December 14, 2018

Northrop Grumman Test Fires Astronaut Protection System (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Sending crews to destinations such as the Moon and Mars is not easy. As many within the space industry will tell you, one of the most harrowing times during these missions is the first few minutes of the flight. A test carried out today worked to make this tense period a little less stressful for NASA’s mission managers.

On Dec. 13, 2018  at 11 a.m. MST, Northrop Grumman Corporation test fired the abort motor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft Launch Abort System (LAS). The test was carried out at the company’s remote Promontory site in the deserts of Utah. Northrop Grumman (at the time Orbital ATK) carried out the Qualification Motor 1 (QM-2) test back on June 16, 2017, making this test QM-2.

The unique profile of the test saw the four motors activate and shoot fiery plumes into the air. If they are ever required, the motors would fire pointed toward Earth, today they were activated in the vertical position, with the motors pointed skyward. Thursday’s activities were carried out to see how the motor will perform under “cold” conditions (under 27 F). (12/14)

If You Think Black Holes are Strange, White Holes Will Blow Your Mind (Source: New Scientist)
White holes are essentially black holes in reverse. World-leading relativity theorist Bob Wald wrote that “there is no reason to believe that any region of the universe corresponds to” a white hole – and this is still the dominant opinion today. But several research groups around the world have recently begun to investigate the possibility that quantum mechanics could open a channel for these white holes to form. The sky might be teeming with white holes.

The reason to suspect white holes exist is that they could solve an open mystery: what goes on at the centre of a black hole. We see great amounts of matter spiralling around black holes and then falling in. All this falling matter crosses the surface of the hole, the “horizon” or point of no return, plummets towards the centre, and then? Nobody knows. (12/13)

ESA Director-General: Agency Needs a Financial-Aid Strategy for Ariane 6 Rocket Builders (Source: Space Intel Report)
The European Space Agency is actively looking for ways to direct additional financial support to the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket’s industrial manufacturers as part of a deal tied to belt-tightening measures by those companies, ESA Director-General Jan Woerner said. Woerner said no decision had been made on the form and amount of the aid. (12/14)

Branson Ready to Fly (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson says he expects to fly in space next year on the first commercial SpaceShipTwo flight. Branson, speaking after the test flight Thursday, said he thought as few as three more test flights would be needed before operations shift to New Mexico's Spaceport America, where commercial flights will take place. "Sometime next year, once the testing is finished, then I'll do my flight," he said. He added that Virgin would soon start selling tickets again after a four-year hiatus, with slightly higher prices. Branson said he estimated Virgin has spent as much as $1.5 billion in its space efforts, which include small launch company Virgin Orbit and spacecraft manufacturer The Spaceship Company. (12/14)

OneWeb Cuts Constellation From 900 to 600 Satellites (Source: Space News)
OneWeb is cutting the size of its satellite constellation by a third, crediting improved performance. Greg Wyler, founder of OneWeb, said the company now plans to deploy 600 satellites for its initial low Earth orbit broadband constellation versus 900. Wyler cited better-than-expected performance of individual satellites as a reason for reducing the number of satellites. Costs had also been an issue amid reports the per-satellite cost was well above the original target of $500,000. Wyler confirmed the satellites now cost more than $500,000 each, but only by a small amount. (12/14)

Space Force Legislation Being Vetted by Space Council (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is on "final approach" for its Space Force proposal. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday their legislative proposal for establishing the Space Force is nearing completion, but will be vetted by the National Space Council and Vice President Mike Pence before being submitted to Congress. Shanahan said that the Defense Department had made a decision on how to establish the Space Force, but did not disclose it. He added that he would be happy to work with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, on revising that proposal after Smith said earlier this week he was opposed to creating a standalone Space Force because of its costs. (12/14)

DARPA Tasked With Reforming Space Procurement (Source: Space News)
Reforming space procurement is so difficult it's now a task for DARPA to tackle. Mike Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, sent a memo to DARPA earlier this month instructing them to put together a team to develop proposals for the Space Development Agency, the organization the Pentagon plans to develop to take over procurement of space capabilities. Griffin asked DARPA to complete the report within 45 to 60 days. (12/14)

VP Pence to Attend GPS Launch at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Vice President Pence plans to attend next week's launch of the first GPS 3 satellite. Pence said Wednesday he'll go to Cape Canaveral to see next Tuesday's launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Lockheed Martin-built satellite. He called the launch of the first of a new generation of GPS satellites an "important step forward as we seek to secure American leadership in space." Launch preparations are on schedule, with the satellite encapsulated within its payload fairing earlier this week. (12/14)

ULA Delta 4 Launch From California Rescheduled for Tuesday (Source: Lompoc Record)
The launch of a classified military satellite has been rescheduled for next Tuesday. United Launch Alliance said Thursday the Delta 4 Heavy launch of a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload, a mission designated NROL-71, is now scheduled for 8:57 p.m. Eastern Dec. 18 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A problem detected in the final seconds of the countdown last Saturday scrubbed the previous launch attempt. (12/14)

NOAA Nominee Unlikely to See Senate Vote Before New Congress (Source: New York Times)
The White House's nominee to lead NOAA is unlikely to get a Senate vote this year. Barry Myers was nominated in October 2017 to be NOAA administrator but has faced opposition from Senate Democrats. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said it will be "very difficult" to get a vote to confirm him before the end of the current Congress. If the Senate does not hold a vote, the White House would have to resubmit his nomination next year or nominate someone else. (12/14)

NASA Seeks US Partners to Develop Reusable Systems to Land Astronauts on Moon (Source: Space Daily)
As the next major step to return astronauts to the Moon under Space Policy Directive-1, NASA announced plans on Dec. 13 to work with American companies to design and develop new reusable systems for astronauts to land on the lunar surface. The agency is planning to test new human-class landers on the Moon beginning in 2024, with the goal of sending crew to the surface in 2028.

Through upcoming multi-phased lunar exploration partnerships, NASA will ask American companies to study the best approach to landing astronauts on the Moon and start the development as quickly as possible with current and future anticipated technologies. The agency's leading approach to sending humans to the Moon is using a system of three separate elements that will provide transfer, landing, and safe return. A key aspect of this proposed approach is to use the Gateway for roundtrip journeys to and from the surface of the Moon. (12/14)

Ceres’ Surface Found to Contain Building Blocks for Life (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The surface of the dwarf planet Ceres holds high levels of organic material, according to a new study of images returned by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. This provides a tantalizing glimpse into the possibility of life throughout our solar system. Scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) published a paper in the journal Nature Astronomy noting the 4.6-billion-year-old dwarf planet, already known to harbor water and volatile compounds, has a chemistry that strongly suggests it formed in a colder environment than its current location in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The presence of ammoniated clays on Ceres’s surface has led some scientists to propose the small world may have formed in the Kuiper Belt beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, where ammonia would have been scattered rather than vaporized by the Sun. An impact by another Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) and/or the gravitational influence of the gas giants could have knocked Ceres into the inner solar system about 500 million years after it formed, some researchers proposed in late 2015. (12/14)