November 20, 2022

Astronauts to Live and Work on the Moon by 2030, NASA Official Says (Source: The Guardian)
Astronauts are on course to be living and working on the moon before the end of the decade, according to a NASA official. Howard Hu, the head of the US agency’s Orion lunar spacecraft programme, said humans could be active on the moon for “durations” before 2030, with habitats to live in and rovers to support their work.

“Certainly, in this decade, we are going to have people living for durations, depending on how long we will be on the surface. They will have habitats, they will have rovers on the ground,” he said. “We are going to be sending people down to the surface, and they are going to be living on that surface and doing science,” he added. Hu was put in charge of Nasa’s spacecraft for deep-space exploration in February, and on Sunday he was speaking as the 98-metre (322ft) Artemis rocket powered towards the moon on its first uncrewed mission. (11/20)

Another Chinese Rocket Mishap Threatens Elon Musk's Starlink Satellites (Source: TIME)
China has made few friends lately with the serial, uncontrolled reentries of the spent first stages of its Long March 5B spacecraft, which have posed potential threats to populations on the ground. Now, as the South China Morning Post reports, a Chinese rocket has created yet another mess—this time in orbit 500 km (310 mi.) above Earth, at an altitude that could imperil SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation.

At a media briefing on Monday in Beijing, a foreign ministry spokeswoman acknowledged that the first stage of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket had broken up in orbit after delivering an ocean observation satellite to space. The first stage typically reenters the atmosphere and burns up on its way down. Preparatory to reentry, the stage dumps its unused fuel, and a possible explosion during that exercise is thought to have led to the break-up. It is also possible that the stage disintegrated when it collided with another piece of space debris.

Whatever the cause, the mishap spells trouble. One scientist from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy reported observing more than 40 fragments “tumbling fast, giving very distinct flash patterns." The incident has caused some speculation that the break-up was deliberate, since China is on-record objecting to the Starlink constellation, claiming that it could threaten the country’s national security. (11/18)

Ethiopian Scientist on the Search for Water on the Moon (Source: BBC)
Ethiopian-American NASA research engineer Berhanu Bulcha is aiming to find a solution to the problem of locating water on the moon, to help humans set up a permanent base there. Dr Berhanu and his team are developing a prototype light-weight compact spectrometer that could definitively identify where water reserves are on the moon.

"It's the million-dollar question," he tells the BBC by phone from one of NASA's offices in the US. Since getting to graduate school at the University of Virginia 12 years ago, Dr Berhanu has been focussing on developing space instruments that would solve problems for Nasa - and arguably the search for water is the biggest problem of all. (11/19)

Space Exploration Goes Underground (Source: Phys.org)
Is there life in Martian caves? It's a good question, but it's not the right question—yet. An international collaboration of scientists led by NAU researcher Jut Wynne has dozens of questions we need asked and answered. Once we figure out how to study caves on the Moon, Mars and other planetary bodies, then we can return to that question.

The first, "Fundamental Science and Engineering Questions in Planetary Cave Research," was done by an interdisciplinary team of 31 scientists, engineers and astronauts who produced a list of 198 questions. The second, "Planetary Caves: A Solar System View of Products and Processes," was born from the first study. Wynne realized there had been no effort to catalog planetary caves across the solar system, which is another important piece of the big-picture puzzle. He assembled another team of planetary scientists to tackle that question. (11/16)

Insufficient Space Weather Forecast Caused SpaceX Starlink Satellite Demise, Study Finds (Source: Space.com)
Even small solar outbursts can have massive consequences for the environment around Earth, space weather experts have learned after SpaceX lost 40 brand-new satellites in February after launching them into a "mild" geomagnetic storm. In a new study, a team of researchers outlines how to fix space weather forecasts in the future, to prevent companies from sending their craft into such "treacherous waters."

In late January of this year, an eruption of hot magnetized plasma burst from the sun toward Earth, prompting space weather forecasters at the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) to issue a warning for a mild geomagnetic storm. At the same time, SpaceX engineers were readying a batch of 50 Starlink internet satellites for launch on the company's Falcon 9 rocket.

They saw the space weather alert and ran the data through a model of Earth's upper atmosphere, into which they were about to place their spacecraft. The analysis suggested the environment was safe, but when the rocket discharged the payload at an altitude of 217 miles, all hell broke loose. The thin air around the spacecraft behaved differently than what the ground controllers had expected, and 38 of the new satellites quickly headed back to Earth instead of climbing to their operational orbit 340 miles above the planet. (11/18)

ISRO Conducts Main Parachute Test For Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission (Source: NDTV)
ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Center has conducted the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) of its crew module deceleration system for the much-awaited maiden Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme at the Babina Field Fire Range (BFFR) in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh. The IMAT conducted on Friday marks a significant milestone toward realising the nation's ambitious Gaganyaan project, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement.

The Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of three main parachutes, besides the smaller ACS, pilot, and drogue parachutes, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing, the space agency said. Two of the three main chutes are sufficient to land the astronauts on earth, and the third is redundant, ISRO said adding that the IMAT test simulated the case when one main chute failed to open. (11/20)

Space Force Opens Door to Blue Origin with New Cooperative Agreement (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Nov. 18 it signed an agreement with Blue Origin that “paves the way” for the company’s New Glenn rocket to compete for national security launch contracts once it completes the required flight certification. The cooperative research and development (CRADA) agreement does not include any government funding and is largely symbolic, as New Glenn is still in development and Blue Origin has no target date for the first launch.

The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program requires new entrants to perform at least two successful orbital launches to get certification. The agreement was signed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for assured access to space; and Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn at Blue Origin. Purdy said the CRADA “marks the restart of certification activities for Blue Origin’s New Glenn that began in 2018 when Blue Origin won a Launch Service Agreement.” (11/20)

Australia’s Space Launch Ecosystem (Source: SpaceQ)
Southern Launch and ATSpace announced on November 14th that they would be delaying the launch of their ‘Eco Test’ VS03 rocket mission. Inclement weather at the Whalers Way Launch Complex had damaged the ATSpace Kestrel I launch vehicle in Southern Australia, and the companies said that they needed time to assess and correct the damage.

While this was a setback for the specific launch, it’s only one small delay in the growth of the Australian space launch industry. And while their industry does aim to take advantage of Australia’s unique global position and geography, the way it’s shaping up is reminiscent of trends that we’re seeing here in North America. That includes new and innovative launch technologies, and also the building of diverse launch complexes that are geographically positioned to efficiently put satellites in different orbits as their customers’ needs dictate. Click here. (11/18)

UK Space Race Promises Taxpayers £10 for Every £1 Spent: ‘It’s Not a Vanity Project,’ Say Officials (Source: Inews)
In the 1950s, the UK was watching the Space Race between the US and Russia from the sidelines. Decades later, it is finally able to participate, albeit on a far smaller scale than the launch of Apollo 11, which landed humans on the moon in 1969. By the end of 2023, three spaceports – including Spaceport Cornwall, which this week was given the UK’s first space launch licence, – will be capable of launching satellites into space.

The UK is the second largest producer of satellites after the US but it never had the capability to launch them from home turf until now. The UK’s space voyage is far from being a vanity project, says Matt Archer, director of commercial spaceflight at the UK Space Agency (UKSA). Its £50m investment into the growing launch market will return 10 times that amount in net benefits by 2034, he says: “If you think about that 10:1 return ratio, that’s a very good return for the public sector.”

Previously, home-grown space talent fled to America but Mr Archer hopes the UK’s goals could make them think twice before leaving. “We’re going to be a long-term launch nation… exciting times ahead.” (11/20)

NASA Will Not Change the James Webb Telescope’s Name (Source: WIRED)
James Webb led NASA in the 1950s and 60s, during the Cold War–era “Lavender Scare,” when government agencies often enforced policies that discriminated against gay and lesbian federal workers. For that reason, astronomers and others have long called for NASA to change the name of the James Webb Space Telescope. Earlier this year, the space agency agreed to complete a full investigation into Webb’s suspected role in the treatment and firing of LGBTQ employees.

This afternoon, NASA released that long-awaited report by the agency’s chief historian Brian Odom. In an accompanying press release, NASA officials made clear that the agency will not change the telescope’s name, writing: “Based on the available evidence, the agency does not plan to change the name of the James Webb Space Telescope. However, the report illuminates that this period in federal policy—and in American history more broadly—was a dark chapter that does not reflect the agency’s values today.” (11/18)

Coolant Leak Delays SpaceX ISS Resupply Mission (Source: Aviation Week)
SpaceX has delayed by a day the planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center of the company’s 26th NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), to address a small leak in a thermal control system. (11/18)

AST SpaceMobile Searching for Funds to Accelerate Constellation (Source: Space News)
A year and a half after netting around $417 million through its IPO, AST SpaceMobile is seeking more funds to accelerate a direct-to-smartphone constellation that has fallen behind a key regulatory deadline. Despite successfully deploying its gigantic phased array antenna this week, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker-3 prototype satellite will miss a Nov. 22 deadline for securing frequencies that have been provisionally assigned to the constellation.

Without an ITU extension, AST SpaceMobile risks losing the priority it has in Q and V band spectrum to another operator, complicating efforts to guard against interference. The Q and V band frequencies are needed to direct the traffic its satellites pick up from smartphones beyond the reach of cell towers to gateways on the ground, where this data is then routed to the cellular operator.

The Texas-based company said during a quarterly earnings call Nov. 14 that it is exploring funding options to speed up satellite deployments. This could help any plan to regain priority access to spectrum if its extension request fails. (11/18)

Cramer on AST SpaceMobile: An Exciting Thing, Not a Stock (Source: CNBC)
AST SpaceMobile Inc.: “It’s an exciting thing, not a stock. I think a stock is a company that makes money and then returns some of that money to you and trades inexpensively, and that one doesn’t qualify.” (11/18)

SDA has Big Plans for a New App Factory to Aid Battle Management (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency wants to create an app “factory” for developing software that can help automate battle management networks — and it needs industry’s help. The SDA, which is now part of the Space Force, recently released a draft solicitation for the Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) Application Factory.

“Basically, it’s the software that will be used by performers on the ground to build the apps and test out the apps in a secure environment to … basically do uploads onto the satellites so that we can upgrade the BMC3 processors on orbit,” SDA Director Derek Tournear explained during a recent virtual event hosted by the National Security Space Association. (11/14)

NASA is Back in the Moon Business. Here's What That Means (Source: Mashable)
Americans watched their country's first moonwalk from small, fuzzy black-and-white television sets. For the generations that followed, it might come as a surprise that, even with all of the modern advancements in technology, the United States lost its lunar-landing capability half a century ago. NASA actually hasn't had a rocket powerful enough to send astronauts deep into space since it retired the last Saturn V in 1973.

"The commitment to go to the moon should be seen in the context of going to Mars," Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, told Mashable. "That is perhaps one of the hardest things we'll have ever done as humans, in terms of technology, in terms of objectives. It's harder than going to the moon, it's harder than the Apollo program. And the way we're doing it is very different. We're doing it as a world, not as a country." (11/19)

ASU Spacecraft on NASA's Artemis Mission Will Search for Water on Moon (Source: Arizona Republic)
A satellite designed by ASU researchers to detect evidence of water-ice on the moon will begin its journey through space on NASA's Artemis 1 mission, scheduled to launch later this month. NASA's Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper, or LunaH-Map, was designed by ASU researchers and is the first ASU-led NASA mission. (11/18)

A Satellite That Launched Aboard SLS Is Already in Trouble (Source: Gizmodo)
The launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission sent the Orion capsule on a journey to the Moon, in addition to 10 cubesats included as secondary payloads. The Space Launch System’s upper stage successfully deployed the tiny satellites yesterday, but one of them appears to be malfunctioning.

A total of 10 low-cost cubesats were tucked inside the SLS upper stage, each designed for different missions to study the Moon, Sun, Earth, and a nearby asteroid. After Orion separated from SLS to begin its journey towards the Moon, an upper stage adapter sequentially deployed each cubesat using a timer, according to NASA. The cubesats were developed by various organizations, including the European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian space agency (ASI), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Unfortunately, JAXA’s OMOTENASHI seems to be experiencing an issue. The space agency put out a short statement earlier today saying EQUULEUS is a-okay, but that OMOTENASHI “has not completed sun acquisition,” meaning the tiny probe hasn’t referenced its position relative to the Sun, which is needed for stabilization. What’s more, “communication is not stable,” JAXA added. (11/17)

India to Encourage Start-ups in Building Launch Pads (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
ISRO chairman S. Somanath on Friday announced that they are ready to facilitate private sector in building launch pads or other infrastructure necessary for launching their rockets. “If start-ups are interested in building launch pads at Shar or anywhere in the country, we will encourage them. It is not a one element thing. Start-ups can engage in any activity, including, building satellites, applications and payloads,” Somanath clarified.

Union minister of state for space Jitendra Singh said India ranks number three in the start-up ecosystem in the world. He said the next 25 years are going to be very significant when India celebrates 100 years of independence in 2047. (11/19)