Short Takes – 9-11-24 – Space Geek Edition

Polaris Dawn Astronauts Reach Record High Orbit Above Earth. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “The thrusters on the Crew Dragon spacecraft fired for about eight minutes to push the farthest point of the spacecraft orbit outward by another 125 miles or so. Polaris Dawn was now flying higher than the 853-mile-high altitude that the NASA astronauts Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon reached during the Gemini XI mission.”

National lab takes its radiation expertise to space. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “"The radiation levels experienced by the Polaris Dawn crew and the equipment in space will be hundreds or thousands of times greater than it is on Earth. Understanding exactly what's going on with newly created radiation products like high-energy neutrons is important for the safety of astronauts and their instruments," added Pierson.”

Private astronauts on daring trek ahead of historic spacewalk. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “They'll also carry out 36 scientific experiments, including tests on contact lenses with embedded microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure and shape—adding to the growing body of space research aimed at advancing human exploration beyond Earth.”

Cosmic radiation is an obstacle to space travel...stop it with BNNT fibers! NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “BNNTs have a similar structure to carbon nanotubes (CNTs), but because they contain a large number of boron in the lattice structure, their neutron absorption capacity is about 200,000 times higher than that of CNTs. Therefore, if the developed BNNT composite fibers are made into fabrics of the desired shape and size, they can be applied as a good material that can effectively block radiation neutron transmission.”

Voyager 1 team accomplishes tricky thruster swap. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “The team determined that the best option would be to warm the thrusters before the switch by turning on what had been deemed non-essential heaters. However, as with so many challenges the Voyager team has faced, this presented a puzzle: The spacecraft's power supply is so low that turning on non-essential heaters would require the mission to turn off something else to provide the heaters adequate electricity, and everything that's currently operating is considered essential.”

Hints of a Hidden Structure Detected at The Edge of The Solar System. ScienceAlert.com article. Pull quote: “These are known as Kuiper Belt objects or KBOs, and astronomers have just found hints of an unexpected rise in their density, between 70 and 90 astronomical units from the Sun, separated by a large, practically empty gap between it and an inner population of KBOs closer to the Sun.”

NASA removes ESCAPADE from inaugural New Glenn launch. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “NASA said the next possible launch date for ESCAPADE, again on New Glenn, would be in the spring of 2025. The agency did not disclose details of that alternative trajectory, including when the spacecraft would reach Mars. A launch then would be outside the traditional Mars launch window that is open this fall but is not available again for roughly two years.”