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Roundup While NASA finally gave up Opportunity Rover, a UK-built space harpoon was fired last week, much to the chagrin of an ex-former Shuttle Shuttle … and earlier today. Now, the United Kingdom has agreed to launch money for satellite technology.
Moby Dick at Spaaaaaace: Harpooning Space Junk
The University of Surrey was surprised to tell us at the end of last week that the third RemoveDEBRIS test was a success. Previous tests had deployed a net to capture simulated debris, while another had used a combination of LiDAR devices and camera-based visuals to identify in-orbit waste.
This time, the boffins deployed a 1.5m arrow from the RemoveDEBRIS probe with a piece of simulated satellite hanging on the end. A harpoon was fired at 20 m / second to pierce the thing and demonstrate the potential of using such a device to pick up similar parts.
Co-financed by the European Union and launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 in April 2018 as part of the replenishment mission of the International Space Station (ISS) CRS-14, the 100 kg satellite is operated by Surrey Satellite Technology. It was built by a consortium led by the University of Surrey.
The harpoon was the contribution of Airbus UK to the project.
RemoveDEBRIS, the largest satellite deployed since the ISS, has one last experience to achieve; the inflation of a mainsail which, according to the engineers, would lead to the destruction of the satellite in the Earth's atmosphere.
Chris Burgess, of Airbus, said: "The successful spatial demonstration of harpoon technology is an important step in solving the growing problem of space debris." But others were less than happy.
Wayne Hale, former NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager, lamented the efforts made, highlighting the dangers of the harpoon approach:
And probably causes significant new debris big enough to be deadly and too small to be tracked
– Wayne Hale (@waynehale) February 15, 2019
In addition to Hale's comments, debris in space is a very real problem, with 40,000 objects currently tracked in orbit (and much smaller to detect) requiring maneuvering from a spacecraft so avoid a collision ending the mission. A study conducted by ESA in his Columbus laboratory, which spent 11 years attached to the ISS, revealed "several hundred" debris-shaped impact craters of size generally less than 1 mm ".
Something bigger would be a bad day for all concerned.
The United States stays in space by buying more seats on Russian rockets
NASA has so much confidence in its trading partners, SpaceX and Boeing, that it will buy some extra space on the Russian satellite Soyuz in case the duo continue to drag their heels.
First reported in NASASpaceflight.com, NASA plans more trips for its trip until 2020, when SpaceX and Boeing were to launch astros on the ISS before that date.
This is a reasonable precaution. Delays in launching commercial space spacecraft due to a variety of reasons, from funding to financing, are a little more complicated than expected, but they are breathtaking. Both teams must fly to make NASA feel comfortable not to rely on Russia, at least as an alternative for US access to the ISS.
The latest commercial team schedule is for SpaceX to launch its first demonstration mission on the ISS on March 2nd. She must then perform an abandonment demonstration test and perform a crewed mission before NASA considers a crew rotation of the ISS. Boeing's schedule for his Starliner could be described as a little more fluid.
Security is of course paramount. As a result, additional delays will be unavoidable as companies are examined prior to this first flight to "capture the flag" left by the last shuttle mission.
The news was announced as NASA's Office of the Inspector General announced the holding of an audit that would closely examine the means by which NASA will route its passengers to the ISS.
OIG announces an audit that will examine NASA's plans to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.
– NASA OIG (@NASAOIG) February 14, 2019
Fun times at NASA headquarters, for sure.
UK Space to £ 18 million Internet Satellite Coverage
UK Science Minister Chris Skidmore has taken advantage of his visit to the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands to inform everyone that $ 18 million in funding will go to OneWeb, based in the UK , via ESA.
While OneWeb has big ambitions that call for launching a constellation of 650 satellites, scalable to 900, providing global Internet coverage, the money will initially be allocated to its Sunrise program.
Sunrise will focus primarily on payload technology, ground connections and debris removal. The trendy word bingo players will be pleased to note that this investment will "also support new automation techniques and artificial intelligence" in the management of the constellation as well as in its interaction with the ground for 5G purposes .
The first batch of 10 satellites of the OneWeb constellation is to be launched by French Guiana aboard a Soyuz on 26 February.
With Brexit lagging behind, the British Space Agency has made clear that ESA's global project covers seven countries, including Canada, "and shows how the UK will continue to work in Europe and the UK. world".
After all, the United Kingdom is a world leader in satellite technology. As noted by the British Space Agency, last month saw the launch of Eutelsat Quantum, a revolutionary software-defined spacecraft, funded largely by the British government.
Surrey Satellite has set up the platform. The final assembly and tests however took place in France. ®
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