A space drill developed by a firm based in Sudbury, Ont., could be boring for water on the moon in less than five years — if everything goes according to plan. It would also signal the start of the space mining industry. Deltion Innovations Ltd. has announced it's been awarded a contract by the Canadian Space Agency to advance the design of its "DESTIN" drill and then test it in a moon-like environment on Earth.
Deltion spokesman Dale Boucher says the tests are aimed at advancing technology so the space drill would be ready for a lunar prospector mission in 2018. The mission's objective is to prospect for water ice near the south pole of the moon, extract samples and then analyze them. Boucher added that the mission would kick-start space mining as an economic activity.
"The really neat thing about this project is that it's the first of many missions that are actually looking for usable resources — either on an asteroid or the moon. And Canada has an opportunity here to take the leader position." The Canadian drill would be mounted on Artemis Jr., a lunar mining rover being developed by Ottawa-based Neptec Design. (1/31)
$350M NASA Project Completed, Mothballed Because of Lack of Need (Source: Washington Times)
NASA is supposed to build machines that launch into space, not structures that stay grounded on Earth and send spending into the stratosphere. But that is exactly what is happening this year as NASA completes the $350 million rocket-engine testing A-3 tower at its research facility in Mississippi. There is just one problem: The space exploration agency doesn’t want it.
Instead, NASA is forced to complete the project — which now won’t be put to use — because of legislation handed down from Congress in what critics say is a classic example of earmarking. “Because the Constellation Program was cancelled in 2010 the A-3’s unique testing capabilities will not be needed and the stand will be mothballed upon completion,” NASA’s internal watchdog, the inspector general, said this month.
NASA does not expect to use the tower after construction but is compelled by legislation from Sen. Roger F. Wicker, Mississippi Republican, who wants to ensure the project is completed. Ironically, Congress says it has been operating under a self-imposed ban on earmarks — pet projects that funnel money back to lawmakers’ home districts, often at taxpayer expense. But recent examples show members are still finding ways around the self-imposed prohibition. (1/31)
Thyroid Cancer Cells Become Less Aggressive in Space (Source: FASEB)
For those who think that space exploration offers no tangible benefits for those of us on earth, a new research discovery involving thyroid cancer may prove otherwise. Researchers from Germany and Denmark show that some tumors which are aggressive on earth are considerably less aggressive in microgravity. By understanding the genetic and cellular processes that occur in space, scientists may be able to develop treatments that accomplish the same thing on earth. (1/30)
New NASA Satellite to Survey Detailed Climate Data (Source: Information Week)
NASA will begin close monitoring of rain, snow and other climate information with the help of one of its newest crop of science satellites, set to launch Feb. 27. The detailed weather data, gathered every three hours, will help scientists study floods, droughts and other major weather events. (1/30)
NASA Extends Moon Exploring Satellite Mission (Source: NASA)
NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, observatory has been approved for a 28-day mission extension. The spacecraft is now expected to impact the lunar surface on or around April 21, 2014, depending on the final trajectory. The extension provides an opportunity for the satellite to gather an additional full lunar cycle worth of very low-altitude data to help scientists unravel the mysteries of the moon’s atmosphere. (1/31)
Is the Relationship Between NASA and Private Space About to Sour? (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Many space nerds were smiling when they saw details of the 2014 budget: NASA's big-ticket missions have been spared the Congressional ax. The Orion crew vehicle gets $1.2 billion, the Space Launch System (SLS) gets $1.9 billion. Together, these are supposed to get humans to Mars or an asteroid, or both. But there's some who are not quite so happy: the private space companies vying to get astronauts to orbit by 2017.
The White House request for $821 million to support the commercial crew program was trimmed to $696 million. The effort to replace the space shuttle with a new private-sector vehicle is also going well, with the three companies hitting milestones and setting dates for flights. But the true test of how much NASA can really change from a spacecraft developer to a customer of flight services will start this year. Click here. (1/31)
How Does NASA Test a Martian Parachute? With a Rocket Sled (Source: WIRED)
NASA engineers used a rocket sled to test an enormous supersonic parachute that could one day land spacecraft on Mars. The pulse-pounding test took place recently at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California. The sled has four rockets to quickly accelerate an enormous supersonic parachute about 110 feet in diameter to see how it holds up under such stress.
The data will help researchers refine their designs for this parachute, which could one day be deployed on Mars to slow a lander down from Mach 2, nearly 1,100 mph, to less than 175 mph. NASA needs such technology if they ever want to put an object larger than the Curiosity rover down on Mars’ surface. Currently, the agency has been living off the legacy of its 1970s Viking-era technology, which has reached its limit. Click here for the video. (1/31)
CNES Tech Budget Focused on Competitiveness in Telecom Satellites (Source: Space News)
The French space agency is aligning its research and technology budget behind an attempt to increase French and European satellite telecomm prime contractors’ share of the global commercial market to 50% by 2020, up from 30% now. Europe’s principal weapon in the battle for increased market share is the Neosat satellite platform, developed with ESA and employing an all-electric propulsion system to reduce satellite weight and launch cost, as well as other new technologies. (1/31)
U.S. Air Force Claims Big Savings on EELV Block Buy (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) and the U.S. Air Force have come to contractual terms for the first batch of rockets in a long-awaited bulk purchase that the service said forms the core of its strategy for saving money on a program whose soaring costs once made it a lightning rod for criticism. ULA and the Air Force claim the new contracting structure has already saved taxpayers billions of dollars.
The Air Force in 2013 announced three contracts with ULA value at just under $2.6 billion, including an initial $1 billion order in June to support seven EELV missions. In December, the Air Force announced a $530 million contract modification “for fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2017 launch vehicle production services and options for that associated launch capability for fiscal 2015 through fiscal 2019.”
Also included in ULA’s current Air Force contract portfolio is a one-year deal worth nearly $1 billion, announced in October, for so-called EELV Launch Capability. This is the latest in a series of contracts ULA gets on an annual basis to cover services not necessarily associated with a given launch, and which have been branded as a subsidy by ULA’s prospective competitors. (1/31)
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