In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Perseverance drills into another rocky target. The mission’s team is now looking at data to confirm the rover was able to grab and retain an intact core.
Human Space Exploration
Space Launch System begins vibration testing
Spaceflightinsider.com (9/1): The Space Launch System (SLS) is undergoing acoustic and vibration testing in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The tests will assess the readiness of the rocket for liftoff and ascent through the atmosphere for Artemis I. The vibration and acoustic tests will make way for a rollout of the SLS to the launch pad for a wet dress rehearsal.
Space Science
Perseverance: NASA’s Mars rover makes second drill sample bid
BBC News (9/2): The Perseverance rover has made another attempt to retrieve a rock sample on Mars after an unsuccessful bid last month. New images show the robot made a hole in a rock dubbed “Rochette.” Now mission scientists need to check whether the rover’s drill managed to secure a core. If Perseverance was successful this time, it would represent the first ever rock sample collected on another planet intended for return to Earth.
China is developing its own Mars helicopter
SpaceNews.com (9/1): The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has authorized efforts to develop a Mars surface cruise drone, it announced on Wednesday. The device would be eligible for a future Chinese Mars exploration trip, though China has yet to identify a specific mission. However, China is currently planning a Mars sample return mission that could lift off during favorable alignments between the Earth and Mars in the late 2020s.
Other News
Branson’s spaceflight violated FAA’s airspace rules
SpacePolicyOnline.com (9/1): Virgin Galactic’s July 11 air launch of founder Richard Branson and other company employees into suborbital space encountered some flight risks as it went outside of its FAA designated airspace. A New Yorker piece reports that the flight experienced problems that could have imperiled the people aboard. Although the vehicle landed safely, the FAA is investigating because for 1 minute and 41 seconds it strayed outside its designated airspace and Virgin Galactic did not “initially” notify the FAA. The New Yorker article says the company is now working with the FAA “to update procedures for alerting” the agency. The FAA confirmed the reporting saying “During its July 11 flight, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle deviated from its Air Traffic Control clearance as it returned to Spaceport America. The FAA investigation is ongoing.”
Bipartisan group of lawmakers presses DoD to back Lockheed-Aerojet merger
Coalition Members in the News – Aerojet Rocketdyne, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman
SpaceNews.com (9/1): Nine Republican and four Democrat members of the U.S. House express support for Lockheed Martin’s $4.4 billion acquisition of rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne in a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. As reviewed by SpaceNews.com, the letter supports the acquisition to ensure a strong U.S. defense industrial base to enable the continued research, development, and manufacture of leading-edge rocket propulsion.
House Armed Services Committee approves Space national Guard, challenges DoD on space programs
SpaceNews.com (9/1): The House Armed Services Committee voted 57-2 to pass its version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill includes legislation that prohibits the Space Force from starting a new procurement in-house until it determines that there is no commercial alternative that can be procured from the open market. The bill also approves the establishment of a Space National Guard as a reserve component of the U.S. Space Force. The Committee wants a report on DoD efforts to reduce future space debris, an assessment of the risk posed by the proliferation of commercial or military satellites in low Earth orbit, and how DoD is engaging allies and partners on efforts to develop technologies that reduce space debris.