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Dark to Provide Simulated Space Missile Interception for French Study
November 27, 2024
The French Defense Innovation Agency (AID) has selected space defense startup Dark for a concept study on hostile space object interception in low-Earth orbit.
As part of the study, Dark will simulate all stages of space interception through a digital framework called Salazar.
“Developed internally, the Salazar simulation coordinates various digital models that retrace the operational sequence of Interceptor, from the ground preparation phase to interception, capture, and return of the object from orbit,” the Paris-based firm states.
“Salazar not only provides future users with a vision of potential outcomes but also allows the adaptation of future technologies based on this feedback.”
Space Interception
AID will provide a virtual target featuring evasion or an alert system. In response, Dark will offer the best intervention scenario based on the target’s orbital parameters, including mission strategy, performance, and timing.
The interceptor system is reportedly a five-arm robot optimized for 1-metric ton objects at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) with a notice of 24 hours.
It will be launched from a modified commercial aircraft, just below the target’s orbit, Dark co-founder and CEO Clyde Laheyne told Aviation Week.
The system will position itself relative to the target with the help of its sensors including an in-house radar, a lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system, and an optic sensor.
One of the arms will be used for interception and the other four for seizure and deceleration leading to atmospheric reentry, Aviation Week wrote.
Space Weaponization
Dark has already conducted an emergency interception study for the French Space Agency (CNES), simulating the targeting of space debris.
It comes amid the increasing threat of space weaponization by world powers, marked by Russia testing an anti-satellite missile in 2021.
A Russian satellite was destroyed as part of the test, letting loose a cloud of debris that forced the International Space Station’s crew to take evasive action.
The latest French study will help the AID assess space interception capabilities for the requirements of low Earth orbit operations beyond 2030.
It will “also test the feasibility of transferring and maneuvering payloads in orbit, thus contributing to missions to characterize critical situations as well as to surveillance and response operations in the face of possible attempts at space interference,” the French agency explained.
https://thedefensepost.com/2024/11/27/dark-space-missile-interception/
Autonomous space tech: China launches world's first self-driving satellite
Nov 27 2024 | 4:49 PM IST
China has successfully launched the world’s first ‘self-driving’ satellites, which also marks a milestone in the country’s commercial space programme, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday.
Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), these satellites have been designed to autonomously maintain or change their flight paths without ground intervention.
This is expected to revolutionise surveying and mapping in the space sector.
What makes these satellites unique?
The two satellites, named Siwei Gaojing-2 03 and Gaojing-2 04, were launched aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on Monday (Nov 25) morning.
The SAST-developed satellites bring advanced capabilities to space exploration. They are equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology and high-precision radar payloads, enabling them to:
Automatically return to orbit with an unprecedented accuracy of 100 metres
Perform formation-coordinated fly-arounds at sub-metre precision
These features significantly reduce the need for ground-based operations, enhancing safety and simplifying satellite control.
Capabilities and applications of self-driving satellite
Once operational, the satellites will provide high-resolution, all-day, all-weather radar imagery.
This data is critical for various industries, including natural resource management, urban safety monitoring, emergency response and disaster warning, as well as, maritime surveillance.
The satellites’ high-quality images are also expected to assist in updating China’s surveying and mapping databases, monitoring agricultural output, and environmental management.
Synthetic aperture radar
Unlike traditional optical satellites that rely on visible and infrared light, SAR satellites like Gaojing-2 03 and 04 use microwave signals.
This allows them to penetrate clouds, fog, and darkness, as well as, capture high-resolution images regardless of weather or time of the day/ night.
These features enable the monitoring of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, tracking deforestation, and carrying out military surveillance.
Part of a broader constellation project
The Gaojing-2 03 and 04 satellites are integral to the Siwei commercial remote sensing constellation project, approved by CASC in April 2022.
This network aims to eventually comprise at least 28 satellites, providing high-resolution data to support industries like land management and marine surveillance.
The constellation is expected to be fully operational by next year.
The launch follows a series of advancements in China’s space programme, including the Ludi Tance 4-01, the world’s first geosynchronous orbit SAR satellite launched in August 2023.
https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/autonomous-space-tech-china-launches-world-s-first-self-driving-satellite-124112700761_1.html
Goodnight moon! Astronomers snap photo of Earth's departing mini-moon
November 27, 2024
A temporary mini-moon snared by Earth's gravity for nearly two months before departing back into the solar system can be seen in a new image from the Two-Meter Twin Telescope in Spain.
The near-Earth asteroid (NEO) 2024 PT5 was snared by the gravitational influence of our planet on Sept. 29, 2024.
From the start of its occupancy, scientists studying this "second moon," including Carlos de la Fuente Marcos of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, were aware that this would be a "temporary capture" lasting no longer than a few weeks.
That prediction came to fruition on Monday (Nov. 25) when 2024 PT5 departed Earth to return to its usual home in the Arjuna asteroid belt.
This secondary asteroid belt circles the sun in an orbit close to that of Earth at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the solar system's central star.
With a width of just 37 feet, equivalent to the height of five stacked Christmas Trees (artificial ones, at least), 2024 PT5 wasn't clear to the vast majority of skywatchers.
Marcos and his colleagues have been studying it with the Two-meter Twin Telescope (TTT), which is operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and is located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
This allowed the team to make a number of discoveries about the asteroid, including the fact that its composition indicates it could be a piece of the moon blasted away by an asteroid impact.
The astronomers' eyes weren't too filled with tears over the departure of 2024 PT5 and the end of its spell as Earth's second moon to stop them from imaging it as it moved away.
"The 'see-you-soon' picture of 2024 PT5 was acquired on Monday by Dr. Miquel Serra-Ricart, a member of our collaboration," Marcos told Space.com via email. "The observation came from the TTT."
2024 PT5 won't be staying away from Earth for long. According to the NASA JPL small body lookup database the asteroid will be back on Jan. 9, 2025.
At that time it will come even closer to Earth than it did recently, at just 1.1 million miles from Earth.
However, traveling at around 2,300 mph (3,700 kph) the asteroid will be moving too fast to be snared by Earth's gravity and serve another stint as our second moon. After that, 2024 will return again in 2055.
"As for the future, it is virtually certain that it will return in 2055. Using the latest data, it will have negative total geocentric energy [needed for gravitational capture to occur] from late on Oct. 6 until early on Oct. 14, 2055," Marcos told Space.com earlier this week.
"However, at this time, it will remain at 3.3 million miles [5.3 million km] from Earth. It will not become a temporary satellite of Earth because it will remain beyond 28 million miles [45 million km] from our planet.
"With the previous orbit determination, it would have been captured in 2055; with the newest data, the capture event will not take place."
https://www.space.com/mini-moon-2024pt5-asteroid-depart-image
Magnetic tornadoes on Jupiter are spawning Earth-size storms
November 26, 2024
Planetary scientists have issued a tornado warning for Jupiter, with the discovery that magnetic vortices twisting down from the planet's ionosphere into its deep atmosphere are resulting in giant, ultraviolet-absorbing anticyclones each the size of our Earth.
These anticyclonic storms manifest as dark ovals, and are visible as dense hazes of aerosols in Jupiter's stratosphere.
However, they're only noticeable in ultraviolet (UV) light and were first seen at Jupiter's north and south poles by the Hubble Space Telescope in the late 1990s.
They were then confirmed at Jupiter's north pole by NASA's Cassini spacecraft as it flew past in 2000 on its way to Saturn. But no one knew where the dark ovals came from.
Now, planetary scientists led by Troy Tsubota, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, have figured out that the dark ovals are formed by swirling magnetic tornados produced when friction occurs between magnetic field lines in Jupiter's immensely strong magnetic field.
The key to understanding the dark, UV-absorbing anticyclones was found in the annual images of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) project led by Amy Simon, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
OPAL involves Hubble imaging each of the giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — once per year, to keep track of changes in their appearance.
"We realized these OPAL images were like a gold mine," said Tsubota in a statement.
In Hubble images of Jupiter taken between 2015 and 2022, Tsubota found a dark oval at the planet's south pole three-quarters of the time, but only once at the north pole in eight images.
As on Earth, Jupiter's magnetic field converges at its poles, and as on Earth, this concentration of magnetic field lines drives charged particles toward the polar regions, where they collide with atmospheric molecules to produce aurorae.
On Jupiter, the auroral lights are detectable only in UV light, unlike the colorful displays we see in Earth's sky.
For there to be a transitory phenomenon such as the dark ovals appearing at Jupiter's poles strongly suggested that it was connected to the planet's magnetic field, just like the aurora is.
Tsubota and his supervisor, Michael Wong, teamed up with Simon, plus planetary scientists Tom Stallard at Northumbria University in Newcastle and Xi Zhang at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to solve the puzzle of what causes the dark ovals.
Surrounding Jupiter, trapped within the gigantic magnetic field generated by the planet, is the Io Plasma Torus — a donut-shaped ring of charged particles spewed out by the plentiful volcanoes on Jupiter's eruptive moon, Io.
Stallard suggested that friction between magnetic field lines in the plasma torus and in field lines closer to the planet in the ionosphere — an outer region filled with radiation belts containing more charged particles — could regularly instigate the formation of magnetic vortices that swirl down deep into Jupiter's stratosphere.
These magnetic tornadoes would then stir up aerosols in the lower atmosphere, creating a dense patch of swirling, ultraviolet-absorbing haze that forms a dark oval.
However, it's not currently clear whether the tornados dredge up the haze from deeper in the planet, or whether the tornadoes create the hazes.
"The haze in the dark ovals is 50 times thicker than the typical concentration," said Zhang.
"Which suggests it likely forms due to swirling vortex dynamics rather than chemical reactions triggered by high-energy particles from the upper atmosphere."
Indeed, said Zhang, the observations indicate that the timing and location at which the dark ovals appear does not correlate with bursts of these charged particles.
The dark ovals seem to take about a month to form and then dissipate within a couple of weeks.
Given the regularity with which the dark ovals appear, it would seem that Jupiter sits in the middle of its own magnetic tornado alley.
https://www.space.com/the-universe/jupiter/magnetic-tornadoes-on-jupiter-are-spawning-earth-size-storms
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02419-0
SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on 400th successful Falcon 9 flight
November 27, 2024
SpaceX just notched a big spaceflight milestone.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 of the company's Starlink satellites lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday (Nov. 26) at 11:41 p.m. EST (0441 GMT on Wednesday, Nov. 27).
The satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit about 65 minutes later as planned. It was the 400th successful mission for the workhorse rocket, which debuted in 2010, SpaceX announced via X on Wednesday (Nov. 27).
The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth safely, touching down on the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff.
It was the 375th landing for a Falcon first stage overall, SpaceX said via X, and the 15th for this particular booster, according to a company mission description. Eleven of its 15 flights to date have been Starlink missions.
SpaceX has now launched 117 Falcon 9 missions so far in 2024, and 81 of them have been devoted to building out the Starlink network. Five of those Starlink flights have occurred in the past eight days.
The Starlink megaconstellation — the biggest ever assembled — currently consists of nearly 6,700 active spacecraft, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-to-launch-24-more-starlink-satellites-from-florida-early-nov-26
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1861806186624172068
Could space technology help address Montreal's family doctor shortage?
Nov 26, 2024
A Montreal health authority is hoping that technology developed to help astronauts monitor their health in space will help it improve care for people who are on the waiting list for a family doctor.
Dan Gabay, the CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, said that with more than 20,000 people in Montreal’s West Island on the waiting list, the new technology is intended to help identify which of those people are healthy, and which ones may have undetected conditions that need attention before they get worse.
“This is a way for us to basically cut into the curve and give an access point and insight to patients who in appearance could be healthy, but may not be,” he said in an interview.
The system — based on technology developed for the Canadian Space Agency by Edmonton-based company Baüne, which has adapted its platform for a clinical setting on Earth — uses a kiosk that can take a number of vital signs from a patient, as well as ask health screening questions, like whether a patient smokes.
That data is then fed into a dashboard that can be monitored by a nurse or other health-care professional in real time, and the system can also alert a professional to potential health concerns.
The data becomes part of the patient’s digital health record and, over time, the system’s artificial intelligence can flag changes that might indicate underlying health problems.
Gabay said he wants to give healthy people reassurance, while ensuring those who are at risk can see a doctor more quickly. If the system works, he hopes patients without a family doctor would be able to use it for a screening every six months.
“The objective really is to be able to give access to routine reviews through different health-care workers, to ensure that patients aren’t caught in a gap and are able to have their health status monitored, with front-line intervention from a preventive health-care perspective,” he said.
The pilot project will start with a single kiosk at the CLSC de Pierrefonds. Nurses will be available to see patients whose screenings show potential issues, and doctors working in the Lakeshore General Hospital’s family medicine group will see patients who need further care or assessment.
If the pilot project is successful, more kiosks could be deployed, including in places where a nurse isn’t on site, such as pharmacies, Gabay said.
Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques said that astronauts need to be able to monitor their own health because a doctor isn’t always on board during space missions.
He said the monitoring is becoming more important for upcoming moon missions and potential missions to Mars, where the distance will lead to delays on video calls with doctors and coming back to Earth — which is difficult but possible from the International Space Station — may not be an option.
Saint-Jacques, who is also a physician, said that by testing the system with thousands of people in Montreal’s West Island, rather than just Canada’s four active astronauts, he hopes it can be further improved.
It’s not the first time technology developed for space has been adapted for use on Earth, he said.
“Because going to space is so difficult and the requirements are so extreme, it is a great spark for innovation,” Saint-Jacques said.
“We end up scratching our heads a bit harder than we would otherwise, and then, lo and behold, once we have figured things out for the excuse of space, then we have them on Earth.
The whole of modern computing was basically developed for the Apollo program, for the excuse of going to the moon.”
Andrea Galindo, the CEO and co-founder of Baüne, said what distinguishes her company’s system from others is that it brings all the health data it gathers together in a single platform.
“It’s not necessarily about one medical device, but rather the connectivity of multiple devices, reducing the silos that exist in the health-care system,” she said.
As an engineer, she said, designing for space was something she dreamed about, but now she’s most proud of the fact that her technology could have an impact for everyday people.
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/could-space-technology-help-address-montreals-family-doctor-shortage
CMSSF visits Pituffik SB at the 'Top of the World'
Nov. 27, 2024
Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna visited Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, Nov. 20-22.
Bentivegna was joined by Chief Master Sgt. Jacob Simmons, the command senior enlisted leader of U.S. Space Command, and Congressional staff to get a glimpse into quality-of-life services for Guardians and Airmen at the Defense Department's most northern and remote location.
During an all-call, Bentivegna praised the Guardians and Airmen who are responsible for operating and maintaining the base’s mission and thanked them for their hard work and dedication.
In addition to engaging with Guardians and Airmen, Bentivegna’s visit included discussing the latest developments and initiatives, such as Cold Weather Incentive Pay and professional military education.
He talked about the force’s ongoing efforts to define its culture and identity and to develop new training programs and expectations for enlisted Guardians.
During their visit, Bentivegna and Simmons received mission briefs, toured dormitories and visited the various support services and medical facilities available to Pituffik SB personnel.
Bentivegna also emphasized the importance of Pituffik SB’s mission. Known as the Space Force’s “Top of the World” vantage point, Pituffik is part of the Space Force’s global network of early missile warning and space domain awareness capabilities.
"The Department of Defense has unveiled a new Arctic strategy, underscoring the region's critical importance to our national security and that of our allies,” he said.
“Maintaining a strong presence and projecting power from the Arctic is paramount; we must fortify it, ensuring that we capitalize on our unique position at the top of the world to safeguard our interests and those of our allies.”
Pituffik, which is pronounced bee-doo-FEEK, was formerly known as Thule Air Base. It was renamed a native name for the region April 6, 2023, to reflect its current role as a Space Force base.
It exists today due to the agreements between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark, addressing mutual defense cooperation.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3980121/cmssf-visits-pituffik-sb-at-the-top-of-the-world/
“Buck Sergeant” Training Program: 50th SFS support Guardian, Airmen development
Published Nov. 27, 2024
Acknowledging the U.S. Space Force’s mission, structure and unique demands, Space Operations Command leadership developed the Guardian and Airmen Development Program to foster a new generation of leaders.
The program equips Guardians and Airmen with the necessary skills and traits to meet the current and future demands of the Space Force.
From monthly functional cross-organizational training with other military installations to mentorship and professional development opportunities surrounding topics such as Great Power Competition, contingency operations and mission command, units under Space Base Delta 1 are wasting no time supporting the GADP campaign.
The 50th Security Forces Squadron, located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, is on such a path.
“[GADP] is a program started by Chief Lloyd [SpOC senior enlisted leader] to equip younger Airmen and Guardians with the knowledge that’s integral to them developing their leadership skills,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Bryan Nelson, 50th SFS operations superintendent.
“We created the Buck Sergeant Training Program, which is geared towards security forces first-line supervisors, second-line supervisors and really anybody, because the information there is valuable regardless of rank.”
“We go in-depth as to what leadership looks like from a security forces standpoint — how to prioritize and execute certain tasks… These Airmen at a relatively young age can find themselves supervising five, six or seven people at one time.
And it’s not uncommon, depending on where you're stationed, for staff sergeants and technical sergeants to have 20-plus people underneath them.
So, how they prioritize their time and how they execute tasks is critical to avoiding task saturation and maintaining that work-life balance.”
The term “buck sergeant” refers to a legacy USAF rank established in 1976 describing a junior ranking noncommissioned officer.
At that time, USAF leaders changed the E-2 through E-4 grade structure to establish a three-tier enlisted force structure — Airman, noncommissioned officer and senior NCO. This change included an additional E-4 rank of “senior airman.”
For the senior airmen to advance to the NCO “sergeant” rank — also E-4 and often referred to as “buck sergeant,” the Airman would have to meet certain criteria, including 12 months’ time-in-grade and completion of the NCO Preparatory Course,” according to A Chronology of the Air Force Enlisted Chevrons.
While the term “buck sergeant” is colloquial, it highlights the distinction between different levels of NCO ranks and the progression within the USAF's rank structure — marking the transition from a junior Airman to a more formal leadership role.
The 50th SFS “buck sergeant” program targets young leaders taking on supervisory responsibilities and addresses a range of development topics beyond leadership and management, such as counseling, progressive discipline, writing, interpersonal communication, etc.
“Once you go to Airmen Leadership School, you come out and are ready to supervise — but you’re probably not equipped 100% with all the information that you need,” said USAF Master Sgt. Edward Wilson, 50th SFS operations and training section chief.
“That’s where we come in with this Buck Sergeant Training Program. Development in each career field is different, so we specifically looked at our career field to figure out what we need to enhance.
We aim to fill in gaps where information may have been lost in translation or missed. This is to make sure we have our people humming on all cylinders.”
“There’s a saying, ‘each one teach one’ … That’s honestly what we’re doing. We’re trying to make sure that the knowledge that we have, collectively, is passed on to the next generation.
And our expectation for them is they don’t harbor that information, and they continue to share it with their subordinates.”
Looking ahead, program leaders aim to expand the initiative, both in scope and impact, paving the way for broader development opportunities.
“I think this program is super beneficial,” said USAF Tech. Sgt. Eddie Jones, 50th SFS unit deployment manager.
“If we can get it off the ground the way we intend, we would like to grow this program and even venture out of our career field — inviting other squadrons, other career fields to take part and share that wealth of information.
I think that'll build connections… It's a ‘one team, one fight’ type of deal where we have these common goals, and the most effective way of getting to those goals is to train and learn together.”
https://www.spoc.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3980136/buck-sergeant-training-program-50th-sfs-support-guardian-airmen-development
https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/SpaceBaseDelta1/