July 29, 2019

Clashing Measurements Make the Universe's Expansion a Lingering Mystery (Source: Scientific American)
How fast is the universe expanding? One might assume scientists long ago settled this basic question, first explored nearly a century ago by Edwin Hubble. But right now the answer depends on who you ask. Cosmologists using the Planck satellite to study the cosmic microwave background—light from the “early” universe, only about 380,000 years after the big bang—have arrived at a high-precision value of the expansion rate, known as the Hubble constant (H0).

Astronomers observing stars and galaxies closer to home—in the “late” universe—have also measured H0 with extreme precision. The two numbers, however, disagree. According to Planck, H0 should be about 67—shorthand for the universe expanding some 67 kilometers per second faster every 3.26 million light-years. The most influential measurements of the late universe, coming from a project called Supernova H0 for the Equation of State (SH0ES), peg the Hubble constant at about 74.

This discrepancy—the so-called Hubble tension—has been growing for years, increasing as study after study of both the early and late universe yield ever more precise results and leave scientists on both sides anxious and bewildered. After all, it could be that either faction is somehow just mismeasuring the universe. But the tension may be a true reflection of reality, requiring exotic new physics and a dramatic revision to our understanding of cosmic evolution. (7/29)

Why Space Agencies, Companies World Over are Looking to Mars as the Next Frontier (Source: FirstPost)
The interest in Mars is more than just scientific. There are currently people working on trying to establish a permanent human colony on Mars. The logic of this is as follows. Mars is the closest to earth in terms of its environment. It has an atmosphere, albeit one that is made up almost completely of carbon dioxide. And it has a 24 and a half hour day, almost the same as earth. Then it is about half the size of earth and so it has a gravity that will be familiar to us, though it is less. Someone weighing 50 kilos on earth will weigh less than 20 kilos on Mars.

The other planets of our solar system are very different from earth. They are very far away from the sun and therefore are very cold, some like Jupiter are huge and with gravity that is very high and some have atmospheres that are poisonous.

Mars also has plenty of water in ice form. And because it has carbon dioxide, it is possible to make hydrocarbons, meaning plastics, from the materials already available there. The other big issue of space travel is that of fuel, and there are rockets being designed today that will be powered by methane and liquid oxygen, both of which can be produced on Mars. (7/28)

Next Generation Space Suit Being Designed for Extended Trips (Source: Hartford Courant)
United Technologies Corp. and a Delaware space systems manufacturer have introduced their newest space suit for extended trips as the U.S. prepares for an eventual Mars mission. Collins Aerospace, a unit of UTC, and ILC Dover of Frederica, Del., unveiled the Next Generation Space Suit system prototype at a Capitol Hill event in Washington, D.C., Thursday.

The two companies funded and designed the space suit system with NASA and commercial customers in mind, including lunar surface missions in partial gravity, orbital space station missions and “future planetary missions.” It features new ways to remove carbon dioxide regenerated while in use, allowing missions of extended duration and reducing dependency on resupply and cutting crew maintenance time.

The new space suit improves mobility at the body’s joints. The lower torso is designed to improve walking to allow astronauts to navigate hazardous terrain, perform difficult assembly tasks and examine, handle and collect geological samples from the surface. The suit also includes advanced sizing features for more astronauts to have the best fit in as few as two sizes. (7/26)

USF Researchers Document Cape Canaveral Launch Complexes Before They Slip Into the Sea (Source: TampaBay.com)
The launch complexes at Cape Canaveral have seen better days. The metal beams that helped send the first American into orbit have corroded from salty air. Hurricanes and rising sea levels have carved out escarpments and erased sand dunes. At Launch Complex 34, the encroaching shoreline has not yet reached the launch pad but has reached places where fuel tanks and trucks used to be during the Apollo era. Along the nearby Banana River, the cemeteries of the Cape’s first settlers are eroding away.

It will be 20 to 25 years until the ocean reaches all of the launch complexes, said Tom Penders, the 45th Space Wing's cultural resources manager. But he isn’t panicking. The buildings will live on, not only in memory but also digitally in 3D and sub-millimeter detail put together by laser scanners. For the past five years, Lori Collins and Travis Doering, co-directors of the Digital Heritage and Humanities Collections at the University of South Florida Libraries, have been traveling with a team to Cape Canaveral to collect detailed information about launch complexes and buildings. (7/29)

Federal Grant to Spaceport Bridge and Two Other Projects (Source: Jacksonville Business Journal)
Aerospace economic development agency Space Florida will get almost $90 million in federal funds for an industrial project through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant program. The funds will be used in Brevard County to replace the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Indian River Bridge with new twin high-level bridges, widen about 2.7 miles of Space Commerce Way and rehabilitate 3.7 miles of NASA Parkway West. (7/29)

Space Coast's Industry-Driven Apprenticeship Takes Flight (Source: CFLnews 13)
Nine students have been inducted into the Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program, making its inaugural class. The SCCAP is an industry-driven apprenticeship program created in direct response to HB 7071, which relates to workforce education. Manufacturing companies including OneWeb Satellites, RUAG Space, Rocket Crafters, and Knights Armament are leading the way in the apprenticeships. The program is registered with the Florida Department of Education and will be led in partnership with Eastern Florida State College. The two-year apprenticeship program will develop mechatronics technicians, fiber composite technicians, and advanced CNC/DNC machinists.

The consortium approach to the apprenticeship program is the first of its kind in Florida and comes only weeks after Governor DeSantis visited the Space Coast to sign CS/HB 7071, a broad workforce education bill that includes a number of provisions enhancing apprenticeship programs in Florida. The consortium was formed in 2017 by Kai Schmidt, Human Resources Director of OneWeb Satellites and Bryan Kamm, Founder and Principal of Kamm Consulting, to address a shortage of highly skilled advanced manufacturing workforce on the Space Coast. (7/29)

NASA Fed Some of its Precious Apollo 11 Lunar Samples to Cockroaches (Source: CNN)
Scientists from NASA had a lot more leeway to conduct weird experiments 50 years ago, which included feeding moon dust to German cockroaches. But it didn't stop there. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were able to secure lunar samples from the surface of the moon from the Apollo 11 mission and bring them back to Earth. However, in order to ensure that it was safe to store lunar samples on Earth, scientists had to run a number of tests to make sure contamination was not possible, according to NASA.

Armstrong and Aldrin were quarantined for weeks on their return from the moon, and they had a few extra roommates: mice that had been injected with lunar material. "They always wanted to know how the rodents were doing," Judith Hayes, chief of NASA's Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences division, told Space.com. "If the rodents did well, then they would likely be released on time, if the rodents weren't well, they would likely be examined much more carefully and longer."

NASA also chose a number of different animals to represent other species. Birds were represented by Japanese quail; brown shrimp, pink shrimp and oysters were used to represent shellfish; houseflies and moths joined the cockroaches to represent insects; and guppies and minnows were used to represent fish. As for how they all received the samples, it varied. The quail and mice received injections, moon dust was added to the water for all the aquatic species and the insects had lunar samples mixed into their food. (7/29)

Planet-Hunting Satellite TESS Finds 'Missing Link' Exoplanets (Source: CNN)
NASA's planet-hunting satellite TESS has discovered more than 20 exoplanets during its first year of observations, including some "missing link" planets entirely unlike anything in our own solar system. TESS, which stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, began science operations in space in July 2018. TESS focused on the southern skies for the first year and will turn to the Northern Hemisphere for an ambitious observation campaign over the next year.

And the new star system may harbor planets within the habitable zone, in which the temperature on a planet's surface is just right to support liquid water and potentially life. The newly discovered exoplanets are some of the smallest and closest ever found. The three worlds, which include a rocky super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes, orbit a star just 73 light-years from Earth. Sub-Neptunes are smaller than the icy gas giant in our solar system. These two are about half the size of Neptune. (7/29)

Space Grown Crystals Offer Clarity on Parkinson's Disease (Source: NASA)
Parkinson’s disease affects more than 5 million people on Earth. Research on the International Space Station could provide insight into this chronic neurodegenerative disease and help scientists find ways to treat and prevent it. In this video, NASA astronaut Serena Auñon-Chancellor narrates as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst uses a microscope to examine and photograph the LRRK2 crystals. Click here. (7/29)

Japan's Symspective Raises $100M for SAR Satellites (Source: Space News)
A Japanese startup developing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites has now raised $100 million. Tokyo-based Synspective said 12 firms helped it reach $100 million since the company was founded 17 months ago, but did not disclose how much it raised in its most recent round. Synspective is planning a constellation of around 25 small SAR satellites for global coverage of the Earth, with its first satellite, a 150-kilogram demonstrator, slated to launch on an Arianespace Vega rocket in 2020. By 2022 the startup hopes to have six satellites in orbit, enabling sufficient imaging capacity to cover all of Asia’s major cities. (7/29)

ESA Invites Industry Concepts for 2026 Mars Sample Return (Source: Space News)
Plans to return samples from Mars are taking shape at NASA and ESA, although formal approval and funding is still pending. ESA released last week an invitation to tender to industry for a proposed orbiter that would launch in 2026 to go to Mars and collect samples placed in orbit by a NASA mission for return to Earth in 2031. NASA, meanwhile, held an acquisition strategy meeting earlier this month about the proposed Mars sample return campaign, giving approval to move into budget development for NASA's contributions to the mission and to continue cooperation with ESA. The two agencies have yet to commit to funding for their roles in a Mars sample return effort, with ESA expected to decide whether to fund the orbiter and other contributions at its ministerial meeting in November. (7/29)

DARPA Seeks New Satellite Servicing Demo (Source: Space News)
DARPA is making a second attempt to fly a satellite servicing demonstration mission. Maxar withdrew from the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) project in January, citing its expense and uncertain business case. DARPA's search for a new industry partner led it to solicit proposals from industry, which were due last week. The agency might select a new RSGS partner by the end of the year, but to avoid a repeat of what happened with Maxar, DARPA wants to make sure the bids are solid. (7/29)

Proposed FAA Regulatory Changes Reveal Divisions During Comment Period (Source: Space News)
The commercial launch industry is divided by proposed regulatory reform for launch and re-entry licensing. While the FAA extended the comment period for its proposed rules last week, to Aug. 19, some launch companies and industry organizations are calling for broader changes, including the ability to comment on an updated draft of the rules. They argue the current draft could be worse than current regulations. However, large companies, including Northrop Grumman and ULA, say they support the proposed rules and don't want an "indefinite rulemaking process." (7/29)

Dragon Delivers ISS Cargo (Source: CBS)
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station early Saturday. The Dragon was grappled by the station's robotic arm a little ahead of schedule Saturday morning and berthed to the station. The Dragon, launched on Thursday, delivered about 2,300 kilograms of cargo, including science experiments and a docking adapter, to the station. (7/29)

Spacecom Seeks Recovery with Amos 17 Launch (Source: Reuters)
Israeli satellite operator Spacecom believes a new satellite will help the company recover from failed satellites and launches. The Amos-17 satellite is scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Saturday from Florida. The company lost the Amos-6 satellite in a Falcon 9 static-fire test accident in 2016, while its Amos-5 satellite failed in orbit in 2015. Amos-17 will provide communications services for Africa, and Spacecom says it has a sales backlog of $58 million for that new satellite. (7/29)

Japan's Interstellar Loses Another Suborbital Rocket in Failed Launch (Source: Kyodo)
The launch of a suborbital rocket by a Japanese company failed on Saturday. Interstellar Technologies' Momo-4 rocket malfunctioned shortly after takeoff Saturday from a launch site on the island of Hokkaido, reaching a peak altitude of 13 kilometers before falling into the sea. The company suffered two launch failures of the sounding rocket in 2017 and 2018 before the Momo-3 rocket flew to 113 kilometers on a successful flight in May. (7/29)

Starhopper Test Causes Texas Brush Fire (Source: Business Insider)
The Starhopper test flight by SpaceX last week created a brush fire that worried some local residents. The fire, created by the brief free flight of the experimental vehicle late Thursday night, spread into a neighboring wildlife refuge, covering 100 acres and raising concerns from people who live just a few kilometers from the site. The fire was difficult for firefighters to reach because of the "mucky ground conditions" around the site. (7/29)

Women In Defense Group Picks Glasgow for Legacy Award (Source: SCWID)
Every year during the Florida Women In Defense (WID) Chapters’ Board Retreat, the Central Florida Chapter of WID presents the Debbie L. Berry Legacy Award to a woman who provides exceptional leadership, mentoring and support to her local community and the defense industry. This year, Central Florida recognized Susie Glasgow, Kegman, Inc. for her impact on women, students and businesses in the Space Coast region. “I am humbled and honored to accept this award as it highlights WID Space Coast Chapter’s impact on women working in defense, as well as young women who plan to work in defense,” said Glasgow.

The award recognizes Glasgow for her tireless advocacy for women in government and the defense industry, as well as her support for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. She was a founding member of Women In Defense Space Coast Chapter in 2013 and has served in several capacities including President and, currently, Special Projects Coordinator. Glasgow is the President/Chief Executive Officer of Kegman Inc. an economically disadvantaged Woman- and Veteran-owned small business that provides scientific, engineering and technical services to the U.S. Government. (7/29)

India to Begin First-Ever Simulated Space Warfare Exercise (Source: Sputnik)
The Indian military plans to begin a two day first-ever simulated space warfare exercise on 25 July to draft a joint military space doctrine to secure outer space assets. "There is a need to explore effective tactical, operational and strategic exploitation on the final frontier of warfare. We cannot keep twiddling our thumbs while China zooms ahead. We cannot match China but must have capabilities to protect our space assets," an official said while providing the rationale behind conducting such a drill.

The drill is being held four months after India joined the select group of nations having the capability to shoot down a satellite with their ballistic missiles. The tri-service command of the Indian military will monitor the trials dubbed "IndSpaceEx" on Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal. In May, the Indian military initiated the formation of tri-service commands to manage space operations, cybersecurity, and special forces, and all these commands are expected to become operational by the end of 2019. (7/26)

Japan's Space Agency Develops New Filter to Recycle Urine (Source: Space Daily)
Japan's astronauts could be drinking water distilled from their own urine in the near future, thanks to the latest innovation from Japan's space agency. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said they have developed a distiller, used during space flight, that converts urine into potable water, Yomiuri Shimbun reported. (7/25)