Space Exploration News

built
launching from New Zealand
https://news.yahoo.com/assists-seattle-satellite-launch-boost-164333202.html
Update for 6:30 a.m. PT May 15: Two BlackSky satellites were lost when the second stage of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket suffered an anomaly, minutes after liftoff from New Zealand. “We are deeply sorry to our customers Spaceflight Inc. and BlackSky for the loss of their payloads,” Rocket Lab said in a statement. The cause of the anomaly is under investigation. . .


That's what you get when you contract
seeking a discount!


Moi

​

 

Like me, Galileo was correct.

 

Star as old as time: One of the oldest stars ever found casts new light on the birth of the universe

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/sci...=857693951420692326&utm_medium=Email Sailthru


from link

Astronomers have discovered an exceedingly old star at the edge of the galaxy that appears to be only a few million years younger than the universe itself. It joins a rare group of 35 stars with particularly low elements of critical heavy metals — which point to just how distant they may be.


Can't get enough of this stuff

 

I suppose an old star (aren't they all?) is just hydrogen and a bit of helium?

 

Be my guest with your obsolete money theory; while Biden is fighting Repubs to find some funds to repair some bridges, China - after building 38,000kms of brand new high speed rail, and pouring more concrete in 3 years (2010-2013) than the US in the entire 20th century - has achieved this today:

"Named after an ancient fire god of Chinese mythology, the 1.85-meter-tall and some 240-kilogram Zhurong Mars rover safely drove off the landing platform and reached the surface of Mars at 10: 40 am on Saturday, kicking off its roving mission, the Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration (CNSA)".

and for a real photo of the Martian surface, this image was sent back on Wednesday, when the rover was still sitting on its landing platform. :

 

The hydrogen fused to make helium and the helium fused to make heavier elements. I am a little rusty but something about this makes no sense. Heavy elements are formed in supernovas?

 

Yes, I think an 'old' star is just a helium star, or even a hydrogen star.
Our star is a metal star.

 

LAWFARE: Viasat asks FCC to halt Starlink launches while it seeks court ruling.

"Viasat’s service is drastically inferior to Starlink’s even as things stand now; it’ll be out of business once Starlink’s constellation is complete. This is just an effort to stave off the inevitable collapse."

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/452143/

 

I think you got that right.

My understanding is that as stars age and depending on their size they move to heavier elements up to about iron at most.

Beyond that, there has to be a nova, I think.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/official-chinese-astronauts-space-station-114443648.html

Official: Chinese astronauts go to
space station next month​

Sun, May 30, 2021, 4:44 AM
BEIJING (AP) — A three-member crew of male astronauts will blast off next month for a three-month mission on China’s new space station, according to a space official who was the country's first astronaut in orbit.

The Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, is the third and largest space station launched by China’s increasingly ambitious space program. Its core module was launched into orbit April 29.

Beijing doesn’t participate in the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections. Washington is wary of the Chinese program’s secrecy and its military connections.

China has sent 11 astronauts, including two women, into space beginning with Yang’s flight in October 2003. The first female astronaut was Liu Yang in 2012.

The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft that docked with Tianhe on Sunday carried 6.8 tons of cargo including space suits, food and equipment for the astronauts and fuel for the station, according to the space program.

The space agency plans a total of 11 launches through the end of next year to deliver two more modules for the 70-ton station, supplies and the crew. . . .


I guess China's accordion folded, unfolding space station was
not a means for a long term space station. Good try!



Moi

​

 

In what way are you suggesting they failed?

 

Not exactly failed (mia culpa) but upon testing
found it was not a good idea for
a long term space station.
Or they would have scaled it up for the current
Chinese Space Station.

If you Readmore on it, please get back to me.
I don't plan to do so


Moi

​

 

Our own space station is running out of time.

When these things get built they are designed to address a particular need and to last some desired lifetime. They are not designed to be permanent. And, components don't only wear out. They also grow way out of date as technology and the needs of science advance.

Just like the ISS, it seems quite logical for these things to be built to have less than permanent life, along with being designed as a collection of modules allowing discarding and replacement.

 

What does the above have to do with a space module sent up folded,
and unfolding in space per our dialog?

 

We send up stuff that is folded, too.

I had no idea THAT was what you were commenting on, as it is a universal fact of life at present.

A significant amount of the stuff we want in space is NOT sized and shaped such that it will fit in a rocket nose cone unfolded.

Until we start being better at space based construction, a lot of the stuff we launch has to be relatively complete modules that fold AND can withstand the violent shaking of rocket launches.

China's space exploration program is advancing very rapidly. Ignoring that huge success is really not a good idea.

 

Oh good. We are in debt up to our ears and creating money like it is field corn. Yet we want to spend money on a space adventure. Makes sense.

 

Yes, best if you let China do the space exploration, while you are trying to pay off the government's debt....even though it's not YOUR debt (... that's the illusion which I attempted explained to you: see Warren Mosler's '7 deadly innocent frauds of economic policy' available on the internet for free.

 

You won't have any more luck convincing me that economics is more than a collection of opinions than you will convincing me that we should send someone on an expensive adventure for no other purpose than to do it. Sorry, I'm a creature with common sense.

 

If folks had the same attitude many years ago....America would still not be discovered. Exploration is a critical component of human nature .........and space exploration is the now.. KNOWLEDGE and enhancing our level of knowledge is an imperative.

 

I don't see that as having much of anything to do with sending humans to our moon or Mars. Extending science isn't really an objective of those missions. And, the missions planned to date don't really have ANY science component.

We do our astroscience with robots and telescopes. We've gotten seriously good at that, and our capabilities of doing science without humans in space suits watching it happen continues to advance rapidly.

That is FAR cheaper, highly productive and isn't limited to the very few heavenly bodies that are in the closest possible proximity.

One of the real questions is how much our science will be reduced in order to fund flying humans around space.

 

From a cost effective point of view.......that makes good sense. But one cannot replace the experience of actually travelling and physically being on these heavenly bodies.It is human adventure/exploration at its best. These are small steps towards future and more exotic space exploration.

 

At least you recognize it as an "experience" and "adventure".

I just don't see it as having much of anything to do with science or exploration. And, let's face it - there is a probability that this spaceman effort will reduce our astroscience efforts. The chance that congress will provide full funding without reduction in NASA science activity seems remote.

And, I hope you agree that this is not the time for reducing our exploration of this universe.

Instead of landing spacemen on the Moon, how about turning a crater on the far side of the Moon into a telescope that can, because of shielding from Earth, explore whole new unexplored electromagnetic wavelengths from this and other solar systems? There are designs for that where humans aren't necessary. How about creating a space telescope a few times larger than James Webb, requiring space based assembly - a general capability that anything done is space is beginning to require? How about building a LIGO-like gravitational wave detector in space, where it could be gigantic, seriously improving the use of exploration that isn't connected to electromagnetic emissions? How about working with ESA to enhance their fabulous techniques for examining exoplanets for signs of life? How about creating the tools for examining the discrepancies that exist in our standard model of physics? In fact, we know very little about 95% of what our universe is made of - dark energy and dark matter.

I can't accept trading ANY of that for "experience" and "adventure".

 

You don't have to accept anything. but what you list are some really good ideas. You present alternatives.......and that is appreciated..

 

??

I have to accept that our science budget is going to be applied to "experience" and "adventure" instead of science.

I can lobby against that, of course.