America needs a Space Academy for the space age. SpaceNews.com commentary. Pull quote: “As described in a recent position paper, the National Space Society (NSS) believes America needs leaders who understand the whole system, not just one corner of it. Our universities produce excellent engineers, scientists, lawyers and policymakers. The military academies prepare officers. Government agencies and companies train their own specialists. But no institution is built to develop a professional corps that can work across civil, commercial and national security space.”
China outlines uncrewed test campaign for buildup to crewed moon landing. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The proposed path, labeled “survey first, build later,” has three stages. The first crewed landing would establish round-trip capability and use Lanyue as the basis for a 9-metric-ton-class lunar landing platform. A second stage would expand surface stays and mobility, shifting from exploration at single points to linked exploration. A third would see resource development and long-term human presence, supporting deeper space exploration.”
USAF successfully tests dropping SpaceX Starfall cargo drop pods from space. TomsHardware.com article. Pull quote: ““This was a critical achievement to demonstrate the potential of Rocket Cargo delivery for point-to-point rapid global mobility for the Future Force," AFRL Technology Transition Office director Adam Remaly said in a statement. "The cross-discipline collaborations and ability to unleash the speed of our defense industrial base are key to maximizing capability and winning the future.”” Seems like a long way to go still.
This Halloween, amateur astronomers may be in for a dwarf planet treat. ScienceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The object, called 2026 ED138, appeared to be about 47 times as far from Earth as Earth is from the sun. Its brightness suggests it’s between 600 and 1,500 kilometers wide, potentially as large as other dwarf planets like Ceres and Makemake. That’s probably big enough to be spherical, making it a dwarf planet.”
The 2028 Imperative: NASA’s 2028 crunch for Artemis, SR-1 and robotic lunar landings. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “A related mission with a 2028 goal is MoonFall. This JPL-led mission will send three small spacecraft to the moon with the ability to hop from one location to another. The name is derived from the SkyFall Mars helicopters those spacecraft will imitate, said the project’s chief engineer, Ian Clark, at the LSIC meeting. (Not the “spectacularly crappy” sci-fi movie of the same name.)”
Midterm election to test bipartisan support for NASA. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “However, both authorization bills were reported out of committee before NASA’s Ignition event and thus do not include the specific programs announced then. There’s been little public sign of progress reconciling the two bills and updating them to account for the changes since early this year.”
Space Medicine at Vast: A Systems-Level Approach to Astronaut Health and Performance. VastSpace.com post. Pull quote: “In addition to on-console support from our mission control center, each crew will include designated Chief Medical Officers with more advanced training in the spacecraft's medical capabilities, including diagnostic ultrasound, bloodwork, medication administration, and vital signs monitoring, equipping them to assess, diagnose, and respond to medical situations independently while in orbit.”