March 11, 2018

France, India to Work on Planetary Rovers (Source: Deccan Herald)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and its French counterpart, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) will work together to send rovers to the Moon, Mars and other planets. India and France on Saturday came out with the Joint Vision for Space Cooperation after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The ISRO and CNES will work together on autonomous navigation of rovers in the Moon, Mars and other planets and on aero-braking technologies for planetary exploration. They also agreed to work together for modelling of atmospheres of Mars and Venus and for inflatable systems for exploring Venus. Both sides will be able to embark on complex, high-technology space science and planetary exploration missions in future. (3/10)

An Electro-Blob Under Africa May Be 'Ground Zero' for Earth's Magnetic Field Reversal (Source: Space.com)
A flip in Earth's magnetic field may be brewing. And if it is, an electromagnetic blob deep under southern Africa is likely to be ground zero for the change. New research using clays burned in cleansing rituals by Iron Age farmers finds that over the past 1,500 years, an electromagnetic anomaly in the Southern Hemisphere has waxed and waned, with the magnetic field in the region weakening and strengthening.

This weirdness may presage a gradual reversal in the magnetic field, so that magnetic north moves to the South Pole and vice versa. (A flip-flop of this sort last occurred 780,000 years ago.) The study suggests that the magnetic field under southern Africa may not just be weird today. It may be a longstanding hotspot for changes in the global magnetic field. (3/10)

Texas' Midland Spaceport Terminates Agreement with Orbital Outfitters (Source: Midland Reporter Telegram)
The Midland Development Corp. voted to sever ties with Orbital Outfitters. The MDC voted unanimously to terminate its agreement with Orbital Outfitters, a space suit startup company headquartered at Midland International Air & Space Port. Orbital also was contracted to operate the city’s Midland Altitude Chamber Complex (MACC), used for the testing of equipment before it goes into space.

The MDC offered Orbital a $1 million incentive and spent about $7 million on a facility for Orbital’s headquarters, which included the Midland Altitude Chamber Complex (MACC). After the agreement is terminated, the MDC will take ownership of all of Orbital’s assets, including any intellectual property. (3/10)

FAA Study Recommends to Allow Launches at Spaceport Camden (Source: Brunswick News)
Camden County may soon become Georgia’s space coast. The preferred alternative in the FAA’s environmental impact statement released Thursday is to allow as many as 12 launches a year from Spaceport Camden. State Rep. Jason Spencer described the recommendation as “a major milestone” in Camden County’s efforts to establish a commercial spaceport.

“Georgia has now officially entered into an elite group of space states,” he said. “Commercial space companies will see this as a major development and will start heavily considering Georgia’s aerospace assets and create high paying jobs for our citizens. This is just the beginning of a great and new economic development legacy for Georgia.” The FAA will require a site operator license and a launch license for each vehicle launched from the site, as well as further environmental review to determine if a proposed launch falls within the scope of the environmental study.

Other operations include up to 12 static fire engine tests and 12 wet dress rehearsals per year. One of the launches could be at night. All the launches would have a limited trajectory that would take the craft over the north end of Cumberland Island National Seashore or Little Cumberland Island. The FAA is considering launch ranges from 83 to 115 degrees from true north, according to the study. John Simpson, a spokesman for the county, said the limited trajectories should not be a deterrent to potential launches. (3/10)

FAA Releases Draft Environmental Assessment of Proposed Georgia Spaceport (Source: Space News)
A proposed spaceport on Georgia’s Atlantic coast is one step closer to approval with the release of a draft environmental impact statement regarding the launch facility. The report by the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, assessed environmental effects from both the construction of Spaceport Camden and proposed launch operations, which could also include landings of vehicle stages back at the spaceport.

The draft report makes no specific findings or conclusions beyond identifying construction of the launch site as the “preferred alternative,” but its assessment of various environmental effects, from air and water pollution to noise and visual effects, identified no obvious conflicts with local or federal regulations that could not be mitigated in some way.

The proposed spaceport, to be built on land once used by Thiokol to produce and test solid rocket motors, would include a vertical launch site, landing pad and other launch control and support buildings. The spaceport would host up to 12 launches a year of small to “medium-large” launch vehicles, flying on a narrow range of azimuths to the east and east-southeast. (3/9)

Musk: First Mars Spaceship Being Built, with Flight Tests Set for 2019 (Source: GeekWire)
SpaceX is building its first Mars transport vehicle, also known as the BFR, and “making good progress” toward short-hop flight tests on Earth by the middle of next year, CEO Elon Musk said today. “We’re actually building that ship right now,” Musk said at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. SpaceX’s timeline calls for the first BFR cargo flights to head for Mars in 2022, but Musk acknowledged he’s been told that “sometimes my timelines are a little … optimistic.” (3/11)

Insurance Firm Paid Astro Digital’s Claim for Lost Cubesats (Source: Space News)
An insurance company paid Astro Digital’s claim for the loss of two Landmapper cubesats sent into orbit in July 2017 on a Russian Soyuz rocket after the Earth imaging and analysis company proved the failure stemmed from a launch problem, according to two space industry executives. “I can confirm that Astro Digital did have launch insurance policies for the Landmapper-BC1 and Landmapper-BC2 satellites,” said Chris Biddy, Astro Digital CEO. “However, we cannot comment further due to non-disclosure agreements.” (3/9)

The Military Keeps Encountering UFOs. Why Doesn’t the Pentagon Care? (Source: Washington Post)
Defense Department officials who analyze the relevant intelligence confirm more than a dozen such incidents off the East Coast alone since 2015. In another recent case, the Air Force launched F-15 fighters last October in a failed attempt to intercept an unidentified high-speed aircraft looping over the Pacific Northwest.

A third declassified video, released by To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science , a privately owned media and scientific research company to which I’m an adviser, reveals a previously undisclosed Navy encounter that occurred off the East Coast in 2015. Is it possible that America has been technologically leap-frogged by Russia or China? Or, as many people wondered after the videos were first published in December, might they be evidence of some alien civilization?

Unfortunately, we have no idea, because we aren’t even seeking answers. From my work with To the Stars Academy, which seeks to raise private funds to investigate incidents like the 2004 Nimitz encounter, I know they continue to occur, because we are being approached by military personnel who are concerned about national security and frustrated by how the Defense Department is handling such reports. Nobody wants to be “the alien guy” in the national security bureaucracy; nobody wants to be ridiculed or sidelined for drawing attention to the issue. This is true up and down the chain of command, and it is a serious and recurring impediment to progress. Click here. (3/10)

KSC Firefighters Threaten Pickets, Strike Over Proposed Benefit Cuts (Source: Florida Today)
Kennedy Space Center firefighters have authorized a potential strike over what they say are unacceptable cuts to benefits proposed by NASA contractor Chenega Infinity. As soon as next week, nearly 80 KSC firefighters could start informational pickets outside spaceport gates, waving signs reading “Firefighters deserve sick leave” and “Chenega Infinity is stealing our retirement.”

A group of firefighters assembled more than 100 signs Friday morning outside the Transport Workers Union of America Local 525 office on Merritt Island. “We’re fighting for what’s right,” said Jim Dumont, a 27-year veteran KSC firefighter from Port St. John. “We have to protect what’s right for us, our families, our children. We deserve to have benefits that are there for us.” Chenega Infinity said the union has been spreading “factually inaccurate” information. (3/10)