In Today’s Deep Space Extra… NASA announces new class of astronaut candidates. Atlas V rocket successfully launches Space Force satellites for tests of advanced technology.
Human Space Exploration
NASA unveils 10 new astronaut candidates for future space station, Moon missions
Space.com (12/6): On Monday, NASA introduced four female and six male astronaut candidates selected from more than 12,000 applicants to train for future human space missions to the Moon and Mars as well as the International Space Station (ISS). The 10 selections are to report to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in January to begin two years of basic training. “Alone, each candidate has ‘the right stuff,’ but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum, out of many, one,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson who welcomed the newcomers aboard.
NASA chief welcomes Emirati astronauts embarking on two-year training program
Thenationalnews.com of the UAE (12/7): Two of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) newest astronauts, a Dubai police helicopter pilot and a mechanical engineer, will train for two years with the 10 members of NASA’s latest astronaut class at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Artemis 1 launch attempt constraints, rocket readiness slips to mid-February 2022
Coalition Members in the News – Aerojet Rocketdyne, Jacobs
NASAspaceflight.com (12/6): NASA and its contractors at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are now looking to mid-January for the rollout of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion crew capsule to Launch Pad 39B at KSC for a series of evaluations. That in turn has moved the projected launch date of the test flight that will send the uncrewed Orion capsule around the Moon and back to Earth from late January to mid-February.
Space Science
JAXA provides samples from asteroid to NASA
NHK-World of Japan (12/6): One year after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 mission delivered samples of the asteroid Ryugu back to Earth, the agency announced Monday it has provided NASA with about 10 percent of the sample return, or about a half gram of the material. Samples assessed so far by JAXA have revealed the presence of water and organic material.
Other News
ULA launches STP-3 mission with national security and NASA payloads
Coalition Members in the News – Northrop Grumman, Ruag Space, United Launch Alliance
SpaceNews.com (12/7): A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force. The rocket lifted off at 5:19 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. STP-3 carried classified national security payloads and a NASA mission to demonstrate in-space laser communications. The primary payload, STPSat-6, hosted the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System 3 (SABRS-3). STPSat-6 also carried NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) payload that will be used to test laser communication in space between Earth and GEO. The LCRD mission is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
White House unveils space framework at National Space Council meeting
Coalition president and CEO Frank Slazer in the News
Aviation Week & Space Technology (12/1): Frank Slazer, president and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, was pleased to see the National Space Council’s comprehensive approach to space. “Space is appreciated as something that affects everybody,” Slazer said. Another item that was particularly important, Slazer noted, is the need to inspire the nation to create a trained—and not just college-educated—workforce. “We need people at all different levels because we as a nation are not doing enough to maintain our power as an industrial nation,” he said. (Paywalled article).
A Biden space policy take shape
The Space Review (12/6): At least at its outset, the Biden Administration appears to be supporting the civil and national security space policies it inherited, rather than charting new courses as did its predecessors. That message of continuity, with some tweaks, was evident at the National Space Council’s first public meeting, held last week in Washington. Many in the space community have argued that sudden shifts in policy have proven damaging in the past.
DoD space agency making contingency plans in case Congress doesn’t pass a budget
SpaceNews.com (12/6): Efforts by the Space Development Agency (SDA) to launch and develop dozens of satellites during 2022 could be derailed if Congress fails to come to agreement on a 2022 fiscal year budget beyond the recently passed continuing resolution (CR) that allows federal agencies to remain active until February 18, the agency’s director Derek Tournear cautioned on December 6 during a SpaceNews.com event. As CRs have become more the norm than the exception over the past decade, DoD has frequently submitted what is known as legislative anomaly proposals, or requests for authority beyond the standard CR provisions so contracts and programs can move forward. Tournear said an anomaly proposal would be an option to allow SDA to press on with certain procurements if a CR is extended.
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