Fresh Tiger Stripes on Saturns Enceladus

Do underground oceans vent through the tiger stripes on Saturn's moon Enceladus? Long features dubbed tiger stripes are known to be spewing ice from the moon's icy interior into space, creating a cloud of fine ice particles over the moon's South Pole and creating Saturn's mysterious E-ring. Evidence for this has come from the robot Cassini spacecraft that orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017. Pictured here, a high resolution image of Enceladus is shown from a close flyby. The unusual surface features dubbed tiger stripes are visible in false-color blue. Why Enceladus is active remains a mystery, as the neighboring moon Mimas,approximately the same size, appears quite dead. A recent analysis of ejected ice grains has yielded evidence that complex organic molecules exist inside Enceladus. These large carbon-rich molecules bolster -- but do not prove -- that oceans under Enceladus' surface could contain life. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tP4BuT

Sirangelo Is Stepping Down at Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada Corporation Memo: Mark Sirangelo: My Transition At SNC

"I wanted to let you know of decision that I have made. After reflecting on my commercial space journey over the past 17 years and after significant consideration I have concluded that it is time for me to make a change and end my executive role leading Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems. This decision is being made from a positive personal place and as a friendly transition from SNC with the knowledge that the SNC space business is stable and strong."

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The East 96th Street Moon

A very full Moon rose over Manhattan's Upper Eastside on June 28, known to some as the Strawberry Moon. Near the horizon, the warm yellow lunar disk was a bit ruffled and dimmed by a long sight-line through dense, hazy atmosphere. Still it fit well with traffic and lights along East 96th street in this urban astroimage. The telephoto shot was (safely) taken from elevated ground looking east-southeast from Central Park, planet Earth. Of course, the East 96th street moon was the closest Full Moon to this year's northern summer solstice. via NASA https://ift.tt/2lKMzFG

Boeing's Creepy Petition Wants To Track Your Online Activity

Keith's note: A month ago I mentioned the Facebook advertsing that Boeing has been doing (see "Boeing's Imaginary Space Program"). Well, they are at it again. I just saw this advertisement show up on Facebook (larger image). It leads with "NASA hasn't used American-made spacecraft to send astronauts to space since 2011. Sign the petition to show you support AMERICAN-MADE SPACECRAFT." What's their point? The only competitor Boeing has right now for NASA business is another 100% American-made spacecraft by SpaceX. And I suppose you can add in Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin too if you want. So no matter who flies on a commercial vehicle they will be flying on an American spacecraft. So why is Boeing trying to get you to support something that happens no matter what?

If you click on the link it sends you to this link (note the tracking code in the URL) - you are now an "enthusiast" for their "sls-space-race-petition". https://watchusfly.com/campaigns/space-american-made-petition-acquisition/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=video-post&utm_campaign=acquisition_petition_sls-space-race-petition-2-b&utm_term=space&utm_content=enthusiast which asks you to "Add your name to support American-made spacecraft." By giving your name, email, and zip code. Of course they also put cookies in your browser and know your IP number. Oh yes - take a look at their policy page and look at all the things you will let them do with this information (as if anyone reads this stuff):

"Your use of social media features will result in the collection or sharing of information about you, depending on the feature. The basic details we receive depends on your social network account privacy settings. We encourage you to review the privacy practices and settings of the social media sites you use to make sure you understand the personal information that may be collected, used, and shared by those sites."

At the bottom in lighter grey text is the note: "Site intended for use by U.S. residents 14 years of age or older. Boeing may use the information you provide to send you future communications about Boeing and issues that may be of interest to you. For further information, please review Boeing's Privacy Policy." If you follow the Take action link you end up at a page asking you to "Support Boeing T-X Today". OK, so why is Boeing sending you to a page that is supposed to be about space that is actually a thin disguise for a Congressional lobbying effort that is really focused on military hardware? And what is Boeing going to do with the information you have given them? Well, they tell you that too:

"When you use Boeing Services, we collect and process information about your pinpointed location, after obtaining consent as required by local law. We use various technologies to determine location, including IP address, GPS, and other sensors that, for example, provide us with information on nearby devices, Wi-Fi access points, and cell towers. Location data is used in accordance with Collection and use of personal information, and disclosed in accordance with Disclosure of your information. ... Boeing uses, and permits service providers to use, tracking scripts or "tracers" and web beacons that recognize a unique identifier from a cookie placed on your device by another website. For example, we use a tracer to determine whether you visit our employment pages after visiting a resume or career site where we placed a banner ad. We also use these technologies to compile information about your website usage and your interaction with email or other communications, to measure performance, and to provide content and ads that are more relevant to you. A web beacon is typically a transparent graphic image that can be embedded in online content, videos, and emails, and can allow a server to read certain types of information from your device, know when you have viewed the beacon, and the IP address of your device. For example, we include web beacons in our promotional email messages or newsletters to determine whether our messages have been opened or interacted with and whether our mailing tools are working properly."

Keep reading. You are, in essence. giving them permission to use your info for whatever they want to do and they will never tell you just what that is. They talk about your credit card information, buying preferences, and all manner of things that they can track if they want. Just a reminder - they can track nearly everything you visit. EVERYTHING. What on Earth is Boeing up to? Why do they need to start tracking you and your cellphone to get your location? And why are they openly allowing people people as young as 14 to consent to being tracked? This is outright creepy.

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Why Does Sierra Nevada Want To Land Dream Chaser in Alabama?

Space plane could make first Alabama landing in 2022, AL.com

"A mini space plane could return from space and land at the Huntsville International Aiport as soon as 2022, the Alabama Space Authority was told today. "When the space shuttle landed, thousands of people would come out. It was a huge event," John Roth, vice president of business relations for Sierra Nevada Corp., said in Huntsville. "We haven't had a landing like that in a long time. We think that first landing is going to be a giant landing, and we'd like it to be here."

Keith's note: Is Sierra Nevada pandering to the Alabama congressional delegation or is there an actual, logical, reason to land in Alabama? Oh yes - Sierra Nevada says that their first mission might be "sponsored by the United Nations". But who is actually paying for it? The UN?

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Yet Another Stealthy Space Meeting In Washington, DC

Keith's note: There has been a meeting (actually an "unconference") called "Decolonize Mars" at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC this attended by people who do not want to colonize Mars.

According to the unconference website "The term decolonization refers to undoing the legacy of colonialism. Many people are used to hearing about "colonizing Mars" to talk about humanity living in space; here, we examine how using a colonialist framework in space reproduces past harm from humanity's history on Earth. This event is about envisioning fresh pathways for thinking about space exploration by stepping away from the ways we usually talk about space, which by definition is "decolonizing" the topic. Hence, "Decolonizing Mars"."

In other words they only seem to want like-minded attendees. Not that I don't agree with part of what I think they are getting at since we have certainly screwed up this planet - but there's a clear bias on one side of the argument in the mission statement. They are tweeting with the hashtag #decolonizemars but the invitation-only attendee list is password-protected. No media seem to have been allowed. No webcast. Nothing. This is rather odd for a meeting in a government facility convened by government employees.

This meeting was organized by the current Baruch S. Blumberg/NASA Chair of Astrobiology at the Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. I knew Barry Blumberg rather well. Barry wanted to tell everyone about everything. I am not certain he'd like this closed door approach. This is just more DC choir practice in an echo chamber by a subset of the usual suspects. The remaining 99.9% of the people who pay for this party get left out. Just sayin'

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket Launches Dragon to the International Space Station

At 5:42 a.m. EDT Friday, June 29, 2018, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft lifts off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Dragon is carrying more than 5,900 pounds of research, equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of investigations aboard the International Space Station. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tRKScO

NASA Awards Contract for Continued Operations of its Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA has awarded a contract to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, to continue operations of the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), also in Pasadena.

June 29, 2018
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Young Kansans to Call Space Station from Eisenhower Presidential Library

Kansas Boy Scout troops and students will participate in a live downlink event with astronauts aboard the International Space Station next week as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station.

June 29, 2018
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Curiosity update, sols 2027-2092: Return to drilling at Duluth, sciencing the dust storm

Northrop Grumman Is Hiring People To Do Those Difficult Spacecraft Things

Based on the James Webb Space Telescope IRB report released by @NASA yesterday @NorthropGrumman needs to hire people who can: use a wrench to tighten bolts, read simple solvent use instructions, and conduct basic electrical tests. #JWST #NASA https://t.co/WLkM6FtsLd

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 29, 2018

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Another SpaceX Cargo Run To The ISS Underway

SpaceX Launches CRS-15 to the International Space Station, NASA

"Experiments investigating cellular biology, Earth science and artificial intelligence are among the research heading to the International Space Station following Friday's launch of a NASA-contracted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 5:42 a.m. EDT. Dragon lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with more than 5,900 pounds of research, equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of investigations aboard the space station."

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/28/2018

Umbilical Interface Assembly (UIA) Remove and Replace (R&R) Troubleshooting: Yesterday the crew investigated if loosening the 20 fasteners securing the UIA to the Airlock mounting bracket would generate any free play and allow the crew to close the gap in the Oxygen Supply lines; unfortunately, the crew indicated the tolerances were too tight and this …

June 29, 2018 at 12:00AM
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New NASA Research, Hardware Heading to Space Station on 15th SpaceX Resupply Mission

Experiments investigating cellular biology, Earth science and artificial intelligence are among the research heading to the International Space Station following Friday’s launch of a NASA-contracted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 5:42 a.m. EDT.

June 29, 2018
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Let's check in on The Planetary Society's asteroid hunters

Dragon Resupply Mission (CRS-15)

On Friday June 29, Falcon 9 successfully lifted for launch of its fifteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-15) at 5:42:42 a.m. EDT, or 9:42:42 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Dragon separated from Falcon 9’s second stage about nine minutes and thirty seconds after liftoff and is on its way to the International Space Station, currently expected to arrive early on the morning of July 2nd.

Both Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-15 mission are flight-proven. Dragon will return to Earth with more than 4,000 pounds of cargo after a one-month stay at the ISS. You can watch a replay of the launch below and find out more about the mission in our press kit.

 

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Messier 24: Sagittarius Star Cloud

Unlike most entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog of deep sky objects, M24 is not a bright galaxy, star cluster, or nebula. It's a gap in nearby, obscuring intertellar dust clouds that allows a view of the distant stars in the Sagittarius spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. When you gaze at the star cloud with binoculars or small telescope you are looking through a window over 300 light-years wide at stars some 10,000 light-years or more from Earth. Sometimes called the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, M24's luminous stars fill the left side of this gorgeous starscape. Covering about 4 degrees or the width of 8 full moons in the constellation Sagittarius, the telescopic field of view contains many small, dense clouds of dust and nebulae toward the center of the Milky Way, including reddish emission from IC 1284 near the top of the frame. via NASA https://ift.tt/2NaRJXN

Two Ways Of Looking At Webb Space Telescope Delays

This graph of time vs launch date for JWST (courtesy of @jtuttlekeane) is funny and profoundly frustrating. pic.twitter.com/kLytMYmy7V — Corey S. Powell (@coreyspowell) March 27, 2018

Updated plot of #JWST Budget/Launch Date projections. Each blue dot was one such media advisory. I'm genuinely not trying to be snarky - JWST will do transformational science - but this ... this isn't a good look. pic.twitter.com/Vw5ZALSeGC — Grant Tremblay (@astrogrant) June 26, 2018

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Why Is NASA Is Stuck Paying For Northrop Grumman Errors?

According to #JWST IRB chair Tom Young simple fixes that weren't implemented by @NorthropGrumman ended up costing #NASA $600 million. Delays now cost $1 million/day. One would hope that @NASA is examining ways to get Northrop Grumman to refund the cost of fixing their mistakes. pic.twitter.com/pRWrDdOVrJ

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 28, 2018

Heads up @NorthropGrumman There is a precedent for @NASA to follow for seeking reimbursement for contractor errors in the construction of #NASA Space telescopes: "Hubble Space Telescope Makers Pay for Costly Mirror Mistake" Nov 1993, Physics Today https://t.co/kmVpSA0kV2 pic.twitter.com/YHRLspqBFJ

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 28, 2018

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Bridenstine Talks About Space Force When No One Else Will

Keith's note: I tuned into the Politico Space thing last night. I missed a lot of it since it was supposed to start at 6:15 but after 30 minutes of waiting for it to start I gave up and did something else. I checked back in later and listened for 15 minutes or so. I just happened to tune in just as Jim Bridenstine was asked about the whole Space Force thing. Being an actual warfighter who defended our country, a former Congressman who grappled with legislation, and a guy who thinks about space a lot, he knows his stuff.

Bridenstine answered the Space Force question cogently for 10 minutes or more, jumping back to the topic again and again later. Bridenstine clearly supports the idea of a Space Force and makes his viewpoint clearly without notes or stumbling. Indeed, now and then, he almost sounded like he was auditioning to be Space Force Commander.

What's odd about this is that no one at the Department of Defense really wants to talk about Space Force - just Bridenstine. Indeed, the impression one gets is that they are not too thrilled about turning the Pentagon into a Hexagon with a sixth service called Space Force (yes I stole that joke). You can't get the National Space Council to talk about this either. In Washington parlance Bridenstine probably got a little over his skis or was outside his swim lane a bit.

I do not think this signals any sort of military role for NASA. But this space agency does not operate in a vacuum (pun intended) when it comes to other space activities. If Bridenstine is the only one who is willing to talk about space in a larger context that includes things outside of NASA's purview such as Space Force - when no one else will - perhaps we should listen. Maybe he knows what is actually going on.

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/27/2018

Umbilical Interface Assembly (UIA) Remove and Replace (R&R) Troubleshooting: During the UIA R&R yesterday, the crew noted that the Oxygen (O2) Supply line was approximately 2-3 mm too short to be properly mate without applying a tensile, stretching force to make contact.  Initial troubleshooting was unsuccessful, and the O2 line was left partially connected and …

June 27, 2018 at 09:47PM
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Sigma Octantis and Friends

South pole star Sigma Octantis (of the constellation Octans) is on the left of this starry expanse spanning over 40 degrees across far southern skies. You'll have to look hard to find it, though. The southern hemisphere's faint counterpart to the north star Polaris, Sigma Octantis is a little over one degree from the South Celestial Pole. Also known as Polaris Australis, Sigma Octantis is below 5th magnitude, some 25 times fainter than Polaris and not easy to see with the unaided eye. In fact, it may be the faintest star depicted on a national flag. The remarkable deep and wide-field view also covers faint, dusty galactic cirrus clouds, bounded at the right by the star clusters and nebulae along the southern reaches of plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Near the upper right corner is yellowish Gamma Crucis, the top of the Southern Cross. Easy to pick out above and right of center is the long Dark Doodad nebula in the southern constellation Musca, the Fly. via NASA https://ift.tt/2lGKBpM

Where Oh Where Did All Of That Webb Money Go?

10 Sep 2002: https://t.co/2sTAndHJf3 "TRW also will be responsible for integrating the science instrument module into the spacecraft as well as performing the pre-flight testing and on-orbit checkout of the observatory."@NASA #JWST — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 27, 2018

FWIW @NorthropGrumman bought TRW 2 months earlier in July 2002 - so 100% of contractor performance responsibility for #JWST is on Northrop Grumman. But 100% of the responsibility for oversight of Northrop Grumman performance on #JWST is on @NASA #WhatAMess — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 27, 2018

10 Sep 2002: https://t.co/2sTAndq7Qt "The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled for launch in 2010 aboard an expendable launch vehicle." @NASA #JWST — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 27, 2018

10 Sep 2002: https://t.co/2sTAndHJf3 "Under the terms of the contract valued at $824.8 million, TRW will design and fabricate the observatory's primary mirror and spacecraft." @NASA #JWST — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 27, 2018

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JWST External Independent Review Board Report Briefing

Media Telecon on Status of James Webb Space Telescope, June 27th

"NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT [17:00 UTC], Wednesday, June 27, to provide an update on the agency's James Webb Space Telescope and the findings of an external independent review board. Webb will be the world's premier infrared space observatory and the largest astronomical space science telescope ever built. Audio of the call will stream live on NASA's website [https://www.nasa.gov/live]."

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Is The Force With The Space Force?

Now is the time for the Space Force. Trump just needs to get it right, op ed, Washington Post

"The Pentagon helped shoot down the "corps" idea a year ago. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrote congressional leaders last October: "I oppose the creation of a new military service and additional organizational layers at a time when we are focused on reducing overhead and integrating joint warfighting functions." But Trump continued to push his pet space project. One advocate was Vice President Pence, chairman of the National Space Council and a rocket enthusiast who's said to have brought his family to Florida to watch NASA launches. Another was Newt Gingrich, the peripatetic former House speaker who, like Trump, enjoys promoting flashy, controversial ideas. "If Trump can break through the bureaucracy, all this will happen within a decade," even by 2020, Gingrich predicted in a phone interview Tuesday. Gingrich, who informally attends Space Council meetings, says he has talked with Trump about the idea but that the passion for it is the president's. The Air Force had been hoping this proposal would go away."

The New Arms Race Threatening to Explode In Space, Wired

Since he took office, President Trump has dropped numerous hints of the warnings he's evidently getting from military and intelligence leaders. During a spring livestream with astronauts aboard the International Space Station, he alluded, obliquely and without context, to the "tremendous military applications in space." And he has repeatedly floated the idea of creating a new branch of the armed forces specifically for celestial combat--culminating last week with a speech out-and-out ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to begin developing plans for a new "Space Force."

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/26/2018

Predetermined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) Status: Last night’s possible PDAM for object #99999 was not required. A second update to the object’s trajectory was received overnight and the Probability of Collision (PC) had dropped well into the green threshold.  Concern level was low and PDAM planning was no longer needed.  MagVector 3D: The crew relocated …

June 27, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Highlights of the Summer Sky

What can you see in the night sky this summer? The featured graphic gives a few highlights for Earth's northern hemisphere. Viewed as a clock face centered at the bottom, early (northern) summer sky events fan out toward the left, while late summer events are projected toward the right. Objects relatively close to Earth are illustrated, in general, as nearer to the cartoon figure with the telescope at the bottom center -- although almost everything pictured can be seen without a telescope. As happens during any season, constellations appear the same year to year, and meteor showers occur on or near the same dates. For example, like last year, the stars of the Summer Triangle will be nighttime icons for most the season, while the Perseids meteor shower will peak in mid-August, as usual. Highlights specific to this summer's sky include that Jupiter will be visible after sunset during June, and Venus will shine brightly in the evening sky during July and August. Saturn and Mars should be visible during much of this season's night, with Saturn appearing in the direction opposite the Sun in late June, and Mars at opposition in late July. Finally, a total lunar eclipse should be visible to anyone who can see the Moon in late July. via NASA https://ift.tt/2yKwXLr

ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/25/2018

Predetermined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) for Object #99999: Teams continue to track the ISS conjunction with object #99999 (Unknown Object) with a Time of Closest Approach (TCA) of 01:42 AM CDT tomorrow morning. While the latest tracking information on the object has dropped the Probability of Collision (PC) into the green threshold, it has not …

June 26, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Aldrin Family Responds To Wall Street Journal

Letter from the Aldrin family attorney to @WSJ Wall Street Journal regarding inaccuracies in their article on the lawsuit by @TheRealBuzz Buzz Aldrin and other issues pic.twitter.com/MpgbAK0oG2

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 26, 2018

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Will an asteroid hit Earth? Your questions answered.

Statement from Christina Korp Regarding Wall Street Journal Article on Buzz Aldrin

"After the article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, I must respond. I have tried to stay out of the fray so as not to create any mixed signals while the Aldrin family and I try to protect and maintain Buzz Aldrin's reputation, legacy and ability to sustain himself in the future in this difficult situation. However, I cannot stand by while there are unwarranted personal attacks on my integrity, honesty, professionalism and character. I am being unfairly defamed by the managers of the newly formed Buzz Aldrin Ventures and its legal counsel. I encourage those that know me to research the background of these individuals. I also encourage media to be careful what they write and make sure the facts are correct. There are too many inaccuracies in the public arena at the moment to respond on an individual basis. Please know that I am devastated by these lies and shocked that reputable publications like the Journal would run a story like the one just published without fairly seeking both sides of the story. With legal action now pending, I hope you understand my need to be cautious. This same level of caution is not being followed by the people currently surrounding Buzz who are sharing misinformation and unfounded accusations about me and the Aldrin family. I intend to continue to take the professional route.

Unfortunately, almost a year ago, some people began to exert undue influence on Buzz. These individuals began to actively try to drive a wedge between Buzz and his children, and me, for what I fear is their own benefit. As many people have noted, there is a different tone with Buzz's Twitter account due to these individuals taking over control of that account. New companies were very recently started by this new team, under the guise of benefitting Buzz.

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NASA Technologies Significantly Reduce Aircraft Noise

A series of NASA flight tests has successfully demonstrated technologies that achieve a significant reduction in the noise generated by aircraft and heard by communities near airports.

June 25, 2018
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David Bowles Needs To Explain Pay Cuts To NASA Langley Employees

NASA Langley contract employees get pay cuts under new contractor, Daily Press

"In March, NASA Langley announced it had chosen its newest contractor, Alutiiq-Fusion Joint Venture, to provide about 200 employees under Langley's administrative, media and professional services (LAMPS II) contract. Soon after, Stefula was stunned to discover she would have to take a 37 percent pay cut to keep her job. She wasn't alone. Several contract workers at the center interviewed by the Daily Press say their salary reductions range from 8 percent to 37 percent, and that countless colleagues have taken similar cuts, or greater. They cite unsubstantiated accounts of a few senior staffers who had their pay slashed by 70 percent."

"Langley's new contractor is a partnership between Alutiiq LLC, a Native American-owned business based in Anchorage, Alaska, and Media Fusion of Huntsville, Ala. The companies divvied up employees, with Alutiiq largely handling the administrative and professional staffing and Media Fusion the media services, video production and public affairs. Alutiiq-Fusion also took on a subcontractor, Banner Staffing in Washington, D.C., to handle about a dozen workers for Langley's Office of Human Capital Management."

Keith's note: The most pathetic aspect of this is a refusal to answer questions from the reporter from the Daily Press. Instead the companies involved and NASA Langley PAO simply sent a statement. And no one has heard from Langley Center Director David Bowles. As such, employees have to do their own investigative reporting to find out why they are getting pay cuts. How pathetic and uncaring. People working their asses off for Langley get unexpected and wholly unwarranted pay cuts and their management doesn't have the spine to face them or the media to explain things?

Let's hope Sen. Kaine and Sen. Warner take further action since David Bowles and his management team clearly are not going to. Cutting employee salaries with no notice or reason is not the way to go back to the Moon.

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Hayabusa2 Approaches Asteroid Ryugu

It looks like a big space diamond -- but with craters. It's 162173 Ryugu (Dragon's Castle), and Japan's robotic Hayabusa2 mission is now arriving at this near-Earth asteroid. Ambitious Hayabusa2 is carrying an armada of separable probes, including two impactors, four small close-proximity hoverers, three small surface hoppers, and the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) which will land, study, and move around on Ryugu's surface. Most of these are equipped with cameras. Moreover, Hayabusa2 itself is scheduled to collect surface samples and return these samples to Earth for a detailed analysis near the end of 2020. Previously, what was known about asteroid Ryugu was its orbit, that it spans about one kilometer, and that it has a dark surface that reflects unusual colors. Studying Ryugu could tell humanity not only about Ryugu's surface and interior, but about what materials were available in the early Solar System for the development of life. Pictured, a series of approach images shows features suggestive of large boulders and craters. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tAl314

Rocket Plume Shadow Points to the Moon

Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence. First, for the space shuttle's plume to cast a long shadow, the time of day must be either near sunrise or sunset. Only then will the shadow be its longest and extend all the way to the horizon. Finally, during a Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the sky. Just after sunset, for example, the Sun is slightly below the horizon, and, in the other direction, the Moon is slightly above the horizon. Therefore, as Atlantis blasted off, just after sunset, its shadow projected away from the Sun toward the opposite horizon, where the Full Moon happened to be. via NASA https://ift.tt/2KhLq2K

Aldrin Family Statement on Recent Lawsuit

"We are deeply disappointed and saddened by the unjustified lawsuit that has been brought against us individually and against the Foundation that we have built together as a family to carry on Dad's legacy for generations to come. When we established the current structure several years ago, it was done so at Buzz's request and with his full support. If nothing else, our family is resilient and our ability to work together to solve problems and accomplish great things is strong. We love and respect our father very much and remain hopeful that we can rise above this situation and recover the strong relationship that built this foundation in the first place.

We will not be commenting further on the lawsuit and ask your understanding and respect for our family privacy at this extremely difficult time."

--- Andy Aldrin and Jan Aldrin"

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Curiosity s Dusty Self

Winds on Mars can't actually blow spacecraft over. But in the low gravity, martian winds can loft fine dust particles in planet-wide storms, like the dust storm now raging on the Red Planet. From the martian surface on sol 2082 (June 15), this self-portrait from the Curiosity rover shows the effects of the dust storm, reducing sunlight and visibility at the rover's location in Gale crater. Made with the Mars Hand Lens Imager, its mechanical arm is edited out of the mosaicked images. Curiosity's recent drill site Duluth can be seen on the rock just in front of the rover on the left. The east-northeast Gale crater rim fading into the background is about 30 kilometers away. Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator and is expected to be unaffected by the increase in dust at Gale crater. On the other side of Mars, the solar-powered Opportunity rover has ceased its operations due to the even more severe lack of sunlight at its location on the west rim of Endeavour crater. via NASA https://ift.tt/2KavwXV

ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/21/2018

Time:  The crew performed a Time perception session. ESA’s Time experiment captures the accurate perception of objects in the environment is a prerequisite for spatial orientation and reliable performance of motor tasks. Time is also fundamental to motion perception, sound localization, speech, and fine motor coordination. The Time experiment quantifies the subjective changes in time …

June 22, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Media Invited to Preview Expedition to Ocean Twilight Zone

Media are invited to Seattle on Friday, Aug. 9, to preview a seaborne expedition to study microscopic organisms in the dark depths of the sea that play a critical role in removing carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere.

June 22, 2018
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Chaotic Clouds of Jupiter

This image captures swirling cloud belts and tumultuous vortices within Jupiter’s northern hemisphere. via NASA https://ift.tt/2yASshS

NASA Television to Air Launch of Next Space Station Resupply Mission

NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting no earlier than 5:42 a.m. EDT Friday, June 29, for the launch of its 15th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Live coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website Thursday, June 28, with prelaunch events.

June 22, 2018
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Galaxy in a Crystal Ball

A small crystal ball seems to hold a whole galaxy in this creative snapshot. Of course, the galaxy is our own Milky Way. Its luminous central bulge marked by rifts of interstellar dust spans thousands of light-years. On this long southern hemisphere night it filled dark Chilean skies over Paranal Observatory. The single exposure image did not require a Very Large Telescope, though. Experiments with a digital camera on a tripod and crystal ball perched on a handrail outside the Paranal Residencia produced the evocative, cosmic marble portrait of our home galaxy. via NASA https://ift.tt/2If0Ov0

Is The Voice Behind @TheRealBuzz Really Buzz Aldrin?

Keith's note: The following statement was received by NASA Watch from the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation (https://buzzaldrinfoundation.org) in response to an inquiry we made about recent postings on @TheRealBuzz:

"Keith,

Thanks for your interest and concern. In response to your questions from NASA Watch, I have been reassured by the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation that, contrary to recent Twitter postings on @TheRealBuzz, Christina Korp has not been terminated. Such a termination would require a majority vote of the board, which has not occurred. Christina is continuing in her ongoing roles with the Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation and Share Space Foundation.

We are not sure who is responsible for the Tweet regarding Christina, but we are confident Buzz did not write this. It appears, as many have speculated online, that management of the Twitter account @TheRealBuzz has indeed been reassigned without proper verification.

I will add that the Aldrin family and Foundation colleagues have expressed concern for Buzz's potential vulnerability to manipulation by other parties seeking to gain access to and control of Foundation and personal resources. In addition to the important mission of the Foundation, they remain committed to protecting his personal reputation and professional legacy, as well as his ability to remain self-sustaining financially.

Thanks for your interest.

Jeff Carr
Spokesman for Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation"

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Hayabusa2 update: New views of Ryugu and corkscrew course adjustments

Launching to Observe Our Sun

On June 21, 1975, NASA successfully launched the eighth Orbiting Solar Observatory aboard a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This satellite was the final in a series of spacecraft specifically designed to look at the Sun in high-energy wavelength bands. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tseeyr

Northern Lights and Noctilucent Clouds

Skies after the near-solstice sunset on June 17 are reflected in this calm lake. The tranquil twilight scene was captured near Bashaw, Alberta, Canada, northern planet Earth. Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months, night shining or noctilucent clouds hang just above the horizon, transfusing light into a darker sky. Near the edge of space, the icy apparitions are condensations on meteoric dust or volcanic ash still in sunlight at extreme altitudes. Also near the edge of space on this short northern night, solar activity triggered the lovely apparition of aurora borealis or northern lights. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JTcUzv

Once in a Blue Dune

Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of classic barchan dunes on Jan. 24, 2018. via NASA https://ift.tt/2M9bzkO

ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/19/2018

Nanoracks-Remove Debris Satellite (RemDeb): Today ground specialists used the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to remove RemDeb from the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table and maneuvered to the deploy position.  RemDeb demonstrates an approach to reducing the risks presented by space debris or “space junk”. Collisions in space may have serious consequences, but research …

June 20, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Pillars of the Eagle Nebula in Infrared

Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. Gravitationally contracting in pillars of dense gas and dust, the intense radiation of these newly-formed bright stars is causing surrounding material to boil away. This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in near infrared light, allows the viewer to see through much of the thick dust that makes the pillars opaque in visible light. The giant structures are light years in length and dubbed informally the Pillars of Creation. Associated with the open star cluster M16, the Eagle Nebula lies about 6,500 light years away. The Eagle Nebula is an easy target for small telescopes in a nebula-rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake). via NASA https://ift.tt/2K9n4vy

Looking For User Advisory Committee: The Next Generation

Keith's note: This is the question I asked at the User Advisory Council meeting today. "I have a question about the actual composition of the User's Advisory Group: With one exception only one person seems to be under 50 years of age and the panel is rather heavily loaded with Big Aerospace management. There is no apparent representation of the next generation of people who will actually live and work in space - you know, young people. Is this lack of representation by the next generation deliberate or an oversight?"

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Rover Under the Milky Way - Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

The Moon begins to rise behind the ARADS rover during the 2017 season of field tests in Chile’s Atacama Desert. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tmlFat

ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/18/2018

Gravitational References for Sensitomotor Performance (GRASP): The crew reconfigured the GRASP equipment from the seated configuration to the quasi-free floating configuration this morning. They will compete three science operational runs in the new configuration. GRASP is intended to provide insight into how the central nervous system integrates information from different sensory modalities, encoded in different …

June 19, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Ancients of Sea and Sky

They may look like round rocks, but they're alive. Moreover, they are modern versions of one of the oldest known forms of life: stromatolites. Fossils indicate that stromatolites appeared on Earth about 3.7 billion years ago -- even before many of the familiar stars in the modern night sky were formed. In the featured image taken in Western Australia, only the ancient central arch of our Milky Way Galaxy formed earlier. Even the Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies of our Milky Way and visible in the featured image below the Milky Way's arch, didn't exist in their current form when stromatolites first grew on Earth. Stromatolites are accreting biofilms of billions of microorganisms that can slowly move toward light. Using this light to liberate oxygen into the air, ancient stromatolites helped make Earth hospitable to other life forms including, eventually, humans. via NASA https://ift.tt/2K7CvV3

Another Day at the Office

"Space was our office yesterday. #EVA51," said International Space Station astronaut Ricky Arnold on Friday. via NASA https://ift.tt/2M0SZv7

Rotatin' Ryugu!

One of the coolest things about a mission to a new world is that as the spacecraft approaches, you get to see the world gradually take shape before your eyes. Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft is now less than 200 kilometers from Ryugu, the small, near-Earth asteroid from which it will collect a sample for return to Earth in 2020. Until now, we've only known Ryugu as a point of light, but behold!—It's starting to become a lumpy asteroid in Hayabusa2's navigation cameras:

JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

A day on Ryugu

This animation was created from 52 images captured by Hayabusa2's ONC-T (Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic) on June 14 and June 15. The asteroid makes a complete rotation every 7 hours, 38 minutes.

Just for reference, here's what shape models of Ryugu were predicting back in 2017:

Phil Stooke / JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

Ryugu approach

This sequence of images shows Ryugu increasing in size and resolution as Hayabusa2 approaches.

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NASA, NSF Plunge Into Ocean ‘Twilight Zone’ to Explore Ecosystem Carbon Flow

A large multidisciplinary team of scientists, equipped with advanced underwater robotics and an array of analytical instrumentation, will set sail for the northeastern Pacific Ocean this August.

June 18, 2018
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Brooklyn Students to Link Up with NASA Astronauts on Space Station

Students from Brooklyn, New York, will have the opportunity to talk with astronauts on the International Space Station this week as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station.

June 18, 2018
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President To Sign Directive Dealing With Space Traffic Management

Today the President will sign Space Policy Directive 3 (SPD-3) at the National Space Council meeting being held at the White House. SPD-3 deals principally with space traffic management. This morning in a media call National Space Council Executive Director Scott Pace said the U.S. needs to ave unfettered access and the ability to operate space - but space is becoming congested. The new policy (SPD-3) addresses these challenges.

SPD-3 establishes principles, goals, and guidance on how to achieve these goals. It also establishes responsibility within the U.S, government for taking on the task of implementing these goals: the Department of Defense will take the lead on developing an authoritative catalog of space objects; the Department of Commerce will be responsible for the releasable portions of the catalog for collision avoidance purposes; the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation will lead the development of standards and practices, and the State Department will lead U.S. efforts to conduct these activities internationally with transparency.

Pace says that this is going to be a "bottom-up process" using best practices from industry. As such no treaty-level document is envisioned. Pace said that the U.S. wants to avoid creating an international treaty since that would be complicated and take time to do Instead, Pace says that they will be working to make this happen faster by having recommendations incorporated into various countries laws and regulations.

Pace concluded by saying that a next step for the space council will be space debris and proximity operations as it relates to on-orbit servicing.

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An Active Prominence on the Sun

Sometimes the Sun's surface becomes a whirlwind of activity. Pictured is a time-lapse video of the Sun's surface taken over a two hour period in early May, run both forwards and backwards. The Sun's surface was blocked out so that details over the edge could be imaged in greater detail. Hot plasma is seen swirling over the solar limb in an ongoing battle between changing magnetic fields and constant gravity. The featured prominence rises about one Earth-diameter over the Sun's surface. Energetic events like this are becoming less common as the Sun nears a minimum in its 11-year activity cycle. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JX9Luy

National Space Council User Advisory Group Is Purging Innovation From Its Ranks

Keith's note: Newt Gingrich and Pete Worden have been removed from the UAG for reasons that sources say have to do with issues that arouse while vetting Gingrich and Worden to serve on the UAG. That's the official excuse. Vetting is good thing to do especially for advisory groups. Oddly this "User" Advisory Group is more like a "Customer" Advisory Group with a majority of its members representing companies who already receive (and seek) huge amounts of money from NASA, DOD, DOC, etc. and have a vested interest in maintaining one or another aspect of the status quo. Actual potential users of space from the perspective of the U.S. government are virtually absent from this panel. This panel is all about serving the interests of Big Aerospace.

Many of the UAG members come from the top of Big Aerospace and serve as CEOs/Chairs/Presidents: Marillyn Hewson (Lockheed Martin), Dennis Muilenburg (Boeing), Wes Bush (Northrop Grumman), Fatih Ozmen (Sierra Nevada), David Thompson (Orbital ATK), Gwynne Shotwell (SpaceX), Bob Smith (Blue Origin), and Tory Bruno (ULA). Add in members representing the two major commercial space trade groups for Big Aerospace such as Eric Stallmer (Commercial Spaceflight Federation) and Mary Lynne Dittmar (Coalition for Deep Space Exploration) and you have the majority of Big Aerospace Advising the National Space Council on how America should do things in space. Not exactly a recipe for change and innovation.

To be certain SpaceX and Blue Origin and other new companies seek to upset the status quo - but right now they are, for the most part, still regular government customers just like the older companies. By a strange coincidence, pushing for change and innovation in space are two traits that Gingrich and Worden are best known for. It would seem that these things are of lesser important to the National Space Council these days. Not a good sign.

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