June 25, 2019

Waiting For the Future for 15 Years (Source: Space Review)
Last Friday marked the 15th anniversary of the first flight to space by SpaceShipOne, a mission that was supposed to open a new era in commercial human spaceflight. Jeff Foust digs into some video archives to examine the predictions from that time to what’s happening today. Click here. (6/24) 
 
Going Big: Catching a Saturn V first Stage With a Helicopter (Source: Space Review)
A helicopter company proposed to NASA during the height of the Apollo program to develop a giant helicopter that could not only ferry Saturn V first stages, but also retrieve them in midair. Dwayne Day explores a concept that bordered on the insane. Click here. (6/24) 
 
How Low Can Launch Costs Go? (Source: Space Review)
Some recent analyses have suggested the absolute floor for launching people into orbit could be quite low. Sam Dinkin reviews that work and remembers that launch costs are not the same as launch prices. Click here. (6/24)

Connecting Humans to Breathtaking Space History (Source: Harris Corp.)
The first words of a human being orbiting Earth. Data from the surface of the moon. Signals from probes on distant planets. The first human-built spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Harris’ ingenuity has been part of these and many other breathtaking moments in space exploration history, playing a vital role that continues to this day – keeping spacecraft in touch with Earth. Click here. (6/13)

SpaceX Launches Falcon Heavy, Deploys Payloads, Lands Two Boosters, Loses One at Sea, and Recovers Fairing in Net (Source: Space News)
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy successfully launched two dozen smallsats on a U.S. Air Force mission overnight. The rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, three hours into a four-hour launch window because of problems with ground equipment. The Space Test Program 2 mission featured the deployment of 24 smallsats, starting less than 13 minutes after liftoff and ending nearly three and a half hours later.

The rocket's two side boosters, which flew on the previous Falcon Heavy mission in April, landed back at Cape Canaveral, but the center booster crashed at sea near the droneship it was attempting to land on. However, SpaceX reported that another ship, equipped with a giant net, was able to catch one of two payload fairing halves, the first such recovery as part of a long-running effort to recover and reuse those components. (6/25)

Russian Soyuz Capsule Returns ISS Crewmembers to Earth (Sources: AP, Interfax)
A Soyuz spacecraft successfully returned to Earth Monday night with three International Space Station crewmembers on board. The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan at 10:47 p.m. Eastern, about three and a half hours after undocking from the station. The spacecraft brought back American astronaut Anne McClain, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko after 204 days in space.

Russian officials denied reports there were any problems with the Soyuz during its return to Earth. During the live coverage of the spacecraft's return, controllers reported that the main manifold in the spacecraft's propulsion system had malfunctioned, but that a backup system took over. Roscosmos said in a statement early Tuesday that all spacecraft components "functioned normally" and that "reports of certain media outlets alleging landing 'contingencies' are untrue." (6/25)

China Launches Beidou Satellite on Long March 3B Rocket (Source: Space News)
China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Monday. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 2:09 p.m. Eastern from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and placed the Beidou-3 satellite into its planned transfer orbit. The satellite, the 21st of the Beidou-3 system, will be the second to operate from an inclined geosynchronous orbit. The launch was the 11th this year by China. (6/25)

Martian Methane Burst Fades, Not Re-Detected (Source: GeekWire)
A burst of methane detected by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has already faded away. The principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument said Monday that a second measurement over the weekend found that methane levels had dropped back to normal, just days after the instrument detected its strongest spike in concentrations of the trace gas. Scientists plan to coordinate measurements made by Curiosity with instruments on ESA's Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft to see if those orbiting spacecraft also detected the plume, which could help them track down the source. (6/25)

Early Mars may have avoided a wave of impacts, improving its habitability. A new study of Martian meteorites found no evidence that they have been exposed to what scientists have called the "Late Heavy Bombardment," a hypothesized wave of asteroid impacts in the inner solar system about 4 billion years ago. If correct, that could mean Mars remained habitable longer than previously thought, increasing the odds that life formed there early in its history when the planet was warmer and wetter. (6/25)

A Look at Earth's Planetary Defense Systems in Preparation for Doomsday (Source: Interesting Engineering)
It has become something of a trope thanks to Hollywood, science fiction writers, and fans of doomsday scenarios alike. A sizeable comet or asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, and news of its impending impact causes widespread panic and hysteria. While the people of Earth dig in and prepare for the worst, the nations of the world come together in a last-ditch effort to destroy it and save the planet. As the plot of a major motion picture or novel, the stuff practically writes itself!

However, as with any good story, there's a strong element of truth to this scenario. For billions of years, planet Earth has come into contact with asteroids, comets, and other pieces of debris. Granted, the vast majority of these were so small that they burned up in our atmosphere, or caused little to no damage on the surface. And more often than not, asteroids that exist in near-Earth space (known as Near-Earth Objects or NEOs) will pass us by at a safe distance. But on occasion, there have been some impacts that were so powerful that they did more harm than a thermonuclear bomb. Click here. (6/25)

Northwest Florida Airports Getting Federal Improvement Grants (Source: GCAC)
Fifteen airports in the Gulf Coast I-10 region will receive 16 airport infrastructure grants totaling $34.5 million from the FAA. They were among 358 grants awarded to 327 airports in 46 states and the Pacific Islands. The agency said the $495 million in grants is the second allotment of the total $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States. On Florida's Gulf Coast, the grants, from highest to lowest were: Eglin Air Force Base/Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Valparaiso, Fla. ($11,527,654, expand apron, expand terminal building); Bob Sikes, Crestview, Fla. ($900,000, rehabilitate runway 17/35); and Peter Prince Field, Milton, Fla. ($300,000, update airport master plan study).

The FAA says airport infrastructure in the United States, with 3,332 airports and 5,000 paved runways, supports economic competitiveness and improves quality of life. According to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis, U.S. civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. (6/24)

Musical Chairs at DoD Will Influence Space Force Plans (Source: Space News)
Depending on how long it takes for SecDef nominee Mark Esper to get confirmed, he may or may not be involved in the NDAA fight. Esper will be acting secretary for a few days and once his confirmation process begins, he will have to step aside until he's confirmed (Navy Secretary Richard Spencer would fill in temporarily). Once confirmed, Esper will be  expected to fight for the administration’s Space Force proposal. “It’s unclear if Esper has a view on Space Force,” an industry insider said. “He’ll have no choice of course with the White House actively engaged.”

Air Force secretary nominee Barbara Barrett is said to be moving along in the vetting process leading up to a SASC hearing possibly in July. A known space enthusiast, Barrett if confirmed would be coming in right on time to implement whatever comes out of the NDAA. But Acting SecAF Matt Donovan raised eyebrows last week after stating he was a longtime advocate of space. “Donovan recently inserted himself into the process,” the industry insider said. “I never heard of him in space before.” Donovan said in interviews that he wrote papers 20 years ago advocating for a space service. Air Force officials at the Pentagon said they have never seen or heard of such papers. SpaceNews reached out to Donovan’s spokesperson about the papers but none have surfaced so far. (6/25)

Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘The Right Stuff’ Adaptation Gets Series Order at Nat Geo (Source: The Wrap)
National Geographic has given a series order to the scripted adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” from executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio, the network announced on Sunday. Based on the bestselling nonfiction book about the early days of the U.S. space program, the series has added “Castle Rock” executive producer as showrunner and “Game of Thrones” alum David Nutter as director and EP of the first episode.

“The Right Stuff is about a moment when the country looked in the same direction to achieve the stuff of fantasy, and on a timeline that was nearly impossible,” said Lafferty. “The story is a reminder of what we’re capable of, but it also shows how much we’ve changed and diversified over time. National Geographic is the perfect home to showcase the ambitious and colorful characters at the center of this pioneering era.” (2/10)