Satellites must be deorbited within five years of completing missions, FCC rules

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules to address the growing risk of “space junk” or abandoned satellites, rockets and other debris. The new “5-year-rule” will require low-Earth operators to deorbit their satellites within five years following the completion of missions. That’s significantly less time than the previous guideline of 25 years. 

“But 25 years is a long time,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “There is no reason to wait that long anymore, especially in low-earth orbit. The second space age is here. For it to continue to grow, we need to do more to clean up after ourselves so space innovation can continue to respond.”

Rosenworcel noted that around 10,000 satellites weighing “thousands of metric tons” have been launched since 1957, with over half of those now defunct. The new rule “will mean more accountability and less risk of collisions that increase orbital debris and the likelihood of space communication failures.”

However, some US representatives don’t necessarily agree with the decision. Members of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology said in a letter that such decisions are often taken by NASA. By acting unilaterally, the FCC “could create uncertainly and potentially conflicting guidance” for the space industry. They asked the FCC to explain the decision to Congress, saying “this would ensure that procedural measures such as the Congressional Review Act are not necessary.”

NASA has said there are “23,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball orbiting the Earth.” It noted that China’s 2007 anti-satellite test “added more than 3,500 pieces of large, trackable debris and many more smaller debris to the debris problem.”

James Webb and Hubble telescope images capture DART asteroid collision

NASA made history this week after an attempt to slam its DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft into an asteroid nearly 7 million miles away proved successful. While NASA shared some close-up images of the impact, it observed the planetary defense test from afar as well, thanks to the help of the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes. On the surface, the images aren’t exactly the most striking things we’ve seen from either telescope, but they could help reveal a lot of valuable information.

This was the first time that Hubble and JSWT have observed the same celestial target simultaneously. While that was a milestone for the telescopes in itself, NASA suggests the data they captured will help researchers learn more about the history and makeup of the solar system. They’ll be able to use the information to learn about the surface of Dimorphos (the asteroid in question), how much material was ejected after DART crashed into it and how fast that material was traveling.

JWST and Hubble picked up different wavelengths of light (infrared and visible, respectively). NASA says that being able to observe data from multiple wavelengths will help scientists figure out if big chunks of material left Dimorphos’ surface or if it was mostly fine dust. This is an important aspect of the test, as the data can help researchers figure out if crashing spacecraft into an asteroid can change its orbit. The ultimate aim is to develop a system that can divert incoming asteroids away from Earth.

NASA says that JWST picked up images of “a tight, compact core, with plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the center of where the impact took place.” JWST, which captured 10 images over five hours, will continue to collect spectroscopic data from the asteroid system in the coming months to help researchers better understand the chemical composition of Dimorphos. NASA shared a timelapse GIF of the images that JWST captured. 

This animation, a timelapse of images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, covers the time spanning just before impact at 7:14 p.m. EDT, Sept. 26, through 5 hours post-impact. Plumes of material from a compact core appear as wisps streaming away from where the impact took place. An area of rapid, extreme brightening is also visible in the animation.
NASA/ESA/CSA/Cristina Thomas (Northern Arizona University)/Ian Wong (NASA-GSFC)/Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

At around 14,000 MPH, Dimorphos was traveling at a speed over three times faster than JWST was originally designed to track. However, the telescope’s flight operations, planning and science teams were able to develop a way to capture the impact.

As for Hubble, the 32-year-old telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 captured its own images of the collision. “Ejecta from the impact appear as rays stretching out from the body of the asteroid,” according to NASA. The agency noted that some of the rays appear curved, and astronomers will have to examine the data to gain a better understanding of what that may mean.

These images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, taken (left to right) 22 minutes, 5 hours, and 8.2 hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted Dimorphos, show expanding plumes of ejecta from the asteroid’s body. The Hubble images show ejecta from the impact that appear as rays stretching out from the body of the asteroid. The bolder, fanned-out spike of ejecta to the left of the asteroid is in the general direction from which DART approached.
NASA/ESA/Jian-Yang Li (PSI)/Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

According to their initial findings, though, the brightness of the asteroid system increased threefold after impact. That level of brightness stayed the same for at least eight hours. Hubble captured 45 images immediately before and after DART’s impact. It will observe the asteroid system 10 additional times over the next few weeks.

It took 10 months for DART, which is about the size of a vending machine, to reach Dimorphos. The football stadium-sized asteroid was around 6.8 million miles away from Earth when DART rammed into it. Pulling off an experiment like that is no mean feat. The learnings scientists gain from the test may prove invaluable.

NASA successfully smacked its DART spacecraft into an asteroid

After nearly a year in transit, NASA’s experimental Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which sought to answer the questions, “Could you potentially shove a asteroid off its planet-killing trajectory by hitting it with a specially designed satellite? How about several?” has successfully collided with the Dimorphos asteroid. Results and data from the collision are still coming in but NASA ground control confirms that the DART impact vehicle has intercepted the target asteroid. Yes, granted, Dimorphos is roughly the size of an American football stadium but space is both very large and very dark, and both asteroid and spacecraft were moving quite fast at the time.

DART strike
NASA

“It’s been a successful completion of the first part of the world’s first planetary defense test,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said after the impact. “I believe it’s going to teach us how one day to protect our own planet from an incoming asteroid. We are showing that planetary defense is a global endeavor and it is very possible to save our planet.”

NASA launched the DART mission in November, 2021 in an effort to explore the use of defensive satellites as a means of planetary defense against Near Earth Objects. The vending machine-sized DART impactor vehicle was travelling at roughly 14,000 MPH when it fatally crossed Dimorphos’ path nearly 68 million miles away from Earth. 

Whether future iterations of a planetary defense system brimming with satellites willing to go all June Bug vs Chrysler Windshield against true planet-killer asteroids remains to be seen. Dimorphos itself is the smaller of a pair of gravitationally-entangled asteroids — its parent rock is more than five times as large — but both are dwarfed by the space rock that hit Earth 66 million years ago, wiping out 75 percent of multicellular life on the planet while gouging out the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Moment of DART's Death
NASA

The DART team will likely be poring over the data generated by both the impactor and cameras released before the spacecraft made its final approach for days to come. However the team will consider shortening the orbital track of Dimorphos around Didymos by 10 minutes an ideal outcome, though any change of at least 73 seconds will still be hailed as a rousing success. The team will have to observe Dimorphos’ orbit for half a day to confirm their success, as the moonlet needs nearly 12 hours to complete an circuit around Didymos.

Update 9/27/2022 2:29 AM ET: The NASA funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) managed to record video of the impact (above). While fuzzy, it’s still pretty cool. 

NASA will roll Artemis 1 back to shelter it from Hurricane Ian

With the Artemis 1 launch site in the predicted path of Hurricane Ian, NASA has decided not to take any chances with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The agency will roll them back to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building, starting at around 11PM ET this evening. You’ll be able to watch the rollback on NASA’s ongoing Artemis 1 livestream below.

“Managers met Monday morning and made the decision based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area,” NASA said in a statement. “The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system.”

Although an SLS fueling test that took place last week was successful, NASA was forced to scrub a planned September 27th launch due to the threat of the hurricane. If the agency is unable to launch Artemis 1 before October 3rd (which seems unlikely at this point), it won’t be able to make another attempt until the next window opens on October 17th.

Watch NASA crash DART into an asteroid at 6PM ET

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is about to crash into the asteroid Dimorphos, and you’ll have plenty of options to follow along as it happens. The space agency is livestreaming coverage of the DART collision starting at 6PM Eastern, and you can tune into either a full presentation or a dedicated stream from the craft’s DRACO (Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation) instrument. That last feed will show one image per second up to the moment of impact. The vehicle is expected to smash into Dimorphos at about 7:14PM, although its distance from Earth will delay the footage you see.

You aren’t tied to official sources, either. The Virtual Telescope Project will host its own stream starting at 6:30PM ET. It’s teaming up with two South African observatories to provide an Earth-bound view of the collision. The Didymos asteroid system (where Dimorphos is a moonlet) will just be a dot, but you should see it flare up after DART makes contact.

DART will gauge the viability of using spacecraft to deflect asteroids, comets and other objects that might otherwise strike Earth. If all goes well, it will show that NASA can use autonomous vehicles as defensive systems and confirm the results using ground telescopes. Dimorphos is an ideal candidate due to both its relative proximity and the lack of threats — NASA won’t inadvertently create the very calamity it’s trying to avoid.

This won’t be the only mission headed to the Didymos system, either. The European Space Agency expects its Hera mission to reach Didymos by 2026, when it will study DART’s effects on Dimorphos. If there are any questions left after tonight’s one-way flight, they should be answered within a few years.

Artemis 1 won’t launch on September 27th due to Tropical Storm Ian

NASA can’t seem to catch a break. After completing a successful fueling test of the Space Launch System on Wednesday, the agency had hoped to move forward with Artemis 1 on September 27th. Unfortunately, that date is no longer on the table due to Tropical Storm Ian.

The storm formed Friday night over the central Caribbean. According to The Washington Post, meteorologists expect Ian to become a hurricane by Sunday before hitting Cuba and then making its way to the Florida Gulf Coast. As of Saturday, it’s unclear where Ian will make landfall once it arrives on the mainland. There’s also uncertainty about just how strong of a storm the state should expect, but the current above-average warmth of ocean waters in the eastern Gulf Coast is not a good sign.

In anticipation of Ian becoming a hurricane, NASA has decided to prepare the SLS for a rollback to the safety of the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The agency will make a final decision on Sunday. If the forecast worsens, the rollback will begin on Sunday night or early Monday morning. The plan gives NASA the flexibility to move forward with another launch attempt if there’s a change in the weather situation.

If Artemis 1 can’t fly before October 3rd, the next earliest launch window opens on October 17th. A rollback to the VAB would mean NASA could also test the batteries of the rocket’s flight termination system. That would give NASA more flexibility around the October 17th to October 31st launch window.

NASA and Hideo Kojima team up for a Ludens-inspired watch

NASA and Hideo Kojima have teamed up for a project, and it’s not the partnership itself that’s unusual. Kojima Productions’ mascot, after all, is a character called Ludens, who wears an extravehicular activity spacesuit and is meant to be an astronaut exploring digital space. No, it’s the fact that they’ve collaborated on a watch. It’s not even a smartwatch — it’s an actual wristwatch called Space Ludens that’s based on the gaming developer’s mascot.

The watch was designed and will be sold by creative studio and watchmaker Anicorn, which previously worked with NASA on other watches and merch. As IGN notes, it’s based on the visual style of Ludens’ spacesuit, with its gray/silver coloring and gold screws and accents. The NASA logo adorns its watchface, along with the words “Extra-Vehicular Creative Activity Suit.” Underneath, the Kojima Productions logo is stamped on the transparent case showing the watch’s gears.

While a watch is most likely not the first thing that’ll come to mind when you hear that Kojima teamed up with NASA, it does look pretty cool and could appeal to fans of either party. The Space Ludens watch will be released in limited quantities on September 27th. Only 600 pieces will be available for purchase, and 100 of which will ship with a skull mask based on the one that’s prominently featured in the Kojima Productions logo. Anicorn has yet to reveal how much it will cost, but its previous NASA watches don’t come cheap and will set you back over $1,000.

NASA successfully completes vital Artemis 1 rocket fuel test

The next Artemis 1 launch attempt might take place as soon as next week, seeing as NASA has met all the objectives it set out to do to consider its rocket’s fuel test a success. NASA had to test adding super-cooled fuel to the Space Launch System’s tanks to confirm the repairs it made after it scrubbed the mission’s second launch attempt in late August. The ground team at Kennedy Space Center spotted a persistent hydrogen leak affecting one of the fuel lines on the SLS at the time and tried to fix it the day of three times. In the end, the team was unsuccessful and decided to postpone the mission.

The team determined a few days later that the leak was triggered when the SLS rocket’s core booster tank went through a brief overpressurization. To prevent the same incident from happening, the team adjusted procedures for filling the rocket’s tank with propellants, and it involves transitioning temperatures and pressures more slowly to prevent rapid changes that could cause leakage. The team’s engineers also replaced the rocket’s liquid hydrogen seals after discovering a small indentation in one of them that may have contributed to the leak. 

While the engineers encountered another hydrogen leak during the fuel test, their troubleshooting efforts worked this time around and got the leak to “within allowable rates.” That allowed them to conduct the pre-pressurization test, which brought up the liquid hydrogen tank’s pressure level to match what it would experience just before an actual launch. 

Artemis 1 launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the test went “really well” and that the team was able to accomplish all the objectives it set out to do. NASA will now evaluate data from the test before deciding if it can schedule another launch for the mission on its target date of September 27th.

James Webb Space Telescope captures the best image of Neptune’s rings in decades

The James Webb Space Telescope’s tour of the Solar System just shed light on the most distant planet in our cosmic neighborhood. Researchers have shared the observatory’s first image of Neptune, and it offers the best view of the icy world’s rings in over 30 years. The picture is not only clear, but offers the first-ever look at the dust-based rings in the near-infrared spectrum. At these wavelengths, the planet doesn’t look blue — it absorbs so much infrared and visible red light that it takes on a dark, ghostly appearance.

The image also shows seven of Neptune’s 14 confirmed moons, including Triton (the ‘star’ at top) as well as Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus and Larissa. The bright spots and streaks on the planet represent methane-ice clouds, including a swirl surrounding a vortex at the south pole. Triton’s attention-grabbing look is the product of both the James Webb telescope’s telltale diffraction spikes as well as a condensed nitrogen surface that typically reflects 70 percent of sunlight.

Neptune captured by James Webb Space Telescope
A closer view of Neptune and six of its moons (Galatea, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Proteus and Larissa).
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Neptune is a particularly important target for scientists. At roughly 2.8 billion miles from the Sun, it’s far enough to deal with conditions that aren’t present for nearer planets, such as very low temperatures and a very long (164-year) orbit. Triton’s odd retrograde orbit even suggests might be a Kuiper Belt object that succumbed to Neptune’s gravitational pull.

This is just the start of studies using the James Webb telescope, and researchers expect to collect more observations of both Neptune and Triton within the next year. As with the recent looks at Mars and Jupiter, astronomers are only collecting preliminary data at this stage. You may have to wait a while before there are further insights that could improve our understandings of Neptune and space at large.