January 2024
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. 009 - 05 January 2024
- More Fun
- Encouragement With A Side Of Higher Expectations
- My Latest Obsession
- Other Things
Tai here.
Welcome to the first issue of the New Year.
Let’s get started.
More Fun
Last week we had a bit of fun; what say we do it again? In this case I want to share a cool video I found online.
I love how many different “science” channels are available. I use quotes not because what some of these channels show isn’t science, only because they’re not peer-reviewed or beholden to the rigors of what we typically demand of science.
Doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting, and doesn’t mean what they say is wrong, just that you want to keep the above in mind when browsing the vast and unguarded wilds of the internet.
But I digress. I found a cool video (short – 6 minutes) of my homeworld, Proxima B.
Check it out …
Visit The Closest Exoplanet To Earth
Encouragement With A Side Of Higher Expectations
Funny story, back in 2018, apparently, Musk said he'd eat his hat with a side of mustard if the ULA Vulcan rocket (which we talked about in a previous issue) flew "a national security spacecraft before 2023."
The Vulan flies its first certification mission Monday. Eight days into 2024.
Looks like Elon can put his mustard on a corn dog instead of a hat.
While this is funny, yes, it does somewhat illustrate a conundrum. When it comes to rockets the technology of SpaceX, Musk's company, with its increasingly reusable fleet, is the direction we need to be headed. The old-space idea of "use it and throw it away" needs to change.
Yet, advances are advances, and the debut of the Vulcan is adding to our space capabilities. Which, in itself, is movement in the right direction. The industry has been slow-moving for so long, we need to encourage all progress.
While at the same time expecting more.
Like an out-of-shape uncle you're trying to get off the couch and get active. You don't bash him for not running after he gets up and takes a walk. Neither do you stop there. You keep encouraging him to do more.
Same with our space industry. We're not calling you our out-of-shape uncle, ULA, but let's keep looking ahead, until you're jogging then running.
We’re all in this together. Let’s keep winning.
Here's the article:
Thanks for tuning in.
Never forget: Space is the answer.
- Tai
#FortySuns
#40suns
My latest Earth-culture obsession:
Motorcycles. I’m especially loving the fast ones. A girl I met called them speedy bikes. I’ve also heard crotch rockets. Truth is, I like the cruisers too. I think it’s really just the freedom of being out in the open, going fast.
Last week's reader feedback:
Hello, Fair Tai! Gene here. I checked out the JAXA site. Very cool how many countries and companies around the world are tackling space. I thought the JAXA president had a great message, in particular this point: "We will give back to society the wisdom and achievements borne of our efforts in the field of aerospace, and will combine them with other initiatives to contribute toward people's daily lives, economy, security as well as resolving global issues." Space is the answer.
- Gene
Tai's response:
Hello to you back, Gene. I've never been called "fair" -- I assume that's the Earth archaic reference -- but I'll take it. And yes, space is indeed the answer. The global push for space means advances across the board. Checked it out myself; I'm including a link for the JAXA message here:
A Message From The JAXA President
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No. 010 - 12 January 2024
- #NewSpace
- Black Hole Bharat
- Orders Of Magnitude
- My Latest Obsession
- Other Things
Tai here.
Second week of the New Year, and I’m asking for about 3 minutes of your time.
Let’s get started.
#NewSpace
According to CNBC “A new U.S. rocket reached orbit early Monday, and the launch was a big one — not just in scale of the vehicle, but also in significance for a market that has become dominated by a single player in recent years.”
Last week we mentioned this launch was coming; this week we’re happy to report it happened.
The rocket in question? United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur, a 200-footer. Not too shabby, when it comes to size.
We've been waiting for this one.
ULA has been a major player in the space space (see what I did there?), with upstarts like SpaceX and others either overtaking or threatening to overtake.
Healthy competition all around.
Which is a good thing. Nay, a great thing. One of the biggest defining factors of Space Age 2.0 is the surge of new space enterprises – a component of our latest space age that has come to be called “NewSpace”, to mean the commercial space industry and all those companies working to develop low-cost access to space, new spaceflight technologies and policy.
So yes, competition is very good indeed.
PS: Vulcan used the new BE-4 engines from Blue Origin. Also great news, and also another player (and competitor) in the race for our space future.
NewSpace is here to stay, baby. (Still, still getting a grip on the lingo.)
Vulcan Launches With Boost From Blue Origin
Black Hole Bharat
Another Monday launch, this one from Sriharikota spaceport in India (Bharat, in my clever title for this article, is the Sanskrit name for the country), sending up the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, or XPoSat, which will conduct research on black holes.
Two things make this cool:
The ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) ranked fourth in mass launched to orbit last year, behind the US, China and Russia, plus they’re only one of four countries (the same four) that have successfully landed on the moon.
The satellite they launched is yet more hi-tech hardware being deployed to uncover the mysteries of our universe.
And, of course, black holes. Am I right? Nothing cooler than that.
So make that three.
There are many things that make this cool, actually, but those stand out.
So much to be happy about here.
Space! Oorah!
India Launches New Year’s Rocket To Study Black Holes
Orders Of Magnitude
As the reality of space heats up so too does the reality of exactly what that means, in terms of everything from launch cadence to production of assets.
If we’re to achieve a truly extraplanetary existence, our launch frequencies and payloads will need to resemble what we see now in the fields of air travel and air cargo.
An order of magnitude (or two) greater than what we’re seeing now.
Good news is companies like SpaceX already foresee this, and are already turning up the heat …
If you’re up for it, we did a piece of our own on what it will take:
Thanks for tuning in.
Never forget: Space is the answer.
- Tai
#FortySuns
#40suns
My latest Earth-culture obsession:
PB & J. With Cheetos (the crunchy kind) and milk. Need I say more?
Last week's reader feedback:
The video you shared (last issue) says your homeworld is locked in place. One side bakes in the sun all the time. How the heck did you live there?
- Theo
Tai's response:
As I also said, most of those science channels are not peer-reviewed or beholden to the rigors of what’s typically demanded of scientific publications. Take all such artistic imaginings with a pinch of pepper.
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No. 011 - 19 January 2024
- A Disturbance In The Force?
- Starship: Chapter III
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- My Latest Obsession
- Other Things
Tai here.
A bit of a longer read this week, but still less than 4 minutes.
Let’s get started.
A Disturbance In The Force?
I’m sure you’ve heard the news from various sources.
Delays. Setbacks.
The moon is slipping.
The sky is falling.
On the 8th, as part of the much-anticipated successful launch of ULA’s Vulcan, which we announced last issue, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander was released on its journey to the moon and … rapidly became the subject of many negative headlines.
Peregrine was our first chance to return to the moon in over 50 years. Following on the heels of that, just days later, NASA announced a delay to the Artemis III mission to land four astronauts near the lunar south pole, by a year, until 2026. NASA’s announcement was unrelated, but the timing almost made it worse.
In many ways it was like a double punch to the gut.
And yet, I’m taking all this attention and adapting as a positive. The moon is our future. The moon is inevitable. We not only have governments dedicated to this objective, we have private companies dedicated to it. Lots of them, with lots to gain.
We’re doing this.
Check out the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative for more.
By way of explanation NASA’s chief, Bill Nelson, had this to say: “We are returning to the moon in a way we never have before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions.”
As noted by The Hill -- perfectly, I believe -- Astrobiotic’s glitch is a mere bump in the road for commercial moon landings. In a few years the early Artemis missions will be in the books and our lunar existence will be underway.
I won’t get more philosophical than that, but let’s just say we humans have a way of overcoming challenges and setbacks.
On that note, humans around the world are making the moon a priority. Not just NASA and private American companies. Lest we forget, there’s a space race heating up, and that competition will only drive innovation and results.
China, like the US, not only has its own national program, but it has its own companies developing space capabilities as well.
Gravity-1, a rocket built by Chinese company Orienspace, lifted off for the first time on the 11th.
From a ship at sea.
Not to veer too far from topic here, as we're talking lunar objectives, but China is pushing this perhaps even harder than America.
Successful liftoff of Gravity-1 made it the most powerful Chinese commercial rocket, as well as the most powerful solid-fueled launcher ever to ace an orbital mission.
The Moon or Bust. A disturbance in the force? Hardly. What we’re sensing is more the rumbling of our collective will as we push through and past barriers.
Along with the rumble of more than a few high-power rockets.
Starship: Chapter III
I’ll keep these last two short, since the first was kind of long.
Starship is the starting gun for our true extraplanetary future. I’ve talked about it in past issues.
I ran across two great articles; one posted on X, talking about some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at SpaceX reminding us how awesome this program is, the other on SpaceNews, regarding the possibility of a February launch.
SpaceX targets February for third Starship test flight
The Spy Who Loved Me
A short video from the WSJ, inside Boeing’s X-37B Space Plane and its secret missions …
Inside Boeing’s X-37B Space Plane
Thanks for tuning in.
Never forget: Space is the answer.
- Tai
#FortySuns
#40suns
My Latest Earth-culture obsession:
Hiking. Sounds simple enough, and you’d think as a Space Marine I would’ve had my fill of “hiking” – and it’s true, I’ve humped up many a hill and miles-long trail, with heavy gear on my back – but I’m talking the leisurely kind, for fun. The kind where you’re out in nature, it’s peaceful, the air doesn’t smell like sulfur, you hear birds not mortars, no gun in your hand, a low chance of getting shot … you get the idea. I’ve been on a few nature hikes (don’t laugh), and I kind of love it.
Last week's reader feedback:
Crazy how many daily launches will need to happen for us to have a truly space existence.
- Cindy
Tai's response:
Yes it is, Cindy. Yes it is. Check out the Starship segment above and the Program Highlights. SpaceX gets it. They’re talking several launches a day, from multiple places around the world.
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No. 012 - 26 January 2024
- The Whole Thing
- Beam Me Down, Scotty
- We Can Do This
- An Oasis Of Hope
- My Latest Obsession
- Other Things
Tai here.
Seems it’s been an extra-busy week in space. I’ve tried to pick the top stories.
Let’s get started.
The Whole Thing
Another great WSJ video, this one showcasing the plans of Stoke Space, one of my favorite innovators in the NewSpace field. They're looking to create a rocket where every part of it is rapidly reusable.
Including the upper stage.
They're working on an innovative "ring of fire", a series of smaller rockets encircling the metal reentry shield. By placing them outside the shield the orbital stage will be able to re-enter the atmosphere, then have rocket propulsion to perform a controlled landing.
Very cool stuff.
It may even end up being the stuff of future rockets across the board.
Let's cheer them on. And let’s hear it for innovators everywhere getting it done.
Yes, they've got a long road ahead of them, of course, but then so did every other ambitious enterprise throughout human history.
Check out the video ...
Stoke Space: Reusable Upper Stage
Beam Me Down, Scotty
Our power needs here on Earth continue to rise and will continue to rise, and that's a good thing. It's one of the best indications of progress.
Those power needs, however, bring with them their own challenges -- not least of which is generating it in such a way that we don't continue to belch out lots of nasty byproducts.
Plenty of solutions are being worked on; some are on the horizon, others are further off. One big one, if we can capture it, is the power of the sun itself.
In any given year enough sunlight falls on the surface of the Earth to provide all our global power needs many, many times over. Effectively capturing and transmitting that power is, of course, the key.
Consistency can also be an issue (what, with clouds and night and all), but if we could grab it in space and beam it down, we might solve that hurdle.
Caltech sent up a demonstrator to test ways to do this, and it just completed its mission. All experiments were successful, demonstrating how this novel idea might work ...
We Can Do This
Private space company Axiom Space just docked their third crewed mission to the ISS (International Space Station), Ax-3, delivering four astronauts to begin their two-week stay aboard.
Neat thing is, Ax-3 carried Axiom's first all-European crew -- who themselves joined a truly international group already aboard the station, with astronauts from Denmark, Japan, the US, and Russia.
This clear demonstration of unity warms my heart.
Yes, there's a lot of acrimony on Earth (big word, I know), but it ain't as bad as it's made to seem. There's way more of us interested in getting along and setting new, higher bars together.
The High Frontier of Space is calling. I think the people of Earth are more than ready.
Number Of Nationalities Aboard ISS Doubles
An Oasis Of Hope
Speaking of Europe, The ESA's Mars Express orbiter may have spotted huge ice water deposits below the surface of Mars.
Importantly, it's located at the equator, not the poles.
If accessible, that could make it a whole lot easier for future Mars human exploration missions.
Colin Wilson, a project scientist at ESA, had this to say:
"One of the reasons we were excited about finding water ice at low latitudes is that that is where future exploration missions, in particular human exploration missions, are going to have to land for reasons of orbital mechanics and also power availability."
Ice Water Deposits Discovered At The Red Planet's Equator
Thanks for tuning in.
Never forget: Space is the answer.
- Tai
#FortySuns
#40suns
My latest Earth-culture obsession:
Skydiving. I mean, back on Proxima B, in the Corps, I did aerial insertions, even used an exosuit a few times with jump packs – wild stuff, that – but there’s something about jumping out of an airplane 10,000 feet up (not a very tactical height), for the pure joy of it … Such a rush. No one shooting at you, clear blue skies. Highly recommend.
Dad Joke (of the week):
Where do bad rainbows go?
Prism. It’s a light sentence.
Last week’s reader feedback:
I appreciated your take on our return to the moon in last week’s issue. I would add that us on the moon is inevitable, and so it really does deserve our full attention. We need to raise awareness and participation in the conversation.
- Anthony
Tai’s response:
Anthony, you hit the nail on the head. Have you read the Forty Suns book? I feel everyone should. Lots of important info in there that discusses exactly that.
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