Hayabusa2 Ascends from Asteroid Ryugu

Will spacecraft Hayabusa2 be able to land safely on asteroid Ryugu? Since arriving in June, pictures show that the surface of kilometer-sized Ryugu is covered with boulders, so that finding a flat enough area for the bus-sized spacecraft to touch down is proving a challenge. In the featured video, the shadow of Japan's robotic Hayabusa2 can be seen on the rugged face of Ryugu while ascending last week from a touchdown rehearsal only 20 meters over the surface. Previously, small frisbee-sized landers detached from Hayabusa2, made contact with the diamond-shaped asteroid's surface, and started hopping around. Studying Ryugu could tell humanity not only about the minor planet's surface and interior, but about what materials were available in the early Solar System for the development of life. The touchdown of the Hayabusa2 mother ship is slated for early next year, hopefully followed by a soil sample collection for return to Earth. via NASA https://ift.tt/2zgx3aM

Big Court Win For The Thirty Meter Telescope

Embattled Thirty Meter Telescope scores big win in Hawaii's highest court, Nature

"Hawaii's supreme court has ruled in favour of building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop the mountain Mauna Kea. The decision removes the last legal hurdle preventing the US$1.4-billion project from resuming construction on Hawaii's Big Island. "It is a tremendously important and significant decision that provides secure legal grounds to restart construction of this transformative facility," says Michael Balogh, an astronomer at the University of Waterloo in Canada who chairs an advisory committee that represents Canadian astronomers' interests in the TMT."

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Happy Birthday, Michael Collins!

Happy birthday, Michael Collins! Test pilot and NASA astronaut Michael Collins served as the pilot for Gemini X and as the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission, the first time humans set foot on another celestial body. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JsTa2u

NASA Invites Media to 16th SpaceX Cargo Launch to Space Station

Media accreditation now is open for the targeted Dec. 4 SpaceX launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida to deliver supplies, equipment and science investigations to the International Space Station.

October 31, 2018
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ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/30/2018

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sediment (BCAT-CS):  Today, the crew transferred images to the Station Support Computer (SSC), replaced the SB-800 Flash batteries, verified the camera alignment and focus are still intact, and re-set the intervalometer.  BCAT-CS continues to produce interesting data resulting in an extension past the original 2-4 week run duration.  BCAT-CS …

October 31, 2018 at 12:00AM
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R Leporis: A Vampire's Star

Better known as Hind's Crimson Star, R Leporis is a rare star in planet Earth's night sky. It's also a shocking shade of red. The star's discoverer, 19th century English astronomer John Russell Hind, reported that it appeared in a telescope "... like a drop of blood on a black field." Located 1,360 light-years away in the constellation Lepus the star is a Mira-type variable, changing its brightness over a period of about 14 months. R Leporis is now recognized as a carbon star, a very cool and highly evolved red giant with an extreme abundance of carbon. Extra carbon in carbon stars is created by helium fusion near the dying stellar core and dredged up into the stars' outer layers. The dredge-up results in an overabundance of simple carbon molecules, like CO, CH, CN, and C2. While it's true that cool stars radiate most of their energy in red and infrared light, the carbon molecules strongly absorb what little blue light is left and give carbon stars an exceptionally deep red color. R Leporis is losing its carbon-rich atmosphere into the surrounding interstellar material through a strong stellar wind though, and could be near the transition to a planetary nebula. Oh, and Happy Halloween from the folks at APOD. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Rt7kU7

When Supporting Space Comes Back To Bite You

For the 7th Congressional District: Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, opinion, Houston Chronicle

"It's not that Culberson doesn't care about water. He does. But most of the time, he seems to care a bit more about the water on Europa, an icy moon orbiting Jupiter, than he does the water in the Addicks and Barker dams. Or in our bayous. Or in our homes. Culberson has expended untold political capital trying to force NASA to send probes to Europa in search of alien life. That's an admirable scientific mission, even if some planetary researchers think the limited resources could be better spent. Here on Earth, Houstonians can rest assured that Fletcher will prioritize human life over the extraterrestrial. That includes life-saving flooding policies that emphasize prevention over costly recovery."

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Kepler Planet Hunting Mission Ends

FWIW @NASAKepler has discovered 2,681 confirmed exoplanets and 2,899 candidate exoplanets. Assuming that that they're all confirmed that's 5,580 planets at a cost $125,448.03 each. pic.twitter.com/p84pT10x29

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) October 30, 2018

NASA Retires Kepler Space Telescope

"After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicate our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets - more planets even than stars - NASA's Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations. NASA has decided to retire the spacecraft within its current, safe orbit, away from Earth. Kepler leaves a legacy of more than 2,600 planet discoveries from outside our solar system, many of which could be promising places for life."

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A New View of Our Starry Night

After nine years in deep space collecting data that revealed our night sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets – more planets even than stars – NASA’s Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations. via NASA https://ift.tt/2OY4Mk7

NASA Retires Kepler Space Telescope, Passes Planet-Hunting Torch

After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicate our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets – more planets even than stars – NASA’s Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations.

October 30, 2018
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Farewell, Kepler

NASA's Kepler space telescope helped us find our place in the cosmos.

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NASA Wants Throwaway Rockets For A Reusable Architecture

It is rather hilarious that people are hyping reusability and @NASA_SLS in the same tweet @JimBridenstine If @NASA really, really wants reusability for the whole Moon thing then use rockets made by @SpaceX and @BlueOrigin instead of 100% throwaway rockets like #SLS. Just sayin' https://t.co/D3xPRYAyNm

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) October 30, 2018

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/29/2018

Actiwatch Spectrum:  Following the discovery of some bad data from a previous Actiwatch spectrum data collection, this activity set up the nine remaining Actiwatch spectrum units to verify they are producing good data. The Actiwatch Spectrum is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake monitor worn on a crewmember’s wrist. The device contains an accelerometer for measuring motion …

October 30, 2018 at 12:00AM
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NASA to Hold Media Call on Status of Kepler Space Telescope Today

NASA is hosting a media teleconference on the status of the Kepler space telescope today, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. EDT.

October 30, 2018
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Orionids Meteors over Inner Mongolia

Meteors have been shooting out from the constellation of Orion. This was expected, as October is the time of year for the Orionids Meteor Shower. Pictured here, over two dozen meteors were caught in successively added exposures last October over Wulan Hada volcano in Inner Mongolia, China. The featured image shows multiple meteor streaks that can all be connected to a single small region on the sky called the radiant, here visible just above and to the left of the belt of Orion, The Orionids meteors started as sand sized bits expelled from Comet Halley during one of its trips to the inner Solar System. Comet Halley is actually responsible for two known meteor showers, the other known as the Eta Aquarids and visible every May. An Orionids image featured on APOD one year ago today from the same location shows the same car. Next month, the Leonids Meteor Shower from Comet Tempel-Tuttle should also result in some bright meteor streaks. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JnZ0Sx

Someone Needs To Set An Example ...

WRT "man made object' @JimBridenstine? Really? No women are involved in the Parker Solar Probe mission? @NASASun https://t.co/YhIZJ1ODra

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) October 30, 2018

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Someone Has Stopped Drinking The SLS Koolaid - For A Moment

SLS contractor gets real, says program needs to focus on "affordability", Ars Technica

"We here inside the program tend not to think about the need to advocate," Precourt said. "There are a lot of people with other ideas about how we should do this mission, so I think it's incumbent on us. It's not too early to be thinking about the transition from development to production. And that means a totally different management philosophy and cost structure for all of us." Precourt said contractors should consider a future in which NASA's present multibillion expenditures on rocket development costs need to be cut in half in order for the SLS vehicle to have a robust future. "All of us need to be thinking about [how] our annual budget for this will not be what it is in development," he said. "That's a very serious problem that we have to look forward to, and to try to rectify, so that we are sustainable." If the other speakers had thoughts about Precourt's comments, they did not share them during the ensuing discussion."

- DC Lobbying Firms Enter The SLS Vs Commercial Space Proxy War , earlier post
- Big Aerospace Reaches For The Stars While Using Smear Tactics, earlier post
- Join Boeing's SLS Fan Club So They Can Track Your Activity Online, earlier post
- OIG Audit: NASA's Management of the Space Launch System Stages Contract, earlier post

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John Glenn Returns to Space on the STS-95 Mission

Senator John Glenn during water survival training for the STS-95 mission at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. On Oct. 29, 1998, space shuttle Discovery launched with Senator Glenn aboard, as he returned to space for the first time since his 1962 flight. via NASA https://ift.tt/2qh88Qp

LightSail 2 launch pushed to early 2019

An Air Force official says an ‘initial launch capability’ is being reassessed.

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Hubble Is Working Again

The Hubble Space Telescope
Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe
Daily Report #8140

Period Covered:
08:00 PM October 26, 2018 - 07:59 PM October 27, 2018
(DOY 300/0000z - 300/2359z) pic.twitter.com/B3jCyPlY9c

— HubbleScience (@hubblescience) October 28, 2018

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Airglow Borealis

The best known asterism in northern skies hangs over the Canadian Rockies in this mountain and night skyscape taken last week from Banff National Park. But most remarkable is the amazing greenish airglow. With airglow visible to the eye, but not in color, the scene was captured in two exposures with a single camera, one exposure made while tracking the stars and one fixed to a tripod. Airglow emission is predominately from atmospheric oxygen atoms at extremely low densities. Commonly recorded in color by sensitive digital cameras the eerie, diffuse light is seen here in waves across the northern night. Originating at an altitude similar to aurorae, the luminous airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light through chemical excitation and radiative decay. Energy for the chemical excitation is provided during daytime by the Sun's extreme ultraviolet radiation. Unlike aurorae which are limited to high latitudes, airglow can be found around the globe. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Rko3Jg

It’s Valley Fog Season

It’s autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, which means many people living in mountainous areas are awakening to fog-filled valleys. via NASA https://ift.tt/2ELLuJP

NASA Invites Media to View Orion Test Capsule and Recovery Hardware

Media are invited to see a test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, as well as the hardware that will be used to recover the spacecraft on its return from space, at 9 a.m. PST Wednesday, Nov. 7, at Naval Base San Diego.

October 26, 2018
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First Mate: LauncherOne Rocket and Cosmic Girl 747

First Mate: Virgin Takes Step Forward with First Mating of LauncherOne Rocket and Cosmic Girl 747, Virgin Orbit

"Today at Long Beach Airport stands a 747 aircraft with a rocket under its wing. For the first time ever, Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket has been integrated with its carrier aircraft, marking a major milestone on the path to the innovative small satellite launch service's first space shot. The successful operation capped off a banner day of firsts on Wednesday for the company at its Long Beach, Calif. base."

Marc's note: As NASA has a contract with Virgin Orbit this is good news. There soon should be another option to launch small satellites.

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First Auction of Neil Armstrong's Private Collection to be Held Next Week

First Moonwalker Neil Armstrong's Private Collection to be Sold at Heritage Auctions, Heritage Auctions

"The vast personal collection of Neil Armstrong, who as the first man to walk on the moon changed the course of human history, will be presented in a series of auctions beginning November 1-2, 2018 by Heritage Auctions. The Armstrong Family CollectionTM will offer never-before-seen artifacts from his momentous lunar landing to private mementos -- including pieces of a wing and propeller from the 1903 Wright Brothers flight that Armstrong took with him to the moon, a gold pin from Gemini VIII, Armstrong's first mission, and historic correspondence about the planning that went into the moon mission. The auctions will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission."

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/25/2018

Veg-03G:  Today, the crew installed a Root Mat and Plant Pillows, then powered up Veg-03G and set light intervals.  They then filled the Plant Pillows and Root Mat with water in order to initiate the Veg-03G experiment.  This is the first day of a 28 day growth cycle for the Red Russian Kale and Dragoon …

October 26, 2018 at 12:00AM
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IC 59 and IC 63 in Cassiopeia

These bright rims and flowing shapes look ghostly on a cosmic scale. A telescopic view toward the constellation Cassiopeia, the colorful (zoomable) skyscape features the swept-back, comet-shaped clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63. About 600 light-years distant, the clouds aren't actually ghosts, but they are slowly disappearing under the influence of energetic radiation from hot,luminous star gamma Cas. Gamma Cas is physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae, just off the top right edge of the frame. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by red H-alpha light emitted as hydrogen atoms ionized by the star's ultraviolet radiation recombine with electrons. Farther from the star, IC 59 shows proportionally less H-alpha emission but more of the characteristic blue tint of dust reflected star light. The field of view spans about 1 degree or 10 light-years at the estimated distance of gamma Cas and friends. via NASA https://ift.tt/2yAbkLj

NASA to Host Briefing on November Mars InSight Landing

NASA's upcoming landing of the first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars will be the topic of a media briefing at 1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 31 at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

October 25, 2018
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NASA Awards Library and Information Services Technical Support Contract

NASA has awarded the Goddard Library and Information Services Technical Support (GLISTS) contract to Select Federal Services, LLC of Sweetwater, Tennessee. The work will be performed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

October 25, 2018
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NASA Invites Media to Learn About Urban Air Mobility

NASA is inviting media to attend a two-day Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge Industry Day beginning at 8 a.m. PDT Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront.

October 25, 2018
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Hubble Captures the Ghost of Cassiopeia

The ghost of Cassieopeia's ethereal glow might remind people of apparitions such as those reported by paranormal investigators. via NASA https://ift.tt/2ReS9xx

Will Russia Launch Astronauts to the ISS in December?

Bridenstine Reiterates December Launch to ISS on Track, and Other Space Council Tidbits Space Policy Online

Bridenstine: "'We have a really, really good idea of what the issue is' and there will be a 'number of Soyuz launches in the next month and a half' before a launch with a crew. He called it the 'most successful failed launch we could have imagined.'"

Marc's note: Are the Russians about to pull a rabbit out of their hat and make a human return to flight in December? Between now and then there will be two Soyuz launches, one cargo resupply to the space station and the other a satellite.

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/24/2018

Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) / Light Microscopy Module (LMM) / Biophysics-4:  Following an overall successful conclusion of the Biophysics-4 experiment run, the Biophysics-4 plate was removed from the LMM and stowed.  The Biophysics-4 experiment contained proteins with both a fast and slow evolutionary period, which were observed by the ground teams.  Proteins are important biological …

October 25, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Russian Soyuz-2 Successfully Launches

Successful Launch of the Soyuz-2 Launch Vehicle From the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, ROSCOSMOS

"On Thursday, October 25, at 0315 hours Moscow time, the State Space Test Center Plesetsk in the Arkhangelsk Region was successfully launched by the Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry."

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Barnard 150: Seahorse in Cepheus

Light-years across, this suggestive shape known as the Seahorse Nebula appears in silhouette against a rich, luminous background of stars. Seen toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus, the dusty, obscuring clouds are part of a Milky Way molecular cloud some 1,200 light-years distant. It is also listed as Barnard 150 (B150), one of 182 dark markings of the sky cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E. Barnard. Packs of low mass stars are forming within from collapsing cores only visible at long infrared wavelengths. Still, colorful stars in Cepheus add to the pretty, galactic skyscape. via NASA https://ift.tt/2PTU5eL

Parker Solar Probe Looks Back at Earth

On Sept. 25, 2018, Parker Solar Probe captured a view of Earth as it sped toward the first Venus gravity assist of the mission. Earth is the bright, round object visible in the right side of this image. via NASA https://ift.tt/2CCiZeQ

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/23/2018

Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) DC / DC Converter Unit (DCU) Replacement Part 1:  The crew replaced MSPR DCU with and upgraded DCU2. The still functional older unit will be kept onboard as a spare. The MSPR is a multipurpose payload rack system used in the JEM. It has two workspaces and a work table …

October 24, 2018 at 12:00AM
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In search of ice and fire: Europa analog fieldwork in Iceland, 2018

The terrain of Iceland – the "Land of Ice and Fire" – has some very interesting similarities to Europa.

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Coming to America: Orion’s European Service Module Arrives for First Mission

NASA is inviting media to its Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9 a.m. EST Friday, Nov. 16, for an event marking the arrival from Bremen, Germany, of the European Service Module – the powerhouse that will supply NASA’s Orion spacecraft with electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water.

October 23, 2018
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NASA Invites Media to Visit Nanocomp Technologies, Discuss Space Technology Partnership

Media are invited to tour Nanocomp Technologies in Merrimack, New Hampshire, at 10:45 a.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 29, and learn about a nanotechnology that could enable lighter spacecraft and launch vehicles, making spaceflight and exploration more affordable.

October 23, 2018
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Newborn Stars Blow Bubbles in the Cat's Paw Nebula

Newborn Stars Blow Bubbles in the Cat's Paw Nebula via NASA https://ift.tt/2q6Jwti

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/22/2018

Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST):  The ISS crew began a BEST experiment 1 session.  The goal of experiment 1 is to identify bacteria directly from ISS surfaces through the swabbing and subsequent extraction of DNA from the swab using miniPCR.  The BEST investigation studies the use of sequencing for identification of unknown microbial organisms …

October 23, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Hyperion: Largest Known Galaxy Proto Supercluster

How did galaxies form in the early universe? To help find out, astronomers surveyed a patch of dark night sky with the Very Large Telescope array in Chile to find and count galaxies that formed when our universe was very young. Analysis of the distribution of some distant galaxies (redshifts near 2.5) found an enormous conglomeration of galaxies that spanned 300 million light years and contained about 5,000 times the mass of our Milky Way Galaxy. Dubbed Hyperion, it is currently the largest and most massive proto-supercluster yet discovered in the early universe. A proto-supercluster is a group of young galaxies that is gravitationally collapsing to create a supercluster, which itself a group of several galaxy clusters, which itself is a group of hundreds of galaxies, which itself is a group of billions of stars. In the featured visualization, massive galaxies are depicted in white, while regions containing a large amount of smaller galaxies are shaded blue. Identifying and understanding such large groups of early galaxies contributes to humanity's understanding of the composition and evolution of the universe as a whole. via NASA https://ift.tt/2O1dngi

#SpaceForce Double Header On Tuesday

Transformers: Space

"Vice President Mike Pence is confirmed to speak at The Washington Post on October 23 as part of a "Transformers: Space" event. Pence, who serves as chairman of the National Space Council, will talk one-on-one with National Political Reporter Robert Costa about the Trump administration's plan to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military and other important space policy matters."

9:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT Live webcast

National Space Council Meeting

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM EDT Live webcast

.@POTUS has rightly called for the creation of a 6th branch of the Armed Forces to advance US dominance in space. #SpaceForce is an idea whose time has come. On 10/23, the National Space Council will meet @NDU_EDU to discuss progress made & next steps to implement POTUS' vision.

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) October 12, 2018

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Hubble Is Getting Back To Normal

Hubble Moving Closer to Normal Science Operations

"NASA took great strides last week to press into service a Hubble Space Telescope backup gyroscope (gyro) that was incorrectly returning extremely high rotation rates. The backup gyro was turned on after the spacecraft entered safe mode due to a failed gyro on Friday, Oct. 5. The rotation rates produced by the backup gyro have since reduced and are now within an expected range. Additional tests will be performed to ensure Hubble can return to science operations with this gyro."

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Following perfect launch, BepiColombo takes self-portraits from space

Making Space Policy That Does Not Get Erased

NASA's recent woes took root with loss of space shuttle program, Houston Chronicle

"The decision to end the shuttle program came in 2004 as President George W. Bush's administration shifted its focus to frontiers beyond Earth's orbit. But with too few coins to divvy up amongst its many projects and a lack of political direction, the history-making agency instead has been forced to change course virtually every four years as political winds change. "NASA's budget and policy seem to be based on Twitter," said Keith Cowing, editor of NASA Watch, a website devoted to space news. "It's like, 'How can I come up with something in 280 characters?' We can't think long term. We can't think multi-administrations." That leaves space agency leaders wondering what will happen after the 2020 election. President Donald Trump has pushed to bolster human exploration -- with an eye toward the moon and then onto Mars -- but what happens if he isn't re-elected is anyone's guess. Policy fluctuations "can be difficult to weather," Mark Geyer, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, previously told the Houston Chronicle. "It can cause fluctuations in the space program and that's hard if you're trying to move the country forward. But that's life, so you need to develop strategies to navigate that."

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Splashdown! Apollo 7 Returns Home

On October 22, 1968, 50 years ago, the Apollo 7 crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. via NASA https://ift.tt/2PO9Mnu

Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3

Apollo 12 was the second mission to land humans on the Moon. The landing site was picked to be near the location of Surveyor 3, a robot spacecraft that had landed on the Moon three years earlier. In the featured photograph, taken by lunar module pilot Alan Bean, mission commander Pete Conrad jiggles the Surveyor spacecraft to see how firmly it is situated. The lunar module is visible in the distance. Apollo 12 brought back many photographs and moon rocks. Among the milestones achieved by Apollo 12 was the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, which carried out many experiments including one that measured the solar wind. via NASA https://ift.tt/2q2iNOu

Can Sanctioned Roscosmos Chief Rogozin Visit The U.S.?

White House Temporarily Lifts Sanctions on Russia's Space Chief for U.S. Visit, Moscow Times

"The White House has temporarily lifted an entry ban imposed on the head of Russia's federal space agency to allow him to visit the United States, the head of NASA has said in an interview with Russian media. The U.S. banned entry to and froze the assets of ex-Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, along with other officials it blames for Moscow's seizure of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014. Rogozin, 54, oversaw Russia's powerful arms industry before he was appointed to head the Roscosmos state space agency earlier this year. Rogozin will now be able to travel to the U.S. under a workaround that removes the sanctions for the duration of his visit, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told the state-run TASS news agency Friday."

Issuance of a new Ukraine-related Executive Order; Ukraine-related Designations, U.S. Department of the Treasury

"ROGOZIN, Dmitry Olegovich (a.k.a. ROGOZIN, Dmitriy; a.k.a. ROGOZIN, Dmitry); DOB 21 Dec 1963; POB Moscow, Russia; Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (individual) [UKRAINE2]."

Executive Order 13660--Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine, Federal Registry 10 March 2014

"I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in subsection 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons."

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Halo of the Cat s Eye

Not a Falcon 9 rocket launch after sunset, the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky. Its haunting symmetries are seen in the very central region of this composited picture, processed to reveal an enormous but extremely faint halo of gaseous material, over three light-years across. Made with data from ground- and space-based telescopes it shows the extended emission which surrounds the brighter, familiar planetary nebula. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase in the life of a sun-like star. But only more recently have some planetaries been found to have halos like this one, likely formed of material shrugged off during earlier active episodes in the star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the outer filamentary portions of this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years old. via NASA https://ift.tt/2J867hR

Hubble Spies Glittering Star Cluster in Nearby Galaxy

This glittering ball of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1898, which lies toward the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Akg2yl

Is NASA Leading A Shift In Administration Climate Change Views?

Trump's NASA Administrator: 'No Reason' to Dismiss U.N. Climate Report, The Atlantic

"Koren: The United Nations recently released a troubling new report on climate change that outlined some of the devastating effects the planet should expect to see in the coming years. You've said before that you believe rising temperatures can be attributed to human activity. But many of your fellow Republicans in Congress and the White House dismissed the news. Where do you stand on the report?

Bridenstine: I have no reason to dismiss the report at all. nasa is one agency on the planet that does more to inform the world on how the climate is changing than any other agency, and we're going to continue to do that.

Koren: Do you see part of your role as administrator of nasa to discuss this with your fellow Republicans?

Bridenstine: My role is to deliver dispassionate science and allow policy makers to have these debates about it. Look, if I start engaging in what to do about the science that we receive, then it politicizes what nasa is all about, and we don't want to do that. All we're going to do is study the planet and make sure that all of that data and all of that science is made available to the public."

Donald Trump: Climate 'will change back again', CNN

"President Donald Trump has said he doesn't believe that climate change is a hoax -- but added Sunday night that "it'll change back again." In the wake of a report from the global scientific authority on climate change warning that governments around the world must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of global warming, Trump was asked for his views on climate change during an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes." Trump replied: "I think something's happening. Something's changing and it'll change back again. I don't think it's a hoax, I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's man-made."

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Dawn Journal: 11 Years in Space

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/18/2018

Food Acceptability: An ISS crewmember performed the Questionnaire. The Food Acceptability investigation seeks to determine the impact of repetitive consumption of food currently available from the spaceflight food system.  Results will be used in developing strategies to improve food system composition to support crew health and performance on long duration missions Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR): …

October 19, 2018
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Collecting a sample from asteroid Ryugu is going to be dicey

Soyuz Launcher Recovery Plan Starts To Emerge

Roscosmos to make three unmanned launches before next manned flight, TASS

"Russia's space corporation Roscosmos will carry out three unmanned launches by the end of the year before the next manned mission will be put in space, Roscosmos's executive director for manned space programs, Sergei Krikalyov, told a news conference on Wednesday. "The Soyuz rocket will be launched only after the inquiry has identified the causes of the emergency and measures have been taken to prevent such situations in the future. Under the existing rules there must be at least one unmanned launch before the flight of a manned spacecraft. We have plans for at least three launches (before the next manned mission due in early December) from the Kourou space site, the launch of an unmanned spacecraft and of an unmanned spacecraft Progress. The confirmations will be more than enough to put the next crew in space," Krikalyov said."

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/17/2018

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sediment (BCAT-CS):  The crew checked the camera alignment and focus by viewing the latest BCAT images on a laptop. BCAT-CS focuses on the study of forces between particles that cluster together by using sediments of quartz and clay particles. Conducting the research in the microgravity environment of the ISS …

October 18, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Launching the Galileo Mission

On Oct. 18, 1989, space shuttle Atlantis deployed NASA's Galileo spacecraft six hours, 30 minutes into the STS-34 mission. Galileo arrived at Jupiter in December, 1995 and spent eight years in orbit around the gas giant, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet. via NASA https://ift.tt/2CQtRXt

Looking at Io's Volcanoes Since Galileo

Cherenkov Telescope at Sunset

On October 10, a new telescope reflected the light of the setting Sun. With dark horizon above and sunset colors below, its segmented mirror inverts an image of the beautiful evening sky in this snapshot from the Roque del Los Muchachos Observatory on the Canary Island of La Palma. The mirror segments cover a 23 meter diameter and are mounted in the open structure of the Large Scale Telescope 1, inaugurated as the first component of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Most ground-based telescopes are hindered by the atmosphere that blurs, scatters, and absorbs light. But cherenkov telescopes are designed to detect very high energy gamma rays and actually require the atmosphere to operate. As the gamma rays impact the upper atmosphere they produce air showers of high-energy particles. A large, fast camera at the common focus images the brief flashes of optical light, called Cherenkov light, created by the air shower particles. The flashes reveal the incoming gamma ray timing, direction, and energy. Ultimately more than 100 Cherenkov telescopes are planned for the CTA at locations in both northern and southern hemispheres on planet Earth. via NASA https://ift.tt/2AggvBy

Morhard Sworn In As NASA Deputy Administrator

Jim Morhard was just sworn in as the 14th Deputy Administrator of NASA. I'm excited to have him join the @NASA family at this crucial time in our agency's history. pic.twitter.com/TX8SHHnpMn

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) October 17, 2018

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NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman Cygnus Launch from Virginia

Media accreditation now is open for the launch from Virginia of Northrop Grumman’s 10th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its Cygnus spacecraft.

October 17, 2018
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Tabloid Headlines At New Scientist

For the third day in a row @Newscientist wins the stupid space headline of the day award. They said they'd fix it but its still wildly inaccurate clickbait @jjaron https://t.co/PvvH9wPavx

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) October 17, 2018

As I said, I am happy to fix any specific inaccuracy. You have not pointed one out.

— Jacob Aron (@jjaron) October 17, 2018

The Soyuz did not "crash". It landed safely. The failure of this mission will not "Kill ISS", and nothing connected to this event would "set back spaceflight by decades" Are you folks really this clueless about the topic? @jjaron @newscientist

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) October 17, 2018

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NASA to Host Briefings, Events for ICON Launch to Study Space Weather

NASA will host a series of media briefings leading up to the Friday, Oct. 26, launch of its Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission to study the dynamic zone high in the atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

October 17, 2018
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NASA Wallops Plays Games With The News Media Once Again

Wallops is excited and proud to welcome @RocketLab to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Have a question? Use #AskAboutLC2 or watch live: https://t.co/YsAyesMVkz

— NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) October 17, 2018

Keith's note: Great commercial space news. RocketLab is coming to NASA Wallops in Virginia to do commercial space launches. You'd think that all parties involved would want as much media present as possible - especially Virginia-based space media (like NASAWatch). Guess again. I first learned about this event, held on a NASA facility, staffed by NASA personnel, announced after it was underway on social media and broadcast on a NASA TV channel when I saw mention of it on Twitter. NASA Wallops PAO sent me nothing in advance. I caught the tail end of the webcast and discovered that there was also a phone bridge for media who are offsite to dial in to ask questions. No one at NASA Wallops PAO told me about that either. This is not the first time Wallops PAO has played this sort of games with me. I have sent an email to NASA PAO and Wallops personnel asking why NASAWatch was excluded from the advance notice and access provided to other news media. Until/unless I get a response (normally I get no response from Wallops) I am torn with ascribing this to incompetence - or spite- on Wallops' part given that this happens to me with some regularity.

Although I had no advance notice of this event, this is the question that popped into my head for RocketLab: "You are going to be doing a lot of launches at Wallops - and they do a lot of suborbital launches for student projects. Is your company looking to work with NASA and M.A.R.S. to provide additional opportunities for students and interns in Virginia to learn about space?".

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Magnetic Fields May Be the Key to Black Hole Activity

This artist’s conception of the core of Cygnus A shows the dusty donut-shaped surroundings, called a torus, and jets launching from its center. via NASA https://ift.tt/2P0z3hl

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/16/2018

Cold Atom Lab (CAL):  A Crewmember attached the Helium monitor to the front of the CAL hardware to collect readings. The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero — much colder than the average temperature of deep space. At these low temperatures, atoms …

October 17, 2018 at 12:00AM
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M15: Dense Globular Star Cluster

Messier 15 is an immense swarm of over 100,000 stars. A 13 billion year old relic of the early formative years of our galaxy it's one of about 170 globular star clusters that still roam the halo of the Milky Way. Centered in this sharp telescopic view, M15 lies about 35,000 light years away toward the constellation Pegasus, well beyond the spiky foreground stars. Its diameter is about 200 light-years. But more than half its stars are packed into the central 10 light-years or so, one of the densest concentrations of stars known. Hubble-based measurements of the increasing velocities of M15's central stars are evidence that a massive black hole resides at the center of dense globular cluster M15. via NASA https://ift.tt/2P6fu72

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/15/2018

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sediment (BCAT-CS): Over the Weekend, the crew checked the camera alignment and focus settings by viewing the latest BCAT images on a laptop. BCAT-CS focuses on the study of forces between particles that cluster together by using sediments of quartz and clay particles. Conducting the research in the microgravity …

October 16, 2018 at 12:00AM
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New NASA Podcast Shares ‘Invisible’ Stories of Spaceflight

Today, NASA released a new, limited-edition podcast called The Invisible Network, the first NASA podcast to embrace narrative storytelling. All six episodes can be downloaded and binged on NASA’s website, SoundCloud and Apple Podcasts.

October 16, 2018
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Uncrewed Japanese Vehicle Delivers Supplies to the Space Station

Viewed from a window inside the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," is the Japanese Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle-7. via NASA https://ift.tt/2CNoDvQ

Heiligenschein Throughout the Solar System

Jupiter in Ultraviolet from Hubble

Jupiter looks a bit different in ultraviolet light. To better interpret Jupiter's cloud motions and to help NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft understand the planetary context of the small fields that it sees, the Hubble Space Telescope is being directed to regularly image the entire Jovian giant. The colors of Jupiter being monitored go beyond the normal human visual range to include both ultraviolet and infrared light. Featured from 2017, Jupiter appears different in near ultraviolet light, partly because the amount of sunlight reflected back is distinct, giving differing cloud heights and latitudes discrepant brightnesses. In the near UV, Jupiter's poles appear relatively dark, as does its Great Red Spot and a smaller (optically) white oval to the right. The String of Pearl storms farther to the right, however, are brightest in near ultraviolet, and so here appear (false-color) pink. Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede appears on the upper left. Juno continues on its looping 53-day orbits around Jupiter, while Earth-orbiting Hubble is now recovering from the loss of a stabilizing gyroscope. via NASA https://ift.tt/2OpUXec

Paul Allen

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of @PaulGAllen, our founder and noted technologist, philanthropist, community builder, conservationist, musician and supporter of the arts. All of us who worked with Paul feel an inexpressible loss today. https://t.co/OMLZ7ivvSD pic.twitter.com/Bfa8kK6Q8e

— Vulcan Inc. (@VulcanInc) October 15, 2018

I did not know Paul Allen personally, but I enthusiastically followed the Ansari X-Prize in 2004 and stood on the wing of Stratolaunch in 2015. His vision continues by the many people he inspired. My prayers are with his family.

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) October 16, 2018

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NASA Television to Air Live Interviews with Astronaut Nick Hague

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, who has returned home to Houston this weekend after his launch to the International Space Station was aborted, will be interviewed by media about his experience at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 16.

October 15, 2018
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NASA MSFC Employee Tries To Make Serkan Golge's Past Disappear

Keith's note: You all may be familiar with Serkan Golge, a NASA JSC employee who has been imprisoned in Turkey for bogus reasons for a long time. A NASAWatch reader noticed that someone at NASA is using the agency's Internet access to make changes to Golge's Wikipedia page - apparently in an effort to diminish his role at NASA. Golge was a full-time contractor with an office next to the MCC. But if you look at the edits it would seem that someone who wanted to minimize his role changed his page to say "working on projects." instead. Have a look at the before and after edits here. And another one here.

The NASA IP address where these edits originated is 156.68.64.53

IP Address - 156.68.64.53
City - Redstone Arsenal
State/Region - Alabama
Country Code - United States
Postal Code - 35812
ISP - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Time Zone -05:00

NASA's CIO Office is mostly useless. Let's see if they look into this. They should.

- One Of Your NASA Coworkers Is Still In a Turkish Jail Cell, earlier post
- NASA Employee Imprisoned By Turkey For No Reason, earlier post

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