September 19, 2018

Look Inside a Deep Space Habitat for NASA to Take Astronauts to Mars (Source: CNBC)
A first round of prototypes for deep space habitats to one day carry humans to Mars will be delivered by a group of contractors to NASA for testing in 2019. The renderings of the deep space habitats are fascinating. NASA released its own rendering in 2016, when it announced the selection of a handful of private space companies — Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (formerly Orbital ATK), Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems and NanoRacks — that would come up with the prototypes for deep space habitats.

The partnership between the public companies and NASA is called NextSTEP and aims to support "commercial development of deep space exploration capabilities to support more extensive human spaceflight missions in and beyond cislunar space —the space near Earth that extends just beyond the Moon," NASA says. One of the specific projects for NextSTEP is habitation systems, which "provide a safe place for humans to live as we move beyond Earth on our Journey to Mars," NASA says. Click here. (9/19)

How NASA Plans to Use Lunar Dust to Build Structures on the Moon (Source: The Verge)
Scientists have been thinking of ways that we could potentially use the lunar soil, known as regolith, as a kind of building material. We visited NASA’s Swamp Works in Kennedy Space Center, where engineers have figured out ways to turn simulated lunar regolith into a type of feedstock for 3D printing. So rather than launch all the supplies needed for a lunar base from Earth, NASA could send up excavation robots, mining facilities, and 3D printers, all of which could be used to construct the hardware that astronauts will need to live. That includes things like tools, furniture, and even full-scale habitats.

There’s still a long way to go before all of this becomes a reality, but NASA has long been thinking about how to become the pioneers of space. Check out the efforts of Swamp Works in this video. (9/18)

Consortium of Luxembourg Companies to Test an Innovative Approach for Satellite-Based IOT in Space (Source: LSA)
A consortium of three Luxembourg-based companies lead by OQ TECHNOLOGY will develop, build and perform a demonstration in orbit of an innovative approach for satellite-based Internet-of-Things (IoT). Based on the In-Orbit Demonstration of a single satellite to perform experiments using the new technology in space, OQ TECHNOLOGY aims to build a global satellite constellation dedicated to IoT communication by leveraging innovative wireless technology and using low cost connectivity solutions based on nanosatellites.

The project is targeting specifically the oil and gas, maritime, industry 4.0 and transport segments particularly for the management and tracking of assets in remote areas, as well as providing high-value data analytics. Managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the funding provided for this activity under LuxIMPULSE, the Grand Duchy’s national space program, amounts to a total maximum envelope of 6 million EUR. (9/17)

Coast Guard Invites Public Comment on Proposed Safety Zones Downrange of Georgia Spaceport (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Coast Guard is seeking comments from interested persons regarding a proposal to establish safety zones on the navigable waterways in the vicinity of the proposed Spaceport Camden, near Woodbine, Georgia during rocket tests, launches, and landing operations. The proposed safety zones would be necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by rocket launches and landings, and by various rocket tests. Click here. (9/18)

China Appears to be Accelerating Development of a Super-Heavy Lift Rocket (Source: Ars Technica)
As part of its long-term planning, Chinese rocket officials have talked for some time about a super-heavy lift rocket that will enable a human lunar program. For this rocket, called the Long March 9, officials have generally cited the 2030 time frame for its maiden launch. However, at the at the World Conference on Science Literacy 2018 this week, an engineer with the China National Space Administration, Li Guoping, said the country planned to launch the Long March 9 booster in 2028.

The Long March 9 is an extremely ambitious booster, with a diameter of 10 meters, length of 90 meters, and a proposed lift capacity of 140 tons to low-Earth orbit. Those numbers are on par with the Saturn V rocket that NASA designed and built during the 1960s to carry out the Apollo lunar landing program. It would be roughly equivalent, in terms of capability, to SpaceX's proposed Big Falcon Rocket, although there has been no word from China on whether any part of the Long March 9 might be reusable.

NASA is further along in its development of its own big booster, the large Space Launch System rocket, which could make its maiden flight in 2020 or 2021. This version of the SLS rocket will have a launch capability of up to 95 tons to low-Earth orbit, according to a recent NASA update. Eventually, the space agency plans to upgrade the SLS rocket into a Block 2 configuration with a more powerful second stage as well as advanced side boosters, and this rocket would have an estimated capability of 130 tons to low-Earth orbit. (9/19)

Senate Passes $855B Spending Bill Including Defense, CR (Source: Space News)
The Senate has passed an $855 billion spending bill, including $674 billion in defense appropriations, keeping Congress on track to deliver federal spending bills on time and avoid a government shutdown. "After subjecting America's all-volunteer armed forces to years of belt tightening, this legislation will build on our recent progress in rebuilding the readiness of our military and investing more in the men and women who wear the uniform," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. The bill also includes a continuing resolution for the rest of the government, keeping agencies open through Dec. 7. The bill must now pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump. (9/18)

Boeing, SpaceX Confident of Meeting Safety Requirements for Commercial Crew (Source: Space News)
The two companies developing commercial crew vehicles believe their spacecraft can now meet a key NASA safety threshold. During a panel discussion at the AIAA Space Forum Tuesday, Boeing and SpaceX officials said they now think their vehicles can meet standards like a 1-in-270 loss-of-crew requirement NASA established for the program. NASA's commercial crew program manager said the agency was still reviewing the companies' analyses. The companies are gearing up for uncrewed test flights planned for late this year or early next year, followed by crewed test flights in the spring and summer of 2019. (9/18)

Air Force Eyes Commercial Options to Gain Intelligence on Space Threats (Source: Space News)
The Air Force is turning to the private sector for fresh sources of intelligence about orbital activities. Space operators also are looking at technologies like artificial intelligence to analyze data so they can anticipate potential hazards, predict space weather and satellite anomalies. In both commercial and military space operations, everyone wants “predictive” intelligence to be able to make timely decisions to prevent collisions or respond to threatening behavior, said Melanie Stricklan, chief technology officer and co-founder of Slingshot Aerospace, in Manhattan Beach, California.

Slingshot is one of many companies that see a growing business in the burgeoning field of “space battle management.” The Air Force is trying to pivot from the traditional “space situational awareness,” or SSA, that focuses on tracking and identifying objects to “intelligence-driven” space operations, Stricklan said. Stricklan said the holy grail is “tactical SSA” that draws from the “unimaginable amount of data from sources such as the Air Force’s Space Fence and newer commercial sensor networks.”

Traditional tracking of space objects is not enough to combat increasingly complex threats in space, she said. The Air Force is trying to move beyond catalog maintenance and is searching for new tools to probe what is happening in outer space. (9/18)

Orbital Insight Acquires FeatureX (Source: Space News)
Geospatial analytics company Orbital Insight has acquired FeatureX, a startup specializing in computer vision for satellite imagery. Orbital Insight said the acquisition will give the company access to new technologies to apply artificial intelligence for improved analysis of satellite images. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Orbital Insight has raised $78.7 million to date, including a $50 million Series C round last year. (9/18)

Space Council Plans November Meeting (Source: Space News)
The advisory committee for the National Space Council expects to meet again in November. During "listening sessions" at the AIAA Space Forum this week, several members of the Users' Advisory Group, incuding chairman James Ellis, took input from conference attendees on various topics. Ellis said that, since the group's first meeting in June, it has been working on organizational issues for the main committee and its six subcommittees. A second meeting is tentatively scheduled for some time in November, with a formal notice expected in the next week or two. (9/18)

RemoveDebris Captures Cubesat with Net (Source: BBC)
A British satellite has successfully demonstrated the use of a net to capture space debris. The RemoveDebris satellite first deployed a cubesat and then fired a net, developed by Airbus, at the cubesat. The net wrapped up the cubesat in a test that the Surrey Space Centre, which developed the spacecraft, called a success. RemoveDebris was deployed from the International Space Station to test orbital debris capture technologies, which include a harpoon as well. (9/18)

Spacewalk Planned to Inspect ISS Leak Hole (Source: TASS)
An upcoming International Space Station spacewalk will inspect a hole found in a Soyuz spacecraft docked there. Roscosmos said cosmonauts will inspect the hole during a Nov. 15 spacewalk, one of several tasks planned during that EVA. Roscosmos is continuing the investigation into the cause of the hole, and expects that work to wrap up by the end of November. (9/18)

Stratolaunch Gets New Livery (Source: GeekWire)
Stratolaunch's giant aircraft is sporting new logos. Images released by the company show a large Stratolaunch logo on the side of the plane, along with a smaller Scaled Composites logo on the tail. The aircraft was outside recently, apparently in preparation for more taxi tests as the schedule for the plane's first flight slips from this summer to at least this fall. (9/18)

Dream Chaser Toy Available From Matchbox (Source: CollectSpace)
Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser will soon be available for purchase — in Matchbox form. The company announced this week that Mattel will be producing a version of the spaceplane as part of its "Sky Busters" line of toy airplanes and spacecraft. The Matchbox Dream Chaser, modeled after the design Sierra Nevada developed for the commercial crew program, will be available in stores this month. (9/18)