Space Stories: Venusian Balloons, Sun Observations, and a Private Moon Trip

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Test of the one-third scale prototype aerobot designed to withstand the corrosive chemicals in Venus’ atmosphere. (Near Space Corporation)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NASA.gov: “JPL’s Venus Aerial Robotic Balloon Prototype Aces Test Flights“

A scaled-down version of the aerobot that could one day take to the Venusian skies successfully completed two Nevada test flights, marking a milestone for the project…The shimmering silver balloon ascended more than 4,000 feet (1 kilometer) over Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to a region of Earth’s atmosphere that approximates the temperature and density the aerobot would experience about 180,000 feet (55 kilometers) above Venus. Coordinated by Near Space, these tests represent a milestone in proving the concept’s suitability for accessing a region of Venus’ atmosphere too low for orbiters to reach, but where a balloon mission could operate for weeks or even months.

—SkyandTelescope.org: “‘Chinese Observatory Will Study Violent Events on the Sun“

China has launched a solar observatory to study solar flares and eruptions, and their connection with the Sun’s magnetic field…[the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S)] is planned to operate at 720 kilometers (447 miles) above Earth’s surface in a Sun-synchronous orbit that will allow it to observe the Sun at all times. Its primary, four-year mission is timed to make the most of the 2024–2025 solar maximum, when the Sun is at its most active during its 11-year cycle.

—Space.com: “‘SpaceX Says its 2nd Private Starship Trip Around the Moon will Help Make Humanity Multiplanetary“

SpaceX’s newly announced tourist mission to the moon could help humanity extend its footprint far beyond Earth, company representatives say. That mission, which was revealed today (Oct. 12), will send wealthy entrepreneur Dennis Tito, his wife Akiko and 10 other people on a weeklong journey around the moon aboard SpaceX’s huge Starship vehicle, which is still in development. Who those 10 other passengers will be is unknown; only the Titos have reserved seats at the moment.

More Space Travel Offers from China and NASA

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Image (Credit): Artist’s impression of the Chinese Space Station. (China Manned Space Program)

The China Global Television Network recently reported that China is looking into offering space rides to commercial passengers by 2025, including suborbital flights, cargo flights, and trips to Chinese Space Station. For instance, suborbital flights are expected to be priced at 2 and 3 million yuan (or $287,200 to $430,800).

Given the growing U.S. space industry with its own range of space flight options, it was only a matter of time that China would enter this commercial space race. Russia has been in the game the longest, having sold seats to U.S. astronauts hoping to reach the International Space Station (ISS) following the demise of the space shuttle.

Not to be outdone, NASA has also announced plans to take commercial passengers to the ISS at $55 million per seat. According to Tech Times, NASA is seeking commercial partners for two such flights per year starting as early as 2023. We have already discussed the Axiom Mission 1 (or AX-1 mission) to the ISS earlier this year at about the same price, so this is not a new idea. I guess the Axiom Mission 1 went well enough for NASA to see this as a regular operation.

A variety of space travel options from a variety of countries and commercial suppliers shows that playing in space can be both fun and profitable. Just ask Captain Kirk.

That is fine, as long as the tourists do not get in the way of the real work that is being conducted. With the taxpayers still footing most of the space-faring bill, we do not want space travel to be seen as only a luxury for the wealthy (similar to electric vehicles in the U.S., up to now). Space and related space travel should be seen as something belonging to everyone.

The State of the Space Industry

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Credit: The Space Foundation

A recent report by the Space Foundation shared the following figures:

  • The global space economy hit $469 billion in 2021;
  • The space sector saw 9 percent revenue growth since 2020; and
  • 1,022 spacecraft placed in orbit during the first six months of 2022.

In a troubling time around the globe, those are some pretty positive numbers. Just in terms of launched spacecraft, we can also see the commercial sector is playing a large role:

The [second quarter] edition also looks at the record pace of successful launches from Jan. 1 to June 30, with 72 rockets inserting 1,022 identified spacecraft into space. That is more spacecraft attaining orbit in just six months than were launched in the first 52 years of the Space Age. Most of those new satellites came from the commercial sector, which launched 958 spacecraft in the first half of 2022.

It is clearly not just a government space game, though the report also notes that government spending increased since 2020 around the globe, such as the U.S. (18 percent), China (23 percent), and India (36 percent).

As you can also see from the graphic above, 90 nations are now operating in space. We cannot pretend that all of this is for space exploration. While much of it relates to defense and commercial spacecraft looking downward, it still leaves plenty of spacecraft to explore our awesome universe.

Space Quote: A Return to the Space Race

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Image (Credit): Image from the earlier Space Race between the US and Soviet Union. (The Independent)

“Space will be the next great commons, a shared global resource like the oceans or cyberspace. History shows that these great commons are inevitably a source of competition and conflict, not voluntary cooperation. Whoever dominates space will determine the future of nations. We have to abandon the globalist fantasy that the U.S., China, and Russia will work together to keep space rules-based, free and open.”

-Arthur Herman, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, in The Wall Street Journal editorial titled “How to Beat China in the New Space Race.” Mr. Herman is also author of To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World.

China Also Has a Secret Space Plane

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Image (Credit): USAF’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at Vandenberg AFB, California in June 2009. (USAF)

You may have heard of the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) X-37B unmanned mini-space shuttle that has been sent into orbit many times in the past. It performed secretive missions for the USAF, yet it now falls under the U.S. Space Force. The X-37B is currently orbiting the Earth and has been doing so since May 2020. While it has been said to carry various NASA experiments, this is probably cover for its other work (given that the International Space Station is more than able to carry out these experiments).

So while we are still trying to figure out the real mission of the X-37B, China is experimenting with its own secret space plane and saying even less. On August 4th, China launched its space plane aboard a Long March 2F rocket for a spin around the globe. This is part of continuing experimental flights.

And just in case you might think Russia is falling behind, it already has spacecraft in orbit that seem to be tracking some U.S. satellites.

What are these nations up to? The role of the U.S. Space Force relates to:

…organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.

That does not sound like a scientific mission, which is why the USAF and not NASA owned the spacecraft years back.

More likely than not, while these spacecraft will be able to repair and protect the parent nation’s satellites, they will also be able to block, disable, and destroy the satellites of other nations. Yes, this is the militarization of space and all that means in a time or war – potentially endless debris threatening the missions of the other satellites orbiting the planet.

Like it or not, the space race continues on in many forms.

Note: The U.S. Air Force still has a page on the X-37B that highlights its mission. The page states:

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force. The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold; reusable spacecraft technologies for America’s future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.

Here are the specs for the X-37B:

  • Primary Mission: Experimental test vehicle
  • Prime Contractor: Boeing
  • Height: 9 feet, 6 inches (2.9 meters)
  • Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters)
  • Wingspan: 14 feet, 11 inches (4.5 meters)
  • Launch Weight: 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms)
  • Power: Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with lithium-Ion batteries
  • Launch Vehicles: United Launch Alliance Atlas V (501) and SpaceX Falcon 9