December 13, 2017

Space Coast Experiencing Incredible Economic Turnaround (Source: WESH)
Less than a decade after the loss of the shuttle program an incredible economic turnaround is being seen across Brevard County. Right now, Brevard County and the Space Coast are thriving. jobs, people, and opportunity are all showing up in droves, but just six years ago it was the exact opposite. When we all said goodbye to NASA's Space Shuttle program, the Space Coast faced a bleak reality. (12/13)

Space Florida, Made In Space Forge Financing Agreement (Source: Parabolic Arc)
In 2017, Space Florida forged a first-of-its-kind financing agreement with innovative in-space manufacturing company, Made In Space (MIS), Inc. With operations in Jacksonville, Florida and in Silicon Valley, MIS is a market leader in the growing segment of in-space manufacturing. MIS products are utilized both in space and on Earth, and the company was the first to manufacture hardware off the planet.

Under the agreement, Space Florida provided debt financing to MIS in support of the company’s entrance into the fiber optics manufacturing market. Provided as security for the loan are space-based or space-bound hardware utilized to manufacture fiber optics in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. The agreement breaks new ground in how space assets can be financed and collateralized by lenders, as well as paves the way for expanded commercial financing in the segment. (12/12)

Trump’s Sinister Plan for NASA (Source: Salon)
Two news items this week — the story of a weird asteroid dipping through our solar system, and the tale of Trump’s literal moonshot plan for NASA — weren’t merely items of space news floating through the newsiverse. These two space stories are connected in a way that prophesies something profound about America’s future in space.

First, some background: Oumuamua, a rogue asteroid likely to have originated from outside our solar system which swung around our sun in October, was found to have physical properties that were so bizarre that it prompted some scientists to focus radio telescopes on the rapidly departing rock to see if it might have been an artificial object constructed by an alien civilization. The other story was yesterday’s big reveal from President Trump that he wanted to refocus NASA’s budget to “reach for the moon,” and, ultimately, Mars.

Together, these two tales tell a story about what the GOP wants NASA to be. While billionaires were funding the astronomy to probe deeper into the mystery of Oumuamua, Trump and his administration were working behind the scenes to make NASA into a science-free organization. It’s hard to ask a question like, “why does Trump want to the moon?” in this manner without sounding conspiratorial. (12/12)

Huntsville Area Voters Pick Jones for U.S. Senate (Source: New York Times)
Voters in Alabama’s cities and most affluent suburbs overwhelmingly rejected Mr. Moore’s candidacy, an ominous sign for Republicans on the ballot next year in upscale districts. In Jefferson County, which includes Birmingham and some of the state’s wealthiest enclaves, Mr. Jones, the Democratic candidate, captured more than 68 percent of the vote. And in Madison County, home to Huntsville and a large NASA facility, Mr. Jones won 57 percent of the vote. (12/13)

Blue Origin Carried Experiments in Upgraded Crew Capsule (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle Tuesday, the first test flight in more than a year. The vehicle lifted off from the company's West Texas test site at 11:59 a.m. Eastern, with the propulsion module making a powered landing and the crew capsule parachuting back to Earth, as planned. The company called the flight "a tremendous success" that tested both a new propulsion module and a "Crew Capsule 2.0" outfitted with large windows and carrying a payload of experiments. The company did not confirm the launch took place until about 11 hours after the flight. (12/13)

Ariane 5 Launches Galileo Satellites (Source: Space News)
An Ariane 5 launched four Galileo satellites Tuesday, bringing the navigation system closer to completion. The Ariane 5 launched at 1:36 p.m. Eastern from Kourou, French Guiana, and released the four satellites into medium Earth orbits several hours later. With the launch, there are now 22 Galileo satellites in orbit, although four are not currently in use. The launch was also the 11th and final mission of 2017 for Arianespace. (12/13)

Japan's ispace Raises $90M for Lunar Landers (Source: Space News)
A Japanese company has raised $90.2 million to fund development of commercial lunar landers. Tokyo-based ispace raised the Series A round from a group of Japanese funds and companies. The company will use the funds for two demonstration missions: a lunar orbiter launching in late 2019 and a lunar lander in 2020. It hopes to then fly a regular series of commercial lunar lander missions carrying payloads for customers. The company is also responsible for Team Hakuto, one of the finalists in the Google Lunar X Prize. It has completed a rover that will fly to the moon on the lander being developed by Team Indus. (12/13)

Rocket Lab Launch Abort Likely Caused by LOX Temp (Source: New Zealand Herald)
Rocket Lab said rising liquid oxygen temperatures in one of its engines caused the Electron launch abort Monday night. The company said increasing temperatures, likely caused by the warm weather conditions at the launch site, triggered the abort. The company plans to make its next attempt to launch its second Electron rocket in a four-hour window that opens at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 13. (12/13)

Russian Launch Failure Blamed on Programming Error (Source: AFP)
Russian officials said a programming error is to blame for last month's failed Soyuz launch. The Nov. 28 launch failed when the rocket's upper stage apparently fired in the wrong direction, causing it and its satellite payload to reenter over the North Atlantic Ocean. A Roscosmos statement said that "a hidden problem in the algorithm" caused the failure, which had gone undetected in past flights of the Fregat stage. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin criticized the report for not assigning blame for the failure. (12/13)

Orbital ATK Satellite-Servicer Gets Preliminary Approval (Source: Space News)
Orbital ATK has received preliminary approvals from the FCC for its first satellite life extension mission. The FCC last week gave approval for Orbital ATK's Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) to perform "rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking" with the Intelsat-901 satellite in geostationary orbit. The company still needs approvals from the FCC to relocate Intelsat-901 and then undock from it. The FCC's approvals involved the use of frequencies for telemetry, tracking and command of the MEV. (12/13)

Earth Science Community Setting Priorities (Source: Space News)
The new Earth science decadal survey is now expected to be rolled out early next month. NASA and others in the research community had hoped the report, which will provide priorities for Earth science research for the next decade, would be ready in time for release at this week's Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. However, at a NASA town hall meeting, Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth science division, said the report will instead likely come out at the American Meteorological Society conference next month. (12/13)

Space Council Advisory Group Forming (Source: NASA)
An advisory group for the new National Space Council will soon be seeking nominations for members. NASA announced Tuesday that the charter for the Users' Advisory Group, which NASA will operate on behalf of the Council, had been approved. The group will consist of 15 to 30 people and include both representatives of non-federal aerospace organizations and subject matter experts. Nominations for the group will open later this month. (12/13)

Chinese Taunt Trump on Moon Plans (Source: Global Times)
Some in China took to social media to comment on, and even mock, President Trump's new policy directing NASA to return to the moon. Reactions included questions about if the announcement was an effort to goad China into a new space race, and if the funding for such missions would be available. Others jokingly wondered if the policy meant that Trump was "going to tweet from the moon." (12/13)