Two neutron stars collided 130 million years ago and the result was — gold. That was the news today from an international team of scientists who presented their findings and the story of how it all unfolded from observations by ground- and space-based observatories around the world — a fusion called “multi-messenger astronomy.”
Laura Delgado López is the new Editor-In-Chief (EIC) of the Journal of Space Policy, published by Elsevier. She succeeds Jill Stuart, who is transitioning to become the publication’s social media editor. The change was effective on October 1.
Here is our list of space policy events for the week of October 15-20, 2017 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House is in recess (except for pro forma sessions).
Here are our tidbits for October 14, 2017: Progress MS-07 gets off this time, but weather scrubs NROL-52 yet again (next attempt is early Sunday morning); and sound barrier breaking anniversaries — with an airplane, and without one. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Here are our tidbits for today, October 13, 2017: space launches for night owls; dueling Washington Post op-eds on sending people to the Moon or Mars; and the Onion weighs in, too. Be sure to check our website for feature stories, and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
Todd May, Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) said today that NASA will decide the date for the first Space Launch System (SLS) launch “soon.” NASA had been planning for the first launch in December 2018, but recently conceded that it would slip to sometime in 2019 because of a combination of technical challenges and delays caused by severe weather in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida this year.
Here are our tidbits for today, October 12, 2017: reaction to the Myers nomination for NOAA Administrator; and the House appoints conferees for the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Be sure to check our website for feature articles, and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.
The launch of Russia’s Progress MS-07 cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) was aborted just before liftoff this morning Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) when engine ignition did not occur. Troubleshooting is underway. The next opportunity is early Saturday morning EDT if the problem can be diagnosed and remedied by then. [UPDATE, October 14: Liftoff was successful this morning. The abort on October 12 occurred when an electrical connector did not retract from the Soyuz rocket 12 seconds before launch. The computer terminated the countdown.]
President Trump announced tonight his intent to nominate Accuweather CEO Barry Myers to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, which would also make him Administrator of NOAA. The nomination has been expected for some time.
Here are our tidbits for today, October 11, 2017: the Moon once had an atmosphere; Moon Express teams with NanoRacks; SpaceX scores another launch and landing success. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.