Category Archives: Space Settlement

SpaceX: Update on “Starship Hopper” + Upcoming activities

[ Update Jan.10.2019: More on the Starship Hopper:

** Fairing recovery: One other project I failed to mention is SpaceX’s effort to return the fairings (the two halves of the clam-shell like structure that protects a satellite as it goes through the dense atmosphere during a launch) back to earth via paragliders and to catch them in a ship-borne net before they touch the water. Here is a video of a recent test that SpaceX carried out off the coast of California:

For the latest news on the activities of SpaceX’s ocean-going vehicles, see

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SpaceX is developing a 2nd-gen space transportation system to follow the Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy rockets that will be much larger and be fully reusable. That is, both stages, which are now named Super Heavy and Starship, will fly multiple times and are intended to provide affordable access to low earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

SpaceX is assembling a low altitude test vehicle at the company’s facility in Boca Chica Beach, Texas near Brownsville to assist with development of the Starship. The test vehicle, referred to as “StarHopper” by some and “Starship Hopper” by others, is the same diameter as Starship but somewhat shorter. It will provide real-world data on flying and landing the Starship in a manner similar to how the Grasshopper helped with learning to fly and land the Falcon 9 first stage. The Grasshopper carried out 8 low altitude takeoffs and landings in the 2012-2013 time frame.

Things are changing frequently at Boca Chica, but here is a video showing StarHopper as of Jan. 8, 2019:

Tim “The Everyday Astronaut” Dodd, gives an overview of the StarHopper project:

… we’re going to do a quick history on SpaceX’s previous fleet of hoppers, why they build them, what this one is going to accomplish and then we’ll build a version in Kerbal Space Program and demonstrate what we’ll hopefully see the StarHopper do in 2019!

And here is some earlier commentary on the project from Scott Manley:

A few days ago, Elon posted this –

Elon Musk on Twitter: “Starship test vehicle under assembly will look similar to this illustration when finished. Operational Starships would obv have windows, etc.…”

The full-scale SuperHeavy/Starship would look something like the following (via roow110 on Reddit):

For updates on StarHopper, try:

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SpaceX has a number of other activities underway as well including:

** Falcon 9 launch of Iridium satellites from Vandenberg AFB in California is set for this Friday. This will be the 8th and final F9 launch for Iridium and will complete the implementation of the company’s 2nd-gen NEXT low earth orbit narrowband communications constellation:

SpaceX on Twitter: “Approved on the range – now targeting January 11 launch of Iridium-8 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Weather is 60% favorable for the instantaneous launch opportunity at 7:31 a.m. PST, 15:31 UTC.”

** Cargo Dragon return from the ISS is expected this weekend.

Intl. Space Station on Twitter:  The @SpaceX #Dragon is packed with science and hardware today as teams wait for favorable weather in the splashdown area for Dragon’s return. https://blogs.nasa.gov/…

** Crew Dragon Demonstration Mission (SpX-DM1) is now set for February. A Falcon 9 will launch an uncrewed Dragon 2 vehicle, which will dock to the ISS. SpaceX about one month away from first commercial crew test flight – Spaceflight Now.

If this mission and an in-flight abort test are successful, a Crew Dragon with astronauts could launch to the ISS in the June time frame. The Demo mission was previously set for mid-January but the partial government shutdown has prevented NASA staff from completing their oversight duties for the mission. An exact date for the DM1 flight won’t be set until the shutdown is over.

The DM1 Falcon 9 and Dragon recently were lifted upright on Pad-39A to check out the pad systems, including the new crew access arm:

** 2nd Falcon Heavy launch is planned for this spring. Various Falcon 9 missions are also planned throughout the year.

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Telescopes and Binoculars at Amazon

Videos: Greenhouse lettuce for Antarctica + Greenhouse citrus for Nebraska

The TMRO Science program recently had an interesting long-distance conversation with Paul Zaber, a scientist working with the EDEN-ISS project in Antarctica. The project involves operating a greenhouse in Antarctica to learn how foods can be grown more effectively in a closed-loop environment. This has applications for space habitation as well as for food production on Earth.

The goal of the EDEN ISS project is to advance controlled environment agriculture technologies beyond the state-of-the-art. It focuses on ground demonstration of plant cultivation technologies and their application in space. EDEN ISS develops safe food production for on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and for future human space exploration vehicles and planetary outposts.

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Operating a greenhouse in Nebraska may seem to be a far less interesting challenge than doing so in Antarctica but growing tropical fruits and other warm climate plants in a region that often reaches -20°F (about -30°C) in winter is not a trivial accomplishment.

Retiree Russ Finch has developed a clever low-cost approach to keeping the inside of a northern latitude greenhouse temperate year round using underground warmth, i.e. geothermal heat. Rather than a complex and expensive system involving an anti-freeze fluid controlled with pumps and valves, he designed a simple low-cost system with fans blowing air through plastic tubes buried about 2 meters below the surface. The ground at that depth stays constant at about 50°F (10°C)  year round. He grows oranges, lemons, and many other tropical fruits and vegetables in his greenhouse.

From the caption to the video:

… retired mailman Russ Finch grows oranges in his backyard greenhouse without paying for heat. Instead, he draws on the earth’s stable temperature (around 52 degrees in his region) to grow warm weather produce- citrus, figs, pomegranates – in the snow.

Finch first discovered geothermal heating in 1979 when he and his wife built it into their 4400-square-foot dream home to cut energy costs. Eighteen years later they decided to add a 16’x80′ greenhouse in the backyard. The greenhouse resembles a pit greenhouse (walipini) in that the floor is dug down 4 feet below the surface and the roof is slanted to catch the southern sun.

To avoid using heaters for the cold Nebraska winter nights, Finch relies on the warm underground air fed into the greenhouse via plastic tubing under the yard and one fan.

For more about Finch’s greenhouse designs, see Citrus In The Snow- Geothermal Greenhouse

Over 40 installations have now been built following Finch’s designs as outlined in his Citrus In The Snow Report.

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The High Frontier: An Easier Way

Zero G Kitchen & NanoRacks introduce the Space Oven

Zero G Kitchen is a new company that’s aiming to develop appliances for food preparation in space:

Zero G Kitchen Prepares to Launch its First Appliance to Space
First Open Kitchen in Space – For Researchers, Educators, Companies

NEW YORK, NY – (November 15, 2018)Zero G Kitchen LLC, a venture co-founded by Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, announced today the specifications and timing of the first appliance of its planned ‘kitchen in space,’ an open platform for food development in space and the zero gravity environment. The first appliance is an oven designed to freshly prepare small food items, such as rolls, cookies, patties, pockets and other basic foods for longer duration space travel.

Space Oven from Zero G Kitchen

The oven is built in partnership with NanoRacks, the leading commercial company operating on the International Space Station. NanoRacks is known for its rapid prototyping, plug-and-play interfaces and managing the NASA payload manifesting and safety processes.

“NanoRacks is committed to developing in-space platforms that are affordable and accessible to anyone with the dream to explore in space,” said Jeffrey Manber, CEO and founder, NanoRacks. “People have to eat when living and working in space, so Zero G Kitchen’s vision for hospitality and food preparation in space fits perfectly into NanoRacks’ long-term goal of populating the solar system with Outposts for everything from tourism and research to factories and more.”

The oven is the first in a series of space-adapted appliances built and operated under the direction of Zero G Kitchen. Following the oven, Zero G Kitchen plans to develop space-adapted versions of common household appliances, such as a refrigerator, blender, slow cooker and more. To achieve its goal of building a kitchen in space, Zero G Kitchen will work with a wide array of food companies, educators, researchers, appliance engineers and aerospace organizations.

“We have an incredibly exciting set of partners we are working with for our kitchen—and we always welcome more,” said Ian Fichtenbaum, co-chef and co-founder, Zero G Kitchen.

Zero G Kitchen expects to build and test the space oven before the end of 2018 with a targeted launch to the ISS in early 2019. Recently, Zero G Kitchen signed the first user of the space oven, and an announcement is expected in early 2019.

“Opening up the frontier of space to all means making it relatable to people’s everyday lives,” said Jordana Fichtenbaum, co-chef and co-founder, Zero G Kitchen. “What could be more relatable than a freshly cooked meal in your own kitchen? We’re not here to develop new technology or to build better ovens or kitchens, but rather to assist researchers, educators and companies to access space facilities and the excitement of space development in a relatable form.”

For more information on Zero G Kitchen, visit www.zerogk.space.

About Zero G Kitchen LLC (www.zerogk.space) – Based in New York City, Zero G Kitchen was founded with a goal of building a kitchen in space, piece-by-piece, and offering its use to a variety of food researchers, educators and companies with an interest in the future of food and household appliances in space. Funded by its founders, Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, it is leading the way with its first appliance, a small oven.

Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum

About Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum – Ian and Jordana are a married couple living in New York City and the co-Founders and co-Chefs of Zero G Kitchen. Bound together by their love of space and cooking, they determined to build a kitchen in space to pursue their mutual passions together.

Ian is a space entrepreneur, businessman, investor and director of space companies, including Bradford Space, a European space systems manufacturing group. He has devoted his work to commercializing space and to develop the use of space stations in low earth orbit. Originally from Montreal, Canada, he loves baked goods, especially Montreal bagels and chocolate chip cookies.

Jordana is social media expert and blogger serving restaurants and hotels, including a number of iconic chains. Earlier in her career, she served in the New York City Mayor’s Office working under Mayor Bloomberg, in the Community Affairs Unit. Aside from Zero G Kitchen, she runs a book Instagram account @whatsjordanareading

About NanoRacks (www.nanoracks.com) : NanoRacks LLC, an XO Markets company, is the world’s first commercial space station company with an existing customer base. The company offers low-cost, high-quality solutions to the most pressing needs for satellite deployment, basic and educational research, and more – both at home and in 30 nations worldwide. Since 2009, Texas-based NanoRacks has truly created new markets and ushered in a new era of in space-services, dedicated to making space just another place to do business.

In 2017, the Company announced their long-term plans via the NanoRacks Space Outpost Program. This program is dedicated to the repurposing of the upper stages of launch vehicles in-space and converting these structures into commercial habitats, both humanly and robotically tended, throughout the solar system.

Video: Gwynne Shotwell of SpaceX interviewed by Matt Desch of Iridium

At a symposium held this week by AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) dealing with the organization’s high school STEM initiatives, there was an on-stage interview with SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell by Iridium CEO Matt Desch:

SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell talks about successes and failures in their rocket program, encouraging girls to pursue technical and scientific careers and “build big machines. She tells teachers at the AOPA High School Aviation STEM Symposium about the need for kids with training in science, technology, engineering and math.

[ Nov.9.2018: For some reason, the interview video unfortunately was taken down from Youtube. Will keep a lookout for a re-posting of it.

I did fined this clip taken from the video showing the SpaceX highlights reel presented by Shotwell:

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In a video that she presents early in the interview, there is a brief but interesting clip from a camera on a Falcon 9 fairing as it separates from the upper stage:

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The High Frontier: An Easier Way

Blue Origin video: “Millions of people living and working in space”

I recently posted here about large rotating in-space habitats that could provide earth-like environments for large numbers of residents to live and prosper. In a new video, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, describes the efforts of his company Blue Origin to help enable a future where residents on “a rocky moon or colonies floating in open space” will look to the stars and appreciate the progress today that made their lives in space possible:

Blue Origin believes in a future where millions of people are living and working in space. Why? Because we believe that in order to preserve Earth, our home, for our grandchildren’s grandchildren, we must go to space to tap its unlimited resources and energy. If we can lower the cost of access to space with reusable launch vehicles, we can enable this dynamic future for humanity. It’s a hopeful vision.  Blue Origin is committed to building a road to space so our children can build a future. www.blueorigin.com

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Gskyer Telescope, 80mm AZ Space Astronomical Refractor Telescope, German Technology Scope