NASA Mission Update When Artemis I launches to the Moon and back there will be A LOT of science hitching a ride! From CubeSats designed to hunt for water deposits on the lunar surface to experiments on how life responds to space – and so much more. The Artemis I mission consists of the Space Launch System rocket that will send the uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back […]

by Erika Peters
NASA’s Johnson Space Center

HOUSTON — Join NASA’s Orion spacecraft on its first mission around the Moon using the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) to track the spacecraft’s flight as it happens.

On the web, users can follow AROW to see where Orion is in relation to the Earth and the Moon and follow Orion’s path during the mission.

Originally published by MDPI Open Access Journals

Rocket Lab Mission to Venus

by Richard French ^1,*,Christophe Mandy ¹,Richard Hunter ¹,Ehson Mosleh ¹,Doug Sinclair ¹,Peter Beck ¹,Sara Seager ^2,3,4,Janusz J. Petkowski ²,Christopher E. Carr ⁵,David H. Grinspoon ⁶,Darrel Baumgardner ^7,8 and on behalf of the Rocket Lab Venus Team ^†1

Rocket Lab, 3881 McGowen Street, Long Beach, CA 90808, USA
² Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
³ Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁴ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁵ School of Aerospace Engineering and School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
⁶ Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
⁷ Droplet Measurement Technologies, LLC, 2400 Trade Centre Ave, Longmont, CO 80503, USA
⁸ Cloud Measurement Solutions, LLC, 415 Kit Carson Rd., Unit 7, Taos, NM 87571, USA
^* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
^† Collaborators/Membership of the Group/Team Name is provided in the Acknowledgments.

Academic Editor: Pierre Rochus
Aerospace 2022, 9(8), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9080445
Received: 21 July 2022 / Revised: 10 August 2022 / Accepted: 11 August 2022 / Published: 13 August 2022|
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Search for Signs of Life on Venus: Science Objectives and Mission Designs)

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Abstract

Regular, low-cost Decadal-class science missions to planetary destinations will be enabled by high-ΔV small spacecraft, such as the high-energy Photon, and small launch vehicles, such as Electron, to support expanding opportunities for scientists and to increase the rate of science return. The Rocket Lab mission to Venus is a small direct entry probe planned for baseline launch in May 2023 with accommodation for a single ~1 kg instrument. A backup launch window is available in January 2025. The probe mission will spend about 5 min in the Venus cloud layers at 48–60 km altitude above the surface and collect in situ measurements. We have chosen a low-mass, low-cost autofluorescing nephelometer to search for organic molecules in the cloud particles and constrain the particle composition.

Keywords: Venus; Rocket Lab; autofluorescing nephelometer; small spacecraft; small launch vehicle

SpaceX Mission Update SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 19 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 3:21 p.m. ET (19:21 UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, August 20 at 2:59 p.m. ET (18:59 UTC). The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS […]

18 August 2022

• R3-IoT now named Krucial, representing the importance of making digital transformation available for all, no matter location or conditions
• Launch of flagship product Krucial CONNECT, which connects smart devices anywhere on earth regardless of infrastructure or conditions, already garnering worldwide interest 

GLASGOW, Scotland (Krucial PR) — Satellite-enabled connectivity scale-up R3-IoT has announced a bold, forward-looking full rebrand as Krucial and officially launched its game-changing new flagship product, Krucial CONNECT, to market.

NASA Program Update

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 19, to announce regions near the lunar South Pole the agency has identified as potential areas for astronauts to land as part of the Artemis III mission, targeted for 2025. This will be the first time astronauts will set foot on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Audio of the briefing will livestream on NASA’s website.

SAN FRANCISCO (Vector Space Biosciences PR) — To establish a lunar base or go to Mars, understanding how to protect and repair the human body during spaceflight is imperative. Countermeasures against diseases associated to stressors during spaceflight, such as microgravity and radiation, need to be developed quickly. Vector Space Biosciences has developed a platform of computational solutions designed to accelerate the development of countermeasures like these including new applications connected to drug repurposing, therapeutic target identification, molecular design and nutrigenomic cocktail development which translate to marketable therapeutic applications including precision medicine for all humankind.

Sierra Space ‘Clear to Proceed’ with Physical Testing of Integrated Reactor That Extracts Oxygen from Moon’s Surface

Innovative Technology is Critical for Astronaut Life Support Systems and Propellant Manufacturing in Space

LOUISVILLE, Colo. (Sierra Space PR) — Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company at the forefront of creating and building the future of space transportation and infrastructure for low-Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization, today announced the successful completion of its $3 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III Test Readiness Review (TRR) with NASA for its carbothermal reduction technology.

SAN FRANCISCO (Planet Labs PR) — Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced its work supporting efforts to protect cultural heritage in Ukraine with Global Heritage Fund, a California based non-profit that transforms local communities by investing in cultural heritage to advance economic development.

UNESCO reported in July 2022 that over 165 Ukrainian heritage sites have been damaged since the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war. As the Russo-Ukrainian War continues to impact Ukrainian cities, Global Heritage Fund is teaming up with University College London (UCL) to map cultural heritage site destruction using Planet imagery.

Artemis 1 will launch from Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Terran Orbital Corporation PR) — Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries, has delivered LunIR to Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. LunIR is a 6U satellite that will fly by the Moon and collect surface thermography as a secondary payload on Artemis 1 – a test mission for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy, SLS, the world’s most powerful rocket to date, can carry more payload to deep space than any other vehicle. SLS also houses the Orion capsule – NASA’s spacecraft that will take humans deep into space. After the flyby, LunIR will conduct technology demonstrations related to deep-space operations.

The contract signed with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation will initially provide the Government of Ukraine with the full capabilities for one of ICEYE’s satellites already in orbit.

HELSINKI (ICEYE PR) — ICEYE, the global leader in persistent monitoring with radar satellite imaging, has signed a contract with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation which will provide the Government of Ukraine with ICEYE’s Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imaging capabilities.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Redwire PR) — Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW), a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, today announced results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Redwire will live stream a presentation with slides. Please use the link below to follow along with the live stream: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=f52OeAqX

Q2 2022 Highlights

• Revenue increased $4.6 million, or 14.2%, to $36.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, from $32.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021.
• Successful delivery of proven and differentiated products and services for multiple National Security Space (“NSS”) and commercial customers, including for multi-year, multi-shipset missions.
• Operational successes have led to additional work and cross-selling of higher gross margin products and services with improved on-time deliveries, including for large solar array programs and navigation component projects.
• Investments continue to expand production capacity and increase scale and execution efficiency; opened new facility in Luxembourg to specialize in design and development of robotic arms for orbital, free-flying and lunar missions.
• Our significantly higher 1.68 book-to-bill ratio¹, combined with increased gross margins, provides for an improved financial outlook for the second half of 2022 and 2023.