September 18, 2021

SpaceX Inspiration4 Splashes Down in the Atlantic Ocean Off Florida Coast (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The Inspiration4 mission, flown by Crew Dragon Resilience, has concluded its three-day mission with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Resilience splashed down off the coast of Cape Canaveral at 7:06 PM EDT, about 50 minutes after it began its deorbit burn. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) had been filed for seven areas off of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida for Saturday evening and a backup opportunity early Sunday morning, but weather and sea conditions allowed landing to be made in the primary area at the first opportunity.

Crew Dragon Resilience launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday and reached a near-circular orbit at an altitude of 575 km above Earth and inclined 51.6 degrees to the equator. This is a similar altitude to the orbit of the Hubble Space Telescope and is significantly higher than the International Space Station which is currently in a 430 km orbit. It represents the highest altitude a crewed mission has reached since the early Space Shuttle missions in support of Hubble in the 1990s. (9/18)

Inspiration4 Crew Enjoying Time in Space (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
During their three days in space, Isaacman and company collected medical data to chart their adaptation to weightlessness, chatted with patients at St. Jude, gave the public a televised tour of their capsule and showed off the hemispheric dome SpaceX installed to provide spectacular 360-degree views of Earth and space. The crew also talked by radio with friends and family, including SpaceX founder Elon Musk, company president Gwynne Shotwell, actor Tom Cruise and rock star Bono of U2.

While about half the people who fly in space suffer from space motion sickness during their first few days in weightlessness, the Inspiration4 crew appeared cheerful and healthy in the video clips downlinked during the mission. Asked if the crew had to deal with any technical problems during the flight, he said there were a few “minor challenges” but nothing of any significance.

“For example, there was a minor waste management issue that the crew and mission control were required to troubleshoot,” he said, not adding any details. “But honestly, this did not impact the mission. … It was a huge success. To quote SpaceX, it was one of the most successful missions thus far that they’ve been able to execute. So overall, we couldn’t be happier.” (9/18)

Local Activities Centered Around Vandenberg Landsat Launch (Source: Noozhawk)
Landsat 9 Launch Week activities have been moved following the postponement of the Landsat 9 launch. These activities will be held as part of Landsat 9 Launch Week, now taking place Sep. 23-30. Landsat 9 is scheduled to launch Sep. 27 on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Activities include a GeoTour, an Earth As Art library gallery exhibit, family fun day, a wall mural ceremony, launch viewing, and other activities. (9/17)

Two Startups Get Access to India Space Facilities for Testing (Source: NDTV)
India's Department of Space (DoS) has entered into a framework agreement with aerospace technology startup Agnikul Cosmos for access to ISRO facilities and expertise towards the development and testing of subsystems/systems of space launch vehicles. The agreement will enable the company to undertake multiple tests and access facilities at various ISRO centers for testing and qualification of its single piece 3D printed Semi Cryo engine and other systems.

It will also enable Agnikul, based in National Center for Combustion R&D of IIT-Madras, Chennai, to avail technical expertise of ISRO for testing and qualifying its space launch vehicle systems and subsystems. Agnikul said the agreement would formally enable it to go forward with its testing plans at ISRO. (9/18)

Musk Soars While Bezos Sues In the New Space Race (Source: Washington Post)
Space races are supposed to be won in engineering labs or up in orbit. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, the next one might be won in a courtroom or regulator’s office. As Bezos’s companies fall behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the race to return humans to the moon and launch satellite-based broadband services, they’re increasingly resorting to politics and legal filings to get ahead. It’s not exactly a novel approach in Washington. But if Bezos prevails, it could do significant damage to America’s commercial space industry, just as it’s starting to get off the ground.

By almost any measure, SpaceX is far ahead in this race, launching rockets every few weeks and landing contracts to send landers to the moon. Big companies with deep pockets will always be tempted to sue rather than compete. But Bezos, as one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in American history, should understand that humanity’s progress into space is best promoted by trusting engineers and scientists — not litigators. The new space race is just beginning. It’d be a pity to see it tethered to the launch pad by red tape. (9/18)

NASA Was Once Known for Speed and Efficiency (Source: Washington Post)
It may be hard to believe these days, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was once known for its speed and efficiency. In July 1962, NASA invited 11 companies to bid on the Lunar Exploration Module — or LEM — that would ferry astronauts to the moon’s surface for the first time. Shortly thereafter, it chose Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. (later Northrop Grumman Corp.) for the contract. Just seven years later, the module was on the lunar surface.

Since then, NASA’s pace has slowed while costs have soared. In 2007, to cite only one example, the agency authorized a program to develop a new spacesuit for America’s next round of lunar exploration. Fourteen years later, there’s still no new suit. A recent audit predicted there won’t be one for at least another four years. And the cost? About $500 million per suit. A major reason for this glacial pace is that the project was distributed among 27 separate contractors. Back in 2019, Bezos himself offered a pretty good summary of the problem: “To the degree that big NASA programs become seen as big jobs programs, in that they have to be distributed to the right states where the right senators live, and so on, that is going to change the objective.”

Jeff Bezos predicted that if the LEM competition were held today, lawyers would line up next to the engineers. “Today, there would be, you know, three protests, and the losers would sue the federal government because they didn’t win. It’s interesting, but the thing that slows things down is procurement. It’s become the bigger bottleneck than the technology.”He was right! (9/18)

FAA Releases Initial Report on Boca Chica Launches, and it’s Not Terrible (Source: Ars Technica)
The FAA released a draft environmental review of SpaceX's plans for orbital launches from South Texas on Friday, kicking off a 30-day public comment period. For the large majority of these analyses, the FAA document finds "no significant impacts." The impact of noise to surrounding communities, including South Padre Island located several miles away, was believed to be one of the biggest concerns. But an independent assessment found noise levels to be manageable.

One exception came under the "biological resources" category. "The FAA has determined the Proposed Action would adversely affect species listed under and critical habitat designated under the federal Endangered Species Act," the report states. However, there may be a way to mitigate these impacts. Another potential area of concern is excessive road closures of Highway 4. This may be one reason why SpaceX is proposing an average of five Super Heavy launches per year during the operational phase of the program.

SpaceX has not revealed the full extent of its launch plans for Super Heavy and Starship, but the document suggests the company may eventually land its Super Heavy booster down range on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, and Starship may land in remote islands in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX also will likely conduct launches from a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a pad at Kennedy Space Center. The upside of Friday's document release is that SpaceX can now move forward with some confidence that it ultimately will at least be able to conduct orbital test flights of Super Heavy and Starship from South Texas. (9/17)