USC works with Polaris Dawn to study in-flight space medicine
Tuesday, 29 November 2022 06:03
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Today's spaceflights typically last a few days to a few months, so onboard medical treatment is mostly limited to first aid. But researchers are increasingly exploring new terrain-known as in-flight space medicine-that will be critical for maintaining astronauts' health during longer missions, such as the 21-month roundtrip to Mars.
Polaris Dawn, the first of three missions in the Polaris Glacier calving and a whole lot of mixing
Tuesday, 29 November 2022 06:00 Write a comment
It’s no surprise that when a massive lump of ice drops off the edge of a glacier into the sea, the surface waters of the ocean get pretty churned up. However, in addition to causing tsunamis at the surface of the ocean, recent research has led to the discovery that glacier calving can excite vigorous internal tsunami waves – a process that has been neglected in driving ocean mixing in computer models.
Space Force delivers final payload for Space Norway’s arctic broadband mission
Tuesday, 29 November 2022 00:07 Write a comment
The U.S. Space Force announced Nov. 28 it delivered the second and final military communications payloads that will launch in 2023 on Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission
The post Space Force delivers final payload for Space Norway’s arctic broadband mission appeared first on SpaceNews.
Space Force orders three GPS satellites for $744 million
Monday, 28 November 2022 23:00 Write a comment
The U.S. Space Force announced Nov. 28 it has ordered three GPS 3F satellites from Lockheed Martin for $744 million.
The post Space Force orders three GPS satellites for $744 million appeared first on SpaceNews.
Demonstration of new layer of missile-warning satellites planned for 2026
Monday, 28 November 2022 22:41 Write a comment
The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Nov. 28 that two satellite designs — one by Millennium Space Systems and the other by Raytheon Intelligence & Space — passed critical reviews and will move into the next phase of development.
NASA's Lunar Flashlight SmallSat readies for launch
Monday, 28 November 2022 21:10 Write a comment
When NASA's Lunar Flashlight launches no earlier than Nov. 30, the tiny satellite will begin a three-month journey, with mission navigators guiding the spacecraft far past the moon. It will then be slowly pulled back by gravity from Earth and the sun before settling into a wide science-gathering orbit to hunt for surface water ice inside dark regions on the moon that haven't seen sunlight in billions of years.
No larger than a briefcase, Lunar Flashlight will use a reflectometer equipped with four lasers that emit near-infrared light in wavelengths readily absorbed by surface water ice. This is the first time that multiple colored lasers will be used to seek out ice inside these dark craters.
SpaceX gives Space Coast 52nd launch of the year
Monday, 28 November 2022 20:51 Write a comment
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday from Kennedy Space Center on the 52nd successful flight of the year from the Space Coast.
The CRS-26 mission lifted off from Launch Pad 39-A on a resupply run to the International Space Station at 2:20 p.m.
A brand-new cargo Dragon spacecraft is carting up 7,700 pounds of food, scientific investigation and supplies to the station, including a pair of rollout solar arrays to help with power supply.
"Everyone is anxious to see the science kick off as soon as docking occurs," said Jeff Arend with NASA's systems engineering and integration office for the ISS.
That includes a study that will let the ISS crew grow dwarf tomatoes as part of NASA's plans to support long-term human space travel needs. A related investigation called BioNutrients-2 looks to produce on-demand nutrients by using combination of yogurt, a yeast-based beverage, and the fermented milk drink kefir.
Several student-led experiments are making the flight as well, including three payloads supported by central Florida nonprofit SpaceKids Global and the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council. One of those will investigate how brine shrimp, aka sea monkeys, behave in microgravity.
Air-breathing ion engines could continuously boost spacecraft anywhere there's an atmosphere
Monday, 28 November 2022 17:25 Write a comment
Staying in orbit can be challenging, at least for lower orbits that are more affected by Earth's atmosphere. But, such orbits also come with advantages, such as better vantage points for new commercial operations such as Earth Observation and telecommunications connections. So there is an incentive for anyone who can figure out how to functionally keep a satellite in orbit at those lower altitudes for long periods. One of the best paths toward that goal seems to be an ion engine that takes in atmospheric particles and uses them for thrust. Now, a recently released paper explores potential use cases for such an engine and suggests a path toward their commercialization.
One of the biggest problems with maintaining very low Earth orbit (VLEO) is fuel. At those altitudes, usually considered below 450 km from the surface or about as high as the space station, the atmosphere drags on anything orbiting, which requires a consistent push from an engine to counteract.
The first SLS launch caused damage to the launch pad. How bad was it?
Monday, 28 November 2022 17:23 Write a comment
When you test launch the most powerful rocket ever successfully flown, there's bound to be some collateral damage. With 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) packs a mighty punch (the Saturn V, which carried astronauts to the moon in 1969, produced 7.5 million pounds). After November 16's test flight of SLS, dubbed Artemis I, the pad was a little worse for wear, but not outside of expected parameters, NASA officials say.
"The damage that we did see pertain to really just a couple areas on the 'Zero Deck,'" said Mike Sarafin, Artemis I's mission manager, at a press conference on November 21, referring to the section of the Mobile Launcher Platform that bears the brunt of the rocket engines at liftoff.
What happened to those CubeSats that were launched with Artemis I?
Monday, 28 November 2022 17:21 Write a comment
NASA made history on November 16 when the Artemis I mission took off from Launch Complex 39B at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its way to the moon. This uncrewed mission is testing the capabilities of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the long-awaited return to the moon in 2025 (the Artemis III mission).
3D radargram brings new focus to Mars' north polar cap
Monday, 28 November 2022 16:37 Write a comment
Airbus and ArianeGroup sign Ariane 6 transition batch contract in Spain
Monday, 28 November 2022 10:54 Write a comment
Airbus and ArianeGroup have signed a contract for the next transition batch of Ariane 6 large carbon fibre structures. The contract includes the manufacturing and supply of innovative, large, lightweight structures for the next fourteen Ariane 6 launchers, to be manufactured until 2025. The contract will support ArianeGroup's ramp up to full production rate by then.
Airbus builds up to fou Orion Star Trackers, Reaction Control Thrusters Tested: Artemis I Flight Day 12
Monday, 28 November 2022 10:54 Write a comment
On the 12th day of the Artemis I mission, team members conducted another planned test of the star trackers aboard Orion as it continued along a distant retrograde orbit of the Moon, and began another reaction control thruster flight test.
Engineers hope to characterize the alignment between the star trackers and the Orion inertial measurements units, both of which are part of the guidance, Flocks of assembler robots show potential for making larger structures
Monday, 28 November 2022 10:54 Write a comment
Researchers at MIT have made significant steps toward creating robots that could practically and economically assemble nearly anything, including things much larger than themselves, from vehicles to buildings to larger robots. The new work, from MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), builds on years of research, including recent studies demonstrating that objects such as a deformable airplane wi