1. Monday, April 6, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No special programming.
2. Tuesday, April 7, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Charles Limoli for his latest space radiation and cognitive issues.
3. Wednesday, April 8, 2020; 3:30 pm PDT (5:30 pm CDT, 6:30 pm EDT): Hotel Mars: John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston will talk to William Harwood of CBS news about NASA and the virus plus keeping the ISS safe from the virus.
4. Thursday, April 9, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT): No special programming.
5. Friday, April 10, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Mike Snead, PE to discuss aerospace design, engineering, and testing issues.
6. Sunday, April 12, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back OPEN LINES. All space, steam, science, STEM and virus calls welcome. First time callers wanted. Speak to other callers.
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
The inaugural Space Café WebTalk happened on 31 March 2020, featuring Professor Moriba Jah, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, co-publisher of SpaceWatch.Global and COO of ThorGroup GmbH.
A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):
** Starship prototype SN3 collapses near end of pressure testing of propellant tanks. Rather than an explosive rupture as in previous tank failures, the center tank just crumpled and collapsed. Apparently, the weight of the liquid nitrogen in the upper tank overcame the structural integrity of the middle tank. This could have happened if the middle tank was de-pressurized prematurely. This is the sort of mistake Elon Musk was referring to in a Tweeter posting after the failure in which he said, “this may have been a test configuration mistake.”
Virgin Orbit, the California-based small satellite launch company, has announced a new partnership with Oita Prefecture to bring horizontal launch to Japan. With the support of regional partners ANA Holdings Inc. and the Space Port Japan Association, Virgin Orbit has identified Oita Airport as its preferred pilot launch site — yet another addition to the company’s growing global network of horizontal launch sites — in pursuit of a mission to space from Japan as early as 2022.
Virgin Orbit and Oita Prefecture have agreed to commence a joint technical study to facilitate development of the future spaceport.
Oita Prefecture is widely recognized in Japan as not only a top-ranked tourist destination, but also as a hub for numerous high-tech ecosystems, including the steel, petrochemical, semiconductor, and automobile industries. The Oita Prefectural Government now has ambitions to extend that leadership into the space domain.
** Booster returned to earth via parachute during the latestChinese Long March 3B launch. This is to limit potential damage to
Stripey McBoosterface from the March 9th Long March 3B/E launch had a parachute attached to shrink the SMASHZOOOOOONE.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security leader owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, reached a major milestone in the advancement of hypersonic propulsion with its patented VORTEX engine, advancing to the next phase of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Operational Fires (OpFires) program.
Through OpFires, SNC is extending its hybrid VORTEX engine capabilities to advanced, deep throttling, restartable propulsion systems. The system utilizes benign solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer, both of which are storable on Earth and in space. Recent testing shows positive results in being able to package significant energy into a small volume that will have the ability for deep throttling and smooth restart capabilities on command. “The VORTEX flows integrated into the hybrid significantly improves performance of the hybrid engine” said Dr. Marty Chiaverini, director of Propulsion Systems at SNC.
“This program opens up a new market for SNC for preplanned or on-demand propulsion control capabilities that are applicable to both military and beyond Earth orbit propulsion capabilities,” said Tom Crabb, vice president of SNC’s Propulsion & Environmental Systems business unit. “Deep throttling and restart capabilities expand the tools for smart and unpredictable trajectories for various vehicles and systems.”
The first two phases of DARPA’s OpFires program focus on the propulsion technologies required to deliver diverse payloads to a variety of ranges. Since Phase 1 contract award, SNC has made critical discoveries in advanced rocket motor technology for the OpFires upper stage, completing more than 30 motor trials from subscale through full size. SNC hopes to demonstrate these engines in flight and offer the engines to new, promising vehicle systems.
In addition to the deep throttling, restartable, storable system for DARPA, SNC is expanding its propulsion capabilities and products with near-term flight for its Dream Chaser® spaceplane Reaction Control System, maturation of upper stage engines and development of other liquid storable engines for spacecraft, lunar, and other exploration and protection applications. SNC is also co-investing with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for development of the engine for USAF needs. For more information, visit www.sncorp.com.
SNC is supporting @DARPA with advanced propulsion technology. We’re developing the VORTEX® Engine Hybrid Propulsion System for its OpFires program. Watch this video to learn a little more… and see some pretty cool shots of rocket engines being test fired! pic.twitter.com/sQQiWlKZuv
— Sierra Nevada Corporation (@SierraNevCorp) April 3, 2020
** Plans to fly Blue Origin‘s New Shepard this month sparks dissension within the company ranks due to corona virus concerns:
A souped-up version of the Israeli Beresheet moon lander built in Texas could be ready to carry NASA science and technology payloads to the lunar surface before the end of 2022, according to officials from Firefly Aerospace.
Firefly’s Genesis lander is one of several major projects being developed by the company headquartered just north of Austin, Texas.
The company is also developing the Alpha small satellite launcher, and a bigger rocket named Beta is on the drawing board.
Officials hope to learn this month whether NASA will sign Firefly to deliver experiments to the moon.
Genesis Lunar Lander proposed by Firefly and partners for missions to the Moon’s south pole in 2022. Credits: Firefly
Filled with more than 4,000 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo, a SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft is set to leave the International Space Station Monday, April 6. NASA Television and the agency’s website will broadcast its departure live beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Robotic flight controllers at mission control in Houston will issue commands at 9:52 a.m. to release Dragon using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Drew Morgan of NASA will back up the ground controllers and monitor Dragon’s systems as it departs the orbital laboratory.
Dragon will fire its thrusters to move a safe distance from the station, then execute a deorbit burn as it heads for a parachute-assisted splashdown around 3:40 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Long Beach, California. The splashdown will not air on NASA TV.
Dragon launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket March 6 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and arrived at the space station three days later.
** NASA’s “retro, modern” worm logo festoons the side of the Falcon 9 booster for the crew demo mission set to go to the ISS in May: The Worm is Back! | NASA
The worm is back. And just in time to mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil.
The retro, modern design of the agency’s logo will help capture the excitement of a new, modern era of human spaceflight on the side of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle that will ferry astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the Demo-2 flight, now scheduled for mid- to late May.
NASA’s “worm” logo on the side of the booster for the first Crew Dragon flight with astronauts.
** Tests continue in preparation for first crewed flight of Dragon 2 to the ISS: NASA Flickr
On Monday, March 30, 2020 at a SpaceX processing facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX successfully completed a fully integrated test of critical crew flight hardware ahead of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; the first flight test with astronauts onboard the spacecraft. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participated in the test, which included flight suit leak checks, spacecraft sound verification, display panel and cargo bin inspections, seat hardware rotations, and more. Photo credit: SpaceX
** Watch astronauts rehearse arrival at the pad and entering Crew Dragon. This is part of the preparation for the first crewed Dragon 2 mission to the ISS:
Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley walking down the crew access arm to Crew Dragon, which was positioned on top of a Falcon 9 rocket before the inflight abort test. pic.twitter.com/IHlLFw2jsy
Yes, v close! Nice work. Those are V0.9 legs, so major upgrades coming. Need wider span, longer stroke & ability to auto-level for uneven ground or leaning into high winds.
Following in the footsteps of the late Mk1 vehicle, SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype has been outfitted with several Tesla battery packs and motors over the last few weeks.
CEO Elon Musk has confirmed in the past that SpaceX intends to try to use Tesla batteries to power Starship rockets and Tesla motors to drive the ships’ large aerodynamic control surfaces. By all appearances, a Tesla Model S motor’s appearance on the exterior of a Starship prototype recently moved to the launch pad is a first for SpaceX. However, in 2019, SpaceX at one point planned to use and even installed battery packs on Starship Mk1 components before the ship was prematurely destroyed during testing. The nosecone those battery packs were installed in still sits in the middle of SpaceX’s growing Boca Chica rocket factory.
For Starship SN3, the purpose of its ~200 kWh of battery power is rather self-explanatory. The purpose of the Tesla Model S motor recently installed on its side is much less clear.
****** Videos from the NASASpaceflight YouTube channel show activities leading up to the SN3 test failure plus some scenes of the cleanup:
****** March 31: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN3 Test Readiness/SN4 Preps
****** April 2: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN3 comes to life as SN4 waits in the wings
****** April 3: SpaceX’s Starship SN3 prototype fails cryogenic proof test
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Expedition 63 Space Station Crew Prepares for Launch in Kazakhstan
At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the International Space Station’s Expedition 63 crew Soyuz Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineers Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos and Chris Cassidy of NASA and their backups, Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrei Babkin of Roscosmos and Steve Bowen of NASA, participated in a variety of activities March 24-March 27 as they prepared for the upcoming mission. Ivanishin, Vagner and Cassidy are set to launch April 9 from Baikonur in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station. The footage includes the crew’s Soyuz fit check in the Cosmodrome’s Integration Facility, the ceremonial Cosmonaut Hotel flag-raising ceremony, laying of flowers at the site at the cosmonaut Hotel where Yuri Gagarin’s tree is planted and other training milestones.
** Anne McClain’s Tips for Living in Close Quarters
It’s okay to not be okay. But it’s what you choose to do about that that’s important.” One of our NASA Astronauts, Anne McClain, shares some tips she learned living in the isolated environment of the International Space Station:
** Jessica Meir Speaks with Physiologist Magazine
Expedition 62 – Aboard the International Space Station NASA Astronaut and Flight Engineer Jessica Meir participates in an in-flight event with Physiologist Magazine.
A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):
The Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, or SunRISE, consists of miniature satellites called cubesats that form a “virtual telescope” in space to detect and study the radio waves that precede major solar events. The waves can’t be detected on Earth’s surface due to interference from the region of Earth’s upper atmosphere known as the ionosphere.
SunRISE, expected to launch in 2023, will offer a never-seen-before glimpse at what goes on in the area above the sun’s surface, the sola
The virtual telescope formed by the cubesats is illustrated in this video:
From the caption:
The Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) is expected to launch in 2023. The project is led by University of Michigan climate and space sciences and engineering professor Justin Kasper. The team will deploy miniature satellites, called cubesats, that form a “virtual telescope” in space to detect and study the radio waves that precede major solar events. This is will greatly improve our solar storm warning system. SunRISE is a $62 million project, one of NASA’s Missions of Opportunity. $5 million will go to U-M for its science team and operating costs while the rest will be used for launch. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will manage the mission. Space Dynamics Laboratory, a non-profit research corporation, is the other major partner that will build the spacecraft.
Just last November, students worked to launch a loaf of bread into space; that is, a satellite the size of a loaf of bread.
The UW’s Husky Satellite Lab successfully launched the HuskySat-1 (HS-1), a cube satellite, into space Nov. 2, 2019. This initiative was started about four years ago by two graduate students: Paige Northway and Paul Sturmer.
Space development is not anything new to the UW, but HS-1 is the first cube satellite to be launched by a university from Washington state.
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The Husky Satellite Lab’s mission was related to demonstrating a pulsed plasma thruster and a high-frequency communications system. Beyond that, Sturmer pointed out the huge success of being able to launch and have a working satellite.
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According to Sturmer, the initial project was made up of over 50 students — mostly undergraduate students — who did the actual engineering, prototyping, and testing. Sturmer acted as the technical lead and product manager.
Members of the Husky Satellite Lab have now put their focus on other projects, such as the Miniature Microgravity Electroplating Experiment (MiniMEE) and the Platform for High Altitude Testing 2 (PHAT-2).
