May 7, 2020

The Little Tires That Could… Go to Mars (Source: NASA)
It’s rocky. It’s sandy. It’s flat. It’s cratered. It’s cold. The surface of Mars is a challenging and inhospitable place, especially for rovers. As future missions to Mars become more complex, NASA’s robotic wanderers will need new technologies to look deeper into the history of the Red Planet. One of those technologies is an innovative new tire in development at NASA’s Glenn Research Center using innovative shape memory alloys (SMA).

Tires made from these shape-shifting materials offer unmatched durability because they flex with the terrain unlike current rigid wheels. They can actually envelop rocks without the risk of puncture. And they can be designed to provide a smoother ride – almost like adding shock absorbers – to minimize potential damage to systems on the rover. “Glenn began working with the U.S. tire industry years ago to develop a better non-pneumatic, or airless, tire for the Moon,” said Vivake Asnani. “This led to an advanced tire known as the Spring Tire, constructed using a network of steel springs, that adapted and contoured to terrain like a traditional rubber tire.”

Glenn engineers have since replaced the conventional steel with springs made of SMA to improve a rover’s ability to operate in extremely rocky terrain and at the cold temperatures of Mars. This is appealing to mission planners for future use on Mars because of its lighter weight, traction performance and durability. (5/7)

Taking Stock of NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Progress (Source: Space News)
We should recognize how quickly CLPS has helped recharge American leadership in space. Since 2018, there have been seven lunar missions launched around the world, and none of them were carrying the American flag. If current CLPS procurement schedules hold, and all signs look like they will, five U.S. missions to the moon will be on the books by year end. Those familiar with typical government procurements will recognize that is heroic work on the part of NASA to match the speed of the private sector. It is also clear that the lunar surface is about to become a hub of significant activity.

So what are the implications of so many lunar missions on the horizon? First, science is about to experience a boom. For too long, planetary missions have been a point solution for one set of investigations with little to no follow up thereafter. CLPS is going to alter this dynamic significantly. American science investigators will now have instruments on the moon at least twice a year. CLPS missions are also poised to become a hotbed of private innovation. Our first mission will feature a technology demonstration of our Terrain Relative Navigation sensor that will enable 100-meter landing precision in a GPS-denied environment. Our planetary mobility department is testing new rover techniques that will push the envelope on what kinds of science can be done on a low-cost rover.

Our non-NASA customers are similarly testing new techniques for power, communication, and robotics with their payloads on the lunar surface. All of these developments will advance national capability, and many are originating in the private sector. These missions are showing promise in revitalizing the U.S. space industrial base. In our case, we are a young company with tight deadlines and a commitment to keep costs low. To that end, we have been heartened by the new businesses with skilled and capable workers who have risen to the challenge of getting America back to the moon with a shared sense of urgency, and in a commercially competitive environment. (5/6)

Australia Spy Agency Wants Innovative Small Satellite (Source: ZDNet)
The Australian government’s Office of National Intelligence has reached out to industry to prototype a small satellite with onboard artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. ONI wants to test a satellite that can apply those capabilities to radio-frequency and geospatial data in order to minimize the amount of data that needs to be communicated to ground stations. ONI is accepting tenders until June 5, and expects the satellite to launch by June 2021. The agency is requiring the winning bidder to design, build, launch and commission the satellite. (5/6)

UCF Explores New Way to Mine on the Moon (Source: UCF)
UCF is taking inspiration from well-established mining techniques on Earth to tackle mining on the moon and asteroids. University of Central Florida planetary scientist Phillip Metzger and his team at the Florida Space Institute have received a $125,000 NASA grant to develop a cost-effective and logistically feasible way to mine minerals on the moon. Metzger says the method could change the future of space travel and have long-range benefits for Earth, such as reducing our carbon footprint.

Many universities and private groups are researching ways to mine the moon. Methods under consideration require heavy machinery be transported to the moon or asteroids. Getting the heavy machines there would be expensive and the extreme conditions on the moon and in space present other challenges. Many proposed thermal extraction methods require heating up the ice along with soil around it and forcing a phase change to turn the ice into steam in order to extract the ice from the soil. But because there is no atmosphere to keep the moon warm, the craters are extremely cold, making it difficult to generate the changes needed to turn ice to vapor while the ice is still in the crater. This method would require tremendous amounts of energy.

UCF’s patent-pending method skips this procedure altogether, foregoing the unnecessary energy by separating the ice from the other material after extraction. Through the incorporation of various scientific methods, the goal is to conduct beneficiation, a process of separating the nonessential materials from the ice. At the end of this well-established process there will be separated ice, mineral and metal piles. NASA wants Metzger to further investigate the technique and run simulations in his lab to see if the approach has merit for further support. (5/6)

After 60 Years, Explosion-Powered Rockets Are Nearly Here (Source: WIRED)
As the director of the Propulsion and Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Central Florida, Kareem Ahmed has spent the past few years developing a next-generation rocket engine that uses controlled explosions to boost stuff into space. It’s called a rotating detonation engine (RDE), and it promises to make rockets lighter, faster, and simpler. But before it ever heads to space, engineers and physicists need a better understanding of how the hell it works.

RDEs are fundamentally the same as all other rocket engines: A fuel and oxidizer are ignited, and as they rapidly expand they are pushed out of a nozzle at high speeds, which blasts the rocket in the opposite direction. But the devil, as always, is in the details. In conventional liquid rocket engines like the kind used by SpaceX, the fuel and oxidizer are pressurized and fed into the ignition chamber using bulky turbopumps and other complicated machinery. A rotating detonation engine doesn’t need these pressurization systems, because the shock wave from the detonation provides the pressure.

In the RDE developed by Ahmed and his colleagues, hydrogen and oxygen are fed into a combustion chamber. A small tube is used to send a shock wave into the chamber, which triggers the detonation. As the pressure wave moves through the chamber, it encounters more hydrogen and oxygen being fed into the front of the engine by dozens of tiny injectors. When the detonation wave hits the fresh fuel and oxidizer, it rapidly raises the temperature and pressure of the gases. This causes them to combust and send a flame shooting out of the rocket engine. (5/6)

Movie-In-Space Plans Could Launch New Era for Filmmaking (Source: Inverse)
SpaceX may be about to boldly go where no film director has gone before. The space-faring firm is reportedly set to shoot an entire feature-length movie in space, teaming up with famed Hollywood actor Tom Cruise for an action-adventure flick. Deadline reported Monday that the project involves NASA, currently has no studio attached and is in the very early stages. It's also not a Mission: Impossible film, the six-movie franchise that first hit theater screens in 1996 and will return for a seventh in 2021.

It's the latest in a series of moves by SpaceX toward expanding its offerings beyond its current focus on launching space satellites with its Falcon 9 rocket. The firm has big plans for manned missions like a lunar base, a trip around the moon, and a city on Mars. Its Starship rocket, currently under development in Texas, is expected to bring launch costs down even further with a fully-reusable design. Cruise's film may be the first feature-length movie filmed in space, but it's arguably not the first movie made in space. That accolade likely belongs to Richard Garriott, one of the first pirvate space tourists that shot the five-minute sci-fi flick in 2008 aboard the International Space Station:

Beyond shooting a film, SpaceX has a number of big ideas for moving further into entertainment. The "Dear Moon" mission, set for sometime in 2023, will send Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and a team of six to eight artists on a trip around the moon. The goal is to inspire a team to create new artworks around their trip – perhaps drawing on the "overview effect" experienced by astronauts when they see the Earth in its entirety from space. Musk has also previously shared an image of the Starship hosting a concerto during its flight. The ship is expected to feature a common area like this in its crew configuration. (5/7)

DoD Seeks to Overturn FCC Ligado Decision (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department will seek to overturn an FCC decision allowing Ligado to operate a 5G network near a GPS spectrum band. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, officials said they were considering an appeal of the FCC's order last month, and added that legislative action could be another way to address the issue. Those officials said they received a draft version of the FCC order last October and expressed their objections to it then, and had expected the FCC to deny Ligado's request. The Defense Department argues their analysis shows that Ligado's network would interfere with both civilian and military GPS users. Ligado, which was not invited to testify at the hearing, reiterated in a statement that they have taken steps to avoid any interference. (5/7)

Space Council Discussing More Regulatory Changes (Source: Space News)
The National Space Council is in discussions with the FCC and other organizations about orbital debris mitigation regulations. Scott Pace, executive secretary of the council, said in a podcast interview Wednesday that he was concerned that some of the FCC's proposed regulations, such as insurance and performance bond requirements, could affect the competitiveness of American satellite operators. The FCC deferred action on most of those regulations at a meeting last month, and Pace said the council is "having a long dialogue" with the FCC and other agencies, like the Commerce Department, about them. Pace also said the council is working on a new overarching national space policy, which was last updated by the Obama administration a decade ago. (5/7)

NASA Readies to Reopen Centers (Source: Space News)
NASA is preparing to gradually reopen facilities closed for weeks because of the pandemic. In an online town hall meeting Wednesday, agency leadership said that they have created a framework for centers to use to gradually reopen, starting with those personnel who need to be on site to carry out their work. Those who have been teleworking will likely be asked to continue to do so for the foreseeable future, though. NASA's planning is taking into account the possibility of a second wave of the coronavirus later this year, although NASA may respond in a more targeted fashion, closing individual buildings rather than entire centers if new cases are reported among its workforce. (5/7)

Amergint Acquires Tethers Unlimited (Source: Space News)
Amergint Technology has acquired space technology company Tethers Unlimited for an undisclosed sum. Tethers Unlimited has developed a variety of technologies, including water-powered propulsion systems, reprogrammable smallsat radios and robotic spacecraft arms. Amergint said that it will combine its expertise in ground systems with Tethers Unlimited's spacecraft expertise to create end-to-end solutions for the satellite communications and in-space services markets. Amergint acquired Raytheon Technologies' space-based precision optics business in April. (5/7)

Space Force Releases Recruitment Ad (Source: Space News)
The Space Force released its first recruitment ad Wednesday. The video shows a montage of launches, spacecraft, and control rooms, and includes the line, "Maybe your purpose on this planet isn't on this planet." The Space Force has not yet started openly recruiting new members. For now it is asking selected airmen in space jobs to voluntarily transfer to the new branch, followed by members of other branches. (5/7)

China's Main Long March 5B Payload, an Uncrewed Crew Spacecraft, Operating Well (Source: AP)
China says an experimental next-generation crewed spacecraft is operating well in orbit. The spacecraft was launched on a Long March 5B rocket Tuesday and has since raised its orbit several times ahead of a landing scheduled for Friday. Chinese media reported that the spacecraft was performing as expected on this uncrewed test flight. (5/7)

Black Hole Discovered Just 1000 Light Years From Earth (Source: Science)
Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to the Earth, "just" 1,000 light-years away. Astronomers detected the black hole by measuring the motions of two stars in the HR 6819 star system, finding that they are influenced by an unseen object four times the mass of the sun. An object that large would be visible if it was a star, suggesting that it is instead a black hole. (5/7)

Russian Space Executive Dies From COVID-19 (Source: Moscow Times)
An Russian space industry executive diagnosed with COVID-19 has passed away. Yevgeny Mikrin, chief designer for Energia, was diagnosed with the disease last month, shortly after attending a Soyuz launch of three people to the International Space Station. Roscosmos announced Tuesday that he died, but did not state the cause of death. Roscosmos said that, prior to Mikrin's death, 173 people in the Russian space industry had been diagnosed with the disease and six had died. (5/7)