In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA’s plans for a human tended lunar Gateway are a focus of discussion by the NASA Advisory Council this week. NASA continues to ponder using a Commercial Crew Program test flight next year to assure a continued U.S. human presence on the International Space Station (ISS) as its purchases of Russian Soyuz launches draws to a close.
Human Space Exploration
Gateway gets good reviews from NAC Committee
Spacepolicyonline.com (8/28): The NASA Advisory Committee is meeting this week at NASA’s Ames Research Center, with exploration and science plans for the lunar orbiting, human tended Gateway a focus of discussion. So far, both the agency’s science and exploration communities appear quite supportive of a modest and versatile space station like concept that could support lunar surface science activities as well as function as a future depot for missions departing for and returning from Mars. NASA’s station partners, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada appear interested in playing a role along with U.S. commercial partners. The final design remains in play, but assembly could begin in 2022, with first astronaut occupancy in 2024.
NASA keeps open option of extended commercial crew demo flights
Coalition Member in the News – Boeing
SpaceNews.com (8/28): NASA’s access to Russian Soyuz launch vehicles to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) comes to an end by January 2020. In order to ensure a continued U.S. astronaut presence on the Station, NASA is considering using test flights of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner or SpaceX’s Crewed Dragon to do the transporting. NASA will not have to make a final decision on the commercial test flight approach until next summer, agency officials told a NASA Advisory Council meeting underway at NASA’s Ames Research Center earlier this week. Crewed test flights of the Starliner and Crewed Dragon are currently planned for April 2019 and mid 2019 respectively for NASA’s two Commercial Crew Program partners. The test flights are to lead to certifications supporting regularly scheduled astronaut launches.
Space Science
NASA’s InSight has a thermometer for Mars
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (8/28): Launched in May, NASA’s Mars InSight mission is to reach the Red Planet for a landing on November 26. Working with German researchers, InSight scientists hope to assess Martian subsurface geophysical properties, including thermal activity. The findings may help to explain past Martian volcanism.
How old is asteroid Itokawa? Scientists say they finally know
Space.com (8/28): A decade ago, Japan’s Hyabusa mission succeeded in returning to Earth with small grains of an asteroid called Itakawa. Studies reveal Itakawa formed 4.6 billion years ago, then was shattered by a collision about 1.5 billion years ago. Those activities unfolded in the asteroid belt. Later, Itakawa was trust from the asteroid belt and closer to Earth. Japan’s follow on Hyabusa 2 mission spacecraft recently arrived as the asteroid Ryugu, where it is to gather samples for return to Earth.
Other News
SLS mobile launch platform to go on the move this week
Spaceflightnow.com (8/27): As soon as Thursday, NASA’s towering Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) could make its way by crawler transporter to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), launch site for future Space Launch System (SLS)/Orion missions with astronauts assigned to missions of deep space exploration. Next month, the MLP will be moved from the launch pad to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The MLP was originally assembled for NASA’s short lived, Constellation back to the Moon initiative and the Ares 1 rocket. Constellation was cancelled in 2010.
Virgin Orbit performs LauncherOne aircraft flight tests
SpaceNews.com (8/28): In recent days, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne 747 jumbo jet has conducted flight tests from Victorville, California, in preparation for future commercial rocket launches.