Short Takes – 7-2-24 – Space Geek Edition

Astronauts Are Not Stuck on the I.S.S., NASA and Boeing Officials Say. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: ““I think they’re doing their due diligence,” Wayne Hale, a retired NASA flight director, said in an interview. “Being in no hurry to come home, it makes a great deal of sense to take the time to gather as much information as possible so that they can make sure that the problems are all fixed. That makes a great deal of sense, to take your time.””

If alien life exists on Europa, we may find it in hydrothermal vents. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “They found that not only could moderately warm vents be maintained over a wide range of conditions on these moons, but that the low gravity allowed for warmer temperatures emanating from the vents. In addition, the low efficiency of heat extraction from the core of the moons (which are thought to be pretty cool in the first place) in the low gravity would allow such moderate- to low-temperature vents to be maintained for possibly billions of years.”

NASA's ISS Spacesuit Situation Turns Grim. Gizmodo.com article. Pull quote: “In a report released in January 2019, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel reviewed the increasing challenges of the spacesuits. “It is an undeniable fact that the 40-year-old EMUs used in ISS operations are reaching the end of their useful life,” the report read. “NASA cannot maintain the necessary, ongoing low-Earth orbit operations without fully functional EVA suits.””

Turion wins Space Force contract for debris-capture technology. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “While Turion’s long-term goal is to provide a debris removal service, the company is currently focused on hosting space domain awareness payloads to generate steady revenue. Turion plans to offer three payload hosting options: Droid Alpha Mini, Droid Alpha, and Droid Alpha Enhanced Mobility with ion thrusters.”

Technical failures leave Starliner crew 'not stranded' on ISS indefinitely. NewAtlas.com article. Pull quote: “Boeing says that there is a "parallel path" for the next Starliner flight in February 2025, though how this will happen without certification hasn't been explained. That means that the only choices are a Russian Soyuz or a SpaceX Dragon. The former would be a major international embarrassment that the United States would rather avoid, especially in an election year, while the latter would see Boeing dining out on crow for the foreseeable future.

Orbit Fab completes ground test of satellite fueling payload. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Speaking at the recent “State of the Space Industrial Base” conference in Albuquerque, Roth emphasized the importance of on-orbit refueling. “We want to get those technologies on orbit, test them out in an operational environment, and hedge our bets because we don’t know which one will work, and which one will work better than the other,” Roth said, referring to Orbit Fab’s and Northrop Grumman’s refueling hardware.”