Space Stories: Russia Destroys Own Cosmonaut Launch Site, Cosmonaut Removed from ISS Crew, and Martian Drainage Systems (Not Canals)

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—The Independent: “Russia Accidentally Destroys its Only Way of Sending Astronauts to Space“

Russia’s only crewed-mission launch site has suffered major damage following a rocket launch on Thursday. The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will be unable to host launches until repairs are made, according to the space agency Roscosmos, marking the first time in decades that Russia has lost the ability to send people to space. The launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft was otherwise successful, with none of the crew members injured.

—United24 Media: “Russian Cosmonaut Allegedly Photographed Confidential SpaceX Docs, Removed From NASA Crew-12 Mission“

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev has been removed from the prime crew of SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station and replaced by fellow Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev after sources alleged he photographed confidential SpaceX materials in California in violation of US export control rules, according to The Insider on December 2. The outlet reported that Trishkin also said NASA did not want the controversy around Artemyev to become public, while Artemyev was removed from training at SpaceX’s Hawthorne California, facility last week after allegedly photographing SpaceX engines and other internal materials on his phone and taking them off-site.

—University of Texas “Scientists Map Mars’ Large River Drainage Systems for First Time“

A new study published in PNAS from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin is the first to define large river drainage systems on the red planet. They outlined 16 large-scale river basins where life would have been most likely to thrive on the neighboring planet. “We’ve known for a long time that there were rivers on Mars,” said co-author Timothy A. Goudge, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “But we really didn’t know the extent to which the rivers were organized in large drainage systems at the global scale.”

If at First You Don’t Succeed: Jared Isaacman is Really Back

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1, which is a single-launch, lunar cargo lander. (Blue Origin)

President Trump has had a change of heart on Jared Isaacman, his initial nominee for NASA administrator until he withdrew that nomination earlier this year.

Earlier today, the President posted the following:

Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era.

So what has changed in the last few months to make Mr. Isaacman “ideally suited” to lead NASA as compared to when he was determine unsuitable? I cannot think of anything other than the end of the President’s feud with Elon Musk. Of course, that was recently replaced with Elon Musk’s feud with acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, who proposed reopening competition for the first manned Moon landing this century due to delays with SpaceX’s Starship.

Will Mr. Isaacman save Musk’s Moon mission? He may calm some of the acrimony for the time being, but any new NASA administrator had better have a solid plan to get Americans back on the Moon before China does. Mr. Isaacman may be friends with Mr. Musk, but should he be confirmed he will head a weakened space agency that is struggling with a complex Moon mission that may be much less complex without the Starship refueling plans. In fact, Blue Origin just submitted a new Moon mission plan that drops this refueling altogether.

It is not impossible the winds will shift again, leaving Mr. Isaacman adrift once more. That is how it is in Washington these days. Fickle leadership leads to fickle decision-making and fickle planning.

The Chinese are not having these issues at the moment as they aim to be on the Moon by 2030.

Space Quote: SpaceX May Lose the Moon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay.

“If SpaceX is behind, but Blue Origin can do it before them, good on Blue Origin…But … we’re not going to wait for one company. We’re going to push this forward and win the second space race against the Chinese.”

–Statement by acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy regarding ongoing delays with SpaceX’s Starship, which was given a $2.9 billion contract in 2021 for a lunar landing vehicle as part of Artemis III. As a result, NASA may reopen to lunar lander contract. Blue Origin is working on its own lunar lander called Blue Moon. As noted in yesterday’s post, Mr. Musk has been distracted this year, so it may make sense to have a solid back up.

Update: Mr. Musk was not pleased with the news. In reference to acting NASA Administrator Duffy, Mr. Musk commented, “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ.” The man certainly knows how to make friends.

We Need Mr. Musk to Concentrate on Starship

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by mariocus from Pixabay.

Now that Mr. Musk is done with his misadventures in Washington, DC, everyone was hoping he would start to focus more on SpaceX and the Starship tests that are critical to NASA’s Artemis mission. That may be too reasonable.

First, we see that Mr. Musk is getting involved in British politics again. That has never been a good thing for the Brits or his ignored companies. I agree with the UK’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband when he states,

We have a message for Elon Musk. Get the hell out of our politics and our country.

And now we read that the Russians are interested in a rail tunnel between Alaska and Russia, with Musk’s Boring Company taking the lead. President Trump said he is considering it.

It sounds like a ruse to me. President Putin is ten times smarter than Mr. Musk when it comes to foreign affairs, so it is likely this is something he can dangle in front of Musk to distract him and maybe even bring him over to his side on the Ukranian issue where Starlink is still a critical resource. President Putin’s Chinese friends will also be very happy for the distraction if it delays U.S. ambitions related to the Moon.

None of this makes a lot of sense. Russia’s main export is energy, which is more economical by ship (and Alaska is not looking for any competition with its oil industry). Plus, the Russian side of the tunnel is underdeveloped and not ready for the inflows the tunnel would bring. Besides, I thought we were trying to restrict Russian trade.

It all sounds like a pipe dream (or tunnel dream) with no real purpose other than to play the trade card for Trump while making Musk feel like an important piece of the puzzle.

Both President Trump and Mr. Musk have trouble focusing unless they see themselves personally benefiting, and the Russians know this.

NASA needs to drum up a Moon tunnel real quick for Mr. Musk’s company if it wants to regain his attention.

Starship Has Successful 11th Launch

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Starship rocket on the launchpad in Texas on Monday, October 13th, just prior to launch. (SpaceX)

The Starship launches have been going a little better, with yesterday’s 11th launch meeting its goals, including the release of a practice satellite.

Following the launch, SpaceX stated:

Every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy...Focus now turns to the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy, with multiple vehicles currently in active build and preparing for tests. This next iteration will be used for the first Starship orbital flights, operational payload missions, propellant transfer, and more as we iterate to a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

I like that ending, which sounds like something you would hear on the airport bus as you approach the rental lot, “…with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”

Let’s just hope this bus can get NASA to its next destination on time.