Space Stories: Starliner Still Stuck, Space Walks Nixed, and ISS Artifacts Being Considered

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Photo of the Islands of the Caribbean Sea itaken by an astronaut from inside the Cupola on the International Space Station. (NASA)

Here are some recent stories of interest related to the International Space Station (ISS).

—WFLA.com: “Astronauts Remain in Space as Boeing’s Starliner Mission Exceeds 45-day Window at ISS“

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.

—Space.com: “NASA delays ISS Spacewalks Indefinitely to Investigate Spacesuit Coolant Leak“

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.

—Collectspace.com: “NASA Looking at What Artifacts to Save from ISS Before 2030 Demise“

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.

Travel to the ISS May be Limited to the Russians

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Image (Credit): A Russian Soyuz spacecraft outside the ISS. (NASA)

Well, the U.S. now has one space company with its manned spacecraft stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) while a second space company responsible for manned flights to the ISS has been grounded following a rocket mishap.

That’s right, while the Boeing Starliner awaits word on when it can return to Earth after it maiden flight, SpaceX just suffered a Falcon 9 rocket launch failure related to its Starlink program.

So where does this leave the ISS? Dependent on the Russians for manned flights to the ISS until the SpaceX problem can be investigated. Of course, SpaceX was also one solution for returning the Boeing crew to Earth if the Starliner problem could not be timely resolved. So much for that at the moment.

Both the Boeing and SpaceX issues could be resolved in the next few weeks, but this shows how quickly the situation can change on the ground and in space. While the Russians have certainly had their own issues with the Soyuz spacecraft as well, at least the men and women on the station have one option available to them.

Let’s hope Boeing gets its act together and the SpaceX mishap can be resolved quickly.

Space Quote: Turning the ISS into Very Expensive Space Junk

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“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.

Space Stories: Launch of GOES-U Satellite, Jupiter’s Surprising Atmosphere, and the Role of Black Holes in Dark Matter

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Image (Credit): June 25, 2024 launch of NASA’s GOES-U satellite. (SpaceX)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—America Space: “Falcon Heavy Launches, GOES-U Heads for Geostationary Orbit“

SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon Heavy of the year on Wednesday evening, the triple-barreled booster lifting the 11,000-pound (5,000-kilogram) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-U) almost to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Heavy—flying for the first time since November 2022 with a brand-new center core and pair of side-mounted strap-on boosters—went airborne from historic Pad 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 5:26 p.m. EDT, ten minutes after the opening of a two-hour “launch window”.

—European Space Agency: “Jupiter’s Upper Atmosphere Surprises Astronomers“

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter was observed by Webb’s Near-InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in July 2022, using the instrument’s Integral Field Unit capabilities. The team’s Early Release Science observations sought to investigate if this region was in fact dull, and the region above the iconic Great Red Spot was targeted for Webb’s observations. The team was surprised to discover that the upper atmosphere hosts a variety of intricate structures, including dark arcs and bright spots, across the entire field of view. “We thought this region, perhaps naively, would be really boring,” shared team leader Henrik Melin of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. “It is in fact just as interesting as the northern lights, if not more so. Jupiter never ceases to surprise.”

—University of Warsaw: “Is Dark Matter Made of Black Holes?“

Gravitational wave detectors, LIGO and Virgo, have detected a population of massive black holes whose origin is one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy. According to one hypothesis, these objects may have formed in the very early Universe and may compose dark matter, a mysterious substance filling the Universe. A team of scientists from the OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment) survey from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw have announced the results of nearly 20-year-long observations indicating that such massive black holes may comprise at most a few percent of dark matter. Another explanation, therefore, is needed for gravitational wave sources. The results of the study were published in two articles, in Nature and the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.

Podcast: A Mixed Week for Musk

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Image (Credit): Scene from a Tesla crash. (fox2detroit.com)

While things appear to be going Elon Musk’s way with his ridiculous Tesla pay package, The Wall Street Journal had another story this week that discussed his self-serving management style that should not merit reward. The article, “Elon Musk’s Boundary-Blurring Relationships With Women at SpaceX,” highlights some pretty horrible behavior for a man that then and now believes he is above the law (and all codes of decency).

If you cannot read the Journal article, you can find summaries of the story elsewhere or listen to the Wall Street Journal podcast called The Journal. The podcast is titled “Elon Musk’s Unusual Relationships With Women at SpaceX.”

It is scary that the US space program is so dependent on the behavior of this man, who has already been part of prior Wall Street Journal articles about his drug use.

We need to build greater depth in our space program, be it Blue Origin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, or others. The dream of a stronger space program could die if we tie too much to one man.