February 24, 2018

The Race to Launch the First Student-Built Rocket into Space Is On (Source: Motherboard)
Once upon a time, if you were a college student who wanted to build spacefaring rockets, you’d study hard and hope to land a job in aerospace once you graduated. But there’s a new generation of rocketry enthusiasts on the rise, and they are not content to wait on their commencement ceremonies to put their own vehicles into space.

That’s why Space Enterprise at Berkeley, a group founded by UC Berkeley undergraduates, challenged their peers to participate in Project Karman—a race to be the first college team to fund, build, and blast a rocket beyond the Karman Line. At 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth’s surface, the line is widely recognized as the boundary to outer space. It’s over twice as high than current record altitude achieved by a collegiate team: 44 kilometers (27 miles), set by the University of Southern California in March 2017. Click here. (2/23)

Expandable Space Habitats Promise Versatility in Low-Earth Orbit and Beyond (Source: Insights)
Bigelow’s soft-body habitats launch in a compact configuration. Once they reach orbit, they are expanded to their full size. The company emphasizes that in addition to better radiation shielding, this approach offers a greater ratio of living space to launch mass compared to traditional aluminum designs. Bigelow expects a wide range of prospective customers.

BSO also revealed it was partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). CASIS manages research activities for the section of the International Space Station designated as a U.S. National Laboratory. BSO will initially provide payload integration services to the International Space Station (ISS), gaining experience and building relationships that it can leverage to promote its own space stations. (2/23)

Astronaut: Trump's Plan for the Space Station a Huge Mistake (Source: Washington Post)
Donald Trump's administration is floating a proposal to return to the moon -- and to shut down the International Space Station to help pay for it. The first part of this idea is good. The second is horrible. If enacted, it could well spell the end of NASA's human spaceflight for the foreseeable future. There is a wild card here, too: I refer to the commercial spaceflight efforts of companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. For the first time, visionary leaders of commercial companies are striving to build space infrastructure and exploration programs funded by commercial activities.

Yes, there is the possibility of NASA partnering with them, but that is not the pressing question in my view now; the continuation of ISS is. Consider, to begin, that the International Space Station, or ISS, is an essential piece of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's program for space exploration. The biggest technical challenge to sending astronauts on farther and longer missions is biomedical: How do we keep them healthy? We need the ISS to help us find out. We need it as an engineering test bed, so we can learn how to build robust life-support and other systems for voyages to destinations like Mars.

What about privatizing the ISS? That idea is barely worth mentioning. The ISS was designed to operate with two big mission control centers, in Houston and Moscow. They each need standing armies of onsite engineers and technicians around the clock to monitor and send commands to the station. Estimates of the cost of launching spacecraft to the ISS vary, but they are certainly in the range of $100 million or more. Let's not even consider maintenance costs. Tell me with a straight face how a commercial entity is going to make money operating ISS? (2/22)

Manufacturing Advances Beyond Earth's Atmosphere (Source: Site Selection)
Many manufacturing companies “are now shifting their assessment away from countries’ infrastructure and focusing more on countries’ investments in technology advancements (e.g. 3D printing). Technology investments can help manufacturers further innovate, automate and advance their processes and, thus, remain competitive in the market.” But do any of those companies plan to advance manufacturing beyond the atmosphere? One does.

In December, Space Florida announced what it called a first-of-its-kind financing agreement with Made In Space (MIS), Inc. “MIS products are utilized both in space and on Earth, and the company was the first to manufacture hardware off the planet,” Space Florida announced. “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. (2/20)

Avio to Supply Hardware for Final Ariane 5 Rockets (Source: Avio)
Avio and Europropulsion have signed a supply contract for the coming 4 years for the final Ariane 5 production lot. Ariane 5 – which has made aerospace history – will gradually be replaced by Ariane 6, a new and better performing launcher for which Avio produces in Colleferro the booster case of the P120C in carbon fiber and, through the subsidiary Regulus in French Guyana, carries out the solid propellant loading.

The same P120C motors, used for Ariane 6 as boosters, will however be utilized as the first stage of the evolving European Vega C and Vega E launchers (which hold the world record of 11 successful launches from the qualifying flight). Vega C’s qualifying launch will take place in 2019. (2/22)

A Black Brant Rocket CubeSat Deployer Proposal (Source: SpaceQ)
Many CubeSat missions could be tested in the context of a suborbital mission of less than 5-20 minutes of exo-atmospheric flight time using Magellan’s Black Brant vehicle. The proposal combines an existing Canadian technology with over 50 years of space heritage with a modern CubeSat deployer to produce a highly reliably educational and research platform. Even though the last Canadian launch of a Magellan Black Brant suborbital rocket may have been 20 years ago, this reliable technology has been in constant use around the globe and continues to be an active product. (2/22)

Cold War 2.0 is Already Happening in Space (Source: The Outline)
The National Space Council — a Cold War-era space oversight committee relaunched last June after being disbanded and relaunched several times — announced a series of measures designed to make it easier for private companies, such as SpaceX or Blue Origin, to launch satellites into space. Basically, by reducing regulations, the goal is to get as many satellites up in the air as possible.

Per the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, governments aren’t allowed to claim territories in outer space — such as the moon or an asteroid — on behalf of their own countries. However, that doesn’t mean businesses can’t do it. That means the way to promote national dominance in space is to promote space businesses, which in this case, includes commercial satellites. And America isn’t the only one with this idea. The UK recently launched the UK Space Agency to promote its commercial space sector, and countries like France, Japan, Russia, and China are all investing in this sector as well. Click here. (2/23)

America's Starmen Are Selling Space, But Who’s Buying? (Source: Popular Mechanics)
In the short term, delivering American astronauts to the International Space Station will be the cornerstone mission for this new wave of human spaceflight, says John Lodgson. Beyond that, he says, the crewed launch market looks “rather vague.” Robert Bigelow hopes to build the world’s first orbital hotel. The first obvious (but overlooked) customer base for commercial space stations would be astronauts from Europe and elsewhere, who need to travel to the ISS before any plans to privatize the station after 2024 come to fruition.

Less clear is the possible demand from corporations from around the globe, who could desire to conduct research on to ISS or other research stations. Then there are other nations who are not ISS partners, but who may want an off-the-shelf launch kit for their astronauts. A range of countries could be interested in such a ticket. “Thinking off the top of my head, the United Arab Emirates,” Lodgson says when prodded to name for possible customers. “Nigeria? Iran always wanted a human spaceflight program.” (2/23)

The Latest Piece of NASA Hardware Built in New Orleans (Source: Times Picayune)
Workers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East on Thursday (Feb. 22) rolled out the latest piece of hardware for the nation's new deep-space rocket. Watch the video above to see the piece being shipped out. The piece, a structural test version of the intertank that will eventually be housed in NASA's Space Launch System, was loaded Thursday morning onto the agency's Pegasus barge. The barge, first used during the Space Shuttle program, will carry the intertank to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for testing.

Editor's Note: NASA likes to publicize every step of the process for developing its spaceflight hardware, to maintain visibility and excitement for the progress being made. But as commercial space companies quietly develop similar hardware at a faster pace, NASA's approach sometimes serves only to highlight the slow pace and tremendous resources being used to develop the government hardware. (2/23)

Hibernation, Other Methods Suggested to Mitigate Deep Space Travel Radiation Risks (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Imagine climbing into a spaceship bound for Mars and entering a deep slumber that lasts the nine-month trip to the Red Planet. It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but a group of researchers believe hibernation could mitigate the risks of radiation exposure during deep space travel. Hibernation was one of several methods discussed to protect astronauts from harmful radiation in a study published earlier this month.

The idea of hibernation for long-term space travel is nothing new. The Soviet Union was studying this possibility in 1969 before their Mars project was shuttered. And the European Space Agency currently is looking into crew hibernation for their deep space travel project, Aurora. By decreasing a person's metabolic rate and vital bodily processes, the study states that there is "potential to greatly reduce, if not fully eliminate, the radiation-associated risks" of deep space missions. (2/23)

KBR to Buy Another NASA-Focused Government Contractor for $355M (Source: Seeking Alpha)
KBR signed a definitive agreement to purchase Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT), a privately held company.  The transaction is expected to close around the end of the Q1. Pursuant to acquisition, SGT will operate as a business unit within KBR's global Government Services business. This enhances and expands KBR's capabilities to support high-priority missions including human space flight, the International Space Station, military and commercial space. (2/23)

There’s Something Strange Going On Amid the Satellite Internet Rush (Source: Ars Technica)
Greg Wyler is listed as the founder and executive chairman of OneWeb on the company's site. He retains about 12 percent ownership in the company and remains its public face. However, Wyler has now founded yet another company, SOM1101, that seeks to launch and operate a satellite Internet service. Wyler owns 100 percent of this new company.

The existence of Wyler's new company came to light after Boeing filed an application in December 2017 to the FCC. Boeing had previously indicated its own interest in building satellites for a constellation, and it was among the companies petitioning the FCC for access to V-band and Ka-band frequencies in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. With the new request to the FCC, Boeing has petitioned to transfer its applications for spectrum access to SOM1101.

This petition has been met by opposition from other companies seeking to provide satellite Internet service, including O3b, Iridium, Telesat Canada, SpaceX, and others. Their petitions to deny can be read in their entirety on the FCC website here. The primary objection these companies raised is that, under FCC rules, a party may not apply for more than one satellite system license in a particular frequency band—a prohibition against multiple ownership. In this case, Wyler is seeking to access the Ka- and V-bands both through OneWeb, where he remains executive chairman, and his new company, SOM1101. (2/23)

On Second Thought, the Moon's Water May Be Widespread and Immobile (Source: NASA)
A new analysis of data from two lunar missions finds evidence that the Moon’s water is widely distributed across the surface and is not confined to a particular region or type of terrain. The water appears to be present day and night, though it’s not necessarily easily accessible. The findings could help researchers understand the origin of the Moon’s water and how easy it would be to use as a resource. If the Moon has enough water, and if it’s reasonably convenient to access, future explorers might be able to use it as drinking water or to convert it into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or oxygen to breathe. (2/23)

Sunday SpaceX Launch Delayed from Cape Canaveral (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX has delayed Sunday's launch due to a requirement for further testing on the rocket's fairing, or nose cone. A new launch date will be announced soon. Less than three days after launching a Spanish radar imaging satellite from California, SpaceX early Sunday aims to launch a Spanish telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Hispasat 30W-6 spacecraft from Launch Complex 40 is targeted for 12:35 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, the opening of a two-hour launch window. (2/23)

Xichang Space Center Set for 17 Launches [and Hazardous Debris Drops] in 2018 (Source: GB Times)
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest of China will host a Long March 3 rocket launch on average every 26 days during 2018, including a major lunar mission and multiple Beidou satellite launches, with total launches from the site potentially reaching 17. Long March 3 variants will launch 14 times this year, with 10 of these to carry Beidou navigation and positioning satellites, and eight lofting pairs of Beidou satellites to medium Earth orbits (MEO).

Xichang was built in-land, meaning that used stages and boosters from rocket launches fall to the ground, rather than dropping harmlessly into the oceans. Both Long March 3B launches of Beidou satellites in early 2018 saw boosters fall from the sky and threaten buildings in Guizhou. Onlookers in Tiandeng County witnessed burning wreckage, while the second, in Tianlin County, hit the top of an evacuated building.

While efforts towards guided landings, stage reusability and sea launches are taking shape, these will not change the state of affairs for years to come, and the high launch cadence means similar and possibly deadly incidents may occur. The use of the Long March 7, a new, cryogenic launch vehicle launching from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, as a replacement for the Long March 3B also appears some way off. (2/24)

China Speeds Up Research, Commercialization of Upper Stages (Source: Xinhua)
China will accelerate research and commercial use of rocket upper stages, a carrier rocket official said. "The Yuanzheng rocket upper stage family will have a new member, Yuanzheng-1S, this year, serving launches for low and medium Earth orbit satellites," said Wang Mingzhe, an upper stage architect of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).

Upper stages are independent aircraft installed on the carrier rocket that are capable of restarting their engines multiple times in space to allow them to send different payloads to varying orbits. China began to develop upper stage spacecraft in the 1980s, according to a report released by CALT. The first mission took place in March 2015 involving the Yuanzheng-1, which can perform two ignitions and operate for 6.5 hours. Over the past three years, the Yuanzheng upper stage family has gained two members, Yuanzheng-1A and Yuanzheng-2, which are capable of up to 20 engine restarts and multiple spacecraft separation events. (2/24)

Starship Enterprise: Our Entrepreneurial Future in Space (Source: TEDx)
Every now and again, seemingly separate and unrelated innovations converge and, in doing so, irreversibly change the world in profound ways. Since the first satellite, Sputnik in 1957, data from space has been tightly held by a few powerful governments and used to promote national agendas. Small satellites and reduced launch costs have enabled increased access to space, enabling a new wave of entrepreneurs who are providing unprecedented access to this valuable data, thereby breaking the established grip on power and allowing anyone to meaningfully participate in our space future.

At the forefront of early-stage space investing, Chad Anderson has facilitated millions of dollars of private investment into new commercial space ventures - backing dozens of entrepreneurs who are mining asteroids, launching ordinary people into orbit, and taking humanity back to the moon, Mars, and beyond. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Click here. (2/22)

SpaceX Launches Satellites from Vandenberg, Misses Fairing Recovery (Source: Parabolic Arc)
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Thursday morning. The primary payload was Hisdesat’s Paz satellite, which will provide radar imaging as well as ship tracking and weather data. The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defence and Space.

Elon Musk’s company also launched two of its own satellites, Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, that will demonstrate technologies needed to provide global broadband services. The company plans to orbit 12,000 satellites in two separate constellations for its Starlink broadband service. Musk tweeted that the fairing missed landing on Mr. Steven, a ship equipped with a giant net.

SpaceX’s focus now shifts to Florida for a Falcon 9 launch scheduled for Sunday. The booster will carry the Hispasat 30W-6 satellite, which will provide communications services over Europe, North Africa and the Americas. The launch is scheduled for 12:35 a.m. EST. (2/22)

Brazil's Defense Minister Says SpaceX, Boeing Interested in Launching from Amazon Base (Source: Reuters)
Brazil’s defense minister said on Thursday that SpaceX, Boeing and other companies have expressed interest in launching rockets from the South American nation’s Alcantara military base near the equator, and that a delegation of interested parties visited the site late last year. Defense Minister Raul Jungmann told reporters that the government hopes that “several countries” and companies decide to make use of Brazil’s base. He did not indicate how far along any talks were. SpaceX and Boeing did not immediately reply to request for comment. (2/22)

NASA Budget Proposal Continues Debate on When and How to Launch Europa Clipper (Source: Space News)
NASA’s 2019 budget proposal will likely set up another showdown between NASA and Congress regarding the Europa Clipper mission, debating not only when to launch the spacecraft but also how. It offers $264.7 million for the mission, which would send the spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter and make dozens of flybys of Europa. That’s down from the $425 million the administration requested for the mission in 2018.

Congress has yet to pass a final appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, more than four and a half months into the current year. The mission received $237.4 million in 2017, and a House version of a 2018 appropriations bill provided $495 million to be shared by Europa Clipper and a follow-on lander that is still in an early phase of studies. That bill came out of the commerce, justice and science appropriations subcommittee, whose chairman, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), is a vigorous advocate for missions to Europa.

The projections for future spending for the mission, included in the 2019 budget proposal, do not foresee significant increases. They call for another decrease, to $200 million, in 2020, then rising to about $360 million per year from 2021 through 2023. Despite the funding cut, the budget proposal moves up the launch of the mission by a year from previous agency plans. “The budget allows us to pull the Europa Clipper in,” said Jim Green. “Last year’s budget said we would be able to launch it in 2026. Now we have the funding necessary for us to be to launch it in 2025.” (2/22)

As Space Launch Business Heats Up in Florida, Air Force Commander Tries to Break Records (Source: Space News)
What is happening now at the Florida spaceports, Wayne Monteith says, is the “second renaissance of space.” Monteith is a military officer who speaks with the enthusiasm of a startup CEO. “When people say the space business is down, they’re not spending much time down here where I have four launches in a month,” he commented. The 45th Space Wing Commander has made headlines for his bullish predictions.

He believes there will be enough customers and capacity on the Eastern Range in the future for 48 launches a year. “Two years ago we did 23,” he noted. Last year the number was 19 but only because of two massive hurricanes that caused $63 million worth of damages to the base. The 2018 manifest has 34 launches: 23 for government customers and 11 commercial.

Monteith estimated it could take up to five years for his 48-launches-per-year vision to reach fruition. “Right now we don’t need 48 launches. But our demand is on the increase,” he said. “SpaceX would like to be able to launch every single week, or at least every other week.” The Eastern Range has made itself more competitive by cutting its “day of launch” footprint by 60 percent in just over two years, said Monteith. Click here. (2/22)

Key Hurdle Cleared for York Space Systems and U.S. Army for Small Satellite Launch (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems, a Denver startup preparing to mass manufacture small satellites, has completed a key technical review, clearing the way for the November launch of its Harbinger mission. Representatives of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Systems Defense Command and other government agencies confirmed the mission was on track. That satellite is scheduled to launch in mid-November, but the company has not disclosed the launch vehicle for the spacecraft. Harbinger will test technologies for the company's "S-Class" satellite platform, including payloads such as radar, optical communications and electric propulsion. (2/23)

Affordable Microgravity (Source: Aerospace America)
This year, just as every year since 2004, a Boeing 727 equipped with an open cabin design and padding over its windows will cruise at 24,000 feet and suddenly ascend at a 45-degree angle to briefly produce 1.8 times the force of gravity. The pilots will throttle back to let momentum carry the plane, and thrilled tourists or often times microgravity scientists will float weightless for about 20 seconds as the plane reaches a peak of 32,000 feet and plunges downward.

Meet G-Force One, an aircraft that in 2004 was a shiny new example of space entrepreneurship. The plane, flown by Virginia-based Zero Gravity Corp., gives tourists willing to pay $4,950, or scientists, a sense that they are in space. The company was the brain child of space entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, former astronaut Byron Lichtenberg, notable as the first space shuttle payload specialist, and former NASA microgravity researcher Ray Cronise. They spent a decade planning the business and winning FAA certification for the flights. The 727, for example, has a modified hydraulic system to prevent dangerous cavitation, or bubbles, from forming. Click here. (2/23)

Bad Coordinates Led Ariane 5 Launch Astray (Source: Space News)
The Ariane 5 rocket that deviated from its expected flight path Jan. 25 and lost contact with ground control was fed the wrong coordinates, according to the independent commission Arianespace tasked last month to find out what caused the close call.

Both telecommunications satellites onboard the rocket safely reached orbit despite the flight anomaly but will need to burn additional fuel to reach their perch some 36,000 kilometers above the equator. The European Space Agency-led independent enquiry commission concluded that Ariane 5’s inertial navigation system was fed the wrong azimuth. That sent the rocket 20 degrees off course, causing alarm nine and a half minutes into the mission when Ariane 5 left the view of the ground station monitoring its intended path. (2/23)

How the Trump Administration Wants to Make it Easier for Commercial Space Business (Source: The Verge)
The Trump administration’s National Space Council met publicly for the second time this week to talk about upcoming changes to the US space policy agenda, and the big topic of the day was regulatory reform. The Council says it’s going to work on a number of changes that will make regulations less burdensome to commercial companies, such as streamlining launch licensing and creating a new undersecretary of Space Commerce.

The Council set a number of deadlines for when recommendations for changes need to be made. The deadline for how to deal with export control reforms is January 1st, 2019, while ideas for launch licensing reform need to be in by March 1st, 2019. So it’ll be a while before we know what changes are in store for the industry, but it looks like reform is on its way. Click here. (2/23) 

What if NASA Had the US Military's Budget? (Source: Philosophy Mindset)
Space, the final frontier. Except, we don’t have cool spaceships because the US government has a bit of a thing for aircraft carriers, F35’s, and ships bristling with guns. The U.S. spends roughly $600 billion per year on the military. Which is about 54% of the annual discretionary budget. By comparison, NASA only gets $18.5 billion, or less than 0.5% of the national budget. Now, we are not going to get tied up in debating whether or not the US needs such a massive military. But, here are some quick facts in case you’re interested.

The next biggest spender is China, at a 190 billion dollars per year. China has 500 of their type-99 tanks, which are outclassed by the M1 abrams. Of which, the US has 8700. The US has 10 aircraft carriers. The rest of the world combined has 10 smaller ones. There are 8,400 attack helicopters around the world. Of these, the united states owns 6,400. And those are just the vehicles. One single tomahawk missile costs around $1.5 million. Then you have paychecks, fuel, ammunition, and all the rest. All those expenses add up to that whopping figure $600 billion per year!

The entire cost of the Apollo Program was $136 billion in 2007 dollars. $136 billion over 13 years, Or just over $10 billion per year. Picture a clock representing $600 billion. One minute on that clock is $10 billion. One of the greatest scientific achievements in history fits into that tiny sliver of the US military budget. Pretty crazy. Click here. (2/23)