Short Takes – 10-28-24 – Space Geek Edition

AST SpaceMobile Successfully Completes Unfolding of First Five Commercial Satellites in Low Earth Orbit. BusinessWire.com press release. Pull quote: “AST SpaceMobile’s technology features large, phased array antennas supported by over 3,450 patent and patent-pending claims. This innovative design aims to extend cellular coverage globally, eliminating dead zones and delivering space-based cellular broadband connectivity to underserved regions. These advanced phased arrays, the largest ever deployed commercially in low Earth orbit, connect directly to standard smartphones at broadband speeds. This eliminates the need for specialized equipment, enabling seamless use with existing mobile phones while enhancing and complementing mobile operator networks.”

Starship Super Heavy booster came within one second of aborting first “catch” landing. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: ““We’re not taking as much time as we might ideally want to have a very luxurious, like really study everything,” one person said. “But given that that is the first launch in a long time — well, really, ever — that we’ve not been FAA driven, we’re trying to go do a reasonable balance of speed and risk mitigation on the booster, specifically.””

NASA Astronaut Leaves Hospital After ‘Medical Issue’ That Followed Return From Space. NYTimes.com article (free). Still no information about what constituted the ‘medical issue’. Pull quote: “Later in the day, NASA issued an update saying that all four astronauts had been taken to a Pensacola hospital as a precaution. Another update in the afternoon said three of the astronauts had returned to Houston.”

SpaceX has caught a massive rocket. So what’s next? ArsTechnical.com article. Look at what a successful Starship timeline would look like. Pull quote: “Critics of the Starship architecture say it is inefficient because of the mass refueling that must occur in low-Earth orbit for the spacecraft to travel anywhere. For example, fully topping off a Starship that can land humans on the Moon and return them to lunar orbit may take a dozen or more tanker flights. But this only seems stupidly impractical under the old space paradigm, in which launch is expensive, scarce, and unreliable. Such criticism seems less salient if we imagine SpaceX reaching the point of launching a dozen Starships a week or more in a few years.”