In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Orion’s abort motor, an astronaut launch safety device, clears a crucial structural test.
Human Deep Space Exploration
Launch abort motor case for Orion passes crucial test
Spaceflight Insider (3/3): The abort rocket motor, a safety device for the NASA/Lockheed Martin Orion crew capsule, has cleared a milestone structural qualification test conducted by contractor Orbital ATK. Secured atop the capsule at lift off, the abort motor is designed to power the capsule and its crew to safety if there is a problem with the Space Launch System launch vehicle. The SLS and Orion are undergoing preparations for the first unpiloted test flight in late 2018.
ESA planning to build an international village on the Moon
Universe Today (3/2): The European Space Agency’s new director general, Jan Woerner, recently outlined plans for a human lunar base, one that would serve as a departure point for future exploration of Mars. NASA is among 14 international groups that have worked on procedures to enable the vision through the International Space Exploration Coordinated Group and the organization’s Global Exploration Roadmap.
China working on massive rocket to take astronauts to the Moon
GB Times, of China (3/3): China’s envisioned Long March 9 rocket appears to be part of a Chinese strategy to reach the moon with human explorers. The towering rocket would lift payloads of 130 metric tons to space. The heavy lifter would also enable a robot mission to Mars to gather and return soil samples, according to Liang Xiaohong, former vice president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
Space Science
Mars’ ancient face-lift: Water carved planet’s features, not massive volcano
Space.com (3/2): A curious valley network on Mars may have been carved long ago by falling rain and snow rather than formative volcanic activity, say scientists who outlined their findings in the journal Nature.
Arecibo Observatory spots a fast radio burst that keeps on bursting
Ars Technica (3/2): Astronomers puzzle over the source of a mysteriously repeating Fast Radio Burst spotted with Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory.
NASA’s top chef: High-school teams compete to cook astronaut food
Space.com (3/2): The nation’s high school students are competing for an opportunity to develop and send a nutritious entree to the International Space Station.
Low Earth Orbit
Scott Kelly reunites with family after year in space mission
ABC News (3/3): Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, led a Washington delegation that greeted NASA astronaut Scott Kelly as he returned to his Houston, Tex., home early Thursday, following a U.S. record breaking 340 days aboard the International Space Station. Kelly was reunited with his girlfriend, two daughters and his twin brother, Mark Kelly.
‘Touchdown!’ Scott Kelly returns to Earth with a fist-pump and a cult following
Washington Post (3/2): Pleased to be back on Earth after a U.S. record 340 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly said his late Mar. 1 return to Earth with fellow long duration cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko was “bitter sweet.” “It’s a magnificent place, and I’m going to miss it,” said Kelly as he began to make his way back home from his landing zone in remote Kazakhstan.
Neil deGrasse Tyson says Scott Kelly aged more slowly in space, and he’s right
Huffington Post (3/2): U.S. record setting astronaut Scott Kelly aged a bit slower than his twin brother, the retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, back on Earth, according to Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and another expert in the field explain.
Uncertainty surrounds asteroid near-Earth flyby next week
Space.com (3/2): Researchers with NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies believe the Earth is in no danger as the 100 foot wide asteroid 2013 TX68 passes on Mar. 8. Predictions have placed the miss distance at between 3 million and 15,000 miles.
Commercial to Low Earth Orbit
Orbital ATK believes in satellite servicing, but not rocket reusability
Space News (3/2): Orbital ATK chief executive David Thompson outlines plans to develop satellite servicing technologies during a Mar. 1 call with investors. At the same time, Thompson said the company is not pursuing reuse as it also develops a new more powerful launch vehicle. The case for cost reductions with rocket reuse have yet to be demonstrated, according to Thompson.