Space News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Iran state TV says Tehran launched rocket into space
Source: AP

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Thursday announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it’s unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.

The state TV report, as well as others by Iran’s semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal.

Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket. He said the three devices were sent up 470 kilometers (290 miles).
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/space-launch ... 883d162771
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caltrek
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Leveraging Space to Advance Stem Cell Science and Medicine
December 30, 2021

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/938905

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) LOS ANGELES — The secret to producing large batches of stem cells more efficiently may lie in the near-zero gravity conditions of space. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have found that microgravity has the potential to contribute to life-saving advances on Earth by facilitating the rapid mass production of stem cells.

A new paper, led by Cedars Sinai and published in the peer-review journal Stem Cell Reports, highlights key opportunities discussed during the 2020 Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium to expand the manufacture of stem cells in space.

Biomanufacturing—a type of stem cell production that uses biological materials such as microbes to produce substances and biomaterials suitable for use in preclinical, clinical, and therapeutic applications—can be more productive in microgravity conditions.

“We are finding that spaceflight and microgravity is a desirable place for biomanufacturing because it confers a number of very special properties to biological tissues and biological processes that can help mass produce cells or other products in a way that you wouldn’t be able to do on Earth,” said stem cell biologist Arun Sharma, PhD, research scientist and head of a new research laboratory in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Smidt Heart Institute and Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Conclusion:
“While we are still in the exploratory phase of some of this research, this is no longer in the realm of science fiction,” Sharma said. “Within the next five years we may see a scenario where we find cells or tissues that can be made in a way that is simply not possible here on Earth. And I think that’s extremely exciting.”
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weatheriscool
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Plasma lensing discovered in black widow pulsar
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-plasma-le ... ulsar.html
by Zhang Nannan, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), a research team led by Dr. Wang Shuangqiang from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (XAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered plasma lensing phenomenon in a black widow pulsar PSR J1720-0533.

Black widow pulsar systems have a low-mass companion star in a compact orbit with a millisecond pulsar. They are characterized by ablating the companion by emission from pulsar. Black widow pulsars get their name from the "black widow" spiders, the females of which eat the males after mating. Black widow pulsars offer valuable opportunities to investigate the characteristics of the companion stars under intense irradiation.

In this study, the researchers found that the emission of PSR J1720-0533 during the ingress of the eclipse shows quasi-periodic modulations, which may be caused by plasma lensing.

By analyzing the lensing phenomenon, the researchers concluded that the maximum magnification for the lens is 1.6, corresponding to a lens size of tens of kilometers. The discovery of the plasma lensing phenomenon in PSR J1720-0533 demonstrates a link between the dispersion measurement and lensing.

Moreover, the researchers examined the polarization profiles near the eclipse of PSR J1720-0533 and found that the linear polarization of the emission disappeared before the dispersion measurement showed significant changes. This phenomenon provides strong evidence that there is a significant magnetic field in the companion.
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caltrek
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Japan Plans to Land Astronaut on the Moon in Second Half of 2020s
by Rintaro Sakurai
December 29, 2021

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14512833

Introduction:
(The Asahi Shimbun) The government plans to land a Japanese astronaut on the moon in the second half of the 2020s who would become the first non-American to reach the surface of Earth’s natural satellite.

The lunar goal was announced at a Dec. 28 meeting of the Space Development Strategy Headquarters, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, that discussed revisions of Japan’s basic space policy.

It was the first time for Japan to specify a time frame for a human landing on the moon.

Japan has already decided to join the U.S.-led Artemis program aimed at exploring the moon and landing an astronaut there in or after 2025.

The last time a human has reached the moon’s surface was decades ago in NASA’s Apollo program.
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caltrek wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 2:14 am Japan Plans to Land Astronaut on the Moon in Second Half of 2020s
by Rintaro Sakurai
December 29, 2021

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14512833

Introduction:
(The Asahi Shimbun) The government plans to land a Japanese astronaut on the moon in the second half of the 2020s who would become the first non-American to reach the surface of Earth’s natural satellite.

The lunar goal was announced at a Dec. 28 meeting of the Space Development Strategy Headquarters, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, that discussed revisions of Japan’s basic space policy.

It was the first time for Japan to specify a time frame for a human landing on the moon.

Japan has already decided to join the U.S.-led Artemis program aimed at exploring the moon and landing an astronaut there in or after 2025.

The last time a human has reached the moon’s surface was decades ago in NASA’s Apollo program.

I'd put my money on Elon getting us back first but it just shows how incapable nasa has become that Japan probably stands a better chance of doing it before them.
weatheriscool
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We Just Got The First Haunting Photo From NASA's Asteroid Deflecting Spacecraft
NANCY ATKINSON, UNIVERSE TODAY
30 DECEMBER 2021

It might not look like much, but here is the first monumental image from the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Earlier this month, a circular door covering the aperture of its DRACO telescopic camera was opened, allowing the camera to take its first image.

Now, imagine what the camera's last image will be like: a REALLY closeup view of a binary asteroid system, Didymos and especially, its moonlet Dimorphos.

The goal of DART is to intentionally collide with Dimorphos. If everything goes according to plan, this will alter the asteroid's motion so that ground-based telescopes can accurately measure any changes.
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-just-go ... tmOSceI7-I
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caltrek
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Will Space Advertising Take Off in 2022?
by Tom Cassauwers
December 27, 2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/ ... ff-in-2022

Introduction:
(Al Jazeera) Advertising in outer space might seem like a vulgar idea, but it’s one with a long history. It’s also getting more popular because the cost of going to space is falling. But the side effects, such as light pollution and space debris, might not be worth it.

In August, the Canadian company Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) announced that it wanted to launch a small satellite with a billboard on it on a SpaceX rocket. The story immediately went viral, and SpaceX and GEC received a barrage of criticism.

In 2019, Russian entrepreneur Vlad Sitnikov got caught up in a similar controversy. “I’m an ad guy”, Sitnikov told Al Jazeera. “So I thought it would be cool to see a new type of media in the sky.”

Sitnikov had previously founded his own advertisement agency, and now wanted to do something with space advertising. So he turned to friends in the space industry, and eventually the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, a private university located in Moscow. They came up with the idea to send a group of small satellites up, all with screens on them, which together could act as a billboard visible from earth on which advertisements could be shown.

He launched concept images, which showed a Coca Cola advertisement appearing in the sky. That is when criticism started pouring in, saying the proposal was vulgar, but also might contribute to issues like light pollution.
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Yuli Ban
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
weatheriscool
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Nine Engine SpaceX Starship for 50% More Payload to Orbit
December 29, 2021 by Brian Wang
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2021/12/174223.html
Elon Musk says that future Starships – or at least certain Starship variants – are being upgraded with 50% more Raptor engines and stretched propellant tanks. This will increase engines from 6 to 9. SpaceX will also increase fuel to about 300 tons. This will enable a larger Starship and Superheavy to launch 220 tons to orbit instead of 150 tons.

On December 17th, the Elon confirmed a tweet from three months ago.

Something like this maybe? pic.twitter.com/NI1lSwuOEv

— The_Denks (@TheDenks) December 18, 2021
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caltrek
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Spaceflight 2022: Missions to Watch in the Coming Year
by David Dickinson
December 30, 2021

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-n ... ming-year/

Introduction:
(Sky and Telescope) 2022 promises to be a busy year for spaceflight. SpaceX will attempt the first orbital test flight of its Starship early in the calendar year, and NASA’s heavy-lift rocket may finally fly mid-year after many delays. Several lunar missions are in the works, as is a mission to an iron asteroid. To top it all off, Mars reaches opposition, and thus launch season, at the close of 2022.

(Keep in mind, launch schedules are fluid and subject to change. What follows (see article linked above quote box) reflects the status of missions as December 30, 2021.)
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