November 14, 2017

Minute-Long Free Flight Moves Dream Chaser Closer to Florida Launch, Landing (Source: Florida Today)
A mini-shuttle’s glide to a California runway landing last weekend previewed planned Kennedy Space Center touchdowns that are possible within three years. Recalling NASA’s prototype space shuttle orbiter Enterprise 40 years ago — but with no crew on board — Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser dropped from altitude, deployed landing gear and rolled 4,200 feet to a stop at Edwards Air Force Base on Veterans Day.

Pending NASA’s approval, the minute-long free flight is expected to be the Dream Chaser’s last test flight before a mid-2020 blastoff from Cape Canaveral atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, on an International Space Station supply mission. After losing its bid to fly astronauts to the station, SNC was one of three companies NASA selected for its next round of commercial resupply contracts starting in 2019, along with incumbents SpaceX and Orbital ATK.

Saturday morning’s test simulated the last two-and-a-half miles of a Dream Chaser’s return from space, which look much like those flown by the larger space shuttle, Sirangelo said. A helicopter dropped the Dream Chaser from about 12,500 feet. Flight computers running software designed for orbital flights commanded the Dream Chaser to make left and right turns before it lined up the runway for a touchdown at 191 mph. (11/13)

ARCA Space CEO Arrested on Charges of Embezzlement, Fraud (Source: Parabolic Arc)
ARCA Space Corporation CEO Dumitru Popescu was in a New Mexico jail on Sunday night after being arrested and charged of fraud, embezzlement and forgery. The Romanian-born Popescu faces 13 counts of fraud, five counts of embezzlement and one count of forgery. Popescu was arrested in Georgia and is now being held in New Mexico without bond.

The New Mexico Securities Division alleges that Popescu “did by words or conduct make a promise that he had no intention of keeping” and “misrepresented a fact intending deceive or cheat” Michael Persico, the CEO and founder of the Chicago-based telecommunications company Anova Technologies, in an amount exceeding $20,000, according to the complaint. (11/13)

Harris Develops Fully Digital Navigation Payload for Future GPS III Sats (Source: GPS Daily)
Harris Corporation has completed development of the company's fully digital Mission Data Unit (MDU), which is at the heart of its navigation payload for Lockheed Martin's GPS III satellites 11 and beyond.

The current Harris payload for GPS III space vehicles (SVs) 1-10 includes a greater than three times reduction in range error, up to eight times increase in anti-jamming power, added signals - including one compatible with other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) - and greater signal integrity.

Harris' GPS III SV11+ fully digital navigation payload will further improve on performance for the U.S. Air Force by providing more powerful signals, plus built-in flexibility to adapt to advances in GPS technology, as well as future changes in mission needs. (11/10)

Russia has a Plan to Compete with SpaceX—But it Has a Flaw (Source: Ars Technica)
As recently as 2013, Russia's venerable fleet of rockets commanded nearly half of the global share of the commercial launch market. Since then, the emergence of other players, most notably SpaceX, has considerably shrunk the once-dominant Russian position. This year, although Russia has made 17 successful orbital launches, only about a third of them have flown for paying customers. By contrast, SpaceX has made 16 launches this year, 11 of which have been for commercial customers.

Recognizing its dimming market position, the Russian rocket corporation, Energia, has fast-tracked development of a new medium-class launch vehicle that it is calling Soyuz-5. Next year, however, SpaceX is likely to debut the fifth and final version of its Falcon 9 booster, optimized for reusability and likely with a capacity of 23 tons to low-Earth orbit.

If that rocket is even a modest success, which seems plausible given SpaceX's recent progression, then when the Soyuz-5 rocket debuts in 2021, it won't be competing with a Falcon 9 rocket that costs $60 million and has a backlog in launches. Rather, with rapid reusability, it seems more likely that by then, SpaceX will be capable of launching nearly on demand for some fraction of $60 million. (11/13)

Will Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Cross Paths? (Source: Baqqit)
he fundamental purpose of the two companies is completely different from one another. SpaceX is basically in the freight haulage business. It caters towards corporate and government client. They have launched more than 20 commercial satellites, engaged in resupply missions for space stations and taken part in US government science and national security missions.

In contrast to this, Blue Origin is in the tourism market. Bezos seeks to take tourists into orbit for 10-11 minutes and popularize space travel. As far as business goes, so far they have not launched anything for the paying customer and therefore have not generated any revenues to date. The deadline for the first launch with customers inside is targeted to be in 2019. No valuation can be estimated at this point. Click here. (11/13)

Was SpaceX Getting Favorable Treatment? (Source: My San Antonio)
For the sake of our national security, I am thankful that Speaker Paul Ryan appointed U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, Chairman of the House, Science, Space, and Technology Committee, as a conferee to the Armed Services Conference Committee.

There, he worked with fellow Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry to get the National Defense Authorization Agreement (NDAA) ready for a final vote. Smith’s voice on the committee was critical because he has a long history of demonstrating a sound understanding of how defense policy is often lacking in equity. Before the conferees got involved, the 2018 NDAA was no different.

Thankfully, the conferees scrapped Section 1615 of the original House agreement, which would have stopped the armed forces from aiding in the creation of new launch systems. The timing of this section is what was perplexing. A ban on Russian rocket engines will go into effect in just a few years, which may take SpaceX’s current sole competitor out of play. This Russia prohibition would be completely understandable on national security grounds if the Air Force could still incentivize competition; however, Section 1615’s ban on abetting new launch systems might have resulted in SpaceX receiving near-monopoly status over the nation’s launch services. (11/14)

General Atomics Acquires Assets of Surrey Satellite Technology US (Source: Parabolic Arc)
General Atomics announced today that it has acquired the majority of the assets of Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC, an Englewood, Colorado.-based provider of small satellite technologies, systems and services. The assets and workforce will be integrated into General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS) to support the organization’s growth initiatives focused on the development and delivery of small satellite and advanced payload systems. (11/14)

Loft Orbital Raises $3.2 Million to Build Condo Constellation (Source: Space News)
A San Francisco startup raised $3.2 million in a seed financing round to create a service around operating a constellation of satellites packed with payloads from different customers. Loft Orbital says it could have a first mission in orbit by the second half of 2019, and already has three “well advanced leads” that could soon mature into paying customers.

Founders Antoine de Chassy, Alexander Greenberg and Pierre-Damien Vaujour — all of whom once worked for nanosatellite operator Spire — are targeting as customers various companies, academics and government agencies that want to collect data from space — weather, imagery, etc. — but don’t want to own and operate any satellites. Loft is a leasing company, essentially buying a satellite platform and stocking it with up to five payloads from various customers. (11/13)

Skylark: The Unsung Hero of British Space (Source: BBC)
It's 60 years to the day that Britain launched its first Skylark rocket. It wasn't a big vehicle, and it didn't go to orbit. But the anniversary of that first flight from Woomera, Australia, should be celebrated because much of what we do in space today has its roots in this particular piece of technology. "Skylark is an unsung British hero really," says Doug Millard, space curator at London's Science Museum.

"The first one was launched during the International Geophysical Year of 1957, and almost 450 were launched over the better part of half a century. It was the Skylark space rocket that really laid the foundations for everything the UK does in space." Millard is opening a corner of the museum's Space Gallery to the memory of the Skylark. (11/13)

Two Monster Galaxies From Big Bang Epoch are About to Collide in Extreme Merger (Source: Newsweek)
Two ginormous galaxies almost 13 billion light years away are about to smash into each other in the most extreme merger event of its kind. And astronomers on Earth have a front row view. The hyper-luminous starburst galaxies—the ADFS-27 system—are believed to be two of the most massive systems in the universe.

They are located in the Dorado constellation, also known as the swordfish, and are 12.7 billion years away from Earth—meaning they formed when the universe was only around one billion years old. At the moment, the galaxies are around 30,000 light years away from one another. Their collision course is providing researchers with an unprecedented view into how the universe as we see it today was created. (11/14)

Study Finds SpaceX Investment Saved NASA Hundreds of Millions (Source: Popular Mechanics)
When a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft connected with the International Space Station on May 25, 2012, it made history as the first privately-built spacecraft to reach the ISS. The Dragon was the result of a decision 6 years prior—in 2006, NASA made an "unprecedented" investment in SpaceX technology. A new financial analysis shows that the investment has paid off, and the government found one of the true bargains of the 21st century when it invested in SpaceX. Click here. (11/10)

Tempe Arizona Evolves Into a Hotbed for the Space Industry (Source: AZ Big Media)
The cosmos is billions of years old. But the idea of exploring the unknown, infinite universe beyond Earth’s orbit from Tempe is much, much younger. Arizona State University has been active for years. ASU was involved with the NASA’s Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s and, more recently, with Curiosity, a car-sized robotic rover whose mission is to explore Mars.  

The university isn’t the only place in Tempe exploring the cosmos. There’s a vibrant commercial space industry that is looking beyond our blue planet. This commercial space industry has its roots in the pre-bankruptcy Tempe operations of Motorola spin-off, Iridium, which started in the 1980s. Click here. (11/13)

Apollo in 'Artemis': Andy Weir Sets New Book at moon Landing Site (Source: CollectSpace)
One hundred and 15 years after NASA's historic Apollo 11 mission landed the first astronauts on the moon, tourists bound about "Tranquility Base" and stay at a commercial lunar base, at least as envisioned by the author of "The Martian" in his new book.

In "Artemis," Andy Weir's new novel out Tuesday (Nov. 14) from Crown, readers are launched on another riveting space adventure that is grounded in science, but this time it is wrapped around the tale of a crime and set at the first and only city on the moon. Like Weir's prior protagonist, Mark Watney in "The Martian," twenty-something Jasmine Bashara (aka "Jazz") finds herself facing mounting challenges — more than a few of her own creation — with a sharp wit and sense of humor. (11/14)

Venture Capitalist Takes Leave of Absence from SpaceX Board (Source: Space News)
A prominent venture capitalist who has been a key investor and supporter of commercial space efforts has left the firm he co-founded and is taking a leave of absence from the board of SpaceX. In a brief statement Nov. 13, venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) announced that Steve Jurvetson, a co-founder and partner in the firm would be leaving by “mutual agreement.” The statement did not specify the reason for his departure.

However, a report last month by the technology publication The Information stated DFJ was investigating “indirect and second-hand allegations” regarding Jurvetson’s conduct towards women. Jurvetson denied any allegations in a tweet that confirmed he was leaving DFJ. “I am leaving DFJ to focus on personal matters, including taking legal action against those whose false statements have defamed me,” he said. (11/14)

BAE Systems Wins DARPA Contract to Develop 3D Space Warfare Lab (Source: Space News)
DARPA awarded BAE Systems a contract worth up to $12.8 million to develop a digital lab to help U.S. military commanders prepare for combat in outer space, the company announced Nov. 14. The task is to create a virtual space-battle zone so U.S. military leaders can better understand the space environment and the potential threats. (11/14)

Japan to Try Again with World’s Smallest Satellite-Carrying Rocket (Source: Japan Times)
The space agency will try once again in December to launch the world’s smallest rocket capable of placing a satellite in orbit after the initial attempt failed in January. The rocket, measuring 10 meters long and 50 cm in diameter, will carry a “micro-mini” satellite weighing about 3 kg developed by the University of Tokyo to collect imagery of the Earth’s surface. The launch scheduled for Dec. 25 will feature the fifth rocket in the SS-520 series.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is hoping small rockets made with commercially available components at low cost will help fuel the growing global demand for micro-mini satellites. JAXA used components found in home electronics and smartphones for the rocket, which is about the size of a utility pole. The three-stage rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture between 10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. (11/13)

Former NASA Official Joins Luxembourg Initiative (Source: Space Resources)
The Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy today announced that Mr. Gary Martin, former Director of Partnerships at NASA Ames, recently joined its Space Affairs Department. As an independent advisor, Gary Martin assists the Directorate-General for Research, Intellectual Property and New Technologies, in charge of Space Affairs, to implement the strategy relating to the SpaceResources.lu initiative in close collaboration with national partners from research and academia. (11/14)

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