The mission of the International Space Station continues with a most recent re-supply mission being launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. What makes this one interesting though, is that the Antares rocket used to launch this particular mission will be fundamentally changing in the coming years thanks to the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, who’s very cosmonauts will be among those benefiting from the supplies in this mission. Today, I’ll explain what those changes are and why they matter. We will also discuss all the most important things happening in the space. Welcome to the Undiscovered Country!
Hello and welcome to the “Undiscovered Country”. I am your host Bryant A.M. Baker. Today, I will present the top 5 most important things happening in the world of space. I am so happy that we have met the goal of 100 subscribers on youtube. I cannot tell you how much that means to me personally and I will work as hard as I can to live up to that responsibility. I realize that this has much more to do with this incredibly important subject matter than anything involving me personally. But I do want you to know how grateful I am. Let’s get started.
1.
Continuing our discussion from the last few days, the heads of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have issued statements condemning the latest example of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket booster which fell to the Earth in an uncontrolled reentry.
The 23-ton piece of debris resulted from China's launch of a Long March 5B rocket on Oct. 31 that carried the Mengtian science module to the nation's Tiangong space station. As with other Long March 5B launches, there was no attempt made to safely deorbit the rocket's core stage after it reached orbit. The massive piece of space junk was left to be pulled down in an uncontrolled fashion by atmospheric drag, creating worries on the ground about where it might land.
Luckily, the massive piece of rocket debris landed safely in the Pacific Ocean without incident.
However, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wrote in an emailed statement on November 4th that "Once again, the People's Republic of China is taking unnecessary risks with the uncontrolled rocket stage reentry of their Long March 5B rocket stage . . . They did not share specific trajectory information which is needed to predict landing zones and reduce risk."
Nelson's statement continued, "This is the PRC's fourth uncontrolled reentry since May 2020, and each of these reentries have been the largest in the last 30 years. . . . It is critical that all spacefaring nations are responsible and transparent in their space activities and follow established best practices, especially for the uncontrolled reentry of a large rocket body debris — debris that could very well result in major damage or loss of life."
ESA chief Josef Aschbacher issued his own statement on Twitter the same day: "Today's uncontrolled #LongMarch5B reentry underlines the growing risk for critical infrastructure both in space & on the ground posed by unsustainable spaceflight practices."
"In the past decade, about 100 pieces of large debris have re-entered the atmosphere each year, with a total annual mass of about 150 metric tons [165 tons]. We must work on technology to better track and predict and mitigate satellites and rocket bodies heading for uncontrolled reentries.”
So Citizens, what do you think? Is this all just most hot air, or will the wide-spread outrage over this type of launch put pressure on China to adjust and be more friendly in their behavior in space? While I think it’s more likely that China is not likely to be hasty to change its ways, I hope that the desire to be an international partner in space is important enough that they see the selfish advantage to playing along. I look forward to your comments.
https://www.space.com/nasa-esa-space-chiefs-condemn-china-rocket-debris-crash
2.
NASA’s Stennis Space Center and Rocket Lab USA cut a ribbon Nov. 4 on a new agreement for the aerospace company to locate its engine test complex at the rocket propulsion site near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Regarding the occasion, Stennis Space Center Director Rick Gilbrech said “We are pleased that Rocket Lab selected Stennis Space Center for development of its new test complex. . . . With finalization of this agreement, we look forward to working with Rocket Lab as it develops and moves forward in achieving its space goals. This represents an exciting opportunity not only for Stennis but also for the Gulf Coast region and the entire state of Mississippi.”
With the new agreement, the A-3 Test Stand and about 24 surrounding acres at Stennis will be incorporated into the Archimedes Test Complex. Archimedes is Rocket Lab’s new liquid oxygen and liquid methane rocket engine that will power its large, reusable Neutron rocket.
Rocket Lab will have exclusive access to use and develop the A-3 Test Stand area, including associated propellant barge docks and buildings. The initial 10-year agreement includes an option to extend an additional 10 years.
Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab stated that “It was only a few weeks ago when we announced Stennis as the location of our Archimedes Test Complex and we’re already fast at work to get the site up and running to deliver Neutron. . . Thanks to our partnership with NASA and the state of Mississippi, we can begin to develop the existing infrastructure and test stand at Stennis to fast-track Neutron’s first launch. We look forward to breathing fire in the great state of Mississippi.”
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/news/releases/2022/NASA-Stennis-Space-Center-Rocket-Lab-Cut-Ribbon-on-New-Tenant-Agreement
3.
NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an agreement last Friday strengthening the collaboration between the two agencies, including efforts that advance the federal response to climate change.
Specifically, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) enhances and expands the agencies’ longstanding partnership that promotes science and technology solutions to address international development challenges in areas such as global health, climate change, or disaster mitigation and response.
On the occasion, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that “NASA’s partnership with USAID is empowering people around the world. Together, we are providing scientists, leaders, and citizens across the globe with access to NASA’s one-of-a-kind expertise and data and apply it to real-world problems on the ground. . . Today’s signing continues NASA and USAID’s work to monitor air quality, help governments adapt in the face of growing threats caused by extreme weather, strengthen food security, decrease poverty, and more. This is just another powerful example of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to science and leadership – from the Amazon, to the Sahara, the Himalayas, and everywhere in between.”
This MOU also extends the collaboration between NASA and USAID into other NASA programs, most notably with the NASA Disasters program area within the agency’s Earth Science Applied Sciences Program.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-usaid-partnership-strengthens-global-development
4.
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. has announced its financial results for the third quarter ending on September 30, 2022 and provided a business update. These results came on the tail end of several additional announcements that Virgin has been making over the last few days about their future plans. Check out the episodes I did talking about it.
Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic said, “We remain on track to launch commercial service in the second quarter of 2023, and we look forward to validating the modifications to VMS Eve and VSS Unity with multiple scheduled test flights in the coming months. We are also executing on our key strategic initiatives to scale our business as a global Spaceline over the long-term. With Aurora Flight Sciences building our next generation motherships, and the selection of experienced manufacturers, Bell Textron and Qarbon Aerospace, to help build our Delta Class Spaceships, we have our primary suppliers in place to expand our fleet and support our long-term growth.”
However, the Third Quarter 2022 statement pointed out that while Virgin’s cash position remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.1 billion as of September 30, 2022; they experienced a net loss of $146 million, compared to a $48 million net loss in the third quarter of 2021.
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2022/11/04/virgin-galactic-reports-net-loss-of-145-5-million/
5.
The Antares 230+ rocket lifted off from Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 5:32 a.m. Eastern on November 7th. The rocket placed a Cygnus spacecraft into orbit that is set to arrive at the ISS early November 9.
The launch was originally scheduled for November 6 but scrubbed about 15 minutes before liftoff because of a fire alarm at Northrop’s Cygnus mission control center in Dulles, Virginia. The center was evacuated and could not support the launch.
The Cygnus spacecraft, named S.S. Sally Ride, after the first American woman to go to space, is flying the NG-18 mission for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program. The spacecraft is delivering 3,749 kilograms of cargo, including crew supplies, science investigations and hardware for the station.
The kerosene-fueled RD-181 engines throttled up to generate 864,000 pounds of thrust and burned for 3 minutes and 18 seconds, steering the Antares rocket southeast from Virginia on a path to line up with the space station’s orbital track
Among the hardware on board are brackets for another set of ISS Rollout Solar Arrays, or iROSAs, that will be installed on the station. NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio will install the brackets on a November 15 spacewalk, which will be followed by spacewalks on November 28 and December 1 to install iROSA arrays on another set of brackets.
The mission is designated NG-18, and will mark the 18th Cygnus spacecraft flight to the space station. Northrop Grumman has a multibillion-dollar cargo resupply contract with NASA covering Cygnus missions through NG-25.
But Northrop Grumman is transitioning away from two of its major suppliers after supply chain strains caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
Kurt Eberly, Northrop Grumman’s director of space launch programs explained to reporters, “We’ve had great support from those three suppliers. . . Things are working very well technically on the vehicle and programmatically we got great support from them. I just wish it could have continued, but also this is an opportunity for us to transition to what we think is going to be a more competitive vehicle.”
In August, Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace announced a partnership to develop a new U.S.-built Antares first stage booster powered by seven Miranda engines developed by Firefly. That rocket, called Antares 330, is scheduled to debut in late 2024.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/11/05/northrop-grumman-ready-for-space-station-resupply-mission/
https://spacenews.com/antares-launches-cygnus-cargo-mission-to-iss/
https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/iss/penultimate-antares-230-rocket-lofts-cygnus-spacecraft-to-iss/
Thank you for joining me. Links to all the stories are in the description. The world of Space law, policy and business is changing every day. If you missed what happened yesterday, be sure to check out the video I did covering it. I would love to hear your thoughts on everything I talked about here today? For those of you following these updates day by day, I will be off for the next two days due to travel for work, but I can’t wait to see you all again when I get back. Thank you for joining me in this community of citizens in that mysterious undiscovered country that is the future. And I’ll see you again next time.
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