Monthly Archives: September 2022

WASHINGTON The United States will introduce a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly this month calling for a halt on direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) testing.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council Sept. 9 at NASAs Johnson Space Center, Vice President Kamala Harris said the measure was an effort to get more countries to join a moratorium on such tests that the United States announced in April.

Later this month, the United States will introduce a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to call on other nations to make the same commitment that the United States made, Harris said.

Her announcement comes after a State Department official said in August that such a resolution was under consideration as one way to build greater international support for the moratorium. While several nations have expressed support for the idea of halting such debris-producing tests, only Canada and New Zealand have formally announced their intent to join the moratorium.

Such a resolution would allow countries to go on record regarding their support, creating that shared agreement among the majority of U.N. member states, while increasing political pressure on countries that have plans for future ASAT tests, said Eric Desautels, acting deputy assistant secretary for arms control, verification and compliance at the State Department, during an Aug. 24 panel discussion organized by George Washington Universitys Space Policy Institute and The Aerospace Corporation.

A second option, he said then, would be to develop a legally binding agreement to ban such tests. However, he said that would be a much longer term effort that would likely come only after establishing a ban on destructive ASAT tests as a norm of behavior.

Monica Medina, assistant secretary for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs at the State Department, said later in the council meeting that Mallory Stewart, assistant secretary for the State Departments Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, would be lobbying other nations to support the U.N. resolution once it is introduced.

In the coming weeks, Assistant Secretary Stewart and her team will have extensive consultations at the U.N., Medina said. Our goal is that this resolution is adopted with the broadest possible support.

The announcement also comes just before the second meeting of a U.N. Open-Ended Working Group on norms of behavior for reducing space threats, scheduled for the week of Sept. 12 in Geneva. The announcement of the U.S. ban on direct-ascent ASAT testing was times to influence the first meeting of the working group in May.

Medina said Stewart will be in Geneva for the working groups second meeting. The United States, working in close partnership with our allies and like-minded countries, sees this working group as an important opportunity for all nations to advance rules, norms and principles of responsible behavior in outer space, she said.

Artemis Accords meeting

Another avenue the United States has established for international cooperation in space is the Artemis Accords. The agreement outlines best practices for sustainable space exploration, largely building on the Outer Space Treaty. Twenty-one countries have signed the Accords, most recently Saudi Arabia in July.

With the Accords, we are inviting other spacefaring nations to join in a common vision, a practical set of principles grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 for safe, transparent and responsible behavior in space that will facilitate exploration, science and commercial activities for the benefit of all humanity, Medina said at the Space Council meeting.

She announced that representatives of the Artemis Accord countries would meet for the first time during the International Astronautical Congress in Paris later this month. That meeting will be jointly hosted by the United States, France and Brazil.

The participants will discuss how to operationalize the Accords in a civil and commercial context and how to continue to add to the Artemis family of signatory nations, she said. We want more Artemis partners.

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U.S. to introduce U.N. resolution on ASAT testing ban - SpaceNews

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? he said on Sept. 12, 1962. And they may as well ask: Why does Rice play Texas?

60 YEARS AGO: Historic photos show JFK's speech at Rice Stadium, where he promised to reach the moon

Many in the crowd of 35,000 laughed as they sweated in the stands that hot Houston morning. They were rapt. And they then became witnesses to one of the most famous moments of Kennedys presidency, one which cemented the U.S. commitment to the space race and served as a precursor to decades of advancements in technology and exploration.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, he said.

Many historians say Kennedys 17-minute address galvanized the country behind him, and Americans in 1969 achieved the goal with time to spare. But 60 years after the president took the podium at Rice, no politician has succeeded in taking up his mantle on space and America hasnt chased its planetary ambitions at the same rate or with the same fervor Kennedy first demanded, several policy experts said.

Were not living up to that. I dont feel anybody has ever, before or since, said Greg Autry, clinical professor and director of the Thunderbird Initiative for Space Leadership, Policy, and Business at Arizona State University. The sense of caution is not in keeping with the level the level of innovation this country needs.

Space industry leaders said that having a more careful approach doesnt detract from the countrys many achievements - and Autry said he remains excited about the Artemis I test mission, which is meant to send an uncrewed flight into orbit around the moon to prepare for astronauts return to the surface in 2025. (The rockets launch was scrubbed in late August because of a fuel leak.)

Still, the fact that it took Americans less than eight years to successfully land on the moon the first time also indicates that more progress is possible than the space industry is harnessing today, experts said.

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The country is too politically divided, said John Logsdon, founder of George Washington Universitys Space Policy Institute. No global dispute has created the same push for innovation or unification like the Cold War did, even while China and Russia remain competitors in the industry.

The circumstances that made Apollo possible were unique to that time and to the personalities involved, he said. They have not reoccurred.

Kennedys visit to Houston was highly anticipated, part of a four-city tour of key centers of the nations space program. Houston had been announced the year before as the site of a $60 million manned spacecraft center that would become the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center - shortly after Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress to shore up support for the nations space program and announce his intent to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

On Wed. Sept. 12, Kennedy rode through Houston in his open-top limousine, with possibly 300,000 people lining the streets for a ticker-tape parade.

The city and county declared a half-holiday for the occasion, and many public elementary and high schools bused students to Rice Stadium to watch the speech. One man, 51-year-old Russell L. Johnson, arrived at 2:15 a.m. to secure his seat for a 10 a.m. start time.

Kennedy took the podium to rousing cheers, the Rice board of trustees, local leaders and federal officials sitting behind him. Even as some dabbed their faces with handkerchiefs - the temperature was 89 degrees but felt hotter - the president appeared unfazed.

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He launched into his speech, appealing to humankinds curiosity and more recent history of rapid innovative growth. He referred to space as a new frontier, and referencing the secrecy of the Soviet Union, he alluded to the benefits of creating ones own destiny - and he said he wanted U.S. technology to be a force for good.

Kennedy intended for America to be first in the space race, he said in the address, penned by speechwriter Ted Sorenson. It would take money, and Houston would be a massive part of the effort.

Ezra Charles Helpinstill, then 18, said the experience is glued in his brain. At the time a freshman who just finished his Rice orientation, he remembers the sunlight tinting Kennedys hair red, the patriotism he felt and the thrill of uncharted territory.

It was exhilarating, and I never got over it, Helpinstill said.

Terry ORourke, then 15, biked to the stadium and posted up with his Brownie Hawkeye camera. He was stirred to action: The speech is what he attributes as his entry into public service, and he years later became an environmental lawyer.

It made me want to serve my country in a special way, and I wanted to be with him, ORourke said.

Kennedys address also lifted then-17-year-old Bill Broyles, who had completed his freshman orientation at Rice. Wearing the beanie hat given to all first-year students, he said he felt the presidents call, redirecting the fears of the Cold War toward something great for the history of mankind.

Even in my freshman beanie, I felt transformed, said Broyles, who went on to cowrite the film Apollo 13. He was a small figure in the middle of the football field, but you could hear his voice.

Broyles recalls that five years prior to the speech, he sat at home listening to Sputnik I beep, beep, beep on the radio. The first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union, was terrifying, he said.

Melissa Kean, a Rice University historian, said the speech solidified the institutions relationship with NASA, resulting in research partnerships, better faculty recruiting and federal grant money - a newer occurrence for the school.

The relationship also culminated in Rices desegregation: Nondiscrimination clauses in the new federal contracts pushed Rice to take the final step, Kean said.

It absolutely invigorated the campus, she said. All of the sudden, everything was exciting. We were going to help them go to the moon. Can you imagine?

SPACE CITY: In homage to historic JFK 'Moon Shot' speech, Owls to wear special NASA uniforms

The pressure was on, but NASA officials took the directive seriously. Gerry Griffin, who served as a flight director during all of NASAs Apollo missions, said Kennedys words carried weight each day as he worked.

That speech kept ringing in our ears, were going to do this thing in this decade, he said. When we started, I dont think any of us, we werent 100 percent sure we could do it. But we were going to give it our dangdest to happen.

Several successful moon landings later, Griffin remembers a quiet night as his Apollo 17 crew returned from space.

Some of his coworkers began musing about the future. It was the last scheduled lunar mission.

One of the guys said, This is it, its done, said Griffin, who was at the time the lead flight director.

I said, I think in 20 years well be on Mars. Shows you what kind of predictor I am.

Griffin later became the director of the Johnson Space Center. He said he thought their rapid-fire pace would continue on other projects, and it didnt happen.

NASA remains competitive in space technology, but a sense of indecision about its goals has contributed to what many would perceive to be slower progress, said Victoria Samson, Washington office director for the Secure World Foundation.

It seems they have a bit of a challenge in figuring out what their raison d'tre is, Samson said. NASA in the 60s had a very much more clear-cut end goal now its much more diffuse.

Private space companies have filled in some gaps but still fall behind their schedules, Autry said. And failure is not an option underfunding makes each step in the process crucial to do successfully, especially for NASAs Artemis missions, he added.

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Griffin sometimes gets frustrated that Americans havent yet returned to the moon, he said. Kennedys leadership proved that the country make amazing technological advances, and fast.

But every success in space comes from the trajectory started by Apollo, he said, and that cant be understated. That can all be traced back to Kennedys morning at Rice on Sept. 12, 1962.

Im sure glad that President Kennedy came to Texas to give that speech, and Rice was a perfect place for it, he said. He set the stage and we got it done.

samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com

SPACE

Houston is the 'Space City'

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JFK's moon speech was 60 years ago. Has the US lived up to it? - Houston Chronicle

On a recent episode of "Influencers Andy Serwer," Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden reflected on space exploration and the aerospace industrys bright future.

Space is the most exciting area of our portfolio at the moment, Warden told Yahoo Finance.

The U.S. aerospace industry saw serious challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, shrinking by 87,000 jobs and seeing total revenues drop 2.8% to $874 billion between 2019 and 2020, according to the most recent Aerospace Industries Association Facts and Figures Report.

Though it has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels of success, the global aerospace industry has recently turned a corner. It reported $712 billion in revenue in 2021, which is up 4% over 2020. It also reported $62 billion of operating profit, up 136% according to an analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The James Webb Space Telescope is packed up for shipment to its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana in an undated photograph at Northrop Grumman's Space Park in Redondo Beach, California. NASA/Chris Gunn/Handout via REUTERS

Northrop Grumman an aeronautics, defense, and cyberspace company headquartered in Falls Church Virginia with origins in the 1930s builds missiles, bomber aircrafts, and solid rocket boosters for NASA's Space Launch program. The company has a long history of working with NASA. But since 2018 when it acquired aerospace firm Orbital ATK, the company's space division has expanded. In the last quarter, space-related business accounted for over 30% of the company's total sales.

The expansion of opportunity in space has been significant, and I foresee that continuing into the future, Warden remarked.

One of the company's most significant products is the James Webb Telescope. Launched into space in December 2021, the telescope takes pictures of astronomical objects using infrared radiation. NASA released its first full-color images during a televised broadcast last July.The pictures, which went viral on social media, depicted part of Carina, a constellation of stars.

In space exploration, like the work that we recently launched the James Webb Space Telescope. And it brought back, just fantastic images of the origins of our universe that will help to rewrite science textbooks, Warden said. And help, I hope, a new generation of people to get really excited about what may be happening in space in generations to come.

This week, NASA released two new images taken by the James Webb Telescope. They show the Tarantula Nebula and could yield scientific discoveries about how stars form. The telescope will remain in space for another decade and continue to produce new images.

Dylan Croll is a reporter and researcher at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @CrollonPatrol.

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Northrop Grumman CEO: 'Space is the most exciting part of our portfolio' - AOL

In today's world of advanced technology across sectors, the possibilities to achieve the impossible has become higher. Likewise, the space sector has also come a long way by introducing new research and innovation.

Exploring the cosmos with the proper technique and approach becomes fascinating for many. A country like India features millions of budding astronomers, and the early-age exposure to the same can put them ahead of others.

To push the boundaries for young astronomers, Starscapes, an Astro tourism venture, has presented the 'Cosmofluencer' initiative through which young astronomy enthusiasts can explore the possibilities the cosmos has in store.

While sharing the information with The Logical Indian, the company said that young individuals chosen for the three-month program would write, develop, curate, and share content related to astronomy. Furthermore, they can work directly with industry veterans from astronomy, astrophysics, and space exploration.

Starscapes is a platform that offers a holistic astronomy experience to give voice to the curiosity about the vast skies beyond our stratosphere. Founded in 2017 by astronomy aficionado Ramashish Ray with Paul Savio joining him as Co-Founder and CEO in 2019, it's India's first and only chain of observatories that gives travel enthusiasts an integrated astronomy experience.

With private observatories at Kausani and Bhimtal in Uttarakhand, Starscapes sports state-of-the-art equipment for observations, astrophotography and research projects. Now through its 'Cosmofluencer,' the Astro tourism venture aims to empower today's youth in astronomy.

The applicants selected for the program will create content that simplifies astronomy for the world. Their content will be research-based, fun, and packaged in an engaging way for the audience.

They can interact with industry professionals and dive deep into the world of astrophysics and space exploration. Additionally, they can participate in workshops and work on projects related to deep space exploration with the help of experts.

The CEO and co-founder of Starscapes, while commenting on the program, said, "We started Starscapes to make astronomy more accessible for everyone. We have been overwhelmed by the interest our customers have shown towards stargazing and Astro-tourism."

He added, "During our journey, we realised that young minds are inquisitive about space and everything it has in store. With this insight, we launched the Cosmofluencer program to give voice to young astronomers and give them a launchpad for a career in astronomy."

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Holistic Astronomy Experience! Know How This Program Is Giving Voice To Young Astronomers Of India - The Logical Indian

Americas Urgent Need to Develop Space Nuclear Propulsion Systems

As NASA finally launches the first Space Launch System (SLS) mission, America is failing to invest in critical space propulsion technology needed to send astronauts to Mars.

The United States must develop space nuclear propulsion technologies to enable 21st-century human missions to Mars. Congress should immediately direct NASA and the Department of Energy to partner with a University Affiliated Research Center or Federally Funded Research and Development Center to create a new National Space Nuclear Propulsion Laboratory.

It is naive and against national interests for the U.S. to rely on expensive, outdated, slow, single-use chemically propelled rockets like SLS to transport astronauts to Mars. Instead, America must aggressively invest in developing space nuclear propulsion systems.

Nuclear technology, including nuclear electric propulsion (or NEP) and nuclear thermal propulsion (or NTP), will be a space travel game-changer with profound implications for deep space mission speed, agility and capability.

The increased propulsive power of nuclear systems will allow humans to head to Mars on a more regular cadence than the current mission launch windows of every 26 months. Nuclear propulsion also will allow power for astronauts on Mars missions to abort and return to Earth in the event of an emergency.

A recent National Academies of Sciences study concluded that the U.S. should further study both NEP and NTP systems for human Mars missions but stopped short of prioritizing the two. The experts concluded that if the U.S. starts serious development of an NTP system today, we might have an operational system by 2039, our back-of-the-napkin date for a first American human mission to Mars. An NTP system would provide fast, effective propulsion for our human missions to Mars.

A NASA colleague once brilliantly explained that NEP and NTP are the difference between a Prius and a Porsche. Both cars will get you to a destination, but each at different speeds and with different trade-offs.

Having both systems operational would provide decades of capability and throw the doors of human deep space exploration wide open. This new technology development will be no easy task both NEP and NTP systems need significant technology research and development now to create working systems ahead of other space-faring nations.

As America did with the Apollo Program, well have to start from scratch, inventing new materials, engines and nuclear systems that just dont exist today. This is why we need action now.

To enable these new nuclear propulsion systems, we should rely on the real brain power of our nation our academic institutions and American industry.

While some brilliant small R&D projects have taken place in federal agencies like DARPA (their DRACO mission) and NASA (their Fission Surface Power project), government agencies lack the cutting-edge facilities and intellectual capacity to make this essential tech development R&D come to fruition by the mid-2030s.

Leadership of a new national lab by a university-affiliated partner will produce significant government cost savings. Combining the smarts of academia with the lean business sense of industry will be far more cost effective than earmarking this work to be done in tiny increments by government agencies that are not prepared to take on this technology challenge.

Federal agencies should provide the funding and the real property, along with security and safety oversight and services to the new lab, led by a university-affiliated organization. Academia and industry will always find ways to do the actual R&D faster, better and cheaper than government bureaucrats.

American industry is more than ready to join in this important aerospace technology race. Americas best and brightest from multiple business sectors can knock down the long pole of space nuclear propulsion while advancing practical commercial uses of this new technology capability, right here on Earth. Like any new disruptive technology, economic opportunity and societal benefit will follow once these systems are proven through in-space demonstration missions.

Its time to stop waiting for obtuse space policy scribblings about extended study and analysis to appear from the Space Council or other administration oracles. Congress should direct the formation of a new hybrid national lab dedicated to creating and demonstrating advanced space nuclear propulsion systems within a decade. Without immediate Congressional direction, America will continue to fall behind in a critical technology needed to power our future human exploration of deep space.

David Steitz most recently served as NASAs deputy associate administrator for technology, policy and strategy and as the agencys deputy chief technologiest. Steitz retired from NASA in May, concluding a 32-year career at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

This article originally appeared in the September 2022 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

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Op-ed | It's Time for Congress to Order the Nuclear Option - SpaceNews

Speaking at a plenary session at the Centre-State Science Conclave held in Ahmedabad on Saturday, ISRO chairperson S Somanath urged states to look at specific strengths while imploring them to look at space-based solutions to meet governance needs.

Noting that space development has been a central (government led) agenda throughout, Somanath stressed that the Department of Space would like to bring down the gap that exists between the states and space.

Somanath also added that the department is in the process of aggregating the demand from each of the states and building satellites accordingly.

Highlighting some specific avenues in space that states can cash in, Somanath listed sectors such as earth observation applications in the domain of forestry and fishing, mining, crop and water management, and disaster support and response, and governance applications in the domains of urban planning, geotagging, geofencing, asset monitoring, and decision support systems.

Outlining the roadmap for 2047 in his presentation, among the objectives are outer space exploration in exoplanets, intelligent satellites, deep space exploration technologies and mass cargo transports, space technology based smart solutions, space mining and space habitation. Somanath also added that the economy aspect of the space ecosystem is really promising for many of the new entrepreneurs in this domain.

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ISRO chief asks states to look at 'space-based' solutions for governance issues - The Indian Express