June 28, 2021

Researchers Aim to Move an Asteroid (Source: Space Daily)
An asteroid strike on Earth could be prevented by new technology launching into space this year. Professor Alan Fitzsimmons is playing a role in two space missions that will measure how hard it is to deflect an asteroid. Later this year, the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will launch to intercept the Didymos asteroid system. When an asteroid the size of Dimorphos strikes the Earth, it can easily destroy any cities or towns within tens of kilometers.

The DART mission's target isn't asteroid Didymos itself, but its smaller moon called Dimorphos. DART will collide with Dimorphos at over 6 kilometers/second in September next year, destroying the spacecraft, but slightly moving the asteroid moon. "Dimorphos is about 160 m across and is similar to those asteroids mostly likely to cause us concern in the next 100 years. By deflecting it in its path around Didymos, DART will show us it is possible to move a small asteroid that could hit us in years to come."

Finding out exactly what happened to Dimorphos is the task of the second spacecraft, the European Space Agency Hera Mission. Professor Fitzsimmons is a member of the Science Management Board for the ESA spacecraft. Hera will launch from Earth in 2024 and arrive at Dimorphos in 2026, staying there for about a year. The spacecraft will precisely measure how massive Dimorphos is and how the small asteroid responded to being hit by DART. (6/28)

Nelson’s First NASA Challenge: The Space Race with China (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Both the U.S. and China are currently focused on exploring the moon and Mars. NASA administrator Bill Nelson — former astronaut and Florida’s U.S. senator for 18 years — referred to China as “a very aggressive competitor.” Science journalist Miles O’Brien said China “wants no less than supremacy in space.” NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy testified to Congress on May 20, “China has made their goals very clear — to take away space superiority from the United States.”

NASA expanded its mission from Mars to Venus to see if we want to send astronauts there. The DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions are meant to determine if Venus’s surface and atmosphere can sustain life. However, no spacecraft has managed to survive the temperature and pressure of Venus’ surface for more than two hours — it’s way too hot (847 degrees Fahrenheit).

While NASA focuses on Venus, China’s space program, the China National Space Administration (CNSA), is aimed at landing people on the moon, something NASA hasn’t done since Apollo 17 in 1972. It’s astounding that 52 years since the U.S. landed, we have done nothing with human beings for decades but send commuter shuttles to a space station 200 miles away. (6/27)

WeatherFlow Expanding in Daytona Beach (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
A weather data company forecasts growth for its Daytona Beach operations, with more space, new jobs and additional revenue. WeatherFlow-Tempest Inc. will lease 5,000 square feet at the new 10,000-square-foot Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center, a new facility opening at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Research Park in April 2022. The company already operates 23,000 square feet of production space in Embry-Riddle's Research Park, but needs more room.

The new space will support the Scotts Valley, California-based firm’s need for more manufacturing space to keep up with demand for its weather monitoring devices, CEO Buck Lyons said. WeatherFlow manufactures the Tempest, a home weather system that uses real-time data and artificial intelligence to deliver accurate forecasts. It also provides data and software to clients like the National Weather Service. (6/22)

Russia Launches New Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Russia launched the first in a new generation of reconnaissance satellites Friday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 3:50 p.m. Eastern and placed the Pion-NKS No.901 satellite into orbit. This is the first in a new series of satellites used for naval reconnaissance to track ships by both detecting their radio emissions as well as through radar. (6/28)

SpaceX Plans July Orbital Starship Launch, But FAA License Process Likely Takes Longer (Source: Space News)
The president of SpaceX says the company is "shooting for July" for the first orbital Starship launch, but regulatory reviews make that timeline unlikely. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at a conference Friday that the next major milestone in Starship's development is that orbital test flight, which she said the company was targeting for launch "in the very near term."

That orbital launch would require a new FAA license, which cannot be awarded until after the agency completes a new environmental review that is still in progress, with no firm timeline for completion. That review could lead to a more detailed environmental impact study that would further delay orbital launches from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, site. (6/28)

Gravitational-Wave Detector Could Sense Merging Black Holes With the Mass of a Planet, Millions of Light-Years Away (Source: Universe Today)
Gravitational-wave detectors have been a part of astronomy for several years now, and they’ve given us a wealth of information about black holes and what happens when they merge. Gravitational-wave astronomy is still in its infancy, and we are still very limited in the type of gravitational waves we can observe. But that could change soon.

Current gravitational wave observatories are sensitive to the mergers stellar-mass black holes. We’ve observed a few mergers involving neutron stars, but most have been between black holes on the order of tens of solar masses. We can’t yet observe the gravitational waves of supermassive black holes in other galaxies, nor can we observe those of planet-sized worlds. Proposed detectors such as eLISA will allow us to observe the former, but it will take a novel new idea to detect the latter. (6/27)

Most Exoplanets Won’t Receive Enough Radiation to Support an Earth-Like Biosphere (Source: Universe Today)
To date, astronomers have confirmed the existence of 4,422 extrasolar planets in 3,280 star systems, with an additional 7,445 candidates awaiting confirmation. Of these, only a small fraction (165) have been terrestrial (aka. rocky) in nature and comparable in size to Earth – i.e., not “Super-Earths.” And even less have been found that are orbiting within their parent star’s circumsolar habitable zone (HZ).

In the coming years, this is likely to change when next-generation instruments (like James Webb) are able to observe smaller planets that orbit closer to their stars (which is where Earth-like planets are more likely to reside). However, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Napoli and the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), Earth-like biospheres may be very rare for exoplanets. (6/27)

Shipkillers: From Satellite to Shooter at Sea (Source: Space Review)
The growth of the Soviet Navy in the 1960s and 1970s led the US to develop new ways to track and target those vessels. Dwayne Day examines how the Navy and the NRO developed systems to relay satellite tracking information directly to weapons control stations on ships and planes. Click here. (6/28)
 
Jumpstarting European NewSpace (Source: Space Review)
The European Union used an event last week to highlight its space programs, including a new initiative intended to support entrepreneurial space companies on the continent. Jeff Foust reports that some of those companies disagree with the approach the EU is taking. Click here. (6/28)
 
Before You Go, Administrator Nelson (Source: Space Review)
Bill Nelson goes into the job of NASA administrator knowing his tenure will be limited by politics and policy. Roger Handberg argues that Nelson should make it a priority while in office to create plans for a successor to the International Space Station. Click here. (6/28)
 
Global Space Traffic Management Measures to Improve the Safety and Sustainability of Outer Space (Source: Space Review)
The rise in the number of satellites and debris in Earth orbit poses risks to space operators in all countries. Jamil Castillo explains why space traffic management solutions thus need to take a global approach. Click here. (6/28)

NASA Looking at Space Sustainability Roles (Source: Space News)
A NASA team is examining what roles the agency can take in space sustainability. The orbital debris review team, announced at a conference last week, will examine how NASA "could take a larger role in efforts to mitigate and remediate orbital debris," an official said. That could include specific activities tied to an orbital debris R&D roadmap published by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy early this year, which outlined work in areas to reduce the creation of new debris, tracking space objects and removing debris. Other space agencies are funding pilot programs for orbital debris removal, but at costs that may not be affordable on larger scales. (6/28)

China Considering Solar Power Beaming Satellites, Launched by New Heavy-Lift Rocket (Source: Space News)
China may consider using a new heavy-lift rocket to launch solar power satellites. The concept, presented by the chief designer of the Long March rocket series in a presentation last week, would use the Long March 9 rocket to launch components for solar power satellites that would operate in geostationary orbit, beaming power down to Earth. Commercial, gigawatt-level power generation would be realized by 2050, and require more than 100 Long March 9 launches and around 10,000 tons of infrastructure, assembled in orbit. The presentation also suggested a new design for the Long March 9 rocket that would do away with strap-on boosters originally proposed for the rocket. The first Long March 9 launch is expected no earlier than 2030. (6/28)

OneWeb Considered for Rural UK Broadband (Source: BBC)
OneWeb announced an agreement Sunday with BT to study rural broadband services in Britain. Under the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will look at how OneWeb's satellites could provide broadband for rural areas of the U.K. as well as at sea. OneWeb will be able to provide initial services for locations north of 50 degrees latitude after the launch of its next set of satellites, scheduled for Thursday. SpaceX's Starlink system is already in beta testing in Britain. (6/28)

What if Marmosets Lived on the Moon? (Source: The Economist)
This story is fiction, but grounded in historical fact, current speculation and real science. A primate colony set up to explore one fundamental aspect of the human condition has ended up illuminating another. The marmosets' ability to throw themselves at people across seemingly unfeasible distances can be unsettling, and their buzzing and shrieking takes a lot of getting used to, as does their smell. But the members of the Caird collective will not hear a word spoken against the marmosets with whom they share their spaces at the Moon’s South Pole.

As they sit in their insulated caves hoovering moondust out of the animals’ tails, few of the Cairders can imagine their life on the rim of Shackleton crater without them—and none wants to. The marmosets of the Moon are the first and best example of what has turned out to be a fundamental fact of space flight: that the further humans get from Earth, the more they benefit from the companionship of other Earthly animals. Click here. (6/28)

ULA, Boeing, and NASA Prepare for Uncrewed and Crewed Starliner Flight Tests (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
United Launch Alliance (ULA), Boeing, and NASA have all started their final preparations for the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. OFT-2 will demonstrate all of the changes made to the Starliner spacecraft following the partial failure on the first OFT mission in December 2019. Preparations are also underway for the Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT), including the delivery of the Atlas V rocket to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

On the morning of December 20, 2019, an Atlas V N22 launched from Space Launch Complex 41 with the Calypso Starliner spacecraft (also known as Starliner 3) for a planned eight day mission to the International Space Station. After successfully reaching orbit, Starliner suffered from several software issues causing its docking to the ISS to be called off. It did, however, successfully accomplish many of its mission objectives before returning to Earth. It landed at the White Sands Space Harbor just two days after its launch.

A few months after the first OFT mission was completed, Boeing made the decision to perform a second flight test. OFT-2 will be a complete redo of the OFT-1 mission to demonstrate changes made to the Starliner system. Some cargo on OFT-2 will be in preparation for the CFT mission. A U.S. flag will be sent to the ISS to remain on the orbiting lab until CFT returns to Earth. Other provisions will include clothes and sleeping bags for the CFT astronauts. Starliner will also return approximately 188 kg of cargo to Earth for NASA at the conclusion of OFT-2. (6/26)

OFT-2 Starliner Spacecraft Fueled in Advance of July Launch (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
After over a year of unexpected delays, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is poised to take to the skies in its final proving run before carrying astronauts. Teams at NASA and Boeing have finished fueling the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in preparation for its second uncrewed orbital flight test, OFT-2, which is currently expected to take place at 2:53 p.m. EDT on July 30. The main task for its roughly week-long mission is to demonstrate autonomous rendezvous and docking capabilities with the International Space Station. (6/28)

Space Club Hosts July 13 In-Person Luncheon with Planetary Society's Brendan Curry (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club Florida Committee welcomes Brendan Curry as the featured guest speaker for a July 13 luncheon at the Radisson Resort at Port Canaveral. Mr. Curry, the Chief of Washington DC Operations for the Planetary Society (and a former senior legislative aide to Space Coast Congressman Dave Weldon), will discuss the Space Coast's role as the "Last Stop Before the Universe." Click here to RSVP. (6/28)

Giant Comet Found in Outer Solar System by Dark Energy Survey (Source: Space Daily)
A giant comet from the outskirts of our Solar System has been discovered in 6 years of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is estimated to be about 1000 times more massive than a typical comet, making it arguably the largest comet discovered in modern times. It has an extremely elongated orbit, journeying inward from the distant Oort Cloud over millions of years. It is the most distant comet to be discovered on its incoming path, giving us years to watch it evolve as it approaches the Sun, though it's not predicted to become a naked-eye spectacle. (6/28)

Comet Strike May Have Sparked Key Shift in Human Civilization (Source: Space Daily)
A cluster of comet fragments believed to have hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago may have shaped the origins of human civilisation, research suggests. Possibly the most devastating cosmic impact since the extinction of the dinosaurs, it appears to coincide with major shifts in how human societies organized themselves, researchers say. Their analysis backs up claims that an impact occurred prior to start of the Neolithic period in the so-called Fertile Crescent of southwest Asia.

During that time, humans in the region - which spans parts of modern-day countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon - switched from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to ones centred on agriculture and the creation of permanent settlements. It is thought that the comet strike - known as the Younger Dryas impact - also wiped out many large animal species and ushered in a mini ice age that lasted more than 1,000 years. (6/25)

China's Long March Rockets Have World's Highest Success Rate (Source: Space Daily)
The success rate of the launch of China's Long March carrier rockets is the highest in the world, a space scientist said. Long Lehao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a chief designer of Long March rockets, said the rocket series have completed 375 launches and stressed that the accuracy of putting satellites into orbit and the number of launch times are all first-class in the world. The Long March rockets are based on independent innovation, have reached a high technological level, and are moving toward intelligent control, he said. (6/25)