HEKA

02/21/2023

Don’t miss the live coverage for SpaceX’s Crew - 6 mission launch on Sunday, the 26th!

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon spacecraft atop, is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space, Florida on Feb 26th, targeted for 2:07 am. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the space-facing port of the Harmony module at 2:54 am on Feb 27. The Harmony module is an internal connecting port and passageway to the international science labs and cargo spacecraft.

What is their role?

Crew-6 will conduct scientific research that includes various concepts and experiments like analyzing specific material burns in microgravity, biological research like tissue chips on the heart and brain, collecting microbial samples from the outside of the space station, and many more!

ISS is a place where astronauts have lived and worked for more than 22 years. These kinds of commercial crew missions/research activities enable NASA to test new technologies in an innovative way and help pave a way for long-duration missions through the Artemis Program!

NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.

02/12/2023

Is space debris steadily increasing?

The number of space debris and the total areas they take up in orbit has been an increasing issue since the space age. This is further fueled by in-orbit break-ups of spacecraft due to several external factors. With orbital velocities, even a small screw can hit with a very high force, thus making it extremely challenging to avoid.

On the brighter side, several guidelines and techniques are being implemented that comply with debris mitigation measures. To name one, ClearSpace, a start-up that focuses on space debris removal and in-orbit servicing, recently raised about $28.9 million for its first space debris removal mission.

Scheduled to launch in 2026, the mission commissioned by the European Space Agency is to remove a 112 kg Vespa secondary payload adapter left in the ArianeSpace Vega launch in 2013.

Learn about this debris removal spacecraft in the link below which has four robotic arms that can reach out and capture space junk. Once it grabs the debris, the spacecraft will push itself back into the Earth’s atmosphere. This is achieved by advanced GNC systems and vision based- AI, with which the chaser satellite can safely and autonomously close to the target body for capture.

What potential challenges do you think can arise that need to be addressed for framing strategic plans for debris removal?

The financing will be used to help pay for the company’s first space debris removal mission.

02/09/2023

Heard about the Deep Space Food Challenge?

It is a competition held by NASA, coordinated with the Canadian Space Agency that seeks several teams to create novel food production technologies for long-duration, outer space missions! The solution to this challenge can be a revolution that could create new paths to food production, support resource-scarce regions and provide support to disaster-prone regions.

Recently, in phase 2 of the public completion, NASA selected 11 finalists from among several teams around the world. This is a great approach to innovative creative methods that would make future voyagers stay comfortable in such isolated environments!

Some of the innovative systems include creating food using CO2 and fungal proteins and designing closed-loop systems to grow vegetables, where its technical feasibility is examined by a panel of judges. One exciting fact about this is that two of the teams, Kernel Deltech and Interstellar Lab are from Cape Canaveral and Meritt Island respectively! Deltech is focused on producing inactivated fungal biomass using a continuous cultivation technique. Interstellar focuses on producing fresh microgreens for long-term space applications.

The winners of the phase 2 challenge are scheduled to be announced in April 2023. Stay tuned for more info!

NASA has selected 11 finalists in Phase 2 of the Deep Space Food Challenge, a public competition to extend the limits of humans in space – through food.

02/07/2023

Ever heard of green hydrogen plants?

Hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. This technology has the power to make a global transition to achieving net zero emissions and carbon-free electricity in the future.

Recently, Florida Power and Light company announced a project to create carbon-free energy. The FPL Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub is the first green hydrogen plant in the sunshine state! This kind of pilot project is a great step to innovate technology that could lead to a completely carbon-free energy one day!

How does this work?

Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyzer. The oxygen is dissipated into the air and the hydrogen is stored in a compressed state. This will then be blended with natural gas at one of the power generation units. The major difference compared to conventional methods of hydrogen production is the elimination of carbon-di-oxide. Apart from this, this initiative can also create many high-paying jobs and economic benefits for the state!

It is interesting to see several advancements in using renewable energy sources. Read more about this initiative in the link attached below!

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) recently broke ground on a first-of-its-kind pilot program that will use sunlight and water to create carbon-free energy. The FPL Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub is the first ‘green hydrogen’ plant of its kind in the Sunshine State.

01/25/2023

Space collaboration strengthens the relationship between nations on the path to future space exploration. One of the most successful acts of such a collaboration is the International Space Station which we hear about every day! Having this level of collaboration in an extra-terrestrial environment would promote the growth of the human race significantly!

Recently, representatives from the United States and Japan signed a collaborative agreement between the two nations to promote partnership and move forward together at the NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Joint activities between the countries include space science exploration, space transportation and safety, aeronautical science development, and so on. These agreements could promote several things such as developing unified space policies for outer space, developing educational activities, and working together on disaster management and relief plans. What other advantages do you think such collaborations could provide?

One of the revolutions happening in our lifetime is the democratization of space. Once the focus of a handful of countries, the mission has widened to include collaboration between nations to open up the final frontier.

01/12/2023

Have you heard about hydrogen-powered trains?

They use hydrogen as the fuel in the cell with the addition of oxygen, which generates electrical energy, causing water to be the only by-product. This is a great application using the most abundant element found in the universe! This technique is safe, environmentally friendly, and uses fewer fossil fuels.

Recently, the Chinese rail industry introduced its first model of a hydrogen-powered train, which has a maximum speed of about 160 km/h! Its built-in hydrogen system can travel up to 600 kilometers on a single charge. Heard of a catenary power supply that has overhead wires powering a train? This concept can be replaced by hydrogen fuel cells and supercapacitors.

The rail industry is actively moving towards ‘hydrail’ solutions. What do you think might be the challenges with hydrogen production and distribution network in this area?

The train's first model came off the assembly line this week and marks a next step in a Chinese train industry that has seen phenomenal growth recently

01/11/2023

Phasing out of compact fluorescent light bulbs?

Did you know that the Department of Energy proposed phasing out of compact fluorescent light bulbs as part of our current administration’s efforts to create a completely energy-efficient market for light production? These standards aimed at phasing out less efficient bulbs were passed previously but unwound.

The current administration resumed the implementation, which could be a potential step toward reducing the nation’s carbon footprint. The Department of Energy also estimated that we could save about 20 billion in consumer costs and about 131 million metric tons of carbon in the upcoming three decades! Using the current efficient LED bulbs in many applications can significantly reduce energy costs as well as climatic pollution from power plant operations.

On the other hand, LED reduces greenhouse emissions from power plants as they consume less power per unit of emitted light (lumens). Roughly speaking, one LED will minimize greenhouse gas emissions by almost half a ton! Using LED lights has several other advantages, even reducing light pollution and increasing energy savings. With longer life spans and lower carbon emissions, this implementation could be considered a crucial one toward the development of a sustainable environment!

A proposed Department of Energy rule would phase out the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to remove less energy-efficient bulbs from the market. …

12/08/2022

Orion spacecraft heads back home!!

On December 6th, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft that was launched on board SLS exited the moon’s gravitational influence and will splash down the coast of California on December 11. Mission Artemis 1 marks the first test flight of the mega-rocket Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft.

The spacecraft has been circumnavigating the moon and then entered into a distant retrograde orbit, which allows it to fly beyond 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon. This is the farthest any spacecraft has traveled that is designed to carry humans!

Being in the final stretch of its journey, Orion captured different views by passing above the surface of the moon including the Apollo landing sites. After its second close fly-by, which was about 80 miles above the lunar surface, Orion fired up its main engine, creating its longest burn (about 3.5 minutes), which set its path back home.

The much-awaited Artemis I mission set a historic path, traveling more than 1.3 million miles in space, ensuring the viability of its current systems, thereby paving a way for the upcoming manned missions to the moon!

Follow the latest updates on the Artemis blog website!

Artemis I Flight Day 22 – Orion Continues on its Journey Back to Earth   art001e002164 (Dec. 5, 2022): Cameras mounted on the crew module of the Orion spacecraft captured these views of the Moon’s surface. On flight day 20 of the Artemis I mission, the spacecraft made its second and final close...

12/01/2022

Experiencing space travel is something that is being highly anticipated in recent times!!

The company Space Perspective becomes the first Global Space Travel Experience company. On November 15, 2022, Space Perspective unveiled MS Voyager, the world’s first Marine Spaceport for human spaceflight at the Kennedy Space Center. A spaceport is a site for launching and receiving spacecraft. This is a milestone leading to developing the concept of launching from Marine based sites. This adds great value to sustainability in space journeys. This also helps in removing obstacles with geographic borders to launch and land spacecraft.

With this concept, it is possible to easily navigate to areas with good weather conditions, thereby creating opportunities for all year-round operations. This development has so many advantages for building safe and sustainable space travel.

The investment of this company in the Space Coast provides several opportunities and developments in the workforce.
Follow the link below to learn more about Space Perspective!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SPACE PERSPECTIVE BECOMES FIRST GLOBAL SPACE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE COMPANY Acquisition of the First in a Fleet of Ships to Be Converted into a Marine Spaceport (MS) Clears Path to International Scale The EDC is proud to

11/29/2022

The recent Artemis I mission, which carried NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft recently reached its farthest distance from Earth, about 268,563 miles away. The entire mission is 25.5 days, and the spacecraft recently reached its halfway point on Day 13. Flight controllers of this mission recently accomplished about 37.5% of the test objectives, a few of them to be evaluated during reentry, splashdown, and recovery.

The Exploration Ground Systems and the US Navy are beginning their initial operations of the recovery procedures for the spacecraft splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Around 5640 pounds of propellants have been used, which was about 150 pounds less than the expected prelaunch values.

This mission surpassed the mission distance of Apollo 13, creating a new record for the spacecraft!

NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft reached the farthest distance from Earth it will travel during the Artemis I mission — 268,563 miles from our home planet — just after 3 p.m. CST. The spacecraft also captured imagery of Earth and the Moon together throughout the day, including of the Moon appe...

11/21/2022

One of the key accelerators in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market that is determined to change the current transport experiences is EmbraerX.

EmbraerX is a subsidiary of the Embraer group, that focuses on developing eVTOL aircraft for Urban Air Mobility. The main design elements for operating a UAM concept are optimal safety and reliability, human-centered design and features, redundant systems, and a low noise footprint to operate in a community. Passenger comfort and accessibility for everyone is one of the key considerations.

With these under consideration, the company unveiled its first full-sized cabin mock-up of the Eve eVTOL passenger air taxi aircraft this year at the Farnborough International airshow exhibition. Further development of the Eve aircraft will take place through Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, an offshoot of EmbraerX.

These innovative developments pave an excellent way to create the concepts of air taxis and transportation over the coming decade, making the aviation industry very exciting!

Want to know more about the specifications of Eve? Click on the link below.

11/21/2022

Dassault Aviation selects Florida’s space coast to open its new maintenance facility! This provides nearly 400 job opportunities to Brevard, leading to strong economic growth in Central Florida!

The Dassault Falcon Jet, which is a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, was announced by the Melbourne Orlando International Airport and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC). This facility can provide valuable job opportunities with about an annual wage of $86,120, prompting a capital investment of $115 million. EDC worked with several state and local partners to acquire this competitive project. The construction of this facility is intended to take place around the second quarter of 2023, setting the path for its opening around 2024.

What can this facility do?

Intending to serve many customers including north and south America, the facility ranges up to 175,000 square feet, accommodating the current Falcon models, and is capable of performing modifications and maintenance of about 18 Falcon models simultaneously. It can perform full-range inspections, overhauls, and repairs, with engineering and modifications when necessary. It is intended to serve as a large distribution hub.

This is another step towards workforce development and reinforces additional strength in our growing reputation in the aerospace and aviation sector!

The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) and the Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) announced Dassault Falcon Jet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, a global leader in the aerospace industry, has selected Florida’s Space Coast for its new major ...