The Space Roundup - April 4th, 2021
Hello, my dear space lovers!
There we go with another week full of space awesomeness! Are you ready?
5,4,3,2,1...lift-off!
Kaboom!
This week we started off with the sad explosion of the SpaceX Starship SN11 apparently due to an engine issue. Elon Musk announced that “in a few days” they will be moving on with the next prototype (SN15) which has plenty of improvements. The big booster BN1 is going to be scrapped and the focus is now shifted towards BN2 which will be on the test pad this month and will be orbit-capable if everything goes according to the plan.
Ingenuity Touchdown confirmed!
The helicopter is now on the surface of Mars! Look at the helicopter in a pic taken by the rover. How incredible is that? Now it has to survive the incredibly cold martian night before the first flight attempt that is scheduled for April 11th.
Space Stations and labs!
Last week NASA announced their plans to support commercial space stations and this week Sierra Nevada Corporation shared their plans to make it a reality. With their reusable spaceplane, the Dream Chaser, and their inflatable modules that are currently being tested by NASA, they have the pieces in place to make this project a reality in the next decade. How exciting is that?
“Oh, next decade, that’s too far” right? So, although it’s not commercial, this same month of April China is sending the first module of their Space Station “Tianhe” and they have already started the training for the crew that will be living there. This is just the first launch of the 11 that will be needed to build the whole space lab during the next two years, but it’s already incredibly exciting to see such fast progress being done.
And that’s not the only new space lab we’ll have this year! The Russian Nauka module for the ISS is an extension module dedicated mainly to scientific research and the crew started training on it last week, prior to launching it later this year.
International Peace
This is probably one of the news that made me happier this week. Yesterday, Saturday April 3rd, the Russian government approved extending peaceful cooperation with the United States for the decade, at least until 2030, for all space-related initiatives. This is of massive relevance and makes it easier for human kind to keep making progress without fighting. Way to go!
Moon
NASA has funded research about vertical solar panels that can work on the surface of the Moon, having into account the harsh conditions in our natural satellite. Not an easy task but it’ll be crucial for a future settlement. Before we have a settlement on the surface, you know the plan is to build Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost. This spacecraft will be using a never-before-used orbit around the Moon, and that is why the CAPSTONE mission, which is currently making key progress, is so important!
What’s CAPSTONE? CAPSTONE is a pathfinder for Gateway: an orbiter that will be launched by RocketLab on Q3 2021 to test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Gateway space station. Exciting!
Remember the Chinese Chang-e’5 Moon mission that was extended and traveled to L1 point to study the Sun? It seems the Indians also want to go to that “sexy” spot in space with their Adityia-L1 mission: the first Indian mission to study the Sun.
Talking about the ISRO: this week they are revising the launch schedule for their GISAT-1 satellite after experiencing some issues and they have also announced a heavy focus on developing new innovative green propulsion systems for their Gaganyaan program. Will they achieve it? We’ll see it.
Other worlds
Europa Clipper will be studying the habitability of the oceans below the surface of Jupiter’s Moon Europa. This week the spacecraft passed the Critical Design Review and now moves towards assembly.
You know how much I like exoplanets, right? So this week astronomers estimated that NASA’s planned Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is predicted to find around 100.000 new exoplanets in our galaxy. I’m still digesting the figure… a.m.a.z.i.n.g!
Picture of the week
Today I’m sharing an amateur picture of a galaxy…still amazing! It is the Sombrero Galaxy. Shot by Kyle Butler “from his backyard”. Beautiful, isn’t it?
Upcoming launches & events
Several key events in the week ahead, my friends!
Wed, April 7th - SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink V1 L23
Wed, April 7th - OSIRIS-REX’s final observation before return to Earth
Fri, April 9th - Soyuz 2.1a | Soyuz MS-18
Sun, April 11th - NASA Ingenuity Helicopter test flight.
And that’s it for this week! :)
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Cheers from sunny Spain!
Juan, the Curious Astronaut