In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Hurricane Matthew’s force being felt by the Space Coast as others along the East Coast prepare for storms throughout the coming days. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center secured on Thursday in preparation. Our thoughts are with our friends in Florida and along the East Coast, as they weather this strong storm.
Human Deep Space Exploratio
Matthew Hammers Florida, Begins Dayslong Beating of Coast
Associated Press via New York Times (10/7): Florida’s Space Coast was hit with high winds from Hurricane Matthew early this morning with storm conditions expected to continue for several more hours. Both NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station were secured Thursday as Matthew, one of the most powerful storms ever to reach the region, began to impact the coast.
Hurricane Matthew within 5 miles of coast as category 3 storm
Florida Today (10/7): Hurricane Matthew moved within miles of Florida’s Space Coast early this morning, weakening to a category 3 storm but still packing 120 mph winds and moving slowly. More than 300,000 people are reported to be without power.
Central Florida utilities line up extra workers and brace for widespread power outages
Orlando Sentinel (10/6): Utility workers from as far as Texas and Minnesota travel to Central Florida to help with anticipated power outages from Hurricane Matthew.
NASA completes ‘summer of testing’ for SLS and Orion
Spaceflight Insider (10/7): A summer of testing for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew capsule is coming to a productive close. These are the two cornerstones of the agency’s plans to resume human deep space exploration with missions to lunar orbit and eventually Mars. Both the SLS and Orion are to be joined in late 2018 for Exploration Mission-1, their first uncrewed flight test. Components undergoing tests included the SLS solid rocket motors and main engines, as well as Orion’s parachute systems.
NASA’s Hi-Tech Gauze could heal wounded Mars astronauts
Seeker.com (10/6): NASA has experimented with an electroactive material that could help heal the wounds of astronauts on deep space exploration missions. The work is currently underway at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
Space Science
NASA seeks payload concepts for second SLS flight
Parabolic Arc (10/6): NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Directorate is seeking proposals for secondary payloads to launch aboard Exploration Mission-2, the first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System and Orion exploration rocket and spacecraft. The opportunity is open to NASA centers, industry, academia and NASA’s international partners. The proposed payloads must further U.S. deep space exploration goals. EM-2 is being prepared to launch as soon as August 2021.
JPL Predicts Mars’ global dust storm to arrive within weeks
Universe Today (10/6): A global dust storm on Mars is expected before the end of the month, experts at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory predict. The haze will reduce the solar energy available to robotic explorers, like NASA’s Opportunity rover. NASA Mars orbiters are expected to be affected as well.
Celebrate “International Observe the Moon Night” this Saturday
Universe Today (10/6): The annual lunar observation event is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.
Commercial to Orbit
Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch teams up (again) with Orbital ATK on air-launched rockets
Geekwire (10/6): The two companies have renewed an alliance to produce an air-launched rocket system. Launches using the 325-foot-wide Stratolaunch airplane are planned to begin by 2020. The big airplane is currently housed at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Orbital ATK will provide Stratolaunch with the Pegasus XL rocket for its missions.