March 22, 2019

The Rise of SpaceX and the Future of Elon Musk's Mars Dream (Source: CNBC)
In less than two decades, SpaceX went from Elon Musk's dream of a greenhouse experiment on Mars to conducting the majority of U.S. rocket launches. The early years of SpaceX reveal a company that teetered on the edge of dying out, as Musk has said. After three unsuccessful attempts to reach orbit, his team scrounged together enough parts for a fourth rocket, and SpaceX made history with its Falcon 1 rocket.

While Musk provided the vision, his company was not an overnight success. Key people, such as employees like now President and COO Gwynne Shotwell and investors like the members of the Founders Fund, helped forge SpaceX into the business it is today. SpaceX has won billions of dollars in NASA and Air Force launch contracts. It also carries payloads for private companies. Click here. (3/21)

Contradictory Versions of Reality Can Exist at the Same Time, Quantum Experiment Shows (Source: The Independent)
Two versions of reality can exist at the same time, at least in the quantum world, according to a new study. Scientists have conducted tests to demonstrate a theoretical physics question first posed as a mere thought experiment decades ago. Within the concept, two imaginary scientists are both deemed to be correct, despite arriving at totally different conclusions.

Demonstrating this in practice therefore calls into dispute fundamental questions about physics and suggests there is no such thing as objective reality. The results were published on arXiv, a site for research that has yet to undergo full peer review, by a British team based at Heriot-Watt University. They set out to explore “Wigner’s friend”, named after Nobel prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner who came up with it 1961, which is based on the idea that a photon, or a particle of light, can exist in two possible states. (3/21)

Space Coast Revolution Continues with SpaceX Announcement (Source: Fox35 Orlando)
SpaceX has made another big announcement that will have a huge impact on Florida's Space Coast. Rockets have always launched from the Sunshine State, but now, Elon Musk is looking to make Florida more than just a launch pad in this rebirth of space exploration. It was the tweet that launched a thousand questions.  Musk confirmed on Twitter that the “Mars” Starship will not only be launched from Florida, but also built here. “The possibilities are endless. I love what it's doing for space exploration,” said NASA orbiter engineering manager Jon Cowart. (3/20)

SpaceX Claims To Have Redesigned Its Starlink Satellites To Eliminate Casualty Risks (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
SpaceX has promised to redesign its upcoming mega-constellation of internet satellites so that they cannot hurt anyone on Earth. In a meeting with the FCC last week, SpaceX said that the vast majority of its Starlink satellites will no longer contain dense metallic components that could have survived re-entry and endangered people on the ground. “No components of… the satellite will survive atmospheric re-entry, reducing casualty risk to zero,” SpaceX wrote in a letter to the FCC after that meeting.

As originally designed, nine pieces of each Starlink satellite, including thruster parts, reaction wheels used for maneuvering, and silicon carbide communications components (probably mirrors for inter-satellite laser links), would have reached the surface, SpaceX acknowledged. Some of these would have had enough energy to injure or kill, although the company contended that even the flimsiest of shelters would have offered some protection.

Late last month, the FCC itself asked SpaceX to clarify whether falling Starlinks could be directed to ocean areas, away from human populations. It also wanted Elon Musk’s company to provide additional, high fidelity studies of casualty risks during re-entry. In its reply last week, SpaceX said that while its satellites could not be reliably directed to land in the ocean, that no longer mattered. “After extensive research and investment, SpaceX has now developed a system architecture that will be completely demisable,” wrote one of SpaceX’s lawyers. (3/21)

Testing the Value of Artificial Gravity for Astronaut Health (Source: Phys.org)
Test subjects in Cologne, Germany will take to their beds for 60 days from 25 March as part of a groundbreaking study, funded by European Space Agency ESA and US space agency NASA, into how artificial gravity could help astronauts stay healthy in space. Carried out at the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) :envihab facility, the long-term bedrest study is the first of its kind to be conducted in partnership between the two agencies. It is also the first to employ DLR's short-arm centrifuge as a way of recreating gravity for participants. (3/21)

Why US Companies Might Not Be Eager to Launch Rockets From Brazil (Source: The Verge)
The logistics of setting up a new launch site in Brazil could be an issue for some. The larger US rocket companies, such as SpaceX, the United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin, already have multiple options for launching out of the US that are relatively close to the equator. A new site would need a lot of upfront investment in order to create the ground infrastructure in Brazil to support each company’s unique rocket design. It’s a lot of money and work for a small amount of benefit in flights. Plus shipping overseas to Brazil can add an extra layer of time and money that wouldn’t be an issue when launching from the US.

There are some launch providers on the smaller end of the rocket scale that see big opportunities in Brazil. Companies like startup Vector, which are focused solely on launching small satellites, have openly advocated for the chance to launch out of Alcântara. It would allow them to launch missions that they simply cannot do in the United States because of their smaller size. Since the company’s hardware isn’t as big as that of a Falcon 9 or an Atlas V rocket, very little investment is needed to make the launchpad infrastructure. (3/21)

Vega Rocket Launches With Italian Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Vega rocket has lifted off with PRISMA, an Italian Earth observation satellite with an innovative camera to monitor vegetation, water quality and natural disasters from orbit. The 98-foot-tall Vega rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center on the northeast coast of South America. (3/21)