Category Archives: Space Travel

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(Bloomberg) -- Tugs and diggers have so far failed to dislodge a massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal for a third day, increasing the chances of prolonged delays in what is arguably the worlds most important waterway.Work to re-float the Ever Given was suspended until Thursday morning in Egypt, shipping agent Inchcape said, citing the Suez Canal Authority. Dredgers are still trying to loosen the vessel before any attempt to pull it out, the ships manager said.Its taxing to even grasp how big this ship is. About a quarter mile long (400 meters) and weighing in at 200,000 metric tons, its sheer size is overwhelming the efforts to dig it out. A huge yellow excavator, itself about twice as tall as its driver, looked like childs toy parked next to the ships bulking bow.The situation has gotten so desperate that an elite salvage squad is due to arrive Thursday to work on prising the Ever Given from the bank of the canal, where its blocking oceangoing carriers that haul everything from oil to consumer goods.Still, the best chance for freeing the ship may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a peak, according to Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for refloating the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that capsized on the coast of Italy in 2012. Sloane works as the senior salvage master for Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Resolve Marine Group.About 12% of global trade goes through the canal, making it so strategic that world powers have fought over the waterway since it was completed in 1869. For now, all that traffic is backed up with the Ever Given aground in the southern part of the canal, creating another setback for global supply chains already strained by the e-commerce boom linked to the pandemic.The Suez Canal blockage comes at a particularly unhelpful time, said Greg Knowler, European editor at JOC Group, which is part of IHS Markit Ltd. Even a two-day delay would further add to the supply chain disruption slowing the delivery of cargo to businesses across the U.K. and Europe.A rough estimate shows the blockage is costing about $400 million an hour, based on calculations from Lloyds List that suggest westbound traffic is worth around $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic is approximately $4.5 billion. On Wednesday, 185 vessels were waiting to cross the canal, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, while Lloyds estimates theres 165.About 34 container vessels chartered by Maersk and other shipping lines are either stuck in the canal or en route, according to supply-chain tracking company project44. Preliminary reports show 10 crude tankers carrying a total of 13 million barrels could be affected by the disruption, according to Vortexa Senior Freight Analyst Arthur Richier.The incident began on Tuesday when strong winds blasted through the region and kicked up sands along the banks of the 120-mile-long canal, which connects the Mediterranean in the north with the Red Sea in the south. The waterway is narrow -- less than 675 feet wide (205 meters) in some places -- and can be difficult to navigate when theres poor visibility.But Ever Given stayed its course through the canal, on its way to Rotterdam from China. As gusts that reached as high as 46 miles an hour swept up dust around it, the crew lost control of ship and it careened sideways into a sandy embankment, blocking nearly the entirety of the channel. Its still in the same position as when it ran aground, according to Inchcape.Two canal pilots were onboard when the ship went aground at about 5:40 a.m. The ships last known speed was 13.5 knots at about 5:30 a.m.At the heart of all of this is the ships massive scale.Container vessels have nearly doubled in size in the past decade as global trade expanded, making the job of moving such ships much harder when they get stuck.Even while key routes -- including the Suez Canal -- have been widened and deepened over the years to accommodate the mega-sized vessels, the work to dig them out after they get stuck takes enormous power.The struggle to dislodge the ship is now falling to SMIT Salvage, a legendary Dutch firm whose employees parachute themselves from one ship wreckage to the next, saving vessels often during violent storms. This ship is so heavy that the salvors may have to lighten it by removing things like the ballast water, which helps keep ships steady when theyre at sea. Fuel could also be unloaded.How to Dislodge a 200,000-Ton Ship From a Canal WallThe Suez Canal Authority hasnt commented on the work or given any indication of when traffic could resume.The canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world, used by tankers shipping crude from the Middle East to Europe and North America, as well as in the opposite direction.The blockage highlights a major risk faced by the shipping industry as more and more ships transit maritime choke points including the Suez, Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and Southeast Asias Malacca Strait. Such occurrences could become more common as ships get bigger and waterways get more congested.Every hour, more vessels -- including container ships, oil tankers, RoRo vessels, and bulk carriers -- are being backed up in the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south, said p44s chief executive officer, Jett McCandless. Its another big blow to global trade in an already back-logged and battered supply chain year.Oil companies are starting to prepare for the worst. On Wednesday, there was an uptick in interest from oil companies looking to book tankers with options to avoid the canal, according to a broker, and several bid for space on the pipelines that allow bypass of the waterway completely. For now, thats a just-in-case move. Container ships will most likely have to wait it out, as the main alternative is the unattractive option of sailing around the southern tip of Africa.The disruption comes at a time when oil prices were already volatile. Crude surged above $70 a barrel earlier this month on Saudi production cuts, only to slump close to $60 this week due to setbacks in Europes coronavirus vaccine program. Brent crude rose more than 5% on Wednesday.Ever Givens crew are safe and accounted for, and there have been no reports of injuries or pollution, according to the ships manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The vessel is also carrying cargo for logistics company Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd., according to Mark Wong, a spokesman for OOCL.(Adds cost estimate in eight paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk Feud Over Income Inequality (and Space Travel) Right Now, We Need to Focus on Earth - Yahoo Finance

It tastes like rose petals. It smells like a campfire. It glistens with a burnt-orange hue. What is it? A 5,000-euro bottle of Petrus Pomerol wine that spent a year in space.

Researchers in Bordeaux are analyzing a dozen bottles of the precious liquid along with 320 snippets of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines that returned to Earth in January after a sojourn aboard the International Space Station.

They announced their preliminary impressions Wednesday mainly, that weightlessness didnt ruin the wine and it seemed to energize the vines.

Organizers say its part of a longer-term effort to make plants on Earth more resilient to climate change and disease by exposing them to new stresses, and to better understand the aging process, fermentation and bubbles in wine.

At a one-of-a-kind tasting this month, 12 connoisseurs sampled one of the space-traveled wines, blindly tasting it alongside a bottle from the same vintage that had stayed in a cellar.

A special pressurized device delicately uncorked the bottles at the Institute for Wine and Vine Research in Bordeaux. The tasters solemnly sniffed, stared and eventually, sipped.

I have tears in my eyes, Nicolas Gaume, CEO and co-founder of the company that arranged the experiment, Space Cargo Unlimited, said.

Alcohol and glass are normally prohibited on the International Space Station, so each bottle was packed inside a special steel cylinder during the journey.

At a news conference Wednesday, Gaume said the experiment focused on studying the lack of gravity which creates tremendous stress on any living species on the wine and vines.

We are only at the beginning, he said, calling the preliminary results encouraging.

Jane Anson, a wine expert and writer with the wine publication Decanter, said the wine that remained on Earth tasted a little younger than the one that had been to space.

Chemical and biological analysis of the wines aging process could allow scientists to find a way to artificially age fine vintages, said Dr. Michael Lebert, a biologist at Germanys Friedrich-Alexander-University who was consulted on the project.

The vine snippets known as canes in the grape-growing world not only survived the journey but also grew faster than vines on Earth, despite limited light and water.

Once the researchers determine why, Lebert said that could help scientists develop sturdier vines on Earth and pave the way for grape-growing and wine-making in space.

Stephanie Cluzet, Head of Vine Researcher Institute for Wine and Vine Research (ISVV) holds up a snippet of grapevines, left, that spent a year orbiting the world, in the International Space Station, (Associated Press)

Christophe Chateau of the Bordeaux Wine-Makers' Council welcomed the research as a good thing for the industry," but predicted it would take a decade or more to lead to practical applications. Chateau, who was not involved in the project, described ongoing efforts to adjust grape choices and techniques to adapt to ever-warmer temperatures.

The wine of Bordeaux is a wine that gets its singularity from its history but also from its innovations," he said. And we should never stop innovating.

Private investors helped fund the project, which the researchers hope to continue on further space missions. The cost wasnt disclosed.

For the average earthling, the main question is: What does cosmic wine taste like?

For me, the difference between the space and earth wine ... it wasnt easy to define, said Franck Dubourdieu, a Bordeaux-based agronomist and oenologist, an expert in the study of wine and wine-making.

Researchers said each of the 12 panelists had an individual reaction. Some observed burnt-orange reflections. Others evoked aromas of cured leather or a campfire.

The one that had remained on Earth, for me, was still a bit more closed, a bit more tannic, a bit younger. And the one that had been up into space, the tannins had softened, the side of more floral aromatics came out, Anson said.

But whether the vintage was space-flying or earthbound, she said, They were both beautiful.

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Space travel and zero gravity matured this wine - Livemint

Brian Binnie is a former United States Navy officer and test pilot for SpaceShipOne, the experimental space plane created by aeronautical pioneer, Burt Rutan, and his innovative company, Scaled Composites. SpaceShipOne was the product of a joint venture between entrepreneur Paul Allen and Scaled Composites.

On Oct. 4, 2004, SpaceShipOne was released from its White Knight mothership, and with Binnie at the controls, he made the second suborbital flight in one week's time to snag the $10 million Ansari X Prize flight purse. That pioneering passage of space and time marked a new era of commercial space flight.

Less than a year later, Sir Richard Branson and Rutan announced a joint venture between Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites called The SpaceShip Company. Jointly, they would go on to build SpaceShipTwo, now being tested to haul paying passengers on suborbital sojourns from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Binnie recently authored the engrossing book, "The Magic and Menace of SpaceShipOne" (Black Sky Enterprise, Oct. 4, 2020, available at: https://brianbinnie.net/ and at Amazon.)

"Spaceships are dangerous things. There are no intentions implied to suggest otherwise," Binnie writes, also noting his early copiloting experience in flying Rotary Rocket's Roton vehicle, built to be a single stage to orbit spaceship.

Space.com recently talked with Binnie about his forty years of what he tags as "wrestling with recalcitrant machinery" - flying vehicles that are doing their best to be lethal, but proving to be useful training.

Related: How SpaceShipOne and X Prize Launched Commercial Spaceflight

The Magic and Menace of SpaceShipOne by Brian Binnie: $55 at Amazon.Test pilot Brian Binnie shares what it was like to fly the first privately built reusable spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, to win the Ansari X Prize in 2004 and recalls his decades of flying.View Deal

Space.com: Your X Prize winning flight moved the needle forward on the prospect for public space travel. But here we are in 2021 and it has taken time for that promise to evolve. Why so long?

Binnie: From Virgin's perspective, Scaled Composite suffered two major accidents. In their wake, every anomaly or unexpected result was thoroughly scrutinized. Virgin really had no other option. With some 200 hundred astronaut founders already signed up after the X Prize flights, they needed the confidence that the ship was upright and not taking on water. I suppose it didn't help that expectations were always misaligned with real progress and the number of "this will be the year" could cloud everyone's judgment. I will say that under any other investor the program would likely have been cancelled. The fact that Branson presses on gives great credibility to their commitment of bringing space to the common man and woman. As they say, if it was easy ...

How involved were you in the decision-making about designing and then flying SpaceShipOne (SS1)?

Binnie: Pilots and engineers are closely joined at the hip. Engineers, however, can be like lawyers. They can keep a program in development for longer than it should, with "better being the enemy of good enough."

Burt Rutan had great judgment when looking at an issue or problem. His risk management skills, in my opinion, were rather extraordinary, and while others fretted, he would often suggest buttoning the vehicle up and go fly.

It remains in my mind a feat of such unlikely odds that in two-and-a-half years, the program developed and tested a mothership, rocket motor, avionics, simulator and a spaceship that went into that black sky on three of its six powered flights. And Burt was at the helm of all of it.

I believe the single most important attribute of Burt's was that in his mind he wasn't really building a spaceship, but rather another airplane that happened to have a rocket motor on it for part of the journey. Burt was very adverse to bells and whistles and that kept the program moving along. And since we didnt handicap ourselves with detailed documentation of processes or paperwork, the team could make uncanny progress.

To your question, pilots come at the vehicle from the perspective of the cockpit. They want to know what can be affected, and by the same token, what cannot. From that standpoint, Burt was open to ideas and suggestions.

Space.com: If trouble arose in flying SS1, how could you get out?

Binnie: There were two choices. One of those was a little hatch door at your left side. The other was, if you got into trouble, youd feather the vehicle, assuming the feather worked, and that puts it into stable attitude and pitch. Then you could unlatch the nose cone, push it away, unbuckle your seat and roll forward. Then youre free and clear of the vehicle. I thought that was pretty novel thinking. All you have to worry about then is making sure the parachute works.

Space.com: After your winning X Prize flight, there seemed to be shop talk about more SS1 flights, pushing the envelope of the vehicle. Why didnt that happen?

Binnie: Burt had set up a sensible plan for the vehicle. There were 21 tasks and the first 20 tasks involved getting to the X Prize flights. After that, he had task 21. He wanted to fly the vehicle, something like once a week for 20 weeks. In doing that, he could get a really good baseline on the operational costs of utilizing the vehicle. Perhaps along the way, you could make modifications to enhance the vehicles handling qualities and actually get more than one person in the cockpit. When the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum chimed in, more flights came screeching to a halt. Paul Allen didnt want to risk the vehicle he had funded.

The last time I was there [at the museum], SS1 remained in-between the Bell X-1 and Spirit of St. Louis, but in its feathered configuration.

In Pictures: Breaking the Sound Barrier

Space.com: Back in 1999, you were one of the two person crew that flew Rotary Rocket's Atmospheric Test Vehicle (ATV), a unique craft using helicopter-style rotors for landing. What was that experience like?

Binnie: It was certainly a good experience and appealed to me. The Roton started out as an unmanned, small vehicle, but I joined when that concept was abandoned for a full-scaled manned demonstrator of a single stage to orbit design. Rotary did not lack for big dreams. My focus was on the cockpit and the flight controls, the simulator, and all the things that went into managing the propellant.

The other half of the company was designing a massive rotating engine with something like seventy six thrusters that would be spun up by centrifugal pumping of the propellants. You might say there were a lot of things spinning on that vehicle. But their effort was on building just one of these thrusters to be put on a whirl test stand. Alas, Rotary's money ran out before it was demonstrated.

The ATV ended up making three flights with five takeoffs and landings. The first flight was rather frightening and I was certainly quite happy to hand it back over to Gary Hudson, Rotary's CEO. But more money came in and two more flights were made with the last one having the vehicle fly down the runway at Mojave around seventy five feet and sixty knots. So we did what we said we were going to do demonstrate control of the vehicle in the landing pattern.

Space.com: There's always talk about having space vehicles demonstrate "airline-like" operation. How far are we from that often-said saying?

Binnie: I've heard that line several times too. I'm thinking I don't see it. You look at the frequency of flight in general, manned or unmanned. They are onesie-twosies for the most part. Elon Musk is a kind of outlier in the business. I say good for him. Space is so demanding in terms of managing the power thats required to get out of Earths gravity well. I dont see any clever things that are going to change that. I keep waiting for the aliens to come back and show us how to do anti-gravity.

Photos: Amazing X-Planes from the X-1 to XV-15

Space.com: Speaking of Musk, he recently encountered static from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about his Starship flight program. Howd the FAA treat the SS1 program?

Binnie: I have a couple chapters in the book about this. It was tortuous. We were the pathfinder for commercial reusable spaceships. As Elon said, the FAA has the wrong kind of people managing these programs, those that are used to big boosters that launch and never come back. They dont have the mindset about reusable spaceships, whether they are suborbital or orbital. For SS1, the FAA just drove Burt completely nuts. There were sparks flying all the time. They came up with a set of whacky rules and Burt practically rejected all of them. When it was all said and done, the bureaucracy won. What they wanted is basically what they got. I think theres a long ways to go in terms of having a relationship with the government that promotes this kind of activity. It just raises the bar of entry for most people that they cant get in. Id hate to see it intrude much with SpaceShipTwo.

Space.com: In putting you back in the pilots seat for that winning X Prize SS1 flight, was there anything surprising given all the training?

Binnie: Three days before I flew that flight, we completely changed the way we were going to fly the vehicle. So all the simulator work we had done for the past year was pretty much out the window. A new maneuver was invented, and we basically crossed our fingers and hoped it was good.

That flight not my words people called it the perfect flight. In leaving the atmosphere, as I kept the motor running to 215,000 feet, the ship had zero roll, pitch, yaw rates. It was rock solid and continued on up past the X-15 altitude, Burts grand plan. Wowthe fact that it all came together in that one flight. We certainly got a pretty good apogee out of itnearly 70 miles up. The reentry was smooth as butter. It was just noisy. It was a wonderful experience. If you consider that through most of the SS1 program we had trials and difficulties, it all came together in that one flight, the final flight.

Space.com: Any other thoughts regarding your piloting of SS1?

Binnie: Im a single-seat pilot kind of guy. I flew A7 Corsairs for 10 years in the Navy, and then transitioned to Hornets for another 10 years all single-seat flying. SS1 was single-seat and thats an environment in which I am comfortable with and like and have gotten used to. The experience for me going to space, I didnt have to spoil it by having passengers or a co-pilot or whatever to kind of defocus my attention at things that I wanted to soak up.

Also being out at the Mojave Air and Space Port, you are really spoiled by the views. You had the Pacific, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the coast line, the Sierra Nevada mountains. You could see Edwards Air Force Base and all its history. That was all awesome to take in.

I dont see any single-seat spaceships in the near-future. So maybe I am the last guy that has gone to space by himself.

Leonard David is author of the recently released book, Moon Rush: The New Space Race published by National Geographic in May 2019. A longtime writer for SPACE.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Space dotcom, Facebook or Google+. This version of the story published on Space.com.

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Test pilot Brian Binnie recounts his historic flight on SpaceShipOne and the future of private space travel in new book - Space.com

Space tourism used to be a far away dream for virtually everyone.

Well, SpaceX appears to be making it a fast approaching reality. SpaceX is the leader in the drive to popularize space tourism. Competitors like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are also getting hopes up that everyday folks can experience space for themselves. Sr. Analyst for Northern Sky Research, Dallas Kasaboski says, Based on the ticket prices that weve seen today, the pace of development that we see and the supplies that NASA projects that the revenue sizing represents a $14 billion cumulative opportunity, assuming that launches start within the next one or two years and continuing through 2028.

SpaceX successfully launched and landed its prototype Starship. Its designed to be entirely reusable, requiring only maintenance and refueling between trips to space. But unlike competitors Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic space, Xs starship is an orbital class rocket, which means it could go up. It can maintain enough speed to orbit the Earth. And it can come back down when it wants to. Now, a web based survey suggested 88% of people want to space walk and many of those surveyed are willing to pay a premium for the experience. And thats good news because space travel for the masses still wont be cheap. SpaceX comes in with the lowest projected price, around a $20,000 to $50,000 per person.

If youre able to scale and [prove] reliability, then you can bring prices down. More competition comes in offering different services, and you will eventually democratize. But despite anyones ambition to truly democratize the industry, it will take time. And in order to survive during that time, you are likely going to have to either focus on the government or a very small niche market until you can expect several organizations have been formed to promote the space tourism industry, Kasaboski commented. Now only time will tell how soon. And how much SpaceX will charge to launch us into a galaxy far, far away.

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Why Space Tourism May be a Reality Sooner Rather Than Later - MarketScale

Published: 3/19/2021 12:26:53 PM

The Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield will soon host the only commercial facility in the world capable of replicating the space environment on Earth to test materials and equipment for future missions.

Baker administration officials and Berkshire County legislators announced an award of $429,000 on Wednesday from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to support the development of specialized equipment for testing the reliability and compatibility of spacecraft components by Electro Magnetic Applications, which is located at the Innovation Center.

This award is not only exciting for EMA and the BIC, but for us as a commonwealth, because it presents a major economic opportunity to engage in the fast-growing world of commercial space travel and planetary exploration, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy said.

Electro Magnetic Applications is working to develop new methods for producing space radiation, along with devices capable of evaluating how materials and equipment stand up to an out-of-this-world environment. The companys project is also supported by the city of Pittsfield and NextFlex, a consortium focused on flexible-hybrid electronics.

Reliability in space is paramount, noted Justin McKennon, principal scientist at EMA. The technology and techniques that EMA is developing will allow for companies in a variety of sectors to understand how materials and devices will behave in the harshness of space.

Officials said the grant will help bolster the Berkshires reputation for innovation and will help establish the Berkshires as an epicenter for space materials research and testing.

Thanks to this Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative award, Pittsfield will become home to the first-of-its-kind, commercially available facility that can replicate the environment in space, Gov. Charlie Baker said.

The new facility will help advance the Commonwealths position as a leader in aerospace technology while strengthening the Berkshire regions reputation as an attractive location for innovation.

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World's only commercial space-testing facility being developed in Pittsfield - GazetteNET

Undoubtedly the most exciting frontier for human exploration, outer space is a gateway to probing promising worlds, looking for biosignatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets, or pushing the boundaries of our scientific and engineering limits. Nonetheless, steering the course of human space exploration beyond the far side of the moon could take decades. It has been 49 years since the last Apollo 17 crewed mission landed in the lunar Taurus-Littrow highlands, and it could be at least five more years before we see humans navigating the moons lower-gravity atmosphere.

If our species will ever settle on the Red Planet or voyage into the distant regions of the outer cosmos, the space industry will need to thrive. For decades, a handful of space agencies laid the groundwork for the upcoming era of off-Earth commercialization. Still, it was not until the twenty-first century that companies began privately developing and operating launch vehicles and spacecraft. Once a fierce cold war duopoly, the space race is now dominated by private businesses.

Although the ultimate goal is to have sustained crewed expeditions to Mars in the 2030s and probes into deep space like the Voyager crafts or the Parker Solar Probe today, the most robust commercial space economies revolve around communications and satellites. The private sector is also accelerating the development of small spacecraft and launch vehicles that can travel to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Low-cost or not, access to space is turning into an up-and-coming sector.

Illustration of SpaceX Starship vehicles on the surface of Mars. Image courtesy of SpaceX.

At 3DPrint.com, we found 50 space companies using 3D printing to help create an off-Earth ecosystem, displayed in the infographic below and also included in our new Space Zone. Predictably, 62% of the companies develop spacecraft and technology to travel to LEO and some 220 miles above Earth to the International Space Station (ISS). Although 72% of these 50 businesses originated in the U.S., startups are cropping up everywhere, from Germany to India.

A powerful generation of entrepreneurial billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have veered their attention to space commercialization, paving the way for new space companies. As the exciting space industry ecosystem unravels, companies are turning to additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to lower the costs of access to space, a concept pioneered by Musks SpaceX. At just $2,720 per kilogram for a ride aboard its Falcon 9 two-stage rocket, the space titan managed to bring the cost down from the whopping $54,500 per kilogram it used to cost to launch a payload on the space shuttle.

Constructing a multi-dome Moon base. Image courtesy of ESA.

From manufacturing rocket engines to launch vehicle parts, 3D printing disrupts yet another industry by offering design freedom, reducing weight, and lowering costs. The journey into space commercialization has already begun, and AM is becoming a big part of it. Even the ISS has become a testbed for commercially designed 3D printing technologies.

Working towards faster lead times, companies like Made In Space, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Blue Origin are partnering with traditional 3D printing manufacturers and service providers to expand their roster of printed parts. The technology gives engineers a powerful tool to improve rocket manufacturing that has otherwise remained unchanged. Innovative visionaries, like the founders of Relativity Space, have even gone as far as creating their own additive technologies to develop fully 3D printed rockets in record time.

Orbex has introduced what is said to be the worlds largest 3D printed rocket engine. Image courtesy of Orbex.

In the increasingly competitive space sub-sector of private rocket builders, startups like Skyroot Aerospace and Orbex are unveiling fully 3D-printed rocket engines. The global activity of the launch industry is in full force. Despite an unprecedented 2020, which forced businesses worldwide to halt operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limited flight capability everywhere, spaceports around the world continued operational. With 114 launches (among the highest number in the last 20 years), the critical space industries are crucial to ensure space exploration.

Following a tight timeline expected to deliver the first woman and next man to the moons surface in 2024 (now most likely delayed), space companies have been racing to participate in the backbone missions for space exploration, like Artemis. Expectations are high, especially when it comes to the realistic and harsh conditions humans will encounter on the moon and Mars, two sites that will require innovative 3D printing to survive.

EARTH

Rocket Labs Electron rocket launch rendering. Image courtesy of Rocket Lab.

ABL Space Systems

Determined to prove that reaching space can be simple, efficient, and routine, the Los Angeles-based rocket startup ABL Space Systems set out to design and manufacture its rocket engines in-house. ABL used AM techniques to create parts of the E2 engines that will power Stage 1 and 2 of its RS1 launch vehicle, including the thrust chamber. This targeted use of AM allowed the creation of complex internal fluid passageways to be incorporated into the engine.

AgniKul Cosmos

Spacetech startup AgniKul Cosmos builds made-in-India 3D printed rocket engines. Produced as a single component in one run, the higher stage semi-cryogenic liquid propulsion engine called Agnilet was constructed to support orbital-class launch vehicle Agnibaan, expected to carry micro- and nano-satellites to LEO on-demand in 2022. With 3D printing technology, AgniKul can make single-part engines in less than 72 hours, ready to be fitted in a space vehicle after standard post-processing.

Astra Space

Founded with a vision to make rocket launches to LEO frequent, routine and automated, Astra Space is building small rockets designed for mass production and reliable performance to meet the rising demand for small satellite launches. Even though Co-Founders Chris Kemp and Adam London suggest they dont rely on costly 3D printing or labor-intensive composites to make the rockets, for their Rocket 3.0, they used AM to complete the impellers for its pumps and rocket engine chambers.

Axiom Space

Axiom Space, the leading developer of the worlds first privately-owned commercial space station, plans to 3D print parts in orbit. Through a promising partnership with Made In Space, Axiom plans to incorporate its proven 3D printing capabilities on the ISS. The companies have been working out the logistical elements of in-space manufacturing, outfitting the in-space factory with equipment, utilities, power, and thermal management to answer customers growing demand.

Dawn Aerospace

Based in New Zealand and the Netherlands, Dawn Aerospace builds same-day reusable launch vehicles and non-toxic satellite propulsion systems for sustainable space transportation. As of 2020, the company has begun 3D printing combustion chambers for high-performance and high combustion pressure rocket engines destined to take its Mk-II Aurora sub-scale suborbital vehicle to space. Using composite materials for 3D printing the engines, they expect to provide the thermal conductivity needed to protect against space travel elements, which traditionally printed materials, such as titanium and stainless steel, lack.

Gilmour Space Technologies

Australias Gilmour Space Technologies will produce high-performance rocket and space components using AM. The startup received $3.7 million in investment funding in 2017 to develop its launch vehicles that use 3D printed rocket fuel. Focusing on the suborbital and LEO markets for satellite launches, Gilmour aims to provide an affordable launch service and improve accessibility to space. A pioneer in the Australian space industry, Gilmour will be using Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) metal 3D printing to explore the production of rocket and space components.

KULR Technology Group

Leading developer of space-qualified electronics cooling systems and proven solutions for preventing dangerous battery fires and explosions, KULR develops unique 3D printed battery systems for space. The companys space-proven solutions for electronics and lithium-ion batteries had demonstrated their efficiency when NASA used them to transport and store batteries aboard the ISS in 2019 and as part of the Mars Rover that landed on Mars in February 2021.

Launcher Space

Brooklyn-based Launcher Space has been developing what it says is the worlds largest 3D printed liquid rocket engine combustion chamber in a single piece. The E-2 engine, made in Germany by AMCM using its specialized M4K printer, has been tested many times at Launchers test facility in New York. Focusing on the smaller private satellite launch market, Launchers small rockets will begin flight tests in 2023.

Orbex

Vertical launch vehicle Orbex Prime will use a large 3D printed rocket engine uniquely manufactured in a single piece without joints, seams, or welds. The complex part, developed by UK-based startup Orbex, is expected to withstand extreme temperature and pressure fluctuations while traveling to orbit. Conceived and developed as an environmentally sustainable launch system, Orbex Prime will use renewable biofuels to deliver an industry-leading ultra-low carbon dioxide footprint.

Parabilis Space Technologies

One of the first companies to complete the first round of hot-fire testing of a 3D printed Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster, Parabilis Space Technologies, uses advanced manufacturing for launch vehicles and spacecraft parts. This was a massive step toward demonstrating that a 3D printed Liquid Oxygen (LOX)-methane thruster can be used in space. When commercialized, it will dramatically change the relationship between cost and performance. Parabilis is also developing novel AM methods to enable the use of multiple dissimilar materials in 3D printed parts for space thrusters and spacecraft structures and more technologies toward lunar exploration spacecraft.

Relativity Space

Space manufacturer Relativity Space of Long Beach, California, is working on 3D printing an entire rocket. For the task, it has developed its own massive in-house 3D printer called Stargate, which utilizes 18-foot-tall robotic arms equipped with lasers that can melt the metal wire. Those robotic arms can stream about eight inches worth of metal onto a large turntable in just a few seconds. Directed by custom software, the robotic arms can produce the rockets entire body in one piece, and the printer allows Relativity to reduce the part count of a typical rocket from 100,000 to 1,000.

Rocket Crafters

As part of the incredibly diverse and thriving aerospace industry around Floridas Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Rocket Crafters focuses on producing rocket engines and pioneering its 3D printed rocket fuel. The startup is building and testing a large-scale hybrid rocket engine using Direct-Digital Advanced Rocket Technology (D-DART) and producing a unique fuel made primarily out of plastic. Using a patent-pending, horizontal 3D printing method that reduces production time for orbital-class fuel grains to a matter of hours in a single section, Rocket Crafters moves away from combustible and toxic propellants.

Rocket Lab

Like other space companies, aerospace manufacturer and small satellite launch service provider Rocket Lab is on a mission to remove the barriers to commercial space by providing frequent launch opportunities to LEO. The company has created the low-cost launch system Electron, whose Rutherford engine can be 3D printed in 24 hours. The engines main prop valves, injectors, pumps, and engine chambers are all created with electron beam melting.

Skyroot Aerospace

In 2020, Indian space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace unveiled its fully 3D printed cryogenic engine to fuel the upper stage of its Dhawan-1 rocket. The engine is considered Indias first privately developed indigenous fully cryogenic rocket engine that runs on propellants, like Liquid Natural gas (LNG) and LOX. Skyroot is one of Indias first private sector companies to participate in space activities with the governments authorization and supervision.

Skyrora

Founded in 2019 to accommodate the UKs renewed entry into the global space industry, Skyrora has created a 3D printed 30kN liquid bi-propellant engine for its full-size suborbital launch vehicle, the Skylark L. This ground-breaking engine technology was precision welded at Skyroras production facility in Scotland using powder bed fusion, allowing engineers to integrate the cooling channels into one printed chamber piece.

United Launch Alliance

Formed as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance (ULA) manufactures and operates several rocket vehicles capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth and other bodies in the solar system. For its Atlas V rocket, ULA turned to Stratasys for serial production of 3D printed thermoplastic components. Using Stratasys Fortus 900mc Production 3D Printer, ULA created everything from tooling and support equipment to production parts.

Ursa Major Technologies

A Colorado company, Ursa Major Technologies, develops innovative propulsion solutions for the emerging micro- and nano-satellite launch market. To optimize the unique part creation of its engines for launch and hypersonic applications, Ursa Major leverages 3D printing techniques to modernize the development of staged combustion engines. The company successfully designed and built two liquid oxygen and kerosene combustion engine models and is currently working on a third one.

Virgin Orbit

Space travel and commercialization have been a lifelong dream for one of the worlds most recognizable entrepreneurs, Richard Branson. Enthralled with space ventures, Branson created Virgin Orbit, a spin-off out of his space tourism company Virgin Galactic. The company, which focuses on small satellite launch services, acquired one of the first hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing machines globally through a partnership with DMG Mori and used it to 3D print rocket engine parts for space launch. The LASERTEC 4300 3D hybrid is turning out large parts in its Long Beach, California, facility, allowing new material combinations, like Copper and Inconel, and a vast working room for workpieces of up to 3,306 pounds.

LOW EARTH ORBIT (LEO)

Satellite technology for low Earth orbit (LEO). Image courtesy of Thales Alenia.

Airbus

Airbus has 3D printed a total of 500 radio frequency (RF) components, made of multi-waveguide blocks and switch assembly networks, for two Eurostar Neo spacecraft that will join the in-orbit fleet of Eutelsat, a primary provider of satellite communications services. RF components are at the heart of every telecommunications satellite, and now these parts are being produced by Airbus in large volumes.

Anywaves

A French Space Agency (CNES) spin-off, Anywaves develops miniature and high-performance antennas for the satellite constellations market. Applications such as telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, atmospheric input, and many others require antennas for both receiving and sending signals. Anywaves novel 3D printed ceramic antennas have garnered many awards and will be ideal for the flourishing industry of nanosatellites. Soon the company will begin series production of the antenna via 3DCERAM.

Dhruva Space

Another of Indias first space startups, Dhruva Space, seeks to build low-cost satellites to collect real-time data. The company uses a lot of 3D printing, replacing space-grade components with commercial-grade components that cost one-tenth after extensive testing, and reusing and re-engineering parts wherever possible. Dhruva uses 3D printing technology, advanced CNC machines, and open-source architectures to integrate the satellites.

Mini-Cubes

Small space manufacturer Mini-Cubes is focusing on PocketQube Earth Observation satellites and using CRPs carbon-reinforced nylon laser sintering material to 3D print them. At one eighth the volume of a CubeSat, PocketQubes are miniaturized satellites for space research typically built with commercial off-the-shelf electronic components. Hoping that their innovative product helps anyone reach space today, Mini-Cubes turned to CRP to 3D print the entire satellite frame.

Optisys

Focused on providing 3D printed antenna products for high-performance space applications, Optisys believes metal 3D printing promises to reduce the size and weight of critical satellite components significantly. The company uses metal AM to create critical parts for satellites and expects to bring increased capabilities to the burgeoning satellite industry that are otherwise impossible with traditional fabrication methods.

Stratodyne

Newcomer Stratodyne wants to 3D print stratospheric satellites and CubeSats. Founded by a 21-year old college student, the startup is focused on applying advances in 3D printing technology to lower costs for space and high altitude research. Its 3D printed modular and remotely controlled airship could serve as a satellite, testbed, and even a launch platform for small rockets into space. Stratodyne plans to go commercial by mid-2021.

Swissto12

A spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, (EPFL), Swissto12 is heavily invested in leveraging 3D printing technology to deliver complex satellite parts. From 3D printed waveguide solutions for communication satellite payloads to 3D printed all-metal patch antennas for a fleet of satellites, Swissto12 is looking to push the boundaries of 3D printing technology for the satellite industry.

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Thales Alenia Space

Like many satellite manufacturers, Thales Alenia Space is installing more AM parts in satellites destined for low and medium Earth orbit. In 2017, 45 communications satellites built by the French-Italian space manufacturer were successfully orbited, all of them fitted with 3D printed parts. Now, Thales Alenia Space is taking 3D printing into series production to make components for telecom satellites built on the companys new all-electric Spacebus Neo platform, a metal powder-bed fusion technique.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

The International Space Station. Image courtesy of NASA.

3D Bioprinting Solutions

Moscow-based bioprinting company 3D Bioprinting Solutions has engaged in a series of unique experiments in orbit thanks to a space bioprinter. Organ.Aut, the worlds first space bioprinter, was launched to the ISS in 2018. Since then, the device has been used to bioprint several tissues, including 3D bioprinting bone tissue in space for the first time using growing fragments of bone structures and carrying out a high molecular weight protein crystallization experiment in zero gravity.

Boeing

The U.S. aerospace giant is working on the CST-100 Starliner space crew capsules. These passenger taxis will initially take NASA astronauts to and from the ISS and are expected to take civilians later on. To supply over 600 3D printed components for the three Starliner capsules, Boeing turned to Oxford Performance Materials (OPM), saving close to 60% compared with traditional manufacturing.

Intuitive Machines

With a vision to enable sustained robotic and human exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, Intuitive Machines provides innovative solutions for the commercial space ecosystem. The company relies on AM for many of its space parts, which go to different space projects, including constructing the first commercial space station on the ISS and the Nova-C Lunar Lander.

OHB Systems

German space and technology group OHB will develop a 3D printer prototype for the ISS for large part production using high-strength and functional thermoplastics. The undertaking is part of the IMPERIAL project, aiming to design, develop, and test a 3D printer model that alleviates build volume constraints while meeting the ISS fabrication requirements. The 3D printed parts produced using this system will demonstrate extraterrestrial manufacturing potential, enabling new maintenance and life support strategies for human space flight.

Made In Space

One of the most prominent players in the space ecosystem, Made In Space, has been experimenting with AM in microgravity since the early 2010s. The startup created the first Zero-G 3D printer that left for the ISS in the fall of 2014, followed by an updated version, the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), in 2016. But the list doesnt end there; the company has even manufactured the Plastic Recycler, capable of processing waste plastic into feedstock to use in the AMF.

nScrypt and Techshot

nScrypt and Techshot have created the innovative BioFabrication Facility (BFF), designed to print organ-like tissues in microgravity aboard the ISS. Launched in July 2019, the BFF has already successfully printed tissue-like constructs with a large volume of human heart cells aboard the ISS Lab as well as human menisci. One of the keys to 3D bioprinting in microgravity is that the bioink only contains cells but no scaffolding materials or thickening agents typically required when bioprinting on Earth to resist the destructive pull of gravity.

SpaceX

With 3D printing, SpaceX can create its incredibly powerful SuperDraco thrusters, a critical component of the Crew Dragons launch abort system (LAS). The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines used by SpaceXs Cargo Dragon spacecraft to maneuver in orbit and during re-entry. The first demo mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with 3D printed SuperDraco engines took off in March 2019. The Crew Dragons highly anticipated final test mission was successfully launched and returned in the summer of 2020 with two astronauts on board.

Tethers Unlimited

Pioneering space company Tethers Unlimited focused on reprocessing space trash or debris to make resources and feedstock for in-space manufacturing. Its unlimited recycler and 3D printer onboard the ISS, the Refabricator, has demonstrated a unique process for repeatable, closed-loop recycling plastic materials for AM in the ISS microgravity environment a minimum of seven times. The integrated recycling/3D printing capability provides significant cost savings by reducing the launch mass and volume required for printer feedstock while decreasing Earth reliance.

ARCHINAUT

Rendering of Archinaut. Image courtesy of Made In Space.

Made In Space

To further self-sustainability in space through the construction of satellites and even entire spacecraft, Made in Space is developing Archinaut, a 3D printer capable of working in the vacuum of space. Equipped with a robotic arm, Archinaut is scheduled to be installed on an external space station pod and capable of in-orbit AM, the fabrication, assembly of communications satellite reflectors, or the repair of in-orbit structures and machinery. The robotic manufacturing and assembly platform will orbit LEO to provide the most innovative means to date of large-scale manufacturing in space.

Northrop Grumman

To build Archinaut, Made In Space (now part of Redwire) has asked Northrop Grumman to provide software, systems engineering, control electronics, and space station interface support for the Archinaut project. As well as demonstrate Archinauts capabilities on a flight mission. The objective of Archinauts flight demonstration mission is to construct two 10 meter solar arrays, in orbit, to power a small satellite. The Archinaut system will be integrated into an ESPA class satellite bus (an adapter for launching secondary payloads on orbital launch vehicles) and launched into space. Once in orbit, Archinaut will employ its extended structure AM capabilities and advanced robotics to manufacture and assemble the satellites power generation system.

Oceaneering Space Systems

Strategically located near Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Oceaneering Space Systems (OSS) has provided NASA with space flight hardware systems and equipment for more than 35 years. For Archinaut, OSS will focus on creating the robotic arm to be integrated with Made In Spaces novel 3D printing system.

Redwire

Formed in June 2020, new space venture Redwire has already incorporated several space companies into its acquisitions list. Self-defined as a new leader in mission-critical space solutions and high-reliability components for next-generation space systems and infrastructure, Redwire is now uniquely positioned to deliver end-to-end solutions to meet the needs of customers and advance the future of space exploration. Currently leading the work behind Archinaut, Redwire could become a household name as the space commercialization era proliferates.

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3D Printing and the Future of Space - 3DPrint.com

Sue Murphy

By Sue Murphy

I got an email from a friend the other day saying, I just want to get on a plane and go somewhere. I hear ya, buddy. I hear ya.

For people who love to travel, this past year has been difficult. Ive tried not to think about it, mostly, but I desperately, desperately want to be free to move about the cabin. I want to have a Coke in a plastic cup that I have to chug before we land. I want to watch important safety briefings that dont all start with the words stand six feet apart.

Technically, I know I could get on a plane right now, but I also know that its more prudent to wait until the herd is fully immunized. Besides, right now my destinations would be limited. They really dont want an American in Paris. Theyre not ready with a warm Gday, mate in Australia, either. At this point, Americans are not even welcome in Canada, and Canadians are right up there with the people of South Bend, Indiana, as being the nicest people on the planet.

I understand everybody being skittish. Im not all that anxious to share my space with people who come in from places where the virus protection standards have been less stringent (like Texas). Better to be sure were not spreading germs before we start spreading out across the globe.

But, as soon as the COVID fog has lifted, buddy, stand back. I will be throwing things in a suitcase and flying out the door. Ill be gathering up tour reservations and airline tickets and meal vouchers with both hands. I want to see Yellowstone and Glacier Bay. You might receive posts from Portugal and Prague and those blustery islands off the coast of Scotland.

But first, I want to visit my family. I want to run through the sprinkler with my Florida grandchildren. I want to have a glass of wine on my sisters patio. I want to go to Disney World. (Mickey and Minnie are second cousins on the rodent side of my family.)

After all of the safer-at-home restrictions, it will be wonderful to just go and go and go. Theres one place Im not going, however: space. SpaceX has an all-civilian excursion set to launch later this year. I did not apply. The very idea of a rocket launch manned by people who usually surf the web and order takeout gives safer at home a whole new meaning. Also, for all that the trip will cost its passengers, there are no verandah suites on that vessel, no stage shows, no signature frozen drinks that come with little umbrellas. At least I dont think so. They didnt mention them in the press release.

While a trip into space might seem like the ultimate travel experience, and the scenery would literally be out of this world, youd really just be looking at it through a very small window, smaller than the porthole youd get on a lower-level cruise package. Yes, you would be able to drink the water but thats because you brought it with you. You even have to bring your own air, and the only way to bring home souvenirs is to put on one of those giant hazmat-ish suits thats connected to your ship only by a cord controlled by a fellow amateur astronaut. Houston, I foresee a problem.

So, no space travel for me, thank you. Planes, trains, and automobiles? Line them up. Ive been revving my engines for over a year now. Ready? Set? Gooooooo!

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Murphy's Law: Oh, The Places I'll Go - Over the Mountain Journal

An artists concept shows one of NASAs LLITED satellites in orbit. (Description of Aerospace Corporation)

Seattle based Space Flight Inc. It says a couple studying the factors behind atmospheric traction have won a deal to handle launch logistics for NASA satellites.

Double cubes for a task called Improvements in low latitude ionosphere / temperature density, Or LLITED, to be launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year. That launch marks the first use of Spaceflights Sherpa-LTC orbital transmission vehicle, also known as the OTV or Space Duck.

In January, Sherpa-FX, a different space flight space drag Successfully sent a dozen spacecraft After a Balkan 9 launch. The Sherpa-LTC stands one step above the FX because it has its own orbital propulsion system.

Benchmark Space Systems is a chemically based thruster system built for space travel, making it possible for Sherpa-LDC to switch between different orbits. The space missions mission calls for early round satellite deployment, followed by setting up Shelba to place LLITED satellites in a different orbit.

Spaceflights full service delivery with a portfolio of Sherpa OTV vehicles greatly enhances the scientific opportunities for NASA, universities and other organizations to deploy to non-traditional orbit sites, said Valerie Scroopa, Business Development Director at Spacelight Inc. Said in a news release.

Another type of OTV, the Sherpa-LTE, will soon be introduced with an electric propulsion system.

Each of the LLITED satellites measures 4 by 4 by 6 inches, including their solar rows. The mission team includes scientists and engineers from The Aerospace Corp, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of New Hampshire.

At altitudes of 185 to 310 miles (300 to 500 km), LLITED explores the equatorial temperature of the equatorial atmosphere and the anomaly of the wind and the equatorial ionization anomaly that occurs in the region of electrically charged particles.

Aerospaces innovative CubeSat mission will measure both of these aspects simultaneously, a new milestone in orbital satellite capability, said Rebecca Bishop, Lis Linteis chief investigator at Aerospace Corp.

By observing this altitude more closely, scientists will gain a greater understanding of the magnitude of the change in atmospheric density, which affects the size of traction satellites and re-entry rates, Bishop said. Since traction depends on atmospheric density, understanding regional changes in density can help predict the re-entry time and path of an object.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its founding this year, Spaceflight Inc. is engaged in launching nearly 350 satellites in 37 passengers in eight different types of missile vehicles. The company plans to handle logistics for about 10 startups this year.

One such launch took place today. Rocket Laboratory It launched seven satellites from its New Zealand launch pad into low Earth orbit On the Electron Rocket One of those satellites is Blacksky 7, the seventh Earth observation satellite in the Blacksky Global Galaxy.

Spaceflight Inc. handled mission management and coordination services for the Blacksky satellite, not just the Seattle-area connection: Blocksky (Which was once a sister subsidiary of Spaceflight) has offices in Seattle and has built satellites Of Leostella Factory at Tuquila, Wash.

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Atmospheric-tracking satellites to ride in space flight space drag - The Press Stories

HONOLULU (KHON2) Hawaii third-grader and Girl Scout Laurel wrote an essay that is literally out of this world.

Laurel took part in the first-ever Making Space for Girls Challenge.

[Hawaii news on the goLISTEN to KHON 2GO weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m.]

Her essay out of 700 entries was one of 21 submissions picked to be included in a journey to the International Space Station.

To do the essay, I thought about the stuff we could do in the future and what I think would be nice to have, says Girl Scout Brownie Laurel S. from Troop 861. It makes me feel like the essay was special, so they chose it for its creativity.

Laurels submission included an essay and a Zoom interview.

The topic?What space travel will be like in 10 years.

My space dream is to take a car ship to Mars, says Laurel.

We might also build an elevator into space.If we do, it will have to have bathrooms, beds, a kitchen, and a TV.This is because the elevator will take 10 days to get into outer space.

I think its like a different dimension out there with other things that we can discover like new planets and new maybe sources of life.

The mission of the Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

80% of all female tech leaders, business tech leaders, were Girl Scouts, says Shari Chang, CEO of Girl Scouts of Hawaii.

Over 92% of every female astronaut was a Girl Scout.100% of all female Secretaries of State were Girl Scouts.Its a program that really provides girls with an opportunity to learn how to lead and become better leaders for their communities.

Selected items will go to space in the SpaceX Mission 23, scheduled to launch in August, 2021, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

All items will be returned once they are back on Earth and processed by NASA as Certified flown in space.

August is also when the Girls Scouts of Hawaii has planned to open their new STEM Center for Excellence in Paumal.

Click here for more information.

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Hawaii Girl Scout selected to have essay taken to space - KHON2

Some of the Avengers are still waiting to go to outer space. It's maybe not a coincidence that these characters will be MCU Phase 4's major players.

By the end of Avengers: Endgame, most of the Avengers have been to outer space but there are still some holdouts among Earth's Mightiest Heroes who have yet to travel to the final frontier. Of course, fighting an alien invasion was the reason the Avengers were assembled in the first place. After the universal ordeal caused by Thanos, Earth's defenders are now well-aware that the gravest threats come from outer space, which is protected by Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Early in Avengers: Endgame as the heroes launched towards Thanos' "retirement" planet, Rocket asked,"Who here hasn't been to space?" Captain America, Black Widow, and War Machine raised their hands, while Captain Marvel, Thor, Nebula, Bruce Banner, and Rocket - all veterans of space travel - looked on amused. When the Avengers executed their time heists of the Infinity Stones, Hawkeye was also able to boast that he's been to outer space. Prior to this, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and even Spider-Man traveled to Titan in Avengers: Infinity War where they linked up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Going to outer space is now old hat to the Avengers.

Related: How Every MCU Superhero Got Their Nickname In Canon

However, the Avengers who died thanks to Thanos' Snap have been denied the chance to go to space. Meanwhile, WandaVision introduced S.W.O.R.D., an agency dedicated to space defense and building sentient weapons, which shows how seriously the Earth now takes extraterrestrial invaders. Meanwhile, Nick Fury is working with Skulls to fend up a future Secret Invasion, while the MCU's newest superhero, Monica Rambeau, was a test pilot for S.W.O.R.D. It's likely not coincidental that the heroes who are still waiting for their chance to go to outer space are major players who arelikelyto comprise MCU Phase 4's Avengers lineup. Until then, outer space, and all of its incredible sights and unimaginable dangers, is waiting for these Avengers to come and visit.

In WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff learned that she is the Scarlet Witch, a wielder of chaos magic and one of the most powerful sorcerers alive. With her upcoming guest appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda may be more likely to jump across dimensions and open up the multiverse than strap into a spaceship and rocket into the stars, but the Scarlet Witch could still get her chance for space travel.

The Vision was rebuilt by S.W.O.R.D. as White Vision and given back his memories thanks to his doppelgnger in WandaVision. The future of the noble synthezoid and where Vision will appear next is a big question mark. It's possible Vision could return to S.W.O.R.D. or rejoin the Avengers,but working with S.W.O.R.D. could send him into space before long.

Sam Wilson was given Captain America's shield by Steve Rogers and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will explore his new mission as America's superhero. Although he's an Air Force pararescue airman, outer space is foreign territory to the Falcon. Sam would need a totally different kind of winged flying suit if the Falcon wants to soar through the stars.

Bucky Barnes is a World War II veteran and to him, going into outer space is the stuff of science fiction. The Winter Soldier has been coping with how different life is in the 20th century, but that already included fighting aliens in Avengers: Infinity War. If the Winter Soldier ever gets to go to space, he'll probably take it in stride as he has every other bizarre thing that's happened since he escaped his Hydra brainwashing.

While neither Ant-Man nor the Wasp has been to outer space, Scott Lang has a great deal of experience in the Quantum Realm. The microverse was vital to the Avengers' success in Endgame and the Quantum Realm is the exclusive corner of Lang and the Pym/Van Dyne family. However, knowing Scott Lang's exuberance, Ant-Man would probably jump at the chance to go to space, and Hope Van Dyne would likely join him so Scott doesn't get himself killed.

The tragic death of Chadwick Boseman means the Black Panther will not get to travel to the stars. Ironically, as the most technologically advanced nation on Earth, Wakanda is in a prime position to lead the planet in exploring the heavens. Black Panther 2 is expected to spotlight other characters in Wakanda so perhaps space travel could be something the Vibranium-rich nation will tackle next. But sadly, they would do so without King T'Challa leading the way.

There are still plenty of Avengers who have only ever been Earth-based, but that's bound to change as MCU Phase 4 jumps into and explores the multiverse.

Next: All 13 Marvel Movies Releasing After WandaVision

Ray Fishers Top Pick For Cyborg Movie Director Is Former Flash Helmer

John Orquiola is a Features staff writer who has been with Screen Rant for four years. He began as a directors assistant on various independent films. As a lover of film and film theory, John wrote humorous movie reviews on his blog, Back of the Head, which got him noticed by Screen Rant. John happily became the Star Trek guy at Screen Rant and he leads Feature coverage of the various Star Trek series, but he also writes about a wide range of subjects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Cobra Kai. His other great nerdy love is British TV series like The Crown, Downton Abbey, and Killing Eve. John can be found on Twitter @BackoftheHead if you want to see photos of the food he eats.

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Every Avenger Who Still Hasn't Been To Space | Screen Rant - Screen Rant