Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Angel Abbud-Madrid contributes to this article about how deep space missions (still) take a village. Or in the case of the James Webb Space Telescope and a possible manned mission to Mars, cooperation between multiple national space programs. Exploring the solar system will require cheap(er) rocket fuel, so Colorado School of Mines plans to help manufacture it on the moon. June 1, 2022.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Angel Abbud-Madrid contributes to this podcast about how as the modern space race has taken off, thanks in large part to the growing role played by private companies. As businesses send up more missions, build their own space stations and even think about mining the moon, they will need to find and train new types of workers. On the first episode of The Wall Street Journal’s special series of Tech News Briefing about the developing space economy, host Zoe Thomas looks at space jobs that go beyond astronauts. May 31, 2022.
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group provided the satellite images for this NOAA announcement on their new Space Commerce director Richard DalBello, a venerable figure in government and the private-sector satellite industry, has been appointed to be the new director of NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC), the coordinator of space commerce policy activities within the U.S. Department of Commerce. DalBello officially will begin his duties on May 9. April 27, 2022.
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert writes about how the strategic mandate for nuclear propulsion of US satellites and space-based assets to evade the growing threat from Russia and China’s anti-satellite weapons. The report’s analysis and conclusions are sound and timely, but nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) has broader applicability in space, including commercial and “soft power” uses. The US should pursue a concerted, sustained whole-of-government approach to it. Beyond achieving a first-mover advantage, this will allow the US to develop norms and solidify rules of the road espoused by the UN last fall, rules aimed at preventing war in the heavens. February 14, 2022.
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert is featured on the inaugural Multiplanetary Society podcast about his article on resource extraction in space published in the Milken Institute Review about space exploration, and that commercial developments in the space industry may be on the cusp of starting the largest resource rush in history: mining on the Moon, Mars and asteroids. January 10, 2022.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Angel Abbud-Madrid is featured in this article about how Colorado School of Mines is believed to be the first to offer advanced degrees in the multidisciplinary field of space resources. Courses began in 2017 with an online program the following year. Most of the 128 graduate students, from five continents, study virtually. A new space-mining minor for undergrads began this fall. December 7, 2021.
Leet W. Wood and Payne Institute Fellow Alexander Q. Gilbert write about looking at how space based solar power can accelerate commercialization of our space. Specifically they propose what a phased RD&D and commercialization program could look like. October 31, 2021.
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert and Monica Vidaurri write a law review on how environmental law applies to our actions in space. It reviews the historical role of space in human culture, emerging commercial and scientific uses of space, and the potential impacts of NewSpace activities on both the terrestrial and space environments. October 5, 2021.
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid talks about how the challenges to move dust and soil on the lunar surface are much different than on earth. We’ll need to be able to do that if we explore the moon and build things there in coming decades. September 8, 2021.
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert writes about how the recently released Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change presents a worrying scientific consensus: climate change is happening, humans are causing it, even our best efforts cannot prevent negative effects, and reducing emissions now is essential to preventing catastrophic consequences. The Biden Administration recognizes the urgency of addressing this challenge. This prioritization rightly reflects the growing capabilities of the public and private space sectors to help our society understand, adapt, and mitigate climate change. Perhaps most importantly, growing space activities can accelerate the clean energy transition to reduce emissions by catalyzing technological development of existing and new energy technologies. With foresight and targeted intervention, emerging space capabilities and industry can improve our climate outcomes. August 16, 2021.