SILVER SPRING, Md., June 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Leading independent factual media company CuriosityStream today announced a partnership with renowned wildlife production company Doclights to bring 50 original natural history documentaries to its SVOD and Pay TV services worldwide in 2020. The first ten world premiere titles begin to debut on CuriosityStream July 2nd.

"CuriosityStream is thrilled to continue our collaboration with Doclights which has produced viewer favorites including Wild Galapagos and Sharks of the Icy North," said Rob Burk, Head of Content, CuriosityStream. "Their trademark leading-edge production techniques invite you into the world of each magnificent species and make stunning natural habitats accessible to us all. We look forward to bringing CuriosityStream viewers around the world more of the high-quality, immersive natural history programming they crave."

The new slate of Doclights natural history programming, comprised of 60- and 30-minute features, complements CuriosityStream's robust offering of original and curated content in the popular factual genre. The first ten world premiere specials coming to CuriosityStream viewers this summer are:

Cheetah: Beating the Odds(premiering July 2nd)A cheetah raises her young family on the vast expanse of the Serengeti, facing enormous challenges. Lions are quick to throw their muscle around, and hyenas and jackals attempt to steal anything the cheetah manages to kill. The cubs will have to learn fast if they're going to survive, establishing territory and starting families of their own.

Hidden Australia (premiering July 9th)Australia is known for its sun-kissed beaches, however the 2,500 miles between the coasts are made up of a patchwork of contrasting landscapes: tropical rainforests, snow-capped mountains, dry woodlands, giant wetlands, tropical reefs, and hostile desert. These vast tracts of wilderness boast some of the world's most unique and bizarre wildlife. In this 'hidden' Australia, there is a surprise at every turn.

These Birds Were Made for Walking (premiering July 9th)Few things are more wondrous than the gift of flight, but some birds have chosen to give it up the question is, why? Whether it is to save energy, tap into new food resources, or invest in other skills, they all have their reasons. But one thing's for sure: it doesn't make flightless birds any less weird and wonderful. Non-fliers include the biggest, fastest, deepest diving, and most dangerous birds on the planet.

Jaguar: King of the Jungle (premiering July 16th)The jaguar is the third largest of the big cats, and pound for pound the most powerful. Our jaguar patrols a home range of over one hundred square kilometers in Brazil, deep in the heart of the world's largest tropical rainforest. But human interference means that his life only gets tougher and his future less certain.

Magical Fjords(premiering July 16th)Fjords' majestic and dramatic landscapes are just the tip of the iceberg. Fjords stand witness to the greatest wonders of the animal kingdom. Whether just below the surface, at the depths of the sea floor, or on dry land, the fjords offer an incredible bounty of wildlife. Their majesty is a testament to the variety of creatures that thrive in their shadows.

Meet the Meerkats (premiering July 23rd)In their vast and unforgiving home of the Namib desert, meerkats rely on their companions to watch their backs. Only together can they find the strength and resources to defeat the odds stacked against them. One young female is forced from her group after a brutal attack. Cast out and left to fend for herself, she has no choice but to roam the desert and find a way to survive.

Meet the Marsupials (premiering July 23rd)Few countries have a more iconic representative in the animal kingdom than Australia and the marsupial. Marsupials are a weird and wonderful mob of animals who carry their young in a pouch. Whether hopping, climbing, or airborne, marsupials are some of the most fascinating creatures you are likely to meet.

Puma: The Ghost Cat (premiering July 30th)The ghost cat is one of the most elusive animals roaming the wilderness. Adaptable and resilient, these cats dictate a precarious cycle of life for the creatures who share their home. In the cold, inhospitable mountains above Chile, a single mother raises her three cubs. In less than a year, they'll be fending for themselves; they must learn the skills to stay alive.

Monkey Mayhem (premiering July 30th)Monkeys are some of the most evolutionarily successful species on the planet, from Japanese snow monkeys to African baboons.Loveable, aggressive, and full of mischief, our distant cousins have much in common with us. Swinging through our primate family tree quickly reveals the diversity of our monkey relatives.

Sloth Bear: Birth of A Prince (premiering August 6th)The sloth bear is the oddest and wildest looking of all bears. With his shaggy fur, long, gummy jaws and cavernous mouth he presents a strange figure shambling across the dry scrub of India. He was made famous as Baloo in The Jungle Book, and yet remains poorly known and rarely seen. This is the remarkable story of one courageous cub, discovering what it takes to survive in the wilderness as he grows from a prince to a king.

About CuriosityStreamLaunched by media visionary John Hendricks, CuriosityStream is a leading global independent factual media company. Our documentary series and features cover every topic from space exploration to adventure to the secret life of pets, empowering viewers of all ages to fuel their passions and explore new ones. With thousands of titles, many in Ultra HD 4K, including exclusive originals, CuriosityStream features stunning visuals and unrivaled storytelling to demystify science, nature, history, technology, society, and lifestyle. CuriosityStream reaches over 13 million subscribers and is available worldwide to watch on TV, desktop, mobile and tablets. Find us on Roku, Apple TV Channels and Apple TV, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV and Sprint and Google Chromecast, iOS and Android, as well as Amazon Prime Video Channels, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DISH, Comcast Xfinity on Demand, Cox Communications, Altice USA, Suddenlink, T-Mobile, Sony, LG, Samsung and VIZIO smart TVs, Liberty Global,Airtel, MultiChoice, StarHubTV, Totalplay, Millicom, Okko, and other global distribution partners and platforms. For more information, visit CuriosityStream.com.

About Doclights Doclights, based in Hamburg, is Germany's leading wildlife production company - delivering 20 shows per year for the German public broadcasters ARD (channel 1) and NDR (channel 3). Most wildlife shows are co-produced by international partners such as BBC, National Geographic, WNET, Smithsonian Channel, ORF, NHK and Arte. The films achieve extraordinarily high ratings in their prime-time slots and have won over 300 awards including several Wildscreen Pandas and Jackson Wild awards. State of the art technology guarantees outstanding images in super slow motion, in total darkness, or with moving time lapses under water. Programming highlights include such series as: America's National Parks, Wild Russia, Land of the Vikings, Myth of the Forest, Lost Kings of Bioko, and Arctic Wolves.

MEDIA CONTACT:Norma Ardila + 1 786-213-5968 (O)norma@sqcommspr.com

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From Elusive Mountain Lions to Majestic Fjords, CuriosityStream Goes Wild with Dozens of New and Premiere Documentary Specials from Award-winning...

Cambridge UKs most recent unicorn business, CMR Surgical, has secured a hire that is out of this world, persuading Barrington DArcy formerly with Elon Musks space exploration company SpaceX to join as chief operations officer.

DArcy was a highly respected operator within Musks California enterprise so this is some coup for CMR whose Versius robotic arms are transforming keyhole surgery globally.

DArcy will oversee the growth of CMR Surgicals manufacturing and supply chain to support the companys global expansion.He has more than 20 years of world-class manufacturing experience, having started his career in the automotive industry as a manufacturing engineer and most recently working within the aerospace industry.

At SpaceX his primary focus was to accelerate the companys capability to manufacture space rockets in a hi-tech, low volume environment.

Whilst at SpaceX, DArcy developed the manufacturing engineering team for the company and led the composites manufacturing team across all disciplines.

Prior to that he worked in manufacturing plants across Britain and Europe, specialising in automated solutions for BMW and MINI, taking vehicles through the concept phase into full production.

Per Vegard Nerseth, CEO of CMR Surgical, said: I am very pleased Barrington has chosen to join us as COO. Barrington has an incredibly strong background working in high-growth companies and a track record of scaling operations to produce high quality products which makes him an ideal fit for CMR at this important time. I welcome Barrington to the team as we continue to execute our commercialisation strategy and expand globally.

DArcy added: I hugely admire the team at CMR and what they have achieved with Versius in such a relatively short space of time. I am looking forward to using my skills and experience gained over the course of my career to help drive the vision of the business to make this remarkable robot available to physicians across the globe.

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CMR over the moon with SpaceX executive hire - Business Weekly

(Click image for full view.) The liquid oxygen tank structural test article, shown here, for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rockets core stage was the last test article loaded into the test stand July 10, 2019. The liquid oxygen tank is one of two propellant tanks in the rockets massive core stage that will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch Artemis I, the first flight of SLS and NASAs Orion spacecraft to the Moon. Now, the tank will undergo the final test completing a three-year structural test campaign at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Tests conducted during this campaign put the rockets structures from the top of the upper stage to the bottom of the core stage through strenuous tests simulating the forces that the rocket will experience during launch and flight. All four of the core stage structural test articles were manufactured at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and delivered by NASAs barge Pegasus to Marshall. Credit: NASA/Tyler Martin

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) Program is concluding its structural qualification test series with one upcoming final test that will push the design for the rockets liquid oxygen tank to its limits at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

(Click image for full view.) NASAs Space Launch System Program concludes its structural qualification test campaign at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with the testing of the rockets liquid oxygen tank. Before the SLS rocket launches NASAs Artemis missions to the Moon, the rockets liquid oxygen tank, the smaller of the two propellant tanks in its 212-foot-tall core stage, must undergo testing to ensure its structure is strong enough to withstand the extreme forces it will experience during launch and flight. Secured in the test stand, giant simulators push and pull on the tank to mimic the extreme forces of launch and flight. Credit: NASA/Kevin OBrien

In the name of science, engineers will try to break a structural test article of the tank on purpose. The liquid oxygen tanks structure is identical to the tank that is part of the SLS core stage, which will provide power to help launch the Artemis missions to the Moon. The tank is enclosed in a cage-like structure that is part of the test stand. Hydraulic systems will apply millions of pounds of force to push, pull and bend the liquid oxygen tank test article to see just how much pressure the tank can take. The forces simulate what the tank is expected to experience during launch and flight. For the test, the tank will be filled with water to simulate the liquid oxygen propellant used for flight, and when the tank ruptures, the water may create a loud sound as it bursts through the tanks skin.

We take rocket tanks to extreme limits and break them because pushing systems to the point of failure gives us a data to help us build rockets more intelligently, said Neil Otte, chief engineer for the SLS Stages Office at Marshall.Breaking the propellant tank today on Earth will provide us with valuable data for safely and efficiently flying SLS on the Artemis missions to the Moon.

Earlier this year, NASA and Boeing engineers subjected the tank to 23 baseline tests that simulate actual flight conditions, and the tank aced the tests. The tank is fitted with thousands of sensors to measure stress, pressure and temperature, while high-speed cameras and microphones capture every moment to identify buckling or cracking in the cylindrical tank wall. This final test will apply controlled forces stronger than those engineers expect the tank to endure during flight, similar to the test that ruptured the liquid hydrogen tank and created noise heard in some Huntsville neighborhoods near Marshall.

This is final test in a series of structural qualification tests that have pushed the rockets structures to the limits from top to bottom to help ensure the rocket is ready for the Artemis lunar missions. Completion of this upcoming test will mark a major milestone for the SLS Program.

The Marshall team started structural qualification testing on the rocket in May 2017 with an integrated test of the upper part of the rocket stacked together: the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, the Orion stage adapter and the launch vehicle stage adapter. Then the team moved on to testing the four largest structures that make up the 212-foot-tall core stage. The last baseline test for Artemis I was completed in March 2020 before the teams access to Marshall was restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NASA and Boeing team returned to work the first week in June to prepare for conducting the final liquid oxygen test to failure.

This illustration depicts NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) in the Block 1 cargo configuration as it leaves Earth. To first lift SLS to orbit, the solid rocket boosters along with the core stage engines produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust. So that the rocket doesnt have to carry all the weight of the boosters and the core stage to the Moon, they separate from the rocket. Then, the rockets upper stage provides power to send payloads on to more distant destinations. The Block 1 configuration is capable of sending more than 57,000 pounds, about the same weight as 12 fully grown elephants, to the Moon. Credit: NASA

The structural qualification tests help verify models showing the structural design can survive flight. Structural testing has been completed on three of the largest core stage structures: the engine section, the intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tank. The liquid oxygen tank has completed baseline testing and will now wrap up core stage testing with the upcoming test to find the tanks point of failure.

The liquid oxygen tests and the other tests to find the point of failure really put the hardware through the paces, said April Potter, the SLStest project manager for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen structural tests. NASA will now have the information to build upon our systems and push exploration farther than ever before.

The SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, Gateway and human landing system are part of NASAs backbone for deep space exploration. The Artemis program is the next step in human space exploration. It is part of Americas broader Moon to Mars exploration approach, in which astronauts will explore the Moon and gain experience to enable humanitys next giant leap, sending humans to Mars.

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Massive SLS Rocket Test: NASA to Apply Millions of Pounds of Force to Try to Break Oxygen Tank Structure - SciTechDaily

Luca Sorriso-Valvo is an Asgardian MP and Chairman of the Science Committee. He has been studying the solar wind, which is his passion, for the last 20 years. In his interview, he shares why it is crucial for mankind to understand the solar wind.

First of all, why do you study the solar wind?

The fundamental driver is the human desire for knowledge. We study the solar wind because it is there, but of course, there are practical reasons for it. We need to know the medium in which our planet is embedded if we want to understand how it can affect us. There is a relatively young science, calledspace weather,that tries to understand and predict how the solar activity, mediated by the solar wind, affects the Earth. It may be disruptive and dangerous for humans and technology and we need to be able to control it.

The solar wind is made of plasma, basically a hot and rarefied gas of charged particles such as protons and electrons. We know a lot about plasma today, but not everything, in particular its turbulent and complex dynamics. Some 99% of the condensed matter in the universe is in the state of plasma: stars, galaxies, the interstellar medium. Furthermore, plasma is used in technological applications, from medical to industrial, and most importantly in the attempt to generate clean energy in nuclear fusion devices, just as it happens in the core of the sun and of the stars. Both astrophysical and fusion plasmas are hard to measure: the first ones are so far that we can only look at the light they emit, and the latter is so dense and hot that diagnostics are technologically challenging. The solar wind thus represents possibly the only way we can directly probe the plasma, by sending satellites to space and study it experimentally. Once we get the data, we can use that knowledge to interpret correctly the light from remote galaxies, or for engineering the next-generation fusion machine more efficiently.

How does the solar wind affect Earth and the near-Earth environment?

The solar wind blows from the Sun all the time, but its speed, density, magnetic field and pressure strongly fluctuate. When it hits our planet, in fact it impacts the region of space surrounding the Earth called magnetosphere, where the terrestrial magnetic field acts as a protective shield. The wind thus just blows around the magnetosphere, and its particles cannot reach the Earth. When a particularly strong event (for example the so-called coronal mass ejections, or solar flares) happens at the Sun and propagates in the interplanetary space hitting the Earth, the perturbation may be more severe and the terrestrial magnetic field can be shaken seriously. This means, for example, that a compass on Earth will have strong deviations and indicate random directions. It affects animals or human technology that rely on magnetic fields for orientation. Space weather events also modulate the number of cosmic rays dangerous radiation in the form of high energy particles originating at the Sun or out of the solar system reaching the Earth and regulate the ionospheric and magnetospheric currents system. This may result in a threat to space and communication technology, the safety of astronauts, airplane crews and passengers, it can affect pipelines or damage transformers and power plants, disrupt satellite communication, like GPS positioning and telecom.

Today we are able to predict severe space weather by looking at the solar activity and computing the expected time of arrival of the perturbation, which is usually around a couple of days. It is possible to put satellites on stand-by and send astronauts to special radiation-safe zones of the ISS. It is also believed that exposure to cosmic rays may cause DNA mutations potentially leading to evolution or extinction.

What role does the heliosphere play in the Solar System?

The Heliosphere is for the solar system what the magnetosphere is for the Earth: it shields it from interstellar plasma and cosmic rays, representing the primary protection from radiation of the whole interplanetary space. This magnetic bubble is as large as Pluto's orbit extending for more than 15 billion km radius around the Sun.

While powerful Solar storms are dangerous and affect our planet, do they also protect us from cosmic rays?

Every 11 years the solar magnetic activity oscillates between a maximum and a minimum. During high solar activity periods, the heliosphere is somewhat more powerful, with extended reach and stronger and more irregular magnetic fluctuation. In these conditions, the heliospheric deflection of extra-solar cosmic rays is at maximum, so there is in general less radiation hitting the Earth. On the contrary, during solar minimum the heliosphere is weaker and steadier, resulting in a larger flux of radiation on Earth. However, most of the magnetic storms are observed during high solar activity periods, so that the actual cosmic ray protection at the Earth surface may be more complicated to predict.

How much do we actually know about the environment our Sun creates around itself? What fundamental mysteries are out there?

The potential impact of solar activity on human society is so huge, that these studies have become a fundamental part of research worldwide. The ESA and NASA study it. Just recently, the NASA Parker Solar Probe and the ESA Solar Orbiter have been sent relatively close to the Sun, to collect measurements in a region of space still unexplored. There are currently plans to build an interstellar probe, which would reach the regions right out of the heliosphere, which is largely unknown except for the few data sent back by the two Voyagers.

Earths magnetic field protects us from Solar radiation. How can we protect our future settlements on Mars?

Unlike the Earth, Mars does not have a proper magnetosphere that shields it from the solar wind. There is however a tiny protective magnetosphere, simply due to the fact that the planet surface is conductive and the magnetized solar wind plasma cannot connect with it, for simple electromagnetic arguments. It has been found that the planet has strongly magnetized crust in some specific locations, which generate small, localizedmagneto-domes. With a large quantity of radiation hitting the surface, the Martian environment cannot host life as we know it. The solar wind particles have been swiping the martian atmosphere for millions or even billions of years. With no magnetic shield, the planet is almost completely exposed to solar events. Future settlements on Mars will have to be carefully designed to protect inhabitants and technology from radiation, solar UV, and X-ray emission and high-energy particles. These could be thick protective walls, artificial magnetic fields, underground habitats, or some other solution possibly still unknown.

How to protect Moon settlements from the Solar wind?

The Moon is not in a much better position. Being too small and with barely any inner circulation, it does not have its own magnetosphere. Because of its orbit, the Moon spends about half of its time in front of the Earth, out of the magnetosphere, which makes it fully immersed and exposed to the solar wind particles and magnetic field. The Moon has in the end similar issues as Mars in terms of necessary protection from external radiation and particles.

What happens if protection systems fail? Will astronauts suffer from acute radiation syndrome?

During storms, the risk of exposure is of course magnified, and therefore there are safety protocols onboard the ISS which include reaching a safe room where thick walls protect from radiation. But the major problem comes from continuous exposure, rather than from single events. During a typical 6-month mission on board the ISS, an astronaut would receive approximately the same amount of radiation as a Hiroshima survivor.If we talk about the Moon or Mars, or some space ark in the outer Earth orbit, then the exposure will be much larger. Out there, long-duration extreme radiation events might result in more severe consequences on astronauts, including tissue damage and radiation syndrome. This is particularly true if we consider a long-term space habitation.

Youve recently become an Asgardian MP and is involved with the Science Committee of the first space nation. What was your motivation to join Asgardia?

Actually, Ive been Asgardian for the last 4 years. I mentioned at the beginning of the interview that I have been working in space science for two decades, so this is my natural environment if I may say so. What can be more exciting than space after all! I am grateful I take part in drafting legislation for our nation that could allow progress in space exploration and habitation. Although I am passionate about solar wind I also give a deep thought to environmental issues. And I am doing my best to make sure we have a legislative system that has a focus on the environment. It should be one of the key priorities for Asgardia. The first space nation which is also the first virtual, global, and multicultural nation - should be green and clean, it should serve as a good example for humanity.

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Luca Sorriso-Valvo: Check your space weather forecast and hide from radiation - Asgardia Space News

Paragon Space Development creates systems to support human life in space's extreme conditions. They're working with NASA and SpaceX to sustain humans longer space.

Though SpaceX launched just a couple of weeks ago, the mission has only just begun.

Grant Andersonis the president and CEO of Paragon Space Development. His company, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, works with NASA, SpaceX, Boeing and other companies, providing vital life-sustaining technology for astronauts.

With the successful launch of SpaceX, his team is opening a whole new chapter on space exploration and how to sustain humans on longer missions.

Exploration is human, its in our DNA, said Anderson.

Now that the U.S. is beginning a new space frontier, Anderson and his team are helping make it all possible.

Though Anderson says many don't ask, how come I dont hear about life support," in space, he says though it's vital, it's because "its hard to make it sexy.

In order to send astronauts like Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken to space and beyond, they need technology to help them live and breathe in space. Anderson says without life support technology, there simply is no mission.

This isn't your ordinary life support measures found on Earth. Paragon creates life support in extreme environments, and space is the ultimate extreme environment.

Our job is to make it so the astronauts are always comfortable, Anderson said.

Paragon has several life-sustaining systems for space.

One system includes a new spacesuit that gives astronauts an extra hour of oxygen and more mobility. Another system converts water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide creating recyclable oxygen.

Overall the systems work collectively to make breathing, sleeping, living, working and even going to the bathroom in space possible. Thats important when astronauts could be in space for days, months, even years.

With the success of SpaceX, it opens the door for the next realm to explore that Paragon will be working on with NASA.

Space is just one big ocean and were ready to go out and see whats out there, Anderson said.

There's a goal of creating a sustained human presence on the moon by 2024, then going even further, sending astronauts to Mars, marking another giant leap for mankind.

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Life support tech company helping pave way for future of space exploration - FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX

I never look at the Moon without being reminded of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and of the day, July 20, 1969, when they left their first footprints on its dusty surface. The exploit seems even more heroic in retrospect, when we realise how primitive the technology was: Nasas entire suite of computers was less powerful than a single smartphone today.

Apollo 11 was only 12 years after the USSRs first Sputnik satellite launched into orbit around the Earth. Had the pace of missions been sustained in the subsequent half-century, there would surely have been footprints on Mars long before today.

But this has not happened.

The reason, of course, is that Apollo was motivated by the US strategic imperative to beat the Russians; it consumed up to four per cent of the US federal budget. Once US primacy was achieved, continuing gargantuan levels of funding was not justifiable, and the Apollo Programme ended in 1972 with the safe return of Apollo 17.

Hundreds more people have ventured into space in the ensuing decades, but anti-climactically they have done no more than circle the Earth in low orbit, mostly in the International Space Station.

Space technology has nonetheless burgeoned. There is participation from more than 70 nations, as well as the commercial sector. We routinely depend on orbiting satellites for communication, navigation, environmental monitoring, surveillance and weather forecasting. And space technology offers a huge boost to astronomers, lifting telescopes into orbits far above the blurring and absorptive effects of Earths atmosphere.

The sector has been energised by private companies, such as Elon Musks SpaceX and Jeff Bezoss Blue Origin. These ventures bring a can-do Silicon Valley culture into a domain long dominated by Nasa and a few aerospace conglomerates. They have developed the techniques to recover and reuse the main launch rocket, presaging real cost savings.

Machine learning is advancing quickly, as is sensor technology. In coming decades, the entire solar system planets, moons, and asteroids will be explored by fleets of tiny, automated probes interacting with one another like a flock of birds.

Giant robotic fabricators will construct, in space, solar energy collectors, telescopes and other giant structures. Indeed, much industrial production could eventually happen away from Earth.

Ever more capable instruments have been sent to Mars to orbit around the red planet or land on its surface. They will be joined next year by the UAEs Hope spacecraft to study the Martian climate hopefully a pathfinder for other projects, both inspirational and practical, from the Middle East.

But the extra cost of sending humans and returning them safely remains significant. So will humans once again venture into what we call deep space, rather than simply orbiting the Earth?

Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley, foreground, and Bob Behnken call down to mission controllers for a report on their second flight day onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Nasa's SpaceX Demo-2 mission approaching to dock to the International Space Station (ISS). Nasa TV / EPA

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches to dock to ISS. Nasa TV / EPA

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches to dock to ISS. Nasa TV / EPA

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches to dock to ISS. Nasa TV / EPA

The SpaceX Dragon crew capsule, with Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken aboard, docks with the International Space Station. Nasa TV / AP

The SpaceX Dragon crew capsule, with Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken aboard, docks with the International Space Station. Nasa TV / AP

The SpaceX Dragon crew capsule, with Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken aboard, docks with the International Space Station. Nasa TV / AP

SpaceX Crew Dragon is seen from the International Space Station during the spacecraft's approach to the orbiting laboratory. Nasa TV / EPA

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft launched from Launch Complex 39A on Nasas SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with Nasa astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard, at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Nasa / AFP

To todays young people, the Apollo programme is ancient history. It was all over long before they were ever born. Of the 12 men who walked on the moon, only three are still living. We could be nearing a time when no human has a first-hand memory of standing on another world.

Along with millions of others, I would be saddened if human exploration of deep space faded into history.

Mars is a more alluring target than the Moon, albeit more remote. I hope that some people alive today will walk on the red planets surface as an adventure, and as a step towards the stars.

Nasas Space Shuttle, when it was operational, was launched more than 130 times. Its two crashes were national traumas because it had been promoted unwisely as a safe vehicle for civilians (and because a schoolteacher, Christa McAuliffe, was one of the casualties). Test pilots and adventurers would readily accept much more risk than the two per cent implicit in the experience of the Space Shuttle programme.

China has the resources, the dirigisme and maybe even the willingness to undertake an Apollo-style programme. It already achieved a first by landing on the far side of the Moon, and will surely follow this up with a manned Lunar base. But a clearer-cut great leap forward in Chinese space exploration would involve footprints on Mars, not just on the Moon.

Looking further ahead, the UAE envisages that, by 2117, there could be a real "city" on Mars, and it is welcome to have this inspirational goal to inspire interest among the next generation and inspire innovation in the region.

I think the future of manned spaceflight also lies with privately funded adventurers who are prepared to participate in a cut-price programme far riskier than the kind Nasa has been able to impose upon its astronauts thus far.

The phrase space tourism should be avoided. It lulls people into believing that such ventures are genuinely safe. And if that is the perception, the inevitable accidents will be as traumatic as those of the Shuttle. These exploits must be sold, so to speak, as dangerous sports, or intrepid exploration.

So I hope that adventurers and thrill-seekers later this century might establish a fragile base on Mars. But do not ever expect mass emigration from Earth. And here I disagree with Mr Musk and with my late Cambridge colleague Stephen Hawking, who enthuse about a rapid build-up of large-scale Martian communities.

Space does not offer an escape from all of Earths problems. We have got to solve these here. Coping with climate change may seem daunting, but it is simple compared to terraforming Mars. No place in our solar system offers an environment as clement as even the Antarctic, or the top of Everest. There is no Planet B for ordinary, risk-averse people. We must cherish our Earthly home and our global heritage but continue to seek inspiration from the stars.

Martin Rees is the UKs Astronomer Royal and the author of On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

Updated: June 8, 2020 03:31 PM

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Space exploration is about adventure, but also responsibility - The National

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, Opinion columnist Published 11:32 a.m. ET June 3, 2020

This is huge, but in a sense nothing new: We were launching people into orbit over 50 years ago, after all. But SpaceX is doing it for much less, and thats revolutionary.

Though the news is filled with stories of riots and a pandemic, the most transformative things going on at present are in a totally different sphere.One of those things is pretty obvious, the other less so.

The obvious transformation involves SpaceXs successful launch of a human crew into orbit, the first such launch involving an American spacecraft in nearly a decade, and the first such launch everby a commercial spacecraft.

At the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 30, 2020.(Photo: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)

This is huge, but in a sense, nothing new:We were launching people into orbit over 50 years ago, after all. SpaceXs Crew Dragoncapsule is bigger and fancier than a Gemini, but the mission profile is not all that different.And of course, our last mission to orbit, on board a space shuttle, was basically old hat itself.

But SpaceX is doing it for much less, and thats revolutionary.To get a kilogram into orbit on the space shuttle costs $54,500. To do the same thing with SpaceXs newest rocket, the Falcon 9, costs $2,720. Thats basically a twenty-fold reduction in cost.

Lots of things that are too expensive to do at $54,500 become doable at $2,720.And SpaceX isnt standing still.Its Starship reusable rocket, under development now, is to cost a mere $2 million per launch, and Elon Musk says its cost per kilogram to orbit will be at least 10 times lower than the Falcon 9.There are a lot more things that become doable at $272 per kilogram.At those prices, things like space tourism, space hotels, lunar minesand asteroid mining become feasible.

As Robert Heinlein once said, once you get to Earth orbit, you're halfway to anywhere in the solar system.

Editorial Board: SpaceX, launching to space station, rockets to new age of entrepreneurial orbital flight

Which brings me to the second, less obvious transformation of this spring: President Donald Trumps opening outer space for business. "The executive order, Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources, is meant to createa new industry: the extraction and processing of resources from the moon and asteroids toward thesettlement of the solar system," as I wrote in April.

Theres a lot of wealth in spaceas I wrote back in 2013, "A 79-foot-wide M-type (metallic) asteroid could hold 33,000 tons of extractable metals, including $50 million in platinum alone. A 23-foot-diameter C-type (carbonaceous) asteroid can hold 24,000 gallons of water, useful for generating fuel and oxygen.Larger asteroids could be worth as much as the GDP of a superpower. Asteroid 1986 DA is a metallic asteroid made up of iron, nickel, gold and platinum. Estimates of its value range between $6 and $7 trillion. Something that size won't be retrieved anytime soon, but the figure gives some idea of just how much wealth is out there."

People have been talking about asteroid mining for awhileand even started companies with that in mind, but theyve been slowed down by two problems:The expense of getting into outer space, and the legal uncertainties around extracting lunar and asteroid resources.Musk is addressing the expense; Trump is addressing the legal uncertainty.

The executive order makes clear that Americarejects the failed 1979 Moon Treaty which the United Statesnever joined, and which banned private property rights in space and that it will recognize and defend the rights of its citizens in developing space resources.

Martha McSally: The COVID-19 pandemic is misery, but we'll come out stronger in the end

In doing so, its pretty bipartisan:In 2015, President Barck Obama signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which provides that a U.S. citizen engaged in the commercial recovery of an asteroidresource or a space resource ...shall be entitled to ...possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of the United States.

Trumps order ensures that international obligations will be supportive and not destructive of such efforts.

Rather than the Moon Treaty, the administration is working on a new set of agreements with other spacefaring nations, known as the Artemis Accords, in which participants will agree to respect each others rights in outer space. Theres already interest from other nations, though the Russians, whose space-launch business has collapsed in the face of competition from SpaceX, arent happy.

At any rate, it may well be that future historians will remember 2020 much more for being the second beginning of a wave of human expansion into space, than for the grubby earthbound problems that occupy the news on a daily basis. I certainly hope so.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor and the author of "The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself," is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

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A new era: The Space Age is making a comeback, but it's cheaper this time with SpaceX. - USA TODAY

For the first time in nearly a decade, two American astronauts were recently launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were on a SpaceX vehicle, which successfully docked with the International Space Station after spending 19 hours orbiting around Earth. They joined three other astronauts already on the station and will remain for up to four months to work and research.

I remember watching rocket blastoffs on a black and white TV in the 1960s, culminating with Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in July, 1969. The 1960s were a huge decade for space exploration. Space travel was unbelievably inspiring.

So much so that in a brick ranch house in Kankakee, an experimental flight took place. My brother, Mark, decided to conduct his own airborne encounter. Not entirely scientific, it was nonetheless, a memorable experience for our family in 1965.

Our youngest brother, Eric, had been born in December of 1963. He had a congenital heart condition that required hospital stays in Chicago. (He is now a healthy high school teacher.) When our parents stayed with him in the hospital, our maternal grandmother came to stay with Mark and me.

Grandma lived in Joliet and like many women her age, never learned to drive. When we needed her, Grandpa would bring her over where she kept our household moving along, cooking and cleaning and taking care of Mark, me, and our dog, Peanuts.

Our house had a semi-finished basement where we kids often played. A long, steep, uncarpeted staircase led to the lower level.

One day, while I was at school, Mark decided to play astronaut. We had been watching the space news on TV which must have motivated him to give Peanuts her chance to be a hero and sail through the sky.

Lacking a proper rocket ship, he selected a small, round, metal garbage can as a substitute. Peanuts was a fairly small miniature dachshund. For her protection, he wrapped her in a woven rug and placed her inside the metal can.

At the top of the staircase, he rolled/launched the makeshift rocket and then raced ahead of it down the stairs. The metal can made a tremendous noise as it repeatedly spun, bounced, and hit off the stairs. It rolled over and over, louder and louder.

Grandma heard the ruckus and came running to the stairs. Seeing the garbage can but not the dog, poor Grandma screamed, thinking that Mark had fallen down the stairs.

Seeing how scared she was, he quickly reassured her that it was the dog who had tumbled and not him. Her relief was brief; when she recovered and asked how the dog came to be wrapped in a rug inside the can, Mark was busted.

Grandma always said later that her first gray hairs appeared that day. Peanuts was not harmed, but there was never another launch on Summit Avenue. Our astronaut episodes were limited to drinking Tang in our kitchen while the real astronauts drank it in space.

I am glad that space travel is back to once again give us faraway dreams and adventures; transforming kids, dogs, and basements into vessels of imagination.

And giving gray hairs to grandmas.

Karen Roth is a semi-retired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. To reach her, email tsloup@shawmedia.com.

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WRITE TEAM: Space travel is back to once again give us faraway dreams - MyWebTimes.com

In the early 1950s, while the space race was still taking shape, German-American rocket scientist Wernher von Braun pushed the U.S. to look beyond just the moon. His audacious plan, called The Mars Project, called for humans to visit the Red Planet as early as 1965 using a fleet of 10 ships crewed with 70 astronauts.

In hindsight, its a good thing NASA settled for the moon. The Mars Project wouldve killed every astronaut on board; von Braun didnt know about the deadly radiation of deep space or the scant martian atmosphere. NASA only learned about those things as it started exploring the solar system with robotic spacecraft.

And the more we learned about the Red Planet, the less feasible human missions there seemed to become.

When NASAs Mariner 4 spacecraft made the first flyby of Mars in 1965, the probe shattered a century of sci-fi dreams, revealing an arid, desolate world pockmarked with craters. In 1971, Mariner 9 entered orbit around Mars and was greeted with a massive global dust storm. But as the thin skies cleared, the spacecraft was able to map Mars surface, finding Valles Marineris a tectonic crack that, on Earth, would stretch roughly from the Grand Canyon to Orlando. In 1976, the Viking landers touched down on the martian surface and tested the soil for signs of life.And although some still question the results, most scientists now agree Mars is largely a barren wasteland.

No spacecraft would land on the Red Planet for two decades after NASAs Mars Viking landers reached the world in 1976. (Credit: COSMOS: A PERSONAL VOYAGE/Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc./via NASA)

Following the Viking missions, it took 21 years for NASA to successfully send another robotic explorer to Mars.

That Red Planet renaissance was largely led by an informal group called the Mars Underground, a passionate band of graduate students that formed in 1981 to advocate for more Mars research, as well as future missions both robotic and human. Many of the young scientists and engineers were frustrated with NASA for its lack of focus on the planet.

Mars Underground wanted to know what we all do: Can humans survive on Mars? Could life already exist there? And if we sent humans to Mars, how would they search for signs of life?

They didnt call themselves the Mars Underground, though; that name was given to them by a journalist. But the group came to accept the banner.

At a series of conferences during the 1980s and 90s called The Case for Mars Mars Underground schemed up blueprints for crewed missions to Mars and the planets puny moons, Phobos and Deimos. They designed landing and departure systems for a Mars mission, imagined ways to reuse space shuttle rockets for deep-space treks and studied a host of other relatively low-cost options for reaching the Red Planet.

It is found that, in terms of technologies and spacecraft design, the basis for going to Mars is already available, and no breakthroughs are needed, the group wrote in a conference summary published in 1984 that also outlined some of the challenges.

Just a few years later, in 1989, President George H.W. Bush would announce a massively expensive and ill-fated push to put humans on Mars. By 1996, NASA had finally heeded the calls of the scientific community and robotically returned to the Red Planet with the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter and the Mars Pathfinder lander, which carried the Sojourner rover. In the years since, an armada of orbiters, landers and new rovers has followed.

The latest in the lineage of Mars rovers is Perseverance, previously known as Mars 2020. This beefed-up descendant of modest Sojourner is planned for launch on July 17, and aims to not only hunt for evidence of past martian life, but also collect and store rock and soil cores for a future sample return mission. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The informal Mars Underground group served as a model for other planetary scientists who wanted NASA to take their proposals seriously. Their strategy was considered so successful that, in 1989, another group of astronomers Xeroxed the brand," igniting a push for a mission to the outer solar system. Their name? The Pluto Underground. Many of its founding members are now scientists working on NASAs New Horizons mission. That initiative, led by Principal Investigator Alan Stern (and Pluto Underground member), flew past Pluto in 2015 and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth in 2019.

In the 2000s, another unofficial-yet-passionate band of scientists replicated the Mars Underground model this time to advocate for sending humans to asteroids before attempting a journey to Mars. The so-called Asteroid Underground studied the science objectives, engineering requirements and costs of such a mission. Eventually, in 2013, the seemingly wild idea became the space agencys official policy with the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). However, the Trump administration defunded ARM in 2017 in favor of a moon-first policy.

Its been nearly 40 years since the Mars Underground formed, and its founders have risen to become some of the most prominent voices in todays push for space exploration.

Mars Underground co-founder Penelope Boston, who helped organize The Case for Mars conferences, went on to launch a cave studies program at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. In fact, she helped pioneer the study of life in Earths caves, paving the way for similar work on Mars someday. And in 2016, Boston became the director of NASAs Astrobiology Institute in California.

In 1998, longtime Mars Underground member Robert Zubrin used the group as inspiration to launch the Mars Society. Today, the group boasts thousands of members and hosts annual Mars conferences with high-profile attendees, including Elon Musk.

Chris McKay, who was still working on his Ph.D. when he co-founded Mars Underground, has had a storied career as an astrobiologist, studying organisms living in extreme environments on Earth for insights into life on Mars. These days, hes a senior planetary scientist at NASA, where hes actively involved in planning future Mars missions including eventual human trips. McKay now advocates for putting humans back on the moon, which he and others believe is a necessary stepping stone to Mars. He is also a champion for a robotic sample return mission to Mars.

And thats exactly what NASA plans to do. This summer, theyll launch the most sophisticated Mars rover ever built, which will both search for past life and collect martian soil samples. Meanwhile, the space agency has hired a host of private spaceflight companies for its Artemis program, which NASA hopes will return astronauts to the moon by 2024. From there, its on to Mars in the following decades.

Although the dreams of Mars Underground members might have taken far longer to come true than they would have hoped, with each passing year their ambitious vision of being an interplanetary species is marching toward reality.

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The 'Mars Underground': How a Rag-Tag Group of Students Helped Spark a Return to the Red Planet - Discover Magazine

Image courtesy of Xplore Inc..

Xplore Inc., a commercial space company providing Space as a Service TM today announced on 3 June 2020 that space industry leader Dylan Taylor plans to reserve payload space on Xplores first mission beyond Earth orbit. The payload will be hosted onboard the Xcraft TM , Xplores highly capable, multi-mission spacecraft designed to perform frequent, low-cost missions in the inner solar system.

The diverse payload reservations Xplore is attracting now includes private citizens. Dylan Taylor is a successful founder, philanthropist, prominent space investor and also the CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, a multi-national space holding firm that acquires and integrates leading space exploration enterprises globally. He is also the first private citizen to manufacture an item in space when a gravity meter he co-designed and commissioned was printed on the International Space Station in 2017. Dylan has commissioned the Xplore payload for the benefit of Space for Humanity, a non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing space and supporting the education and future spaceflight for citizen astronauts.

Mr. Taylor said, My decision to choose Xplore as our payload hosting provider was a simple one Xplore is opening up new markets for commercial space, and I fully support their business model and experienced team. Their next-generation ESPA-class Xcraft and payload hosting services gives the flexibility needed to design the optimum payload and send it to space with Xplore. He added, Space as a Service TM is more than a tagline they are ushering in a new way of doing business that meets my organizations needs and supports a wide range of customers.

Xplore Founder Lisa Rich, said, Xplore is honored to have Space for Humanity as one of the forward-thinking commercial customers on our first mission. We are pleased to serve a non- profit and appreciate Space for Humanitys confidence in Xplore and our team. We have simplified the complexity behind sending payloads to space so that anyone with a purpose can fly their payload. She added, In the same way that we allow scientists to focus on the science, not the spacecraft, Xplore gives Space for Humanity the freedom to focus on the purpose of their payload and how they plan to support it via meaningful engagement and outreach programs that benefit their organizations mission.

Dylan Taylor said, With Xplore, our mission does not need a design team or spacecraft to achieve our goals. We can engage Xplore to send our payload to space which allows us to stay 100% focused on our core activities. He added: Xplore can take us to our desired destinations beyond Earth orbit something few companies can do. Further, we will benefit from the creative input they provide as well as the flexibility of the missions they can perform.

Xplores spacecraft, Xcraft, is a highly-capable ESPA-class spacecraft that can carry 30kg 70kg of payload in 50U volume and provides customers with the opportunity to fly scheduled or custom orbital missions. The company works with commercial customers, non-profits, sponsors, and organizations seeking to send their brands, instruments and other materials to space. While most customers desire to fly instruments to gather valuable science data, an increasing number of customers seek to use the significance of a space mission to send creative payloads and magnify the human impact of their message.

Lisa Rich said, The value of sending a payload beyond Earth orbit and having Space for Humanity become one of the first private customers to do so, is exemplary. Citizens identify with the import of these human achievements and want to participate. We want to provide customers as well as the public with the ability to take part in our great space future.

Xplore launched its public outreach website, Xplore Space, for this very purpose. Their site,www.xplorespace.comgives citizens and space enthusiasts alike the ability to send their name on Xplores first mission to the Moon, for free. Names of citizens will be saved on Xplores data storage system and placed inside of the Xplore Xcraft. While Xplore performs science missions for space agencies and researchers, citizens will become voyagers alongside scientific instruments making new discoveries. Millions of people will join Xplore on its missions, participating in the exploration of space.

Lisa Rich said, We believe that space is for everyone and that all should have access to it. Xplore is on a mission to accelerate scientific knowledge to benefit humanity and for our part, we will start by expanding the human footprint by giving citizens the ability to send their name to the Moon so they are represented on our journey.

Originally posted here:

Xplore To Host Space For Humanity Payload On Its First Moon Mission - SpaceWatch.Global

Specialized bearings made by Timken Co. will help the James Webb Space Telescope communicate with Earth. The next generation telescope is set to launch next year.

JACKSON TWP. Timken Co. has been part of U.S. space exploration programs from the beginning, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the company has bearings on the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA plans to launch its next generation space telescope sometime in 2021. It will serve as a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in orbit since 1990 and the Spitzer Space Telescope, which was retired earlier this year.

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built and launched, according to NASA's website. Scientists believe the telescope will collect data that could fundamentally alter how humans understand the universe.

NASA has partnered on the project with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Northrop Grumman is the primary industrial partner.

Timken provided bearings for a critical position on the telescope, said Wayne Denny, general manager for global strategic marketing in aerospace and defense.

Steel duplex precision ball bearings will help to turn and pinpoint a communications antenna toward Earth. The antenna will transmit information collected by the telescope back to Earth .

The bearings one is 3 1/2 inches wide and the other is 2 inches wide will help the antenna precisely lock on its target before it transmits, Denny said.

"There's no room for recovery and repair in space flight," he said. "It has to work right."

Denny grew up south of Alliance and has been with Timken 28 years. Most of his Timken career has involved work in aerospace. He trained as a physicist, and is excited to work on the Webb project.

The images and discoveries made by the Hubble telescope "have been just amazing," Denny said.

The James Webb Space Telescope is larger and will be positioned to gather more information.

"I'm looking forward to the first images that come off it," Denny said. "It's a great, exciting tool that will help us with discovery."

The Hubble Telescope orbits the Earth, but the James Webb will travel roughly 930,000 miles and be in an orbit around the sun.

Because it will be flying deeper into space, the telescope will be positioned to look at galaxies farther away. Scientists hope to collect information about some of the oldest formations in the universe, and possibly improve our understanding of creation of the universe and galaxies.

The distance also factors into the bearing design, Denny said. Timken needed a steel and a lubricant that could tolerate extreme temperature changes.

"There's nothing common about space flight bearings," Denny said.

Link:

Timken has spot on NASAs next space telescope - The-review

Funding Aims to Boost Mini-Satellite Program for Space Exploration

SAN LUIS OBISPO Cal Polys partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory will direct roughly $2.5 million to enhance the universitys Aerospace Engineering Department and boost its mini-satellite program, which was the catalyst for a substantial expansion of space research two decades ago.

The Education Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Air Force provides a total of $5 million to be split evenly between Cal Poly and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. Funding for the partnership was secured by three U.S. representatives from California Salud Carbajal, Norma J. Torres and Grace Napolitano through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (H.R. 1158).

The EPAs agreements between a defense laboratory and an educational institution allow the labs to provide laboratory equipment and personnel to the schools, plus career and academic advice to students while involving faculty and students in research.

The EPA will help the Air Force Research Lab pioneer transformative aerospace technologies and accelerate its long-term strategic objectives in key areas, such as energy security, energy optimization, reusability, maneuverability and multi-mission mobility.

This partnership is an exciting opportunity to further the Learn by Doing ethos that has long given our students a competitive edge, said Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong. With this mutually beneficial collaboration, our students and faculty will help the Air Force enhance its strategic capabilities in space operations through next-generation access to space and maneuverability.

In particular, the funds for Cal Poly will support a thermal vacuum chamber with upgraded facilities to support it. A thermal vacuum chamber can be used for testing spacecraft or spacecraft parts under a simulated space environment.

Cal Poly is proud of its past contributions to aerospace technology, which have revolutionized space exploration, said College of Engineering Dean Amy S. Fleischer. We look forward to being an instrumental part of the next period of significant innovation, which this partnership will help us achieve.

Cal Poly became a major contributor to space research roughly 20 years ago, when former Aerospace Engineering faculty member Jordi Puig-Suari co-created the CubeSat standard with Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. CubeSats are mini-satellites that are affordable and easy to make, allowing governments, schools and private companies worldwide to more easily and affordably explore space and conduct research.

The new vacuum chamber will allow researchers to test and develop propulsion for CubeSats, allowing for greater control of the satellites for space exploration. Currently, most CubeSats cannot be controlled in space, and propulsion and maneuverability are often viewed as the next major step in CubeSat technology.

CubeSat technology has really progressed over the past 20 years, said Robert Crockett, associate dean for innovation infrastructure at Cal Polys College of Engineering. Helping to advance propulsion will help us maintain a leadership role.

Cal Polys CubeSat program, Crockett added, is notable because it involves students in significant research, testing and development and that Learn by Doing approach will be enhanced by working with the Air Force.

Well be working very closely with the Air Force researchers, he said. With additional state-of-the-art technology, well be able to do things that werent previously possible, which will prompt key players in the space industry to come to us often for both our facilities and our talent.

The EPA is part of a larger partnership the two Cal Poly campuses have had with Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County and will prepare students for their future careers.

Military-educational partnerships enhance our national security capabilities and provide students with hands-on learning opportunities that set them up for successful STEM careers, said Carbajal, whose Central Coast district includes Cal Poly. I am so thankful to my colleagues, Rep. Torres and Rep. Napolitano, for their support, and I look forward to seeing the incredible developments the Cal Poly universities will make in the aerospace field through this partnership with the Air Force.

Ten CubeSats developed at Cal Poly have been launched into space, and three more are currently in the works. Last summer, the Planetary Society used Cal Polys CubeSat lab as mission control for its launch of LightSail 2, a pioneering project that developed solar sails to help propel a mini-satellite.

Bailey Wickham, a software engineering student, leads the ExoCube project that will measure the density of particles in the upper atmosphere. ExoCube is one of three Cal Poly CubeSat projects currently in the works. The partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory will add funding and professional support to Cal Polys CubeSat program.

Brigitte Petersen, an aerospace engineering student, is the project manager for two Cal Poly CubeSat missions that will test drag sails as a means to safely deorbit miniature satellites. A partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory will help Cal Poly explore propulsion techniques for CubeSats.

Contact: Pat Pemberton805-235-0555;ppembert@calpoly.eduContact:Mannal Haddad202-281- 7612;mannal.haddad@mail.house.gov

June 9, 2020

# # #

Original post:

Cal Poly Partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory Will Direct $2.5 Million to Aerospace Engineering Department - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo News

This year is set to be an eventful one for space travel and exploration. Already, we've seen SpaceX make history by becoming the first privately-owned company to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. We're also well into the testing stages of the Starship project that aims to make space exploration and habitation a tangible reality. Not to mention, the summer launch window of NASA's new Perseverance rover to Mars is just around the corner as well.

While all of these are bold initiatives, it helps to take a step back and gauge just how far we've come since our baby steps in the world of space exploration. Fermat's Library has done exactly that. The platform, which specializes in developing software to help illuminate academic papers, went through the original Apollo 11 code that was penned down by Margaret Hamilton in assembly language back in 1969 and annotated many parts of it.

Specifically, the team annotated the SINGLE_PRECISION_SUBROUTINES.agc file for calculating transcendental functions like sine and cosine that were a linchpin for Apollo 11's voyage to the Moon. Fermat's Library uploaded its annotation of the source code on Margins, an online repository that it has curated for academics and enthusiasts to annotate papers with LaTeX and Markdown scripts. The excerpt below shows the computer's approximation of calculates cos() in the SPCOS subroutine.

The complete annotation of the subroutine can be found here. If you are interested in finding out more, the source code of the Command Module (Comanche055) and Lunar Module (Luminary099) on the original Apollo 11 guidance computer (AGC) can be found in this GitHub repository.

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A group of enthusiasts has annotated the assembly code for the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon - Neowin

Normally about this time of year the National Youth Science Camp would be welcoming youthful scientists from around the world to the hills of West Virginia.

This year, as with almost every aspect of life, that has changed.

The National Youth Science Camp, which was created in 1963 as part of West Virginias centennial celebration, had to cancel its on-site program this year. This is only the second time that the annual program has not been held in the Mountain State.

While it is disappointing that the delegates to the 2020 NYSCamp wont immediately be able to visit our beautiful state, I am very pleased that we have been able to pivot from our traditional residential program to this very impressive virtual program so quickly, statedAndrew Blackwood,executive director of the National Youth Science Foundation.

Usually, the camp features interactive experiences with top scientists and outdoor adventures.

The camp announced in mid-March that it would cancel the traditional, four-week on-site programs this year as a precaution because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The camp is still going on, but through a virtual series of learning experiences, including a lecture series, directed studies, breakout seminars and more.

Dr. Julie Robinson, the former chief scientist of the International Space Station, presented the opening lecture on Tuesday and explored the realities of human space exploration.

Participants include 108delegates representing the United States, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. The 2020 Virtual NYSCamp features a lecture series, directed studies, breakout seminars, special events and a panel discussion with STEM policy experts.

More topics range from exploring and understanding the vastness of space to the microcosms of potential COVID-19 treatments.

Brian Kinghorn, director of the camp, noted that these NYSCamp delegates are some of the best and brightest STEM students from across the nation and deserve to be recognized for their potential for leadership and achievements.

The virtual camp will provide them with opportunities to interact with STEM experts, build lasting friendships, and get a jump start on changing the world for good.

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National Youth Science Camp is online this year, instead of in W.Va. hills - WV MetroNews - West Virginia MetroNews

|Published: Tuesday, June 9, 2020, 17:35 [IST]

Space exploration is certainly one of the most exciting ventures for mankind. However, in the course of exploring and better understanding celestial bodies, we have left a long trail of space debris, floating in outer space. ISRO is now teaming up with Nainital-based Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) to safeguard space assets from space debris.

Space debris, also known as space waste, space trash, and even space garbage, is made up of man-made objects in space. It is primarily floating in Earth's orbit and serve no useful function. It could be anything like non-functional spacecraft or an abandoned launch vehicle stage. As these fragmented space debris float around, they pose a risk to functional spacecraft.

A lot of astronomers and researchers have voiced the dangers of space debris. Former ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar has also stressed that as the number of private space agencies is increasing, a lot of smaller satellites are getting into the Earth's orbit. This also means that the number of non-functional objects too is increasing.

The treats from space debris can wreak havoc for space missions. This is why ISRO has signed an MoU with ARIES for cooperation in the field of astrophysics and Space Situational Awareness (SSA). ISRO notes that the MoU will be useful "in safeguarding the Indian space assets from critical threats from space debris".

ARIES comprises of experts in observational astronomy, astrophysics, and atmospheric sciences, who will aid with the new agenda. "Today, every orbiting satellite keeps an eye on these objects and if they are likely to come in the vicinity of our operational satellite, we have to do some maneuvers to ensure that there is no collision," Kumar said in a press meet.

ISRO will be gathering data from the public domain on orbiting objects and has set up observation stations. In this way, ISRO will be contributing to the larger global community and make space exploration safer. ISRO will also pave the way for future collaborations with ARIES for the same. Optical telescope observational facilities for tracking, research, development, and more will be done as well.

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ISRO Working On Eliminating Space Debris In Collaboration With ARIES - Gizbot

"The supreme absolute value of Asgardia is Humanity striving into the infinite future, the Infinite Universe and the new Infinite Universes."

Supreme Values of Asgardia. Constitution Art. 4

Interest in space grows again in humanity, and with it increases the reasons that inspired the foundation of Asgardia, the first Space Nation, in October 2016.

Since its inception, the vision of its founder and ideologist, the scientist Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli, has been the development of humanity in space in peace, harmony, security, well-being, and even to achieve the birth of human beings in space.

A new space age has begun in 2020.

On January 17 in Beijing, Dr. Shang Zhi, Head of the Space Department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), unveiled their space plans for this year: "The country will send more than 60 spacecraft to orbit through 40 launches this year. He also reported that they plan to send one probe to the Moon and another to Mars this year.

On May 30, 2020, the United States, in a joint operation between NASA and the private company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, SpaceX, successfully managed to bring two astronauts to the International Space Station located 400 km away from Earth. Veteran pilots Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley joined the two Russians and one American currently living on the International Space Station.

The United Arab Emirates plans to launch a probe toward Mars from the Tanegasima Japanese Space Center on July 15.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Ustimenko, spokesperson for the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, announced the resumption of its lunar program by 2021.

Humanity sets its sights on space again, and in 2020 the technologically prepared and interested countries continue with their space plans.

Nations of Earth that have dedicated themselves to the investigation and use of space have objectives of diverse nature, all worthy of being recognized, and toAsgardia its priority is the well-being, development, and life of humanity in space.

Traveling outside of Earth and reaching other planets will become very important achievements and triumphs, but only when humanity can reproduce, organize, and develop in space, we can say that we have begun the conquest of the Infinite Universe.

Asgardians, we are on the right path. Let's keep giving our best and keep writing history.

Ana Mercedes Diaz

Former Prime Minister of Asgardia

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2020 New Momentum of the Space Age, Humanity, and Asgardia - Asgardia Space News

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamans recent announcement on boosting private participation in Space activities has spurred a new wave of excitement in the sector. As an after effect of the announcement, to bring in more clarity on the partnership opportunities, leaders from the sector came together ona virtual session on June 5,2020.

In the session on New Space Opportunities in India experts from ISRO, CII, Institute of Science and Technology (IIST), JNTU-H, ISG andTEQIP III shared valuable insights onhow the private sector, academic andresearch institutes could leverage on the new opportunities in the space sector and how this participation will boost the sector and the economy.

Prof. A Govardhan, Rector & In-charge-Registrar, JNTU-Hstarted the session on a positive note by saying, The new developments in the space sector will greatly boost the economy. With private companies coming in the space sector, there will be more employment, innovations and lot of growth in the space industry.

Taking the discussion further,Mr. Vagish Dixit, Convenor, Education & Skills Panel India CII Telangana & MD& CEO, ALPLA India Pvt Ltd.said, The time is ripe for the private sector to enter the commercial space sector. We need to build and nurture an ecosystem where the public and private sectors work collaboratively. The government must function as a facilitator, friend and regulator. It should handhold private start-ups and encourage them to venture into the space domain. Through public-private partnership, the Indian space sector can effectively reach its target of being a $50 billion worth industry in the next 5 years.

Dr. YVN Krishna Murthy, Senior Professor & Registrar IIST, Dept of Space, Govt of Indiaprovided clearer direction on the subject of public-private partnership in the space sector by right away outlining few domains within the sector where the private start-ups should focus on investing. He outlined some interesting entrepreneurial opportunities. He said private companies should think of contributing in areas of crop insurance, soil conservation, fisheries since in these areas they can make significant difference with less investment.

Citing the example of SatSure, an innovative analytics company basedon expanding the vision of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai,he said that private companies need to think what difference can they make? What innovation can they bring in the sector for better outcomes? How they can bring in IoT data? They must try to beat the market with their innovation.

Instead of repeating, which is already there, they must try to beat the market with new technologies. This will make them more useful. An area where the private companies must focus on is devising Locust Early Warning Systems. Data is available. The companies need to think how to use this data to provide such valuable services.

Mr. Walter Mayor, CEO, ProGis-Austria,addressing the necessity of adopting Geospatial approach for biodiversity conservation, mentioned, We have to integrate better in future. We have to go from data to information to precise decision-making to integrated decision-making. While exploring new opportunities in the space sector, private companies must focus on solving problems and building a good future. They have to think beyond short term gains. They have to develop solutions that reduce ecology damages and aid in building a sustainable world.

The discussion on new opportunities in space in India gained a new life whenFormer Chairman of ISRO, Dr. Kiran Kumarcame on board. He reinforced the point that the entire planet has to live as one system. He said, Like the reset button on our computer, COVID-19 has made all of us to rethink and reset the way we live and work. The entire planet is one family. We need to work together.

India has developed end to end capabilities in space opportunities, be it space exploration, space tourism, space adventure, space exploitation. A private enterprise recently took humans to space. Such efforts are needed for the development of the Indian Space Sector. More and more people have to do jobs at a rapid pace. We all are aware that government has its own pace due to the number of processes it has to follow. Things can happen fast when private entrepreneurs invest time, money and energy in the space sector. However, the private sector must not only focus on maximizing returns but on holistic development of the sector and the planet.

Touching upon the subject of developing the capabilities of the younger generation, he rightly mentioned, Rapid progress in building technological capabilities of the younger generation must be made. ISRO is building incubation centres, fostering academic partnership programs. Many such efforts are needed. We have to be bold in moving ahead. The government must play an active role in enabling academicians, industry, the young generation for facilitating new opportunities in the Indian space sector.

The fiery comments ofDr. Pavuluri Subba Rao, CMD, Ananth Technologiesbrought a new perspective to the discussion. His comments touched upon a pain area. Indian Remote Sensing policies have long been criticized for stifling the growth of the space sector and he rightly pointed out that for strengthening the sector and the private-public partnership to flourish, it is necessary to revamp the policies.

He said, More encouraging policies can make the space sector a level playing field for the private sector.

His views on the developments required on the academic front were also spot on. He pointed out that the universities need to update the curriculum such that the students become more job ready for the new age space sector. We must make the students suitable for meeting the industry needs. Faculties also need to be more aware about the industry trends. Inviting industry-experts to the universities could be a good way of making the students aware of the latest developments taking place in the industry.

As part of the COVID Stimulus Package, the Government of India is encouraging the Private Sector Participation in Space Sector and the eminent speakers present in the virtual session on new space opportunities in India provided valuable points as to how the space sector can develop a robust ecosystem, where everyone contributes and thrives equally. The public-private partnership is definitely the way to go forward!

Excerpt from:

Emerging Space opportunities in India - Geospatial World

This past weekend, history was made, which may usher in a new era of space exploration. The Space X Crew Dragon became the first privately built ship to ever carry humans to the international space station. Aboard the famous Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon successfully docked on Sunday, some 19 hours after launching from Floridas Kennedy Space Center.

The momentous occasion is also garnering interest from potential investors. How can one invest in this multi-billion industry? At the moment, Space X is private, but there are several other intriguing options for investors looking for exposure to space exploration.

The simplest way to gain exposure to the industry is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Although there are no Canadian-listed ETFs, there are two intriguing options south of the border.

The SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF (NYSEMKT:ROKT) focuses on spacecraft, launch vehicles, rockets, satellites, infrastructure and mission-support services. The fund seeks to provide investment results that track the total return performance of the S&P Kensho Final Frontiers Index. The Index attempts to capture companies whose products and services are driving innovation behind the exploration of deep space and deep sea.

Among the top holdings, you will find industry leaders such as Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin. TSX-listed Maxar Technologiesis also among ROKTs top holdings.

Since launching in late 2018, Kensho performed quite well and had a banner 2019 in which it gained 40.90%. The fund was trending well again in 2020 until the pandemic sent its price crashing. Despite rebounding, Kensho is still trading at a 28% discount to its 52-week high.

The Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ:UFO) focuses on broadcasting, cable/satellite TV, telecommunications and telecom-equipment industries. The fund seeks to provide investment results that track the S-Network Space Index equity Index. The Index serves as an equity benchmark for a global portfolio of companies that engage in space-related business, such as those utilizing satellite technology.

Among the top holdings of this space exploration fund you will find Virgin Galactic, ORBCOMM, and once again, Maxar Technologies.

Procure only launched in May of last year, and it has lost 23.16% of its value since inception. Over the past month, it is up by approximately 11% and is rebounding along with the rest of the markets.

Outside of the aforementioned Maxar Technologies, Magellan Aerospace (TSX:MAL) is also worth a look in the space exploration industry. Although not a pure play, Magellan has been working with partners in the space industry for over 50 years.

Magellans significant expertise made them key partners in several missions. Most recently, it partnered with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). Canadas new generation of Earth observation satellites launched in July of 2019.

According to the CSA, the satellites will scan our country and its waters daily to help manage our environment and waters. This important data will: help ships navigate safely through Arctic waters, monitor our ecosystems and assist first responders when disasters strike.

Much like the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the RADARSAT Constellation satellites were launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

As of writing, Magellan is trading at an attractive 8.70 times forward earnings and below book value (0.40). If a new era of space exploration is indeed upon us, then companies like Magellan are well positioned to benefit.

Don't limit yourself to space exploration stocks. Here are several other interesting investment options.

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Space Exploration: Stocks and ETFs to Watch - The Motley Fool Canada

Fear is subjective, and people watch horror for a variety of reasons. Horror as escapism being a prominent one. The genre offers endless creativity, allowing us to explore extreme scenarios, alternate dimensions, and creatures from beyond, all from the comfort of our own homes. Lately, horror as escapism seems needed more than ever. So, this week were leaving the planet behind and traversing the terrors lurking in the furthest corners of space.

Because its the definitive, default deep space horror franchise, I left it off this weeks list in favor of spotlighting other picks. However, the Alientrilogy is currently streaming on HBO Max,Prometheusis available to stream with a Sling subscription, andAlien: Covenantthrough FX. Also recommended is 2007sSunshine, but its available only on VOD and rental.

These five horror movies take on the physical and psychological nightmares that accompany deep space exploration, from mind-bending isolation trauma to savage monsters inhabiting hostile terrain. Theyre all currently available to stream this week.

Event Horizon Netflix

The other go-to deep space horror movie, outside of theAlienseries, and for a good reason. We may never see Paul W.S. Andersons directors cut, but at least the theatrical cut still rules. A haunted house film set near Neptune in 2047, the ill-fated crew of the Lewis and Clark spaceship is sent to answer a distress call from the Event Horizon after itd been missing for seven years. They soon discover that the ship went to hell and back, literally, and its gained sentience. Laurence Fishburne leads as Captain Miller, but Sam Neill steals the film as the Event Horizons designer turned evil villain. Where were going, we wont need eyes to see.

Planet of the Vampires Prime Video

Two interplanetary ships on an expedition exploring the furthest recesses of space answer a distress beacon from a nearby, unexplored world. The crew of one ship becomes possessed upon entering the planets atmosphere, rendering them homicidal as they turn on each other. The survivors learn that theyre far from the first species to set foot on the planet and succumb to its mysterious force. If this plot sounds familiar in any way, that might be because it played a significant influence onAlien. Italian maestro Mario Bava directs with his usual vivid, lush aesthetic.

High Life Prime Video

The first English-language feature by Claire Denis (Trouble Every Day) also happens to be a genre-bender. Told in a nonlinear format,High Life follows a group of death row criminals given a second chance at life by working on a mission to extract energy from a black hole. The deep space isolation and the psychological turmoil it brings is enough for anyone to deal with; the criminals are subjected to experimentation by the doctor, whos fixated on creating a baby in deep space through artificial insemination. Yes, its as disturbing as it sounds, and it doesnt even begin to cover how weird it gets. A headier sci-fi horror film that eschews convention or any easy answers, this is for the more avant-garde cinephiles.

The Visitor Tubi, Vudu

An utterly bizarre, often incoherent entry in midnight madness. Emphasis on madness. Evil space alien Zatteen fled his planet and escaped to Earth. He was eventually stopped, but hed procreated with many Earthlings before his death, resulting in numerous descendants harboring great potential for evil. One of those descendants is 8-year-old telekinetic Katy, who becomes locked in an intergalactic battle of good versus evil over the fate of the world. Much of the narrative takes place on Earth, but theres plenty of glimpses of the alien world as well. Theres a Christ figure, Satanists, a falcon, aliens, supernatural powers, and more in a strange mashup of The OmenandClose Encounters of the Third Kind. That the U.S. cut of the film was heavily edited makes this anomaly of a movie all the more nonsensically weird. In the best possible, you have to see it to believe it sort of way. Its pure madness.

Pandorum Hoopla

The films title refers to a psychosis triggered by deep space and severe stress. While that does factor into the story, what makes this movie memorable is the non-stop onslaught of monsters. The setup sees two crew members awaken from hypersleep, only to find their colleagues are missing, and strange, predatory creatures have overrun the ship. Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster lead the cast in this massive action-horror spectacle. The type of film we dont get too often these days. Savage kills, fresh creature design, and even a little psychological terror thrown into the mix. Like Kanopy, Hoopla is a free streaming service offered by local libraries, but if no library in your vicinity offers it,Pandorumis also available to stream on HBO Max.

Bonus: Killer Klowns from Outer Space Netflix, Tubi, Pluto TV, Hoopla

In terms of feel-good horror, its hard to beat the insanely fun and loveableKiller Klowns from Outer Space. Because its set on Earth, its a bonus pick, one that brings immeasurable joy. Who doesnt smile when seeing these wacky Klowns unleash mayhem and carnage in the form of shadow puppets, popcorn, cotton candy, and circus mayhem? All from the delightfully warped minds of the Chiodo brothers.

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Stay Home, Watch Horror: 5 Deep Space Horror Movies to Stream This Week - Bloody Disgusting

Big news for students of the Star Trek school of warp speed: Scientists have proven that watching a body move at light speed would make you feel sick to your stomach.

Thats because the visual information coming in from both eyeballs would combine into a distorted, confusing mental picture that the human brain would find dizzying, they say.

Like those who designed the stretching USS Enterprise over several generations of special effects, physicists have wondered for decades what an object traveling at light speed would look like. In fiction, the goal is to persuade viewers that theyre really seeing warp speedbut in reality, the question is reversed. If light speed were a given and we knew it, what would that look like?

Soviet-born physicist George Gamow defected and moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. He wrote a book called Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland to help explain physics ideas to children, but the book contained a thought experiment that has lingered for decades.

[I]n it, the titular hero is transported to a strange world in which the speed of light is only slightly faster than that of a bicycle and he sees a passing cyclist to be Lorentz contracted, in apparent agreement with Einsteins Theory of Special Relativity, British researchers write in a new paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

Lorentz contraction is a visual squashing where you expect to see the entire object. But in their paper, the researchers discuss all the pieces of what we see when we look at a moving object and use that to build a new understanding of the light-speed cyclist. The scientists explain:

The reason for this is our advancing understanding of human sight. First, with two eyes (binocular vision), our brains receive information in two sections whose shared micro-lag is magnified by extremely high speeds. All the parameters are immediately doubled and muddied in stereoscope.

Adding visual information with light and shadow, 3D substance, colors, and more only multiplies the visual confusion. The scientists modeled this using math models for each of the different visual parameters.

A bicycle wheel is a uniquely great way to think about relative motion. If a wheel is traveling at the speed of light, half of each wheel appears to be spinning forward, while half is technically going backward. This is one reason its such an enduring thought exercise. Is the entire bicycle visually squashed, even though the wheels arent in one uniform motion vector?

E. A. Cryer-Jenkins and P. D. Stevenson, Proceedings of the Royal Society A

And while this all sounds far outno one is riding a bike at the speed of light!the researchers say it could have applications in space exploration and telescopy. The scientists explain:

Essentially, a powerful space viewer could match passing flickers with the distortion profile in this paper and detect whole objects even at extremely high speeds.

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Physicists Solve the Mystery of the Light-Speed Cyclist - Popular Mechanics