Roman Space Telescope launches from KSC.
NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center Sunday morning. It’s now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit. This NASA science mission will help astronomers explore dark matter, dark energy, and worlds outside of our solar system, known as exoplanets. L3Harris Technologies built the Optical Telescope Assembly— the core "eye" of the Roman Space Telescope. And, according to the New York Times, a mirror from a spy satellite that was never built was donated by the National Reconnaissance Office to the project.
In other space news, the flight of the Crew-13 astronauts to the International Space Station has been delayed for the time being. The mission was originally scheduled for September 12th. An oxidizer leak on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is the cause of the delay.
A “perfect storm” to scuttle hurricane recovery.
A new analysis warns of a financial "perfect storm" for Florida's hurricane recovery efforts. The storm involves a combination of proposed state property tax cuts and potential reductions in federal disaster aid. Constitutional Amendment 3 would cut about $12 billion from local governments if passed by voters.
And a FEMA review has recommended reducing its reimbursement for public assistance, shifting more costs to local governments. A FEMA review council recommends reducing the amount of reimbursement after a disaster from 75% to just 50%. The non-partisan, non-profit Florida Policy Institute calls the moves a recipe for disaster, a “perfect storm.” It should be noted that the FEMA recommendations must be approved by Congress and there’s currently no timeline for that to happen. Florida’s Amendment 3 will be up to voters to decide on November 3rd.
Two weather system being watched.
Meteorologist Andrew Wulfeck from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network predicts former tropical storm Dolly may bring us rain later this week.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two areas for tropical activity. One area is to the west of Florida along the central Gulf Coast and is heading away from the Sunshine State. The other area is the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly that are making their way over the northern Caribbean islands. And while neither system is forecast to threaten Florida as a bonified tropical cyclone, their moisture plumes will aim to enhance rainfall this week and create some rough seas. Forecast models show several inches of rainfall, especially for southern parts of the peninsula, during the run up to the Labor Day weekend.
Andrew says we are now less than two weeks away from the peak of hurricane season. And although Florida has missed out on seeing a named storm so far, hurricanes can strike the state as late as November.
Dumping sand vs. dredging the muck…
Cocoa Beach is trying a different approach to de-muck the lagoon. Instead of dredging, the City will try dumping sand on the bottom muck. WFIT’s Terri Wright tells us more.
Millions have been spent dredging muck from the Lagoon. Now, Cocoa Beach and Brevard County are trying another approach in the Banana River Lagoon: covering the nutrient-rich muck with a foot-thick layer of sand.
The $41.1 million sand-capping project is designed to create a physical and chemical barrier that limits bacterial decay and helps improve water quality and seagrass habitat. Muck can restrict seagrass growth and contribute to fish kills.
About $29 million of the project’s funding comes from the Save Our Indian River Lagoon program, which is funded by a half-cent sales tax.
