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#NASA found that protective โchar layerโ 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 ๐ฅ up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentryโabout half as hot as the surface of the sun โ๏ธ. 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/
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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
The #SLS and #Orion spacecraft projects are of such a scale that they spend money in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, creating #parochial interest in nearly every congressional district. It sounds like a straightforward argument: cancel the slow and outdated SLS and direct its $2.6 billion ๐ฐ per year into novel public-private partnerships like #SpaceXโs #Starshiphttps://www.planetary.org/articles/why-we-have-the-sls
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#NASA found that protective โchar layerโ 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 ๐ฅ up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentryโabout half as hot as the surface of the sun โ๏ธ. 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/
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#NASAโs Office of Inspector General issued a devastating ๐ audit ๐ of the program, which found that delays to the #SLS booster and engine contracts have resulted in an approximately $6 billion ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ 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/
#SLS is a boondoggle. The conception and execution of the project has been a near-perfect example of #PorkBarrel politics. Pork barrels are lousy ways to advance technology. Just a fraction of the $23bn ๐ฐ spent on the #SLS could make an enormous difference. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/08/28/nasas-newest-rocket-is-a-colossal-waste-of-money
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#Presidents support #NASA and do what NASA says. We could have orbiters around every planet ๐ช in the #SolarSystem for a fraction ๐ of the cost of #Artemis. But nobody gave us that option. The cost ๐ฐ and time โณ spent on #SLS and #Orion have set the #SpaceProgram back ใฝ๏ธ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/opinion/nasa-moon-artemis.html
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"Chance of 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 smashing into Earth rises yet again to 3.1%, #NASA reports" by @LiveScience - As astronomers' observations have narrowed the estimate of #asteroid#2024YR4's orbit, Earth's size is now a larger fraction of the reduced cross-section of possible paths. So probability goes up until impact is ruled out. 96.9% chance the eventually-narrowed path will eliminate impact with Earth. Computation continues. https://www.livescience.com/space/asteroids/chance-of-city-killer-asteroid-2024-yr4-smashing-into-earth-rises-yet-again-to-3-1-percent-nasa-reports #astronomy#LowFlyingRocks
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I don't see new news articles yet. But I checked the #NASA JPL data on #asteroid#2024YR4. It has been dropped on the Torino Scale of impact hazards from 1 to 0, previously at 3 when it was in the news. Now 1 in 26000 chance of impact in the 2032 pass. ๐ Still expected to go to zero. Dark skies under a waning moon allowed enough observations to narrow down its orbit before it's too far away from Earth to see for 3 years. #astronomy#PlanetaryDefense#PlanetaryDefence#LowFlyingRocks #space
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Trivia: since the space shuttle program ended, #NASA contracts launches to US industry. Before splitting up crew and cargo, the program was called Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office, abbreviated C3PO. Yes, really. #SciFi spaceflight provided inspiration for reality. #CommercialCrew
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"Expedition 72 Welcomes #Crew9 Duo Aboard Station" by @NASA @Commercial_Crew - #CrewDragon Freedom (one of fleet of 5) docked at #ISS. Now the Starliner astronauts have their ride home, but first part of its 6-month crew rotation. https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2024/09/29/expedition-72-welcomes-crew-9-duo-aboard-station/#NASA#CommercialCrew
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"NASA Adjusts Crew-10 Launch Date" by NASA (mirror bot @nasa ) - 1 month delay in #Crew10 launch due to commissioning work on a new #SpaceX#CrewDragon spacecraft from the Hawthorne factory. So #Crew9 return (including 2 #Starliner test pilots who launched in June) is delayed from February to March so outgoing Crew-9 can update incoming Crew-10. https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2024/12/17/nasa-adjusts-crew-10-launch-date/#NASA#CommercialCrew
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"NASA & SpaceX Update Crew-10 Launch, Crew-9 Return Dates" by NASA Commercial Crew - #NASA changed plans for #Crew10 launch to ISS to use #SpaceX#CrewDragon Endurance rather than a brand new still-unnamed spacecraft which requires more time for commissioning. Now targeting launch March 10, weeks earlier than previous plan. #Crew9 including the two Boeing #Starliner test pilots will return within a week after 10's arrival at ISS. https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2025/02/11/nasa-spacex-update-crew-10-launch-crew-9-return-dates/ #space
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#NASA experts still arenโt 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/
#Boeingโs space and defense chief exits. Boeing's #shares have lost about 41% ๐ so far this year https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-defense-head-ted-colbert-leave-2024-09-20/
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#Boeing is exploring a sale of #Starliner, but excludes the unit building #NASA's #SLS. The company's new #CEO said he wants Boeing "doing less and doing it better" https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-explores-sale-its-space-business-wsj-reports-2024-10-25/
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#NASAโs inspector general pegged #CrewDragonโs cost per seat at $55M ๐ต and #Starlinerโs cost per seat at $90M ๐ต ๐ต https://payloadspace.com/starliner-by-the-numbers-payload-research
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"The bad news is #NASA estimates that it tracks only about 40 percent ๐ of the #asteroids โ๏ธ #large enough that they could cause calamity if they were to hit ๐ฅ #Earth" https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/24/nasa-asteroid-telescope
#ESA : #Asteroid danger explained https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2018/06/Asteroid_danger_explained
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The 20-inch diameter #telescope ๐ญ will carry out a five-year baseline survey to find at least two-thirds of the unknown #NEOs โ๏ธ larger than 140 meters ๐. It will launch around ๐ September 2027 to detect and observe #asteroids and comets that could potentially pose an impact ๐ฅ threat to Earth https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/spacex-nasa-rocket-asteroid
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Lucy is a crazy ambitious mission that will visit a total of 11 asteroids (and maybe more).
Close-up views of Donaldjohanson are coming April 20.
https://lucy.swri.edu/mission/Targets.html #space #science #nasa
It is not easy to turn a big #bureaucracy, and there will undoubtedly be friction and pain points. But the opportunity here is enticing: #NASA should not be competing with things that private industry is already doing better, such as launching big rockets. Rather, it should find difficult research and development projects at the edge of the possible. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/how-did-the-ceo-of-an-online-payments-firm-become-the-nominee-to-lead-nasa
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#NASA is losing four key senior officials close to its #Artemis moon ๐ program. Hundreds of NASA employees have accepted buyout offers from the #Trump administration. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/key-nasa-officials-departure-casts-more-uncertainty-over-us-moon-program-2025-02-19
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#Moon ๐ scouts will all be #robotic, designed to build a foundation for #astronauts ๐จโ๐ to follow about two years later. There is need for transporting ๐ large masses of equipment and materials from #Earth. An #IntuitiveMachines lander is set to reach the Moon later this year. #NASAโs #JPL will release a โswarmโ of robot-explorers equipped with stereo cameras ๐น and charged with creating photorealistic #3D maps ๐บ๏ธ of the #lunar terrain https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinholdenplatt/2024/04/27/robot-explorers-futuristic-spacex-starships-set-to-transform-the-moon/
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โข ๐ 2018, #ISS became the first facility to produce #BECs โ๏ธ in #space ๐
โข In #space, so-called cool flames ๐ฅ can burn for minutes
โข #ISS water ๐ฆ purification system deployed across #India ๐ฎ๐ณ, #Mexico ๐ฒ๐ฝ, #Pakistan๐ต๐ฐ
โข #StemCells regenerative medicine โ๏ธ could repair/replace failing organs and cells
โข Higher quality protein crystals
โข #Microbes ๐ฆ can extract metals from #regolith
โข Tissue/organ-on-a-chip effects faster in #microgravity
โข #3Dprinting
โข Organ growth
https://interestingengineering.com/lists/13-science-breakthroughs-experiments-iss
โข In #space, so-called cool flames ๐ฅ can burn for minutes
โข #ISS water ๐ฆ purification system deployed across #India ๐ฎ๐ณ, #Mexico ๐ฒ๐ฝ, #Pakistan๐ต๐ฐ
โข #StemCells regenerative medicine โ๏ธ could repair/replace failing organs and cells
โข Higher quality protein crystals
โข #Microbes ๐ฆ can extract metals from #regolith
โข Tissue/organ-on-a-chip effects faster in #microgravity
โข #3Dprinting
โข Organ growth
https://interestingengineering.com/lists/13-science-breakthroughs-experiments-iss