Tai Rade ( / tie rah-day / ) is our space correspondent and spokesperson.

This is her weekly take on what’s happening in space.

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No. 035 - 5 July  2024

• Deorbit? Or … Re-orbit?
• Competition vs Conflict
• Build Fast & Break Stuff
• Other Things

Tai here.

Many of you are here in the States. If you are, I hope you had a great Independence Day. I myself managed not to lose any fingers, or singe any eyebrows, so I’m counting the evening’s festivities a success.

Welcome back.

This is the state of space as of July 5th.

Let’s get started.

Deorbit? Or … Re-orbit?

SpaceX has been awarded a contract by NASA to build a “US Deorbit Vehicle”.

Cool concept.

More and more we’ll need ways to move things around up there and, in some cases, bring them down in a controlled fashion.

A mighty wind: In this case, the flagship purpose of this new vehicle will be a specific one:

Bring down the ISS.

SpaceX is building a NASA craft to intentionally destroy the International Space Station after retiring.

“It is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station in a controlled manner,” NASA said in a press release, with the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle needed to “ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas.”

My question is this:

Why not push it higher?

Options: With the ISS we have a huge piece of our space history up there, intact, that could become an incredible showpiece and learning platform for future astronauts, cadets, and even, eventually, tourists.

Rather than bring it down, what if we re-orbit it higher, so it stays? Make a future museum out of it? The first space museum in actual space.

No one would be going to it right away, but how cool to have that artifact from our past — and its legacy — preserved and permanently available?

Some things are worth it: I have no idea what that would cost, but if we strip the station of any sensitive items, salvage what we need, then put it up there where it will stay and leave it, wouldn’t it be about the same as bringing it down?

I’m just a lowly Space Marine, but it seems an idea worth considering.

Competition vs Conflict

China is on everyone’s mind.

Milestones and roadblocks: As Beijing celebrates its successful world-first mission to collect samples from the far side of the moon, it is, at the same time, defending its right to make “giant steps” in space, despite, it says, the efforts of the US to deter it.

China National Space Administration vice administrator, Bian Zhigang, said his country has the “unique advantage of the system of mobilizing all resources nationwide” to advance its ambitions. Simultaneously, Chinese officials blame a long-standing US law that prohibits direct space research cooperation for stopping the two powers from working together.

Hm.

China says U.S. can’t stop it taking ‘giant steps’ in space

This got me thinking.

A game where we all get trophies: I know I’ve touched on the escalating space race, and accompanying tensions, between the US and China, and obviously if there has to be a single winner I’d prefer it be us, only …

What if we could all win?

Do we really want to end up with a divided moon? With more of the same frictions up there as we have down here?

On our current trajectory it’s looking more and more like we’ll battle our way into space, directly or indirectly, fighting against each other even as we innovate independently, in a sort of winner-take-all scenario.

That might be the way it goes.

Truthfully, there’s a good chance that will be the way it goes.

It might not be the way we want.

The opportunity: On the positive side — if there is a positive side to such a scenario — there’s the possibility that, in an intensely adversarial environment, we’d accomplish some of those bigger goals faster.

But why keep playing that same old game?

Space has the potential to be the Great Unifier. It’s the first truly new frontier we’ve had in a long, long time.

If we want better, let’s make better. Competition, not conflict. Maybe we start there. A little shift.

Healthy competition rather than hostile conflict.

Both can strengthen a system.

Feel the gains: The fallout from conflict means damage that must be undone. Setbacks. In healthy competition, on the other hand, even the losers are part of the overall win. Rugby typically has a “third half”, where opposing teams get schnockered together after battling for blood in a game of sport. Most MMA fighters embrace after the fight. Football players shake hands.

There’s no reason that spirit can’t scale.

No reason global institutions can’t benefit from the exertions of high-level competition, deriving camaraderie from that very effort.

It may not be too late.

Some of that may be naive.

Did I mention I’m just a lowly Space Marine?

Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, but there must be a way to do more of this together.

Build Fast & Break Stuff

What might become known as the “SpaceX Paradigm” continues to gain ground as a development philosophy in the space industry. Namely to design, test quickly, fail, learn, fix, test and so on, each iteration leading to greater success.

Basically, build fast and break stuff.

All Hail: One company doing that is the amazing Firefly Aerospace. They’re the guys that set a launch time record for the Space Force by getting a satellite launched in less than 3 days, from cold iron to on-orbit — a thing that typically takes weeks or months.

They now have a new medium-lift rocket in development that will eventually incorporate a recoverable booster that will return to its launch site in Virginia for reuse.

Competition? Keep an eye on Relativity Space and Rocket Lab, two similar companies pushing the envelope of development with their own MLVs (Medium Launch Vehicles).

Our space future is looking brighter each day.

Firefly Building Fast And Breaking Things On Path To Reusable Rocket

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

Dad Joke (of the week):

How can you tell if a woman is wearing pantyhose?

If she farts, her ankles swell.

Last week’s reader feedback:

Do you think they’ll really print LEGOs on the moon and snap them together to build things?

- AR

Tai’s response:

It’s a proof of concept, and a little bit of a marketing gimmick, I’m sure – which I’m all for; the more attention we can bring to space, and especially the more interest of young people, the better – but I don’t see any reason why the concept wouldn’t work. Would make it super easy to align each brick, and I’m sure they’d have some kind of mortar. Time will tell, but I love the idea.

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No. 036 - 12 July  2024

• Big News?
• Pushed Again
• 378 Days Later
• Ariane 6
• Other Things

Tai here.

This is the state of space as of July 12th.

Let’s get started.

Big News?

Don’t get me started on the things that make the news. What ends up as headlines, what ends up buried deeper in the bustle … these things need major fixing.

One event is coming up that should make headlines, and I wonder:

Will it?

Pushing the envelope: I speak in this case of the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission.

Polaris Dawn

This is huge news. An entirely private crew, going higher and further than anyone, reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown, plus:

Executing the first commercial spacewalk

Testing laser-based in-space comms

Doing extensive health impact research

Plus-plus: And they support a cause. The mission is raising donations for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. St Jude is clear on their own mission:

“As the Polaris Program expands our understanding of what’s possible in human spaceflight, St. Jude will continue to strive here on Earth to improve global survival rates for childhood cancer. Together, we can build a brighter future for the generations to come.”

Spread the word: Will we hear about any of that?

I sure hope so.

When Polaris Dawn goes up, will the world stop and pay attention? Will pundits rave about these milestones, the significance of the event, what it means for our space future?

Or will most people never hear of it?

Will it, instead, end up somewhere down in the bustle?

We will see.

My appeal: I’ll end by saying this is the sort of news that should be crowding our headlines.

The good that’s happening in the world should be reported on just as much as, if not more than, the bad.

I’m sure you don’t disagree.

Pushed Again

ITER (Latin for “the way”, and an acronym for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is now expected to achieve first operation in 2034.

This is one of the largest international projects in the global effort to achieve viable fusion power.

The beginning of the beginning: Fusion is our future. Fusion is the next logical step in our ladder of power generation. Fusion will spell the end of our power needs.

When it comes to mastering fusion ITER represents a veritable who’s-who of global participants.

Parties involved include:

• The European Union
• The UK
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Russia
• The United States

This is the biggest undertaking in this critical quest, requiring the sorts of resources only such a consortium of national players can bring to bear.

It ain’t cheap, but talk about vital.

Mucho dinero $$$: Expense, of course, being relative. For perspective, take a look at this comparison of Cost vs Result:

Cost of ITER = $12B

Result = clean, pure energy to run the entire world

Cost of Vietnam War = $120B (10x as much as ITER)

Result = … ?

(Yes, it’s okay to pause for a moment. The comparison is as insane as it seems.)

The difference in value proposition is clear.

And did you notice the who’s-who involved in this little project? Aren’t some of those guys competitors in other arenas?

Indeed they are.

A numbers game: There are currently over 130 experimental public and private fusion devices operating, in construction, or planned around the world, taking different approaches to producing fusion reactions.

In short, we’re cracking this nut.

Count on it.

378 Days Later

The inaugural CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew is “back on Earth” after walking out of their simulated Martian habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 6th.

Woot woot!

Read all about it on the NASA site …

First Mars Crew Completes Yearlong Simulated Red Planet NASA Mission

Ariane 6

A year after the retirement of Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5, the new Ariane 6 rocket has taken flight.

The Ariane 6 launched for the first time July 9th, lifting off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Purpose: According to ESA officials Ariane 6 “will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space — and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development and commercial possibilities that it entails.”

Boo yah!

My only comment is that, though new, this is actually a legacy system and we need to be looking to the next-gen tech that will be fully reusable.

Understood that this one’s been a long time coming, and I’m still raising a glass with a knowing nod — yes, I’m looking at you, ESA; well done — but this has to be the last of these old-style, expensive rockets being fielded as “new”.

Justification: The ESA says they don’t need to worry about that so much, because their “launch needs are so low.”

To that I say, pish posh.

Why are your launch needs low?

Let’s step up the pace. We need orbital facilities, stations, moon bases, Mars missions, space infrastructure and on and on. We need not only to be getting out there but getting ready to get out there. Lots and lots is coming down the pike.

Surely you got the memo. This space thing is here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger.

So let’s not think small.

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

Dad Joke (of the week):

How does a computer get drunk?

It takes screen shots.

Last week’s reader feedback:

That is SUCH a good idea about the ISS. Why NOT push it into a higher orbit, where we can one day turn it into a museum?

- RRB

Tai’s response:

I appreciate your enthusiasm. My thought is that, if it were decided, it would take about as much to push it up as bring it down. Who knows? Maybe this idea will get traction.

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No. 037 - 19 July  2024

• Pulsed Plasma
• Worlds Upon Worlds
• Artemis Update
• Moon Cave
• Other Things

Tai here.

This is the state of space as of July 19th.

Let’s get started.

Pulsed Plasma

NASA is investing in a new rocket system that could significantly reduce travel time to Mars.

Go fast: Faster transit times to the Red Planet would be great for many reasons, perhaps the most important of which is reduction of radiation exposure. Less time in space = less time being bombarded (six months in space is about the same as getting 1,000 chest X-rays — yikes), so anything that gets us there faster is worth exploring.

One reason NASA is looking at a Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR).

One possible future: Using pulses of superheated plasma to generate thrust, this baby could shorten a round trip to Mars to 2 months. NASA says the technology has the potential to revolutionize space exploration, and could one day take us even further than Mars.

The American space agency is aiming to bring astronauts to Mars by the 2030s.

Oorah. I say let’s keep the coals on the fire.

Or, in this case, the plasma on the magnetic coils.

Worlds Upon Worlds

New technology is set to transform our search for alien life.

Breaking through: Scientists with Breakthrough Listen, the world’s largest program dedicated to finding alien civilizations, say the hunt for alien civilizations may be entering a new era.

A host of new technological developments are about to transform the search for intelligent life.

Astronomer Steve Croft, project scientist with Breakthrough Listen, says, “There are amazing technologies that are under development, such as the construction of huge new telescopes in Chile, Africa and Australia, as well as developments in AI. They are going to transform how we look for alien civilizations.”

Stay tuned.

Side note: The increasing development of our super-heavy lift capabilities, with rockets like New Glenn and Starship, means we’ll have more options for getting larger and better telescopes and scientific equipment up there and out there. Meaning more opportunities to continue to advance our understanding of the cosmos.

I like where we’re headed.

Artemis Update

NASA has rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans. The rollout is key progress on the path to NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

“The delivery of the SLS core stage for Artemis II to Kennedy Space Center signals a shift from manufacturing to launch readiness as teams continue to make progress on hardware for all major elements for future SLS rockets,” said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “We are motivated by the success of Artemis I and focused on working toward the first crewed flight under Artemis.”

Gosh darn it: Curiously, a section in a recent NASA bill is titled “Reaffirmation of the Space Launch System,” and in it Congress asserts its commitment to a flight rate of twice per year for the rocket. The reauthorization legislation also said NASA should identify other customers for the SLS.

Seems the SLS program and its contractors may be feeling the heat?

It’s the cost: For all non-NASA customers, the primary issue is cost. With the ready availability of a Falcon Heavy at one-tenth the cost, SpaceX's forthcoming Starship rocket, and Blue Origin's New Glenn vehicle, there are plenty of other super-heavy lift rockets for large government and commercial missions.

The future: Rockets like Artemis are on the way out. High cadence, low cost is the future and that future is pretty much here.

I’m wondering what exactly our eventual moon-transit infrastructure will look like.

Whatever it ends up being, it will certainly see us sending up rockets way more than twice a year.

Moon Cave

Fun bit! A cave has been discovered on the moon, which could be an ideal place for humans to build a permanent base.

Lorenzo Bruzzone and Leonardo Carrer at the University of Trento in Italy found the cave by using radar to penetrate the opening of a pit on a rocky plain called the Mare Tranquillitatis.

It’s visible to the naked eye from Earth, and is also where Apollo 11 landed in 1969.

Check it out …

Cave Discovered On Moon Could Be Home For Humans

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

Dad Joke (of the week):

If money doesn’t grow on trees, then why do banks have branches?

Last week’s reader feedback:

No one wrote last week!

  — No One

Tai’s response:

Was I uninteresting? Nothing to say? Please don’t make me cry.

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No. 038 - 26 July  2024

• It's A Good pressure
• Titan
• Whither Phoebus?
• Other Things

Tai here.

This is the state of space as of July 26th.

Let’s get started.

It’s A Good Pressure

Can you feel it? The steady pressure building around the globe as the race to space spins up more and more momentum?

Setbacks? Sure. Successes? Plenty. Triumphs and failures? Both in abundance, as across the world the heat is on and the push has become relentless.

I love it.

Our space future: From a private space boom that’s blitzed past single-digit space startups to now thousands, to a record 78 government space agencies, 16 with launch capabilities, to the achievement of near-daily milestones in exploration and scientific discovery, we can now officially call ourselves “spacefaring”.

The spacefaring part may be small, granted, but this is our new reality.

For the birds: Forgive the analogy, but in some ways I feel humanity is like a baby bird, and we’re finally breaking through the shell. Not all the way yet, certainly not totally ready for what’s waiting once we make it out, but struggling all the same to get there, knowing our future is out there, not stuck in here.

It won’t be anywhere near easy. Yet we commit our every effort to it. Destined to fall more than a few times before we fly, determined to soar.

The reasons are not what they seem: Why? Why do we do it? We don’t have to go to space. Beyond satellites and a few such things to maintain our modern conveniences, nothing, truly, is compelling us to establish an extraplanetary existence.

We do it because expanding is what we do. We do it because curiosity is in our nature. We do it to build a future for the next generations and the next. We do it to give ourselves security, to create options for our survival and our existence.

We do it, not just because we can, but because we know we should.

Space is the most correct thing we could be doing to both ensure and insure our future.

I’m so glad we are.

A Look At Spaceflight Over The Next 25 Years

Titan

Interesting new results from the long-gone Cassini probe. Though that mission ended 7 years ago, we’re still processing results.

Cool thing: The Cassini team has been able to analyze the composition and the “roughness” of Titan’s sea, which is located near the world’s north pole.

They found calm seas of methane with a gentle tidal current, not unlike on Earth when fresh-water rivers flow into and mix with the salty water of the oceans.

Like home, only … not: Saturn’s big moon, Titan, while cold and bleak, does have bearable surface pressures and could be survived with the right cold protection gear and, of course, breathing equipment.

Titan is bigger than Pluto and Mercury, and has quite a few uncanny Earth-like features.

Could Saturn’s largest moon become prime real estate for a new breed of hearty solar system settler? A future extraplanetary citizen, wearing jackets and SCUBA-like gear, tending a set of experiments on the surface of this distant world?

Once more, I’m excited by what our future likely holds.

Whither Phoebus?

Phoebus 2A, the most powerful space nuclear reactor ever made, was fired up at Nevada Test Site on June 26, 1968. The test lasted 750 seconds and confirmed it could carry the first humans to Mars.

But Phoebus 2A did not take anyone to Mars.

It was too large, it cost too much, and it didn’t mesh with Nixon’s idea that we had no business going anywhere further than low-Earth orbit.  (Boo on you, Nixon.)

The idea, however, never died.

Round two: We’ve spoken of the revival of interest in building a nuclear rocket, with DARPA calling for an actual demonstrator back in 2020.

The following, recent article covers the topic quite nicely.

I recommend giving it a read …

We’re Building Nuclear Spaceships Again — This Time For Real

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

Dad Joke (of the week):

When an employment application asks who should be notified in case of an emergency, I always write, “A very good doctor.”

Last week’s reader feedback:

Thanks for doing the exciting piece on pulsed plasma last issue! I saw no one wrote last week, so I wanted to make sure you know we’re out here reading you.

- BH

Tai’s response:

Thanks, BH. Feeling the love. Last week was indeed kind of bleak, but this week a few of you wrote in, so maybe my complaining helped, lol. This issue, as I’m sure you noticed, I reference a great article on nuclear rockets. Plenty is happening in the development of new space technologies right now. I’d say there’s lots of reasons to be excited.

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