September 11, 2018

DARPA and the Future of Space (Source: Space Review)
DARPA marked its 60th anniversary at a conference last week that included discussions about past and present space programs. Jeff Foust reports on those discussions as well as suggests for future “DARPA-hard” space projects. Click here. (9/10)

Pompeo and Mattis Should Add Space Cooperation to the US-India Strategic Partnership (Source: Space Review)
For the first time last week, the US Secretaries of State and Defense met with their Indian counterparts in a “2+2” dialogue. Future such discussions, argue Frank Rose and Jonathan Ward, should include space cooperation. Click here. (9/10)

5th Space Traffic Management Conference Moves to Texas in February (Source: ERAU)
The Strauss Center for International and Security Law at University of Texas – Austin and the Spaceflight Operations Program and Applied Aviation Sciences Department of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s College of Aviation, are pleased to announce their collaboration for the 5th Annual Space Traffic Management Conference “Progress through Collaboration”. The conference will be held in Austin, Texas 26 & 27 February 2019.

We invite your papers of 4,500 to 6,000 words. Abstracts may be up to 250 words and must indicate the precise title of the paper, the area of interest, the author’s full name and affiliation, and complete contact information including an email address. The language of the conference is English. To submit an abstract, use the Submit Abstract link in the sidebar under the Author Corner. Click here. (9/11)

Beidou 3 Sat Navigation System Could Be Completed In 2020 (Source: Aviation Week)
China’s Beidou 3 satellite navigation system may be completed in the first half of 2020, earlier than expected. By the end of November, 19 of the system’s planned 30 satellites will be in orbit, China Central Television says in a report quoting the China Satellite Navigation Office. Twelve are already on station.

“Consider that after we have launched 19, there will be only 11 more to go,” the director of the office, Ren Chengqi, told the broadcaster. “We could bring the plan forward and complete the global constellation in the first half of 2020.” The program has been working toward a target of completing the system in 2020—meaning it would be on time if the last satellite was on station at the end of that year. Ren’s remarks therefore imply a possible acceleration of at least six months.

But Ren’s count of Beidou 3 satellites is inconsistent with earlier statements that the complete system would have 35 spacecraft: 27 Beidou 3M satellites in medium orbit, five Beidou 3Gs in geostationary orbit and three Beidou 3Is in inclined geosynchronous orbit, all by 2020. (9/10)

India Unveils Its Own Spacesuit Design for 2022 Astronaut Flights (Source: Space.com)
The Indian Space Research Organization showed off the spacesuit it has designed in-house for its first human space missions. The display comes weeks after the country announced an ambitious timeline to launch its first crewed mission by 2022 in time to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the country's independence. The human-spaceflight program is called Gaganyaan and will build on the legacy of India's first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, who flew in 1984. This time, India is developing every aspect of the program, which means tackling problems like spacesuit design. (9/10)

Skyborne Opens in Gulf County (Sources: Area Development, GCAC)
Skyborne Technology, a developer of manned and unmanned next generation aviation systems, has opened a manufacturing facility in Gulf County in Northwest Florida. Skyborne said it chose the area to have access to employ manned and unmanned aircraft pilots, skilled manufacturing labor for composites, aircraft aluminum and high bulletproof fabrics. The company will unveil its airship and drone technology for its target markets, including agriculture, communications, education, defense, border security, and more. The company plans to create up to 100 jobs. (9/10)

Orlando: A Prime Destination for a STEM Workforce (Source: Area Development)
Although Orlando already has a labor pool possessing STEM skills, it continues to build that resource through a collaboration between its educational institutions, the tech community, and government. Manufacturing leaders repeatedly identify the skills gap as the most urgent problem facing U.S. manufacturing today.

“The skills gap is immediate,” says Sarah Boisvert, author of The New Collar Workforce. “One executive told me that engineers are now a dime a dozen in many specialties, but finding a good digital machinist is next to impossible.” STEM jobs today require some level of post-secondary education — typically two- or four-year degrees or advanced degrees (or, in some cases, apprenticeships).

Forward-thinking companies that depend on STEM employees locate in geographic areas that can provide an abundant supply of well-educated STEM workers — and Orlando is one of the top locations in the nation when it comes to that resource. According to a January 2018 survey by Forbes, Orlando’s rate of STEM job growth is the highest in the country. Emsi ranked Orlando third-highest among large MSAs for STEM job growth over the last five years. And in its “2018 Leading Metro Locations” report, Area Development ranked Orlando 11th out of 394 MSAs for prime workforce. (9/10)

Europe’s Space Champions Need More Orders at Home to Beat Musk (Source: Bloomberg)
Europe’s space champions are urging buyers at home to favor their technology over that of foreign rivals, as competition intensifies from the likes of Elon Musk’s Space X. As executives from the space industry meet in Paris this week for the World Satellite Business conference, French satellite operator Arianespace is calling on Europe to translate its space sovereignty ambitions into more public orders.

Startups want their share too, with Paris-based propulsion company ExoTrail and satellite firm Kineis raising money from local investors. Heavy rocket-launcher Ariane 6, which is set to start operating in 2020, only has three firm orders from European public customers, which isn’t much to keep it in the race against Musk’s Falcon rockets, as well as startups such as Blue Origin, backed by the deep pockets Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (9/11)

Vigorous Development of Belarusian Space Industry Praised (Source: BELTA)
The space industry is vigorously developing in Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko said at the opening ceremony of the 31st International Space Congress on 10 September, BelTA has learned. “The space industry is vigorously developing in our country. We make high resolution optical systems for satellites, space mirrors, instruments for remote sensing of the Earth,” Alexander Lukashenko remarked. (9/10)

Space Force Skeptics Praise Unified Space Command Approach (Source: Space Policy Online)
Former Bush and Obama Administration officials and a former commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) were united in their opposition to creation of a Department of the Space Force at a seminar today, but praised steps being taken to reinstate a unified combatant command for space, U.S. Space Command. The United States had a unified U.S. Space Command from 1985-2002, but it was eliminated after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and many of its functions merged into USSTRATCOM. (9/11)

NASA Won an Emmy (Source: Quartz)
NASA has put men on the Moon, traversed the plains of Mars, and snapped a close-up portrait of Pluto. And now it can add another giant feat to its impressive resume: conquering the world of television. The agency won the Emmy award for Outstanding Original Interactive Program on Sep. 8 at the Creative Arts Emmys (a segment of the prestigious TV awards that airs a week before the big ceremony and honors more technical achievements, like production design and sound editing). Introduced last year, the category recognizes the best in cross-platform digital storytelling.

NASA, which has built a huge online fan base for its clever, engaging, and sometimes moving or cheeky social media presence, won for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) “Cassini’s Grand Finale” campaign. As the Cassini spacecraft took a few final images of Saturn before burning up in the ringed planet’s atmosphere, NASA documented the its final moments across various social media channels. (9/10)

Space Force, More Problem Than Solution (Source: Space News)
Former Defense Department officials said standing up a separate Space Force could create more problems than it solves. During a panel discussion Monday, those officials encouraged the development of a U.S. Space Command and other measures, like a Space Development Agency, as good steps toward improving space operations, but were more pessimistic about a separate service devoted to space. "Whether we get to a separate space force I think is an open question," said Bob Work, former deputy secretary of defense, while retired Gen. Robert Kehler, former head of Strategic Command, called a Space Force "premature." (9/11)

SES Wants Identical Satellites (Source: Space News)
SES is telling satellite manufacturers it wants its future satellites to be identical. SES CEO Steve Collar said Monday that rather than customizing individual satellites to meet the needs of a particular orbital slot, the company will buy identical satellites that can operate at any orbital location, using digital payloads that can be reconfigured as needed. SES is working with three undisclosed satellite vendors on this effort, which Collar said in intended to provide economies of scale. (9/11)

Bankers See Shift Toward Smaller Satellites (Source: Space News)
Investment bankers say they're seeing a fundamental shift in the commercial satellite market toward smallsats. During a World Satellite Business Week Monday, bankers said they believe satellite manufacturers understand demand is shifting from large GEO satellites to smaller LEO satellites, both for commercial and government customers, and are taking steps like investments and acquisitions to adapt. That shift has created new opportunities for investors as well, they said, particularly in Earth observation. (9/11)

SAIC Buying Engility (Source: Washington Post)
SAIC is buying fellow government contractor Engility in a $2.5 billion deal announced Monday. The merger is intended to enhance SAIC's capabilities in defense and space as well as information technology. The merged company will have 23,000 employees and combined revenue of $6.5 billion. The deal is expected to close by early 2019. (9/11)

BridgeSat Raises $10M for Laser Comm (Source: GeekWire)
BridgeSat has raised $10 million to help develop its laser communications system. The Series B round, led by Boeing HorizonX Ventures, is intended to accelerate the development of a network of ground stations to support high-speed laser communications with satellites. Under an earlier agreement with NASA, BridgeSat plans to carry out a ground station demonstration of its system by the end of this year and on-orbit testing next year. (9/11)

Kepler Comm Demonstrates Flat Panel Antenna for Cubesats (Source: Space News)
A company developing a cubesat constellation demonstrated its satellites can communicate with flat panel antennas on the ground. Kepler Communications said a flat panel antenna developed by Phasor was able to maintain a link with its first cubesat in low Earth orbit. The system should be able to support communications at up to 10 megabits per second. Phasor plans to release its first antennas later this year, while Kepler is continuing to develop its cubesat constellation for communicating with Internet of Things devices. (9/11)

China Tries Parafoil for Fairing Recovery (Source: GB Times)
The latest Chinese launch used a parafoil to guide the descent of a payload fairing section. The parafoil deployed from a payload fairing half after the fairing was jettisoned from a Long March 2C rocket during last week's launch. The parafoil is intended to provide some maneuverability to the fairing to keep it from crashing in inhabited areas, but could be used to eventually recover and reuse it. SpaceX has been testing a similar approach in its efforts to recover Falcon 9 payload fairings. (9/11)

SpaceX Abandons Crew Capsule Reuse Plan, While Boeing Stays Course with Reusability (Source: Forbes)
Elon Musk committed to building space capsules for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station that could be reused over and over again, in much the same way SpaceX reuses the first-stage boosters on its Falcon 9 rockets. Musk didn't stop there. In a 2014 statement he predicted that the Crew Dragon, as the capsule is called, would be capable of "propulsive landing with precision" -- meaning it could make a powered touchdown at some pre-chosen place on land, rather than splashing down in the ocean.

The unmanned supply spacecraft on which Crew Dragon is based are designed to splash down in the sea as a way of cushioning their landing, but Musk thought SpaceX could do even better than the Space Shuttle in returning from orbit to dry land. Over the last several months, though, and with little fanfare, SpaceX has backed away from both goals. It now says Crew Dragon, like the its cargo capsule, will land in the ocean, and therefore can only be used once to transport a crew. It can still be re-used for carrying cargo to low-earth orbit.

Boeing is still on a vector to return its astronaut capsules to dry land, and then reuse them up to ten times. Boeing will be the only company building a reusable space capsule for astronauts, and its spacecraft -- called Starliner - will be the only one that touches down on land. That seems to be a reversal of fortunes for Musk, who once criticized the Boeing concept as backward-looking. Now it is the SpaceX approach that looks less than revolutionary. (9/10)