April 21, 2019

SpaceX Crew Dragan Suffers Apparent Explosion During Engine Test at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
A Crew Dragon test article suffered an anomaly, a setback that could prevent SpaceX from sending people to the International Space Station before the end of the year. A lot of orange and black smoke appeared over an area of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, specifically around SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, where SpaceX was conducting a series of Crew Dragon engine tests. There are no reports of injuries. “The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand,” according to a SpaceX statement.

It is unclear whether this was the same Crew Dragon capsule that was used for the Demo-1 mission more than a month ago. It was planned to use that same vehicle for an in-flight abort test no earlier than this summer. However, with the anomaly, it appears the schedule could be in doubt. This could likely further delaying the Commercial Crew Program, which has already seen Boeing postpone its first Starliner flights to at least the second half of 2019. Before the incident, it was expected that, following a successful in-flight abort test, SpaceX would fly a crewed Demo-2 mission no earlier than late July. (4/20)

Independent Report Concludes 2033 Human Mars Mission is Not Feasible (Source: Space News)
An independent report concluded that NASA has no chance of sending humans to Mars by 2033, with the earliest such a mission could be flown being the late 2030s. The report, while completed prior to the March 26 speech where Vice President Pence directed NASA to return humans to the moon by 2024, does offer insights into how much a lunar return might cost and how it fits into long-term plans to send humans to Mars. NASA contracted with the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) to prepare the report, which Congress directed NASA to perform.

STPI, at NASA’s direction, used the strategy the agency had laid out in its “Exploration Campaign” report, which projects the continued use of the Space Launch System and Orion and development of the lunar Gateway in the 2020s. That would be followed by the Deep Space Transport (DST), a crewed spacecraft that would travel from cislunar space to Mars and back. NASA would also develop lunar landers are related system to support crewed missions to the lunar surface, while also working on systems for later missions to the surface of Mars.

That work, the STPI report concluded, will take too long to complete in time to support a 2033 mission. “We find that even without budget constraints, a Mars 2033 orbital mission cannot be realistically scheduled under NASA’s current and notional plans,” the report states. “Our analysis suggests that a Mars orbital mission could be carried out no earlier than the 2037 orbital window without accepting large technology development, schedule delay, cost overrun, and budget shortfall risks.” (4/18)

AianeGroup and ESA Agree on Ariane 6 Production (Source: Space News)
ArianeGroup has secured an agreement with ESA that will allow full-scale Ariane 6 production to begin. ArianeGroup had reached an impasse with ESA after the number of expected government missions fell short of what was agreed upon early on in the program. ESA's member states agreed this week to provide ArianeGroup "the guaranteed equivalent" of expected orders so that the company can start production of Ariane 6 vehicles beyond the one being built for its first test flight. The decision keeps production of the rocket on track to serve its first government customer, the European Commission, for an April 2021 launch of Galileo satellites. (4/20)

Satixfy Producing Flat-Panel Antennas for Mult-Satellite Connections (Source: Space News)
Antenna developer Satixfy says it's preparing to release its first flat-panel antenna products. The company plans to release a Ku-band terminal based on its antenna this fall optimized for connecting sensors and other Internet of Things devices, followed by an aeronautical terminal in 2020. Satixfy is one of around two dozen companies working on flat panel antennas capable of connecting with two or more satellites simultaneously, a feature widely viewed as critical for proposed large constellations of broadband satellites that would orbit too fast for typical dish antennas. Satixfy believes that, by building its own chipsets, it will have a cost advantage over competitors. (4/20)

China Plans Asteroid Sample Return (Source: Xinhua)
China has announced plans for an asteroid sample return mission. The unnamed mission, still under study, would fly to the near Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 and collect samples. The spacecraft would return to Earth, with a canister detaching from the spacecraft to bring the samples down to the surface. The main spacecraft would go on to perform a flyby of 133P/Elst-Pizarro, an object in the main asteroid belt that also exhibits characteristics of comets. The mission, launching in 2022, would take about a decade to complete. (4/20)