July 12, 2019

Atlas Launch Delayed to August (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the AEHF-5 mission for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is delayed, due to an anomaly during component testing at a supplier which has created a cross-over concern. Additional time is needed for the team to review the component anomaly and determine if any corrective action is required to the launch vehicle. Launch of the AEHF-5 mission is now targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. (7/11)

Kickstarter Campaign:  Race To The Moon & Updated Integrated Space Plan Posters (Source: ISP)
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of humanity's first voyage to the Moon, it's appropriate to honor both the Apollo 11 crew and the 400,000 Americans who made their voyage possible.  Our team has created a beautiful full-color poster that commemorates their accomplishment and depicts the major milestones achieved by the U.S. and the Soviet Union as we raced each other to the Moon.  In addition to our Race To The Moon poster we'll also be updating the Integrated Space Plan to reflect the latest information.

So, what's the Integrated Space Plan? Around 1990 the Integrated Space Plan (ISP) was created by Ron Jones to depict how all the current and future space projects worked together.  The original ISP was in black and white and posters could only be acquired at space conferences.  After being in suspended animation for over a decade the ISP was brought back to life in 2015.  Now the ISP is in full color and available online.

Our Kickstarter project is to research and create a Race To The Moon poster and further update and expand the Integrated Space Plan (ISP) .   We do not get support from NASA or big space firms.  Our support comes from you, space advocates like ourselves who see the bright future that we do.  We have such trust in you that our team has been working on this project for months before even launching this Kickstarter. Click here. (7/10)

Aireon Offers Free Emergency Response Service (Source: Avionics International)
Aircraft-tracking company Aireon launched a free emergency response service. The company’s Aircraft Location and Emergency Response Tracking, or ALERT, system provides the last-known location of any aircraft equipped with an ADS-B transponder. The Irish Aviation Authority, one of Aireon’s investors, is providing staff to operate the free service. Aireon uses a network of sensors hosted on Iridium satellites to track aircraft over oceans and other places beyond the reach of terrestrial radar. More than 193 customers, including airlines, air navigation service providers, and search-and-rescue agencies, are using the ALERT service, which opened for pre-registration last August. (7/11)

Globalstar Acquires IOT Device Developer (Source: Globalstar)
Globalstar has purchased a license from one of its suppliers for a solar-powered asset tracking device. The Louisiana-based satellite operator paid Carmanah Technologies Corporation $700,000 for a “perpetual license” to its SmartOne Solar intellectual property, along with production equipment and other assets. Globalstar and Carmanah signed a supplier agreement in August 2016, through which Carmanah designed and built the Internet-of-Things devices for Globalstar. (7/11)

Elon Musk Was Right: Competition Is Rocket Fuel For The Space Race (Source: Forbes)
With swagger and audacity never seen at the time, a visiting tech industry titan and budding space entrepreneur named Elon Musk paced the hallways of the Pentagon. It was 2011 and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) had recently reported that the United States Air Force was paying about $350 million per launch of a satellite. Without flinching, Elon was promising that he could deliver national security space launches for as little as $60 million. Of course, the incumbents scoffed at him, the Pentagon staff said it was impossible and Congress was already circling its wagons to protect its constituent interests.

One person though, the newly appointed chief weapons buyer for the entire defense department, took notice and that made all the difference. Promoting competition, we were to learn, was one of Frank Kendall’s key acquisition tenets. Kendall decided to leverage Musk’s simple promise to save taxpayer money, but what ensued was so much more: a renaissance for national security space and ultimately for the country. By reducing the Air Force sole source rocket contract from 50 to only 36, he was able to direct a head to head competition for the other 14 launches. (5/30)

Vestigo Developing 'Drag Sails' to Deorbit Satellites (Source: Purdue University_
A startup developing a line of drag sails to deorbit satellites received a  Small Business Innovation Research grant from NASA. Vestigo Aerospace said it will further product development through the six-month, $125,000 study. The company will collaborate with Purdue University’s Space Flight Projects Laboratory on the project. Vestigo’s founder David Spencer is a Purdue alumnus and associate professor at Purdue’s College of Engineering. (7/11)

The Evolution of the Spacesuit (Source: Aviation Week)
From the original spacesuits in 1920s to the advancements of technology in 2019 looking at Mars, we examine the evolution of the spacesuits and what is to come in the future. Click here. (7/9)