Tag: spaceflight

Data from Perseverance suggests the delta in Jezero Crater was formed by a wide variety of different “fluvial” events

9:43 am

Jezero Crater delta
Jezero Crater delta

Using data from the Perseverance rover in Jezero crater, scientists now conclude that the delta that poured through a gap in the crater’s rim was formed by a wide variety of different “fluvial” events, not a steady flow as previously assumed.

From the paper’s conclusions:

The origin of this variability as well as that of the high discharge represented by the boulder conglomerate is still unknown. Realistic hypotheses include seasonal variations due to melting of snow, glacial input with possible episodic surges punctuating more regular fluvial input, or arid climate type of flows with intense storms and related flash floods.

We do not speculate further about the nature of fluvial activity in this study. However, the variability and the presence of high discharge rates have important implications on the lake evolution. Firstly, previous modeling of Jezero delta formation used steady-state discharge rates to estimate the time required to form the delta, an assumption that we can no longer justify according to our observations. Secondly, estimates of discharge rates … may be used as upper limits for some of the peak discharge rates, although the number of flood events is still difficult to determine from the sparse outcrops and the ubiquitous presence of scree.

In other words, the delta was not formed by a single event or a long stream of liquid flowing into the crater to form the lake that scientists believe once filled the crater. Instead, that flow varied, involved numerous distinct and different events over time, and likely included glacial ice transport as well.

Not that this is a surprise, but as always, the closer we get to a planet and the more detailed our data about it, the more complicated we find its nature and origins.

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Members of Texas Space Commission unveiled

9:27 am

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, yesterday revealed the names of the 18 individuals who will head the Texas Space Commission, created by the legislature to encourage the development of that state’s commercial space industry.

The Texas Space Commission will be tasked with developing a statewide strategy that promotes innovation, creates incentives (including grant funding) and develops workforce training. They initially have $350 million to work with, $150 million budgeted for grants and $200 million for a new research and training facility built by the Texas A&M University System.

The Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, which is part of the Texas Space Commission, will identify research and development opportunities and find ways to further integrate space into the Texas economy.

The commission appears strongly made up of representatives from many commercial companies, including the big companies SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing as well as a number of newer smaller companies. Linked as it is so closely with the state government, this commission will be well placed to eliminate any obstacles within the state to commercial development.

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The spiraling magnetic field surrounding the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole

9:19 am

The magnetic field lines surrounding Sagittarius A*
Click for original image.

Astronomers have now produced the first detailed image of polarized light surrounding the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, dubbed Sagittarius A* (pronounced “Sagittarius A-star”) which in turn maps out the spiraling field lines of that black hole’s magnetic field.

The image to the right, reduced to post here, shows that image. From the press release:

“What we’re seeing now is that there are strong, twisted, and organized magnetic fields near the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy,” said Sara Issaoun, CfA NASA Hubble Fellowship Program Einstein Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) astrophysicist, and co-lead of the project. “Along with Sgr A* having a strikingly similar polarization structure to that seen in the much larger and more powerful M87* black hole, we’ve learned that strong and ordered magnetic fields are critical to how black holes interact with the gas and matter around them.”

Light is an oscillating, or moving, electromagnetic wave that allows us to see objects. Sometimes, light oscillates in a preferred orientation, and we call it “polarized.” Although polarized light surrounds us, to human eyes it is indistinguishable from “normal” light. In the plasma around these black holes, particles whirling around magnetic field lines impart a polarization pattern perpendicular to the field. This allows astronomers to see in increasingly vivid detail what’s happening in black hole regions and map their magnetic field lines.

Despite this similarlity, it still remains a mystery why the much larger M87 black hole is very active while Sagittarius A’ remains generally quiet.

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Engineers resolve issue on IXPE space telescope

9:01 am

Engineers have resolved the issue on the IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) space telescope that was jumbling the data it was sending to Earth, and expect to return it to full science operations shortly.

On March 26, using procedures developed following that previous interruption, the team initiated a spacecraft avionics reset to address the issue, which put IXPE into a planned safe mode. The team has confirmed that IXPE is once again transmitting valid telemetry data and is now working to resume science operations, in as rapid and safe a manner as possible. The spacecraft is in good health.

The “previous interruption” was in 2023. In both cases it appears that simply rebooting the telescope’s software fixed the problem.

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China’s Long March 6 rocket launches remote sensing satellite

8:51 am

China yesterday successfully launched a classified remote sensing satellite, its Long March 6 rocket lifting off from its Taiyuan spaceport in the northeast of China.

No word on where the rocket’s four solid-fueled strap-on boosters and liquid-fueld core stage crashed inside China.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

30 SpaceX
13 China
4 Rocket Lab
4 Russia

American private enterprise still leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 35 to 23, while SpaceX still leads the entire world, including American companies, 30 to 28.

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Bursting bubbles of water gas on Mars

12:41 pm

Bursting bubbles on Mars
Click for original image.

Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and enhanced to post here, was taken on January 12, 2024 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Because of a technical issue that leaves a blank strip down the center of recent high-res MRO images, I have filled in that gap using a MRO context camera photo taken on January 12, 2015. The resolution is much less, but by doing so we can see the ground features as a unit.

What are we looking at? According to the scientists, this picture shows “fresh-looking ruptures,” referring to the broken line of sharp tears inside that meandering canyon that almost resemble a fresh wound in flesh. As this location is at 28 degrees south latitude, it lies on the edge of dry equatorial regions, where orbital images have sometimes found hints of a few remaining buried glaciers that are much more common closer to the poles.

In this case it appears the warmer equatorial climate has acted to heat up the buried ice so that it sublimated into gas. At some point the gas pressure caused the surface to burst, much like bubbles bursting on the surface of a pot of simmering tomato sauce, leaving behind these scars.
» Read more

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Report: 3D printing in space

10:44 am

A new report released today [pdf] from the space think tank Intro-act provides a nice detailed summary of the economic and technological state of 3D printing industry in space.

The report first outlines the types of 3D printing presently available, using plastics and metals, and then outlines the advantages of printing things in orbit rather than carrying them up from Earth. Essentially, 3D printers are the real version of replicators seen in sci-fi movies, except that reality requires much more complexity, including a whole range of different machines designed for specific materials and final products.

The report lists four companies of note:

Made in Space (acquired by Redwire Corp.), Relativity Space, and AI SpaceFactory are the leading companies in the 3-D printing segment. With the addition of Vaya Space, the list provides a more comprehensive overview of the companies that are pioneering the use of 3-D printing technology in the realm of space exploration and development, showcasing the diverse applications and innovative strategies being employed in this exciting field.

Each company appears to have a different focus. Redwire is developing 3D printers for use on ISS, Relativity developing 3D printers for building rocket components, and AI Spacefactory developing 3D printed space colonies for Mars or the Moon.

If I had to choose which company to bet on, my pick would be Relativity followed by Redwire. The former’s large 3D printing technology for rockets can be very easily shifted to other uses and products, giving it a product of great value far beyond space. Redwire meanwhile has already launched and operated printers on ISS, proving it can provide that technology to future space stations.

This industry is however in its infancy. As the private space stations presently under construction launch, their need for this technology will skyrocket, and thus there will be opportunities galore.

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Orbital tug startup ExLabs plans mission to asteroid Apophis in 2028

9:03 am

The orbital tug startup Exploration Labs (ExLabs) has announced it is planning to use its tug to deliver three cubesats on a rendezvous mission to asteroid Apophis in 2028, shortly before the asteroid does a close fly-by of Earth in April 2029.

The article at the link provides no other information about this mission. In searching the web I was unable to find anything further. It seems this mission is at present nothing more than a proposal, issued at this time mostly for public relations purposes to showcase the abilities of its proposed orbital tug, presently under development.

This conclusion does not mean the mission won’t happen, only that it is very far from a reality.

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Intuitive Machines: Odysseus is dead

8:53 am

In a tweet on March 23, 2024 the company Intuitive Machines announced that the mission of its first lunar lander, Odysseus, is officially over with the spacecraft failing to come back to life after sunrise on the Moon.

As of March 23rd at 1030 A.M. Central Standard Time, flight controllers decided their projections were correct, and Odie’s power system would not complete another call home.

The engineers had begun listening for a signal on March 20th, when their computer models said enough sunlight would reach the solar panels to charge its communications system.

The failure of the lander to survive the lunar night is a disappointment, but it was never considered a strong possibility. Right now the company’s main task is to prevent the issues that caused Odysseus to land too fast and tip over, so that the next two missions, scheduled for either this year or next, each deliver their payloads properly on the Moon’s surface.

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SpaceX launches 23 more Starlink satellites

10:02 pm

The beat goes on and on and on and… SpaceX today successfully launched another 23 Starlink satellites, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Caneveral.

The first stage completed its eighth flight, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

30 SpaceX
12 China
4 Rocket Lab
4 Russia

American private enterprise now leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 35 to 22, while SpaceX now leads the entire world, including American companies, 30 to 27.

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France to award four rocket startups launch contracts worth as much as 400 million euros

11:41 am

Capitalism in space: According to a story today at the European Spaceflight website, the French government will later this week announce contract awards to four different rocket startups worth as much as 400 million euros.

The four launch startups that will receive a combined €400 million in subsidies are HyPrSpace, Latitude, Sirius Space Services, and the ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace.

The HyPrSpace OB-1 and Latitude Zephyr rockets will be the smallest of the lot and will be capable of delivering between 100 and 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The Sirius 1, Sirius 13, and Sirius 15 rockets will be capable of delivering between 175 and 1,100 kilograms to orbit. The Prometheus-powered Maia rocket is expected to be the most powerful, with a payload capacity of up to three tonnes when launched in its expendable configuration.

All four companies however will only receive a small upfront payment, with the bulk of the award only paid if a company achieves a maiden launch by 2028.

That the French government is now signing deals with new private and independent launch companies and not with Arianespace, the commercial arm of the European Space Agency (ESA) that has always been dominated by the French, is a major development. Up until now most of the action encouraging independent rocket companies has come from Germany and Spain. That France has now joined the party signals the almost certain death knell to the failed two decade-long effort by Arianespace to make a profit, even when it controlled about 50% of the launch market.

Expect the government monopoly of Arianespace to fade away in the next five years. Expect it to be replaced with a thriving industry of mulitple rocket companies, all charging less and coming up with new ways to lower cost.

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South Texas booming due to arrival of SpaceX

11:29 am

Link here. The article details the major tourism and industry dollars that have come into existence in the Brownsville region since SpaceX established its Boca Chica launch facility, including major development now underway to cater to the tourist business of travelers eager to get a close look at a Starship/Superheavy launch.

The article gives a sense of the reality on the ground. While the anti-Musk activist groups sue SpaceX in their attempt to shut down Starship/Superheavy development, claiming it is harming the region, stories like this put the lie to those claims.

Hat tip to Robert Pratt of Pratt on Texas.

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