Space News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

New Proposal to Define Planets
July 23, 2024 by Brian Wang

There is a new proposed definition of planet that works far better for objects in other solar systems.

In our solar system, objects are close enough that we can check the orbit and see if has been cleared of other objects. This is problematic if we can only infer rough properties of what could be a planet in another solar system. We cannot image the prospective exoplanet but we can see its gravitational effect. If we cannot see the planet then we also cannot know if it is fully round.

A new proposal is to use a lower and upper bound for the mass. The lower bound is below the mass of Mercury but above the mass of Pluto. The upper bound is 13 times more than the mass of Jupiter. As objects get over 6 times the mass of Jupiter then they can start fusion processes and become brown dwarfs.

https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/m ... esistance/

[Time_Traveller]

Mercury has a layer of diamond up to 10 miles thick, scientists suggest

Thursday 25 July 2024 10:58, UK



It may be the smallest planet in the solar system but Mercury could be hiding a big secret.

A layer of diamond beneath the crust of Mercury could be up to 10 miles (18km) thick, new research suggests.

Scientists from China and Belgium used data collected by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft between 2004 and 2015 to inform their theories about the structure of the planet's interior.

The researchers think two processes could have resulted in the diamond layer.

"First is the crystallisation of the magma ocean, but this process likely contributed to forming only a very thin diamond layer at the core/mantle interface," Olivier Namur, a member of the research team and an associate professor at KU Leuven, told Space.com.

https://news.sky.com/story/mercury-has- ... t-13184660

[weatheriscool]

Mercury has a layer of diamond up to 10 miles thick, scientists suggest

Thursday 25 July 2024 10:58, UK



It may be the smallest planet in the solar system but Mercury could be hiding a big secret.

A layer of diamond beneath the crust of Mercury could be up to 10 miles (18km) thick, new research suggests.

Scientists from China and Belgium used data collected by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft between 2004 and 2015 to inform their theories about the structure of the planet's interior.

The researchers think two processes could have resulted in the diamond layer.

"First is the crystallisation of the magma ocean, but this process likely contributed to forming only a very thin diamond layer at the core/mantle interface," Olivier Namur, a member of the research team and an associate professor at KU Leuven, told Space.com.

https://news.sky.com/story/mercury-has- ... t-13184660

You'd think every billionaire on this fucking planet would be getting together to back elon in getting their hands on this. My god.

[Powers]

You'd think every billionaire on this fucking planet would be getting together to back elon in getting their hands on this. My god.

Knife and order in hand.

[Time_Traveller]

Chinese megaconstellation launch creates field of space debris

August 8, 2024



HELSINKI — A Chinese launch to deploy a first batch of communications satellites has created more than 50 pieces of debris which could threaten spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

The Long March 6A launched Aug. 6, from a specifically constructed launch pad at Taiyuan spaceport. The rocket’s upper stage, modified for restarts and deploying numerous satellites, deployed 18 flat panel Qianfan (“Thousand Sails”), or G60, satellites into roughly 800-kilometer-altitude polar orbit for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST).

The satellites are the first of a planned megaconstellation of more than 14,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites. However the mission appears to have created a string of debris along its orbital path, according to observations from Slingshot Aerospace, a space-tracking and data analytics firm.

“Composite images from Slingshot’s LEO-focused Horus optical fences show a series of bright, unexpected objects moving along the same orbital path as the rocket body and the G60 satellites it deployed,” Slingshot Aerospace noted in a statement.

The event has more than 50 pieces of debris that now pose a risk to LEO constellations below 800 km altitude, according to the firm.

https://spacenews.com/chinese-megaconst ... ce-debris/

[Time_Traveller]

Spanish defense contractor buys small satellite mission specialist Deimos

August 7, 2024



TAMPA, Fla. — Indra, one of Spain’s largest defense contractors, announced plans Aug. 7 to beef up its newly created space business by acquiring European small satellite mission specialist Deimos.

Currently owned by Spanish energy giant Elecnor, Deimos provides satellite integration, subsystem and ground segment technologies with a team of more than 500 people across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Financial details were not disclosed for the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals the companies expect to get before the end of the year.

Indra described the proposed acquisition as the first step toward becoming a major player in domestic, European, and international space programs.

It comes after Indra’s shareholders approved plans in June to spin off space assets and establish a new company, dubbed Space NewCo, with the aim of generating more than one billion euros ($1.01 billion) in revenue by the end of the decade.

https://spacenews.com/spanish-defense-c ... st-deimos/

[Time_Traveller]

Para-astronaut John McFall hopes to see an ISS astronaut with a disability fly by 2030

published 7 hours ago

John McFall is a para-astronaut, and he hopes the first person with disabilities will enter the International Space Station by 2030 — before the complex is slated to retire from service later that year.

A European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut, McFall was selected for the program in 2022 based on his experience as a trauma and orthopedic specialist, surgeon and exercise scientist. McFall also has lived experience with a disability as he has used prosthetics regularly since the amputation of his right leg at age 19, following a motorcycle accident. (He even won a bronze medal in the 2008 Paralympics in the 100-meter sprint, class T42.)

A recent study dubbed "Fly!" — in which McFall played a key role — found there would be no major issues to International Space Station missions should an astronaut use a prosthesis on board. There is more work to be done, but the goal is for it all to culminate in flying "someone with a physical disability" to the ISS, McFall told Space.com in an exclusive interview on Aug. 8. "By the end of this decade, hopefully that would have happened."

ESA and NASA worked on Phase 1 of the "Fly!" study in 2022, before McFall was selected, to discuss the range of physical disabilities that may be accommodated on the ISS. They looked at case studies in literature from the military, for example, detailing how members with physical injuries returned to active service.

The agencies decided to conduct a feasibility study on lower limb disabilities, determining this to be an easier first step for inclusion than addressing vision, hearing or upper limbs, McFall said. This led to the call for para-astronauts that resulted in McFall's selection. Then, McFall and other team members moved forward on the feasibility study, which was discussed publicly last month. (The study is not available for release yet, but should be by spring 2025, McFall added.)

https://www.space.com/iss-paraastronaut ... -exclusive

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[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

https://apnews.com/article/boeing-space ... 60ddea011c

[weatheriscool]

How to watch: Launch of the first private spacewalk mission
https://newatlas.com/space/how-watch-la ... lk-mision/
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn, the first private space mission to include a spacewalk, is scheduled to lift off on Tuesday, August 27 at 3:38 am EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here's how to watch.

Polaris Dawn is a multi-day Earth orbital mission aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Though it's a private mission rather than a government one, it's more than just a tourist jaunt. It will not only include the first private spacewalk, it will conduct 38 science experiments to study the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. It will also be the first mission since the Apollo program to penetrate the radioactive Van Allen Belt, though only briefly for safety reasons.

The crew includes Mission Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Pilot Scott Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon. If the launch is delayed, SpaceX says that there will be two more opportunities on Tuesday at 5:23 am EDT and 7:09 am EDT. There are also three opportunities on August 28.

[caltrek]

NASA Discovers a Long-sought Global Electric Field on Earth
August 28, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Using observations from a NASA suborbital rocket, an international team of scientists has, for the first time, successfully measured a planet-wide electric field thought to be as fundamental to Earth as its gravity and magnetic fields. Known as the ambipolar electric field, scientists first hypothesized over 60 years ago that it drove how our planet’s atmosphere can escape above Earth’s North and South Poles. Measurements from the rocket, NASA’s Endurance mission, have confirmed the existence of the ambipolar field and quantified its strength, revealing its role in driving atmospheric escape and shaping our ionosphere — a layer of the upper atmosphere — more broadly.

Understanding the complex movements and evolution of our planet’s atmosphere provides clues not only to the history of Earth but also gives us insight into the mysteries of other planets and determining which ones might be hospitable to life. The paper was published Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in the journal Nature.

Conclusion:

Endurance’s discovery has opened many new paths for exploration. The ambipolar field, as a fundamental energy field of our planet alongside gravity and magnetism, may have continuously shaped the evolution of our atmosphere in ways we can now begin to explore. Because it’s created by the internal dynamics of an atmosphere, similar electric fields are expected to exist on other planets, including Venus and Mars.

“Any planet with an atmosphere should have an ambipolar field,” Collinson said. “Now that we’ve finally measured it, we can begin learning how it’s shaped our planet as well as others over time.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1056009

[weatheriscool]

NASA Extended a Solar Sail in Orbit on August 29, 2024
August 30, 2024 by Brian Wang

NASA plans to build larger solar sails that can generate more thrust. A new unique composite carbon fiber booms, the ACS3 system has the potential to support sails as large as 2,000 square meters, or about 21,500 square feet, or about half the area of a soccer field. The ACS3 system has been in low earth orbit since April, 2024 after being launched by Rocket Labs.

The ACS3 spacecraft deployed its solar power arrays and unfurled its solar sail via four booms that span the diagonals of the square and unspool to reach 23 feet (about 7 meters) in length. The solar sail is fully deployed, and the square-shaped solar sail measures approximately 30 feet (about 9 meters) per side.

The spacecraft took months to reaching its Sun-synchronous orbit, about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) above Earth.

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/08/n ... -2024.html

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

Polaris Dawn now scheduled for tomorrow

https://www.cnet.com/science/space/spac ... e-mission/

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

SpaceX Crew-9 astronaut launch delayed to Sept. 26

https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-9-iss-launch-delay

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

SpaceX Aims for Crew-9 Dragon Launch This Weekend: What to Know and How to Watch

https://www.cnet.com/science/spacex-aim ... -to-watch/