Latest news with #DepartmentofDefense-funded
Axios
15-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
Federal cuts prompt Harvard Med to limit, not wind down, research for now
Harvard Medical School urged researchers to keep working on their projects despite the latest wave of federal grant funding cuts. Why it matters: Harvard University is bracing for the Trump administration's efforts to squeeze any public funding out of Harvard's coffers — consider it death by a thousand grant cuts. Catch up quick: Officials from multiple federal agencies notified Harvard earlier this week that it would immediately terminate some $450 million in grants, citing antisemitic discrimination. The affected research ranges from a Department of Defense-funded project analyzing the biomarkers of sleep loss to two projects on lead exposure and other health hazards in homes, per court records. The latest: Harvard amended its lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday to reflect the additional cuts, arguing that the feds are disregarding Harvard's efforts to address antisemitism and violating their own protocols for reviewing and terminating grants. The university allocated $250 million from its central budget to help keep affected research going, but warned that it wouldn't fill the gap left by canceled and suspended federal grants, the Harvard Crimson reported. The medical school warned people with federal research grants to keep working but limit spending as Harvard appeals the terminations, according to a notice sent to faculty, post-doctoral fellows and staff. Zoom in: Medical school leaders recommended that researchers limit non-personnel spending to "essential needs only," pause new contractual commitments and equipment purchases where feasible, pause hiring and only issue "critical" subawards. Yes, but: Medical school officials still recommend applying for federal research grants, despite Education Secretary Linda McMahon writing in a May 5 letter that Harvard should no longer seek them "since none will be provided." What we're watching: Harvard has 30 days to appeal the terminations and has cited them in its lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The U.S. is building a fuel depot in space
Some 22,500 miles above Earth, a spacecraft filled with thruster fuel will gas up two orbiting Space Force assets. The high-altitude endeavor, undertaken by the orbital servicing enterprise Astroscale U.S., is slated to occur in the summer of 2026, the company announced this week. This Department of Defense-funded mission will see Astroscale's 660-pound craft refuel a satellite with the propellant hydrazine, then maneuver to a fueling depot to fill up with more fuel, and then refuel another asset. (All the involved assets haven't yet been revealed by the Space Force.) It will be the first time a Space Force craft is refueled in orbit. Such a fuel shuttle could keep missions in space longer and eliminate the need for any craft to suspend its mission to retrieve thruster propellant. It's a novel type of full-service gas station. "This changes fundamentally how we do things in space," Ian Thomas, Astroscale U.S.' Refueler Program Manager, told Mashable. SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills. After launching, the refueled craft will travel to a region called geostationary orbit, which is a unique place around Earth where spacecraft orbit at same rate Earth is rotating — meaning they stay locked in the same position relative to our planet. There, Astroscale's craft will carefully approach its first Space Force satellite target, called Tetra-5, and transfer fuel. The refueler will then thrust away and inspect the scene with a specialized camera to ensure no valuable fuel is leaking. Then, the refueler will fly to a nearby fuel depot, or gas station, and attach and pull fuel from the depot before traveling to its second refueling target. "This changes fundamentally how we do things in space." "The point of the mission is to make sure all the different parts are viable and work," Thomas explained. "You have a fuel depot, a client, and us." How Astroscale's refueler, "ASP-R," will approach and refuel spacecraft in orbit around Earth. Credit: Astroscale U.S. For an outer space operation, while certainly not simple, it's relatively efficient once the refueler arrives at a spacecraft running on empty. "It is definitely longer than refueling your car but it's something that can be done in a matter of hours," Thomas said. You've probably noticed that most spacecraft, whether satellites or NASA deep space probes, are fitted with solar panels. These are invaluable, as they provide power to a craft's computer systems, cameras, and beyond. But they can't provide propellant to move and reorient craft, avoid high-speed space junk, or keep a satellite from naturally getting dragged into Earth's atmosphere. That's why refueling is vital. "The paradigm we had doesn't hold up anymore." If a spacecraft can be refueled, engineers can design missions that aren't limited by fuel. The revolutionary, $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, for example, has finite fuel, and its mission (while still lengthy) is limited to some 20 years. "The paradigm we had doesn't hold up any more," Thomas emphasized. An artist's conception of Astroscale's refueler orbiting Earth. Credit: Astroscale U.S. This isn't Astroscale's first orbital rodeo. In a separate mission intended to deorbit large pieces of space debris (called Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan), the company has already closely approached a large rocket stage to test close proximity maneuverability and reconnaissance; next up, an Astroscale spacecraft will use a robotic arm to bring the large 36-foot-long spent rocket stage down to Earth, in 2028. But before then, the company may prove that running a fuel depot in Earth's orbit isn't just feasible; it could redefine how expensive orbiting spacecraft — whether used for national security, communications, or science — operate in space. "If you run out of fuel, you run out of life," Thomas said.
