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BAE Systems wins $365 million contract to build geostationary weather instrument
May 1, 2024
BAE Systems, the former Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., won a $365 million contract May 1 to develop an air quality sensor for a U.S. geostationary weather satellites.
The GeoXO Atmospheric Composition instrument, known as ACX, will monitor air quality and measure pollution from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s next-generation Geostationary Extended Observations satellites.
ACX, a hyperspectral spectrometer, will measure ultraviolet to visible light. The instrument is designed to provide hourly observations of pollutants emitted by sources including power generation, transportation, oil and gas extraction, volcanoes and wildfires. Secondary pollutants generated in the atmosphere also will be tracked.
Timely Alerts
“GeoXO’s atmospheric composition observations, and forecasts that rely on those observations, will relay more accurate and timely air pollution alerts to the public,” Pam Sullivan, director of NOAA’s Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations, told SpaceNews by email. “Americans who heed these alerts can avoid exposure to poor air quality, potentially lowering premature mortality and health care costs and increasing economic productivity.”
The cost-plus-award-fee contract covers development of a single flight instrument and options for additional sensors. BAE also will provide support for 10 years of on-orbit operations and five years of on-orbit storage for each air quality sensor.
“The ACX instrument will deliver robust, practical benefits for the science and operational user communities, as well as the public at large,” Alberto Conti, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems vice president and general manager of civil space, said in a statement. “Not only will this instrument provide cutting-edge measurements of air quality, but it will also improve weather forecasts, help pilots avoid dangerous situations, warn hospitals of imminent air quality issues and protect the lasting health and economic stability of our communities.”
In addition to providing operational monitoring, the ACX instrument will support research on emissions and the movement of aerosol particles including nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, glyoxal, sulfur dioxide and ozone.
The GeoXO Program is the follow-on to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R Series program.
NOAA and NASA will work together to oversee development, launch, testing and operation of the GeoXO satellites. NOAA funds and manages the program, operations and data products.
NASA will work with commercial partners developing and building GeoXO instruments and spacecraft. NASA is also responsible for launching the satellites.
“By providing continuous observations and measurements of atmospheric composition, ACX data will improve air quality forecasting and monitoring and mitigate health impacts from severe pollution and smoke events, such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. ACX data will also help scientists better understand linkages between weather, air quality and climate,” according to the news release.
Work related to the contract will be conducted at BAE Systems’ facility in Boulder, Colorado, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
https://spacenews.com/bae-systems-wins-365-million-contract-to-build-geostationary-weather-instrument/
NRO’s first batch of next-generation spy satellites set for launch
May 1, 2024
The National Reconnaissance Office is preparing to launch the first phase of its new imaging satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
The agency is targeting a May 19 launch for the mission designated NROL-146 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Troy Meink, the NRO’s principal deputy director, said May 1.
Speaking at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces, Meink said this will be the first operational launch of the NRO’s new proliferated architecture.
“We have already launched a number of demonstrations over the last few years to verify cost and performance to make sure we’re really comfortable and we know what we’re doing,” Meink said.
The agency has not disclosed how many satellites will launch on this upcoming mission or the projected size of the new constellation. Meink previously said six launches are projected in 2024 for the NRO’s future proliferated architecture of small satellites.
NRO to ‘quadruple’ its satellites in orbit
Agency officials said the NRO aims to quadruple the number of spacecraft in orbit. This expansion, coupled with the new technology aboard the satellites, is expected to deliver a ten-fold increase in intelligence gathering for the agency. Smaller, more numerous satellites will allow for far more frequent revisits of critical areas of interest, leading to faster delivery of crucial intelligence.
“Space based intelligence has become a primary, if not the primary, means of collection in denied areas,” Meink said at the hearing.
The satellites were built under a classified $1.8 billion contract awarded by the NRO in 2021 to SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, a contract first reported by Reuters in March.
https://spacenews.com/nros-first-batch-of-next-generation-spy-satellites-set-for-launch/
Space insurers make record-breaking loss as orbit gets cramped
Wed 1 May 2024 // 12:00 UTC
The space above the Earth is getting increasingly crowded as launches become more frequent and satellites are squeezed closer together.
Space insurers paid out a record $995 million in claims during 2023, according to a report from Slingshot Aerospace. This surge in orbital launches and satellite deployments was driven largely by SpaceX's Starlink.
According to the report, 12,597 spacecraft were in orbit as of December 31, 2023, including 3,356 inactive satellites. 2,877 satellites were deployed in 2023, a 14.6 percent increase from the previous year, and there were 223 orbital launches.
Unsurprisingly, communication satellites dominated, accounting for 2,285 satellites deployed in 2023 and 79 percent of all deployed spacecraft.
It's getting crowded up there, and that's without considering all the debris whizzing around as well.
Worryingly, it appears that Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites are starting to encounter the overcrowding issues seen in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The report noted an approximate 33 percent decrease in average separation between satellites.
"The data shows that a congestion problem is brewing in GEO," said Melissa Quinn, General Manager of Slingshot Aerospace.
"Among the increased number of objects in GEO are satellites that maneuver more regularly than is traditionally seen in this more stable regime. This anomalous behavior clearly demonstrates an increasing need for precise space domain awareness in GEO to ensure operators have insights to both their satellites and neighboring satellites."
Quinn also noted problems in LEO. "There are still thousands of inactive satellites hanging out in LEO. With LEO becoming more crowded than ever, there is a real risk to satellites that provide valuable services including internet, weather forecasting, and land-use tracking."
SpaceX's Starlink, for example, accounts for 5,896 satellites in orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell. Of those, 5,822 were assessed as working, although 135 in that number were in the process of lowering their orbits prior to retirement.
Some LEO satellites have sustainable end-of-life plans, although many others do not, and it can take years or decades for their orbits to decay naturally. The report noted that satellites with propulsion capability had reached an all-time high, "potentially reflecting greater adoption of practices that contribute to space sustainability." Chiara Manfletti, CEO of Neuraspace, told The Register earlier this year: "There's still a lack of awareness of the urgency for us to do something.
"There aren't collisions taking place every day, which is good, but if we don't do anything, it's not going to get any better. It's going to get worse."
Overall, the situation appears to be worsening, particularly for insurers, who took in $557 million in premiums but paid out $995 million in insurance claims, resulting in a record-breaking loss.
Quinn said: "The losses in the space insurance market are unsustainable. Some insurers are exiting the space industry, while the ones who remain are substantially increasing premiums to hedge against the record losses in the industry."
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/01/space_insurer_record_loss/
NASA inspector general finds Orion heat shield issues 'pose significant risks' to Artemis 2 crew safety
May 2, 2024
NASA's moon program still has some work to do before it can put human boots back on the lunar surface.
The agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on Wednesday (May 1) titled "NASA's Readiness for the Artemis 2 Crewed Mission to Lunar Orbit," which aims to determine how ready NASA is to launch its Artemis 2 moon mission, currently scheduled for late 2025.
The inspector general writes that the Artemis 1 test flight of the Orion spacecraft "revealed anomalies with the Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of the crew."
Resolution of these anomalies is among the most significant factors impacting NASA's readiness for Artemis 2, the report adds.
The report says NASA found over 100 areas on Orion's heat shield — where thermal material protects the spacecraft from the heat of reentry — had worn away "differently than expected" during the spacecraft's reentry to Earth's atmosphere.
A video released by the agency in December 2023, in fact, clearly showed charred heat-shield material flying off of the spacecraft as it reentered the atmosphere at the end of the Artemis 1 mission. Some of that material is also seen briefly clinging to Orion's windows as the capsule made its way from space to the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California.
In a Jan. 9, 2024 teleconference announcing delays to the Artemis program timeline, Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Moon to Mars program, directly addressed that particular heat shield issue.
"We did see the the off-nominal recession of some char that came off the heat shield, which we were not expecting," Kshatriya said during the briefing. "Now, this heat shield is an ablative material — it is supposed to char — but it's not what we were expecting, with some pieces of that char to be liberated from the vehicle."
NASA is already making modifications to the heat shield to help mitigate the charring issue. In addition, the agency is altering how it bolts the spacecraft's crew capsule to its service module, hoping to mitigate unwanted melting around the bolts.
The OIG report also cited anomalies in Orion's electrical system that affected how power is distributed throughout the spacecraft.
NASA believes radiation caused these anomalies; as such, the agency is developing "operational workarounds," although the OIG report adds that, without a permanent change in the spacecraft's electrical hardware, there is an "increased risk that further power distribution anomalies could lead to a loss of redundancy, inadequate power, and potential loss of vehicle propulsion and pressurization."
Additional issues cited in the report include a 4.5-hour communication loss that occurred during an outage of one of NASA's Deep Space Network facilities, as well as unexpected damage to the Artemis 1 mobile launcher imparted during launch. The latter will cost NASA over 5 times more than expected, adding up to a total of $26 million.
NASA still has well over a year to determine how to address the issues cited in the OIG's report. However, as the report explains, even though progress is being made, "verification and validation testing for some of these upgrades and modifications is taking longer than expected." Per the OIG's recommendation, the agency should carefully monitor Artemis 2 hardware as it gets developed and tested in order to avoid putting the mission's crew at risk.
Artemis 2 is currently scheduled for September 2025, having been delayed from its original launch date of November 2024. The delay was made in order to provide more time to ensure all hardware is safe for the crew ahead of the planned mission around the moon and back.
That new timeline means NASA astronauts likely won't return to lunar surface until September 2026 with Artemis 3. However, delays in developing and testing SpaceX's Human Landing System, which will ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface, could delay that date even further.
https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-orion-heat-shield-office-inspector-general
A Switzerland-size hole opened in Antarctica's sea ice in 2016-17. Now we know why
May 1, 2024
Each austral winter, Antarctica undergoes a radical change.
Sea ice surrounding the continent expands outward, effectively doubling Antarctica's size. But during the winters of 2016 and 2017, a rare hole called a polynya opened in the middle of the sea ice — one about the size of Switzerland. And scientists have just now figured out how it came to be.
The hole was named the Maud Rise polynya for the seamount, or underwater mountain, located beneath it in the Weddell Sea. According to a new study, it ultimately formed due to a combination of wind, ocean currents and underwater geography that created the perfect salty conditions to melt the sea ice.
The Maud Rise polynya goes back further than 2016. It was first identified by Earth-sensing satellites in the 1970s, most notably during the winters from 1974 to 1976. Scientists assumed that the polynya would return each winter, but that hasn't been the case — it has only reappeared sporadically, and for brief periods.
"2017 was the first time that we’ve had such a large and long-lived polynya in the Weddell Sea since the 1970s," study leader Aditya Narayanan, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Southampton in England, said in a statement.
In 2016 and 2017, the circular ocean current in the Weddell Sea was stronger than usual. As such, upwelling around Maud Rise brought warmer, saltier water closer to the surface.
"This upwelling helps to explain how the sea ice might melt. But as sea ice melts, this leads to a freshening of the surface water, which should in turn put a stop to the mixing," study team member Fabien Roquet, a physical oceanography professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said in the same statement. "So, another process must be happening for the polynya to persist. There must be an additional input of salt from somewhere."
Using data from satellites, autonomous floats and tagged marine mammals, the team determined that turbulent eddies around Maud Rise brought more salt into the area, which was then transferred to the surface through a process called Ekman transport. Through Ekman transport, water moves at a 90-degree angle to the wind above and influences ocean currents.
"The imprint of polynyas can remain in the water for multiple years after they’ve formed," said study team member Sarah Gille, a professor at the University of California, San Diego. "They can change how water moves around and how currents carry heat towards the continent. The dense waters that form here can spread across the global ocean."
https://www.space.com/antarctica-sea-ice-hole-2016-2017-explained
China unveils video of its moon base plans, which weirdly includes a NASA space shuttle
April 30, 2024
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released a video of its concept for a lunar base to be developed across the next couple of decades.
CNSA unveiled the video on Wednesday (April 24) as part of the country's annual space day celebrations. The project is known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and was jointly announced in 2021 by China and Russia.
China is now leading the moon base initiative and attempting to attract international partners for the endeavor. So far, alongside China, Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand and Nicaragua have joined the initiative, according to Space News.
The video shows a number of missions, including surface sample return operations, a lander and rover, and supporting orbital satellites. These correspond to the planned Chang'e-6 and 7 missions planned for launch next month and in 2027 respectively.
Together with Chang'e-8, these will form a basic model of the ILRS by around 2028. Next will come communications, power generation and other infrastructure, which will be built on and developed into an expansive, inhabited lunar outpost.
The project is envisioned as a comprehensive scientific experimental base which will host interdisciplinary and multi-objective research activities focusing on lunar exploration and utilization, according to Chinese reports. It will be capable of long-term independent operation, either on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit.
"The moon serves as a starting point, and an international lunar research station will provide a platform for long-term scientific research, work and habitation, paving the way for future human exploration into deeper space. It will serve as a technological, material, and intellectual reservoir, preparing us for future missions to Mars and other distant destinations in space," Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, told China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday.
Wu says the ILRS will be constructed in two phases. The first will establish comprehensive scientific facilities with basic functions and essential supporting elements around the lunar south pole by 2035. The second phase will set about building a well-equipped and stable facility of considerable scale by 2045.
One curious detail of the video is the presence of a retired NASA Space Shuttle appearing to lift off from a launch pad in the background.
The shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA is largely prohibited from cooperating with Chinese entities and has its own Artemis Program, while China is also developing its own large and reusable launch vehicles for lunar exploration.
https://www.space.com/china-moon-base-international-lunar-research-station-video
DoD Reveals New Russian Space Weapon Details, Conflict Over Commercial Imagery
May 2, 2024
Outgoing DoD space policy chief John Plumb made a tiny bit of history yesterday when he became the first Biden administration official to acknowledge Russia’s development of a nuclear counterspace weapon in unclassified testimony.
“The concept that we are concerned about is Russia developing, if we are unable to convince them otherwise, [the ability] to ultimately fly a nuclear weapon in space, which would be an indiscriminate weapon, doesn’t have national boundaries, doesn’t determine between military satellites or commercial satellites,” Plumb said at a hearing on the national security space budget.
Though White House officials spoke publicly in February about Moscow’s “troubling” plans for an anti-satellite weapon, Plumb’s testimony is the first to publicly confirm that it would involve a nuclear detonation.
He wouldn’t directly answer whether this weapon could be launched now, but said the US was taking it very seriously because if it were used, it could render orbits unusable for satellites. He noted that Russia recently vetoed a UN resolution condemning nuclear weapons in space (something already banned by the Outer Space Treaty).
Gang of Rivals: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) asked Plumb about a previously unreported exercise performed by US IndoPacific Command that detected a Chinese satellite launch and used a commercial provider to capture imagery of it. Per the miffed Moulton, that ruffled feathers in the intelligence community, which doesn’t want DoD acquiring commercial imagery directly.
Plumb blamed an out-of-date policy drafted in 2003, which does feel like a lifetime ago. Moulton’s office declined to provide more details and Indopacom couldn’t weigh in by press time.
Congress needed for conflict insurance: Plumb said the Pentagon is looking at whether commercial sats working with the DoD on national security missions should be indemnified in case of attack, a key question raised by the department’s first commercial space strategy. Defense officials are looking to the authorities used to insure vessels and airlines that participate in programs that volunteer to be mobilized in case of war as a reference, but applying that model to space assets would require new laws, Plumb said.
Lane changer: Lawmakers asked Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Frank Calvelli about what will stop established rocket companies from underbidding new launch providers in lane 1 of the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program, which is intended for new entrants. It’s a question worth asking; as we reported earlier this year, SpaceX, ULA and Blue Origin have all bid in that category, while it appears only Rocket Lab might have a new rocket ready to bid.
Calvelli suggested competitive offerings would win out. “I’d like to see something more concrete to protect [new providers],” Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) replied.
https://payloadspace.com/dod-reveals-new-russian-space-weapon-details-conflict-over-commercial-imagery/
Researchers Discover Hidden Life Deep Beneath Earth’s Driest Desert
May 1, 2024
In the vast, arid expanse of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery: life thriving four meters beneath the surface.
Covering 105,000 square kilometers, the Atacama holds the title of the world's driest hot desert. Rainfall here is a rare event, sometimes absent for decades or even centuries.
In such a parched environment, only a few life forms can thrive—among them are the resilient South American gray fox and specialized bacteria in the saline soil.
Life Beneath the Surface
Despite its seemingly barren surface, recent findings reveal that the Atacama Desert harbors a rich underground microbial ecosystem.
Previously, microbial life was documented at a depth of 80 centimeters. Now, scientists from the University of Potsdam have discovered more extensive microbial communities at a depth of four meters in the desert’s Yungay valley.
These robust bacteria, part of a newly thriving biosphere, have adapted to extreme conditions similar to those found in the Arctic's icy landscapes and boiling hot springs. These microbes are salt-tolerant and do not require oxygen, enabling them to thrive deep beneath the desert floor.
The researchers collected soil samples from four meters deep and utilized advanced DNA extraction methods to isolate cells with intact membranes—a definitive sign of living organisms. While microbial life was confirmed near the surface in clay-rich soil, the discovery of actinobacteria at deeper levels suggests a complex, deep biosphere previously unrecognized.
Implications for Extraterrestrial Life
This ongoing research not only expands our understanding of Earth’s biospheres but also has implications for extraterrestrial life, particularly on Mars.
Like the Atacama, Mars features gypsum (calcium sulfate) deposits that could theoretically support life. The stable microbial community in the Atacama suggests that similar underground reservoirs on Mars might once have harbored—and could perhaps still harbor—microbial life.
Researchers speculate that ancient rivers might have once flowed through the Atacama, leaving behind gypsum from which the microbes now draw water, echoing potential past conditions on Mars.
"The stable microbial community beneath the Atacama Desert suggests that rivers might have once flowed there, now buried deep underground," the researchers noted.
"These microbes survive by extracting water from the abundant gypsum in the soil, a scenario that could parallel conditions beneath the Martian surface."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/researchers-discover-hidden-life-deep-beneath-earth-s-driest-desert/ar-AA1nYQDO
Nevada Gold Mines Celebrates Official Opening of Goldrush Mine
APRIL 25, 2024
The Goldrush Project is officially on track to produce 130,000 ounces1 of gold this year and will further enhance the value Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) brings to the state through taxes, employment and meaningful support for communities, said Barrick President and CEO, Mark Bristow, at the project’s opening ceremony attended by Governor Joe Lombardo and local stakeholders.
Barrick, which owns 61.5% of the project through the NGM joint venture with Newmont (38.5%), is developing and will operate the mine, scheduled to reach commercial production by 2026 and growing to approximately 400,000 ounces1 by 2028 (100% basis). The 24-year underground mine is expected to provide 500 jobs during its construction and employment for 570 people once operational.
More than $300 million of a $1 billion capital budget has been spent on the project which is expected to produce $326 million in net proceeds tax and a further $142 million in gold and silver excise tax for education in Nevada under the new mine tax framework.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bristow thanked the bi-partisan federal delegation and the governor for their active and unwavering commitment that was instrumental in obtaining the record of decision, as well as our community stakeholders for supporting the project through the permitting process. “We recognize that we have been entrusted with a tremendous economic and environmental responsibility and we look forward to sharing the benefits of this new mine with Nevada and its people,” he said.
https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2024/nevada-gold-mines-celebrates-official-opening-of-goldrush-mine/default.aspx