Author Archives: LED Editor

Tuesday / 20 Apr 2021

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Artemis 3 Crew Could Arrive On Moon In SpaceX Human Landing System Starship

The NASA-led Artemis Coalition Will Transit From Lunar Orbit / Orion Spacecraft To Surface Via Moon-Specific Variant Of SpaceX Starship, Possibly By 2024 But Likely NET 2026; Firm-Fixed-Price US$2.89B Contract Awarded Through Next Space Technologies For Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) Thought To Be Reflective Of SpaceX Technical Prowess, Compatibility With Future Launch Systems, And Lowest Bid; Award Is To Be Followed By A Long-Term Contract Opportunity, Open To Other Enterprises, To Provide Lunar Surface To Gateway Transport For Ongoing, Sustainable Operations

Credits: SpaceX, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 16-19 Apr 2021

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Biden / Harris Administration To Continue Artemis Moon To Mars Objective As New NASA Leadership Forms

Former Senator And Payload Specialist Bill Nelson Expected To Be Confirmed As 14th NASA Administrator On 21 April, Former Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy Is Deputy Administrator Nominee; 2022 Discretionary Budget Request Includes US$24.7B For NASA – A 6.3% ($1.5B) Increase Over 2021, With $6.9B Dedicated To Artemis Program, A $325M Increase; Space Technology R&D Also Sees $325M Increase To $1.4B, Earth Science Increased $250M To $2.3B; In Addition To First Woman, Administrators Have New Goal To Send First Person Of Color To Moon, Possibly By 4 July 2026, Via $2.9B SpaceX Moonship

Credits: NASA OIG, SpaceX

Tuesday / 13 Apr 2021

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NASA Viper Mission Leveraging Open-Source Software & Off-The-Shelf Hardware To Advance Moon And Mars Exploration

VIPER Water-Seeking Moon Rover Mission Set For 2023 To Utilize Crowdsourced Programming And Retail Computing Options Favored For Low Overhead, Interoperability, Widespread Familiarity; VIPER Deputy Lead Terry Fong Tells MIT Technology Review Open Source Enables His Team To More Quickly “Take Advances From The Research World And Put It Into Flight” And That The Negligible Time Lag To Moon Makes Utilization Of Commercially Available Hardware “Not Limited By Radiation, Hard Flight [Ratings]” Possible; Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Is Set To Run Popular Operating System Linux On Mars Flight NET 14 Apr; NASA Hosts A Slew Of Mission Planning Software Available To Interested Parties Worldwide

Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 Apr 2021

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Russia Aims For First Moon South Pole Landing 2021 Q4 With Long-Awaited Luna-25

Roscosmos Plans Landing Slightly North Of Boguslawsky Crater (69.55°S, 43.54°E) With Launch NET 1 Oct / 30 Oct Backup; 6 Onboard Instruments Seeking Data On 2 Science Topics: Investigation Of Polar Regolith Composition And Plasma & Dust In Exosphere Study; Lander Equipped With Lunar Robotic Arm, Designed To Excavate 20-30cm Depth, Move 1-2cm3 Sample To LASMA-LR Laser Mass Spectrometer For Analysis; ADRON-LR & LIS-TV-RPM To Measure Water Content Via Neutron Sensing / IR; ARIES-L & PML To Quantify Dust And Charge Particles In Exosphere; STS-L To Image Local Landscape; Sequence To Continue Through Decade With Crewed Mission By 2030

Credits: Roscosmos, NPO Lavochkin

Tuesday / 6 Apr 2021

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IAF Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 To Mark Resumption Of In-Person International Space Conferences

St. Petersburg, Russia Is Host City Of International Astronautical Federation GLEX 2021 From 14–18 June, Coinciding With 60th Observance Of The First Human Spaceflight, Made By Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin In 1961; GLEX Is Intended As Forum To “Define Worldwide Efforts… For International Cooperation On Future Of Space Exploration” Per IAF President Pascale Ehrenfreund; Co-Chairs Sergei Krikalev And Christian Sallaberger To Present Robust Event Schedule Including Opening / Closing Socials, Plenary Program, Keynote Lectures And Technical Sessions; Discussion On Proposed International Lunar Research Station, “Open To All Interested Countries And International Partners”, Expected To Be Featured Prominently

Credits: IAF, Roscosmos

Holiday Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 2-5 Apr 2021

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Lunar Commercial Communication Ecosystem Is Major NASA Initiative For Coming Years

Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN), Overseer Of NASA Deep Space Network, Near Earth Network And Space Network Is Aiming For Full Commercialization Of Direct To Earth Ground Stations By 2023, Tracking And Data Relay Satellites Commercialization By 2030; Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) To Ride With CLPS Provider Firefly Aerospace On Blue Ghost Lander In 2023 To Investigate Feasibility Of Extending GNSS Signals For PNT From Earth To Cislunar Space; Orbital Relay Constellation Linked To Surface Nodes Governed By Voluntary Interoperability Standard LunaNet To Be Implemented 2024-2028

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 30 Mar 2021

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Artemis Program Human Landing System Award Expected Within Month, New Budget Within Week

HLS, The Human-Rated Lander System Planned To Ferry Humans From Lunar Orbit To/From Surface, Is On Track For One Or More Selections For Flight Demonstration, Per SpaceNews Coverage Of Comments Made By NASA MSFC Director (T) Jody Singer And Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk Both Affirming Timeline And Opening Possibility Of Reducing SLS Launch Costs, Redirecting Saved Funds Towards HLS – Currently Funded ~US$850M With Projected ~$3.3B Required; FY2022 Biden / Harris Administration Budget To Focus On National Infrastructure, Space Advocates Urge Emphasis On Cislunar Infrastructure

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 26-29 Mar 2021

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American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics Hosts 3rd International Space Architecture Gathering On March 27

The Los Angeles-Las Vegas Section Of AIAA To Bring Space Architects From Around World Together (Virtually) This Saturday, With 19 Experts Speaking On Structure Design In Space And On / Around Other Worlds Such As Moon And Mars And Applicability Of Such Designs In Meeting Terrestrial Needs; Forum Will Feature An Opening Welcome From AIAA Executive Director (T) Dan Dumbacher, Moderation / Keynote From (B) Madhu Thangavelu Of USC And Talks From Professional And Academic Space Builders From Australia, Austria, California, Denmark, Florida, Hawaii, Italy, New York, North Dakota And Texas.

Imaged: Centennial Challenge Winner for a 3D-Printed Habitat, Mars Ice House
Credits: NASA, USC, AIAA

Friday / 26 Mar 2021

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Lunar Vertical Solar Array Technology Moving Towards Realization With 5 Contractors On Project

Game Changing Development, A NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Initiative, Is Providing 5 Space Technology Companies (Astrobotic, ATK Space Systems, Honeybee Robotics, Lockheed Martin, Space Systems Loral) With 1-Year Base Contracts Worth Up To $700K/ea For Design Of Autonomously Deployable, Relocatable 9.75m Vertical Photovoltaic Panels; 2 Companies Are To Be Selected For Prototype Construction / Testing Contracts Valued Up To $7.5M/ea And Eventual Deployment Near Moon South Pole, Creating Artificial “Points Of Eternal Light”, Ensuring “Continuous Power For Artemis Lunar Habitats And Operations” Per Chuck Taylor, Project Lead At Langley

Credits: NASA, MIT / Allegra Boverman

Tuesday / 23 Mar 2021

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Astrobotic Griffin Lander Mockup Undergoing VIPER Integration Testing At Johnson Space Center

Full Scale Prototype Of Astrobotic Medium Payload Capacity (475kg) Lunar Lander, Griffin, Being Evaluated For Fitment With Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, Special Attention Being Paid To Surface Deployability Via 20° Foldable Ramps; Flight Ready Version Of Griffin To Possess Landing Accuracy Within 100m And Hazard Detection Threshold Of 15cm Enabled By Avionics Suite Including LIDAR, DOPLER, Star Tracking, Inertial Measurement And Vision-Based Algorithmic Navigation; Agile Space Industries Providing Attitude Control System Comprised Of Seven A110 Thrusters), Five 3.1kN F500E Main Engines By Frontier Aerospace

Credits: Astrobotic, NASA