In Today’s Deep Space Extra… As Hurricane Matthew heads toward the Space Coast, evacuations are under way, and protecting lives is top priority.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Hurricane Matthew poses a significant threat to Kennedy Space Center
Ars Technica (10/4): Weather models forecast Hurricane Matthew to make landfall on the Florida coast near Cocoa Beach, Fla., and the Kennedy Space Center by Friday morning. NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) officials will begin hurricane preparations and facility securing on Wednesday morning. KSC was designed to withstand hurricanes, however wind gusts could reach 130mph and could pose a threat to some of the historic structures at the space center.
Hurricane Matthew forecast track prompts precautions at the Cape
Spaceflightnow.com (10/4): NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., took precautionary measures on Monday afternoon ahead of a possible encounter with powerful Hurricane Matthew. The Caribbean storm’s center is tracking north and east of Florida, but its cone of uncertainty extends west to Orlando in Central Florida. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for the entire state.
Here’s why a Clinton administration might pivot NASA back to the Moon
Ars Technica (10/4): A U.S.-led, international return to the lunar surface with astronauts could considered, if the next U.S. president is Hillary Clinton. Neal Lane, former president Bill Clinton’s White House science advisor, is offering informal science policy information to Clinton. During a Monday night forum at Rice University, in Houston, where Lane is a professor, he championed the moon as a good next step for humans on an eventual Journey to Mars, the destination championed by President Obama.
Boeing CEO vows to beat Musk to Mars
Bloomberg Technology (10/4): In Chicago, Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg lays out a vision to help commercialize Low Earth Orbit and perhaps help the aerospace giant reach Mars ahead of his SpaceX counterpart, Elon Musk.
When will we send astronauts to Mars?
Universe Today (10/4): Best estimate for a NASA Mars mission? The 2030s. At least two private initiatives would like to hasten the date. History suggests that like long-ago efforts to make it happen in 1965, then 1980 were too optimistic. Currently NASA is focused on a heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System, and a crew vehicle, Orion, as cornerstones of its Journey to Mars.
NASA’s First SLS Mars Rocket Fuel Tank Completes Welding
Universe Today (10/5): The enormous Space Launch System liquid hydrogen propellant tank was fabricated at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. It will join the rocket components assigned to the first test launch of the SLS with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in late 2018.
Space Science
NASA puts finishing touches on telescope to look to back at first stars
Washington Post (10/4): At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the final components of the $8.7-billion James Webb Space Telescope are coming together. The designated successor to the 26-year-old Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled for launching in late 2018. Once positioned, the JWST will permit astronomers to study light from some of the universe’s earliest galaxies.
Report recommends less frequent reviews of ongoing NASA science missions
Space News (10/4): Recommendations in a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences would permit NASA to review ongoing space science missions for possible extension once every three years instead of once every two years. NASA’s Curiosity rover at Mars is one of several planetary science missions recently granted a two-year extension. A change in the cadence, however, will require Congressional approval.
Calling All Makers: NASA Announces Next Phase of 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge
Space.com (10/4): Last weekend, NASA moved into the second phase of a competition to generate a Mars habitat for astronauts using 3D printing technologies. Maker Faire New York hosted the announcement. The radiation-proof dwelling might be made of Martian ice.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Antares Return to Flight Will Be October 13 if Matthew Doesn’t Interfere
Spacepolicyonline.com (10/4): Oct. 13 marks the planned launch date for Orbital ATK’s next NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station — if Hurricane Matthew steers clear of the Wallops Island, Va., Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport launch complex. The mission marks Orbital ATK’s first launch of an updated Antares rocket since the loss of one of the launch vehicles shortly after liftoff from Wallops in October 2014. Orbital ATK turned to the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., to continue its Space Station deliveries during the recovery.
House members express support for SpaceX accident investigation
Space News (10/4): A 24-member, bi-partisan contingent from the U.S. Congress has expressed support for the SpaceX-led investigation into the Sept. 1 launch pad explosion of a company Falcon 9 rocket with an Israeli communications satellite. The blast came as the rocket was nearing a prelaunch test firing of the first stage. The FAA is overseeing the SpaceX inquiry, which has input from NASA and the U.S. Air Force, owners of the damaged Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch pad.