January 21, 2023

Dark Energy Camera Unveils Billions of Celestial Objects in Unprecedented Survey of the Milky Way (Source: SciTech Daily)
Astronomers have released a gargantuan survey of the galactic plane of the Milky Way. The new dataset contains a staggering 3.32 billion celestial objects — arguably the largest such catalog so far. The data for this unprecedented survey were taken with the powerful 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, built by the US Department of Energy, at the NSF’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NOIRLab. (1/21)

It’s Not Sci-Fi—NASA Is Funding These Mind-Blowing Projects (Source: WIRED)
The space agency gave money to researchers working on liquid telescope mirrors, a lunar oxygen pipeline, and Martian building blocks made of fungi. Click here. (1/20)

Exploring the Outer Solar System Takes Power: Here's a Way to Miniaturize Nuclear Batteries for Deep Space (Source: Phys.org)
Stephen Polly is working on what could be a revolutionary way to power spacecraft on long journeys to the outer planets. It's called a thermoradiative cell (TRC), and it's similar to an MMRTG (multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator). It uses a radioisotope as its power source. Polly relies on a technology called metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE.) It uses chemical vapors to produce thin polycrystalline films.

It's an industrial process used in optoelectronics to make things like light-emitting diodes (LEDs.) Polly's work uses MOVPE to create thermoradiative cells (TRCs.) TRCs use a radioisotope as MMRTGs do and are based on heat from radioactive decay, but there's a difference. The decay heats up the TRC, which then emits light. The light then reaches a photovoltaic cell, which in turn produces electricity. It's kind of like a combination between an MMRTG and solar power.

But Polly's idea is much smaller, and that's a holy grail in spacecraft engineering. "This device, driven by a radioisotope heat source, will allow an order of magnitude increase in mass-specific power (~30 vs. ~3 W/kg) and a three orders of magnitude decrease in volume (~0.2 vs. ~212 L) as compared to a conventional multi-mission radioisotope thermal generator (MMRTG)," Polly explained. (1/20)

Buzz Aldrin Gets Married at 93 (Source: NPR)
Retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the lunar surface, and his partner Anca Faur were over-the-moon excited to tie the knot. In a small private ceremony in Los Angeles, the two became husband and wife on Friday, which also marked Aldrin's 93rd birthday. In a Twitter post, Aldrin said he and his partner were "as excited as eloping teenagers" on the special day. His partner, Faur, is the executive vice president of Buzz Aldrin Ventures LLC. Aldrin said on Twitter that the two have been a pair for more than four years. (1/21)

Two Spacewalkers Continue Space Station Power System Upgrade (Source: CBS)
Two astronauts making their first spacewalk ventured outside the International Space Station on Friday amid heightened awareness of the threat posed by micrometeoroids and space debris in the wake of an impact that damaged a Russian crew ferry ship last month. While the odds of a life-threatening impact during a spacewalk are low — on the order of 1-in-23,600 — the threat is "something that I think very much about in preparation for any EVA," said Keith Johnson, a NASA mission control spacewalk officer. (1/20)

NASA, Boeing Teams Achieve Milestone Ahead of Crewed Flight (Source: NASA)
NASA and Boeing recently completed a full start to finish integrated mission dress rehearsal for the company’s CST-100 Starliner flight with astronauts to the International Space Station, which is scheduled to launch in April 2023. The Crew Flight Test, or CFT, will launch NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams on Starliner – atop a ULA Atlas V rocket – from Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. (1/20)

After a Historic First Mission, What Does the Future Hold for This Controversial Rocket? (Source: CNN)
On one hand, there was the thrill of watching NASA take its first steps toward eventually getting humans back to the lunar surface; on the other, a shadow cast by the long and costly process it took to get there. The towering SLS launch vehicle was originally expected to take flight in 2016. And the decade-plus that the rocket was in development sparked years of blistering criticism targeted toward the space agency and Boeing, which holds the primary contract for the SLS rocket’s core.

“Cost increases and schedule delays of Core Stage development can be traced largely to management, technical, and infrastructure issues driven by Boeing’s poor performance,” said one 2018 report from NASA’s OIG. And a report in 2020 laid out similar grievances. For its part, Boeing has pushed back on the criticism, pointing to rigorous testing requirements and the overall success of the program.

In various op-eds, the rocket has also been deemed “the result of unfortunate compromises and unholy politics,” a “colossal waste of money” and an “irredeemable mistake.” Despite all the heated debate that has followed SLS, by all accounts, the rocket is here to stay. And officials at NASA and Boeing said its first launch two months ago was practically flawless. Click here. (1/20)

Toward Climate Studies Using Quantum Technologies (Source: Space Daily)
The impact of climate change is one of the most severe challenges of the 21st century. It is therefore of high importance to understand the underlying processes and causalities. A powerful tool to gain this vital knowledge on a global scale is the satellite-based observation of changes in Earth's mass distribution e.g. from melting glaciers or loss of groundwater. The required high-precision measurements are reachable with novel quantum sensors.

Due to the extensive European heritage and a close collaboration within the European Union an independent development and operation of a quantum sensor based space mission can be realized. In 2022, the CARIOQA-PMP project (Cold Atom Rubidium Interferometer in Orbit for Quantum Accelerometry - Pathfinder Mission Preparation) under the European Commission's Horizon Europe program was kicked off with the aim to develop such a quantum sensor for space application.

European industry in collaboration with European research institutions will build an engineering model of an accelerometer based on atom interferometry for a Quantum Space Gravimetry pathfinder mission. Benefitting from the heritage of its research institutions, this project aims to bring Europe into a leading position for sustainable quantum technologies in space. (1/19)

Reaction Dynamics Partners with Precious Payload to Offer Non-ITAR-Restricted Launches Via Launch.ctrl Platform (Source: SpaceRef)
Precious Payload, the leading online world marketplace for satellite launches, and Canadian rocket company Reaction Dynamics (RDX) join forces to offer satellite operators affordable, eco-friendly launches via the Launch.ctrl platform, using a state-of-the-art hybrid rocket. Aurora-1, Reaction Dynamics’ demonstration launch vehicle, is expected to make its first suborbital flight later this year.

With its cutting-edge additive manufacturing capabilities, RDX builds economically efficient and eco-friendly commercial rockets. The company aims to offer launch services to provide routine access to space for satellites and research payloads in the safest, most sustainable, and most affordable way. Its proprietary, patent-pending, hybrid propulsion technology meets the performance needed for orbital launch while being less expensive, safer, and more sustainable than traditional liquid rockets used by the vast majority of rocket companies. (1/20)

Ottawa Green-Lights Commercial Space Launches in Canada (Source: Globe and Mail)
Canada's federal government has announced it is ready to approve commercial space launches on Canadian soil on an interim basis as it moves to put regulations in place to support a nascent domestic launch industry. The announcement comes as demand for access to space is expected to grow dramatically, with telecommunications providers around the world seeking to offer mobile broadband internet access via satellite.

Transport Canada has federal jurisdiction over rocket launches inside Canada’s borders. Mr. Alghabra said that, for the first time, his department will consider requests from private companies to launch satellites from Canada on a “case by case” basis. At the same time, the government will work toward establishing a regulatory framework for the industry which includes safety and other considerations.

The announcement is a win for Maritime Launch Services, a Halifax-based company that is currently building a launch facility near Canso, Nova Scotia. Ottawa’s official stamp of approval for the activity for may also help draw in international companies who are looking to increase launch capacity. Despite Canada’s six-decade long history of utilizing space for a wide range of applications, the absence of a domestic launch facility remains a gaping hole in the country’s space sector. (1/20)

NASA, Space Station Partners Approve Next Axiom Private Mission Crew (Source: NASA)
NASA and its international partners have approved the crew for Axiom Space’s second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the privately funded mission. Aviator John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists will be announced later. (1/20)