TYB
USC Researcher Explores Human-AI Collaboration for Future Space Missions
December 12, 2024
PhD candidate Ulubilge Ulusoy has been recognized as one of six finalists for the prestigious International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Young Pioneer Award at this year’s International Astronautical Congress, the largest annual gathering in the space industry.
Ulusoy’s human-centered research tackles a growing challenge for space missions: how astronauts and artificial intelligence (AI) systems can effectively work together.
“When we set up a Mars habitat, there will be a communication delay of 4 to 20 minutes with Earth,” Ulsoy explains.
“That makes it impossible for astronauts to communicate with mission control in real-time. They’ll need some kind of support system, even for routine tasks.”
While most current research focuses solely on how AI can assist humans, Ulusoy is exploring the opposite: how humans can help AI systems learn, adapt and improve.
“These AI systems won’t be perfect when first deployed,” he says. “They’re going to get better as they interact with humans, so we’re trying to understand how that might work.”
Innovative experiments were designed simulating space conditions, where participants perform hypothetical maintenance tasks using ChatGPT as a stand in for mission control.
By analyzing performance data, trust levels, workload metrics and time pressure, Ulusoy’s research will help create a framework for how to train astronauts to collaborate with AI systems.
Ulusoy views his research as a safeguard against potential AI complications, drawing a parallel to the Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” in which the computer, Hal, turns against the human astronauts.
“If there was more interaction between humans and the technology, it might prevent what happened in that movie,” he said.
“My research is about enabling humans to assist and enhance autonomous agents, so that we ensure that the systems we design work in our favor.”
While AI systems are not yet operational in NASA missions, Ulusoy’s work, funded by NASA’s Habitat Optimized for Missions of Exploration (HOME) initiative, is helping pave the way.
Astronauts currently train for space missions with their teammates, but increasingly they’ll need to train with AI systems as well.
“It’s not just about making AI better,” he reflected. “It’s about creating a partnership where humans and AI grow together.”
https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2024/12/usc-researcher-explores-human-ai-collaboration-for-future-space-missions/
SpaceX and the 7 dwarves: Chinese space firms line up to enter reusable rocket race
Updated: 2:24pm, 12 Dec 2024
Chinese space launch start-ups are racing to debut their reusable rockets next year, driven by the nation’s push to build internet megaconstellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO) in a challenge to SpaceX’s Starlink.
At least seven new private rockets, all featuring vertical recovery and reusability, are aiming to reach orbit in 2025 and compete for launch contracts to deploy tens of thousands of broadband satellites in the coming years.
Leading the charge is the Tianlong-3, a 71-metre (233-feet), two-stage kerosene and liquid oxygen rocket being assembled by Space Pioneer in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, in eastern China.
The Tianlong-3 is the second most powerful rocket developed in China, surpassed only by the Long March-5B.
With a payload capacity of 17 tonnes for LEO, it is designed for batch satellite deployments and could carry 30 or more satellites per launch, Jiangsu Television reported on Sunday.
The rocket, which had an unexpected launch and crash during a static fire test in June, has incorporated a suite of advanced technologies, according to Liu Yang, an engineer at Space Pioneer.
“These technologies, including 3D-printed stainless steel engines and liquid nitrogen gasification pressurisation, were developed specifically to meet the ‘low-cost, high-reliability and high-frequency’ demands of internet satellite launches,” Liu told Jiangsu Television.
The first stage of the Tianlong-3 is powered by nine Tianhuo-12 engines and can be used up to 10 times, according to the company’s website.
Hot on the Tianlong-3’s heels is the Zhuque-3, a medium-lift reusable rocket being developed by LandSpace in Huzhou, Zhejiang province.
The Zhuque-3 is the only one of the seven set to attempt both orbital insertion and first-stage recovery during its maiden flight next year.
“The Zhuque-3 is expected to launch in the second half of 2025, and aims to become China’s first operational reusable carrier rocket,” LandSpace founder and CEO Zhang Changwu told state broadcaster CCTV last week.
Standing at 76.6 metres, the Zhuque-3 is made of stainless steel and powered by liquid methane fuel. In September, it completed a 10km (6.2-mile) vertical landing test.
The rocket can carry around 21 tonnes for LEO in expendable mode and 18.3 tonnes when the first stage is recovered down range.
Equipped with nine Tianque-12B engines, the Zhuque-3’s first stage is designed for recovery and reuse, with a capacity of up to 20 launches.
“LandSpace manufactures over 60 per cent of the components for the Tianque-12B engines. We’ve also established a closed-loop process for the engines’ 3D-printed parts, from design to integration,” Zhang said.
The 69-metre Hyperbola-3, developed by Beijing-based iSpace, and the 53-metre Kinetic-2, built by CAS Space from Guangzhou, are also looking to make inaugural flights next year.
Both offer a payload capacity of 12-13 tonnes for LEO in expandable mode, with the Hyperbola-3 capable of lifting 8.5 tonnes in reusable mode.
Joining the race are the smaller Galactic Energy Pallas-1 and Deep Blue Aerospace’s Nebula-1. Both rockets, which will eventually become reusable, are scheduled to fly in the first half of next year.
Meanwhile, the Gravity-2, a reusable medium- to heavy-lift rocket under development by Orienspace, is expected to debut in late 2025 at the earliest.
China’s rocket companies are ramping up efforts to close the gap with SpaceX while hoping to replicate its success with reusable rockets – particularly the Falcon 9.
As SpaceX’s workhorse, the Falcon 9 boasts a payload capacity of 17-18 tonnes for LEO with reuse, and has been instrumental in building the Starlink megaconstellation.
In 2024, the Falcon 9 achieved an impressive launch cadence of every three days, typically deploying two dozen Starlink satellites per mission.
The constellation now comprises nearly 7,000 satellites, providing internet services to millions of users worldwide, including many in remote areas.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3290445/spacex-and-7-dwarves-chinese-space-firms-line-enter-reusable-rocket-race
Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight! Here's how to see one of the best meteor showers of the year
December 13, 2024
The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year peaks tonight, Dec. 13.
Famed for its bright, vividly colored meteors, the Geminids promise a spectacle as Earth passes through the debris left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
Under optimal conditions, the Geminids can produce up to 120 meteors per hour, but this year's near full-moon will likely wash out fainter meteors, reducing visibility.
Still, if you have clear skies, it's worth braving the chill for a glimpse of this celestial treat.
While moonlight may hinder some meteor spotting efforts, brighter meteors and the occassional fireball can blaze so bright they'll still be visible.
Geminid meteors will appear to radiate from the Gemini constellation but don't look directly at Gemini to spot the meteors, as the shooting stars will be visible across the night sky.
Make sure to move your gaze around the nearby constellations as meteors closer to the radiant tend to have shorter trains and are more difficult to spot.
Peak Geminid activity typically occurs in the late evening and into the early morning hours, with the best viewing time around 2 a.m. local time when the Gemini constellation, the shower's radiant, is at its highest point in the sky.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteors-showers/geminid-meteor-shower-2024-peaks-tonight-how-to-see-one-of-the-best-meteor-showers-of-the-year
Meteor strikes on the moon! Astronomer captures possible Geminid lunar impacts
December 13, 2024
As we approach the peak of the Geminid meteor shower overnight on Friday (Dec. 13), the skies are beginning to light up with impressive meteors striking Earth's atmosphere.
But Earth isn't the only target; the moon is regularly bombarded with such meteors, and Daichi Fujii, the curator of the Hiratsuka City Museum in Japan, has captured some of the most recent collisions.
Fujii documented meteor impacts on the moon on Dec. 6, Dec. 7 and twice on Dec. 8, 2024, using cameras set to monitor Earth's nearest neighbor.
You can view some of his lunar impact videos (as well as some impressive fireballs) on his X account.
"There was another lunar impact flash tonight. I filmed it at 360fps from my home at 22:34:35 on December 8, 2024 (slow playback) and was able to confirm it with multiple telescopes.
Bright meteors and fireballs have been appearing every day, but lunar impact flashes have also been captured one after another," Fujii wrote in a post on X on Dec. 8.
This isn't the first time Fuijii has witnessed such an impact. In February 2023, he recorded another impressive video of a meteor smashing into the moon.
It's unclear if the recent lunar impacts captured by Fujii are the product of the Geminid meteor shower or simply the result of sporadic meteors.
When asked about the possible origin of these meteors, Robert Lunsford, of the American Meteor Society, told EarthSky, "While it’s a bit early for strong Geminid activity, it's possible that these are Geminid meteors as they are striking the moon from the expected direction."
Lunsford suggested that, if they are indeed Geminid meteors, the rate of lunar strikes is quite extraordinary, as even during the Geminid maximum, it's more typical to see less than one visible strike per night.
Given the moon's history with Geminid impacts, there is a good chance that at least some of these meteor strikes were Geminids.
In 2015, NASA published a study on Geminid meteor shower lunar impact observations and found 19 such strikes in 2006 and 21 in 2010.
Astonishingly, 55% of all impacts witnessed on the moon in 2010 were attributed to the Geminids.
However, Fuijii is not ruling out the possibility that they are simply sporadic meteors.
"Given the position of the radiant, there is a possibility that these lunar impact flashes are associated with the Geminid meteor shower.
However, since sporadic meteors still outnumber Geminids in ground-based meteor observations, they may be sporadic meteors," Fujii told EarthSky.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteors-showers/astronomer-captures-possible-geminid-meteors-smashing-into-the-moon-video
https://x.com/dfuji1/status/1865775783123599690
Fireball! Brilliant meteor streaks across Indiana’s early-morning sky
December 12, 2024
Early Tuesday morning (Dec. 10), witnesses across the state of Indiana reported sightings of a fireball blazing overhead.
Cloudy skies across the state Tuesday made viewing the the streaking inferno difficult, but 47 reports documenting the event were submitted to the American Meteor Society (AMS) website, which crowdsources and tracks meteor activity across North America.
At approximately 4:05 a.m. ET (0905 GMT), a fireball was tracked traveling south by southeast, just west of Indianapolis.
"It lit up the sky like it was daylight," reported Andrew B. through the AMS Report a Fireball submission form.
Other witnesses accounts read similarly, with Di M. saying it was the "brightest short duration of light" they'd ever seen.
The morning's cloudy skies likely contributed to the profound luminosity, as the light from the already bright flare of the fireball was dispersed by the clouds like a lampshade illuminating the city below.
Events like this one are somewhat rare to witness, although meteors and other debris burning up in Earth's atmosphere happens regularly. Fireballs like the one seen on Tuesday are referred to as bolides.
They appear as fast, bright streaks across the sky before reaching an explosive end as they incinerate in the atmosphere.
One Indiana resident, Michael Denney (MikeDVB), caught the fireball using a camera on his front door.
He posted the video to YouTube, and then to the Indiana subreddit, where many said they also witnessed the early morning event.
"This was very cool. I'm a little disappointed that it was cloudy — but it's a pretty good view regardless," Denney wrote on AMS.
A slight "thump" can be heard near the beginning of Denney's video, and in his report to AMS, he described what he heard as a loud sonic boom.
Other AMS submissions corroborate what Denney heard, reporting either concurrent or delayed sound associated with the fireball's atmospheric collision.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteors-showers/fireball-meteor-streaks-across-indianas-early-morning-sky-videos
https://fireball.amsmeteors.org//members/imo_view/event/2024/7647
SpaceX Launches
December 13, 2024
Starlink Mission
SpaceX is targeting Friday, December 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff is targeted for 11:29 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 3:04 p.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available Saturday, December 14 starting at 10:48 a.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the ninth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Oneweb 4, USSF-62, and six 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-11-2
RRT-1 Mission
SpaceX is targeting Friday, December 13 for a Falcon 9 launch of the RRT-1 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Liftoff is targeted for 8:04 p.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, December 14 starting at 7:59 p.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about ten minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9 and two Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=rrt-1
USSF celebrates its fifth anniversary, sets sights on future as Spacepower Conference concludes
Dec. 12, 2024
At the recent Space Force Association Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Dec. 10-12, U.S. Space Force senior leaders outlined a comprehensive vision for the organization's future, marking significant milestones as the service approaches its fifth anniversary.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman outlined six foundational "Space Force truths" that define the service's unique identity, emphasizing that space is a critical warfighting domain and how Guardians are uniquely suited to control it.
While the Space Force has grown dramatically to nearly 15,000 military and civilian personnel in just five years, its senior leaders underscored the need for advancement across multiple focus areas, while celebrating its accomplishments.
Building a Distinctive Culture
The conference showcased the service's commitment to developing a unique organizational identity.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna described this as part of the "Guardian Experience" – an initiative designed to ‘elevate the journey’ of service members, cultivate a warfighting mindset and create the future.
The second annual Guardian Arena competition exemplified this, with 105 Guardians and international partners competing across academic, physical, and tactical challenges.
The multi-day challenge based on the “Space Coast” at Cape Canaveral Space Station, Florida, crowned a team of Guardians from Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, cementing them as the best of the best for 2024.
Transforming Personnel Management
Another key focus was the Space Force Personnel Management Act, which introduces unprecedented flexibility in military service.
Katharine Kelley, deputy chief of Space Operations for Human Capital, and Lt. Gen. David N. Miller Jr., commander of Space Operations Command, highlighted the act's potential to "close readiness gaps" by allowing Guardians more adaptable career paths.
The approach will integrate active-component Guardians and Air Force Reservists, offering both full- and part-time service options.
While the program is still seeing development, significant progress has been made to see it become a reality for Guardians to leverage their expertise in the space domain.
nternational Collaboration
Air Marshal Paul Godfrey, assistant chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships, emphasized the importance of international cooperation.
The Combined Space Operations forum, or CSpO, represents a strategic approach to integrating allied space capabilities and developing shared strategies.
As a forum of ten nations, it aims to expedite information sharing across its partners, including some NATO allies.
In his role, Godfrey aims to shape the future of space operations by integrating international allies into the Space Force’s force design process.
“The risk calculus for our potential adversaries increases when they see ten nations in a room collaborating on integrated architectures of the future,” Godfrey said, referencing the importance of deterrence through coalition strength.
Looking Forward
As the Space Force completes its fifth year, leadership remains focused on three key objectives: shaping future space operations, harnessing collaborative power, and strengthening international partnerships.
The underlying message gained from all senior leader perspectives is that space is no longer just a domain of exploration, but a critical area of national security and strategic importance.
"We are here because of people who accepted the uncertainty of a novel endeavor," Saltzman noted, reflecting on the service's remarkable journey. "The Space Force is here."
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3999169/ussf-celebrates-its-fifth-anniversary-sets-sights-on-future-as-spacepower-confe/
https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3997673/starcom-highlights-guardian-development-at-spacepower-conference/Looking Forward
Fmr Head of the program responsible for investigating UAPs reveals profound secrets
December 13, 2024
In this conversation, Sara Carter interviews Luis Elizondo about the phenomena of UFOs and the UAP program out of the Pentagon.
They discuss the evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth, including biologics and unidentified objects with advanced capabilities.
They also touch on the historical suppression of information about UFOs and the potential threat they pose.
Elizondo shares personal experiences and stories from others in the defense community who have encountered UFOs.
They discuss the importance of whistleblower protection and the need for full disclosure from the government.
The conversation ends with a mention of Elizondo’s book, ‘Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs.’
https://saraacarter.com/fmr-head-of-the-program-responsible-for-investigating-uaps-reveals-profound-secrets/
https://rumble.com/v5yxjln-fmr-head-of-the-program-responsible-for-investigating-uaps-reveals-profound.html
UFO sighted in Madeira and also in Porto Santo
13th December 2024
An Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was sighted yesterday at the end of the day and beginning of the night in practically the entire island of Madeira, particularly at higher points, and was also filmed by those who reacted quickly to the moment.
An object clearly entering the Earth’s atmosphere and leaving a trail of light in its path, taking several seconds to disappear from view, was shared on some pages on social media.
I shared a couple of videos yesterday.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AurKxq7k6/
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14huKSwvaa/
It is not possible to know exactly what it was, but it could be a satellite or another object used by human space exploration. In fact, it could be anything, even a meteorite.
https://www.madeiraislandnews.com/2024/12/ufo-sighted-in-madeira-and-also-in-porto-santo.html