Category: Industry News

NASA and SpaceX were faced with a last-minute issue during the Falcon 9 launch of a commercial crew mission on February 27, causing a delay in the lift-off.

The launch was scheduled for 1:45 a.m. Eastern, but it was put on hold due to a problem with the ignition system that uses a chemical combination of Triethylaluminum Triethylborane (TEA-TEB).The launch director informed the four-person crew of the Crew Dragon of the issue a few minutes before the scheduled lift-off. According to a statement released by NASA two hours after the scrub, the launch was halted “to investigate an issue preventing data from confirming a full load” of TEA-TEB. SpaceX later confirmed in a tweet that it was a ground system issue.

In a show of appreciation for the safety measures, Bill Nelson, the NASA Administrator, commended the teams, saying, “I’m proud of the NASA and SpaceX teams’ focus and dedication to keeping Crew-6 safe. Human spaceflight is an inherently risky endeavor, and as always, we will fly when we are ready.”

This was the first time a technical issue caused a scrub in a SpaceX human spaceflight launch. Crew-6 is the ninth mission for SpaceX, following the Demo-2 test flight, five International Space Station crew rotation missions, and the Inspiration4 and Ax-1 private astronaut missions.

While NASA and SpaceX had a backup launch opportunity on February 28, they did not attempt a launch due to poor weather conditions. Mike McAleenan, the launch weather officer for the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron, said that although conditions at the launch site would remain good, there would be high winds and wave conditions along the ascent corridor up the East Coast.

Steve Stich, the NASA commercial crew program manager, stated that “The weather is not looking good at all for that particular opportunity,” during a pre-launch briefing on February 25. NASA previously stated that it would skip a March 1 launch because of an unfavorable trajectory.

The next three opportunities to launch Crew-6 start on March 2, with NASA choosing 12:34 a.m. Eastern on March 2 as the next launch attempt, pending resolution of the TEA-TEB issue. During the briefing, Stich commented that it was too early to predict the weather conditions for the upcoming March launch attempts.

In an interview, Stich said, “The teams are continuing to work the technical issue and we’re in a good position to fly the next opportunity on March 2.”

Stich added that the Crew-6 mission would transport NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, along with Roscosmos mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev and Emirati astronaut Sultan Alneyadi to the International Space Station. Bowen and Hoburg would have served as mission commander and pilot, respectively, during their approximately six-month stay on the ISS.

Although the Crew-6 launch was cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date, the delay will not have any impact on the two other scheduled SpaceX Falcon 9 launches on February 27. The first Falcon 9 will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:38 p.m. Eastern, carrying 21 “V2 Mini” Starlink satellites. These larger spacecraft have four times the capacity of previous Starlink satellites and will be placed in orbits authorized by the Federal Communications Commission for its Gen2 system. The second Falcon 9 will launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:31 p.m. Eastern, carrying 51 first-generation Starlink satellites.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has made a ground-breaking discovery that could shatter our understanding of the universe.

The telescope has detected six ancient galaxies, dubbed “universe breakers”, dating back to when the universe was just 3% of its current age.

Equipped with infrared-sensing instruments capable of detecting light emitted by the most ancient stars and galaxies, the telescope has found galaxies far larger than what was presumed possible for galaxies so early after the big bang. The galaxies’ existence could upend current theories of cosmology.

Dr Erica Nelson of the University of Colorado Boulder, and a co-author, spotted a series of “fuzzy dots” that appeared unusually bright and red while sifting through images. These galaxies appeared to be roughly 13.5 billion years old, placing them about 500m-700m years after the big bang. These would not be the oldest galaxies observed by James Webb, as last year, scientists spotted four galaxies that date to about 350m years after the big bang. However, these were far smaller.

“The discovery of such massive galaxies so soon after the big bang suggests that the dark ages may not have been so dark after all, and that the universe may have been awash with star formation far earlier than we thought,” commented Dr. Emma Chapman, an astrophysicist at the University of Nottingham.

The existence of such massive galaxies close to the dawn of time would require scientists to revisit some basic rules of cosmology, as well as the theory that the first galaxies were seeded from small clouds of stars and dust. Existing models suggest that after a period of rapid expansion, the universe spent a few hundred million years cooling down enough for gas to coalesce and collapse into the first stars. Galaxies then began to form, leading to a period known as the dark ages.

The team is planning to obtain spectrum images, which can provide more accurate distance information and allow better estimates of mass. “A spectrum will immediately tell us whether or not these things are real,” said Joel Leja, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University and a study co-author.

While the discovery has caught scientists off guard, further observations will be required to confirm the discovery before existing models can be abandoned.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to make space history as it sends its first female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, to the International Space Station.

Barnawi will be joined by fellow Saudi astronaut Ali AlQarni, as well as investor John Shoffner and decorated former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will lead the mission.

The Ax-2 mission is the second private astronaut mission to the ISS after the successful Ax-1 mission in April 2022, which sent three paying customers and Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut, to the space station aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Like its predecessor, Ax-2 will also use SpaceX hardware and will be led by Peggy Whitson, who has spent more time in space than any other woman or American, with 665 days of spaceflight.

The historic mission will be watched closely by the world as Saudi Arabia continues to make strides in science and technology. In particular, the inclusion of Barnawi marks a significant step forward for the women of Saudi Arabia, who have historically enjoyed fewer rights than men. Women in the kingdom were not allowed to drive cars until 2018, making this mission a crucial moment for gender equality in the country.

The Saudi Press Agency notes that “human spaceflight is a symbol of countries’ superiority and global competitiveness in many fields such as technology, engineering, research, and innovation.” With the inclusion of two Saudi Arabian astronauts, the mission cements the country’s position among the few nations in the world that send two astronauts of the same nationality to the ISS simultaneously.

The Ax-2 mission is a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia. It is an opportunity to inspire young people in the country, especially women, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The mission marks an exciting chapter in the nation’s history, as it continues to make strides towards technological advancement and make significant contributions to the field of space exploration.

A high-stakes drama played out in the North American skies this weekend as the US intercepted the fourth UFO in the past week.

The most recent incident occurred Lake Huron, near the US-Canadian border, when the US intercepted an octagonal object flying at around 20,000 feet. The US aerospace command, NORAD, tracked the object both visually and with radar. It was destroyed over the lake to avoid potential hazards to civil aviation and to improve the chances of debris recovery, according to a statement from the Pentagon.

The first of these mysterious incursions, attributed to China, was shot down off the US East Coast last week. While the object has been described as a suspected Chinese spy balloon, China has insisted it was just a weather balloon that had gone off course. However, Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused Beijing of “an act of belligerence” regarding the object, saying it was “done with provocation to gather intelligence data, and collect intelligence on our three major nuclear sites”.

The second and third objects, shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory and Alaska respectively, have both been described as balloons, but much smaller than the first one. The third object was shot down following orders from US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This UFO was described by Canadian officials as small and cylindrical, about the size of a Volkswagen car. Recovery teams have been searching for debris in the Yukon, while US teams have been struggling with Arctic conditions as they search near Deadhorse, Alaska, where the second object was shot down.

Despite the series of events, there has been a lack of transparency from the Biden administration. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, expressed “real concerns about why the administration is not being more forthcoming”. Republicans have also harshly criticized Biden for allowing the first balloon to drift for days across the country, potentially gathering sensitive intelligence, before having it shot down.

However, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defended Biden’s handling of the situation, saying that an analysis of recovered debris would represent “a huge coup for the United States”. Biden has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle, but despite the lack of information, the public has been left to speculate and wonder about the true nature of these objects and what they could mean for national security.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has been on high alert and temporarily closed the airspace over Lake Michigan on Sunday, causing jittery Americans to keep a close eye on the skies. The closure was to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations, and the temporary flight restriction has since been lifted.

Despite the heightened state of alert, it remains unclear what the true nature of these objects is, and why they were flying over North American airspace. The US has shot down all four “out of an abundance of caution”, but much remains unknown. As recovery teams continue to search for debris, the public awaits further information and clarification from the Biden administration. The events of the past week have been dramatic and intriguing, but with so many unanswered questions, it seems that this story is far from over.