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NASA Licenses 3D-Printable Superalloy to Benefit US Economy
MAY 09, 2024
NASA’s investment in a breakthrough superalloy developed for the extreme temperatures and harsh conditions of air and spaceflight is on the threshold of paying commercial dividends.
The agency is licensing its invention, dubbed “GRX-810,” to four American companies, a practice that benefits the United States economy as a return on investment of taxpayer dollars.
GRX-810 is a 3D-printable high-temperature material that will lead to stronger, more durable airplane and spacecraft parts that can withstand more punishment before reaching their breaking point.
The co-exclusive license agreements will allow the companies to produce and market GRX-810 to airplane and rocket equipment manufacturers as well as the entire supply chain.
The four co-exclusive licensees are:
Carpenter Technology Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania
Elementum 3D, Inc. of Erie, Colorado
Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc. of Indianapolis
Powder Alloy Corporation of Loveland, Ohio
GRX-810 is one example of many new technologies NASA’s Technology Transfer Program managers review and file for patent protection. The team also works with inventors to find partners interested in commercialization.
“NASA invests tax dollars into research that demonstrates direct benefit to the U.S. and transfers its technologies to industry by licensing its patents,” said Amy Hiltabidel, licensing manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
NASA engineers designed GRX-810 for aerospace applications, including liquid rocket engine injectors, combustors, turbines, and hot-section components capable of enduring temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“GRX-810 represents a new alloy design space and manufacturing technique that was impossible a few years ago,” said Dr. Tim Smith, materials researcher at NASA Glenn.
Smith co-invented the superalloy along with his Glenn colleague Christopher Kantzos using a time-saving computer modeling and laser 3D-printing process that fuses metals together, layer-by-layer. Tiny particles containing oxygen atoms spread throughout the alloy enhance its strength.
Compared to other nickel-base alloys, GRX-810 can endure higher temperatures and stress and can last up to 2,500 times longer. It’s also nearly four times better at flexing before breaking and twice as resistant to oxidation damage.
“Adoption of this alloy will lead to more sustainable aviation and space exploration,” said Dale Hopkins, deputy project manager of NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies project. “This is because jet engine and rocket components made from GRX-810 will lower operating costs by lasting longer and improving overall fuel efficiency.”
Research and development teams include those from Glenn, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, The Ohio State University, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the most recent testing included 3D-printed rocket engine parts.
NASA develops many technologies to solve the challenges of space exploration, advance the understanding of our home planet, and improve air transportation. Through patent licensing and other mechanisms, NASA has spun off more than 2,000 technologies for companies to develop into products and solutions supporting the American economy.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-licenses-3d-printable-superalloy-to-benefit-us-economy/
NASA’s Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet
MAY 08, 2024
Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope may have detected atmospheric gases surrounding 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet 41 light-years from Earth. This is the best evidence to date for the existence of any rocky planet atmosphere outside our solar system.
Renyu Hu from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, is lead author on a paper published today in Nature. “Webb is pushing the frontiers of exoplanet characterization to rocky planets,” Hu said. “It is truly enabling a new type of science.”
55 Cancri e (image below, details/download), also known as Janssen, is one of five known planets orbiting the Sun-like star 55 Cancri, in the constellation Cancer.
With a diameter nearly twice that of Earth and density slightly greater, the planet is classified as a super-Earth: larger than Earth, smaller than Neptune, and likely similar in composition to the rocky planets in our solar system.
To describe 55 Cancri e as “rocky,” however, could leave the wrong impression. The planet orbits so close to its star (about 1.4 million miles, or one-twenty-fifth the distance between Mercury and the Sun) that its surface is likely to be molten – a bubbling ocean of magma. With such a tight orbit, the planet is also likely to be tidally locked, with a dayside that faces the star at all times and a nightside in perpetual darkness.
In spite of numerous observations since it was discovered to transit in 2011, the question of whether or not 55 Cancri e has an atmosphere – or even could have one given its high temperature and the continuous onslaught of stellar radiation and wind from its star – has gone unanswered.
“I’ve worked on this planet for more than a decade,” said Diana Dragomir, an exoplanet researcher at the University of New Mexico and co-author on the study. “It’s been really frustrating that none of the observations we’ve been getting have robustly solved these mysteries. I am thrilled that we’re finally getting some answers!”
Unlike the atmospheres of gas giant planets, which are relatively easy to spot (the first was detected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope more than two decades ago), thinner and denser atmospheres surrounding rocky planets have remained elusive.
Previous studies of 55 Cancri e using data from NASA’s now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope suggested the presence of a substantial atmosphere rich in volatiles (molecules that occur in gas form on Earth) like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. But researchers could not rule out another possibility: that the planet is bare, save for a tenuous shroud of vaporized rock, rich in elements like silicon, iron, aluminum, and calcium. “The planet is so hot that some of the molten rock should evaporate,” explained Hu.
To distinguish between the two possibilities, the team used Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to measure 4- to 12-micron infrared light coming from the planet.
Although Webb cannot capture a direct image of 55 Cancri e, it can measure subtle changes in light from the system as the planet orbits the star.
By subtracting the brightness during the secondary eclipse (image below, details/download), when the planet is behind the star (starlight only), from the brightness when the planet is right beside the star (light from the star and planet combined), the team was able to calculate the amount of various wavelengths of infrared light coming from the dayside of the planet.
This method, known as secondary eclipse spectroscopy, is similar to that used by other research teams to search for atmospheres on other rocky exoplanets, like TRAPPIST-1 b.
The first indication that 55 Cancri e could have a substantial atmosphere came from temperature measurements based on its thermal emission (image below, details/download), or heat energy given off in the form of infrared light. If the planet is covered in dark molten rock with a thin veil of vaporized rock or no atmosphere at all, the dayside should be around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (~2,200 degrees Celsius).
“Instead, the MIRI data showed a relatively low temperature of about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit [~1540 degrees Celsius],” said Hu. “This is a very strong indication that energy is being distributed from the dayside to the nightside, most likely by a volatile-rich atmosphere.
” While currents of lava can carry some heat around to the nightside, they cannot move it efficiently enough to explain the cooling effect.
When the team looked at the NIRCam data, they saw patterns consistent with a volatile-rich atmosphere. “We see evidence of a dip in the spectrum between 4 and 5 microns — less of this light is reaching the telescope,” explained co-author Aaron Bello-Arufe, also from NASA JPL.
cont.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-hints-at-possible-atmosphere-surrounding-rocky-exoplanet/
'I don't see any evidence of aliens.' SpaceX's Elon Musk says Starlink satellites have never dodged UFOs
May 9, 2024
Elon Musk isn't convinced that aliens have ever visited Earth.
The SpaceX CEO and founder sat down for a panel titled "How to save the human race and other light topics" at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference held in Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 7). During the conversation, the institute's chairman, financier Michael Milken, began by asking Musk how he feels about the well-known opening monologue to many "Star Trek" series, in which it is stated that the starship Enterprise's mission is to "seek out new life forms and new civilizations." Musk replied, "Yeah, that's the idea."
Musk elaborated, stating that if we send probes out into the universe, we might find "remains of long-dead alien civilizations." He then launched into an explanation about why he doesn't feel aliens have ever visited our planet.
Musk told Milken that he is frequently asked if he believes aliens are among us here on Earth, acknowledging how widespread that belief is. "And for some reason, a lot of the same people who think there are aliens among us don't think we went to the moon, which, I'm like: 'Think about that for a second,'" Musk said to laughter from the audience.
Musk elaborated on why he doesn't believe aliens have visited our planet, stating that, even with the thousands of broadband spacecraft that SpaceX operates in low Earth orbit, he hasn't once seen any compelling evidence of either extraterrestrial life or any potential craft operated by non-human intelligence.
"I've not seen any evidence of aliens," Musk said. "And SpaceX, with the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO. […] Never. So I'm like, okay, I don't see any evidence of aliens."
But, like many people, Musk said that he's open to considering the possibility of alien visitation, if indeed there is any compelling proof. "If somebody has evidence of aliens, you know, that's not just a fuzzy blob, then I'd love to see it, love to hear about it," Musk said. "But I don't think there is."
The SpaceX CEO then pointed out how concerning the lack of any evidence of alien civilizations is for the future of humanity, opining that, even if an ancient civilization managed to last a million years, it should have easily been able to explore and settle the entire Milky Way galaxy.
"So, they haven't, so why not?" Musk asked.
"I think the answer might be, probably, is that that civilization is precarious, and rare. And that we should really think of human civilization as being like a tiny candle in a vast darkness. And we should do everything possible to ensure that that candle does not go out."
Despite having never had to move out of the way of a UFO, Starlink satellites do, in fact, regularly make avoidance maneuvers to dodge debris or other spacecraft. Between June 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2023, Starlink satellites performed 24,410 collision avoidance maneuvers, equivalent to six maneuvers per spacecraft, according to data collected by SpaceX reported to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
https://www.space.com/elon-musk-ufos-aliens-no-evidence-starlink
He got wasted in the Fallout show
Congressional letter seeks big increase in NASA science budget
May 8, 2024
More than 40 House members have signed a letter asking for a significant increase in NASA’s science budget for 2025, a request that will be challenging to fulfill given spending caps.
The May 1 letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee’s commerce, justice and science (CJS) subcommittee, signed by 44 members, asked appropriators to provide at least $9 billion for NASA’s science programs in their fiscal year 2025 spending bill, more than $1.4 billion above the administration’s request and $1.67 billion above what the agency received for science in 2024.
The additional funding, the letter argues, would build up buying power for NASA science programs eroded by inflation as well as a significant cut in 2024 linked to budget caps enacted as part of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. That funding is needed for science missions recommended by various decadal surveys that are facing restructuring, delays or even cancellation.
“Under this funding level,” the letter says of the agency’s request for 2025, “NASA would be unable to meet the science ambitions set by the National Academies of Sciences’ Decadal Surveys that were unambiguously supported in the FY 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act.”
Providing at least $9 billion, the letter states, would allow continued support for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission, the top-ranked mission of the latest heliophysics decadal that NASA proposed to cancel in the 2025 request. It also would support the Earth System Observatory line of missions, Mars Sample Return and early technology development for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. The increased funding would also support existing missions, including those like the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope facing cuts in the 2025 request.
The letter was led by Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) Bacon and Chu are the co-chairs of a revived planetary science caucus in Congress that seeks to garner support for planetary science and related NASA science activities, like studies of exoplanets and the search for life. Chu’s district includes the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ivey’s the Goddard Space Flight Center, two NASA facilities that focus on science missions.
Forty-one other members of Congress from across the country also signed the letter. All but 3 of the 44 signatories are Democrats.
The letter was sent to appropriators around the same time as a “Day of Action” lobbying effort by The Planetary Society. Nearly 100 members of the advocacy group traveled to Washington to meet with members to seek increased funding for NASA science programs.
However, congressional sources are doubtful that advocates will get any increase in science funding above the request, let along the large increase sought in the letter. With budget caps in place from the debt-ceiling deal for 2025, requests for funding increases will be a zero-sum game, they said, requiring cuts either elsewhere in NASA or from other agencies funded by the CJS subcommittee.
Speaking at a May 8 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council — its first public meeting in nearly 16 months — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lamented the “considerable constraints” that he again blamed on a “certain element in the Congress” that forced the budget caps included in the debt-ceiling deal. He estimated cuts “close to $2 billion” in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 combined for NASA science, with no sign that he thought any of the potential cuts in 2025 could be recovered.
Another council member offered a different take on the budget challenges facing NASA science programs. “I think one of the reasons we’re having trouble with NASA’s science budget is because it is internationally focused,” claimed Charles Bolden, a former NASA administrator and current member of the council, later in its meeting. “It is the key to what NASA does internationally as a soft-power tool and Congress, today, they have no interest in international anything.”
“We’ve got to figure out a way to help NASA tell the story of reigniting our interest in being a global leader,” he added, “otherwise, the science budget is going to continue to go down.”
https://spacenews.com/congressional-letter-seeks-big-increase-in-nasa-science-budget/
National Space Council will explore military space and intelligence roles and responsibilities
May 8, 2024
Kissimmee, Fla. – The National Space Council will delve into the question of national security space roles and responsibilities, Chirag Parikh, the council’s executive secretary, said May 8 at the 2024 GEOINT Symposium here.
In discussions with various departments, agencies, services and combatant commanders, the National Space Council is looking into the ongoing tug-of-war between military leaders concerned with speedy access to imagery and data and intelligence agency leaders who emphasize the need to verify information and gather insights.
“We’re working with National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense stakeholders to best understand where we are on this matter now. It’s come to the forefront,” Parikh said.
Pointing to the Space Systems Command’s online marketplace that taps into commercial satellite data, Parikh said, “we should be leveraging newfound initiatives and agile processes” to ensure the data flows to the people who need it, when they need it.
At the same time, the National Space Council is aware of the need to prevent redundancy.
“NGA continues to serve as the global leader in GEOINT,” Parikh said. “There are great lessons to learn and there is great expertise there. But NGA is going to have to rise to the ever-evolving GEOINT in warfighting environments along the way.”
Military Requirements
Key questions the National Space Council wants to answer are: what are the military requirements and how many of them are currently being satisfied.
“We need to better quantify the anecdotes and the challenges that we’re hearing from the combatant commands and from the Space Force,” Parikh said. “We need to be able to figure it out and help solve some of these things.”
The National Space Council will consider solutions ranging from policies, authorities and processes to funding, advocacy and communications.
“I’m pretty sure something is going to change along the way,” Parikh said. “This is an absolutely critical community and an absolutely critical time for us to make the right decisions because what we do now is going to have an impact over the next decade, not just within the United States but around the world.”
https://spacenews.com/national-space-council-will-explore-military-space-and-intelligence-roles-and-responsibilities/
SpaceX Starlink Mission
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, May 9 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 8:20 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 10:18 p.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched USSF-62 and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-8-2
First food ever baked in space gets a home at the Smithsonian
May 8, 2024, 9:25 AM
The first food ever baked in space is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia — and it’s a chocolate chip cookie.
But, not just any chocolate chip cookie. The dough was provided by McLean-based Hilton, the same cookie dough used to baked the warm chocolate chip cookies given at check-in to guests at its DoubleTree hotels.
The dough was a part of a payload sent to the International Space Station in 2019. It was baked in an experimental microgravity oven provided by Zero G Kitchen, which is also developing other appliances for potential use in space, including refrigerators and blenders.
The cookie was a part of an ongoing NASA study that is looking for ways to make extended space travel more pleasant for astronauts.
The DoubleTree Space Station cookie returned from orbit in 2020 for testing by food scientists at the Johnson Space Center.
Its stay at the Udvar-Hazy Center is temporary. It will move to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in D.C., when its new building opens in 2026, and will be part of a new exhibit called “At Home in Space.”
DoubleTree claims its signature chocolate chip cookie recipe is a secret, developed in collaboration with DoubleTree chefs and Christie’s Cookies three decades ago. The cookies are also sold online.
https://wtop.com/business-finance/2024/05/first-food-ever-baked-in-space-gets-a-home-at-the-smithsonian/
CSO visits Space Forces Korea
May 8, 2024
U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman met with Guardians as well as government and military officials during a visit to Osan Air Base and Seoul May 5-7.
Saltzman visited with several Space Force units at Osan AB, witnessing firsthand the magnitude of the service’s mission in the region and its growth in recent years.
“Our Guardians serving in Korea provide the space expertise necessary to deter aggression and bolster partnerships in the dynamic security environment we face,” Saltzman said. “The critical missions they perform as part of the joint force will give us the advantages we need to compete and outperform our adversaries and overcome any threats we face.”
Osan is home to U.S. Space Forces – Korea, activated in December 2022 and assigned to the U.S. Forces Korea sub-unified command. SPACEFOR-KOR works closely with allies and joint partners to integrate space activities into shared operations, activities and investments.
Saltzman met with SPACEFOR-KOR Guardians and leadership during his visit, gaining a deeper understanding of their recent contributions to the space mission and recognizing several superior performers.
“We are excited to showcase the incredible efforts of our Guardians to expand space domain integration and awareness over the past year and a half,” said Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion, SPACEFOR-KOR commander.
“From sitting side-by-side with our ROK partners during Tier-1 exercises, to developing relationships with space domain leaders in Korea through seminars and conferences, Guardians here epitomize the ‘Partner to Win’ mentality. We also synchronize capabilities with our joint U.S. partners across the peninsula, aligning information flow and understanding—underscoring the success of our defense mission in the theater.”
The Space Force stood up 5th Space Warning Squadron Detachment 3 at Osan AB in October 2023, taking on the responsibility of providing assured missile warning across the Indo-Pacific region through the assumption of the Army’s Joint Tactical
Ground Station missile warning system. Its mission goes hand-in-hand with that of the 73rd Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron Detachment 2, also located on Osan AB, which provides accurate and timely intelligence to the combatant commander.
“Evolving threats in the space domain present new challenges daily, which is why these Guardians understand the importance of being prepared to Fight Tonight,” Saltzman said. “They approach combat readiness with a sense of intensity that truly embodies the Guardian Spirit.”
Saltzman also addressed the importance of space superiority with government and defense officials in Seoul. He met with the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, the ROK Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Chief of Staff of the ROK Air Force.
Discussions focused on bolstering integration between ROK and U.S. space personnel and operations and continuing the dialogue on space and missile defense capabilities within the broader defense framework of the Korean peninsula.
Integration with allies and partners is one of the Space Force’s three primary lines of effort. “Partnering to Win” remains integral to the service’s ability to succeed, and SPACEFOR-KOR’s mission is crucial to that effort.
“Our nations’ shared focus on space is a testament to the strength of the ROK-U.S. Alliance, and our collaboration is critical to the preservation of peace and stability on the peninsula,” Saltzman said. “We will succeed with the support of like-minded nations like the Republic of Korea.”
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3769232/cso-visits-space-forces-korea/