The firings at one of the most important US #space #licensing agencies hit at a dire time for a booming US space industry that has long pushed for more nimble & simplified #satellite #regulatory processes…

But sources & individuals across the space industry & US govt…said these #layoffs are likely to trigger major delays in getting #spacecraft approved for #launch.
The #FAA, which signs off on rocket payloads, cannot approve a satellite launch requiring a #NOAA license if it hasn’t obtained it.

Their termination, the sources said, threatens to undermine efforts to complete what is essentially an air traffic coordination system for #space, currently operating in a trial phase as growing global demand for crucial #satellite services sharply increases the number of #spacecraft in Earth's #orbit.

#Astronauts travelling to #Mars would encounter #radiation levels higher than humans have ever experienced, and be exposed to them for much longer.

To protect them, the #spacecraft would either have to be much bulkier, making launches expensive and difficult, or be made of more efficient #shielding materials. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/how-will-humans-survive-the-journey-to-mars

We need #spacecraft that can approach ageing #satellites and dock with them, using #robots to repair , refuel and upgrade them. We’ll also need a way to reuse and recycle satellites when their working lives are over. Different types of trash require different removal techniques, with many ideas coming from the #fishing industry https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-space-junk-crisis-needs-a-recycling-revolution/

“If we’re uncertain in where our #spacecraft are by 20 kilometers, then you can throw collision avoidance out the window.” In one day after the storm, nearly 5,000 #satellites performed orbit-raising maneuvers https://spacenews.com/geomagnetic-storms-cause-mass-migrations-of-satellites

When approaching Mars , #Starship is travelling on a hyperbolic Keplerian orbit with respect to Mars. It is designed to remove 99% of its kinetic energy purely with aerobraking. The #radiation and micro-meteoroid protection have already been used on previous #spacecraft and therefore have a high degree of technology readiness. A propellant production system that has already been tested on Earth under #Mars-like conditions is the #IMISPPS from #PioneerAstronautics https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11116405/

The modern #smartphone has more computing power than all of #NASA had in 1969, or a smart doorbell has the same computing power as the #Apollo #spacecraft https://www.space.com/space-exploration/apollo/you-can-now-wear-an-apollo-guidance-computer-keypad-as-a-wristwatch

Pictures : https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-internet-users | https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/yearly-number-of-objects-launched-into-outer-space?time=1989..latest