It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, September 14, 2024
SPACE
SpaceX crew make first-ever private spacewalk amid Polaris Dawn mission A SpaceX crew made up of four non-professional astronauts on Thursday became the first civilians to perform spacewalks as NASA hailed “a giant leap forward” for the commercial space industry. Led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who was the first to step outside the rocket that launched on Tuesday, the Polaris Dawn mission is expected to last five days.
A pioneering private crew made history Thursday by becoming the first civilians to perform spacewalks, as NASA hailed “a giant leap forward” for the commercial space industry.
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, launched early Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in half a century, since the Apollo program.
With the four-member crew’s Dragon spacecraft adjusted to an orbit with a high of 434 miles (700 kilometers), pure oxygen began flowing into their suits Thursday morning, marking the official start of their extravehicular activity (EVA) at 1012 GMT.
A short time later, Isaacman swung open the hatch and climbed through, gripping the hand and footholds of a structure known as “Skywalker,” as a breathtaking view of Earth unfolded below him.
“It’s gorgeous,” he told mission control in Hawthorne, California, where teams cheered on important checkpoints.
It was yet another major milestone for SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
Initially dismissed by the wider industry, it has since grown into a powerhouse that in 2020 beat aerospace giant Boeing in delivering a spaceship to provide rides for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
“Today’s success represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry and NASA’s long-term goal to build a vibrant US space economy,” NASA chief Bill Nelson wrote on X, the social media platform also owned by Musk. Suit tests
Prior to the hatch opening, the crew underwent a “prebreathe” procedure to remove nitrogen from their bloodstream, preventing decompression sickness. The cabin pressure was then gradually lowered to align with the vacuum of space.
Isaacman and crewmate Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, spent a few minutes each performing mobility tests on SpaceX’s next-generation suits that boast heads-up displays, helmet cameras and enhanced joint mobility systems—before returning inside.
Extravehicular activity officially ended after an hour and 46 minutes, following cabin re-pressurization.
While it marked a first for the commercial sector, the spacewalk fell short of the daring feats from the early space era.
Early spacefarers like Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov drifted away from their spacecraft on tethers, and a select few Space Shuttle astronauts even used jetpacks to fly completely untethered.
Since Dragon doesn’t have an airlock, the entire crew were exposed to the vacuum of space. Mission pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon remained strapped in throughout as they monitored vital support systems.
“The risk is greater than zero, that’s for sure, and it’s certainly higher than anything that has been accomplished on a commercial basis,” former NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe told AFP.
First of three Polaris missions
The spacewalk followed an audacious first phase of the mission, during which the Dragon spacecraft reached a peak altitude of 870 miles.
This put the crew more than three times higher than the International Space Station, in a region known as the inner Van Allen radiation belt—a zone filled with dangerous, high-energy particles.
All four underwent more than two years of training in preparation for the landmark mission, logging hundreds of hours on simulators as well as skydiving, scuba diving and summiting an Ecuadoran volcano.
Upcoming tasks include testing laser-based satellite communications between the spacecraft and the vast Starlink satellite constellation, and completing dozens of experiments, including tests on contact lenses with embedded microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure and shape in space.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX.
Financial terms of the partnership remain under wraps, but Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4Payments, reportedly poured $200 million of his fortune into leading the 2021 all-civilian SpaceX Inspiration4 orbital mission.
The final Polaris mission aims to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship, a prototype next-generation rocket that is key to founder Musk’s ambitions of colonizing Mars.
(AFP)
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn crew completes first all-civilian spacewalk
Boeing Starliner astronaut: 'We found some things that we just could not get comfortable with'
The two NASA astronauts who piloted the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule — and were left behind on the space station as the beleaguered spacecraft returned to Earth — took questions on Friday for the first time in weeks.
Butch Wilmore, a Tennessee native and former Navy test pilot, said during the conversation that he and crewmate Suni Williams were "very fortunate" to have the ability to stay on the International Space Station a few more months and come home using a back-up option: hitching a ride on a SpaceX-made Crew Dragon vehicle.
"There's many cases in the past where there have not been other options," Wilmore said.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams took questions for the first time in weeks about their prediciment. (CNN)
However, he added, he believes that the astronauts and NASA and Boeing teams on the ground could have eventually reached a consensus in their analysis of Starliner's issues given more time.
"I think the data could have gotten there. We could have gotten to the point, I believe, where we could have returned on Starliner," he said. "But we just simply ran out of time."
Wilmore added that time constraints are a fact of life aboard the space station, which keeps to a busy schedule as visiting spacecraft drop off rotating crews of astronauts and cargo ships.
Before returning Starliner home empty on September 7, NASA had noted the need to free up the docking port where the vehicle had been attached to make way for other vessels.
During an August 24 news briefing, NASA officials also indicated that Boeing disagreed with some of the space agency's risk assessments.
The unmanned Boeing Starliner capsule pulls away from the International Space Station on September 6. (AP)
There was "just a little disagreement (between NASA and Boeing) in terms of the level of risk," NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said.
"It just depends on how you evaluate the risk. … We did it a little differently with our crew than Boeing did."
The Starliner, which had suffered a series of helium leaks and propulsion issues en route to the ISS in June, made it back to Earth with no major issues — though officials did report an additional problem with one of the vehicle's thrusters, or small engines used to keep the vehicle oriented in space.
But the issue did not affect the overall landing.
"I was so happy it got home with no problems," Williams said on Friday of Starliner's return. "The whole crew got up at 3 in the morning, and we had it up on our iPads, watching it land."
Williams added that teams on the ground and in space "made the right decisions," saying, "It's risky, and that's how it goes in the business."
Williams and Wilmore had launched aboard Starliner in early June expecting to spend only about eight days on board the orbiting laboratory. (AP)
Adjusting to a months-long mission
Williams and Wilmore had launched aboard Starliner in early June expecting to spend only about eight days on board the orbiting laboratory. They will now return home on a SpaceX mission scheduled to come back in 2025.
When asked if he had trouble adjusting to the prospect of waiting months longer to get home, Wilmore said Friday, "I'm not gonna fret over it.
"I mean, there's no benefit to it at all. So my transition was — maybe it wasn't instantaneous — but it was pretty close."
Williams said that she missed her family and pets and told CNN's Kristin Fisher she was disappointed to miss some family events this fall and winter, but she added: "This is my happy place.
"I love being up here in space. It's just fun. You know, every day you do something that's work, quote, unquote, you can do it upside down.
"You can do it sideways, so it adds a little different perspective."
Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (AP)
Wilmore said he and Williams will be involved in discussions with NASA and Boeing regarding what needs to change in order to get the Starliner spacecraft back on track.
"Obviously, when you have issues like we've had, there's some changes that need to be made. Boeing's on board with that. We're all on board with that," Wilmore said.
Starliner's crewed test flight was meant to "push the edge of the envelope ... And when you do things with spacecraft that have never been done before, just like Starliner, you're going to find some things," he added.
"In this case, we found some things that we just could not get comfortable with putting us back in the Starliner."
Marc Boucher September 13, 2024 FILE PHOTO - Telesat Contracts MDA as Prime Satellite Manufacturer for the Telesat Lightspeed constellation. Image credit: Telesat.
It took much longer than expected but today Telesat announced it had completed $2.54 billion funding agreements with the Government of Canada and Quebec meaning the company has all the financing in place for the Lightspeed low Earth Orbit satellite constellation.
In a news release Telesat said the funding will cover manufacturing of “the satellites, launch vehicles to deploy them, an integrated terrestrial network of landing stations and points of presence throughout the world, and the business and operational support systems for the network.”
Separately, MDA Space today announced an expansion of its satellite manufacturing facility in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec which will double its capacity and allow it to build “two MDA AURORA digital satellites a day.” MDA Space is under contract to Telesat to build an initial 198 satellites for Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation which will be “powered by MDA AURORA technology.”
With respect to the completion of government financing, Telesat said, “As previously disclosed, the Government of Canada loan is for $2.14 billion and will carry a floating interest rate that is 4.75% above the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA) with a 15-year maturity. Interest is payable in-kind during the Telesat Lightspeed construction period, followed by a 10-year sculpted amortization. Furthermore, the Government of Canada is receiving warrants for 10% of the common shares of Telesat LEO based upon an equity valuation for Telesat LEO of US$3 billion. The Government of Quebec loan is for $400 million and has terms that largely mirror the Government of Canada loan but with warrants for 1.87%, in proportion to the smaller loan amount. The borrower under each loan, Telesat LEO Inc. (Telesat LEO), is a subsidiary of Telesat.”
Telesat said it had increased its workforce in the last 12 months by approximately 33%.
“We are pleased to conclude these funding arrangements with the governments of Canada and Quebec as we make strong progress on the build-out of the revolutionary Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the largest space program in Canada’s history,” said Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat. “Telesat Lightspeed will help bridge the digital divide in Canada and throughout the world, create and sustain thousands of high-quality jobs in Canada, deliver billions of dollars of investment in the Canadian economy, spur domestic innovation and exports, and ensure that Canada and Quebec are at the forefront of the rapidly growing New Space Economy.”
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry added, “Today, we are cementing Canada’s position as a global leader in the new space economy. This investment will create high-skilled jobs, support innovation, and secure Canada’s telecommunications systems. This agreement with Telesat Lightspeed, the largest space program ever conceived and built in Canada, will have a significant impact on the growing network of Canadian suppliers and talent, offering critical support to the sector as it continues to flourish.”
About Marc Boucher
Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and Executive Vice President, Content of SpaceNews. Boucher has 25+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet
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