August 12, 2020

Space Industry Apprenticeship Celebrates First Anniversary (Source: SCCAP)
SCCAP, the Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program, an autonomous sub-committee of SpaceTEC Partners, Inc. and an industry-driven State of Florida registered apprenticeship program, is proudly, and successfully, celebrating its 1st year anniversary! One year ago, Governor Ron DeSantis attended the SCCAP Apprentice and Festo MAP2 Signing Ceremony at OneWeb Satellites manufacturing facility in Exploration Park near the Kennedy Space Center. Gov. DeSantis welcomed the first cohort of nine Mechatronics Technician apprentices into the two-year program at the formal event.

This week also formally marks one year since SCCAP’s Mechatronics Technician apprentices started their first semester on August 8, 2019, at Eastern Florida State College (EFSC). Despite multiple setbacks and obstacles due to the impacts of the Coronavirus crisis in Florida, SCCAP’s Mechatronics apprentices are now preparing to enter their third semester at EFSC on August 17, 2020, to begin the second year of their apprenticeship program.

Under the SCCAP program, the Mechatronics Technician apprentices attend classes at the EFSC Cocoa Campus two days a week and work on the manufacturing floors of participating companies, including OneWeb Satellites, Rocket Crafters, and Knights Armament, three days a week. By mixing classroom and lab learning with “on-the-job” training, the apprentices will graduate in 2021 with real, immediately marketable skills, as well as a two-year Engineering Technology A.S. degree from EFSC, stackable credentials such as NIMS, SpaceTEC and CerTEC, and other nationally recognized certifications, as well as a State of Florida registered apprenticeship certificate and a German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) AHK apprenticeship certificate through Festo MAP2. (8/11)

Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory (Source: UCF)
One of the auxiliary cables that helps support a metal platform in place above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, broke on Monday (Aug. 10) causing a 100-foot-long gash on the telescope’s reflector dish. Operations at the UCF-managed observatory are stopped until repairs can be made. The break occurred about 2:45 a.m. When the three-inch cable fell it also damaged about 6-8 panels in the Gregorian Dome and twisted the platform used to access the dome. It is not yet clear what caused the cable to break. (8/11)

AFWERX Awards Accion Systems $2.25 Million Phase II SBIR Contract (Source: Parabolic Arc)
In-space propulsion pioneer Accion Systems announced today that it has been awarded a follow-on Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract through AFWERX, in partnership with Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN). The award recognizes the successful completion of the Phase I SBIR contact earlier this year and exciting promise for Accion’s TILE ion electrospray propulsion for use in national security missions. (8/11)

ViaSat Petitions FCC to Deny SpaceX Starlink Approval (Source: ViaSat)
ViaSat argues that SpaceX does not respond to the evidence of its satellite failure rates and how they materially increase the collision risk of the Starlink system, including the obvious point that Starlink satellites that cannot reliably maneuver cannot avoid the types of collisions that produce large amounts of orbital debris that can take many decades to re-enter the atmosphere. SpaceX ignores Viasat’s showings (based on SpaceX’s own data) that its experiential failure rate alters the collision risk analysis underlying its prior grants of authority.

"SpaceX intentionally designed the Starlink satellites with only those safety mechanisms that were “easy” to implement—in explicit contrast with reliability methods, processes, and forms of redundancy applied to other SpaceX programs (e.g., Cargo Dragon) that SpaceX touts as a bellwether of quality. SpaceX uses this approach because it intends to launch so many (unreliable) satellites that individual failures have, from SpaceX’s own perspective, tolerable (i.e., immaterial) consequences on system functionality. SpaceX understands that other methods, processes, and forms of redundancy that could improve reliability exist, but has simply decided not to use them." (8/10)

NASA Sponsors Space Food Challenge for Cash Prize (Source: NASA)
The Space Food Challenge is composed of two competition rounds: Round 1: Design Competition - Requires Teams to design an advanced food production technology concept, including the inputs and outputs, with a detailed explanation of how it will work and supporting visual concept drawings or models. Round 2: Kitchen Demonstration Competition - Requires Teams to demonstrate the food production technology solution, particularly the key technical components. Round 2 requires a “breadboard” or “kitchen-level” demonstration. Teams will provide a prototype of the solution and samples of product outputs (e.g., tangible nutritional outputs) from the prototype. Click here. (8/11)

SpaceX is Manufacturing 120 Starlink Internet Satellites Per Month (Source: CNBC)
SpaceX is manufacturing its Starlink satellites at an unprecedented rate for the space industry. Elon Musk’s space company told the FCC that its Starlink unit is “now building 120 satellites per month.” Starlink is SpaceX’s ambitious plan to build an interconnected network of about 12,000 small satellites, to beam high-speed internet from orbit to anywhere in the world. SpaceX told the FCC in late July that the company’s Starlink unit has “invested over $70 million developing and producing thousands of consumer user terminals per month.” (8/10)

RADARSAT Constellation Mission Data Largely Unused, Unavailable (Source: SpaceQ)
In 2019 the Canadian space community was energized by the Government of Canada’s successful launch of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission; three satellites designed that among other things are able to help Canadians study dramatically changing climate – and such events as the breakup of massive ice sheets that have been presents for thousands of years.

SNC Advances Habitat Development for NASA (Source: SNC)
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security company owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, is continuing to advance its development of the company’s LIFE™ Habitat (Large Inflatable Fabric Environment) under Phase 3 of NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) Appendix A habitat program. In Phase 3, NASA has asked companies to focus on habitat design concepts that could be used on the lunar surface or as a Mars transportation habitat to test at the Gateway.

“Our habitat design is so unlike any other that it truly demonstrates SNC’s technology ingenuity and innovation,” said SNC CEO Fatih Ozmen. “We are excited to continue our support of human exploration in low-Earth orbit, for the Artemis lunar missions, and eventually missions to Mars, making space accessible and affordable.”

SNC’s LIFE habitat is unique in that it launches on a conventional rocket and inflates on-orbit to a large structure that is three stories tall, and 27 feet in diameter. It can comfortably sleep four astronauts, with additional room for science experiments, exercise equipment, a medical center and SNC’s Astro Garden® system, which the company is developing as an option to grow fresh produce for astronauts on long-duration space missions. (8/10)

Arecibo Damaged by Broken Cable (Sources: Space News, SPACErePORT)
The Arecibo radio telescope is out of service after a broken cable damaged part of the giant observatory. The cable, used to help suspend a platform over the 305-meter dish, snapped in the early morning hours Monday, creating a gash 30 meters long in the dish and causing other damage. Observatory officials said they're assessing the situation and will seek to get the telescope repaired as soon as possible, but did not estimate how long it will take or how much the repairs will cost. The radio telescope is used for astronomical research, and NASA provides some funding for a planetary radar there that can track and characterize near Earth asteroids.

Arecibo is managed by the Florida Space Institute at the University of Central Florida. The university has sent FSI's director to Puerto Rico to oversee the telescope repair efforts. Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL) was advised of the damage on Tuesday, with a suggestion that federal funding may be sought to support the repairs. (8/12)

Starship Prototypes Advancing for Further Tests (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX has moved a new Starship prototype onto a test stand for a potential future flight. The new prototype, SN6, moved to the test stand at the company's Boca Chica, Texas, site this week while SN5, which flew a brief "hop" test flight last week, returned to the factory. SpaceX hasn't announced when SN6 might perform a similar flight as it works on a more advanced prototype, SN8. (8/12)

NASA's TESS Completes Primary Exoplanet Search (Source: NASA)
A NASA mission to search for exoplanets has completed its primary mission. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) completed its two-year primary mission last month to observe most of the sky, looking for telltale dips in brightness of stars caused by planets orbiting them. TESS moved immediately into an extended mission that will run through at least September 2022, revisiting parts of the sky observed earlier in the mission with updated and more efficient processes. Astronomers have used data from TESS to discover 66 exoplanets, as well as 2,100 potential exoplanets awaiting confirmation. (8/12)

Netflix Mars Series Leverages Astronaut Experience (Source: CollectSpace)
A new Netflix series about a mission to Mars leverages the experience of NASA astronauts. "Away," set to premiere next month, stars Hilary Swank as a NASA astronaut commanding an international mission to Mars. Swank said in an interview that she talked with Peggy Whitson, the astronaut who holds the NASA record for most cumulative time in space, to help her prepare for the role. Former astronaut Mike Massimino was the primary astronaut adviser for the show and also makes a cameo appearance. (8/12)

ULA Pleasantly Surprised by NSSL Launch Contract Win Details (Source: Space News)
The head of United Launch Alliance says he was surprised by the initial launch awards made by the Pentagon. The Air Force, selecting ULA and SpaceX for its National Security Space Launch Phase 2 program, awarded ULA two launches for the NRO for $337 million while SpaceX received one launch for $319 million. In an interview, Tory Bruno said he was "honestly surprised" and "pretty gratified" that ULA sold two missions for the price of one for SpaceX. He speculated that SpaceX built the price of vehicle upgrades into its contract. The two ULA launches will be performed by the Vulcan rocket, which Bruno said is on schedule to make its first launches in 2021, in time to be certified for those 2022 NRO launches. (8/12)

Satellites Lasting Longer (Source: Space News)
Satellite companies are operating their spacecraft for much longer than before. A new study found that some 31% of commercial geostationary communications satellites are currently in service past their expected retirement, more than double the percentage in 2009. TelAstra, which performed the study, believes that companies are operating satellites longer because they have ordered fewer replacement satellites and are buying more powerful models that can do the job of multiple earlier spacecraft. (8/12)

Indian Startup Skyroot Testing Engine for Small Launcher (Source: Business Standard)
An Indian startup is making progress on its first small launch vehicle. Skyroot Aerospace says it successfully tested the engine for the upper stage of its Vikram-1 rocket this week. That rocket is capable of placing up to several hundred kilograms into low Earth orbit and is slated to make its first launch in late 2021. The startup, one of the first in India to work on a privately developed launch vehicle, is seeking to raise $12 million to fund that effort. (8/12)

Firefly Plans Alpha Launch Debut at California Spaceport (Source: Space.com)
Firefly Aerospace is now planning a first launch of its Alpha rocket this fall. The company says the Alpha rocket should launch in late October or early November from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where the company is converting a former Delta 2 launchpad. The company has two more Alpha rockets in production for launches in 2021 while also starting "to turn up the heat" on its larger Beta rocket. (8/12)

Why the International Space Station Deserves Consideration for a Nobel Peace Prize (Source: CASIS)
In the process of this peaceful, collaborative endeavor to build the ISS for human exploration, we have achieved new insight into our ability to work together across boundaries and embrace our diversity to translate complex human thought into human-built wonders. The ISS was not conceived with the singular mission to be an emissary of peace for a troubled planet, but in its continuing existence over the past 20 years with the participation of many peoples from many nations, the ISS is unique in giving us hope that we can endure as a species and that we can accomplish great things when we choose to live and to work together. (8/5)

Florida Tech: Scanning the Final Frontier for Technosignatures (Source: Florida Tech)
Throughout history, humanity has explored new frontiers from the rugged West to the vastness of space, motivated in part by the quest to better understand the land, sea, air and space around them. New Florida Tech research is expanding upon that principle but attempting the daunting challenge of finding something that is not currently visible. Astrobiology assistant professor Manasvi Lingam and colleagues from other institutions received a NASA grant that will fund the study of technosignatures, detectable signs of past or present technology used on other planets. This is NASA’s first non-radio technosignature grant ever awarded.

In order to research technosignatures, the team identified things that cannot be produced naturally by biological processes. They came up with two routes in the proposals in order to help identify these factors.  The first part centers on signals of pollution, such as ozone-harming chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). If there are signs of CFCs in the planet’s spectrum, that would give a clue that a technology entity may have been around that area, and thus a technosignature may be present. The researchers have already found that CFC molecules in the atmosphere have strong residual features that would them detectable, aiding in the search for technosignatures. (8/12)

Korean Team Develops In-Situ Space Construction 3D Printing for NASA Challenge (Source: 3DPrint.com)
Developing the capability for in-situ manufacturing using 3D printing technologies is critical to manufacturing and construction in space, especially if we are to explore or inhabit other space environments, such as Mars, or the Moon. NASA, as part of its Centennial Challenges program, has hosted a 3D Printed Habitat Challenge since 2015 with prize money of over $2.25 million, where the public is encouraged to develop advanced technology solutions to construct sustainable space exploration habitats using 3D printing. The competition was divided into three phases, with Phase 1 focused on Design of the habitat, Phase 2 on development of material technologies and testing of structural members, and the final Phase 3 on the construction and modeling of an on-site habitat.

In a study from Hanyang University, researchers Jin Young Lee, and Tai Sik Lee have developed a three meter diameter by two meter tall structure that meets Phase 3 competition requirements for a one-third scale 3D printed space habitat. Tai Sik Lee, Professor at Hanyang University (Seoul, South Korea) and President of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building technology, has been doing research into space and extreme construction for more than ten years. He also led the Moon X Construction group, the leading international team in the competition, when they participated and won the Phase 2, Level 2 – Beam Member part of the Structural Member Competition, part of the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. (8/11)

Malabar Site on Space Coast Eyed for Space Force (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Air Force's Malabar Annex in Palm Bay, on Florida's Space Coast, is a 640 acre airfield and radar installation originally developed by the Navy during World War II. It currently serves as an auxiliary site for space launch tracking, but is not frequently used. Given its service to space launch operations, and its proximity to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Patrick Air/Space Force Base, and multiple universities, local officials are highlighting the potential for Malabar to host new operations of the Space Force or Space Command. (8/12)

OneWeb Space Coast Satellite Factory Back Online (Source: SPACErePORT)
After OneWeb's recent bankruptcy, operations at the company's new hypermodern satellite production facility were paused and the facility's future was in question. A UK-ed takeover of OneWeb has led to speculation that the facility operations might be relocated to bolster Britain's growing space economy. This potential relocation remains an issue of concern for Space Florida and other state and local stakeholders, but for now the production facility is back online. (8/12)