August 14, 2019

Greenhouse Gases Reach Record Levels (Source: CNN)
The dominant greenhouse gases released into the Earth's atmosphere reached record levels in 2018, and their global warming power is now 43% stronger than in 1990, according to a new report by the American Meteorological Society. The State of the Climate in 2018 study also reported other key findings:
2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record. The three other warmest years were 2015, 2016 and 2017, with 2016 as the warmest year since records first began being kept in the mid-1800s. Sea levels rose to record levels for a seventh consecutive year. And glaciers continue to melt at a concerning rate for the 30th straight year. (8/14)

SNC Selects ULA for Dream Chaser Spacecraft Launches (Source: ULA)
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security leader owned by Chairwoman and President Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen, selected United Launch Alliance (ULA) as the launch vehicle provider for the Dream Chaser® spacecraft’s six NASA missions to the International Space Station.  The Dream Chaser will launch aboard ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rockets for its cargo resupply and return services to the space station, starting in 2021.

Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract, the Dream Chaser will deliver more than 12,000 pounds of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the space station and remains attached for up to 75 days as an orbiting laboratory.  Once the mated mission is complete, the Dream Chaser disposes about 7,000 pounds of space station trash and returns large quantities of critical science, accessible within minutes after a gentle runway landing.

Editor's Note: The two companies announced in July 2017 that two Dream Chaser missions would fly atop Atlas 5 rockets in 2020 and 2021. This new announcement represents an additional commitment. Also, according to Parabolic Arc, "major elements of Vulcan Centaur (SRBs, fairing, etc.) will be flown on Atlas V before Vulcan Centaur flies. The Dream Chaser will launch on second Vulcan Centaur certification flight." (8/14)

Maritime Launch Services Pushes Back on Negative and Misleading Statements by Spaceport Opponents (Source: SpaceQ)
Steve Matier, CEO of Maritime Launch Services (MLS) is pushing back on negative and misleading statements by opponents. While there has been some opposition to MLS building a spaceport facility in the Canso region, there has also been widespread support for the project. One opponent is Michael Byers who told an audience about the dangers of Hydrazine, “‘the essential point is that this is an unproven rocket…You could have a lot of hydrazine spread around your community," he said.

If you wanted to sow fear into local residents, what Byers said is surely one way to do it. In his op-ed Matier counters saying “On June 4 of this year, the Nova Scotia Department of Environment approved the Canso Spaceport Project. In his letter to me, Minister Gordon Wilson wrote that he was satisfied ‘that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions’.”

Matier further stated “In addition, MLS’s subcontractor, United Paradyne Corporation (UPC), will be managing all the propellant activities at the Canso facility. UPC is the current manager of the world’s largest rocket fuel storage facility in the world where they manage, deliver, and often times fuel all of America’s space-lift missions.” (8/14)

China's Quantum Comm Satellite a 'Sputnik Moment' for US Military (Nippon)
China’s launch of a quantum-encrypted communications satellite in 2016 should be viewed as a new “Sputnik moment,” according to a Japanese professor. The satellite, nicknamed Mozi, remains unrivaled, and shows China’s leadership in a technology that can securely transmit military and diplomatic information, Aoki Setsuko, a professor at the Keio University Law School, said. “With this achievement China has left America in the dust,” she said. “For the United States, this is comparable in seriousness to the Soviet success in the race to launch the first artificial satellite. And so it seems appropriate to call it the twenty-first century’s Sputnik moment.” (8/14)

India Orders Russian Equipment for First Manned Space Mission (Source: Space Daily)
India has ordered Russia's space equipment as it is preparing to send its first manned mission to orbit. India plans to send its first crewed mission, set to comprise three astronauts, to space by 2022, which will mark the 75th anniversary of its independence, with Russia set to assist it.

Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma stated that Russia and India will start practically cooperating on the matter in 2019 already. The Indian government previously greenlighted the establishment of an ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) in Moscow after the two countries signed an agreement to select and train astronauts for the Indian space program, which is expected to cost more than $1.31 billion. (8/14)

Researchers Study Largest Impact Crater in the US, Buried for 35 Million Years (Source: Phys.org)
About 35 million years ago, an asteroid hit the ocean off the East Coast of North America. Its impact formed a 25-mile diameter crater that now lies buried beneath the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary in Virginia and Maryland. From this impact, the nearby area experienced fires, earthquakes, falling molten glass droplets, an air blast and a devastating tsunami.

While the resulting "Chesapeake Bay impact crater" is now completely buried, it was discovered in the early 1990s by scientific drilling. It now ranks as the largest known impact crater in the U.S., and the 15th largest on Earth. A team of researchers has obtained drilling samples from the Ocean Drilling Project site 1073 and dated them with the "uranium-thorium-helium technique" for the first time. The team studied zircon crystals in particular because they preserve evidence of shock metamorphism, which is caused by shock pressures and high temperatures associated with impact events. (8/13)

Webb Space Telescope Could Begin Learning About TRAPPIST-1 Atmospheres in a Single Year (Source: Phys.org)
New research from astronomers at the University of Washington uses the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 planetary system as a kind of laboratory to model not the planets themselves, but how the coming James Webb Space Telescope might detect and study their atmospheres, on the path toward looking for life beyond Earth.

The study, led by Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, a UW doctoral student in astronomy, finds that the James Webb telescope, set to launch in 2021, might be able to learn key information about the atmospheres of the TRAPPIST-1 worlds even in its first year of operation, unless—as an old song goes—clouds get in the way. (8/13)

Space Wars Threaten Earthly Intelligence (Source: Slate)
Every corner of our modern lives depends on environmental data from Earth observation satellites. They provide more than 90 percent of the data used by weather prediction models. The availability of much of our most basic resources, especially agriculture and water, now largely relies on meteorological and environmental forecasts made using this information. Today, remote sensing satellites are able to offer scientists data that range from sea surface height to soil moisture content.

With this information, farmers can better plan for precipitation and temperature fluctuations, thereby increasing their yield. Businesses and regional planners can mitigate risks of flood zones. Ecologists can monitor the migration of invasive species. Now, as we enter a new era of space militarization, these environmental satellites are also at risk. They’re clear targets for militaries across the globe. (8/13)

Air Force Suppressed Space Force Debate; Lt. Gen. Kwast Spoke Truth To Power (Source: Breaking Defense)
After the House of Representatives passed legislation calling for a Space Corps, the head of the Air Force, Secretary Heather Wilson, and the service’s Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, rejected the idea. Completely. Then the Air Force placed a gag order — in government speak, Restrictive Public Affairs Guidance — which suppressed advocacy for a Space Force and stifled public debate. Only one Air Force officer,  Lt. Gen. Steve Kwast, spoke publicly in favor of it.

Air Force officers who hope to maintain our proud tradition of conscience over career owe him a debt of gratitude. The gag order worked – for more than a year, during the most important Air Force debate in a century — the majority of officers have held their tongue. While polls by Air Force Times suggest that a majority of Air Force officers favor a Space Corps, only one of them displayed the moral courage to speak truth to power.

When Congress asked for a Space Corps and the Trump Administration ordered a Space Force, did even one active-duty space professional senior leader speak out publicly in favor? No. Could it be that not one senior space professional thought space was important enough to justify its own service? No. Why were Air Force space professionals absent from the debate?  Why didn’t they offer dissenting best-military advice to the American people? The most direct answer is simple — they were told not to. (8/12)

Early Morning Wallops Rocket Launch Brightens Students' Day (Source: NASA)
A NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket lifts into the morning sky at 5:44 a.m., Monday, August 12, 2019, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The launch was followed by cheers as the undergraduate students see the rocket rise through the sky carrying their experiments to an altitude of 96 miles.  The experiments descend from space via parachute into the Atlantic Ocean.  It has been recovered and early in the afternoon the students will have their experiments in hand to see how they performed. (8/12)

Will Small Satellites Help Stop Big Threats? (Source: C4ISRnet)
The Air Force’s primary early warning missile system could one day use small satellites to assist in the work. Col. Dennis Bythewood, program executive officer for space development at the Space and Missile Systems Center. said DATE that the service was considering using a setup comprised of hundreds of satellites for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system.

OPIR will replace the Air Force’s current early warning missile system, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). Those satellites provide early warnings of ballistic missile attacks on the United States, its deployed forces, or its allies. The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.9 billion contract to build three geosynchronous OPIR satellites and has contracted with Northrop Grumman to build two satellites covering the polar regions.

Like it’s predecessor, OPIR will be comprised of a small number of large, expensive satellites operating in geosynchronous orbit. But according to Bythewood, Air Force leaders in Los Angeles are considering adopting a proliferated architecture for future OPIR capabilities. (8/13)

Space Club Invites Industry Support for Annual Space Week Educational Program (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club Florida Committee (NSCFL) has pledged a minimum of $25,000 from the aerospace community toward this year's Brevard Space Week: Destination Space. Last week's event was rousing success with more than 6,500 Brevard Public Schools sixth graders and their science teachers participating in a full day of organized and hands-on activities at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Funding also comes from the Brevard Schools Foundation, which seeks support from the community at large, and through grants that match funding from private industry.

Destination Space has proven to motivate our school administrators and teachers to increase emphasis on teaching math and science, as well as stimulating student interest in those subjects. Our classroom visits also will provide students with leadership and inspirational tools that will tie everything together. NSCFL is requesting our community’s financial help once again. All contributions to the NSCFL (a 501c3 entity) will go directly to Space Week. Click here. (8/13)

NASA Plans Independent Review of CASIS (Source: Space News)
NASA plans to conduct an independent review of the nonprofit organization that runs the part of the ISS designated a national lab. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced late Tuesday he was seeking the review of the ISS National Lab, formally known as the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to ensure it is "on mission" and "appropriately resourced" to perform research. That review will be led by Elizabeth Cantwell of the University of Arizona and expected to take 12 weeks to complete. NASA, in a separate letter to CASIS, called for a "strategic pause" in its activities until after the the review is completed. (8/14)

BAE Wins Continued DARPA Funding for Space Machine Learning (Source: Space News)
BAE Systems has won a new phase of a DARPA contract to study the use of machine learning technologies for space operations. The second phase of the Hallmark Tools, Capabilities, and Evaluation Methodology (Hallmark-TCEM) contract focuses on the use of machine learning for space and situational awareness. The program is to help operators improve their understanding of space events and their ability to take actions in response to situations that might affect U.S. satellites in space. The company originally won the $12.8 million contract in November 2017. (8/14)

Spire to Support Insurance Analytics (Source: Space News)
Spire Global has signed an agreement to work with an insurance company to develop new products based on its satellite data. Spire will partner with Concirrus, a London-based insurance analytics company, primarily on products associated with maritime insurance. Spire's constellation of more than 70 cubesats collects a variety of data, including tracking ships with Automatic Identification System receivers. (8/14)

SpaceX Adds Boat for Full Fairing Recovery Off Florida's Coast (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX's efforts to recover payload fairings from Falcon 9 launches now involve a mix of mystery and mischief. The boat currently used to capture payload fairings in a large net, the GO Ms. Tree, has been joined in Florida by a second boat, GO Ms. Chief. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that the second boat will also be used to catch payload fairings, allowing both halves of the fairing to be retrieved. After many tests, SpaceX has started to successfully catch fairing sections with the net on GO Ms. Tree, including during last week's launch of the Amos-17 satellite. (8/14)

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