Goodnight, Odie
Goodnight, Odie
Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight tilted landers everywhere.
Hello Celestial Citizens and Continuum readers,
Congrats on making it to Friday. I’m proud of you dear reader not because of your perseverance (had to…I’m a monster) to get through another 5-day work week but also because as a reader of this newsletter, you are presumably not a flat Earther. So sure, Tyler Owens is poised to capture a hefty signing bonus with the NFL later this spring whilst also disbelieving in space — but YOU believe in science, you likely idolize Carl Sagan, and you can walk long distances without fear of falling off Earth. Life is good. Earth is round. Space exists. So, while the NFL becomes perhaps the surprisingly/unsurprisingly center of gravity (hah…okay I’ll stop now) for a handful of conspiracy theories, you carry with you the torch of science and space exploration. You go, Glen Coco!
Separately, someone please ask Taylor to wield her impressive influence over the NFL to clear this problem up. Maybe coming soon, will be her Artemis era?
And now, the space beat you came here for…
Top Headlines
Don’t H-8 The Player, H-8 The Game Weather – SpaceX and NASA kicked things off this month by delivering Crew-8, the next four-astronaut crew to the International Space Station. After a few days of weather-related scrubs, three American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut took off this past Sunday on Endeavor, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, with the help of a reusable Falcon 9 booster. From there, NASA’s Jeanette Epps, Matthew Dominick, Dr. Michael Barratt and Roscosmos’ Alexander Grebenkin flew 28 hours to the station. The current ISS crew – who have been aboard the orbiting laboratory since August – welcomed the newcomers in the wee hours of Tuesday, March 5th. The mission’s initial delays were immediately forgotten as the crew arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule, prompting a SpaceX flight controller to backpedal on what was (apparently) becoming the mission’s nickname, “Crew L8.” Over the next six months, the celestial travelers will conduct over 200 experiments, including growing faux-human organs in microgravity for use in medical research, and (listen up health girlies) the study of spirulina’s effect on CO2 in the air. As the name indicates, this is now the eighth rotation of long-duration ISS missions since SpaceX began flying astronauts to the station in 2020.
Lidar, Lidar – As the (in)famous commercial lunar lander Odysseus enters sleep mode on the Moon, the community steps back to look at the aftermath of the Intuitive Machines touchdown. We don’t mean to harp on the topic – nor detract from the achievement – but we do feel a call to ensure that, amidst these rapidly accelerating steps towards a life amongst the stars, we’re starting out on the right foot. And that foot is, well, a transparent one. Weird image, but let’s go with it. So yes, IM-1 represented the first “controlled” lunar landing from a private company, the first to do so using cryogenic methalox engines, as well as a triumphant return to the Moon for the United States since its final Apollo mission over half a century ago. However, after a navigationally-challenged descent, some back-and-forth about the lander’s positioning, and a lack of footage to settle the score, the public was left with some mixed messages. Did IM-1’s off-kilter arrival still count as a “controlled” or “soft” landing? How did the spacecraft navigate to the lunar surface after its integrated altitude-measuring system went down? NASA’s Doppler Lidar, a CLPS experimental payload, was initially applauded for saving the IM-1 mission, serving as a backup navigation method for the lander in its final descent. This turned out to be a bit inflated. While the remote crew attempted to patch in the experimental tech, the spacecraft’s processing delay rendered it unusable in the last twelve minutes of landing, leaving the lander on its own for touchdown. This reality still makes the landing – albeit skewed – very impressive (maybe even more impressive?), but it’s not necessarily a triumph for NASA’s Lidar. Maybe this feels like we’re splitting hairs, but communication is key. While a private endeavor like Intuitive Machines may not have the same transparency obligations that a government agency does, shouldn’t they still be honest about their weak points in addition to their triumphs? Fellow space writer Jatan Mehta perfectly summarizes these questions in his newsletter, Jatan’s Space, with “why is it not enough to celebrate the genuine feats Intuitive Machines did achieve?” Is partial success not enough (to America)?
MSR Audit – It's tax season (TW), and that means audits are here, and NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission has received its latest diagnostic. Published on February 28th, an audit from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) pulled back the curtain on the flagship project, in an effort to tee up a final FY24 congressional budget decision, which was set to come through today – but we’ll believe it when we see it. While in relation to September’s independent review, the audit did not find any new scary monsters under the bed, the OIG did conclude that the project’s money issues can be traced back to a weak foundation. The report suggests that the program’s “initial over-optimism” and its “less than optimal” architecture in its early days was more detrimental than its pandemic-related supply chain and inflation challenges. Of course, with every scientific endeavor, a team will inevitably start off bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; early optimism isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Is it even possible to create the most efficient architecture for a mission one has never done before? The OIG thinks it is. According to the review, more agency oversight during the “pre-formulation” phases of a mission – guided by lessons learned on former, similarly-structured missions – can prevent budget ballooning. Because while a mission’s exact technology or goal might be new, its project structure is probably not. So MSR’s financial fate remains in the balance. However, the mission may find a friend in the recently reinstated Planetary Science Caucus, which established its return on March 6th – or, as California representative Judy Chu would call it, a “critical moment for the future of American planetary science”. It’s giving The Avengers and we’re here for it.
Better Together – While they wait for a final congressional budget verdict, NASA is moving forward with post-MSR plans for the red planet, like its “Exploring Mars Together” strategy first announced one year ago. Connected to this strategy is a call for help request for commercial proposals, which will hopefully provide the agency with cheaper services in addition to creating money-making opportunities for space firms and startups. NASA’s JPL is currently reviewing proposals and will award a number of $200,000 to $300,000 contracts in April for private teams to develop robotic Mars mission concepts. With an estimated timeline of twelve weeks, that should put results from these studies – which span across imaging, communications and payload delivery – coming in around summertime.
It’s Not Me, It’s You – With all the optimism in the world, we must accept that sometimes – things just don’t work out. Like Miami recently “broke up” with spring breakers via a gleefully savage campaign, NASA is breaking up with an in-space refueling project – and the split was not amicable, with NASA citing the “lack of a committed partner” as one of the catalysts behind the termination. The $2 billion On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) mission – which intended to refuel and provide maintenance to aging satellites – is now the latest victim of NASA’s grim reaper Office of Inspector General (OIG), who published a report back in October outlining its cost and schedule challenges. While part of the discontinuation stems from an outdated need – with most new satellites designed with more built-in refueling capabilities – the project’s key partner, Maxar, also put the nail in the coffin, apparently. The OIG report called out the contractor’s technical deficiencies, highlighted by its failure to meet deadlines and ultimately leading to “poor performance” overall. OSAM-1 is now in its selling-for-parts phase, as the agency decides how to distribute its hardware and technical teams.
Honorable Mentions
Our final notable nuggets.
Space Force Gets Vulnerable – In the wake of questionable Russian launches and China’s growing number of surveillance satellites – the US Space Force recently discussed a “window of vulnerability” and the need to protect key spacecraft over the next few years.
Never Stop Learning – Here we go again with the FAA learning period extension.
What’s Going-on, Orion? – We got a bit more insight into what NASA has been investigating in respect to the Orion spacecraft, destined to deliver the Artemis crew to lunar orbit in September of next year.
Space Dreams – The time is nigh. NASA is accepting astronaut applications! The agency will allow submissions from March 5th through April 2nd. Lesgoooo.
O Voyager 1, Where Art Thou – After a few months of unusable data coming from the 46-year-old deep space probe, Voyager 1’s team is starting to come around to the idea that this could be it.
The JWST Download
A 30-year cosmic mystery – this one from a supernova so bright it could be seen from Earth with the naked eye – was no match for the JWST. With the 10-billion-dollar telescope, astronomers confirmed that a neutron star was in fact lurking in the dust from the 1987 explosion.
The latest addition to the JWST’s growing collection is a 2-million-solar mass black hole, the farthest active supermassive black hole to be discovered yet. Still to come: more on GN-z11’s “pristine gas clump,” which could very well hold insight into the galaxy’s Population III – or first gen – stars.
The Academy Awards may have to wait until Sunday, but selections for the next cycle of the General Observers (GO) program are IN! From the study of exomoons to dark energy, these 253 projects will gain access to the JWST between the months of July 2024 and June 2025.
A Global Space
India – Will next year see the first human spaceflight from India? The nation is certainly funding their space sector at a competitive rate. And, just last week, four Indian Air Force officers were shortlisted for the 2025 Gaganyaan flight, which intends to travel to a 400-kilometer orbit. Coming off of a successful safety demonstration this past October – which tested ISRO’s crew escape system – the organization felt confident enough to schedule the inaugural crewed flight for next year, with only three additional test flights (G1-3) preceding it. One of the four future Indian astronauts will get to orbit even sooner, joining the Axiom 4 crew to the International Space Station later this year. But: one step at a time, and ISRO’s next step is G1, an uncrewed orbital test mission scheduled to launch this July. But can we really say it’s “uncrewed” when Vyommitra – an eerily lifelike female humanoid – will be on board?
China – As usual, our China update is a combination of official announcements and details cobbled together from resources like airspace notices. First, in more publicized news, after opening a contest to the public in late summer of 2023, CMSA – China’s human spaceflight agency – proudly announced the names for their spacecraft that will eventually take its first astronauts to the moon. The Mengzhou (or “Dream Vessel”) crew spacecraft and Lanyue (“Embracing the Moon”) lunar lander represent “rich cultural connotations” for the nation, according to the agency. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is responsible for building the spacecraft and lander, which will carry astronauts beyond the comfortable confines of LEO and onto the surface of the moon by 2030. CASC is also tasked with developing the rocket powerful enough to deploy these spacecraft, the reusable Long March 10. While state-run development of reusable rockets will compete with commercial efforts, like those of Landspace and other launch firms, China hopes that duplicate efforts will only support growth for the nation. And China’s space sector is certainly showing signs of growth. The 10th launch of the year for the nation, CASC launched its first “high orbit” internet satellite (Weixing Hulianwan Gaogui-01) last week via a Long March 3B/G rocket. The satellite – which appears to be destined for geosynchronous transfer orbit, despite its reference to “high” orbit – will likely have the power to provide coverage to all of China as well as neighboring nations.
Italy – The EU’s IRIS2 satellite constellation finds its home base in Italy. Specifically, the Fucino Space Centre – located some 80 miles (around 130 kilometers) inland from Rome – will serve as the main control center for Europe’s new multi-orbit connectivity constellation, which will take after U.S.-led systems like Starlink and Project Kuiper. Owned by Telespazio – a joint operation between Italy Leonardo and France’s Thales Alenia Space – Fucino Space Centre is no stranger to controlling spacecraft; it currently manages Europe’s navigational system known as Galileo. The space centre’s experience is certainly a big win for the EU, but it’s also a win for Italy, as this new designation could create roughly 200 new jobs at Fucino.
Scotland – In more good news for Europe, SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland scores a lifeline in the form of new funding from the UK government. After some expression of uncertainty surrounding the spaceport’s funding late last year, the national government pledged £10 million ($12.8 million USD) this week. Here’s hoping the new funding is what the SaxaVord team needs to accelerate development, in preparation for its first orbital launch this year – from Europe’s first and only licensed vertical launch port.
Poland – Last week, a Polish deputy defense minister announced plans to place the nation’s first military satellites in the sky “next year.” The nation’s wish list for the future satellite includes radar and optical technology – to ensure reliable imagery regardless of weather conditions – and an incorporation of sovereign technology. The country also cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an impetus to develop their own space force.
Russia & Iran – A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from Vostochny Cosmodrome at the end of February, carrying not only Russian spacecraft but also an Iranian research satellite that intends to scan Iran’s topography – for apparent agricultural and environmental purposes – from a 500-kilometer, sun synchronous orbit. The launch comes approximately one month after Iran deployed three satellites via their Simorgh carrier, and one high-flying Soraya satellite via their Qaem 100 rocket. Because Iran does not have the domestic capability of launching to a sun synchronous orbit, the nation commissioned Russia to deploy their most recent Pars-1, as they did in 2022 for their Khayyam sensing satellite. A successful launch for Russia bodes well during a week where the nation is once again plagued by leaks. Not the leaky Soyuz, this time, but a leak in the Russian module for the ISS, which, while it currently poses no risk to the astronauts on board, has doubled in rate over the last few years to a loss of “over two pounds a day,” according to a NASA program manager monitoring the situation. Russian state media has confirmed that its crew is working tirelessly to identify and fix the leak ASAP.
Saudi Arabia – This week, Saudi Arabia held its annual LEAP event, which brings together the Kingdom’s leading tech companies, investors and experts. This year’s event highlighted a focus on the space sector, with the minister of communications and information technology teasing a national space strategy (coming soon). We certainly look forward to strategy “launch” day – as well as the Kingdom’s focus on women’s empowerment within space exploration, following stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi’s visit to the International Space Station in May of 2023.
And that’s a wrap on this week in space news! Keep an eye out for a new Saturday Space Reads in your inbox tomorrow as well as this coming Monday for Moonshot, our paid subscriber newsletter covering the commercial space sector. A big thank you to Tess Ryan for writing this edition with me and for keeping up with the cosmos! We hope you enjoyed reading Continuum this week and will share it with your friends. And if you really, really like us, then consider making it official and becoming a paid subscriber or spreading the space gospel and gifting a subscription.
Keep it celestial people,
Britt
CEO of Celestial Citizen & Creator of Continuum