Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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July 22nd, 2025
Image credit:: Glenn Beck Podcast /Inside Outer Space screengrab
A Glenn Beck Podcast features a conversation with astronaut Jared Isaacman.
When President Trump nominated him to be the new head of NASA, he ran into a firestorm of turbulence that he’s not used to navigating: D.C. politics.
“Jared Isaacman may be the ultimate embodiment of the American dream, or he’s possibly the real-life version of Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun” character, Maverick. He is a wildly successful businessman who started a billion-dollar company out of his parents’ basement when he was a teenager. He has never been in the military, yet he owns and flies his own fighter jets,” Beck notes.
Jared Isaacman, mission commander for Polaris Dawn.
Image credit: Barbara David
Isaacman is an astronaut who has worked with SpaceX, and became the first civilian in history to perform a spacewalk. When President Trump nominated him to be the new head of NASA, he seemed like an ideal outsider choice who would soar to confirmation.
Isaacman sits down with Glenn Beck to tell the story behind his thwarted nomination, including whether Elon Musk played a role and why America must defeat China in the new space races, including artificial intelligence.
Fascinating video below, at:
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Apollo 11 moonwalkers, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Credit: NASA
This Sunday marks 56 years since Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first walked across that “magnificent desolation” of Earth’s Moon.
A just-released CBS News poll has found that most Americans favor America returning to moon, as well as head for the distant dunes of Mars.
Moon to Mars
“There is a lot of public favor for the idea of the U.S. returning to the Moon, and also for eventually going to Mars. About two-thirds do, while a third does not,” reports Anthony Salvanto, CBS News’ executive director of elections and surveys.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has used its high-powered camera system to provide looks at the Apollo 11 landing site. The remnants of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s historic first steps on the surface are seen as dark paths around the Lunar Module (LM), Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) and Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), as well as leading to and from Little West crater.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,404 U.S. adults interviewed between June 18-23, 2025. The margin of error is ±2.6 points.
Findings
Salvanto observes several other findings in the poll:
- Younger Americans who are not old enough to remember the first Moon landing are especially in favor, perhaps looking forward to seeing that exploration in their lifetimes. These views generally cut across ideological and party lines, as well.
- The first Moon landing in 1969 continues to loom large in the public mind, all these years on — a big majority says it was worth doing, while just under a quarter says it was not. Views were comparable back when this was asked at the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the Apollo 11 landing.
- That may be partly because, in general, Americans tend to think the space program adds at least somewhat to feelings of national pride.
- People tend to think the space program also contributes some — if not necessarily a lot — to technological contributions from which everyone can benefit.
Go to this informative video on poll outcomes at:
https://youtu.be/KSgQ1PmqiBM?si=Q-fdDUZVWRWQxKuV
Image credit: NASA
A Georgia Tech study warns that increasing lunar traffic could lead to costly collision avoidance maneuvers. What’s now needed is better coordination to manage growing risks in cislunar space.
While collision probabilities in orbits around the Moon are very low compared to Earth orbit, spacecraft in lunar orbit will likely need to conduct multiple costly collision avoidance maneuvers each year.
The research has appeared in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets.
Moon maneuvers
“Our analysis suggests that satellite operators must perform up to four maneuvers annually for each satellite for a fleet of 50 satellites in low lunar orbit (LLO),” said one of the study’s authors, Brian Gunter, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
According to the paper, a series of simulations were performed, using high-fidelity dynamics, in which the current 6 lunar satellites and approximately 50 future space objects were examined. Probabilities of collisions were computed and logged for those events that would likely result in a collision avoidance maneuver, along with other metadata regarding the location and parameters related to the conjunction.
“Our analysis suggests that satellite operators must perform up to four maneuvers annually for each satellite for a fleet of 50 satellites in low lunar orbit (LLO),” the researchers report. “With just 10 satellites in LLO, a satellite might still need a yearly maneuver. Most close encounters are expected to happen near the equator.”
Close approaches
The research work, led by Stef Crum, a 2024 graduate of Georgia Tech’s aerospace engineering doctoral program, said the work underscores the need for improved space domain awareness in the lunar environment.
“The close approaches were much more common than I would have intuitively anticipated,” Crum commented in a university press statement. Considering the small number of satellites in lunar orbit, “the need for multiple maneuvers was ‘really surprising.’”
Korea Moon orbiter.
Credit: KARI
The research points to a key finding: If operators aren’t coordinated about how they plan lunar missions, opportunities for collision will increase in “popular” orbits.
For more information, go to “Cislunar Orbit Collision Probability Analysis” in the bimonthly Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) at:
Robert Lightfoot, President, Lockheed Martin Space. Image credit: Aspen Institute/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Aspen Institute hosted a July 16 panel of top-notch space security thinkers:
Jane Harman, Chair, Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on U.S. Space Policy; Former Congresswoman; Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy; Aspen Institute Trustee
Nina Armagno, Chair, Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on U.S. Space Policy; Former Lieutenant General, U.S. Space Force
General Tim Ray, President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Executives for National Security; Former Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command
Robert Lightfoot, President, Lockheed Martin Space
The panel was moderated by Gordon Lubold of NBC News.
Warfighting domain
“When you think about what we began to use space for decades ago, it was to allow terrestrial operations, operations on Earth…I think the fundamental shift was in 2015 when China decided that they could declare space a warfighting domain. When they did that, they actually changed the narrative.” – Robert Lightfoot
This panel focused on the intersection of space and national security, including the need to counter Russian and Chinese capabilities, threats to both commercial and military assets in space, and how to maintain our competitive edge.
For a video replay, go to:
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft that recently docked to China’s space station is helping shape the country’s human Moon landing effort.
China employs a three-level positioning approach to rendezvous and dock with the space station. The BeiDou Navigation System first brings the spacecraft within 3 miles (five kilometers) of the space station. The two spacecraft then close the distance to within roughly 330 feet (100 meters). Finally, laser radar achieves millimeter-level positioning when they are 65 feet (20 meters) apart.
Satellite photo of China’s space station. Image credit: MAXAR
Similarly, China’s lunar robotic return sample missions — Chang’e-5 and 6 — conducted rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit, returning with lunar samples.
Upcoming crewed missions are set to include multiple rendezvous and dockings in lunar orbit, China Central Television (CCTV) reports.
Advanced EVA suits
Also tied to sending crews to the Moon is delivery of two advanced Feitian spacewalk suits to China’s orbital outpost, “marking a technological leap in extravehicular equipment for the country’s space station program,” adds CCTV.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Tianzhou-9, the fourth cargo spacecraft in the application and development phase of China’s space station, was loaded with about 6.5 tons of supplies — consumables, propellants, science experiments and equipment – to support the in-orbit life and working of China’s now orbiting Shenzhou-20 crew and a future trio of Shenzhou-21 astronauts.
Muscle exercise device.
Also carried to the facility was a core muscle exercise device.
Li Yinghui, a researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center told CCTV: “The stronger (our astronauts are), the longer and farther we can go. Core strength is crucial not only for space station operations but also for future missions to the Moon.”
Li added, “when we first arrive on the Moon, maintaining postural stability is crucial, and core muscles play a key role in that. So this is also part of our preparation to ensure astronauts have the physical control and motor ability required for future lunar exploration.”
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Increased performance metrics
Regarding the two new sets of Feitian extravehicular spacesuits, Yin Rui, an engineer at the Astronaut Center of China, said the upgraded space walking suits have increased performance metrics. “These new suits now last four years and can support 20 spacewalks, compared to the previous three-year, 15-mission lifespan,” Yin said.
“Following our principle of continuous design optimization,” Yin added, “we’ve established China’s first space suit lifespan evaluation system based on data from 42 astronaut participations across 21 spacewalks, combined with extensive ground testing.”
Image credit: CCTV/CMS/Inside Outer Space screengrab
According to CCTV, the suit refinements come as China develops its next-generation “Wangyu” moonwalking suits for future lunar missions, with researchers making strides in life support systems and space suit ergonomics.
Emergency response
Li Zhiyong, a researcher with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation noted that “Tianzhou-9 is the first cargo spacecraft capable of emergency launch, able to be launched to the space station within three months if required. This is the significance of an emergency response spacecraft.”
The rendezvous and docking duration has been shortened from the initial two days to 6.5 hours, and to the current three hours, said Li. “The three-hour approach helps us reduce fuel consumption and takes relatively less time, plus we have a lot of autonomous control to ensure the reliability of the rendezvous and docking.”
Tianzhou-9 was lofted on July 15 (local time) by a Long March-7 Y10 rocket that departed from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.
Go to this CCTV video at: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18tztGuUDF/
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)
A robotic system outfitted with mechanical tentacles has been tested onboard the International Space Station.
Called REACCH, this system can carefully clutch and move objects in space, even objects not designed to be embraced.
Kall Morris Inc (KMI), a space logistics company, is headquartered in Marquette, Michigan and has completed the first commercial demonstrations of REACCH on the ISS.
Capture cycles
Launched aboard SpaceX CRS-31 on November 4, 2024, REACCH spent over eight months within the ISS where it was operated in six separate test sessions by astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, and Takuya Onishi.
Following 172 capture cycles aboard the ISS, REACCH was returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX CRS-32 Dragon capsule on May 25, 2025.
Operated by the Astrobee payload, REACCH became the largest ever Astrobee payload by both mass and volume. Additionally, KMI became the first commercial entity to capture an unprepared object in space and became the first private company to capture objects repeatedly in space.
REACCH patent and digital mockup of Astrobee with REACCH during ISS experiment.
Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)
KMI is reviewing what was learned in flexing the REACCH tentacles and is continuing technology iteration, embarking upon the next stage of development.
A full-scale, commercial-ready flight demonstration is planned for the first quarter of 2028, using lessons learned from the ISS campaign.
Long and short of it
REACCH is short for Reactive Electro-Adhesive Capture ClotH. “The short name is a play on the robotic ‘octopus tentacles’ that quite literally ‘reach’ for satellites and other space objects,” said Gabby Muehlenbeck, KMI’s design and communications coordinator.
“The long name references the electro-adhesion and Gecko adhesion capture cloth material that is hosted on the robotic tentacles of REACCH,” Muehlenbeck told Inside Outer Space.
Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)
Making use of its bio-inspired tentacle arms, REACCH is designed to provide satellite operators an in-space capability to safely move objects of nearly any shape, size, or surface without damage or leaving residue.
REACCH supports KMI’s Relocation as a Service (RaaS), an innovative approach for commercial, national security, or scientific satellite repositioning, repair, or retiring spacecraft.
The results of this demonstration will further enable REACCH for its critical mission of orbital debris collection.
“The success of these tests showcase the immense capability of the REACCH system and most notably advance the state of the art of microgravity capture of uncontrolled objects,” said Austin Morris, KMI co-founder and director of engineering in a company statement.
OTV-6 return. Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ gives US Space Force $1 billion for secretive X-37B space plane: Go to Space.com story at:
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) of the Philippines have issued a “rocket Launch Advisory.”
The NDRRMC cautions the public for the possible falling of debris from the People’s Republic of China’s Long March 7 rocket that is scheduled to be launched July 15-17.
The Chinese rocket is topped by the uncrewed Tianzhou-9 space station supply ship to be launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan with parts of the rocket expected to drop within a set of identified drop zones.
Tianzhou-9 is carrying 6.5 tons of food, water, fuel and scientific equipment. Being used is a Long March-7 Y10 booster to loft the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft. This supply ship carries the highest payload weight, carrying hundreds more of kilograms than its predecessors.
Image credit: National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)
Toxic fuel
The Philippine Space Agency cautions everyone against retrieving or coming near these materials “to minimize risk from remnants of toxic substances such as rocket fuel.”
The public is advised to immediately inform local authorities of any suspected debris sighted at sea or land.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) NAMRIA are advised “to consider temporary restrictions and the issuance of Notice to Mariners, Coastal Navigational Warnings, or NAVAREA XI warnings as applicable in the identified drop zones.”
This image shows the observation of comet 3I/ATLAS when it was discovered on July 1, 2025. The NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Chile first reported that the comet originated from interstellar space.
Image credit: ATLAS/University of Hawaii/NASA
Is the new interloper in our solar system — 3I/ATLAS — a comet or something else?
That’s an intriguing question posed by Avi Loeb, head of the Galileo Project, a founding director of Harvard University’s Black Hole Initiative, and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Never shy about probing and questioning the cosmos, Loeb has looked at new observational data of 3I/ATLAS, calling attention to several factoids.
This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Puzzling size
For one, the total brightness of 3I/ATLAS remained nearly constant over a period of a few days, suggesting that either the object is hidden beyond the veil of dust or it is nearly spherical, Loeb explains.
“Future observations of 3I/ATLAS as it comes closer to the Sun will provide a key opportunity to witness the evolution of its activity, infer the size of its solid nucleus, study its composition, test predictions for the abundance and velocity dispersion of its population, and compare 3I/ATLAS to Solar System comets,” Loeb explains in a recent essay.
The fundamental question, Loeb adds, “is whether 3I/ATLAS is a comet with a kilometer-scale nucleus or a solid object that is 20 kilometers in diameter which shows very limited evaporation? In the latter case, the large size of 3I/ATLAS is puzzling.”
3I/ATLAS, expected to get more prominent as the object is heated along its path to closest approach from the Sun (perihelion), is anticipated to occur on October 29, 2025.
Avi Loeb
(Image Credit: Chris Michel, National Academy of Sciences, 2023)
Forrest Gump effect
Loeb advises stay-tuned for future spectroscopic data from space-based telescopes — like the James Webb or Hubble space telescopes, including the state-of-the-art ground-based Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
If those instruments demonstrate that 3I/ATLAS has a solid core with a diameter of order 12 miles (20 kilometers) or more, “then the limited interstellar reservoir of rocky materials would suggest that its trajectory favored a plunging orbit towards the inner Solar system, perhaps by technological design,” Loeb speculates.
Concludes Loeb, paraphrasing Forrest Gump: “Science is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”
Go to Loeb’s new research paper in draft– “Comment on Discovery and Preliminary Characterization of a Third Interstellar Object: 3I/ATLAS” at:
Image credit: Mars Guy/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Mars Guy takes a look at recent coring operations by NASA’s Perseverance Rover busily working within Jezero Crater.
The robot extracted a sample that was momentarily stuck in limbo. After some cajoling, the piece was freed from the teeth of the coring bit, only to arrive in another state of limbo.
Image credit: Mars Guy/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Also discussed is the Perseverance cache of 21 samples stored in the belly of the Mars machinery – also in a state of limbo.
Highlighted is a Rocket Lab proposal to bring back the stash of collectibles. Spotlighted as well is the SpaceX/Elon Musk plan for future Mars exploration.
Image credit: Mars Guy/Rocket Lab/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Go to this informative video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIO1lfpqDcc
Image credit: Mars Guy/SpaceX/Inside Outer Space screengrab
