March 15, 2018

Why DoD is a Difficult Customer for Commercial Satellite Providers (Source: C4ISRNet)
Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Defense is one of the biggest markets and users of commercial satellite capabilities, it can often be a demanding customer. One of the biggest gripes of the commercial providers is that requirements for the military continue to change, Sherin Kamal, chief scientist / engineer at SAIC, said at the annual Satellite 2018 conference in Washington March 12.

These requirements are fluid and the military typically doesn’t know in advance where, when, how much or what frequency it needs, which is troublesome for a commercial satellite operator that needs time and money to invest in the proper infrastructure. (3/12)

Blue Origin’s Job Listings Hint it Could Soon be Signing Up Astronauts (Source: GeekWire)
Some of the nearly 200 job opportunities posted by Blue Origin suggest Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space venture is preparing to sign up passengers for its New Shepard suborbital spaceflights. One listing is looking for an astronaut experience manager to help create “a highly differentiated offering that culminates in the customer becoming an astronaut.”

Another listing calls for someone to run a training program for New Shepard flight controllers. Blue Origin says it has openings for New Shepard vehicle operators who can be certified to serve as capsule controllers, booster controllers, ground controllers or flight directors at the West Texas launch site. (3/13)

ULA Focuses on Increasing Commercial Missions for Atlas, Vulcan (Source: Space News)
ULA is making efforts to win more commercial business for its Atlas and future Vulcan rocket. ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said the company is working to focus more attention on commercial customers through measures like taking sales and marketing of the Atlas in-house. Bruno said the first two Vulcan launches, planned for 2020, will also be commercial missions and will be part of efforts to win certification of the vehicle for government missions. However, he said the bulk of ULA's business will continue to be with government customers. Bruno declined to state when the company will select an engine for the Vulcan's first stage other than "soon." (3/15)

Trump Claims Long-Standing 'Space Force' Idea as His Own, Contradicting His Prior Stance (Source: Space News)
Some key House members are excited about President Trump's apparent interest in a "Space Force." The House Armed Services Committee discussed the comment made Tuesday by Trump where he appeared to endorse the formation of an independent space force, something his administration has previously opposed.

At a separate appropriations hearing Wednesday, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said only that "we look forward to the conversation" on the issue. Some outside observers endorsed the concept at the Armed Services hearing. "It's a question of whether you peel the band-aid off slowly or you rip it off. I am ready to rip the band-aid off," said Doug Loverro, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy. (3/14)

Trump: We're Trying to Top JFK by Looking at Mars Mission (Source: The Hill)
President Trump said Thursday that he wanted to "top" former President John F. Kennedy's ambitions to send a man to the moon by pursuing a trip to Mars. "We're looking at Mars, by the way," Trump said. "Trying to top [Kennedy]. We're going to get there. It's moving along pretty good. A lot of things have happened, Mike, having to do with that subject. Way ahead of schedule."

Kennedy, who served in the Oval Office from 1961 until his assassination in 1963, set the United States' sights on reaching the moon during the so-called "space race" with the Soviet Union. Trump has made a return to the moon and an eventual trip to Mars a primary goal of his administration's space policy. He signed a directive in December outlining the ambitions. "Very soon we're going to Mars," he said. "You wouldn't be going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it." (3/15)

A Rare Look Inside Boeing’s Florida-Based CST-100 Starliner Facility (Source: CNBC)
On July 21, 2011, astronaut Chris Ferguson guided the Atlantis back to Earth to conclude the final space shuttle mission. It was the end of an era for launching humans to space from American soil — one he says brought tumbleweeds and empty parking lots to KSC. "But then the gates opened in 2014 and tumbleweeds stopped blowing across the road and the cars started showing up in the parking lot," said Ferguson, who is now Boeing's director of Starliner crew and mission systems. Click here. (3/15)

Putin: Russia Will Beat NASA to Mars and Find Water on the Moon (Source: Newsweek)
Russia will launch a mission to Mars in 2019 which if successful would beat NASA’s planned exploration of the red planet by a year. Vladimir Putin revealed his country’s space plans during a documentary about the president which was widely shared on social media. He said: "We are planning unmanned and later manned launches, into deep space, as part of a lunar program and for Mars exploration. The closest mission is very soon, we are planning to launch a mission to Mars in 2019." (3/15)    

It Takes a (Moon) Village (Source: Air & Space Magazine)
Nearly 50 years after humans first set foot on the moon, it’s a hot destination once again. Jan Wörner, director general of the European Space Agency, has advocated for creation of an international “moon village,” in which humans and robots work together on mining operations, astronomy, or other projects on the lunar surface. More recently, NASA has been directed to prioritize human moon exploration before visiting Mars.

It may be a long road back to the moon, however. Although rockets like NASA’s Space Launch System or SpaceX’s just-tested Falcon Heavy are in the works, substantial funding will be required to come up with everything from landers to spacesuits to lunar habitats. Engineers will have to find a way to achieve long-term stays under harsh lunar conditions, which include debilitating dust and alternating, two-week periods of strong sunlight and cold darkness. Click here. (3/6)

Using AI to Discover the Moon’s Hidden Treasures (Source: iQ by Intel)
With the help of artificial intelligence, NASA’s Frontier Development Lab and Intel are mapping the moon’s craters to find hidden lunar resources. Scientists believe the moon is rife with natural resources that could help space explorers settle the lunar landscape – much like early settlers did on earth. But before they can access those resources, they need to find them.

“We have 50 years’ worth of NASA imagery from all sides of the moon,” said Shashi Jain, innovation manager at Intel’s Software and Services Group. “We’ve only recently begun to combine them and make one big, awesome map.” Working with the NASA Frontier Development Lab (FDL), a team of Intel AI engineers and data scientists are tackling the challenge of building complex maps of the lunar poles.

Craters in the permanently shadowed polar regions of the moon are potentially filled with water, ice and other volatile resources that can be used to produce rocket fuel, an air supply for astronauts or other essential materials, according to Jain. (1/5)

Satellite Capacity Prices In Sustained Decline (Source: Space News)
Satellite capacity prices have dropped dramatically over the last two years, thanks largely to new high-throughput satellites. A study by Northern Sky Research presented at Satellite 2018 found prices dropped between 35 and 60 percent depending on application. Several factors in addition to new satellites have contributed to the decline, including operators who have been too eager to secure large connectivity deals in markets like inflight connectivity and maritime. The company said prices will continue to decline into next year, with a rebound unlikely. (3/15)

GEO Satellite Orders In Decline, Worrying Manufacturers (Source: Space News)
Satellite manufacturers are worried a dearth of orders could jeopardize their supply chains. As the slowdown in GEO satellite orders enters its fourth year, manufacturers worry that the suppliers they rely on, many being small businesses, won't survive without making major changes. Manufacturers are working to standardize components they use to increase the volume they order. Companies are looking at technologies developed in other industries that can be applied to satellites to lower their costs. (3/15)

China Preparing to Launch Experimental Commsat (Source: Space News)
China will launch an experimental large communications satellite on the return-to-flight mission of the Long March 5. The Shijian-20 satellite, weighing about 7 metric tons, will carry a communications payload with a capacity of 300 gigabits per second and a laser communications unit. That launch, the first since a failed launch of another experimental communications satellite last July, is expected this November. (3/15)

SpaceX to Fly Reused Boosters on Half of 2018 Launches (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell highlighted her customers’ acceptance of reusable rockets, stating that SpaceX intends to fly reused boosters on at least half of their 2018 launch manifest. Barring unforeseen circumstances, SpaceX is effectively on track to complete 30 separate missions this year with more than half flying flight-proven Falcon 9 (and Heavy) boosters. (3/14)

Trump Officials Propose 'Transformative' Infrastructure Investments, Including Launch Pads, Satellite Broadband (Source: Washington Post)
The Trump administration wants to spend $20 billion on a range of risky but potentially “transformative” infrastructure projects, such as satellite networks to provide rural broadband, new launchpads for private rockets, and “augmented reality” technologies to visualize and manage urban traffic congestion, a senior official said Wednesday.

The administration “is already prepared with ideas” for “surgically-targeted” projects, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told senators as part of a broad, multiagency push for momentum on a 10-year, $200 billion infrastructure proposal facing head winds on Capitol Hill. Ross was joined by the secretaries of transportation, agriculture, energy and labor, offering new details on “bold and innovative projects … that would not otherwise attract private investment without federal incentives because of the risk.”

But the phalanx of cabinet chiefs provided no new information on the more pedestrian but pivotal question of how the president’s team would pay for its infrastructure aspirations. The officials repeated their refrain that the administration would rely on states, localities and private firms to come up with $1.3 trillion more to make a dent in the nation’s multitrillion-dollar infrastructure needs. (3/14)

Asteroids and Comets Shower Mars with Organics (Source: Space Daily)
Asteroids and comets appear to be a much more important suppliers of organic molecules on Mars than expected. Until now, astronomers assumed that the organics on Mars mainly came from dust particles from space. Now, computer simulations by an international team of researchers led by Dutch astronomers indicate that one-third of the material comes from asteroids and comets. The findings have been accepted for publication in the scientific journal Icarus.

In 2015, the Mars rover Curiosity discovered remnants of organic molecules on Mars. Scientists wondered how these organic molecules had ended up on Mars. The prevailing theory was that the molecules were tied to interplanetary dust particles. Those particles are everywhere. For example, around our Earth we see the dust particles when they enter our atmosphere and cause 'shooting stars

The calculations show that 192 tons of carbon per year end up on Mars. That is comparable to 8 truckloads. Approximately 129 tons (67%) of carbon come from interplanetary dust particles. But asteroids also deliver another 50 tons per year (26%) and comets provide about 13 tons (7%) of the organic material. (3/14)

Air Force Awards Launch Services Contracts to SpaceX and ULA (Source: USAF)
The Air Force has awarded two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch service contracts. SpaceX has been awarded $290,594,130 to launch three GPS III missions (1 base and 2 options). ULA has been awarded $351,839,510 to deliver Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-8 and AFSPC-12 satellites to orbit. Both contracts provide the Government with a total launch solution for these missions, which includes launch vehicle production, mission integration, launch operations, and spaceflight certification. The launches will be at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (3/14)

SpaceX Selected to Launch DigitalGlobe Satellites (Source: Maxar)
DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies company (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates), announced it has contracted with SpaceX to launch the next-generation WorldView Legion satellite imaging constellation. The WorldView Legion constellation will incorporate DigitalGlobe’s most advanced capabilities in Earth observation and satellite construction technologies. (3/14)

'Luna City 2175' Will Take Audience to a Future Community Grappling with How to be Civilized (Source: Space Daily)
A good book can transport the reader into a faraway universe filled with rich detail. The ASU Emerge event will do the same thing this weekend, but the audience actually will be able to touch, see and interact with the newly created world.

"Luna City: 2175," the title of the seventh annual ASU Emerge, will be a combined art, theater and museum experience that's based on real research about what an extra-planetary colony would be like 157 years from now. The two-day event will transform the Galvin Playhouse on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University. (3/14)

"It's Business Time" for Rocket Lab (Source: New Zealand Herald)
Aerospace company Rocket Lab has confirmed its first fully-commercial rocket launch will take off from Mahia in just a few weeks. The United States-based orbital launch provider confirmed its next launch will be a fully-commercial flight to put two Lemur-2 cubesats into orbit for launch customer Spire Global. Those would be used to provide commercial ship-tracking and weather monitoring services. Rocket Lab would confirm a full launch manifest in coming weeks. (3/14)

Toward a CisLunar Marketplace (Source: Aerospace America)
In the progression of the human economy, only one domain remains undeveloped: outer space. The high cost of reaching orbit has been an obvious hurdle, but another challenge is that goods and people must move efficiently from place to place once they are in space. ULA, the joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is addressing both problems through its CisLunar-1000 initiative. Michael Holguin of ULA shares an insider’s account about progress to date.

Creating an economy in the space between Earth and the moon’s surface, called cislunar space, has always posed a chicken and egg dilemma. The cost of launching, building and operating orbiting facilities makes the business case difficult to close, but without being in business, it’s difficult to lower costs and prove the business case. As a result, the great potential of space has sat idle on terra firma, despite the intriguing results of years of experiments aboard the International Space Station. Click here. (3/14)

Deep Space Industries to Provide Comet Satellite Propulsion for Astro Digital (Source: SpaceRef)
Deep Space Industries announced today that it has signed a contract with Astro Digital to provide several CometTM water-based satellite propulsion systems. Comet is a simple, launch-safe, and cost-effective electrothermal propulsion system that uses water as a propellant and can be customized for nearly any small satellite application.

“We chose DSI’s propulsion solution because of the team’s ability to deliver a unique and relatively large microsat propulsion system on an incredibly aggressive schedule,” explained Chris Biddy, chief executive officer of Astro Digital. “We are quite impressed by the Comet’s scalable nature and ease of integration.”

Comet is unique in that it uses water as propellant. This is especially important for Deep Space Industries’ future asteroid mining plans, as water will be among the first resources mined from asteroids. In the meantime, this propulsion system is efficient, affordable, and easy to use for small satellites that will stay much closer to home, for customers such as Astro Digital. (3/14)