Space Quote: Better Late Than Never

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Nancy Grace Roman with a scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA)

“I just want to thank everybody, and congratulate you. Boy, it looked beautiful on television…Jared is doing a fantastic job, you are doing a fantastic job, and I’m supplying you all that money.”

–Statement by President Trump to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman after the successful launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Of course, this is the same president that submitted multiple budgets over the years that would have eliminated this same telescope as well as many other NASA programs. In fact, only the bipartisan efforts of Congress made the launch possible by “supplying…all that money.” Given the status of other White House efforts in Iran and elsewhere, it makes sense the president is looking for a win. Let’s hope NASA has plenty more wins coming up to keep the budget ax far away.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Has Launched

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope aboard a SpaceX rocket transiting the sun during launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier today. (NASA/John Kraus)

Earlier today, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was successfully launched from Florida’ Kennedy Space Center. It is now on a journey toward the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, about 1 million miles from Earth where it will start its mission.

The Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s, which it can use to view billions of galaxies as well as answer questions about exoplanets, dark energy, dark matter, and more.

Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated:

Roman will be a discovery machine that will bring us closer than ever before to answering humanity’s most profound questions about our cosmic history…With its large field of view and fast survey speeds, Roman will usher us into a new era of discovery and make the invisible visible, setting the foundation for humanity’s search for life beyond our solar system.

Not a bad mission for a repurposed spy satellite donated to NASA back in 2012. I wonder if the National Reconnaissance Office has any other old satellites or spacecraft lying around that it might want to put to use discovering more about the universe.

It’s a promising way to turn swords into plowshares.

A Day in Astronomy: India Lands a Spacecraft on the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Chandrayaan-3 lander named Vickram and rover names Pragyan on the lunar surface. (NASA)

On this day in 2023, India became the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon (following the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China). India’s Chandrayaan-3 probe landed at the lunar South Pole, the first spacecraft to land in that region. Chandrayaan-2 had crashed on the Moon’s surface back in 2019, whereas Chandrayaan-1 was a lunar orbiter in 2008.

The mission objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 included:

  • Testing the elemental composition of lunar soil.
  • Measuring the near surface plasma density and how it changes over time.
  • Measuring the thermal properties of the lunar surface near polar regions.
  • Measuring the seismic activity around the landing site to deduce the internal structure of the lunar crust and mantle.

As with the US space program, the boost to Indian pride following this successful mission was immeasurable. As one proud Indian noted:

The success of Chandrayaan-3 reverberated through classrooms and homes across India, with countless young eyes glued to screens, witnessing a historic moment. The mission’s success, though grand, is symbolic of more profound implications. With a burgeoning youth population, India stands on the precipice of a new era of innovation. The world’s largest youth demographic resides here, and Chandrayaan-3 has offered them more than just a scientific marvel; it has provided them with a vision of what’s achievable.

Space Quote: LINK May Still Be in the Game

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The LINK spacecraft with a deployed solar array in Earth orbit. (Katalyst Space)

“LINK originally was in a multi-axis spin rotating at about 9 degrees per second, which resulted in sporadic communications and impeded LINK’s progress toward Swift. Using a series of burns from one of LINK’s electric propulsion thrusters, the Katalyst team now has slowed that spin to about 1.47 degrees per second. Katalyst plans to keep LINK at that spin rate as it proceeds with next steps for the mission. This includes uploading a flight software update in the coming days with new attitude controllers designed to maintain LINK’s stability in its current configuration. These updates would allow LINK to begin maneuvering to align with Swift’s orbit.”

-Statement by NASA on August 6, 2026 regarding efforts to resolve issues with the LINK spacecraft sent to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbital altitude. Launched on July 3, the spacecraft began to spin in space around July 25, which led to a temporary loss of contact with the ground crew. If all goes well, LINK could reach the observatory before the end of August.

Space Quote: Two Spacecraft Are Now Imperiled

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the LINK spacecraft in the Pegasus XL Rocket after launch. (Northrop Grumman)

“Over the weekend, Katalyst’s LINK servicing spacecraft experienced issues with attitude control, causing the spacecraft to spin and resulting in sporadic communications. Preliminary investigation shows that two of LINK’s three reaction wheels currently are not operable, and there is some loss of functionality in its cold gas thruster system. LINK is designed to approach, capture, and boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbital altitude.”

-Statement by NASA regarding the private sector LINK mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is slowly losing altitude and is expected to burn up in the atmosphere by year’s end if nothing is done. The LINK mission was launched from the Marshall Islands on July 3rd aboard a Pegasus rocket.