Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago
#NASA found that protective “char layer” material from the heat shield wore away unexpectedly during reentry in more than 100 locations. The material cracked and broke off the #spacecraft in pieces, creating a trail of debris, instead of melting away as it was supposed to. The spacecraft heats 🔥 up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentry—about half as hot as the surface of the sun ☀️. Some bolts on Orion also unexpectedly melted and eroded. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-orion-capsule-heat-shield-wore-away-in-more-than-100-places-during-2022-test-flight-posing-significant-risks-180984296/

#Orion#Artemis

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago

Content Warning

May 1, 2024 #Orion Heat Shield Char Loss After #Artemis I Mission https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ig-24-011.pdf

#NASA

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago

Content Warning

#NASA found that protective “char layer” material from the heat shield wore away unexpectedly during reentry in more than 100 locations. The material cracked and broke off the #spacecraft in pieces, creating a trail of debris, instead of melting away as it was supposed to. The spacecraft heats 🔥 up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentry—about half as hot as the surface of the sun ☀️. Some bolts on Orion also unexpectedly melted and eroded. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-orion-capsule-heat-shield-wore-away-in-more-than-100-places-during-2022-test-flight-posing-significant-risks-180984296/

#Orion#Artemis

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

#NASA’s Office of Inspector General issued a devastating 👎 audit 🔍 of the program, which found that delays to the #SLS booster and engine contracts have resulted in an approximately $6 billion 💰💰💰💰💰💰 cost-overrun. The report further criticizes the use of #CostPlus contracts, a fee structure by which essentially all of the risk is taken on by the government. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/13/congress-prepares-to-continue-throwing-money-at-nasas-space-launch-system/
Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  10 months ago

Content Warning

#Presidents support #NASA and do what NASA says. We could have orbiters around every planet 🪐 in the #SolarSystem for a fraction 📊 of the cost of #Artemis. But nobody gave us that option. The cost 💰 and time ⏳ spent on #SLS and #Orion have set the #SpaceProgram back 〽️ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/opinion/nasa-moon-artemis.html

@lori_garver

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  8 months ago

Content Warning

#NASA experts still aren’t certain why the thrusters suddenly stopped working. After recording some $1.6 billion in cost overruns, #Boeing seems unlikely to ever make money on #Starliner. #CFO Brian West told investors that the company had a decision to make about future investment in the program after it fulfills its obligations to NASA for a half-dozen flights to the #ISS. https://fortune.com/2024/08/25/boeings-ceo-kelly-ortberg-starliner-writedown-nasa-spacex-cash-reserves/
Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  12 months ago

Content Warning

#Moon 🌙 scouts will all be #robotic, designed to build a foundation for #astronauts 👨‍🚀 to follow about two years later. There is need for transporting 🚀 large masses of equipment and materials from #Earth. An #IntuitiveMachines lander is set to reach the Moon later this year. #NASA’s #JPL will release a “swarm” of robot-explorers equipped with stereo cameras 📹 and charged with creating photorealistic #3D maps 🗺️ of the #lunar terrain https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinholdenplatt/2024/04/27/robot-explorers-futuristic-spacex-starships-set-to-transform-the-moon/

#SpaceRobot#SpaceLogistics#Starship

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

• 📆 2018, #ISS became the first facility to produce #BECs ⚛️ in #space 🌌
• In #space, so-called cool flames 🔥 can burn for minutes
• #ISS water 💦 purification system deployed across #India 🇮🇳, #Mexico 🇲🇽, #Pakistan🇵🇰
• #StemCells regenerative medicine ⚕️ could repair/replace failing organs and cells
• Higher quality protein crystals
• #Microbes 🦠 can extract metals from #regolith
• Tissue/organ-on-a-chip effects faster in #microgravity
• #3Dprinting
• Organ growth
https://interestingengineering.com/lists/13-science-breakthroughs-experiments-iss

#NASA

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  9 months ago

Content Warning

📆 2025 Lunar Gateway #NASA#ESA#CSA #JAXA
📆 2025 Haven-1 #VastSpace
📆 2026 Axiom Station #AxiomSpace
📆 2026 StarMax #Gravitics
📆 2026 LIFE Pathfinder #SierraSpace
📆 2027 Russian Orbital Service Station #Roscosmos
📆 2028 Starlab #NanoRacks#VoyagerSpace#Airbus#MDASpace#Mitsubishi
📆 second half 2020s Orbital Reef #BlueOrigin#SierraSpace
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_stations#Planned_and_proposed

#SpaceStation #launch

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  7 months ago

Content Warning

#NASA#Orion #radiation protection plan 🗒️ "astronauts will position themselves in the central part of the crew module and #create a #shelter using the stowage bags 🛍️ on board. The crew would in some cases need to stay inside for as long as 24 hours ⌛ https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/orion/scientists-and-engineers-evaluate-orion-radiation-protection-plan/

#HumanSpaceflightHealth#RadiationProtection#Artemis#LunarGateway

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

One of the biggest impediments to reform was @senbillnelson , the former #US senator from #Florida who represented #KennedySpaceCenter and now runs #NASAhttps://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/21/get-your-boy-elon-in-line-nasa-tell-all-recounts-turmoil-over-private-space-race-00041085

(The same guy who now wonders whether #China 🇨🇳 might be faster on the #Moon 🤦‍♂️)

#SpacePolitics#SpaceRace

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

@senbillnelson 's outsized influence on #NASA over four decades is undisputed, but some of us in the #SpaceCommunity are concerned this may not be a feature 👎. Senator #Nelson’s imprint on the #SpaceProgram has led to grand pronouncements based on #unrealistic industry estimates, multibillion-dollar 💰 #cost overruns, years of schedule #delays and unmet expectations 😠 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-nelson-isnt-the-best-choice-for-nasa-administrator/

#SpacePolitics#PorkBarrel

Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️  ·  7 months ago

Content Warning

"The future of Boeing’s crewed spaceflight program is muddy after #Starliner’s return" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - #Boeing no-showed post-landing news conference. Now questions swirl if they'll continue in #NASA Commercial Crew program. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/09/the-future-of-boeings-crewed-spaceflight-program-is-muddy-after-starliners-return/ #StarlinerCFT
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) 🚀🛰️  ·  7 months ago

Content Warning

"Stuck-in-space astronauts reflect on being left behind and adjusting to life in orbit" by AP / Marcia Dunn - #NASA test pilot astronauts Wilmore & Williams adjusted to longer stay in space, unsettled at #Boeing #Starliner leaving without them https://apnews.com/article/stuck-astronauts-boeing-starliner-nasa-1933b64f91ba06713e57446e2dbee1c4 #StarlinerCFT
Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago
Launch costs have fallen 95% 📉 (with another massive reduction expected in the coming years) thanks to reuse, improved engineering, and increased volumes.
“In economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off

#LaunchCost#SpaceMining

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  8 months ago

Content Warning

📊 #ESA 🇪🇺 and its member states forked over $4.4B 💰💰💰💰 to develop #Ariane6. Customer launches are unlikely to pay back development costs any time soon.

#SpaceX has invested over $5B 💰💰💰💰💰 in #Starship 🚀 R&D to date. Starship has proven its expendable capability, and the company is focusing on achieving full #reusability ♻️.

#NASA spent a dizzying $24B 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰 developing #SLS
https://payloadspace.com/rocket-development-costs-by-vehicle-payload-research

#DevelopmentCost#LaunchCost

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago
Launch costs have fallen 95% 📉 (with another massive reduction expected in the coming years) thanks to reuse, improved engineering, and increased volumes.
“In economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off

#LaunchCost#SpaceMining

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago

Content Warning

#NASA has contracts with four companies to gather a small amount of material from the lunar 🌙 surface—as a proof of concept to show that extraction is possible.
NASA doesn’t have a similar demonstration for mining ⚒️ #asteroids. But the space rock seekers nevertheless continue their quest for treasure. They believe Earth needs, and will pay handily for, what space 🌌 has to offer. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/in-the-race-for-space-metals-companies-hope-to-cash-in/

#AsteroidMining#MoonMining#SpaceMining

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago
Launch costs have fallen 95% 📉 (with another massive reduction expected in the coming years) thanks to reuse, improved engineering, and increased volumes.
“In economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off

#LaunchCost#SpaceMining

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  11 months ago

Content Warning

📊 The #US 🇺🇸 spent $257 billion 💰💰💰 when adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars on Project #Apollo between 📆 1960 and 📆 1973. The total amount spent on #NASA during this period was $482 billion 💰💰💰💰💰 adjusted https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-apollo

#SaturnV#LaunchCost

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

When Mr Bridenstine suggested in 2019 that America could return to the Moon 🌙 using #SpaceX’s #FalconHeavy, he provoked a row with Richard #Shelby, a senator from #Alabama who was then chairman of the Senate appropriations committee. Welcoming the #SLS in 2011, Mr Shelby said that #NASA’s exploration of space, “has always been and always will be through Marshall Space Flight Centre [in #Alabama].” https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/08/24/nasas-space-launch-system-is-yesterdays-rocket

#SpacePolitics#PorkBarrel

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year
"Political and #aerospace interests were more than reluctant to embrace any changes which they viewed as a threat to their own hegemony."
The mainstream media doesn’t cover #SpaceExploration and #SpaceScience with the same questioning 🔍 rigor that they reserve for #politics. People writing about space exploration are mostly cheerleaders 🥳 for the cause, rather than independent observers keeping a watchful eye on how our national monies 💰 are spent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/

#NASA #SLS#Artemis

Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

📆 2019 A senior #NASA official had opened the door to NASA flying its first crewed 👩‍🚀 missions to the #Moon 🌙 on a #FalconHeavy rocket 🚀 built by #SpaceXhttps://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/nasa-chief-says-a-falcon-heavy-rocket-could-fly-humans-to-the-moon/
Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀  ·  last year

Content Warning

"Political and #aerospace interests were more than reluctant to embrace any changes which they viewed as a threat to their own hegemony."
The mainstream media doesn’t cover #SpaceExploration and #SpaceScience with the same questioning 🔍 rigor that they reserve for #politics. People writing about space exploration are mostly cheerleaders 🥳 for the cause, rather than independent observers keeping a watchful eye on how our national monies 💰 are spent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/

#NASA #SLS#Artemis

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