Dan Dumbacher

Advanced Power for Extreme Space Exploration! Consider submitting an abstract to this special session we are putting together at the AIAA SciTech 2025 Conference. Go to aiaa.org/SciTech to submit your abstract, and select “Other Topics in Aerospace Power Systems."

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Those are not 'lights' on outer-hull perimeter of the #CTPcraft filmed here (https://lnkd.in/ehwEnkfR). Those 'lights' are part of the CEMAS™ Arrays which are part of the CTP Propulsion Systems (CTPPS) utilized to control/modulate Gravity via the CTP Energy Cycle™. DISCLAIMER: Providing this footage wasn't faked. "This was faked" lulz Whatever. #newscience #propulsionsystems #propulsion #deeptech #deeptechstartup #spacecapital #newspacecapital #newspace #newspaceeconomy #heiroftesla

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Since a few years, the largest and most prestigious aerospace organization in the world (30,000 members), the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), has formed a dedicated committee of high-profile professionals, organizing a specific UAP panel at AIAA conferences welcoming scientific papers to stimulate an open discussion on such a complex and multi-disciplinary topic (including material science, relativistic physics, propulsion, RF communication, electromagnetism, plasma physics, hypersonics, etc.). Whether some people accept it or not (an increasing number of people do...), UAP has been established as a topic worth of scientific study in the space science/engineering community. Potential outcomes can lead to a giant leap in scientific knowledge towards developing revolutionary space and green energy technologies. Add to this the need for ensuring safety for both military and civil flights in presence of these objects.

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When we talk about #Space #Logistics, it's important to know that Industry, such as Intelsat and Northrop Grumman, have already started and everyone can learn from these lessons and accelerate capability. Don't waste money and time on long studies and further analysis of the problem. #JustDoIt

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🚀🛰️ "Arctic Connection: Satellites Set to Launch Early" 🛰️🚀 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gPRdMJUx 1️⃣ 🛡️ "Secure Skies Ahead" 🛡️ Northrop Grumman's ASBM-1 and ASBM-2 satellites, built on the GEOStar-3 platform, are ready to revolutionize Arctic communication. Hosting the U.S. military’s EPS-R payload, these satellites mark the first operational U.S. military payload on a commercial vehicle operated by an international partner. 2️⃣ 🌐 "Broadband Breakthrough" 🌐 Launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in July, these satellites promise constant broadband coverage over the North Pole. This crucial step addresses the underserved high-latitude areas, ensuring robust internet connectivity where it’s needed most. 3️⃣ 🌍 "Global Collaboration in Orbit" 🌍 The ASBM satellites host payloads from multiple entities, including the Norwegian Armed Forces and Viasat. This international effort showcases a unique partnership to enhance secure communications and monitoring capabilities in the challenging Arctic environment. Polar orbits, global impacts—these satellites are cooler than ever! #ArcticBroadband #SatelliteLaunch #NorthropGrumman #SpaceX #SpaceInnovation #GlobalConnectivity #MilitaryTech #Viasat @NorthropGrumman @SpaceX

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The tech industrial base is the new defense industrial base, according to this article. I would be a bit more specific that it's the deep tech industry that's emerging as a competitor to the historic defense industrial sector. It's no secret that the private sector is where most of the big #deeptech advancements and nascent technological developments occur, particularly in areas such as #quantumcomputing, #biotech, #space, and #AI. With a higher concentration of talent, capital, and competition to drive commercialization, it's crucial for the #USA 🇺🇸 and its Allies to lean in on this resource. We can't out centrally plan our adversaries or steal more #IP, but we can win through capitalism. One easy way is to better engage technology companies in considering dual-use applications. Dual-use is a term for the approach whereby a technology or application can be used for both a commercial opportunity and a national security need. Capitalists, #VCs, and capital markets love dual-use because that means adding a customer in Uncle Sam with deep pockets and a second source of income for one product. -GSP- #spaceeconomy #4thindustrialrevolution MilkyWayEconomy United States Space Force #DoD @The Space Economy

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As NASA focuses on exploring the Moon, Mars, and the solar system for the benefit of humanity, the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is shifting how it prioritizes technology development. As part of this refinement effort, NASA is asking the American aerospace community for feedback on nearly 190 national space technology needs – or shortfalls – it has identified for future space exploration and science endeavors https://lnkd.in/gp4CCJS8

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Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) analysis of 18 loss of control accidents concluded that providing pilots with Synthetic Vision System (SVS) with HUD symbology (flight path marker, acceleration chevron, speed deviation tape) is the #1 mitigation for flight crew loss of attitude and energy awareness. Instrument pilots in training learned quickly that one peak was worth a thousand cross-checks - SVS can provide all that and more! https://lnkd.in/g---ykge

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Military planners thinking about Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) conjunctions with satellites in GEO. Our recent United States Space Force Senior Level Education (SLE) graduates at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) had the opportunity to think about it. "...at 5:45 EDT (11:45 CEST) on Friday, April 13, 2029, ...an asteroid of 'dinosaur killer' size [will traverse] safely past Earth. Asteroid Apophis is, at about 1,230 feet (375 meters) across, larger than 90% of space rocks. It will pass just 31,600 kilometers from Earth’s surface, the closest approach of an asteroid of this size that humankind has ever experienced. It will pass between Earth’s geostationary satellites and the Atlantic Ocean, just a tenth of the distance between Earth and the moon." This spring our USSF Senior Level Education (SLE) students were required to develop a crisis plan for a similar situation. Part of the crisis they had to plan for was an asteroid having a conjunction with satellites in GEO. It was impressive to hear their thoughts and plans for that type of crisis. Great work 2024 West Space Scholars (listed below)! Kellie Brownlee Marshall Tillis Mate Ærandir Shaun Posey Simone Davis Justin Moeykens Martin Poon Leah C. Shubin Maxwell Fuldauer Jason Cano Scott Carstetter Ben Andera Rod Houser Mark Olmstead

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Hot off the presses: "Building an Enduring Advantage in the Third Space Age." Some key findings: - The United States accounted for roughly half of global launches in 2023, and it made up 81% of effective launch capacity. - More satellites were launched in the past five years (2019–23) than in all previous years combined. - In 2023, 78% of satellites launched were from the United States and 84% were for commercial missions. - The US advantage in space rests largely on America’s lead in space technology. - To turn this temporary lead into an enduring advantage, the United States must build on sources of national power that run deeper than technology: the combination of free markets, an open society, and access to capital, which enable the engine of innovation behind this technology. Three Areas of Recommendations: 1. Reduce obstacles for new launch vehicles and companies. - Expand the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. - Increase Space Force funding for launch-range operations and infrastructure modernization. - Revise the Space Force’s launch acquisition strategy to create more opportunities for new entrants. 2. Press the advantage to accelerate US military and intelligence space missions. - Develop much larger intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. - Deploy a tactical ISR layer as part of the Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). - Accelerate the development and use of space logistics, in-space servicing, and spacelift. - Begin using commercial ISR capabilities for immediate combatant command support and to better inform PWSA tactical ISR layer requirements. 3. Enhance the lure of international partnerships with NASA to achieve broader space policy goals. - Expand opportunities in the Artemis program. - Develop novel deep-space missions that take advantage of new super-heavy launch vehicles. - Negotiate a new multilateral agreement that builds on the Artemis Accords and includes more specific and binding requirements. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gy7aiUT3

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VISTA is a key enabler for the ACE program, allowing Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) performers to try out new behaviors and capabilities "on the fly"... literally while flying crazy fast. The press has picked up the story of autonomous AI vs human dog fights, but it is so much more than that. The program is also showing the DoD a faster way to push capabilities out to the warfighter. By providing a fast way to try things out and get feedback from the warfighter, there is potential to accelerate the acquisition process from years to months... to minutes and seconds. If you think I'm exaggerating the impact, consider that PhysicsAI, EpiSci, and #ShieldAI loaded new behaviors into a jet while it was flying and then tested those behaviors in a dog fight against a human-controlled fighter F-16. Imagine if new AI derived capabilities could be uploaded using an "app-store" model? Sound far fetched? In Ukraine, warfighters are iterating on an hour by hour basis to adapt to changing situations and enemy tactics. To support seamless adaptation we need to invest in an underlying framework that supports interoperability and over the air updates. Dan "Animal" Javorsek, PhD Chris Gentile, Bo Ryu, Anna Skinner,

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NOAA has raised the alert level for geomagnetic storms expected following the four Earth-directed CMEs to G4, (G5 is the highest), for early May 11 (UTC). Meanwhile, actually right now, the same active region 3664 released another X1.12 class flare 💥 This could mean ⬇️ Power systems: Possible widespread voltage control problems and some protective systems will mistakenly trip out key assets from the grid. Spacecraft operations: May experience surface charging and tracking problems, corrections may be needed for orientation problems. Other systems: Induced pipeline currents affect preventive measures, HF radio propagation sporadic, satellite navigation degraded for hours, low-frequency radio navigation disrupted, and aurora has been seen as low as Alabama and northern California (typically 45° geomagnetic lat.). - from NOAA website Stay tuned!

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ORION HEAT SHIELD of ARTEMIS I: What went wrong? Should we be worried? Heat shields are critical. “They either work or they don’t,” said Matt Gasch of NASA to Smithsonian Magazine in 2019 [1]. If they fail catastrophically, the crew vehicle burns up on reentry. They are a “single point of failure,” Gasch elaborated [1]. But what if they only “partially” fail? The world witnessed the success of the Artemis I mission, culminating with the descent and recovery of the Orion capsule. It appeared “picture perfect.” However, recent post flight analysis has shown some cause for concern. Howard Hu, NASA Program Manager of Orion, said, and I quote, "We're seeing larger…pieces that are coming off versus being ablated [2].” He further stated, “So we had more liberation of the char material during reentry before we landed than we had expected [2].” To be clear, pieces of ablative heat shield that leave in chunks are unable to perform their critical heat removing role. This is a concern because the Artemis mission is more challenging than any previous mission. “Orion came home faster and hotter than any spacecraft prior, traveling at 24,500 mph in 5,000 degree Fahrenheit temperatures [3].” Success hinges on the “new” Lockheed Martin heat shield. The material isn’t actually new, just the way they made it is new [4]. Could this be a problem? According to Lockheed Martin, “The heat shield’s TPS still features the same ablative material used in Apollo missions, but the building process has changed [4].” They don’t fill 300,000 small honeycombs with ablative, but use ~300 large “blocks” of machined ablative instead [4]. It is the same material but different processing. With the tremendous advances in both ablative and non-ablative TPS materials in recent decades, it begs the question “Why are we still depending on legacy materials from the 1960’s anyway?” Is the Orion heat shield situation similar to what happened to the protective insulation blanket on top of the Space Shuttle? It was “re-engineered,” as an intended improvement, but came off in big chunks, instead of the original small pieces. This caused catastrophic damage to the RCC leading edge of the Columbia. Shouldn’t the anomalies observed with the Artemis I heat shield be fully vetted before Artemis II launches with a human crew on board in November 2024? Well of course! While Artemis I returned safely, was that to be expected? Was it just good luck? How truly robust is this heat shield? 1.      Gabriel Munoz, “NASA’s Orion Heat Shield: Old Materials, Applied With New Methods,” September 2019, Smithsonian Magazine. 2.      Elisha Sauers, “NASA reveals its moon spacecraft was damaged as it plummeted to Earth,” March 8, 2023, Mashable.com. 3.      Ramish Zafar, “NASA Discusses Heat Shield Surprise After Orion Spacecraft’s Return from The Moon,” Mar 7, 2023, WCCF TECH. 4.      Source Lockheed Martin website. I posted the above comments one year ago. Reality has caught up.

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I haven't really drilled down into this one yet, but I gather that the problem is rooted in CFCs, where the news is good and (with a final treaty-based phaseout of the least-bad ozone-eaters) getting better. It seems that aluminum oxides from satellite-reentry incinerations tend to reboost chlorine in the high upper atmosphere, and its the thousands of reactions per chlorine atom that eat ozone. But chlorine is highly reactive. How does it even get up there as individual atoms? Well, CFCs are the transport medium, and once at high-enough altitude, UV chops up the CFCs, liberating chlorine. Still, it's troubling that we could be losing some years of ozone recovery. But I think there's a silver lining in the satellite cloud if people take satellite design sooner in a direction it should probably go anyway. And that direction is to do final assembly of satellites in orbit. The mass savings could be dramatic, because a lot of a satellite is structural mass that's required only to survive the stresses of rocket launch. Once in orbit, you need far less structural mass, which also would save on orbit-adjustment propellant. The satellites need to be carried to orbit on an upper stage anyway. Why not sacrifice a little of the payload volume to robotic assembly equipment? It could easily pay for its own mass by enabling reductions in the mass of the satellites. For that matter, it could more than pay for itself in payload volume. If, for example, structural components could be made of plastic that's fed into injection molders and additive manufacturing systems ("3D printing"), a tub of plastic takes up less payload volume than if the structural components were finished products awaiting orbital assembly. Problems create opportunities. OSAM for preserving the ozone layer could have the pleasing effect of goosing constellation cost-performance to a whole new level.

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The more observations about the weather and climate we have, the better informed we are to make decisions about the future.

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CisLunar Industries has been awarded a contract with DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for the LunA-10 (The 10-Year Lunar Architecture) capability study to advance critical technology efforts in lunar infrastructure development. CisLunar Industries will facilitate the development of the METAL framework (Material Extraction, Treatment, Assembly & Logistics), in collaboration with 13 other visionary companies. The LunA-10 program aims to study the rapid development of non-terrestrial technology concepts designed to move away from individual scientific efforts within isolated, self-sufficient systems and toward a series of shareable, scalable, resource-driven systems that can operate jointly, creating monetizable services for future lunar stakeholders. https://lnkd.in/eV_zNCCc

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