September 22, 2019

Clayton Turner Takes the Helm at NASA Langley (Source: Daily Press)
Clayton Turner holds out his hand and offers up a red pill and a blue pill. Actually, it’s a red jelly bean and a blue jelly bean — a nod to the dystopian sci-fi film “The Matrix." In the movie, the protagonist is given a choice: Swallow the blue pill and stay in copper-top ignorance. Or swallow the red pill and discover harsh reality and a world that needs to be rescued and rebuilt. Turner, recently tapped to lead NASA Langley Research Center, likes the analogy for the space agency. (9/21)

Sanders NASA Plan is Definitely Earth First (Source: The Hill)
NASA and, more specifically, the Artemis return-to-the-moon program, has not yet become a partisan political issue for the 2020 presidential election. That might change if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) becomes the Democratic nominee. For those people who care about the Artemis program’s potential — to benefit the United States and the world — a Sanders presidency would be a gut punch.

“Bernie supports NASA’s mission and is generally in favor of increasing funding for NASA, but only after the needs of Americans on Earth are met first,” his campaign website states. Taking his agenda into context, the statement can be roughly translated into: Under a Sanders presidency, no space exploration will take place. Sanders has some very ambitious plans to meet the needs of Americans on Earth first. His version of the Green New Deal, the plan to address climate change by remaking the American economy, is estimated to cost $16.4 trillion. (9/21)

Launch of South Korean Lunar Orbiter Delayed to 2022 (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
The launch of South Korea’s first moon orbiter has been delayed from December 2020 until July 2022 after the mission encountered technical issues during development, officials recently announced. The design of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or KPLO, has grown beyond its original launch weight, and engineers need more time to complete the detailed design of the spacecraft, South Korea’s space agency announced Sept. 10.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute, or KARI, said the country’s first mission to another planetary body suffered from “technical limitations” after teams completed the project’s preliminary design review in 2017. The mission is now in the detailed design phase, and engineers are working with test models of the orbiter’s hardware before assembling the KPLO spacecraft itself. The KPLO mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

An indigenous South Korean rocket named the KSLV 2 is scheduled for its first orbital launch in 2021, and KARI plans to loft future space missions, including an eventual lunar lander, on South Korea’s own launch vehicles. (9/20)

Japanese Cargo Launch Reset for Tuesday After Fire (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the prime contractor for Japan’s H-2B rocket, said Friday that engineers concluded a fire on the launch pad during a countdown earlier this month was most likely sparked by static electricity and stimulated by oxygen. The H-2B rocket launch from the Tanegashima Space Center has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 12:05 p.m. EDT, MHI said Saturday. Launch time is set for 1:05 a.m. Wednesday in Japan. The 186-foot-tall rocket will carry Japan’s eighth HTV cargo ship into orbit on a mission to resupply the International Space Station. (9/20)

Australian Government Commits to Join NASA in Lunar Exploration and Beyond (Source: NASA)
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced his nation’s intention to join the United States’ Moon to Mars exploration approach, including NASA’s Artemis lunar program. The announcement took place at a ceremony Saturday at NASA Headquarters in Washington during which NASA Deputy Administrator, Jim Morhard, and Head of the Australian Space Agency, Megan Clark, signed a joint statement of intent. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Australian Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr. also participated in the ceremony.

The statement foresees potential Australian contributions in areas of mutual interest such as robotics, automation, and remote asset management – similar to that currently used by Australia in mining operations – and builds on a unique history of space cooperation between the U.S. and Australia that dates back to the Apollo era. As part of Australia’s commitment to partner with NASA, Morrison pledged to more than triple the Australian Space Agency budget to support Artemis and Moon to Mars. (9/20)