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

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

__

No. 039 - 2 August  2024

• A Matter of Doritos
• She's Got Legs
• Et Tu, EU?
• The Generals
• Other Things

Tai here.

This is the state of space as of August 2nd.

Let’s get started.

A Matter of Doritos

In “interesting for the sake of interest” news (often the best kind), data from NASA’s MESSENGER mission has shown Mercury may have a diamond mantle about ten miles thick.

Show me the money: Many issues ago we talked about a mission to another remarkable treasure in our solar system, the all-metal asteroid, Psyche, and how much the metals of that asteroid would be worth. Now here’s this latest bit of info from a different mission, that Mercury may be harboring uncountable carats of diamonds.

The numbers are absurd, of course, along with the idea of truly cashing in on them (macroeconomics and all kinds of foundational stuff we’d have to throw out the window), but for me it does highlight a very important point:

True scarcity does not exist.

No limits: Local scarcity, sure, but there’s infinite everything out there, once we can get to it.

It’s kind of like Doritos.

Saying we have a limited amount of gold on Earth, for example, is like saying we have a limited amount of Doritos in our house. A statement that’s probably true, yet not the entire picture.

A limited personal stash of Doritos in our house is likely — and perhaps quite sadly — the reality of our life, but if we have a car, a bike, two good legs, there’s plenty of stores in range to help us increase our stash.

So … when we say we have “limited” resources here on Earth it’s really just a way of saying we need to figure out ways to get to the abundance out there waiting.

She’s Got Legs

In the world of super-heavies, Blue Origin’s New Glenn is making progress.

Big muscles: New Glenn, along with Starship from SpaceX, will provide super-lift capabilities as critical pieces of our Space Age 2.0 infrastructure.

Ahead of New Glenn’s first test flight later this year, Blue Origin shared a short video showing a test of the landing legs that will be attached to New Glenn’s first stage.

It shows how the legs will emerge at the base of the rocket in the final moments before touching down ...

Blue Origin Shows Off Landing Mechanism for New Glenn

Et Tu, EU?

Europe is taking their space game to the next level.

They’re already in the game, of course, as is just about every country and region across the planet (space is “trending” big time, in case you hadn’t noticed), but Europe has recently announced that it’s launching its first space resources accelerator.

Throttling up: The accelerator hopes to help businesses whose aim is to extract resources and to provide critical operational technologies to help support a sustainable human presence on the Moon …

ESA Launches Accelerator to Kickstart the Lunar Economy

The Generals

A few other, general items of good news.

Starbase: SpaceX has asked the FAA for permission for up to 25 flights a year from South Texas, as well as the capability to land both the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster stage back at the launch site.

This week the FAA signaled that it is inclined to grant permission for this.

Point to Point: New Frontier Aerospace, a space transportation company with visions of high speed point-to-point travel, has begun tests of their Mjolnir engine.

New Frontier plans to use the engine on a vehicle called the Intercontinental Rocketliner, a suborbital vehicle intended to carry 100 people on high-speed flights around the planet at hypersonic speeds.

Sailing Away: After launching in April aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from New Zealand, NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is ready to unfurl.

The project team expects to deploy the sail in the next few weeks.

Cool fact, the Solar Sail System should be easily visible at times in the night sky once the sail is fully deployed.

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):

Just so everyone is clear.

I’m putting on my glasses.

Last week’s reader feedback:

Cool that they found a cave on the moon!

- MJ

Tai’s response:

Indeed. Those sorts of existing structures may one day be used for our lunar habitats. Lava tubes are thought to spider-web pretty much everywhere beneath the moon’s surface. What if we turn a few into subways? Then you could be whisked around quickly and easily to all sorts of destinations. I won't be surprised if we have those one day.

__

No. 040 - 9 August  2024

Tai here.

I have news of my own this week. I’ll be away for a bit, and won’t be doing another report until probably mid-September.

After that I hope to get back to my usual, weekly updates. Your crossed fingers for my return are much appreciated.

I know how you love to hear my take on space each Friday.

Others of you have just joined, and I’m very glad to have you. Apologies for the timing. My goal is to pick this back up soon.

Meantime watch for the Polaris Dawn mission; it might go up before the month is out. Same thing with the next Starship test flight.

A lot is happening, and I’ll miss not covering it, but in the words of the Terminator:

“I’ll be back.”

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

Dad Joke (didn’t think I’d leave you without one, did you?):

What’s green and fuzzy, has four legs, and if it fell out of a tree could kill you?

A pool table.