February 15, 2018

Singapore is About to Take Off as a Spacetech Hub (Source: Tech In Asia)
Singapore is not the first place that comes to mind when people think of the space industry. But an increasing number of spacetech startups are planting its flag there – from companies building low-cost rockets to tech teams innovating in telecommunications, blockchain tech, and more. Government support is growing and foreign companies are also setting up shop in the island nation to take advantage of the impending groundswell. As a new industry, however, it faces challenges. Talent can be hard to find, and cautious investors hesitate to back space startups because they take longer to build a functioning product compared to software companies.

Dr. Bidushi Bhattacharya, a former NASA rocket scientist, has established Bhattacharya Space Enterprises (BSE) in Singapore. The company is fostering a spacetech ecosystem through science projects, training workshops, and community building. She also started Astropreneurs Hub, an incubator aiming to help spacetech startups get off the ground and launch their prototypes – something that should make them more attractive to investors. “I think VCs will be much more comfortable coming in when you have flight heritage,” she explains. (2/14)

NASA Is Bringing Back Cold War-Era Atomic Rockets to Get to Mars (Source: Bloomberg)
In the race to land humans on Mars, NASA is blowing the cobwebs off a technology it shelved in the 1970s — nuclear-powered rockets. Last year, NASA partnered with BWXT Nuclear Energy Inc. for an $18.8 million contract to design a reactor and develop fuel for use in a nuclear-thermal propulsion engine for deep-space travel. While that small start is a long way from the the heady days of the Space Race of the Cold War, it marks the U.S. return to an idea that is also being pursued by Russia and China.

Unlike conventional rockets that burn fuel to create thrust, the atomic system uses the reactor to heat a propellant like liquid hydrogen, which then expands through a nozzle to power the craft. That doubles the efficiency at which the rocket uses fuel, allowing for a “drastically smaller” craft and shorter transit time, said Stephen Heister. “This factor is absolutely huge, especially for very difficult missions that necessitate a lot of propellant such as a Mars flight.” (2/15)

Will Canada Develop Its Own Orbital Rocket? (Source: SpaceQ)
In the last week and half there’s been an ongoing discussion as to whether Canada needs and should develop an indigenous orbital rocket launch capability. That’s the topic of this weeks podcast. My guest is Adam Trumpour. Adam is a concept designer at Pratt & Whitney Canada by day, and a rocket developer by night. He develops liquid propellant rocket engines, occasionally consults on the subject and mentors student rocketry groups. Click here. (2/15)

Lockheed Martin to Build New Facility in Florida, Hire 1,800 (Source: Washington Post)
Lockheed Martin broke ground Tuesday on a new research-and-development facility in Orlando, Florida, where the Bethesda-based defense giant plans to hire 1,800 people to work on new weapons systems for the Pentagon. Engineers at the facility will work to develop new weapons systems including the Long Range Stand-off Missile (LRSO), a plane-launched nuclear cruise missile. The company is in fierce competition with rivals like Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman to capture new defense spending as the Trump administration looks to update the U.S. nuclear arsenal. (2/14)

DigitalGlobe and SSL Parent Company Locates HQ in Colorado (Source: Denver Business Journal)
The parent company of DigitalGlobe and Space Systems Loral is moving its headquarters to the Denver area. Maxar Technologies announced Wednesday it would move its corporate headquarters from San Francisco to Westminster, Colorado, using DigitalGlobe's offices there. Maxar, formerly known as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, acquired DigitalGlobe last year as part of efforts to expand its business and its footprint in the United States. About a dozen people will move from San Francisco to Colorado as part of the relocation. (2/14)

Astronomers Oppose WFIRST Cancelation (Source: AAS)
The nation's largest group of astronomers expressed opposition to plans in NASA's proposed 2019 budget to cancel a key mission. Leaders of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) said Wednesday they had "grave concern" about plans to cancel the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission, which the agency seeks to cancel to free up money for other priorities, like exploration. "We cannot accept termination of WFIRST," said AAS President-Elect Megan Donahue, noting the mission was the top priority for flagship-class astrophysics missions in the 2010 decadal survey. AAS also raised concerns about long-term cuts in NASA's astrophysics budget that "will cripple U.S. astronomy." (2/15)

Branson Hopes for Virgin Flight Soon (Source: CNN Money)
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said he was a "little bit jealous" of SpaceX after its Falcon Heavy launch last week. Branson's company has been working for years on its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, capable of carrying tourists or research payloads, and he said in an interview the vehicle should soon be flying in space. Branson said he would be "disappointed" if the vehicle was not in space "in the next few months," but added that the company would not attempt space flights until its engineers concluded it was safe to do so.(2/14)

Tesla's Orbit Could Bring It Back Near Earth in 2091 (Source: CBS)
The Tesla launched by that Falcon Heavy won't be returning to the vicinity of the Earth any time soon. Astronomers analyzing the orbit of the vehicle found that the first close approach of the vehicle to the Earth won't be until 2091, when it may pass closer to the Earth than the moon. They concluded that the vehicle has about a 50 percent chance of colliding with a planet in the next few tens of millions of years, but a "relatively small chance" of colliding with the Earth in the next million years. (2/15)

China and Russia Could Gain Operational Anti-Sat Capabilities Soon (Source: Space News)
U.S. intelligence officials expect China and Russia to have operational anti-satellite systems in the next few years. In the "2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community" report released this week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that anti-satellite systems under development by China and Russia will reach "initial operational capability in the next few years." The report also raised concerns about "experimental" satellites developed by the two countries to perform proximity operations with other spacecraft, which have peaceful but potentially also hostile applications. (2/15)

UN Group Finalizes Guidelines for Space Sustainability (Source: Space News)
A United Nations working group finalized last week nine guidelines to ensure the long-term sustainability of space. The guidelines, produced by a working group of the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), include improved registration of space objects, performing conjunction assessments for all satellites with the ability to maneuver, and addressing risks with the uncontrolled reentry of space objects. The guidelines join 12 others approved by the committee in 2016 that, while non-binding, may be incorporated into national laws and regulations. (2/15)

New Mexico Spaceport Confidentiality Bill Clears House Vote (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
The New Mexico House of Representatives approved an amended version of a bill that limits public access to some spaceport records. The House voted 63–1 late Wednesday on the bill, which spaceport officials and advocates say is needed to protect business-sensitive information of customers at Spaceport America, the state's commercial spaceport. The House version is narrower in scope than the Senate version, and must be approved again by the Senate before the legislature adjourns Thursday. (2/14)

Ajit Pai (Net Neutrality Killer) Urges FCC to License SpaceX Constellation (Source: Space News)
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai called on his agency to license SpaceX's planned broadband constellation to serve customers in the United States. Pai said licensing SpaceX, which has two demonstration satellites launching Saturday, will help bridge the nation's digital divide, connecting regions that are unreached or poorly served by current  internet providers. SpaceX is one of 12 companies seeking FCC approval for non-geosynchronous satellite systems. So far, the FCC has approved three: OneWeb, Telesat and Space Norway. (2/14)

China's Growing Impact on SatComm (Source: NSR)
China is on a path to become the world's third largest contributor of new satellite communications capacity, according to a new report from Northern Sky Research. The firm projects around 800 Gbps of high-throughput, geostationary satellite capacity will come from China between now and 2026, mostly over Asia. "Since the end of the cold war, the satellite and space industry has been a duopoly between the United States and EU, with other players such as Russia, Japan, and now India playing a secondary role. At some point soon, however, it appears likely China will assume a position as a top tier space nation globally, with significant ramifications for the satellite telecoms industry," NSR wrote. (2/14)

Lockheed Martin Begins Construction of Moon-Bound Orion (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Lockheed Martin has begun producing the Orion spacecraft that is planned to send NASA astronauts on a journey around the Moon. NASA's Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2) which is currently slated for a 2022 launch date has seen the first two components of the craft's pressure vessel welded together.

Engineers working at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility located near New Orleans welded together the first two parts that are planned for use on the EM-2 mission which should see astronauts travel to the Moon. If everything goes off without a hitch, this flight should mark the first time that a crew has been sent to the Moon’s vicinity since the Apollo 17 mission which took place in December of 1972. (2/14)

Jacksonville Spaceport Working Toward Generaton Orbit, Virgin Galactic Launches (Source: WJCT)
The next step in commercial space flight is set for Jacksonville’s Westside at Cecil Spaceport as officials there are planning a commercial launch for late 2018 or early 2019. Spaceport director Todd Lindner said that when the launch takes place, the flight’s payload will likely be a government satellite.

“One of the markets we are targeting is space tourism, human space flight. It is rather lucrative but expensive to do that. But for those of us who have lived our entire lives wanting to fly in space, this is going to be the opportunity to do that.” Lindner said the Cecil Spaceport is working with private firms Virgin Galactic and Generation Orbit on the launch. (2/14)

Just Like Love, Space Can Be Hard on the Heart (Source: The Verge)
Ah, Valentine’s Day — a holiday that can certainly take its toll on the human heart. But there’s some small solace for those whose hearts are aching instead of humming today: at least you’re not in space.

Just like love, space isn’t very kind to the heart. In fact, the organ actually changes shape after being in microgravity for a long time. On Earth, the heart hangs in the chest and takes on a somewhat oblong shape because it’s constantly pulled down by gravity. But in space, that gravity is effectively gone — and the heart adjusts. “It no longer hangs there, and the heart becomes more spherical in nature,” Michael Bungo, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Medical School who has studied the effects of spaceflight on the heart, tells The Verge.

The heart may also change shape in space because it doesn’t have to toil as hard. On Earth, the heart is constantly working against gravity to pump blood up from the legs all the way to the head. Without gravity, the heart doesn’t have to do as much work to get the blood where it needs to go. (2/14)