March 16, 2019

Delta IV Rocket Launches Air Force Satellite From Cape Canaveral (Source: Florida Today)
ULA successfully launched a a Delta IV rocket Friday night from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Central Florida. The military's WGS-10 communications satellite was carried to space aboard the rocket, en route to a geostationary orbit to serve military telecommunications needs. (3/15)

Small Rocket Firms Will Breathe New Life Into Cape Canaveral's Old Launch Pads (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A year ago, when Mark Watt toured one of several launch complexes at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, he new he had found the perfect location for is company's East Coast launches. Watt, CFO of Firefly Aerospace, saw Launch Complex 20 and envisioned plenty of opportunity. He pictured the company's 95-foot-tall Alpha rocket launching from the pad twice a week -- possibly more as the demand grew from customers wanting to launch satellites into space.

On Feb. 22, the company was back to announce it will launch its rockets from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The firm also plans to build a $52 million, 180,000 square foot assembly plant in Exploration Park, the burgeoning 400-acre business complex operated by Space Florida. The factory will produce 24 Alpha rockets each year. (3/15)

Rotating Black Holes Might Serve as Portals for Hyperspace Travel (Source: Business Insider)
It just takes the right kind of black hole. For decades, scientists thought singularities were all the same, so anything that passed the event horizon would be destroyed the same way: by being stretched and pulled like an infinitely long piece of spaghetti. But that all changed in the early 1990s when different research teams discovered a second singularity called a "mass inflation singularity."

It still has a strong gravitational pull, but it would only stretch you by a finite amount, and potentially NOT kill you in the process, meaning, you might survive the trip through a black hole. More specifically, through a large, rotating black hole, which is where these types of singularities exist. Passing through a weak singularity is like quickly running your finger through a candle flame that's 1,000 degrees Celsius. If you hold your finger in the flame long enough, you'll get burned, but pass your finger through quickly, and you'll barely feel a thing.

Similarly, if you pass through a weak singularity with the right speed and momentum, and at the right time, you may not feel much at all. As for what happens once you get through to the other side, no one really knows, but Burko has his own ideas. He says one possibility is that we'd arrive at some other remote part of our galaxy, potentially light years away from any planets or stars, but a second, and perhaps more intriguing, possibility is that we'd arrive in a different galaxy altogether. (3/15)

Minimalism Goes to Space (Source: The Atlantic)
Though the parameters of a trip into Earth’s orbit haven’t changed much since the dawn of our space travel days, the appearance has—whether it be the suits or the ships. On the next NASA trip, in a SpaceX-built capsule, the astronauts will be treated to sleek, modern interiors, cushy seats, touch-screens and wireless consoles. The look is a significant upgrade from previous designs—many of which were cramped and restricted. After receiving a billion dollar contract from NASA, SpaceX put the money to good use. Click here. (3/12)

Dormant Viruses Activate During Spaceflight (Source: Phys.org)
Herpes viruses reactivate in more than half of crew aboard Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions, according to NASA research published in Frontiers in Microbiology. While only a small proportion develop symptoms, virus reactivation rates increase with spaceflight duration and could present a significant health risk on missions to Mars and beyond.

NASA's rapid viral detection systems and ongoing treatment research are beginning to safeguard astronauts—and immunocompromised patients on Earth, too. "This physical challenge is compounded by more familiar stressors like social separation, confinement and an altered sleep-wake cycle." In the midst of this stress-induced amnesty on viral killing, dormant viruses reactivate and resurface.

"Only six astronauts developed any symptoms due to viral reactivation," says Mehta. "All were minor." However, continued virus shedding post flight could endanger immunocompromised or uninfected contacts on Earth, like newborns. "Infectious VZV and CMV were shed in body fluids up to 30 days following return from the International Space Station." What's more, as we prepare for human deep-space missions beyond the moon and Mars, the risk that herpes virus reactivation poses to astronauts and their contacts could become more crucial. (3/15)