The thread for space cadets!

[uppi]

I think the news that they may have found dark matter, or at least departure from the standard model, is exciting:

A leptoquark or anything like it would be very exciting. However, it would be anything but dark.

 

[red_elk]

Anyone knows if it's possible to generate planetary magnetic field with current technology level we have? And roughly what amount of energy it will be consuming?
I tried to google it, but didn't find anything conclusive. Just curious if we can theoretically build a system to shield Mars from space radiation, using artificial magnetic field.
And since Earth's magnetic field is also weakening, we may eventually need a similar system here.

 

[Samson]

Anyone knows if it's possible to generate planetary magnetic field with current technology level we have? And roughly what amount of energy it will be consuming?
I tried to google it, but didn't find anything conclusive. Just curious if we can theoretically build a system to shield Mars from space radiation, using artificial magnetic field.
And since Earth's magnetic field is also weakening, we may eventually need a similar system here.

From a quick google, stack exchange thinks we generate just enough electricity now to do it for earth, and the word is that NASA already have a plan for mars:

 

[The_J]

This... sounds nuts.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Also unnecessary for a very long time. The rate of atmosphere loss from solar stripping at Mars's distance is terribly small. It will take tens or hundreds of millenia for a decently bulked atmosphere to appreciably changed due to stripping. The loss is only notable over geological time scales.

It should be mandatory for any satellite to have a reserve of fuel for deorbiting.

That's the direction that regulations are moving. Generally the regulations and laws are solution-agnostic; that is to say they proscribe what needs to happen (deorbit or graveyard orbit), not how it should be done (solar sails, propulsion, magnetic tape).

However, for most satellites, on-board propulsion will be the way most satellites choose to do this given all the other uses propulsion has. Additionally, non-propulsive solutions are limited to a specific uses cases whereas propulsion is the only solution that works for all use cases.

Looks cool, but expensive. I wonder how it supposed to clean debris - does it just "swallows" pieces and then deorbits with them, or can kick them down?

It's a proof of concept that is meant to demonstrate an electromagnetic attachment systems. Basically, some satellites will be built with these special plates that these satellites can attach to using magnets, then it uses its own propulsion to pull the couple down to a lower orbit. OneWeb's satellites are already being built with the plates, even though the de-orbiting company does not yet have a fleet of removal vehicles ready to go.

You're right, dumb assumption to make for the space nerd thread especially as a newcomer

There's no dumb assumptions here' people of all knowledge levels hang out here.

 

[Samson]

That black hole they took a photo of has polarised light with curved swoops like a spiral. This tells us that the magnetic field around the black hole is ordered, and this is really important because only an ordered magnetic field can launch jets – a scrambled magnetic field cannot do that.

“This jet process is totally amazing – something the size of our solar system can shoot out a jet that pierces through entire galaxies and even galaxy neighborhoods,” says Sara Issaoun, an Event Horizon Telescope team member at Radboud University in the Netherlands. “Now we’re really seeing the magnetic field close to the black hole for the first time, and that’s connecting it to the jet, which is the most powerful process in the universe.”

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Perseverance has begun the sequence of deploying the Ingenuity helicopter. They expect the first flight to be this next week. I also found out it is carrying a piece of the Wright brother's airplane, which is awesome.

https://spacenews.com/ingenuity-helicopter-prepares-for-first-flight-on-mars/

 

[Samson]

Curiosity has begun the sequence of deploying the Ingenuity helicopter. They expect the first flight to be this next week. I also found out it is carrying a piece of the Wright brother's airplane, which is awesome.

https://spacenews.com/ingenuity-helicopter-prepares-for-first-flight-on-mars/

My first thought looking at that is that the sump cover has fallen off, as that has happened to many of my cars. Probably not quite that same thing though.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

That thing on the ground is the cover. The helicopter is folded up and still attached to the belly of the rover directly above the cover in this image.

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Despite Brexit, ESA is investing in 2 UK-based rocket startups.
https://spacenews.com/esa-awards-e10-45-million-to-two-uk-launch-startups/

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I read a couple of articles this week that said ministers in France and Germany have all of a sudden realized what a strategic misstep that the Ariane 6 is and they are panicking at the impending collapse of their launch business to SpaceX and other American competitors.

The Ariane 6 is basically a super Ariane 5 and it seems to me to have had 2 main goals when it was thought up:

1. Redistribute work from France to Germany and particularly Italy
2. Reduce costs

Unfortunately, goal 1 counteracts goal 2 because splitting up the work just to split it up adds a ton of logistical overhead, plus administrative duplication and all that. The Europeans also thought they could cleverly segment the market into large and small payloads, and re-use Ariane 6 side boosters as the base for the small Vega launcher. What they did not seem to take seriously was just how much SpaceX was going to collapse the price floor. The segmentation that the European Commission/ESA envisioned no longer make much sense given how cheap SpaceX is flying with their 'transporter' program of regular launches at rock-bottom prices.

Like their plans made perfect sense in 2010, but by now they're seen to be flat-footed and entirely missed where the market was going from 2010-2020. At this rate the only customers Ariane will have will be national European agencies and at the end of the day if Greece (or Germany for that matter) decide to fly their payloads on the cheapest ride available rather than stick with Ariane, there's not much ESA and the European Commission can do.

 

[The_J]

So... I guess the helicopter is at the bottom of the rover, because on the top are all solar cells?
(at least that'd be the only thing I can think of why this should make sense)

 

[really]

Had a nice clear view of the ISS last night.
My 5 year old was excited.

 

[GreatLordofPie]

So... I guess the helicopter is at the bottom of the rover, because on the top are all solar cells?
(at least that'd be the only thing I can think of why this should make sense)

Percy has a radioisotope thermo-electric generator, so no solar panels. I imagine they just didn't want to use up space on top that they could use for other instruments instead. Plus if it took off from the top and ended up crashing/blowing up, then NASA would be down a helicopter and a rover.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

The helicopter is mounted to the bottom of the rover because that is where it fits. Allegedly, the engineers at JPL were initially resistant to the helicopter because they were basically volun-told they had to add it on a design that was supposed to be (more or less) a build-to-print copy of Curiosity. Also, if you are not sure that the helicopter to work, you shouldn't put it where it might break something - i.e., the top. Dropping it off the bottom lets Perseverance drive to a safe distance to avoid being crashed into on the first test flight.

 

[Samson]

Curiosity Selfie With ‘Mont Mercou’

 

[The_J]

I just saw this elsewhere, and it just amazes me that I can look at stuff, which is so far away. It's just great.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Satellite company, city reach terms on massive ABQ campus lease

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The city of Albuquerque and an aerospace company that’s planning a large New Mexico satellite manufacturing operation have come to terms on a lease for 114.5 acres of Aviation Department land, marking a new milestone for a project that could eventually create thousands of new jobs.

The pending ground lease and development agreement requires Theia Group Inc. to develop the entire site in the next decade, including at least 48 acres by 2025, according to documents Mayor Tim Keller sent this week to the Albuquerque City Council. Failure to meet the development timelines would allow the city to reclaim undeveloped land.

The deal — which still needs council approval — also spells out for the first time that the Washington D.C.-based company intends to seek economic development incentives for the massive campus it’s planning to build on the former Albuquerque International Sunport runway, though it does not specify the mechanism.

The campus could host 1,000 workers when it opens and eventually grow to 2,500, representatives have said. Keller last fall began speaking enthusiastically about the project while simultaneously warning that it was not a done deal. In a statement to the Journal Friday, he reiterated that the project remains in the beginning stages but noted this is a promising development. “Getting the lease done puts us one step closer to adding potentially thousands of good-paying jobs for Albuquerque,” Keller said. “It’s still early in the project, but it just became a lot more tangible and real, and we’ll continue working closely with Theia Group to keep it moving.”

The agreement between Theia and the city could span 50 years — 30 years to start, with two possible 10-year extensions. Theia Group has agreed to pay the city $1 million on the agreement’s commencement date — expected to be June 1 — and another $1 million a year later, according to the mayor’s correspondence. In 2025, annual rent would rise to $1.2 million. It would increase by 2% yearly until 2030, at which time an appraisal would set payments.

Theia Group is the parent firm of Group Orion, which last year began the entitlement process for the planned Southeast Albuquerque campus. The plan includes approximately 4.1 million square feet of development, with the potential to grow. The facility will be used “for light manufacturing (assembly), laboratories, offices,” a parking structure and employee amenities like a food hall and daycare, according to documents Orion representatives submitted to the city.

“The purpose of this large facility is to receive components and complete the assembly, integration and testing of satellites,” an Orion representative wrote to the city planning commission last fall. The company, which has previously declined to comment on the project, didn’t respond to an inquiry about the lease agreement. Theia Group is developing a constellation of satellites to cover the entire planet — offering a “real-time digital representation of every physical activity, process and object on earth,” according to its website.

Keller said last fall that the company had not sought any economic development incentives, but Theia’s pending agreement with the city indicates that is in its plans. Theia “intends to pursue certain economic development opportunities for development allowed by this agreement,” the document states. “Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to prohibit (Theia) from pursuing any and all economic development benefits with municipal, county, state or federal governmental entities at any time during the term, including but not limited to the issuance of industrial revenue bonds.”

A Keller spokesman said Friday that Theia has not yet applied for incentives but the city will be “ready for that conversation if and when they start that process.” Bruce Krasnow, a spokesman for the New Mexico Economic Development Department, said Friday the state is not currently involved with the project, and is not offering incentives at this time. Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis, who represents the area where Theia plans to build, said the lease and development agreement is a significant mile marker for the Orion Center, making the project “real.”

“There’s a lot of pieces between here and the end, but the first thing in building a new house is to buy the land, and this is that piece,” Davis said.

 

[thecrazyscot]

I wish I had $200 to blow on this.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Hubble is acting up - they uploaded a software update which was supposed to help it deal with old creaky gyros but instead it caused the system to basically shut down. It was a pretty hard shut down too - apparently the door over the telescope mirror which was supposed to close to protect it from the sun in the event of system failures did not close.

 

[Cutlass]

Hubble is acting up - they uploaded a software update which was supposed to help it deal with old creaky gyros but instead it caused the system to basically shut down. It was a pretty hard shut down too - apparently the door over the telescope mirror which was supposed to close to protect it from the sun in the event of system failures did not close.

I thought Hubble was retired a couple years ago?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I thought Hubble was retired a couple years ago?

No, but NASA under W. Bush did try and let it die but reversed themselves after an outcry from scientists. At the end of the Shuttle era, Hubble was in serious need of new gyros and computers and Bush wanted to save money and risk by just letting it die. In the end, they launched a final service mission which gave it another 5-10 years of useful life. That was 2009, and the Hubble is once again nearing death. Hubble could in theory be serviced again and brought back to service, but they'd have to develop procedures and probably a new grapple to do it with Dragon or Starliner.

I hope they opt to fix it, but I could just as easily see it going the way of Arecibo. I just read a piece on Arecibo in The New Yorker and it is sad.