What’s Happening with The Space Program? What a disappointment, the Googles Xprize of $20,000,000 which was going to be awarded to the first private company which could send a probe to the moon, move it a few hundred yards and then beam its accomplishment back to earth is expiring and will not be renewed according to Google. The prize was in effect for the last ten years. The private companies which were interested in the prize stated they just didn’t have the funds to accomplish the task. One team said if they had until the end of 2018 they could do it. This is easier said than done. The expense is incredible. Besides building a rover type device to land on the moon, the company would need to either build a launch vehicle or pay for a launch. It seems to me we are talking about something where the prize might not cover the expense. One or two of the companies in the competition may still shoot for the moon next year even though there will be no prize money. It looks like the Trump administration has no intention of funding the International Space Station after 2025. The station has been useful in many way, but one can understand why we won’t continue funding after that date. First of all, the ISS was launched into orbit on November 20, 1998 and parts of it will be 27 years old by 2025. It is getting old even though you could point out some of the modules are newer than the launch date. The station needs constant maintenance and parts. There comes a point when it is just not economically feasible to keep making repairs. Another thing we have to consider is some countries want to have their own space stations. China is talking about launching one and the United States has made it known they would also like to have their own. The ISS was more of a cultural experiment to see if the countries of the world could cooperate and get together on a project which they have seemed to accomplish, but its day may be ending soon. A safety panel conducted by NASA has raised concerns over our space program, Boeing and SpaceX. The panel came up with several major issues in their annual report which included unconventional rocket fuel systems, micrometeoroids and orbital debris which could harm rockets and capsules. It is currently almost impossible to do anything about that debris in orbit and the amount of debris just keeps increasing as more objects are shot into orbit and debris breaks down into more pieces. NASA wants a system where the statistical risk of a project is assessed and if it is low enough then the project can take place. Recently SpaceX launched a classified package into space. It was said the launch was completed and the rocket returned to earth and landed safely. Something did go wrong however and while most people think it had something to do with the package and not SpaceX, mystery surrounds the launch. SpaceX is not talking and they probably can’t, because of disclosure agreements, but they are saying the launch of their rocket went perfectly. The satellite launched was called the Zuma satellite and SpaceX and Northrop Grumman were the two main contractors. Northrop Grumman is not talking either. Sometimes we find out things about satellites which make us uncomfortable such as they crash back to earth while containing nuclear reactors. I am not saying this is the case, just making a point. There was a lot of talk about a Chinese Laboratory named Tiangong-1 crashing back to earth and endangering populated areas. There were many reports about this, but now the Chinese claim it is not going to crash at all. Before this there was some talk it was going to crash and it could be maneuvered over a seldom used area of the ocean. In 2016 the Chinese admitted they lost control of the lab and it would crash. A Harvard astrophysicist stated in October 2017 the lab had a decaying orbit and would crash in early 2018. The Chinese want to place a permanent space station in orbit by 2023. The Voyager space probe was launched in 1977. That is 41 years ago and the probe is still sailing along making its way toward the next solar system. In 1980 its thrusters were fired for what was thought to be the last time. We are talking about thrusters which have not be in use for 39 years. NASA decided to try and fire them again and use this to extend the life of the probe for another few years. It is important to keep the aerial pointed toward the earth for communications. This can be accomplished with working thrusters. It is hard to believe this probe, which has been in space so long hasn’t been destroyed by micro-meteors or radiation. Some lawmakers in the House are angry at NASA. This has come about because NASA announced they are pushing back the testing of the heavy lift rocket which is supposed to take astronauts to the Moon and then Mars by at least one year. "NASA and the contractors should not assume future delays and cost overruns will have no consequence," Texas GOP Rep. Lamar Smith said. If this were only true! Anyway, NASA said the first launch of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft together won’t happen until at least December 2019 and it could be as late as June 2020. |
