Monthly Archives: July 2021

A plasma rocket engine now being tested holds new promise for NASAs space exploration plans.

NASA would get a budget boost under a new House spending plan, including for its return to the moon.

A space analytics company has hired a team of veteran staffers to raise its profile on Capitol Hill.

WELCOME BACK TO POLITICO SPACE, our must-read briefing on the policies and personalities shaping the new space age in Washington and beyond. Email us at [emailprotected] with tips, pitches and feedback, and find us on Twitter at @bryandbender. And dont forget to check out POLITICO's astropolitics page for articles, Q&As and more.

TOTAL TRANSFORMATION: Thats what rocket company Ad Astra is ultimately hoping to achieve in deep space travel as it continues to test-fire its VASIMR plasma engine into the weekend with the goal of reaching a 100 hours set by NASA.

This is electric propulsion taken to a new level of power, the companys CEO, Franklin Chang-Diaz, told us on Thursday from Houston. Weve been after that goal for many years now. Assuming everything stays all together, the rocket seems to be comfortable and all the temperatures stable. Everything seems to be working out. Its a big deal for us.

How does it work? Chang-Diaz, a mechanical engineer and former NASA astronaut, calls the engine, with an exhaust temperature of 5 million degrees, an alphabet soup of super-charged particles. This is what the sun and stars are made out of.

He added that there is no other electric rocket that has the capability. The most powerful operational electric rocket is 5 kilowatts. Were at 80 kilowatts right now and weve been running for more than three days. No one has ever fired a rocket at this level.

Ultimately, the vision is essentially marrying a nuclear-electric power source to the engine, he added. We believe nuclear-electric is the end game.

Why it could be a game-changer: Ad Astra was the only one of the three companies awarded NASA contracts in 2015 under the NextSTEP public-private partnership that is still in the running. If it can successfully complete the engineering phase, Chang-Diaz maintains, the engine could fuel a total transformation of the transportation scheme.

We can see missions to Mars that could be two to three months one way and even faster than that as the technology progresses, he explained, compared to seven to eight months and maybe even longer. It would completely transform the way transportation is done.

That also means moving stuff from low-Earth orbit to the vicinity of the moon, picking up trash, repositioning satellites, transporting supplies, essentially supporting a logistics traffic system, he said.

As for human space travel? Less radiation, less consumables, everything is better, Chang-Diaz said. A nuclear-electric engine would also mean spacefarers could more easily turn back or change course if needed, unlike traditional spacecraft, which are essentially designed to coast to their destination. When you have a rocket like ours, you are really thrusting all the time, Chang-Diaz said.

Whats his biggest worry? Right now its not whether the engine will work; its almost boring to watch, he said. Its whether the companys facility can survive the test. The vacuum requirements are extreme. Its putting a lot of exhaust into a chamber. You have to remove it, he said. The electricity we have to feed into the facility is very expensive. The facility is the challenge, at least now. Maybe a year ago I would have said the rocket was the challenge. Now the facility is the challenge.

NASA BUDGET BOOST: The House Appropriations Committee this week marked up its version of the fiscal 2022 NASA budget, calling for an increase in funding for human space exploration, including a $150 million boost to the Human Landing System program to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon.

But is it enough to fund a second design for the HLS, as Congress wants? The space agencys sole award to SpaceX in April set off a round of recriminations and a pair of protests from teams led by Blue Origin and Dynetics. SpacePolicyOnline has more on what it all might mean for getting back to the moon, calling the panels proposal to select a parallel design meager.

Overall, the House appropriations panel approved $25.04 billion for the space agency for next year, nearly $2 billion over this years budget.

Read up: The full committee report on the Commerce, Science, Justice and Related Agencies spending bill and the draft legislation.

NRO DOUBLES DOWN: Planet Labs announced Thursday that the National Reconnaissance Office has renewed its contract for unclassified satellite imagery for defense and intelligence missions.

The super-secret NRO, which builds and operates the nations spy satellites, has increasingly relied on commercial imagery in recent years, opening up new opportunities for remote sensing companies such as Planet Labs, BlackSky Global, HySpecIQ and Maxar. The agency said last year it plans to award multiple such contracts in the future.

This is a standalone award directly to Planet, but we are also awaiting a competitive solicitation for commercial imagery services that will be open for multiple companies to compete, a Planet spokesperson told us. The contract amount was not disclosed.

The original Planet Labs contract was signed in 2019.

Plus: National Reconnaissance Office official picked to run Space Force acquisitions command, via Space News.

INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER: Richard Bransons flight to the edge of space aboard Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo went off without a hitch on Sunday. But an even bigger test for the burgeoning space tourism industry is the the first human flight scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday from West Texas of Blue Origins New Shepard, with a crew that includes the companys founder, Jeff Bezos.

Who else is going? Blue Origin on Thursday named the final member of the crew, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, who will be the youngest person to travel to space.

Parting gift: The Amazon founder, who also owns The Washington Post, this week committed to donate $200 million to renovate the Smithsonians National Air & Space Museum in Washington and build a new education center. It marks the single biggest donation since the founding gift to the institution in 1846 from James Smithson.

"We're delighted that Jeff is making this commitment to help us extend the Smithsonian's reach and impact, as we seek to inspire the next generation of scientists, astronauts, engineers, educators and entrepreneurs, Steve Case, chair of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, said in a statement.

More: Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin will bring science along on their joyrides, via Popular Science.

And: Russias space chief wishes his oligarchs invested in space like Branson and Musk, via ArsTechnica.

WAKE UP CALL? We checked in with a range of space policy experts for this weeks POLITICOs China Watcher newsletter on what Chinas recent run of major successes means for the future of space commerce and exploration.

What to worry about: The [Chinese Communist] Party has control over vast state resources and can plan long term on which sectors to fund, says Namrata Goswami, a space policy scholar and co-author of Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space.

Those sectors, she said, include space resource utilization such as mining on the moon and developing renewable energy via space-based solar power, as well as leap-frogging in high-tech areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing.

U.S. policymakers have failed to grasp that this is part of China building a space infrastructure that would benefit and help it overtake the U.S. by 2049, she said. President Xi Jinping has included space as part of his focus on turning China from manufacturing into a high tech and innovation sector focused on services.

What might be next? They will test in-space power beaming, land reusable rockets, establish a lunar research station, build a solar power satellite prototype, test lunar 3-D printing, capture a small asteroid and return it to Earth, and fly nuclear-powered spacecraft, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, a space strategist who is now a senior fellow in defense studies at the American Foreign Policy Council.

These ventures are aimed at creating the building blocks for an Earth-independent supply chain to become an in-space industrial giant and dominant space power, he added.

Will China treat space differently? Scott Pace, who served as executive secretary of the White House Space Council until January, says he has few illusions that Beijing will treat space any differently than its aggressive economic and security behavior here on Earth. Will Chinese behavior in commercial space be markedly different than in other commercial sectors? Pace asked. Probably not. Will Chinese behavior in outer space be different than in other shared domains, such as the oceans? Maybe.

Not everyone seems so worried. China is definitely advancing its capabilities and the relative power balance is shifting, Brian Weeden, director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, told us. But that is generally because they started from a much lower point than the U.S. did.

I dont quite buy into the China hype, he added, but I am concerned.

TEACHING MOMENT: Kayrros, an Earth observation analytics company specializing in the energy sector with offices in New York and Houston, recently enlisted an influential team of lobbyists at the S-3 Group to educate on Kayrros, a geospatial platform that leverages satellites to provide global, real-time and granular measurement to better understand the energy market and related infrastructure developments, according to a recent public disclosure.

Kayrros lobbying team includes Mike Ference, who was an aide to former Rep. Eric Cantor and Sens. Jim Inhofe and Roy Blunt; Matt Bravo, who worked for Rep. Steve Scalise; Kevin Casey, former senior policy director of the Democratic Caucus; Olivia Kurtz, a former chief of staff to Sen. Susan Collins who also worked for former Rep. Mike Castle; and Jose Ceballos, a former Department of Transportation official.

TRIVIA

Congrats to Kevin Canole, a senior program specialist in the Office of International and Interagency Relations at NASA headquarters, for being the first to correctly answer that the Apollo 13 astronauts traveled the farthest of any humans from Earth.

This weeks question: How many moons are there in our solar system? And which one is the largest and which moon is the smallest?

The first person to email [emailprotected] with the correct answers gets bragging rights and a shoutout in the next newsletter!

NASA seeks proposals for commercial space station development: Space News

NASA, Northrop Grumman finalize moon outpost living quarters contract: NASA

NASA says its figured out whats wrong with the Hubble: Futurism

NASA identifying, addressing spacesuit development challenges: Aviation Week

Space startup Momentus hires former U.S. defense official as CEO: Reuters

Space startup Momentus charged by SEC with misleading investors: The Verge

China is using mythology and sci-fi to sell its space program to the world: The Space Review

Israel's SpaceIL secures funds for new lunar mission: The Associated Press

City-sized asteroids smacked ancient Earth 10 times more often than thought: Space.com

Star Treks warp drive leads to new physics: Scientific American

TODAY: New Space New Mexicos State of the Space Industrial Base conference continues.

TUESDAY: The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee holds a hearing on Spectrum Needs for Observations in Earth and Space Sciences at 10 a.m.

TUESDAY: The Washington Space Business Council hosts NRO Director Chris Scolese at 1 p.m.

Link:

The rocket engine that could transform space travel - Politico

Liu Boming took in the dizzy view. Around him lay the inky vastness of space. Below was the Earth. Wow, he said, laughing. Its too beautiful out here. Over the next seven hours Liu and his colleague Tang Hongbo carried out Chinas second spacewalk, helped along by a giant robotic arm.

Mission accomplished, the two taikonauts Chinas astronauts clambered back into their home for the next three months: Beijings new space station. The core module of the station, named Tiangong, meaning heavenly palace, was launched in April. There will be more spacewalks. The station will keep growing, Liu said.

Meanwhile, on Mars, a Chinese rover was exploring. Video shows the vehicle trundling over a rocky surface. There is even sound: an eerie mechanical groaning. Since landing in May the Zhurong probe has been busy seeking clues as to whether Mars once supported life. There is no answer yet: so far it has travelled just over 410 metres.

China is only the second country to land and operate a rover on the red planet, after the US. The frantic tempo of the China National Space Administrations (CNSA) recent programme is reminiscent of the cold war, when Moscow and Washington were superpower rivals scrambling to put the first man in space and land on the moon.

Half a century on, space has opened up. It is less ideological and a lot more crowded. About 72 countries have space programmes, including India, Brazil, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the UAE. The European Space Agency is active too, while the UK boasts the most private space startups after the US.

Space today is also highly commercial. On Sunday Richard Branson flew to the edge of space and back again in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket. On Tuesday, Bransons fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos is due to travel in his own reusable craft, New Shepard, built by the Amazon founders company Blue Origin and launched from west Texas.

Non-state actors play an increasingly important role in space exploration. Elon Musks SpaceX vehicles have made numerous flights to the International Space Station (ISS), and since last year they have transported people as well as cargo. Later this year Musk is due to send his own all-civilian crew into orbit though he isnt going himself.

Even so, space still reflects tensions on Earth. Astropolitics follows terrapolitics, says Mark Hilborne, a lecturer in defence studies at Kings College London. Up there anything goes, he adds. Space governance is a bit fuzzy. Laws are few and very old. They are not written for asteroid mining or for a time when companies dominate.

The biggest challenge to US space supremacy comes not from Russia heir to the Soviet Unions pioneering space programme, which launched the Sputnik satellite and got the first human into space in the form of Yuri Gagarin but from China.

In 2011 Congress prohibited US scientists from cooperating with Beijing. Its fear: scientific espionage. Taikonauts are banned from visiting the ISS, which has hosted astronauts from 19 countries over the past 20 years. The stations future beyond 2028 is uncertain. Its operations may yet be extended in the face of increasing Chinese competition.

In its annual threat assessment this April, the office of the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) described China as a near-peer competitor pushing for global power. It warns: Beijing is working to match or exceed US capabilities in space to gain the military, economic, and prestige benefits that Washington has accrued from space leadership.

The Biden administration suspects Chinese satellites are being used for non-civilian purposes. The Peoples Liberation Army integrates reconnaissance and navigation data in military command and control systems, the DNI says. Satellites are inherently dual use. Its not like the difference between an F15 fighter jet and a 737 passenger plane, Hilborne says.

Once China completes the Tiangong space station next year, it is likely to invite foreign astronauts to take part in missions. One goal: to build new soft-power alliances. Beijing says interest from other countries is enormous. The low Earth orbit station is part of an ambitious development strategy in the heavens rather than on land a sort of belt and rocket initiative.

According to Alanna Krolikowski, an assistant professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a bifurcation of space exploration is under way. In one emerging camp are states led by China and Russia, many of them authoritarian; in the other are democracies and like-minded countries aligned with the US.

Russia has traditionally worked closely with the Americans, even when terrestrial relations were bad. Now it is moving closer to Beijing. In March, China and Russia announced plans to co-build an international lunar research station. The agreement comes at a time when Vladimir Putins government has been increasingly isolated and subject to western sanctions. In June, Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping renewed a friendship treaty. Moscow is cosying up to Beijing out of necessity, at a time of rising US-China bipolarity.

These rival geopolitical factions are fighting over a familiar mountainous surface: the moon. In 2019 a Chinese rover landed on its far side a first. China is now planning a mission to the moons south pole, to establish a robotic research station and an eventual lunar base, which would be intermittently crewed.

Nasa, meanwhile, has said it intends to put a woman and a person of colour on the moon by 2024. SpaceX has been hired to develop a lander. The return to the moon after the last astronaut, commander Eugene Cernan, said goodbye in December 1972 would be a staging post for the ultimate giant leap, Nasa says: sending astronauts to Mars.

Krolikowski is sceptical that China will quickly overtake the US to become the worlds leading spacefaring country. A lot of what China is doing is a reprisal of what the cold war space programmes did in the 1960s and 1970s, she said. Beijings recent feats of exploration have as much to do with national pride as scientific discovery, she says.

But there is no doubting Beijings desire to catch up, she adds. The Chinese government has established, or has plans for, programmes or missions in every major area, whether its Mars missions, building mega constellations of telecommunications satellites, or exploring asteroids. There is no single area of space activity they are not involved in.

We see a tightening of the Russia-China relationship, Krolikowski says. In the 1950s the Soviet Union provided a wide range of technical assistance to Beijing. Since the 1990s, however, the Russian space establishment has experienced long stretches of underfunding and stagnation. China now presents it with new opportunities.

Russia is poised to benefit from cost sharing, while China gets deep-rooted Russian technical expertise. At least, thats the theory. Im sceptical this joint space project will materialise anytime soon, says Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Centre. Gabuev says both countries are techno-nationalist. Previous agreements to develop helicopters and wide-bodied aircraft saw nothing actually made, he says.

The Kremlin has been a key partner in managing and resupplying the ISS. US astronauts used Russian Soyuz rockets to reach the station, taking off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, after the Space Shuttle programme was phased out. But this epoch seems to be coming to an end as private companies such as SpaceX take over. I expect US-Russian relations to get worse, Gabuev says, adding that Americans no longer need Russias help.

Moscows state corporation for space activities, Roscosmos, has faced accusations of being more interested in politics than space research. Last month the newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that Roscosmoss executive director of manned space programmes, former cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, had been fired. His apparent crime: questioning an official decision to shoot a film on the Russian section of the ISS.

The film, Challenge, is about a female surgeon operating on a cosmonaut in space, and has been backed and financed by Roscosmos . It stars Yulia Peresild, who is due to head to space in October with director Klim Shipenko. The launch seems timed to beat Tom Cruise, who is due to shoot his own movie on board the ISS with director Doug Liman.

Krikalev, who spent more than 800 days in space and was in orbit when the USSR collapsed, apparently told Roscomoss chief, Dmitry Rogozin, that the film was pointless. Rogozin its co-producer has called on the west to drop sanctions in return for Russias cooperation on space projects. Putin, Rogozins boss, appears to not be very interested in other planets, though, and is more concerned with nature and the climate crisis these days.

Space is one of the areas that has traditionally transcended politics. The Mir space station worked at a time of east-west tensions. There was symbolic cooperation. Whether this will continue in the future is really up for debate, Hilborne says. The US is very sensitive about what happens in space.

Most observers think the US will remain the worlds pre-eminent space power, thanks to its innovative and flourishing private sector. Chinas Soviet-style state programme appears less nimble. Despite ambitious timetables, and billions spent by Beijing, it is unclear when or even if an astronaut will return to the moon. The 2030s, perhaps? Will they be American or Chinese? Or from a third country?

It may well be that the first person to boldly go again doesnt merely represent a nation or carry a flag. More likely, they will emerge from a lunar lander wearing a spacesuit with a SpaceX logo on the back a giant leap not only for mankind, but for galactic marketing.

Excerpt from:

The space race is back on but who will win? - The Guardian

South Koreas space program is set for a major boost with new satellites to keep it at the forefront of the 6G communications competition and more eyes in the sky for national security purposes, the science minister said.

Lim Hye-sook said this means launching multitasking satellites on home-grown rockets, and eventually a mission to the moon. Space exploration will be the platform for new businesses, Lim, who received her doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Texas, said in interview with Bloomberg this week.

WATCH: South Koreas Science and ICT Minister Lim Hye-sook discusses the countrys advances in its space program.

South Korea saw limits removed on its rocket development earlier this year when the U.S. lifted restrictions in a bilateral agreement, which could help the country build more powerful rocket engines and quickly play catch-up in the commercial space business. U.S. President Joe Biden and President Moon Jae-in ended bilateral missile guideline in May that had long restricted Seouls development of missiles to under the range of 800 kilometers (500 miles).

One big test comes in October when South Korea plans to launch its three-stage Nuri rocket, a $1.8 billion project designed to put a 1.5-ton satellite into a orbit about 600 to 800 kms above the Earth. It would be a major advancement over its two-stage Naro space vehicle built with domestic and Russian technology that was hit by delays and two failed launches before a successful flight in 2013 -- carrying a 100-kilogram (220-pound) research satellite.

The space industry is a cutting edge industry thats based on intelligence, but also a crucial one for national strategy in terms of securing national security and public safety, Lim said. She didnt mention any specific country that may be watched from above but the military threat from North Korea has persisted since the Cold War, while a more aggressive China has raised concerns among some in Seoul.

South Korea may be a world leader in several tech sectors, but its space program lags behind that of neighbors China and Japan. North Korea has fired off intercontinental ballistic missiles and a rudimentary civilian rocket using ICBM technology that could be seen as exceeding what South Korea has launched so far.

South Korea has been pushing to fully activate its 425 Project of high-resolution surveillance satellites as early as next year, which would have civilian and military applications to watch the Korean Peninsula including North Korea.

South Korea is planning to build its own satellite navigation system, as well as a 6G communications satellite network, Lim said, adding it plans to send a spaceship to the moon by 2030. South Korea has been aiming to send a probe there for more than a decade, and in May it joined NASAs Artemis program, which plans to return humans to the lunar surface.

Lim also talked about plans to bolster the semiconductor industry, coronavirus research and heading to the moon in the interview.

Here are some highlights:

In the semiconductor industry for example, the memory chip sector is one where South Korea is the best in the world. However, were unable to secure an edge for the system semiconductor market. Securing an edge would be extremely helpful in securing a gateway to the world supply chain.

Were pushing for many South Koreans to be learning digital technology to lessen the impact of the digital divide, and were actively cultivating human resources regarding software and artificial intelligence. We have also opened our AI data to the public. We anticipate this would bring positive effects across all industries in Korea.

Were looking forward to putting together the research conducted separately by universities and research institutes. We think itll take the role of a holistic support system for virus research support and the latest facilities for research.

The most significant part is that Korea gets to participate in space exploration. We will make an effort to operate in a transparent and responsible way. We plan on expanding space exploration-related investment through joining the Artemis program and revising our system to work on the foundation for the private sector to lead in space exploration.

Should we have our own Korean satellite Global Positioning System, we will have an accurate and detailed positioning system. The reason we need this is for its precision that will be utilized by our new businesses and industries such as urban air-mobility, drones, and self-driving services.

(Updates with additional quote.)

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

See the original post:

South Korea Seeks to Move Up Its Spot in Global Space Race - Bloomberg

A dazzling new animation puts you aboard NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft during its epic flybys last month of Jupiter and the huge moon Ganymede.

On June 7, Juno zoomed within just 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) of Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system. It was the closest a probe had gotten to the icy, heavily cratered world since May 2000, when NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by at a distance of about 620 miles (1,000 km).

Then, on June 8, Juno performed its 34th close flyby of Jupiter, zipping from pole to pole in less than three hours and getting within a mere 2,100 miles (3,400 km) of the giant planet's roiling cloud tops. At that point, Jupiter's powerful gravity had accelerated Juno to about 130,000 mph (210,000 kph) relative to the gas giant, NASA officials said.

In photos: Juno's amazing views of Jupiter

The probe captured amazing photos during these back-to-back encounters, as the new, nearly four-minute video makes abundantly clear. It puts viewers in Juno's imaginary captain's seat, taking us all along for the ride.

"The animation shows just how beautiful deep space exploration can be," Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton, from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a statement.

"The animation is a way for people to imagine exploring our solar system firsthand by seeing what it would be like to be orbiting Jupiter and flying past one of its icy moons," Bolton added. "Today, as we approach the exciting prospect of humans being able to visit space in orbit around Earth, this propels our imagination decades into the future, when humans will be visiting the alien worlds in our solar system."

The Juno team made the time-lapse animation using imagery captured by the probe's JunoCam imager. They got some help from citizen scientist Gerald Eichstdt, who generated the camera's point of view for the video.

"For both worlds, the JunoCam images were orthographically projected onto a digital sphere, and then synthetic frames were added between actual images to make the motion appear smoother and provide views of approach and departure for both Ganymede and Jupiter," NASA officials wrote in the same statement.

There are a few other synthetic touches in the animation. For example, the team inserted simulated lightning in Jupiter's clouds, using real Juno data to make the flashes as realistic as possible.

Juno launched in August 2011 and arrived in orbit around Jupiter in July 2016. Since then, the probe has been studying the giant planet's composition, interior structure and gravitational and magnetic fields, in an attempt to shed light on the formation and evolution of Jupiter and the solar system in general. It also studies Jovian moons up close from time to time, as the Ganymede flyby shows.

Juno gathers most of its data during its close Jupiter flybys, which have generally occurred every 53 Earth days. The Ganymede close encounter changed that cadence, however: The 3,273-mile-wide (5,268 km) moon's gravity has sculpted Juno's highly elliptical orbit such that Jupiter flybys will now occur every 43 Earth days. The next one will occur on July 21, NASA officials said.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

Originally posted here:

Cruise by Jupiter and its giant moon Ganymede in this gorgeous Juno flyby video - Space.com

Sunday Unity 22 will launch a full crew for the first time into space at Spaceport America. The launch was originally scheduled for 7 a.m., but was pushed back by 90 minutes due to overnight weather at Spaceport America. The updated launch time is now at 8:30 a.m..The flight has been years in the making for Virgin Group CEO Sir Richard Branson and the state of New Mexico. Going to space has been a lifelong dream for Sir Richard Branson. "We've had 800 engineers working for 17 years. They now have ticked every single box and now we're ready for ourselves to go, said Branson. On Sunday morning that dream will be met, as Unity 22 will launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico. "It makes me feel very excited and honored for New Mexico, for New Mexico's economy, for space tourism," said Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico. Richardson worked with Branson to lay the foundation for Spaceport America, the first step in making this launch possible. The partnership is now bringing the space tourism market to the Land of Enchantment. "It's going to be a lot of jobs for those little counties around the spaceport. Sierra County, Dona Anna County, Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences," said Richardson. An industry the state of New Mexico estimates can bring in around 8 billion dollars by the year 2030. "This was a gamble. We had a budget surplus and I wanted to plan for the future. And I said, well, this better work. Branson came through, the New Mexico legislature came through. We took a risk and now it's paying off," said Richardson. It's a risk that could help the economy of New Mexico boom and achieve the dreams of a visionary. "I've had to wait almost a lifetime to be able to go into space. Hopefully we can speed that process up for many, many others," said Branson. Former Gov. Bill Richardson will not be attending the launch Sunday. Instead he is in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to watch Carlos Condit, his former chief of staffs son, fight in the UFC.

Sunday Unity 22 will launch a full crew for the first time into space at Spaceport America.

The launch was originally scheduled for 7 a.m., but was pushed back by 90 minutes due to overnight weather at Spaceport America. The updated launch time is now at 8:30 a.m..

The flight has been years in the making for Virgin Group CEO Sir Richard Branson and the state of New Mexico.

Going to space has been a lifelong dream for Sir Richard Branson.

"We've had 800 engineers working for 17 years. They now have ticked every single box and now we're ready for ourselves to go, said Branson.

On Sunday morning that dream will be met, as Unity 22 will launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

"It makes me feel very excited and honored for New Mexico, for New Mexico's economy, for space tourism," said Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico.

Richardson worked with Branson to lay the foundation for Spaceport America, the first step in making this launch possible. The partnership is now bringing the space tourism market to the Land of Enchantment.

"It's going to be a lot of jobs for those little counties around the spaceport. Sierra County, Dona Anna County, Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences," said Richardson.

An industry the state of New Mexico estimates can bring in around 8 billion dollars by the year 2030.

"This was a gamble. We had a budget surplus and I wanted to plan for the future. And I said, well, this better work. Branson came through, the New Mexico legislature came through. We took a risk and now it's paying off," said Richardson.

It's a risk that could help the economy of New Mexico boom and achieve the dreams of a visionary.

"I've had to wait almost a lifetime to be able to go into space. Hopefully we can speed that process up for many, many others," said Branson.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson will not be attending the launch Sunday.

Instead he is in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to watch Carlos Condit, his former chief of staffs son, fight in the UFC.

Read more:

Unity 22 launch could change the future of space exploration and economy of New Mexico - KOAT New Mexico

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the spaceflight company Blue Origin, will donate $200 million to the Smithsonian, the Institution announced Wednesday (July 14). It's is the largest donation to the Smithsonian since James Smithson's founding gift in 1846.

The Smithsonian Institution is "the world's largest museum, education and research complex," the organization's website states. This $200 million donation will be split, with $70 million going to renovate the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million supporting the creation of a new education center at the Smithsonian's flagship museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This new museum will be named the "Bezos Learning Center" because of the donation.

"The Smithsonian plays a vital role in igniting the imaginations of our future builders and dreamers," Bezos said about the Smithsonian and his donation in a statement. "Every child is born with great potential, and its inspiration that unlocks that potential. My love affair with science, invention and space did that for me, and I hope this gift does that for others."

Related: How to watch Blue Origin launch Jeff Bezos to space on July 20More: Blue Origin will launch an 18-year-old into space on its 1st crewed flight

"The gift will also help enable a technological transformation of the museums galleries and public spaces, including the creation of new interactive experiences to inspire visitors, students, teachers and families," Smithsonian's statement reads.

The new education center will be built at the Smithsonian museum's flagship location alongside ongoing museum renovations. The new facility will be centered around exploring STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) topics. The museum will have programs designed to inspire young visitors to explore STEAM careers and will connect to all Smithsonian museums to include experts from different Smithsonian locations and incorporate a variety of STEAM-relevant collections, according to the same statement.

"Since its inception, the Smithsonian has benefited from both federal funding and the generosity of visionary donors," Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch said in the same statement. "This historic gift will help the Smithsonian achieve its goal of reaching every classroom in America by creating a world-class learning center with access and inspiration at its heart. We are grateful to Jeff for his generosity and for his passion and commitment to education, innovation and technology. This donation will fuel our nations future leaders and innovators."

Related: Blue Origin donates $19 million to space nonprofits ahead of Jeff Bezos' launch

"At this moment, the first human to set foot on Mars might be in elementary school," Ellen Stofan, the Smithsonians Under Secretary for Science and Research and former director of the National Air and Space Museum, said in the same statement.

"As the largest and most visited aerospace museum in the world, the museum wants to spark that passion and enrich the imagination and ingenuity of every student who visits the Smithsonian. For many years, Jeff has been an avid supporter of the Smithsonian and the museums mission to 'ignite tomorrow.' With this gift, we will be able to continue our transformation and further expand the National Air and Space Museums ability to reveal the possibilities of space exploration," Stofan added.

Also on Wednesday, Blue Origin announced that it's giving $1 million apiece to 19 space nonprofits, including The Mars Society and The Planetary Society. Those donations are being made via Blue Origin's nonprofit organization, Club for the Future. The donations come as Bezos is preparing to add "astronaut" to his list of titles.

On Tuesday (July 20), Bezos alongside his brother Mark, legendary aviator Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen will fly to space on board Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle. The crew will make a flight above the boundary of space and then return to land back on planet Earth.

This crewed, suborbital flight will be the first of its kind for the company and will test the rocket and spacecraft's capabilities as the company works toward regular crewed launches to space on New Shepard, which will carry paying passengers on the once-in-a-lifetime journey. This launch will follow Virgin Galactic's successful crewed suborbital test flight Unity 22, carried out this past Sunday (July 11), which took billionaire Virgin Group founder Richard Branson to space and back.

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Jeff Bezos donates $200 million to the Smithsonian Institution ahead of Blue Origin launch - Space.com

Ronald Reagan helped a nation grieve when he eulogized the space shuttle Challenger astronauts, saying they slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.

Reagan was quoting a poem by John Gillespie Magee that beautifully describes the experience of flight. But as Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson ascend to heights unavailable to ordinary people of lesser means, theres less poetry and more surliness about what theyre doing up there.

Leave the billionaires in space, grumbled writer Paris Marx in the U.K.s Tribune magazine. Really, billionaires? This is what youre going to do with your unprecedented fortunes and influence? Drag race to outer space? comedian Seth Myers ranted. More than 150,000 people have signed an online petition that says Do not allow Jeff Bezos to return to Earth.

Some of the outrage is comedy, cheap shots about privileged white men buying toys for a midlife crisis (although Branson, a grandfather, is 70).

However, a timeless moral dilemma lies at the heart of the criticism: whether its right to spend money on nonessentials while other people go hungry or bankrupt from medical bills. This question was a key driver of public opposition to the first moon landing.

Throughout the 1960s, a majority of Americans opposed the Apollo 11 mission and believed the government was spending too much money on space exploration, Alexis C. Madrigal wrote for The Atlantic. This viewpoint was especially common among Black Americans. Many Black papers questioned the use of American funds for space research at a time when many African Americans were struggling at the margins of the working class, Madrigal wrote.

One of the few public defenders of billionaires in space is columnist Megan McArdle, writing for The Washington Post, who said even a fleeting roller-coaster ride into the Earths thermosphere can be an enduring contribution to humanity.

Every human breakthrough, from fire onward, McArdle argued, was likely disparaged and resented by the pioneers peers. She likened Bezos and Bransons achievements to Orville and Wilbur Wright and said private companies tend to innovate better than government can. If humanity is eventually going to the stars, that kind of innovation will be an essential part of how well get there. Even if, at the moment, most of us cant quite see it.

But McArdles take is a minority view, as she acknowledges. And it should probably be noted that Bezos owns The Washington Post.

Critics have slammed Branson and Bezos for not reading the room, saying that this is an especially cringeworthy time to be joyfully cavorting in space as income inequality rises, the West is burning, the Taliban is advancing, and COVID-19 cases are edging upward again.

And predictably, there is a partisan divide on the subject, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in March chiding Tesla founder Elon Musk for pledging to help make human life multiplanetary. (Musks SpaceX wants to colonize Mars.)

Calling todays income inequality obscene, Sanders said on Twitter, Space travel is an exciting idea, but right now we need to focus on Earth and create a progressive tax system so that children dont go hungry, people are not homeless and all Americans have health care.

However, essayists in the conservative website National Review Online have lauded private ventures into space, saying that they have already brought the cost of space exploration down. Before SpaceX, the U.S. was paying Russia $90 million to get one American astronaut to the International Space Station, Andrew Follett wrote for NRO. Reusable rockets developed by SpaceX can do that for $55 million, he said, adding Musk has demonstrated that the American private sector can do what its government cannot.

And Brandon J. Weichert argued in NRO that that the privatization of space is a critical component of American competition with China. Whichever nation wins the new space race will determine the future of the earth below, Weichert wrote.

He added, Whatever ones opinion about Bezos or Musk, the fact is that their private space companies are inspiring greater innovation today in the space sector after years of its being left in the sclerotic hands of the U.S. government.

In a recent survey about Americans views of space exploration, Pew found that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the government should be involved in space ventures. Conversely, Republicans (41%) are more likely than Democrats (28%) to say private companies will ensure that enough progress is made.

On social media, Bezos, in particular, is a particularly inviting target for ridicule given that his former wife, MacKenzie Scott, is busy giving her billions away, or at least trying to do so. It turns out, when youre as rich as Bezos and Scott are, your money makes more money faster than you can give it away.

In one recent day, an increase in Amazon stock prices earned Scott $2.9 billion in one day, more than the $2.7 billion shed recently given away. Despite her widely cited promise to keep making charitable donations until the safe is empty, so far her philanthropy hasnt made much of a dent in her accumulating wealth, Tim Schwab wrote for The Nation.

Meanwhile, Scotts former husband contends with relentless criticism about Amazon wages and working conditions and the fact that he hasnt signed the Giving Pledge, amid suggestions about what he should do with his money. Often these suggestions include ending hunger: A writer for The Verge estimated that it would take only about 1/7th of his wealth to end hunger in the U.S., and a Twitter account with 103,000 followers asks every day Has Jeff Bezos decided to end world hunger?

A recurring complaint about the billionaire space force involves the wealth tax, pushed by Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., among others. Many people on social media have said the money Bezos and Branson are spending on their space adventures is proof that a wealth tax is needed to address income inequality. Recent revelations by ProPublica about the tax-evasion strategies of some of the wealthiest Americans havent helped the billionaires cause. According to ProPublica, Bezos, the worlds richest man, paid no federal taxes at all in 2007 and Musk, the worlds second-richest man, paid none in 2018.

That said, Bezos and Branson and ultimately Musk are not zooming off to space like the rest of us Earth-dwellers head to the beach or the lake. They bummed a ride on the space vehicles developed by their companies: Bezoss Blue Origin and Bransons Virgin Galactic.

Other ultra-wealthy people will be following in their wake. According to Reuters, about 600 people have booked reservations for a $250,000 seat on the Virgin Galactic rocket plane. That price is expected to double when the company formally begins operations, although Branson said he hopes the price will eventually descend to about $40,000.

And a still-anonymous person paid $28 million for a seat on Bezos inaugural flight July 20, although the person has deferred the flight to the future, citing scheduling conflicts. Hes been replaced by an 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, who along with the previously announced passenger Wally Funk, 82, will be the youngest and oldest people to go into space, respectively.

Meanwhile, critics of Bezos and Branson might not be as familiar with the name Charles Simonyi. Hes a Hungarian-born billionaire whos already been to space twice as a tourist, via the Virginia company Space Adventures. On its website, you, too, can sign up to visit the International Space Station in 2023. The website doesnt tell you the price, however.

If you have to ask, you cant afford it.

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Jeff Bezos space flight: When is it and who is going with him? - Deseret News

Blue Origins foundation, Club for the Future, announced it will offer 19 non-profit organisations each a USD 1 million grant. The grants will inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space. The recent auctions for the first paid seat on Blue Origins New Shepard rocket made the funds possible.

Each organisation has demonstrated a commitment to promote the future of living and working in space. Consequently, this commitment is to inspire the next generation to explore careers in space-related fields. Furthermore, they enhance the foundations ability to reach students, teachers, and communities. This way, the foundation can engage them in the excitement and adventure of innovation and space exploration.

Blue Origins CEO, Bob Smith, remarked that Our recent auction for the first seat on New Shepard resulted in a donation of $28 million to our non-profit foundation, Club for the Future, He added that This donation is enabling Club for the Future to rapidly expand its reach by partnering with 19 organisations to develop and inspire the next generation of space professionals. Our generation will build the road to space, and these efforts will ensure the next generation is ready to go even further.

The 19 organisations include:

Club for the Future will use the remaining funds from the auction to continue its work on its space-focused curriculum and Postcards to Space program. For more information about Club for the Future, visit ClubforFuture.org. Blue Origins first human flight will take place on July 20. For more details about the mission and how to watch the launch live, follow @BlueOrigin on Twitter or sign up for updates at BlueOrigin.com.

Faleti Joshua is an avid lover of space in all its incomprehensible nature. He holds a LL.B degree, and is a pessimist in his free time.

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IAF, SGAC, and Space for Humanity to Each Receive USD 1 Million in Grants - Space in Africa

TEXAS Deep in the heart of Texas, the stars at night are big and bright, and the latest of the billionaire businessmen blasting off to space is taking note.

Im pretty sure the first word that was spoken in space was Houston Texas is full of engineers, is full of raw talent people that understand what its like to work on a project that has a big goal, that is a risky goal, Dr. Casey Williams, Science Research Lead for the University of Kansas and former Texas Tech graduate student, said.

Next week, on Tuesday, July 20, Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin New Shepard Spacecraft will rocket out of the atmosphere from the tiny town of Van Horn in West Texas, located about four hours southwest of Lubbock. To Williams and Texas Tech physics and astronomy professor Dr. Thomas Maccarone, the rural region makes the perfect launching pad.

Land is cheap, its sunny there most of the time, so you dont have to worry about clouds cancelling your flights as often, Maccarone said.

The wide open space in the desert also means less chance of debris crashing down and hitting someone if something goes wrong.

But whats also attracting these tycoons turned aspiring astronauts to Texas is the states long legacy of looking to the stars and supporting space exploration.

[Texas has] the center of engineering excellence for the whole planet What were thinking of [in the billionaire space race] is not just whats happening right now but what it will allow us to do, John K. Strickland, board member and assistant treasurer for the National Space Society, said.

The experts said they are eager to watch what happens next week.

I think its quite exciting that were seeing a new generation of people going to space. When I was a kid, that was when they first started doing space shuttle launches, and that was one of the things that got me excited about science at first, Maccarone said.

Maccarone added he hopes the launch will bring more students into the Texas Tech physics and astronomy program.

Both Maccarone and Williams emphasized this launch and future ones will create more jobs and take Texas one step closer to space tourism, leading to an economic boom around the state, especially in rural regions hammered by the pandemic.

That is the human drive, and I think that Texas is going to be primed to be at the forefront of that, Williams said.

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Experts explain why West Texas is the perfect launch pad for the billionaire space race - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com

At Astronaut Days, organized by Space Center Houston, guests can meet and even train with veteran NASA astronauts.

Attention Space lovers! This summer, travel to Infinity and Beyond by unlocking the mysteries around life in space with real-life veteran astronauts at Space Center Houstons Astronaut Days event from August 5-8.

Hop on-board with friends and family to embark on a fun-filled inter-galactic adventure that will deepen your understanding of the universe and its explorers. Whats more, guests will have the opportunity to meet an astronaut, train like an astronaut, have breakfast with an astronaut and even hear first-hand space exploration stories from NASA astronauts. From activities like Mission Memories with space experts and insightful Q&A sessions to bingo and book signingstake your pick from the astronaut schedule before making a safe landing back to earth.

Check out this schedule to know about space-themed activities lined up at Astronaut Days, organized by the Space Center Museum.

At this interactive Q&A session, hear first-hand space exploration accounts from an ace NASA astronaut every day from 12 12:20 p.m. and 2 2:30 p.m at Rocket Park.

Get a glimpse into the space program from an astronauts point-of-view while enjoying a delicious meal catered by the Wolfgang Puck. Afterwards, join in a Q&A session with the veteran space explorer, which will allow participants maximum access to a NASA astronaut. As a memento, event-goers will also receive a personalized photograph from the guest astronaut. Breakfast with an Astronaut occurs Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in The Food Lab and includes admission to the iconic Space Center Houston.

Adult tickets are priced at $99.95 and child (ages 4-11) tickets at $79.95. Guest capacity is limited to allow for a more intimate experience.

Children from ages 4-12 can train like an astronaut through interactive challenges. Put your mind and body to the test with an obstacle course, agility training sessions and a puzzle everyday at the Independence Plaza from 12:30 12:50 p.m. and 2:30 2:50 p.m. Register onsite in advance the day of your visit. Note, space is limited.

Join a NASA astronaut as they share some of their mission memories at the Space Center Theatre every Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. 12 p.m. and 1:20 1:50 p.m. Astronaut Mission Memories are included in general admission.Check out this schedule to learn more about the astronauts and when they are scheduled to speak.

Indulge in games like astronaut bingo, tease your memory with space movie trivia, and take a photo to cherish in a spacesuit at the Astronaut Gallery. Also, get a taste of space with dishes inspired by NASA-Johnson Space Centers iconic All-American Meal, prepared by Space Center Houston partner Wolfgang Puck Catering.

Rex Walheim is a veteran of three space flights. He has spent more than 36 days in space, and logged over 36 hours in five spacewalks. Walheim served on the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

Don Thomas is a veteran of four space flights. He logged over 43 days in space. In his last assignment, he served as the ISS Program Scientist overseeing NASA experiments performed on the International Space Station.

Mark Polanksy is a veteran of three space flights. He logged more than 41 days in space. Polansky also served as Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

All featured images are courtesy of Space Center Museum, Houston

General admission to the Space Center is usually $24.95 for children between 4 & 11 and $29.95 for people over 11 years of age. There are senior discounts and kids under 4 are free.

Ticket prices for events vary and include General Admission. For example the Space Expert Tour is $69.95 while Breakfast with an Astronaut is $99.95 for adults and $79.95 for children. For more details on ticket click here.

To save money on Space Center admission, check out our article on Discounts & Coupons at Space Center

Heres another exciting activity for this summer: Reach for the stars at the magical HMNS Discovery Dome

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Unlock the secrets of Astronaut life during Astronaut Days at Space Center - Houston On The Cheap