In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s associate administrator, will lead NASA temporarily as President-elect Trump takes office on Friday. Lightfoot offered an optimistic outlook for the agency before a space business gathering on Tuesday.
Human Deep Space Exploration
NASA “beachhead team” taking shape, Lightfoot optimistic about NASA’s future
Spacepolicyonline.com (1/17): NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, who will take charge of the agency temporarily at noon on Friday, offered an optimistic forecast for NASA during remarks Tuesday before Maryland’s Space Business Roundtable. NASA’s “enduring purpose” to “discover, explore, develop, and enable” will prevail, he told the round table. President-elect Trump will be sworn in to office on Friday.
Space Science
Teen is raising money to send girls to see ‘Hidden Figures’
Mashable (1/17): Thirteen-year-old Taylor Richardson plans to become an astronaut, a dream fueled in part by Hidden Figures, the new box office hit that tells the story of a small team of African American women, with expertise in math, who helped NASA launch its early astronaut missions. Richardson has raised money to help other young woman see the inspiring movie.
Space-weather forecast to improve with European satellite
Nature News (1/18): A planned European Space Agency spacecraft would offer a new perspective on solar activity and storms. Planned for a 2023 liftoff, the satellite would travel to the L-5 Sun/Earth Lagrange point, where it could offer a “side on” rather than a “head on” view of solar charged particles headed for Earth. Intense periods of solar activity can damage satellites as well as power grids on the ground.
Some Earth life is ready to live on Mars right now
Universe Today (1/17): Researchers from the Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences offer evidence that some terrestrial life forms could survive on Mars as well. Their efforts are focused on four species of methanogenic microorganisms that while on Earth have demonstrated they could withstand the Martian low pressure atmosphere.
A giant gravity wave has been found in Venus’ clouds
Seeker.com (1/17): Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft spotted a 6,200 mile-long object in the upper atmosphere of Venus that is believed to have been created by mountains on the planet’s surface. Spotted in December 2015, the structure disappeared after five days. The source is believed to have been a gravity wave, according to physicist Makoto Taguchi of Rikkyo University in Tokyo.
What was the Carrington Event?
Universe Today (1/17): The answer to the mystery turns back to 1859 and a major outburst by the sun. Had it happened today, the consequences of the burst might be far more devastating than the meltdown of electrical grids and telegraph lines of the mid-19th century.
Low Earth Orbit
Launch failure probe prompts engine swap on Soyuz crew’s rocket
Spaceflightnow.com (1/17): On December 1, Russia’s most recent re-supply mission launch to the International Space Station, Progress MS-04, was lost in a third-stage Soyuz-U launch vehicle failure. A Russian investigation has focused on a third stage oxygen tank failure, possibly triggered by the presence of foreign objects or a problem with the rocket engine. In response, Roscosmos, the Russian federal space corporation, is changing out third-stage rocket engines on Soyuz-U and FG launch vehicles assigned to future space station cargo and crew launches. Foreign objects or a manufacturing defect may have been the ultimate source of the December 1 cargo loss.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
NASA looks into buying more Russian Soyuz trips to orbit through Boeing
Geek Wire (1/17): Boeing could serve as a contract middle-man of sorts as NASA seeks Russian Soyuz launches for five more U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station between 2018 and 2019. The time frame represents a new milestone at which NASA anticipates that Boeing and SpaceX, contracted with NASA through the Commercial Crew Program, will complete test flights and flight certifications that enable the companies to begin transporting astronauts to the space station. The stop gap Russian launch arrangements are complex and linked to legal proceedings.
Many questions, few answers when it comes to space traffic management, experts say
Space News (1/17): Experts gathered for the recent American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Forum urged more action to deal with the ever-growing number of objects and debris orbiting the Earth, especially preventing collisions that can lead to more debris. Some of the major issues involve improved tracking of the objects, conducting data analysis and determining who has the authority to order a change in course to prevent collisions. “The time is now to address this issue,” warned George Nield, Federal Aviation Administration associate administrator for commercial space transportation.
Senator targets Alaska launch site in wasteful spending report
Space News (1/17): U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, finds Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex the recipient of a potentially wasteful $80.4 million in activities. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded a contract worth a maximum of $80.4 million for flight tests and other activities at the Kodiak Island facility.