In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Orion to begin final launch preparations. Initial Biden appointees arrive at NASA.
Human Space Exploration
Jacobs to begin final processing for Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center
Coalition Members in the News – Jacobs, Lockheed Martin
ExecutiveBiz.com (1/20): On January 14, Lockheed Martin, NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, transferred possession to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) after completing assembly and testing of the spacecraft. EGS and its prime contractor Jacobs will now perform final preparations on the spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for its first mission around the Moon.
Space Science
New drones for exploring Mars are getting tested in Iceland
Universe Today (1/20): University of Arizona researcher Christopher Hamilton is leading an effort, the Rover Aerial Vehicle Exploration Networks, to determine the role drones could play in future interplanetary exploration. Iceland’s lava fields have proven useful in determining whether drones could step up the capabilities currently assigned to planetary landers and rovers.
Opinion
Space challenges for President Biden: Four issues for the next four years
Coalition Members in the News – Aerojet Rocketdyne, United Launch Alliance
SpaceNews.com (1/20): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in Wednesday as the new U.S. president and vice president. While they’ve yet to address space policy, Jeff Foust and Sandra Erwin of SpaceNews.com say there are key issues the new administration will have to tackle. The future of the Artemis program, space traffic management, next steps for U.S. Space Force, and national security space modernization, are four space policy topics to focus on, according to Foust and Erwin.
Other News
Message from NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk and Senior White House appointee Bhavya Lal
NASA Headquarters (1/20): “We are excited about the opportunities that await us – the Perseverance Mars landing; the next Launch America mission; our focus on the study of our home planet; and returning American astronauts to the surface of the Moon, and then on to Mars,” Steve Jurczyk, now NASA acting administrator and Bhavya Lal, senior White House appointee, remarked on behalf of the Biden administration on Wednesday. They also announced two initial appointments from the new administration: Alicia Brown as NASA’s Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA), and Marc Etkind as the Associate Administrator for Communications.
A Moon rock in the Oval Office as Biden appointees arrive at NASA
Spacepolicyonline.com (1/20): A quick look at changes within the White House Oval Office as President Joe Biden was sworn in revealed a Moon rock on a bookshelf. The rock rests near a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, and it is intended to remind Americans of the ambitions of earlier generations, the Washington Post reported.
NASA astronauts celebrate Inauguration Day in space
CNN (1/20): NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Kate Rubins and Mike Hopkins marked the Inauguration of President Joe Biden from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday. They are part of a seven-person crew that includes a Japanese astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts. “Just as we’re celebrating two decades of global cooperation and space, it’s truly an honor for us to celebrate America today,” said Rubins.
Presidential visions for space exploration: From Ike to Biden
Space.com (1/20): A look back to the late 1950s and how presidents from Eisenhower through Trump have worked to shape the nation’s space policy and its objectives, from exploring the Moon with astronauts to assembling a multi-national Space Station.
SpaceX launches batch of Starlink satellites on record-breaking
Florida Today (1/20): SpaceX launched 60 Starlight internet connectivity small satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The effort marked the eighth flight of the Falcon 9 first stage, which was recovered aboard a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.