March 4, 2021

Biden Lauds NASA Team for Giving US ‘Dose of Confidence’ (Source: AP)
President Joe Biden on Thursday congratulated the NASA team responsible for last month’s successful landing of an six-wheeled rover on Mars and for giving the country a “dose of confidence” at a moment when the nation’s reputation as a scientific leader has been tattered by the coronavirus pandemic. Biden speaking in video conference call with the leadership of space agency’s jet propulsion laboratory team expressed awe over the Feb. 18 landing of Perseverance.

Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, traveling some 300 million miles in nearly seven months, as part of an ongoing quest to study whether there was once life on the planet. “It’s so much bigger than landing Perseverance on Mars,” Biden told members of the NASA team. “It’s about the American spirit. And you brought it back” (3/4)

Thales Alenia Space Lands 2nd Generation Galileo Deal (Source: Via Satellite)
After winning the Telesat deal, Thales Alenia Space has followed up with another major contract worth 772 million euros ($929.8 million) with the European Space Agency (ESA), acting on behalf of the European Union represented by the European Commission. The deal was announced March 3.

Thales Alenia Space will provide six satellites as part of the second generation of Europe’s Galileo constellation. The first satellites of this second generation will be placed in orbit by the end of 2024. With their new capabilities relying on high innovative technologies (digitally configurable antennas, Inter-Satellites Links, use of full electric propulsion systems), these satellites will improve the accuracy of Galileo as well as the robustness to interference and jamming and resilience of its signal. (3/3)

Engineers Repair Valve for Mid-March "Green Run" SLS Hot Fire Test (Source: NASA)
Engineers have successfully repaired a liquid oxygen valve on the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage with subsequent checks confirming the valve to be operating properly. The team plans to power up the core stage for remaining functional checks later this week before moving forward with final preparations for a hot fire test in mid-March at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA anticipates setting a target date for the hot fire next week. (3/3)

Bezos Could Focus on Blue Origin's "Culture" (Source: Quartz)
In 2015, Bezos described “my main job [at Amazon] today: I work hard at helping to maintain the culture.” Perhaps that gives a clue as to what he can do at Blue now—to find some middle ground between Big Aerospace timelines and the frenetic work culture of Silicon Valley. Blue is seen as a less punishing workplace than Musk’s shop, where burnout can seem endemic. One industry source jokes that Blue is where SpaceX employees go to retire.

Bezos can replace all PowerPoints with six-page narrative memos (if he hasn’t already) but it seems unlikely he’ll pare back the company’s ambitions. Some industry observers argue that Blue doesn’t embrace risk in its test and development programs as much as SpaceX does, iterating at a slower pace. As I write this, SpaceX’s next generation rocket is attempting a public test flight—demonstrating a successful landing, followed by another rapid, unexpected disassembly.

The jury remains out on whether SpaceX’s willingness to blow up hardware is exactly what got it into space faster than Blue Origin. But so far, throwing money at the challenge hasn’t been enough for Bezos. He may have to incinerate a few rockets to get where he’s going. (3/4)

Indonesia Purchasing Broadband Satellite From Thales Alenia (Source: Space News)
The Indonesian government has finalized funding for a broadband satellite after a delay. The SATRIA project to develop a Ka-band geostationary satellite has secured about $545 million in funding, partly backed by France's Bpifrance export-credit agency. Thales Alenia Space announced in July 2019 that it had been selected as prime contractor for SATRIA but delays in financing the project meant a preliminary work agreement came only last September, with full financing secured just last month. The delay means Indonesia could miss a March 2022 deadline to put into use a slot in GEO at 146 degrees east. The Indonesian government has asked the International Telecommunication Union for an extension, citing the pandemic, and could move another satellite into that slot. (3/4)

China Developing Two Heavy-Lift Moon Rockets (Source: Space News)
China is proceeding with work on two heavy-lift rockets that could be used for future lunar missions. One vehicle, the Long March 9, would be able to place 140 tons into Earth orbit and 50 tons into a translunar injection trajectory. The Long March 9, which Chinese officials say requires breakthroughs in larger diameter structures and high-thrust engines, is slated to make its first launch in 2030. A second vehicle is a three-core rocket based on the Long March 5, using uprated versions of its YF-100 engines. That rocket would be used for crewed launches, including those for future human missions to the moon. (3/4)

China Releases Mars Images (Source: Xinhua)
China has released the first high-resolution images of Mars from its Tianwen-1 mission. The images, released Thursday, show the surface at a resolution of 0.7 meters and were taken at an altitude of 330 to 350 kilometers. Tianwen-1, which arrived at Mars last month, is currently in a parking orbit ahead of the release of its lander, expected in May or June. (3/4)

NASA Prepares Dragon Capsule for First Reuse with Astronauts (Source: Space Daily)
NASA is preparing for the first time to reuse a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the Endeavor, on a crewed mission in April. The capsule previously took astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in May. The upcoming Crew 2 mission is planned for launch no earlier than April 20 from Kennedy Space Center.

The capsule as refurbished includes some new components, Stich said, such as parachutes and a heat shield. SpaceX also has boosted the amount of fuel available if the mission must be aborted during an emergency on the launch pad, or just after liftoff, he said. The rocket and capsule "were designed with reuse in mind, like the space shuttle was designed for a certain number of flights," Stich said. Stich noted that SpaceX designed the current Falcon 9 model to be flown 10 times with minimal refurbishment, and already has done that eight times with a single rocket booster. (3/3)

Italian Astronaut Prepares for Second ISS Mission (Source: ESA)
An Italian astronaut will make her second trip to the International Space Station next year. The European Space Agency said Wednesday that Samantha Cristoforetti will fly to the station in the spring of 2022 on either a Crew Dragon or Starliner commercial crew mission. Cristoforetti spent 200 days on the station in 2014 on her first spaceflight. (3/4)

Garriott Goes Extreme (Source: CollectSpace)
A private astronaut is now the first person to visit four extreme locations on, around and below the Earth. Richard Garriott dove this week to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the Earth's oceans, on a commercial deep-submergence vehicle. Garriott, the incoming president of the Explorers Club, previously went to space as a private astronaut in 2008. He is now the first person to have gone into orbit, both the North and South Poles, and the bottom of the ocean. (3/4)

Three-Stage Rocket Launches from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia (Source: NASA)
A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket was launched in the afternoon on March 3, 2021, for the Department of Defense from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The launch was to study ionization in space just beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. After flying to an altitude of several hundred miles and about 500 miles off-shore, the rocket’s payload released a small quantity of vapor into the near-vacuum of space. There is no danger to public health or the Earth’s environment from the vapor release. (3/3)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites From Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Lands Booster for Eighth Time (Source: Space News)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another group of Starlink satellites early Thursday. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 3:24 a.m. Eastern from the Kennedy Space Center and deployed its payload of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit 65 minutes later. The rocket's first stage, making its eighth flight, landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean successfully, two and a half weeks after the booster on the previous Falcon 9 launch failed to land. A SpaceX executive said earlier this week that an engine shut down on that earlier launch after hot gas went through a hole in a cover surrounding engine components. (3/4)

Starlink Prototype Lands in Texas, Then Blows Up (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched and landed a Starship prototype Wednesday, only to have the vehicle explode minutes later. The Starship SN10 prototype flew to an altitude of about 10 kilometers on the flight, lasting nearly six and a half minutes late Wednesday at the company's Boca Chica, Texas, test site. Unlike the previous two Starship test flights, SN10 landed intact, and SpaceX declared the flight a success. Less than 10 minutes later, though, there was an explosion at the base of the vehicle, catapulting it skyward before crashing in flames several seconds later. SpaceX did not disclose what caused the explosion, but noted that another Starship prototype, SN11, will soon be ready for tests. (3/4)

Biden Administration Releases Guidance on Space Security (Source: Space News)
A national security policy by the Biden administration calls for safety and security of outer space. The Interim National Security Strategic Guidance released Wednesday by the White House includes language supporting the exploration and use of outer space "to the benefit of humanity" along with ensuring "the safety, stability, and security of outer space activities." It also endorses "promoting shared norms and forge new agreements" on space and other issues with national security implications. The guidance is to help agencies plan budgets and strategies while the administration continues to work on a more detailed National Security Strategy. (3/4)

Raymond: Space Force Should Not be Politicial Issue (Source: Space News)
The commanding general of the U.S. Space Force says the new service should not be considered a political issue. Gen. John Raymond said in a speech Wednesday that the support the Biden administration has given the Space Force demonstrates that space is an issue of national interest. The creation of the Space Force, he argued, "is already paying great dividends" in helping the U.S. remain the leader in space. (3/4)

Cost of NASA's VIPER Lunar Misssion Spikes After Delay (Source: Space News)
A NASA lunar rover mission has passed a key review, but its price has sharply increased. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is scheduled to launch in late 2023 to study ice deposits thought to exist at the south pole of the moon. VIPER passed its confirmation review last month and the mission, originally projected to cost around $250 million, now has a formal cost commitment of $433.5 million. NASA did not disclose the reason for the increase, but agency officials said last year they had delayed its launch by about a year to make changes to its design so that it could operate for 100 days on the lunar surface. (3/4)

L.A. Musician Helped NASA Put a Microphone on Mars (Source: KTLA)
It is the martian breeze heard around the world! “That little puff of wind is what saved the day, because that’s the actual sound of the planet,” explained Jason Achilles Mezilis, an L.A.-based musician and NASA consultant. For the first time, a Mars rover captured audio from the red planet “and it worked, which is amazing,” added Mezilis. Mezilis is part of the team that made the recording possible. I spoke with him at his home in Los Angeles, where he explained how his own perseverance landed him a spot on the rover’s audio team.

The LA-based musician figured his studio smarts could help the folks at JPL put the right mic on perseverance. So he wrote a proposal to NASA and they accepted. Similar audio-capturing mics on two previous Mars missions failed. What eventually made it on board is an off the shelf mic that retails for a few thousand dollars. “A half-inch diaphragm condenser microphone,” explained Mezilis, to be specific. (3/1)

Musk, Maezawa Say Moon Mission is On Track for 2023 (Source: Space Daily)
SpaceX will fly its deep-space rocket Starship in orbit "many, many times before 2023" and will take 12 people around the moon that year, the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk announced on Tuesday. "It will be safe enough for human transport by 2023 -- it's looking very promising," Musk said in a video announcement with Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

Maezawa and Musk fleshed out plans for the so-called dearMoon mission, which they first mentioned in a press conference in 2018. That's when Maezawa said he'd purchased a flight on the Starship moon/Mars rocket, before the first prototype had been built. Maezawa originally intended to bring artists with him on the flight. On Tuesday, he said he has broadened his criteria for eight of his fellow passengers to include anyone who can accomplish something greater in their lives by going to space. (3/2)

Stofan to Lead Smithsonian Science and Research (Source: Smithsonian)
Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, has been named the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for Science and Research, effective March 14. In this role, Stofan will lead the Institution’s collective scientific efforts and commitment to research. The position oversees the Smithsonian’s science museums, science research centers and Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

This includes the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoo and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, the Museum Conservation Institute, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Stofan will report to Meroe Park, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer. (3/3)

How Salt Water Could Fuel a Mars Mission (Source: Air & Space)
In a new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Pralay Gayen and two of his colleagues from Washington University in St. Louis introduce a new technology that has the capability to produce oxygen and hydrogen from salt-rich water. The invention has many applications, but it’s especially valuable for a future human mission to Mars.

Perchlorates and other salts have been detected on Mars previously, and pools of liquid brines (very salty water) are also thought to exist below the surface. The method described by Pralay et al. could be used to extract pure oxygen and hydrogen from these underground pools. The high salt content within the brines actually would be an advantage, because it can keep the water liquid at temperatures well below its normal freezing point. The authors demonstrated the validity of this concept by testing their instrument—called a Perchlorate Brine Electrolyzer—with a magnesium perchlorate solution at a temperature of -36o C (-33o F) under a simulated Mars atmosphere.

In electrolysis, a compound is separated into its components with the help of an electrical current. The new invention uses an anode (positive electrode) made of lead ruthenate pyrochlore to produce oxygen and a platinum/carbon cathode (negative electrode) to produce hydrogen. Electrolysis also has been used to extract oxygen from carbon dioxide instead of water, as in the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) currently enroute to Mars onboard NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft. Its objective is to demonstrate the basic technology that could be used to provide future Mars astronauts with life-sustaining oxygen. (3/3)

Lab-Grown Black Hole Behaves Just Like Stephen Hawking Said it Would (Source: Live Science)
In 1974, Stephen Hawking theorized that the universe's darkest gravitational behemoths, black holes, were not the pitch-black star swallowers astronomers imagined, but they spontaneously emitted light — a phenomenon now dubbed Hawking radiation. The problem is, no astronomer has ever observed Hawking's mysterious radiation, and because it is predicted to be very dim, they may never will. Which is why scientists today are creating their own black holes.

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology did just that. They created a black hole analog out of a few thousand atoms. They were trying to confirm two of Hawking's most important predictions, that Hawking radiation arises from nothing and that it does not change in intensity over time, meaning it's stationary. (3/2)

NASA’s Latest Mars Rover Has the Same Processor as an iMac From 1998 (Source: The Verge)
NASA’s Perseverance rover is the most advanced machine that’s ever landed on Mars. But when it comes to rovers, “state of the art” is a subjective term. Perseverance is running on a PowerPC 750, a single-core, 233MHz processor with just 6 million transistors that’s most famous for powering the original iMac from 1998. It’s the same type of processor that NASA already uses in its Curiosity rover, and it also powers the Fermi Space Telescope, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Deep Impact comet-hunting spacecraft, and the Kepler telescope, among others.

That may seem like a waste to some. After all, even with the difficulty of buying computer parts these days, surely NASA could have found the budget for something like Intel’s $500 Core i9-10900K CPU (with 10 cores and a max clock speed of 5.3GHz) somewhere in the $2.7 billion cost of Perseverance. But such an advanced chip is actually a detriment to the unique operating conditions of Mars. That’s largely because Mars’ atmosphere offers far less protection from harmful radiation and charged particles than Earth’s atmosphere. A bad burst of radiation can badly wreck the sensitive electronics of a modern processor — and the more complex the chip, the more can go wrong.

Because of those conditions, Perseverance actually features two computing modules: one is a backup just in case something goes wrong. (A third copy of the module is also on board for image analysis.) To make the system even more durable, the PowerPC 750 chip in Perseverance is a little different than the one in the old iMacs. It’s technically a RAD750 chip, a special variant that’s hardened against radiation and costs upwards of $200,000. (3/2)

The First Space Hotel is Set to Start Construction by 2026 (Source: Washington Post)
While the concept of space tourism may sound ludicrous, plans to launch people into space as a vacation vs. a vocation are well underway. Orbital Assembly, a large space construction company, announced this year in a virtual event on its YouTube channel that it was on track to begin construction on the world’s (er, galaxy’s) first space hotel by 2026, Interesting Engineering reported. John Blincow, chief executive of Orbital Assembly, said the coronavirus pandemic may ultimately delay the construction start date from its original 2025 projection.

He believes it could take just a year or two to assemble Voyager Station, the commercial space station that will house the hotel. “It’s going to happen fast when it starts,” Blincow said. “And we believe it’s going to happen a lot, too, even before we finish the first one. We have buyers for other stations because they’re very, very lucrative.” A trip to the first space hotel should cost $5 million for about 3½ days orbiting the Earth.

That sum may sound extreme, but it’s exponentially cheaper than other up-and-coming opportunities for private citizens — for example, the first would-be spaceflight crew made up of private citizens each paid $55 million a ticket for Axiom Space’s trip up to the International Space Station for eight days. The rotating structure will have artificial gravity, so tourists won’t float through the place like goo in a lava lamp or experience “moon-face” — the head pressure-inducing, sinus-clogging effect caused by microgravity’s impact on the body’s fluid distribution. With their fluids where they’re supposed to be, hotel guests will be able to sleep, eat, shower and use the restroom normally, Blincow said. (3/3)

Astra to Launch NASA Hurricane-Monitoring Cubesats (Source: Astra)
NASA has chosen Astra to help carry out a mission that beautifully reflects our vision of improving life on Earth from space. Under a newly-awarded contract as part of the agency’s Tropics program, Astra will launch six NASA satellites into orbit that will enhance the world’s understanding of some of our deadliest storms – and help our planet build a long-term plan for resilience and sustainability.

Astra will carry out three launches in 2022 to deliver NASA CubeSat satellites that will allow scientists to better measure the temperature, pressure and humidity of hurricanes. This project is especially near and dear to me. Following the five years I spent at NASA working alongside some of the most creative and visionary people I’ve ever met, this is a chance to team up once again. I know firsthand how much hard work and world-class expertise goes into NASA technology, and am proud the agency is putting its trust in Astra’s launch capabilities to deliver its satellites into orbit. (3/3)