July 14, 2024

Is the Universe Still Making New Galaxies? (Source: Space.com)
We think of galaxies as ancient. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, formed 13.6 billion years ago, and the James Webb Space Telescope has allowed us to peer back to some of the first galaxies in the early universe. But are galaxies still being born today? It's a fun question to tackle because it lets us dig into the messy, complicated, beautiful process of galaxy formation. Let's take a look at the possibilities. Click here. (7/12) https://www.space.com/are-new-galaxies-still-forming

Space Force Launching Lasers in 2025 to Help Pinpoint the Center of Earth (Source: Space.com)
The U.S. Space Force aims to better pinpoint the location of Earth's true center using lasers on GPS satellites slated to launch in 2025. A set of laser retroreflector arrays, or LRAs, will be installed onto two GPS III satellites, called SV9 and SV10, as part of NASA's Space Geodesy Program space sensor network. The lasers are designed to make precise sub-centimeter level measurements using a technique called Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), which will allow researchers to more accurately determine Earth's center. (7/12)

U.S. Military to Award $3 Billion Contract for AI-Driven Intelligence (Source: Space News)
The U.S. military is poised to award an estimated $3 billion multi-year contract for commercial data and analytics services to monitor potential threats across the Indo-Pacific region, a focal point of global geopolitics and a priority theater for DoD. The program, known as Long-Range Enterprise Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Activity (LEIA), seeks to procure a wide spectrum of commercial data and advanced AI-driven analytics, integrating information from ground, aerial, and space-based platforms. (7/12)

Largest Balloon Ever Launched From Esrange Spaceport in Northern Sweden (Source: Esrange)
Larger means higher – and on Saturday the largest stratospheric balloon ever to be launched from Esrange Space Center rose from the ground in northern Sweden. On its way to its destination in North America, it will study X-rays in the polar atmosphere. Behind BOOMS, as the payload is called, stands NASA. The name is short for Balloon Observation of Microburst Scales.

It is a high-resolution imager of X-rays from energetic electron microbursts that occur high in the atmosphere closest to the poles. The record-sized balloon that carries the research experiment is 1.7 million cubic meter (60 million cubic feet, MCF) large. That extra size will take the balloon to new heights. The flight is a test to qualify the 60 MCF balloon for higher altitudes than 150,000 feet. This is higher than NASA's previous stratospheric balloons have ever flown, and at that height you are above 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. (7/13)

SpaceX Publicly Addresses Environmental Concerns (Source: My San Antonio)
For the first time, SpaceX is acknowledging its impacts on the habitat - well, partially. Data from a study by the Coastal Ben Bays & Estuaries Program found damage from SpaceX's most recent Starship launch. The study found that after the June 6 launch, each of the nine nests it monitored south of the launch pad had missing and broken eggs. This is similar to the findings of Starships' first flight in April 2021, around the same time the Coastal Bend group had released its three-year study showing a 54% decline in the piping plover bird.

While the recent study detailed data from the Snowy and Wilson plover, the Times article highlighted fires, leaks, and explosions that left enormous bursts of mud, stones, and firey debris across public land. SpaceX responded to the story in a long X post that alleged the data gathered was false and misleading, with claims of having its own research. SpaceX did not address the majority of the New York Times article but rather focused its response on the Coastal Bend Group. It disputed a small section, only releasing information on the piper plover, not addressing the regional impacts as a whole. (7/14)

Rare SpaceX Failure Leaves Launch Schedules in Flux (Source: Space Policy Online)
SpaceX suffered a rare failure of its Falcon 9 rocket last night. The company’s record launch rate — last night’s was the 70th this year — and reliability has made it the go-to rocket for many customers, government and commercial alike. When it will return to flight depends on what measures are needed to correct the failure and FAA approval. The agency said it will investigate even though it was a second-stage failure in orbit that did not threaten anyone on Earth. (7/12)

UK Officer Joins U.S. Space Force’s Top Staff (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Space Force for the first time has an international officer on its top staff, as Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman has picked UK Royal Air Force Air Marshal Paul Godfrey to lead international planning for the service. (7/12)

Firefly's Secret Sauce (Source: CBS Austin)
Firefly has two key advantages that set them apart, according to Bill Weber: First is Unique Carbon Composites: "The structures that we build are very light, very flexible, extremely strong," says Weber. "And we've figured out how to do that at scale, where our competitors have not." The second is Reusable Engine Technology: Their engine designs share components across their different spacecraft, saving time and money. Weber explains, "If you look at the 'Blue Ghost' lunar lander, it has some of the same components that our Alpha rocket... We reuse as much as we can across all of our product lines using carbon composites and propulsion." (7/12)

Landowner Opposes Antenna Plan for Sutherland Spaceport (Source: Northern Times)
Danish entrepreneur and Sutherland landowner Anders Holch Povlsen, who launched an unsuccessful legal challenge to overturn planning consent for Sutherland Spaceport, is now fighting a proposal to move the facility’s antenna park to the top of a mountain. Mr Povlsen’s conservation and ecotourism company, Wildland Ltd, is objecting to the controversial plan to separate the antenna park from the main spaceport site. (7/12)

Beijing Launches "Rocket Street" Project to Advance Commercial Space Development (Source: Xinhua)
Beijing has launched a "rocket street" project, aiming to establish a national-level scientific research and production hub to support China's commercial space development. "Beijing Rocket Street" project will be located in Beijing E-town, an economic and technological development area in the southeast of the capital city, with a total floor space of 140,000 square meters. Beijing E-town hosts a cluster of over 70 aerospace companies including 75 percent of China's private rocket makers.

A common technological platform, a high-end manufacturing center and an innovation research and development center are some of the major facilities. It also plans to build an interactive exhibition hall for science and technology that will offer visitors immersive virtual reality experiences. The local government anticipates that the project will assist rocket enterprises in exploring new technologies and expanding their application scenario. Meanwhile, it has spearheaded a commercial space alliance, bringing together businesses, universities, institutions and cooperatives. (7/13)