Space News.
It's a busy week for space news. On Monday, Nasa announced the forward path for Boeing troubled Starliner spacecraft. After a series of engineering upgrades, NASA expects to launch an uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft as soon as December on a cargo mission to the International Space Station. But a crewed Starliner mission isn’t planned until 2028. The first crewed Starliner flight in June 2024 was plagued by thruster issues, forcing its astronauts to return to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon. NASA has emphasized the importance of certifying Starliner as SpaceX plans to eventually retire its Falcon 9 and Dragon vehicles.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starship successfully reached low-Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th test flight from Texas on Monday. The spacecraft deployed 26 Starlink satellites, proving its capability as a payload carrier. Despite the loss of one engine on the booster and one on the ship, the mission continued to a successful orbital insertion and splashdown for the booster and Starship.
And two rocket launches are scheduled for the Space Coast this Thursday morning. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 11:10 AM. Then a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a secretive national-security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office at 11:53 AM Thursday.
Rough surf impacts Brevard.
A 53-year-old bodyboarder, Jason Doyle, went missing in the surf off Melbourne Beach on Sept 27. Doyle was bodyboarding near a sandbar at Ponce De Leon Park when a wave pulled him under and he did not resurface. A body was found about 8 miles from where he last went into the water Sunday morning.
Rough surf has eroded Satellite Beach and some turtle nests. After a weekend of high surf, beaches got 'cliffed' again, sea turtle eggs got unearthed. But, overall, the county's beaches are holding their own and are expected to bounce back. There had been advisories from the National Weather Service in Melbourne warning about rip currents along the eastern seaboard.
The rough surf also yielded Nearly 40 pounds of cocaine. It washed ashore on a Brevard County beach Monday morning. A beachgoer found the packages containing cocaine and turned them over to authorities.
Florida Tech students experience Mars.
Six Florida Tech students spent a week in a simulated Mars habitat in the Utah desert. The students conducted research on topics like plant growth, microbes, and crew dynamics. The mission aimed to understand the challenges of living and working in an isolated, resource-limited environment. Participants hope this analog mission will become an annual program to contribute to future space exploration.
Port Canaveral approves lease for aquarium
The Space Coast first large scale aquarium is one step closer to becoming reality. Port Canaveral commissioners voted last week to approve a lease for the acquarium land The aquarium is expected to cost $200 million to build and it will break round this December on Port Canaveral land. The aquarium lease the land with the port with a base rent of $20,000 a month or about $250,000 a year.
Melbourne loses a Starbucks.
Starbucks announced it will close approximately 250 underperforming stores in North America, including one in Brevard. The Melbourne Square Mall Starbucks permanently closed this month. It had been opened inside the mall for nearly 20 years.
