Tomorrow’s launch of a classified US Air Force payload will be the last use of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket for such missions. It will the rocket’s 100th national security launch.
The Atlas rocket, first built in 1957, is America’s longest-serving active rocket. Over the years, the rockets have launched numerous critical government and commercial missions, including NASA missions. For instant, it sent NASA’s Curiosity Rover to Mars. Most recently it sent the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (now the Starliner needs to find its own way back).
More Atlas V missions are planned even with the absence of national security missions, but the ULA’s focus is turning towards its new Vulcan rocket, which is still being tested.
The era of the Atlas rocket is quickly coming to a close.
You still have time to sign up for the Mars Society’s 27th Annual International Mars Society Convention, happening from August 8-11 in Seattle, WA.
Some of the guests include:
Tiffany M. Morgan, Deputy Director of the Mars Exploration Program in NASA’s Science Directorate, who will give an address about “Exploring Mars Together, DRAFT Plan for a Sustainable Future for Science at Mars.”
Howard Hu, the Orion Program Director at NASA, who will give an address about “NASA’s Artemis plans for returning to the Moon and beyond,”
Brig. General (Ret.) Dr. S. Pete Worden, Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, who will give an address about “Life in the Universe and Private Sector Space Science Initiatives.”
Dr. Alan Stern, a renowned planetary scientist and commercial astronaut, who will give an address about “The Other Red Planet” focusing on Pluto.
These are just a few of the names and presenters this year. You can also watch the presentations from prior conventions if you want to see what you missed.
Two astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner remain stuck in space as the mission exceeded its 45-day battery window being docked at the International Space Station. The capsule, which arrived at the space station on June 6, was initially approved to stay for up to 45 days but with no return date set, the astronauts’ stay has been “extended indefinitely,” NBC affiliate WESH reported. NASA and Boeing said the capsule’s batteries are performing well despite the extended stay. Tuesday marked 47 days since they’ve been at the ISS.
NASA says its next spacewalk will be delayed indefinitely until engineers understand more about what caused a coolant leak on June 24. Tracy Dyson, a NASA astronaut, had a brief spacesuit leak a month ago while still in the hatch of the International Space Station (ISS). She and Mike Barrett had just opened the door for a 6.5-hour spacewalk for maintenance activities, when showers of ice particles erupted from a spacesuit connection to the ISS. The spacewalk was suspended, but the astronauts were never in any danger, NASA has emphasized.
Two years after stating there were no plans to save artifacts from the destructive end of the International Space Station (ISS), NASA is now in the early stages of identifying what small parts of the orbiting laboratory to preserve. Agency officials on Wednesday (July 17) shared the preliminary details during a media briefing about the space station’s end of life in 2030 and the selection of SpaceX to build the vehicle that will move the massive complex out of orbit such that it mostly burns up in Earth’s atmosphere and plunge any surviving fragments into a remote area of the ocean.
Image (Credit): An artist’s rendering of the NASA’s PRIME-1 spacecraft approaching the Moon. The mission will need to accomplish some of the work previously assigned to the VIPER mission. (NASA)
Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, and NASA has decided to cancel its Moon rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project, after spending $450 million. Cost overruns and multiple delays had made the mission too expensive and too late in the game to be useful.
Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated:
We are committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity through the [Commercial Lunar Payload Services] program…The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years. Our path forward will make maximum use of the technology and work that went into VIPER, while preserving critical funds to support our robust lunar portfolio.
Fortunately, VIPER was one of a number of missions designed to seek water on the lunar surface. For example, NASA has the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) , which is still scheduled to land at the South Pole later this year.
It has been a rough year for NASA, but the multiple missions planned for the Moon provide more opportunities to get it right, while the ISS issues do not appear insurmountable. NASA just needs a break, and its commercial partners need to prove they can meet the goals that were set for them.
Note: If you were one of the people who added your name to the VIPER mission, maybe NASA will open up another opportunity for your name on the Moon.
“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth…The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all.”
–Statement by Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, regarding NASA announcement that SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle under a contract worth $843 million. This expensive Deorbit Vehicle should help to avoid problems on the ground as well as orbiting debris impacting space missions, as was the case on the International Space Station (ISS) a few days ago. The ISS is expected to continue operation until 2030.
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