Cosmic Consequences of the American Shatdaun
The signing by Donald Trump of the interim budget stopped a record 35-day shatdown of US government agencies. The decision is a temporary one, and after February 15, the lockdown may return. The suspension of government services had a serious impact on the life of American society, and the space industry did not stand aside. > 95% of NASA employees on unpaid leave, delays in launches, issuing licenses and even memorial events are only part of the consequences of shatdaun.
Photo: Xinhua
Since NASA is a government agency, it has experienced the full complexity of its work suspension problems. Estimated number of employees sent on unpaid leave, up to 96%. And this is a complete impossibility to work, the mailing list before closing directly says :
Photo: Anda Chu / Bay Area News Group
In some cases, other organizations had to allocate their funding. For example, the Smithsonian Institution has allocated funds for the operation of the Chandra X-ray telescope until mid-March, but in abbreviated form, only for critical operations.
For important events, the New Horizons flight of the most distant celestial body visited by Earth probes and the OSIRIS-REx launch into orbit around the Bennu asteroid, prepared alternative broadcasts in case NASA TV was unavailable, but in both cases they found the means. But the memorial events dedicated to the memory of the Apollo 1 catastrophe and the Challenger and Columbia shuttles had to be postponed indefinitely.
Large organizations can not stop and resume work instantly - NASA went to shatdown from December 22 to December 29, and now for some time it will take a return to work. The latest newsletter tells about potential problems in the IT sector - during the time of the shatdaun, some passes have expired, passwords have become outdated, and licenses have run out somewhere. Losses in people could incur technical support departments.
The date of the first unmanned launch of the piloted ship Dragon 2 is still uncertain. News agencies reported conflicting information about how much the shatdown affected the delay, but regardless whether it is the main cause or technical problems, the date is announced as "February" .
Frame from Exos Airspace broadcast
Private companies are also under attack - they depend on information or licenses provided by state agencies. Two problems were “caught” by Exos Airspace, which wanted to launch a reusable SORGE reusable suborbital rocket in early January. The launch on January 5 did not take place due to the fact that it was not possible to renew the license at the FAA commercial space transportation office. It would be possible to work under the old license, but it contained very strict safety criteria for the maximum allowable wind. And then the ability to receive wind data at high altitudes from the NOAA meteorological agency was lost, which postponed the launch from February 9 to at least March.
Photo: Vector
The launch of the Vector-R rocket is being delayed, the developers of which are still unable to obtain an FAA license. However, the launch date is unknown, and they may well try to get it before February 15 without major postponements.
The New Zealand-American Rocket Lab needs a new license - the launch for DARPA, scheduled for the end of February, will be carried out in a different orbit and requires a new security analysis.
Image of Nevada Museum of Art
Even in space, the consequences of the shatdaun. The Kubsat Orbital Reflector, created by the Nevada Museum of Art, was successfully launched by passing loads on December 3 and had to unfurl a reflective film in order to become visible for observation with the naked eye. But the Federal Communications Commission asked the museum to deploy the reflector only after special permission. However, there came a shutdown, the FCC became unavailable for communication, and permission can now be obtained only after the resumption of the work of state agencies. The satellite is still in good condition, but how long the FCC will take to fully return to work and issue a permit is unclear.
Fortunately, the shutdown could not freeze all space projects. For example, on January 23, Blue Origin successfully conducted a new suborbital test launch of New Shepard, and before the first flight of suborbital tourists, there are already a few.
Photo: Xinhua
Silence in NASA
Since NASA is a government agency, it has experienced the full complexity of its work suspension problems. Estimated number of employees sent on unpaid leave, up to 96%. And this is a complete impossibility to work, the mailing list before closing directly says :
During shatdaunu you are on unpaid leave. At this time, you can not work in NASA as a free volunteer. You do not have to appear in the workplace, can not work at home or in another place and participate in events held by non-NASA, in its official status.Civil servants, judging by the act signed by Trump, the salary lost during the shatdaun must be paid, but the contractors (contractors) for the forced downtime will most likely not receive compensation. Delayed wages put many in a difficult position - on January 18, Ames Ams Research Center NASA received humanitarian aid. Nearly about a hundred people held a protest with demands to stop the shatdaun.
Photo: Anda Chu / Bay Area News Group
In some cases, other organizations had to allocate their funding. For example, the Smithsonian Institution has allocated funds for the operation of the Chandra X-ray telescope until mid-March, but in abbreviated form, only for critical operations.
For important events, the New Horizons flight of the most distant celestial body visited by Earth probes and the OSIRIS-REx launch into orbit around the Bennu asteroid, prepared alternative broadcasts in case NASA TV was unavailable, but in both cases they found the means. But the memorial events dedicated to the memory of the Apollo 1 catastrophe and the Challenger and Columbia shuttles had to be postponed indefinitely.
Large organizations can not stop and resume work instantly - NASA went to shatdown from December 22 to December 29, and now for some time it will take a return to work. The latest newsletter tells about potential problems in the IT sector - during the time of the shatdaun, some passes have expired, passwords have become outdated, and licenses have run out somewhere. Losses in people could incur technical support departments.
The date of the first unmanned launch of the piloted ship Dragon 2 is still uncertain. News agencies reported conflicting information about how much the shatdown affected the delay, but regardless whether it is the main cause or technical problems, the date is announced as "February" .
Particular problems
Frame from Exos Airspace broadcast
Private companies are also under attack - they depend on information or licenses provided by state agencies. Two problems were “caught” by Exos Airspace, which wanted to launch a reusable SORGE reusable suborbital rocket in early January. The launch on January 5 did not take place due to the fact that it was not possible to renew the license at the FAA commercial space transportation office. It would be possible to work under the old license, but it contained very strict safety criteria for the maximum allowable wind. And then the ability to receive wind data at high altitudes from the NOAA meteorological agency was lost, which postponed the launch from February 9 to at least March.
Photo: Vector
The launch of the Vector-R rocket is being delayed, the developers of which are still unable to obtain an FAA license. However, the launch date is unknown, and they may well try to get it before February 15 without major postponements.
The New Zealand-American Rocket Lab needs a new license - the launch for DARPA, scheduled for the end of February, will be carried out in a different orbit and requires a new security analysis.
Image of Nevada Museum of Art
Even in space, the consequences of the shatdaun. The Kubsat Orbital Reflector, created by the Nevada Museum of Art, was successfully launched by passing loads on December 3 and had to unfurl a reflective film in order to become visible for observation with the naked eye. But the Federal Communications Commission asked the museum to deploy the reflector only after special permission. However, there came a shutdown, the FCC became unavailable for communication, and permission can now be obtained only after the resumption of the work of state agencies. The satellite is still in good condition, but how long the FCC will take to fully return to work and issue a permit is unclear.
Conclusion
Fortunately, the shutdown could not freeze all space projects. For example, on January 23, Blue Origin successfully conducted a new suborbital test launch of New Shepard, and before the first flight of suborbital tourists, there are already a few.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/437722/