In Today’s Deep Space Extra… New strides in human space exploration and operations will require a deeper understanding of the risks as well as the rewards, one space veteran counsels.
Human Deep Space Exploration
The Space Review (2/13): U.S. ambitions of venturing beyond low Earth orbit with human explorers, while partnering with the private sector for the transportation of astronauts to and from the International Space Station will come with risk. William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, believes the agency and its partners must do more to publicly acknowledge the risks, writes Jeff Foust, editor of The Space Review. “… designing human space transportation systems, and the risk associated with operating them, is not simple,” Gerstenmaier stated in remarks before a Washington audience last week.
Presidential space leadership depends on the enabling context (part 1)
The Space Review (2/13): JFK’s skills at directing the U.S. to the moon with astronauts during the Apollo era were helped greatly by the context of the times, writes Matt Chessen of George Washington University. A 1960s Cold War America and other cultural factors coupled with Kennedy’s ability to rally the nation paved the way for the moon landings.
NASA reopens Michoud Assembly Facility damaged by tornado
Space.com (2/13): Some Space Launch System (SLS) production resumed Monday, six days after a mid-day tornado struck NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. MAF is the production site for the SLS core stage and the Orion crew exploration capsule, two cornerstones of plans to resume U.S. human deep space exploration. Cleanup and damage repair continue. Seven of 81 facilities on the 829 acre site remain off limits to the 3,500 member workforce.
NASA bets big on private sector to put humans on Mars
CNBC (2/13): The U.S. private sector’s role in space exploration will continue to grow under President Trump, NASA’s former deputy administrator predicts. “I call it the new NASA,” says Dava Newman, who filled NASA’s second in command position during the Obama administration. Newman returned to MIT in January. The commercial sector’s role will be most apparent in the launch of cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.
This college senior juggles school and a job with NASA like it’s no big deal
USA Today (2/13): Tiera Guinn may be an MIT senior. But that hasn’t stopped her from working remotely with a structural analysis and design team at Boeing in Huntsville, Alabama, where she helps to analyze rocket components for Mars missions and other deep space destinations. Guinn expects to join NASA as a full time employee in August.
Space Science
Landing sites for 2020 Mars rover: NASA weighs 3 options
Space.com (2/13): Scientists have narrowed from eight to three candidate landing sites for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover. The sites each hold potential for discoveries of past microbial life on the red planet. More selection activities are anticipated prior to a mission launch in mid-2020.
Supernova spotted shortly after explosion
Space News (2/13): Astronomers report an early jump on the discovery of a stellar explosion 166 million light years from the Earth. The find was reported in the journal Nature Physics on Monday.
The Voyager golden record lives on in Kickstarter project
Seeker.com (2/13): A Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to recreate the golden recordings launched aboard NASA’s Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft has succeeded well beyond expectations, gathering $1.36 million. The recordings were meant to portray the culture of Earth for an intelligence that might encounter the two spacecraft in the far future. Launched in 1977, they flew by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 moved into interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2’s outbound journey continues as well.
As U.S., Russia eye stagnant space budgets, India ramps up investment
Ars Technica (2/13): India is prepared to increase its small space budget dramatically to remain competitive among Asian rivals. Missions to Venus and Mars are envisioned along with new launch capabilities for the small satellite market.
Low Earth Orbit
Air Force’s X-37B prepares for landing at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility
NASAspaceflight.com (2/14): The U.S. Air Force’s latest X-37B mission is slated to conclude after 637 days in Earth orbit with a Valentine’s Day landing at the former Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the website reports. The unpiloted reusable winged space plane began its classified mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida when launched atop at Atlas V rocket. Three previous X-37B flights ended with landings at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Suborbital
Russia’s first private space tourism craft flight test set for 2020
Sputnik News (2/14): CosmoCourse will pursue a test flight regime in 2019-20 for a suborbital spacecraft capable of lofting six passengers into suborbital space, according to the brief report.