In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule are set to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for a milestone countdown rehearsal. Launched December 25, the James Webb Space Telescope’s reaches aligning milestone.
Human Space Exploration
NASA set to roll out America’s new Moon rocket Thursday
Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman
Americaspace.com (3/16): NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with an Orion crew capsule atop will roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) today at 5:30 p.m. EDT, to begin a four-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B. Live coverage starts at 5:00 p.m. EDT: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive.
Artemis 1 Moon rocket rollout: Meet the NASA crawler carrier doing the heavy lifting
Space.com (3/17): NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) is the size of a baseball infield and weighs more than 6 million pounds. The crawler drives on treads rather than wheels. It has eight treads, each of which consists of 57 “shoes” each weighing 2,100 pounds. The vehicle has a top speed of 1 mph when loaded and 2 mph when unburdened. NASA’s crawler-transporter 1 and 2 hauled Apollo hardware from 1967 to 1972 and continued to serve after that, supporting the Skylab space station program, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 and NASA’s space shuttle program. After the shuttles retired, NASA upgraded and modified CT-2 to aid the agency’s efforts to return people to the Moon and then get them to Mars.
Space Science
James Webb Space Telescope’s 1st view of the cosmos has scientists thrilled for more
The Conversation (3/17): In a Wednesday news briefing, NASA announced that it’s very pleased with the complex deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) primary mirror following a December 25 liftoff. The JWST’s main mirror is fully aligned and performing even better than it had been designed to do, according to NASA officials. With the alignment process completed, JWST has taken the first unified image of a star. The image was taken using the near infrared camera (NIRCam), one of the telescope’s key science instruments.
NASA’s plant-growing technology could be used to produce food at military bases
SpaceNews.com (3/16): Eden Grow Systems and Rhea Space Activity announced March 16 they’ve received a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract to look at possible applications of aeroponic technology to grow plant produce at inhospitable locations where some Space Force units are deployed. Aeroponics is a more specialized version of hydroponics, a technology used to grow plants in sand or gravel instead of soil. With the aeroponics process, crop roots dangle in the air and are misted with a liquid nutrient solution.
Other News
Boeing’s satellite communication’s payload for U.S. Space Force passes design review
Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Northrop Grumman
SpaceNews.com (3/16): A satellite communication payload developed by Boeing for the Space Force has passed a critical design review, the company announced March 16. Boeing and Northrop Grumman in 2020 won separate contracts worth $191 million and $253 million, respectively, to design payloads for the Protected Tactical Satcom (PTS) program, a planned network of jam-resistant geostationary satellites for military classified and unclassified communications. Both companies are expected to launch the prototype payloads in 2024 for on-orbit demonstrations.
Aerospace companies urge Colorado senators to fight to keep Space Command
The Colorado Springs Gazette (3/16): Thirteen aerospace business interests have written Colorado’s two senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, urging the Pentagon to keep the headquarters for the U.S. Space Command in the state. A January 2021 directive from former president Donald Trump that the command headquarters be moved from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, remains under investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector general and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Regardless of the findings, the command is to remain in Colorado Springs until at least 2026.
Third party may finance Spaceport Camden
Firstcoast.com (3/16): Georgia’s Camden County may have found a third party source prepared to arrange financing for Spaceport Camden. In a referendum last week, voters blocked the use of county funds for further development. Camden County commissions responded with a court appeal to stop certification of the election. Opponents objected on cost and environmental grounds. Supporters believe the spaceport will create jobs and other economic benefits.