July 10, 2018

Satellite Startups Turn to Reinventing Broadband, Mapping and Other Industries (Source: Tech Crunch)
Smartphones have disrupted transportation, payments and communication. But the underlying technology has tangentially changed a completely different sector: satellites. The advances made in miniaturizing technologies that put a computer in your pocket — cameras, batteries, processors, radio antennas — have also made it easier and cheaper for entrepreneurs to launch matter into space. And investors are taking notice. The chart below shows worldwide venture and PE investment in satellite technology companies.

Venture investment into satellite companies has been on a rocket-like trajectory since 2012, following a long fallow period. Although it isn’t pictured here, the last “major” satellite boom peaked in 2006, when there were five venture deals closed with satellite companies worldwide, according to our data set. In the world of hardware and sensors, there’s a race toward miniaturization and efficiency both for spacefaring satellites and their terrestrial endpoints. Kymeta, for example, has developed antenna technology that uses a holograph-like approach to acquire, steer and lock a beam to a satellite. This helps objects which move quickly or make sharp turns maintain communication with a satellite.

As with much of the tech industry though, it looks like a lot of money will be made from the services satellite hardware can facilitate. In reality, modern satellite applications are more than the story of cheap electronics. Satellites (and the applications enabled by them) sit at the intersection of a number of cutting-edge technologies. Without machine-taught computer vision systems, it would be impossible to sort and classify the firehose of visual data some satellite networks produce. If there wasn’t such a boom in mobile communications and high-bandwidth applications like live-streaming video, there wouldn’t be as much demand for new satellite technology. (7/10)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Demonstrates 24-Hour Turnaround of AR-22 Engine for Experimental Spaceplane Concept (Source: SpaceRef)
Aerojet Rocketdyne successfully fired its AR-22 booster rocket engine an unprecedented 10 times in 240 hours at NASA Stennis Space Center, demonstrating the feasibility of rapidly recycling the engine to enable a reusable launch vehicle capable of high-tempo, aircraft-like flight operations. The highly anticipated test sequence was carried out as part of the collaboration between Boeing and DARPA on the Experimental Spaceplane program.

The Phantom Express spaceplane is designed to launch vertically and land horizontally to allow for aircraft-like operations in support of the U.S. government's resilient space vision and commercial missions. The vehicle will be equipped with an expendable second stage capable of placing up to 3,000 pounds or 1,361 kg of payload into low Earth orbit.

"Turning the AR-22 within 24 hours repeatedly over 10 days demonstrates the capability of this engine and the ability to enable rapid, responsive access to space." The liquid-oxygen and hydrogen-fueled AR-22 engine, capable of generating more than 375,000 pounds of thrust, fired at full throttle during the tests, each lasting at least 100 seconds in duration. (7/10)

Energomash Raises Alarm Over U.S. Ban on Russian Rocket Engines (Source: Space News)
Russia’s premier rocket engine manufacturer, Energomash, has raised the alarm on the looming cut-off of U.S. purchases of RD-180 and RD-181 engines. The end of the company’s most lucrative revenue stream is coming, Energomash wrote in its annual report last week, and it is coming far sooner than anyone anticipated.

In a section of the report dedicated to risk analysis, Energomash notes the 2018 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act limits purchases of Russian rocket engines  after December 31, 2022. “However, taking into account the timing of production of launch vehicles, Russian enterprises will begin experiencing negative consequences as early as 2020,” the report says. (7/10)

China Mulls Creation of Joint Global Satellite System with Russia (Source: Space Daily)
A Chinese delegation has proposed to Russia's Roscosmos state space corporation to discuss a possibility of the creation of a joint global satellite communications system, which could become an analogue of UK's OneWeb satellite constellation or Starlink. "During the bilateral meeting on July 4, the Chinese delegation... presented, among other things, its plans to create a multi-level satellite communications system. During the meeting, a proposal was announced about Russia's participation in the project," a source said. China is considering a possibility of creating a national satellite communications system of about 1,000 spacecraft located in low, medium and geostationary orbit, which will be a response to the OneWeb system, which will have about 900 spacecraft in low orbit. (7/9)

Testing Refines Requirements for Deep Space Habitat Design (Source: Space Daily)
NASA performed tests the week of June 25 at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston to help engineers refine NASA's requirements for the design of a deep space habitat, one of several elements comprising the Gateway. The agency will begin Gateway assembly in lunar orbit beginning in 2022, with contributions from U.S. industry and international partners.

Testing during the week included activities such as remotely operating a rover and collecting lunar samples on the surface of the Moon, preparing for spacewalks and performing scientific research aboard the outpost, as well as aspects of daily life such as meals, exercise and medical evaluations. NASA and its partners will use the Gateway for deep-space operations including missions to the Moon with decreasing reliance on Earth. From lunar orbit, the agency will develop its exploration systems and gain the experience necessary to extend human presence farther into the solar system than ever before. (7/10)

NASA and Peanuts Worldwide to Collaborate on Deep Space Learning Activities (Source: NASA)
NASA and Peanuts Worldwide are joining forces to collaborate on educational activities that share the excitement of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with the next generation of explorers and thinkers. The collaboration, formalized though a Space Act Agreement, provides an opportunity to update the Snoopy character by Charles M. Schulz, for space-themed programming with content about NASA’s deep space exploration missions, 50 years after its initial collaboration began during the Apollo era.

“NASA’s venturing to the Moon and beyond with new missions that will push humanity’s reach farther into deep space,” said Mark Geyer, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, who signed the agreement on the agency’s behalf. “Engaging the public and sharing what we’re doing through partnerships with organizations that have a unique way of reaching people helps generate interest and curiosity about space in the next generation.”

With NASA’s involvement, Peanuts will work on content for Astronaut Snoopy, including a STEM-based curriculum for students about America’s deep space exploration objectives and interactive ways to celebrate next year’s 50th anniversary of humans first setting foot on the Moon. Peanuts will begin sharing its updated space-themed activities at the Comic-Con International: San Diego conference in July. (7/9)

Florida Tech’s Space Simulation Innovation (Source: Florida Tech)
Florida Institute of Technology’s modest Human Spaceflight Lab houses many tools to help director Ondrej Doule make advancements in the field of commercial spaceflight. But it is within a modest room in the lab that resides what may be greatest instrument for his endeavors. Florida Tech, working with Sanford-based Servos & Simulation, Inc., has developed a 500-pound simulator that allows human subjects to experience the entire suborbital spaceflight profile – from takeoff through landing – using 360-degree motion and the hyperbaric environment of a spacesuit.

The simulator allows Doule and others to study human-system integration, including how a would-be passenger communicates and interacts with the ship’s onboard systems.  Furthermore, their findings could lead to changes in the way cockpits, flight decks and even rescue pods – a new and important facet of commercial spaceflight – are designed and used. “We have designed the simulator to work with angles that we have determine are most functional for simulating takeoff and landing and, most importantly, for simulating microgravity,” Doule said. Click here. (7/10)

Artificial Intelligence Race Moving to Space (Source: Space News)
Using free data from the European Space Agency, a startup in Finland created a geospatial information service that is entirely enabled by artificial intelligence. AI algorithms are used to remove clouds and track changes in structures on the ground. The service, targeted at government agencies and industries like agriculture and infrastructure, costs about $4,000 a year. It is free to researchers studying the impact of natural disasters. Terramonitor's AI-based mapping was developed with 10-meter resolution imagery and radar data from ESA’s Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 1 satellites. “Companies see the value of satellite intelligence but they don’t know how to get it, and don’t think they can afford it.” Maybe now they can. (7/10)

Violent White Supremacist Loses Job at Northrop Grumman (Source: ProPublica)
One day after being exposed as a member of a violent white supremacist group, Michael Miselis has lost his job as an aerospace engineer. In an email, company spokesman Tim Paynter told ProPublica and Frontline that Miselis “is no longer an employee of Northrop Grumman.” Paynter did not say whether Miselis was fired or resigned from his position. Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said it will investigate an employee identified as a member of a violent white supremacist group in a recent report by ProPublica and Frontline.

The employee, Michael Miselis, a 29-year-old aerospace engineer, works at the company’s facility in Redondo Beach, California, and holds a government-issued security clearance of the sort required for personnel assigned to classified military projects. Outside of his professional life, Miselis belongs to the Rise Above Movement, a racist Southern California group whose members have physically attacked their political foes in at least four different cities. (7/6)

Russian Cargo Ship Reaches ISS Four Hours After Liftoff (Source: Space.com)
A Russian cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station less than four hours after its launch Monday. The Progress MS-09 spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:51 p.m. Eastern. The spacecraft, flying a new two-orbit approach to the ISS, arrived at the station and docked with the Pirs module at 9:31 p.m. Eastern. The flight set a new record for shortest journey to the ISS, breaking the mark set by several previous flights that made the trip in about six hours. Russia is studying using this new approach for future Soyuz crewed missions to the station as well. (7/10)

China Launches Another Navitation Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Monday. A Long March 3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 4:58 p.m. Eastern and placed the Beidou-2 satellite into orbit. The satellite is intended to serve as an on-orbit spare for the existing Beidou-2 system as China deploys the more advanced Beidou-3 system. (7/10)

Dragon Crew Capsule Completes Plum Brook Tests (Source: Space News)
SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft has completed a series of tests at a NASA facility. Speaking at an AIAA conference Monday, NASA Glenn center director Janet Kavandi said the spacecraft had just left the center's Plum Brook Station after undergoing thermal vacuum and acoustics tests. SpaceX didn't comment on the status of the vehicle's development, but the company said last month that after the Plum Brook tests were complete, the spacecraft would go to Florida for final tests and launch preparations. (7/9)

Israel's SpaceIL to Launch Lunar Lander in December on Falcon-9 (Source: Arutz Sheva)
An Israeli venture that formerly competed for the Google Lunar X Prize plans to launch its lunar lander late this year. SpaceIL announced Tuesday that its lander is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 in December, landing next February.  The team is continuing development of the lander even though the $20 million grand prize expired earlier this year. SpaceIL didn't indicate if it had raised all the funding needed to complete and launch the spacecraft. (7/9)

Armstrong Biopic Strives for Accuracy (Source: CollectSPACE)
An upcoming movie about the life of Neil Armstrong will pay close attention to detail. In a panel discussion at the Spacefest conference over the weekend, those involved with First Man, based on the biography of the same name, said production of the film sought to be as realistic and accurate as possible, from the dialogue of those in Mission Control to development of costumes and props, including spacesuits. "[W]hen you come to understand the level of work that they have done to be as accurate as they can, you'll be impressed," said Rick Armstrong, one of Neil's sons. The movie opens Oct. 12. (7/9)

Future Dream Chaser Launch Options Under Consideration (Source: Space News)
As Sierra Nevada Corp. prepares its Dream Chaser cargo vehicle for a first launch on an Atlas 5 in late 2020, the company expects to make a decision by the end of this year on the rocket that will launch later missions. Company officials said development of the cargo version of Dream Chaser is on schedule for a first launch in the fourth quarter of 2020. That mission, the first of at least six missions to the International Space Station under a NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract awarded in January 2016, will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5.

SNC announced a contract with ULA in July 2017 that covered two Dream Chaser launches, in 2020 and 2021. Both would use the Atlas 5 552. However, Sirangelo said the company was looking at other options for launching the second and later Dream Chaser ISS cargo missions. “It’s a quite interesting time in the launch business, where we see all the major launch companies coming out with a new launch system,” he said. “We are looking at all of the launch systems.” Sirangelo said the company issued a request for proposals for multiple Dream Chaser launches. “We’ll probably be making a decision by the end of this year,” he said. (4/18)

Pentagon Directs Resilient Space Architecture Study (Source: Aviation Week)
The Pentagon’s research and engineering arm is directing a Defense Science Board (DSB) task force to study elements of a resilient space architecture. Michael Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, would like the task force to develop specific architectural elements for a resilient space enterprise. The study is piggybacking off a 2016 DSB task force that evaluated the resilience of U.S. space capabilities, as well as organization options for integrating military and intelligence space enterprises, he writes in a June 25 memo to the DSB chairman.

“This study will identify and recommend a specific architecture and operational approaches to enhance the net resilience of our national security space enterprise, including those critical elements provided by our international partners and the commercial sector, in the context of current projected threats,” Griffin writes. “The study should consider all facets of space control including the balanced roles of deterrence measures, the requirements of space situational awareness, protection measures, and active defense concepts.” (7/9)

Made In Space Wants to Turn Asteroids into Spaceships (Source: 3dPI)
Made In Space, the California-based pioneers of off-world 3D printers, plans to use 3D printing to turn asteroids into autonomous spacecrafts that can potentially fly to mining stations in outer space. This plan is part of the Reconstituting Asteroids into Mechanical Automata (RAMA) Project, which is funded by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Through the RAMA Project, Made In Space aims to enable space colonization with efficient and economically viable off-world manufacturing, i.e. Microgravity 3D printers.

The concept for the autonomous asteroid spacecraft derives from astronauts becoming less dependant on earthly resources and instead using new and extraterrestrial materials for assistance. This plan surpasses previous methods that included launching capture probes to individual space rocks for exploration. Nevertheless, the asteroid spacecraft will not have rocket engines or complex electronic circuitry found on traditional spacecraft; rather its build would be straightforward and mechanical. (7/10)

NASA’s Chief Wants Former Astronaut Janet Kavandi to Help Run Things. Trump Wants the Senate’s Admin Guy (Source: Quartz)
How much space expertise does NASA need in its top office to launch humans safely into space? NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is a former lawmaker, and he says he wants a former astronaut, Dr. Janet Kavandi, as his deputy. But Donald Trump, who makes the final decision, is leaning toward a man with no experience in space technology. Five sources with knowledge of the deliberations tell Quartz that the White House is seriously considering James Morhard, a veteran senate aide.

Kavandi, 58, joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 1994. She had previously been an engineer at Boeing, and earned a P.h.D in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington in Seattle. Kavandi has attracted bipartisan kudos, with Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio praising Bridenstine’s choice. In his current job, Morhard, 61, is responsible for technology and administration in the offices of 100 senators and 88 committees and subcommittees. Starting off as an accountant at the Pentagon, he began his career as a legislative staffer in 1983, earning an MBA and a law degree along the way. (7/10)