Another Businessman to the Rescue

Posted on by onespaceman2000

As if saving the Hubble Space Telescope was not enough, another businessman thinks he can do better with submersibles heading down to the Titanic. What could go wrong?

Ohio businessman Larry Connor believes he can safely tour the Titanic wreckage without encountering the same issues as the OceanGate TItan submersible that never made it back last year. I guess he is bored after his trip to the International Space Station as a tourist and needs something to do.

It would appear that space and the sea exploration is a plaything these days for folks with more money than sense. I don’t think success in luxury real estate equates to success in seafaring, but he would not be the first person at the bottom of the sea wondering what went wrong.

Maybe setting up a nonprofit organization to encourage space and sea exploration among the young who would never otherwise have such chances would be better investment in the long run.

Whatever happened to those guys who bought a convertible and rode off into the sunset when they had their mid- to end-of-life crisis?

The Launch of PREFIRE to Monitor the Poles

Posted on by onespaceman2000

NASA has more eyes in the skies after the launch on Saturday of its Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) mission. One of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket place the satellites into orbit from the launch facility in New Zealand.

The pair of CubeSats will spend 10 months monitoring the two poles of the Earth and help NASA to better better predict changes to the climate based on changes in the Earth’s ice, seas, and weather.

Tristan L’Ecuyer, PREFIRE’s principal investigator at thebUniversity of Wisconsin in Madison stated:

Our planet is changing quickly, and in places like the Arctic, in ways that people have never experienced before…NASA’s PREFIRE will give us new measurements of the far-infrared wavelengths being emitted from Earth’s poles, which we can use to improve climate and weather models and help people around the world deal with the consequences of climate change.

The name of the mission, PREFIRE, is a little scary given the fires throughout the world said to be associated with climate change. Sadly, we are far from pre-fire and more like mid-fire. We can only hope that better information from the satellites can help us to steer a safer path.

Space Quote: A Private Mission to Save Hubble?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Hubble Space Telescope returning to orbit after its second servicing mission in February 1997. (NASA)

“Perhaps the opportunity with Polaris won’t be there, but NASA can work with Congress and the Administration to request funds for a Hubble reboost or enhancement mission, using a commercial partner where NASA is in the drivers [sic] seat, and the maturity of the space systems is higher and lower risk.”

-Statement by John Grunsfeld, an astronaut who operated on Hubble multiple times, in an NPR story regarding an offer by businessman Jared Isaacman to privately fund a mission to move the Hubble Space Telescope to a higher orbit and conduct necessary repairs to extend the telescope’s life. His offer has been met with some skepticism due to the difficulty of such a mission.

ISS May Soon Have an Indian Astronaut

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): India’s Vikram lander on the Moon’s surface. (India Space Research Organization)

A U.S. official speaking in India promised that an Indian astronaut would be on the International Space Station (ISS) soon, maybe by year end. The Hindustan Times reports that the comments were made by U.S. Envoy Eric Garcetti at the US-India Commercial Space Conference: Unlocking Opportunities for US & Indian Space Startups.

Mr. Garcetti was quoted as stating:

NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts, with the goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station, hopefully, this year or shortly thereafter, which was one of the promises of our leaders’ visit together.

India already has a growing space program, including last year’s rover mission on the Moon, yet this is a smart move by the U.S. It is similar to Russian efforts to expand the list of visitors to the ISS.

NASA is the Place to Work

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Even with the recent budget-related stress, NASA continues to be a happy place for its workers. The agency was rated by its employees as the best place work for the 12th straight year in the 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey, issued by the Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group. This top ranking was among the larger agencies. A more complete listing based on agency size is shown in the graphic below.

In a press release regarding the survey results, NASA’s Administrator Bill Nelson stated:

Once again, NASA has shown that with the world’s finest workforce, we can reach the stars…Through space exploration, advances in aviation, groundbreaking science, new technologies, and more, the team of wizards at NASA do what is hard to achieve what is great. That’s the pioneer spirit that makes NASA the best place to work in the federal government. With this ingenuity and passion, we will continue to innovate for the benefit of all and inspire the world.

Congrats to the team at NASA that has kept the agency in the lead through interesting work and positive management. A big mission needs an ambitious and happy staff to keep the dream alive.