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. 001 - 10 November 2023

Tai here.

This one’s a 3-minute read.

Let’s get started.

Spaceplanes!

Sierra Space rocks. Just want to make that note. Sierra Space is one of the many amazing, private companies focused on our space future. Their jam? Building the first end-to-end business and technology platform for the next frontier.

One cool thing they’re working on is a spaceplane.

It’s called Dream Chaser.

They just announced the successful completion of their first Flight Operations Review at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, a crucial step in preparation for Dream Chaser’s (coming soon) inaugural flight to the International Space Station.

Dream Chaser is the first-ever winged commercial spaceplane. “Commercial” being the key point there, and possibly the coolest. There are two models, crewed and uncrewed, and it is awesome.

Kudos to Sierra Space.

Read More

Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics (SAML)

Sadly, or maybe not sadly but expectedly, a military branch dedicated to the safeguarding of space speaks to me.

The US Space Force is four years old next month, and they’ve been working all angles when it comes to their SAML mandate. In case you don’t know, SAML is defined as “the movement and support of military equipment and personnel into the space domain, from the space domain back to Earth, and through the space domain.”

Gotta love that military phrasing.

By the way, quick pause here for a standing salute to the people at Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space. It’s kind of old news at this point, but two months ago they successfully demonstrated advanced Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) capabilities for the USSF by executing an extremely fast launch-on-demand. That was back before I started reporting, but it’s so awesome I’m going to mention it here.

Code named VICTUS NOX, they got the call and, from “cold iron”, transported a payload to the launch site, conducted fueling operations and integrated it with the rocket, pulling that entire operation off in 58 hours – handily crushing the typical timeline for such a maneuver of weeks or months.

Then they launched it 27 hours later.

Well done, guys.

Anyway, the USSF is heading into Phase 3 of its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, with industry proposals due December 15th.

We’re at a critical inflection point when it comes to the pursuit of space overall. The space industry is going like gangbusters, but it needs to keep up that pace.

Much of what the USSF is doing, especially in cooperation with the commercial space sector, will help drive us past the dangerous threat of slowing down.

Read More

Arriba, arriba! … Andale, andale!

Speaking of slowing down, did you hear about the Parker Solar Probe?

It’s speeding up.

By the way, in case you didn’t catch the reference, the above headline is from Speedy Gonzales, one of Earth’s way-old cartoons. Your guys’ pop culture is nothing like back home. So much color and noise. I have to say I don’t hate it.

But the Parker probe. Next year it will reach a sphincter-pinching 430,000 miles per hour.

That’s one trip around the Earth’s equator every three minutes plus a few seconds or so.

Each time it slings around the sun it gets faster, meaning in the next year it will continue to break records (its own). As of right now the Parker Probe is only in competition with itself. In addition to traveling 150 times faster than one of your fastest Earth rifle bullets, the probe is doing other things, like gathering valuable data on the sun and, extra cool (literally), showcasing heat shield technology which has allowed it to pass through your sun’s outer atmosphere.

Of course the speed has been the splashiest headline.

Nour Raouafi, an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and project scientist for the mission, confirmed the significance of that record-breaking velocity by making the following highly scientific observation. You, like me, are probably not a scientist, but I’ll go ahead and include his technical assessment here.

Mister Raouafi said:

“It’s very fast.”

Indeed.

Read More

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

My latest Earth-culture obsession:
Eighties rock band The Clash. They’re from, like, almost fifty years ago, but I’m digging their vibe. (I’m also picking up a bunch of Earth slang, as you can tell.)

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No. 002 - 17 November 2023

Tai here.

This one’s a two-and-a-half-minute read.

Let’s get started.

Artemis Hippopartemis

This is something that, honestly, is pretty normal (I’d go so far as to say it’s standard procedure where I’m from), but when it comes to your space future here on Earth delays of any kind bother me.

Mainly because that future is not yet guaranteed. There isn’t yet enough momentum built up in your space programs to be sure initiatives won’t fade or – worse – get deprioritized.

Such grand plans are ambitious, which means they’re hard. Space is hard. It’s not for the squeamish, or the less-than-motivated. Over time such ambitious dreams will slip if we let them.

It’s easy to ease up.

I’m self-aware enough to know I can be abrasive, but it’s just my form of tough love. The pressure we must maintain in order to succeed might be uncomfortable, at times, but it’s a prereq to meet the demands of achieving an extraplanetary existence.

What I’m talking about in this particular case is the lunar terrain rover (LTV) delay. It isn’t that big a deal in the overall picture – great strides have been being made toward these objectives, and this isn’t really a setback – but, again, it’s the sort of sign I just do not want to see.

Too much is riding on these programs staying fully trimmed, running at Max Q.

(If you’re looking for ways to help be part of the solution, see my next segment below.)

Budget struggles are normal. Deprioritizing space, however, is a horrible thing to contemplate.

The LTV Delay

That Thing You Know But May Not Know

Want to get involved?

There are lots of ways to get involved in space, if you know where to look. I plan to start covering a few as part of these weekly reports.

One of the most popular ways, and an organization you’ve likely heard the most about, is The Planetary Society.

As you know, I’m a huge advocate of pitching in toward our space future. The Planetary Society has a whole arm devoted to doing just that.

They say, rightly, “You have the power to influence government decisions and help shape the future of space exploration.”

Check out their Action Center for more …

Learn More About The Planetary Society

Probing The Darks

Back in July the European Space Agency launched Euclid, a cool new telescope and so-called dark Universe detective. Euclid is investigating how dark matter and dark energy have made our Universe look like it does today.

It just sent back its first images.

Over the next six years it will observe the shapes, distances and motions of galaxies out to a range of 10 billion light-years, creating the largest cosmic 3D map ever made.

Another example of science making discoveries we can use to better understand our world.

I personally hope dark energy will one day be understood well enough to be put to use. Maybe to drive a new generation of faster spaceships. Starships?

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

But I'm just one girl with a big dream.

Check out the ESA article for some great pics:

See & Read More

PS: I hope next week I’m writing to tell you how Starship Test #2 happened. Let’s all keep our eyes crossed.

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

My latest Earth-culture obsession:

Chibis! Chibi-style anything, really. I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to get enough. They make me smile so much. Chibi is the word for that style of art in anime where the characters are all chubby and out of proportion, usually with oversized heads and big eyes. Maybe someone will do a chibi version of me.

Last Week’s Reader Feedback:

Loved your take on the Space Force. If you had an Earth, actually, an American citizenship, would you join? Could you see yourself founding Earth's first Space Marines?

- Trevor

Tai’s Response:

Kind of two questions, Trevor, but I'll answer. To your first, at this stage I think I’m able to make a bigger difference with Forty Suns, so I'd keep doing what I'm doing. As for the second, I could totally see that, yes, but I'm pretty sure it ain't gonna happen.

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No. 003 - 24 November 2023

• Starlab
• The Commercial Space Race
• PS: Starship
• Tai’s Latest Obsession
• Other Things

Tai here.

For those of you of the capitalist persuasion, Happy Black Friday. For those of the American variety, hope you had a rejuvenating Turkey Day.

Let’s get started.

Starlab

This is cool space station news.

Back on the 9th of this month, at the European Space Summit in Seville, Spain, two major players in aerospace, Airbus and Voyager Space, signed an MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding) with the European Space Agency (ESA). That MOU laid out the intent to study how the companies’ Starlab commercial space station might be used to give Europe continued access to space when the ISS (International Space Station) is retired – scheduled to happen in 2030 (though that could change).

Starlab is the corporate partners’ transatlantic venture meant to develop, build, and operate a commercial space station.

In case you hadn't noticed, a lot is happening in the commercial space sector.

The ESA is set to take advantage of that very fact.

Read More

The Commercial Space Race

Speaking of the commercial space sector, competition is good. At least, the healthy, progress-spirited kind is. From what I can see of your world, much of your success has come from motivation inspired by a competitive playing field. It’s how you keep coming up with better ways to do things.

Case in point: the launch industry. Obviously at the moment SpaceX is leading the pack, but there are many other players on the rise. What SpaceX has done for the industry is light a fire under everyone’s asses. (Badump bump – get it? Like a fire under a rocket? I’m still getting the hang of Earth humor. Hell, humor in general. Wasn’t much funny back on Proxima B.)

Without the relentless tempo of SpaceX launches everyone else probably would’ve been moving a wee bit slower. Thinking there was time to kill.

So, in that sense, I’m grateful for the motivation provided by dear SpaceX. That said, I’m also glad these other players are stepping up their game. Blue Origin's New Glenn, Rocket Lab's Neutron and, finally, United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket will be taking to space very soon.

Let's support all these companies – and the many others – getting us to the next frontier.

Our future depends on their can-do spirit.

Expanding The Commercial Space Race

PS: Speaking of SpaceX, great job on Starship Test #2 last week! Did you see that clean liftoff? All engines burning bright, the brand-new deluge system working perfectly, then the hot-staging! The live-burn separation and flight to full speed of the Starship itself. So. Utterly. Cool. One thing I did notice, though, which disturbed me, was that many of your news headlines had a slightly, if not wholly, negative slant. What gives? Is your news always like that? If so you need to demand more. Clearly they can’t be idiots, so why focus on failures? Clearly the successes here are the real headlines. Focusing on the negative helps no one. Or … could they truly be stupid? And they don’t see how massively successful this was? Seems so unlikely. I hope to find out this was just an anomaly. At any rate, that little dark spot aside, this was incredible progress for the SpaceX team and, indeed, for all of us. Huzzah! (Did I use that right?)

Watch it take off in Slow Mo

Thanks for tuning in.

Never forget: Space is the answer.

- Tai

#FortySuns

#40suns

Wonder what’s happening in space?

Now you know.

My latest Earth-culture obsession:

Books. Uncensored books, I should say. Your guys’ freedom of speech is way beyond anything on Proxima B. I’m loving what I’ve been reading. People would’ve been shot for some of the things you’re allowed to say. Word of advice: Don’t let that freedom go.

Last Week’s Reader Feedback:

You say you hope one day dark energy will be understood. Had they made any more progress toward understanding dark energy back on your world of Proxima B? They’re more advanced than us, right?

- Jia

Tai’s Response:

Hi, Jia. When it comes to stuff like that, you guys here on Earth are further ahead. Thirty or so years ago my world took a turn for the worse. We were then about where you guys are now. Since then we’ve learned a lot more about how to make better plasma cannons than we have useful science. Last I was there we didn’t know about dark anything. Except, of course, that in our grim dark future there is only war. (To use a cool line from one of your better tabletop games.)

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