Max Q: Alien encounters

Welcome back to Max Q.

• A micrometeoroid ping heard around the galaxy
• SpaceX cargo resupply delay
• News from Rocket Lab, United Launch Alliance and more

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Astra mission fails, resulting in the loss of two NASA satellites

A premature shutdown of the second stage resulted in the loss of two NASA satellites.

The two satellites were supposed to be the first ones in the TROPICS constellation, which was supposed to include a number of small satellites. The TROPICS satellites will be used to measure variables.

NASA tapped Astra to conduct three launches, each equipped with two TROPICS satellites, at a cost of $8 million, so they are 0/6 so far. The space agency said it would be able to fulfill its goals with just four satellites. The TROPICS constellation will still meet its science objectives despite the loss of the first two satellites. TROPICS will provide better time-resolved observations of tropical cyclones with four satellites.

The other two TROPICS launches will have to be nailed by Astra. There is no pressure!

$10 billion James Webb Space Telescope pinged by micrometeoroid

According to NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a small meteorite on Wednesday. The agency said that one of the telescope's mirrors was knocked out by the hit. Webb is performing at a level that surpasses all requirements.

The telescope had been hit by four micrometeoroids at the time of this latest collision. NASA took pains to assure the public that it designs spaceships to survive small impacts.

When building and testing the mirror on the ground, NASA anticipated that there would be impacts throughout the entire lifetime of the project. The telescope was designed to be turned away from meteor showers, but this micrometeoroid was not from a shower, but an unavoidable chance event. The agency assembled a team of engineers to explore how to protect against future hits on this scale because the micrometeoroid was larger than NASA modeled.

The primary mirror of the space telescope has been assembled.

SpaceX’s resupply mission for NASA stands down due to issues with Crew Dragon’s propulsion

After teams discovered an issue with the propellant of the Crew Dragon spaceship, the planned launch was halted.

The agency said that elevated vapor readings of mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) were measured during the propellant loading of the Dragon spaceship. There is a chance that the mission will take place on June 28.

This will be the 25th mission for the company under its contract with the agency.

The image is from the space station.

More news from TC and beyond

• Arianespace’s Vega C rocket will make its debut on July 7. The rocket was developed with the European Space Agency and contractor Avio.
• Artemis Accords has received a new signatory: France. Artemis Accords are a “nonbinding declaration of principles and rules to enhance governance of the responsible exploration of outer space,” with 20 nations signed on (at least theoretically) to use space cooperatively.
• Bellatrix Aerospace, an Indian startup developing space propulsion systems, raised an $8 million Series A led by BASF Venture Capital and Inflexor Ventures, with participation from StartupXseed Ventures LLP, Pavestone Capital, KITVEN FUND, Survam Partners, Mankind Pharma Family office, growX ventures and Urmin Group family office.
• China successfully docked a trio of astronauts to its space station module, Tianhe. The country aims to expand Tianhe into a full-fledged, three-module space station called Tiangong.
• ION-X, a French startup, has raised €3.8 million ($4.1 million) to further test its small satellite propulsion system that uses ionic liquid electrospray thrusters.
• Rocket Lab was selected by Ball Aerospace to manufacture a key component of NASA’s Global Lyman-Alpha Imager of Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) mission spacecraft. Rocket Lab will be manufacturing the Solar Array Panel to power the spacecraft, which will likely launch in 2025.
• SpaceX isn’t likely to take Starlink public until the middle of the decade or later, CEO Elon Musk told employees, according to CNBC.
• Stratolaunch conducted the sixth test flight of the Roc aircraft carrier in the Mojave desert. The company aims to use Roc to carry its hypersonic craft Talon-A.
• United Launch Alliance placed a massive $2 billion order with aerospace prime Northrop Grumman for solid rocket boosters, to support a series of upcoming launches for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite constellation project.

Video of the week

The first and second stages of the Terran 1 rocket have arrived at the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, bringing the company one step closer to its first-ever orbital flight test. There is a video of the two stages making their way to the other side.

👽 of the week

There is no evidence that UAPs are extra-terrestrials, according to NASA. Wait a second, womp womp. Here, you can read more on the announcement.

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