TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 23, 2025
Fireball over Cape San Blas
Have you ever seen a fireball? In astronomy, a fireball is a very bright meteor one at least as bright as Venus and possibly brighter than even a full Moon. Fireballs are rare if you see one you are likely to remember it for your whole life. Physically, a fireball is a small rock that originated from an asteroid or comet that typically leaves a fading smoke trail of gas and dust as it shoots through the Earth's atmosphere. It is unlikely that any single large ground strike occurred – much of the rock likely vaporized as it broke up into many small pieces. The featured picture was captured last week from a deadwood beach in Cape San Blas, Florida, USA.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA Seeks Industry Concepts on Moon, Mars Communications
Jul 23, 2025
NASA is seeking proposals from U.S. companies about innovative Moon and Mars proximity relay communication and navigation capabilities as the agency aims to use private industry satellite communications services for emerging missions.
On July 7, NASA issued a Request for Proposals, soliciting advanced industry concepts to establish high-bandwidth, high-reliability communications infrastructure between the lunar surface and an Earth-based operations control center, along with concepts that establish a critical communications relay on the Martian surface and transfer data between Mars and the Earth.
“These partnerships foster important advancements in communications and navigation,” said Greg Heckler, deputy program manager for capability development within NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program.
“It allows our astronauts, our rovers, our spacecraft – all NASA missions – to expand humanity’s exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
NASA’s request directly supports the agency’s long-term vision of an interoperable space communication and navigation infrastructure that enables science, exploration, and economic development in space.
NASA, as one of many customers, will establish a marketplace that supports cost-effective commercial services involving communication needs on and around the Moon and Mars.
Responses are due by 5 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 13.
NASA’s SCaN Program serves as the management office for the agency’s space communications and navigation.
More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network, to support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitor Earth’s weather, support lunar exploration, and uncover the solar system and beyond.
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/space-communications-navigation-program/nasa-seeks-industry-concepts-on-moon-mars-communications/
https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/833efc09ce41401d95f52069065082e6/view
NASA: Rare Snowfall in the Atacama Desert, Chile
July 23, 2025
The Atacama Desert’s location, between the Andes Mountains to the east and the cool Peru/Chile Current to the west, makes it one of the driest places on Earth.
The mountain range produces a rain shadow, while the current chills the air enough to limit evaporation and cloud development.
But occasionally, cold-core cyclones that drift into low latitudes—cutoff lows—puncture these defenses and bring rain or snow to the region.
That’s what happened on June 25, 2025, when a rare snowstorm blanketed much of the higher-elevation Altiplano portion of the desert in white. It also delivered heavy rains farther to the south.
“Cutoff lows are more frequent in the subtropics, but from time to time they can reach northern Chile, where they explain most of the winter precipitation in the Atacama,” René Garreaud, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Chile, explained.
Among the places that received snow was the Chajnantor Plateau in northern Chile.
Perched more than 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) above sea level, the plateau has exceptionally clear and dry skies, qualities that have helped turn it into a hub of astronomical research.
According to news reports, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), one of the most powerful radio telescopes on Earth, had to temporarily suspend operations after the snowfall, which some meteorologists described as the first to fall in the region in more than a decade. (The region also saw a heavy snow event in 2011.)
The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured an image (above) of the snowfall on June 26, 2025, the day after the storm.
The same sensor captured the second image (below) on July 16, 2025. The images are false color to help differentiate between areas of snow and ice (blue) and water clouds (white).
The OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 9 captured a more detailed, natural-color view of the remaining snow on the plateau on July 10, 2025 (below).
Yet as seen in the images, snow doesn’t typically linger for long, even in this high-elevation region. That’s partly because this area sees some of the highest levels of solar irradiance on Earth, satellite and ground observations show.
This dry environment encourages snow loss by fueling sublimation, the transformation of snow directly into a gas.
Clear air, high elevation, the presence of certain cloud types, and the Altiplano’s location in the Southern Hemisphere all contribute to the unusually high solar irradiance.
While satellite imagery showed that some snow remained on the ground on July 16, much of it was gone.
A live-view camera and posts from researchers visiting ALMA Observatory’s telescopes show that what remained was mostly in low-lying, sheltered areas that are shaded for part of the day.
https://snowbrains.com/nasa-rare-snowfall-in-the-atacama-desert-chile/
NASA Invites Media to Senegal Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony
Jul 22, 2025
Senegal will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 24, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Brian Hughes, NASA chief of staff, will host Maram Kairé, director general of the Senegalese space agency (ASES), and Abdoul Wahab Haidara, ambassador of Senegal to the United States, along with other officials from Senegal and the U.S. Department of State.
This event is in-person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 24, to: hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
The signing ceremony will take place at the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson building, 300 E. Street SW in Washington.
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.
The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Senegal is the 56th country to sign the Artemis Accords since their inception.
The Artemis Accords are grounded in international law and represent the best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-senegal-artemis-accords-signing-ceremony/
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/
NASA’s TRACERS Mission Scrubbed, July 23 Next Attempt
July 22, 2025
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 2:13 p.m. EDT, (11:13 a.m. PDT) Wednesday, July 23, for launch of the agency’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The mission scrubbed on July 22 due to Federal Aviation Administration airspace concerns that created a no-go condition for launch.
The rocket and payloads remain in good health.
The TRACERS mission is a pair of twin satellites that will study how Earth’s magnetic shield — the magnetosphere — protects our planet from the supersonic stream of material from the Sun called solar wind.
As they fly pole to pole in a Sun-synchronous orbit, the two TRACERS spacecraft will measure how magnetic explosions send these solar wind particles zooming down into Earth’s atmosphere — and how these explosions shape the space weather that impacts our satellites, technology, and astronauts.
Riding along with TRACERS aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 are NASA’s Athena EPIC (Economical Payload Integration Cost), PExT (Polylingual Experimental Terminal), and REAL (Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss) missions — three small satellites to demonstrate new technologies and gather scientific data.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/smallsatellites/2025/07/22/nasas-tracers-mission-scrubbed-july-23-next-attempt/
https://x.com/NASAKennedy
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tracers/
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4604-4606: Taking a Deep Breath of Martian Air
Jul 22, 2025
Earth planning date: Friday, July 18, 2025
Curiosity has started to investigate the main exposure of the boxwork structures!
What was once a distant target is now on our doorstep, and Curiosity is beginning to explore the ridges and hollows that make up this terrain, to better understand their chemistry, morphology, and sedimentary structures.
I was on shift as Long Term Planner during this three-sol weekend plan, and the team put together a very full set of activities to thoroughly investigate this site — from the sky to the sand.
The plan starts with Navcam and Mastcam observations to assess the amount of dust in the atmosphere, followed by a large Mastcam mosaic to characterize the resistant ridge on which the rover is parked.
ChemCam will also acquire a LIBS observation on a target named “Vicuna” to assess the chemistry of a well-exposed vein.
The team chose this parking location to characterize the chemistry and textures of this topographic ridge (to compare with topographic lows), so the next part of the plan involves contact science using APXS and MAHLI to look at different parts of the nodular bedrock in our workspace, at targets named “Totoral” and “Sillar.” There’s also a MAHLI observation of the same vein that ChemCam targeted.
The second sol involves more Mastcam imaging to look at different parts of this prominent ridge, along with a ChemCam LIBS observation on top of the ridge, and a ChemCam RMI mosaic to document the sedimentary structures in a distant boxwork feature.
Navcam will also be used to look for dust devils. Then Curiosity will take a short drive of about 5 meters (about 16 feet) to explore the adjacent hollow (seen as the low point in the foreground of the above Navcam image).
After the drive we’ll take more images for context, and to prepare for targeting in Monday’s plan.
After all of this work it’s time to pause and take a deep breath… of Martian atmosphere. The weekend plan involves an exciting campaign to look for variations in atmospheric chemistry between night and day.
So Curiosity will take an overnight APXS atmospheric observation at the same time that two instruments within SAM assess its chemical and isotopic abundance.
On the third sol Curiosity will acquire a ChemCam passive sky observation, leading to a great set of atmospheric data. These measurements will be compared to even more atmospheric activities in Monday’s plan to get the full picture.
As you can imagine, this plan requires a lot of power, but it’s worth it for all of the exciting science that we can accomplish here.
The road ahead has many highs and lows (literally), but I can’t wait to see what Curiosity will accomplish. The distant buttes remind us that there’s so much more to explore, and I look forward to continuing to see where Curiosity will take us.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4604-4606-taking-a-deep-breath-of-martian-air/
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4607-4608: Deep Dip
Jul 22, 2025
Earth planning date: Monday, July 21, 2025
Curiosity continues our exploration of the fractured boxwork terrain on the slopes of Mount Sharp. After a successful 5-meter drive (about 16 feet), our rover is resting in a hollow on its way to a boxwork ridge viewpoint.
Over the weekend, Curiosity began an atmospheric observation with the SAM instrument, which will continue into today’s plan. Because the SAM instrument is complex and powerful, it uses a great deal of energy when it operates, causing what we call a “deep dip” in the battery charge level.
This means that we have to wait a bit after the SAM observations complete for the battery to recharge enough for Curiosity to observe its surroundings with other science instruments, or move its arm or wheels.
For this reason, the plan today does not include a drive, and contact science at this location will be done on the second sol of the plan.
On Sol 4607, Curiosity will begin the day with SAM atmospheric composition activity, which will run for several hours.
After it finishes, we will use the rover’s navigation camera to perform a cloud altitude observation, looking for cloud shadows on the upper reaches of Mount Sharp, and clouds drifting by overhead at the zenith.
Overnight, Curiosity’s battery will recharge, allowing us to perform a targeted science block on the morning of Sol 4608. This starts with Navcam observations of dust opacity across the floor of Gale Crater, then a measurement of dust in the air toward the Sun with Mastcam.
Curiosity then turns Mastcam toward the ridge ahead to obtain a 15x1 mosaic on target “Cueva De Los Vencejos Y Murcielagos (Cave of Swifts and Bats).”
Afterwards, Mastcam will look back along Curiosity’s tracks, hoping to see freshly broken rocks and determine the texture of disturbed ground. Next, ChemCam’s laser spectrograph will zap a nodular rock pillar named for the famous high-altitude “Lake Titicaca” bordering Bolivia and Peru.
A second ChemCam observation with the RMI telescopic camera will study stratigraphy on the Mishe Mokwa butte with a 5x2 image mosaic. Mastcam will finish off this science block by looking at the pits left behind by the ChemCam laser on target “Lake Titicaca.”
In the afternoon, Curiosity’s arm will reach out to brush the dust from the bedrock target “La Tranquita,” then observe it with the MAHLI microscopic imager and APXS. MAHLI and APXS will also investigate plate-like rock formations at target “Aqua Dulce.”
A third target with more complex rock structures dubbed “Paposo,” after a natural monument along the Pacific Coast of northern Chile, will be imaged only by MAHLI.
The next morning will include another targeted science block. Curiosity will then drive away toward the next viewpoint in the boxwork terrain of Mars.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4607-4608-deep-dip/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/science-updates/
Feeling the Heat: Perseverance Looks for Evidence of Contact Metamorphism
Jul 22, 2025
Following a short break for the July 4th holiday, Perseverance drove westward to a site called “Westport,” where the clay-bearing “Krokodillen” unit meets an olivine-bearing rock formation.
It is possible that the olivine-rich rocks are an intrusive igneous unit, meaning they could have formed when molten magma from deep within Mars got pushed upwards and cooled under the surface.
If that’s the case, Westport could preserve a dramatic moment in Mars’ history when hot, molten material intruded into existing rock formations.
Those intrusive processes are common on Earth, and the heat of the intruding magma can fundamentally alter the surrounding geology through a process called “contact metamorphism.”
The heat from the intrusion will “bake” nearby rocks, creating new minerals and potentially new environments for microbial life. Conversely, the intrusive rocks get rapidly “chilled” where they meet preexisting solid rock formations.
At Westport, Perseverance is looking for evidence that the Krokodillen rocks at the contact were baked, and that the olivine-bearing rocks at the contact were chilled.
Images from the Mastcam-Z instrument reveal that the contact is littered with intriguing dark, rubbly rocks alongside lighter-toned, smooth boulders. Both rock types are proving challenging to study.
The dark fragments are too small and rough for Perseverance’s standard abrasion techniques, but the rover cleared off the surface of a rock called “Holyrood Bay” with its gas Dust Removal Tool (gDRT).
Perseverance also tried to abrade a nearby boulder named “Drake’s Point,” but the rock shifted to the side, causing the abrasion to stop short.
The science questions here are compelling enough, however, that Perseverance will keep trying to look within the rocks at this important boundary.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/feeling-the-heat-perseverance-looks-for-evidence-of-contact-metamorphism/
NASA, JAXA XRISM Satellite X-rays Milky Way’s Sulfur
Jul 23, 2025
An international team of scientists have provided an unprecedented tally of elemental sulfur spread between the stars using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft.
Astronomers used X-rays from two binary star systems to detect sulfur in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust found in the space between stars.
It’s the first direct measurement of both sulfur’s gas and solid phases, a unique capability of X-ray spectroscopy, XRISM’s (pronounced “crism”) primary method of studying the cosmos.
“Sulfur is important for how cells function in our bodies here on Earth, but we still have a lot of questions about where it’s found out in the universe,” said Lía Corrales, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“Sulfur can easily change from a gas to a solid and back again. The XRISM spacecraft provides the resolution and sensitivity we need to find it in both forms and learn more about where it might be hiding.”
A paper about these results, led by Corrales, published June 27 in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan.
Using ultraviolet light, researchers have found gaseous sulfur in the space between stars. In denser parts of the interstellar medium, such as the molecular clouds where stars and planets are born, this form of sulfur quickly disappears.
Scientists assume the sulfur condenses into a solid, either by combining with ice or mixing with other elements.
When a doctor performs an X-ray here on Earth, they place the patient between an X-ray source and a detector.
Bone and tissue absorb different amounts of the light as it travels through the patient's body, creating contrast in the detector.
To study sulfur, Corrales and her team did something similar.
They picked a portion of the interstellar medium with the right density — not so thin that all the X-rays would pass through unchanged, but also not so dense that they would all be absorbed.
Then the team selected a bright X-ray source behind that section of the medium, a binary star system called GX 340+0 located over 35,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Scorpius.
Using the Resolve instrument on XRISM, the scientists were able to measure the energy of GX 340+0’s X-rays and determined that sulfur was present not only as a gas, but also as a solid, possibly mixed with iron.
“Chemistry in environments like the interstellar medium is very different from anything we can do on Earth, but we modeled sulfur combined with iron, and it seems to match what we’re seeing with XRISM,” said co-author Elisa Costantini, a senior astronomer at the Space Research Organization Netherlands and the University of Amsterdam.
“Our lab has created models for different elements to compare with astronomical data for years. The campaign is ongoing, and soon we’ll have new sulfur measurements to compare with the XRISM data to learn even more.”
Iron-sulfur compounds are often found in meteorites, so scientists have long thought they might be one way sulfur solidifies out of molecular clouds to travel through the universe.
In their paper, Corrales and her team propose a few compounds that would match XRISM’s observations — pyrrhotite, troilite, and pyrite, which is sometimes called fool’s gold.
The researchers were also able to use measurements from a second X-ray binary called 4U 1630-472 that helped confirm their findings.
“NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has previously studied sulfur, but XRISM’s measurements are the most detailed yet,” said Brian Williams, the XRISM project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“Since GX 340+0 is on the other side of the galaxy from us, XRISM’s X-ray observations are a unique probe of sulfur in a large section of the Milky Way. There’s still so much to learn about the galaxy we call home.”
XRISM is led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in collaboration with NASA, along with contributions from ESA (European Space Agency). NASA and JAXA developed Resolve, the mission’s microcalorimeter spectrometer.
https://science.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-jaxa-xrism-satellite-x-rays-milky-ways-sulfur/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH9Yr9zAylk
https://academic.oup.com/pasj/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/pasj/psaf068/8176460
Brain, Muscles, and Robotics Research to Assist Healthy Crew Tops Schedule
July 22, 2025
Brain research, electrical muscle stimulation, and robotics topped the research schedule on Tuesday helping researchers keep the crew healthy and assist them on long-term missions.
The Expedition 73 crew members also worked on spacesuit maintenance, radiation checks, and more aboard the International Space Station.
The ongoing human research in space provides scientists continuous physiological data they need to review to understand how astronauts’ bodies adapt to weightlessness over long periods of time.
From analyzing blood and saliva samples, cognition tests, fitness tests, and a wide variety of other studies, the insights inform ways to ensure crews maintain their wellness off the Earth.
Astronauts Anne McClain of NASA and Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) began their day drawing their blood samples, spinning them in a centrifuge, and preserving the specimens in a science freezer for later analysis.
Next, McClain took a set of tests measuring her cognitive performance to identify potential space-caused changes to her brain structure and function.
At the end of her shift, McClain jogged on the COLBERT treadmill while strapped to a heart rate monitor then she wore a sensor-packed headband and vest for overnight health monitoring.
Onishi tested the artificial intelligence-powered CIMON robot assistant and its ability to command a free-flying robotic camera for JAXA’s ICHIBAN technology demonstration inside the Kibo laboratory module.
In the middle of the robotics activities, Onishi also serviced a variety of science hardware including a wrist-worn sleep-wake monitor and a research incubator.
NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Nichole Ayers teamed up inside the Columbus laboratory module and explored a method to supplement space exercise and maintain muscle health.
Kim helped Ayers attach electrodes to her legs and operated biomedical gear that applied small electrical signals stimulating the muscles.
Results may improve muscle function, reduce workout times, and enable lighter exercise equipment on spacecraft.
Kim also worked in the Quest airlock cleaning cooling loops and inspecting components on a pair of spacesuits.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky joined each other in the Zvezda service module and took turns wearing electrodes and blood pressure cuffs that measured how blood circulates to the arms and fingers in microgravity.
Ryzhikov later photographed landmarks in the Indian and Pacific Oceans while Zubritsky transferred water into the station from tanks inside the Progress 92 cargo craft.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov checked radiation detectors for a monthly reading of the data then serviced orbital plumbing hardware.
He also gathered with his NASA SpaceX Crew-10 crewmates McClain, Ayers, and Onishi and reviewed emergency breathing equipment inside the Dragon spacecraft they will ride back to Earth next month.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/07/22/brain-muscles-and-robotics-research-to-assist-healthy-crew-tops-schedule/
NASA contracts American Aerospace for uncrewed wildfire-monitoring flights
July 23, 2025
HAMPTON, Va. - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded a sole-source contract to American Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI) in Conshohocken, Pa., to provide high-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft services for monitoring wildfires across the continental United States.
Under the agreement, AATI will operate its AiRanger aircraft, or a comparable uncrewed platform, to collect critical atmospheric and remote sensing data over active wildland fires.
The flights are scheduled for up to 96 hours over a 14-day period between February and April 2026.
The missions support NASA's Earth Science Division and its FireSense Project, which aims to improve wildfire detection, monitoring, and response through advanced aerial surveillance technologies.
NASA's Shared Services Center determined that AATI was uniquely capable of meeting the contract's requirements, citing the company's ability to deliver long-duration UAS services at high altitude with integrated detect-and-avoid capabilities.
All missions will be conducted under NASA's aviation standards and oversight protocols, including engineering reviews, airworthiness assessments, and mission readiness evaluations.
AiRanger
The AiRanger is a fixed-wing UAS designed for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations.
With a wingspan of 16 feet and a flight endurance of more than 20 hours, the aircraft can carry payloads exceeding 65 pounds and operate at altitudes up to 12,000 feet.
It is equipped with autonomous flight controls, satellite communications, and safety systems for national airspace integration.
The platform has been reviewed under NASA's Commercial Aviation Services process and is tailored for civil missions such as disaster response, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure inspection.
As part of the contract, AATI will modify the aircraft to integrate a suite of NASA-provided sensors, including a FLIR midwave infrared camera, a FLIR longwave infrared camera, and a RedEdge multispectral camera, all installed via nadir-mounted ports.
The company will also supply custom instrument racks, assist with payload integration, and provide collected flight data, including GPS logs.
NASA expects this configuration to yield high-resolution imagery and data on aerosols, greenhouse gases, and reactive trace gases during fire events.
NASA officials say the initiative is part of a broader push to integrate commercial uncrewed systems into the agency's Earth observation efforts, with the goal of enabling faster, safer, and more cost-effective responses to climate-related disasters such as wildfires.
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/uncrewed/article/55304833/nasa-contracts-american-aerospace-for-uncrewed-wildfire-monitoring-flights
https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/07/22/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-nasas-tracers-satellites-on-rideshare-falcon-9-rocket-launch-from-vandenberg-sfb/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKYOQAy8t-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wwhK6OBfac
FAA: ‘Regional power outage’ causes last-minute scrub of NASA’s TRACERS mission
July 22, 2025
Update July 22, 6 p.m. EDT: Added comment from the FAA.
NASA’s next trip to space will be a rideshare mission with nine other satellites sharing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. However, it has to wait at least another day after a last minute scrub of the mission.
About 45 seconds before the planned liftoff, the SpaceX launch director called, “Hold, hold, hold” and declared that the mission was aborted due to “air space concerns.”
Following the scrub, SpaceX took to social media to reiterate that it wasn’t able to proceed into launch “due to [Federal Aviation Administration] airspace concerns that created a no-go condition for launch.” SpaceX said it would try again on Wednesday.
In a statement to Spaceflight Now, the FAA said a power issue was to blame for the scrub.
“A regional power outage in the Santa Barbara area disrupted telecommunications at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, which manages air traffic over the Pacific Ocean,” an FAA spokesperson said in a statement.
“As a result, the FAA postponed the SpaceX Falcon 9 TRACERS launch on Tuesday, July 22. The FAA took this action to ensure the safety of the traveling public.”
When they launch, NASA’s twin Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites or TRACERS will study the interplay between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere.
Liftoff of the mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base is now scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT, 1813 UTC), which is the opening of a 57-minute launch window.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1081 to launch this mission. Flying for a 16th time, it previously flew NASA’s Crew-7, CRS-29 and NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft.
Just under eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 will target a touchdown back at Landing Zone 4. If successful, this will be just the 27th landing at LZ-4 and the 478th booster landing to date for SpaceX.
Those in the vicinity of Vandenberg SFB may experience a sonic boom as the booster makes its way back through the atmosphere for a landing.
Understanding Earth’s magnetic field
The twin TRACERS at the heart of Tuesday’s mission are set to deploy on a one-year mission following a month-long commissioning period.
The identical, octagonal duo, dubbed T1 and T2, are each 37 inches (0.95 m) tall and 52 inches (1.32 m) across, weighing less than 440 pounds (200 kg) apiece.
They will fly in a Sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit at an altitude of 367 miles (590 km) above the Earth’s surface.
Their polar orbit will see the twins fly repeatedly through regions known as cusps, described by NASA as “funnel-shaped regions where Earth’s magnetic field opens over the North and South Poles.”
“There, Earth’s magnetic field dips down toward the ground, funneling and concentrating particles into one part of our atmosphere,” NASA wrote about the mission.
“By studying this region, TRACERS will allow scientists to observe how quickly reconnection changes and evolves by comparing data collected by each satellite.”
Reconnection on Earth, also referred to as magnetic reconnection, is when the solar wind from the Sun reaches Earth’s magnetosphere shoot directly into the atmosphere.
“That’s the primary driver for beautiful things… like the Northern Lights, but it also drives some of these negative things that we want to understand and mitigate, like unplanned electrical currents in our electrical grids that can potentially cause accelerated aging in electrical pipelines, disruption of GPS, things like that,” said David Miles, the TRACERS Principal Investigator at the University of Iowa, during a prelaunch briefing.
1/3
TRACERS follows in the footsteps of the TRICE (Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics)-2 mission, which featured a pair of sounding rockets launched back in December 2018.
TRACERS has the benefit of a pair of satellites that will orbit close to on another and pass by the same point on Earth between 10 to 120 seconds later.
“That gives us two, closely spaced measurements to allow us to pick apart is something accelerating or slowing down? Is something moving around or is something turning on and off?”
Miles said. “Each spacecraft is going to get a measurement of basically the local state of the plasma, like the electric field, the magnetic field and the local ions and electrons that compose the plasma.”
The TRACERS mission is part of NASA’s Small Explorers (SMEX) program, similar to PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission that launched in March. TRACERS has a mission cost of $170 million.
The spacecraft were built by Millennium Space Systems, which is now a Boeing company. The mission is led by the University of Iowa and managed by NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Program Office.
Each satellite carries six instruments as outlined by NASA:
ACE: The Analyzer for Cusp Electrons measures the electron portion of local plasma and how they move with respect to the background magnetic field.
ACI: The Analyzer for Cusp Ions measures the ion portion of local plasma and how they move with respect to the background magnetic field.
MAG: The 3-axis fluxgate magnetometer measures the background magnetic field of plasma. It can also be used to infer the presence of electrical currents and low frequency plasma waves.
MSC: The 3-axis Magnetic Search Coil measures high frequency magnetic waves.
MAGIC: The MAGnetometers for Innovation and Capability team is building fluxgate magnetometers from scratch and investigating new designs. As a technology demonstration on TRACERS, MAGIC must do no harm to the other instruments while testing its designs for future space missions.
MEB: The common Main Electronics Box hosts the electronics for electronic field instruments, MSC, and MAG.
Along for the ride
The two TRACERS spacecraft are joined by nine others spread across three, NASA-funded missions, one ESA mission and one from an Australian company promising air traffic control from space.
The NASA-involved payloads are the Athena EPIC (Economical Payload Integration Cost) SmallSat backed by SEOPS, the technology demonstration PExT (Polylingual Experimental Terminal) backed by York Space Systems and the REAL (Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss) CubeSat backed by Maverick Space Systems.
Athena EPIC is a $15 million mission born out of a challenge from NASA’s Langley Research Center director to see what could be accomplished a seven-month timeframe.
Private company, NovaWurks, contributed the spacecraft that was assembled with a Hyper-Integrated Satlet or HISat.
This is described by NASA as a building block-style architecture that can be built up into larger SensorCraft structures, allowing for resource sharing with multiple payloads.
Athena EPIC’s sensor was built using spare parts from NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) mission.
“Instead of Athena carrying its own processor, we’re using the processors on the HISats to control things like our heaters and do some of the control functions that typically would be done by a processor on our payload,” said Kory Priestley, principal investigator for Athena EPIC from NASA Langley.
“So, this is merging an instrument and a satellite platform into what we are calling a SensorCraft. It’s a more integrated approach.
We don’t need as many capabilities built into our key instrument because it’s being brought to us by the satellite host.
We obtain greater redundancy, and it simplifies our payload.”
The mission includes cooperation from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Space Force.
Priestley said latter provided the contract mechanism to align with NovaWurks and NOAA is interested the maturation of a program like this for future commercial missions for the National Weather Service.
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The PExT mission has a $20 million life cycle cost over its planned five-year life. The initial demonstration for this mission is only slated for six to nine months.
It exists within NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program and is a collaboration between the agency’s Wideband Terminal Project and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
The polylingual nature of the spacecraft allows it to “receive and understand various languages used by different commercial manufacturers when operating in their near-Earth networks,” the agency said.
Its wide frequency allows it to reach across the full scope of both commercial and government Ka-band allocations “including 17.7 GHz to 23.55 GHz Forward, and 27 GHz to 31 GHz Return.”
NASA is working on ways to move beyond its aging TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System) used to communicate with a host of spacecraft.
“We partnered with five members of industry and acadamia to achieve this mission,” said Greg Heckler, the deputy program manager for capability development at SCaN. “[APL] developed the terminal and is managing projects for SCaN.
The terminal is mounted on a York Space Systems bus, and they actually procured the launch itself, and will be operating the spacecraft for the first year of the demonstration.
“And during the demo, PExT will communicate across our TDRSS and two commercial networks: SES’ O3b mPOWER network, which is being actually established as we speak, and Viasat Boeing Global Xpress network as well.”
Finally connected to NASA, the mission will carry the $5 million REAL CubeSat, which carries the Energetic Particle Sensor (ECP) payload, a miniaturized particle detection instrument from APL.
It’s designed to “characterize the forces that cause electrons in Earth’s radiation belts to fall into the atmosphere, space weather events that affect the upper atmosphere — potentially even the climate — and can damage the increasing number of satellites in low Earth orbit.”
The REAL spacecraft was built and tested at Montana State University, which features a design that upgrades what MSU used during on its IT-SPINS (Ionospheric-Thermospheric Scanning Photometer for Ion-Neutral Studies) CubeSat that deployed in June 2021 from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft at the conclusion of the NG-15 mission to the International Space Station.
Connectivity and air traffic control
The other two missions onboard the Falcon 9 rocket are LIDE (Direct Access Live Demonstration) and Skykraft 4. The former is one half of a two-mission project from the European Space Agency’s Connectivity and Secure Communications office.
LIDE is a 12U CubeSat developed by Tyvak International, now a part of Terran Orbital (in turn, a Lockheed Martin company) that uses a bidirectional K/Ka-band radio frequency transponder “to enable direct access tests with ground terminals— a gateway and an end-user terminal—compliant with 3GPP’s NTN standard.”
The satellite will work with the REMI (Direct Access 5G Satcom Reference Mission) mission, which “focuses on a feasibility study for providing 5G broadband access to rural and suburban areas via a SmallSats.”
“The platform’s active attitude determination and control system ensures optimized satellite orientation for enhanced signal reception,” ESA wrote in a prelaunch statement.
“In essence, the present solution aims to demonstrate techniques and technologies enabling superior performance, broader coverage, and enhanced reliability, offering unmatched value to users and stakeholders alike.
The project is significant for advancing European telecommunication capabilities, with implications for future 3GPP protocols and 6G technology.”
Australian company Skykraft will oversee the deployment of five of its spacecraft during this mission. These will be the final payloads deployed from the Falcon 9 upper stage, happening about an hour and 45 minutes after liftoff.
This constellation is designed to establish a system of space-based Air Traffic Management (ATM) services.
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Global Space Economy Tops $600B For The First Time
July 23, 2025
The global space economy grew nearly 8% in 2024 to $613B, according to a report released Tuesday by the Space Foundation.
The growth was dominated by the commercial sector, which brought in $480B in revenue—accounting for more than three-quarters of the space economy last year.
Commercial PNT services drove $231.4B in revenue, making it the top commercial space sector, followed by ground stations, direct-to-home TV, and satcom.
The remaining 22% was tied to government spending, with the US civil space budget topping the global charts. China, Europe, and Japan, in that order, rounded out the other top spenders.
The Space Foundation unveiled the report as part of the Innovate Space: Global Economic Summit held Tuesday near DC. Here are some key takeaways from the event.
Across the pond: US government officials are seeking input from industry on the impact of the EU Space Act initiative released last month.
Janice Starzyk, the acting director of OSC, said her office is seeking to be a repository of info on the potential effects for US space companies. Starzyk urged American industry to reach out with feedback.
The State Department’s Valda Vikmanis-Keller also said her office has met with 100+ companies on the consequences of the new document.
“The protectionist nature that we suspect is the direction this is going to go—these are some challenges, certainly, for US companies seeking to do business in Europe,” said Vikmanis-Keller, the director of the department’s office of space affairs.
“We’re certainly hoping there is an opportunity for comments and input from impacted industry, government, et cetera.”
What to watch: Officials also telegraphed a few things to watch from the Trump administration, including:
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More action from the FCC on space—first on things they can change within their existing authorities, before eventually drafting a new framework for future commercial space operations.
“We are early, but we are setting up the dominoes,” said FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz.
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A Golden Dome plan in 60 days, according to Gen. Michael Guetlein, who manages the initiative at Space Force.
Guetlein said he believes the greatest challenge of the system will be breaking down barriers between tech built in stovepipes.
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A new addition to the Artemis Accords. Vikmanis-Keller teased at the event that the accords will be adding a 56th member this week, hours before NASA announced Senegal will sign on Thursday.
https://payloadspace.com/global-space-economy-tops-600b-for-the-first-time/
Burlison Opens Subcommittee Hearing on Advancing Nuclear Energy
Jul 22, 2025
WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) delivered opening remarks at today’s hearing on “The New Atomic Age: Advancing America’s Energy Future.” In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Burlison highlighted President Trump’s actions to boost American energy production and Congressional action to reinvigorate the nuclear industry.
Subcommittee Chairman Burlison also noted the efficiency and cost of nuclear energy emphasized the importance discovering new pathways to solving domestic energy challenges.
Below are Subcommittee Chairman Burlison’s prepared remarks:
A new age for nuclear power has started—led by President Trump’s four recent executive orders on nuclear energy and Congressional action to reinvigorate the nuclear industry.
President Trump’s orders call for permitting reform and the reduction of overburdensome regulations from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has become a slow-moving, bureaucratic mess, constraining and delaying expansion of U.S. nuclear power deployment for decades.
Under President Trump’s orders, the NRC must rule on reactor license applications within 18 months—a dramatic shift from the ambiguous, open-ended timelines of the past.
President Trump’s orders also promote expanding domestic mining, enrichment of uranium and other reactor fuels, and nuclear-fuel recycling.
These ground-breaking actions will power United States energy independence and provide a secure and reliable U.S. electrical grid—something we must obtain as the AI revolution places surging demands on our. electrical capacity.
At the heart of nuclear power’s resurgence are two key innovations: small and micro modular reactors. These new reactors promise the U.S. will have a strong answer to future energy demands.
They will be more capital-effective, more efficient, and more scalable for both on and off-grid sites here in the United States.
Moreover, they offer enhanced safety features, eliminate the risk of meltdowns, and can use recycled fuel from other reactors.
The Department of Energy predicts that 12 percent of electricity consumption in the United States in 2028 will come from data centers, which require constant and consistent electricity.
And the Energy Information Agency recently projected that U.S. power consumption will reach all-time highs this year and next, in part due to AI and data-center demand.
Nuclear power is the answer to data centers’ growing appetite for stable energy. I recently toured two prototype micro modular reactors being developed here in the United States.
I can confidently say the technology is ready—what is holding nuclear back is the onerous and capital-intensive regulatory permitting burden placed on nuclear energy expansion.
Under the Trump Administration, the federal government is waking up to the roadblock that nuclear power has faced for decades.
The federal government, not technology, has been in the way. Congress should and will be watching for the fruits of the Administration’s actions, eager to cooperate in achieving lasting change.
Nuclear power in the age of SMRs and MMRs isn’t just safe—it’s essential. It is our best shot at securing clean, reliable, American energy independence.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/burlison-opens-subcommittee-hearing-on-advancing-nuclear-energy/
https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/the-new-atomic-age-advancing-americas-energy-future/ (Full Hearing)
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Shubhanshu Shukla Healthy, Space Mission Highly Successful: ISRO Chief To NDTV
Jul 23, 2025 13:21 pm IST
In a landmark moment for India's space ambitions, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned safely from the International Space Station (ISS), marking the nation's first human presence aboard the orbital laboratory.
Facilitated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), this mission is being hailed as a major milestone in India's journey toward human spaceflight under the Gaganyaan programme.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Dr V Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO, confirmed that Group Captain Shukla is "totally healthy and totally happy" following his successful splashdown.
"His medical parameters are being continuously monitored, and the information available to me from the doctors is very reassuring," said Dr Narayanan, emphasising the mission's safety and success.
The mission, conceived by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was designed to test India's capabilities in human spaceflight and gather critical data for the upcoming Gaganyaan programme.
"This is a very satisfying mission," Dr Narayanan noted. "We sent Shukla ji to space very safely and brought him back safely. The entire country is happy because we are getting good input for our Gaganyaan programme."
Group Captain Shukla's journey to the ISS was not just a technological feat but also a symbol of national pride.
Prime Minister Modi lauded the mission in both a Cabinet Resolution and a speech before the opening of the budget session of the Indian Parliament, underscoring its significance for India's future in space exploration.
Dr Narayanan elaborated on the unique challenges of human spaceflight compared to satellite missions. "The new thing is the human interface with the rocket system.
That's why we are extremely happy that we could send him safely, bring him back safely, and gather valuable input," he said.
He described the mission as "highly successful" and "fully satisfying," reflecting ISRO's confidence in its growing capabilities.
The mission's success is expected to accelerate preparations for Gaganyaan, India's first crewed spaceflight, which aims to send Indian astronauts into low Earth orbit by 2027.
Group Captain Shukla's experience aboard the ISS will provide ISRO with crucial insights into astronaut health, spacecraft systems, and operational protocols in microgravity.
This achievement places India among a select group of nations capable of sending humans to space and collaborating on international space missions.
It also signals India's readiness to take on more ambitious projects, including lunar and interplanetary exploration.
As the nation celebrates this historic milestone, ISRO continues to work diligently on the next phases of the Gaganyaan programme.
With Group Captain Shukla's safe return and glowing health report, India's space odyssey has entered a bold new chapter - one that promises innovation, collaboration, and inspiration for generations to come.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/shubhanshu-shukla-healthy-space-mission-highly-successful-isro-chief-to-ndtv-8930776
New Zealand introduces new laws to govern space infrastructure
July 22, 20259:29 PM PDT
WELLINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government passed legislation on Wednesday to regulate the use of ground-based space infrastructure following concerns about foreign actors using it to harm national security.
Space Minister Judith Collins said in a statement that the Outer Space High Altitude Activities Amendment Bill would take effect on July 29 and from then ground-based space infrastructure such as satellite tracking stations and telemetry systems would be subject to oversight and safeguards.
https://www.reuters.com/science/new-zealand-introduces-new-laws-govern-space-infrastructure-2025-07-23/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360768177/government-takes-action-deter-foreign-actors-abusing-ground-based-space-infrastructure
National Air and Space Museum reveals five new galleries
July 23, 2025 6:10am EDT
WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum announced the opening of five new galleries in Washington, D.C on July 28.
What we know:
The Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater and a redesigned entrance along the National Mall will also debut on the 28th, according to museum officials.
The galleries will feature thousands of artifacts including the Spirit of St. Louis, the North American X-15, John Glenn’s Mercury Friendship 7 capsule, Apollo Lunar Module 2 and the touchable moon rock.
Visitors can explore several artifacts, new to the building, like the Sopwith F.1 Camel, Virgin Galactic’s RocketMotorTwo, a Blue Origin New Shepard crew capsule mockup and a Goddard 1935 A-series rocket.
Dig deeper:
Read more about the new galleries below:
"Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall"
"Futures in Space"
"Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight"
"World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation"
Allan and Shelley Holt Innovations Gallery
The museum’s renovation project launched in 2018, which includes redesigning all 20 exhibition spaces, refacing the exterior of the building, replacing all outdated mechanical systems and other repairs.
The entire project will complete July 1, 2026, the 50th anniversary of the museum in DC and in time for the country’s 250th anniversary.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/national-air-space-museum-reveals-five-new-galleries
https://airandspace.si.edu/about/major-projects/transformation/new-exhibits
This 200-light-year-wide structure could be feeding our galaxy's center: 'No one had any idea this cloud existed'
July 22, 2025
Astronomers have discovered a vast cloud of gas and dust stretching out for a staggering 200 light-years and lurking in a poorly explored region of the Milky Way.
The structure, named the Midpoint cloud, is an example of a Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC). It was discovered by the team using the Green Bank Telescope.
Peeling back the layers of the Midpoint cloud, they found dynamic regions including several potential sites of new star formation and dense lanes of dust feeding the heart of our galaxy.
"No one had any idea this cloud existed until we looked at this location in the sky and found the dense gas," team leader and National Radio Astronomy Observatory scientist Natalie Butterfield said.
"Through measurements of the size, mass, and density, we confirmed this was a giant molecular cloud."
The active region of the GMC and its thick lanes of matter could reveal how material flows from the Milky Way's disk to the very heart of our galaxy.
"These dust lanes are like hidden rivers of gas and dust that are carrying material into the center of our galaxy,” Butterfield continued.
"The Midpoint cloud is a place where material from the galaxy’s disk is transitioning into the more extreme environment of the galactic center and provides a unique opportunity to study the initial gas conditions before accumulating in the center of our galaxy."
The gas within the Midpoint cloud exists in a turbulent state, which mirrors conditions found within gas at the Milky Way's center.
This chaotic motion could be triggered by material flowing along dust lanes itself or by clashes between the Midpoint cloud and other molecular clouds.
Also within the Midpoint cloud are several clumps of dense gas and dust that could be about to collapse and birth new stars.
One clump, designated Knot E, appears to be a small but dense cloud of gas that is in the process of being eroded by the radiation blasted at it by stars in its proximity.
Formations like this are referred to as free-floating evaporating gas globules (frEGGs).
The astronomers also discovered a new source of intense microwave radiation called a "maser" that could be further evidence of intense star formation within the Midpoint cloud.
The researchers didn't just discover evidence of stellar birth with this GMC, however. A shell-like structure in the Midpoint cloud appears to have been caused by the explosive supernova deaths of massive stars.
The research conducted by the team suggests the Midpoint cloud is vital to the flow of matter from the disk of the Milky Way to its heart.
This would feed star formation in the thick central stellar bar that churns around the center of our galaxy. Similar structures of dense stars are found in other barred spiral galaxies.
That means further investigation of this cloud and its surroundings could help develop a clearer picture of how the building blocks of stars gather at the center of galaxies.
"Star formation in galactic bars is a bit of a puzzle," team member and Green Bank Observatory scientist Larry Morgan said. "The strong forces in these regions can actually suppress star formation.
"However, the leading edges of these bars, such as where the Midpoint is located, can accumulate dense gas and trigger new star formation."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/this-200-light-year-wide-structure-could-be-feeding-our-galaxys-center-no-one-had-any-idea-this-cloud-existed
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adc687