March 20, 2018

Inside Swarm's Unauthorized Satellite Launch (Source: Quartz)
Swarm requested an experimental license from the FCC in April 2017, less than a year ago. The first step for a US organization seeking to operate satellites in space is to gain permission from the FCC, which is charged with fulfilling US obligations to the Outer Space Treaty that new objects in orbit not collide with existing satellites or generate dangerous debris to threaten future spacecraft. With space debris capable of destroying billion dollar satellites or even costing the lives of astronauts on ISS, this is no small matter. The regulatory process proceeded along several months, as Swarm developed its technology. Click here. (3/20)

The Odds That We’re the Only Advanced Species in the Galaxy Are One in 60 Billion (Source: Air & Space)
The Drake Equation has been used to estimate the number of technologically advanced species in the universe. Now Adam Frank and Woody Sullivan take a slightly different approach to the problem and suggest a modification of the Drake Equation. Instead of estimating how many civilizations are out there to communicate with today, they estimate how many civilizations have been out there since the beginning of the Universe.

At first glance this seems to be only a slight semantic difference, but it is not. A big unknown in the original Drake Equation is the average lifetime of a civilization. This window might be very short, especially if technological species are typically replaced by machines. Or it could be very long. Reframing the question makes longevity a moot point. Frank and Sullivan ask: What is the chance that we are the only technological species and always have been?

Based on recent exoplanet discoveries, they assume that one-fifth of all stars have habitable planets. So there should be other advanced civilization out there, unless the chance for developing such a civilization on a habitable planet in the observable universe is less than 1 in 10-to-the-24th (a 1 with 24 zeros). For our own galaxy, the odds of being the only advanced civilization are 1 in 60 billion. Thus, it’s very likely that other intelligent, advanced species evolved before us. Even if only one in every million stars hosts an advanced species today, that would still yield a total of about 300,000 such civilizations in the galaxy. (3/20)

NASA Might Send A Drone To Mars In Addition To New Rover (Source: Tech Times)
NASA is trying to determine whether it should accompany the new rover en route to mars with an unmanned aerial drone that'll fly across the surface of Mars. The space agency is reportedly working on a drone that could patrol Mars and potentially explore parts of the planet more easily than a ground-based rover could.

Plans are going well, it seems. NASA is already testing a drone that is able to navigate the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, a NASA representative confirmed. If the space agency pushes through with it, the drone could launch alongside the Mars 2020 rover. (3/20)

United Launch Alliance Stakes Future on New Vulcan Rocket (Source: CBS)
United Launch Alliance, a buttoned-down corporate alliance between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is responding to the threat posed by the upstart SpaceX with long-range plans to phase out its workhorse Atlas 5 rocket and costly Delta 4 rockets in favor of a powerful, less-expensive launcher known as the Vulcan. Featuring reusable engines and an advanced, long-lived upper stage, company executives expect the Vulcan to be a major contender in the increasingly fierce slugfest between SpaceX, ULA and other international launch providers. Click here. (3/19) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-united-launch-alliance-pentagon-contracts-vulcan-rocket/

NASA Confirms SLS Poised To Lose Another Mission (Source: Aviation Week)
The Trump administration’s $20 billion fiscal 2019 spending plan for NASA proposes to fly the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s ocean-bearing moon aboard a commercial launcher rather than the agency’s heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green said. (3/20)

Plutonium Hot Again for NASA Space Missions (Source: Space News)
In a reversal, NASA will allow scientists to propose spacecraft using nuclear power sources in the next Discovery competition. NASA originally ruled out the use of radioisotope power sources for the upcoming competition, citing demands on existing stocks of plutonium-238 from the Mars 2020 mission and future New Frontiers and lunar missions. However, agency officials said revisiting those demands, as well as the status of production of plutonium by the Department of Energy, allowed them to change their minds for the next Discovery mission. NASA plans to solicit proposals for that mission next year and select one in 2021 for launch by the end of 2026. (3/19)

Air Force Space Costs Shrinking? GAO Skeptical (Source: Space News)
The Air Force says it has cut the cost of military space programs, although some are skeptical of those claims. The Air Force's annual report on weapon acquisition programs, released earlier this month, cited cost savings of 12 to 23 percent on its AEHF and SBIRS satellite programs and EELV launch program. However, outside analysts, such as the Government Accountability Office, note that the cost savings are based on the cost of individual satellites or launches and does not reflect overall program costs, which in many cases have grown significantly. (3/20)

Some TRAPPIST Exoplanets Too Wet (Source: Science News)
Some of the worlds orbiting a crowded exoplanet system might have too much water to be habitable. Two of the seven planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 are more than 50 percent water by mass, according to new estimates of their composition. Most of that water would be in the form of ice that can exist at high pressures, with a layer of liquid water at the surface. That much water could hinder geological processes that, on Earth, are essential to the formation of life. (3/20)

OneWeb Asks FCC to Authorize 1,200 More Satellites (Source: Space News)
Citing recent reforms that provide more time to orbit a new satellite constellation, satellite broadband-startup OneWeb asked U.S. telecom regulators to nearly triple the size of its authorized low-Earth-orbit constellation. The FCC in June approved OneWeb’s request to serve customers in the United States using a constellation of 720 satellites. Now OneWeb has asked that the company be permitted another 1,260 satellites, bringing the total number to 1,980 spacecraft.

OneWeb said the FCC’s September decision to give companies more time to fully deploy their constellations enables OneWeb to plan a larger fleet. The FCC previously required companies to launch 100 percent of their satellites within six years of authorization. Under the new rules, companies have six years to deploy half their fleet. Editor's Note: These satellites likely will be built at OneWeb's new facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (3/20)

Space Grants Available for Florida Students and Teachers (Source: FSGC)
The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) continues to provide funding for student and teacher projects, including a Masters Fellowship Program, a Dissertation and Thesis Improvement Fellowship Program, a Space Research Program, and a Technology Development and Commercialization Program. (3/20)