In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA raises concerns over proposed constellation of large low Earth orbit communications satellites. Space Station experiment identifies a protein that could slow the ill effects of aging. U.S. election outcome was continuing to unfold early Wednesday.
Human Space Exploration
What does the 2020 presidential election mean for space exploration?
Coalition Member in the News – Boeing
Space.com (11/3): Space policy never emerged as a major issue in the 2020 presidential election, but there were differences in predictions of what President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden would focus on. The Trump administration directed NASA to return humans to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustained presence to prepare for expeditions to Mars. On the other hand, forecasts that often cite the official Democratic Party Platform mention continued support for NASA and space exploration more broadly while accentuating support for Earth-observation missions for understanding climate change.
Space Science
Japan sent mice to space and discovered a protein that could slow down aging
Vice (11/4): A recent Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) rodent experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS) provided evidence that a protein, Nrf2, can slow the effects of aging in humans. The 2018 experiment involved a dozen mice launched to the Space Station, half of them genetically engineered to not have the protein. The rodent subjects without Nrf2 experienced changes in blood components similar to those humans go through when aging, while the mice with Nrf2 showed less changes.
Another big sunspot
Spaceweather.com (11/3): A large sunspot group, part of the new solar cycle 25, is rotating into view on the surface of the sun. The group has already interacted with the Earth’s upper atmosphere, as monitored by NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. Earlier today, the sunspot produced a minor solar flare.
Other News
Frontier Aerospace completes design of Peregrine thrusters
Coalition Members in the News – Astrobotic Technology, Inc., United Launch Alliance
SpaceNews.com (11/3): Frontier Aerospace, a company working with NASA and Astrobotic, has finished the design of attitude control thrusters for deep space missions. The new thrusters aim to reduce space mission costs by developing propulsion technologies to operate at a wide range of temperatures, from -40 to 27 degrees Celsius. The thrusters are slated to debut aboard Astrobotic’s first Peregrine lunar lander flight, currently planned for 2021.
U.S. military keeps sharp eyes on orbit as congestion grows
Coalition Member in the News – L3Harris
SpaceNews.com (11/3): The prospect for more satellite constellations in low Earth orbit is joining a growing orbital population of debris as a major space situational awareness concern. The U.S. Space Command, which has overseen the monitoring of an estimated 27,000 objects in Earth orbit, is preparing to transition the authority for monitoring nonmilitary satellites over to a civil space agency once the move is authorized and funded by Congress. One expert has characterized the increasing number of satellites as overwhelming.
Kelly wins, Gardner and Horn lose
SpacePolicyOnline.com (11/4): Former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly will join the Senate in January while two space supporters, one in the Senate and one in the House, will leave Congress. Democratic Congresswoman Kendra Horn from Oklahoma, who chairs the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology committee lost her bid for reelection. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, will also be leaving.
NASA objects to new mega-constellation, citing risk of “catastrophic collision”
Ars Technica.com (11/2): NASA submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that objects to plans by AST & Science to deploy a constellation of more than 240 satellites in low Earth orbit. The constellation would orbit at a 720-km altitude and could pose a collision threat to the “A-train,” a band of 10 Earth observation satellites operated by NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and international partners.
New initiative to promote satellite servicing and in-space assembly technologies
Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman
SpaceNews.com (11/3): The On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) National Initiative intends to promote the development of satellite servicing and in-space assembly technologies among U.S. government agencies that have differing views on these capabilities. To attain its goal, the initiative wants to exchange information and establish partnerships between government, industry, and academia on the use of satellite servicing to repair existing satellites.