As with the other branches of our military, there may soon be a U.S. Space Academy for the relatively new Space Force.
A commission chaired by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will figure out what that should look like and report back to the president in 120 days. We need leaders of strength, skill, and character in the vitally important domain of space who will secure our interests.
"The nation must prepare the next generation of astronauts, scientists, engineers, operators, entrepreneurs, civil servants and warfighters and ensure that they are capable of advancing American interests in space."
Starship was scheduled to launch yesterday on test flight #13. But it didn't. It's a disappointment for all concerned, and that no doubt includes those who invested their own money in the success of SpaceX last month by purchasing the spaceflight company's stock.
"The stock is on a five-day losing streak."
Some engines failed to ignite "triggering an automatic launch abort," as Elon reported on X. Two of them will be replaced by new engines and then the test flight can proceed next week.
It's just as Jim Bridenstine (former NASA administrator) described SpaceX five years ago. They "fly, test, fail, fix - repeatedly." Yes, that's SpaceX, and that's life, too.
By the end of 2028, we will have launched our mission to Mars on the "first-ever nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft" -- if Administrator Isaacman's ambitious goals come to pass.
Called the SR-1, it will begin a new era in space flight. “After decades of study," he said, "and billions spent on concepts that have never left Earth, America will finally get underway on nuclear power in space.”
Chemical propulsion (hydrogen and oxygen) is being used to power rockets now and will continue to enable escaping Earth's atmosphere. But nuclear will power movement in space. It's far more efficient. So, with the same volume of fuel, space craft will be able to go further and faster.
Every incoming executive probably has plans to change something in his new role. New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has a plan for America's space program which he says will take us back to basics.
We need more launches, he says first, "on a yearly cadence." Can our Artemis-designated space vehicle, Boeing's SLS, keep up with that aggressive push in light of its history of missing both budgets and target dates? His response: "It's 100% achievable." With regard to past SLS failures, NASA will take responsibility to "make better decisions." I hope so.
An additional launch was added to the original Artemis plan. Artemis 3 will launch next year, 2027, because it's "imperative," he says, to practice the docking of the SLS with the lunar lander (made by either SpaceX or Blue Origin). No human feet will stand on the Moon's surface til Artemis 4 which is scheduled for 2028.
Starship test flight #12 is due to take off tonight about 6:30 pm CST, barring delays. Here's a little reminder about who calls the shots (pun intended) at SpaceX.
She built a "multi-billion-dollar relationship with NASA." She headed up the development of Falcon 9, SpaceX's first reusable rocket. She predicted that Starlink, which was only an idea at this point, would change the world with satellite-based internet access.
Watch Gwynne's TED talk (interview) from eight years ago:
Like the Starbuck family from Cuba, Diana Trujillo from Colombia sought opportunity by coming to the United States of America. She made her move at the tender age of 17.
Not even able to speak English, she managed to get and hold a job as a maid, eventually putting herself through community college. Undoubtedly, it was difficult. But, as she says, "nothing that's worth it is easy."
She studied aerospace engineering at the university, applied to NASA academy, and was hired by NASA. Today she is Mission Lead for the Mars Curiosity Rover.
Her virtues got her there: resilience, courage, determination, willingness to work hard--all of these enabled her drive to pursue her dream. She didn't choose an easy path. She needed everything she had.
Note: hang in there with me for just one more Artemis-themed post 😉
One day after their return from the moon, NASA Chief Jared introduced the astronauts like this, "Artemis crew, this moment is the result of years of hard work, absolutely immense expertise, and just being all around great human beings."
First of the astronauts to speak was Commander Reid Wiseman: "Twenty-four hours ago the earth was this big [arms apart], we were doing Mach 39, and now we're home! We are bonded forever. No one down here is ever going to know just what we went through."
Pilot Victor Glover: "When this started on April 3, I wanted to thank God in public, and I want to thank God again . . for seeing what we saw, for doing what we did, for who I was with. We are fortunate to be in this agency at this time, together. Thank you also to our Air Operations."
Mission Specialist Christina Koch: "What struck me was not just this little Earth but all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging un-disturbingly in the universe." She called Earth and its people a "crew," which she described as "beautifully and dutifully linked."
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen: "The science is there with the things we've learned, and it's incredible. But it's the human experience that is extraordinary for us. I don't think people will ever fully comprehend how well supported and trained we were. There was a lot of joy up there."
It's the dream of a lifetime for NASA's new administrator, Jared Isaacson.
He knows his life arc is unusual: "You should not be able to drop out of high school at 16, start a company, and wind up an astronaut leading NASA someday. It's why we live in the greatest nation in the world."
Now that he's smack in the middle of America's space industry(image), what does he dream about for our future in space?
A US base on the Moon, of course, comes first. Helium mining on the Moon. Within a decade, there'll be dozens of flights into space in a year instead of just one every few years. Many international space stations will handle civilian visitors. Space Reactor 1-Freedom, the first-ever nuclear-powered interplanetary spaceship, will go to Mars in Dec. 2028 where it will drop off 3 unmanned space helicopters to go exploring. Our first astronauts will go to Mars in ten years.
Do his dreams sound starry-eyed? He thinks we can change the world.
NASA, America and most of the world joyfully welcomed the astronauts safely back to their home planet last Friday evening. I joined with many who thanked God for their safe return.
Artemis II was a stunning success for NASA, achieving precise goals per that wonderful descriptor, "Nominal." The term means: as planned, right on target, just as it should be. (Splashdown is at 3:40 in video.)
Pilot Victor Glover did the last message before they went behind the dark side of the Moon: "As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we're still going to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side."
It was a relief to resume communication with them as they completed their 6 hours on the dark side. Mission Specialist Cristina Koch shared aspirational words as they came back in view of Earth:
“We will explore. We will build ships. We will visit again. We will build scientific outposts, drive rovers, do radio astronomy and found companies. We will strengthen industry and inspire. But ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other.”
If safety were the only core value, they could achieve it best by staying out of space. Space is inherently dangerous. But their purpose is to explore space. None of their missions are risk-free. Safety is what they try to achieve in the context of danger.
Taking Artemis 2 astronauts through space in a small life-sustaining room is the task of their spacecraft, Orion.
What's outside? Just the harshest environment humans have ever faced: "extreme radiation, massive temperature swings, and deep space vacuum."
After some delays, Artemis 2 launched yesterday. Four astronauts are on their way. Following a swing around Earth, tonight they will break orbit and head for the Moon. (Note: the path of Orion turned out to be a bit different from what's shown in the video below.)
Orion is the crewed spacecraft which will take them there. It launched from Cape Canaveral on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. This is only the second mission for Orion. It flew without crew back in 2022 on the mission Artemis 1, that mission which confirmed for NASA that we now have a reliable deep-space transportation system.
But Orion has no landing ability. Landing on the Moon is planned for Artemis 4, which will take place at least two years from now.
It was going to launch next month, in just a few weeks. But Artemis 2 mission has been delayed again: it's unlikely to go in March, and they have no target date for it at this time according to NASA's chief. Maybe April.
SLS (Space Launch System) rocket was on the launch pad until this week, when it was pulled back for repairs. There was a "liquid hydrogen leak in an interface used to route the cryogenic propellant into the rocket's core stage."
How many problems and how many delays have there been with SLS? I've lost track. They've gone on for years and years, as you can see here.
Yesterday's re-post is more than five years old, so there may have been tweaks in the plan since we first looked at it. The latest description of the Artemis Program (image) on NASA's website reflects a up-to-date overview.
The plan consists of four missions. Artemis 1 was completed in December of 2022, confirming that NASA has a "foundational deep-space transportation system" that really works, that can be relied on to carry out the rest of the missions.
People won't actually walk on the Moon until the third mission, Artemis 3. Two members of the crew of four will explore the lunar South Pole region for a week. So far, it's scheduled for some time in 2028. The mission is expected to last about 30 days.
Then there's the far more complicated fourth mission, Artemis 4. A new lunar space station will be assembled from modules brought by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Astronauts will live and work there in orbit, performing multiple ground launches and experiments.
But before #3 and #4, there will be the second mission, Artemis 2 . . and that's going to launch next month.
Remember the Artemis Program? It is still NASA's goal to take people to the moon--and to stay there with a continuing human presence. It's taking a long time, but there is news: the next mission in the program is coming up next month.
To refresh yourself about the goal, here's an inspiring re-post from 2021. As the video voiceover says, "None of this is simple, or easy!"
Artemis
Next year, 2022, will be the 50th anniversary since men were last on the moon. That's fifty years, achieved by people with 50-year-old technology.We can do it again, and that's the goal. Under the previous administration, NASA made plans to return with international and private partners and establish the first long-term presence.
Why do that? For the scientific discovery, the economic benefits, and the inspiration. "While maintaining American leadership in exploration, we will build a global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of all."
Artificial intelligence exploded into public life just a few years ago but it's changing our lives, as so many have predicted.
Nvidia, a major force driving the movement, describes it this way: "AI can be thought of as the development of computer systems that can perform tasks autonomously, ingesting and analyzing enormous volumes of data, then recognizing patterns in that data."
NASA uses the government's definition, which you might summarize this way: "An artificial system designed to think or act like a human."
IBM says there are three types. The only one currently operating, as John Lennox once explained, is "Narrow AI" which can only perform the task it was trained to do. "General AI" will have human intelligence, and "Super AI" will surpass human intelligence. They're still theoretical.
When we ask AI a question, do we want its answer to be true: factual, based on reality, accurate? Yes, and we assume it is. But there's a lot of room for interpretation or opinion on any given topic. How was it trained . . and whose integrity or values were built into it?
Starship completed test flight #11 on Tuesday evening (complete SpaceX video). As you know, this is the space craft which (in a modified form) is expected to land astronauts on the moon in 2027 through NASA's Artemis Mission.
Bigger and more powerful than any previous rocket including the Saturn V, Starship aced more tests including engine re-light and controlled re-entry.
Dozens of cameras deliver great views, one of them being a view inside "Ship" (stage one) looking down from the height of the nose cone. From that point, you can see the dummy satellites slide smoothly through the payload door into space. Starlink satellites bring us the pictures.
Here are a couple of things to look for in the video below. Actual launch begins at 7:08. Look for speed and altitude in the bottom right and left corners. (How fast is it going after 30 seconds?) After the Ship separates from Super Heavy booster, speed/altitude of Ship are in the right lower corner and speed/altitude of the booster are in the left. The lit engines are filled-in circles.
Nighttime is quite different on the Moon. Since it rotates more slowly than Earth, darkness lasts for two weeks . . and there are craters in perpetual darkness that will have to be explored. For those reasons, solar power production won't be sufficient though it will be used.
We'll need nuclear (image). According to remarks made last month by the interim NASA administrator, the new goal is to deploy a 100 kilowatt fission reactor on the Moon by 2030. A question to answer soon is: exactly where will it go?
"In order to be useful, the reactor must be close to accessible, extractable and refinable water ice deposits." Yes, they believe water ice exists in some of those dark craters. Lunar orbital missions are finding it. Then lunar rover VIPER will come and investigate the best prospects.
It's not only tech companies that invest in new applications of nuclear power. NASA (American Space and Aeronautics Agency) is researching how to make nuclear energy our reliable power source for use on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Getting astronauts there is not the entire challenge. When they get there, they'll need power for living and exploring. There won't be a back-up electrical grid using natural gas or coal or any fossil fuel. A nuclear plant will have to support the Artemis mission's goal, a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
It's called the fission surface power project. The fission reactor will have to be relatively lightweight, self-contained, and small compared to what we have on earth. How powerful must it be? At least 40 kilowatts. In earth terms, it could "continuously run 30 households for ten years."
While currently using version #2 of the Raptor engine on Starship tests, the third is in testing phase, and SpaceX is already working on version #4. Innovation does not stop.
If you're interested in the engineering, go here for the strategies they use in the design of Raptor 3. Here's Elon Musk himself explaining Raptor design elements:
Innovation doesn't stop, and neither does testing. As Elon puts it, "Oh we blew a lot of engines up." To keep up that pace, he says "A high production rate cures many ills. If you have a high production rate, you can have a lot of iterations. You can try lots of different things." You can risk failing because you have a lot more engines in the pipeline.
