March 25 – March 31, 2019 | Colorado Space News

NASA Begins Testing Habitation Prototypes

March 31, 2019 – Over the next several months, NASA will conduct a series of ground tests inside five uniquely designed, full-size, deep space habitat prototypes. The mockups, constructed by five American companies, offer different perspectives on how astronauts will live and work aboard the Gateway – the first spaceship designed to stay in orbit around the Moon, providing the critical infrastructure needed for exploration, science and technology demonstrations on the lunar surface. Read More

NASA’s Cassini Finds Saturn’s Rings Coat Tiny Moons

During super-close flybys of Saturn’s rings, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft inspected the mini-moons Pan and Daphnis in the A ring; Atlas at the edge of the A ring; Pandora at the edge of the F ring; and Epimetheus, which is bathed in material that fans out from the moon Enceladus. The mini-moons’ diameter ranges from 5 miles (8 kilometers) for Daphnis to 72 miles (116 kilometers) for Epimetheus. The rings and the moons depicted in this illustration are not to scale. Image Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech

March 31, 2019 – New findings have emerged about five tiny moons nestled in and near Saturn’s rings. The closest-ever flybys by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reveal that the surfaces of these unusual moons are covered with material from the planet’s rings – and from icy particles blasting out of Saturn’s larger moon Enceladus. The work paints a picture of the competing processes shaping these mini-moons. Read More

AFSPC Hosts Space Futures Workshop

March 31, 2019 – The Air Force Space Command Space Futures Workshop was held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, March 19-21, 2019, giving experts the chance to collaborate and predict what space will look like in the next 20-40 years. Read More

Ball Aerospace Honors 22 Employees For Excellence

March 31, 2019 – Ball Aerospace has recognized 22 employees for outstanding contributions to the business and its customers – and for their commitment, dedication, collaboration and execution in 2018. The Ball Aerospace Go Beyond® Excellence Awards are presented annually to employees who are nominated by their peers. Read More

American Astronauts To Land On The Moon In 5 Years

Vice President Mike Pence speaks about NASA’s mandate to return American astronauts to the Moon and on to Mars at the fifth meeting of the National Space Council March 26, 2019, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Image Credit: NASA

March 27, 2019 – At a National Space Council meeting in Huntsville, Alabama on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence urged NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to accelerate the agency’s lunar exploration plans with the goal of returning American astronauts to the moon in only five years. Read More

Gen. Raymond Nominated As Commander, U.S. Space Command

Official portrait of Air Force Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, for his position as commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., taken October 14, 2016. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force/Scott M. Ash

March 27, 2019 – President Trump has nominated Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond as the Commander, United States Space Command (USSPACECOM). If confirmed by the Senate, Raymond will lead the soon-to-be established USSPACECOM, which will focus on conducting all joint space warfighting operations, and ensuring the combat readiness of global forces. Read More

Tests Prove Out Orion Safety Systems From Liftoff To Splashdown

The attitude control motor fires during a test at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Elkton, Maryland. Image Credit: Northrop Grumman

March 27, 2019 – Engineers completed two key tests the week of March 18 to help ensure NASA’s Orion spacecraft is ready from liftoff to splashdown for missions to the Moon. Teams successfully tested one of the motors on Orion’s Launch Abort System responsible for taking the crew to safety in an emergency during launch, and completed testing at sea for the qualification of the system used to upright Orion after it lands in the ocean. Read More

FAA Rule Would Streamline Commercial Space Launch And Reentry Requirements

March 27, 2019 – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has posted a proposed rule that would streamline federal commercial space transportation requirements for future launch, reentry, and launch-site providers, and maintain safety during launches and reentries. The proposed rule follows the National Space Council’s 2018 ‘Space Policy Directive 2’, which called on the Secretary of Transportation to review and revise the Department’s commercial space launch and re-entry licensing regulations. It will expand national and international access to the economic, scientific, and educational benefits of traveling to space. Read More

Two New Planets Discovered Using Artificial Intelligence

An artistic rendering of the Kepler Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA

March 27, 2019 – Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin, in partnership with Google, have used artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover two more hidden planets in the Kepler space telescope archive. The technique shows promise for identifying many additional planets that traditional methods could not catch. Read More

Ball Corporation Recognized As Founding Sponsor Of ColoradoFIRST Robotics

March 27, 2019 – Ball Corporation was honored with the inaugural Founding Sponsor Award by Colorado For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®) in appreciation of the company’s long-term support of the program. Read More

Hubble Captures Birth Of Giant Storm On Neptune

This composite picture shows images of storms on Neptune from the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the Voyager 2 spacecraft (right). The Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 image of Neptune, taken in Sept. and Nov. 2018, shows a new dark storm (top center). In the Voyager image, a storm known as the Great Dark Spot (GDS) is seen at the center. It is about 13,000 km by 6,600 km in size — as large along its longer dimension as the Earth. The white clouds seen hovering in the vicinity of the storms are higher in altitude than the dark material. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/GSFC/JPL

March 26, 2019 – Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope document the formation of a Great Dark Spot on Neptune for the first time, report researchers in a new study. Read More