Daily Archives: January 1, 2021

While 2020 was a challenging year for the space industry (and everyone else) amid the coronavirus pandemic, a bunch of exciting missions that will launch or arrive at their destination in 2021 continued to move forward.

From Mars to asteroids, robots, humans and much more, we'll see space exploration continue to expand across the solar system.We'll also see some new rockets take flight from companies like Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space.

Here's what we're looking forward to:

The space industry is rapidly expanding and the Red Planet is the hottest destination for missions, it seems. NASA will continue its long-running search for life with the Perseverance rover, which will cache Martian samples for eventual analysis on Earth and test out the first-ever Mars helicopter, called Ingenuity.

China's ambitious Tianwen-1 mission, the first Mars mission for the country, will see an orbiter, lander and rover all explore the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates also sent its first mission, the Hope orbiter, to Mars to inspire the "next generation."

Boeing had a number of issues when its commercial crew Starliner Orbital Test Flight-1 (OFT-1) launched into space in 2019 it didn't reach the International Space Station as planned and both NASA and the company investigated and implemented some lessons learned for another try in 2021.

Boeing hopes to launch a second attempt on March 29, 2021 after addressing the software issues that prevented Starliner from reaching its destination the first time. If Boeing succeeds, this will make Starliner the second commercial crew spacecraft certified to bring astronauts to orbit, after SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

Assuming that Starliner passes its uncrewed flight test, Boeing plans to send up three astronauts to the International Space Station no earlier than June 2021. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Nicole Mann and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will fly with Boeing's first crewed test flight. Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson was originally assigned to command the mission, but stepped down from the oft-delayed flight for personal reasons in October 2020.

Japan's first moon rover, called Yaoki, will take flight aboard the rookie mission for United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2021. The new booster will phase out the Russian-made engines that powered ULA's long-running Atlas line, replacing them with Blue Origin-made engines.

Yaoki will fly to the moon along with the Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic's Peregrine lander on a mission sponsored by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. If the mission goes to plan, the cremated remains of noted science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke will be deposited on the moon.

Washington state-based company Blue Origin will send its first orbital rocket aloft in 2021, if all goes to plan. Named New Glenn after the NASA Mercury astronaut John Glenn, the rocket can send up to 14 tons (13 metric tons) to geostationary orbit and 50 tons (45 metric tons) to low Earth orbit.

NASA and Blue Origin recently announced the rocket will be added to NASA's fleet of commercial launch vehicles; NASA already has used Blue Origin's suborbital rocket New Shepard (named after NASA Mercury astronaut Al Shepard.)

NASA's ambitious James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which scientists hope will reveal more about exoplanet atmospheres and the early universe, has already been delayed many years from its original launch date in 2007. But, despite these delays, the telescope is almost ready now and final testing is being readied on some of its more complex parts, such as its sunshield.

July 2020, the pandemic forced JWST to delay seven months further into 2021, from March to October.. However, while the telescope may make this possible date, NASA wants to get the telescope right and will take the time it needs, the agency says.

An ambitious new NASA mission called Lucy should launch in October or November to study eight space rocks over nearly a decade.

The spacecraft will be the first from NASA to visit Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, which orbit the sun in two clusters; one group is behind Jupiter and one is ahead of it. Lucy will also pass by a main-belt asteroid on its way to the huge gas giant planet.

If NASA's ambitious Space Launch System megarocket can clear its testing hurdles this year and construction is completed on time, the agency's Artemis I mission will fly around the moon after a launch in November 2021.

This will be the first launch for SLS and the second for NASA's Orion spacecraft, which first had an uncrewed space mission back in 2014. Artemis I is key to NASA's plans to land humans on the moon, as the agency plans a crewed orbital moon mission in 2023 and then a crewed landing in 2024. Meeting the landing deadline, however, may also be contingent on NASA receiving more money for its human landing system, administrator Jim Bridenstine has warned Congress.

The Russian lander Luna-25 may be the first Russian craft to reach the moon's surface since it was part of the Soviet Union. Russia plans to launch the moon mission in 2021 with nine instruments on board.

Luna-25 will touch down at the moon's south pole to research the lunar regolith and exosphere (atmosphere). This region is under consideration for crewed moon missions by NASA and other space agencies in the future. The Soviet Union sent several uncrewed missions to the moon between the 1950s and 1970s, including the first spacecraft to hit the surface (Luna 2 in 1959), the first spacecraft to soft-land (Luna 9 in 1966) and the first robotic lunar rover (Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 in 1970), among other milestones.

The End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission is set to launch in March 2021 on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in a bid to deal with the growing problem of space junk in orbit.

The dual spacecraft mission includes a 385-lb. (175 kilograms) "servicer" and a 37-lb. (17 kg) "client" that will use rendezvous technology and a magnetic capture mechanism in orbit. Orbital debris is expected to increase in the coming years as more companies send tiny spacecraft into low Earth orbit.

SpaceX plans to send astronauts with Houston-based company Axiom Space into space in 2021 for a mission to the International Space Station.

The trip will likely feature eight days at the station and two days of travel time. While tourists have visited the space station before, Axiom notes this will be "the first-ever fully private" trip to the station. NASA hopes to open up the space station for even more commercial opportunities in the future, although Congress has not given the agency as much money as desired in fiscal 2021 for these plans.

Houston-based company Intuitive Machines plans to fly the robotic Nova-C lander on a NASA-sponsored flight in 2021, launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The lander will send five NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) payloads to the surface and will send data to our planet for 13.5 Earth days.

Other customer payloads will fly aboard Nova-C as the lander still has capacity for the mission. "Our partnership with Intuitive Machines is a great example of two private companies working together with NASA to advance space exploration," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwellsaid in a statement.

After several ambitious tests in 2020, SpaceX may send its first commercial payload aloft on a Starship spacecraft in 2021. Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX's vice president of commercial sales, said back in June 2019 that the company was talking with several telecom companies for that launch opportunity.

Even if SpaceX doesn't make that tentative date, however, it is moving forward quickly with Starship development, including an ambitious maneuvering test in December 2020. The company plans to eventually use Starship for crewed Mars missions.

The United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and SpaceX aren't the only companies planning to launch new rockets in 2021. Several small-satellite launch companies also hope to reach orbit in the coming year, including Firefly Aerospace, Relativity Space and Virgin Orbit.

Texas-based Firefly Aerospace initially hoped to launch its first Alpha rocket, a two-stage booster for smallsat launches, in 2020 but is now aiming for multiple missions in 2021. In addition to the Alpha rocket's debut launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Firefly plans to launch at least two more missions in 2021 under a new launch agreement with Adaptive Launch Services.

Relativity Space is a startup in Los Angeles, California building the Terran 1 rocket, a completely 3D-printed booster that will launch small satellites from pads at both Cape Canaveral, Florida and Vandenberg. The company is expected to launch its first flight in 2021 and recently received its second launch contract from NASA among other commercial agreements.

Virgin Orbit is a small-satellite launch company founded by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson that spun out of the entrepreneur's Virgin Galactic space tourism company. Virgin Orbit is building LauncherOne, an air-launched rocket for smallsat launches, and has already launched one test flight that did not reach space.

The company had hoped to launch a second test flight of LauncherOne in December 2020, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has delayed the flight.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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These are the space missions to watch in 2021 - Space.com

Despite the mind-numbing stream of badnews surrounding the coronavirus, lockdowns, politics and much more, the year 2020 was full of progress in the space technology industry, and 2021 promises much more to come, and all at a rapid pace. Here's a quickroundup of just a few of the major players in space, and some of their plans for the coming months.

SpaceX is of coursefront and center with their reliable Falcon 9 launch system and it's rapid turnaround ability and multiple reusability of it's booster stages. Everyone said it couldn't be done, but Elon Musk's company has proven it certainlycan be done, and is doing so with almost monotonous regularity.They arelaunching frequently and efficiently, putting into orbit satellite additions to theirownStarlink internet satellite constellationand carrying payloads for other companies, as well as supplies and crew members for the International Space Station. Two more crewed flights are scheduledin 2021.

The loudest buzz however,surrounds their full-scale Starship test flights, the firstof which(SN8) launched December 08, 2020. The amazing launchand flight of SN8 was a spectacular success, and despite it's hard (and fiery) landing, it was right on target, and provided SpaceX the engineering data needed to continue improving it's design, systems and software. SpaceX has always pushed the envelope very hard, often forcing failures in testing,but actively uses those events to identify problem areas and produce success.

Starship, the company's program for eventually returning humans to the Moon and Mars, is still in the early stages of development, but progress at the company is always extraordinarily fast. Several othertest versions of Starship have already been built or are being assembled, and necessary design changeswill be made according to data gained in each test flight.

According to several sources, the next iteration (SN9) is likely to launch within the firstfew weeks in January, 2021, and promises to be another spectacular event at their Boca Chica Beach launch facility near Padre Island, Texas.

Another mover and shaker in space technology is Rocket Lab, a U.S. company which live-streams their launches from a gorgeous launch facility on the rocky coast of New Zealand. Rocket Lab is making excellent progress on reusability of their small, lightweight launch vehicles, Electron.

Launched last July, NASA's latest Mars rover Perseverancewill also be making news with a landing on February 18th, 2021, and will demonstrate new technology in the form of a multi-rotor helicopter which will deploy then fly in the thin atmosphere of the "Red Planet".

Richard Branson's space tourism venture Virgin Galactic is nearing the end of testing, and is rapidly moving closer to taking paying passengers into low altitude space, andBlue Origin's first manned flight of it's New Shepard vehicle, andBoeing's Starlinerproject is making progress in it's contract with NASA for manned spaceflight.

These are just a few U.S. companies, all making fantastic achievements, and all, just a few years ago, were nearly unheard of.

Two great sites I follow in my feeble attempts to stay current are:Behind The BlackandSpaceflight Now. Another great up-to-the-minute source is an appcalledSpace Launch Now,available at theGoogle Play and iTunesapp stores.

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2021 Promises Very Exciting Year In Space Exploration - News/Talk 790 KFYO

Foreground: Rachel Brachman, public engagement specialist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Background: Holden Crater on Mars. (Background photo via NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

For a full portrait of Rachel Brachmans passions and proficiencies, dont look at her LinkedIn. Start with her merit badge counselor registration.

Brachman, a public engagement specialist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, is a counselor for seven merit badges: Art, Astronomy, Canoeing, Disabilities Awareness, Horsemanship, Inventing and Space Exploration.

Each of these badges reflects a different aspect of my life, she says.

As a NASA specialist at the place where scientists built the Mars rover Curiosity and Saturn probe Cassini, Brachman is a natural to serve as a counselor for the Space Exploration merit badge.

Since Ive been working at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 17 years, Ive had a front-row seat during significant moments in space exploration history, she says. I love sharing what Ive learned about Saturn and Mars with Scouts who are earning their Space Exploration merit badge.

Brachman has been an active Scouting volunteer since her son became a Tiger in 2011 and a merit badge counselor since 2017. We asked Brachman for her top advice for merit badge counselors, which youll find below. She also shares a lovely free-verse poem about why she takes time to serve in this role. And finally, Brachman tells fellow volunteers about a NASA-sponsored essay contest no space-loving Scout will want to miss.

3 2 1 lets go.

Brachman was born in London, Ontario, and was a member of Girl Guides of Canada. She worked her way up through that program and became a Brownie, Guide and Pathfinder. She even earned the All Round Cord, a since-discontinued award that required girls to complete adventures and earn badges in subjects like astronomy, first aid and citizenship.

Brachman was active in science fairs throughout school and made it to the Canada-Wide Science Fair three times. In sixth grade, she won a silver medal at the fair for an invention that helped nonverbal children use a computer to communicate.

After high school, Brachman studied physics at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and earned a master of space studies degree at the International Space University in France.

She worked at the Canadian Space Agency, NASAs Ames Research Center, The Planetary Society and Caltech before landing a job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2003.

In 2011, Brachmans son joined Scouting as a Tiger. Brachman signed up, too, serving first as a volunteer in his Cub Scout pack and then in his Scouts BSA troop. Her current role is advancement chair for Troop 191 of Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Western Los Angeles County Council), where her son is a Life Scout working on his Eagle project.

As a Space Exploration merit badge counselor with the Western Los Angeles County Council, Brachman enjoys sharing her love of space with the Scouts who participate in WLACCs Virtual Merit Badge University.

Ive taught the online Space Exploration merit badge class 16 times since April 2020, with a dozen Scouts in each class from all across the United States, Brachman says. Im a strong believer in paying it forward. So many people have contributed to my education along the way, and its my job to make sure the next generation is inspired and educated, too.

With the Space Exploration merit badge, Brachman knows shes working with a head start. Based on its name alone, the merit badge is one of the coolest-sounding badges on the entire list of 137.

But any merit badge can be memorable and meaningful if delivered in the right way. You just need passion for the subject and a willingness to help Scouts experience something new.

Share what you know about your subject, and make sure Scouts have a chance to share what they know about the subject, too, Brachman says. Be a mentor and a role model for your Scouts. As with all Scouting activities, Be Prepared.

Brachman suggests using technology to help you a PowerPoint presentation, perhaps but warns against turning your merit badge into a lecture. Scouts will have a better experience if they get to interact with the counselor and their fellow Scouts.

Leave lots of time for Scouts to ask questions, Brachman says.

And what if youre planning to teach the Space Exploration merit badge but dont have a job at NASA? Dont sweat it.

NASA has some fantastic resources for teachers that can also be used by merit badge counselors, Brachman says. You can use primary sources photos, videos and lesson plans from NASA to show examples of past and present space missions. I like using NASAs Eyes on the Solar System software to show where all of NASAs spacecraft are at the moment and what theyre exploring.

Brachman shared this free-verse poem about her experience as a merit badge counselor, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Take a look:

Scout Merit BadgesToday I am teachingArt and Space Exploration.Tomorrow I willbe teaching two Inventing workshops.As a merit badgecounselor, my biography is spelled out in the badges I counsel.Art. Astronomy.Canoeing. Disabilities Awareness. Horsemanship. Inventing. Space Exploration.That sums up mylife pretty nicely.What I do and whatI love and what I care about.It summarizes thedifference I want to make in the world.Making it more beautiful.Learning and wonderingabout the universe.Going on adventureswhile getting stronger and staying healthy.Helping other people.Connecting withnature.Being creative andsolving problems.Making new discoveries.Not a bad life sofar.Im glad to be ableto share what I have learned so farWith Scouts whoare seeing it for the first timeAnd following theirown paths through life.

As part of her role at JPL, Brachman gets to run NASAs 2020-2021 Scientist for a Day essay contest for students in the fifth through 12th grade.

Brachman asked me to share the opportunity with blog readers, believing that the contest is especially appropriate for Scouts.

Scouting is all about adventure and exploration. NASA shares these goals, she says. Many astronauts started off in Scouting, because the life skills learned in Scouting also serve you well at NASA.

The contest, which runs through Feb. 12, 2021, asks participants to study three of Uranus moons, choose one and write about why that moon would be the best place to visit with a spacecraft someday.

NASA wants to know what you think, so dont just repeat facts you find online, Brachman says. Why do you think one moon would be more interesting to explore than another? What do you hope you might find if you explore this moon?

Learn more here and submit your essay here.

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NASA specialist on why she's a Space Exploration merit badge counselor - Scouting Magazine

As was evident during the space race of the sixties, politically-fueled competition can go hand-in-hand with scientific collaboration. Such was the case on December 16, when Chinas Change-5 return capsule landed in the grasslands of the countrys Siziwang Banner near the Mongolian Border. Scientists around the world have been eagerly awaiting its arrival.

The reentry and recovery marked the end of a historic 23-day mission. Employing similar maneuvers to the later Apollo missions (lunar lander separates and reconnects with craft orbiting the moon before returning to Earth), Change-5 became the first spacecraft to successfully accomplish the feat robotically since the Soviet Unions Luna 24 probe in 1976, and the first to do such a difficult maneuver on an unmanned mission. The flights success is a welcoming sign for upcoming missions to the moon, and is arguably Chinas crowing achievement to date in space.

The success of the automated spaceflight aside, Change-5s primary mission was to return samples from the moon for the first time since the seventies. The craft landed near the moons Mons Rmker in a region known as Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). Automated systems onboard directed the landing site away from nearby craters and landed the 4-ton probe on the lunar surface. NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of Change-5 hours after landing.

The landing site was an area believed to be newer than the majority of the moons surface, being the site of ancient lava flows. Without active volcanoes, an atmosphere, or sources of change beyond the occasional meteor impact, many have concluded that the moon is geologically dead. However, recent studies have cast doubt on the conclusion of complete geological inactivity, spurring scientists to gather more evidence.

Jessica Flahaut, a planetary geologist at the University of Lorraine in France, said, Remote sensing data from the last decades have also shown a number of curiosities, including felsic domes, irregular mare patches, and rock types at the lunar surface, which we dont have in the sample collection yet. It is therefore key to insist that lunar exploration is still only at its beginning, and that there is much more to do.

Change-5 seeks to help calibrate our understanding of the moons age, and did its part by drilling into the rocky surface during the first few days of December. In its rendezvous with the return capsule, the probe stashed away 2 kilograms of precious moon material. Its backup craft, Change-6, will be repurposed for exploring a different area of the lunar surface, and versions 7 and 8 will reportedly be used to help establish an international lunar research station, one in which the United States will utilize as it leads the way for crewed landings later this decade.

The return of astronomical samples has been in the news on the American front recently as well, with NASAs OSIRIS-REx probe collecting the first sample of an asteroid (Bennu) to be returned to earth this October. The asteroid material will return to Earth in 2023, an unprecedented feat for the robot that had been orbiting the asteroid since 2018.

While 2020 will go down as a year with more than its share of shortcomings, its been perhaps the most exciting year in space exploration in decades. The United States is leading the way, but is undoubtedly assisted by a growing international community of interstellar capabilities.

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2020: The Year of Exciting Space Exploration - ClearanceJobs