January 20, 2020

Successful Test Paves Way for SpaceX Crewed Demo-2 Mission (Source: Space News)
The abort test was one of the last major ones for the spacecraft before the Demo-2 crewed test flight to the International Space Station that may take place in the second quarter of this year. NASA will decide in the next few weeks whether to extend that Demo-2 mission to the ISS. That test flight, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board, is currently intended to be only a short-duration mission. However, the agency is studying whether to extend the mission to increase the crew size on the station, which will be down to three people, including only one American, starting in April. Extending the Demo-2 mission would likely delay the launch in order to give the crew more training for ISS operations. (1/20)

Eutelsat Hosted Payload Continues Operations (Source: Space News)
A hosted payload on a Eutelsat communications satellite will continue to operate despite the failure of one of the satellite's solar arrays. The Eutelsat 5 West B satellite has a hosted payload for the European GNSS Agency called GEO-3 that is designed to enhance satellite navigation signals for aircraft as part of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System, or EGNOS. That payload will continue to operate while the rest of the satellite suffered a 55% loss in capacity because of the failure of the drive assembly in one of the spacecraft's solar arrays. Eutelsat has yet to decide on the size of an insurance claim it will file for the satellite's lost performance. [SpaceNews]

Japan Establishes Military Space Unit (Source: AP)
The Japanese military will establish a new unit devoted to space. The Space Domain Mission Unit will start operations in April as part of the country's Air Self-Defense Force, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a speech Monday. The new unit will be responsible for satellite-based communications and navigation services supporting other military units, and defend those systems from threats. [AP]

A version of China's Long March 5 rocket needed for launching space station modules will make its first flight later this year. The China Manned Space Agency said the Long March 5B rocket will launch for the first time in the first half of this year. The heavy-lift rocket is a version of the Long March 5 optimized for delivering payloads to low Earth orbit, and will be used to launch modules for China's space station. [Xinhua]

Several Canadian companies have won contracts to develop lunar payloads. ABB Inc., Candensys Aerospace Corp., Magellan Aerospace Ltd. and Mission Control Space Systems won a total of five awards from the Canadian Space Agency as part of its Lunar Surface Autonomous Science Payloads program. The agency hasn't disclosed specifics about the awards, but they are expected to cover concept studies and initial technology development of scientific payloads that would later be flown to the surface of the moon. [SpaceQ]

Space: Not the Final Frontier, But the New Wild West (Source: Politico)
Despite talk of a new “space race,” what is happening now resembles less a race than it does a new “Wild West” — similar to the early internet era of the 1990s. The early years of space exploration were driven by a single goal and focus: to be the first to put a person on the moon. Private entities in the space industry worked largely as government contractors. Today, space is no longer the preserve of governments but also that of a growing number of private companies, largely funded by private capital and billionaires with deep pockets.

There are more opportunities in the commercial space industry than ever before. And there’s a growing understanding that these new companies and ideas will disrupt the world in ways we can’t foresee — much in the same way the advent of digital companies such as Facebook and Amazon did. The difference between the U.S. and Europe, says Dylan Taylor — a leading American investor in space and chairman of Voyager Space Holdings — is that U.S. investors “are used to early-stage companies.” Americans have “seen a lot of success stories, of early-stages companies becoming very successful and ultimately having some kind of an exit.”

This is the type of ecosystem that enabled the likes of Google, Amazon and the other big internet giants to flourish — something Europe is hoping to emulate as officials bid to set up a €1 billion wealth fund designed to help home-grown businesses to compete with the giants coming from not only the U.S., but also China. But having money is not enough. You have to be willing to risk it, and embrace the kind of failure that enables companies to grow out of ideas. (1/20)

Congressman Pushing for Space Force Base to be Built in Huntsville (Source: WAFF)
Space Force is still looking for a home. And many people think that Huntsville's existing mix of military and science make it the obvious choice. The Space Force became official in December of 2019. And this week the first member of the Space Force, Air Force general John Raymond was sworn in. He will be the chief of space operations. Byrne says America has been falling behind in space defense. And says it’s critical for our country to step it up, and says he’s confident the Rocket City will play an important part in the Space Force.

“I have been pushing the idea of Huntsville being the headquarters of it. If not the headquarters at least the location where a lot of the most important activities will occur. The Alabama congressional delegation has been extremely unified about this. We have had a very good strong push about it. I think at the end of the day Huntsville will be a huge beneficiary from it,” Byrne said. The man Byrne is seeking to defeat, Senator Doug Jones, has also publicly expressed support for Huntsville’s efforts to get a Space Force base. (1/19)

Spaceport America's Vertical Launch Area Bustling with Activity (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
UP Aerospace achieved a major milestone in fall 2018 when it shot its reusable SpaceLoft rocket into suborbit in two back-to-back launches from Spaceport America. But that NASA-sponsored feat generated barely a blip in public attention. Another SpaceLoft launch with NASA-sponsored microgravity experiments took place in November, again with little fanfare.

In good part, that’s because all eyes are riveted on Virgin Galactic, which is expected to begin suborbital commercial flights from the spaceport this year for paying passengers. But it may also reflect the natural evolution to a “new normal” public mindset regarding spaceflight activity at the spaceport’s vertical launch area, where UP has operated since 2006.

Since then, it has launched the SpaceLoft 13 times from the spaceport, while also conducting test flights on vehicles there for other companies, including Lockheed Martin. It even built a rocket motor factory on-site in 2017, which now provides all engines for its own launches, plus motors for other companies and entities, such as the military and Sandia National Laboratories. UP is headquartered in Colorado, where it manages most of its basic engineering and design work, but its seven-member workforce has spent more than half of each year since 2017 directly at the spaceport, said UP President and CEO Jerry Larson. (1/20)

Spaceport America Seeks Another Big State Investment for Infrastructure, Visitor Center (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
The New Mexico Spaceport is preparing to go viral this year as Virgin Galactic gears up for liftoff in southern New Mexico. Sir Richard Branson is widely expected to board the first commercial passenger rocket to shoot into suborbit sometime in 2020 in an event that could capture global attention as the turning point that marks the dawn of commercial space travel. Rocket flights with paying passengers will soon follow, potentially kicking up an unprecedented groundswell of spectator tourism and worldwide media attention that the spaceport and local industry leaders want to be ready for.

To prepare, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority is seeking $57 million in capital outlay this year for infrastructure projects it considers critical, beginning with $25 million for a welcoming center and visitor access control installations.

In addition, it’s seeking $20 million for space vehicle and payload processing centers for companies operating at the spaceport’s horizontal and vertical launch areas to do on-site assembly of rockets and the microgravity experiments placed in them. It also wants $10 million for the first phase of a new taxiway in the horizontal launch area to run parallel to the current 12,000-foot runway, and it wants $2 million for a modern IT control center for all communications infrastructure at the spaceport. (1/20)

Florida Targets Space Force, Inks New Support Services Contract (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Florida’s aerospace agency has launched a new front in its effort to make the Sunshine State more enticing as a potential player in the nation’s up-and-coming Space Force. The Space Florida Board of Directors on Thursday approved $200,000 for Satellite Beach-based GTOPS, Inc., a veteran-owned business that provides facilities-support services, to further showcase how military bases and businesses in the state are capable of training and equipping President Donald Trump’s new military branch.

“If you can't make the articulate arguments for what capabilities you've got to support missions, you’ll never get those mission assignments,” Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello said after Thursday’s meeting in Tallahassee. Florida officials have often pointed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political ties to Trump as they lobby for the new branch, which is expected to be moved from the Department of the Air Force to having its own representation on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon in October. The move is expected to kick-off a five-year phase-in. (1/17)