Space sciences roundup – July.26.2020

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images from space-related science news items (find previous roundups here):

Mars

** Launch of the UAE Hope Mars mission on a Japanese H-IIA rocket on July 19th  was a success. The spacecraft is on course to reach Mars and go into orbit in February. It’s primary mission is to study the Martian atmosphere and weather.

HOPE-2 infographic shows mission phases from launch to Mars orbit operations.

Here is the first image taken from the Hope spacecraft: HH Sheikh Mohammed shares first image of Mars taken by Hope Probe – SatellitePro ME

See also

** Long March 5 launched China’s Tianwen 1 mission to Mars on July 23rd from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern coast of Hainan province.

The payload includes an orbiter, lander, and rover.

Here are previews of the mission:

** Perseverance rover set to launch on July 30th on ULA Atlas V rocket. The rover will then land on the Red Planet on  Feb. 18, 2021. The final launch preparations and reviews are underway: NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Passes Flight Readiness Review – NASA

Everyone is invited to participant in some way with the mission liftoff: NASA Invites Public to Share Excitement of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Launch – NASA

Here is a set of hands-on activities for young people such as making a Mars helicopter out of paper: Learning Space With NASA at Home – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

** An overview of Perseverance from the Everyday Astronaut:

** A true microphone is included on the  Perseverance: Perseverance Microphones Fulfill Long Planetary Society Campaign to Hear Sounds from Mars | The Planetary Society

If you could stand on the surface of Mars, what would you hear? While 8 missions have returned stunning views from the surface of the Red Planet, none have returned any sound.

That’s about to change. NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is days away from blasting off on a mission to search for signs of past life and collect samples for future return to Earth, will have not one, but two microphones aboard. One will listen as the rover plummets through the Martian atmosphere for landing, and another will record sounds as the rover does its scientific work in Jezero Crater—an ancient river delta where life may have flourished.

If all goes well, Perseverance’s microphones will fulfill the wishes of Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan, who wrote a letter to NASA in 1996 urging the space agency to send a microphone to Mars.

“Even if only a few minutes of Martian sounds are recorded from this first experiment, the public interest will be high and the opportunity for scientific exploration real,” Sagan wrote.

More about the Perseverance rover:

** Update on InSight Mars lander’s Mole digger: NASA’s InSight Flexes Its Arm While Its ‘Mole’ Hits Pause – NASA’s InSight Mars Lander – July.7.2020

NASA’s InSight lander has been using its robotic arm to help the heat probe known as the “mole” burrow into Mars. The mission is providing the first look at the Red Planet’s deep interior to reveal details about the formation of Mars and, ultimately, all rocky planets, including Earth.

Akin to a 16-inch-long (40-centimeter-long) pile driver, the self-hammering mole has experienced difficulty getting into the Martian soil since February 2019. It’s mostly buried now, thanks to recent efforts to push down on the mole with the scoop on the end of the robotic arm. But whether it will be able to dig deep enough – at least 10 feet (3 meters) – to get an accurate temperature reading of the planet remains to be seen. Images taken by InSight during a Saturday, June 20, hammering session show bits of soil jostling within the scoop – possible evidence that the mole had begun bouncing in place, knocking the bottom of the scoop.

NASA InSight’s ‘Mole’ Taps the Bottom of the Lander’s Scoop – NASA’s InSight Mars Lander: After the scoop on the end of NASA’s Mars InSight lander was used to push down on the top of the spacecraft’s “mole,” or self-hammering heat probe, it was held in place to essentially block the mole from popping out of the soil. The movement of sand grains in the scoop, seen here, suggested that the mole had began bumping up against the bottom of the scoop while hammering on June 20, 2020. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

** Dust up on Mars: I Can See Clearly Now: Dust-up on Mars! – Leonard David

Comparative images from NASA’s InSight Mars lander from Sol 10 to Sol 578 show that the spacecraft is quite dusty.

Robotic arm-mounted, Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) images taken on December 7, 2018, Sol 10 and recent July 12, 2020, Sol 578 photos reveal the coating of Mars dust.

InSight landed on the Red Planet on November 26, 2018.

** The latest on Curiosity rover’s activities and plans:

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has started a road trip that will continue through the summer across roughly a mile (1.6 kilometers) of terrain. By trip’s end, the rover will be able to ascend to the next section of the 3-mile-tall Martian (5-kilometer-tall) mountain it’s been exploring since 2014, searching for conditions that may have supported ancient microbial life.

Located on the floor of Gale Crater, Mount Sharp is composed of sedimentary layers that built up over time. Each layer helps tell the story about how Mars changed from being more Earth-like – with lakes, streams and a thicker atmosphere – to the nearly-airless, freezing desert it is today.

Once they complete this week’s drilling effort, expect the rover to quickly head east again, aiming for the gap between the very rough Greenheugh Piedmont and the first steep cliffs of Mt. Sharp. They hope to reach this point in the fall, when the rover will finally leave the foothills of Mt Sharp and begin climbing the mountain. Their goal is the dark canyon in the first image above, uphill from where Curiosity sits now.

** Leonard David also gives frequent updates on Curiosity’s roving:

** Tour more sites on the marvelous Martian surface with Bob Zimmerman

Solar system

**  A review of missions that return samples of celestial bodies to Earth: Sample Return Roundup | The Planetary Society

It’s a banner year for sample return missions. Not since the 1970s has there been so much invested in returning rocks to Earth from space. This year, China, Japan, and the United States will all have sample return missions in flight, seeking to retrieve material from near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and eventually Mars.

** The latest on the Saturn moon TitanDr. Linda Spilker of NASA JPL talks about the latest findings with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston on the Hotel Mars radio program:

** Illustrating the scale of planets and Earth-Moon separation: Fun Fact: All the Planets in the Solar System Could Fit Between Earth and the Moon – Lights in the Dark

It might seem a bit far-fetched but yes, it’s true: if you could line up all of the other planets in our Solar System in a row edge-to-edge (or more geometrically accurately, limb-to-limb) and for good measure even include Pluto, the entire queue would easily fit within the space between Earth and the Moon.

** The first view of Ganymede’s north pole: NASA Juno Takes First Images of Jovian Moon Ganymede’s North Pole | NASA

On its way inbound for a Dec. 26, 2019, flyby of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew in the proximity of the north pole of the ninth-largest object in the solar system, the moon Ganymede. The infrared imagery collected by the spacecraft’s Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument provides the first infrared mapping of the massive moon’s northern frontier.

Larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede consists primarily of water ice. Its composition contains fundamental clues for understanding the evolution of the 79 Jovian moons from the time of their formation to today.

Ganymede is also the only moon in the solar system with its own magnetic field. On Earth, the magnetic field provides a pathway for plasma (charged particles from the Sun) to enter our atmosphere and create aurora. As Ganymede has no atmosphere to impede their progress, the surface at its poles is constantly being bombarded by plasma from Jupiter’s gigantic magnetosphere. The bombardment has a dramatic effect on Ganymede’s ice.

“The JIRAM data show the ice at and surrounding Ganymede’s north pole has been modified by the precipitation of plasma,” said Alessandro Mura, a Juno co-investigator at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. “It is a phenomenon that we have been able to learn about for the first time with Juno because we are able to see the north pole in its entirety.”

These images [from the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft [taken] on Dec. 26, 2019, provide the first infrared mapping of Ganymede’s northern frontier. Frozen water molecules detected at both poles have no appreciable order to their arrangement and a different infrared signature than ice at the equator.” Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM
See also: First Images of Jovian Moon Ganymede’s North Pole | Mission Juno.

Astronomy

** A big list of the most exotic objects detected in the universe is being maintained by the Berkeley SETI program:

San Francisco, CA – June 22, 2020 – Breakthrough Listen, the initiative to find signs of intelligent life in the Universe, today released an innovative catalog of “Exotica” – a diverse list of objects of potential interest to astronomers searching for technosignatures (indicators of technology developed by extraterrestrial intelligence). The catalog is a collection of over 700 distinct targets intended to include “one of everything” in the observed Universe – ranging from comets to galaxies, from mundane objects to the most rare and violent celestial phenomena.

The comprehensive new catalog is the first in recent times that aims to span the entire breadth of astrophysical phenomena, from distant galaxies, to objects in our own Solar System. The Listen team developed it conceptually, compiled it, and shared it with the astronomical community in the hope that it can guide future surveys – studying life beyond Earth and/or natural astrophysics – and serve as a general reference guide for the field.

“Many discoveries in astronomy were not planned,” remarked the lead author of the new catalog, Dr. Brian Lacki. “Sometimes a major new discovery was missed when nobody was looking in the right place, because they believed nothing could be found there. This happened with exoplanets, which might have been detected before the 1990s if astronomers looked for solar systems very different than ours. Are we looking in the wrong places for technosignatures? The Exotica catalog will help us answer that question.”

“The catalog is not just limited to SETI, though,” noted Lacki. “My hope is that any program with a new capability may use the Exotica catalog as a shakedown cruise around the Universe.”

Sun

** First images from ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter released.

“The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft took these images on 30 May 2020. They show the Sun’s appearance at a wavelength of 17 nanometers, which is in the extreme ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Images at this wavelength reveal the upper atmosphere of the Sun, the corona, with a temperature of around 1 million degrees.”. Credits: ESA

Find more images in the ESA Solar Orbiter  gallery.

** The solar cycle appears to be turning slowly towards next maximum according to June sunspot activity: Sunspot update: More evidence of an upcoming weak maximum | Behind The Black

The ratio of next cycle sunspots vs sunspots from the past maximum has also been shifting. More and more, the new sunspots belong to the next cycle and less to the last. The ramp up to the next maximum is definitely beginning, though to call it a “ramp up” at this point is a big exaggeration. Sunspot activity remains low, though the last few months have seen some activity, unlike the seven months of nothing seen during the second half of last year.

The upcoming prediction for the next maximum calls for it to be very weak. Interestingly, the activity in June surpassed that prediction. This does not mean that the prediction will be wrong, only that June was more active when compared to the smooth prediction curve. As the cycle unfolds the monthly numbers will fluctuate up and down, as they did last cycle. The question will be whether their overall numbers will match closely with the prediction. In the past cycle actual sunspot activity was consistently below all predictions. It is too soon to say how well the new prediction is doing.

Moon

** The Chinese Yutu-2 rover will soon be ending another active lunar day and preparing to sleep through the two earth-week long lunar night. The rover should be approaching a half kilometer on the odometer from its travels since the Chang’e 4 mission landed on the Moon’s far side on January 3, 2019: China’s lunar rover travels about 463 meters on moon’s far side – Xinhua – June.28.2020.

Here is a report on some unusual looking material that Yutu-2 spotted a year or so ago: Study Reveals Composition of “Gel-like” Substance Discovered by Chang’e-4 Rover on Moon’s Far Side—-Chinese Academy of Sciences

The unusual dark greenish and glistening “gel-like” substance in a crater on the far side of the moon has attracted widespread interest following its discovery by the Chang’e-4 rover in July 2019. 

A research team led by Prof. DI Kaichang from the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators analyzed the substance in detail by using multiple datasets from the rover’s panoramic camera (Pancam), hazard avoidance camera (Hazcam), and the visible and near-infrared spectrometer (VNIS).  

The researchers found that the unusual substance is actually an impact melt breccia, and the provenance of the rover measured surrounding regolith might originate from a differentiated melt pool or from a suite of igneous rocks. Their findings were published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 

“Impact melt breccia and surrounding context.” Credits: CNSA, CLEP, and AIR

** The Moon is more metal heavy than previously thought: Radar Points to Moon Being More Metallic Than Researchers Thought | NASA

What started out as a hunt for ice lurking in polar lunar craters turned into an unexpected finding that could help clear some muddy history about the Moon’s formation.

Team members of the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft found new evidence that the Moon’s subsurface might be richer in metals, like iron and titanium, than researchers thought. That finding, published July 1 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, could aid in drawing a clearer connection between Earth and the Moon.

“The LRO mission and its radar instrument continue to surprise us with new insights about the origins and complexity of our nearest neighbor,” said Wes Patterson, Mini-RF principal investigator from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, and a study coauthor.

** Investigating ancient volcanism on the Moon with images and altimetry data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO):

“Kathleen, a pyroclastic vent, and Rima Mozart extending east from the vent found in the eastern-most DTM in the Featured Image (seen above). Centered at 25.3263°N, 359.322°E – here in Quickmap.” Credits: LRO

From Bob Zimmerman at Behind The Black:

The image above, reduced to post here, is a colorized digital terrain model produced from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) data. On top of the original mosaic of photos the LRO science team has overlaid the elevation data obtained by LRO’s laser altimeter. It shows a tadpole shaped pit dubbed Kathleen, with its tail trailing off to the southeast. As they note:

Kathleen is a pyroclastic vent with a sinuous rille (colloquially known as Rima Mozart [Not IAU confirmed]) that extends from the southeast end of the vent. Rilles are large channels formed by sustained channelized lava flows. This vent is a great location to investigate ancient volcanism on the Moon.

The elevation data reveals one interesting feature: The lowest part of the vent pit is not at its western end, where one would think at first glance, based on the general dip that produced the rill flowing to the east. That the lowest point is at the widest section of the pit instead suggests that this pit no longer looks as it did when it was venting. In the almost four billion years since it is thought all volcanic activity here ceased, there has been plenty of time for the slow erosion processes on the Moon, caused by radiation, micrometeorites, and the solar wind, to partly fill this pit and round out its cliff walls.

Asteroids and Comets

** The small companion to the Didymos asteroid christened Dimorphos. The pair are the target destination for the ESA’s Hera and NASA’s DART missions. Name given to asteroid target of ESA’s planetary defence mission – ESA

A near-Earth binary asteroid system, named after the Greek word for ‘twin’, Didymos’s main body measures about 780 m across, with its previously nameless moonlet about 160 m in diameter, approximately the size of Egypt’s Great Pyramid.

In 2022, this moonlet will be the target of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first full-scale demonstration of an asteroid deflection technology for planetary defence. ESA’s Hera mission will be launched two years later, to perform a close-up survey of Dimorphos, along with its parent asteroid, following DART’s impact.

NASA DART will impact the small Dimorphos companion to the Didymos asteroid in 2022. Credits: ESA

“Dimorphos is Greek for ‘having two forms’,” says Kleomenis Tsiganis, a planetary scientist at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and member of both the DART and Hera teams, who suggested the name.  

“It has been chosen in anticipation of its future status as the first celestial body to have its ‘physique’ intentionally altered by human intervention, the kinetic impact of DART. Hence, it will be known to us by two, very different forms, the one seen by DART before impact and the other seen by Hera, a few years later.”

DART’s kinetic impact into Dimorphos is expected to alter its orbit around Didymos as well as create a substantial crater, which will be studied by the Hera spacecraft when it arrives several years later. The DART impact itself will be recorded by the Italian-made LICIACube CubeSat, deployed from DART several days earlier, with longer-term effects studied by telescopes on Earth’s surface and in space.

See also Hera and its asteroid target – ESA.

** Haybabusa2 will drop off a capsule of material from asteroid Ryugu this December:

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft is nearly home. Having collected samples from the asteroid Ryugu last year, the spacecraft is just months away from returning them to Earth. The samples contain material that likely dates back to the dawn of the solar system, 4.6 billion years ago. They could provide fresh insights into how celestial bodies came to be and even how life on Earth began. But before all that, there is the small matter of getting Hayabusa2’s precious cargo down from the harsh vacuum of space and safely into scientists’ hands.

On July 14 the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in partnership with the Australian Space Agency, announced the landing date for the samples: December 6, 2020. JAXA’s landing site for the mission is a 122,000-square-kilometer region of South Australian outback known as the Woomera Range Complex. “Woomera is a very remote area,” says Karl Rodrigues, acting deputy director of the Australian Space Agency. “It makes it ideal for the safe management and landing of this particular craft and capsule.”

** Watch Comet Neowise from the ISS to the accompaniment of a nice soundtrack:

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SpaceX Delivers the Goods” by C. Sergent Lindsey printed on phone cover. Available at Fine Art America.

 

Auction of Apollo astronauts’ autographed photos

Paul Fraser Collectibles points me to autographed NASA astronaut photos for sale at Prestige Collectibles Auction  through the end of July.

The items include a set photos autographed by the 12 Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon.

Moonwalkers autographs: complete set of 12 signed photos

 

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Videos: “Space to Ground” ISS report – July.24.2020

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Fruit Punch and Foam: Managing Liquids in Space – NASA Johnson

When NASA astronaut Doug Hurley squeezed a bag of fruit punch aboard the International Space Station last month, he did not get a refreshing drink. Instead, the red fluid that emerged from his drink bag wound down a clear tube, and soaked into a block of white foam. While it might not look like much, this simple experiment is providing researchers with better information about managing liquids in microgravity. Learn more here: https://go.nasa.gov/32JQUPM Learn more about the research being conducted on station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

** SpaceX Crew Dragon Flies Through Habitability Testing – NASA Johnson

It is a “demonstration” mission, so the crew of the SpaceX Crew Dragon are demonstrating that the systems on this new commercial spaceship all work as designed while it’s docked to the International Space Station. Take a look inside while the Expedition 63 crew members verify that astronauts and cosmonauts can live, work, and sleep as planned when the vehicle is executing its mission in space. Additional footage from the Habitability tests on July 8, 2020

** Expedition 63 Inflight interview with Yahoo Finance KPRC TV – July 24, 2020

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and NASA Flight Engineers Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken discussed life on the orbital outpost and preparations for a return to Earth for Hurley and Behnken on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft during a pair of in-flight interviews July 24 with Yahoo Finance News and KPRC-TV, Houston. Cassidy is in the midst of a six-hand-a-half month mission on the laboratory while Hurley and Behnken are in the final days of their mission following their launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket May 30 that restored a U.S. launch capability from U.S. soil. Hurley and Behnken are scheduled to return to Earth on the Crew Dragon vehicle Aug. 2 for the first splashdown of U.S. astronauts since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975.

** Expedition 63 Progress 76 Docking – NASA TV

An unpiloted Russian cargo ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan July 23 on a delivery mission to bring some three tons of food, fuel and hardware to the residents of the International Space Station. The ISS Progress 76 craft arrived at the complex less than four hours after launch, automatically docking to the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Russian segment of the station where it will spend a little more than three months.

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Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – July.23.2020

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** University Wurzburg UWE-4 CubeSat fires NanoFEEP electric thrusters to avoid a possible collision with a derelict Iridium satellite: Morpheus thruster propels single cubesat to lower orbit – SpaceNews

Germany’s University of Wurzburg Experimental-4 (UWE-4) cubesat avoided a potential collision in early July while lowering its altitude with Morpheus Space’s NanoFEEP electric propulsion system.

It was the first time a one-unit cubesat performed a collision-avoidance maneuver, Istvan Lorincz, Morpheus president and co-founder, told SpaceNews.

“UWE ‑ 4 with Thrusters, Neutralizer and a new kind of sun sensors on each panel.” Credits: Univ. of Wurzburg

The UWE-4 mission is intended as a technology demonstration. In addition to propulsion, it is testing a new sun sensor design. The CubeSat was launched as a secondary payload on a Soyuz rocket in December 2018.

See also Successful first demonstration of orbit control on a 1U CubeSat – Lehrstuhl für Informatik VII

The 1U CubeSat, developed and built at the Chair for Robotics and Telematics, is equipped with the electric propulsion system NanoFEEP which has been developed by TU Dresden. 

Several manoeuvres have been performed within 11 days between June 23rd – July 3rd 2020 such that the altitude of the CubeSat was reduced by more than 100 m, compared to an average of 21 m with natural decay. This marks the first time in CubeSat history that a 1U CubeSat changed its orbit using an on-board propulsion system. 

As chance would have it, the team of UWE-4 received a conjunction data message (CDM) in the morning of July 2nd 2020 from the United Air Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron. A conjunction of UWE-4 with a non-operational Iridium satellite (ID: 34147) in the morning of July 5th 2020 with a minimum range of about 800 m was a threat to the safety of UWE-4. An analysis has shown that the altitude of UWE-4 would already be below the Iridium satellite at the time of conjunction. Thus the on-going altitude lowering manoeuvre could only improve the situation and can be considered as a collision avoidance manoeuvre. No further CDMs have been issued regarding this possible conjunction. An analysis of the orbit of the two spacecraft after July 5th 2020 results in a closest approach of more than 6000 m.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects:

ANS-201 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin:

  • AMSAT Board of Directors Election Packages Mailed July 14
  • HO-107 is Back!
  • First Call for Papers – Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium
  • New D-STAR Reflector for AMSAT Use
  • SpaceX to Launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites
  • DARC Finds Unauthorized Transmissions in 144 MHz Satellite Band
  • 1240-1300 MHz Discussed at CEPT SE-40 Meeting
  • IARU Coordinates Two New Satellites
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • ARISS News
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin:

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

** CubeSats Get Close: Proximity Operation with Interesting Implications –  The Aerospace Corporation

One of Aerospace’s CubeSats photographed its twin satellite from 22 meters away in a demonstration of the type of technology that could enable inspection and servicing missions. Read more: CubeSats Get Close: Proximity Operation with Interesting Implications | The Aerospace Corporation

** Florian Gautier – Landing CubeSats On Asteroids – Cold Star Project S02E50

University of Kansas Doctoral candidate (Physics and Astronomy) Florian Gautier is on the Cold Star Project to discuss several of the research projects he’s been involved in. With host Jason Kanigan, Florian describes his aerospace engineering and astrophysics education journey from Europe to North America and opportunities to work on:

– Student CubeSat project at ISAE-SUPAERO to develop 12U cubesats for missions like ATISE
– Land3U project, simulation of CubeSat landing on asteroids, sponsored by ESA Drop Your Thesis! 2018 programme (the drop tower used is fascinating)
– AGILE, development of a new compact particle detectors suitable to be flown on a CubeSat.

I also ask Florian, who has two Masters degrees (Astronautics & Space Engineering and Astrophysics, Space Science & Planetary Science), about his future goals and where he thinks space work will take him.

** The Space Show – Weds. July.23.2020 – Dr. Pat Patterson, long time chief of the annual SmallSat Conference held at Utah State, talked about this year’s event (Aug. 1-6, 2020), which is all virtual.

** Democratizing access to outer space with CubesatsAdeel Khan

** PLIX CubeSats Online: Week 1 Kick-off StreamPLIX CubeSats

Welcome to Week 1 of PLIX CubeSats Online! 🛰️ In this session, we’ll be covering the PLIX CubeSats activities, a series of creative learning workshops designed to support public library patrons in learning about outer space environments and how they can be characterized with small spacecrafts. Read more about the CubeSats activity on our PLIX Activity Repository: – PLIX CubeSats

** Generating Quantum Random Numbers On a CubeSat (SpooQy-1)

CQT Online Talks – Series: Conference presentations This talk was given at CLEO. Speaker: Ayesha Reezwana, Alexander Ling Group, CQT,

NUS Abstract: We demonstrate a quantum random number generator based on entangled photon-pair statistics on-board a CubeSat orbiting in Low Earth Orbit.

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Space transport roundup – July.22.2020

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):

** SpaceX Falcon 9 launches S. Korean ANASIS-II milcomm sat with same booster used for ISS crew mission. The booster landed safely on an ocean platform. The 51 day turnaround time was the fastest so far for reusing the Falcon boosters and faster than the best Space Shuttle turnaround of 54 days.

Both of the nosecone fairings were also captured in nets on two ships for the first dual catch on the same flight. While SpaceX has re-flown fairings recovered after landing in the ocean, it’s obviously better for reuse if they can avoid dealing with the effects of seawater and impacting the surface of the sea.

A view of the rocket in super slo-mo:

See also:

Find more about other SpaceX activities below.

** Japanese H-IIA rocket launches UAE Hope mission to Mars. The H-IIA is built and operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

** Long March 5 moved to pad in preparation for launch of China’s Tianwen 1 Mars mission. The time for liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern coast of Hainan province is currently given at SpaceflightNow as Thursday, July 23 at  12:45 am EDT (0445 GMT). The payload includes an orbiter, a lander, and a rover.

** The ULA Atlas V launch of the Perseverance rover to Mars is currently set for liftoff on July 30th.

Here is a discussion with ULA CEO Tory Bruno about the upcoming launch: 79 – Preparing for a Martian Launch (feat. Tory Bruno) – WeMartians Podcast

** Russian Soyuz rocket set to launch Progress cargo carrier to the ISS on Thursday: Soyuz rocket raised on Baikonur launch pad for space station resupply flight – Spaceflight Now

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad Monday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for final inspections, checkouts and fueling before liftoff Thursday with a Progress supply ship bound for the International Space Station.

The Soyuz-2.1a launcher emerged from a hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome just after sunrise Monday, riding a mobile railcar across the Kazakh steppe to Launch Pad No. 31. A hydraulic lift raised the launcher vertical on pad 31, and gantry arms rotated into position around the rocket to allow workers access to the vehicle for final pre-launch preparations.

Launch is scheduled for 10:26:22 a.m. EDT (1426:22 GMT; 7:26:22 p.m. Baikonur time) Thursday to kick off a three-hour pursuit of the space station. The launch time is set to occur around the time the research outpost flies over Baikonur.

The Progress will catch up with the ISS for docking in less than 3 hours after liftoff:

Russian ground teams loaded 3,351 pounds (1,520 kilograms) of dry cargo into the cargo freighter’s pressurized compartment, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Roscosmos says there’s around 1,322 pounds (600 kilograms) of propellant aboard the Progress MS-15 spacecraft for transfer into the space station’s tanks, along with 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water and 101 pounds (46 kilograms) of compressed gas to replenish the space station’s breathing air.

**** Firefly sends mobile launch platform to Vandenberg launch facility:

** Virgin Orbit to use Japanese airport as base for some LauncherOne missions:  Virgin sets up Japan spaceport to lure Asian satellite builders – Nikkei Asian Review

Asia’s first [commercial] spaceport, located at Oita Airport on the Japanese island of Kyushu, is readying support for Virgin Orbit as the company looks to fire off its LauncherOne rocket in 2022.

Virgin Orbit — a space venture of the Virgin Group — will use a modified Boeing 747, christened “Cosmic Girl,” as the launch platform for LauncherOne, which carries small commercial satellites into either a sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbit, depending on customer requirements.

In addition to its prime Oita location, the U.S.-based company has chosen four airports in the U.S. and Europe for launching satellites, including Mojave Air and Space Port in California and the U.K.’s Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay.

** An update on the Southern Launch commercial spaceport facility on the southern coast of Australia: Southern Launch prepares for lift off In South Australia – Spacedaily.com

Historically, launch sites have been constructed closer to the equator to support large satellites launches into equatorial orbit. However, direct launch to polar orbit is achieved most efficiently from launch sites nearer the poles, which have minimal interference from aviation and maritime traffic.

Southern Launch, founded in 2017, is developing a multi-user launch complex at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, offering a turn-key launch service solution to polar and sun-synchronous orbit.

In addition to providing the complete launch infrastructure, Southern Launch has the ability to undertake flight and range safety, vehicle design, avionics componentry and assist with launch permitting and other support services. The year-round temperate weather coupled with the highly skilled local workforce and a robust logistics supply network enables a launch site that offers high cadence launch operations at cost competitive prices.

The growing global demand for launch services and a world class launch location has attracted several early investors, with Southern Launch running an oversubscribed seed funding round at the end of 2019 with a larger Series A round to be finalised in coming months.

The first orbital rocket launch from the facility is expected in 2021.

For more details about the project, see Frequently Asked Questions — Southern Launch.

** Astra heading to Kodiak Island, Alaska for another attempt at an orbital launch

** Study provides the latest on space elevator technologies and prospects:

From the abstract:

A new paradigm has emerged:

      • space elevators can be accomplished because we now have a material
      • space elevators enable interplanetary missions
      • fast transit to Mars (as short as 61 days, with variations out to 400+)
      • can release towards Mars EVERY day (no 26 month wait)o Can move massive amounts of cargo (180,000 MTs/year to GEO-beyond)
      • space Elevators are Earth friendly
      • space solar power replaces 100s of coal power plants
      • no rocket exhaust to contribute to global warming
      • no additional space debris
      • opens up remarkable commercial enterprises at Earth Port, GEO Region +
      • offer to all future scientists: any size science experiment, any solar system destination, releases every day towards multiple scientific destinations

** Briefs:

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Check out the
The Lurio Report
for news and analysis of key developments in NewSpace

The latest issue:
Riding a Dragon, Rockets Rising, Space Resource Policy
Vol. 15, No. 4, June 14, 2020

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

==================

** SpaceX:

** NASA targets August 1st for departure of the SpaceX Crew Dragon from the ISS on August 1st. The Endeavour Dragon spacecraft will bring back astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to a splashdown in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida on August 2nd.

** The McGregor, Texas test facility is always busy:

**** Starship

SpaceX has carried out cryogenic pressure testing the propellant tanks of the Starship SN5 prototype currently mounted on a launch fixture at Boca Chica. If the subsequent fueling and engine tests go well, then a hop of about 150 meters will come soon after:

SN5 is using a less advanced steel alloy than what is planned for operational vehicles. The SN8 prototype currently in construction is believed to be using the alloy labeled 304L –  SpaceX begins building upgraded Starship prototype – Teslarati. However, Elon says the formulation of the final alloy for the Starships may not follow the standard recipe for 304L:

**** Latest videos from Boca Chica:

****** Exclusive! Space X Launch Site Flyover 07/20!RGV Aerial Photography

****** July 15: SpaceX Boca Chica – Nosecone Progress – High Bay Grows – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

New Starship parts are lining up at the build site including new ring stacks and the completed nosecone section. The high bay continues to grow at a rapid pace, and SN5 continues to be worked on ahead of engine testing. As a special bonus: 3 entire minutes of scrapping footage at the end for your enjoyment. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)

****** July 16: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN5 waits, expansion continues, fin washing – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While Starship SN5 continues to wait for its Static Fire test (still at least a few days away) and soon-to-follow Hop, the expansion of Spaceport Boca Chica continues and future Starships get in line. Video includes fin power washing! Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer).

** July 21: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN8 Common Dome Spotted – SN5 Fueling Test – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

The Common Dome for Starship SN8 has been spotted, clearly labeled as such. SN5 underwent a fueling test, the results of which are unknown, the next level of High Bay sections has started to go up, and yet another new nosecone has been spotted inside Tent 3. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

****** July.21: SpaceX Boca Chica – High Bay Grows as Robots and Raptor arrive – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While Spaceship SN5 remains in preparations for a Static Fire test, numerous new arrivals were spotted, from welding robots to a new Raptor engine, all while the High Bay continues to grow. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

**** Webcast reports on Starship and other rockets:

**** July 19: SpaceX Boca Chica Weekly Update – Starship fabrication continues at speed as high bay takes shapeNASASpaceflight – YouTube

NSF’s second weekly update video showing the highlights of work ongoing at SpaceX Boca Chica as Starship SN5 prepares to enter a week of testing. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal), Nomadd and Jack Beyer. Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)

**** July 18: SpaceX Starship SN5 150m flight countdown, Starlink Beta, Minotaur IV Launch and Skylab AnniversaryMarcus House

Many topics this week including a SpaceX Starship SN5 150m flight countdown update, Starlink Beta, the Minotaur IV Launch, and the 41st Skylab Anniversary. The Starship prototype Serial Number 5 still awaits that 150-meter flight test but getting very close now. Some news on the Starlink terminals and information on the roll-out of the private beta beginning this summer with a public beta to follow. We had the super-rapid Minotaur launch just the other day, look at that go, and we’re going to talk a little about Skylab that 41 years ago made its undignified return to earth into parts of the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.

**** July 21: SpaceX Starship Updates – Solar Orbiter: Close To The InfernoWhat about it!?

The Common Dome for Starship SN8 has been spotted, clearly labeled as such. SN5 underwent a fueling test, the results of which are unknown, the next level of High Bay sections has started to go up, and yet another new nosecone has been spotted inside Tent 3. Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

**** July 17: SpaceX Starship Updates – Boca Chica Developing Faster & Faster!What about it!?

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=== Space Art from C. Sergent Lindsey ===

Sweatshirt imprinted with “SpaceX Delivers the Goods” by C Sergent Lindsey. Available at Fine Art America.