The Space Race - Weekly Roundup Nov 26th

Author

Juan Fernández
November 26, 2024

Hello, dear space fans! 🚀

This week we have something very special to announce

Early access, just for you!

Mark your calendars: On November 29th, we’re launching an all-new line of Space Race merch with a special Black Friday discount.

Today, we’re giving you an exclusive first look at one of the designs: in honor of our favorite scapegoat, Boeing, we have the ‘Lost in Space’ astronaut tee.

But this is just the beginning—there’s more to come! Quantities are limited, and early access is the only way to guarantee your spot. Click on the poll below, or sign up with your email now and be among the first to shop the collection when it drops.

Get an email from us when new Space Race merch & discount drops?

(a click on Yes automatically includes you)

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

And now let’s dive into this week’s newsletter: it is full of interesting space updates! 😊

🚀 SpaceX's Flight 6: Progress and Lessons

SpaceX's Flight 6 marked a mix of success and challenges. Ship 31 and Booster 13 launched with Raptor 2 engines at full throttle, showcasing improvements. While Booster 13's catch attempt was aborted, it provided critical data after a water landing. Ship 31 endured reentry with older heat shield designs, achieving a soft splashdown. Lessons learned pave the way for Flight 7 featuring Block 2 hardware.

🔵 New Glenn Goes Vertical for Testing

Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket stood upright at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 36, preparing for a hot fire test before its inaugural flight planned for later this year. The 98-meter-tall rocket, powered by seven BE-4 engines producing up to 17.3 million newtons of thrust at liftoff, aims to land its first stage and test its Blue Ring hardware for payload deployment. This launch is critical for Space Force certification.

🎈 China Tests Inflatable Space Module

China successfully tested its first inflatable space module aboard the Shijian-19 spacecraft. The lightweight, flexible module, made of composite materials, was deployed in orbit and demonstrated promising potential for future orbital habitats and deep space exploration. Designed to inflate in space, it offers high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This marks a significant step forward in China's space technology advancements and aligns with its Tiangong station expansion plans.

🔵 New Shepard Completes Ninth Crewed Mission

Blue Origin's New Shepard completed its ninth crewed mission, launching six passengers to 107 kilometers above sea level. The diverse crew included repeat flyers and Emily Calandrelli, marking her as the 100th woman to reach space. The capsule and booster landed separately after a 10-minute flight. This marks New Shepard’s second mission in a month, reflecting growing customer demand for suborbital space tourism.

🚨 ISS Crew Detects Toxic Odor

After a Russian Progress spacecraft docked with the ISS, cosmonauts encountered a toxic smell and droplets inside the hatch, prompting immediate safety measures. Protective gear was used, and air scrubbers were activated while NASA monitored air quality, confirming normal levels later. This incident adds to recent challenges for Roscosmos amid technical issues and geopolitical pressures. Investigations are underway to determine the source of the odor.

🌠 Nearby Supernova Could Unlock Dark Matter

A nearby supernova could reveal axions, a leading dark matter candidate. Researchers propose that axions, produced during a star's collapse, would convert into gamma rays in its magnetic field. Observing these rays could confirm axion properties and advance dark matter research. While detections are rare, telescopes like Fermi provide hope. A new proposed instrument, GALAXIS, could enhance future observations.

🇪🇺🇯🇵 ESA & JAXA Expand Space Collaboration

ESA and JAXA signed a statement to deepen cooperation on planetary defense, Mars missions, lunar exploration, and post-ISS activities. Future projects include asteroid studies, small Mars landers, and joint lunar navigation efforts. Building on past successes like BepiColombo, the partnership aims to drive scientific innovation and address global challenges like climate change and planetary defense, marking a new era of impactful missions.

🪐 Newly Found Super Young Planet!

Astronomers have discovered TIDYE-1b, a super young 3-million-year-old exoplanet, offering insights into early planetary formation. Using NASA’s TESS telescope, researchers observed the planet despite its protoplanetary disc, thanks to its tilted orbit. TIDYE-1b challenges models of planet formation, revealing that planets can form earlier than expected. Orbiting its star every nine days, it’s predicted to evolve into a ‘super-Earth’ or ‘sub-Neptune.’

🧫 Earth Microbes Rapidly Colonize Asteroid Sample

A Ryugu asteroid sample, brought to Earth under strict contamination controls, was quickly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms. Researchers observed microbial growth on the sample's surface, revealing how resilient Earth's life is, even in controlled environments. This highlights the challenges of contamination in space exploration and raises questions about panspermia—the idea that life can travel between planets.

🌕 Starship to Deliver Lunar Rover

Lunar Outpost has selected SpaceX’s Starship to transport its Lunar Outpost Eagle rover to the Moon for potential NASA Artemis missions. Designed for versatility, the rover supports multiple lander options and aims to advance lunar mobility. Lunar Outpost, alongside partners like Leidos and Goodyear, plans to proceed with commercial and NASA objectives regardless of contract outcomes, marking a significant step in lunar exploration.

🇮🇹 Italy Revives Kenya Space Launch Facility

Italy plans to resume rocket launches from the Luigi Broglio Space Center in Kenya, dormant since 1988. The facility, part of the Mattei Plan for African partnerships, aims to launch microsatellites into low Earth orbit. This move could position Italy as a leader in cost-effective, offshore space launches, leveraging historical ties and modern collaborations with Kenya's evolving space program.

🌑 How Mars’ Moons Might Have Formed

NASA simulations suggest Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, formed from debris of a disrupted asteroid. The asteroid’s fragments collided and settled into a disk, clumping into the moons we see today. This new theory challenges prior models and aligns with Deimos’ large orbital distance. Upcoming studies, including Japan’s MMX mission, aim to confirm these findings and uncover more about the origins of Mars’ mysterious moons.

📹 Our latest videos

In case you missed them, here are the latest videos we've published on our YouTube channel

🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches

It’s another cool week of launches! Get ready! 🚀

  • Tuesday, Nov 26th:

    • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Starlink Group 6-76.
      Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.

  • Wednesday, Nov 27th:

    • Zhuque-2E (LandSpace, China) – Unknown Payload.
      Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.

    • Soyuz 2.1b (Russian Space Forces, Russia) – Kosmos (Unknown Payload). Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation.

  • Saturday, Nov 30th:

    • Ceres-1 (Galactic Energy, China) – Unknown Payload.
      Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.

    • Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M (ROSCOSMOS, Russia) – Kondor-FKA No.2.
      Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russia.

    • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Starlink Group 6-65.
      Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.

    • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – NROL-126.
      Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.

    Monday, Dec 2nd:

    • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Sirius SXM-9.
      Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.

And that’s all for this week!  Stay tuned for more space updates :)

Juan from The Space Race team