Tag: quick space links

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Airbus wins contract to build 100 OneWeb satellites
  These 2nd generation satellites are to maintain the constellation presently in orbit.

• On this day in 1903 the Wright Brothers completed the first heavier-than-air powered manned flight

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• After its spectrum approval was withdrawn by Liechtenstein, satellite company Rivada searches for another national regulatory body to give its approval
  It is unclear why Liechtenstein withdrew its license for this 600 satellite constellation. The company has since applied in Germany.

• Chinese researchers publish paper on using simulated lunar soil to test construction techniques

• ULA touts its Vulcan upper stage as a military “space interceptor”
  It is really unclear how this would work.

• Today in 1965 Pioneer 6 was launched, the first of a four-satellite constellation to study the solar wind
  The satellites discovered that the solar wind is made up of a fast and slow wind, and that the solar cycle correlated with the rise and fall of cosmic radiation entering the solar system.

• On this day in 1965 Gemini-6 astronauts suddenly reported seeing an unidentified “satellite going from north to south, probably in a polar orbit”
  They then began playing “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica and bell set, indicating the “satellite” involved a sled and reindeer.

On this day in 1984 the Soviet Union launched Vega-1
The spacecraft not only flew past Venus on its way to flying past Halley’s Comet, it also put a lander on Venus and a French balloon in its atmosphere.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• FAA is considering creating an online electronic process for applying for launch licenses
  This is pap. Stupid government bureaucrats always wave the newest technology like a bright object as if that changes anything. It doesn’t. What will change things will be to throw out the bad regulations that don’t really follow the law, and demand that stupid government bureaucrats stop getting in the way — or go find another job.

• On this day in 1998, Mars Climate Orbiter was launched on a Delta-2 rocket
  The mission was a failure, missing its orbital insertion point because one set of engineers used metric and another English measurements, and didn’t talk to each other.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Vast touts completion of the primary structure of its Haven-1 module, still targeting a 2025 launch
  Next on the list is “painting, window, and hatch integration,” then pressure and load testing.

• Spanish rocket startup PLD touts the on-going work on its Miura-5 orbital rocket
  The company is targeting a 2025 launch date.

• Chinese pseudo-company CosmoLeap touts the on-going development of its “Leap-1” “chopstick” reusable liquid rocket
  It is very dangerous building things like this by watching youtube videos of SpaceX Starship/Superheavy launches. Some very important details will not be evident.

• Video of Tiangong-3 astronauts adding protective layers to the front and back of station’s hatches
  The shields are obvious designed to lower the risk of impact to the hatch while it is open during spacewalks. Damage at that time might prevent the astronauts from getting back inside.

• On this day in 1972 Apollo 17 landed on the Moon
  Fifty-two years later it remains the last time humans walked on another planet.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Sierra Space in partnership with NVIDIA now using neural network software to predicting location of orbital junk

• Chinese pseudo-company Space Epoch successfully completes 20-second static fire test of its stainless steel Yuanxingzhe-1 rocket
  It uses methane-fuel engines, and intends to land the first stage vertically after launch.

• China’s Long March 5B to launch the first 10 satellites in the Chinese SatNet megaconstellation
  According to tweet, the core stage will not reach orbit, which means it will drop into the ocean instead of crashing uncontrolled somewhere else on Earth.

• Vast touts video showing the shield design it is using on its Haven-1 space module
  The video shows a test where the shield blocked 6mm projectile moving at 6.5 kilometers per second.

• India’s Navy and space agency ISRO conduct rehearsal for recovering manned Gaganyaan capsule from the ocean

• On this day in 1999 Europe’s XMM space telescope was launched
  The article outlines some of the space telescope’s discoveries in the past 25 years.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

As Jay noted to me in his email, not much news today. I have been working on a long essay outlining my recommendations for NASA and Jared Isaacman, should he cancel SLS and Orion as I expect he will. Hopefully it will be finished by tomorrow. I might post it here, or see if some other venue might be interested.

• Blue Origin’s CEO touts its prep work on New Glenn on the launchpad
  Blue Origin also sent out an email today saying the Blue Ring demo payload for the launch is also ready. Yet, the key quote from the tweet above was this:: “While we wait for regulatory approvals for hotfire and launch…” Why the hell is the FAA holding up this launch? For what reason? Or is it simply that the agency wants to be an equal opportunity red tape destroyer of everyone?

• Redwire to acquire military satellite builder Hera Systems
  Redwire is also partnering with Vast in building its privately funded Haven-1 space station.

• An uncontrolled Soyuz-2 upper stage weighing 3 to 4 tons missed China’s Tiangong-3 space station by about one mile yesterday
  Jay says there will be another close encounter in two days.

• China touts the first operational use of a magnetic anode Hall thruster on one of its recently launched satellites

• This week in 1972 an Apollo 17 astronaut took what would be the only color photograph of a full Earth available for decades
  There were many Apollo color pictures of Earth, but always with the Earth either waning or waxing. The timing of Apollo 17 took place when the Earth was full. It wasn’t until decades later that other probes or satellites looked back at Earth from a sufficient distance to see the full globe.

• On this day in 1978 Pioneer Venus-2 dropped four probes into the atmosphere of Venus
  Two probes survived long enough to impact the ground, with one transmitting data afterward for more than an hour.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Telesat and MDA Space complete the preliminary design review of satellite for Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation
  MDA has a contract to build 198.

• PSLV launch today delayed one day due to issue with payload
  The payload is a European solar observation satellite. Engineers detected an issue with the propulsion system on the chronograph.

• China touts the launch capacity of its two new launchpads at its coastal Wenchang spaceport
  According to the report, both combined can launch 32 times per year.

• Op-ed advocating greater independence from Air Force for Space Force
  As always, government agencies grow beyond their original purpose.

• On this day in 1973 Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter
  Why the tweet uses an artist’s rendition when actual images exist baffles me.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Sierra Space touts final testing of its first Shooting Star cargo capsule, set to launch on Tenacity, its first Dream Chaser reusable mini-shuttle
  The first launch is years behind schedule. The company notes however that the next two Shooting Star capsules are now under construction. All will bring cargo up to orbit but then be disposed of when its Dream Chaser returns.

• Scientists claim, with only a little data, that Venus was always too dry to support life
  The result is interesting, but if you take this seriously I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you real cheap.

• Scientists create map of known gravitational waves
  This result, like the one just above, is about as certain and solid as liquid water, which is why neither was a full post on Behind the Black. The mainstream press might go ga-ga over both, but neither is very significant.

• Burst water pipe will prevent scientists from accessing data from Solar Dynamics Observatory for “an extended length of time”
  The data is still being downloaded and archived, so nothing is expected to be lost.

• European Space Agency (ESA) puts out a call for a study to explore the development of a reusable super heavy-lift rocket
  Another non-story that didn’t deserve more than a quick link. Note the lack of urgency. This is “call” for a “study” to “explore” the “options” for development. Hell will freeze over before ESA starts construction.

• The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) that acts as a political lobbyist for the commercial space industry announces a major restructuring
  Maybe this change will make it possible for this generally ineffective organization to finally pack some clout in DC.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Australian rocket startup Gilmour delays first launch of its Eris Rocket to mid-January
  The delay appears mostly to avoid conflict with the Christmas holidays. The launch will be from Gilmour’s own Bowen spaceport on the east coast of Australia.

• South Korea reports a sea launch platform from an unnamed “satellite launch startup” ran aground due heavy weather
  The picture suggests this ship was far too small to launch anything orbital. I suspect it was instead used for communications support during launches.

• ABL replaces its CEO in its new focus on missile defense
  One co-founder has stepped down, while the other has now taken charge.

• Vast touts its ongoing work on its Haven-1 space station module
  The company is building it in-house, and is targeting ’26 for a launch and manned mission.

• Rocket Lab touts on-going testing of the second stage of its new Neutron rocket
  The company continues to target ’25 for the first launch.

• Pdf of Chinese science paper outlining decision process to pick landing site for its Mars sample return mission
  No decisions apparently have yet been made, other than the landing will be somewhere between 17 to 30 degrees north latitude, with all but one of the candidate sites in the northern lowland plains.

• On this day in 1969, the Soviet Union accidentally crashed a spacecraft in China, at a time the two nations were not talking to each other
  The spacecraft was part of a program to test upper stages for future lunar missions, but few details are really known about the whole project.

• On this day in 1961 the chimpanzee Enos became the first chimp to orbit the Earth, launched on a Mercury-Atlas-5 rocket

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• ULA’s CEO says they are right now modifying the nozzle design on the Vulcan solid-fueled strap-ons
  He also says the changes will be ready for next launch.

• ULA’s CEO says that the number of BE-4 engines on hand is 3X what others claimed yesterday
  Based on his claim, ULA has enough BE-4 engines now for 12 Vulcan launches next year.

• December 3, 2024 Vega-C launch delayed again
  No new launch date announced. The reason for the new delay was not given, other than a vague statement that “preliminary checks” have to be done.

• On this day in 2018 InSight touched down on Mars
  Though the mission was able to do the first seismology on Mars, overall it was a troubled mission. It was delayed years because the first seismometer, built by France, didn’t work and had to be replaced, and then the second science instrument, a German-built drill designed to drill down five meters, failed to work on Mars.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• ULA confirms it has the engines in house for flights 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Vulcan Centaur
  What this means is that Blue Origin is finally figuring out how to produce BE-4 engines on an assembly line basis. Not only does this bode well for Vulcan launches, it bodes well for Blue Origin’s own New Glenn rocket.

• Asteroid that was a temporary moon of the Earth might have come from the Moon itself
  Its solar orbit allows it to loop around the Earth periodically, but then escape back into its solar orbit. This time it was captured by the Earth for 57 days.

• Progress hatch now open and cargo unloading is proceeding as planned
  The Russians think the “toxic smell” first detected when the hatch was first opened came not from this freighter but from the docking port itself. No further details however have been released.

• Russian government approves sale by Roscosmos of older hardware lacking historical value
  This allows Roscosmos to earn quick cash by selling off things like older Soyuz capsules sitting unused in warehouses.

• Chinese pseudo-company Space Pioneer is reported to have resumed static fire tests of the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket
  In June during a previous test the stage broke free from its mounts and launched itself.

• Missouri senator touts his effort to reform the space regulatory framework
  Lots of blather, but little substance. The bottom line remains that the administrative state has too much power, and the bills this guy helped pass did little to change that.

• Blue Origin has lowered New Glenn at the launchpad from vertical to horizontal
  It did so without doing any static fire tests. Either there is an issue that is delaying things again, or the company is still proceeding in its normal leisurely pace that gets nothing done now if it can be done months hence.

• On this day in 2011 Curiosity was launched in a ULA Atlas-5 rocket

• On this day in 1958 NASA chose the name “Mercury” for its first manned space program
  This was before there was any plan to send astronauts to the Moon, so the Gemini and Apollo programs did not yet exist. Mercury was the entire American manned program.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Gravitics webpage touts the modules it is building for Axiom’s space station
  No new news, just a link to the company’s webpage.

• Landspace touts upgrades it is planning for its Zhuque-3 rocket
  It hopes to do the first three launches in 2025 using the older version, and then upgrade. A comparison of its Zhuque-2 and Zhuque-3 rockets can be viewed here. Zhuque-2 has launched three times successfully, though nothing in the past year. Zhuque-3 will attempt to reuse its first stage.

• Mockup of China’s Lanyue manned lunar lander
  China hopes to use it to send astronauts to the Moon in 2030.

• News article describing India’s planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)
  Nothing new, but provides a good short summary of the overall project.

• European government apparatchiks and officials from Europe’s big space companies whine about Trump
  The article describes the comments made during a panel made up of mostly such officials. Their general solution: “Give us more money!” Few said anything about energizing a competitive and free private industry.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Blue Origin’s CEO touts an image of New Glenn’s two upper stage engines, just prior to intergration with the stage
  The imagery once again suggests the company is finally getting close to launch, but also suggests it is still taking its time doing so.

• Scientists detect what they think is sulfur in an exoplanet atmosphere, and immediately suggest this might mean volcanoes on the planet
  A lot of maybes making any conclusion so uncertain as to be science fiction.

• Coast Guard issues a “Notice to Mariners” for Starship’s 6th test flight on November 18, 2024
  All signs point to this launch happening, as planned, and only a month after the last test, proving once again that all previous delays were largely the fault of FAA red tape.

• Video of a static fire test of Raptor-3 engine suggests something not quite right occurred shortly after ignition
  The test was at SpaceX’s MacGregor engine test facility.

• Chinese pseudo-company Galactic Energy hints it will use electromagnetic catapult as part of a future launch system
  The proof is in the pudding, but if this pseudo-company does this it will a rare original achievement from China, not a copycat idea.

• Assembly of NASA’s next big telescope boondoggle, the Roman Space Telescope, is about to begin
  Project officials claim it is on schedule and on budget, but that claim is based on a revised budget and schedule after things went overbudget and behind schedule during the COVID panic,

• On this day in 1980 Voyager-1 made its closest approach of Saturn
  The distance was 78,290 miles.

• On this day in 2014 the Philae lander of Europe’s Rosetta probe touched down on Comet 67P/C-G
  This link provides a nine-minute video outlining the mission highlights.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

Some of these stories would have normally gotten a full post. I post them now for completeness.

• NASA extends ISS cargo contracts through 2030
  The companies involved are SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, and Sierra Space.

• Smithsonian discovers the many Juno images processed by citizen scientists
  Some great stuff, similar to the many Juno images I’ve posted here for years.

• Brazil and China negotiating a deal to allow a Chinese satellite pseudo-company to work in Brazil
  No deal has yet been signed.

• A look at Russia’s new proposal to build a copycat SpaceX Grasshopper
  As I noted last week, this project is hardly to be taken seriously, as are all new Russian space projects. Almost none are ever built or flown.

• Graphic of the propulsion system planned (key word) for Russia’s Orel next-generation capsule
  It might fly, but it is years behind schedule.

• Next Ariane-6 launch delayed from December to February 2025
  The press release hides the real reason: the upper stage on the first flight failed to complete its mission, failing to fire for a controlled re-entry.

• Animation of the proposed cargo capsule from a Chinese pseudo-company
  The capsule is a copycat revision of either Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser or Boeing’s X-37B.

• Chinese pseudo-company Landspace claims a launch cost for its Zhuque-2 and Zhuque-3 rockets will be less than RMB50k/kg and 30k/kg (about $7k/kg & $4k/kg)
  Jay: “Falcon-9 is still cheaper at $3k/kg and Falcon heavy is below $2k/kg.”

• Several powerpoint slides describing China’s Chang’e-8 mission to the Moon
  The slides are not translated, and provide a limited amount of information.

• On this day in 1981 the space shuttle Columbia was launched on its second flight

• On this day in 1966 Buzz Aldrin during the last Gemini manned mission took a picture of himself and Earth behind, telling everyone to smile as he did so.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

My posting continues to be light for numerous reasons. Though all is generally well, the present condition of my eyes sometimes makes reading and writing difficult. Today was a particularly bad day, the double vision and blind spot making if very hard to see the words I put on the screen. Sorry.

Note too that next week posting will also be light, because I have relatives visiting from Israel and I am taking them to see the Grand Canyon for their first time. I might be able to post, but can make no guarantees.

My apologizes to my loyal readers for all this. but sometimes life gets in the way.

• New theories suggest fast radio bursts come from high mass galaxies with a lot of star forming regions
  The data however remains sparse, so these conclusions can only be viewed as tentative.

• Rough outline of China’s proposed Tianwen-4 mission to Jupiter and its moon Callisto
  The mission also will also release a separate probe to fly past Uranus in 2045.

• Chinese pseudo-company Deep Blue touts development status of its Nebula-1 rocket
  It hopes to begin vertical hops of the prototype soon.

• Maxar orbital image of China’s X-37B copy
  A clearer example of the image is available here. The data suggests it is an “exact” copy of X-37B.

• Russia says it is picking landing sites for doing flights of its version of SpaceX’s Grasshopper
  As noted sarcastically at the tweet, “The only things left to do is to build a launch pad, to develop a flight demonstrator, to do the “hop” tests and then to build a real rocket.”

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Blue Origin gets permit for its New Glenn launchpad deluge system at Cape Canaveral [pdf]
  The permit is effective through 2029. From Jay: “I hope it is not potable water! Oh the humanity!” I hate to tell him but it is potable water, according to the permit.

• Nice map showing who is launching where at Cape Canaveral [jpg]
  It is a screen capture taken from a NASASpaceflight.com forum.

• ISRO is proposing India’s own manned lunar space station
  Launch date 2040. I do not think this project has as yet been approved by the Indian government. I suspect that approval will largely depend on the launch success of India’s Earth-orbit station to be completed by 2030.

• NASA officials are today providing an update on Artemis program
  Expect news to show up by tomorrow.

• Fifteen years ago today the Cassini Saturn orbiter photographed the elongated shadow of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, on Saturn itself
  A really cool image.

Posting today will continue to be light. I am wearing bandaging on one wrist that makes typing very slow and extremely difficult. All will go back to normal tomorrow.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Is that a dent on China’s manned Shenzhou capsule, immediately after landing?
  If so it suggests the landing was harder than intended. I remain unsure however if that isn’t a normal indentation.

• SpaceX is congratulated for its 400th Falcon launch, taking cargo to ISS
  The tweet says the company is targeting 30 more launches this year.

• China to inaugurate flights of its Long March 10A in 2026, claiming it is for lunar landings and will have a reusable first stage
  Jays says it is a knock-off of New Glenn. I have great doubts it will fly by 2026.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Another Chinese pseudo-company proposes another copycat New Shepard suborbital tourist spacecraft
  There are a lot of these pseudo-companies popping up in China. Who knows how many are real.

• Cargo Dragon just launched will test using Draco thrusters to reboost ISS
  This test will change the station’s telemetry almost not at all, but its goal is to eventually find multiple options for replacing this task presently done by Russian Progresses.

• Twin ESA satellites arrive in India for intergration into PSLV rocket
  Launch is presentlhy scheduled for November 29, 2024.

• On this day in 2013 India launches its first interplanetary probe, the Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan
  It operated in Mars orbit for about eight years.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• China reveals another copycat rocket of SpaceX’s Superheavy/Starship
  This version is a government rocket called Long March 9. China has revised that design multiple times in the past, first to copy SLS, now to copy Starship/Superheavy.

• Video of return today of Shenzhou manned capsule, including ground-based footage showing the breakup of its service module

• Rocket Lab’s next launch is set now for tomorrow, 5:30 am Eastern
  Liftoff will be from New Zealand.

• On this day in 1957 the Soviet Union launched its second Sputnik satellite, carrying the dog Laika
  The dog died in orbit, as they had made no arrangements for bring it back alive.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Sierra Space claims it is in the final steps to getting its LIFE inflatable module approved by NASA
  This module will be about the only thing in the Orbital Reef station that is moving forward aggressively.

• Interview with NASA’s deputy manager supervising SpaceX’s contract for building the manned lunar lander based on Starship
  Essentially, he outlines why a fixed-price contract and letting the company run the show, makes things happen. It also appears his office is doing things right.

• NASA’s corrupt and useless safety panel scolds SpaceX for not being perfect
  This panel should have been disbanded years ago, when it claimed fueling the Falcon 9 with crew on board would be more dangerous. It is all politics, and it actually knows very little about modern rocketry.

• ULA’s Vulcan rocket wins 2024 Dr. Wernher von Braun spaceflight Trophy Award
  This is essentially a participation award for a big contractor in the Huntsville area.

• Chinese pseudo-company claims it will build a rocket which will land using its own chopstick tower, and do it by ’26 at the latest
  All they have right now is a short video animation essentially redrawing the actual Superheavy landing SpaceX did last month, plus about $14 million in funding.

• On this day in 1993 the space shuttle completed a two week mission, then the record for the longest shuttle flight

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Goldstone antenna touts its part in detecting Voyager-1’s signal, suddenly coming from a frequency not used in more than four decades
  Truly something to tout, as this is amazing engineering detective work.

• Next launch of Mitsubishi’s H3 rocket for JAXA is now scheduled for November 2, 2024
  The rocket will place a Japanese military communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit, the first time it has done so.

• The pseudo-commercial division of a Chinese space agency now aims to market itself to the international launch market
  The pseudo-company is CAS Space, and its rocket is Kinetica-1 (which has launched four times so far). It also has its not-yet-flown Kinetica-2 rocket.

  How it hopes to garner any business having any links to American aerospace technology I have no idea. There are many strict laws and State Department ITAR regulations prohibiting any American business from working in or with China.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Blue Origin rolls the first stage of the first New Glenn rocket to launchpad
  The upper stage still needs to be stacked. Also, a dress rehearsal countdown with static fire test needs to be done. Still no word on launch date, though it finally appears within sight.

• Chinese pseudo-company AZSpace plans first launch of its cargo capsule to Tiangong-3 in November
  It also has unveiled its own New Shepard copycat suborbital capsule. I will consider both real, when they fly.

• Thailand’s government approves signing Artemis Accords
  If this happens (it remains unconfirmed from NASA), Thailand would be the first nation to sign on to both Artemis and China’s lunar base project. I wonder if that will fly with the next president.

• Lockheed Martin completes acquisition of smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital
  The final acquisition price was $450 million. Lockheed has been a major investor of Terran since 2017, so the deal made sense in many ways.

• According to Russian officials, Europe has returned its ExoMars lander, minus European components
  ESA kicked Russia off the mission to land the Franklin rover on Mars when it invaded the Ukraine. That decision however delayed the rover’s launch now until 2028.

• Short video panning across what the tweet claims is the sharpest image yet taken of the Andromeda galaxy
  I think this is a Hubble image, but the tweet provides no information.

• Watch Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1) evaporate in its close approach to the Sun
  This is not Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which has provided a nice show for viewers, but a different comet that astronomers hoped would be even brighter. Instead, the Sun destroyed it.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• China narrows its choice for manned lunar rover to two
  Both are proposed by different agencies, with one to be selected for the actual mission

• China awards two space station cargo supply contracts to different pseudo-companies
  If successful, it will give the Chinese multiple options for getting cargo up to its station.

• Pentagon increases its budget for commercial satellite internet services 13-fold, to $13 billion
  The military has found it pays to buy such services from the private sector, rather than trying to build it itself.

• Another study posits another underground ocean, this time within the Uranus moon Miranda
  Based on a computer model, so take the claim as serious as you want.

• ISRO revises its proposed Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV)
  It has reduced the number of rocket configuations from four to three.

• On this day in 1998, John Glenn returned to space on the space shuttle Discovery
  For those who studied politics at the time, it seemed obvious that Glenn got this flight because he did such a good job acting as Bill Clinton’s attack dog in the Senate.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

This is late today because I was attending an event at the local Tucson rocket startup Phantom Space. More on that tomorrow.

• China touts the operation of its Quequiao-2 relay satellite orbiting the Moon
  The tweet says it has a planned lifespan of eight years.

• Chinese pseudo-company Ispace says it has completed its investigation into the launch failure of its Hyperbola-1 rocket
  No details were disclosed. The rocket has failed 4 times out of 7 launches.

• NASA official says that it has found the root cause to the Orion heat shield damage on Artemis-1
  According to the tweet, the official also declined to disclose that root cause.

• On this day in 2009 NASA completed a test suborbital launch of its Ares-1-X rocket
  Only one in a long list of non-achievements during the never-ending Ares/Constellation-SLS/Artemis program

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Chinese pseudo-company Deep Blue Aerospace will attempt a high altitude vertical hop test with a Nebula-1 first stage next month
  It hopes to do a much larger test of its Nebular-2 in ’26, but several observers note the rocket does not yet have landing legs.

• This is a laugh: China’s state security accuses western companies of stealing its technology.
  “It did not name any specific countries but claimed some had ‘carried out infiltration and stealing activities in China’s aerospace field’.” Since there is amply evidence of China stealing such technology, this claim is a bit absurd. Why should the West steal back the technology it already as and that China had stole from it.

• NASA delays decision of cutting budgets for both Chandra and Hubble
  No surprise, The announced cuts were originally announced to apply pressure on Congress to fund both telescopes. With the election upcoming the agency wants to get Congress on their side. Cutting these popular telescopes just before the election will not servie its insterets.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Pentagon’s Space Development Agency certifies 19 space companies to bid on development contracts
  The list covers almost every low orbit satellite and rocket company.

• Space News op-ed calls for new effort to defend against attacks on GPS
  It claims little has been done, but Jay disputes this: “We, the USA, have been researching and testing this for over fifteen years.” He notes that his own company has participated in installing systems for detecting and blocking attacks.

• Blue Origin proudly shows off first stage of first New Glenn rocket, its seven BE-4 engines finally installed
  Still no word on when the launch will occur.

• An animation showing the spread of debris in geosynchronous orbit from the breakup of Intelsat 33E satellite
  It appears the debris could threaten almost every satellite in geosynchronous orbit, though the odds of impact probably remain slim.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Chinese pseudo-company is accepting reservations for suborbital flights on its New Shepard copycat spacecraft
  They are targeting commercial tourist flights by 2027, with test flights beginning next year.

• Astra gets Defense Department contract worth $44 million to develop its Rocket-4 launch system
  It appears the Pentagon wants Astra to survive, and has given it this contract for that purpose.

• NASA unveils prototype of its proposed LISA orbiting gravitational-wave telescope
  LISA has been under development for almost two decades, has been delayed numerous times and now is not expected to launch until the 2030s. Great work if you can get it.

• NASA negotiating with China about research access to Chang’e-5 lunar samples
  The law requires NASA to bring in the FBI in such negotiations to make sure the talks will not release American technology to the Chinese. According to NASA’s administrator Bill Nelson, NASA has not yet done this, but intends to before any samples are delivered to the U.S. In other words, he is violating not only the letter but the spirit of the law, designed to keep China away from American space assets.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.

• Next American unmanned lunar mission is Firefly before end of year, landing in early ’25, with Intuitive Machines next attempt launching and landing at about the same time
  If both go off as promised the end of the year will be quite interesting.

• Intuitive Machines picks Cobalt-60 as fuel for new spacecraft electrical power source
  This appears to be the first time Cobalt-60 has ever been used. From Jay: “It is easy to make Co-60, just bombard iron with neutrons. It happens all the time at nuclear reactors when stray neutrons hit steel, but it has a short half life of five years. It puts outs beta decay, that is what they are using for heat, but the gamma rays it puts out worries me with the electronics. They probably licked that problem or else they would not do it.”

• Vast unveils a new website
  Nicely done. Simple and easy to navigate.

• Long March 2F and Shenzhou capsule now at launchpad for eighth manned mission to China’s Tiangong-3 space station
  The video provides a lot of visual shots of the rocket, the stacked spacecraft, and the launchpad. The grid fins on what I think is the rocket’s upper stage are most intriguing. That stage takes the capsule into orbit. Is China trying to bring it back to Earth for reuse?

• A picture of Laika, the first dog in space, launched November 3, 1957 on Sputnik 2
  The Soviets made no plans to bring her back to Earth, and so she died in space.