August 5, 2024

Why SpaceX is Running Away with the Commercial Space Race (Source: The Hill)
SpaceX has achieved an unprecedented degree of reliability and low cost with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. Company engineers recently found and resolved a glitch in the Falcon 9 second stage and returned to flight in two weeks. The ability to reuse the first stage multiple times has left SpaceX’s competition in the dust.

The problem may sort itself out, eventually. For instance, when the ISS is replaced by commercial space stations, the number of cargo and crew missions will increase, allowing for the entry of more launch companies besides SpaceX, though it is likely to remain dominant. But the debut of the Rocket Lab Neutron rocket has been delayed to 2025. While SpaceX has executed more than 76 launches so far in 2024, Rocket Lab has accomplished about half a dozen launches. Rocket Lab has a ways to go before it can challenge SpaceX.

And Blue Origin’s answer to the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, New Glenn, is scheduled for its maiden launch no earlier than Sep. 29. If Blue Origin can compete with SpaceX on price and reliability, it can at last help to build the vibrant commercial space sector needed to open the high frontier to human activity. Anyone proposing to compete with SpaceX in the long term, Blue Origin or any other company, will have to take Starship into account in their long-term planning. (8/4)

Detecting Nitrogen Dioxide From Power Plants with Sentinel-2 (Source: ESA)
Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide is a harmful pollutant with significant impacts on air quality, climate and the biosphere. Although satellites have mapped nitrogen dioxide concentrations since the 1990s, their resolution was generally too coarse to pinpoint individual sources like power plants. In a recent study, researchers used imagery from Copernicus Sentinel-2 to observe nitrogen dioxide plumes from power plants for the first time – marking a significant advancement in air pollution monitoring. (8/5)

Quantum State Mimics Gravitational Waves (Source: Cosmos)
A quantum state in a lab has produced something which is mathematically indistinguishable from a phenomenon only ever witnessed when black holes collide: gravitational waves. (8/4)

SASC Orders Pentagon Transparency in Spectrum Dispute with Ligado (Source: Breaking Defense)
Tucked away in their version of the fiscal 2025 Pentagon policy bill, the Senate Armed Services Committee has signaled renewed interest in the years-long battle between the Defense Department and mobile communications provider Ligado over access to L-band spectrum.

The language, buried on page 161 of the SASC’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) report, does not mention Ligado by name. However, it demands that DoD detail what military systems have previously or currently operate in, or in those adjacent to, “the 1525-1559 megahertz and the 1626.5-1660.5 megahertz” radio frequency bands at the center of the dispute, as well as provide a list of potential alternate bands for operations of those systems.

The language further requires that the DoD report, to both the SASC and its House counterpart by Feb. 15, 2025, “the status of any claims concerning these bands of electromagnetic spectrum and any technical objections DOD has in response to such claims.” (7/31)

Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion is Now Visible From Earth (Source: Chron.)
A NASA spacecraft is still on its way to explore an ultra-valuable, metal-rich asteroid. However, you don't have to wait for the space agency to beam back pictures of the so-called "golden asteroid" in a few years to see it. Per Astronomy Magazine, Asteroid 16 Psyche will reach opposition—opposite to the Sun in our sky—at 1 a.m. CT on Aug. 6. It will be located among the stars in northern Capricornus glowing at a magnitude of 9.6. You can find Psyche in the southwestern sky in the early morning hours leading up to dawn, but you'll need a telescope to do so. (8/3)

Bypass Moon, Use SpaceX’s Starship To Go Directly To Mars, Says Zubrin (Source: Forbes)
If anybody had told me in 1969 that I’d be 72 and there wouldn't be colonies on the moon or Mars, I would have thought they were nuts, said Robert Zubrin. He hopes that with a potential new Harris Administration in the White House that could change. If Harris wanted to do space, she would have the advantage of being a two-term president, says Zubrin. If SpaceX gets Starship operational to orbit this year or early next year, Harris could use a Mars direct approach to astonish the world just as John F. Kennedy did in 1961, he says.

The idea is to bypass NASA’s current planned Artemis return to the moon and instead send Starship on a robotic mission to Mars. We could send an expedition composed of a dozen big rovers and 20 medium-sized rovers and a dozen helicopters and have a good well-equipped lab inside the Starship itself, says Zubrin. (8/5)

SpaceX Reveals Raptor 3 Engine and Specifications (Source: Next Big Future)
SpaceX has unveiled the Raptor 3 engine, marking significant advancements in thrust, specific impulse, and mass efficiency compared to previous versions. The Raptor 3 boasts a thrust of 280 tf, a specific impulse of 350s, and an engine mass of 1525 kg. The SpaceX Raptor 3 engine has potential to exceed 300 tons of thrust in future iterations, emphasizing ongoing efforts to improve efficiency. Raptor 3 is 36% lighter than Raptor 1. It has 51% more thrust at sea level versus raptor 1.

Raptor 3 is 7% lighter than Raptor 2. It has 21% more thrust at sea level versus raptor 2. Elon Musk indicates that Raptor could get another 8-10% more thrust. Raptor 3 has 2.75 million newtons of thrust versus 2.26 million newtons for the Raptor 2. 33 Raptor 3 engines would provide 90.75 million newtons of thrust for a 33 engine super heavy booster. 35 Raptor 3 engines would provide 96.3 million newtons of thrust for a 35 engine super heavy booster. The Saturn V had 34.5 million newtons of thrust. (8/3)

NASA May Be Forced to Send Boeing's Busted Spacecraft Back Empty (Source: Futurism)
NASA has been discussing the option of having Starliner return back to the surface with neither Wilmore nor Williams on board, CNBC reports, though finding consensus has been difficult and discussions are still ongoing. This scenario would involve sending a replacement SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to rescue the two, NASA's flightworthy workhorse that cost a fraction to develop, despite being a part of the same Commercial Crew program as Starliner.

Sending the capsule back empty would be a major vote of no confidence in Boeing following years of delays, technical issues, and a failed launch attempt — not to mention a PR disaster for both NASA and Boeing, which have been adamant that everything has been going according to plan despite the chaos and delays. (8/5)

Why Advanced ET Technosignatures Could Evade Detection (Source: Space Daily)
A recent study published on May 24 in the Astrophysical Journal suggests that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations may be difficult to detect because their energy needs might be modest. If these civilizations do not require significant power, they may not construct large energy-harvesting structures detectable by our telescopes. On Earth, such structures might resemble vast solar panel arrays or orbiting megastructures capturing stellar energy. (8/5)

Glitches with Cygnus Won't Prevent ISS Cargo Delivery (Source: Space News)
NASA says a Cygnus cargo spacecraft is still headed to the ISS despite problems after its launch Sunday. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:02 a.m. Eastern and placed the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Several hours later, though, NASA said that the spacecraft failed to perform two maneuvers to raise its orbit and send it towards the station.

The first maneuver did not take place because of "a late entry to burn sequencing" while the second was aborted because of low pressure in the engine. Despite the issues, NASA said late Sunday that Cygnus should still arrive at the ISS early Tuesday as originally planned. The spacecraft is carrying more than 3,850 kilograms of cargo for the station, ranging from science experiments to supplies for the crew. (8/5)

KVH Relies on Starlink to Build Maritime Connectivity Business (Source: Space News)
Maritime connectivity provider KVH Industries is relying on SpaceX's Starlink to help turn around its business. The company noted in an earnings call last week that it has seen a slight increase in the number of ships subscribed to its services after declines in the previous three quarters. This came after the company bought a large block of Starlink capacity, providing customers more specialized customer and technical services than if they directly purchased from SpaceX. KVH, though, still reported a 15% decline in revenues year-over-year and recently laid off 20% of its workforce to cut costs. (8/5)

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From California (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites from California early Sunday. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 3:24 a.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. With this mission and the Cygnus launch, SpaceX has conducted six Falcon 9 launches in a little over a week after a 15-day hiatus caused by an upper stage anomaly in mid-July. (8/5)

Ascending Node's 'Spaceline' Provides Mission Visualization (Source: Space News)
Ascending Node Technologies unveiled new mission-visualization software for satellite projects. The software, called Spaceline, is a web-based suite of data analysis and visualization tools designed to improve collaboration from mission design through operations and post-mission review. Aspera, a NASA smallsat astrophysics mission, is the first to use the software. The company's founders decided to pursue development of Spaceline after their experience working on the OSIRIS-REx mission. (8/5)