🇺🇸 NASA’s Ingenuity chopper flown for the last time

It was only meant to fly five times, but it ended up notching up an impressive 72 flights after it made history by becoming the first helicopter to fly on another planet. More on that below.

In other news, SpaceX’s Starship was selected to fly the Starlab space station to orbit. Let’s have a look at how that space station will form part of a fleet of successors to the ISS.

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

NASA’s Ingenuity chopper, the first aircraft to perform a controlled flight on another planet, has flown for the last time.

Following its 72nd flight, on January 18, images beamed to Earth from Mars revealed a broken rotorblade, meaning Ingenuity would not be able to take flight again.

During its penultimate flight, Ingenuity performed an emergency landing, suggesting the rotorcraft was experiencing navigational disorientation. 12 days later, the Ingenuity team initiated a short flight to try to determine the helicopter’s location.

Sadly, telemetry data from Ingenuity showed that it had performed a brief hover before an abrupt descent, leading to loss of contact with the Perseverance rover.

It’s been quite a journey for Ingenuity, though.

NASA designed Ingenuity to demonstrate that controlled flight was possible on Mars and to help develop aircraft and drone technology for future space exploration missions.

On April 19, 2021, Ingenuity performed the first-ever controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. NASA originally intended the 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) helicopter to fly roughly five times. However, it far exceeded those mission parameters, and the space agency used it as a fully-fledged aerial scout for Perseverance.

The helicopter was able to survey regions of the Red Planet to help plan the Perseverance rover's route. It also explored areas the rover will never visit, such as "Fortun Ridge".

Ingenuity has been a resounding success, paving the way for future rotorcraft missions in other parts of the Solar System, including Saturn’s moon, Titan. It will go down as a monumental milestone for space exploration.

Will Starship allow humans to establish the first colony on Mars?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes, I believe Elon Musk’s vision will come true! (44%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, nuclear rockets will be required to cut travel times to Mars. (13%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, China will get there first. (13%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Not at all, and why would we want to establish a colony on Mars, anyway? (30%)

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AERO BULLETIN

Starlab Space announced this week that it has picked SpaceX to launch its Starlab space station to low Earth orbit in only one launch using its next-generation Starship rocket.

The Starlab space station is one of several US private space stations partially funded by NASA.

With the International Space Station (ISS) due to be deorbited at some point in the early 2030s, the US space agency is looking to the private space sector to help it build a fleet of successors for the iconic space station.

Here are three of the most impressive private US space stations due to launch in the coming years. For more, click here.

Starlab

The Starlab space station project is a collaboration between Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin. It has received $160 million in funding from NASA, and it will be the world's first free-flying orbital laboratory, meaning it will not be locked into an orbital position.

Hilton is also collaborating in the station’s design, meaning it will feature luxury accommodation for space tourists. In a recent interview with IE, Nanoracks CEO, and former NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra stated that Starlab "incorporates lessons learned" from the ISS.

Orbital Reef

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin announced a partnership with Sierra Space and Boeing to build what Bezos describes as a “space business park”.

On Blue Origin’s website, the company says the Orbital Reef space station will include "spacious modules with large Earth-facing windows [will] let travelers take in the beauty of our planet and experience the thrill of weightlessness in complete comfort.

The Starship Station

It turns out that SpaceX’s monster Starship rocket will be capable of launching a space station to orbit, but it will also be able to serve as a space station.

In a recent NASA statement, the US space agency announced it was consulting with SpaceX and that it envisions Starship as a "transportation and in-space low-Earth orbit destination." SpaceX has yet to comment on the proposal, but Starship’s hulking size means it is highly adaptable, and it could be used for a whole host of operations.