In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Northrop Grumman’s latest cargo mission reaches the International Space Station. The James Webb Space Telescope promises to offer new scientific insight into objects of interstellar origin.
Human Space Exploration
Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-17 arrives at ISS
Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman
NASAspaceflight.com (2/19): Northrop Grumman’s 17th Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived at its destination early Monday. NASA astronaut Raja Chari’s commanding of the ISS’s Canadarm2 led to a capture of the capsule at 4:44 a.m. EST. In addition to supplies for the seven astronauts and cosmonauts, the delivery included a wide range of science experiments and technology demonstrations, many intended to help prepare for future human deep space exploration missions. During its stay at the ISS, Cygnus will also be tasked with a new responsibility for the first time. The spacecraft will conduct a single “re-boost” maneuver to help maintain the ISS’s altitude, a capability that was tested on the OA-9E mission.
Space Science
When the next interstellar object comes, James Webb Space Telescope will be there to study it
Space.com (2/18): Twice astronomers have noted and tracked interstellar objects as they entered and exited the solar system, Oumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2018. Each crossing has offered scientists an opportunity to study planetary objects from other solar systems. The successful launch and ongoing deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a joint effort by NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies, offers the prospect of lengthier observation periods and a better assessment of the chemical composition of the objects crossing the solar system in the future, according to Northern Arizona University astronomer Cristina Thomas. The astronomer is a member of a research team preparing for the next encounter with an interstellar object.
Next GOES weather satellite installed atop Atlas 5 rocket
Coalition Members in the News – L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance
Spaceflightnow.com (2/19): GOES-T, the latest NASA and NOAA developed geosynchronous weather satellite built to monitor environmental conditions over the western U.S. and the Pacific Ocean, is planned for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on March 1 at 4:38 p.m. EST, the start of a two hour launch window. Once in orbit, GOES-T becomes GOES-18 as it is repositioned for its mission to help forecasters predict and monitor severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, wildfires and other environmental issues affecting an estimated one billion people. The satellite is the third in a series of NOAA new generation satellites known as the GOES-R series.
An asteroid has been discovered with three moons!
Universetoday.com (2/18): Planets aren’t the only celestial objects with moons – asteroids can have them too. They are usually other, smaller asteroids in orbit around a larger central one. First found in 1873, the asteroid (130) Elektra has three moons, according to a new study led by Thai and French astronomers. The find was observed in a data set gathered seven years ago using the Very Large Telescope in northern Chile.
Opinion
Don’t cede the space race to China and the billionaires
New York Times (2/18): U.S. leadership, including Congress as well as the White House, must better communicate a national resolve to return humans to the Moon and prepare for expeditions to Mars if the nation is to maintain its national security, create a potential for economic growth, and advance scientific discovery in a dignified fashion that seems under threat from China, according to an op-ed from historian and author Jeff Shesol. “In 1961, when Kennedy proposed to send Americans to the Moon, a senator warned that the administration had ‘a lot of missionary work to do.’ That is surely the case today,” Shesol writes. The world’s billionaires also cannot take the place of well-directed and communicated national leadership, he maintains. (Paywalled Article)
Other News
Russian ASAT debris creating “squalls” of close approaches with satellites
SpaceNews.com (2/18): On November 15, a Russian anti-satellite test (ASAT) created thousands of debris that continue to pose a close approach threat to a range of low Earth orbit satellites. Some 40,000 conjunctions are predicted for the first week in April, Travis Langster, vice president and general manager of COMSPOC, told a panel session last Thursday during the 24th annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference. The satellite debris interactions are so intense they’ve been characterized as squalls.
Chamath Palihapitiya resigns as chairman of Virgin Galactic
CNN.com (2/18): With the price of the company’s stock in decline, Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya stepped down on Friday. Evan Lovell, the chief investment officer of Virgin Group, will serve as interim chairman. Founded by Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic went public in 2019.
Major Space Related Activities for the Week
Major space related activities for the week of February 20-26, 2022
Coalition Members in the News – Lockheed Martin, Maxar, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance
Spacepolicyonline.com (2/20): On the Hill in Washington, the work week begins with Presidents’ Day. In space, the week got underway with the successful arrival of Northrop Grumman’s most recent cargo mission at the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday. Moving ahead, the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute will host a virtual symposium on Wednesday entitled, “U.S. Space Diplomacy in Civil, Commercial, and National Security Space Activities,” with multinational participants. March 1 is to mark the launch of NOAA’s GOES-T geostationary weather satellite, which NASA and its contractors designed and developed. NOAA-T science and prelaunch briefings hosted by the two agencies are planned for Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, as last week drew to a close, President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution (CR) that prevented a federal government shutdown on February 18. The extension is good through March 11.