June 12, 2021

Number of Mysterious Radio Flashes Detected Quadruples (Source: Sky & Telescope)
Fast radio bursts are powerful but fleeting flashes of radio waves. Their brevity makes them hard to find; since 2007, astronomers have detected only about 140 of them. Now a first data release from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) nearly quadruples that number with 535 new fast radio bursts (FRBs), including 61 bursts from 18 repeating sources. The data come from the detector’s first year of operations, from mid-2018 to mid-2019.

The radio flashes CHIME does see are spread out on the sky, which means that, as astronomers had already suspected, the sources of these mysterious flashes aren’t concentrated in the Milky Way. But that spread isn’t completely uniform. The team finds that FRBs correlate with galaxies out to 5 billion light-years away. At least some fast radio bursts likely originate on or around the burnt-out stellar cinders known as magnetars. The case for magnetars grew stronger when a known magnetar was caught emitting an FRB in our own galaxy. (6/12)

Russia’s Future Space Station May Serve as Hub for Missions to Deep Space (Source: TASS)
The orbital station that Russia plans to launch after 2025 will feature a modular design, and may serve as a site for finally assembling and launching spacecraft into deep space, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Aleksandr Sergeyev said. "The ISS was made in the paradigm of the 1970s-1980s, when it was designed. This time has passed, and a new view has evolved on the layout and the tasks that the station must cope with, and this relates not only to experiments and some observations," he said.

"This also means that this should be some sort of a service station to gear towards cosmonautics, carry out the repairs of some spaceships that have broken down or, perhaps, it may serve as some hub to orbit separate fragments of a future spacecraft for a deep space flight because the launch of such spaceships from Earth is costly and requires some super-heavy carriers," Sergeyev said. Editor's Note: The ISS was also pitched as a way station for missions to the Moon and beyond. It never filled that role, for the same reasons Russia's proposed space station won't. (6/11)

Meet the Space Trailblazers of Color Who Empowered Others to Dream (Source: CNN)
By the time Neil Armstrong’s left boot met the moon’s surface in 1969, then-13-year-old Bernard Harris Jr. was hooked. As a Black boy growing up in the Navajo Nation, Dr. Harris — now a retired NASA astronaut — said he found his passion for space when he admired the stars in the sky above him in that “magical land of grand canyons and painted deserts,” where his mother worked as an educator for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. “And I was inspired when I saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed,” he added. “I said, ‘I want to do that.’”

Harris ultimately did reach similar heights: After earning his medical degree with the intent to — as he put it — “somehow, by hook or crook, find my way to NASA,” he ultimately became one of the 23 NASA astronaut applicants accepted from a pool of nearly 2,000 qualified applicants in 1990. In 1995, Harris became the first African American and Black person of any nationality to walk in space. Click here. (6/11)

Tiny Van Horn, Texas, Gears Up for International Fame with Jeff Bezos’ Upcoming Space Launch (Source: Dallas Morning News)
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will put tiny Van Horn, Texas, on the international map next month when he’s scheduled to go into space from a launch site near there. Bezos’ Blue Origin aerospace company’s rocket launch site is in a secluded desert area near Van Horn, a tiny town of about 1,800 people located about 120 miles southeast of El Paso.
 
The launch has generated more excitement outside of Van Horn than in the area itself, where many residents are taking it in stride, said Van Horn Mayor Becky Brewster, who previously was the city administrator for 30 years. “A lot of people are interested in space and space travel,” so Bezos’ flight should put Van Horn in the spotlight and put the small town on the international map, she said. (6/11)

No More SpaceX Testing Road Closures, South Texas Non-Profit Urges County (Source: Border Report)
A non-profit organization is calling on Cameron County to stop future Highway 4 road closures for SpaceX activities for the rest of the year, saying the company has violated agreements made in 2013 and 2014. Save RGV, a local non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of the remaining natural areas of eastern Cameron County, wrote to county officials to point out “multiple and egregious violations” to the 2013 agreement between the county and the Texas General Land Office and the FAA’s 2014 Record of Decision. 

The agreement details the conditions by which the public can be barred from using the road to access Boca Chica Beach and surrounding state parks and wildlife refuges for SpaceX testing. Among the violations cited by RGV are road closures without proper notice, reducing and extending road closure time without proper state and county authorization, lack of a “beach mitigation plan” during closures, violation of the Texas Open Beaches Act of 1959, and exceeding the allotted number of hours for spaceflight cycles by the FAA’s 2014 ROD without any amendments, modifications or changes to the document. 

The ROD limits the number of spaceflight cycles to 12 per year and the closure hours to 180 per year. “There appears to be no attempt whatsoever by either Cameron County or the GLO to abide by or enforce the closure limits,” the letter says. The FAA did issue a Written Reevaluation on 12-2-20 that increased the allowed closure hours to 300 hours per year. The attached closure log, documented by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Coastal Bend Bay & Estuary Program, not only shows that closures have already exceeded 300 hours in less than 5 months, but that the actual closure hours (385) have exceeded the County-published closure announcements by 50 hours (335),” the letter stated. (6/11)

Blue Origin's Auction Could Ripple Through Space Industry, Virgin Galactic (Source: Investors Business Daily)
Blue Origin will pick a very rich future astronaut to fly to space alongside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, while also helping set a key benchmark for the space industry. Auction proceeds will benefit Club for the Future, Blue Origin's nonprofit foundation to encourage children's interest in space. The flight is set for July 20 and will mark the first crewed flight of the New Shepard rocket.

The bidding amounts will help Blue Origin determine the market value for their future New Shepard seats, Laura Forczyk, the founder of space consulting firm Astralytical, told IBD. It will also be interesting to see how space tourism competitors such as Virgin Galactic (SPCE) adjust their pricing in response, she added. (6/11)

Air Force Should Release Documents Surrounding Space Command’s Move (Source: Denver Post)
The Air Force is sticking by its decision — and the process that led to it — to move the headquarters of the U.S. Space Command from its temporary location in Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama. “Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, was selected as the preferred location because it compared more favorably across more factors and at a lower cost than any other candidate location,” Sarah Fiocco of the Air Force Press Desk said in an emailed response to questions.

But the Air Force continues to refuse to release the documents that show details of how it came to its decision because the decision is not final. And won’t be until sometime in 2022 when an environmental assessment of the Huntsville site is completed. In other words, we’ll show you how and why we did this after we do it. It’s a confounding process, made worse in a political environment where nobody trusts or believes anyone else. In this case, even when they’re usually on the same side.

Since the decision was announced in January and as the Trump administration transitioned out and the Biden administration came in, two reviews of the Air Force decision were launched. A review of the decision-making process by DoD's Inspector General is expected to be finished later this year. A review by the GAO was granted in March. The initial selection process included a scoring system based on four factors broken into 21 criteria, the Air Force said. The six highest scoring applications became the finalists, and lots more information exchanged hands during a qualitative review that led to the selection of Huntsville. (6/11)

SMC Stands Up New Space Safari Program Office (Source: USSF)
Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), recently announced the establishment of the Space Safari Program Office within SMC’s Special Programs Directorate.  Space Safari responds to high-priority, urgent space needs by rapidly acquiring, integrating and executing missions in support of USSPACECOM requirements and other combatant commander needs. These missions are not typically a part of an enduring program of record, but respond to high priority needs to deploy space systems quickly to respond to emerging threats. 

As a high-speed integrator for specialized space missions, Space Safari operates with a unique mission focus, rapidly connecting space vehicles, specialized payloads, launch campaigns and ground systems, all while coordinating with the operational community and end-users.  Similar to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Big Safari office, Space Safari uses mature technology and existing production lines to quickly repurpose and integrate space assets from multiple organizations. (6/11)

KSC Expands Solar Energy Production with Florida Power & Light (Source: FPL)
More solar is taking off at the KSC Visitor Complex! Through a partnership with NASA Kennedy Space Center, the new FPL Discovery Solar Energy Center is generating 75 MW of clean energy for the Sunshine State. Now, when you visit, you can be inspired by space and solar. (6/11)

Cocaine Parcels Wash Ashore at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
A Department of Homeland Security investigation is underway after some 65 pounds of cocaine washed ashore on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A wildlife manager was conducting sea turtle nesting surveys when she found small, tightly wrapped packages dotting the shore, Space Launch Delta 45 said. All in all, 24 packages weighing nearly 30 kilograms – roughly 65 pounds – were recovered from the beach. A Brevard County Sheriff's Office narcotics agent performed a field test and confirmed all were filled with cocaine. (6/12)

Alaska Communications Expands Connectivity Offerings With OneWeb Satellites (Source: Alaska Communications)
Alaska Communications has signed a Distribution Partner Agreement with OneWeb, the global communications network powered from space, to expand the company’s connectivity solutions across Alaska. Through the agreement, Alaska Communications will sell OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service to its customers and use OneWeb’s infrastructure for critical middle mile connections. (6/10)

Healthy Mouse Pups Born From Freeze-Dried Space Sperm (Source: Astronomy)
Studying fertility in space can be hard. As of right now, astronauts aren’t doing multi-year stints in a microgravity environment. But one day, our descendants will be traveling to other planets — and, eventually, perhaps even deeper into the cosmos. Building a long-term space colony will require researchers to have a better understanding of how microgravity impacts mammalian reproduction, as well as how mutations in DNA from increased radiation exposure could be passed down to offspring.

That’s where mouse sperm comes into play. For almost six years, researchers kept a batch of freeze-dried mouse sperm aboard the ISS to study how radiation and microgravity affects this key component of reproduction. Researchers looked at how three different batches of freeze-dried mouse sperm on the ISS held up over time. The first set was stored for just nine months to ensure the experiment was working, while the second and third batches remained in space for nearly three and six years, respectively.

The researchers found that despite years stored in space, once revived, the mouse sperm could still carry out its primary task, resulting in the birth of a number of healthy, normal pups.  In an additional experiment, supplemental X-ray radiation was applied to a few samples of the frozen and control test sperm. Based on the results, the team predicts that sperm could potentially stay viable for over 200 years on the ISS. (6/11)

Branson Plots $3 Billion SPAC Merger to Launch Virgin Orbit on to Stock Market (Source: Sky News)
Sir Richard Branson is in advanced talks about a multibillion dollar merger to take Virgin Orbit, his satellite launch company, on to the US public markets. Virgin Orbit is close to finalizing a deal to combine with NextGen Acquisition II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by George Mattson, a former Goldman Sachs banker. 80% of Virgin Orbit is currently owned by Branson's Virgin Group empire. Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, owns the remaining 20% of Virgin Orbit's shares. A definitive deal valuing Virgin Orbit at approximately $3 billlion could be announced in the coming weeks. (6/12)

If a Scary Asteroid Will Actually Strike Earth, Here's How You'll Know (Source: Mashable)
NASA created its Planetary Defense Coordination Office in early 2016, with a mission to provide "timely and accurate information to the government, the media, and the public on close approaches to Earth by potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) and any potential for impact." Though sensationalist media stories about incoming asteroids are many, NASA hasn't ever sounded the alarm about a dangerous asteroid bound to impact Earth, or a very worrisome approach.

"We have never actually issued a warning," said Johnson. (But they have informed the public about what some asteroids of interest are doing.) There are generally two types of warnings: notification of a very close encounter and notification of a potential impact. For either of these, you'll know they're legitimate because "NASA has actually said something about it," said Johnson. A "close encounter" warning means a space rock isn't going to strike Earth, but NASA thinks it's still deserving of the public's attention, explained Johnson. It could be as small as a 30-foot (10-meter) rock, or it could be something bigger like Apophis.

If NASA detects a possible impact — something larger than around 30 feet across with a greater than one percent chance of hitting Earth — things get serious. Johnson's office will give warning notifications to NASA to provide the White House, Congress, and government agencies. Public warnings won't simply be in the form of a NASA press release, tweeted out and posted online. "At that point the White House takes the lead on new information being released," said Johnson. "It becomes a national emergency event," he added. FEMA would have to prepare for a disaster if an impact on U.S. soil were likely. (6/12)

Governments Ally for Federated Quantum Encryption Satellite Network (Source: Space News)
The United States and five other countries are banding together with the United Kingdom to develop a satellite-based quantum technology encryption network. The Federated Quantum System (FQS) will be based on the one British startup Arqit is developing for commercial customers, using quantum technology breakthroughs to guard against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

But while that network is on a managed services platform run by Arqit, FQS will be closed off in a way that enables interoperability between allied countries. Fighter jets and other military units and command and control centers would be able to share communications more securely across a sovereign-controlled network. The governments of Japan, Canada, Italy, Belgium and Austria are also partnering on the initiative, which includes companies from each country to design and test the system. (6/11)

Collins Aerospace to Support NASA Life Support Systems at New Houston Spaceport Campus (Source: Space.com)
More than 50 years after it provided the communications link between Houston and the moon, Collins Aerospace is again helping connect "Space City" with the future of U.S. activities in space.

The aerospace company, a unit of Raytheon Technologies, has become an anchor tenant at Houston Spaceport, the "world's first truly urban commercial spaceport." Collins Aerospace executives joined city and spaceport officials on Monday (June 7) to ceremonially break ground on its new 8-acre (3.2 hectares), approximately 120,000-square-foot (11,150 square meters) campus located at Ellington Airport. (6/11)

Europe Picks Categories for Three Flagship Space Missions (Source: Science)
The European Space Agency (ESA) revealed the three broad science themes it wants to pursue for large-scale missions of €1 billion or more that would launch between 2035 and 2050. They include a close look at icy moons around Jupiter and Saturn, dissecting the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, and new ways to study the formation of the universe’s first stars, galaxies, and black holes.

ESA refreshes its slate of science missions roughly every decade or two. The current program, called Cosmic Vision, has three flagship missions that will launch before 2034: a spacecraft to study Jupiter’s moons, an x-ray telescope, and a gravitational wave detector.

The next round, dubbed Voyage 2050, kicked off in 2019 with almost 100 suggested missions or themes from teams of researchers. Those ideas that could achieve breakthrough science were whittled down into three broad categories by 75 researchers split into six committees. ESA’s Science Program Committee approved the categories this week. Although the themes do not explicitly call for missions, some translate into fairly specific mission possibilities. (6/11)

NASA is Seeking Proposals for a Further Two Private Astronaut Missions to the International Space Station (Source: Business Insider)
NASA is seeking proposals for the next two private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS). One mission is expected to take place between the fall of 2022 and mid-2023, and the other between the middle and end of 2023. The agency said it is seeking proposals from US commercial space companies in an effort to make space accessible to more people than ever before.

The news follows a previously announced private mission to the ISS. Earlier in May, NASA and Axiom Space agreed to fly the first private astronauts to the ISS as early as January 2022. A deadline for the new mission proposals has been set for July 9, 2021, at 5 p.m. EDT. (6/12)

NASA Doesn’t Need to Test SLS Anymore, But the Senate Mandates it Anyway (Source: Ars Technica)
Even as he was celebrating the recent SLS hot fire tests at Stennis, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker must have been wondering what his center would do after the SLS rocket is gone. During the 15-month test campaign, officials from NASA and the core stage contractor, Boeing, made it plain that they only needed to perform ground test firings of this vehicle one time. Future SLS rockets would ship straight from the factory in Michoud, Louisiana, to the Florida launch site. US Senators, however, have some power. And Wicker clearly wanted more high-profile tests for the Mississippi center in order to keep the center's workforce engaged, so Stennis may well have more tests.

The US Senate passed the Endless Frontier Act this week to bolster US research and innovation. It carried a number of amendments, including NASA "authorization" language sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington. Most notably, Cantwell told NASA it must select a second provider to build a Human Landing System for the Artemis Moon Program, alongside SpaceX. Wicker co-sponsored it and got his own language added to the bill. The Stennis-specific provision says NASA should "initiate development of a main propulsion test article for the integrated core stage propulsion elements of the Space Launch System, consistent with cost and schedule constraints, particularly for long-lead propulsion hardware needed for flight."

So what exactly is a "main propulsion test article," and why does NASA need one? According to a Senate staffer, who spoke to Ars on background, this would essentially be an SLS core stage built not to fly but to undergo numerous tests at Stennis. "Testing on the actual flight hardware is risky from a schedule perspective," the staffer said. Astronauts would be safer, too, if the SLS vehicle could be subjected to testing under more extreme conditions, he said. (6/10)

Artemis I Core SLS Stage Goes Vertical at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Up, down, up, down. The 212-foot long core stage for the Artemis I rocket to the moon has been living life both horizontally and vertically, but it’s time it went vertical and stayed that way. NASA is preparing to mate the massive central component of the Space Launch System rocket to the twin solid rocket boosters already in place atop the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Teams on Friday with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems rotated the 188,000-pound core stage, that arrived to KSC in April by barge, and has been resting horizontally for pre-stacking testing since. (6/11)