March 9, 2019

China Returns From Spring Break with Zhongxing-6C Launch (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
After the long pause due to the Spring Festival, China resumed orbital launch operations with the launch of a new communications satellite by a Long March 3B. The Zhongxing-6C (or ChinaSat-6C) communication satellite was launched at 16:28 UTC Saturday from the LC3 Launch Complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The launch marked the 300th orbital launch of the Long March family of launch vehicles.

Originally scheduled to launch in September 2017, the Zhongxing-6C (ZX-6C) was developed by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and is based on the DFH-4 satellite platform. The new satellite is equipped with twenty five C-band transponders, supporting high-quality and reliable uplink and downlink transmissions of programs for radio, TV stations and cable TV networks. It will be positioned at 130° East. (3/9)

6-Member Crew to Emerge from Moon/Mars Mission at Mauna Loa (Source: Honolulu Star Advocate)
A six-member crew that has been stationed on the slopes of Mauna Loa, performing scientific experiments in preparation for the future exploration of the Moon and Mars, is scheduled to emerge at noon on Wednesday. The two-week mission was launched on Feb. 20 under the command of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Michaela Musilova, chief investigator for Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) and the International Moonbase Alliance (IMA).

The mission is under the EuroMoonMars initiative, led by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group of the European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with the IMA, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and HI-SEAS. It is part of a series of projects led by IMA, which plans to build a moonbase on the moon, as well as a prototype moonbase on Hawaii island. (3/5)

Activity At 2nd North Korean Missile Site Indicates Possible Launch Preparations (Source: NPR)
Commercial satellite imagery of a facility near Pyongyang suggests that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile or space rocket in the near future. The images are of a site known as Sanumdong — a facility where North Korea has assembled some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles and satellite-launching rockets. The images, taken Feb. 22 by DigitalGlobe and shared exclusively with NPR, show cars and trucks parked near the facility. Rail cars sit in a nearby rail yard, where two cranes are also erected. (3/8)

If We Blow Up an Asteroid, It Might Put Itself Back Together (Source: New York Times)
Faced with the prospect of a sizable asteroid heading toward Earth and causing doomsday, humanity has come up with various responses. Hollywood may reckon that the best way to destroy an errant space rock is with nuclear weapons. This is rarely the preferred option of experts, but using some sort of spacecraft system to smash an asteroid into small, harmless pieces is seen as a real-world possibility. A new study, looking at a gigantic space rock-on-space rock clash, hints at how utterly ineffective this type of asteroid assassination attempt may be.

Using computer models, scientists simulated a 4,000-foot asteroid smashing into a 15.5-mile asteroid at 11,200 miles per hour. Immediately after colliding, the large asteroid cracked considerably, with debris flowing outward like a cascade of Ping-Pong balls. Despite some deep fractures, the heart of the asteroid was not comprehensively damaged. As time went on, the gravitational pull of the asteroid’s resilient core was able to pull back ejected shards. It seems that asteroids don’t just absorb mind-boggling amounts of damage, but, as previous work has hinted, they also are able to rebuild themselves. (3/8)

India, Japan Hold Space Dialogue (Source: Business Standard)
India and Japan held their first Space Dialogue here on Friday with discussions centering on cooperation between their space agencies as also on global navigation satellite system, space situational awareness (SSA), space security and space-related norms. The dialogue brought together ministries and agencies related to outer space in the two countries and provided an opportunity for information exchange on the respective space policies.

"Discussions were also held on bilateral cooperation between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), their space industries, global navigation satellite system, space situational awareness (SSA), space security and space-related norms," an official release said. China is making strides in the space sector and India and Japan are striving for higher level of cooperation in various critical areas. (3/8)

Third Public Hearing for Georgia Spaceport Authority (Source: Brunswick News)
A third public hearing has been scheduled to discuss the creation of a spaceport authority in Camden County. The new hearing was scheduled after people complained they weren’t given enough notice to attend two public hearings held in February. The notice for last month's meetings was issued on a Friday for both public hearings the following Tuesday.

Notice for the upcoming meeting at 5:30 p.m. on March 12 in the County Commission meeting room in Woodbine was issued earlier this week in response to a request by the county’s state legislative representatives. The state lawmakers — state Reps. Steven Sainz, R-Woodbine, and John Corbett, R-Lake Park, as well as state Sen. William Ligon, R-White Oak — also asked for additional details about the role of the authority and asked for county officials to remove the power to seek bonds, which they agreed to do. Sainz, in a previous interview with The News, said the request is to simply to establish a spaceport authority and nothing else. (3/9)

Illinois Native Uses Experience On Farm To Build Deep Space Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
Milking cows and baling hay might have more to do with rocket science than you think. Growing up on a working dairy farm in rural Breese, Illinois, NASA engineer Julie Bassler watched planes fly overhead as she worked in the fields. "As a child, the closest I ever got to seeing big cities was watching the airplanes that flew over our farm headed to their destinations," Bassler said. "I would think, 'I want to do that,' and so my first dream was to be an airline pilot."

When Bassler left the farm for college, she took her work ethic that she learned from her parents with her. After two years studying engineering at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Bassler focused on aerospace engineering at Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology in St. Louis, Missouri, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1988. She went on to earn a master's degree in physical science-space science from the University of Houston in Texas in 1992. (3/8)

Musk on Russia's Rocket Engineering, Engines: 'Excellent' (Source: Sputnik)
Elon Musk, the CEO of US private aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, called Russia's rocket engineering "excellent" and said the country's rocket engines are the best currently flying, also suggesting that the reusable version of Russia's Angara rocket would be "great." "Russia has excellent rocket engineering and best engine currently flying. Reusable version of their new Angara rocket would be great," Musk wrote.

Musk's tweet was his reaction an article, published by the Ars Technica technology news outlet, about Russia's reaction to the recent launch of SpaceX-manufactured Crew Dragon vehicle and its docking to the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX CEO earlier commented on the design of Russia's RD-180 liquid-fueled rocket engine, used to power the first stage of the US Atlas V rocket. (3/8)

Air Force Secretary Wilson to Resign (Source: Reuters)
U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, who was considered a top candidate to become the next secretary of defense, said on Friday she has decided to resign and return to academia, leaving another vacant post at the top level of the Pentagon. The resignation leaves another senior Pentagon job open and follows the December departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who quit over policy differences with Trump and who had hand-picked Wilson for the post.

Like Mattis, Wilson was a staunch advocate of alliances like NATO and firmly supported Mattis’ push to refocus the U.S. military on higher-end competition with China and Russia after more than a decade-and-a-half of counterinsurgency campaigns. “It has been a privilege to serve alongside our Airmen over the past two years and I am proud of the progress that we have made in restoring our nation’s defenses,” Wilson, 58, said in her resignation letter to Trump.

It is unclear who might succeed Wilson and inherit steep challenges facing the Air Force, which include the creation of Trump’s “Space Force,” a new branch of military service that will carve out some responsibilities current done by the Air Force. The Air Force is also reeling from a fresh scandal involving sexual assault. (3/8)