SPACE reports that NASA is looking “to develop a spacecraft capable of steering the International Space Station (ISS) to a controlled destruction in Earth’s atmosphere when its time in orbit is up.” The plans were revealed when NASA’s $27.2 billion allocation included $180 million “to initiate development of a new space tug” that could safely “deorbit the ISS over the open ocean after its operational life ends in 2030, as well as potentially perform other activities.” NASA’s human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders said the cost estimate was just under $1 billion and added, “Our goal is to go out with an RFP [request for proposals], and then, obviously, when we get the proposals, then we’re hoping to get a better price than that. But this gives us a healthy start in ‘24 to get that critical capability onboard.”airplanes.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Tag: Astronautical
AIAA Seeks Editor-in-Chief for the Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is seeking an outstanding candidate to assume the responsibilities of editor-in-chief for the Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series. The chosen candidate will assume the editorship at an exciting time as AIAA continues to expand its ability to support eBooks and other electronic content, along with publishing a range of titles in traditional print format. The next Editor-in-Chief will have an opportunity to create a lasting influence on championing emerging topics in the field into definitive publications that impact the aerospace profession. Applications are due by 14 April.
The Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics series is devoted to books that present a particular well-defined subject reflecting advances in the fields of aerospace science, engineering, and/or technology. In many cases, these are edited collections of papers with multiple chapter contributors.
Interested candidates can read more here on the application process. While the deadline to apply for full consideration is 30 April, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For more information, contact David Arthur, director, Publications Strategy and Acquisition.
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
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, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
NASA Sets Artemis II Launch for November 2024
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that NASA mission managers “said Tuesday they are targeting November 2024 for Artemis II, the mission to send four astronauts to orbit the moon but not land there.” However, wrinkles from the Artemis I mission still have to be ironed out; first among them is the “unexpected heat shield performance during the 5,000-degree reentry.” The uncrewed Artemis I flight “saw the successful launch of the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket to ever bring a payload to space.” Artemis II “looks to put humans on board the Orion capsule, and just how well the spacecraft can keep its passengers safe is at the top of NASA’s concerns.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
Threat of Space Junk Increases as Government and Investors Find Workarounds
Reuters reported that a growth in space debris “has led the U.S. government to attempt to set new space hygiene norms, while private companies are also investing in ways to tackle the messy orbital environment.” Thousands of commercial satellites “are being launched into Earth’s orbit at a record pace, driving up the risk of collisions that could spawn swarms of hazardous debris.” US Space Command released a formal list Friday “of what it views as responsible space behaviors, in a bid to steer military norms in orbit.”
Full Story (Reuters)
European Space Agency Calls for Lunar Time Zone
The AP reports that the European Space Agency “wants to give the moon its own time zone.” The agency “said space organizations around the world are considering how best to keep time on the moon. The idea came up during a meeting in the Netherlands late last year, with participants agreeing on the urgent need to establish ‘a common lunar reference time,’ said the space agency’s Pietro Giordano, a navigation system engineer.” Currently, “a moon mission runs on the time of the country that is operating the spacecraft. European space officials said an internationally accepted lunar time zone would make it easier for everyone, especially as more countries and even private companies aim for the moon and NASA gets set to send astronauts there.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
ULA Announces May Launch for First Vulcan Centaur Rocket
Space News reports that the “first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is now scheduled for no earlier than May 4, a date the company says is based on remaining tests of the rocket and its main engines as well as launch windows for its primary payload.” In a call with reporters Thursday, ULA CEO Tory Bruno “announced the date for the long-awaited inaugural flight of the rocket as the company gears up for a series of tests of the rocket at Space Launch Complex 41. The launch will carry Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, two demonstration satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation and a payload for space memorial company Celestis.” Bruno said, “We are now targeting the fourth of May so we plan our manifest around that and be ready to fly that payload when it comes in.” According to Space News, “ULA will have a window of about four days to conduct the launch.”
Full Story (Space News)
Virgin Galactic Aircraft Makes First Flight in Over a Year
Space News reports that Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft made its first flight in more than a year on Wednesday as the company looks to start commercial service. The VMS Eve left the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a flight lasting more than two and a half hours before returning to the airport. This was the first flight for VMS Eve “since it flew to Mojave from Spaceport America in New Mexico in October 2021.” The company “performed an extensive overhaul of the plane while in Mojave, including replacing the center pylon where the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane is attached.”
Full Story (Space News)
NASA Updates Commercial Space Station Plans
Space News reports that NASA has “released additional details about how it plans to use commercial space stations after the retirement of the International Space Station as some in industry seek to accelerate NASA’s support for them.” NASA published two white papers Feb. 13 “as part of a request for information (RFI) for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations effort to support development of commercial stations.” The documents provide “new details about how NASA expects to work with companies operating those stations and the agency’s needs to conduct research there.” One white paper “lists NASA’s anticipated resource needs for those stations, including crew time, power and volume, broken out for each of the major agency programs anticipated to use commercial stations.” Companies had been “seeking more details about NASA requirements to assist in the planning of their stations.” Overall, including resources “expected to be reserved for a successor to the ISS National Laboratory, NASA expects to require 3,000 to 4,000 hours of crew time a year, which NASA expects to provide through having two astronauts on a commercial station.” The agency stated “that it is open to having private astronaut carry out some of the research activities.”
Full Story (Space News)
Chinese Space Launches Could Double in 2023
Space News reports that launches conducted “by commercial Chinese launch service providers could more than double those attempted last year, according to firms’ plans for 2023.” The more than 20 launches “now planned by commercial launch service providers would notably eclipse the total number of orbital launches conducted by China in 2017, demonstrating the rapid growth in Chinese launch capacity and cadence in recent years.” The development could “provide momentum to deployment of Chinese commercial small satellite constellations and have implications internationally for space traffic management.” China conducted “a national record 64 launches in 2022, with 54 of these accounted for by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).” Other actors – namely Expace, Landspace, iSpace and Galactic Energy – “contributed 10 more, including a pair of launch failures.” CASC has declared “its intentions to surpass 60 launches this year, but the companies above and a handful of new entrants are planning more than 20 launches of their own.”
Full Story (Space News – Subscription Publication)
USSF Directed by Congress to Procure Wideband Communications Satellite
Space News reports that the U.S. Space Force “will use funds that Congress added to the 2023 defense budget to buy a wideband communications satellite made by” The Boeing Company, “a spokesperson confirmed Feb. 7.” The new geostationary satellite, to be named WGS-12, “will be the 12th of the Wideband Global Satcom constellation that provides communications services to the U.S. military and allies.” The Space Force “did not request funding for a wideband satellite in the 2023 budget[,] but Congress nevertheless added $442 million, an action reminiscent of the 2018 defense appropriations bill when Congress inserted $600 million for WGS-11.” A Space Systems Command spokesperson said via email, “The $442 million was added to the WGS program element to procure a WGS-12, which will be a build-to-print of WGS-11.” The 2023 appropriations bill “did not specifically direct the Space Force to buy another WGS satellite[,] although it is implied.” The legislation directs the service to “procure a protected wideband satellite to provide resilient, jam resistant tactical communications to support warfighter needs.”
Full Story (Space News)