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Space nuclear power looking bright

Both fission and fusion nuclear power systems are in development for use in space in the near future. Kilopower, NASA’s fission nuclear reactor we reported on last March has now been renamed the Nuclear Fission Power Project. An update appeared recently in Chemical & Engineering News.

Artist’s concept of NASA’s planned fission power system on the lunar surface. Credits: NASA

On the fusion front, a compact generator is under development by Magneto-Inertial Fusion Technologies, Inc. (MIFTI) a subsidiary of US Nuclear Corporation. In a recent press release the company claims that its staged Z-Pinch reactor may come on line within 5 years, which could potentially be providing power to lunar settlements by the end of this decade. The system may even have enough power to propel hypervelocity space ships shortening trips to Mars.

Schematic of staged Z-Pinch fusion system. Credits: MIFTI

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Happy Anniversary Falcon 9!

Eric Berger chronicles the ten year history of SpaceX’s flagship launch vehicle. The versatile, reusable workhorse has been the proving ground for the technology that will make Elon Musk’s vision of low cost interplanetary space travel a reality in the near future.

Falcon 9 historic launch of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aboard Crew Dragon. Image courtesy of SpaceX
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Legal implications of a cislunar economy

In an article in Live Encounters Magazine, Dr. Namrata Goswami articulates the legal challenges ahead as the major space powers race to capitalize on the potentially lucrative markets made possible by lunar resources. She argues that now is the time to establish the legal framework for enabling private ownership of resources and profitable businesses. The processes for how conflicts will be resolved over trillions of dollars worth of space resources among legal entities must be defined ahead of time. If international agreements are not developed she believes that there may be a “legal vacuum”, resulting in individual states taking matters into their own hands.

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ESA solicits input for European Large Logistic Lander

An artist’s impression of astronauts unloading cargo from ESA’s European Large Logistic Lander. Image courtesy of ESA

In a video message from Jan Wörner, Director General, ESA is asking for ideas on how the agency’s new lander can explore the Moon in the late 2020s. Of particular interest are suggestions for strategies on for the best approaches to science, space resources and technology.

Diagram depicting the timeline and process for idea selection. Image courtesy of ESA

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Redefining Life

As humans move off Earth and settle the solar system and beyond, we will eventually want to know if we are alone or if we will encounter alien life. Astrobiologists up until now have been basing their research on “life as we know it”. Now Stuart Bartlett and Michael L. Wong in a paper in the journal Life are proposing a new definition and vocabulary to describe a more general picture of what life is (or could be). This approach will more clearly define the questions steering the direction of research into the origins of life. The authors propose four processes of the living state: dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning. They suggest a new term for the combination of these four pillars: lyfe (pronounced “loif”). A Venn diagram of these processes would all intersect in the region of lyfe which would including the subset of life on Earth.

A Venn diagram of the four pillars of lyfe. Sublyfe (regions 1–8) is any system that performs some but not all of the pillars, while lyfe (region 9) is any system that performs all four. Credit: Stuart Bartlett and Michael L. Wong, Life, 16 April 2020
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How much is space infrastructure worth?

We take for granted many of the conveniences made possible by space technology. Agriculture, banking, navigation, environmental monitoring, weather, emergency services. The list goes on and on. The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy has just published a report called The Value of Space to quantify these benefits. Without realizing it, satellite services have become an integral part of our lives. This paper sheds a light on just how much Earth relies on space. This dependence will only increase as humanity settles the solar system.

Use of satellite services for agricultural applications. Credit: The Aerospace Corporation
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NRL to demonstrate wireless power transmission in space

The Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle which launched into orbit aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket on May 17 contains the first of its kind experiment to test a system for collection of sunlight and conversion to microwave energy for beaming power where it is needed. Space Settlement Progress reported on the possibility of this mission back in December of last year. Now the hardware, called a Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module or PRAM, has been launched. Its been a long time coming but finally some of the key elements of a solar power satellite system will get a shake down cruise in space. I’m old enough to have written a report on space solar power satellites in my high school physics class (1974). Assuming positive results, NRL plans a follow-on experiment to beam power down to Earth.

Image of the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) with a centimeter ruler for scale. Image Courtesy of U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

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To the stars with a laser induced annihilation drive

A concept for an innovative relativistic interstellar propulsion drive has just been described in the May 23 issue of Acta Astronautica. The propulsion system uses a pulsed laser to generate “antimatter-like” annihilation reactions in hydrogen fuel producing high velocity K meson elementary particles at relativistic speeds. The method is suitable for powering large starships and could be available within a decade. The authors claim the energy released is 100 times greater than fusion. Because hydrogen is readily available throughout the galaxy, fuel for the return trip does not need to be carried on the outbound journey.

Outline of a laser-induced annihilation generator for space propulsion. Credit: Leif Holmlid and Sindre Zeiner-Gundersen, Acta Astronautica 23 May 2020

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Making Mars soil fertile

A just released study published in the journal Plants documented the results of experiments to find the best ratio of compost to Martial soil simulant to effectively grow nutritious butter lettuce with the least amount of water while optimizing crop performance. Such findings will enable in situ resource utilization and reduce the mass of supplies needed to be transported to Mars to support farming in human settlements.

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Relativity Space to 3D print entire rocket

The California company is opening an autonomous factory in Long Beach which will use additive manufacturing to print both its Aeon engine and Terran 1 rocket. The unprecedented agile manufacturing process will slash production costs by reducing parts count and increasing throughput enabling a competitive advantage in this class of launchers (1250 Kg to LEO).

Relativity Space Autonomous Factory. Image courtesy of Relativity Space via SpaceWatch.Global