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- Why Starship’s Explosion Is Part of SpaceX’s Process The Wall Street Journal
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Elon Musk’s wealth drops by nearly $13 billion — the biggest slide this year — after Tesla’s share prices slumped and SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded – Yahoo! Voices
- Elon Musk’s wealth drops by nearly $13 billion — the biggest slide this year — after Tesla’s share prices slumped and SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded Yahoo! Voices
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SpaceX’s spectacular USSF-67 Falcon Heavy launch in photos
On January 15th, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off for the second time in 75 days to launch another batch of US military payloads into orbits tens of thousands of kilometers above Earth’s surface.
Six and a half hours later, the US Space Systems Command (SSC) confirmed that Falcon Heavy had again completed the exceptionally difficult launch without issue. To deliver the USSF-67 mission’s payloads directly to geosynchronous orbit (GSO), the giant SpaceX rocket had to sacrifice one of its potentially reusable boosters and complete a complex six-hour ballet of rolls, burns, and spacecraft deployments. And for the second time in a row, Falcon Heavy did so without apparent issue.
In an SSC press release [PDF], Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said that the group “had another fantastic launch today on a Falcon Heavy.” He added that “while the launch itself was impressive,” he was “most proud of the fact that we placed important [national] capabilities into space.” And an impressive launch it certainly was.
A Falcon (Heavy) spectacle
As previously discussed, USSF-67 was Falcon Heavy’s first twilight launch. The extraordinary cadence of SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which Falcon Heavy is derived from, caused twilight launches and the incredible light shows they can produce to become a fairly routine phenomena. But just under five years after its February 2018 debut, there had still never been a Falcon Heavy launch ‘jellyfish’ or ‘nebula.’ That thankfully changed on Sunday.
The rocket lifted off just ten or so minutes after sunset and soared into the fading purple skies. Those skies were still relatively bright at ground-level, reducing the amount of contrast, but the resulting light show was still spectacular as Falcon Heavy and its immense exhaust plume ascended back into the sunlight. The artificial sunrise lit up that pillar-like plume with the colors of sunrise and, eventually, bright daylight.
Close-up views enabled by tracking telescopes captured the true drama, which began shortly after Falcon Heavy’s twin side boosters separated from the rocket’s main core stage and upper stage, flipped around, and ignited their engines to fly back to the Florida coast they’d only just lifted off from. As the nine-engine center core continued towards space, each booster fired up one and then three Merlin 1D engines for their boostback burns.
A view from Astronomy Live captured the moment of boostback burn ignition, during which the side boosters visibly blasted ‘craters’ the Falcon Heavy center core’s much more powerful plume. As those plumes interacted, the fluid dynamics and light produced by multiple Merlin 1D engines combined to create chaotic whisps of orange, red, and yellow – akin to an exploding nebula. The moments prior were also spectacular as the two side boosters, lit up by direct sunlight against the nearly black sky, began gently floating away from the center core and spinning around with bursts from several nitrogen gas thrusters – a brief moment of serenity before the violence of engine ignition.
On a chariot of fire
But as Maj. Gen. Purdy noted, the purpose of USSF-67 – spectacle aside – was to carry a number of important payloads into orbit.
“After both side boosters touched down, SpaceX ended its live coverage at the request of the Space Force, reiterating the mission’s secretive customer and nature. The USSF hasn’t confirmed much about the USSF-67 mission’s payloads, but Falcon Heavy is known to be carrying a geostationary communications relay satellite called CBAS-2 and likely built by Boeing. CBAS-2 is joined by Northrop Grumman’s third Long Duration Propulsive EELV or LDPE-3A, a combination of a propulsive kick stage and a satellite. LDPE-3A is carrying a collection of rideshare satellites and payloads and is designed to operate for months in orbit. Using USSF-44 as a guide, the total USSF-67 payload could weigh roughly 3.75 to 4.75 tons (8,250-10,500 lb).”
Teslarati.com – January 15th, 2023
The same SSC press release provides more detail, noting that LDPE-3A carries two hosted payloads – Catcher and WASSAT. Catcher is a space weather instrument developed by the Aerospace Corporation, while WASSAT is a prototype [PDF] of a wide-angle observation instrument designed to track other satellites in GSO. LDPE is also hosting “three payloads developed by the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SRCO),” including “two operational prototypes for enhanced situational awareness, and an operational prototype crypto/interface encryption payload providing secure space-to-ground communications capability.”
Two down, one to go
For Falcon Heavy side boosters B1064 and B1065, both of which supported USSF-44 and USSF-67, their missions are far from over. Their second successful side-by-side landing has cleared the boosters to be reused on a third US military launch called USSF-52. Originally known as AFSPC-52, the mission was Falcon Heavy’s first operational US military launch contract and the first time the rocket beat competitor United Launch Alliance (ULA) during a competitive procurement.
Next Spaceflight reports that USSF-52 is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 10th, 2023, less than three months from now. Once that mission is complete, Falcon Heavy will have no more US military missions on contract, although more will almost certainly be rewarded sooner than later. USSF-52 is sandwiched between two other Falcon Heavy launches. Next Spaceflight also reports that Falcon Heavy could launch the ViaSat-3 communications satellite as early as March 2023 and the Jupiter-3 (EchoStar 24) communications satellite as early as May 2023, making for a busy 90 days.
For that trio to happen as scheduled, SpaceX will have to beat Falcon Heavy’s record 75-day turnaround, which has coincidentally (?) occurred twice: first between Arabsat 6A and STP-2, and again between USSF-44 and USSF-67. Including USSF-67, SpaceX has up to five Falcon Heavy launches scheduled this year.
SpaceX’s most powerful rocket returns to flight
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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, the towering launch vehicle known for its boosters’ aerial acrobatics and synchronized landings when returning to Earth, took to the skies Sunday, delivering national security payloads to orbit for the US military.
The mission, called USSF-67, took off at 5:56 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the fifth successful flight of the rocket recently dethroned as the world’s most powerful operational launch vehicle. This mission was initially advertised to launch on Saturday, and the reason for the one-day delay was not immediately clear.
The Falcon Heavy debuted to much fanfare in 2018 when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attached his personal Tesla Roadster as a test payload on the launch. The car is still in space, taking an oblong path around the sun that swings out as far as Mars’ orbital path.
The rocket followed up that test mission with two launches in 2019 before taking a three-year hiatus; the vast majority of SpaceX’s missions don’t require the Falcon Heavy’s amped-up power. On the other hand, SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket launched more than 60 times in 2022 alone, sending two groups of astronauts to space as well as Starlink satellites and a variety of other spacecraft.
But SpaceX is now making good on lucrative military launch contracts it signed for the Falcon Heavy years ago. The rocket returned to flight in November with the launch of the US military’s USSF-44 mission, and Sunday’s liftoff was a follow-up to that display.
“USSF-44 included six payloads on one satellite that advance communications, space weather sensing, and other technologies into near-geosynchronous orbits,” according to the military’s Space Operations Command.
And USSF-67 will make use of the same type of spacecraft deployed on USSF-44, called LDPE, which is essentially a bus for outer space that can carry smaller satellites. The Falcon Heavy also carried a communications satellite, called the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, for the US Space Force.
Additional details about the satellites on Sunday’s mission were not immediately available.
With each launch, the Falcon Heavy rocket puts on a dramatic show back on Earth.
After Sunday’s mission, the company recovered two of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first-stage boosters — the tall white sticks strapped together to give the rocket its heightened power at liftoff. After expending most of their fuel, the side boosters fell away from the center core and reoriented themselves to slice back through the Earth’s atmosphere.
As they approached the ground, the boosters reignited their engines and completed a synchronized landing on ground pads near the Florida coastline. It’s a signature move for SpaceX, which routinely recovers and reuses its rocket boosters to drive down the cost of launches.
SpaceX did not attempt to recover the center booster because of fuel requirements.
The company hasn’t successfully retrieved all three boosters yet, although it’s come close. The two side boosters made a pinpoint, synchronized landing on ground pads after an April 2019 mission, and the rocket’s center booster touched down on a seafaring platform. But rough waves toppled it over.
For years, the Falcon Heavy was the world’s most powerful operational rocket. But in November, NASA’s new moon rocket, called Space Launch System, or SLS, stole that title with its inaugural launch. SLS launched the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon, paving the way for future missions with astronauts on board.
While the Falcon Heavy gives off about 5 million pounds of thrust, SLS is puts out as much as 8.8 million pounds of thrust — 15% more than the Saturn V rockets that powered the Apollo moon landings.
At its experimental facilities in South Texas, SpaceX is in the final stages of preparing for the first orbital launch attempt of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket. Though the test flight still awaits final approval from federal regulators, it could lift off in the coming weeks.
If successful, SpaceX’s Starship would dethrone the SLS as the most powerful rocket flying today.
The Starship system is expected to outpower both SLS and Falcon Heavy. The forthcoming Super Heavy booster, which is designed to vault the Starship spacecraft into space, is expected to put off about 17 million pounds of thrust.
It’s not all a competition, however. Both the SLS rocket and SpaceX’s Starship are integral to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon’s surface for the first time in half a century.
SpaceX has its own, ambitious vision for the Starship: ferrying humans and cargo to Mars in hopes of one day establishing a permanent human settlement there.
After a slow start, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is about to hit its stride
Enlarge / A Falcon Heavy rocket rolls to the launch pad on Saturday January 14 2023.
Trevor Mahlmann
Nearly five years have passed since the massive Falcon Heavy rocket made its successful debut launch in February 2018. Since then, however, SpaceX’s heavy lift rocket has flown just three additional times.
Why? It’s partly because there is simply not all that much demand for a heavy lift rocket. Another factor is that SpaceX has increased the performance of its Falcon 9 rocket so much that it can complete a lot of the missions originally manifested on the Falcon Heavy. However the main reason for the low cadence has been due to a lack of readiness of payloads for the new rocket, particularly from the US Department of Defense.
But now this trickle of Falcon Heavy launches may turn into a flood. As early as Saturday, from Florida, the first of potentially five launches of the heavy lift rocket this year could take place.
First up is the USSF-67 mission. This will be the second Falcon Heavy mission for the US Space Force, and the rocket will be carrying two payloads into geostationary orbit. The first of the two vehicles on board is named CBAS-2, for Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM. This is essentially a communications relay satellite, which the Space Force says will support operations by augmenting “existing military satellite communication capabilities and continuously broadcast military data through space-based satellite relay links.”
The second payload, called Long Duration Propulsive ESPA-3A, is actually a spacecraft “bus.” It will host five different, smaller payloads and provide power and propulsion before dropping these vehicles into various orbits. Among these five payloads is a prototype “crypto/interface encryption” satellite that will deliver secure space-to-ground communications capability.
“This is a complex mission and truly represents what Assured Access to Space is about and is why we’re so enthusiastic about this upcoming launch,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said in a news release.
SpaceX completed a hot fire test of the rocket on Tuesday, and declared that the vehicle was ready for liftoff. The rocket will use a brand new core stage, and side-mounted boosters that have flown into space one time, as side-mounted boosters on the USSF-44 Falcon Heavy mission that launched on Nov. 1 2022. SpaceX will again attempt to recover these side boosters, at its land-based landing zones, for a future mission. The center core will be expended.
The launch is scheduled for 5:55pm ET (22:55 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Weather conditions are favorable for the launch attempt. (Update: SpaceX delayed the launch until Sunday evening after preparations for an attempt Saturday fell behind schedule).
The timing for this launch is noteworthy, as the launch window opens just 10 minutes after sunset. This will be the first time that the Falcon Heavy rocket has launched in twilight, and it should be visible for hundreds of kilometers up and down the Florida coast. Trevor Mahlmann will be on hand for Ars to provide unique views of this large launch vehicle.
Future Falcon Heavy missions this year include a commercial mission for the satellite communications company ViaSat in March, the Space Force’s USSF-52 mission in April, a commercial mission for EchoStar in May, and the Psyche asteroid mission for NASA in October. All of those dates, as ever in the launch business, are subject to change.
SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy rocket is gearing up for launch | photos
SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket is getting ready to fly again.
The Falcon Heavy has launched four times to date, most recently on Nov. 1, 2022. That flight, for the U.S. Space Force, was the first in 40 months for the heavy lifter.
There will be no such long drought between flights four and five, for SpaceX is already prepping the next Falcon Heavy for liftoff at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“Falcon Heavy in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A in Florida,” SpaceX said via Twitter on Saturday (opens in new tab) (Jan. 7), in a post that included two photos of the massive rocket and its 27 first-stage engines.
Indeed, the launch is currently targeted for Friday (Jan. 13), according to EverydayAstronaut.com (opens in new tab).
Related: Why SpaceX hadn’t flown a Falcon Heavy rocket since 2019
The Falcon Heavy is based on SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It consists of three strapped-together Falcon 9 first stages, with the central booster topped by an upper stage and the payload(s).
The Falcon Heavy is capable of delivering nearly 141,000 pounds (64,000 kilograms) of payload to low Earth orbit, compared to 50,265 pounds (22,800 kg) for the Falcon 9, according to the vehicles’ specification pages.
The SpaceX heavy lifter generates more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, which made it, until recently, the most powerful rocket in operation. NASA’s Space Launch System megarocket, which produces about 8.8 million pounds of thrust, took that mantle after launching the Artemis 1 moon mission on Nov. 16.
Like the November 2022 flight, the upcoming flight, known as USSF-67, was purchased by the U.S. Space Force.
USSF-67 will carry classified payloads to geostationary orbit, about 22,200 miles (35,700 kilometers) above Earth, according to SpaceNews (opens in new tab).
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
10 weird things about SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are among the most well-known spacecraft in the world.
There are currently over 3,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, and SpaceX plans to launch many more. The satellites are primarily designed to provide broadband internet to remote or underserved locations, yet there are many other uses for the revolutionary constellation both planned and already in use.
While Starlink satellites consistently make headlines for the sheer number of launches SpaceX performs each year, not to mention the impacts the satellites have had on astronomy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are plenty of weird facts about Starlink that fly below the radar.
Related: Starlink satellites: Everything you need to know
1. The name “Starlink” comes from the book “The Fault in Our Stars”
According to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the name “Starlink” comes from the 2012 novel “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. Musk tweeted the explanation (opens in new tab) in 2018, writing that “If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our Stars.”
The novel follows 16-year-old Hazel Lancaster, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. At a cancer support group, Hazel meets another teenager with cancer, Augustus, and the two fall in love. The novel drives home the fact that while emotional pain is a constant of the human existence, we at least have the choice of who we share that pain with.
Read more: SpaceX Starlink satellites to beam service straight to smartphones
If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our StarsFebruary 21, 2018
2. Starlink runs on the open-source Linux operating system
According to a SpaceX resources page (opens in new tab), Starlink satellites run on the open-source operating system Linux.
Linux (opens in new tab) was created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a Finnish software engineer, in order to be a free, openly-shared operating system that could be tailored for users’ specific computer hardware.
By its very design, Linux is easy to customize, making it ideal for specific use cases like Starlink satellites. In addition, Linux-based operating systems can draw upon a worldwide repository of open-source programs and tools, enabling rapid prototyping of new hardware and software.
Read more: SpaceX raises launch and Starlink prices, citing inflation
3. Starlink 2.0 is even bigger – a lot bigger
SpaceX recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to deploy 7,500 Starlink 2.0 satellites. These second-generation Starlink satellites are reported to be larger and more capable than their predecessors.
First-generation Starlink satellites weigh 573 lbs (259 kg), while Starlink 2.0 weigh in at 2,755 lb (1250 kg), Musk told Everyday Astronaut’s Tim Dodd (opens in new tab).
To loft these larger Starlinks to orbit, SpaceX will eventually begin using Starship, its huge new Mars and moon rocket. Starship is still under development, but SpaceX is planning an orbital test soon.
Read more: SpaceX aims to start launching next-gen Starlink satellites this month: report
4. Starlink satellites use lasers to communicate
SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell stated at the 36th annual Space Symposium in 2021 that all Starlink satellites from that point on would be equipped with laser crosslinks that enable them to communicate with one another.
This allows Starlink satellites within a constellations to share data among themselves, reducing the reliance on ground stations. These laser links allow internet traffic to be shared from satellite to satellite around the world, avoiding the need to relay the signals to a ground-based internet network.
The laser crosslinks allow Starlink constellations to beam internet connectivity to the most remote locations, including polar regions.
Read more: SpaceX paused Starlink launches to give its internet satellites lasers
5. The Starlink Mars independence statement
The Starlink terms of service (opens in new tab) contain a section stating that in the event that SpaceX will reach Mars and establish service there, the company will have full independence from any government on Earth.
“For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities,” the Starlink terms of service read. “Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”
SpaceX has plans to place humans on the Red Planet by the end of the decade, according to comments made by company leadership.
Read more: Humanity will go to Mars ‘in this decade,’ SpaceX president predicts
6. Starlink is available in Antarctica
Starlink internet service is available in some of the most remote parts of the globe, including Antarctica.
Scientists with the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) have tested at the McMurdo Station research outpost. “NSF-supported USAP scientists in #Antarctica are over the moon! Starlink is testing polar service with a newly deployed user terminal at McMurdo Station, increasing bandwidth and connectivity for science support,” the U.S. National Science Foundation stated via Twitter (opens in new tab) in September 2021.
SpaceX began lofting satellites into polar orbit in September 2021 with its first West Coast launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. “These polar launches will enable complete coverage of Earth (where approved by local government),” Musk tweeted in July 2022 (opens in new tab).
Read more: SpaceX’s Starlink internet service reaches Antarctica
7. Starlink is responsible for UFO sightings
Trains of Starlink satellites can look pretty odd in the sky. Despite the fact that SpaceX has taken steps to make Starlink appear dimmer in the night sky, the satellites can be quite bright after they are released as they make their way into their orbits.
On numerous occasions, these Starlink trains have been mistaken for UFOs (opens in new tab) and have generated headlines (opens in new tab) as local news stations receive floods of calls from startled skywatchers.
Aside from being mistaken for UFOs, these sightings present another worrisome issue: Ruining the dark sky conditions necessary for astronomy. The International Astronomical Union has even implored the United Nations to take steps to protect the night sky from Starlink constellations.
Read more: No, they’re not aliens — SpaceX’s Starlink satellites surprise British skywatchers
8. The U.S. Air Force has used Starlink in live-fire exercises
While Starlink is most often discussed in terms of the broadband internet it beams to remote locations, the satellite constellation has another use: Providing connectivity to military assets.
Starlink has been used extensively by Ukrainian forces during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but the United States military has also eyed its own uses for Starlink. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force and SpaceX teamed up for a live-fire exercise (opens in new tab) in which Starlink satellites shared data with U.S. military assets that shot down a drone and a cruise missile.
SpaceX has since created a Starlink partner project called Starshield that will cater exclusively to the United States military and associated agencies. Starshield will offer a higher level of security than Starlink, featuring “additional high-assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements,” according to SpaceX’s Starshield page (opens in new tab).
Read more: SpaceX reveals ‘Starshield’ satellite project for national security use
9. Starlink signals can be ‘reverse engineered’ for use as a location service
SpaceX has received requests in recent years to use Starlink constellations as a position, navigation, and timing service similar to GPS, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has so far rejected them.
However, a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found a way to do just that in October 2022 by reverse-engineering Starlink signals (opens in new tab). They found that the repeating beacon signals from Starlink constellations, designed to help receivers on the ground connect with satellites, could be used to form a navigation system.
“It’s a framework that is so general we can apply it to any terrestrial or extraterrestrial signal,” UT Austin’s Todd Humphreys told the MIT Technology Review (opens in new tab). “It will learn on the fly, tell you what is being transmitted, and tell you where you are.”
Read more: Elon Musk says Russia is ramping up cyberattacks on SpaceX’s Starlink systems in Ukraine
10. China has simulated using nuclear blasts to take out Starlink
Given that Starlink satellites are being increasingly used as military assets, many of the United States’ peer rivals have their concerns about the constellations.
In fact, one team of Chinese researchers at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, a research institute run by the People’s Liberation Army, recently published a paper discussing ways to destroy or disable Starlink. Their solution? Detonating a nuclear weapon in space.
According to the South China Morning Post (opens in new tab) (SCMP), the researchers suggested that a 10-megaton nuclear explosion would be powerful enough to d “The strong residual radiation of the debris cloud may cause failures of spacecraft moving in it, such as satellites, or even cause direct damage that can lead to destruction,” the researchers wrote in a publication in the Chinese journal Nuclear Techniques, reported SCMP.
Read more: Chinese scientists call for plan to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites
Follow Brett on Twitter at @bretttingley. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
Dwarf tomato seeds will launch to ISS aboard SpaceX’s next resupply flight
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When SpaceX’s 26th commercial resupply mission launches Tuesday, it will carry a bounty of supplies, a pair of new solar arrays, dwarf tomato seeds and a range of science experiments to the International Space Station.
The mission will also deliver ice cream and Thanksgiving-style treats, including spicy green beans, cran-apple desserts, pumpkin pie and candy corn, to the space station crew.
The Dragon spacecraft is expected to lift off with its 7,700 pounds (3,493 kilograms) of cargo from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:54 p.m. ET, with live coverage available on NASA’s website beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays, or iROSAs, will be installed outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks scheduled for November 29 and December 3. The solar arrays will give the space station a power boost.
The cargo includes a number of health-related items, such as the Moon Microscope kit. The portable handheld microscope will allow astronauts to collect and send images of blood samples to flight surgeons on the ground for diagnostics and treatment.
Nutrients are a key component of maintaining good health in space. But fresh produce is in short supply on the space station compared with the prepackaged meals astronauts eat during their six-month stays in low-Earth orbit.
“It is fairly important to our exploration goals at NASA to be able to sustain the crew with not only nutrition but also to look at various types of plants as sources for nutrients that we would be hard pressed to sustain on the long trips between distant destinations like Mars and so forth,” said Kirt Costello, chief scientist at NASA’s International Space Station Program and a deputy manager of the ISS Research Integration Office.
Astronauts have grown and tasted different types of lettuce, radishes and chiles on the International Space Station. Now, the crew members can add some dwarf tomatoes — specifically, Red Robin tomatoes — to their list of space-grown salad ingredients.
The experiment, known as the Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System, is part of an effort to provide continuous fresh food production in space.
The dwarf tomato seeds will be grown under two different light treatments to measure their impact on how many tomatoes can be harvested, as well as the plants’ nutritional value and taste. Red Robin tomatoes will also be grown on Earth as a control experiment. The two crops will be compared to measure the effects of the zero gravity environment on tomato growth.
The space tomatoes will be grown inside small bags called plant pillows installed in the Vegetable Production System, known as the Veggie growth chamber, on the space station. The astronauts will frequently water and nurture the plants as they grow, as well as pollinate the flowers.
“Tomatoes will be a new adventure for us on the Veggie team, trying to figure out how to keep these thirsty plants well watered without over watering,” said Gioia Massa, NASA’s space crop production scientist and principal investigator for the tomato study.
The tomatoes will be ready for their first taste test in the spring.
The crew is expecting three tomato harvests 90, 97 and 104 days after the plants begin to grow. During taste tests, the crew will rate the flavor, aroma, juiciness and texture of the tomatoes grown using the two different light treatments. Half of each tomato harvest will be frozen and returned to Earth for analysis.
Growing plants on the space station not only provides the opportunity for fresh food and creative taco nights, it can also boost the mood of the crew during their long spaceflight.
The astronauts will also take surveys to track their moods as they care for and interact with the plants to see how nurturing the seedlings enhances their experience amid the isolation and confinement of the space station.
The hardware is still in development for larger crop production on the space station and eventually other planets, but scientists are already planning what plants might grow best on the moon and Mars. Earlier this year, a team successfully grew plants in lunar soil that included samples collected during the Apollo missions.
“Tomatoes are going to be a great crop for the moon,” Massa said. “They’re very nutritious, very delicious and we think the astronauts will be really excited to grow them there.”
SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy booster test-fires 14 engines
SpaceX just conducted its most ambitious and powerful test to date with its Starship Mars rocket.
SpaceX ignited 14 Raptor engines on Booster 7, a prototype of Starship’s first-stage Super Heavy rocket, during a “static fire” test today (Nov. 14) at Starbase, the company’s South Texas facility.
“Full test duration of 14 engines,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted (opens in new tab) shortly after the static fire, which took place at 1:51 p.m. EST (1851 GMT) and lasted about 10 seconds. The test was captured on video by observers such as NASASpaceFlight (opens in new tab) and Rocket Ranch Boca Chica (opens in new tab).
Related: SpaceX fires up Starship Super Heavy booster again in long engine test
Static fires are common preflight trials in which a rocket’s engines are briefly ignited while the vehicle stays anchored to the ground.
And SpaceX is gearing up for a flight with Starship — the program’s first orbital test mission, which apparently will involve Booster 7 and an upper-stage prototype known as Ship 24. That landmark flight could launch before the end of the year, Musk has said.
Today’s static fire could be a big step toward the orbital liftoff: It doubled the previous highest number of Raptor engines that SpaceX has ignited during a Starship engine test. But there’s still considerable work to do to demonstrate Booster 7’s flight readiness; the vehicle boasts a whopping 33 Raptors.
Ship 24 sports six Raptor engines. SpaceX ignited all of them simultaneously during a Sept. 8 static fire.
SpaceX is developing Starship to take people and cargo to the moon and Mars, as well as perform a variety of other spaceflight tasks.
Starship prototypes have flown a handful of test flights to date, but none of them have gotten higher than about 6 miles (10 kilometers) in the sky. And none of them have involved a Super Heavy vehicle.
SpaceX has already inked a number of customers for Starship, including NASA, which picked the vehicle as the first crewed lander for its Artemis program of moon exploration. If all goes according to plan, astronauts will touch down on the lunar surface in 2025 or 2026 aboard Starship on the Artemis 3 mission.
Private customers have also signed up to ride Starship on missions around the moon (not down to its surface). Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa booked an entire flight, for example, and space tourism pioneer Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko bought two seats on a different mission.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, world’s most powerful rocket, launches
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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy — a towering, three-pronged vehicle that is the most powerful operational rocket in the world — returned to the skies on Tuesday for the first time since mid-2019.
The rocket launched at 9:41 a.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hauling satellites to space for the US military in a secretive mission dubbed USSF-44.
The Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018 to much fanfare as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk elected to launch his personal Tesla Roadster as a test payload on the launch. The car is still in space, taking an oblong path around the sun that swings out as far as Mars’ orbital path.
Since that first test mission, SpaceX has launched only two other Falcon Heavy missions, both in 2019. One sent a hulking TV and phone service satellite to orbit for Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat, and the other delivered a batch of experimental satellites for the US Department of Defense.
But the rocket had not launched since 2019, as the vast majority of SpaceX’s missions don’t require the Falcon Heavy’s amped up power. SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, on the other hand, has launched nearly 50 missions so far this year alone.
With each Falcon Heavy launch, the rocket puts on a dramatic showing back on Earth.
After Tuesday’s mission, the company only attempted to recover two of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first-stage rocket boosters — the tall white sticks that are strapped together to give the rocket its heightened power at liftoff.
As planned, the center booster was left to plunge into the ocean, where it will remain, because it did not have enough leftover fuel to guide its journey home, according to a news release from the US military’s Space Systems Command.
The two side boosters, however, made their signature synchronized landing on ground pads near the Florida coastline.
In the past, SpaceX has attempted to land all three of the rocket’s boosters back on landing pads on land and at sea so that they can be refurbished and reused on future missions. It does this to cut down on mission costs. The company has yet to suceed at retrieving all three, although it’s come dramatically close. The two side boosters made a pinpoint, synchronized landing on ground pads after an April 2019 mission, and the rocket’s center booster touched down on a sea-faring platform. But then, rough waves at sea toppled it over.
Though the Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in the world, there are two massive rockets waiting in the wings to claim that title.
NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket, which is currently slated to attempt its inaugural launch later in November to send the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon, is sitting in the Kennedy Space Center’s towering Vehicle Assembly Building, which lies just a few miles from the launch pad where the Falcon Heavy will take flight.
While the Falcon Heavy gives off about five million pounds of thrust, SLS is expected to put off as much as 8.8 million pounds of thrust — 15% more thrust than the Saturn V rockets that powered the mid-20th Century moon landings.
And just across the Gulf Coast, at SpaceX’s experimental facilities in South Texas, the company is in the final stages of preparing for the first orbital launch attempt of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket. Though the test flight is still awaiting final approval from federal regulators, it could take flight before the end of the year.
The Starship system is expected to out-power both SLS and Falcon Heavy by a wide margin. The forthcoming Super Heavy booster, which is designed to vault the Starship spacecraft into space, is expected to put off about 17 million pounds of thrust alone.
Both the SLS rocket and SpaceX’s Starship are integral to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in half a century.
SpaceX also has its own, ambitious vision for the Starship: ferrying humans and cargo to Mars in the hopes of one day establishing a permanent human settlement there.
There is not much publicly available information about the USSF-44 mission. In a news release, the US military’s Space Systems Command said only that the launch will put multiple satellites into orbit on behalf of the Space Systems Command’s Innovation and Prototyping Delta, which is focused on quickly developing space technology as it relates to tracking objects in space as well as a range of other activities.
The Space System Command declined to provide additional information about the mission when reached by email. It referred questions to the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, which also declined comment.
The US military is one of the primary drivers of the domestic rocket economy, doling out lucrative launch contracts that are coveted by private launch companies including SpaceX and its chief competitor in the area, United Launch Alliance, which is a joint operation between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.