January 17, 2019

Air Force Grants 3D Rocket Printer Relativity Space a Launch Pad at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: CNBC)
Relativity Space, a three-year-old start-up that aims to build rockets using 3D printers, announced a contract Thursday with the U.S. Air Force to build and operate a launch facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "Cape Canaveral is the premier launch site in the U.S.," Relativity CEO Tim Ellis told CNBC.

The five-year "multi-user" agreement means Relativity can begin operating out of Launch Complex 16, or LC-16, the historic location of hundreds of American space launches. There is no monetary exchange or lease payment to the Air Force for this contract. The agreement includes an option to extend for an exclusive 20-year term. "We have a very clear path toward having this be an exclusive use site for us in the future," Ellis said. Click here. (1/17)

NewSpace Must Be Regulated (Source: Space News)
Move fast and break things, the mantra of Silicon Valley startups, has created a scapegoat for tech founders who do just that: break things. And it’s not just with Facebook breaking democracy — the contagion of dismissing regulation has now spread to the space sector with Swarm Technologies going as far as breaking the law.

Swarm Technologies, the Silicon Valley creator of “SpaceBee” pico satellites, has found itself in hot water with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the regulatory body of international communications by radio, wire and satellites. Swarm disregarded a decision by the FCC which refused a license to launch its satellites because pico satellites, being much smaller than nanosatellites, could not be safely detected and hence tracked in space. Swarm launched the satellites anyway aboard an Indian polar satellite launch vehicle.

This has sparked debate in the space law community. Space lawyer Daniel Porras, a Space Security Fellow for the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research, stated on Twitter “So, the big question remains, who is the ‘responsible’ State for the bees if they weren’t authorized? India denied responsibility, even if liable. [The] US can say they never authorized [the launch] and they never should have flown.” So why is it that the tech darlings of Silicon Valley are being allowed to self-regulate in an environment where abuse of power against the public good is so rampant? (1/16)

New Video Rendering of Blue Origin Launch Operations at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket will serve commercial, civil and national security customers from around the world. It will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 36 with the first launch targeted for 2021. Click here. (1/17)

Sources: Firefly Aerospace is Behind Florida Rocket Project (Source: Reuters)
Firefly Aerospace Inc, a resurgent rocket company founded by a former SpaceX engineer, plans to build a factory and launch site at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Spaceport in a $52 million deal, people familiar with the project said. The Firefly project is strategically important for the Texas-based startup as it competes with several other new entrants vying to cash in on a big jump in the number of small satellites expected in the coming years.

Companies like Firefly, Virgin Orbit, and Rocket Lab are among the most promising companies designing miniaturized launch systems to link a broader swath of the economy to space at lower cost. Firefly and Space Florida, the state’s spaceport authority, declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements. A Florida project code-named “Maricopa” was publicly disclosed in November by Space Florida, but officials have been tight-lipped on specifics. Two people familiar with the project said Firefly is the company involved, though one of the people said the deal had not been finalized.

Beginning around 2020, around 800 small satellites are expected to launch annually, more than double the annual average over the past decade, according to Teal Group analyst Marco Caceres. Firefly aims for a first flight in December of its Alpha rocket, which is capable of carrying around 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) into low-Earth orbit at a cost of about $15 million per flight. (1/16)

Drone Aviation Expands Manufacturing Capacity in Jacksonville (Source: Jacksonville Business Journal)
Jacksonville-based Drone Aviation Holding Corp. is expanding its capacity to manufacture tethered drones and aerostats to meet demand. The company has partnered with an unnamed manufacturer with access to a 100,000-sq. ft. facility equipped with flight testing facilities in order to fulfill a $3.8 million contract signed earlier this month. Drone Aviation will continue to conduct proprietary manufacturing, software and electronics design, final assembly and systems integration from its Jacksonville headquarters. (1/15)

Vulcan Rocket Design 'Nearly Fully Mature' (Source: Reuters)
United Launch Alliance will conduct the final design review for its new flagship Vulcan rocket within months, it said on Wednesday, as the aerospace company heads for a showdown with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and others in the launch services market. The final design review is a crucial milestone as the company tries to move into full production ahead of a first flight in spring 2021 after slipping from its initial 2019 timetable. (1/16)

US Missile Ddefense Review Endorses Space Sensor Layer (Source: Washington Post)
A missile defense review scheduled for release today is expected to call for development of new space-based sensors and possibly interceptor systems. The review, to be released at a Pentagon event today featuring President Trump, will recommend the deployment of a new constellation of satellites to track missiles. Some Defense Department officials have previously supported such a system, particularly to track hypersonic missiles. The report may also call for the study of space-based weapons to intercept missiles. (1/16)

Report: China Making Progress in Military Space (Source: Space News)
A new report by the Defense Intelligence Agency concludes that China is making progress in improving its military space capabilities. The unclassified report did not identify any new advances in Chinese space technologies, but found that the country is becoming increasingly adept at militarizing commercial space technologies. The report suggests China is building up space capabilities as a way to deter the United States or others from intervening in military conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region. (1/17)

British Rocketeers in the New Space Age (Source: E&T)
The UK is the only country in history to have developed a launch capability only to throw it away. A new generation of rocket builders has now picked up the baton hoping to secure the UK’s spot in the still rather exclusive club of spacefaring nations. When the UK government announced plans to have rocket launches conducted from British soil as early as 2020, many questioned the feasibility of such a vision – especially the ambitious timeline.

The spaceport itself might not be a problem. One important element, however, is missing – a functional small-satellite launcher. The UK doesn’t aim to fly those Falcons, Arianes or Soyuzes that lift massive satellites to all sorts of orbits from established spaceports in the USA, Russia or French Guiana. It aims to target the small satellite market – quite understandably, since the country is among the global leaders in the development and manufacture of small satellites with masses below 500kg.

The UK’s aspiring spaceport operators hope to capitalize on the presence of established manufacturers of small satellites, such as Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), or relative newcomers, such as Glasgow-based cubesat maker Clyde Space. Customers of these companies could benefit from being able to launch from the north of Scotland or Cornwall, rather than having to transport their spacecraft to the other side of the world. (1/17)

SpaceX Build Starship Prototypes at Texas Site, Abandons Los Angeles Port Plan (Source: Space News)
SpaceX will shift work on prototypes of its Starship vehicle to Texas as the company appears to abandon plans for a new manufacturing facility at the Port of Los Angeles. The company said in a statement Wednesday that it would build and test Starship prototypes at its South Texas launch site to "streamline operations." The first such vehicle is expected to begin low-altitude test flights there in the next month or two.

The company hasn't disclosed plans for later production of its next-generation launch system, but local officials said SpaceX has backed out of an agreement announced last year to lease property at the Port of Los Angeles where SpaceX was to build a facility for producing those vehicles. Editor's Note: Elon Musk tweeted that some reporting of this news was in error, and that SpaceX will assemble only the prototype Starship items at the Texas site. Final production would be in California. (1/17)

Maxar Faces Stock-Drop Suit Over Inflated Assets, Tech Lies (Source: Law360)
Maxar Technologies Inc. has been slapped with a proposed shareholder class action accusing the Colorado space technology company of using its $2.4 billion acquisition of a space imaging business to inflate its assets and hiding problems with one of the vendor’s satellites, causing dramatic stock plunges when the truth came out. (1/16)

Aireon Takes Loan to Pay Iridium (Source: Space News)
Aireon has taken out a $200 million loan to allow the aircraft-tracking company to make hosting payments to Iridium. Aireon said it signed the credit facility with a Deutsche Bank-led group of investor funds Dec. 21, and that it used the new funds to pay satellite operator Iridium $35 million before the end of 2018 for hosting its sensor payloads on the Iridium Next constellation. Aireon fell behind on making the $200 million in hosting payments it owes Iridium, in part because Iridium Next delays also hamstrung deployment of Aireon's revenue-generating sensor network. (1/17)

Myers Renominated by Trump for NOAA Position (Source: Space News)
The White House has renominated a controversial figure to serve as NOAA administrator. The White House announced Wednesday that it was resubmitting the nomination of Barry Myers to lead NOAA after the Senate failed to take up the nomination before the end of the previous Congress. Myers earlier faced opposition from Senate Democrats about conflict of interest issues since he served as CEO of AccuWeather. Myers has since left AccuWeather and sold his interest in the company. The White House also renominated four people to serve on the board of the Ex-Im Bank that the Senate failed to take up last year. The board currently lacks a quorum, preventing it from approving large deals, like satellite and launch contracts. (1/17)
 
Boeing Invests in Flat-Panel Venture (Source: GeekWire)
Boeing is investing in a company that makes flat-panel satellite antennas. Boeing HorizonX Ventures led the $14 million Series A round in London-based Isotropic Systems, a company developing antennas that use optical beam steering. HorizonX Ventures has now invested in several space-related startups, including Internet-of-Things satellite venture Myriota, propulsion developer Accion Systems and optical communications company BridgeSat. (1/17)

Mark Kelly Urged to Seek Senate Seat (Source: Roll Call)
An advocacy group is seeking to draft former astronaut Mark Kelly to run for a Senate seat in 2020. The 314 Action group, which backs candidates for political office that have scientific backgrounds, is planning a "six-figure" ad campaign to build up support for a potential run in 2020 by Kelly, a Democrat, for the seat currently held by Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.). McSally was appointed to fill the seat once held by the late John McCain, but will have to run for election in 2020 to fill the remainder of McCain's final term, which runs through 2022. Many observers consider Kelly, married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as one of the strongest potential candidates for the seat. (1/17)

Why SpaceX is Ramping Up its Florida Staff While Cutting Hundreds of Workers in California (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
It's no secret that SpaceX has a lot of irons in the fire as it continues to innovate the space industry, but the rocket business is not only hard — it's also expensive. That's why the company is laying off 10 percent of its staff in California. However, it's still hiring in Florida. Bloomberg confirmed that many of those job cuts will be at SpaceX's California headquarters and the cut jobs include production managers, avionics technicians, machinists, inventory specialists and propulsion technicians.

The layoff announcement didn't surprise Laura Forczyk at Astralytical. She said SpaceX had to hire a lot of talent initially to handle the development of the new vehicles and its Starlink satellite service. However, since the company is far enough along on those plans, it decided now was the time to cut back. "Payroll is often company’s largest expense. SpaceX needs to cut costs wherever it can to remain competitive in the marketplace to gain customers and to pay for its expensive projects before those projects become profitable," Forczyk said.

However, SpaceX's Florida staff isn't feeling the burn of the layoffs. In fact, the company has nearly 40 job openings in Cape Canaveral, including openings for various engineers in its launch engineering section, technician and trade skill workers, security and supply chain management. Forczyk said the reason for this is because Florida's SpaceX workforce caters to the company launch services — an area that especially will need more workers in the time ahead. (1/16)

Spin Launch Chooses New Mexico for Something (Source: Spaceport America)
In a Jan. 14 tweet, Spaceport America announced they are "pleased to announce a new space company coming to New  Mexico--  SpinLaunch. An addition of 20 new jobs will be added locally, as well as investment by SpinLaunch of $7M in construction capital and $1M in local infrastructure development for the company." Editor's Note: I could find no other news about this announcement, neither on the Spaceport America website nor Spin Launch's. (1/17)

Don’t Blame the Government Shutdown for SpaceX Delays (Source: The Atlantic)
Last week, as the impasse between President Donald Trump and congressional lawmakers calcified, NASA announced that the first significant test of the year, an uncrewed SpaceX launch, would be pushed from late January to no earlier than February. Several news reports suggested the shutdown had contributed to yet another delay.

It hasn’t—at least not yet. NASA and SpaceX tell The Atlantic that, despite speculation, the government shutdown hasn’t affected their work. NASA says the astronaut program, known as Commercial Crew, is part of a small group of NASA activities that are exempt from the government closure, including International Space Station operations, the agency says. (1/16)

Astranis Wins Contract for Alaska Broadband Satellite (Source: Space News)
Astranis is building its first small geostationary satellite, with a focus on Alaska. Pacific Dataport signed a contract for capacity on the satellite worth "tens of millions of dollars." The 300-kilogram satellite is planned for launch in the second half of 2020, and will bring 7.5 gigabits per second of Ka-band capacity to Alaska. The Astranis satellite, which is not yet named, is the third small geostationary satellite ordered across the industry in the past five months, following Hong Kong-based GapSat's September purchase of GapSat-1 from Terran Orbital, and Swedish startup Ovzon’s December purchase of Ovzon-3 from SSL. (1/16)

Italy's Avio Borrows Euros for Propulsion Tech Development (Source: Avio)
Italian rocket builder Avio is borrowing 10 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The funds will support new space propulsion technologies for Europe’s next-generation Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, the company said. Avio is the prime contractor for Vega C, which will have the same first-stage booster as the Ariane 6 strap-on side boosters. Avio said the new loan will help the company expand its industrial capacity at its plant in Colleferro, Italy, to meet anticipated production volumes. The financing follows a 40-million-euro loan Avio received from the European Investment Bank in 2017, and has the same conditions, Avio said. (1/16)

NanoAvionics Expands Support for British Space Sector with New UK Sales and Technical Support Office (Source: NanoAvionics)
Smallsat bus and propulsion supplier NanoAvionics of Lithuania and Florida is opening a sales office in the United Kingdom. The company appointed Tariq Sami as its U.K. sales director for the new office, located in the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire. More than 950 people across 89 organizations work at the space cluster. Harwell Campus partner and director Angus Horner said he was confident the new office “will be a catalyst for even stronger collaboration between NanoAvionics and the leading research facilities and space companies located at Harwell.” (1/16)

Harris Wins $75 Million for MUOS Terminals (Source: Harris)
Harris Corp. received a $75 million order from the U.S. Marine Corps to upgrade user terminals for compatibility with the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite constellation. The Marine Corps placed the order though a five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract from 2017. Under the new contract award, Harris will upgrade the Marine Corps Falcon 3 AN/PRC-117G manpack radio fleet so that Marines can use the radios to talk and share data more easily around the world using the MUOS constellation. Harris said it will also provide ancillary devices such as antennas that make radios capable of supporting satcom-on-the-move while connected to MUOS. (1/16)

Gogo Satellite Broadband for Aircraft Sees Subscriber Growth (Source: Gogo)
In-flight connectivity provider Gogo said more than 1,000 aircraft are now online with the company’s 2Ku satellite antennas, and that it has installed satellite connectivity systems on approximately 1,300 commercial aircraft. Gogo said it completed 477 aircraft in-flight connectivity system installations in 2018, marking the second consecutive year where installs topped 450 aircraft. As of Dec. 31, around 1,000 more aircraft were in backlog awaiting 2Ku installations, the company said. (1/16)

Steve Carell Creating Netflix Comedy on Space Force (Source: Netflix)
SteveCarell will star in a new workplace comedy series he co-created with The Office’s Greg Daniels about the people tasked with creating a sixth branch of the armed services: the Space Force! Click here. (1/16)