SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn launch after helium leak is detected. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical,” the company wrote on X. “Falcon and Dragon remain healthy, and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit.””
Clearance of Renewed Approval of Information Collection: License Requirements for Operation of a Launch Site. Federal Register, FAA 30-day ICR renewal notice. Summary: “In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on January 26, 2024. The information to be collected includes data required for performing launch site location analysis. The launch site license is valid for a period of 5 years. Respondents are licensees authorized to operate sites.” Comments Due: September 26th, 2024.
'Space junk' that fell in Eastern Cape was a car-size meteorite. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “Wits University is one of a few internationally-accredited repositories for meteorites in South Africa. Gibson and his colleagues keep a close watch on meteorite finds and falls in the country. The last meteor fall in South Africa occurred in Lichtenburg in 1973.”
JAXA Officially Wraps Up its SLIM Lander Mission. UniverseToday.com article. Pull quote: “During its time on the lunar surface, SLIM accomplished many scientific objectives and exceeded expectations in many ways. The soft landing was a high-precision maneuver with a position error of just 10 meters (~33 ft) from the landing site, constituting the world’s first successful pinpoint landing. In addition, the lander’s Multi-Band Camera (MBC) successfully performed spectral observations on ten different lunar rock samples in ten wavelength bands. Last, but not least, the mission remained operational for three lunar nights, which was not part of the original mission parameters.”
Boeing faces hard questions about Starliner and its future in space. NPR.org article. Pull quote: ““Almost all of Boeing's problems are cultural,” says Richard Aboulafia, an aviation industry analyst at AeroDynamic Advisory. “It's a management team that was completely disconnected from the folks who actually did the design, integration and manufacture of the company's products. That's a recipe for trouble. And you've seen it in jetliners and defense products and now, of course, in space systems.””
Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander begins pre-launch environmental tests. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““Firefly is proud to follow in the footsteps of the Surveyor landers that were tested in the same JPL facilities,” Peter Schumacher, interim chief executive of Firefly Aerospace, said in a statement, referring to the 1960s-era NASA robotic lunar landers. “The extensive environmental testing we’ll complete at JPL combined with the robust testing we’ve already completed in house will further reduce our risk posture and set us up for a successful soft landing.””
New data on radiation show missions to Jupiter's moon
Europa are possible. Phys.org article.
Pull quote: “Juno's ASC star camera images of stars to determine the
spacecraft's orientation in space, which is vital to the success of the
spacecraft's MAG experiment. But the four star cameras—located on Juno's
magnetometer boom—have also proved to be valuable detectors of high-energy
particle fluxes in Jupiter's magnetosphere. They record "hard
radiation"—ionizing radiation of high-penetrating power that impacts a
spacecraft with sufficient energy to pass through the ASC star camera's
shielding.”
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