March 30, 2024

Hermeus Readies Quarterhorse High-Speed Test Aircraft for First Flight (Source: CrISRnet)
Hypersonic aircraft startup Hermeus unveiled its Quarterhorse aircraft at its Atlanta factory. The Mk 1 aircraft is the second version of Quarterhorse, a high-speed test platform Hermeus is developing iteratively with a goal of demonstrating autonomous, reusable, near-hypersonic flight by 2026. The company’s initial vehicle, Mk 0, completed a ground-based test campaign in November. Mk 1 will be the first to take flight this summer. Hermeus’ goal is to build one test vehicle per year. Refining the company’s processes for quickly building and testing aircraft is just as important as the capability it will demonstrate in flight. (3/29)

Texas Attorney General Investigates Boeing Supplier's Workforce Diversity (Source: AP)
The controversial Texas attorney general has opened an investigation into a key Boeing supplier facing scrutiny from federal regulators over parts quality. Attorney General Ken Paxton said it began looking into Spirit AeroSystems because of “apparent manufacturing defects” in parts that “have led to numerous concerning or dangerous incidents.”

The request goes into detail in seeking internal discussions around Spirit’s efforts to create a diverse workforce “and whether those commitments are unlawful or are compromising the company’s manufacturing processes.” Paxton asked for a breakdown of Spirit’s workforce by race, sexual orientation and other factors, and whether the makeup has changed over time. Paxton is a conservative Republican who this week agreed to pay $271,000 in restitution to victims and take 15 hours of training in legal ethics to settle felony charges of securities fraud. (3/29)

Using Ingenuity as a Martian Testbed for Future Rotorcraft (Source: NASA)
Nowhere on Earth can we fully replicate the conditions on Mars. Special facilities can re-create certain elements with enough fidelity to test specific scenarios, but each is limited, leading to a plethora of platforms and scenarios required to span the conditions of Mars. In our prior post, “The Right Stuff,” the focus was using Ingenuity on Mars to test our macro capabilities: flying higher and faster, landing at various speeds, and generally expanding the flight envelope to retire the associated risk for future Martian rotorcraft. The holy grail, however, is understanding the microscale – not just proving Ingenuity can fly faster but knowing how it flies faster.

To answer the question, the NASA JPL Ingenuity team worked with our aerodynamics partners at NASA Ames to design, validate, and execute a Sys-ID test campaign. “Sys-ID” refers to a process called system identification, a data-driven method for understanding the complex behavior of a system by studying how specific inputs impact the motion of the vehicle. (3/29)

Varda Space Made an HIV Medicine in Earth Orbit (Source: Space.com)
On Feb. 21, after some seven months in space, Varda Space Industries' W-1 capsule successfully returned to Earth, carrying with it a unique payload: the HIV/AIDS medication ritonavir. Varda Space seeks to autonomously manufacture pharmaceuticals in microgravity, a strategy that could ultimately reduce the cost of life-saving drugs — and, according to a new preprint paper, the company is one step closer to achieving that goal. (3/29)

Exploding Stars Emit Torrents of Radiation − if One Happened Close Enough to Earth, it Could Threaten Life on the Planet (Source: The Conversation)
Very few stars are massive enough to die in a supernova. But when one does, it briefly rivals the brightness of billions of stars. At one supernova per 50 years, and with 100 billion galaxies in the universe, somewhere in the universe a supernova explodes every hundredth of a second. The dying starS emit high energy radiation as gamma rays.

If a star goes supernova close enough to Earth, the gamma-ray radiation could damage some of the planetary protection that allows life to thrive on Earth. A supernova within 30 light years would be catastrophic, severely depleting the ozone layer, disrupting the marine food chain and likely causing mass extinction. Some astronomers guess that nearby supernovae triggered a series of mass extinctions 360 to 375 million years ago. (3/29)

SpaceX Makes Big Changes to Starship’s Florida Launch Pad (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX has begun making drastic changes to its Starship launch pad in Florida after months of no activity. The launch site, which had been sitting for almost a year with no activity, has had four of its six legs, which were to support the orbital launch mount, removed over the past week for unknown reasons. The legs that were to hold the orbital launch mount, which is more or less finished, were put up before SpaceX conducted the first flight of Starship in Texas, and when they found what happens when 33 Raptor engines fire at the ground with no water suppression system.

It could be that SpaceX is either going to incorporate a flame trench or reinforce the base of the launch mount with a similar water suppression system that they use at Starbase and it was better to start from scratch than work around the existing legs. SpaceX will likely have multiple Starship launch sites at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, possibly including LC-37B where the ULA Delta IV Heavy is preparing for its final mission. (3/29)

First Woman of Vietnamese Origin to Fly Into Space (Source: VN Express)
A Vietnamese American woman will be flying into space as part of a campaign sponsored by American non-profit organization Space for Humanity.
Amanda Ngoc Nguyen, 32, is going to space in line with the Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut Program, which aims to "empower each citizen astronaut to address global challenges with a broader outlook," according to the organization. Nguyen will fly to space on a New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin, an American aerospace manufacturer, defense contractor, and launch service provider, becoming the first woman of Vietnamese origin to fly in space. (3/29)

At Arizona Space Summit, Gov. Hobbs Tells Space-Related Companies Arizona is 'Open for Business' (Source: ASU)
More than 150 academic, business and government leaders in the space industry converged in Tempe March 27–28 for the Arizona Space Summit, a statewide effort designed to elevate Arizona as a premier hub for the space sector.

The event, co-partnered by Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, was a future-focused collaboration that featured a speech by ASU President Michael Crow, a fireside chat with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and panels that discussed issues such as commercial low Earth orbit for research and economic development, learning from leading space hubs as models for economic development in Arizona, the promise of space for new resources, and the current investment climate for space ventures. (3/29)

Meet the Two Women Leading Space Station Science (Source: NASA)
Employees in the International Space Station Research Integration Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center help enable and execute the research opportunities only available on board the space station with a wide variety of researchers. They also look out for and coordinate new partnerships with international partners, academic organizations, commercial companies, and more.

Two women are currently spearheading these efforts: International Space Station Program Chief Scientist Jennifer Buchli and International Space Station Program Deputy Chief Scientist Meghan Everett. Together, they lead the full suite of research and science happening on board the orbital outpost. (3/29)

NASA Astronaut, Former SpaceX Flight Surgeon, and Father of 2 Says Parenting is By Far His Hardest Job (Source: Business Insider)
Anil Menon is one of NASA's newest astronauts and former SpaceX flight surgeon, but none of that compares to, what he said, is his hardest job: being a dad. "I would say that parenting is probably the most challenging thing that I do, because it requires so much emotional intelligence," he said. On top of it all, his wife, Anna Menon, is a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX. She's gearing up to go to space too, as a crew member on the Polaris Dawn mission. (3/30)

Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska Announces Road Closures (Source: KMXT)
Fossil Beach, at the southern end of Kodiak Island road system, were closed March 29-30. The Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska did not mention in their communications why the area will be closed, only saying it was for operations at the facility. Some Kodiak residents have expressed concerns with the spaceport closing the road in the past. However, spaceport officials have attempted to improve communication and transparency, by placing large signs along the Chiniak Highway in Women’s Bay and Pasagshak Road to announce closures.

The last rocket launch attempt from the spaceport crashed in January of last year. The last successful launch was in 2022. Officials have confirmed they’re preparing for an upcoming rocket launch but have not announced the next launch window. (3/29)

This Super-Earth is the First Planet Confirmed to Have a Permanent Dark Side (Source: Nature)
A new study provides the most compelling evidence to date that a planet has this feature, called tidal synchronization or 1:1 tidal locking. Astronomers think that many exoplanets are similarly ‘stuck’ — including most of the candidates with potential to sustain life. Planets that are not tidally synchronized heat up as a result of the conflict between their rotation and the massive tidal force exerted by their star. The team found the surface of LHS 3844b to be relatively cool — as would be expected for a tidally synchronized planet. (3/28)

Senate Bills Seek to Reform Commercial Space Regulations (Source: Space News)
Two bills recently introduced into the Senate would reform regulation of commercial space activities, including putting into motion an eventual end of the “learning period” limiting human spaceflight safety rules. The Commercial Standards Paramount to Accelerating Cosmic Exploration (SPACE) Leadership Act was introduced March 22 by Sens. Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO), the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee.

The bill would extend the learning period, which restricts the ability of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation to enact regulations for the safety of occupants on commercial spacecraft, by five years. That learning period, put into place in late 2004, was originally set to last eight years but has been extended several times. The bill would also instruct industry to develop voluntary industry consensus standards for occupant safety during that period. That effort would support an aerospace rulemaking committee, or SpARC, set up by the FAA, to guide the development of regulations to be enacted after the learning period expires. (3/29)

UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory to Manage $300 Million NASA Mission (Source: Daily Californian)
UC Berkeley will help lead the UltraViolet EXplorer, or UVEX, mission — a $300 million orbiting space telescope and satellite project scheduled to launch in 2030 — to conduct the first all-sky survey of ultraviolet sources across the universe. NASA approved the mission last month, and it will be managed by UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory and helmed by alumna Fiona Harrison, who now teaches at the California Institute of Technology. (3/29)

Colorado Air/Space Port Continues Upgrades (Source: Colorado Community Media)
Colorado Air and Space Port will get an Aeronautics grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation CDOT $500,000 aimed at improving its runway infrastructure. “We are thrilled to receive this grant and continue our long partnership with CDOT Aeronautics to upgrade our ramp and taxiway infrastructure, which is essential to the safety of aircraft and the success of CASP,” said Colorado Air and Spaceport Director Jeff Kloska. (3/29)

NASA Picks SAIC for JSC Safety, Mission Assurance Engineering Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected SAIC for safety and mission assurance support at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. The Safety and Mission Assurance Engineering Contract III (SMAEC) is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with the ability to issue cost-plus-award-fee and fixed price task orders. The contract begins June 1 with a five-year base period, followed by two one-year options, with possible extensions of services through November 2031. The total maximum value of the contract is approximately $494 million. (3/29)

NASA Names Finalists to Help Deal with Dust in Human Lander Challenge (Source: NASA)
NASA selected 12 finalist teams to compete in the next round of the Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) competition. In 2023, NASA invited undergraduate and graduate students from accredited colleges and universities in the United States to propose innovative solutions to manage the lunar dust a spacecraft stirs up when landing on the Moon. Click here. (3/29)

First Angara-A5 Launch Vehicle to Blast Off from Vostochny on April 9 (Source: TASS)
The first Angara-A5 heavy launch vehicle will blast off from the Vostochny spaceport on April 9, Roscosmos has said. On Tuesday, the rocket was brought to the launch pad. The upcoming launch will be the first in a series of flight tests of the Amur space rocket system with heavy Angara launch vehicles at Vostochny. (3/29)

Nitrogen Pump Causes Scrub for Final Delta IV Heavy Mission for NRO (Source: ULA)
ULA's launch of the final Delta IV Heavy, carrying the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, was scrubbed Thursday due to an issue with a liquid pump failure on the gaseous nitrogen pipeline which provides pneumatic pressure to the launch vehicle systems. The ULA team continues to troubleshoot the pipeline and more time is needed to instill confidence in the system. A new launch date has not yet been announced. (3/29)

Future Mars Plane Could Help Solve Red Planet Methane Mystery (Source: Space.com)
An early-stage airplane concept called MAGGIE will soon kick off a nine-month NASA-funded study to explore its feasibility for soaring over Mars. It won't go to the Red Planet any time soon, if ever, but there's a clear science need for more flying vehicles on Mars. MAGGIE — short for "Mars Aerial and Ground Intelligent Explorer" — is designed to operate for a Martian year (nearly two Earth years). Flying 3,300 feet, one of its prime missions could be finding methane. That elusive molecule could be a sign of life, but scientists have had little luck figuring out its presence in the Martian atmosphere. (3/28)

Mars May Have Captured and Split a Comet to Create its Two Moons (Source: New Scientist)
The two moons of Mars may once have been a single comet that was ensnared and split by the planet – and an upcoming mission could find out for certain. How Mars got its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, is a bit of a mystery. They are small, 27 and 15 kilometres across respectively, and both orbit around the planet’s equator. Astronomers have suggested that they may have formed after a collision. (3/28)

Astrocomb Breakthrough Could Help Discover Earth-Like Planets (Source: Sky News)
New Earth-like planets could soon be discovered after scientists made a technological breakthrough. Physicists have developed an astrocomb that can analyse the blue-green light emitted by stars. Astrocombs can detect tiny variations in a star's light created by orbiting exoplanets (those beyond our own solar system) - potentially revealing one similar to Earth. They have been mainly limited to the green-red part of the light spectrum, but the new system offers the chance to uncover even more space secrets. (3/29)

Europe's Upcoming Mars Rover Now Has a Detailed Map to Aid its Search for Life (Source: Space.com)
We now have a better picture of where the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover will be driving when it lands on Mars for its life-seeking mission, all thanks to a brand new geological map of its landing zone. "It serves as a visual hypothesis of what we currently know about the different rocks in the landing site. The instruments on Rosalind Franklin will allow us to test our knowledge on the spot when the time comes." (3/29)

NASA's 1st Female Chief Engineer at Kennedy Space Center Wants to Put a Space Station Around the Moon (Source: Space.com)
When NASA builds its first space station near the moon, how will we ship items out there? Teresa Kinney, NASA's first female chief engineer at the agency's Kennedy Space Center, is one of the managers working to put the Gateway lunar space station together in orbit around the moon later in the 2020s. Gateway will support Artemis program landing missions on the moon in the next decade or so, but like the International Space Station, it needs to be built first. Kinney also works in Deep Space Logistics, which is the Gateway project office at KSC. (3/29)

An Astrobiology Spinoff? (Source: NASA Watch)
Although NASA did not sponsor research wherein tardigrade proteins were tested in human cells to see if they work and possibly influence human metabolism – someone did -and it worked. This emerged as the result of prior work into extremophiles. Tardigrades are a favorite extremeohpile amongst astrobiologists. They have even been studied on the International Space Station. Drug companies scour the world – sifting through soils, undersea creatures, and toxic waste dumps for interesting organisms that can provide new industrial processes or biomedical applications. (3/26)

Gravitational Waves May Have Made Human Life Possible (Source: Phys.org)
Could it be that human existence depends on gravitational waves? Some key elements in our biological makeup may come from astrophysical events that occur because gravitational waves exist, a research team headed by John R. Ellis of Kings College London suggests.

In particular, iodine and bromine are found on Earth thanks to a particular nuclear process that happens when neutron stars collide. In turn, orbiting neutron star pairs inspiral and collide due to their emissions of energy in the form of gravitational waves. There may thus be a direct path from the existence of gravitational waves to the existence of mammals. (3/29)

Boeing's Satellite Business Zeroes in on Military Opportunities (Source: Space News)
Boeing is setting its sights on two upcoming big-ticket satellite procurements from the U.S. Space Force, leveraging its recent contracts for Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellites and its foothold in commercial spacecraft manufacturing. The Space Force is expected to seek bids this coming year for highly specialized, jam-resistant satellite systems that the military deems “no fail” assets, meaning that they must deliver secure communications even in the most contested environments. (3/29)

NASA's Lucy Asteroid-Hopping Spacecraft Pins Down Ages of 1st Asteroid Targets (Source: Space.com)
Last November, when NASA's Lucy spacecraft flew past its first official asteroid target named Dinkinesh, it found the space rock was not one, not two but three rocks huddled together. While scientists were surprised to spot Selam, Dinkinesh's natural satellite, they were shocked to discover that Selam itself was, in fact, two objects melded together.

Mission members shared with scientists preliminary results from that fortuitous encounter, which resulted in a wealth of data. Speaking at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LSPC) in Texas, they said Dinkinesh and Selam appear to be roughly the same age, have similar ridges on their equators — suggesting mass shedding and re-accretion — and are mildly battered with impacts that left behind detectable craters. (3/29)