April 4, 2019

Damage to Moon Lander Delays Chandrayaan-2 (Source: Times of India)
Vikram, the lander for India's moon mission, suffered minor damage to two of its four legs during a test late in February, putting Chandrayaan-2 on the bench at least until May. Finding a suitable launch window could see the mission take off only in the second half of the year. (4/4)

45th Space Wing Inaugural State of the Installation (Source: Space Coast Daily)
Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess, 45th Space Wing commander, spoke with community partners about current and future missions during the inaugural State of the Installation event at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Schiess hosted approximately 70 community partners and several mission partners including NASA, the 920th Rescue Wing, Naval Ordnance Testing Unit, Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.

He highlighted the 2018 year in review, upcoming launches and missions, economic impact to the community, infrastructure improvements and concluded with a Q & A session. The event shed light on the working relationships on the installation and building relationships within the community. Schiess talked about projects on Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station that are being upgraded or built. He mentioned several facility renovations such as the Pharmacy and also new construction happening for Space and mission industry partners. (4/3)

Why Next-Generation Astronauts Will Need the 'New Right Stuff' for Space Travel (Source: Space.com)
Successful space travel is going to take a lot more than brawn, brains and tech. During a talk at the Beyond the Cradle conference on March 14 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, Loretta Whitesides, author and soon-to-be "founder astronaut" aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, shared with the audience the new perspective on humanity and space flight she's gained in the past 14 years of holding her VSS Unity ticket.

Whitesides will be one of a handful of eager travelers aboard the inaugural flight, planned for sometime in the next several years. Tickets for the short flight are $250,000 apiece and would give passengers a few moments of weightlessness and the opportunity to view the curve of Earth, creating a powerful experience called the overview effect. (4/3)

SpaceX's 'Starhopper' Starship Prototype Just Aced Its 1st Hop, Elon Musk Says (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX just fired up the "Starhopper" prototype for the company's planned Starship spacecraft for the first time, according to company CEO Elon Musk. Musk confirmed the short rocket test firing at SpaceX's newest launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, near Brownsville in a Twitter post late Wednesday (April 3). (In that post, he confirmed the Starhopper nickname for the Starship prototype as well.) "Starhopper completed tethered hop," Musk wrote. (4/4)

Blue Origin and Relativity Space Projects Discussed at Space Florida Meeting (Source: UPI)
Blue Origin's Scott Henderson, the orbital launch director, provided a little more detail to Space Florida's board Monday regarding the company's planned expansion of its facility on 90 additional acres. He said Blue Origin, already hiring well over 300 people in the region, plans to add another 100 jobs. The company also is renovating a launch pad and building a facility to refurbish rockets.

Another much larger contract with an aspiring launch company, Relativity Space, of Los Angeles, was pulled from the agenda of Monday's meeting for more work. Relativity is eyeing Space Launch Complex 16 on Cape Canaveral for launch activity. The proposed contract had outlined a $42 million investment by the firm and 100 new jobs that would pay an average of $85,000 a year, while the state was to provide $6.6 million in Department of Transportation funds. Space Florida often helps aerospace firms lease facilities and tap into existing state funds or to arrange for other financing. (4/2)

Space Fans Descend on Space Coast for Falcon Heavy Space Launch (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
One will drive through the night, 12 hours non-stop across three states. Another will catch a five-hour flight, from a humble Midwestern town known for salt, to a Southern city known for space. And another still will traverse the Atlantic Ocean, enduring a layover and 17 hours of travel for a glimpse at the most powerful rocket since men walked on the moon.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket commands that kind of awe, the sort that will lure space enthusiasts from behind their computer screens for a taste of the real rumble of a rocket launch. More than 100,000 are expected to come out this weekend, when Falcon Heavy is scheduled to attempt its first commercial launch Sunday evening.

For Norwegian Andreas Strøm, the time was right to make his first trip to the U.S. He’s followed SpaceX for some time, watching the launches on his computer, but this trip will be his first in-person launch. Strøm is spending at least $700 on a ticket from Oslo to Orlando, couch surfing while in Central Florida and spending a week in the area — in case the launch is scrubbed. (4/4)

Russia Launches Progress Cargo Craft to ISS (Source: NASA)
A Progress cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after a launch this morning. A Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:01 a.m. Eastern and placed the Progress MS-11 cargo spacecraft in orbit. The Progress, on a "fast track" two-orbit approach, is scheduled to dock with the station's Pirs module at 10:25 a.m. Eastern. The Progress is carrying more than three tons of supplies for the station. (4/4)

Boeing's Starliner Crewed Test Now Includes Extended Stay in Space (Source: Space News)
NASA said Wednesday that has approved plans to turn a commercial crew test flight into a long-duration mission to the ISS. The crewed flight test of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, now scheduled for launch no earlier than late this year, will be extended for potentially months, although NASA said the exact duration will be announced later. NASA and Boeing said last year they were studying such an extension to ensure access to the station when the agency loses access to Soyuz seats. The crew of that test flight, which includes two NASA astronauts and Boeing test pilot and former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, have been training for the possibility of a long-duration stay. (4/4)

Rocket Lab to Launch Three USAF Satellites (Virgin to Launch Three Too) (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab's next Electron mission will launch three satellites for the Air Force. The mission, announced Wednesday and scheduled for launch late this month, will place three smallsats with a combined mass of more than 180 kilograms into orbit for the Defense Department's Space Test Program in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit. The mission, designated STP-27RD by the Space Test Program, is the first for the new Rapid Agile Launch Initiative, an effort to procure launches from "nontraditional, venture-class companies," according to the Air Force. The program has also awarded a contract to Vox Space, the government services arm of Virgin Orbit, with three more launches planned this year. (4/4)

Eutelsat Plans LEO Constellation (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat is the latest company to announce plans for a low Earth orbit satellite constellation, albeit a modest one. The company, best known as an operator of large geostationary communications satellites, has ordered a cubesat called Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems for launch in the coming months. ELO will test technologies for a proposed constellation of satellites for Internet of Things services. Eutelsat said its working to procure a "very limited number" of additional satellites for the constellation. (4/4)

UrtheCast Selling Deimos Satellites During Restructuring (Source: SpaceQ)
UrtheCast intends to sell its Deimos Imaging satellites as part of a broader restructuring. The Canadian remote sensing company said this week that it is "in advanced discussions" about selling the two Deimos satellites and related assets it acquired in 2015. UrtheCast will use the proceeds of the sale to reduce its debt as it continues planning for its UrtheDaily satellite constellation. The company is also in the process of reducing its staff by 45 percent as part of the restructuring process. (4/4)

Spaceport Blast: Georgia Tech Did Not Launch from Spaceport Camden (Source: Spaceport Facts)
Make no mistake about it, the Georgia Tech rocketeers did not launch from the proposed Spaceport Camden. The rocket was NOT launched from the Union Carbide property that is the subject of the Environmental Impact Statement that's been paused since October, 2018 and that Camden County officials have spent $6.5 million pursuing for almost four years.

The rocket test was actually conducted on the Bayer property that is not part of Camden’s Spaceport Site Operator’s License application to the FAA. This may be a small point to some, but it represents a much larger truth about the hype from Spaceport Camden promoters. Steve Howard, our Commissioners, and their lackeys cannot even tell the simple, straight truth about where a student rocket test takes place. Everything about Spaceport Camden is seen and told through the lens of public relations hype. (4/3)

SCWID Offers Scholarship (Source: SCWID)
The Space Coast (SC) Women In Defense (WID) has released its 2019-2020 Scholarship Application Package. SCWID has established a scholarship program to encourage women in Brevard County, Florida to pursue careers related to the national security and defense interests of the United States and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The application package is available online at www.scwid.org. All applications are due by April 19, 2019. (4/4)

SWISE is ERAU's New Club: Society of Women in Space Exploration (Source: SWISE)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach has approved official club status for a new Society of Women in Space Exploration (SWISE). Here's a link to their Facebook page. (4/3) https://www.facebook.com/erauswise/

April 13 is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at UNF (Source: UNF)
The activities will be hosted by students in the Engineering programs at UNF, including members from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The activities are designed to teach fundamental concepts of engineering and sharing how these can be used in bettering our society. The children will leave with an increased understanding of the types of engineering disciplines taught at UNF and the wide range of jobs associated with engineering. Click here. (4/4) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduce-a-girl-to-engineering-day-2019-tickets-59374886885?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Women in Aerospace Foundation Offers Scholarships (Source: WIA)
To encourage young women interested in a career in the aerospace field to pursue higher education degrees in engineering or science or math, four merit-based awards of $2000 will be given to rising juniors and seniors in college, to be applied to the 2019-2020 academic year. Click here. (4/4) 

Shanahan’s Bid for Top Pentagon Job on Hold (Source: Foreign Policy)
Patrick Shanahan’s nomination as U.S. defense secretary, once considered a lock, now could be slipping away. The White House seems to be souring on the former Boeing executive amid an ethics investigation and a series of lackluster performances on Capitol Hill, where one former U.S. official said he appeared “dazed and confused” by lawmakers’ questions.

But the White House may have no viable alternative to lead the Pentagon, which has been under Shanahan’s acting stewardship since former Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. In other words, Shanahan may yet get the job by default. (4/3)

NASA Amending $21 Billion Budget Request To Speed Up Moon Mission (Source: LRN)
Congress is asking NASA to provide an updated budget request for the next fiscal year. The ask comes after Vice President Mike Pence charged the agency with landing humans on the moon in 2024 — four years sooner than planned. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine says the agency has what it needs to put humans on the moon. That includes a new rocket, crew capsule, launch pad and plans for a space-station around the moon.

“All of those elements are on the agenda for 2028. In order to achieve 2024, we need to take some of those elements and move them forward to achieve that objective,” Bridenstine said at a House Science, Space and Technology Committee meeting Tuesday. The Trump Administration submitted a budget request of $21 billion last month — back when the plan was to land on the moon by 2028. Bridenstine says the agency is still calculating how to expedite a faster moon landing. (4/3)

Two Unusual Galaxies Shake Up the Dark Matter Debate, Again (Source: WIRED)
When it comes to the nature of dark matter, astronomers are still largely, well, in the dark. The existence of this mysterious substance was hypothesized more than 40 years ago to explain discrepancies between the calculations of how galaxies ought to behave, based on their mass, and what was actually observed. In short, it seemed like mass was missing. So Vera Rubin, the astronomer who first discovered this discrepancy, conjured an invisible substance that is far more abundant than “normal” matter and acts as the scaffolding for the large-scale structure of the universe. Today we call it dark matter.

Yet decades of hunting for the elusive dark matter particle still have not yielded direct evidence of its existence. Most cosmologists still believe that dark matter must exist, but some have splintered off to propose other explanations that explain away dark matter by modifying our understanding of gravity. But two findings are now casting doubt on the modified gravity explanation. In March, a team of astronomers confirmed the existence of a galaxy that appears to have almost no dark matter and the other announcing the discovery of a second galaxy of this type. The irony, the researchers say, is that the seeming lack of dark matter in these galaxies is strong evidence that it exists.

The reason they believe these galaxies have no dark matter is that their dynamics can be predicted using our traditional theories of gravity. The discrepancy of the “missing mass” that’s seen in most galaxies isn’t present here, meaning there’s no need for dark matter to explain their behavior. And it means that the modified version of gravity proposed by some cosmologists doesn’t predict these galaxies’ movements as cleanly as good old Newtonian physics. (4/3)

Tiny Cubesats Could Do Big Science at the Moon and Venus (Source: Space.com)
NASA already plans to further explore Mars' atmosphere with the spacecraft MOXIE in 2020 and the outer planets with the Europa Clipper in 2023. In addition, the agency and JPL are looking for ways to make exploration more cost effective and compact. Enter the cubesat. The first mission on the horizon, slated for launch in 2020, is called Lunar Flashlight. That mission will be not only the first cubesat mission to reach the moon, but also the first to use NASA’s new ammonium driven green propulsion fuel, and lasers to search for water ice on the lunar surface, James said.

This cubesat will be six times the size of the small 4 inch cubed model, will shine infrared lasers into the moon's permanently shadowed craters, and an onboard spectrometer will measure surface reflection and composition to help scientists better understand the lunar surface and prepare for possible future rover missions. "We heard about the water on the moon," said James. "[Lunar Flashlight] uses a laser to actually look for that water and measure what it is in those dark craters on the surface of the moon. We're using a cubesat to do that, to do real science."

The second planned NASA cubesat mission, which is still in development and has yet to receive a launch date, would measure Venus' atmosphere and is called Cupid's Arrow. James said the mission is being proposed in partnership with India to launch alongside that nation's next Venus mission. Cupid's Arrow would study the noble gases of Venus' atmosphere to help scientists get a better picture of how this once Earth-like planet diverged so drastically from ours in its geophysical history. This would help future missions understand the difference between an Earth-like exoplanet and a Venus-like exoplanet. (4/3)

The Lunar South Pole Is a Rich Target for NASA's 2024 Moon Goal (Source: Space.com)
When Vice President Pence challenged NASA to put humans on the moon by 2024 during an announcement last week, he targeted the southern lunar pole, an area rich in water as well as science. Landing at that site might help astronauts' long-term survival on the moon and could possibly lay the groundwork for boosting future teams farther out into the solar system.

"We have known that the poles of the moon were unique environments for some time," said Noah Petro. Observations from LRO and other spacecraft have confirmed that there's water ice hidden in craters at the lunar south pole. Polar water or ice could provide both air and fuel as well as water for astronauts to drink. Exploring "the south pole, with the possibility of water and/or ice, has the added benefit of finding a resource for future use," Petro said. (4/3)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Acquires Daytona Beach-Headquartered 3D Material Technologies (Source: 3DPrint.com)
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings has not slowed down a bit regarding their uses for 3D printing technology, and now they will have even greater resources as they acquire 3D Material Technologies (3DMT) from ARC Group Worldwide, Inc. Hidden away in the Daytona Beach, Florida area, 3DMT is already a supplier of AM services to important industries like aerospace, defense, and medical—and Aerojet Rocketdyne is already a industry leader in 3D printing powerful metal components for propulsion and power systems required for a variety of applications in aerospace.

Following long-term technological collaborations with NASA and subsequent qualification of parts for both the RL10 and the RS-25 liquid rocket engines, Aerojet Rocketdyne has continued their impressive momentum in both 3D printing and additive manufacturing, seeing the obvious value and future potential in being able to fabricate lightweight, complex geometries and high value systems—benefiting from the enormous advantages such progressive technology has to offer—and passing that on even to the entire US as their defense unit expands further using AM technology for hypersonic propulsion.

“The addition of 3DMT’s capacity and expertise in metal alloy additive manufacturing expands our range of products and services in the space and defense markets,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. CEO and President Eileen Drake. “As we look to the future, additive manufacturing will continue to play an important role in lowering costs and production timelines.” (4/2)

Growing Commercial Space Industry Needs Policy Experts (Source: ERAU)
For Michael Pope, the enormous potential and challenges of the commercial space industry translate into an exciting career option. A junior in Embry-Riddle’s Commercial Space Operations program, Pope plans to work in the policy and regulations side of the space industry. “As the commercial space industry continues to expand,” said Pope, “the number of policy jobs in the industry will grow as well. A policy concentration within Embry-Riddle’s Spaceflight Operations degree program will enable students to gain the knowledge to meet that growing need.”

Pope considers himself and his classmates very lucky that Embry-Riddle hired Dr. Sara Langston at the end of last year to head the university’s Spaceflight Operations policy track. Pope considers himself and his classmates very lucky that Embry-Riddle hired Dr. Sara Langston at the end of last year to head the university’s Spaceflight Operations policy track. Langston has a law degree with a specialization in international law, a Master of Law in aerospace law, and a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science focused on human spaceflight. (3/27)

No New Satellite for North Korea (Source: Space Daily)
North Korea has not launched a satellite since early 2016, and their space program has never succeeded in placing a functioning satellite into orbit. Boffins have been waiting for a new launch to take place for some time. There were plenty of ballistic missile tests in 2017, but nothing on the space launch front. North Korea has previously spoken of plans for larger rockets and more satellites. It has also gained a lot of attention for recent upgrades to its spaceport at Tongchang-Ri, which now seems ready to handle a new generation of rockets.

Recent satellite photos also showed the movement of vehicles near a factory believed to be a ballistic missile production site. Thus, observers had reason to suspect that another North Korean satellite could have been launched by now. So far, nothing has happened. Or at least, there's nothing else that can be seen. North Korea conceals much of its space activities behind closed doors, and access to its facilities by outsiders is extremely rare. (4/2)

After the Moon in 2024, NASA Wants to Reach Mars By 2033 (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has made it clear they want astronauts back on the Moon in 2024, and now, they are zeroing in on the Red Planet -- the US space agency confirmed that it wants humans to reach Mars by 2033. Jim Bridenstine, NASA's administrator, said Tuesday that in order to achieve that goal, other parts of the program -- including a lunar landing -- need to move forward more quickly. "We want to achieve a Mars landing in 2033," Bridenstine told lawmakers at a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

"We can move up the Mars landing by moving up the Moon landing. The Moon is the proving ground," added the former Republican congressman, who was appointed by President Donald Trump. NASA is racing to enact the plans of Trump, who dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to announce that the timetable for once again putting man on the Moon had been cut by four years to 2024. The new date is politically significant: it would be the final year in Trump's eventual second term at the White House.

Many experts and lawmakers are concerned that NASA cannot make the deadline, especially given the major delays in development of its new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, which is being built by aerospace giant Boeing. (4/3)