Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft took images of itself as it touched down on the asteroid Ryugu last month. Hayabusa2 is designed to collect samples of Ryugu and return them to Earth. The video shows a blast of material was ejected as planned, although the amount that made its way into the sample canister will not be known until next year when it is back in Japan.
Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, has cancelled an instrument that was being developed for the Europa Clipper mission because of persistent cost overruns. Instead, he wants to find a way to include a simpler, less complex instrument that can provide similar data. He also restated NASA’s commitment to the project overall.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director Jody Singer said today that the agency is reassessing the 2020 launch readiness date for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the first launch of Space Launch System (SLS) with an uncrewed Orion capsule. SLS was an excepted activity during the 35-day partial government shutdown so work did not stop and significant progress is being made, but NASA wants to ensure the system is ready before attempting the first launch.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 3-9, 2019 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
In another major step towards resuming launches of American astronauts from American soil, SpaceX’s Demo-1 Crew Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) this morning just before 6:00 am ET. No one is aboard this test flight, but it is a critical milestone towards that goal. The autonomous docking, monitored by astronauts on the ISS and engineers on the ground, went off without a hitch. The ISS crew entered the spacecraft about two hours later.
SpaceX’s commercial crew system made a picture perfect launch this morning from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), FL. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is in orbit and on its way to dock with the International Space Station tomorrow morning about 6:00 am ET. This uncrewed test flight, Demo-1, moves NASA one step closer to resuming launches of U.S. astronauts from U.S. soil 8 years after the last space shuttle flight.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan released the proposal to Congress to create a Space Force today. It envisions standing up the U.S. Space Force as part of the U.S. Air Force over 5 years. The FY2020 budget request is $72.4 million. Once it is fully established, Shanahan estimates the cost of the Space Force at $500 million annually in additive costs.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canada will be a partner with the United States in building a Gateway in lunar orbit as part of plans for human and robotic exploration of the Moon. The agreement builds on decades of space cooperation between the two countries, including the robotic Canadarm for the space shuttle and Canadarm2 for the International Space Station (ISS). Today’s agreement is for Canadarm3 that will be used for repairing and maintaining the Gateway.
NASA and SpaceX confirmed today that the Demo-1 uncrewed test launch of SpaceX’s commercial crew system remains go for launch very early Saturday morning. Weather is 80 percent favorable, but if anything goes awry, March 5 is a backup opportunity. Whenever it goes, it will be a historic step towards resuming the U.S. ability to launch people into space after an 8-year hiatus following termination of the space shuttle program in 2011. NASA has been relying on Russia to take its astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) since then.
At a Senate hearing today, Gen. John Hyten, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), enthusiastically supported reestablishment of a U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) to ensure space warfighting gets the priority it needs. However, to ensure a seamless transition he wants some of its operations to remain at USSTRATCOM headquarters in Omaha. He also voiced support for the latest plan to create a Space Force as part of the Air Force, but repeated his opposition to a new military department.