In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Silicon Valley’s Made in Space makes strides in its bid to change the way some spacecraft are manufactured, assembled and maintained. China’s Tiangong-2 space lab may not be dropping out of Earth orbit after all. Russian Proton rocket production is coming to an end.
Space Policy
Managing space traffic expectations
The Space Review (6/25): As anticipated, President Trump last week signed Space Directive 3, a document giving the U.S. Commerce Department more responsibility for the tracking of functioning Earth orbiting satellites and the growing level of manmade junk that might collide with them and slow new hoped for commercial space activity. Commerce faces a challenge taking on a responsibility once shouldered by the military alone for tracking and warning satellite operators of potential collision threats. The development was upstaged some by instructions from the president to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff to establish a sixth branch of the military called the Space Force.
Space Science
Water may not be the only sign of alien life
Space.com/InsideScience (6/25): Evidence of past or present water may not be the only hint of life in planetary environments beyond the Earth. There could be other bio essential chemical elements, such as phosphorus, worth searching for and assessing, according to a recent study.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to target Jupiter’s great red spot
NASA/Goddard (6/25): The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), expected to launch in 2020, will study giant Jupiter’s large red spot, a storm twice as wide as the Earth that has been monitored with less capable telescopes since the 1830s.
When is the blood Moon? July’s will be the longest lunar eclipse this century
Newsweek (6/25): Last August, much of North America was entertained by a total solar eclipse. Now comes the longest total lunar eclipse, overnight on July 27-28. The Moon is to be as close to Earth as it has ever been in 15 years. The darkest part of the Earth’s shadow will cast a reddish shadow on the Moon. However, this is an event primarily for those in the Earth’s eastern hemisphere.
Other News
This floating robotic factory will build satellites and spaceships in orbit
Coalition Member in the News – Made In Space
CNBC (6/23): Made In Space, of Silicon, Valley, California, is advancing technologies that promise to make it possible to manufacture as well as robotically assemble spacecraft in space. Development activities are already underway on board the International Space Station using 3-D printing hardware with feed stocks of plastics and metal alloys. Archinaut, an advanced version of the hardware required to produce the components and assemble them in space is expected to launch within five years. The technology could lead to the in space assembly of habitats, spacecraft and space stations as well as satellites.
No, China’s Tiangong-2 space lab (probably) isn’t about to fall to Earth
Space.com (6/25): It may be time to discount recent speculation about the fate of China’s Tiangong-2 Space Lab that followed a dip in altitude that suggested the spacecraft is about to make a controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Tiangong-2 has returned to its higher altitude, suggesting something else is in works within China’s space program. The change may have been an engineering test, one to assess the hearth of the space lab’s thruster system, according to one expert.
Russia’s Proton rocket, which predates Apollo, will finally stop flying
Ars Technica (6/25): Russia which launched its first Proton rocket as the former Soviet Union in 1965 intends to cease the rocket’s production in favor of the new Angara rocket. Recent technical issues and the rise of lower cost U.S. alternatives contributed to the transition.
Spaceflight signs agreement with Virgin Orbit
Space News (6/25): Seattle based Spaceflight, a small satellite launch services provider, has signed on with Virgin One for a single dedicated ride share mission as it explores future launch options. The Virgin One air launch is anticipated in 2019.