Short Takes – 10-12-24

SpaceX gets approval for Starship launch amid standoff with FAA. CNN.com article.  Pull quote: “The goal for each milestone is to hash out how SpaceX might one day recover and rapidly refly Super Heavy boosters and Starship spacecraft for future missions. Quickly reusing rocket parts is considered essential to SpaceX’s goal of drastically reducing the time and cost of getting cargo — or ships of people — to Earth’s orbit and deep space.” Launch scheduled for 8:00 to 9:00 am EDT Sunday.

FAA clears SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches. Space.com article. Pull quote: “"The FAA notified SpaceX on Oct. 11 that the Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to regular flight operations," agency officials said in an emailed statement on Friday afternoon. "The FAA reviewed and accepted the SpaceX-led investigation findings and corrective actions for the mishap that occurred with the Crew-9 mission (Sept. 28)."”

Federal personnel are facing threats during hurricane response, DHS chief warns. GovExec.com article. Pull quote: ““Falsehoods around hurricane response have spawned credible threats and incitement to violence directed at the federal government,” ISD said. “This includes calls to send militias to face down FEMA for the perceived denial of aid, and that individuals would ‘shoot’ FEMA officials and the agency’s emergency responders.””

Mars Missions May Be Blocked by Kidney Stones. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Healthy kidneys filter blood to balance the body’s water, salts and minerals, expelling waste as urine. When this process goes awry, painful kidney stones—hard accumulations of salts and materials such as calcium—can form in this essential organ. Researchers have theorized that astronauts are prone to kidney stones because bones degrade faster in microgravity, increasing calcium levels in the blood. But these stones’ surprising frequency among space travelers even years after they return to Earth suggests other factors are involved.”

Poppy Seed Tea Can Trigger a Morphine Overdose. ScientificAmerican.com article. [Added reference and link - 10-13-24 9:24 EDT] Pull quote: “Steve Hacala’s son, Stephen Hacala, a music teacher, had been experiencing anxiety and insomnia, for which poppy seed tea is promoted as a natural remedy, the lawsuit said. In 2016, at age 24, he ordered a bag of poppy seeds online, rinsed them with water, and consumed the rinse. He died of morphine poisoning.” Some urban legends have at least some basis in fact.

An Autonomous Unmanned Aerial System Inspection Platform for High-Efficiency 3D Pipeline/Route Modeling/Change-Detection and Gas Leak Detection-Localization. Primus.PHMSA.DOT.gov final report. From abstract: “In this project, an autonomous UAS inspection platform is proposed to address these line-of-sight and complex 3D surface-follow issues. The developed platform can be used for inspecting both oil and gas pipelines and tanks. The platform has four primary modules, each designed for a key system function: (1) PIDMIM for inspection data management, integration and visualization; (2) CPP for autonomous 3D UAS inspectionpath planning and control; (3) PCIQ for identification and quantification of 3D profile changes of pipeline and/or route; (4) PLDM for automated gas leak detection and localization.”