August 12, 2019

Launching Into the Wilderness of Florida's Space Coast (Source: Lonely Planet)
Of all the state's nicknamed coasts (Emerald Coast, Forgotten Coast, Paradise Coast), you’d think Florida's Space Coast would be the most developed. Its name implies a certain amount of infrastructure – the massive man made apparatus (literally) fueled the American exploration of space – but it is, in fact, home to some of the largest tracts of pristine waterfront in a state that is well-known for its coastline.

The preserved beaches and adjacent ecosystems of this natural playground are all the more impressive when one considers they sit smack within Central Florida, an area that is absolutely teeming with human activity. Put it this way: if you’re staring at Cinderella’s castle in Disney’s Magic Kingdom – the most iconic vista in a theme park that is an exemplar of a constructed, artificial environment – you are about a 90 minute drive from the pristine dunes of Merritt Island, gently eroding under the Atlantic’s salt breezes. (8/11)

Our Galaxy's Supermassive Black Hole Has Emitted a Mysteriously Bright Flare (Source: Science Alert)
The supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*, is relatively quiet. It's not an active nucleus, spewing light and heat into the space around it; most of the time, the black hole's activity is low key, with minimal fluctuations in its brightness. Most of the time. Recently, astronomers caught it going absolutely bananas, suddenly growing 75 times brighter before subsiding back to normal levels. That's the brightest we've ever seen Sgr A* in near-infrared wavelengths. (8/12)

ULA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Submit Bids for National Security Launch Procurement (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin have submitted their proposals for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement. Bids were due Aug. 12. The stakes could not be higher for the field of competitors vying to be one of the two companies that the Air Force will select in 2020 to split 60/40 as many as 34 missions for military and intelligence community between 2022 and 2026.

ULA and SpaceX currently launch the bulk of U.S. national security satellites while Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin are looking to break in. All are developing brand-new rockets and upgrading existing vehicles for the competition. SpaceX’s Falcon is the only launch vehicle offered for Phase 2 that is flying today and has already achieved national security space certification. (8/12)

Blue Origin Files Protest Over ‘Flawed’ Air Force Launch Procurement (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday challenging the Air Force’s plan to select two providers in the next procurement of launch services under the National Security Space Launch program. Blue Origin, a rocket manufacturer and suborbital spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos, filed what is known as a “pre-award” protest with the GAO, arguing that the rules set by the Air Force do not allow for a fair and open competition.

“The Air Force is pursuing a flawed acquisition strategy for the National Security Space Launch program,” states a Blue Origin fact sheet that outlines the reasons for the protest. The Air Force intends to select two winners for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement in 2020 to split 60/40 all national security missions from 2022 to 2026. Four companies — United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, SpaceX and Northrop Grumman are expected to compete. Proposals were due Aug. 12, the same day Blue Origin filed the protest.

The RFP the Air Force released May 3 “includes evaluation criteria that are ambiguous and fail to comply with federal procurement statutes and regulations. This subjectivity of the criteria makes it impossible to accurately respond to the RFP,” the fact sheet states. Blue Origin argues that there is no clarity on what "best value" is, and claims that many of the government’s technical requirements are too vague to accurately price. It also discriminates against new competitors by asking bidders to offer a backup launch vehicle. Blue Origin argues that provision favors incumbents as new entrant companies would not have a backup option. (8/12)

SpaceX’s Next Falcon 9 Missions Likely Two Back-to-Back Starlink Satellite Launches (Source: Teslarati)
It appears that SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 launch is at least a month away and will likely be the company’s first operational Starlink mission, deemed “Starlink 1”. Barring a surprise mission in the interim, this means that SpaceX is going to have a gap of at least two months between customer launches, something the company has not experienced since mid-2015 – more than four years ago. As such, it’s an extremely happy coincidence that SpaceX may now have internal Starlink launches to fill lulls in its commercial launch manifest.

Starlink is a colossal ~11,800-satellite broadband internet constellation nominally designed, manufactured, launched, and operated by SpaceX. On May 23rd, after approximately one week of delays, a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster lifted off for the third time in support of SpaceX’s first dedicated Starlink launch, an unparalleled 60-satellite beta test known internally as “Starlink v0.9”.

Upsetting all expectations, SpaceX managed to fit en incredible 60 high-performance Starlink satellites into Falcon 9’s unchanged payload fairing – middle of the ground in terms of usable volume. Weighing anywhere from 16,000 kg to 18,500 kg (35,300-40,800 lb), SpaceX’s very first dedicated Starlink launch also crushed the company’s record for heaviest payload launched by several metric tons. (8/12)

Japanese Launch Companies Offering More Space Services (Source: Nikkei)
Japanese companies that currently build launch vehicles are looking to get into other parts of the space industry. Both IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are now providing satellite data services, such as weather forecasting and satellite imagery analysis, that they believe will provide lucrative new revenue streams. IHI, which builds the Epsilon small launcher, plans to offer launch and satellite data services as a package. (8/12)

5G and Megaconstellations Shift Ground Station Landscape (Source: Space News)
Ground stations are preparing for fundamental changes thanks to 5G and megaconstellations. The ground systems business has changed dramatically in recent years thanks to a massive increase in data volume, advanced technology and fresh competition. More change is coming as constellations in low Earth orbit multiply and individual satellites collect and transmit more data than ever before, while satellites and their ground segments will play important roles in 5G networks. Startups that once planned to develop their own ground networks instead rely on a growing roster of companies that specialize in handling data flowing between satellites and ground networks. (8/12)

China's LinkSpace Tests Reusable Booster Again (Source: Reuters)
A Chinese startup performed another takeoff and landing test of a future reusable launch vehicle. LinkSpace's RLV-T5 flew to an altitude of about 300 meters before landing vertically 50 seconds after takeoff Saturday. The test was the third for the technology demonstrator, and the highest flight to date. LinkSpace expects to fly a larger vehicle next year capable of flying to space as it seeks to enter the small launch vehicle market. (8/12)

NASA Planning to Keep BEAM Module on ISS for the Long Haul (Source: Space News)
An experimental module added to the International Space Station three years ago to test expandable module technologies has been cleared to remain on the station through the late 2020s. Nathan Wells, an instrumentation lead for the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) at NASA, said the module’s on-orbit performance had exceeded expectations and that it had been cleared to remain on the station to 2028. (8/12)