June 30, 2024

"Severe Geomagnetic Storm" Alert as Solar Storms Begin Again (Source: Earth.com)
Brace yourselves, as we are officially on a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch. The stage is set, curtains drawn. We’re on the brink of another unique astronomical event, an intriguing spectacle that doesn’t present itself too often. The ominous announcement was issued on June 28, 2024, by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), an agency at the forefront of meteorological and environmental insights. (6/29)

NASA Announces Winners of Inaugural Human Lander Challenge (Source: NASA)
NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) Forum brought 12 university teams from across the United States to Huntsville, Alabama, near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center, to showcase their innovative concepts for addressing the complex issue of managing lunar dust. The 12 finalists, selected in March 2024, presented their final presentations to a panel of NASA and industry experts from NASA’s Human Landing Systems Program at the HuLC Forum in Huntsville June 25-27.

NASA announced the University of Michigan team, with their project titled, “ARC-LIGHT: Algorithm for Robust Characterization of Lunar Surface Imaging for Ground Hazards and Trajectory” as the selected overall winner and recipient of a $10,000 award June 27. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign took second place and a $5,000 award with their project, “HINDER: Holistic Integration of Navigational Dynamics for Erosion Reduction,” followed by University of Colorado Boulder for their project, “Lunar Surface Assessment Tool (LSAT): A Simulation of Lunar Dust Dynamics for Risk Analysis,” and a $3,000 award.

Two teams received the excellence in systems engineering award: Texas A&M University, “Synthetic Orbital Landing Area for Crater Elimination (SOLACE); and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “Plume Additive for Reducing Surface Ejecta and Cratering (PARSEC). (6/28)

UC Berkeley's Quantum Leap in Dark Energy Research (Source: SciTech Daily)
Researchers at UC Berkeley have enhanced the precision of gravity experiments using an atom interferometer combined with an optical lattice, significantly extending the time atoms can be held in free fall. Despite not yet finding deviations from Newton’s gravity, these advancements could potentially reveal new quantum aspects of gravity and test theories about exotic particles like chameleons or symmetrons. (6/28)

NASA Parachute Sensor Testing Could Make EPIC Mars Landings (Source: Phys.org)
Landing rovers and helicopters on Mars is a challenge. It's an even bigger challenge when you don't have enough information about how the parachutes are enduring strain during the descent to the surface. Researchers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are experimenting with readily available, highly elastic sensors that can be fixed to a parachute during testing to provide the missing data. (6/28)

Asteroid Samples Collected by University of Arizona Researchers Show Surprising Discovery (Source: Fox 10 Phoenix)
"The biggest surprise for me is that there are salty crusts coating a subset of the particles. We're probably pretty familiar with this in Arizona. If you have hard water, and you build up those white, crusty salts that clog your shower head and your faucets, that's the same kind of process that we're seeing on these asteroid samples. You had a salty liquid and it evaporated away and left what we call evaporite minerals behind." (6/28)

Europe Wants to Send Data Centers Into Space — Study Says it's Possible (Source: CNBC)
The EU’s $2.1 million ASCEND study concluded that launching data centers into orbit is technically, economically and environmentally feasible. The total global electricity consumption from data centers could reach more than 1,000 terawatt-hours in 2026 — that’s roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of Japan, according to the International Energy Agency. ASCEND’s space-based data storage facilities would benefit from “infinite energy” captured from the sun and orbit at an altitude of around 1,400 kilometers. (6/27)

A Printed Home on the Moon (Source: Space.com)
For decades we've seen images of huge glass domes on the moon and Mars, but the reality of building settlements off-Earth is likely to look much different. This week we're joined by Evan Jensen of ICON Build, a company that, in just a few years, has created housing across Texas via 3D printing. Now, in association with NASA, they are also investing heavily in researching how to 3D print habitats on the moon and one day Mars. Click here. (6/29)

The New Space Race: International Partnerships (Source: Space.com)
The space race of the 20th century, characterized by rivalry and high barriers to entry, has transformed. The playing field has widened and the absence of traditional gatekeepers in space opens unparalleled opportunities for collaboration. The United States now finds itself at the helm, steering an international coalition that includes traditional allies, emerging space nations, and innovative private entities, through the complex political terrain of outer space. This evolution from competition to collaboration represents a significant paradigm shift in how we approach the final frontier. (6/30)

Rapid Growth of Space Industry, Especially in South Texas, Stresses Regulators (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
At this place that’s become both a destination and departure point, the public can get closer to rockets preparing to blast off than at any other launch site in the nation. Here, visitors can wander to within several hundred feet of the spacecraft and about 100 feet from rows of tanks holding tons of liquid oxygen, methane and nitrogen used to fuel and test it. The company’s momentum, which comes with regulators scrambling to keep up with the fast-moving commercial space industry, has led to Starbase’s unique situation as the nation’s only private facility that can send rockets into orbit.

The FAA considers Starbase an “exclusive use site” — a private launch facility. So, while the FAA regulates and approves flights and testing done there, the agency does not license the Boca Chica site itself. It’s unlikely it could be replicated today as federal oversight catches up to the industry’s rapid growth across the U.S. Texas is the only state in the country with such private launch sites, and it has three.

Starbase has become a sort of space city including a growing company town, factory and launch sites. “I don’t think that the regulatory structure envisioned something like Boca Chica,” Spaceport America's Scott McLaughlin said. “It doesn’t mean that shouldn’t be there, but I don’t know that it was thought out, so I think it’s been a dilemma for the FAA.” FAA's Pam Underwood said that while the structure may be different, the same policies apply to Starbase as any other launch site. Click here. (6/30)

Gwynne Shotwell: The Brilliant (Non-Musk) Mind Behind SpaceX (Source: LA Times)
As president and chief operating officer, Shotwell runs the Hawthorne company’s day-to-day operations and manages finances, customer negotiations, human resources and relationships with government entities — in short, all of the people-focused parts of a business that help it thrive. She’s a rarity at a Musk company — an executive, the second-in-command, no less, who has lasted for more than two decades. More than that, she has Musk’s ear and his trust.

The partnership between the mercurial technologist with the brash personality and penchant for making headlines and the engineer-turned-businessperson who cares little about the public spotlight has driven SpaceX to the highest echelons of the aerospace industry. Click here. (6/30)

Chinese Company's Rocket Static-Fire Test Results in Unintended Launch and Huge Explosion (Source: Space News)
A rocket stage test firing by Chinese commercial company Space Pioneer ended in catastrophic failure and a dramatic explosion Sunday. Space Pioneer conducted what was intended to be a static-fire test of the first stage of its Tianlong-3 launch vehicle at a test facility in Gongyi country, Henan province, Sunday, June 30.

Amateur footage captured by Gongyi citizens and posted on Chinese social media shows the nine-engine test stage igntiing and then, exceptionally, taking off. Hold-down clamps and other structures are typically used to securely keep stages in place. Space Pioneer was conducting its test as a buildup to an orbital launch of the Tianlong-3, which is benchmarked against the SpaceX Falcon 9, in the coming months. The company announced earlier this month that it has secured $207 million in new funding. Click here. (6/30) https://x.com/AJ_FI/status/1807339807640518690

China Launches Zhongxing-3A Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China on Saturday successfully sent a new satellite into space from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of southern island province of Hainan. The satellite, Zhongxing-3A, was launched at 7:57 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. (6/29)

Mega Rocket 'Soorya' In the Making, Will Take Indians To Moon (Source: NDTV)
ISRO chief S Somanath said: "We are building a new rocket called NGLV or 'Soorya'. It is currently under design and will have a new engine based on LOx (Liquid Oxygen) and Methane. It will have liquid oxygen and methane engines for the lower stages, the upper stages will have a cryogenic engine."

He added that 'Soorya', India's mega-rocket, will be much bigger than the present ones. The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) payload capacity will be over 40 tonnes, this is very much required for human spaceflight missions. It is the Soorya rocket that will send India's Gaganyatri to the lunar surface, hopefully by 2040. (6/29)

Firefly Aerospace Announces Future Launch Locations in Virginia, Sweden (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Texas-based Firefly Aerospace announced this week it has agreed to launch deals at spaceports in Virginia and Sweden. The company plans to start flying into space out of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, in early 2025. Plans to launch satellites out of Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden should begin in 2026. Firefly currently only launches out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.

Firefly is familiar with Wallops Island due to its collaborative effort with Northrop Grumman on a medium launch vehicle. Since announcing the collaboration in 2022 with the Virginia-headquartered company, Weber said the team has had a growing prescience at Wallops Island. Weber noted that with a group of employees already at Wallops Island, building upon the structure forming there made sense. (6/29)

Zimbabwe Airports Gear Up for Starlink in Big Boost for SpaceX (Source: Zimbabwe Independent)
Zimbabwe's airports are set to sign up for United States billionaire Elon Musk’s rapidly expanding internet service provider, Starlink, following its third-quarter launch. This move is expected to enhance connectivity as passenger numbers rise, according to an aviation executive. (6/28)

SpaceX Launch Continues Busy June for Vandenberg Space Force Base (Source: Noozhawk)
A busy month of launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base continued Friday night when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at twilight to deliver clandestine cargo into orbit. This was first-stage booster’s eighth flight with missions conducted from both Florida and California. Friday’s launch marked the seventh in June from Vandenberg, and the 25th of the year from the base.

Along with the SpaceX rocket, other launches include a pair of unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles on separate days, and a Minotaur rocket. Vandenberg possibly could squeeze in one additional launch this month as Firefly Aerospace may try to get its fifth mission off the ground Sunday night. (6/28)