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No return date set for Starliner crew, NASA says
Updated: Jul 26, 2024 / 06:27 AM CDT
NASA and Boeing leadership confirmed Thursday that a return date for the Starliner crew awaiting voyage back to Earth has yet to be set.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and program manager of the Boeing Commercial Crew Program, provided updates on the Boeing Starliner mission and the two astronauts who are on the 49th day of what was supposed to be eight days in orbit at the International Space Station.
Stich confirmed there is still no return date for the Starliner crew and said NASA’s top priority is to bring the astronauts back to Earth safely.
Engineers last week completed testing on a spare thruster in the New Mexico desert to try to understand what went wrong during docking and to prepare for the trip home.
Five thrusters failed as the capsule approached the ISS on June 6, a day after liftoff. Four have since been reactivated.
“The last several weeks have been really helpful in understanding the helium and thruster anomalies and how to address these problems for future flights,” Nappi said.
“That’s been the real goal here, is to be able to address future flights and gain the confidence that we needed for this mission.”
The Starliner capsule has been docked at the International Space Station since June 6. It should have returned with its NASA test pilots by mid-June, but thruster failures and helium leaks prompted NASA and Boeing to extend its stay.
Boeing had previously said that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams could use the Starliner to return to Earth immediately if the situation demands it, but that’s not the case. Both Wilmore and Williams said they were confident they’d return home safely despite the delay.
NASA and Boeing said the capsule’s batteries are performing well despite the extended stay.
“I feel confident that if we had to, if there was a problem with the International Space Station, we could get in our spacecraft, and we could undock, talk to our team, and figure out the best way to come home,” Williams said in a press conference last week.
Although Sunday was the end of the 45-day stay the mission was approved for, NASA and Boeing reassured the public and astronauts it was safe to stay in the capsule at the ISS past the mission’s initial window.
Starliner was plagued with issues before it even launched. The spacecraft’s launch was scrubbed twice, including one right before liftoff. Helium leaks were also reported.
Both agencies did not indicate when the astronauts will return to Earth but are hopeful for a return in the coming weeks. There also has been no word on whether the agencies plan to use another spacecraft to get the astronauts home.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/nasa-boeing-starliner-mission-update/
Akima lands $480 million Space Force contract to modernize Satellite Control Network
July 25, 2024
The U.S. Space Force awarded Akima’s subsidiary Five Rivers Analytics a $480 million 10-year contract to support and modernize the Satellite Control Network — a decades-old system of 19 globally distributed parabolic antennas spread across several locations worldwide.
Akima, an Alaska Native Corporation-owned defense contractor, won the contract dubbed STORMS (Satellite Control Network Tracking Station Operations, Remote Site and Mission Partner Support).
The STORMS contract is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement.
This type of contract allows the Space Force to procure services as needed over a specified period.
It succeeds the previous $445 million CAMMO (Consolidated Air Force Satellite Control Network Modifications and Maintenance Operations) contract won by CACI International in 2016.
The Space Force in June announced the first task order under STORMS, valued at $205 million, with a performance period from June 2024 to February 2030.
The Satellite Control Network supports the launch, tracking, control, and maintenance of U.S. government satellites, ensuring they can transmit and receive data effectively and remain operational.
In operation since 1959, the SCN is running out of capacity and in dire need of modernization, the Government Accountability Office warned in a report last year.
“Akima plans to integrate emerging technologies to enhance SCN’s operational efficiency and resilience,” the company said in a news release July 25.
“This aligns with Government Accountability Office recommendations for improving SCN capacity.”
Five Rivers Analytics, the Colorado-based Akima subsidiary, will be responsible for SCN maintenance, management of transportable assets, cybersecurity measures, routine system administration, and communications security functions.
https://spacenews.com/akima-lands-480-million-space-force-contract-to-modernize-satellite-control-network/
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USSF astronaut, team meet launch-supporting service members
July 25, 2024
Col. Nick Hague and his crewmates from the NASA SpaceX Crew-9 mission met with Airmen and Guardians at the Sands Space History Center outside of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, July 23.
The Crew-9 mission is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station later this year.
Hague and the rest of the crew, Cmdr. Zena Cardman, Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson and Roscomos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov, attended an event at the history center to speak with and give thanks to representatives of military units who make manned spaceflight missions possible.
While Crew-9 is a NASA mission, Hague recognized that it would not be possible without the support of military units from Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral SFS.
“I can't overstate how crucial the Airmen and Guardians of Space Launch Delta 45 are to making human spaceflight possible,” Hague said.
“It is this giant team that is all interconnected. Everybody that works at Patrick, everybody that works at the Cape, needs to know that they're riding on that rocket with us.”
At the event, military members were able to speak to and take photos with the crew members.
Representatives also read statements to the space-bound crew regarding how their particular units provide support for missions like Crew-9.
It was a unique opportunity for the crew members to hear firsthand about the diverse group of units that contribute to the success of launch missions.
Hague came away from the meeting with a deeper appreciation for the service members that are necessary to get crews into space.
“I've got a new collection of faces and names that I'll be thinking of as I'm riding the elevator up to the top of the launch tower, as I'm strapping into that seat, and as the clock starts ticking towards zero,” Hague said.
“The opportunity to come and meet everybody has been phenomenal.”
The units and organizations in attendance included:
• 45th Space Launch Delta Staff Agency
• 45th Comptroller Squadron
• 45th Force Support Squadron
• 45th Contracting Squadron
• 45th Logistics Readiness Squadron
• 45th Weather Squadron
• 45th Security Forces Squadron
• 45th Civil Engineer Squadron
• 45th Medical Group
• Assured Access to Space
• 5th Space Launch Squadron
• 1st Range Operations Squadron
Guardians often provide support to launches, but this would be the first time one of their own would be aboard.
Hague is slated to be the first Guardian to travel to space on his way to the ISS. He spoke to the significance of this moment.
“It's a huge honor because of what I represent,” Hague said. “I represent all those Guardians around the globe. It's a thrill to be a part of that and to represent that going up.”
After reaching the ISS, the crew will begin conducting operations and research experiments during the course of their stay in orbit above planet Earth.
The Crew-9 mission is scheduled to launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft later this year.
When that day comes, members of Patrick SFB and Cape Canaveral SFS will be prepared to utilize their skills and make history as they assist in getting a Guardian into space for the first time.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3850290/ussf-astronaut-team-meet-launch-supporting-service-members/
DAF stands up Integrated Capabilities Office to advance Operational Imperatives
July 25, 2024
In an effort to codify the success and significant gains made in line with the Operational Imperatives, Department of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stood up the Integrated Capabilities Office July 19.
Driven by the need to rapidly modernize the DAF to meet emerging challenges in an era of Great Power Competition, the ICO seeks to institutionalize the speed, agility and rapid innovation that the Operational Imperatives have brought to the force.
“The Integrated Capabilities Office will directly support the Department of the Air Force senior leadership team as we develop our integrated modernization plans for the Air Force and Space Force,” Kendall said. “China, our pacing challenge, is modernizing its military with the intent to defeat U.S. power projection capabilities. We will not let that happen.”
The Operational Imperatives were born out of necessity. Upon his arrival in 2021, Kendall ordered a series of studies and analyses that identified key capability gaps within the force.
Seven areas of need were determined imperative to meet the pacing challenge: Resilient Space Order of Battle and Architectures, Joint All-Domain Command and Control, Moving Target Engagement at Scale, Next Generation Air Dominance, Resilient Forward Basing, B-21 Long-Range Strike Family of Systems, and Readiness for Wartime Posture.
Initiated under the DAF’s optimization for Great Power Competition, the ICO is a Secretariat-level office that will continue the work of the Operational Imperatives.
Prior to initiation of GPC, the Operational Imperative teams operated mostly ad hoc, which allowed for innovation, speed and agility.
The ICO will facilitate agile Integrated Development Campaign Teams led and staffed by operational experts from the newly formed U.S. Space Force Space Futures Command and U.S. Air Force Integrated Capabilities Command, and acquisition professionals from Air Force Materiel Command’s Integrated Development Office and Space Force acquisition organizations.
The campaign teams will work imperative problem sets and provide data-driven solutions and recommendations.
The ICO will incorporate these results into prioritized recommendations for modernization and will collaborate with other organizations to integrate these priorities, along with other portfolios, into the budgeting process.
The ICO will remain in a primarily advisory role but will have direct access to the Secretary and senior leadership, with the ability to make highly collaborative and unfiltered, recommendations to ensure emerging capability opportunities get a voice in the enterprise.
Many of the current Operational Imperatives will graduate to existing programs of record and stakeholder teams.
The ICO, in conjunction with the Integrated Capabilities Command and Space Futures Command, will optimize capability development through assessment, development, integration, and fielding of future capabilities that will rapidly modernize the DAF and preserve the advantages U.S. forces have benefited from for decades. The ICO is on schedule to be fully staffed and resourced by the end of 2024.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3850323/daf-stands-up-integrated-capabilities-office-to-advance-operational-imperatives/
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Unidentified object seen moving across Moon
July 24, 2024 12:27pm CDT
An Austin man isn't quite sure what he caught on camera recently but he's hoping someone can help.
Eric Eman shot this video of the Moon using his telescope on July 21 at around 11:29 p.m.
https://www.fox7austin.com/video/1490361