In Today’s Deep Space Extra… In a new op-ed, Frank Slazer, President and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, expresses support for the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s efforts to provide NASA with funds for upgrades to agency infrastructure. Landsat 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop an Atlas V rocket on Monday.
Space Science
NASA’s Landsat 9 successfully launched aboard Atlas V from Vandenberg
Coalition Members in the News – Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance
NASAspaceflight.com (9/27): Landsat 9, the latest in a half-century-long series of Earth observation satellites developed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop an Atlas V on Monday. Working with Landsat 8, the new spacecraft will produce a map of the entire Earth every 8 days, enabling scientists to observe and track changes to global masses ranging from forests and agriculture to ice sheets and coral reefs in response to climate as well as natural and human-made disasters over time.
NASA’s Hubble detects Jupiter’s Great Red Spot storm is speeding up
Cnet (9/27): The Hubble Space Telescope has logged a new phenomenon in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The wind speeds in the spot’s outer lane have increased by up to 8% from 2009 to 2020. Meanwhile, NASA said the innermost winds are moving significantly more slowly, “like someone cruising lazily on a sunny Sunday afternoon.” A collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), Hubble has monitored Jupiter for more than a decade.
Opinion
Assuring NASA’s future sustainability
Coalition President and CEO in the News – Frank Slazer
Aviation Week (9/27): In an op-ed, Frank Slazer, President and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, expresses support for the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s inclusion of $4.4 billion for NASA as part of the multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure and budget reconciliation package. Most of the funds would be used to repair and update NASA facilities around the country, which according to Slazer is crucial to achieving exploration goals. “The U.S. is on the cusp of reaching several milestones in space exploration. Under the Artemis lunar program, for example, NASA is set to bring the first woman and first person of color to the Moon.” However, aging infrastructure as well as vulnerability of NASA facilities due to climate change can hinder progress in exploration and U.S. leadership in space, states Slazer. He adds that “legendary programs like Mercury, Gemini and Apollo would never have succeeded without cutting-edge infrastructure on the ground. Similarly, efforts to return to the Moon, land Americans on Mars and continue NASA’s role in advancing space science and aeronautics will be impossible without significant investment in NASA facilities.” Editor’s note: Access to Aviation Week articles is limited to subscribers.
Other News
British government releases national space strategy
SpaceNews.com (9/28): The new National Space Strategy establishes five general goals for the U.K. in space, including growing its space economy, promoting its values of an open and stable international order in space, supporting research and innovation, defending national interests, and using space for national and global challenges like climate change. “At the heart of this strategy, we recognize and state clearly that we see this as part of a global race for the new space economy, and the U.K. has some very strong strengths that we want to play to,” said George Freeman, U.K. Under-Secretary of State for Science, during a presentation September 27.
Two directorate heads are better than one
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Nanoracks
The Space Review (9/27): NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) was formed in 2011 as NASA’s shuttle program came to a close. The move combined administration of the Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) development with International Space Station (ISS) operations. Last week, HEOMD was split into two divisions essentially reversing the decade-old merger. The new Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate is responsible for developing and demonstrating the various elements of the overall Artemis program, Orion, the SLS, lunar Human Landing System (HLS) and the Gateway. The new Space Operations Mission Directorate oversees ISS activities and NASA’s low Earth orbit commercialization strategy. Last week’s split, it seems, was to keep space operations and development from becoming too demanding for one person.
Blue Origin sets next space trip for October 12; two fliers named, but not William Shatner
GeekWire.com (9/27): Blue Origin on Monday named two passengers who are set to launch on a suborbital New Shepard mission from West Texas planned for October 12. They are Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen, and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions. They are to be joined by two others, yet to be named. Recently, it was reported that William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series, could be among the fliers.