CNN reports 2022 “promises to be yet another year solidifying the private sector’s grip on modern space travel.” SpaceX is planning “to put its colossal 400-foot-tall Starship rocket – intended to eventually reach Mars – into Earth’s orbit for the first time.” The article also mentions concerns over the overcrowding of space with debris and satellites.
More Info (CNN)
Tag: Astronautical engineering
H-2A Rocket Launches into Orbit with Inmarsat-6 F1 Satellite
Space News reports that the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H-2A rocket “lifted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 10:32 a.m. Eastern and deployed the nearly 5,500-kilogram Inmarsat-6 F1 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit about 26 minutes later. A little over two hours later, London-based Inmarsat tweeted that it had acquired initial telemetry from the satellite.” The Inmarsat-6 F1 is “Inmarsat’s first dual-band telecommunications satellite.” It will “need about 200 days to climb to its geostationary slot above the Indian Ocean.”
Full Story (Space News)
Starship Could Get Humans to the Moon
The Guardian (UK) reports that SpaceX’s Starship is to conduct its first orbital test launch next month. Starship “is seen by many as a pathway back to the moon for the first time in half a century and maybe the first vehicle to eventually land humans on Mars.”
Full Story (The Guardian)
ULA Launches Nuclear Blast Detection, NASA Laser Communication Payloads
Spaceflight Now reports that after a delay due to high winds, ULA successfully launched an Atlas 5 rocket carrying the STP-3 mission Tuesday morning. WESH-TV Orlando, FL reports that the main spacecraft “houses an experiment designed to more accurately detect nuclear detonations on Earth,” and will also deploy “two satellites with new technology that have never been deployed to space before.” The second experiment is “for NASA to study and refine the process that uses lasers instead of radio waves to transmit data.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now) More Info (WESH-TV)
Hubble Wide Field Camera to Resume Operations Tuesday
SPACE reports that NASA officials announced Monday that the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) was reactivated on Sunday. The WFC3 “is scheduled to resume science observations on Tuesday.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Bechtel’s Michael Costas Expresses Optimism for Building Large-Scale Structures in Space
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Episode of ASCEND’s “Fast Forward” Features Bechtel’s Defense and Space Executive
November 1, 2021 – Reston, Va. – ASCEND, the interdisciplinary community on the planet dedicated to building humanity’s off-world future faster, launched a new episode of “Fast Forward – Focus on Off-World Infrastructure” featuring Michael Costas, General Manager of Defense and Space for Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security & Environmental business. Costas discusses how the acceleration of the commercial space market is opening up the need for physical structures on orbit, on the moon, and then on to Mars. He notes the structures must sustain human life, enable research, and facilitate exploration.
“Fast Forward” is an original on-demand interview series featuring champions of industries pursuing large-scale growth in space. Hosted by ASCEND’s resident futurists, Devin Liddell of Teague, and Kara Cunzeman of The Aerospace Corporation, the discussion uses common language about our off-world future and what it means for everyone on Earth. Powered by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), ASCEND was launched in 2020 to Accelerate Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery.
In the new episode, Costas shares his outlook on building structures in space that enable human missions to expand the space economy. “The increased involvement of commercialization in human space flight and the opportunity for further exploration is exciting both from the standpoint of the possibilities that it brings, but also in the impact that it can have for humanity,” said Costas. “Since 1961, Bechtel has supported the space market and continues today to support its customers with a lean-forward approach.” Costas shares more ideas in his article on the ASCEND blog, “10 Reasons Infrastructure is the Next Big Growth Sector in Space.”
The next episode of “Fast Forward” will feature ASCEND telecommunications champion Brian Barritt, Engineering Manager, Meta Connectivity (formerly Facebook).
Hear more about large-scale growth in space at 2021 ASCEND, set for 8–10 and 15–17 November, showcasing a hybrid blend of in-person programming in Las Vegas (Caesars Forum) and Washington, D.C., and online programming on all six days. ASCEND is an event open to everyone who loves space. The public is invited to register now at the best rates. The full agenda and confirmed speakers are available at ascend.events.
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Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND promotes the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future! For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
NASA Debates Whether to Fix Lucy’s Jammed Solar Panel
The AP reports that NASA “is debating whether to try to fix a jammed solar panel on its newly launched Lucy spacecraft, en route to explore an unprecedented number of asteroids.” The problem “has not affected Lucy’s outbound flight” thus far.
Full Story (Associated Press)