September 12, 2018

SpaceX Expects BFR Spaceship Hop Tests in Late 2019 (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell reportedly confirmed that SpaceX is still targeting integrated BFR tests in 2019, in the form of hops with the next-gen rocket’s upper stage (known as BFS). SpaceX has been gradually developing the BFR over the last two or so years, a rocket specifically intended to itself enable the colonization of Mars. The majority of that effort has been put into a new Raptor propulsion system.

It’s likely that initial Grasshopper-style testing of BFS will focus in part on the vehicle’s legs and general aerodynamic characteristics, absolutely critical if SpaceX hopes to land its first cargo and crew spaceships on unprepared Martian terrain – something that will have to be done to avoid major changes in early Mars mission strategy. Combined with some sort of autonomous radar and extensive prior planning (mapping out landing spots), those legs will need to be flexible enough to absorb any major terrain imbalances and prevent the rocket and its sensitive cargo from tipping over.

Equally importantly, hop testing – at least of the more extreme variety hinted at by CEO Elon Musk – will also allow SpaceX to test the aerodynamic behavior and control surfaces of the spaceship at points in Earth’s upper atmosphere that almost perfectly mirror the unusual atmospheric conditions on Mars, something that has already been exploited scientifically by both SpaceX and NASA during Falcon 9’s recovery development. Shotwell was paraphrased saying that she expected spaceship hop tests could begin as early as late 2019, admittedly a multi-month delay from “early 2019” comments made by Musk (and even Shotwell) earlier this year and late last year. (9/11)

Space Florida Moves Toward Acquiring Unused Launch Pad for Small Rockets (Source: Florida Today)
Space Florida will start negotiations to take over control of the former Titan launch complex from the Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, with the goal of attracting multiple launchers of small satellites. Examples could include Rocket Lab, which is expected to select a U.S. launch site soon, or Firefly Aerospace.

“This is a strategic opportunity to take an asset that is currently fallow, and to position it in the marketplace for what is the fastest-growing, emerging segment of the marketplace in the launch area, and that is the small launch vehicle area,” said DiBello. “We are in dialogue with customers.” Editor's Note: No mentions of the Shiloh launch site, currently under environmental study. Must be on a way-back burner. (9/12)

Space Florida Approves State Transportation Funding for Spaceport Projects (Source: Florida Today)
Space Florida will contribute up to $10 million over two years, provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, to help United Launch Alliance upgrade the complex for Atlas V and Vulcan rocket launches. The state said ULA planned to spend $135 million on the modifications, which include preparing the site for launches of astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsules. According to ULA, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, the work will help retain 140 jobs paying annual salaries averaging $105,000.

The state will fund a $10 million, 7.3-mile extension of a pipeline providing gaseous helium to multiple launch complexes, which Space Florida said is necessary to continue growth in commercial launches. The extension will run from Launch Complex 37 along ICBM row to Launch Complex 46. The state spending requires a private investment of at least $10 million, to be made by Blue Origin, which will launch New Glenn orbital rockets from Launch Complex 36.

The state will support an expansion of Blue Origin’s planned work at Exploration Park, which now will also include refurbishing reusable rocket engines. Space Florida will increase its contribution of related FDOT funds from $3.4 million to $4.4 million. Blue Origin, meanwhile, will increase its own investment from $40 million to $60 million. The company says the expansion will create 50 jobs paying annual wages of $95,000. (9/12)

Board Approves Pay Raises for Space Florida Executives (Source: Florida Today)
Growth in space launches and manufacturing around Cape Canaveral earned Space Florida’s top two executives substantial raises Tuesday, as the agency continued its efforts to attract more launches. The board of the state’s aerospace economic development agency unanimously approved increasing CEO Frank DiBello’s salary to $325,000, up 21 percent, and Executive Vice President Howard Haug’s salary to $275,000, up 37 percent.

Neither had received pay increases since 2013, and Space Florida does not offer performance bonuses. “Each of these gentlemen are exceptional in what they do and what they bring to table,” board chairman Bill Dymond said during a meeting in Miami. “The organization has changed significantly, as has the industry in the last five years — our responsibility, what’s on our plate, the victories that we have scored on behalf of the state of Florida.”

The raises put DiBello and Haug, who manage a budget including $18.5 million in state funding and a staff of 47, among the county’s highest-paid government officials. To cite a few examples, Port Canaveral director John Murray earns $364,000. Eastern Florida State College president James Richey makes $323,260. Lynda Weatherman, CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, collected nearly $290,000 in 2016, including bonuses, according to IRS forms. (9/12)

Launchers See Downturn in GEO Market (Source: Space News)
Major launch companies, seeing a potentially permanent downturn in the GEO satellite market, are looking to other markets to make up for lost business. During a panel session at the World Satellite Business Week conference Tuesday, executives of several launch companies acknowledged a "soft" market for GEO satellites, with some predicting that the lower levels of GEO satellite orders may never rebound to earlier levels. Those companies are seeking increased government business to make up for some of that decline, as well as new markets like commercial human spaceflight. (9/12)

Iridium Retiring Original Satellites (Source: Space News)
Iridium's original satellite constellation will be retired by early next year. Company CEO Matt Desch said Tuesday that Iridium was confident enough with its next-generationl Iridium Next satellites, 65 of which are in orbit today, to have it handle all of the company's operations. Iridium has deorbited 41 of the 66 first-generation satellites, 30 of which have reentered. The remaining original satellites will be deorbited early next year, and the final 10 Iridium Next satellites will launch this November. (9/12)

NASA's Space Probes Shouldn't Be Tacky Billboards (Source: The Atlantic)
The telescope unfurls its mirrors. Its name is emblazoned in large, silvery letters across its side: the Budweiser Space Telescope. Or the Doritos Space Telescope. Or the Amazon, or Snapchat, or Comcast Space Telescope. Go ahead and giggle. But this is the potential future of NASA’s exploration efforts, if an idea from the agency’s leader comes to fruition. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a recent meeting that he would convene a committee to explore whether nasa could make some extra cash by selling naming rights to rockets and spacecraft.

There’s certainly a market for this idea, and has been for decades. In 1966, Tang, the orange-flavor powdered drink, ran commercials showing astronauts pouring the mix into a “zero-G pouch” during a Gemini flight. More recently, Red Bull sponsored a skydiver’s jump from the stratosphere in 2012, and KFC paid a company to send a chicken sandwich to the edge of space last year. Space clearly sells. But NASA shouldn’t be on the market.

As a government agency, NASA has spent its nearly 60-year existence avoiding endorsing any brands. Unlike their Russian counterparts-—who have filmed commercials for Pizza Hut, RadioShack, and an Israeli brand of milk while in space—-American astronauts go to considerable lengths to avoid the appearance of promoting or engaging in commercial activities. Bridenstine’s proposal would set a dangerous precedent for nasa’s future. By suggesting that commercial partnerships could help fund NASA’s missions, it implies that the agency is not worth funding through the usual means—annual budgets carefully negotiated and ironed out by lawmakers. (9/11)

Shakeout Looming for the Small Launch Sector (Source: Space News)
The small launch vehicle industry, flush with startups, will likely see a shakeout in the next one to three years with a handful of companies emerging, according to executives of two such ventures. Representatives of Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit said that having multiple launch providers serving the smallsat industry was important, but that the current number of companies pursuing such vehicles was not sustainable.

“There’s a lot of noise in the system right now,” said Dan Hart, president and chief executive of Virgin Orbit. “There’s another announcement every week, I think, on somebody who wants to build a launch system. At this point, I see renderings every week of incredible concepts for launch systems. I think the industry is probably hiring as many artists as engineers.” (9/11)

Telesat Says Ideal LEO Constellation is 292 Satellites, But Could Be 512 (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator Telesat says the desired size of its future low Earth orbit broadband constellation is more than twice the number of satellites authorized by U.S. regulators, and could ultimately scale to 512 spacecraft. Canada-based Telesat received approval for a 117-satellite network from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in November, triggering a regulatory deadline to have at least half that number in orbit within six years and the total in nine.

Speaking at the World Satellite Business Week conference here, Erwin Hudson, Telesat LEO vice president, said the operator’s true ambitions are much larger. “Our business plan is largely based around 292 [satellites], but the system is designed to scale to 512, and we can scale to 512 if … once we get fully underway, we can justify that on a business and economic basis,” he said. (9/11)

Israeli Moon Lander to Ride SpaceX Rocket in Spaceflight’s First Move Beyond Low Earth Orbit (Source: GeekWire)
SpaceIL’s lunar lander is go for launch as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that’s due to send a telecommunications satellite into geosynchronous orbit, Seattle-based Spaceflight announced. The launch, expected late this year or sometime next year, would represent the first Spaceflight rideshare mission to go beyond low Earth orbit. And Israel-based SpaceIL’s mission would represent the first non-governmental landing on the moon. (9/11)

OneWeb, Treading Water Awaiting Debt Financing, Now a Source of Industry Concern (Source: Space Intel Report)
Startup broadband mega-constellation operator OneWeb’s recent change of CEO and its continued lack of debt financing is feeding concerns among industry officials of the consequences for the commercial space sector if the multibillion-dollar constellation is seriously delayed, downsized or worse. OneWeb, founded by Greg Wyler and backed by Softbank and a half-dozen OneWeb suppliers that have purchased equity, is the showcase mega-constellation. It is the only one that has selected an industrial prime contractor — in this case, a joint venture between Airbus Defence and Space and OneWeb, and has named most of its supply chain.

The first 10 OneWeb satellites, each expected to weigh about 150 kilograms, are under construction at Airbus’s Toulouse, France, facility and scheduled for launch around February — a year late, but a delay OneWeb and Airbus officials have said is not a major worry. Two other production lines at a facility under construction in Exploration Park, Florida, are supposed to build the rest of the 900-satellite constellation. But that facility’s status is uncertain.

OneWeb has raised somewhere between $1.2 billion, $1.7 billion and “more than $2 billion, led by Softbank and is Vision Fund, depending on which OneWeb-related statement is to be believed. OneWeb’s total system costs are also an issue. The company began by talking about a system with a price tag of $3.5 billion to $5 billion. In its Sep. 7 announcement, which was curiously worded for a company losing its CEO, Uphold referred to OneWeb as a $6 billion system before removing that figure 48 hours after issuing its first statement. (9/11)

Effective Space Announces Partnership with IAI for Satellite Servicing Development (Source: Space News)
Effective Space, a startup developing a satellite servicing system, announced Sept. 11 an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide technical and financial support. Under the agreement, IAI will serve as the prime contractor for Effective Space’s Space Drone servicing vehicle, which is intended to provide satellite life extension services. IAI will also work to provide an unspecified amount of financing for Effective Space. (9/11)

How Was the Exact Location of the Recent ISS Air Leak Found? (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
“From what I understand, the ground determined there was a leak and pointed the crew in the right direction,” said Nicole Stott, a former NASA astronaut and SpaceFlight Insider technical consultant. Keep in mind that the ISS is comprised of a series of interconnected modules from the U.S., Russia, Europe and Japan. On top of that, there can also be spacecraft from different countries connected to the station. How did the astronauts hone in on where this leak was coming from?

First, according to NASA, ground-based flight controllers noticed the cabin pressure was off nominal. However, it wasn’t that severe and it was decided to allow the Expedition 56 crew members to continue their sleep cycle. Once they were awake, they were told to seal off various sections of the orbiting lab to narrow down where the leak was coming from. There is nothing particularly complicated about this. Hatches were closed and the astronauts and ground controllers watched to see which side maintained pressure and which didn’t.

After astronauts determined from which of the modules the leak is coming from, in this case the upper section of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, they used a device called an ultrasonic leak detector (ULD) to find the precise location of the Soyuz spacecraft that was leaking atmosphere. (9/11)

Defense Contractors Step Up Investments in Commercial Space Companies (Source: Space News)
Established military contractors with extra cash frequently invest in companies and technologies they see as key to their future. Space startups with products and services that have a national security applications have become especially attractive opportunities. Two major deals were announced yesterday. One is Boeing HorizonX Ventures’ investment in satellite communications firm BridgeSat. The company’s secret sauce is optical communications that enable connectivity in space through a network of ground stations and proprietary space terminals.

Another major Pentagon contractor, Raytheon, announced an alliance with commercial satellite company HawkEye 360. Raytheon is making a strategic investment in HawkEye 360 in exchange for “unique level of access to [geospatial] data, enhancing the company's analytics services for government customers." (9/11)

Griffin Wishes DOD Could Be More Like DARPA (Source: Space News)
“In my lifetime I have watched this country go from celebrating excellence to celebrating averageness,” Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin said. The good news for the United States is that at DARPA, “we still celebrate excellence,” Griffin said. What makes DARPA special? While government agencies and corporations drown in bureaucracy and process, “process is treated with a dismissive air” at DARPA.

The can-do culture is something that the Defense Department should emulate. “There is a focus on short tenure, focus on projects, not trying to get promoted.” The obsessive attention to process at DoD comes at the expense of innovation and creativity, Griffin said. Meanwhile, China continues to leap ahead in critical technology areas like hypersonic vehicles, artificial intelligence and space. “One thing China hopes we never change is our acquisition system.” (9/11)

NorStar Space Data Secures $52 Million in Financing for its GeoSpatial Satellite Constellation (Source: SpaceQ)
Montreal based NorStar Space Data Inc. announced in late August that it had secured $52M in first round financing that included $13M from the government of Quebec. The company has quietly been developing a concept for a constellation of 40 earth observing satellites since 2012.

The constellation NorStar is developing is called NorthStar, which can be confusing at times as much of the marketing material uses the NorthStar name without the company name. The NorthStar satellites would feature hyperspectral, thermal infrared, and optical sensors and would be larger in size than many of the proposed nanosatellite constellations. The satellites would be in multiple planes in LEO (500-700 km) and in a near polar orbit. (9/11)

Product Placement May Help Power NASA's Next Big Space Mission (Source: The Verge)
Imagine: it’s 2020, and NASA is about to launch its next robotic rover to Mars. But its name isn’t something simple like Curiosity or Sojourner. Instead, it’s the Michelin Tire Trailblazer, named for the company that bought the mission’s naming rights and the famous Michelin man is adorned on the side of the spacecraft. During the mission, NASA astronauts live stream from space, stopping briefly to regale viewers about the merits of their Breitling watches: “It’s the best way to keep time above the Kármán line.”

This is only a hypothetical scenario right now, but it’s in line with concepts that NASA will start exploring over the next few months. In August, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told advisers that he is forming a new committee focused on figuring out how NASA can go commercial. The committee, headed by Maxar Technologies’ Mike Gold, will pursue ways NASA could work with advertisers to brand its spacecraft and rockets as well as investigate how astronauts might engage in endorsements and media opportunities — both on and off Earth.

One of Bridenstine’s goals is to offset the costs of NASA missions by selling the naming rights of its hardware to private companies. By allowing astronauts to do advertisements like appearing on cereal boxes, such endorsements will help “enhance the exposure of space activities in the popular culture,” according to Gold. (9/11)