We live in an age of renewed space exploration‚ colloquially known as Space Age 2.0. Unlike the previous one‚ this new space age is characterized by inter-agency cooperation and collaboration between space agencies and the commercial space industry (aka. NewSpace). In addition to sending crews back to the Moon and onto Mars‚ a major objective of the current space age is the commercialization of Low Earth Orbit (LEO). That means large constellations of satellites‚ debris mitigation‚ and plenty of commercial space stations. To accommodate this commercial presence in LEO‚ Sierra Space has developed the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat‚ an inflatable module that can be integrated into future space stations. As part of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program‚ NASA‚ Sierra Space‚ and ILC Dover (the Delaware-based engineering manufacturing company) recently conducted a full-scale burst pressure test of their LIFE habitat. The test occurred at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville‚ Alabama‚ and was caught on video (see below). Commercial space has become one of the fastest-growing businesses on Earth. In the past decade‚ the space economy has expanded by over 60% and is currently valued at around $400 billion. This is expected to grow considerably in the coming years as launch services increase‚ small satellites (CubeSats) become more affordable‚ and orbital stations are built. As the International Space Station (ISS) nears retirement‚ these commercial stations will provide opportunities for research and development‚ orbital manufacturing‚ and space tourism. Sierra Space‚ the developer of the Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane‚ has demonstrated its commitment to the commercialization of LEO and the NewSpace economy. The first iteration of their inflatable habitat‚ LIFE 1.0‚ measures 6 meters (~20 feet) long and 9 meters (~30 feet) in diameter and can be launched using conventional rockets and inflates once in orbit. With a volume of 285 cubic meters (over 10‚000 ft3)‚ it can accommodate four astronauts‚ with additional room for science experiments‚ exercise equipment‚ and Sierra Space’s Astro Garden® plant-growing system. The purpose of a burst pressure test is to gauge the structural tolerances of a component‚ be it a fuel tank or an inflatable module. The data gained from this test will assist engineers in simulating how the module will fare in the vacuum of space. Once development and testing are complete‚ the module will be used on commercial space stations like Orbital Reef‚ a collaborative effort between Blue Origin and Sierra Space. Future versions‚ like Life 2.0 and 3.0‚ will offer additional volume and be able to accommodate larger crews and more science operations. According to their National Strategic Plan (released in 2022)‚ one of NASA’s strategic goals is to develop a human spaceflight economy in collaboration with the NewSpace industry. In 2021‚ as part of a Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs) project‚ NASA Space Act Agreements with three companies to design commercial space stations. This includes the Orbital Reef proposed by Blue Origin and Sierra Space‚ the Starlab space station by Nanoracks LLC‚ Voyager Space‚ Lockheed Martin‚ and Northrop Grumman’s free flyer commercial space station. Starlab‚ from Nanoracks‚ Voyager Space‚ and Lockheed Martin – a continuously crewed‚ free-flying commercial space station in low-Earth Orbit. Credits: NanoRacks/Lockheed Martin/Voyager Space As per NASA’s plan‚ creating a human spaceflight economy will ensure continued research and development in space while “allowing NASA to focus Government resources on the challenges of deep space exploration through Artemis.” Another goal is to maintain the legacy of the ISS long past its retirement: “Since its inception‚ industry‚ academia‚ and our international partners have used the International Space Station (ISS) as a testbed for research and the development and maturation of state-of-the-art systems that increase access to space. NASA is supporting new space stations from which we and other customers can purchase services and stimulate the growth of commercial human spaceflight activities. As commercial LEO destinations become available‚ we intend to implement an orderly transition from current ISS operations to these new commercial destinations.” Further Reading: Sierra Space The post Watch a House-Sized Space Habitat (Intentionally) Burst appeared first on Universe Today.

In the beginning‚ the Universe was so hot and so dense that light could not travel far. Photons were emitted‚ scattered‚ and absorbed as quickly as the photons in the heart of the brightest stars. But in time the cosmos expanded and cooled to the point that it became transparent‚ and the birthglow of the Big Bang could traverse space and time for billions of years. We still see it as the microwave cosmic background. As the Universe expanded it grew dark‚ filled only with warm clouds of hydrogen and helium. In time those clouds collapsed to form the first stars‚ and light again filled the heavens. None of the stars we see today were among those first stars. Modern stars are rich with elements such as carbon and iron. Heavier elements only formed in stellar cores and other astrophysical processes. The first stars we made only of hydrogen and helium. They must have been massive beasts‚ with fleeting lives that ended in brilliant supernova explosions. Only their remnants remain. There have been several deep sky searches for these first stars‚ but we have so far not seen them. There is some indirect evidence of them in the distant Universe‚ but we have not yet seen their light. Now a new study argues that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope might capture their dying radiance. How a TDE of a first-generation star might be observed. Credit: Chowdhury‚ et al Formally known as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)‚ The Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in late 2026. Like the JWST‚ it will observe the cosmos in infrared‚ but Roman will have a wider field of view. This will better enable it to find the highly redshifted light of the first stars. However‚ the authors note that given the short lifespan of these first stars‚ Roman will not likely observe them directly. They instead propose looking for evidence of these stars as they are consumed by a black hole. Specifically‚ the team proposes looking for what are known as Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs). When a star passes near a black hole‚ the gravitational tidal forces of the black hole can rip the star apart. As a result‚ the remnants of the star can be strewn across a large arc. This process takes time and creates a stream of heated gas. The authors modeled the emission spectra of this gas for a first-generation star and found they have a unique signature that lasts for a considerable amount of time. Much of the light from such a TDE would be emitted in the strong ultraviolet‚ but since they would occur at a cosmic redshift of about z = 10‚ the light we see would be shifted to the infrared‚ making it observable by JWST and the Roman Space Telescope. The authors note that the rate at which TDEs occur for first-generation stars depends on several factors‚ but given reasonable estimates Roman could expect to see tens of these TDEs per year. So in a few years‚ we might finally be able to capture the last dying light of the first stars. Reference: Chowdhury‚ Rudrani Kar‚ et al. “Detecting Population III Stars through Tidal Disruption Events in the Era of JWST and Roman.” arxiv preprint arXiv:2401.12752 (2024). The post Nancy Grace Roman Could Find the First Stars in the Universe appeared first on Universe Today.

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