[Spacetalk] https://www.nasa.gov/index.html; https://spaceflightnow.com

[Gabe Gabrielle]

good morning all,

 I hope you were able to share the OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu…it seems everything went very well…make sure  to register for #SeeingTheSeas (see below) a very special insight to the NASA mission...NASA wants you to get excited about the moon <https://www.space.com/55-earths-moon-formation-composition-and-orbit.html> — or more specifically, about a mysterious new science result the agency plans to unveil on Monday (Oct. 26). For more details, we'll need to wait until a news conference at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) that day, which you'll be able to watch here at Space.com <https://www.space.com/> or directly through the agency's website <https://www.nasa.gov/live>. We have to remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, believe in ourselves, and let those we care about most know (I always say this, we all need to take it to heart) …hugs & smiles... :-) :-) STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE, Love ya, Gabe




OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj0O-fLSV7c&feature=youtu.be
R3nJKCYuBJmK3zugeWgKp8-970-80.gif <https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/R3nJKCYuBJmK3zugeWgKp8-970-80.gif> 

NASA's OSIRIS REx spacecraft was supposed to grab a sample of the asteroid Bennu so that it could be returned to Earth for analysis. The spacecraft grabbed the sample on Tuesday, but, it's taken a few days to actually get photos of the tool and now it's realized they have a problem with too much material. Larger pieces of regolith have kept the sample head from closing properly, so material is slowly being lost.
As a result, the mission operators are skipping past a number of important tests and going straight to storing the sample for return to avoid losing more.


#SeeingTheSeas

You are invited to be a NASA virtual guest for the launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite. In the interest of health and safety, due to the coronavirus pandemic, NASA can’t invite you to watch the launch in person. However, there are many ways to virtually participate and registering will allow us to communicate them to you. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is being developed jointly by NASA, the European Space Agency, in the context of the European Copernicus program led by the European Commission, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The spacecraft is named in honor of Michael Freilich, the former director of NASA's Earth Science Division and tireless advocate for advancing satellite measurements of the ocean. The satellite will collect sea level measurements down to a few centimeters across 90% of the world's ocean. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launch is scheduled for 11:31 a.m. PST on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Click on the event below to register and learn more. Registration and all resources and participation are FREE. By registering you will receive communications about launch schedule changes, information about highlighted launch related activities, and access to curated launch resources. No in-person or on-center activities are available or included with registration.

Sincerely, NASA Guest Operations
*If the event does not properly display below in your email, access it by browser here. <http://post.spmailtechnol.com/f/a/mQPOW8SGxB2bkUXr17lVKA~~/AAQxAQA~/RgRhdA6WP0RZaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXZlbnRicml0ZS5jb20vZS9zZW50aW5lbC02LW1pY2hhZWwtZnJlaWxpY2gtbGF1bmNoLXJlZ2lzdHJhdGlvbi0xMTYxMjMzNTMwNzVXA3NwY0IKAEgW25JfboPOtVIYZ2FiZUBlZHVjYXRlbW90aXZhdGUuY29tWAQAAAAE>



 <http://post.spmailtechnol.com/f/a/3GkPjMKeJ_WNFOg3qg4sYA~~/AAQxAQA~/RgRhdA6WP4SnAmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV2ZW50YnJpdGUuY29tL29yZ2FuaXphdGlvbnMvbWlzc2l2ZS9hY3Rpdml0eS9yZWRpcmVjdC8_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>Tuesday, November 10, 2020 11:31 AM
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch
Register  <http://post.spmailtechnol.com/f/a/gn0K5f9vOt0heFUspa276g~~/AAQxAQA~/RgRhdA6WP4SvAmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV2ZW50YnJpdGUuY29tL29yZ2FuaXphdGlvbnMvbWlzc2l2ZS9hY3Rpdml0eS9yZWRpcmVjdC8_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~>
 

Where Do Black Holes Lead?
By David Crookes  <https://www.space.com/author/david-crookes>, All About Space magazine <https://www.space.com/author/all-about-space-magazine> September 20, 2019
Space Mysteries: If you travel through a black hole, where do you go? 


Where does a black hole go?
(Image: © All About Space magazine)
So there you are, about to leap into a black hole <https://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html>. What could possibly await should — against all odds — you somehow survive? Where would you end up and what tantalising tales would you be able to regale if you managed to clamber your way back?

The simple answer to all of these questions is, as Professor Richard Massey explains, "Who knows?" As a Royal Society research fellow at the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University, Massey is fully aware that the mysteries of black holes run deep. "Falling through an event horizon is literally passing beyond the veil — once someone falls past it, nobody could ever send a message back," he said. "They'd be ripped to pieces by the enormous gravity, so I doubt anyone falling through would get anywhere.” If that sounds like a disappointing — and painful — answer, then it is to be expected. Ever since Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity <https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html> was considered to have predicted black holes by linking space-time with the action of gravity, it has been known that black holes result from the death of a massive star leaving behind a small, dense remnant core. Assuming this core has more than roughly three-times the mass of the sun <https://www.space.com/17001-how-big-is-the-sun-size-of-the-sun.html>, gravity would overwhelm to such a degree that it would fall in on itself into a single point, or singularity, understood to be the black hole's infinitely dense core. The resulting uninhabitable black hole would have such a powerful gravitational pull that not even light could avoid it. So, should you then find yourself at the event horizon — the point at which light and matter can only pass inward, as proposed by the German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild — there is no escape. According to Massey, tidal forces would reduce your body into strands of atoms (or 'spaghettification', as it is also known) and the object would eventually end up crushed at the singularity. The idea that you could pop out somewhere — perhaps at the other side — seems utterly fantastical.

What about a wormhole?

Or is it? Over the years scientists have looked into the possibility that black holes could be wormholes <https://www.space.com/20881-wormholes.html> to other galaxies. They may even be, as some have suggested, a path to another universe. Such an idea has been floating around for some time: Einstein <https://www.space.com/15524-albert-einstein.html> teamed up with Nathan Rosen to theorise bridges that connect two different points in space-time in 1935. But it gained some fresh ground in the 1980s when physicist Kip Thorne — one of the world's leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein's general theory of relativity — raised a discussion about whether objects could physically travel through them. "Reading Kip Thorne's popular book about wormholes is what first got me excited about physics as a child," Massey said. But it doesn't seem likely that wormholes exist.


(Image: © ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images)
Black holes are powerful engines of pure gravity <https://www.livescience.com/37115-what-is-gravity.html>, capable of pulling on objects so intensely that they can't possibly escape. When those objects near the event horizon, they're accelerated to incredible velocities. Now, some physicists are suggesting harnessing the gravitational pull of black holes to create ferocious particle accelerators. The trick, the new study finds, is to carefully set everything up so that particles <https://www.livescience.com/65427-fundamental-elementary-particles.html> don't get lost forever in the insatiable black hole. This new insight may help us identify black holes from the streams of particles blasting away from them.


The Propulsion We’re Supplying, It’s Electrifying


Newton’s Third Law in Space
Since the beginning of the space program, people have been captivated by big, powerful rockets—like NASA’s Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo to the lunar surface, or the Space Launch System <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/overview.html> that will produce millions of pounds of thrust as it sends Artemis astronauts <https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-publishes-artemis-plan-to-land-first-woman-next-man-on-moon-in-2024/> back to the Moon. But what if the most powerful propulsion system in NASA’s toolbox produces less than one pound of thrust while reaching speeds of up to 200,000 mph? What if it costs less, carries more, and uses less fuel? This radical system is in-space electric propulsion. It can reduce the amount of fuel, or propellant, needed by up to 90% compared to chemical propulsion systems, saving millions in launch costs while providing greater mission flexibility.Chemical propulsion uses a fuel and an oxidizer, converting energy stored in the chemical bonds <https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-rocket-k4.html> of the propellants, to produce a short, powerful thrust, or what we see as fire. It’s loud and exciting, but not all that efficient. An electric propulsion system uses energy collected by either solar arrays (solar electric propulsion) or a nuclear reactor (nuclear electric propulsion) to generate thrust, eliminating many of the needs and limitations of storing propellants onboard. That power is then converted and used to ionize—or positively charge—inert gas propellants like Xenon and Krypton (no, it’s not from Superman’s home planet). A combination of electric and magnetic fields (Hall effect thruster <https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/sep-hall-thruster>) or an electrostatic (gridded ion <https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/sep/gridded-ion-thrusters-next-c/>) field then accelerates the ions and pushes them out of the thruster <https://www.nasa.gov/glenn/image-feature/2019/thruster-for-next-generation-spacecraft-undergoes-testing-at-glenn> driving the spacecraft to tremendous speeds over time. And instead of fire, its exhaust is a glowing greenish-blue trail, like something straight out of science fiction.

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ep_diagram_b.jpg>
A simple illustration of how electric propulsion systems work
Credits: NASA/ATS Lisa Liuzzo
Drag race vs. road trip

A chemical spacecraft is a top fuel dragster as it departs Earth’s orbit toward its destination. The initial burst is quite powerful, but it can really only go in the direction it’s pointing when you stomp on the gas pedal. The spacecraft is off like a bullet, but after its fuel supply is exhausted, there is little ability to speed up, slow down or change direction. So, the mission is locked into specific launch windows and orbital departure timeframes, and it can make only minimal corrections along the way. An electric propulsion spacecraft, once it’s in space, is out for a cross-country drive, limited only by the gas in the tank. The initial thrust is quite low, but it can continue accelerating for months or even years, and it can also slow down and change direction. NASA’s Dawn mission <https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/dawn/overview/> is a perfect example. After launch, it accelerated toward Vesta in the asteroid belt. Because of the spacecraft’s small solar arrays it took over five years to get there, but as it approached, the spacecraft flipped 180-degrees, burned its thrusters to slow down and orbited for a year. When it was done, it fired back up and traveled to Ceres, where it still orbits today. This wouldn’t be possible with chemically propelled spacecraft. Systems like the one on Dawn are in wide use across NASA and the commercial sector, typically operating in the 1-10 kilowatt (kW) range. But as we prepare to use electric propulsion for more complex science and technology missions, and on human missions for the first time, we’re going to need more power.
More power for people!
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) <https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-artemis-contract-for-lunar-gateway-power-propulsion> for Gateway will demonstrate advanced, high-power solar electric propulsion around the Moon. It is a 60kW-class spacecraft, 50 of which can be dedicated to propulsion, making it about four times more powerful than current electric propulsion spacecraft. We do this not by building one big thruster, but by combining several into a string with giant solar arrays <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/roll-out-solar-array-technology-benefits-for-nasa-commercial-sector>.
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iac5_gateway_ppehalo_000.png>
An illustration of the PPE-HALO in lunar orbit.
Credits: NASA
 <applewebdata://91C048A0-5759-4E47-AEEB-4D6B2DB007ED>

This advanced system will allow our orbiting platform to support lunar exploration for 15 years given its high fuel economy, and its ability to move while in orbit will allow explorers to land virtually anywhere on the Moon’s surface. While it’s a critical piece of our Artemis lunar exploration plans, the PPE will also help drive U.S. commercial investments in higher power electric propulsion systems, like those that could be used to get to Mars.

Next stop, Mars 
Future Mars transfer vehicles will need around 400kW-2 megawatts of power to successfully ferry our astronauts or cargo to and from the Red Planet. We’re still exploring vehicle and propulsion concepts for Mars, including a combination of nuclear electric and chemical propulsion and other emerging options like Nuclear Thermal Propulsion <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/Nuclear_Thermal_Propulsion_Deep_Space_Exploration>. No matter how we get to the Moon and eventually Mars <https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars>, one thing is for certain… the future of space exploration is exciting, one might even say it’s electrifying.
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nep_mars_no_planets.png>
Illustration of a Mars transit habitat and nuclear propulsion system that could one day take astronauts to Mars.
Credits: NASA Top Image: A solar electric propulsion Hall Effect thruster being tested under vacuum conditions at NASA.



  NASA Glenn Research CenterA NASA astronaut "sealed" 20 years of crewed operations on the International Space Station <https://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html> with his and his two crewmates' safe return to Earth.



Credits: NASA Jimi Russell,
"Twenty years ago my astro-SEAL mentor, Captain Bill Shepherd, assumed command of Expedition 1 <http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-110215d-space-station-15-years.html>. Now we are book-ending those two decades of manned ISS operations with U.S. Navy SEAL astronauts in space," Cassidy wrote on Twitter <https://twitter.com/Astro_SEAL/status/1318613477070573569> a day before his return to Earth.

Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner's departure from the space station marked the end of Expedition 63, with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos on board the ISS to start Expedition 64 <http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-101920a-iss-expedition-64-patch-rubins.html>. The Soyuz MS-16 crew undocked their spacecraft from the space-facing port of the station's Russian Poisk module at 7:32 p.m. EDT (2332 GMT).

Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner were met after landing by recovery forces, who helped them out of the Soyuz and provided initial medical checks as they began to readjust to the pull of gravity after 196 days off the planet.



Ghostly 'UFO cloud' hovering over mountains wows judges in weather photo contest <https://futureplc.slgnt.eu/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=tXWtZuhVAfHzfr0ll8On8RDoZdp2dNLWKdFpWcL9qcQI2DPJlYWajLle6IUDZ1vlGmcG8kTafkaNJYs3Sf5L_FP8tyJxEva2v_4koADxqnvL8iI9hF>


 <http://www.livescience.com/>

An eerie lenticular cloud forms over El Chalten mountain in Argentina
(Image: © Francisco Javier Negroni Rodriguez)

A ghostly white saucer hovers over the peaks of El Chaltén in southern Argentina. As wind thrashes the nearby clouds, the saucer remains fixed above the craggy summit, anchored in the sky like a mothership surveying the hills below.

It's not aliens. (Sorry … it's never aliens <https://www.livescience.com/56963-aliens-are-never-the-answer.html>). It's just a friendly neighborhood "UFO cloud" — better known in meteorological circles as a standing lenticular cloud <https://www.livescience.com/18220-lenticular-cloud-formation.html>.

This eerie weather phenomenon is relatively common in mountainous regions like El Chaltén, or the Rocky Mountains <https://www.livescience.com/18220-lenticular-cloud-formation.html> in the U.S., where high-speed winds ricochet over a tall peak, creating a distinct lens- or saucer-shaped cloud formation high in the sky. Still, photographer Francisco Javier Negroni Rodriguez <https://twitter.com/Negronifoto>— whose photo above is a finalist in the Royal Meteorological Society's (RMS) 2020 Weather Photographer of the Year contest — had to wait the better part of a day to capture the cloud in its mysterious glory.




Another contest runner-up shows this 'monster' storm rearing its head over Umag, Croatia. (Image credit: Maja Kraljik)

SpaceX adds another 60 satellites to Starlink network <https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/24/spacex-adds-another-60-satellites-to-starlink-network/>

 <https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/24/spacex-adds-another-60-satellites-to-starlink-network/>
October 24, 2020
SpaceX successfully deployed 60 more Starlink internet satellites in orbit Saturday, continuing a record launch cadence while engineers assess a concern with Falcon 9 rocket engines that has delayed other missions, including the next crew flight to the International Space Station.
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