August 11, 2019

FPL Plans $100 Million Solar Plant at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
Florida Power & Light Co. has applied for a federal permit to fill in almost an acre of wetlands at Kennedy Space Center, to make way for a new $100 million solar power plant that will generate enough energy to power 15,000 homes, while preventing more than 100,000 tons of annual greenhouse gases. Construction on the so-called Discovery Solar Energy Center plant includes discharging 1,518 cubic yards of fill over 0.95 acre of wetlands and also would result in impacts to 7.64 acres of other surface waters, according to the public notice of FPL's permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The new plant would go on 504 acres across from the KSC Visitor Complex, and FPL would lease 491 acres from NASA. The site includes a total of more than 40 acres of wetlands. The area of the proposed KSC plant across from the KSC Visitor Complex has dense stands of Brazilian pepper and sparse cabbage palm, with dead and dying trees throughout. Two small freshwater marshes on the project site have formed in a former citrus grove, likely resulting from irrigation modifications for farming, according to the public notice. (8/9)

No One Has Yet Been Killed by Re-Entering Space Junk (Source: The Economist)
Every day a tonne or two of defunct satellites, rocket parts and other man-made orbiting junk hurtles into the atmosphere. Four-fifths of it burns up to become harmless dust, but that still leaves a fair number of fragments large enough to be lethal. It is testament to how much of Earth’s surface is sea, and how sparsely populated the remainder remains, that the only recorded victims of this artificial hailstorm are five sailors aboard a Japanese vessel, who were injured in 1969, and a woman in Oklahoma who was grazed by a piece of falling rocket in 1997. But it is also testament to luck—and the odds of that luck holding are shortening.

Population growth means that the fraction of Earth’s surface which space debris can hit harmlessly is shrinking. At the same time, more spacecraft are going up (111 successful launches in 2018, compared with 66 a decade earlier, and with many launches carrying multiple payloads). And payloads themselves are increasingly designed so that equipment which has fulfilled its purpose falls out of orbit years or decades sooner than it otherwise would, lest it collide with functioning spacecraft. (8/10)

Rocket Engine for NASA's New Orion Spacecraft Just Aced a Critical Test (Source: Space.com)
The main rocket engine for NASA's Orion spacecraft, which the agency will launch around the moon in 2020 as part of the Artemis program, has just aced another milestone test. In a test on Aug. 5, the propulsion system for Orion's service module fired continuously for 12 minutes, which simulated engine activity during an abort-to-orbit scenario.

In this possible scenario, which would take place if Orion's interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) didn't correctly put the craft on a path to the moon, the service module would separate early from the ICPS and fire its boosters to get to a temporary orbit. This would allow ground control to re-evaluate with the crew and craft and plan an alternate route to the moon. Even if Orion has to switch to an alternate mission plan, it may still be able to accomplish some of the goals of the mission. (8/11)

Vector 'Pauses' Operations (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
Vector Launch Inc., a Tucson-based small satellite launch startup, has announced that it has halted most operations due to a "significant change in financing." And in a management shakeup, co-founder Jim Cantrell, who had been Vector's chief executive officer, reportedly is no longer with the company and co-founder John Garvey was named CEO. The company's decision reportedly came after a major investor pulled it backing.

"A core team is evaluating options on completing the development of the company’s Vector-R small launch vehicle, while also supporting the Air Force and other government agencies on programs such as the recent ASLON-45 award," the company said. The company said it plans to make more information available next week. (8/10)

Show-and-Tell Time Again for Virgin Galactic in New Mexico (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Nearly eight years after Richard Branson dedicated the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space at Spaceport America before a crowd that included Titanic star Kate Winslet and British royal Princess Beatrice, his suborbital space tourism company is moving its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft there. When Branson dedicated the gateway facility in October 2011, the giant building was largely empty. Virgin Galactic says it is now ready to show off what customers will experience inside the structure.

When Branson announced plans for SpaceShipTwo in September 2004, he predicted commercial flights would begin within three or four years. It’s now been 15 years. The company is expecting to fly 66 passengers to space next year using two spacecraft. The number would grow to 1,565 passengers in 2023 using five SpaceShipTwo vehicles. (8/10)

International Space Camp at Biosphere 2 Helping Humans Get to Mars (Source: KOLD)
Students from halfway across the world are learning what life could be like on a different world right here in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona has partnered with Kyoto University in Japan to host a Space Camp at Biosphere 2 this week. The camp involves 10 students, five from schools across Arizona, and five from Kyoto University. "We want to go to the moon by 2025," says John Adams, Deputy Director of Biosphere 2. "And soon enough we will be looking to send people to Mars. This program builds on the original foundation of Biosphere 2, which is to better understand closed systems for potential space exploration." (8/9)

In-Space Refueling vs Heavy Lift? NASA and SpaceX Choose Both (Source: The Hill)
Recently, NASA announced several technological development projects designed to advance the art and science of deep space travel. In one of these projects SpaceX will practice transferring fuel in space using the Starship deep space vehicle now being developed. The argument over whether to use heavy-lift or in-space refueling has raged across the space community since the Bush-era Constellation project to return to the moon. NASA’s traditional fueling method has been to use a big, heavy-lift rocket such as the Saturn V or the more modern Space Launch System.

However, an alternate architecture has been proposed, which uses smaller, commercial rockets with a refueling depot to send people and cargo back to the moon. Why is NASA jumping back into the in-space refueling game after nearly a decade? One factor is that the Trump administration, unlike President Obama’s, is quite serious about sending American astronauts back to the moon. Vice President Mike Pence has been pushing NASA to try innovative approaches to accomplish the goal of sending people back to the moon and on to Mars.

Also, while NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has sworn solemnly that the “first woman and the next man” will fly to the lunar surface using the Space Launch System, the expendable, heavy-lift launcher championed by Shelby, the powerful appropriations chairman is 85 years old and is not getting any younger. Shelby is up for reelection in 2022 and may not choose to run because of his advanced age. With Shelby gone, the main champion of the SLS also goes away. Thus, the era of the expendable launcher will come to an end, and reusable rockets such as the Starship will fly unimpeded. (8/9)

No One Has Yet Been Killed by Re-Entering Space Junk (Source: The Economist)
Every day a tonne or two of defunct satellites, rocket parts and other man-made orbiting junk hurtles into the atmosphere. Four-fifths of it burns up to become harmless dust, but that still leaves a fair number of fragments large enough to be lethal. It is testament to how much of Earth’s surface is sea, and how sparsely populated the remainder remains, that the only recorded victims of this artificial hailstorm are five sailors aboard a Japanese vessel, who were injured in 1969, and a woman in Oklahoma who was grazed by a piece of falling rocket in 1997.

But it is also testament to luck—and the odds of that luck holding are shortening. Population growth means that the fraction of Earth’s surface which space debris can hit harmlessly is shrinking. At the same time, more spacecraft are going up (111 successful launches in 2018, compared with 66 a decade earlier, and with many launches carrying multiple payloads). And payloads themselves are increasingly designed so that equipment which has fulfilled its purpose falls out of orbit years or decades sooner than it otherwise would, lest it collide with functioning spacecraft. (8/10)

SpaceX Demo-2 Astronauts Walkthrough Launch Day Operations (Source: NASA)
SpaceX recently held a training event at its facility in Hawthorne, California for prelaunch operations with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley and ground operators for the company’s Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The training provided an opportunity for the integrated team to dry run all of the activities, procedures and communication that will be exercised on launch day when a Crew Dragon spacecraft launches on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida.

The astronauts performed suit-up procedures alongside the SpaceX ground closeout team and suit engineers using the same ground support equipment, such as the seats and suit leak check boxes, that will be used on launch day. Following crew suit-up, the teams performed a simulated launch countdown with the astronauts inside a Crew Dragon simulator and performed several emergency egress, or exit, scenarios. The training exercise is one of several that NASA astronauts have participated in with our commercial crew partners, Boeing and SpaceX, in preparation for crew flight tests. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program continues to place astronaut safety at the forefront of preparations for human spaceflight. (8/10)

Next-Gen Spacesuit Could Protect Astronauts on the Moon and Mars (Source: Space.com)
The same company that helped to design and supply spacesuits for NASA's Apollo program has unveiled a Next Generation Spacesuit system prototype nicknamed Astro. ILC Dover and Collins Aerospace, which has worked with ILC Dover to produce spacesuits currently in use aboard the International Space Station, revealed this next-gen spacesuit at a July 25 event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The event simultaneously celebrated the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing.

The new suit system consists of both an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit and a life-support backpack that regulates pressure and provides oxygen and cooling. Designed with future crewed missions in mind, the suit could serve NASA and commercial space partners as they continue to develop plans to return humans to the moon and launch crewed missions to Mars. ILC Dover developed the spacesuit, while Collins Aerospace provided the life-support backpack for the prototype demonstration. (8/8)

Russian Nuclear Rocket Mishap Causes Deaths, Radiation Spike (Source: New York Post)
The death toll from a rocket explosion at a Russian missile test range rose to five on Saturday, after initial reports listed two dead. Defense officials have nonetheless shut down fishing, swimming and shipping traffic in a portion of the White Sea. The explosion happened Thursday during tests on a liquid propellant rocket engine at an arctic naval range in Nyonska run by state nuclear company Rosatom. In addition to the five dead, three staffers suffered serious burns. A nearby kindergarten was also reportedly damaged, and more than 9,500 people were evacuated.

Officials in the nearby city of Severodvinsk reported a 40-minute spike in radiation levels to 2 microsieverts per hour. Normal levels are around 0.11 microsieverts/hour. While the levels were not high enough to cause sickness, according to the BBC, locals reportedly rushed to pharmacies for iodine, depleting stocks in Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk. Rosatom engineers were working on an “isotope power source” for the rocket propulsion system at the time of the explosion, according to the BBC. (8/10)

Russian Weapon Depot Explodes in Siberia (Source: Business Insider)
A Russian military ammunition depot, believed to house tens of thousands of artillery shells, caught fire and exploded on Monday, killing one and injuring 13 others, as a result of "human error."  The depot, which Russian media said was home to tens of thousands of artillery shells, exploded Monday, setting off fires that continued to burn until the next day. One person was killed, more than a dozen were injured, and around 16,000 people living within 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, of the blast were evacuated. People were able to return to their homes on Tuesday after the gunpowder charges had stopped detonating. (8/6)

Russian Weapon Depot Explodes Again Days After Massive Initial Blast (Source: UPI)
Two new explosions ripped through an ammunition depot at a Russian military facility in eastern Siberia on Friday, injuring eight people, according to state-run news agency TASS.  A fire also broke out at the storage depot, located near the city of Achinsk. TASS reported that the Russian Defense Ministry said lightning was the cause of the explosion and that the nearby village of Kamenka was being evacuated. The incident comes four days after deadly explosions and a subsequent fire swept through the same ammo facility, forcing thousands of nearby residents to evacuate. (8/8)

How One CEO is Trying to Get Space Companies to Talk to Each Other More (Source: Politico)
The space industry needs far greater collaboration if it's going to maximize the potential of an economic ecosystem in low-Earth orbit, says one CEO with a unique vantage point. “Right now we have a hub and spoke model. It’s companies working with NASA,” says Jeffrey Manber, the CEO of Nanoracks, which is currently launching cubesats from the International Space Station. "Most companies are in their silos.”

For example, a commercial spacecraft designed to bring goods manufactured in orbit to Earth will not reach its full potential, he says, if it can't transport different items made by other companies. But Manber says companies are not facilitating the necessary conversations to “bring everybody together." Low-Earth orbit extends from about 100 miles above Earth's surface to about 1,200 miles. It includes the International Space Station, more than half of all currently operating satellites, and is where many of the planned constellations of hundreds of satellites will orbit the Earth.

Manber, who previously sent tourists to the Russian space station as the CEO of MirCorp and also helped form the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce during the Reagan administration, believes Nanoracks is well-positioned to play matchmaker. (8/9)

Embry-Riddle Plans Expansion of Its Research Park through Partnership with Space Square (Source: ERAU)
With a goal to promote high-paying jobs, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced plans to expand its successful Research Park and advance innovation in Volusia County by establishing a presence within the new Space Square aerospace hub. The plan sprang from the highly collaborative economic development efforts of Embry-Riddle, Space Square, Team Volusia, Space Florida and the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, said University President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D.

As the northern gateway to Florida’s Space Triangle, Volusia County is poised to become a major player in the $348 billion global space economy,” Butler said. “The expansion of Embry-Riddle’s Research Park and our partnership with Space Square are positive signs that Volusia is well on its way to becoming a strong strategic lever for economic development along the I-4 corridor.” Space Square’s mission is to “transform the entry point of Daytona’s iconic International Speedway Boulevard into the home for innovative private aerospace and technology research and development facilities,” Hagle said.

Located on 21.6 acres, Space Square offers 200,000 square feet of flex R&D space. Through the partnership with Embry-Riddle, the project offers Work Space @ Space Square, which is a collaborative co-working environment managed by ERAU and offering flexible custom workspaces of any size to early stage companies, along with preferred access to all of the resources offered by Embry-Riddle, including faculty-guided research, student interns, first class facilities, and state of the art equipment. (8/6)

OneWeb Secures Global Spectrum Further Enabling Global Connectivity Services (Source: OneWeb)
OneWeb, whose mission is to connect everyone everywhere, is pleased to announce it has succeeded in bringing into use its spectrum rights in the Ku- and Ka-band spectrum. To achieve this milestone, OneWeb’s satellites have been transmitting at the designated frequencies in the correct orbit for more than 90 days, enabling OneWeb to meet the requirements to secure spectrum bands over which it has priority rights under ITU rules and regulations.

These rights will now be confirmed as the UK administration, which has filed our satellite system with the ITU, will complete the required Notification and Registration process of the company’s LEO network. (8/7)