TYB
Leslie Livesay Named Deputy Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
March 18, 2024
The first woman to serve as JPL’s deputy director, Livesay serves under Laurie Leshin, the first woman to lead the lab.
Leslie Livesay begins her tenure as deputy director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday, March 18. She succeeds Larry D. James, who served as deputy director since September 2013.
During a career spanning more than 37 years at JPL, Livesay has managed teams in the development of technologies and flight systems for planetary, Earth science, and astrophysics missions. She served as the project manager of the Kepler space telescope mission, led the lab’s Engineering and Science Directorate, was director for Astronomy and Physics, and most recently served as associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, overseeing the implementation and operations of all JPL flight missions.
“Having served a variety of roles at JPL, I’ve been fortunate to be able to work up close with the many remarkable organizations that make this lab such a special place. I’m looking forward to my new role as we dare mighty things together, boldly driving transformative science and technology,” said Livesay.
Born in Chicago, Livesay holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. She is the recipient of the American Astronautical Society Carl Sagan Memorial Award, Aviation Week Network’s Laureate Award, NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.
As the first woman to be named JPL’s deputy director, Livesay serves under Laurie Leshin, who in May 2022 became the first woman to lead JPL. Functioning as the laboratory’s chief operating officer, the deputy director is responsible for the day-to-day management of its resources and activities. Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL employs about 6,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and business support personnel, and manages over three dozen flight missions and science instruments, with more in development.
“Leslie has blazed a path in numerous senior leadership positions across JPL. She brings remarkable experience and capabilities to the role as we look toward the enormous and exciting opportunities that lay ahead,” said Leshin. “I also want to express my deep gratitude to Larry James, whose tenure is marked with multiple successful missions, significant improvement in JPL’s operations, and exemplary institutional stewardship.”
Lt. Gen. James was the Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in Washington before retiring from active duty and coming to JPL. Earlier in his career, he trained as an Air Force payload specialist for the Space Shuttle Program. James also served as vice commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles and as commander of the 14th Air Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where he was responsible for all Department of Defense satellite and launch systems.
“I’ve been a space enthusiast from an early age, so it’s been a privilege to have been part of JPL,” said James. “Although my time here is done, I’m eager to see the full manifest of missions and projects that we’ve been working on come to fruition, and I know Leslie will thrive in her new role. As for me, I’ll be taking a new position in Australia to help build their space capabilities and continue to strengthen the U.S.-Australia partnership.”
A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL began in 1936, going on to build and help launch America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. By the end of that year, Congress established NASA, and JPL became a part of the agency. Since then, JPL has managed such historic missions as Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, the Mars Exploration Rover program, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and many more.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/leslie-livesay-named-deputy-director-of-nasas-jet-propulsion-laboratory
NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact
MAR 19, 2024
After NASA’s historic Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a JPL-led study has shown that the shape of asteroid Dimorphos has changed and its orbit has shrunk.
When NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) deliberately smashed into a 560-foot-wide (170-meter-wide) asteroid on Sept. 26, 2022, it made its mark in more ways than one. The demonstration showed that a kinetic impactor could deflect a hazardous asteroid should one ever be on a collision course with Earth. Now a new study published in the Planetary Science Journal shows the impact changed not only the motion of the asteroid, but also its shape.
DART’s target, the asteroid Dimorphos, orbits a larger near-Earth asteroid called Didymos. Before the impact, Dimorphos had a roughly symmetrical “oblate spheroid” shape – like a squashed ball that is wider than it is tall. With a well-defined, circular orbit at a distance of about 3,900 feet (1,189 meters) from Didymos, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to complete one loop around Didymos.
“When DART made impact, things got very interesting,” said Shantanu Naidu, a navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who led the study. “Dimorphos’ orbit is no longer circular: Its orbital period” – the time it takes to complete a single orbit – “is now 33 minutes and 15 seconds shorter. And the entire shape of the asteroid has changed, from a relatively symmetrical object to a ‘triaxial ellipsoid’ – something more like an oblong watermelon.”
“We used the timing of this precise series of light-curve dips to deduce the shape of the orbit, and because our models were so sensitive, we could also figure out the shape of the asteroid,” said Steve Chesley, a senior research scientist at JPL and study co-author. The team found Dimorphos’ orbit is now slightly elongated, or eccentric. “Before impact,” Chesley continued, “the times of the events occurred regularly, showing a circular orbit. After impact, there were very slight timing differences, showing something was askew. We never expected to get this kind of accuracy.”
The models are so precise, they even show that Dimorphos rocks back and forth as it orbits Didymos, Naidu said.
Orbital Evolution
The team’s models also calculated how Dimorphos’ orbital period evolved. Immediately after impact, DART reduced the average distance between the two asteroids, shortening Dimorphos’ orbital period by 32 minutes and 42 seconds, to 11 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds.
Over the following weeks, the asteroid’s orbital period continued to shorten as Dimorphos lost more rocky material to space, finally settling at 11 hours, 22 minutes, and 3 seconds per orbit – 33 minutes and 15 seconds less time than before impact. This calculation is accurate to within 1 ½ seconds, Naidu said. Dimorphos now has a mean orbital distance from Didymos of about 3,780 feet (1,152 meters) – about 120 feet (37 meters) closer than before impact.
“The results of this study agree with others that are being published,” said Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Seeing separate groups analyze the data and independently come to the same conclusions is a hallmark of a solid scientific result. DART is not only showing us the pathway to an asteroid-deflection technology, it’s revealing new fundamental understanding of what asteroids are and how they behave.”
These results and observations of the debris left after impact indicate that Dimorphos is a loosely packed “rubble pile” object, similar to asteroid Bennu. ESA’s (European Space Agency) Hera mission, planned to launch in October 2024, will travel to the asteroid pair to carry out a detailed survey and confirm how DART reshaped Dimorphos.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dart/nasa-study-asteroids-orbit-shape-changed-after-dart-impact/
Blue Origin’s Blue Ring to Demonstrate Operation Capabilities on DarkSky-1 Mission
MAR 19, 2024
Blue Origin will demonstrate Blue Ring’s mission operation capabilities and core flight systems on an upcoming Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)-sponsored launch, furthering its mission to build a road to space.
Blue Ring’s end-to-end services will seamlessly connect ground and space communications to support a variety of missions on-orbit. The DarkSky-1 (DS-1) mission will demonstrate Blue Origin's flight systems, including space-based processing capabilities, telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) hardware, and ground-based radiometric tracking.
“The lessons learned from this DS-1 mission will provide a leap forward for Blue Ring and its ability to provide greater access to multiple orbits, bringing us closer to our vision of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth,” said Paul Ebertz, Senior Vice President of Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems.
The DS-1 mission is a collaboration between Blue Origin and DIU for in-flight validation of Blue Ring’s orbital payload and mission operation capabilities under an Other Transaction Agreement. The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command's Assured Access to Space Mission Manifest Office manifested the DS-1 mission to fly on a National Security Space Launch.
Blue Ring has unprecedented delta-V capabilities for commercial and government customers to easily maneuver through multiple orbits. The spacecraft platform also provides in-space processing and access to onboard data storage to ensure a customer’s successful mission.
The DarkSky-1 mission is expected to be launched co-manifested on the upper stage of a future National Security Space Launch. The launch service provider and specific timeframe have not been disclosed.
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blue-origin-blue-ring-to-demonstrate-operation-capabilities-on-darksky-1-mission
China launches Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support moon missions
March 19, 2024
HELSINKI — China launched its Queqiao-2 relay satellite Tuesday to support upcoming lunar far side and south polar missions.
A Long March 8 rocket lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 8:31 p.m. Eastern, March 19 (0031 UTC March 20). The China National Space Administration (CNSA) confirmed the Queqiao-2 satellite was on a trajectory towards the moon around 40 minutes after launch.
CNSA stated Queqiao-2 had deployed its solar arrays and was in its predetermined orbit with a perigee of 200 kilometers and an apogee of 420,000 kilometers.
The 1,200-kilogram satellite carries a 4.2-meter parabolic antenna and is part of China’s plans for future lunar exploration and a stepping stone towards building a lunar base in the 2030s.
The spacecraft will enter a highly elliptical lunar orbit inclined by 55 degrees once it reaches the moon. The orbit is specially designed to support China’s Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return mission, due to launch in May. The far side of the moon never faces the Earth, as the planet’s gravity has slowed the rotation of the moon over time.
Queqiao-2 will have line of sight to both Chang’e-6—which is targeting Apollo crater in the southern hemisphere of the far side—and Earth for a large portion of its orbital period.
The spacecraft will later alter its orbital period to better support the Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 missions to the lunar south pole later in the decade.
These later missions are planned to detect volatiles and potential resources on the moon and test in-situ resource utilization techniques, such as using lunar regolith to produce bricks. The missions are precursors to the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
Queqiao-2, or “Magpie Bridge-2”, is a more capable follow-up to Queqiao, launched in 2018. The earlier satellite facilitated the Chang’e-4 mission—the first-ever lunar far side landing. The aging Queqiao relay satellite remains operational in a halo orbit around the Earth-moon Lagrange point L2 roughly 70,000 kilometers beyond the moon.
Queqiao-2 will use X and UHF bands to communicate with Chang’e spacecraft. It will use S and Ka-bands for communications with Earth. It features multiple data rates and reconfigurable software.
The spacecraft could also support other countries’ lunar efforts. “Apart from providing relay support for future Chinese lunar missions, it is possible to provide relay communication services for other lunar landing exploration missions at the lunar south pole or lunar far side in the future,” an official from DFH Satellite, under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said last year.
Queqiao-2 also carries payloads as part of the science objectives of the 2026 Chang’e-7 mission. These are an extreme ultraviolet camera, an array neutral atom imager and an Earth-moon length baseline very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment.
Also aboard the launch were a pair of small, experimental satellites named Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2. These will fly in formation in lunar orbit and conduct tests for navigation and communications technology verification.
Tests will include satellite-to-ground laser ranging and inter-satellite microwave ranging methods. The satellites are a pathfinder for the planned Queqiao lunar navigation and communication constellation.
China is aiming to launch around 100 times across 2024. The country’s previous launch, last week, saw the malfunction of an upper stage tasked with sending a pair of satellites towards the moon.
The upper stage appears to be in a very high high Earth orbit (HEO), someway short of reaching the moon. China has not provided updates on the mission since a terse report on the malfunction. It remains unclear if the mission can be salvaged.
https://spacenews.com/china-launches-queqiao-2-relay-satellite-to-support-moon-missions/
>neigh OC
Pentagon’s innovation unit steps up role in Space Force’s responsive launch program
March 19, 2024
The Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon’s outpost in Silicon Valley tasked with integrating commercial tech into the military, is increasing its support of the Space Force’s efforts to shorten the time it takes to plan space missions.
The Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space program is an initiative to rapidly respond to situations in space. The goal is to drastically reduce the time it takes to launch and operate satellites, from the usual weeks or months down to days or even hours.
Maj. David Ryan, space portfolio program manager at the Defense Innovation Unit, said DIU is working with the Space Force’s Space Safari office to identify and select commercial providers for an upcoming responsive mission named Victus Haze.
Victus Haze follows the Victus Nox operation last September, where the Space Force was able to launch a small satellite made by Millennium Space on a Firefly rocket in a record-breaking 27 hours.He said DIU is helping the Space Force establish a process to work with industry and forge agreements with companies.
‘It’s a mindset’
Responsive space is seen as a launch program but it’s more than that, Ryan said March 18 at the Satellite 2024 conference. “It is a mindset shift more than anything.” Part of that mindset, he said, is understanding how to best leverage the commercial industry.
While the government is expected to be the main customer for tactical space launches in the near-term, DIU sees broader benefits from investing in these rapid capabilities alongside commercial partners.
Victus Nox was a military mission performed by commercial companies. Victus Haze will follow a similar model but the scenario will be different, he said.
Ryan noted that the government is not trying to help create a commercial market for responsive launch. “There will likely not be a commercial end user that needs a responsive launch capability within the next couple of years. But the government absolutely will need it and what it’s going to drive towards.”
“There is a lot of commercial development for technologies that absolutely will be used commercially, to be more responsive to commercial needs,” said Ryan. Projects like Victus Nox and Victus Haze “are just really pushing the accelerator on developing this ability to be more responsive.”
This dual focus – addressing immediate defense needs while fostering long-term industry growth – underscores DIU’s approach to innovation, said Ryan.
Responsive launch benefits commercial industry
Established in 2015, DIU acts as a bridge between the Department of Defense and the commercial tech sector. It identifies promising technologies with potential military applications, streamlines the often-bureaucratic acquisition process, and helps get these solutions into the hands of troops faster.
By working with commercial providers on tactically responsive missions, the government can help them develop and refine the processes needed for expedited launches, Ryan said. This agility will ultimately benefit the entire space industry, not just the military.
The selection process to pick companies to support Victus Haze is currently underway, said Ryan. Specifics on the satellite’s purpose haven’t been disclosed.
The Tactically Responsive Space program has $30 million in the Space Force’s fiscal year 2024 budget and $30 million in fiscal year 2025.
https://spacenews.com/pentagons-innovation-unit-steps-up-role-in-space-forces-responsive-launch-program/
Space Force hosts annual Guardian Field Forum
March 19, 2024
The Space Force hosted its second annual Guardian Field Forum at the Gen. Jacob E. Smart Conference Center at Joint Base Andrews, March 11-15.
The week-long professional development event brought together 40 competitively-selected enlisted, officer and civilian Guardians to present feedback, recommendations, and innovative ideas directly to their peers and senior leaders.
“This forum bridges the gap between headquarters and the field on issues leadership might be missing,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman. “Getting this feedback is critical to the success of the senior staff.”
At this forum, Guardians, nominated by their respective Deltas, presented their most important issues or recommendations to the other Deltas. The group then voted to determine the top themes that had the most overlap across the 22 initiatives that were presented. The teams selected three initiatives: strategic communication and collaboration, emerging technology for Guardians, and readiness improvements.
Some of the topics discussed included:
A consolidated and streamlined communication platform for Guardians to access all pertinent information at a single source.
A proposal for a combined civilian, government and military cloud-based satellite marketplace.
Improved infrastructure development policies to support the rapid acquisition process.
The Guardians spent the week collaborating and discussing amongst themselves and with industry partners to consolidate their ideas into three initiatives that were presented to leaders during the Space Force Senior Leader Summit.
“I challenge you to think outside the box, challenge assumptions and the status quo,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna. “Go back to your units, share your experience with Guardians and always know we hear you and your voice matters.”
Throughout the forum, Maj. Gen. Steve Whitney, Space Force director of staff and senior Guardian mentor, spent time with the Guardians, providing mentorship and emphasizing the need for forums like this.
"Be aggressive, get after it," Whitney said. "We don’t have the time, we don’t have the people, to play it safe."
Closing out the forum, Saltzman reiterated the importance of Guardians sharing their ideas and developing solutions to issues together.
“This is a chance to get feedback we need to address the issues that are of most concern across the force,” Saltzman said.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3711836/space-force-hosts-annual-guardian-field-forum/
DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop 'lunar raiload' concept
Mar 19, 2024
Railroads could open the moon to serious and sustained economic development, as they did in the American West in the late 19th century.
That's apparently the hope of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is supporting the development of a "lunar railroad" concept proposed by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.
"The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface, contributing to a space economy for the United States and international partners," Northrop Grumman representatives wrote in a press statement on Tuesday (March 19).
Northrop Grumman was one of 14 companies that DARPA selected this past December to participate in its 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, which aims to help humanity extend its economic footprint into deep space.
"A large paradigm shift is coming in the next 10 years for the lunar economy," Michael Nayak, program manager in DARPA's Strategic Technology Office, said in a statement last August, when the agency announced the LunA-10 project.
"To get to a turning point faster, LunA-10 uniquely aims to identify solutions that can enable multi-mission lunar systems — imagine a wireless power station that can also provide comms and navigation in its beam," Nayak said. Such work, he added, will accelerate "key technologies that may be used by government and the commercial space industry, and ultimately to catalyze economic vibrancy on the moon."
While DARPA's December press statement revealed the 14 selected companies — which also include big names like SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin — it did not describe the work that they will do.
Northop Grumman gave a brief outline of the lunar railroad investigation in its statement on Tuesday. The company's LunA-10 study will do the following (in Northrop Grumman's words):
Define the interfaces and resources required to build a lunar rail network.
Establish a critical list of foreseeable cost, technological and logistical risks.
Identify prototypes, demonstrations and analyses of a fully operating lunar rail system’s concept design and architecture.
Explore concepts for constructing and operating the system with robotics, including grading and foundation preparation, track placement and alignment, joining and finishing, inspection, maintenance and repair.
Northrop Grumman's Tuesday statement did not provide funding details. DARPA gives a ballpark number in its August 2023 announcement, stating that selected studies "will receive an Other Transaction award not to exceed $1,000,000."
The selected LunA-10 companies will share their work at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Spring Meeting next month and write up final reports that will be released in June, according to DARPA.
https://www.space.com/darpa-northrop-grumman-moon-railroad
https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-to-develop-concept-for-lunar-railroad
NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch; Trio to Join Expedition 70
MAR 18, 2024
Three crew members will blast off on Thursday, March 21, to support Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. NASA will provide full coverage of launch and crew arrival at the microgravity laboratory.
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, are scheduled to lift off on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:21 a.m. EDT (6:21 p.m. Baikonur time).
Launch coverage will begin at 8:20 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Dyson, Novitskiy, and Vasilevskaya will journey to the station on a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory that will result in a docking to the station’s Prichal module at 12:39 p.m.
Shortly after, hatches between the station and the Soyuz will open and the new crew members will connect with NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, already living and working aboard the space station.
NASA coverage of the mission is as follows (all times Eastern and are subject to change based on real-time operations):
Thursday, March 21:
8:20 a.m. – Launch coverage begins
9:21 a.m. – Launch
11:30 a.m. – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins
12:39 p.m. – Docking
2:50 p.m. – Hatch opening and welcome remarks coverage begins
Dyson will spend six months aboard the station as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer, returning to Earth in September with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos, who will complete a year-long mission on the laboratory.
Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will be aboard the station for 12 days, providing the ride home for O’Hara on Tuesday, April 2, aboard Soyuz MS-24 for a parachute-assisted landing on steppe of Kazakhstan. O’Hara will have spent 200 days in space when she returns.
This will be the third spaceflight for Dyson, the fourth for Novitskiy, and the first for Vasilevskaya.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-crew-launch-trio-to-join-expedition-70/