In Today’s Deep Space Extra… As the U.S. marks the 60th anniversary of its first human space flight, an era of personal spaceflight may be near.
Human Space Exploration
On this day in space! May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space
Space.com (5/5): On May 5, 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to go to space. He launched from Cape Canaveral on a Mercury-Redstone rocket in a space capsule named Freedom 7. This was the first manned flight of Project Mercury, which NASA created to put astronauts in orbit.
60 years since 1st American in space: Tourists lining up
Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space
Associated Press (5/4): Two U.S. companies, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, are on the verge of providing suborbital passenger spaceflight experiences. SpaceX is preparing for an orbital mission later this year with commercial passengers.
Dream Chaser space plane preps for ISS supply missions in 2022
Coalition Member in the News – United Launch Alliance
MyNews13.com (5/4): A use agreement between Sierra Nevada Corp and Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) will enable the Colorado aerospace company to land its winged, reusable Dream Chaser at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on what was once the 15,000-foot-long space shuttle runway. The agreement was announced at KSC on Tuesday.
Space Science
Scientists detect radio signal coming from Venus
Futurism (5/4): In July 2020, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe sped within 517 miles of the surface of planet Venus. The close pass afforded an opportunity to detect radio emissions that may help scientists resolve how the second planet from the sun transitioned into a swirling ball of hot gases. The findings were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Other News
Space National Guard could come soon, general tells House lawmakers
Stars and Stripes (5/4): Efforts are underway to establish a U.S. Space National Guard. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, spoke of the plans during a hearing before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s subpanel on defense regarding the Guard’s budget for 2022.
Europe’s Galileo braces for more emergency in-orbit maneuvers
SpaceNews.com (5/4): Galileo is the European equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation network. Recently Galileo operations have been disrupted by orbital debris, an Ariane 4 rocket fragment from 1989 that prompted an avoidance maneuver.