Aerospace Links November 2019
NASA develops plans for VIPER, a lunar rover to explore
south polar region by 2022
Boeing Starliner uncrewed launch set for December 17th
from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas V rocket
Search for extraterrestrial life gets a boost from science
The Universe is expanding almost 10% faster than scientists
have previously thought
Huge asteroid may be reclassified as a dwarf planet based on
images obtained by European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope
Upgraded Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo carrier set to
launch for 12th resupply mission to the International Space Station
in early November
Other worldly mashup captures by Hubble Space Telescope
Boeing makes progress with path toward first manned mission
for Starliner capsule with successful launch abort test
SpaceX reports successful parachute test as it advances to
first crewed launch of Crew Dragon capsule on schedule for early 2020.
Voyager 2 leaves solar system and enters interstellar space.
On the way onboard instruments show that there appears unexpectedly to be an
abrupt boundary between the two.
Cygnus cargo vessel heads to International Space Station
atop Antares rocket built by Northrop-Grumman carrying student-built satellite
It turns out the test of the Boeing Starliner capsule did
not go off flawlessly as initially reported. One of the three main parachutes
failed to deploy. This was not a planned event. The capsule still landed safely
at the test site in New Mexico
What it’s like to train for a spacewalk in NASA’s Neutral
Buoyancy pool. Get your aspirin ready.
Root cause of parachute failure linked to missing connecting
pin on parachute system. See video here of the emergency abort system test.
Senators support effort to extend US partnership in
International Space Station through 2030.
Japanese spacecraft set to return asteroid samples to earth
after first successful landings.
Martian rover Curiosity finds unexpected seasonal
fluctuations in oxygen levels on Mars
that so far have no scientific explanation.
SpaceX makes progress with its crewed Dragon space capsule
after successful static test fire of emergency capsule escape system.
Series of four complex space walks planned by NASA to
service the largest scientific instrument on the International Space Station.
Physicist, former astronaut, and space consultant Ed Gibson
has opinions that run counter to NASA’s current plans for space operations.
Number of spaceports in the US is expanding thus threatening
aircraft operations. Pilots will need to learn to share airspace with rockets.
Current SpaceX plans for high speed Internet satellite
networks would jam space with highly reflective man-made objects posing multiple
potential conflicts such as markedly increasing the risk of collisions in
space, interference with other systems(such as radiotelescopes) sharing a
narrow communications band, and disruption of earth-based light telescope
studies. Regulators face an impending challenge
Astronomers report on a star that appears to have been
ejected from the center of the Milky Way by our galaxy’s supermassive black
hole at a velocity that is not imaginable.
Results of Cassini study of Jovian moon Titan, a new
geological map of the planet’s surface, show spectrum of organic compounds on
surface which are building blocks for life as we know it. Could there be life
on this second largest known moon in the solar system?
Corruption plagues Russia’s new space center at Vostochny
with over $170 million of construction funds are missing because of theft.
President Putin responds angrily,
Astronomers capture brightest light known in the universe
from an extremely distant explosion.
SpaceX experiences a setback with a dramatic explosive
failure during static test of Starship MK1
NASA discovers water vapor in atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon
Europa. Planned mission to Europa could reveal further evidence of an
environment that could sustain life.
Mysterious blood flow effects lead to clinically silent
blood clots in some astronauts assigned to International Space Station NASA
study shows.
Check out these images taken aboard the International Space
Station over the last 21 years since its assembly started.
Unusual binary star system spotted by a radio telescope.
Astronomers struggle to develop an explanation for unique findings
