In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA testing is preparing the Orion crew exploration capsule for ocean splashdown.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Orion test capsule gets another splash-test at NASA Langley
Hampton Roads Daily Press (6/14): NASA’s Orion crew exploration capsule, under development at Lockheed Martin, is undergoing water impact testing at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The latest round included male and female crash dummies equipped with sensors and strapped in the capsule as it slammed into a test pool. The test conditions vary wave height, winds and parachute performance. Orion is scheduled for its second uncrewed spaceflight test in late 2018. Launched atop a Space Launch System exploration rocket, the capsule will fly around the moon and back to Earth for a parachute assisted ocean splashdown.
If we want to send astronauts to Mars, we must go back to the moon first
Scientific American (7/1): Lunar resources, including those needed to make rocket fuel, could make the moon a necessary first stop in humanity’s desire to explore Mars, according to the report, one that also notes a strong interest among potential international partners to do so. The European Space Agency recently proposed a global moon village as one concept.
Space Science
Commentary | A Day without space
Space News (6/14): Many of us cannot recall such a moment: A time without Internet, smart phones and instant weather forecasts. Imagine extensive passenger flight delays with jets snagged by a broken air traffic control system, our national security personnel without access to satellite imagery, communications intercepts, or a global positioning system. Essayist David Logsdon paints a vivid picture of what strides in space mean to our economic and national security.
Chiral molecules spotted in interstellar cloud
Physicsworld.com (6/14): Scientists catch a hint at how pre-biotic molecules may have formed outside our own solar system. Astronomers observed with the Green Bank, Va., radio telescope.
Low Earth Orbit
Nelson shepherds RD-180 compromise through U.S. Senate
Space New (6/14): U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a veteran Florida lawmaker and one time shuttle flier, steers a compromise measure through the Senate that would permit United Launch Alliance to import as many as 18 Russian RD-180 rocket engines for Atlas 5 missions lifting national security satellites into orbit. Part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2017, the measure matches the 18 import thresh hold in the U.S. House version of the authorization bill and doubles the previous import limit. The compromise, effective through 2022, is intended to provide time for U.S. aerospace contractors to develop a domestic rocket engine alternative.
A solution for space junk? El Segundo aerospace engineer might have it
The Torrance Daily Breeze, of California (6/14): Siegfried Janson’s Brane Craft may be just the tool to diminish space junk in Earth orbital space. Robotic, flexible and light weight, the Brane Craft would wrap itself around debris and burn up as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Janson works for the Aerospace Corp. and research for his project has been funded by NASA.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Cygnus leaves Space Station and conducts NASA fire experiment in microgravity
Spaceflightnow.com (6/14): Orbital ATK’s NASA contracted Cygnus resupply spacecraft departed the six person International Space Station early Tuesday after an 80 day stay. Late in the day, the capsule became a test bed for a spacecraft fire experiment. The research is intended to improve the safety of deep space habitats for astronauts on future missions to Mars.
DiBello: Independent authority should run Cape Canaveral spaceport
Florida Today (6/14): Frank DiBello, Space Florida president and CEO, predicts that Central Florida’s federally owned Cape Canaveral spaceports may operate under a more independent authority with a more commercial perspective in the next decade.
Space Station’s commercial 3-D printer makes its 1st tool (photos)
Space.com (6/14): A 3-D printer, developed by California-based Made in Space and launched to the International Space Station on a commercial re-supply mission in April, has generated its first tool, a wrench generated as part of an agreement with Lowe’s, the home improvement chain.
Set up national space programme or risk U.K. being left behind, MPs warn
The Guardian (6/14): European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake, joins with those among UK leadership in urging a strong national space program to foster scientific and technical breakthroughs. Peake is set to return to Earth on Saturday with U.S. and Russian crew mates, after six months aboard the International Space Station.