Space Matters
The Great Game for Space
The Tianhe Long March 5b Saga
China has put into orbit the first module of its space station. The module’s name “Tianhe” means “harmony of the heavens” in Mandarin.
Although there is much controversy around the astro-political implications of the move, the real outrage came after the main booster segment of the mission fell to earth in an uncontrolled reentry. The debri finally went down in Maldivian waters causing no damage to material or people.
The US Department of Defence was quick to lambast China for irresponsible behaviour in space activities. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby also mentioned smaller, less visible space objects like CubeSats as being a potentially greater worry than a large object such as the Long March 5b, which garners more attention.
EU’s Navigation Satellites Manoeuvre to Avoid Debris
The EU’s Galileo constellation of navigation satellites are performing evasive manoeuvres to avoid space junk. Space debris is considered one of the greatest dangers to satellite constellations and spacecraft - and the discourse on its mitigation is a prominent topic for conferences and deliberations.
Although this a first for Galileo, which encountered its earliest threat from debris on 6 March 2021, other states have had to adjust trajectories of satellites in their constellations to avoid damage. Some even employ Early Warning collision avoidance systems with some success.
New Launches, Gear and Plans
NASA Raises Price for Private ISS Missions, says Flight Opportunities are Less than Demand
NASA has said it will raise the price for its flight services to the International Space Station to cover the actual costs of the missions. NASA has also taken the opportunity to highlight the fact that the number of people and organisations willing to splurge money to visit the ISS exceeds the available slots.
South Korea’s Space Agency will Focus on its High-tech Future and Offload Nearterm Applications to the Private Sector
The chief of Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) aims to focus on high-tech applications which will become important by around 2050. In the near term, KARI will try to involve the private sector as much as possible in projects involving proven technologies and applications. A similar pattern has been the focus for space agencies around the world, as reflected by the growth of SpaceX and other private companies in the global space industry.
Space in Media
The Martian: An adaptation of the sci-fi novel by Andy Weir, the movie is about a NASA astronaut and botanist, Mark Watney, who is left behind on the red planet during an emergency evacuation and is thus presumed dead.
Through feats of remarkable ingenuity, he manages to survive for almost four years on meagre supplies and malfunctioning equipment. Over the course of the movie, the protagonist also “jerry rigs” older and defunct equipment to successfully communicate with NASA back on Earth and ultimately makes possible a complicated rescue mission.
Interesting Publications and Resources:
An interesting article on Space Junk connected to the Long March 5b saga
A podcast about the ethics of space settlements
Some interesting writeup and infographics on Space Debris by European Space agency