NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

August 10, 2024

The Light, Dark, and Dusty Trifid

Messier 20, popularly known as the Trifid Nebula, lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid does illustrate three different types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. The reddish emission region, roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes, is what lends the Trifid its popular name. The cosmic cloud complex is over 40 light-years across and would cover the area of a full moon on planet Earth's sky. But the Trifid Nebula is too faint to be seen by the unaided eye. Over 75 hours of image data captured under dark night skies was used to create this stunning telescopic view.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

A ‘FURST’ of its Kind: Sounding Rocket Mission to Study Sun as a Star

Aug 09, 2024

From Earth, one might be tempted to view the Sun as a unique celestial object like no other, as it’s the star our home planet orbits and the one our planet relies on most for heat and light.

But if you took a step back and compared the Sun to the other stars NASA has studied over the years, how would it compare? Would it still be so unique?

The Full-sun Ultraviolet Rocket SpecTrograph (FURST) aims to answer those questions when it launches aboard a Black Brant IX sounding rocket Aug. 11 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

“When we talk about ‘Sun as a star’, we’re treating it like any other star in the night sky as opposed to the unique object we rely on for human life.

It’s so exciting to study the Sun from that vantage point,” said Adam Kobelski, institutional principal investigator for FURST and a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

FURST will obtain the first high-resolution spectra of the

“Sun as a star” in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), a light wavelength that is absorbed in Earth’s atmosphere meaning it can only be observed from space.

Astronomers have studied other stars in the vacuum ultraviolet with orbiting telescopes, however these instruments are too sensitive to be pointed to the Sun.

The recent advancements in high-resolution VUV spectroscopy now allow for the same observations of our own star, the Sun.

“These are wavelengths that Hubble Space Telescope is really great at observing, so there is a decent amount of Hubble observations of stars in ultraviolet wavelengths, but we don’t have comparable observations of our star in this wavelength range,” said Kobelski. Marshall was the lead field center for the design, development, and construction of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Because Hubble is too sensitive to point at Earth’s Sun, new instruments were needed to get a spectrum of the entire Sun that is of a similar quality to Hubble’s observations of other stars.

Marshall built the camera, supplied avionics, and designed and built a new calibration system for the FURST mission.

Montana State University (MSU), which leads the FURST mission in partnership with Marshall, built the optical system, which includes seven optics that will feed into the camera that will essentially create seven exposures, covering the entire ultraviolet wavelength range.

Charles Kankelborg, a heliophysics professor at MSU and principal investigator for FURST, described the mission as a very close collaboration with wide-ranging implications.

“Our mission will obtain the first far ultraviolent spectrum of the Sun as a star,” Kankelborg said.

“This is a key piece of information that has been missing for decades. With it, we will place the Sun in context with other stars.”

Kobelski echoed the sentiment.

“How well do the observations and what we know about our Sun compare to our observations or what we know of other stars?” Kobelski said.

“You’d expect that we know all this information about the Sun – it’s right there – but it turns out, we actually don’t.

If we can get these same observations or same wavelengths as we’ve observed from these other sources, we can start to connect the dots and connect our Sun to other stars.”

FURST will be the third launch led by Marshall for NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program within five months, making 2024 an active year for the program.

Like the Hi-C Flare mission that launched in April, the sounding rocket will launch and open during flight to allow FURST to observe the Sun for approximately five minutes before closing and falling back to Earth’s surface.

Marshall team members will be able to calibrate the instruments during launch and flight, as well as retrieve data during flight and soon after landing.

Kobelski and Kankelborg each said they’re grateful for the opportunity to fill the gaps in our knowledge of Earth’s Sun.

The launch will be livestreamed on Sunday, Aug. 11, with a launch window of 11:40 a.m.– 12:40 p.m. CDT. Tune in on NASA’s White Sands Test Facility Launch Channel.

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/a-furst-of-its-kind-sounding-rocket-mission-to-study-sun-as-a-star/

https://video.ibm.com/wstf-wsmr

SpaceX Starlink Mission

August 10, 2024

On Saturday, August 10 at 8:50 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, mPOWER-a, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, and now 12 Starlink missions.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-8-3

Space Force to expand missile-defense satellite network in medium Earth orbit

August 9, 2024

The U.S. Space Force initiated a new phase in its missile defense satellite program.

The Space Systems Command on Aug. 9 released a “request for prototype proposals” inviting vendors to submit designs for satellites known as Missile Track Custody Epoch 2, marking the second phase of the Space Force’s program to develop a missile-tracking network in medium Earth orbit (MEO).

The Epoch 2 program builds upon the foundation laid by Epoch 1, the first version of the MEO missile warning and tracking constellation being built by Millennium Space Systems which is projected to launch in late 2026 and early 2027.

Raytheon had been selected to build three Epoch 1 satellites but its contract was terminated due to cost and schedule issues.

The Space Force is seeking prototype proposals for Epoch 2 so it can test and explore new technologies before moving to full-scale production.

The Missile Track Custody program is expected to involve a significant investment, with the Space Force projecting a budget of approximately $6 billion over the 2025-2029 period for the development and procurement of up to 18 satellites.

These satellites will be optically cross-linked to ensure continuous surveillance and tracking of missile threats.

Missile-tracking satellites are designed to detect and monitor the launch and flight path of potential threats.

These satellites use advanced sensors to identify the heat signatures of missile launches and track their trajectories, providing early warning and targeting data to defense systems.

Space Force officials said MEO satellites provide advantages over sensors in both lower orbits and geostationary orbits for persistent tracking of next-generation threats like hypersonic glide vehicles, which pose unique challenges due to their speed, maneuverability, and faint heat signatures.

The MEO satellite constellation is designed to be a component of the Department of Defense’s multi-orbit missile defense architecture.

This layered approach includes a low Earth orbit tier of proliferated tracking satellites, as well as geosynchronous and highly elliptical orbit satellites that offer persistent coverage.

https://spacenews.com/space-force-to-expand-missile-defense-satellite-network-in-medium-earth-orbit/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-09/space-force-rejects-demand-to-mitigate-effects-of-sonic-booms-and-rocket-launches-off-california-coast

U.S. military rejects calls to reduce sonic booms from SpaceX rockets blasting along California coast

Aug. 9, 2024 Updated 2:07 PM PT

Military officials are rejecting demands from a state agency to better monitor and mitigate the effects of rocket launches and sonic booms from Vandenberg Space Force Base, frustrating local officials and increasing tensions between the U.S. Space Force and the state agency tasked with preserving the California coast.

SpaceX, a leading contractor with Space Force, wants to rapidly multiply the number of rockets launched from the military base in Santa Barbara County.

The company hasn’t been seeking the commission’s approval, however; instead, Space Force officials have been negotiating with the California Coastal Commission for months over a plan to allow 36 launches at the base this year — six times more than the previous agreement allowed.

As part of those talks, the state commission asked Space Force to track and document more closely how the blasts affect wildlife and to consider ways to reduce the harm from sonic booms.

The commission can’t impose its will on the military — it can only ask for Space Force to cooperate.

At the commission’s meeting Thursday, what is usually a mild-mannered monthly session turned tense after military officials rejected the additional monitoring and mitigation, and Space Force officials refused to take questions.

Commission members were visibly irked.

“I’m beyond pissed,” said Commissioner Susan Lowenberg. “I don’t understand why our own government is thumbing their nose at another branch of our government.”

Said Commissioner Kristina Kunkel, “I hope this commission won’t be bullied into ignoring environmental protections.”

The discordant meeting came two months after Space Force officials admitted for the first time that sonic booms from rocket launches at the base were regularly rattling residents and wildlife along roughly 100 miles of coast across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Recent changes in rocket trajectories have made the sonic booms more common for residents inland, and Space Force officials have said they’re looking to significantly increase the number of rocket blasts each year.

That steep increase is being fueled mainly by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company is currently headquartered in Hawthorne but, according to Musk, those offices are bound for Texas.

A spokesperson for Vandenberg Space Force Base told The Times that the headquarters shift has no effect on the number of rocket launches SpaceX plans to do from the California base.

By 2026, SpaceX still plans to launch more than 90 rockets there.

On Thursday, the state commission approved the increase in launches with new requirements for Space Force to increase monitoring of wildlife inside and outside the base and to analyze the effects that sonic booms have on wildlife, such as southern sea otters, California red-legged frogs, western snowy plover and California least tern.

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The seven conditions the commission sought to impose included requiring a written plan to minimize the impact and reach of sonic booms, a light management plan for night launches that would limit the reach of lights facing beach areas, and steps to provide more information about the launches and their effects to beach visitors and the fishing industry.

Space Force is already responsible for monitoring the effects of launches on base land, but commission officials insist the significantly higher number of rocket launches and the effects of sonic booms that reach across more than 100 miles of California coast are a significant change from the base’s previous activities and demand broader protections.

Several of the commissioners said their intent was not to deter rockets from being launched, but to track the effects they could have on the coast.

“We don’t want to stop the rockets, we don’t want to stop their satellites, and we certainly don’t want to enable any kind of defense problem,” said Commissioner Dayna Bochco, visibly upset. “But this is ridiculous.”

On Thursday, Vandenberg officials said they already take steps to safeguard the coast.

“Our goal is to strike a balance between our mission requirements and state regulators,” said Col. Dorian C. Hatcher, vice commander for operations at the base.

“We’re safeguarding the environment at Vandenberg. We do so and continually do so because we’re committed stewards, responsible members of the community and recognize it’s not only our responsibility, but duty.”

As they had at previous meetings, though, Space Force officials rejected the demands for additional monitoring and mitigation.

That rejection, along with their refusal to answer questions Thursday, seemed to place the state agency in a collision course with the Defense Department.

“Space Force came here and intentionally disrespected us,” Bochco said. “That’s OK. Sometimes I disrespect you, too.”

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