February 21, 2018

After Flawed Ariane Launch, YahSat Moving Toward Correct Orbit (Source: YahSat)
YahSat's Al Yah 3 satellite will reach its orbital slot in June after completing additional maneuvers to correct its trajectory following an off-track Ariane 5 launch Jan. 25. The satellite, YahSat's third, continues to function "in good health," the company said Feb. 20. Orbital ATK, who built the Ka-band satellite, helped complete the orbit raising. Abu Dhabi, UAE-based YahSat has not said when Al Yah 3 will start commercial service. (2/21)

Trump Again Seeks to End Funding for Earthquake Early Warning System (Source: KTLA)
Mexico City got a substantial warning before the shaking from a distant earthquake arrived Friday — some 30 to 60 seconds broadcast over loudspeakers from an earthquake early warning system. It was another success for Mexico City’s earthquake warning system — one which California, Oregon and Washington state still lack, and one that is an ongoing target for elimination by President Trump.

The Trump administration’s budget proposal released last week again zeroed out funding for the earthquake early warning program administered by the U.S. Geological Survey. The president’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 requested about $13 million less for the federal government’s earthquake hazards program, including $10.2 million for the earthquake early warning program. The administration also proposed reducing staff for the USGS’s earthquake hazards program from 240 to 222, including 15 positions that staff the earthquake early warning program. (2/20)

And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder: The (Quiet) Collapse of Circumlunar Tourism (Source: Space Review)
Last decade there was discussion of space tourism not just on suborbital spaceflights or trips to the International Space Station, but also around the Moon. Dwayne Day discusses what happened with one company’s efforts for such a mission, as revealed by an ongoing federal court case. Click here. (2/20)
 
Will WFIRST Last? (Source: Space Review)
NASA’s 2019 budget proposal, released last week, included a number of expected changes, but also one surprise: cancelling WFIRST, the next major astronomy mission after the James Webb Space Telescope. Jeff Foust reports on the evolution of WFIRST over the last several years and why the planned cancellation surprised so many. Click here. (2/20) 
 
Maritime Tradition Can Inform Policy and Law for Commercial Active Debris Removal (Source: Space Review)
Despite the pressing need to deal with orbital debris in advance of the deployment of new satellite megaconstellations, legal obstacles may dwarf any technical challenges. Al Anzaldua and Michelle Hanlon discuss how an approach from maritime salvage could be applied to orbital debris cleanup. Click here. (2/20)
 
Falcon Heavy Will Change spaceflight Less Than You Think (Source: Space Review)
The successful first launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy earlier this month got many people excited about the ability of the vehicle to revolutionize spaceflight. A.J. Mackenzie argues that the rocket’s impact will not be as great as many enthusiasts believe. Click here. (2/20)

NASA Foresees Human Lunar Landing in Late 2020s (Source: Space News)
NASA's lunar plans foresee humans returning to the lunar surface in the late 2020s. In a speech Tuesday, NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said that the agency's lunar exploration plans would allow landings by NASA astronauts, as well as those from international partners, in the latter part of the 2020s. The 2019 budget proposal, which funds development of a Lunar Orbiting Platform - Gateway and initial robotic landers, is based on the 45-day plan that NASA developed after the first meeting of the National Space Council in October. Lightfoot said he also anticipated "a great discussion" with Congress on the future of the ISS based on plans in the proposal, opposed by some key members of Congress, to end NASA funding of the station in the mid-2020s. (2/20)

Bigelow Space Operations Unit to Sell and Operate Space Station Resources (Source: Space News)
Bigelow Aerospace has established a new company to handle sales and operations of its planned commercial space stations. The first task for the new Bigelow Space Operations company will be to perform a market study of demand for commercial stations from government and corporate customers. Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelow said that while his company will have its first two B330 modules ready for launch by the end of 2021, it may not proceed with launch plans if there is not sufficient demand for those facilities. He warned of competition both by China's space station under development as well as NASA's exploration plans, which could keep current ISS partners from becoming customers of commercial stations. (2/20)

T-Mobile Seeks Auction of C-Band Spectrum (Source: Fierce Wireless)
T-Mobile is not fond of a proposal by satellite operators regarding access to C-band spectrum. In a filing with the FCC, the wireless operator proposed that the commission conduct an auction for the majority of spectrum between 3.7 and 4.2 gigahertz while giving terrestrial rights for some portion to satellite operators currently in that band. That's a different approach than one developed by Intelsat and Intel, and supported by Eutelsat and SES, where satellite operators would be compensated by terrestrial operators for vacating that band. (2/20)

Laser-Ranged Satellite Measurement Now Accurately Reflects Earth's Tidal Perturbations (Source: Space Daily)
Tides on Earth have a far-reaching influence, including disturbing satellites' measurements by affecting their motion. This disturbance can be studied using a model for the gravitational potential of the Earth, taking into account the fact that Earth's shape is not spherical.

The LAser RElativity Satellite (LARES), is the best ever relevant test article to move in the Earth's gravitational field. In a new study published in EPJ Plus, LARES proves its efficiency for high-precision probing of General Relativity and fundamental physics.

Laser-ranged satellites bring increased accuracy in the study and testing of what is referred to in physics as frame dragging. In this study, the authors collect the observations of Earth's tidal perturbations acting on LARES and compare them with two similar laser-ranged satellites: LAGEOS and LAGEOS 2. The team analysed 3.5 years of LARES laser-ranging data, together with that of the two LAGEOS satellites. (2/21)