Spaceflight 🚀

#Vulcan’s future might be constrained. As competition intensifies, with the potential for #SpaceX to lower prices in response, Vulcan could face challenges in remaining cost-competitive. We witness the possibility of an era’s conclusion, observing the launch of massive, #expensive rockets — a spectacle that may be replaced by more economically #efficient alternatives in the aerospace industry https://everydayastronaut.com/how-does-ulas-vulcan-compare-to-the-competition/

#LaunchCost

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116369512591317646

#Isaacman said it is important for #SpaceX’s #Starship and #BlueOrigin’s #NewGlenn rocket 🚀 to reach higher launch cadences to support not just Artemis III but many future missions to the lunar 🌙 surface. #NASA is clearly watching both closely.

During Artemis III, the #Orion spacecraft will launch (presumably with four astronauts 🧑‍🚀) on a #SLS rocket. In Earth orbit, they will rendezvous with one or both of NASA’s #HLS (Starship’s upper stage and a modified #BlueMoon lander)

#Artemis

#Aristarchus crater is 40 kilometers in diameter and 2700 meters deep (23.73°N, 312.51°E) https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1022

More pictures : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Aristarchus_(crater)

#Moon #LRO #LunarReconnaissanceOrbiter

Launched in 📆 2009, #LRO captures some 12 Earthrises 🌏 daily https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-e3c14bd8-b88b-412d-864e-a0a7e4c37c7d/

#NASA #LunarReconnaissanceOrbiter #Artemis #sarcasm #Artemis

#LunarReconnaissanceOrbiter #images https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images

#LRO #NASA

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116359147440903975

#Orion’s big test is yet to come with the fiery 🔥 #reentry through Earth’s atmosphere on Friday.

So far, it’s looking like the rocket and spaceship needed for a lunar landing are getting there for #NASA. The biggest remaining piece of the architecture is the Human Landing System.

#HLS #SpaceX #BlueOrigin #Artemis

#LRO launched in 📆 2009 on a mission to create high-resolution 🔍 topography #maps for future #NASA astronauts. The telescope 🔭 and camera system can see details up to 2.5 meters across. The cameras have captured views of the #Apollo sites so detailed you can see astronauts’ footprints 👣 https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter

#Moon #mapping

#SpaceWeather : #Sun ☀️ activity jumped to moderate over the past day, with 24 total flares. Three of them were M, or moderate flares, and one was edging up toward being an X flare

Forecast:

📆 April 4 we might get more G1-G2 (minor-moderate) #geomagnetic storms
📆 April 5 possibly with more G1 enhancements
📆 April 6 unsettled-to-active conditions as effects from the solar wind stream and #CME start to subside

https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/

The basis of #Michelin’s lunar tire 🛞 is an airless design using polyether ether ketone (#PEEK) thermoplastic that has a useful operating temperature up to 250C 🌡️. The material must be soft and flexible but also rigid. The contact surface is wide like a snowshoe because the regolith is fluffy and volatile, so this will be needed to maintain traction. Michelin also uses an extinct volcano as part of its testing process, because the fine rocky dust is both soft and abrasive https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmorris/2025/04/12/michelins-next-tire-race-win-could-be-to-the-moon/

Unlike the easily predictable #radiation ☢️ exposures from flying through the Van Allen Belts or basking in the background flux of #galactic 🌌 cosmic rays, the dose an #astronaut gets from #solar ☀️ activity can vary enormously. Predicting #SpaceWeather remains a decidedly inexact 🔮 #science. High-energy #protons and #ions can tear through metal and flesh alike, damaging #DNA and other delicate cellular machinery. Typically, these showers are linked to #CME https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-weather-could-threaten-nasas-artemis-ii-astronauts-during-their-trip/

#SpaceWeather : The chance for strong flares ☀️ increased to 20%. The main driver is active region #AR4405

Forecast:

📆 April 1: A #CME may provoke enhancements up to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storming late today

📆 April 2: G1 (minor) #geomagnetic storm levels expected

📆 April 3: Unsettled to active conditions may occur. A chance of G1 (minor) storm intervals exists if the next coronal hole’s fast solar wind stream arrives earlier than expected

https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/

#NASA will launch the #SpaceReactor1 Freedom, the first nuclear ☢️ powered #interplanetary spacecraft, to #Mars 🔴 before the end of 📆 2028. Nuclear #ElectricPropulsion enables high power missions beyond #Jupiter 🪐 where #solar arrays are not effective https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-unveils-initiatives-to-achieve-americas-national-space-policy/

#SpacecraftPropulsion #SR1

“The goal of #Isaacman is 30 landings in three years”. Only #Firefly’s #BlueGhost 1 mission a year ago was a complete success. The two #IntuitiveMachines landers fell over upon landing. #Astrobotic’s #Peregrine lander malfunctioned hours after launch and was unable to attempt a landing.

There are four #CLPS missions currently scheduled for launch this year: Astrobotic’s Griffin-1, #BlueOrigin’s #BlueMoon Mark 1, Firefly’s Blue Ghost 2 and Intuitive Machines’ #IM3 https://spacenews.com/nasa-considering-sharp-increase-in-robotic-lunar-landings/

2026 #lunar 🌙 missions

• #Astrobotic’s #Griffin lander is scheduled for July 2026, will carry #Astrolab’s FLEX rover
• #IntuitiveMachines' third #NovaC mission in the second half of the year will carry payloads for #NASA, #ESA, and #KASI
• #BlueOrigin's first lunar landing with its #BlueMoon #Mark1 craft
• #Firefly's #BlueGhost Mission 2 in November will carry five payloads to the lunar surface
• #China is planning a #ChangE 7 landing near the lunar south pole

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/space-science-2026-preview/

#Moon

#BE4 is a LNG-fueled engine capable of producing 2,450 kN thrust 🚀 https://www.blueorigin.com/engines/be-4
#BE3U (upper stage) is a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine capable of generating 778 kN thrust in vacuum 🌌 https://www.blueorigin.com/engines/be-3u

#NewGlenn #BlueOrigin

🇨🇳 #Chang’e 7 is expected to launch in 📆 August*, carrying a total of 18 scientific payloads: a relay #satellite, an #orbiter, a lunar #lander, a #rover, a mini-flying probe, payloads from #Russia, #Egypt, #Bahrain, #Thailand, #Italy, #Switzerland, #Hawaii https://payloadspace.com/chinas-is-on-track-to-beat-the-us-to-extract-lunar-water/

* https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/4723/

#CNSA #China #US #NASA #SpaceRace #Moon

#Supporters say a #SpaceProgram will provide jobs for #researchers and is likely to reduce the brain 🧠 drain of emigrating #scientists 🤔 https://apnews.com/article/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-moon-spacex-europe-a763414e402eb70e78ae2c2a89134f33

#Turkey #SpacePolitics #mockery

🇨🇳 #ChangE8 📆 2028 : “Through data sharing and task delegation, the #robots 🤖 will work together like a team, achieving objectives that would be impossible for independent robots to complete” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3296324/change-8-moon-mission-first-get-robotic-boost-chinas-private-sector

#SpaceRobot #MoonMining #ISRU

Membership and contribution 💰 to #ESA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency#Membership_and_contribution_to_ESA

🇪🇺 #EuropeanUnion @[email protected] 28.4%
🇫🇷 France #CNES 24.5%
🇩🇪 Germany #DLR 21.1%
🇮🇹 Italy #ASI 14.1%
🇬🇧 United Kingdom #UKSA 9.1%
🇧🇪 Belgium #BELSPO 5%
🇪🇸 Spain #AEE 4.6%
🇨🇭 Switzerland #SSO 3.6%

#Science 📆 31 Aug 2023 #human ancestors went through a severe population bottleneck with about 1280 📉 breeding individuals between around 930,000 and 813,000 years ago. The bottleneck lasted for about 117,000 years and brought human ancestors close to #extinction ☠️. https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/09/did-our-ancestors-become-an-endangered-species-a-million-years-ago

#Evolution #IntelligentLife #SETI

Picture : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timeline_evolution_of_life.svg

#WashingtonPost 📆 May 2021 "The #first known #report of damage caused by #SpaceDebris came as early as 📆 1969. An #unidentified #object had fallen from #space and hit a #freighter that was traveling off the #coast of #Siberia, #seriously #injuring five crewmen. #Tokyo initially kept that #information a #secret 🕵️, out of a desire to avoid provoking a conflict with #Moscow" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/08/space-debris-crashes

Picture (symbolic) :cc_zero: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A13656.jpg

📆 2023/02/16 Four 4️⃣ private #SpaceStations planned

• #AxiomSpace
• #NorthropGrumman
• #VoyagerSpace / #Nanoracks
• #SierraSpace / #BlueOrigin

"It's going to be a small percentage that #NASA is going to be funding these #SpaceStations" so each project needs "to go out and raise #capital 💰 to do this." https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/investing-in-space-the-space-station-kingmaker.html

Several other #SpaceNews in this article : #FAA #SpaceX #IntuitiveMachines #CASC #Roscosmos #AerojetRocketdyne #Maxar #VirginOrbit #VirginGalactic #SpaceRyde #Inmarsat #Astranis #SidusSpace #RocketLab #RelativitySpace #AllSpace #Iridium #AerojetRockdyne #JAXA #SpaceCom

Pictures : "Langley engineers check out the interior of the #inflatable 24-foot #SpaceStation in 📆 1962.", #Bigelow #SpaceStation, #CrewDragon approaches #ISS Kibo laboratory https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langley_engineers_inside_inflatable_a_24-foot_spacestation_mock-up.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bigelow_Aerospace_facilities.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crew-2_dragon_approach.jpg

How many #space agencies did you know ?
#ASAL 🇩🇿 #GGPEN 🇦🇴 #CONAE 🇦🇷 #NSSA 🇧🇭 #AEB 🇧🇷 #CSA 🇨🇦 #CMSA #CNSA 🇨🇳 #DASHE 🇩🇰 #EgSA 🇪🇬 #ESAI 🇸🇻 #CNES 🇫🇷 #DLR 🇩🇪 #ISRO 🇮🇳 #LAPAN 🇮🇩 #ISA 🇮🇱 #ASI 🇮🇹 #JAXA 🇯🇵 #KENSA 🇰🇪 #LSA 🇱🇺 #AEM 🇲🇽 #NZSA 🇳🇿 #SUPARCO 🇵🇰 #CONIDA 🇵🇪 #PhilSA 🇵🇭 #KARI #KASI 🇰🇷 #ROSA 🇷🇴 #ROSCOSMOS 🇨🇳 #SSC 🇸🇦 #SANSA 🇿🇦 #CDTI 🇪🇸 #SSAU 🇺🇦 #UKSA 🇬🇧 #NASA 🇺🇸 #ZINGSA 🇿🇼 #APSCO #EUSPA 🇪🇺 #ESA 🇪🇺 https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space-agencies.html

#SpaceAgency