In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Further exploration of the Moon can shed light on the formation of rocky planets. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completes another flight.
Human Space Exploration
Boeing’s OFT-2 test flight still on hold as search continues for what went wrong
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance
Spacepolicyonline.com (8/5): A launch date for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida remains uncertain. The company’s CST-100 Starliner capsule and its Atlas 5 launch vehicle rocket were rolled back from their launch pad on Thursday to support further troubleshooting of a propulsion valve issue that surfaced on Tuesday prior to a launch attempt. OFT-2 represents a milestone in efforts by Boeing and NASA’s Commercial Crew initiative to certify Starliner for the regularly scheduled transportation of astronauts to and from the ISS.
Space Science
Moon mantle mystery may shed light on habitable planet evolution
Space.com (8/5): The Moon’s geology may help to unravel how rocky planetary bodies across the universe evolved, including those that are potentially habitable, according to research published this week in the journal Nature Communications and earlier this year in the Journal of Geophysical Research. NASA’s Artemis program is targeting exploration around impact craters in the lunar south pole, and that’s where the new results come in. The studies zeroed in on a strange radioactive signature in a 1,600-mile (2,600-kilometer) region called the South Pole-Aitken Basin. As an enormous impact crater, the basin is a prime region to look for excavated Moon mantle and to theorize how it was formed, NASA has stated.
Mars helicopter Ingenuity scores another safe flight on Red Planet
Space.com (8/5): NASA’s Mars Ingenuity Helicopter on Thursday logged its 11th flight. The 1,250-foot traverse delivered Ingenuity to South Séítah, its new base for the future exploration of Jezero Crater. The flight is part of an ongoing campaign to use ingenuity as a scout for its companion, the Perseverance rover.
Opinion
China’s success in space calls for caution in pursuing a new treaty for outer space
SpaceNews.com (8/5): In an op-ed, attorney Michael J. Listner points to recent accomplishments in space by China that are raising an issue of how the governance of outer space activities should be managed in a competitive environment and whether the customary framework of international law offers a sufficient legal mechanism.
Other News
Virgin Galactic raises ticket prices to $450,000, delays commercial flights 2 Quarters, and reports $94 million 2nd Quarter net loss
Parabolic Arc (8/5): Virgin Galactic disclosed a new schedule for future suborbital passenger launches plus an increase from $250,000 to $450,000 for a suborbital flight. The company also posted a $94 million second quarter loss. The details disclosed on Thursday followed a successful July 11 test flight of SpaceShipTwo, whose participants included company founder Richard Branson.
Chinese rocket launches two small satellites to test communications tech
Spaceflightnow.com (8/5): China successfully launched a pair of communications satellites into a high inclination orbit on Wednesday aboard a Long March 6 rocket for the testing of laser and electric propulsion technologies and reportedly for a secretive German company.