TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 28, 2025
Lunar Dust and Duct Tape
Why is the Moon so dusty? On Earth, rocks are weathered by wind and water, creating soil and sand. On the Moon, eons of constant micrometeorite bombardment have blasted away at the rocky surface creating a layer of powdery lunar soil or regolith. For the Apollo astronauts and their equipment, the pervasive, fine, gritty dust was definitely a problem. On the lunar surface in December 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan needed to repair one of their rover's fenders in an effort to keep the rooster tails of dust away from themselves and their gear. This picture reveals the wheel and fender of their dust covered rover along with the ingenious application of spare maps, clamps, and a grey strip of "duct tape".
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
At Least 6 Dead, 9 Injured After Tourist Submarine Sinks Off Egypt’s Coast
9:55 AM – Thursday, March 27, 2025
At least six people have died and nine have been injured after a tourist submarine sank off the Egyptian coast.
According to the Associated Press, six people were killed after a submarine carrying 45 Russian tourists sank off the beaches in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, with 29 people being rescued.
The submarine belonged to the Sindbad Hotel in Hurghada. At around 10 a.m. on Thursday, it embarked on a regularly planned tour of coral reefs, sinking about a half mile off the beach.
The Russian consulate said that the people rescued were taken to local hospitals and are in stable condition.
The cause of the submarine’s plunge is not yet known.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/at-least-6-dead-9-injured-after-tourist-submarine-sinks-off-egypts-coast/
Inside Egyptian submarine horror as vessel starts to sink with families inside
06:18 ET, MAR 28 2025
Chilling video captures the terrifying moments before a tourist submarine, filled with eager families, began to sink, inciting screams and panic among those on board.
Tragically, in the moments following this footage, six individuals - including two young children - lost their lives, while many others fought for survival as the semi-submersible Sindbad vessel sank off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt.
The nightmare unfolded as 45 tourists were gearing up for an underwater excursion to marvel at the Red Sea's renowned coral reefs, an area that US ships have been warned to avoid after a threat from Yemeni Houthis.
According to survivors, the submarine started its descent just as passengers were boarding.
Others speculate that a technical malfunction occurred, causing the boat to fill with water as it submerged for the first time with people inside, with the heartbreaking incident coming just under two years after the Ocean Gate tragedy.
The video reveals the pleasure submarine sinking, its hatches wide open, taking on water even as some tourists remain on deck.
Panic ensues, with one father recognizing the imminent danger and handing his children to safety on the pier before returning to assist others.
Harrowing accounts of the Hurghada tourist submarine disaster have since surfaced.
One tourist, Regina, who was accompanied by her two children aged nine and ten, shared: "We were saved by the fact that we were on the top of the submarine, we did not have time to go inside.
We were queuing at the boarding, when the submarine began to sink into the water.
"The Egyptian who was responsible for loading shouted 'Stop, stop!'. But naturally no one inside heard him.
He shouted to us 'Faster, faster, go to the pontoon' from which people were boarding." We were in line for boarding when the submarine started to submerge. The Egyptian in charge of loading yelled 'Stop, stop.'
"But of course, no one inside could hear him. He urged us 'Faster, faster, go to the pontoon' where people were getting on board."
Speaking to Baza media outlet, she recounted: "We hurried the children out. I realized that I wouldn't be able to climb onto the pontoon myself. I tried to swim away from the submarine. I was scared that the currents would pull me under it.
"We were saved by the fact that we were on the top of the submarine, we did not have time to go inside. We were queuing at the boarding, when the submarine began to sink into the water.
I swam away and perched on the structures built around the pontoon for mooring. From there, I managed to get onto the pontoon itself.
"This is undoubtedly a massive tragedy. It's hard to articulate how challenging this situation was. There wasn't a single life preserver, no lifebuoys, no vests, nothing at all on the pontoon itself. Rescue boats started to arrive.
"The submarine didn't completely sink, it just submerged while people were still boarding, and the hatches weren't secured. In other words, the entire tragedy occurred due to, in my view, one person's mistake who initiated the descent without ensuring everyone
"And there were no [organised] rescue operations from the Egyptian services. These boats delivered the victims to the shore directly to the rescuers, to the ambulances.
"When we were on the boat that brought all the rescued [tourists] to the shore, there really were doctors there, offering help. They took us there in a car to our hotel, fortunately it was located right next door, our hotel.`"
Another eyewitness shared: "A Russian father realised in time what was happening. He threw the kids on the pier and started helping the other people get out with another man.
"As you can see in the video, the boat started going down when not all the people had gone in yet, and it ended up going under water in a split second."
Dr. Kristina Valliulina, 39, a mother of two and pediatrician who was initially reported dead by the Egyptian authorities, survived the submarine disaster along with her two daughters.
https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/egyptian-submarine-sinking-red-sea-1057249
Partial Solar Eclipse
March 29, 2025
On March 29, 2025, the Moon will pass in front of and partially block the Sun, casting a shadow on parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
The central part of the Moon’s shadow, where the Sun would appear completely blocked, misses Earth, so no one will be able to see a total solar eclipse this time.
Everyone watching the eclipse must use proper eye protection or an indirect viewing method to protect their eyes. (See more information on safety below.)
Viewers will see a partial solar eclipse in sections of North America, Europe, Africa, northern Asia, small parts of South America, throughout Greenland and Iceland, as well as much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
In much of the Americas, including the northeastern United States, the partial solar eclipse will already be in progress during sunrise.
In western Europe and northwestern Africa, the eclipse will begin in the mid- to late morning. In eastern Europe and northern Asia, most or all of the eclipse will occur in the afternoon or early evening.
Eclipse Map
About the Map
This will be a partial solar eclipse for everyone in the Moon’s shadow.
The curved, yellow lines on this map show the percentage of the Sun that will be covered by the Moon during the maximum of the eclipse at those locations.
The green lines show when the maximum eclipse will occur at locations along those lines.
Times are written in UTC or Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is 4 hours behind UTC, so 10:30 UTC is 6:30 a.m. EDT.
The orange loops are sunrise and sunset lines. The loop at the western (left) end of the path is the sunrise line.
The left half of that loop shows where the eclipse ends at sunrise, while the right half shows where the eclipse begins at sunrise.
On the eastern loop, the left side shows where the eclipse ends at sunset, and the right half shows where the eclipse begins at sunset.
The blue lines show where maximum eclipse occurs at sunrise or sunset.
Where to Watch
Below are some details about the eclipse for select cities. All times are local.
cont.
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/mar-29-2025-eclipse/
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5510/
Cygnus Departs Station After Release from Robotic Arm
March 28, 2025
At 6:55 a.m. EDT, the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Unity module.
At the time of release, the station was flying about 260 miles over the Pacific Ocean.
The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the space station more than seven and a half months after arriving at the microgravity laboratory to deliver about 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo for NASA.
Following a deorbit engine firing on Sunday, March 30, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Cygnus arrived at the space station Aug. 6, 2024, following a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
It was the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. The spacecraft is named the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee in honor of the former NASA astronaut.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/03/28/cygnus-departs-station-after-release-from-robotic-arm/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD81bo3BSNo
Hubble Spots a Chance Alignment
Mar 28, 2025
The subject of today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is the stunning spiral galaxy NGC 5530.
This galaxy is situated 40 million light-years away in the constellation Lupus, the Wolf, and classified as a ‘flocculent’ spiral, meaning its spiral arms are patchy and indistinct.
While some galaxies have extraordinarily bright centers that host a feasting supermassive black hole, the bright source near the center of NGC 5530 is not an active black hole but a star within our own galaxy, only 10,000 light-years from Earth.
This chance alignment gives the appearance that the star is at the dense heart of NGC 5530.
If you pointed a backyard telescope at NGC 5530 on the evening of September 13, 2007, you would have seen another bright point of light adorning the galaxy.
That night, Australian amateur astronomer Robert Evans discovered a supernova, named SN 2007IT, by comparing NGC 5530’s appearance through the telescope to a reference photo of the galaxy.
While it’s remarkable to discover even one supernova using this painstaking method, Evans has in fact discovered more than 40 supernovae this way!
This particular discovery was truly serendipitous: it’s likely that the light from the supernova completed its 40-million-year journey to Earth just days before Evans spotted the explosion.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-spots-a-chance-alignment/
NEO Surveyor Instrument Enclosure Inside Historic Chamber A
Mar 27, 2025
The instrument enclosure of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor is prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in December 2024.
Wrapped in silver thermal blanketing, the 12-foot-long (3.7-meter-long) angular structure was subjected to the frigid, airless conditions that the spacecraft will experience when in deep space.
The cavernous thermal-vacuum test facility is famous for testing the Apollo spacecraft that traveled to the Moon in the 1960s and ’70s.
The instrument enclosure is designed to protect the spacecraft’s infrared telescope while also removing heat from it during operations.
After environmental testing was completed, the enclosure returned to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for further work, after which it will ship to the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in Logan, Utah, and be joined to the telescope.
Both the instrument enclosure and telescope were assembled at JPL.
As NASA’s first space-based detection mission specifically designed for planetary defense, NEO Surveyor will seek out, measure, and characterize the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that might pose a hazard to Earth.
While many near-Earth objects don’t reflect much visible light, they glow brightly in infrared light due to heating by the Sun.
The spacecraft’s telescope, which has an aperture of nearly 20 inches (50 centimeters), features detectors sensitive to two infrared wavelengths in which near-Earth objects re-radiate solar heat.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/neo-surveyor-instrument-enclosure-inside-historic-chamber-a/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neo-surveyor/
Understanding Cosmic Explosions: StarBurst Arrives at NASA for Testing
Mar 27, 2025
StarBurst, a wide-field gamma ray observatory, arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, March 4 for environmental testing and final instrument integration.
The instrument is designed to detect the initial emission of short gamma-ray bursts, a key electromagnetic indicator of neutron star mergers.
“Gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful explosions in the universe, and they serve as cosmic beacons that help us understand extreme physics, including black hole formation and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions,” said Dr. Daniel Kocevski, principal investigator of the StarBurst mission at NASA Marshall.
According to Kocevski, neutron star mergers are particularly exciting because they produce gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves, meaning scientists can study these events using two different signals – light and ripples in space time.
The merging of neutron stars forges heavy elements such as gold and platinum, revealing the origins of some of Earth’s building blocks.
“By studying these gamma-ray bursts and the neutron star mergers that produce them, we gain insights into fundamental physics, the origins of elements, and even the expansion of the universe,” Kocevski said.
“Neutron star mergers and gamma-ray bursts are nature’s laboratories for testing our understanding of the cosmos.”
StarBurst will undergo flight vibration and thermal vacuum testing at Marshall in the Sunspot Thermal Vacuum Testing Facility. These tests ensure it can survive the rigors of launch and harsh environment of space.
Final instrument integration will happen in the Stray Light Facility, which is a specialized environment to help identify and reduce unwanted light in certain areas of the optical systems.
StarBurst is a collaborative effort led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, with partnerships with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Alabama Huntsville, the Universities Space Research Association, and the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory.
StarBurst was selected for development as part of the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers program, which supports lower-cost, smaller hardware missions to conduct compelling astrophysics science.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/understanding-cosmic-explosions-starburst-arrives-at-nasa-for-testing/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/starburst/
NASA’s Dust Shield Successfully Repels Lunar Regolith on Moon
Mar 27, 2025
NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) successfully demonstrated its ability to remove regolith, or lunar dust and dirt, from its various surfaces on the Moon during Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, which concluded on March 16.
Lunar dust is extremely abrasive and electrostatic, which means it clings to anything that carries a charge.
It can damage everything from spacesuits and hardware to human lungs, making lunar dust one of the most challenging features of living and working on the lunar surface.
The EDS technology uses electrodynamic forces to lift and remove the lunar dust from its surfaces.
The “before” image highlights the glass and thermal radiator surfaces covered in a layer of regolith, while the “after” image reveals the results following EDS activation.
Dust was removed from both surfaces, proving the technology’s effectiveness in mitigating dust accumulation.
This milestone marks a significant step toward sustaining long-term lunar and interplanetary operations by reducing dust-related hazards to a variety of surfaces for space applications ranging from thermal radiators, solar panels, and camera lenses to spacesuits, boots, and helmet visors.
The EDS technology is paving the way for future dust mitigation solutions, supporting NASA’s Artemis campaign and beyond.
NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield was developed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with funding from NASA’s Game Changing Development Program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-dust-shield-successfully-repels-lunar-regolith-on-moon/
Finding Clues in Ruins of Ancient Dead Star With NASA’s Chandra
Mar 27, 2025
People often think about archaeology happening deep in jungles or inside ancient pyramids. However, a team of astronomers has shown that they can use stars and the remains they leave behind to conduct a special kind of archaeology in space.
Mining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the team of astronomers studied the relics that one star left behind after it exploded.
This “supernova archaeology” uncovered important clues about a star that self-destructed – probably more than a million years ago.
Today, the system called GRO J1655-40 contains a black hole with nearly seven times the mass of the Sun and a star with about half as much mass. However, this was not always the case.
Originally GRO J1655-40 had two shining stars. The more massive of the two stars, however, burned through all of its nuclear fuel and then exploded in what astronomers call a supernova.
The debris from the destroyed star then rained onto the companion star in orbit around it, as shown in the artist’s concept.
With its outer layers expelled, including some striking its neighbor, the rest of the exploded star collapsed onto itself and formed the black hole that exists today.
The separation between the black hole and its companion would have shrunk over time because of energy being lost from the system, mainly through the production of gravitational waves.
When the separation became small enough, the black hole, with its strong gravitational pull, began pulling matter from its companion, wrenching back some of the material its exploded parent star originally deposited.
While most of this material sank into the black hole, a small amount of it fell into a disk that orbits around the black hole.
Through the effects of powerful magnetic fields and friction in the disk, material is being sent out into interstellar space in the form of powerful winds.
This is where the X-ray archaeological hunt enters the story. Astronomers used Chandra to observe the GRO J1655-40 system in 2005 when it was particularly bright in X-rays.
Chandra detected signatures of individual elements found in the black hole’s winds by getting detailed spectra – giving X-ray brightness at different wavelengths – embedded in the X-ray light.
Some of these elements are highlighted in the spectrum shown in the inset.
The team of astronomers digging through the Chandra data were able to reconstruct key physical characteristics of the star that exploded from the clues imprinted in the X-ray light by comparing the spectra with computer models of stars that explode as supernovae.
They discovered that, based on the amounts of 18 different elements in the wind, the long-gone star destroyed in the supernova was about 25 times the mass of the Sun, and was much richer in elements heavier than helium in comparison with the Sun.
This analysis paves the way for more supernova archaeology studies using other outbursts of double star systems.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/finding-clues-in-ruins-of-ancient-dead-star-with-nasas-chandra/
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ…966..211K/abstract
Cellular Immunity, Robotics, and Cargo Departure Preps Top Crew Day
March 27, 2025
The Expedition 72 crew members explored ways to protect their immune and circulatory systems in microgravity and tested robotic docking procedures aboard the International Space Station on Thursday.
The orbital residents also finished packing a U.S. cargo craft ahead of its departure on Friday.
Without Earth’s gravity pulling down, an astronaut’s body begins quickly changing in a multitude of ways that teams of doctors study every day to keep crews healthy on long-duration missions.
One experiment, the Immunity Assay investigation, collects blood and saliva samples from crew members for processing and stowage in science freezers.
Afterward, the samples are returned to Earth for analysis to detect space-caused cellular stress and tissue damage possibly leading to treatments for crews.
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi submitted his samples for the study on Thursday that may help researchers prevent stress-related immunity conditions in space and on Earth.
Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, continued their space biology investigation exploring how blood flows from the brain to their limbs in microgravity.
The duo took turns wearing sensors attached to their forehead, fingers, and toes revealing how the circulatory system adapts to spaceflight.
The veteran cosmonauts are in the middle of a weeklong study adding to the vast knowledge of space medicine doctors will use to protect crews traveling farther away from Earth.
As humans begin spending more time off the Earth the space industry continuously advances promoting new technologies benefitting crews in space as well as society on Earth.
A pair of toaster-sized Astrobee robotic free-flyers were maneuvering inside the Kibo laboratory module testing autonomous docking techniques on Thursday.
NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit activated the devices and monitored them in collaboration with engineers on the ground.
The technology demonstration may enable satellite servicing, orbital refueling, spacecraft repair, and manufacturing in space.
The Cygnus cargo craft is in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm and still attached to the Unity module’s space-facing port. Robotics controllers will remotely command Canadarm2 to detach Cygnus from Unity overnight then release it into Earth orbit at 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday.
NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers will be on duty monitoring Cygnus as it departs the space station completing a seven-and-a-half-month stay at the orbital lab. NASA+ will begin its broadcast of Cygnus’ release and departure at 6:30 a.m.
Ayers and fellow NASA astronaut Anne McClain finished packing Cygnus and configured the spacecraft for its removal on Thursday.
The duo exited Cygnus, closed its hatch, conducted leak checks, then depressurized the vestibule, or the area in between Cygnus and the orbiting lab.
Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov spent the first half of his shift servicing an oxygen generator in the Zvezda service module.
In the afternoon, Peskov tested a video camera that can image natural and manmade catastrophes on Earth in a variety of wavelengths.
He wrapped up his day continuing to replace life support gear that condenses and purifies water in Zvezda.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/03/27/cellular-immunity-robotics-and-cargo-departure-preps-top-crew-day/
RFK Jr. joins West Virginia Gov, for food dyes and SNAP announcement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv7_5RGrmH8
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/IRIDE_first_image_presented_at_ESA_ESRIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-tB7lf8cLw
IRIDE first image presented at ESA–ESRIN
28/03/2025
The first image from a new Italian Earth observation satellite mission was published today: a high-resolution image of a strip of the Italian peninsular showing the city of Rome at a resolution of 2.66 metres.
This is three times higher than the resolution currently available for systematic acquisition over Italy.
The image was taken by a multispectral optical instrument on board the first IRIDE microsatellite, the Pathfinder Hawk, which was launched on 14 January this year.
The IRIDE constellation of satellites are tailored to provide information for a wide range of environmental, emergency and security services for Italy.
The image was captured on the 5 March 2025, during a passage over central Italy from the town of Fano on the Adriatic coast, over the central Apennine ridge, all the way down to Rome and, about 20 km further south, to Ostia on the coast of Lazio.
IRIDE is an ambitious Italian space programme, initiated by the Italian government and developed with funding from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
Coordinated by ESA with support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the IRIDE programme involves the deployment of six satellite constellations, which together can potentially include more than 60 satellites.
The first image was presented at an event today at ESA-ESRIN, ESA's establishment in Italy.
New Earth observation services for Italy
This first images from the IRIDE constellation mark the start of a generation of optical multispectral images from satellites entirely designed and integrated in Italy.
Data from IRIDE’s satellites will be used to map and monitor coastal and marine zones, helping to protect the cultural and environmental heritage of Italy’s coastlines.
The programme will also contribute data to monitoring air quality, land cover, climate and water resources; mapping land motion (for example, due to volcanoes, earthquakes or subsidence); as well as emergency and security services.
Many of the services will be available to local and regional public authorities in Italy, signalling an increase in the use of satellite technology in the routine activities related to managing local urban or rural environments.
For example, IRIDE will provide services to help manage town and city planning, monitor changes in land coverage, and the effects of urban heat islands.
“These first images show the extraordinary potential of IRIDE, made possible thanks to the skills and motivation of the teams from ESA, ASI and Italian industry, said ESA’s Head of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli.
She added, “I would like to congratulate Argotec, Officina Stellare, Exprivia and all the companies involved in the creation of this constellation.
Thanks to the trust placed in us by the Italian government and the solid collaboration between ESA and ASI, the programme is proceeding with great success.”
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And according to Teodoro Valente, president of ASI, IRIDE demonstrates Italy’s commitment to investing in research and innovation to address future challenges. He noted, “This success is the result of teamwork that sees Italy as a protagonist in space.
We will continue to work with determination to ensure that this constellation reaches its full operational capacity, respecting the objectives of the PNRR and providing valuable data for our country and the international community.”
A model for future constellations
Pathfinder Hawk is an exploratory model satellite for one of the IRIDE constellations, Hawk for Earth Observation (HEO), which was developed by a consortium led by Turin-based company Argotec.
Its instrument has a ground sampling distance of 2.66 m, which means each pixel in the image covers 2.66 m, from an orbit altitude of 590 km.
It can acquire in panchromatic and seven spectral bands going from RGB to near infrared and red edge.
The CEO of Argotec, David Avino, said, “This first image taken over Italy is an historic moment for the country and an important milestone in the field of Earth observation.
This result confirms Argotec's know-how and the reliability of our satellite platforms.”
The IRIDE programme has a budget of €1.1 billion, most of which comes from the PNRR, Italy’s post-Covid economic recovery and modernisation fund, while the remainder is from Italy’s Complementary National Plan.
It is the result of collaboration between more than 70 companies across Italy. ESA is responsible for defining, implementing and commissioning the IRIDE system, through an agreement with the Italian government.
ESA oversees industrial activities during the implementing and commissioning phases, until the system is transferred to ASI for the operational phase.
Completing the constellations
With further launches scheduled for June and November 2025, the programme will be fully operational by June 2026. In the coming months, Pathfinder Hawk will be joined by other satellites in the IRIDE group of constellations.
The six IRIDE constellations are:
SAR constellation #1 (synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments)
SAR constellation #2 (synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments)
Very high-resolution optical constellation (optical instruments)
Hyperspectral constellation (hyperspectral optical instruments)
High-resolution multispectral constellation #1 (multispectral optical instruments)
High-resolution multispectral constellation #2 (multispectral optical instruments)
ESA’s Simonetta Cheli added, “As Italians and Europeans, we can be proud of IRIDE, a programme that continues to grow and strengthen our capabilities in the space sector, thanks to the collaboration between institutions and industry.”
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Space Day in Germany
28.03.2025
The German government and the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are staging the first national Space Day to showcase locations in Germany where space research takes place.
On 28 and 29 March, institutions across Germany will be presenting their space research work and inviting people to join in with a range of activities.
“The nationwide Space Day is a fantastic opportunity to get people excited about space and showcase the latest developments,” says DLR Executive Board Chair Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla.
Space Day will kick off today with an event at the Futurium in Berlin.
Panels featuring high-profile guests will discuss the role that space will play in the future and the goals that Germany and the European Space Agency (ESA) are pursuing.
Friday will also see the DLR host a central event at the XPost Cologne.
Visitors will be given insights into the diversity of research, from the exploration of our planets in the solar system, Earth observation, space systems and space medicine to communication and navigation and other applications from space for the Earth.
https://www.deutschland.de/en/news/space-day-in-germany
https://www.dlr.de/de/aktuelles/nachrichten/2025/tag-der-raumfahrt-faszination-und-einblicke-am-28-und-29-maerz-2025
Joint Statement on U.S. - Argentina Bilateral Space Consultations
March 27, 2025
The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Argentine Republic on the occasion of the U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Space Consultations.
Begin Text
The Governments of the United States of America and the Argentine Republic are pleased to reaffirm their enduring partnership and commitment to the responsible and peaceful uses and exploration of outer space following a series of bilateral space consultations held in Washington D.C., March 11-13, 2025.
The United States and Argentina have collaborated for more than six decades on mutually beneficial space activities—from forging commercial partnerships that strengthen our shared economic prosperity to using groundbreaking space science to improve lives on Earth.
Recently, through the Artemis Accords, both nations have increased the safety of operations and reduced risk and uncertainty via our shared commitment to the responsible and peaceful uses and exploration of outer space.
These consultations strengthen our nations’ ties in space policy, industry, security, and science. Both nations stand united in the vision for a peaceful, accessible, and thriving space frontier.
The United States and Argentina further celebrate the contributions of both nations’ space agencies and private sector companies in realizing shared objectives, looking toward future bilateral space collaboration.
End Text
https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-u-s-argentina-bilateral-space-consultations/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21510/china-space-pearl-harbor
China Is Taking War to Earth Orbits: A 'Space Pearl Harbor' Is on the Way
March 28, 2025 at 5:00 am
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"Communist China has now taken war to the heavens, to low earth orbit, and very likely, will take war to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
The heavens are no longer safe for the democracies." — Richard Fisher, International Assessment and Strategy Center, to Gatestone, March 2025.
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"Rising powers, notably China and Russia, saw how reliant we were on space—and how poorly defended our systems were.
Our access to the strategic high ground is now more threatened than ever before." — Brandon Weichert, author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, to Gatestone, March 2025
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China is making fast progress in building space weapons. "The Chinese ISR"—intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—"capabilities are become very capable," said Gen. Guetlein.
"They have gone from what we used to call a 'Kill Chain' to a 'Kill Mesh.'" A Kill Mesh combines ISR satellites with an array of weapons systems.
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The recent demonstration of Chinese 'dogfighting' capabilities in space is an indicator that Beijing means to use force on earth.
By targeting sensitive U.S. military satellites, the People's Liberation Army can render us deaf, dumb, and blind, long before it strikes." — Brandon Weichert, to Gatestone, March 2025.
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The Chinese are evidently planning to blind not only America's military but also America's civilian society, which is heavily dependent on space assets.
Almost nothing modern in America will work when the Chinese are finished attacking in the heavens.
"With our commercial assets, we have observed five different objects in space maneuvering in and out and around each other in synchronicity and in control," the U.S. Space Force's Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein told the 16th annual McAleese Defense Programs conference in Arlington, Virginia on March 18.
"That's what we call dogfighting in space. They are practicing tactics, techniques and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another."
Guetlein's stark comment about China signals a break with the past.
"This marks the end of the Western-American-liberal dream of nations leaving wars on Earth so they can cooperate in space to advance humanity," Richard Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center told Gatestone after the general's widely publicized remarks.
"Communist China has now taken war to the heavens, to low earth orbit, and very likely, will take war to the moon, Mars, and beyond. The heavens are no longer safe for the democracies."
Space is now a highly contested domain, but it wasn't always this way. "We told ourselves we would be the dominant power forever," Brandon Weichert, author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, said to Gatestone.
"We coasted on that notion for far too long. Rising powers, notably China and Russia, saw how reliant we were on space—and how poorly defended our systems were. Our access to the strategic high ground is now more threatened than ever before."
As Weichert points out, "bureaucratic inertia and a lack of visionary leadership from both political parties" allowed China and Russia to develop the capabilities to threaten America in space.
There was another party at fault: The U.S. military failed to protest when it could see there was an obvious threat.
"There was a gentlemen's agreement until recent that we didn't mess with each other's space systems," Guetlein said.
"We didn't jam them, we didn't spoof them, we didn't lase them, we just kept them safe."
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Why was the U.S. so gentlemanly? Presidents believed that because the U.S. had more space assets than others, it was not in America's interest to trigger a race to build weapons to destroy those assets.
Yet this view, appearing commonsense at first glance, was naïve: It was apparent even then that neither China nor Russia could be enticed into good behavior. Generals and admirals should have sounded the warning.
There was a lot to warn about. On January 11, 2007, for instance, China demonstrated its intentions by launching a modified ground-based DF-21 missile to destroy an old Chinese weather satellite.
In 2022, a Chinese satellite "grappled" a defunct Chinese satellite and towed it to a "graveyard orbit."
Moreover, as Fisher notes, China had already configured its one large orbiting platform, the Tiangong Space Station, for military missions as well as civilian ones.
One of its modules can launch either very small satellites that can perform interception missions or satellites carrying powerful laser and microwave weapons that can destroy satellites in multiple orbits.
What was the American response to the obvious Chinese advances in space-warfare capabilities?
Vice President Kamala Harris in April 2022 announced a unilateral moratorium on ground-launched anti-satellite missile tests, in the hopes that other nations would follow suit.
With this posture, it is no wonder why America's lead in space warfare—if it exists—is narrowing.
Now, China is making fast progress in building space weapons. "The Chinese ISR"—intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance—"capabilities are become very capable," said Guetlein.
"They have gone from what we used to call a 'Kill Chain' to a 'Kill Mesh.'" A Kill Mesh combines ISR satellites with an array of weapons systems.
The Chinese array appears impressive. As Fisher points out, the People's Liberation Army has developed ground-based ASAT—anti-satellite—interceptors to destroy satellites in both low earth orbit and much higher medium earth orbits.
At the same time, China, as Guetlein's comments make clear, is working on "co-orbital" interceptors, satellites that can follow, approach, dock with, or use robotic arms to grapple other satellites into useless orbits.
For the future, Fisher reports, China is developing large, unmanned space planes that can re-enter the atmosphere to maneuver toward a new orbit and then relaunch into space to deploy energy and missile weapons.
The PLA also appears to be working on large combat platforms that can attack satellite targets in multiple orbits. Expect the Chinese military also to deploy clusters of combat satellites to attack the Lunar and Martian satellite networks of the future.
"The recent demonstration of Chinese 'dogfighting' capabilities in space is an indicator that Beijing means to use force on earth," says Weichert. "By targeting sensitive U.S. military satellites, the People's Liberation Army can render us deaf, dumb, and blind, long before it strikes."
The Chinese are evidently planning to blind not only America's military but also America's civilian society, which is heavily dependent on space assets. Almost nothing modern in America will work when the Chinese are finished attacking in the heavens.
As Weichert said, "A space Pearl Harbor is at hand."
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James Webb Space Telescope discovers 2 galaxies forming breathtaking 'cosmic lens': Space photo of the day
March 28, 2025
An elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy appear as one celestial body as a result of the effects of mass on spacetime, the fabric of the universe.
Why is this amazing?
Two celestial bodies become one in a rare cosmic phenomenon called an "Einstein ring."
Einstein rings are the result of light from one very distant object being lensed, or "bent" about a massive object located in between the target and the viewer.
This effect — which demonstrates that light and spacetime, the fabric of the universe, can be bent by mass — cannot be observed on a local level.
It sometimes can occur, though, when the curvature of light is on tremendous scales, such as when the light from one galaxy is bent around another galaxy or galaxy cluster as seen here.
Whare are the two galaxies in this Einstein ring?
The elliptical galaxy at the center of this Einstein ring belongs to a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537. It can be seen as the oval-shaped, featurless glow around the small bright core.
The spiral galaxy being wrapped or lensed around the elliptical galaxy appears to be stretched and warped into a ring, with bright blue lines drawn through it where the spiral arms have been stretched into circles.
Why and how was this image taken?
The James Webb Space Telescope data used in this image was taken as part of the Strong Lensing and Cluster Evolution (SLICE) survey led by Guillaume Mahler at University of Liège in Belgium, together with a team of international astronomers.
The survey is intended to trace 8 billion years of galaxy cluster evolution by targeting 182 galaxy clusters with Webb's Near-InfraRed Camera instrument.
This image also incorporates data from two of the Hubble Space Telescope's instruments, the Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/james-webb-space-telescope-discovers-2-galaxies-forming-breathtaking-cosmic-lens-space-photo-of-the-day
Best places in the US and Canada to see rare 'double sunrise' during partial solar eclipse tomorrow
March 28, 2025
It may not be a total solar eclipse, but the partial solar eclipse on March 29, 2025, will bring some very unusual views of the sun and moon to some observers in North America.
Seen as a run-of-the-mill partial solar eclipse in mainland Europe (where about a third of the sun will disappear behind the moon with the two high in the sky in mid-morning), the event is a little more fraught in North America, where it will happen at sunrise.
It will also create a weird "double sunrise" effect from some locations in the U.S. state of Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada.
Understanding the eclipse map
NASA's map of this eclipse can be hard to understand. It shows the full extent of the moon's shadow from northeastern North America to Europe, northern Russia and northwestern Africa.
The orange line on the left shows the sunrise and sunset lines. From the sunrise line on the left, places including Niagara Falls, Washington D.C. and Virginia Beach will see about a 1% eclipse at sunrise.
This is where the eclipse ends at sunrise. On the right is another orange line — dissecting Newfoundland, Canada — which marks where the eclipse begins at sunrise.
Between the two is a blue line — and that's where eclipse chasers will gather. It denotes precisely where the maximum eclipse occurs at sunrise or sunset.
This is where you can see the most eclipse at sunrise. It dissects Quebec, goes through southwestern New Brunswick and clips northern Maine.
Where to see an eclipsed sunrise
There are plenty of locations between the "ends at sunrise" and "maximizes at sunrise" lines to watch some kind of eclipsed sunrise, with New York seeing a 21% eclipse and Boston about 43%, though, for such a sight, a clear ocean horizon is advised. Even then, clear weather on the horizon will be required.
The entire thing could so easily be a bust — but for eclipse chasers, it's a rare opportunity to see something rare.
From the east coast of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, a big eclipsed sunrise will be seen, with a crescent sun rising vertically out of the ocean from coastal locations.
However, from coastal locations in northern Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec, it may be possible to see "devil's horns" as the sun rises while eclipsed, its cusps rising separately to create the illusion of a "double sunrise."
The sun will be about 80-90% eclipsed from Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.
https://www.space.com/best-places-us-canada-rare-double-sunrise-partial-solar-eclipse-march-29
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5510/
2 newly found exoplanets reignite an outstanding question about our solar system
March 27, 2025
Astronomers have discovered two new exoplanets that are similar to other worlds found in the Milky Way, but are unlike any in our own solar system.
The two exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system, orbit a star called TOI-1453, which is slightly cooler and smaller than our sun.
Located about 250 light-years from Earth in the Draco constellation, TOI-1453 belongs to a binary stellar system — in which a pair of stars orbit each other.
Classified as a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune, these two new celestial bodies are among the most common types of exoplanets found in the Milky Way galaxy, yet are absent from our own solar system.
Astronomers detected the two new exoplanets, named TOI-1453 b and TOI-1453 c, using data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) spectrograph, which is installed on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain.
TESS hunts for exoplanets by looking for a temporary decrease in a star's brightness, also known as the transit method.
When a dip in brightness is observed, that suggests a planet has passed in front of its host star (from our perspective on Earth) and briefly blocked the star's light from reaching our instruments.
By measuring this effect, astronomers can estimate the size and orbital period of the possible exoplanet as well.
Complementing the TESS data, the HARPS-N instrument is a high-resolution radial-velocity spectrograph that measures the spectrum of light from a star to detect shifts caused by orbiting exoplanets.
The instrument uses what's known as the Doppler method to look for a subtle "wobble" of a star caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet.
"The two planets present an interesting contrast in their characteristics," Manu Stalport, first author of the study and an astrophysicist at the University of Liège, said in the statement.
"TOI-1453 b is a super-Earth, slightly larger than our planet, and probably rocky. It completes its orbit in just 4.3 days, making it a very close planet to its star."
"Super-Earth" is used to classify exoplanets that are more massive than Earth but less massive than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus.
They are believed to be primarily rocky, similar to Earth, but their increased size may lead to stronger surface gravity, influencing their atmospheres and geological processes.
Given its proximity to its host star, TOI-1453 b is likely extremely hot, with surface temperatures high enough to strip away any substantial atmosphere.
(For comparison, Mercury — the planet closest to the sun in our solar system — completes its orbit in 88 days and is so hot that it also lacks a substantial atmosphere.)
"In contrast, TOI-1453 c is a sub-Neptune, about 2.2 times the size of Earth but with an extraordinarily low mass of just 2.9 Earth masses," Stalport said in the statement.
"This makes it one of the least dense sub-Neptunes ever discovered, which raises questions about its composition."
The incredibly low density of TOI-1453 c suggests the exoplanet likely has a thick, hydrogen-rich atmosphere or a composition dominated by water.
"This makes it an ideal candidate for future atmospheric studies," Stalport added. "Understanding their formation and evolution could provide clues about the development of planetary systems, including our own."
Being part of a binary system — meaning there is a second stellar companion — also makes the new exoplanet find particularly interesting, given planets that form in binary star environments are subject to more complex gravitational interactions.
Observations of TOI-1453 b and TOI-1453 c show that the exoplanets orbit their host star in a near 3:2 resonance, meaning that for every three orbits of the inner planet, the outer planet completes almost exactly two.
This suggests that the exoplanets' orbits may have changed over time following interactions with neighboring cosmic objects, such as gas, planetesimals or a companion star, bringing the inner planet, TOI-1453 b, into an orbit much closer to its host star.
Astronomers hope to use additional instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to further study the exoplanets and peer deeper into the atmosphere of TOI-1453 c.
If this sub-Neptune world has a substantial hydrogen-rich atmosphere or a water-dominated interior, it could redefine our understanding of the formation of such exoplanets — and maybe finally reveal new clues as to why we don't have one in our own solar system.
https://www.space.com/the-universe/exoplanets/2-newly-found-exoplanets-reignite-an-outstanding-question-about-our-solar-system
https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202452969
https://www.space.com/the-universe/stars/hold-onto-your-hats-is-the-blaze-star-t-corona-borealis-about-to-go-boom
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad8bba/ampdf
Hold onto your hats! Is the 'blaze star' T Corona Borealis about to go boom?
Mar 26, 2025
A new set of predictions for the so-called "blaze star," T Corona Borealis suggests the star might go nova on either March 27, November 10, or June 25, 2026.
However, other astronomers are skeptical about these predictions, which are based on an implied pattern in the explosive system's orbital configuration,
"T Corona Borealis [T CrB] is a unique object that has fascinated amateur and professional astronomers for more than a century," Léa Planquart of the Institut d'Astronomie et d’Astrophysique at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, told Space.com.
T CrB is a symbiotic binary, a vampire system in which a white dwarf is siphoning material from a red giant star.
A white dwarf is the dense, compact core remnant of a once sun-like star, packing a mass equivalent to that of a star into a volume about the size of Earth.
A red giant represents an earlier stage in a star's evolution, when a sun-like star starts to run out of its hydrogen fuel supply and begins to swell.
Its distended atmosphere then becomes easy prey to the gravity of the far smaller, but denser, white dwarf.
Material captured from the red giant forms a spiraling disk around the white dwarf, ultimately depositing that material onto the white dwarf's surface.
Once enough material has built up, a thermonuclear explosion ignites. It does not destroy the white dwarf, but we can see the light of the explosion across thousands of light-years.
We call this a nova, after the Latin for "new star."
Typically, T CrB languishes at about magnitude +10, which means it is so faint that it can only be seen through moderate-aperture telescopes or large binoculars.
However, when it goes nova, it brightens to naked-eye visibility, and hence briefly becomes seen as a "new star" in the night sky.
T CrB is actually even more special than that, because it is one of only 11 known "recurrent" novas, which are seen to go nova repeatedly, with gaps of less than 100 years between explosions.
Previously, on February 9, 1946 and May 12, 1866, the white dwarf in the T CrB system went nova.
It also went nova around Christmastime in 1787, although the exact date isn't known, and there is also a suggestion that a nova connected to this star was seen sometime in the autumn night sky of 1217.
Prior to the 1946 nova, T CrB brightened slightly in 1938, before dimming again just before going nova.
The same pattern has also been seen in T CrB this time around, with it brightening by 0.7 magnitudes in 2015 before dimming again in 2023.
This is why astronomers are anticipating a new nova.
Jean Schneider of Paris Observatory, has also noticed what he believes to be a pattern between the timing of the T CrB nova events.
The red giant and white dwarf take 227.5687 days to orbit one another, and Schneider believes that each nova takes place after a time equal to an exact whole number of orbits.
In other words, something about the position of the white dwarf and the red giant is triggering the nova outbursts, he says.
Yet, because their orbits are circular, no single position should have an effect. So, Schneider proposes the presence of a third object in the T CrB system on a wider, elliptical orbit.
Every 79–80 years, he says the third object is close to the white dwarf, meaning that the white dwarf can feed off both the red giant and this hypothetical third object at the same time.
This would enhance the rate of matter falling onto the white dwarf, creating the conditions for a nova.
So far, this third object, if it exists, has remained undetected, but Schneider tells Space.com that "it could be detected by astrometry, radial velocity, direct imaging, a transit or microlensing."
Indeed, Schneider wonders whether it hasn't already been detected but just not recognized. On April 21, 2016, the T CrB system suddenly increased in visual brightness by 0.5 magnitudes.
"I have the following, qualitative interpretation, which is that before then, the third body was outside the pixel corresponding to the visual measurements," he said.
In other words, the third object moved close enough to the other two components of the T CrB system that from our point of view it was sharing a pixel with them in images, adding its brightness to the combined light of the red giant and white dwarf.
However, other astronomers are not yet convinced.
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Léa Planquart has studied T CrB and other recurrent novas, and in January published a paper describing the mass transfer between the red giant and the white dwarf based on radial velocity observations with the HERMES spectrograph on the 1.2-meter Mercator telescope at La Palma in Chile.
Radial velocity here, for context, refers to the Doppler shifted motions of the individual stars and the matter being transferred between the red giant, what's known as the "accretion disk" and the white dwarf.
"Jean Schneider has suggested the presence of a third companion in an eccentric orbit with a period of 80 years," Planquart told Space.com. "Such additional orbital motion is, however, not detected in our decade-long radial-velocity monitoring."
In other words, radial velocity measurements show no evidence for a third star, although Planquart cannot rule out a low-mass body such as a large exoplanet.
Jeremy Shears, who is the Director of the British Astronomical Association's Variable Star Section, also has doubts.
"Most astronomers are skeptical about this prediction, as am I," he told Space.com. "The best thing to do is to keep watching every clear night."
Should there be no third object, and if the pattern seen by Schneider in the dates of previous novas is just a coincidence, then what is happening to T CrB?
Planquart's observations shed some light on the matter, particularly the brightening seen in 1938 and 2015, followed by a dimming, most recently seen in 2023.
"We realized that from 2015 to 2023, the accretion disk around the white dwarf had reached its maximum extension and became hotter and more luminous, leading to increased brightness," Planquart said.
This enhanced what Planquart calls "the vampirization effect," increasing the transfer of matter to the white dwarf in a "super-active phase."
Then, in 2023, the accretion disk cooled back down again, resulting in the dimming, although matter continues to flow from the disk to the white dwarf at a slower rate.
"It is likely that this enhanced activity is necessary to trigger the nova explosion, as it allows the material to accumulate more rapidly," said Planquart.
Then, in 2023, the accretion disk cooled back down again, resulting in the dimming, although matter continues to flow from the disk to the white dwarf at a slower rate.
However, the details are still somewhat unclear — what causes the state change in the accretion disk that leads to the super-active phase, and exactly what is happening on the surface of the white dwarf between the disk cooling again and the nova explosion?
Although Schneider's exact date predictions may or may not come to pass, the pattern of the super-active phase followed by quiescence and dimming suggests that the nova is just around the corner.
"We may expect to see the explosion in the coming months — or possibly next year," said Planquart.
When that happens, what can we expect to see in the night sky? In 1946, T CrB reached magnitude +2, meaning it was easily visible to the naked eye, similar in brightness to the stars of the Big Dipper. Shears expects it to be just as bright this time around.
T CrB is located in the constellation of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, which is currently visible in the night sky across the whole of the Northern Hemisphere and from as far south as South Africa and Australia (albeit low down in the sky from southerly locations).
"At present T CrB is tenth magnitude, so it is only visible in giant binoculars," said Shears. "But when it rises [in brightness] it will become visible in standard binoculars and then the naked eye."
And the rise in brightness will be rapid. "It’s only a matter of a few hours for the rise to occur — precisely how many is not known as the rise has never been caught before," said Shears.
"That’s why it is so exciting. We hope that with so many observers this time around, we may indeed catch it as it awakes from its slumber."
Indeed there will be many observers, as astronomers wait and watch to catch a glimpse of this rare nova and learn more about what is happening on the surface of this white dwarf when it hosts a giant thermonuclear explosion.
"When it explodes, it will be one of the most extensively observed objects, targeted by telescopes worldwide," said Planquart.
As for what the future holds for T CrB, an even larger explosion is on the horizon. The mass of the white dwarf in the T CrB system is 1.37 times the mass of our sun.
This is very close to the Chandrasekhar limit, which is 1.44 solar masses, and is the point at which the thermonuclear detonation overcomes the white dwarf and blows it to smithereens as a Type Ia supernova.
As it steadily steals mass from its companion red giant and grows in the process, it accelerates its own demise.
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Miles Space flight tests water-fueled thruster
March 27, 2025
Miles Space has demonstrated a water-fueled electric thruster with unusually lower power demands.
“We have a water-vapor-based plasma thruster that works at power levels so low, people don’t believe it,” Miles Space CEO Brad Berkson told SpaceNews.
During testing conducted in September 2024 on a European satellite, Miles Space’s Poseidon M1.5 thruster, which fits in a one-unit cubesat, demonstrated its utility for applications like descent from low-Earth orbit where thrusters fire for a long time, said an engineer who does not work for Miles Space but reviewed raw telemetry data.
The 10-centimeter-cube M1.5 produced thrust of 37.5 millinewtons over five minutes at a specific impulse of 4,800 seconds, while drawing power of 1.5 watts.
By comparison, hydrazine propulsion offers ten times more thrust but operates at a lower specific impulse. And Hall-effect thrusters can provide similar force at a lower specific impulse but may need hundreds of times the power.
“This enables some high Delta V missions to be performed that wouldn’t be possible otherwise due to either excessive fuel mass or thruster power requirements,” said the engineer who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized by his employer to discuss the propulsion.
Neural Network
Wesley Faler, chief technology officer for Florida-based Miles Space, developed the M1.5 thruster over a couple of years with the help of artificial intelligence.
After establishing parameters for reaction chamber length and width, inlet locations, exit voltage and timing, Faler used genetic algorithms to simulate various combinations.
“Out would come thrust data and fuel-economy data,” Faler said. “I would decide which data points were better and the system used a neural net to understand my responses.
Then, it would use that trained neural net to run simulations when I wasn’t around.”
Every couple of days, Faler reviewed the most promising simulations and provided feedback.
“Genetic algorithms were coming up with the shape of the thruster,” Faler said.
“They evaluated themselves against a three-layer neural net that learned from talking to the human. Neither rise to the level of today’s AI.”
https://spacenews.com/miles-space-flight-tests-water-fueled-thruster/
In his confirmation hearing, Meink stresses the need for speed, innovation
March 27, 2025
Dr. Troy E. Meink, nominated to be the next secretary of the Department of the Air Force, told a Senate committee March 27 that America’s “near-peer competitors are evolving faster that we are” and that the Air Force and Space Force must “innovate faster” to meet the challenge.
“The department is building and operating some of the most complex systems ever fielded in both air and space,” Meink told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing.
“We need not only the right number of Airmen and Guardians, but also need the right skills, training, support and focus to deliver and operate those systems.”
Meink told the committee that his goal, if confirmed, is “to organize, train and equip the Department of the Air Force to have the lethality needed to deter all potential aggressors, and if necessary, win in conflict.”
“A big part of these jobs was understanding the threat I was building systems to have to support against this quickly evolving threat,” he said. “These threats have shaped my perspective.”
That experience has allowed him to identify three “challenges.”
The first, he said, is that “near-peer competitors, such as China, are evolving faster than we are in some cases, which will eventually result in the U.S. losing technological advantage.”
The second is that “some competitors, such as Russia, are fielding highly escalatory, asymmetric capabilities,” he said.
Those realities, in his view mean, “Our homeland is increasing put on the defensive from threats such as cyberattack, unmanned aerial systems and illegal activities at the border.”
As is typical for confirmation hearings, Meink offered broad recommendations for his approach and priorities if he becomes the department’s highest-ranking civilian leader.
In addition to innovating faster, Meink said he would work to increase competition and expand the industrial base.
That is something he has focused on in his current job as the National Reconnaissance Office’s principal deputy director.
As part of that focus Meink said he “significantly accelerated delivery of capability and at a lower cost. I intend to bring that same drive for innovation to the department.”
He agreed that maintaining space superiority is a priority. He underscored the importance of the nuclear deterrent and modernizing the land-based leg.
Like his predecessors, Meink said he will draw on his deep experience to bring speed and efficiency to the often-lumbering acquisition effort.
“We need to streamline the acquisition and budgeting processes,” he told the committee, adding, “with appropriate fiscal controls.
I’ve helped lead my current organization to 16 clean financial audits which I believe is a record in the national security enterprise.”
He also told senators that his deep history in senior national security positions shapes will shape his approach in the leading the department.
If confirmed, Meink will come to the office with a wealth of experience. A native of South Dakota, Meink entered the Air Force through ROTC in 1988 while a student at South Dakota State University.
He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and later, earned a doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Ohio State University.
Before serving in his current job, Meink was the Geospatial Intelligence Systems Acquisitions director at the National Reconnaissance Office.
He has logged time as a KC-135 navigator and instructor and as a lead test engineer for the design and evaluation of ballistic missile test vehicles for the Missile Defense Agency.
Across his time with the department and the Pentagon, Meink has managed multiple next generation joint research and development programs transitioning global space capabilities, optical sensors, and advanced structures.
He has also led multiple communications organizations within the Air Force and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Networks and Information Integration.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4137642/in-his-confirmation-hearing-meink-stresses-the-need-for-speed-innovation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2WDQ_ByEXo