November 7, 2018

DARPA Selects Spaceports for Responsive Launch Competition (Source: Space News)
DARPA has identified eight sites in the U.S. that it plans to use for a commercial launch competition, a selection that addresses one of the major concerns of potential competitors. DARPA selected locations from Alaska to Florida that will serve as potential launch sites for its DARPA Launch Challenge, a competition the agency announced earlier this year to promote the development of responsive launch systems. The sites feature locations that can support horizontally or vertically launched vehicles.

The vertical launch sites include the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, Vandenberg AFB in California, Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, and a Navy site on San Nicolas Island off the California coast. The horizontal launch sites include Cecil Spaceport in Florida, the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Spaceport America in New Mexico and Mojave Air and Space Port in California. All eight locations already have spaceport licenses from the FAA with the exception of San Nicolas Island, a U.S. Navy facility used for missile testing.

The competition requires companies to perform two launches from two separate sites weeks apart, with the specific launch site and payload for each launch provided on short notice. Teams that complete the first launch will each receive $2 million, with prizes of $10 million, $9 million and $8 million going to the top three teams that also complete the second launch. Factors that include mass to orbit, time to orbit and orbit accuracy will be used to rank the top three teams. (11/7)

Arianespace Soyuz Mission Completes Two Constellations (Source: CLS)
Last night’s Soyuz launch completed not one, but two constellations. The Arianespace launch of Eumetsat’s Metop-C satellite completed the agency’s polar fleet of three satellites and carried a ship-tracking sensor for Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), a subsidiary of the French space agency CNES. CLS now has seven Argos payloads in orbit. The company will transfer Argos operations next year to Kineis, a CNES-backed startup preparing a constellation of 20 nanosatellites for Internet of Things connectivity. Kineis’ low-Earth-orbit constellation is expected to start service in 2021. (11/7)

S7 Hopes to Convert Sea Launch's Floating Platform for Reusable Rocket (Source: TASS)
S7 Group wants to retrofit Sea Launch’s Odyssey floating launch base to support a reusable launch vehicle. After completing the purchase of Sea Launch in April, S7 Group now views expendable rockets as uncompetitive. “It is not even funny to compete with reusable and cheap offers entering the market with a non-reusable carrier," S7 Space CEO Sergei Sopov said in an interview. S7 Space is planning a reusable variant of Russia’s future Soyuz 5 rocket called the Soyuz 7 Sea Launch, or Soyuz 7SL. Sopov said S7 Space has not determined how it would recover the rocket’s first-stage booster. (11/7)

How Elon Musk’s Space Internet Could Work (Source: New Scientist)
Mark Handley at University College London has created a detailed simulation of what Starlink might look like, which he will present at a conference next week. Although Musk has said he wants more than half of all internet traffic to go through Starlink – Handley’s simulation suggests that the project will be most appealing to high-frequency traders at big banks, who might be willing to fork out large sums for dedicated, faster connections.

To create the simulation, Handley took what information he could from SpaceX’s public FCC filings and combined this with his knowledge of computer networks. Initially, Starlink will consist of 4425 satellites orbiting between 1100 and 1300 kilometres up, a greater number of active satellites than are currently in orbit. There is only one way to arrange this many in a configuration that minimises collisions, says Handley. So he is confident that his simulation reflects what SpaceX is going for. Click here. (11/7)

Stakes Raised for NASA’s Planned Supersonic X-Plane (Source: Aerospace America)
A sometimes-misunderstood reality of NASA’s X-59 supersonic demonstrator, the first parts of which are about to be produced, is that the U.S. aviation industry is mainly interested in the plane for the regulatory ground it could break, a point backed by my interviews with executives of companies targeting the supersonic market.

At the moment, passenger and cargo aircraft are barred from flying supersonically overland in the U.S., while abroad, noise regulations make supersonic flights impossible with current technology. “In the near term,” explained NASA’s Peter Coen, manager of the Commercial Supersonics Technology Project, the X-59’s biggest role will be to help the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization “establish standards for acceptable supersonic overland flight noise.”

In a series of flights from 2022 through 2025, a pilot will fly the X-59 to Mach 1.5 over U.S. communities yet to be selected. The plane’s long nose, swept wing and engine nacelle should space out shockwaves enough to create a “sonic thump,” as NASA calls it. If all goes as hoped, residents will find this noise acceptable compared to a sonic boom. The X-59 flights will provide necessary data for that noise limit. So far, however, no company has stepped forward to say it is interested in adapting the X-59 technologies. (11/6)

Kazakhstan Chooses SpaceX Over a Russian Rocket for Satellite Launch (Source: Ars Technica)
The first satellite launched into orbit, Sputnik, launched from a spaceport in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Central Asian country was then a Soviet republic. Later, the first human to fly into space, Yuri Gagarin, also launched from Kazakhstan. Today, despite its independence, this spaceport remains the primary launch site for the Russian space program. However, when Kazakhstan wanted to get a small scientific satellite named KazSaySat and a technology satellite called KazistiSat into space, the country didn't select a Russian rocket. Instead, it chose the US-based launch company SpaceX to reach orbit. (11/6)

Russia Says One of its Space Station Computers Failed but Two Others are A-OK (Source: GeekWire)
One of the three computers on the Russian side of the International Space Station has crashed, but orbital operations are unaffected because the two other systems are in working order, Russia’s space agency reported. “To restore the computer to work, it is necessary to restart it,” Roscosmos said. That will happen on Thursday. The two other computer systems are sufficient for safe operation of the station indefinitely, but it wants the third one back online “to ensure the reliability” of next week’s scheduled docking with an uncrewed Russian Progress cargo spacecraft. (11/7)

‘Off-Nominal Data’ Prompts Postponement of ICON Launch Aboard Pegasus From Florida (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The flight of NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) was scrubbed less than 30 minutes before its planned launch via Northrop Grumman’s air-dropped Pegasus XL rocket due to off-nominal data observed on the Pegasus XL rocket. The L-1011 carrier aircraft took off from the Skid Strip runway at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the early-morning hours of Nov. 7 and began its trek toward the drop zone just east of Daytona Beach for a 3:05 a.m. EST launch. Soon after, an issue was discovered and the aircraft returned to the Skid Strip. (11/7)

Why the Midterms Could Kill Trump's Space Force (Source: Fiscal Times)
The fate of President Trump’s new military branch could depend on the outcomes of the midterm elections, says Joe Gould of Defense News. The Pentagon is working on a plan to create the Space Force, which Trump called for back in June, but there’s still a long way to go before that plan becomes reality. Perhaps most importantly, the creation of a new branch of the military requires an act of Congress, and a Democratically-controlled House may not have much interest in granting Trump’s wish. (11/6)

Russian Space Leader Issues Decree Against Trash, “Sloppy” Work Attitudes (Source: Ars Technica)
Dmitry Rogozin is not having the best year. Earlier, he was essentially demoted from his position as deputy prime minister over defense and space to a position managing Roscosmos, the Russian space corporation. And since then he has had to grapple with a number of embarrassing spaceflight problems, including an errant drill hole in a Soyuz spacecraft and an emergency landing of another one after a rocket exploded mid-flight.

The Kommersant newspaper obtained a copy of a directive that Rogozin has issued to the leaders of companies and facilities that serve Roscosmos. Rogozin asserts that some of these problems are caused by shabbily maintained facilities. “The grounds have not been cleaned up for years—in many places there is construction trash and roads are torn up,” his letter states. “Employees at such companies have become accustomed to such conditions as normal, and this creates a habit of poor manufacturing culture and a sloppy attitude toward work."

Most analysts attribute the agency's recent problems to the relatively low wages Russia pays in its aerospace industry and the difficulty this has engendered in attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, resulting in quality-control issues. The result is that the long-reliable Russian rockets and spacecraft have become increasingly less reliable. (11/7)

Electon Reshapes Space Policy Landscape (Source: Space News)
Tuesday's midterm congressional elections have reshaped the space policy landscape on Capitol Hill. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, lost reelection to Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. Culberson had been a major advocate for NASA in general, including missions to Jupiter's moon Europa, something he was criticized for in a campaign ad. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, appeared to lose his bid to a fourth term to Republican Rick Scott.

Nelson has yet to formally concede the race, where he trails by fewer than 35,000 votes, but his campaign said he would make a statement later today. Republicans retained control of the Senate but Democrats won a majority in the House, with several Republican members of the House Science Committee losing their reelection bids, including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). (11/7)

UK Military Satellite Plans Stalled (Source: Space News)
The British military's plans for a next-generation communications satellite system is suffering from "paralysis by analysis." The U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD)  plans to hold a meeting this week with satellite executives to discuss its plans for the Skynet 6 series, an estimated $8 billion effort to modernize the satellite constellation that provides telecommunications for the British military. Among the issues the MoD is grappling with is how to mix government satellites with commercial broadband systems, as well as how to introduce competition to the program. MoD awarded a sole-source contract to Airbus last year for Skynet 6A, a contract that has not been formally signed yet but which government officials said won't be reversed. (11/7)

France Beefing Up Space Fleet (Source: Space News)
France plans to add another satellite to its military satellite communications system. A French military official said Tuesday the government will buy a third Syracuse-4 series satellite for launch no later than 2030. The satellite will differ from the first two Syracuse 4 spacecraft in order to incorporate better support for airborne systems, including drones. France currently has four military communications satellites: the two fully owned Syracuse-3A and -3B satellites, and the Sicral-2 and Athena-Fidus satellites that are shared with Italy. (11/7)

Italy Considers Smaller Satellites to Fit Vega (Source: Space News)
The Italian government is considering smaller communications satellites that could be launched on the Vega rocket. The head of the Italian Ministry of Defence's Satcom Systems Section said Tuesday that he was looking at approaches to replace the Sicral-1B geostationary orbit satellite with two smaller satellites. That, he said, would allow them to be launched on the Italian-built Vega, which can place 2,300 kilograms into low Earth orbit. (11/7)

UK Sees Space as Military Domain (Source: Space News)
The British government is not planning to establish a Space Force, but does see space as a "warfighting domain." Gen. Sir Chris Deverell, commander of Joint Forces Command, said Tuesday that the British government is concerned about Chinese and Russian activities in space that could threaten British spacecraft. Deverell's command handles space, intelligence, information systems and cyber operations, and he said the growing threats to space activities have led the government to "expand our thinking" about defending space assets. U.K. space activities, he said, have to be made "resilient to challenges, be it jamming, cyber, direct attack, space weather, debris, Brexit or anything else." (11/7)

Stratolaunch Tests Rocket Engine (Source: Space News)
Stratolaunch has test-fired a key component of a rocket engine it is developing. The company said it fired the preburner of its PGA engine for the first time last week. The preburner serves as the smaller of two combustion chambers in a staged combustion engine. The company is developing the engine, which uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, for use on future air-launched rockets. The engine takes its name from the initials of Paul G. Allen, the founder of Stratolaunch who died last month. (11/7)

Orbit Fab Plans Fuel Depot Tech Test on ISS (Source: Space News)
A startup seeking to develop orbiting propellant depots will test some of its technology on the ISS. Orbit Fab said it will fly an experiment to the station on a Dragon cargo spacecraft next month intended to demonstrate technologies for transferring propellant in weightlessness. Orbit Fab, which raised its first round of funding in August, has proposed launching propellant tanks as soon as next year to support future satellite servicing efforts. (11/7)

Portugal and China Cooperate in Space (Source: Reuters)
Portugal plans to develop a satellite research center in cooperation with China. The government's science and technology minister said the lab will develop small satellites to collect data used in agriculture, fishery and oceanography. The cost of the lab, estimated to be 50 million euros, will be split between the two countries. Portugal is also pursuing development of a spaceport in the Azores, and the government said it has received 14 expressions of interest regarding the site from vehicle developers in Europe, Russia and the United States. (11/7)

Europe Launches Weather Satellite (Source: ESA)
The third MetOp satellite, MetOp-C, has been launched on a Soyuz rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to continue the provision of data for weather forecasting from polar orbit. The MetOp satellites are developed by ESA under a cooperation agreement to form the space segment of the Eumetsat Polar System. This system is Europe’s contribution to a multi-orbit polar system shared with the US NOAA agency. (11/7)