Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Expedition 64 Crew 2 Crew News Conference – March 1, 2021 – NASA Video
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet discussed their upcoming mission in a preflight briefing from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 20 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew is scheduled for a long duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science and maintenance and are set to return in fall 2021.
** Expedition 64 Crew 2 Mission Overview Briefing – March 1, 2021 – NASA Video
** Spacewalk at the International Space Station – NASA
Slip into the weekend while cheering on two astronauts working in the vacuum of space! At 7 a.m. EST on Friday, Mar. 5, Kate Rubins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) will exit the International Space Station to vent ammonia from the Early Ammonia System and complete several other tasks outside the orbital lab. Once their spacesuits are switched to battery power, the spacewalk is scheduled to last approximately six-and-a-half hours.
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):
In this first Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, global space law experts discuss the legal issues from everyday space activities.
Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland” analysed current space developments with a legal focus. It, at the same time discussed and ‘demystifyed’ the law for everyone.
In this episode Host Steven Freeland, Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia and Co-Host Torsten Kriening, SpaceWatch.Global’s Publisher and their invited guests discussed:
The recent Chang’e 5 and Hayabusa2 missions The various Starlink/SpaceX/Starship program The just announced US Space Policy/approach and the priorities of the incoming Biden administration regarding space
Our two exceptional experts were: Donna Lawler, commercial space lawyer and Principal, AZIMUTH Advisory Chris Newman, Professor, Northumbria University
For decades, a prevailing sentiment in America has been that the money spent on the space race would be better spent on domestic problems. As a result, the US space program has not fulfilled its potential for several decades. But this perspective is shortsighted; many technologies we take for granted came from midcentury investments in the space program, and there is no telling what innovations we forego by failing to support space exploration today. Fortunately, private actors have begun revitalizing the US space program, and the public sphere has also shown a renewed interest. This panel discusses why America should renew its commitment to exploring space and the actions policymakers and private actors should take to facilitate America’s return to the final frontier.
Panelists: Tim Fernholz, Senior Reporter, Quartz Sara Seager, Professor of Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Stan Veuger, Resident Scholar, AEI Matthew C. Weinzierl, Joseph and Jacqueline Elbling Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Moderator: James Pethokoukis, DeWitt Wallace Fellow, AEI
** Sino-Russian ties for the Moon, Geely’s Satellite Factory, New CN Space Report – News Roundup Ep 21 – Dongfang Hour – YouTube
1) Russia and China close to signing an MoU on Lunar Exploration… 2) Release of a new report on the Chinese space sector … 3) Announcement by Geely about their satellite factory getting the “green light”…
Earth Observation, Space Situational Awareness and Contested/Congested Space are terms increasingly heard in satellite and space media, brought about, in part, by the growing accessibility and democratization of the space industry. Our guest, Gino Bucciol – Co-founder and Chief Development Officer at Officina Stellare, a company based in Italy active in the design and production of telescopes, optomechanical, and aerospace instrumentation for ground and space-based applications will touch on each of these.
Listen as Gino discusses the difference between ground-based and space-based telescopes; the former best suited for research, astronomy and defense applications like weapon tracking; while the latter is most often used for debris tracking, satellite collision avoidance, or laser communication. Gino further discusses why telescopes are perfect to provide information on an object’s angular position, thanks to their extremely high resolution, while radar is perfect to obtain a precise measurement of the object’s distance.
Gino attributes launch reduction costs and availability of space compliant technologies as key contributors to the creation of the “New Space Economy” where private companies can now do business in space.
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** The Space Show – Sunday, Feb.28.2021 – Open lines program welcomed discussion of topics suggested by listeners. “Robert Jacobson started us off with his commercial space update. We then took multiple calls from callers on lots of subjects including space settlement, children and childbirth for space settlement, Mars, Moon and much more.”
With the increasing visibility of private space companies, the safe arrival of the Perseverance rover on Mars, and renewed interest in space exploration, it seems like space is now solidly back in the public imagination.
We traditionally associate space innovation with the US, China and Russia, but the UK is at the forefront of the new space economy, with 5.1% share of the global space market and plans to capture 10% by 2030.
In this episode I speak to Melissa Thorpe, Interim Head of Spaceport Cornwall, about the next phase of space innovation, how horizontal launch capabilities are being built here in the UK, and the economic and technological opportunities this will provide.
(Spaceport Cornwall is the horizontal space launch site at Cornwall Airport Newquay, in South West England. Spaceport Cornwall is a partnership between Cornwall Council, commercial launch operator Virgin Orbit and Goonhilly Earth Station. The consortium will deliver small satellite launch into lower Earth Orbit, for the first time ever from the UK by 2022.)
Special Topic Webinar Moderator: Antonino Salmeri, Space Generation Advisory Council – Luxembourg Panelists: Ian Christensen, Secure World Foundation – USA Ruvimbo Samanga, Open Lunar Foundation – Zimbabwe
The proposed live panel would explore the usefulness of the “social license to operate” concept for managing space resource activities, with a special focus on the Moon. The term “Social License to Operate” (SLO) indicates a series of measures agreed between a mining company and the community where it operates with the goal of establishing guidelines for fair and sustainable extraction activities.
The applicability of SLO within the context of space resources activities has been firstly introduced by the Socio-Economic Panel of The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group. This work suggested that considering the SLO for space resources might provide a conceptual framework through which affected sociocultural, heritage and environmental factors might be considered in governance. Since then, the topic has been further researched by the Space Exploration Project Group of Space Generation Advisory Council, as well as by the Open Lunar Foundation. At the latest International Astronautical Congress, the SEPG presented a first follow-up research investigating the development of a Lunar SLO, covering the relevant rationale, as well as proposed objectives and governance mechanisms.
Based on these findings, the panel will discuss the merits and drawbacks of developing a Lunar SLO, as well as suitable models for its concrete application. The future development of a Lunar SLO is one that will encompass multi-level, multi-stakeholder initiatives, towards sustainable resource utilization. More so than that, a balancing of interests between community and operators is required. To this end, the diverse pool of proposed panelists will promote a cross-disciplinary, intergenerational, and multinational dialogue with the goal of representing the various viewpoints of the space community.
Special Topic Webinar Moderator: Brian Weeden, Secure World Foundation – USA Panelists: Dan Oltrogge, Center for Space Standards, AGI – USA Sujai Shivakumar, National Academy of Public Administration – USA Quentin Verspieren, University of Tokyo – Japan
For much of the last sixty years of space activities, a few national militaries have developed capabilities to track and monitor objects and activities in orbit around the Earth. The recent growth in commercial, civil, and international space activities and an overall number of satellites has stretched those current capabilities to their breaking point and highlighted gaps in how countries provide authorization and oversight of rapidly expanding space activities. Space Traffic Coordination and Management has been debated in various forms for nearly as long but has achieved new salience in recent years, particularly in the United States. The panel will describe current initiatives towards a polycentric framework for governance that brings together concerned agencies of the U.S. government, contributions from commercial actors, and other space nations and international actors.
** Yan Song – How Can We Solve the Challenge of Operationalizing Cultural Development? – CSP S04E04 – Cold Star Technologies – YouTube
Systems Thinking thought leader and Fortune 500 executive Yan Song is our guest on this first episode of a series on the Cold Star Project. Our series topic is about culture in organizations. The question we’re asking in this episode is: How can we solve the 21st Century challenge of operationalizing cultural development? Begin with the possibility that we can build culture development right into our operations, and have our people improve it as they carry out their daily tasks.
** What’s Up: March 2021 Skywatching Tips from NASA – NASA JPL
What are some skywatching highlights in March 2021? Look for Mars close to the Pleiades in the first couple of weeks of March. Then wake up early to observe the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, which return as morning planets this month. Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up….
In March, the stars of spring lie eastward: Look for the constellations Gemini and Cancer to spot interesting celestial features like star clusters M35 and the Beehive Cluster, and NGC 3923, an oblong elliptical galaxy with an interesting ripple pattern. Keep watching for space-based views of the galaxies.
5. Friday, Mar.5, 2021; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Dr. Clive Neal from Notre Dame to talk about astronauts on the Moon, lunar ice, planetary protection and lots more.
6. Sunday, Mar.7, 2021; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): We welcome back space attorney Dr. Mark J. Sundahl with co-author Tanja (T.L.) Masson-Zwaan to talk about Lunar Legal Landscape Challenges, Opportunities and more.
Some recent shows:
** Sunday, Feb.28.2021 – Open lines program welcomed discussion of topics suggested by listeners. “Robert Jacobson started us off with his commercial space update. We then took multiple calls from callers on lots of subjects including space settlement, children and childbirth for space settlement, Mars, Moon and much more.”
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Northrop Grumman CRS-15: Redwire Crystallization Facility – ISS National Lab
On Northrop Grumman CRS-15, Redwire will launch its sixth commercial facility to the International Space Station, the Industrial Crystallization Facility (ICF). The ICF will provide a space-based platform for the growth and formulation of centimeter-scale single crystals and other exotic materials for use in the optics and sensor industries. Validation of the ICF will also provide a proof of concept for applied industrial materials production in microgravity, which will be an important in-orbit research and development capability in the future. Learn more about this facility, and how it may support future research and development in low Earth orbit.
Learn highlights of ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations that are part of the Northrop Grumman CRS-15 mission to the space station. This mission will bring with it several technology development demonstrations to the orbiting laboratory. This video provides a snapshot on some of the unique investigations that will be performed on the space station over the coming weeks and months.
** NLRA 2021-3: Technology Advancement and Applied Research on the ISS National Lab Webinar – ISS National Lab
** Expedition 64 Spacewalk 71 and 72 Preview Briefing – February 24, 2021 – NASA Video
At the Johnson Space Center, Houston, NASA managers and flight controllers previewed a pair of upcoming spacewalks by Expedition 64 crewmembers outside the International Space Station during a briefing Feb. 24. ISS Deputy Program Manager Kenny Todd, spacewalk flight directors Marcos Flores and Chris Edelen and spacewalk officer Art Thomason discussed a spacewalk on Feb. 28 by NASA Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Victor Glover to begin the installation of hardware that will support upgraded solar array components to be delivered to the station later this year. They also provided a rundown of activities during a March 5 spacewalk by Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi to upgrade other external systems on the orbital outpost.
