August 22, 2019

Spaceflight Consistently Affects the Gut Microbiome (Source: Space Daily)
A new Northwestern University study discovered that spaceflight - both aboard a space shuttle or the International Space Station (ISS) - has a consistent effect on the gut microbiome. The Northwestern researchers developed a novel analytical tool to compare microbiome data from mice as far back as 2011. Called STARMAPS (Similarity Test for Accordant and Reproducible Microbiome Abundance Patterns), the tool indicates that spaceflight causes a specific, consistent change on the abundance, ratios and diversity of bacteria in the gut.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the team also used STARMAPS to compare spaceflight data to data collected from Earth-based studies on the effects of radiation on the gut. They effectively ruled out space radiation as the cause of changes in the microbiome during spaceflight. "Radiation definitely has an effect on the gut microbiome," said Northwestern's Martha Vitaterna, who led the study. "But those effects do not look like what we saw in spaceflight." (8/22)

Boeing’s $1-Billion ‘Kill Vehicle’ Contract for Missile Defense is Killed (Source: LA Times)
The Pentagon canceled a Boeing Co. contract for a “kill vehicle” envisioned to shoot down missiles from North Korea or Iran, the latest setback for a next-generation system that has struggled to prove its effectiveness. The termination of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle comes as the maker of the interceptor’s warhead, Raytheon Co., continued to struggle with design and manufacturing problems that increased costs, the Missile Defense Agency said in a statement Wednesday. Boeing had received a $1-billion contract in May 2017 for the project. (8/21)

After Florida Launch, Five More Delta-4 Heavy Missions Remain (Source: Space News)
After this final launch of the single-stick Delta 4, five Delta 4 Heavy missions remain. Gary Wentz, ULA's vice president of government and commercial programs, said this week the last Delta 4 Heavy mission is currently slated for the second half of 2023. Two Delta 4 Heavy launches are scheduled for 2020 and two more in 2022 before that 2023 launch, all for the U.S. Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office. ULA will ultimately phase out the Delta 4 Heavy in favor of the Vulcan Centaur. (8/22)

Russia Launches Soyuz Cargo Ship to ISS (Source: Space.com)
An uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft is en route to the International Space Station after a successful launch last night. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off at 11:38 p.m. Eastern from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and placed the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft in orbit. The spacecraft will dock with the ISS early Saturday. The rare uncrewed Soyuz mission was a test of flying the spacecraft on the Soyuz-2 rocket, as Russia seeks to phase out the existing Soyuz-FG rocket used for crewed flights. While no people are on board Soyuz MS-14, the spacecraft does have a humanoid robot known as Skybot F-850 or FEDOR that will be tested on the station. (8/22)

Astronauts Install New Docking Port at ISS (Source: CBS)
Two NASA astronauts installed a new docking port on the ISS during a spacewalk Wednesday. Nick Hague and Drew Morgan spent six hours and 32 minutes outside the station on a spacewalk to install the International Docking Adapter (IDA) 3 on the Harmony module. The adapter will allow commercial crew vehicles to dock with the station. A similar adapter, IDA-2, is on another Harmony port and was used by the Crew Dragon spacecraft during its uncrewed test flight in March. (8/21)

Ohio Airport May Be Renamed For Gene Kranz (Source: Toledo Blade)
The city of Toledo, Ohio, is considering renaming its airport after a famous NASA flight director. The city's mayor said Wednesday that he's confident that the local port authority will back a proposal to name the Toledo Express Airport after Gene Kranz, who was born and raised in Toledo and became a flight director during the Apollo program. "Change is hard, but Gene Kranz is exactly the sort of person you should name an airport after," mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. (8/22)

Skyrora Reckons it'll Be Orbital in 3 Years – that is, if UK Government Plays Ball (Source: The Register)
With two launches of the SkyLark Nano under its belt, Skyrora aim to go orbital in the coming years - assuming UK Parliament keeps up. The two-meter solid fuel-powered Skylark Nano was launched this month, hitting an altitude of 6km and a speed of over 1,800kmph. It was a repeat performance, with engineers using the mission to check the maths behind their trajectory calculations.

The rocket, which was recovered by parachute, can be viewed at the Bayes Centre during the Edinburgh Festival. The company plans to take things a bit further by the end of the year, according to communications manager Katie Miller. Describing Skyrora as "a private company that wishes to conduct commercial launches", Miller laid out the outfit's ambitious plans for the next three years. (8/22)

What Does the Rise of the New Philippines Space Agency Mean? (Source: The Diplomat)
Last week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte finally signed a law that would pave the way for the creation of a more comprehensive Philippine policy toward outer space, including the setting up of a new space agency. The development spotlighted the broader issue of the evolution of Philippine space policy amid the range of opportunities and challenges therein as well as wider regional and international developments.

The Philippines has long had an interest in outer space, including efforts to build satellites dating back to the 1960s as well as involvement in aspects of other areas such as education, training, and international cooperation with countries such as Japan. But the development of Philippine space policy has been hampered by several challenges, including the lack of coordination and the establishment of a single designated space agency. Over the past few years, however, several bills have been advanced to attempt to address these lingering obstacles, and this has gained greater traction over the past year with a piece of legislation going past various rounds of approval. (8/21)

Life May Have Existed on Warm, Rainy, Ancient Mars Before Winter Came (Source: CNN)
Although Mars seems cold and inhospitable today, it was a different story 3 billion to 4 billion years ago. A new study suggests that the Red Planet was once warm enough to host pouring rainstorms and flowing water, which would have created an environment that could support simple life. The knowledge of water on ancient Mars has been common for years, but its form was up for debate. Scientists were unsure whether the water was trapped in ice or it actually flowed over the surface. There was also uncertainty over the duration of flowing water if temperatures were warm enough to allow it.

A warm surface with flowing water supports the idea that life could have formed independently on the planet's surface. The new study includes a comparison of mineral deposit patterns with those on Earth, which paints a picture of one or perhaps even several long-term periods of a warm Mars with rainstorms and flowing water. Later on, as temperatures dropped, the water would freeze. (8/21)

One Could Fly to Mars in This Spacious Habitat and Not Go Crazy (Source: Ars Technica)
On Wednesday, Sierra Nevada Corporation—the company that makes aerospace equipment, not beer—showed off its proposed in-space habitat for the first time. The inflatable habitat is, first and foremost, large. It measures more than 8 meters long, and with a diameter of 8 meters has an internal volume of 300 cubic meters, which is about one-third the size of the International Space Station.

Sierra Nevada developed this full-scale prototype under a NASA program that funded several companies to develop habitats that could be used for a space station in orbit around the Moon, as well as potentially serving as living quarters for a long-duration transit to and from Mars. As part of the program, NASA astronauts have, or will, spend three days living in and evaluating the prototypes built by Sierra Nevada, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Bigelow Aerospace. Click here. (8/21)

Ending the Moon Versus Mars Fight (Source: The Hill)
Under the George W. Bush administration, the plan was to go to the moon and then Mars. The Obama administration wanted to send people to Mars by way of the moon. Certainly, NASA under the Obama administration tried very hard to shift the focus of human exploration to Mars, but even then, could not completely bypass the moon. The Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM) was proposed as a part of the broader plan for exploration and has become, effectively, a precursor to the Lunar Gateway — a small, permanent lunar orbiting outpost — which features in current exploration plans.

The plan under the Trump administration is something of a synthesis that tries to go to the moon and then pivot to Mars. The fact that the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations have agreed on anything — that human spaceflight should take people to both the Moon and Mars — represents an astonishing level of consensus in this political climate. At a more pragmatic level, it demonstrates the fact that no viable plan can completely disregard one destination at the expense of the other.

These two destinations are linked, in part due to the unyielding facts of physics, engineering and biology. A larger issue is the political reality. If both destinations are attractive, a moon exploration program is viable from one administration to the next only insofar as it sends people to Mars. Likewise, a Mars exploration program will survive changes at the White House only if it provides for substantial human exploration of the moon. Clearly, NASA’s budget will not allow for simultaneous moon and Mars programs. These goals must be pursued sequentially. (8/19)

Equatorial Space and Precious Payload To Advance Ridesharing Opportunities For Near-Equatorial and Polar Inclinations (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
Small satellite launch vehicle developer, Equatorial Space, has announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Precious Payload Inc. This partnership with digital freight forwarder for space missions will advance technologies and lines of business towards exploration of satellite ridesharing opportunities for low-inclination launches.

Equatorial Space’s upcoming Volans microsatellite launch vehicle capable of reaching both near-equatorial and polar inclinations from the upcoming launch sites within APAC region. Volans is a two-stage, hybrid-propelled launch vehicle capable of delivering 20-70kg of payload, designed to support all major nano-and-microsat deployer platforms.

“Equatorial’s unique offering of low-inclination launches in Asian region caters for the niche, but thriving market. Simon is advancing the development of the launch service rapidly, and we are excited to help him and his team since the early days.” – said Andrey Maksimov, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Precious Payload. (8/21)

Semplastics and Israeli Partner Polymertal Win Space Florida Grant (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Oviedo-based Semplastics, a composites engineering and manufacturing firm, won a $500,000 Space Florida grant to continue the development of a hybrid plastic technology for the aerospace industry. Semplastics, through its X-MAT division, is working with Haifa, Israel-based Polymertal to devise a lightweight plastic that can be coated with metal. The ultimate vision is to create a composite that not only is lightweight, but also can endure extreme temperatures to serve the aerospace industry, said Semplastics CEO Bill Easter. (8/21)
 
Ohio is the Nation’s gGateway to the Moon, Mars and Our Future (Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Ohio is the aerospace state. Our history is unrivaled by any other state when it comes to achievements in the air and in space. Home to the Wright Brothers. Birthplace of John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. The Buckeye State has produced some 25 astronauts, and their achievements make up a significant part of NASA’s legacy.

That’s why NASA’s Artemis Program is calling on Ohio to make landing humans on the moon by 2024 a reality. Once there, we will quickly and sustainably explore the moon and its resources, and use what we learn to enable our next great endeavor – human exploration of Mars. To be sure, returning to the Moon in just five short years will not be easy, and to get there, America needs the Artemis Program, and NASA needs Ohio’s support. It is part of our ethos – Ohio leads in aerospace innovation. We have for more than a century, and we are more prepared than anyone to take on the challenges ahead. (8/20)

Exploring the Cosmos at Space Center Houston and Beyond (Source: Texas Monthly)
In Houston the other day, children outfitted with virtual reality goggles were careering through the universe when an elderly man stopped to admire the world’s largest pallasite, a type of meteorite. He was decked out in a blue NASA flight suit, which suggested that he might have been a retired astronaut rubbing shoulders with some of the million or so annual pilgrims to Space Center Houston, the massive shrine to the past and future of human space flight.

After all, astronauts regularly swing by from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, situated right across the street, to give public presentations or have lunch with guests who pay for the privilege. But you don’t have to be an astronaut, retired or otherwise, to sport your very own NASA flight suit. The blue onesie goes for $99.99 in the well-stocked gift shop at Space Center Houston, where the boundaries between NASA engineers, aerospace aficionados, and seekers of space-age spectacle collapse like old stars across distant galaxies. (8/20)

Tardigrade Spill on the Moon Proves We Need Rules for Spreading Life Beyond Earth (Source: Vice)
“The tardigrade crash-landing is an important cross-road,” Panek said, warning that our track record of diving ahead without care for consequences resulted in abandoned bags of poop everywhere from Everest to the Moon. “We have an opportunity now to establish a framework, to listen to multiple perspectives, and think through the impacts of our exploration.”

"We have to make sure the person essentially with the most money can't just do whatever they want.” While not illegal, the idea that a private company could accidentally scatter living creatures on the Moon without any oversight or even disclosure is unnerving. Governments adhere to planetary protection protocols to limit biologically contaminating other worlds, but we don’t have laws or even cultural practices that place similar limits on private entities. We could change that.

“We have an opportunity to be proactive, instead of reactionary,” Panek said. Astrobiologist and space policy consultant Monica Vidaurri agreed. “This should be a warning sign that this is going to keep happening,” she said. “We have to make sure that we're holding each other accountable and that we're eliminating risk that could be avoided. We have to make sure the person essentially with the most money can't just do whatever they want.” (8/21)

Commercial Space Flights to be Available by the End of 2020, Virgin Galactic's Boss Says (Source: TVNZ)
People will be taken into space on commercial flights by the end of 2020, according to the new boss at Virgin Galactic. But with increasing concerns about climate change, there are question marks over the project's environmental impact. Spaceport America, situated in the New Mexico desert, bills itself as the world's first commercially-built space port, where paying customers will be able to travel from the NZ$339 million port into space in one of five spacecraft.

Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides dismissed concerns over the flights' effect on climate change, comparing the average flight's CO2 emissions "around that of a business class flight from New York to the UK... There's an awareness of our planet documented scientifically with astronauts – they come back changed with the greater realisation of the fragility of our ecosystem and ecosphere," he said. (8/21)

Plan to Update Rocket Launch Licensing is Pissing Off the Commercial Space Industry (Source: The Verge)
To launch a rocket, companies must get a series of licenses, including one from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA isn’t so much focused on what a company is launching, but it mostly deems a rocket safe to the uninvolved public and property. Currently, companies must go through a series of steps to get this license. But in February 2018, Trump’s National Space Council proposed making this process easier and more efficient after hearing input from the commercial space industry.

To meet the administration's goal of streamlining paperwork, the FAA came up with a newly proposed method for launch licensing. Since April 15th, the FAA sought insight from the public and the commercial space industry to get their thoughts on the proposed changes. But members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), a nonprofit that represents various companies within the private space industry, says that the new licensing rules would actually increase the amount of prescriptive regulations that companies would have to follow to go to space.

CSF representatives note the irony of the situation since the organization and its companies were the ones to ask for changes in the first place. Its members even made recommendations for how to update the rules. “The FAA took them, and they went and started formulating,” Eric Stallmer, president of CSF, tells The Verge. “And it came back, and we read it, and we tried to digest it. And then we walked away saying, ‘This is no better than what we had.’ In fact, I think it’s worse. It doesn’t answer the mail at all.” (8/20)

With Artemis, NASA at Risk of Repeating Apollo Mistakes, Scientist Warns (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA is taking big steps with Artemis, and getting a large agency like NASA moving quickly is difficult. For all of this, however, there are storm clouds on the horizon. Most obviously, there is the matter of paying for the program—the US House did not including funding for this effort in its preliminary fiscal year 2020 budget, and the Senate has yet to draft a budget. If there is not additional funding, NASA cannot give industry funds to go and do the work.

But there is another problem as well, which was highlighted at Tuesday's meeting of the National Space Council by Clive Neal, a lunar scientist at the University of Notre Dame. NASA stands a very real risk of turning the Artemis Program into a repeat of the Apollo Program—a flags-and-footprints sprint back to the Moon with no follow-through in the form of a lunar base or a sustained presence in deep space.

"To look forward to the Moon, we need to learn from the past," Prof. Neal said. "The Apollo program was a monumental achievement. However, Apollo showed us how not to conduct human space exploration because such a program based on international competition is not sustainable." However, President Trump has said on multiple occasions that he is more interested in humans "planting a flag" on Mars than returning to the Moon. He has publicly questioned Bridenstine about the need to go to the Moon before Mars, and during recent speeches that mention space, he has ignored the Moon entirely. (8/21)

NASA Confirms Ocean Moon Mission (Source: BBC)
Scientists working on an audacious mission to the ocean world of Europa can proceed with the final design and construction of the spacecraft, NASA says. The Europa Clipper mission will target the ice-encrusted moon of Jupiter, which is considered a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth. Below its icy shell, Europa is thought to hold a 170km-deep body of water. Due to launch in 2025, the Europa Clipper mission has now passed a stage called Key Decision Point C, a crucial marker on the road to the launch pad. (8/20)