Source: Daily Beast)
NASA is developing a new capsule spacecraft, a super-heavy rocket to boost the capsule into space, and a moon-orbiting station that, if it deploys on schedule in the mid-2020s, could serve as humanity's main waystation for ever-longer missions farther into the solar system. But one important piece of technology is missing: a new space suit. "It's a serious issue," Pablo de León, a space suit-designer and professor at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, told The Daily Beast.

Astronauts could need as many as three different kinds of space suits for a single mission. They might wear a simple, military-style flight suit while safely inside their spacecraft. For spacewalks they'd need a suit that provides pressure and breathable air and protection from radiation. Surface missions to the moon or Mars add their own requirements. An EVA suit can be fairly rigid, for example—especially in the lower body. But if an astronaut is going to walk around on Mars, they should be able to bend their legs.

NASA has plenty of flightsuit options, but its EVA suits are old and dwindling in number. And the agency doesn't have any suits specifically for surface missions. Time is running out to make up the space suit shortfalls. NASA plans to launch Exploration Mission 1, the first test of Orion and its heavy rocket, as early as 2020. The Lunar Gateway station could be ready for use five or six years later. Despite these looming deadlines, NASA "remains years away from having a flight-ready space suit. (7/30)

Who’s Buying all that Satellite Imagery? (Source: Geospatial World)
Even as the satellite imagery market has expanded leaps and bounds with a host of new players joining the market in the last few years, and the demand for earth observation data has grown exponentially, governments still rule the roost as the biggest customers. The privatization of the upstream earth observation industry has proceeded apace from the 1980s with the initial thrust provided by NOAA, followed by several efforts by American, European and Canadian companies.

Today, Morgan Stanley believes that there are 93 companies that are reshaping the space industry. Interestingly earth observation accounts for 14% of the total space industry market, which includes launchers, satellite Internet and eight other areas. Market projections show that in 2015 the dominant market for EO data was defense (61%) followed by infrastructure (10%) and natural resources (9%), all government related activities. Even the value added services market is dominated by environment monitoring (21%), defense (15%) and natural resources (13%). (7/30)

Report Casts Doubt On Viability Of Supersonic Airline Service (Source: Flight Chic)
A new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) raises questions on the viability of supersonic aircraft for commercial airline service. While the prime objective of the report was to compare the environmental impact of supersonic flights compared to subsonic services, the findings also raise questions on whether supersonic flights would ever be profitable.

The five to seven times higher fuel burn of supersonic aircraft would exceed the CO2 emissions limits for airlines by 70%. Airlines are committed to reducing the environmental footprint of their operations. Key members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have committed ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

Airlines are investing in more fuel-efficient planes and exploring alternative fuels—all in the interest of protecting the environment and their profit margins. The introduction of supersonic service would reverse these advances, the ICCT report finds. "This analysis is a useful reminder that environmental standards will be needed to ensure that supersonics are reintroduced in a responsible way,” says Anastasia Kharina. (7/29)