July 9, 2018

Russian Editor: Our Space Program is Entering the “Dark Ages” (Source: Ars Technica)
The Russian space agency has been developing a "new" science and research module for the space station, "Nauka," since 1995. More than two decades later, the module still awaits a decision on whether it should actually be completed. This is because there are concerns about post-launch problems. "No official from Russia's space industry wants to take responsibility for the laboratory module and its safety for use as part of the ISS, about which many questions have arisen."

Russia also faces difficult decisions with its rocket programs. Rogozin has already made the decision to retire the Proton booster, preferring to focus on the next-generation Angara rockets. However, Borisov suggests this line of rockets is "already obsolescent." (There have been just two test flights of the Angara rockets: a small Angara 1 in 2014 and a larger Angara 5 the same year).

The Angara rockets are expensive. The more bulky Angara 5 has a similar payload capacity to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but its cost of about $100 million is considerably above Falcon 9's $62 million cost. The bottom line is that global demand for Russian rockets is rapidly dwindling, and the great hope for the future, the Soyuz 5, remains years if not decades away. How long can Russia survive on past glories? (7/9)

Mr Steven Gains Upgraded Arms to Catch its First Falcon 9 Fairings (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX’s iconic Falcon 9 payload fairing recovery ship, known as Mr Steven, has been spotted in California’s Port of San Pedro having new arms installed with two cranes and a crew of SpaceX technicians. Aside from the sudden addition of dramatically different arm design, a large inflatable structure also took shape – seemingly overnight – right behind Mr Steven, the purpose of which is entirely unclear.

Incredibly, these massive new arms and their new equally large support struts and base plates have begun installation barely two weeks after Mr Steven took roost and had his old arms removed at SpaceX’s Berth 240 property. The incredibly quick turnaround from old arm removal to new arm install suggests that SpaceX may, in fact, be aiming to have Mr Steven ready for recovery operations as early as Iridium-7, scheduled for launch on July 20th. (7/8)

Virgin Orbit and Sitael Sign Agreement for Long-Term Collaboration and Investment (Source: Virgin)
Virgin Orbit and SITAEL announced today that they have signed an agreement for extensive collaboration between the two firms, including multiple orbital launches and investment into future launch system evolution. SITAEL previously selected Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket to launch μHETsat, a novel electric propulsion technology demonstrator mission built for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).

This new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recognizes the significant steps the two organizations have taken toward a broader, longer-term relationship. Additionally, LauncherOne’s unique capabilities as an air-launched rocket potentially unlock the opportunity to conduct orbital launches from Italian soil. (7/6)

The Humble Astronaut (Source: Space Review)
Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the Moon, passed away in May. Dwayne Day recalls how Bean stood out among his fellow astronauts through hard work and a straightforward, common-sense approach that made him seem ordinary. Click here. (7/9)
 
Charting a Path for the Space Industry’s Growth (Source: Space Review)
Some recent studies have suggested the global space economy could grow to $1 trillion by the 2040s, about three times its current size. Jeff Foust reports a challenge to achieving that goal is finding new markets that can stimulate new growth for the overall industry. Click here. (7/9)
 
LOP-G Meets ISECG (Source: Space Review)
NASA’s Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway has been billed as a key step towards human missions to the surface of the Moon, but some worry international cooperation plans could delay the Gateway’s development and make it less effective. Eric Hedman argues that NASA needs to begin with the end in mind, and work its way backwards to a design for the Gateway that makes sense. Click here. (7/9)
 
Space Power: a Timely Answer to Europe’s Energy Challenge (Source: Space Review)
Europe faces multiple problems with trying to increase reliance on domestic power sources while reducing its carbon footprint. Vidvuds Beldavs suggests that Europe invest in space solar power to meet its power needs while developing technologies needed for human expansion into the solar system. Click here. (7/9) 

Maritime Launch Services Spaceport Proposal Reaches Important Milestone (Source: SpaceQ)
There have been several attempts in the past to start a commercial spaceport from scratch in Canada, but none have reached the milestone of completing and submitting an environmental assessment for review by the jurisdiction in which they want to launch. And while Maritime Launch Services has reached this milestone, there’s still the hurdle of funding to surmount.

What Maritime Launch Services (MLS) is attempting to do is build a modern day spaceport capable of launching a variety of rockets. There also seems to be some misunderstanding of what type of company MLS is. It is not a rocket company, and it is not building an orbital launch vehicle. Rather, MLS is a service provider. That service is meant to be a ready made spaceport that is launcher agnostic.

MLS is planning on signing a contract with the Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office to supply MLS with their Cyclone M4 rocket. As well, MLS said in April that they had signed a Letter of Intent with another launch company other than Yuzhnoye Design Office. There also seems to be some confusion, deliberate or simply mistaken, that MLS is a front for the Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye and naysayers pointing to the government of Ukraine’s and Yuzhnoye’s attempt to build a spaceport in Brazil that failed as a reason why this project shouldn’t go forward. Click here. (7/9)

Israel Could Soon Be 'Unblurred' on Google Earth (Source: i24 Israel)
Israel is closely watching potential changes to U.S. remote sensing regulations that could enable the release of higher resolution imagery. The Kyl-Bingaman Amendment in the late 1990s restricted U.S. commercial satellite companies from selling imagery of Israel that is of higher resolution than commercially available elsewhere. NOAA, though, is studying whether to lift current limits based on evidence submitted by U.S. companies that higher resolution imagery is now widely available elsewhere. The current restriction is why images of Israel in online mapping services like Google Earth appear blurrier than images of other parts of the world. (7/8)

Russia Developing New Radar Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: Tass)
Roscosmos is funding development of a new Earth-observation satellite. The Research and Production Association of Machine-Building was the sole bidder for a new Earth science satellite, slated to cost nearly $150 million. The spacecraft will be equipped with an S-band synthetic aperture radar. That satellite, scheduled for launch in 2025, will join two similar satellites in development for launch in 2019 and 2021. (7/8)

Airbus Eyes US Military Satellite Business With Florida-Based OneWeb Factory (Source: Space News)
Airbus is interested in using a new Florida satellite factory to win business from the U.S. government. The factory, located near the Kennedy Space Center, was constructed for assembling OneWeb satellites and should be operational this fall. Airbus, which partnered with OneWeb for the facility, is looking into other opportunities to use the factory. One opportunity the company is exploring is rapidly building satellites for DARPA's Blackjack program to demonstrate the utility of smallsat constellations. (7/8)

China Launches Two Pakistani Satellites (Source: Xinhua)
China launched two satellites for Pakistan overnight. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:56 p.m. Eastern Sunday night and placed the PRSS-1 and PakTES-1A satellites into orbit. PRSS-1, built by China, will provide multispectral imagery at a resolution of one meter, while the Pakistani-built PakTES-1A carries unspecified scientific experiments. (7/8)

ESA Studies Mars Mission Architectures (Source: Space News)
ESA has awarded two study contracts for portions of a Mars sample return architecture that would be carried out with NASA. The contracts with Airbus, announced Friday, cover studies of a "fetch" rover that would collect samples cached by NASA's Mars 2020 mission, and of an orbiter that would capture the samples once launched into Martian orbit for return to Earth. Those two elements were highlighted as ESA's planned primary contributions to a Mars sample return concept outlined in a joint statement with NASA signed in April. Both agencies are planning to finalize the technical approach and their contributions to it late next year. (7/8)

China Making Progress Toward Mars (Source: Space News)
China is making progress in developing new technologies needed for both crewed spacecraft and Mars missions. The Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electronics said it has performed tests of parachutes intended for next-generation crewed spacecraft, as well as of an inflatable reentry demonstrator and airbag system. The latter two technologies could be used to enable landings of relatively heavy payloads on Mars, but outside observers note that those technologies still appear to be in the early phases of development. (7/8)