"We're now more than a week into a federal government shutdown, but there's been little effect on the space industry. Military space operations are continuing unabated, and NASA continues preparations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for the launch of the Artemis II mission around the Moon early next year. The International Space Station is still flying with a crew of seven in low-Earth orbit, and NASA's fleet of spacecraft exploring the cosmos remain active."
"A new listing of the 50 most concerning pieces of space debris in low-Earth orbit is dominated by relics more than a quarter-century old, primarily dead rockets left to hurtle through space at the end of their missions, Ars reports. "The things left before 2000 are still the majority of the problem," said Darren McKnight, lead author of a paper presented October 3 at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. "Seventy-six percent of the objects in the top 50 were deposited last century, and 88 percent of the objects are rocket bodies. That's important to note, especially with some disturbing trends right now.""
Franklin Chang-Diaz's long-developing plasma rocket engine program experiences another notable development. A federal government shutdown has had little immediate effect on space operations: military space activities continue, NASA is preparing Artemis II at Kennedy Space Center for a lunar mission, the International Space Station remains staffed by seven crew members, and NASA spacecraft continue operations. Much of the nation's space activity is performed by commercial companies that are largely insulated from political disruption. Concerns remain for troops and federal employees who may miss upcoming paychecks. A new listing shows most worrisome low-Earth-orbit debris are decades-old rocket bodies.
Read at Ars Technica
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