In Today’s Deep Space Extra…Juno operating well and as designed, feeding the desire to explore deep in space.
Space Science
Now orbiting Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft is poised for ‘tantalizing’ data
New York Times (7/5): NASA’s Juno spacecraft weathered Jupiter’s intense radiation and strong gravitational forces early this week to settle into an unprecedented science orbit around the solar system’s largest and perhaps oldest planet. Data streamed back to Earth over NASA’s Deep Space Network suggests all went well. “Everything executed just like we designed it to,” Rick Nybakken, Juno’s project manager, said in an interview. “It’s doing very well.”
Editorial: NASA’s Juno accomplishment shows why space exploration still matters so much
Dallas Morning News (7/5): “That unadulterated desire to explore, to peer beyond the gravitational confines of what we already know, is the rocket fuel that makes us look to the sky and wonder,” the Texas newspaper notes in an editorial regarding Juno’s arrival at giant Jupiter on Independence Day. “It has the power to inspire awe, to evoke patriotism, to make sober science nerds dance. We’re happy to share in the celebration.”
What comes next for NASA after Juno? Not much
National Public Radio (7/5): Looking down the road two years, NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter is scheduled to wrap up. The same holds true for the long-running U.S./European Cassini spacecraft mission to Saturn. Planetary science veterans say the U.S. budget sequester of three years ago stalled efforts to initiate new missions to the outer planets.
Chemistry on Titan could lay the groundwork for life
Space.com (7/5): Titan, is Saturn’s largest moon. It may also qualify as a pre-biotic Earth. Awash in carbon rich fluids like methane and ethane that act much like water on the Earth, Titan bears an eerie similarity thanks to long-running observations of the Saturn system by the NASA/European Cassini mission.
Low Earth Orbit
Upgraded Soyuz prepped to carry three to Space Station
Spaceflightnow.com (7/5): Russia’s MS-01 is ready to lift off late Wednesday for the International Space Station with three U.S., Russian and Japanese crew members. NASA’s Kate Rubins, Russia’s Anatoly Ivanishin and Japan’s Takuya Onishi will inaugurate missions aboard a major upgrade of Russia’s venerable Soyuz crew transport. The scheduled 9:36 p.m., EDT, lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is to set up an automated docking with the space station’s Russian segment on Saturday at 12:12 a.m., EDT.
Commission approves crew of next ISS expedition
TASS, of Russia (7/6): Russia’s state commission has approved Soyuz MS-01 commander Anatoly Ivanishin, flight engineer Takuya Onishi, of Japan, and Kate Rubins, of NASA, for launch to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Lift-off is planned for Wednesday at 9:36 p.m., EDT. Ivanishin has served aboard the Space Station previously. The spaceflight is the first for Rubins, a biomedical researcher, and Onishi, a former airline pilot.
Is China’s mysterious new satellite really a junk collector or a weapon?
The Daily Beast (7/4): Roaming Dragon, a robot-arm-equipped satellite that traveled into orbit atop China’s new Long March 7 launch vehicle in late June, has raised some concerns about its mission. Beijing claims the satellite’s robot arm will serve to remove space debris. Some experts in the U.S. believe Roaming Dragon might be an anti-satellite weapon. More transparency could help to remove the belief.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
The Seattle space scene
The Space Review (7/5): The Seattle, Wash., area, noted over the years for its forward-leaning aeronautics and computer industries is making strides in the commercial space sector with companies like Blue Origin, Vulcan Aerospace, Planetary Resources and Spaceflight Industries joining the more established Boeing and Microsoft in the region.
Poland signs space partnership deal with China, eyes increased industry cooperation
Space News (7/4): China and Poland have recently signed agreements to cooperate in telecommunications.