In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Boeing and United Launch Alliance ready Orbital Flight Test-2 for a 1:20 p.m. EDT launch – weather permitting. The Lucy mission begins preparations for October liftoff.
Human Space Exploration
Live coverage: ULA begins countdown for launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft
Coalition Members in the News – Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, United Launch Alliance
Spaceflightnow.com (8/2): Boeing’s uncrewed CST-100 Starliner and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket are back on the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida prepared to lift off on the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) today at 1:20 p.m. EDT. However, the weather outlook was 50/50 as of early Tuesday. Starliner is set to carry out an autonomous docking with the ISS to further advance its certification by NASA for the regularly scheduled transportation of astronauts to and from the orbital lab. Watch the launch here.
Former NASA official joins Nanoracks to lead commercial space station work
Coalition Member in the News – Nanoracks
SpaceNews.com (8/2): Nanoracks has announced that Marshall Smith will serve as vice president of commercial space stations. Previously, Smith served as deputy associate administrator for systems engineering and integration in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. He retired from NASA at the end of July after 35 years with the space agency.
Space Station situation with Russian module misfire more serious than stated: report
Space.com (8/2): Last Thursday’s rough encounter between the International Space Station (ISS) and Russia’s Nauka module was worse than initially described, based on an interview with NASA flight director Zebulong Scoville. After docking with the ISS, Nauka began to fire its thrusters unexpectedly, briefly tilting the orbital lab and causing it to lose attitude control. Public comments about the incident that the ISS tilted about 45 degrees appear not to have been the full story. According to Scoville, after Nauka incorrectly fired up, the ISS “spun one-and-a-half revolutions (about 540 degrees) before coming to a stop upside down. The ISS then did a 180-degree forward flip to get back to its original orientation.”
Space Science
Lucy spacecraft is one step closer to Trojan Asteroids; preparations for first mission begins in time for October launch
Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin
The Science Times (8/2): NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida ahead of launch in October this year. Lucy is the first mission to explore a population of small bodies known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These bodies are remnants of our early solar system, now trapped in stable orbits associated with Jupiter, forming two groups that lead in front of and trail behind the giant planet in its path around the Sun. These asteroids are important because they are believed to hold the key to how the solar system and the planets came to be. Lockheed Martin designed and built Lucy for NASA. The spacecraft will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.
Two space probes to pass by Venus next week
Sky & Telescope (8/2): Quite bright in the western sky after sunset, Venus is to receive visits from three spacecraft in the coming days, first Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter and then two others. Europe’s Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo are to pass by Venus on August 9 and 10, respectively. Both European spacecraft are primed to gather science, while they pass by on their way to their primary mission destinations, in orbit around the sun and Mercury.
Other News
Harris selection of Chirag Parikh to lead Space Council wins wide praise
Spacepolicyonline.com (8/2): Chirag Parikh was named by the White House on Monday to serve as the executive secretary of the National Space Council. The policy setting council chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris is to have its first Biden Administration session in the fall. Parikh’s background includes serving on the National Security Council under President Obama and as senior director for Azure Space at Microsoft.
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