Spare yourself the schadenfreude

One of my first mentors in the space business once told me that this industry is so small that you never want to slam the door shut behind you. And that is particularly so in the realm of scientific space research, where there are just a bunch of institutions in the world with the resources and the know-how to be able to launch instruments in space. That does not mean that you cannot have rivalries or even open enmities, because the play field is just what it is and there is necessarily going to be competition for the resources and the attention of the media, active scientific discussion and serious disagreement, but it is very important to keep the confrontation on the professional level, that it is not you, with you own name, who opposes and idea, but in your power are representative of a certain team that you voice your opinion. As my mentor said, you never know where the next offer is going to come from so it is always a good idea to keep the door open in case the other side gets interested in you.

Similarly, it is also important to appreciate and rejoice (at least on a mild level) at the successes of your competitors because, working in the bleeding edge of technology, the knowledge tends to percolate pretty fast and tomorrow you will be leverage on the discoveries of your opponent just to make an even more impressive discovery, or vice versa, so one should not be happy at any mishaps in the industry although they might prove to be a benefit in the short run.

Photo: Daniel Oberhaus

I reflect on this today, because the last week has been quite intense in space research related events. On Monday the European rocket Vega failed to deliver two research satellites to orbit. This is negative not only by the loss of the science associated to the satellites, but also by the incurred costs and the lack of confidence in the launcher. It can only mean that all rocket launches will be more difficult and more expensive (Vega launches will bear most of the load, but all other launchers will also suffer the consequences). On the flip side, SpaceX successfully launched the first commercial crew to the ISS, also on Monday. This, again, is good new for the space community at large, not only the US or the manned spaceflight industry, because it speaks to the increasing reliability of space travel (in spite of the Vega failure).

On Wednesday we learnt that the mythical Arecibo radio telescope is facing de-commissioning due to accumulated degradation liked to both aging and natural disasters. While there is still room for debate and the decision is not final yet, the shutdown of such an iconic facility would be a great loss for the space research community at large.

Sentinel 6, a European satellite to monitor the oceans, was launched onboard another Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday for Vandenberg Air Force Base, while the launch of the next batch of Starlink satellites had to be postponed yesterday evening. Of course, it is always better to have a delay than a pile of space rubble at the bottom of the ocean. It also attests to the detail and care of the launch crews, which are not willing to take any risks that is not strictly necessary.

As you can see, the balance for the week is clearly on the positive side in spite of the Vega failure, and we shall all welcome this news. Also the fact that they are becoming more and more frequent hint at an upcoming normalization of space travel (at least to Low Earth Orbit). The Chinese Space Agency is schedule to launch their Moon sample return mission this evening. Here is to its success. Godspeed, Chang'e 5!