October 17, 2021

Another Russian Engine Issue Rocks ISS: Surprise Soyuz Thruster Firing Tilted and Turned the ISS (Source: Engadget)
The astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station had to initiate emergency protocols after the spacecraft tilted and turned by 57 degrees on Friday. All is well now, but the Roscosmos and NASA ground teams had to spring to action and alert their personnel in space after noticing the change in orientation. According to The New York Times, the incident happened while cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky was testing the engines aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft that's currently docked with the station.

NASA spokesperson Leah Cheshier told the publication that "the thruster firing unexpectedly continued" when the engine testing was scheduled to end. By 5:13 AM Eastern time, the ISS lost control of its orbital positioning. Russian controllers in Moscow immediately told Novitsky that the station turned 57 degrees, while NASA's mission control in Houston told its astronauts to begin emergency procedures. Flight controllers were able to regain control of the station around 30 minutes later. The Soyuz spacecraft that caused the incident is expected to fly a Russian fillm crew — that same one that flew to the ISS to shoot the first feature film there earlier this month — back to Earth.

This is the second such emergency on the station. Back in July, the thrusters on Russia's Nauka module fired "inadvertently and unexpectedly" causing the ISS to tilt by about 45 degrees. At the time, NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said the ISS lost "attitude control," which is also what happened in this case, and that the event was quite rare. (10/16)

Success! NASA's Lucy Asteroid Mission Launches From Florida (Source: Fox 35 Orlando)
A historic liftoff lit up the sky over Florida early Saturday morning. NASA's Lucy spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral to explore asteroids near Jupiter. The goal is to study the origins of the solar system. "With Lucy, we’re going to eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft," said Tom Statler, Lucy project scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery as we probe into our solar system’s distant past." (10/16)

Musk Says Starlink Will Provide Faster Internet Speeds on Airlines (Source: CNBC)
Elon Musk touted SpaceX’s plan to use Starlink for in-flight Wi-Fi, saying in a tweet on Thursday that the service could add “low latency ~half gigabit connectivity in the air!” Starlink is the company’s project to build an interconnected internet network with thousands of satellites to deliver high-speed internet to consumers anywhere on the planet. SpaceX has previously said that it has an “aviation product in development,” and is “in talks with several” airlines about adding Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi. (10/14)

Some Starlink Customers Have Canceled Their Preorders, After Paying a $100 Deposit and Receiving No Contact From SpaceX (Source: Business Insider)
John Duran paid a $100 deposit in February to secure Starlink and replace his "horrible service that is as good or worse than having nothing," he told Insider. After months of no communication or updates from Starlink, Duran, who is based in Montana, canceled his Starlink preorder in September. He said he would have preferred not to.

"I'm not mad, just disappointed," Duran said, who is currently using the mobile hotspot from his phone through internet provider Verizon. "I didn't want to cancel, honestly." He's not the only Starlink customer to become so fed up with waiting for the satellite internet service that it's led to cancelling the deposit. (10/16)

FAA To Kick Off Public Hearings on SpaceX Environmental Review (Source: Flying)
SpaceX has set some lofty goals to develop the world’s most powerful launch vehicle, capable of sending crew and cargo to the Martian surface. The spacecraft, Starship, and its Super Heavy rocket will be launched from the Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas—if it can gain approval from the FAA.

Next week, the FAA will start hearing public comments on its draft environmental assessment of SpaceX’s program in Texas. The 149-page report, released in September, outlines the effects Starship would have on the environment, as well as potential safety hazards regarding overflight of populated areas. The FAA previously extended the public comment period to allow time for agencies, organizations, Native American tribes, and the general public to review the report in preparation for their comments. (10/15)

Time for the U.S. to Rethink its Space Decoupling Strategy with China (Source: CGTN)
In 2011, a two-sentence clause, known as the Wolf Amendment, was included in the U.S. spending bill. It prohibits NASA and OSTP from coordinating joint scientific activity with China. While the U.S. isolates itself, others have been working closely with China on space exploration. China and Russia are planning on building a Joint International Lunar Research Station by 2035. That facility is designed to be open to international participation. The European Space Agency assisted China's Mars exploration by providing telemetric and tracking support.

As the major space powers step up their cooperation in the field, is it wise for the U.S. to stay out of it? Just as China-U.S. economic cooperation is indispensable, the world's top two space powers working together could accelerate the advancement of space exploration and scientific discovery. While experts have been talking about how political distrust between the two countries hinder that cooperation, why shouldn't China and the U.S. use space cooperation as a foundation to build back the political trust? (10/16)

Effort to Stop Move of U.S. Space Command to Alabama Gains Allies, Steam (Source: The Gazette)
Tennessee's Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper hosted many visitors from Alabama to his Washington, D.C., office last fall and winter. It seems the state's top lawmakers had been told by the Pentagon that they were falling well behind in the race to house U.S. Space Command and wanted help. Cooper, whose district is just a short jaunt up Interstate 65 from Hunstville's Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, was willing to listen.

As chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees space, Cooper, who visited Colorado Springs in recent days, was an important friend for any town that wanted the command to foster. So, on Jan. 13., Cooper was shocked when Alabama was announced as Space Command's new home. And at the time, he also talked with his Alabama colleagues. "They were as surprised as the rest of us," he said. For Cooper, the scenario he saw ahead of the Trump administration's pick for Alabama was a sign one sees in Congress from time to time: The fix was on.

Cooper said he's still going to wait for the Pentagon's Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office to release findings of investigations into how Alabama won. But the lawmaker, who has served in the House since 1983, said he believed President Donald Trump when he told a radio show in August that he "single-handedly" made the choice. Cooper is a key friend now for Colorado Springs as lawmakers work to upend the Alabama decision to move Space Command and its 1,400 troops from the Pikes Peak region to Huntsville. (10/15)

International Space Engagement Helps Fill Strategic Gaps (Source: Air Force Magazine)
America’s space-dependent way of life and its military space advantage are threatened by the new space weapons wielded by adversaries. But in just two years, Space Force is motivating traditional and new partners to fill strategic gaps and to guarantee access to space through investment and information-sharing, as long as the right barriers can be broken down.

One month on from a chiefs meeting in Colorado Springs that brought together heads of space agencies from 22 nations, U.S. Space Command and Space Force were marching ahead with the global engagement necessary to strengthen America’s space network and create a globally dispersed partnership. "We had representatives from every continent except Antarctica,” he said, noting how the international chiefs conference doubled its attendance from its first iteration two years prior.

“It is clear that we are stronger together,” he added. “We operate together, we train together, we now are developing capabilities together. And for all the international partners that are here, thank you for being here. Again, we are stronger together. And we look forward to continuing to build that team.” The Colorado meeting focused heavily on the need for greater space domain awareness and norms of behavior in space to counter the types of threatening anti-satellite capabilities that adversaries such as China and Russia have demonstrated on orbit and from the ground. (10/14)

Allies Collaborate to Further Space Security, Situational Awareness (Source: National Defense)
The U.S. Space Force recently gathered its international allies in August to discuss how it can further global collaboration as it seeks to maintain order in a critical warfighting domain. Space leaders from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, Japan, Chile and France took part in the discussion. Air Chief Marshal Michael Wigston, chief of the air staff for the Royal Air Force, said the United Kingdom believes the first step toward successful collaboration is to establish common rules in the space domain.

“The U.K. believes strongly that an open and resilient international order is fundamental to all of our security and prosperity, and that means people playing by the rules,” he said. “The first bit of collaboration I would point to is actually not military collaboration, it’s [collaboration] between our governments and our diplomats working in the United Nations to establish rules and norms of responsible and safe behavior in space.”

Countries such as Russia and China are acting “increasingly reckless” in space by fielding systems that are designed to interfere with, harm, or destroy space platforms, he noted. “So, establishing international norms and rules of behavior in space is a fundamental path to cooperation.” (10/14)

Zero-G Looks to Increase Flights From Long Beach (Source: Spectrum News 1)
Just as space tourism made its big debut, it looked like one of the industry's first and oldest companies might miss out. Zero-G, which debuted in 2004, was the first to offer a similar service, carrying hundreds of passengers a year into the sky. While the company’s Boeing 727 does not go into space, it creates a zero-gravity environment for 30 seconds at a time. The company had fallen on hard times in 2019 with lengthy delays that cost money, the resignation of its CEO and growing debt to vendors. On the cusp of closing, company investors reached out to Matt Gohd.

“It’s iconic, it’s huge, it’s just been mismanaged,” he thought at the time. “It’s a great brand and has a lot of potential.” He looked at the problems facing the company, talked to some investors and charted a path forward. Before the company could rehab its finances, the pandemic grounded the plane again, forcing furloughs and more tough decisions. But as the vaccine became available and effective COVID-19 testing became more widely available, Zero-G got back to business. In 2020, it launched 30 flights, and this year, Gohd projects the company will hit a record 1,000 passengers.

Now, the company is looking to raise another $10 million to purchase a second plane with hopes of doubling the number of flights it can perform in a year. Gohd said the new plane will be specially outfitted, but the company isn’t ready to announce the new ways in which it will be outfitted. That plane could be based out of Las Vegas, but will mean more visits to Long Beach. Spaceflights on difficult-to-maintain equipment like the SpaceX Falcon 9 cost millions per person and don’t fly often. Zero-G can provide a similar experience, offering passengers about seven or eight minutes of zero gravity over the course of an entire flight. (10/15)

Search for Extraterrestrial Life Helped Make Your Smartphone’s Screen Possible (Source: Wall Street Journal)
In December, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its partners plan to launch the James Webb Space Telescope. A technological marvel 100 times as powerful as the Hubble telescope, it has enough visual acuity to examine the atmospheres of planets far outside our solar system for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

The Webb, a NASA collaboration with space agencies in Europe and Canada, will do its work at an orbit around the sun 1 million miles away from our world. Here on Earth, though, part of the technology that went into the giant telescope is also visible when you look at the screen of a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, or laptop computer with the latest high-resolution displays. (10/16)

Shatner Reacts to Prince William's Disapproval of Space Race (Source: Entertainment Tonight)
William Shatner is responding to Prince William's criticism of space travel. ET's Nischelle Turner spoke with the 90-year-old actor on Thursday, one day after he traveled to space, and Shatner was quick to defend his journey, and space travel as a whole. "He's a lovely Englishman. He's going to be king of England one day," Shatner told ET of the Duke of Cambridge. "He's a lovely, gentle, educated man, but he's got the wrong idea."

Shatner, best known for playing Captain Kirk on Star Trek, went to space with Blue Origin, the company founded by Jeff Bezos, as one of four passengers on board the New Shepard NS-18 ship. Though the duke didn't mention Bezos by name, he told BBC, "We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live."

"It really is quite crucial to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future," the royal continued, noting that he has "absolutely no interest" in going to space, largely because there's a "fundamental question" over the carbon cost of space flights. For Shatner, though, the journey held a different meaning, one that thought ahead to protecting the Earth, not finding an alternate place for its people to inhabit. (10/14)

Mark Hamill Not Sure Why People Want to Shoot Him Into Space (Source: NY Daily News)
He’s a Lukewarm Skywalker. “Star Wars” star and Twitter sensation Mark Hamill seems to be in no hurry to follow in the footsteps of “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, who took a joy ride on one of billionaire Jeff Bezos’ rockets this week. He also wonders why so many of his fellow Earthlings are anxious about getting rid of him for a while. “Not sure how to feel about so many people suggesting I be shot into space,” Hamill tweeted Friday.

Hamill’s popular Twitter feed was flooded with fans both encouraging and discouraging him from pursuing the opportunity. Others suggested that considering all of his fictional experiences in space, a quick real-life glimpse at the cosmos might seem anticlimactic to the 70-year-old actor. It was also suggested that the celeb space race that may now be underway is reminding science fiction watchers of the fan rivalry between Hamill’s and Shatner’s movie franchises. He was also assured that most folks wanting to see him in a rocket want only the best for him. (10/15)

Rich People Like Shatner Ride Rockets While the Poor Suffer on Earth. That’s Messed Up (Source: Fresno Bee)
When Captain Kirk made it to space, I was driving past a panhandler. The Gil Scott-Heron song, “Whitey on the Moon,” came to mind. We’ve got poverty and pandemics. But Shatner’s riding a rocket. I say this as a fan of “Star Trek” and William Shatner. I’ve cheered on the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. I’ve even enjoyed Shatner’s campy spoken-word recordings — including his bizarre rendition of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

But “Star Trek” sold us a fantasy. They forgot to tell us that only the rich and famous will go where no man has gone before. The rest of us will be stuck in traffic, while poor folks beg for cash on freeway off-ramps. In the background of Shatner’s triumph are tragic inequalities. Rich people live long, healthy lives. Poor people do not. A report from before the pandemic indicated that rich American men live an average of 15 years longer than poor American men. (10/15)

How ‘The Expanse’ Is A Cautionary Tale For Real World Space Commercialization (Source: Breaking Defense)
In the science fiction series The Expanse, human colonization of the solar system has been driven primarily by capitalist corporate interests. Those fictional megacorporations — just as today on Earth, often led by visionary billionaires—operate as near-sovereign entities, despite technically being licensed primarily by Earth’s militarized United Nations. Unfortunately, in their largely unfettered and often subsidized pursuit of profit, those corporations also serve as catalysts for terrorism, rebellions, and interplanetary war. (10/15)

China Launches New Crew to Tiangong Space Station (Source: Parabolic Arc)
China launched the second three-member crew for a three-month stay aboard the Tiangong space station early Saturday morning local time. The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carrying commander Zhai Zhigang and crewmates Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 2F booster. The crew is scheduled to dock with the space station about 6.5 hours after launch. (10/15)

UK Invites Canadian Space Companies to Trade Mission (Source: SpaceQ)
The United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Trade in collaboration with the Welsh Government and Scottish Government is hosting a bilateral trade mission in March 2022 for Canadian companies. Applications are now being accepted until October 29, 2021. Raymond Enone, PMP, Senior Investment Officer at the British Consulate-General Montreal told SpaceQ via email that the “plan is to sponsor a delegation of 7 Canadian space representatives (one delegate per space company).” (10/15)