Space News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Elon Musk: Starship will be ready for its first orbital launch attempt next month

https://spacexmania.com/1/archives/855? ... Accf_Cf6yo
1 day ago

SpaceX’s Starship rocket is still being built in southeast Texas, with significant work being made on crucial parts like the launch tower construction and the installation of the vacuum-rated Raptor engines that will power the spacecraft once it reaches space.

Elon Musk claims that it might be ready for its maiden orbital flight attempt next month if it receives the necessary regulatory approvals.

To make the effort, SpaceX will need clearance from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as it has for all of its previous test flights of Starship from its development facility outside of Brownsville, Texas.
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NASA targeting Feb. 2022 to launch new lunar program Artemis
A NASA employee holds the official Artemis mission patch at NASA Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio.

NASA said Friday it is now targeting February 2022 for the uncrewed lunar mission Artemis 1, the first step in America's plan to return humans to the Moon later this decade.

The space agency had initially wanted to launch the test flight by the end of this year, with astronauts on the ground by 2024 on Artemis 3, but the timeline has slipped back.

It achieved a major milestone Wednesday when it stacked the Orion crew capsule atop its Space Launch System megarocket, which now stands 322 feet (98 meters) tall inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After further tests, it will be wheeled out to the launch pad for a final test known as the "wet dress rehearsal" in January, with the first window for launch opening in February, officials told reporters on a call.

"The February launch period opens on the 12th and our last opportunity in February is on the 27th," said Mike Sarafin, Artemis 1 mission manager.

The next windows are in March and then April.
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-nasa-feb- ... temis.html
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To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Bezos' Blue Origin announces plans for private space station
The core module of Orbital Reef is seen in an artist's illustration, courtesy of Blue Origin.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin on Monday announced it wants to launch a space station that will house up to 10 people in the second half of the decade, as the race to commercialize the cosmos heats up.

"Orbital Reef," described in a press statement as a mixed-use business park in space that will support microgravity research and manufacturing, is a joint venture with commercial space company Sierra Space and has the support of Boeing and Arizona State University.

"For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade," said Blue Origin executive Brent Sherwood.

"We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight."

The private outpost is one of several planned in the coming years as NASA considers the future of the International Space Station after the 2020s.

The space agency holds a contract with a company called Axiom to develop a space station that will initially dock with the ISS and later become free-flying.
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-bezos-blu ... ation.html
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Firefly Aerospace is One Step Closer to Landing on the Moon
on Monday, October 25, 2021 in Space & Astrophysics

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leader in economical launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, today announced it reached a major milestone with the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) of their Blue Ghost lunar lander. This CDR paves the way for construction of the Blue Ghost lander, which is scheduled to touch down in the Mare Crisium lunar basin in September of 2023 carrying ten NASA payloads as part of the $93.3-million Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract secured by Firefly earlier this year. The lander will also take several commercial payloads to the lunar surface. The 2023 Blue Ghost mission will be the first of what are expected to be yearly lunar surface missions for Firefly.

“This milestone marks another step in an aggressive schedule and meeting it continues to showcase our spacecraft team’s ability to consistently deliver incredible work,” stated Dr. Tom Markusic, Firefly’s CEO. “This mission is a forerunner of what we see as a growing cadence of recurring data and payload service missions in cis-lunar space that will kickstart a lunar economy, and we’re honored to be demonstrating our ability to deliver these services for NASA and for our commercial customers.”

Blue Ghost will operate a variety of payloads through lunar transit and orbit, as well as while on the lunar surface. These payloads will explore the region’s regolith properties, geophysical characteristics, and interaction of the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field. There are also several key technology demonstrations related to navigation and sample collection.
https://www.scientiststudy.com/2021/10/ ... pXFI71c6-Y
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SpaceX Gateway to Mars
October 26, 2021 by Brian Wang
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2021/10/s ... -mars.html
SpaceX shows off Boca Chica and the Super Heavy Starship in a video on twitter – Gateway to Mars.

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Juno spacecraft peers deep into Jupiter's colorful belts and zones
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-juno-spac ... piter.html
by University of Leicester
A University of Leicester study of data captured in orbit around Jupiter has revealed new insights into what's happening deep beneath the gas giant's distinctive and colorful bands.

Data from the microwave radiometer carried by NASA's Juno spacecraft shows that Jupiter's banded pattern extends deep below the clouds, and that the appearance of Jupiter's belts and zones inverts near the base of the water clouds. Microwave light allows planetary scientists to gaze deep beneath Jupiter's colorful clouds, to understand the weather and climate in the warmer, darker, deeper layers.

At altitudes shallower than five bars of pressure (or around five times the average atmospheric pressure on Earth), the planet's belts shine brightly in microwave light, whereas the zones are dark. But everything changes at higher pressures, at altitudes deeper than 10 bars, giving scientists a glimpse of an unexpected reversal in the meteorology and circulation.

Dr. Leigh Fletcher, Associate Professor in Planetary Science at the University of Leicester and Participating Scientist for the Juno mission, is lead author of the study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets. He said, "One of Juno's primary goals was to peer beneath the cloudy veil of Jupiter's atmosphere, and to probe the deeper, hidden layers.

"Our study has shown that those colorful bands are just the 'tip of the iceberg," and that the mid-latitude bands not only extend deep, but seem to change their nature the further down you go.

"We've been calling the transition zone the jovicline, and its discovery has only been made possible by Juno's microwave instrument."
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NASA's Juno: Science results offer first 3D view of Jupiter atmosphere
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-nasa-juno ... ts-3d.html
by Jet Propulsion Laboratory
New findings from NASA's Juno probe orbiting Jupiter provide a fuller picture of how the planet's distinctive and colorful atmospheric features offer clues about the unseen processes below its clouds. The results highlight the inner workings of the belts and zones of clouds encircling Jupiter, as well as its polar cyclones and even the Great Red Spot.

Researchers published several papers on Juno's atmospheric discoveries today in the journal Science and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. Additional papers appeared in two recent issues of Geophysical Research Letters.

"These new observations from Juno open up a treasure chest of new information about Jupiter's enigmatic observable features," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "Each paper sheds light on different aspects of the planet's atmospheric processes—a wonderful example of how our internationally-diverse science teams strengthen understanding of our solar system."

Juno entered Jupiter's orbit in 2016. During each of the spacecraft's 37 passes of the planet to date, a specialized suite of instruments has peered below its turbulent cloud deck.
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The Benefits of On-orbit Operations and Servicing
by Alexandra Ames
November 1, 2021

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/01/learn ... pace-2021/

Introduction:
(TechCrunch) If you think manufacturing, assembling and servicing highly complex equipment on Earth is challenging, try doing it in space. On-orbit operations and servicing are vital emerging technologies, and you’ll have ample opportunity to improveyour understanding of them at TC Sessions: Space 2021 on December 14 – 15.

When a satellite breaks down, you can’t just call AAA. On-orbit servicing (OOS) enables inspections, repairs and technology upgrades for both military and commercial satellites — extending their service viability, reducing dangerous space debris and saving a galactic ton of money. Consider this: a military satellite in geostationary orbit can cost more than a billion dollars. Would you junk a billion-dollar car if you could fix it instead?

A very high-tech version of reduce, reuse and recycle, on-orbit ops/services lead to orbital sustainability— a more efficient, affordable operating environment for both the public and private sectors. Plus, the ability to install new payloads, such as upgraded communication or navigation systems, to existing satellites supports their mission while, again, reducing costs and space clutter.

But this isn’t our first foray into this category, Orbit Fab, who launched in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt in 2019, is working with the U.S Air Force Research Laboratory to advance on-orbit refueling technology. They also just raised $10M from both VC and prime contractor investors.
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The Guide for the Next Decade of Space Research Just Dropped

The Astro2020 Decadal Survey's top priorities include new telescopes, the search for habitable exoplanets, and far-infrared and x-ray probe missions.

11.04.2021 11:41 AM

https://www.wired.com/story/the-guide-f ... t-dropped/


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