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NASA Selects SpaceX for Lunar Gateway Cargo Missions
Link: https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/308417-nasa-selects-spacex-for-lunar-gateway-cargo-missions

NASA\u2019s eventual goal to send crewed missions to Mars will be easier to accomplish if we can return to the moon, but it won\u2019t just be to visit this time. NASA intends to construct a space station in orbit of the moon called the Lunar Gateway, and SpaceX has the contract to supply that station.

The Gateway station is still in the very early planning stages, but its position in orbit of the moon rules out many of the launch platforms currently in use. So, it\u2019s not terribly surprising that SpaceX would get the nod as it\u2019s the only spaceflight operator with a flight-tested rocket capable of sending large payloads to the moon.

SpaceX says it will use the Falcon Heavy for Lunar gateway supply runs. This rocket is essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together with some extra structural reinforcement on the center module. Most companies don\u2019t need the super-heavy lift capabilities of the Falcon Heavy, so SpaceX has only launched a few commercial missions after the initial test flight that sent the first-ever car into outer space.

Missions to resupply the eventual Lunar Gateway station will make use of a modified Dragon capsule. This spacecraft will have more than five metric tons of cargo capacity, an upgrade over the current Dragon capsules.

Astronomers may have one less (satellite) constellation to worry about.
Link: https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3911/1

Late Friday, OneWeb announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a New York court. In a statement, the company said it had been in \u201cadvanced negotiations\u201d since the beginning of the year to raise a new round of funding needed to complete its broadband satellite constellation. The company said it was close to completing that deal, but \u201cthe financial impact and market turbulence related to the spread of COVID-19\u201d kept it from closing the deal.

Astronomers had started discussions with OneWeb about studying and potentially mitigating the effect those satellites would have on astronomical research. \u201cWe\u2019ve had one telecon with OneWeb, and we hope to follow up with a second one shortly,\u201d said Pat Seitzer, professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Michigan and member of an American Astronomical Society (AAS) working group studying the effects of megaconstellations on astronomy, at a March 11 panel discussion on Capitol Hill on the issue. \u201cThey represent a different challenge.\u201d

The primary concern of the American Astronomical Society working group, and many other astronomers, has been not OneWeb but instead SpaceX\u2019s Starlink constellation. Since SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 Starlink satellites last May, many astronomers have been alarmed by the brightness of the satellites, which after launch are visible to the naked eye. The idea of a large constellation of such satellites\u20141,200 by the end of the year, growing to up to 12,000 and with proposals for 30,000 more satellites\u2014led some astronomers to postulate doomsday scenarios for the field.

That session took place just a couple days after SpaceX launched its third set of 60 Starlink satellites. One of those 60, dubbed \u201cDarkSat,\u201d featured what Cooper called \u201cvarious darkening treatments\u201d to reduce its reflectivity. \u201cThe goal,\u201d she said, \u201cis to work with the astronomy community to observe and measure the effectiveness of these coatings.\u201d

That couldn\u2019t be done immediately after launch since DarkSat and the other Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower parking orbit and had to maneuver to their planned orbit of 550 kilometers, a process that takes weeks using their electric thrusters. By late February, DarkSat had reached its operational orbit, allowing for true comparisons with the other Starlink satellites.

SpaceX claimed earlier this month that the effort was at least partially successful. \u201cPreliminary results show a notable reduction,\u201d said Jessica Anderson, one of the hosts of SpaceX\u2019s webcast of its latest Starlink launch March 18, said.

That \u201cnotable reduction,\u201d though, may not be sufficient for astronomers. In a paper posted online March 17, astronomers said they estimated that DarkSat\u2019s brightness had been reduced by about 55% compared to other Starlink satellites. That conclusion, they noted, was preliminary, and based primarily on a single night\u2019s observations.

One of those other ideas is a \u201csunshade\u201d of some kind that would be deployed from the satellite to block sunlight that might otherwise hit highly reflective surfaces of the satellite. In the launch webcast, SpaceX\u2019s Anderson said the company was looking at testing the sunshade on a future Starlink satellite.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk also mentioned the sunshade when he appeared at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington March 9. \u201cWe are working with senior members of the science community and senior astronomers to minimize the potential for reflection from the satellites,\u201d he said when asked about efforts to reduce the satellites\u2019 brightness. \u201cWe\u2019re running a bunch of experiments.\u201d

Musk also said that the constellation will have no effect on astronomy, a claim most astronomers treat skeptically. \u201cI am confident that we not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries,\u201d he said. \u201cZero. That\u2019s my prediction. We will take corrective action if it\u2019s above zero.\u201d

Coronavirus Could Preview What Will Happen When Alien Life Reaches Earth
Link: https://time.com/5793520/coronavirus-alien-life/

We are currently in the midst of a global near-panic over what, in some respects, is its own alien, or at least previously unknown, life-form: the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19. As of this writing, there have been close to 90,000 confirmed cases around the world, in 68 countries, leading to more than 3,000 deaths. Flights have been grounded, international business conventions canceled, the Tokyo Olympics are threatened, and a global recession looms. Last week in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst week since the recession of 2008 and 2009, shedding a third of its gains since the 2016 election, most of that due to fears of the impact of COVID-19.

On the one hand, there is almost no likelihood of any risk of contagion. As a column in Space.com pointed out last week, NASA has a long history of working to protect the Earth from biohazards from other planets and to protect other planets from biohazards from Earth. The space agency even has an entire division dedicated to that goal, formally known as the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA), but more commonly and descriptively known as the Planetary Protection Office.

As OSMA puts it, its mission is to \u201ccarefully control forward contamination of other worlds by organisms and organic materials carried by spacecraft\u201d and to \u201crigorously preclude backward contamination of Earth by extraterrestrial life.\u201d If you have any question about which of those mission statements is the more important one, just consider the difference between a promise to \u201ccarefully control\u201d something and to \u201crigorously preclude\u201d it.



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