November 15, 2018

Humans Could Be Heading to Mars in 25 Years, NASA Says (Source: USA Today)
About 25 years is how long it could take for NASA to send humans to Mars, officials said Tuesday. That's only if the space agency is able to create technology able to sustain deadly radiation and conditions that could eat bones and blind eyes. "The cost of solving those means that under current budgets, or slightly expanded budgets, it's going to take about 25 years to solve those," said former NASA astronaut Tom Jones, who has flown on four space shuttle missions.

There aren't yet solutions in place to protect astronauts from cosmic rays, solar flares and radiation levels that are so high an outbound trip to Mars would result in the amount of radiation an astronaut might be exposed to over an entire year. The agency must also perfect a spacecraft that can easily land on Mars and take off with humans and cargo. (11/15)

AFRL Aids NASA in Lofty Endeavor (Source: AFSPC)
Ingenuity and collaboration were the keys to success as a group of Air Force Research Laboratory engineers took a series of tests to new heights. At the request of NASA, AFRL rapid-response systems support researchers delved into the realm of space to help determine the effects of unintended electrical arcing on astronaut space suits during extravehicular maintenance. NASA researchers came to the AFRL team with a simple question. How does an electrical arc behave in a vacuum? Although this may seem like a fairly simple question, it was a concept that had not been explored fully before.  

To answer this question, AFRL began by determining how to build fixtures for a low-pressure test and performing proof-of-concept testing to determine the best method to reliably create an arc in the planned lab setting. This initial series of tests helped the researchers understand the materials, positioning and current needed to successfully generate the arc, as well as the proper test setup to use for an Earth-orbit vacuum environment. With this initial data in hand, the team then began to prepare for low-pressure testing. Reaching out to fellow AFRL materials and electronics researchers, the team acquired a low-pressure chamber and secured a laboratory for conducting the tests. (11/8)

Space Force Advocates Face Setback with New Congress (Source: Space News)
Advocates of a Space Force are not giving up despite the outcome of the midterm elections. With Democrats now in control of the House, many are skeptical that proposals to establish a separate Space Force can make it through Congress next year. "Chances are still greater than zero," said Doug Loverro, a former Pentagon official and advocate for the Space Force, of the odds Congress would approve such a plan. "If I had to bet money, I would say we're probably not going to get all the way there this time. But maybe we'll get part of the way there." (11/14)

Momentus Raises $8.3 Million for Space Tug (Source: Space News)
A startup has raised $8.3 million in seed funding to provide "last mile" satellite delivery services. Momentus is developing a tug designed to move satellites from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit or Earth escape trajectories. That system will be powered by plasma thrusters that use water as propellant. The company believes there will be a market for its services from satellites launched as secondary payloads who want to go to different orbits. (11/14)

Rocket Lab Raises $140 Million in new funding (Source: Rocket Lab)
US orbital launch provider Rocket Lab has closed a Series E financing round of $140 million (USD). The funding round closed last month, prior to the launch of the successful mission ‘It’s Business Time,’ and was led by existing investor Future Fund, with strong participation from current investors including Greenspring Associates, Khosla Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), Promus Ventures and K1W1. New investor ACC also contributed to the round.

The round follows the opening of Rocket Lab’s new mass production facility for the Electron vehicle last month, as well as the announcement confirming the location of Rocket Lab’s second orbital launch site. Construction has now begun on Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2, which is based within the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. Launch Complex 2 can support monthly orbital launches from US soil, and is designed specifically to serve the responsive space needs of government customers. Between the two Rocket Lab launch complexes, the company can support up to 130 orbital missions per year. (11/15)

Mars Mission Advocates Warming to Moon First (Source: Space News)
Advocates for human missions to Mars are warming to plans for going back to the moon first. Supporters of Mars exploration had previously treated human lunar missions with skepticism given their cost and potential to delay Mars missions. However, at a briefing this week, those advocates said that with NASA now set to return to the moon, they see benefits from testing technology there that can be utilized for Mars missions. They cautioned, though, that Mars requirements have to be kept in mind from the beginning when planning lunar missions because, as one person warned, "otherwise you can get bogged down and not press on to Mars." (11/14)

Army Continues Smallsat Program Despite Kestrel Eye Closure (Source: Space News)
Despite the end of one small satellite program, the Army is still supporting smallsat initiatives. Dynetics recently won a contract from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command for a program called Gunsmoke-L. That $8.3 million contract covers the development of two "tactical space support vehicles" that will carry out classified missions. The award comes after the Army decided to end its Kestrel Eye experimental smallsat last month. (11/14)

Canada Still Considering NASA Lunar Plans (Source: Canadian Press)
Canada is holding off making a commitment to joining NASA's lunar exploration plans. After NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he would welcome Canadian participation in efforts to return to the moon during a visit to Ottawa Wednesday, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said only that the country "would not take anything off the table" about potential roles. Bains said the government is still working on a long-delayed long-term space policy now expected for release before next fall's federal election. (11/15)

Ariane 6 Demand Difficult to Gauge (Source: Space News)
ArianeGroup says a lack of commitment by European governments to use the Ariane 6 is making it difficult to forecast demand for the vehicle. The company, which announced this week plans to cut its workforce by more than 2,000 people by 2022, said uncertainties about "institutional demand" for the rocket, coupled with strong competition and declining demand from commercial satellite operators, made it difficult to predict demand for the Ariane 6. Ministers from several ESA member states signed a joint statement last month recognizing the importance of consolidating their government space missions and launching them on European vehicles. That statement, ESA Director General Jan Woerner said, is a "first step" toward providing a minimum, multiyear order for the Ariane 6 and Vega C rockets. (11/15)

Greenland Ice Cap Hid Large Impact Crater (Source: Science)
Scientists have discovered an impact crater under Greenland's ice cap that may be relatively young. The crater, buried deep below snow and ice in northwestern Greenland, is 31 kilometers in diameter and appeared to have been created by an asteroid impact about 13,000 years ago. That impact, some scientists believe, could explain a sudden drop in temperatures around that time as the ice age was ending, but many scientists remain skeptical. (11/15)

Super Earth Found About Six Light Years Distant (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have discovered a "super Earth" planet orbiting a nearby star. Astronomers announced Wednesday they detected evidence for a planet orbiting Barnard's Star, a red dwarf about six light-years away. The planet is about 3.2 times the mass of the Earth and orbits at a distance of 0.4 astronomical units. At that distance the planet is unlikely to he habitable, with a surface temperature of — 170 degrees Celsius. (11/14)

‘Unlike Us, Elon Musk is Using Old Tech’: Russia Shows Off Reusable Nuclear Engine for Mars Mission (Source: Russia Today)
A leading Russian space research center has posted a video of its nuclear-powered rocket, that will be able to land on Mars after seven months, and can be re-launched into space just 48 hours after landing. Moscow’s Keldysh Research Center is famous for developing the Katyusha rocket launched during World War II, and has been working on what it says is a “unique” propulsion system since 2009. From past descriptions, it comprises a gas-cooled fission reactor that powers a generator, which in turn feeds a plasma thruster.

Questioned on whether he might be beaten to the punch by foreign companies, particularly more agile private corporations such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is planning its own mission to Mars, Koshlakov was unconcerned. “Elon Musk is using the existing tech, developed a long time ago. He is a businessman: he took a solution that was already there, and applied it successfully. Notably, he is also doing his work with help from the government,” concluded Koshlakov. (11/14)

SpaceX's Mr. Steven, a Unique Fairing-Catching Ship, Could Soon Make its Florida Debut (Source: Florida Today)
Visitors to Port Canaveral should soon see a bright yellow horizontal net supported by the four massive arms of Mr. Steven, a one-of-a-kind SpaceX ship designed to function as a catcher's mitt for plummeting rocket nose cones. Currently based at the Port of Los Angeles, the ship is expected to arrive on the Space Coast next month, presumably to support one of two Florida missions on the company's manifest through the end of the year.

"Our friends at SpaceX met with us a couple months ago," Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said during his annual "State of the Port" address last week. "They're bringing two more vessels to the port." Murray went on to confirm that Mr. Steven is slated to arrive in early December. (11/14)

Greg Wyler Provides Update on OneWeb (Source: Via Satellite)
The system has been designed. The satellites have been tested. They are going through final stages of testing now before the launches begin. The satellites have actually performed better than expected in many ways, especially with their Radio Frequency (RF) performance which is really positive.... They are launching these first satellites in the next 4-5 months. [The start of commercial service] might be early or mid-2020. [No longer late 2019.] You just don’t know when you are doing something this new and big. If you miss it by two months, six months, or even a year, you would be considered to have very great foresight. (11/14)

A Massive Impact Crater Has Been Detected Beneath Greenland’s Ice Sheet (Source: Gizmodo)
An unusually large asteroid crater measuring 19 miles wide has been discovered under a continental ice sheet in Greenland. Roughly the size of Paris, it’s now among the 25 biggest asteroid craters on Earth. An iron-rich asteroid measuring nearly a kilometer wide (0.6 miles) struck Greenland’s ice-covered surface at some point between 3 million and 12,000 years ago, according to a new study published today in Science Advances.

The impact would’ve flung horrific amounts of water vapor and debris into the atmosphere, while sending torrents of meltwater into the North Atlantic—events that likely triggered global cooling (a phenomenon sometimes referred to as a nuclear or volcanic winter). Over time, however, the gaping hole was obscured by a 1,000-meter-tall (3,200-foot) layer of ice, where it remained hidden for thousands of years. (11/14)

How Blue Origin Blazed a Trail for Amazon HQ Plan (Source: GeekWire)
The process that Amazon went through to choose New York, Northern Virginia and Nashville as key sites for expansion isn’t the first HQ2 exercise for CEO Jeff Bezos: You could argue that the pattern was set when Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture decided where it’d manufacture and launch its New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin’s selection process produced far less hype than the yearlong contest that Amazon conducted, and far fewer jobs were at stake. But like the HQ2/3/4 arrangement announced today, the exercise ended up producing multiple winners — as well as disappointed suitors.

The saga of Blue Origin’s expansion starts way back in 2006, six years after Blue Origin’s founding, when the company set up an HQ2 test facility and launch pad on 18,600 acres of ranchland in West Texas. Obviously, it wouldn’t do to try launching rockets from the headquarters and production facility that Blue Origin had just opened up in Kent, Wash., not far from Interstate 5.

Blue Origin’s next major move came in 2015, when it was considering where to build a huge manufacturing facility for the orbital-class New Glenn. The suborbital New Shepard spacecraft were and continue to be built in Kent, but New Glenn required something bigger. The competition came down to Florida vs. North Carolina, and although North Carolina (“First in Flight”) reportedly offered more financial incentives, Cape Canaveral won out. The fact that the Air Force was willing to offer Launch Complex 36 at the Cape as a pad for Blue Origin turned out to be a crucial deal-sweetener. (11/13)

So What's Going on With That 'Hurricane of Dark Matter?' (Source: Gizmodo)
It’s the perfect science-fiction device: a hurricane of dark matter. Recent, real-life research has demonstrated that our Sun is currently engulfed in a so-called a stellar stream. Some publications have seized on this ominous-sounding idea, reporting that Earth is about to be walloped by a dark matter storm—but in fact, if it exists, we’re already inside the storm. The reality of the situation isn’t quite so dire, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Stellar streams are populations of related stars that could have once been pieces of a dwarf galaxy or globular cluster, but have now been shredded apart by gravitational forces and pass through parts of our galaxy. Since astronomers are pretty sure that stuff called dark matter serves as the gravitational scaffolding for dwarf galaxies, then presumably a stellar stream should also contain some percentage of dark matter. Maybe a dark matter experiment could detect dark matter particles from the recently discovered stream running through our cosmic neighborhood.

Perhaps this dark matter hurricane could be detectable by today’s existing dark matter detection experiments, and would have a distinguishable signal from the Milky Way’s background dark matter. It would move much faster—a “hurricane,” compared to the background dark matter “wind,” according to the paper published last week in Physical Review D. The researchers then analyzed whether they’d be able to spot the stream with upcoming dark matter detectors. (11/14)

Geophysicists Propose New Theory to Explain Origin of Water (Source: Cosmos)
Earth’s water may not have originated solely from material carried by asteroids, according to new US research. A study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets led by Steven Desch from Arizona State University challenges widely-accepted ideas about the asteroidal origin of hydrogen in the planet’s water by suggesting it came in part from the solar nebula – clouds of dust and gas left over after the formation of the Sun.

And the researchers believe their findings could provide new insights about the development of other planets and their potential to support life. To date, many scientists have supported a theory that all of Earth’s water came from asteroids, primarily because the ratio of deuterium, a heavier hydrogen isotope, to normal hydrogen is similar in ocean and asteroidal samples. Certainly the ocean chemical signature is close to what is found in asteroids, but that may not be the whole story, explains Desch.

“It’s a bit of a blind spot in the community,” he says. “When people measure the ratio in ocean water and they see that it is pretty close to what we see in asteroids, it was always easy to believe it all came from asteroids.” Desch and his colleagues say more recent research suggests hydrogen in Earth’s oceans does not represent hydrogen throughout the entire planet. Samples taken from deep underground, close to the boundary between the core and mantle, have notably less deuterium, indicating this hydrogen may not have come from asteroids. (11/12)

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