July 21, 2019

‘Spirit of Apollo’ Inspires a New Generation of Ukrainian Spaceflight Pioneers (Source: Daily Signal)
Viktor Listov was a 10th grade student in St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad), Russia, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, completing one orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961, aboard his Vostok 1 spacecraft.

Listov vividly remembers the day. His teacher interrupted the day’s lesson and told the students the good news. Then, class was canceled and the students were let loose to celebrate—an unprecedented break from the Soviet school system’s typically rigid discipline. “It was the proudest moment of our existence, it was intensely great,” Listov, now 74, says during an interview from his office at Ukraine’s National Aerospace Educational Center for Youth, located in the city of Dnipro. (7/19)

To Return to the Moon, Astronauts Need New Spacesuits (Source: Space Daily)
Space engineer Pablo de Leon has designed two spacesuit prototypes for the Moon and for Mars, and knows how long development takes. If NASA wants to meet its own deadline of returning to the Moon by 2024, it needs to get a move on. "NASA still doesn't have a suit because the decision was taken suddenly," explained the Argentine engineer, who is the director of a lab at the University of North Dakota financed by NASA and dedicated to crewed space flight.

"On the one hand, there's this order to get to the Moon by 2024, and on the other, we haven't developed new spacesuits since 1977," de Leon said. The suits currently worn by American astronauts on the International Space Station -- which aren't suitable for surface exploration -- were designed in the 1970s, and patched up since. Only a few remain in working condition. For the time being, NASA is focused on the development of the rocket, capsule and lander to take astronauts to the lunar surface. The suit will come later. (7/19)

UAE Astronauts Try Out Spacesuits and Customised Seats (Source: Gulf News)
In preparation for the launch of the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS), both UAE astronauts, Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, tried out their customised ‘Sokul’ spacesuits and Soyuz chairs at Zvezdza in Moscow on Friday. After a thorough and gruelling examination of the two astronauts, Al Mansouri was chosen as the first astronaut from the UAE to take off to the ISS on September 25 while Al Neyadi will continue to be the backup astronaut. Al Mansouri will be launched into space aboard a Soyuz MS 15 spacecraft for an eight-day stay on the ISS before returning to Earth aboard a Soyuz-MS 12.

A team of engineers from the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos designed two custom Soyuz MS-15 seats for Emirati astronauts. The final checks are being carried out to make sure the space suits and the special seats are indeed the right fit for the two astronauts. The two astronauts returned to Moscow after completing their training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Cologne, Germany and have less than 75 days for the take off of their mission into the International Space Station. (7/12)

Smallsats are the Wild Card in $250 Billion Launch Market (Source: Via Satellite)
An increase in U.S. government and military spending on launch services, combined with a sharp spike in small satellite activity and the emergence of commercial space travel and tourism will create a total space economy worth approximately $350 billion, according to Sheila Kahyaoglu, satellite equity analyst at Jefferies, and author of a recent report, “The Evolving Space Launch Market: Ready for Take-Off.” The commercial market accounts for about 75 percent of that total market value ($258.7 billion).

In the report, Kahyaoglu wrote that demand for launch vehicles are being driven by a number of sources, including commercial launch customers and domestic and international governments. “In total, the space economy is estimated to be roughly $345 billion. Within the broader space economy, launch vehicles help deliver satellites that support services such as television, satellite radio, and broadband services,” she said. “Approximately 75 percent of the space economy is commercial, with the remainder from government budgets. Within the sub-segment of the economy an estimated $12 billion of revenue is from launch services, including government.” (7/15)

OneWeb Successfully Delivers HD Streaming From Space (Source: Via Satellite)
OneWeb revealed the successful test of its six satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). All satellites delivered high-speed, low-latency services, with speed of more than 400 Megabits per Second (Mbps) which enabled the fastest real-time video streaming in Full High Definition (HD) from space, according to the release. The tests, which took place in Seoul, South Korea, represent the most significant demonstration of the OneWeb constellation to date.

The recent satellite tests were conducted in partnership with Intellian, the developer and manufacturer of OneWeb user terminals and SatixFy, developer and manufacturer of the 125 Megahertz (MHz) SCPC test modem. The tests included: latency, speed, jitter, seamless handover between satellites and power control.  OneWeb is aggressively moving forward on the implementation of its first phase of the network which will start with an initial 650 satellites and grow up to 1,980 satellites. (7/18)

Colonizing Space Will Require Gear that Doesn't Exist Yet. But They're In the Works (Source: Big Think)
Humanity has been openly flirting with cosmic destiny for centuries. From the early reaches of our science fiction literature to the astounding feats of manned space exploration. We're getting anxious still wading on the earthen shores. The vast expanse of space is calling. It's time we finally left the planetary womb and started strutting our stuff permanently amongst the stars.

But, in order to do that, we are going to need some serious new inventions for space colonization. The likes of which will allow us to reach our most ascendent of aspirations — the conquering of the stars. Whether it's getting to the moon first, crafting new terraformed sands of Mars, or spinning through self-sustaining colonies — the end result will be the same. We're leaving the sandbox and these are some of the tools we'll use to do it. Click here. (7/12)

They Choose to Avoid the Moon: Anti-Space Event in Seattle Urges Bezos and Others to Focus on Earth (Source: GeekWire)
Daniel Smith is over the moon. As in, he’s kind of done hearing about it and the hype surrounding Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. Smith isn’t a conspiracy theorist bent of proving that man never actually set foot on Earth’s closest celestial neighbor. Rather, he’s one of the organizers behind this weekend’s Salish Sea Anti-Space Symposium in Seattle, an event aimed at resisting the fervor of space conquest.

The free, all ages event starts tonight at Pipsqueak, a gallery and community space in Seattle’s Central District, and runs through Sunday, featuring a variety of speakers, musical performances and art. As Americans get caught up in the celebration of what happened on July 20, 1969, Smith and friends want July 20, 2019, to serve as a wakeup call about how the real challenges of our own planet are being ignored in the race to settle the moon and beyond. (7/19)