{"id":28354,"date":"2023-01-06T23:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T23:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/06\/this-week-in-space-orion-tomatoes-and-the-wolf-moon\/"},"modified":"2023-01-06T23:00:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T23:00:17","slug":"this-week-in-space-orion-tomatoes-and-the-wolf-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/06\/this-week-in-space-orion-tomatoes-and-the-wolf-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Space: Orion, Tomatoes, and the Wolf Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hello readers, and Happy New Year! Welcome to the first edition of This Week in Space of 2023. It\u2019s the twelfth day of Christmas \u2014 and the first full moon of the year, the Wolf Moon, rises tonight. And TGIF, am I right?<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019ve got updates from the Artemis project, and a fun video excursion to space and back with a Falcon 9 rocket. But this week also held an event of what could be singular importance, as Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Al), Chairman of the Senate subcommittee that controls NASA\u2019s budget, has stepped down from office.<\/p>\n

Orion Spacecraft Returns to NASA for \u201cDe-Servicing\u201d<\/h3>\n

After Artemis 1, the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11. Then it spent two weeks making its way from Naval Base San Diego in California to the KSC\u2019s Multi Payload Processing Facility. Orion carried several tons of assorted Science Stuff\u2122 into orbit. Now, it\u2019s time to unpack.<\/p>\n

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Beyond the Astronaut Snoopy plushie, Girl Scout badges, pins, flags, patches, and other whimsical flotsam in Orion\u2019s legally ordained Official Flight Kit<\/a> (PDF), Orion carried three important passengers to orbit. Three mannequins<\/a>, one male and two female-bodied, wore and carried new safety gear that NASA is field-testing for the next generation of Artemis astronauts. We\u2019ll know more about the results once NASA releases them.<\/p>\n

Mission technicians are also going over the Orion capsule, removing the \u201cheat shield and other elements<\/a>\u201d for further analysis. The Artemis team is also carefully setting aside the parts and components from the Orion capsule they\u2019ll be using for Artemis II.<\/p>\n

Senator and Space Policy Power Broker Richard Shelby Steps Down<\/h3>\n

While NASA is unpacking Orion, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) is packing up to depart the Senate. Shelby was the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls NASA\u2019s budget, and he was instrumental in the development of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule. He also fought for decades to bring aerospace jobs \u2014 and money \u2014 to Alabama. In 2019, after then-NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested that a Falcon Heavy could do the SLS\u2019 job faster and cheaper, Shelby dressed him down for committing political sacrilege. Now that Artemis 1 has taken flight, Shelby has handed off the baton.<\/p>\n

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Artemis 1 launches from pad 39B at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center. Image: NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s hard not to have mixed opinions about the SLS. The project has certainly delivered as a jobs program. \u201cThe program is an economic engine for America,\u201d said former senator and current NASA administrator Bill Nelson. \u201cIn 2019 alone, it supported 70,000 good-paying jobs across the country.\u201d But it has also kept NASA from contracting much<\/i> less expensive private-sector launch services, and then turning around and spending the rest of the budget paying more<\/em> Americans better wages to develop hardware and software for the deep space exploration NASA does very well already.<\/p>\n