Wed, Aug 21, 2019

NASA Marshall To Lead Artemis Program’s Human Lunar Lander Development

Center Has Played A Key Role In Every American Human Space Mission Since The Mercury Program

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was joined Friday by U.S. Representatives Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt of Alabama and Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to announce the center’s new role leading the agency’s Human Landing System Program for its return to the Moon by 2024.

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Wed, Aug 21, 2019

Airborne 08.21.19: F16s 4 Sale, Roadster In Space, 200th Bell 505

Also: NetJets Pilot Sues, United 'Bottle to Throttle', Inhofe Workforce Development, Earnhardt Update

An aircraft brokerage and leasing firm in Palm Beach, FL has listed an F-16AM Block 20 Mid-Life-Update aircraft for sale on its website, and the company says it has three similar aircraft available that could form a "mini-squadron" of the airplanes for a private owner. The plane is being offered by Jet Lease. It was acquired from Jordan which has been liquidating some of its older-model F-16s after that country bought newer models from Belgium and the Netherlands between 2008 and 2017. What is different about this sale is that these are not demilitarized airplanes to be used as status symbols for the uber-wealthy. A five-foot, two-inch tall female pilot has sued her former employer, NetJets, after being told she was too short to fly one of the company's planes. Pilot Shari Drerup filed the lawsuit on August 13. She is being supported by attorney Gloria Allred, who

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Wed, Aug 21, 2019

NASA Gets A Rare Look At A Rocky Exoplanet's Surface

New Study Uses Data From Spitzer Space Telescope

A new study using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope provides a rare glimpse of conditions on the surface of a rocky planet orbiting a star beyond the Sun. The study, published today in the journal Nature, shows that the planet's surface may resemble those of Earth's Moon or Mercury: The planet likely has little to no atmosphere and could be covered in the same cooled volcanic material found in the dark areas of the Moon's surface, called mare.

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Tue, Aug 20, 2019

Airborne-Unmanned 08.20.19: ROBOpilot First Flight, Amazon Petition, EHang Test

Also: Saildrone Circumnavigates Antarctica, Falcon Research Project, AUVSI Innovation Challenge, Drone Traffic Testing

The Air Force Research Laboratory and DZYNE Technologies successfully completed a two-hour initial flight of a revolutionary Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Program called ROBOpilot Aug. 9 at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. “Imagine being able to rapidly and affordably convert a general aviation aircraft, like a Cessna or Piper, into an unmanned aerial vehicle, having it fly a mission autonomously, and then returning it back to its original manned configuration,” said Dr. Alok Das, Senior Scientist with AFRL’s Center for Rapid Innovation. ROBOpilot interacts with an aircraft the same way as a human pilot would. Amazon has petitioned the FAA for a waiver from several current rules governing UAVs to allow the company to begin delivery services with its MK27 drone. Waivers requested by Amazon would, among other things, allow the aircraft to o

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Tue, Aug 20, 2019

Musk's Tesla Roadster Has Completed First Trip Around The Sun

Won't Approach Earth Again Until November 2020

SpaceX made a big splash when a red Tesla Roadster was launched into space during the first test flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket with a mannequin named "Starman" sitting in the driver's seat. Now, more than 550 days after being launched, the car and its "occupant" have completed their first orbit of the sun.

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Mon, Aug 19, 2019

Spacefest X 2019... You Had To Be There

One Of The Ultimate Events For Unrepentant Space Buffs ...

By Wes Oleszewski, ANN Spaceflight Analyst From August 8 through August 11, 2019 space buffs from all over the planet converged on Tucson, Arizona for the tenth volume of the gathering know as "Spacefest." Presented by the folks at Novaspace, Spacefest draws crowds of spaceflight fans as well as astronauts, mission controllers, authors, speakers, artists and space stuff vendors to the beautiful Marriot Starr Pass Resort in the desert hills five miles west of Tucson. For anyone who has an interest in space, attending Spacefest is the experience of a lifetime. I first attended Spacefest in 2016 intending to sell some of my spaceflight books and to make some handy cash. What I discovered, however, is that the event is far more than that. The first day, as I was on my way to the ballroom to set up my table, I walked in and came nearly face to face with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise. As casually as can be we started talking about his flying the M2-F1. That is the

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