The Space Race - Weekly Roundup Oct 29th

Author

Juan Fernández
October 29, 2024

Hello once again, space fans! 

Lot’s of interesting updates this week: Crew-8 made a safe return, NASA’s solar sail hit some issues, and SpaceX almost avoided a Starship catch abort. Blue Origin’s “new” New Shepard flew, while China’s Deep Blue Aerospace announced suborbital tourism plans. And groundbreaking hunts for exomoons and habitable worlds are in motion! 👌🏻

Let’s dive into the latest news! 😊 

🌎 Crew-8 Returns Safely - Astronaut Released After Checkup

NASA's Crew-8 mission concluded on October 25 with the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endeavour, safely splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico after a record 235 days in space. While the return was smooth despite weather delays, one astronaut required additional medical evaluation as a precaution. The astronaut has since been released and is reported to be in "good health." Future missions may see splashdowns off California’s coast for better conditions.

🛰️ NASA Solar Sail Faces Deployment Issue

NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System experienced a slight bend in one of its structural booms during deployment. Launched in April 2024, the solar sail unfurled in August, and despite the bend, initial analysis suggests it may not hinder mission operations. Engineers are monitoring the situation while preparing for upcoming sailing maneuvers, marking a critical phase for future solar sail technology.

😅 Starship Nearly Aborted Catch Landing

SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster came within a second of aborting its first “catch” landing during Starship Flight 5 on October 13 due to a parameter issue. Audio leaked by Elon Musk revealed that misconfigured engine pressure nearly led the rocket to crash. Despite the close call, the booster was successfully caught, and preparations for Flight 6 are underway.

🔵 Blue Origin's new New Shepard Takes Flight

Blue Origin conducted the first flight of its upgraded New Shepard suborbital vehicle on October 23. The uncrewed mission, NS-27, reached a slightly lower altitude than previous flights, peaking at 102.4 kilometers. The vehicle features technology upgrades aimed at improving performance and reusability. Blue Origin says the new model will expand flight capacity to meet growing demand for both research and tourism.

🇨🇳 China’s Deep Blue Aerospace Targets Space Tourism

Talking about space tourism, Chinese startup Deep Blue Aerospace plans to begin suborbital tourism flights by 2027. The company is developing a reusable rocket, Nebula-1, with upcoming tests for its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The planned spacecraft will carry six passengers up to 150 kilometers, offering up to 600 seconds of microgravity experience. Ticket prices start at $210,000 per seat.

💸 Boeing Considers Selling Space Division

Boeing is reportedly exploring the sale of its space business, including its troubled Starliner program, to improve its financial situation. The news follows a $6.2 billion loss reported by the company. CEO Kelly Ortberg is reviewing operations to focus on Boeing's core strengths, like commercial planes and defense, while considering divestiture options for non-core sectors, including its NASA-related space programs.

🚀 Vega-C Set for December Launch

The European Vega-C rocket is back on the pad, preparing for a December 3, 2024, launch following two years of modifications. The VV25 mission will deploy the Sentinel-1C satellite, continuing the European Copernicus program. Upgrades to the Zefiro-40 engine were completed after previous failures, ensuring Vega-C’s readiness for its return to flight.

🌕 The Hunt for Exomoons Begins!

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now observing the exoplanet Kepler-167e in search of exomoons — moons that orbit planets outside our Solar System.

Led by Columbia University’s Cool Worlds Lab, the team hopes to confirm the existence of moons around distant planets, using JWST’s advanced capabilities to spot even small moons like Ganymede. The findings could either confirm or challenge existing theories about moon formation.

Read more 👉🏻 The Search for Exomoons is On

👾 Top Targets for LIFE Mission Unveiled

A recent study identifies the most promising exoplanet systems for the upcoming LIFE (Large Interferometer For Exoplanets) mission, prioritizing targets for future searches for extraterrestrial life. The team focuses on main-sequence stars within 30 parsecs, excluding red dwarfs due to their flaring activity. “Golden Targets” include systems with potentially habitable planets and ideal viewing conditions for advanced telescopes launching in the 2040s.

🔭 First Brown Dwarfs Found Beyond Milky Way?

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered the first young brown dwarf candidates outside our galaxy, in the star cluster NGC 602 within the Small Magellanic Cloud. These free-floating objects, similar in mass to giant gas planets, provide a unique opportunity to study star formation in environments different from those in our solar system, thanks to Webb's advanced sensitivity and resolution.

📹 Our latest videos

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

Sponsorship: this week, The Space Race is sponsored by The Rundown AI

Learn how to make AI work for you

AI won’t take your job, but a person using AI might. That’s why 1,000,000+ professionals read The Rundown AI – the free newsletter that keeps you updated on the latest AI news and teaches you how to use it in just 5 minutes a day.

🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches

Another busy launch week! Mark your calendars!

  • Tuesday, October 29th: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 9-9 mission. Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  • Tuesday, October 29th: Long March 2F/G (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) - Shenzhou 19 mission. Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China

  • Wednesday, October 30th: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 10-13 mission. Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

  • Thursday, October 31st: Soyuz 2.1b (Russian Space Forces) - Kosmos (Unknown Payload). Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

  • Saturday, November 2nd: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 9-10 mission. Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  • Sunday, November 3rd: H3-22 (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan) - DSN 3 (Kirameki 3) mission. Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

  • Sunday, November 3rd: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) - Starlink Group 6-77 mission. Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

  • Monday, November 4th: Electron (Rocket Lab, New Zealand) - Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes mission. Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

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

Juan from The Space Race team