In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The White House releases an update to R&D priorities that includes Moon-to-Mars and low Earth orbit. Plans for the first operational commercial crew launch to the International Space Station (ISS) move to late October. A Japanese company joins the race to put a lander on the Moon.
Human Space Exploration
White House memo adds low Earth orbit research as R&D priority
Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space
SpaceNews.com (8/17): A White House document has included low Earth orbit research “on new platforms” as a research and development priority for the administration as NASA struggles to win congressional support for its LEO commercialization initiative. The White House Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy jointly released August 14 a memo outlining research and development budget priorities. The memo, released annually, is intended to emphasize programs the administration sees as priorities as agencies develop their fiscal year 2022 budget proposals. The new memo, like last year’s version, included space as one of five priorities. Much of the language in the new memo is taken word-for-word from last year’s document.
NASA sets late October launch date for first operational Crew Dragon mission
SpaceNews.com (8/14): On Friday, NASA announced a no earlier than October 23 date for the first scheduled launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission with astronauts prepared for a six month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), an approximate month long delay to accommodate other launch activities. The SpaceX Crew 1 astronauts will be Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi, of Japan. With the change in dates, they will arrive several days after NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov launch aboard a Russian Soyuz. That trio will replace NASA’s Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who arrived in April and will depart several days after the Soyuz trio arrives.
Space Science
Japan joins the space race with a new Moon lander, set for 2022 mission
Coalition Members in the News – Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman
New York Observer (8/14): Japan’s ispace plans to deliver a payload to the surface of the Moon in 2022, a year’s delay, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. Hakuto-Reboot (Hakuto-R) will follow a three month course to the Moon. The spacecraft has a 66 pound payload capacity. The company has future plans to launch a lunar rover and to assess the possibility of producing rocket propellants from lunar water ice.
NASA establishes board to initially review Mars sample return plans
NASA (8/14): Two week after the successful launch of the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover, NASA on Friday announced it is establishing an independent review board to assess plans for a joint follow on mission with the European Space Agency (ESA) to retrieve the samples gathered and cached by Perseverance at Jezero Crater. The complex strategy will involve a first ever Mars ascent vehicle, a “fetch” rover to gather the samples from Perseverance and deliver them to the ascent vehicle, and a separate Mars orbiter to receive the samples and direct them back to Earth, as early as 2021. Studies of the Martian soil and rock could provide new insight into the Martian astrobiological potential, a factor critical to plans for future human exploration. The review board, chaired by David Thompson, the retired president of Orbital ATK, is to get underway in late August.
NASA powers up Ingenuity Mars helicopter in space for the 1st time
Space.com (8/16): Ingenuity, the small helicopter aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars 2020 rover, received a successful battery charge only days after lifting off for the Red Planet on July 30. The test indicates the 4 pound helicopter’s electronics are comfortable in the space environment. A series of test flights for the potential exploration scout are planned after Perseverance lands on Mars in February.
Astronomers puzzled by ancient Milky Way-like galaxy 12 billion light-years away
Futurism (8/8): Using Chile’s ULMA telescope, European astronomers were surprised to find a Milky Way like galaxy, SPT 0418-47, located more than 12 billion light years away, meaning it formed a surprisingly short time after the universe itself. Scientists are hopeful the European Southern Observatory’s future Extremely Large Telescope will afford an even closer look.
Other News
Debuting upgrades, Ariane 5 rocket deploys three U.S.-built satellites in orbit
Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman
Spaceflightnow.com (8/15): In its first launch since the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, Arianespace launched an Ariane 5 from French Guiana Saturday evening with U.S. and Japanese communications satellites as well as Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV). MEV-2 was developed to link to and extend the operational life of communications satellites. Each of the Ariane 5 payloads was released into geosynchronous transfer orbit as scheduled.
New Mexico makes push to attract U.S. Space Command center
Associated Press via Santa Fe New Mexican (8/15): New Mexico’s governor and Albuquerque’s mayor announced Friday they will lead an effort to persuade the Pentagon to locate the command center for the new Space Command in Albuquerque, which could bring the region 1,000 new jobs while joining with existing defense and science installations.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of August 16-22, 2020
Spacepolicyonline.com (8/16): With August congressional schedules uncertain, a range of virtual space policy forums could be of most interest to the space community. NASA’s Planetary Science Advisory Committee meets Monday and Tuesday. The Secure World Foundation co-hosts a session in space resource utilization on Wednesday. Also, Wednesday, the Aerospace Corp. hosts a look at the present and future of space commerce.