TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
September 27, 2024
Stellar Streams in the Local Universe
The twenty galaxies arrayed in these panels are part of an ambitious astronomical survey of tidal stellar streams. Each panel presents a composite view; a deep, inverted image taken from publicly available imaging surveys of a field that surrounds a nearby massive galaxy image. The inverted images reveal faint cosmic structures, star streams hundreds of thousands of light-years across, that result from the gravitational disruption and eventual merger of satellite galaxies in the local universe. Such surveys of mergers and gravitational tidal interactions between massive galaxies and their dwarf satellites are crucial guides for current models of galaxy formation and cosmology. Of course, the detection of stellar streams in the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy and our own Milky Way also offers spectacular evidence for ongoing satellite galaxy disruption within our more local galaxy group.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA’s BioSentinel Studies Solar Radiation as Earth Watches Aurora
Sep 26, 2024
In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies in a once-in-a-generation light display.
These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections – explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun – with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the Sun spits out during turbulent storms.
But what might happen to humans beyond the safety of Earth’s protection?
This question is essential as NASA plans to send humans to the Moon and on to Mars.
During the May storm, the small spacecraft BioSentinel was collecting data to learn more about the impacts of radiation in deep space.
“We wanted to take advantage of the unique stage of the solar cycle we’re in – the solar maximum, when the Sun is at its most active – so that we can continue to monitor the space radiation environment,” said Sergio Santa Maria, principal investigator for BioSentinel’s spaceflight mission at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
“These data are relevant not just to the heliophysics community but also to understand the radiation environment for future crewed missions into deep space.”
BioSentinel – a small satellite about the size of a cereal box – is currently over 30 million miles from Earth, orbiting the Sun, where it weathered May’s coronal mass ejection without protection from a planetary magnetic field.
Preliminary analysis of the data collected indicates that even though this was an extreme geomagnetic storm, that is, a storm that disturbs Earth’s magnetic field, it was considered just a moderate solar radiation storm, meaning it did not produce a great increase in hazardous solar particles.
Therefore, such a storm did not pose any major issue to terrestrial lifeforms, even if they were unprotected as BioSentinel was.
These measurements provide useful information for scientists trying to understand how solar radiation storms move through space and where their effects – and potential impacts on life beyond Earth – are most intense.
The original mission of BioSentinel was to study samples of yeast in deep space.
Though these yeast samples are no longer alive, BioSentinel has adapted and continues to be a novel platform for studying the potential impacts of deep space conditions on life beyond the protection of Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere.
The spacecraft’s biosensor instrument collects data about the radiation in deep space.
Over a year and a half after its launch in Nov. 2022, BioSentinel retreats farther away from Earth, providing data of increasing value to scientists.
“Even though the biological part of the BioSentinel mission was completed a few months after launch, we believe that there is significant scientific value in continuing with the mission,” said Santa Maria.
“The fact that the CubeSat continues to operate and that we can communicate with it, highlights the potential use of the spacecraft and many of its subsystems and components for future long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit.”
When we see auroras in the sky, they can serve as a stunning reminder of all the forces we cannot see that govern our cosmic neighborhood.
As NASA and its partners seek to understand more about space environments, platforms like BioSentinel are essential to learn more about the risks of surviving beyond Earth’s sphere of protection.
https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasas-biosentinel-studies-solar-radiation-as-earth-watches-aurora/
SpaceX and NASA Crew 9 Mission Prelaunch and Launch
SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Saturday, September 28 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s ninth operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-9) to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch is at 1:17 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Sunday, September 29 at 12:54 p.m. ET if needed.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew the Crew-4, Ax-2, and Ax-3 missions to and from the International Space Station. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=crew-9
https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-events/
NASA Wallops to Support Sounding Rocket Launch
Sep 25, 2024
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to support the launch of a suborbital sounding rocket for the Department of Defense during a launch window that runs 1:45 to 6:30 p.m. EDT each day from Sept. 26 to 30.
No real-time launch status updates will be available and the launch will not be livestreamed.
The rocket launch may be visible from the Chesapeake Bay region.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/wallops/nasa-wallops-to-support-sounding-rocket-launch-2/
Turbulence in the Sun’s corona
26/09/2024
Solar wind is a never-ending stream of charged particles coming from the Sun.
Rather than a constant breeze, this wind is rather gusty.
As solar wind particles travel through space, they interact with the Sun's variable magnetic field, creating chaotic and fluctuating motion known as turbulence.
This video confirms something long suspected: the turbulent motion of solar wind begins very close to the Sun, inside the solar atmosphere known as the corona.
Small disturbances affecting solar wind in the corona are carried outward and expand, generating turbulent flow further out in space.
By blocking out direct light coming from the Sun, the Metis coronagraph instrument on Solar Orbiter is able to capture the fainter visible and ultraviolet light coming from the solar corona.
Its high-resolution images show the detailed structure and movement within the corona, revealing how solar wind motion already becomes turbulent at its roots.
The red-tinted ring in the video shows Metis observations made on 12 October 2022.
At the time, the spacecraft was just 43.4 million km from the Sun, less than a third of the Sun–Earth distance.
The video of the Sun in the centre of the video was recorded by Solar Orbiter’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on the same day. (Read more about Solar Orbiter’s instruments here.)
“This new analysis provides the first-ever evidence for the onset of fully developed turbulence in the Sun’s corona.
Solar Orbiter’s Metis coronagraph was able to detect it very close to the Sun, closer than any spacecraft could approach the Sun and make local measurements,” explains Daniel Müller, ESA’s Solar Orbiter Project Scientist.
Turbulence affects how solar wind is heated, how it moves through the Solar System and how it interacts with the magnetic fields of planets and moons it passes through.
Understanding solar wind turbulence is crucial for predicting space weather and its effects on Earth.
‘Metis observation of the onset of fully developed turbulence in the solar corona’ by Daniele Telloni et al. was published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
[Video description: The Sun is shown in the centre, surrounded by a ring of data from Solar Orbiter’s Metis coronagraph.
The data show changes in brightness of the solar corona, which directly relates to the density of charged particles.
These changes are made visible by subtracting consecutive coronal brightness images taken two minutes apart. Red regions show no change, while white and black regions highlight positive and negative changes in brightness.
This reveals how charged solar wind particles within the corona move in a chaotic, turbulent way. The video repeats three times.]
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2024/09/Turbulence_in_the_Sun_s_corona
The journey of Juice – episode 1
27/09/2024
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), is on an epic eight-year journey to Jupiter.
This first episode of ‘The journey of Juice’ tells the story of Juice’s first months in space, from its launch on 14 April 2023 to its lunar-Earth gravity assist (LEGA for short) in August 2024.
This flyby was not only the first double gravity assist manoeuvre of its kind, it was also a perfect opportunity to test out the spacecraft’s cameras and science instruments.
In this episode, Juice’s Mission Manager Nicolas Altobelli explains how the spacecraft will become the first ever human-made machine to orbit a moon of another planet, in this case Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede.
You’ll also hear from Claire Vallat and Marc Costa at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) near Madrid, Spain.
Juice will perform incredibly complex measurements once it reaches Jupiter, and the Science Operations team at ESAC is making sure we get the most out of every instrument.
Meanwhile, the Flight Control team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, makes sure Juice is and stays on the right path.
This episode shows what happened ‘behind the scenes’ before and during the lunar-Earth flyby, and stars Ignacio Tanco, Angela Dietz and members of the Juice Flight Control team as they do what they do best.
Finally, we highlight the ESA tracking station network (Estrack), another crucial component for Juice.
Maintenance and Operations Engineer Belén Goméz gives a tour of the facility at Cebreros.
Following the very successful lunar-Earth flyby, Juice is now on its way to planet Venus for its next flyby.
On 31 August 2025, this flyby will give Juice its second gravity boost. Tune back in next year for episode two of this series!
This series follows on from ‘The making of Juice’ series, which covered the planning, testing and launch of this once-in-a-generation mission.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2024/09/The_journey_of_Juice_episode_1
Russian cosmonaut returns to Earth after completing record-breaking 1,111th day in space
September 26, 2024
Veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has returned to Earth after a record-breaking year-long stay onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The 60-year-old spaceman has now spent 1,111 non-consecutive days in orbit, which is longer than any other astronaut in history — and will likely remain unbeaten for many years.
Kononenko, who turned 60 in June, returned to Earth inside Russia's Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft on Monday (Sept. 23), alongside fellow cosmonaut Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com.
The trio touched down in the steppe of Kazakhstan around 3.5 hours after undocking from the ISS.
The two cosmonauts, or Russian astronauts, had spent a record-breaking 374 continuous days onboard the space station, narrowly beating NASA astronaut Frank Rubio who inadvertently completed a 371-day stay on the ISS last year after his return craft was damaged.
Dyson, meanwhile, returned after spending 184 days in space.
Kononeko first broke the record for most cumulative days in space in February, when he surpassed the 878-day haul of compatriot Gennady Padalka, who set the record in 2015.
Kononeko has flown on five different missions to the ISS since 2008, which is how the spaceflight veteran racked up his impressive total.
"Thanks to all my crewmates for your friendship. It has been a great time and pleasure to work and spend time together here as a big family on board the International Space Station," Kononenko said as he was leaving the ISS.
"Right now I am leaving my second home."
During his cumulative time in space, Kononenko has completed roughly 17,800 trips around Earth and spent more than 44 hours in the vacuum of space across seven different spacewalks.
To put these numbers into perspective, Kononeko is single-handedly responsible for around 1.5% of the total time spent in space by more than 600 people, since the first human space flight was accomplished by Kononeko's compatriot Yuri Gagarin in 1961.
One record that Kononenko has not beaten during his stellar career is the longest continuous stay in space, which is held by Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days on Russia's former Mir space station between 1994 and 1995.
During Kononeko's most recent visit, 14 different spacecraft arrived at the ISS, including Boeing's infamous Starliner rocket, which recently returned to Earth without astronauts after suffering multiple helium leaks.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stranded in space as a result, and the latter has just taken over command of the ISS from Kononenko.
It is unclear whether or not Kononenko will make any more trips into space.
He has not yet announced his retirement but has previously admitted that spaceflight is "becoming more complicated" and that preparing for missions "has not become easier" over time.
But even if he does retire soon, his record will likely stand for a long time as the next 10 astronauts on the list of most cumulative days in space are either inactive or dead.
The next active astronaut on the list is Russia's Sergey Prokopyev, who has spent 567 non-consecutive days in space, but it is unlikely that he will break the record before Russia fully withdraws from the ISS by 2025.
However, cosmonauts will likely visit China's recently completed Tiangong space station in the future as part of the two countries' joint mission to build a base on the moon by 2035.
An American is unlikely to break Knononeko's record before the ISS is deorbited and crashes back to Earth in 2030, largely because NASA does not generally allow its astronauts to stay in space as long as Russian cosmonauts.
For Kononenko, his record is a nice achievement but has not been the prime motivation for his long lasting career.
"I fly into space to do my favorite thing, not to set records," he said in February after breaking the cumulative spaceflight record.
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/russian-cosmonaut-returns-to-earth-after-completing-record-breaking-1-111th-day-in-space
Additional Views of Hurricane Helene from the International Space Station - Sept. 26, 2024
Cameras on the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Helene at 2:25 p.m. EDT September 26 as it approached the Gulf coast of Florida packing winds in excess of 120 miles an hour.
The National Hurricane Center forecast called for Helene to continue to strengthen before it makes landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida, then traverses up western Georgia and the Tennessee Valley.
https://youtu.be/SmXJKqRZGnQ?si=GF7lLUB_dINjEQ7W
Momentum Builds for Global Space Sustainability Policy
September 26, 2024
The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) published an analysis of the global efforts to mitigate the proliferation of space debris yesterday.
In the report, the institute found that space debris mitigation efforts from governments, NGOs, and companies are gaining steam.
International efforts to address the risks posed by the increasing volume of space debris have expanded in recent years.
The scope and stringency of these efforts have also increased, with better adherence to generally accepted space debris mitigation goals.
While the international community has yet to agree on a single set of rules, different initiatives share similar goals and frameworks.
The report recommended that international bodies align their space debris mitigation goals so they can implement concrete rules and best practices globally.
Same, same, but different: ESPI analyzed 15 different instruments that have been created since the turn of the millennium to demonstrate momentum growing in the international space sustainability movement.
From the first IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines published in 2002 to ESA’s Zero Debris Charter in 2023, these efforts have varied in their content and structure, but over time they have grown sharper teeth, the report said.
In Europe especially, the laws and guidelines governing space debris—ESA’s Space Debris Mitigation Requirements and the Zero Debris Charter—cover a large number of countries, and include concrete commitments and specific methods to monitor compliance.
Upcoming regulation: There are signs that the patchwork set of regional sustainable regs is primed to come together.
On Sunday, the UN General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, which included a commitment to prevent an arms race in space, and an agreement to strengthen the international framework for sustainable practices.
This agreement promises more discussion about a tangible international framework on the specific methods of debris mitigation.
However, in the short-term, it reaffirms the “widest possible adherence to and full compliance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.” Not a bad place to start.
https://payloadspace.com/momentum-builds-for-global-space-sustainability-policy/
https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future
https://www.espi.or.at/reports/a-party-for-everyone-analysing-international-efforts-in-space-debris-mitigation/
Delta 8 enhances situational awareness through Space Cockpit COP powered by JCO commercial data
Published Sept. 26, 2024
Capt. Kristine Kovacs, formerly 4th Space Operations Squadron Weapons and Tactics, and Specialist 4 Jack Wallace, 4th SOPS Tactician, Exercise and Integration, spearheaded an initiative within the 4th SOPS and Space Delta 8 to integrate Saber Astronautics’ Space Cockpit Battle Management System as their Common Operating Picture on their operations floors.
This allows Barbara Golf, the U.S. Space Forces Space-Combined Joint Force Space Component Commercial Integration Office director, to share non-classified Joint Commercial Operations commercial space domain awareness data, including electro-optical, radar, passive RF observations and orbital positioning data to feed this COP through the Unified Data Library.
“With the addition of the near real time data flow from the JCO, operators have situational awareness of orbital threats and more time to make critical decisions,” Wallace said.
“For the first time, crews can better visualize and understand the pattern of life of satellites in vicinity of their wideband and protected satellites.”
In addition, tacticians can now show their leadership when other satellites maneuver, perform rendezvous and proximity operations or come close to their satellite communications constellations.
DEL 8 uses Space Cockpit-customized dashboards, and constellation monitors to independently track and monitor their space-based assets and the activity within their respective orbital regimes.
This provides them a tailored approach to domain awareness and allows them to set specific alert parameters to bring their attention quickly to an asset that may be at risk.
The Space Cockpit Battle Management System also provides modeling and simulation capabilities to develop courses of action, maneuver plans and strategies to minimize risk to their assets.
In 2020, U.S. Space Command established the JCO cell to augment the National Space Defense Center’s mission to protect and defend the space domain by leveraging commercial capabilities to provide timely, non-classified SDA and alerting services.
Today, the JCO operates 24/5 in partnership with 18 nations to monitor high interest satellites for threatening activity and disseminate alerts.
“Use of non-classified commercial data allows for transparency and collaborative data sharing,” said Anne Konnath, JCO Integration lead.
“The JCO is working closely with allies and commercial owner operators of high value assets to ensure they, too, are armed with real time understanding of activity in the vicinity of their assets.
The JCO works with allied and commercial satellite operators to host JCO Live Fly exercises three times per year.
The exercises provide realistic threat scenario simulation to allow satellite operators to use JCO Notice to space operators and their COP to become proficient in recognizing threat activity and then “tell the story” of what’s happening in orbit so they can make informed decisions and rapidly execute their strategies to preserve freedom of action in space.
Through the innovative process of incorporating commercial data into daily operations and conducting exercises to help train operators on how to best apply that commercial data, Guardians at DEL 8 are better prepared provide protected and assured Military Satellite Communications to joint and coalition warfighters during peacetime and throughout the full spectrum of conflict.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3918814/delta-8-enhances-situational-awareness-through-space-cockpit-cop-powered-by-jco/
DAF HEAT conference highlights ‘Pioneers of Change’
Sept. 27, 2024
The Department of the Air Force Hispanic Empowerment and Advancement Team (HEAT) hosted a conference in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month at the Inter-American Air Forces Academy auditorium at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Sept. 18.
The all-day conference featured keynote speakers, special interest panels of enlisted leaders and fireside chats.
The event also brought together Hispanic community leaders and advocates to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities Hispanic service members and civilians face in the Air Force and Space Force.
“This conference is an important opportunity for us to come together and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our Hispanic service members and civilians,” said Marianne Malizia, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Force Resilience and the chief diversity officer for the Department of the Air Force.
“While we've made significant progress, there is still much work ahead.
Each of us plays a role in identifying and removing barriers to ensure we can recruit, retain and develop Airmen and Guardians from all backgrounds, races and ethnicities, ultimately maintaining a ready and resilient force to defend our nation.”
Malizia emphasized the importance of feedback from attendees, stating, “Your input, your questions, your interest in how to move things forward is vital as we continue to make the Air Force and Space Force an employer of choice.”
Col. Becky Móntaño Beers, Enterprise IT deputy director at the Pentagon, spoke about the significance of the Hispanic Empowerment and Advancement Team.
“HEAT is one of the Department of the Air Force's Barrier Analysis Working Groups.
It's important for the Air Force to have these different working groups to remove barriers related to recruiting and retention,” she said.
Beers highlighted that Hispanic is not a monolithic group, and the diversity within the community enriches the Air Force and Space Force.
Various speakers shared insights on leadership, diversity and career advancement throughout the day.
“The theme of this year's Hispanic Heritage Month conference is 'Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together,' which is a fitting theme because that is exactly what HEAT has been doing,” Malizia noted.
Tech. Sgt. Zane Narro, HEAT conference lead planner, and IAAFA plans and programs manager, leaned into this year’s theme that embodies the innovative and resilient spirit of the Hispanic community.
“Our intent in HEAT is to break down barriers we face as service members, both enlisted and civilian,” Narro said.
“It is important so that we don't miss out on key demographics that can better assist us, especially in Great Power Competition, and all of our allies and service members in Central and South America who are facing challenges each and every day.”
The Department of the Air Force Hispanic Empowerment and Advancement Team is dedicated to promoting the advancement of Hispanic service members and civilians, and this conference is one of many initiatives aimed at fostering inclusion and empowerment within the Air Force.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3919192/daf-heat-conference-highlights-pioneers-of-change/
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/481796/dafs-hispanic-empowerment-and-advancement-team-conference-highlights-pioneers-change