TYB
ESA and NASA team up to study solar wind
28/03/2024
Both Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe have very eccentric orbits, meaning that they fly in near to the Sun to get a close-up look, and then fly far out to give their onboard tech a chance to recover from the intense heat and radiation. During the next week, for the first time ever, the two spacecraft will both be at their closest approach to the Sun – what we call the ‘perihelion’ – at the same time.
What’s more, this closest approach coincides with Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe being at right angles to each other as they look towards the Sun.
Daniel Müller, ESA Solar Orbiter Project Scientist, explains why this positioning is special. “On this day, we have a unique spacecraft configuration, where Solar Orbiter will have its full suite of instruments pointed towards the region on the Sun where the solar wind is produced that will hit Parker Solar Probe a few hours later.”
Scientists will compare data collected by both missions to better understand the properties of the solar wind. Because Solar Orbiter is at its closest to the Sun, its telescopes will observe with the highest resolution. The simultaneous close approach by Parker Solar Probe means that only a few hours after the source regions of the solar wind have been imaged by Solar Orbiter, the plasma of this nearly pristine solar wind be sampled in space by Parker Solar Probe. This will allow scientists to better understand the link between the Sun and its heliosphere, the huge plasma bubble it blows into space.
But wait… at its closest approach, Solar Orbiter is 45 million km from the Sun, whilst Parker Solar Probe is just 7.3 million km away. So how does Solar Orbiter observe something that later hits Parker Solar Probe?
To answer this question, we need to look at the difference between remote sensing and in situ instruments. Both missions carry both instrument types on board, but whilst Solar Orbiter carries more remote sensing instruments, Parker Solar Probe carries mostly in situ instruments (no current camera technology could look at the Sun from so close a distance and survive).
Remote sensing instruments work like a camera or our eyes; they detect light waves coming from the Sun at different wavelengths. As light travels at 300 000 km/s, it takes 2.5 minutes to reach Solar Orbiter’s instruments at closest approach.
Meanwhile, Parker Solar Probe’s in situ instruments work more like our nose or tastebuds. They directly ‘taste’ the particles and fields in the immediate vicinity of the spacecraft. In this case, Parker Solar Probe will measure solar wind particles that travel away from the Sun at speeds of more than a million kilometres per hour. Though this seems very fast, it is more than 500 times slower than the speed of light.
“In principle, Solar Orbiter alone can use both methods,” points out Andrei Zhukov from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, who is working on the joint observations. “However, Parker Solar Probe comes much closer to the Sun, so can directly measure the properties of the solar wind – like its density and temperature – closer to its birthplace, before these properties change on its journey away from the Sun.”
“We will really hit the jackpot if Solar Orbiter observes a coronal mass ejection (CME) heading towards Parker Solar Probe,” adds Andrei. “We will then be able to see the restructuring of the Sun’s outer atmosphere during the CME in great detail, and compare these observations to the structure seen in situ by Parker Solar Probe.”
This is just one example of how Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe are working together throughout their missions. Parker Solar Probe’s instruments are designed to sample the Sun’s corona (its outer atmosphere), targeting the region of space where the coronal plasma detaches to become the solar wind. This gives the scientists direct evidence on the conditions of the plasma in that region, and helps pinpoint how it is accelerated outwards towards the planets.
Beyond accomplishing its own science goals, Solar Orbiter will provide contextual information to improve the understanding of Parker Solar Probe’s in situ measurements. By working together in this way, the two spacecraft will collect complementary data sets, which will allow more science to be distilled from the two missions than either could manage on its own.
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/ESA_and_NASA_team_up_to_study_sola
NASA's 1st female chief engineer at Kennedy Space Center wants to put a space station around the moon (exclusive)
Mar 29, 2024
When NASA builds its first space station near the moon, how will we ship items out there?
Teresa Kinney, NASA's first female chief engineer at the agency's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), is one of the managers working to put the Gateway lunar space station together in orbit around the moon later in the 2020s. Gateway will support Artemis program landing missions on the moon in the next decade or so, but like the International Space Station, it needs to be built first.
Kinsey also works in Deep Space Logistics, which is the Gateway project office at KSC that is working to get all the commercial cargo services lined up to ship things for astronaut crews: Cargo, equipment and consumables. She sat down with Space.com during Women's History Month to talk about her journey to her current role, and how she's mentoring younger team members.
Space.com: Before we jump into talking about your career, can we talk a bit about the fact that we have four women on the International Space Station right now? And just how exciting that is to meet that milestone for a third time.
Kinsey: It's very exciting for all of us, anytime there's a first and anytime you can see you've done something that's a little bit different. The fact that it's during Women's History Month makes it even more special. I knew a couple of astronauts pretty well, and they are all rock stars. You just are impressed by everything they do, and so I'm very excited for them. They must be having a great time.
Kinsey: When I was a kid, my dad was in the military. We lived in Germany, and he woke us all up and got us around the TV to watch Apollo 11. When we had Apollo-Soyuz, he dragged us all down to KSC to see the hardware afterward. So you know, lifelong interest in it. When I started college, I looked at a lot of things and I thought, "I really love space, and why not try?" So I got a co-op job and just kept following all the challenges. I moved around a lot, based on what was hard. I've learned a lot, when it's hard. So it's exciting for me, and I feel a little bit smarter, and I get a little more experience. So it's all good.
cont.
https://www.space.com/nasa-1st-female-chief-engineer-gateway-moon
Post mixed up, Bakes
>LIVE: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference
should be
First woman to pilot a space shuttle explains how she got there
Mar 29, 2024
RENO — The first woman to pilot a space shuttle touched down at the University of Nevada, Reno on March 21 to remind women there is no glass ceiling in space.
NASA astronaut Eileen Collins' visit to the university's Women in Space event, a family-friendly gathering during Women's History Month that celebrates the world of aerospace and provides a glimpse into possible career options involving aviation or space. Over 500 visitors of all ages attended.
To begin the night, the Joe Crowley Student Union ballroom hosted vendors including the University of Nevada Reno Aerospace Club, Women in Aviation International, the Reno-based defense contractor Tactical Air Support, the Nevada NASA Space Grant and even a small inflatable walk-in planetarium, which previewed a program from the university’s Fleischmann Planetarium. A table of free packets of astronaut ice cream proved popular during the evening.
The centerpiece of the event was an educational keynote talk with Collins, who was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle on the NASA's 1995 STS-63 mission flying the shuttle Discovery with a crew that included Russian cosmonauts.
“Working with Eileen was always a pleasure,” former NASA flight director Paul Dye said as he introduced Collins. “She was a steady, calming influence and always knew how to steer things towards a good solution. She knew that … she understood that our problems were not just technical, but they were also social. We all needed to work together.”
Collins said space is key to moving society forward. “I think the most important issue taking place in the world today is the mission of space exploration,” she said. Before sharing a detailed reflection on the past and present of space travel, Collins shared how she first fell in love with the idea of flying through the sky.
She said her parents were instrumental role models in her journey to become a pilot, with her mother Rose Collins affirming her identity as a one-of-a-kind person and her father James Collins encouraging her to forge her own path instead of following the crowd.
Collins said she appreciated her mother taking her on trips to the library during her youth in Elmira, New York. With books such as “The Stars at Noon,” an autobiography by WWII Air Force Pilot Jackie Cochran, she built an interest in aviation. “I didn't really have the money to take flying lessons when I was younger. So I learned through books,” she said.
“My first memory of space was in fourth grade. I was sitting at my desk in school and I read a magazine about the Gemini astronauts,” Eileen Collins added. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to be a pilot and I want to go farther, faster and higher.’”
So, Collins committed to the dream, saving money from part-time jobs to pay for flying lessons at age 19.
“I was very scared to call the airport or visit the airport and ask them to teach me to fly, because I thought they would say ‘You're a girl’ or ‘You're too young’ or ‘We're not going to teach you.’ So it took a lot of courage on my part to actually make that call, to go up and learn how to fly,” she said.
“I remember calling and they said, ‘Oh, we'd love to teach you how to fly. Come on up.’” So I went up to the airport. I met the instructors,” she said. “They actually taught me to develop a love for flying.”
Collins said it was important she found courage to overcome the fear of being told “no.”
Cont.
https://elkodaily.com/news/local/history/first-woman-to-pilot-a-space-shuttle-explains-how-she-got-there/article_e480be62-ec97-11ee-9169-77e963346c97.html
ISRO announces Space science and Technology Awareness Training (START) programme for the postgraduate and final year undergraduate students
March 27, 2024 12:14 PM
ISRO has unveiled a new introductory-level online training programme called ‘Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START)’. It is aimed at postgraduate and final year undergraduate students who are pursuing physical sciences and technology.
The programme will include different domains of space science, as well as Astronomy & Astrophysics, Heliophysics & Sun-Earth interaction, Instrumentation, and Aeronomy. It will be delivered by scientists of Indian academic institutions and ISRO centres.
The START programme is part of ISRO's efforts, to help Indian students become professionals in the sphere of space science and technology, as ISRO’s space science exploration programme continues to expand into new areas. The programme is expected to offer students with an introductory-level training in space science and technology, giving them an overview of various facets in the domain, research opportunities, and career options. The training will also focus on the cross-disciplinary nature of space science, giving students insights into how their individual acumen can be applied to the field. The programme is aimed at building human capacity that will play a key role in space science and research in the future.
The lectures will also include topics on the Indian space science exploration programme and research opportunities in space science and technologies. Students will be benefited as they gain exposure to different areas of space science and technology, ongoing research in different Indian institutes, insights into how their individual aptitude can suit some of the facets of space science and technology. They will also be able to gauge the cross-disciplinary nature of the subject and choose their career path accordingly.
ISRO has urged Indian academic institutions to register for the programme by submitting their Expression of Interest in the prescribed format through the Jigyasa
https://www.educationtimes.com/article/newsroom/99735157/isro-announces-space-science-and-technology-awareness-training-start-programme-for-the-postgraduate-and-final-year-undergraduate-students
China’s SSF uses civilians for space, cyber, and psychological warfare
Mar 29, 2024 08:53 AM EST
As per several reports, China had established a secret space force four years before the United States. Called the Strategic Support Force (SSF), this secretive branch of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is tasked with keeping China safe in the cyber, electromagnetic, and aerospace battlefields.
The SSF is also tasked with offering intelligence to all PLA forces, and also aiding them in joint operations.
The hi-tech SSF integrates strategic functions across the entire spectrum and relies heavily on civilian innovation support, such as artificial intelligence (AI) development. Analysts say this is playing an increasingly critical role in the military’s preparations for future intelligence warfare.
They noted that the branch’s heavy reliance on high technology could also make it more vulnerable to US restrictions. Two departments fall under the SSF: a “space force” and a “cyber force”, both of which were created in 2015.
SSF is China’s Space Force
The former, officially known as the Space Systems Department, operates several satellite launch centers and training bases across China. It manages communication and intelligence satellites, which provide space-based reconnaissance and uses the BeiDou satellite navigation system to help with military operations.
The latter, called the Network Systems Department of China, allegedly operates much like the US Cyber Command. To this end, it is responsible for defending and attacking computer networks, electromagnetic defense, and offense, and collecting intelligence by intercepting signals.
According to Sam Bresnick of the Centre for Security and Emerging Technology, the SSF plays a crucial role in coordinating the development and utilization of emerging capabilities in space, cyber, AI, and other areas in order to enhance the military capabilities of the PLA and support joint operations.
“Seeing how Russia has struggled with joint operations and combined arms in Ukraine, the impetus for China to figure out joint operations in peacetime is really important,” Bresnick said.
“The Strategic Support Force provides intelligence and information support to other services as it controls reconnaissance, communications, and other strategic measures and systems, and could also offer electronic support in operations,” said Fu Qianshao, a military analyst and former PLA officer.
Heavy hi-tech reliance could be a weakness
Data collected from various sources, including space, air, and land-based assets, is transmitted to the joint command and control operations for final decisions on actions or responses. According to Fu, this “dominance of information” has proved to be a decisive factor on the battlefield, as the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated.
The SSF has reportedly conducted some fairly high-profile actions of late, including military drills around Taiwan in August 2022. In February of this year, the SSF is alleged to have conducted training exercises to counter simulated drone attacks and network penetration by “enemies,” according to a report by PLA Daily. However, few details are publicly available.
But the SSF is already troubling other global powers, such as the United States. For example, the Pentagon’s strategy report last year accused China of routinely conducting malicious cyber activity, posing a significant cyber espionage threat to the US and its allies.
Beijing has denied any involvement in cyber espionage activities and has accused the US of being a “hacker empire.” Beijing denies it carries out such cyber espionage activities.
https://interestingengineering.com/military/china-secret-force-ssf
ONE GUARDIAN: Providing A Cyber Capability Focus
March 29, 2024
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The growing importance of cyber operations within the U.S. Space Force is driving a required focus on space systems at the Special Access Program level, explained Mr. David Wilcox, Space Operations Command’s Cyber Warfare Mission Area team chief. “Recognition of this gap lead to the stand-up of a Branch specifically focused on this… and I was chosen as the lead.”
As the Cyber Warfare Branch chief, Wilcox is the subject matter expert supporting SpOC’s cyberspace secure-and-defend operations for USSF missions. “Specifically, I provide subject matter expertise for integration of secure-and-defend capabilities on Special Access Program, and lead efforts for providing cyber-enabled space operations capabilities for combat power projection.”
The importance and criticality of SpOC’s cyberspace secure-and-defend operations has only increased over time. Wilcox explains, “…I know the impact of my job for SpOC and the USSF is critical to allowing our service to become a leader in cyberspace operations in support of space operations. Our team, just with SpOC, has led USSF efforts to drive Commanders and Senior Leaders to understand the impact cyberspace risks have on total mission risk as we present our capabilities and forces in support of Combatant Commands around the globe.”
Leading a team that delivers such consequential capabilities to the security of the nation provides Wilcox a satisfaction that comes from knowing what he does, day-in day-out, is crucial and far-reaching.
Wilcox’s tenure as a Department of Defense civilian employee started with the now deactivated Air Force Space Command, and after 13 years developed into his current role which came about with senior leaders’ realization of the importance of cyber operations as part of the newly formed USSF.
“I am very satisfied with the work I do in trying to achieve the end state for SpOC and the USSF,” said Wilcox. “With the stand-up of the USSF, I feel honored to be part of something that will last years into the future and ensure and maintain access to space resources and capabilities for our nation and our Allies.”
Wilcox, an integral part of SpOC’s Cyber Warfare mission, brings a focused approach to cyber capabilities supporting high-level, intricate space systems and operations for SpOC and the USSF.
https://www.spoc.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3723719/one-guardian-providing-a-cyber-capability-focus
Whoopi Goldberg Insists Aliens Are "Watching Us"
MAR 27, 5:30 PM EDT
After coming out as an alien believer publicly last summer, "The View" moderator and veteran actress Whoopi Goldberg has expounded on her beliefs.
"They're already here," Goldberg said during a recent exchange with "Ghostbusters" star Kumail Nanjiani on the talk show. "They've been here for quite some time."
The topic arose after another of the show's hosts asked Nanjiani — who had a small part in an "X-Files" episode long before recording a podcast about the show — if he believed in ghosts following his experience rebooting the iconic film.
"I don't know if I believe in ghosts, I've never had an encounter or anything," he said. "I'll tell you what: I do believe in aliens. I think aliens are like circling us, waiting for us to get it together, so they can come on down."
It was then that Goldberg told her co-hosts that she thinks aliens are among us.Playing along, the "Silicon Valley" star asked Goldberg what she thinks the aliens are doing — and that's when things got really bizarre.
"They're watching us," Goldberg said matter-of-factly to laughs from both the audience and her fellow cast members, which shifted the topic away from the extraterrestrial and back onto Nanjiani.
This isn't the first time in recent months that the "Sister Act"-tress has talked aliens, either.
Last year, she chimed in during another episode of "The View" to say that she'd long been a believer — and that she knew they were real long before Congress had its groundbreaking but ultimately opaque hearings about the Pentagon's knowledge of what they call "unidentified anomalous phenomena" or UAPs.
"Well, I knew," Goldberg said last July of the hearings, which saw an ex-government employee claiming that the military had reverse-engineered alien artifacts. "I don't know why everybody else is so surprised. We're not the only ones in the universe. We're just not."
"There are more things in heaven and Earth that we are aware of, and we have to be aware of, because that is the nature of being an Earthling," she quipped later, citing the famous "Hamlet" line. "It's going to happen, it has happened, and, so far, we're alright."
While she's far from the first celebrity to come out as an alien believer, it is a score for team ET that they have Whoopi on their side — after all, we're talking about an actor with an iconic role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
https://futurism.com/the-byte/whoopi-goldberg-aliens-watching
Eerie final transmission of pilot who reported seeing a UFO - and vanished without trace
Mar 28, 2024
The final transmission of a pilot who vanished nearly 50 years ago has caused debate about what really happened amongst government officials and ufologists alike.
On October 21, 1978, 20-year-old pilot Frederick Valentich was flying from Moorabbin Airport in southern Melbourne, Australia, to King Island when he disappeared about 45 minutes into the flight.
He told air traffic control that he was being accompanied by an aircraft about 1,000ft above him and that his engine had been running roughly.
Audio of his final transmission still exists, and you can hear Frederick eerily saying ‘it’s not an aircraft’, with a long metallic noise following until the signal cuts out.
He was flying over the Bass Strait Triangle, an area of sea between Victoria and Tazmania which was notorious for ships and planes going missing.
To this day Frederick’s fate is still uncertain – but Metro.co.uk has rounded up everything we know for sure about his disappearance.
Who was Frederick Valentich and where was he going?
At the time of his disappearance, Frederick Valentich racked up about 150 hours of flying time. He held a class four instrument rating, which allowed him to fly at night but only in ‘visual meteorological conditions’.
He had been rejected from joining the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) twice because he didn’t have enough qualifications.
He was also studying part time to become a commercial pilot, but had also failed twice at all five commercial licence exam subjects.
But he was desperate to have a career in aviation, and was a member of the RAAF Air Training Corps.
The month before his disappearance, Frederick failed three more commercial licence subjects, and he’d also been involved in flying incidents.
He once strayed into a controlled zone in Sydney, which got him a warning, and on two occasions he deliberately flew into a cloud – with prosecution considered for the latter incidents.
Frederick’s dad, Guido, said his son was an ardent believer in UFOs and was worried he could be attacked by them while flying.
It’s still not known why Frederick set off for King Island in a Cessna 182L light aircraft that evening. He told flight officials that he was picking up friends, while he told others he was going to pick up crayfish – but both of these accounts were found to be untrue.
He also hadn’t informed King Island Airport that he intended to land there, which was against standard procedure.
What happened during his final flight?
Frederick radioed Melbourne Flight Service just after 7pm to say an unidentified aircraft was following him at 4,500ft. He was told there was no known traffic at that height.
He described seeing a large aircraft which appeared to be illuminated by four bright landing lights, describing it as having a shiny metal surface and green light. He said it passed 1,000ft above him and it was moving at high speed.
Frederick then said the craft was approaching him from the east, and suspected the other pilot might be toying with him on purpose.
He then said he was experiencing engine problems, and when asked by the flight service to identify the aircraft, he simply replied: ‘It’s not an aircraft.’
Frederick’s final transmission was interrupted by ‘metallic scraping sounds’ before contact was lost.
Search and investigation
A sea and air search was launched, and for four days shipping traffic, a RAAF plane, plus eight civilian aircraft searched an area of more than 1,000 square miles.
However the search was scrapped on October 25 without success.
Five years on, in 1983, an engine cowl flap was found washed ashore on Flinders Island.
The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation asked the Navy’s research department about the likelihood it could have come from Frederick’s plane wreckage and travelled to its final location.
The Bureau noted that ‘the part has been identified as having come from a Cessna 182 aircraft between a certain range of serial numbers’, which included Frederick’s aircraft.
cont.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/eerie-final-transmission-of-pilot-who-reported-ufo-it-s-not-an-aircraft/ar-BB1kHtY2