Copernical Team
Printed engines propel the next industrial revolution
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In the fall of 2023, NASA hot fire tested an aluminum 3D printed rocket engine nozzle. Aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing because the process causes it to crack, and its low melting point makes it a challenging material for rocket engines. Yet the test was a success.
Printing aluminum engine parts could save significant time, money, and weight for future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now making those benefits available to the commercial space industry and beyond.
Artemis missions could put the most powerful imaging telescope on the moon
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Ground-based interferometry on Earth has proven to be a successful method for conducting science by combining light from several telescopes into acting like a single large telescope. But how can an ultraviolet (UV)/optical interferometer telescope on the moon deliver enhanced science, and can the Artemis missions help make this a reality?
This is what a recently submitted study to the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024 conference hopes to address as a team of researchers propose the Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI) that, as its name implies, could potentially be delivered to the lunar surface via NASA's upcoming Artemis missions. The study is published on the arXiv preprint server.
This proposal was recently accepted as a Phase 1 study through NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program and holds the potential to develop revolutionary extremely high-angular resolution way of conducting science on other planetary bodies while contributing to other missions, as well.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 to conduct space station research
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NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are headed to the International Space Station for the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September. Once on station, these crew members will support scientific investigations that include studies of blood clotting, effects of moisture on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts.
Here are details on some of the work scheduled during the Crew-9 expedition:
Blood cell development in space
Megakaryocytes Orbiting in Outer Space and Near Earth (MeF1) investigates how environmental conditions affect the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets. Megakaryocytes, large cells found in bone marrow, and platelets, pieces of these cells, play important roles in blood clotting and immune response.
"Understanding the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets during long-duration spaceflight is crucial to safeguarding the health of astronauts," said Hansjorg Schwertz, principal investigator, at the University of Utah.
Stuck-in-space astronauts make first public comments since Boeing capsule left without them
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Stuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.
It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in.
"That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity.
Want to walk in space? It might cost you more than money
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A tech billionaire has become the first layperson to perform a space walk. Hundreds of miles above Earth, Jared Isaacman took part in an intricate performance of science and engineering that often comes with some serious health risks, even for professional astronauts.
Elon Musk's SpaceX partnered with Isaacman to bring the Polaris Dawn mission to life, which featured a five-day flight to 460 miles above the planet. From bulges in the hatch seal to an unresponsive button for accessing the ship, there were a few glitches during the trek. But the "risky venture," as SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability Bill Gerstenmaier put it, could have gone significantly worse.
"You have to embrace the suck," European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano told NPR.
"At one point during the spacewalk, you're going to be hot, you're going to be cold, your hands are going to hurt," he continued.
During a space walk in 2013, Parmitano's cooling system suffered a major malfunction—his helmet was filling with water, creeping up his skin and over his head because of the capillary pressure at zero G.
Aging, overworked and underfunded: NASA faces a dire future, according to experts
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Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking, and ambitions that far outstrip its funding are just a few of the problems threatening the future of America's vaunted civil space agency, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In a report commissioned by Congress, experts said that a number of the agency's technological resources are suffering, including the Deep Space Network—an international collection of giant radio antennas that is overseen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
Report authors warned that NASA has, for too long, prioritized near-term missions at the cost of long-term investments in its infrastructure, workforce and technology.
"The inevitable consequence of such a strategy is to erode those essential capabilities that led to the organization's greatness in the first place and that underpin its future potential," the report said.
The choice facing the agency is stark, lead author Norman Augustine said Tuesday: Either the U.S. must increase funding for NASA, or the agency must cut some missions.
"For NASA, this is not a time for business as usual," said Augustine, a former executive at Lockheed Martin.
SpaceX launches its 60th Space Coast mission for the year
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SpaceX passed 60 launches for the year from the Space Coast early Thursday with a Falcon 9 mission taking a set of five satellites to space.
The rocket flying the BlueBird 1-5 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:52 a.m.
Its first-stage booster flew for the 13th time and brought a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida with a return touchdown back at Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 eight minutes after liftoff.
The payload is the first five of a new constellation of satellites for Midland, Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, part of a space-based cellular broadband network in low-Earth orbit to be accessible by everyday smartphones for both commercial and government use.
Beta test users will be for AT&T and Verizon with an eventual coverage area across the U.S. and in select global markets.
SpaceX is honing in on breaking its 2023 record for launches from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral. It managed 68 last year.
So far in 2024, it has flown 60 of the 64 total launches among all Space Coast launch pads, with the other four coming from United Launch Alliance.
MDA Space secures contract with SWISSto12 for antenna systems on HummingSat GEO Satellites
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MDA Space Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a key partner in global space missions, has been awarded a contract by SWISSto12 to supply antenna systems for three HummingSat geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites. These satellites are part of the Inmarsat-8 program, which will deliver vital safety services and enhance emergency tracking capabilities.
Under this contract, MDA Space will design and build L-Band Atoms on the edge
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Typically, electrons are free agents that can move through most metals in any direction. When they encounter an obstacle, the charged particles experience friction and scatter randomly like colliding billiard balls.
But in certain exotic materials, electrons can appear to flow with single-minded purpose. In these materials, electrons may become locked to the material's edge and flow in one What time is it on the moon? NASA's trying to figure that out
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NASA said Thursday its Space Communication and Navigation program is taking the lead on an effort to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time standard as humans prepare to return to the moon.
The program, also known as SCaN, will coordinate with various stakeholders on a timekeeping effort to "enable a future lunar ecosystem" that could also be extended to Mars and other locations in solar sy