Space.com
• Mike Wall
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to install the International Space Station’s final roll-out solar array during a spacewalk on Nov. 5. The Houston flight-control team approved the excursion, which will advance work to modernize the orbital laboratory’s power system.
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NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk are scheduled to install the International Space Station’s final roll-out solar array during a spacewalk on Nov. 5. The Houston flight-control team approved the excursion, which will advance work to modernize the orbital laboratory’s power system.
China and the United States are again competing to send people to the moon, in a contest that carries stakes beyond exploration. The report frames lunar leadership as a potential source of geopolitical influence and economic and military advantage, with China seeking a larger role in space.
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NASA says the X-70 Fractal will serve as an experimental aircraft, but the announcement provides little detail on its design, schedule or research objectives. The program adds a new aircraft to NASA’s flight-research portfolio; further specifics will determine what technologies it is intended to advance.
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NASA says the high-performance, adaptable X-70 Fractal will serve as a crewed experimental platform for flight-control research and testing advanced aviation technologies. Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the subsonic X-plane program on Nov. 4 at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center; the agency has provided few further program details.
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NASA selected Viasat, SES and Astranis to develop Ka-band relay concepts that can serve existing spacecraft without onboard modifications, while SES reported a two-way optical link demonstration between ground and space. Separately, SSC Space and ArkEdge agreed on ground services, and ITU rulings addressed deadline extensions for satellite programs in Korea, Thailand and Oman.
NASA’s Artemis II launch created a large disturbance in Earth’s ionosphere, according to the reports, with the resulting hole potentially causing a temporary reduction in GPS accuracy. The event highlights how powerful rocket launches can affect the atmospheric conditions that satellite-navigation signals traverse.
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Democrats’ midterm gains shifted control of congressional committees responsible for NASA funding and Space Force oversight, raising the prospect of closer scrutiny for SpaceX and defense spending. In Texas, the electoral shift also puts deals Elon Musk struck with the state at risk, while defense stocks fell on spending concerns.
Starfish Space’s Otter spacecraft has switched off its communications link after a problem with its fault-protection system, ending its mission to inspect inoperable satellites. The loss of contact cuts short a NASA-funded demonstration of the company’s satellite-servicing vehicle.
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