Space.com
• Mike Wall
China has outlined a roadmap to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, setting its timeline against NASA’s stated goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. The parallel targets sharpen the competition between the two space programs, though the article provides no further details of China’s plan.
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China has outlined a roadmap to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, setting its timeline against NASA’s stated goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. The parallel targets sharpen the competition between the two space programs, though the article provides no further details of China’s plan.
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 subsonic X-70 Fractal will be a modular, crewed research aircraft for testing advanced flight controls and other experimental technologies. The agency says the aircraft’s rapidly reconfigurable controls will support flight research, with its first flight under NASA planned within the next two years.
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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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