August 17, 2020

Mysterious Gamma-Ray Heartbeat Coming From Cosmic Gas Cloud (Source: SciTech Daily)
Scientists have detected a mysterious gamma-ray heartbeat coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The inconspicuous cloud in the constellation Aquila is beating with the rhythm of a neighboring precessing black hole, indicating a connection between the two objects, as the team led by DESY Humboldt Fellow Jian Li and ICREA Professor Diego F. Torres from the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) reports in the journal Nature Astronomy. Just how the black hole powers the cloud’s gamma-ray heartbeat over a distance of about 100 light years remains enigmatic. (8/17)

Aerospace Employee Campaign Contributions (Source: DanielOberhaus.com)
The aerospace industry has a reputation for being conservative. A new generation of aerospace companies have built a reputation on flouting the status quo, but is this willingness to challenge norms reflected in the politics of their employees? Turns out the aerospace industry really loved Bernie [Sanders]. Here's how employees at top defense, spaceflight, and launch companies donated to presidential campaigns.

The data used in these charts was gathered from the Federal Election Commission, which requires individuals who make political contributions of $200 or more to register the name of their company. The data covers contributions made to the Biden, Trump, and Sanders campaigns since January 1, 2019. It is based on the most current available data, which was last updated 6/30/2020. Click here. (18/17)

Out-of-This-World Cleaning! NASA Astronaut Does Chores Aboard Space Station (Source: MSN)
Living on the International Space Station is more than cool science experiments and awesome Earth views... astronauts have chores too! Click here. (8/17) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/watch/out-of-this-world-cleaning-nasa-astronaut-does-chores-aboard-space-station/vp-BB1840Ya

Radio Occultation From Satellites Improves Weather Forecasts (Source: Space News)
Radio occultation data from satellites is improving the accuracy of weather forecasts. The US Air Force and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said they've noted significant improvements in numerical weather prediction models when they add data from the COSMIC-2 satellites, developed by the US and Taiwan, and from the constellation of smallsats operated by Spire. Both sets of satellites collect data on atmospheric conditions by measuring occultations of radio signals from GPS and other navigation satellites. (8/17)

India Slows Human Spaceflight Program Due to Pandemic (Source: PTI)
Indian officials say it's now unlikely the country's space agency will perform a test flight of a spacecraft being developed for its human spaceflight program this year. The Indian space agency ISRO had planned to carry out an uncrewed test flight of the capsule built for the Gaganyaan program late this year. However, sources in the Indian government say that disruptions caused by the pandemic will make it impossible to launch that mission on schedule. The government is maintaining the goal of launching a crewed mission by August 2022 to mark the 75th anniversary of the country's independence. (8/17)

Airbus Seeks New Customers for OneWeb Satellites Built in Florida (Source: Space News)
Airbus is looking for additional customers for its satellite manufacturing joint venture, OneWeb Satellites. That joint venture with OneWeb operates a factory in Florida initially built to produce satellites for OneWeb's satellite constellation. While OneWeb's new owners have suggested they will move satellite production to the United Kingdom, Airbus says it's expecting to continue to produce satellites there while seeking other customers, notably the U.S. government given its interest in satellite constellations. (8/17)

White House Memo Adds Low Earth Orbit Research as R&D Priority (Source: Space News)
A White House memo adds low Earth orbit research on "new platforms" as a research and development priority for the administration. The memo published Friday by the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and Technology Policy listed overall R&D priorities for next year's budget proposal, with space among the top five. The section on space is very similar to that in a memo last year, but with the addition on supporting research "on new platforms in Low Earth Orbit." NASA has built up its LEO commercialization efforts, including use of the International Space Station and future commercial space stations, but has struggled to get funding from Congress for that initiative. (8/17)

Germany's HyImpulse Developing Small Launcher (Source: Space News)
A German startup is working on a small launch vehicle designed around hybrid engines. HyImpulse hopes to perform in late 2022 the first launch of a three-stage rocket capable of sending 500 kilograms to a 400-kilometer low Earth orbit. The startup, formed in 2018 by engineers who previously worked at the German space agency DLR, now has 40 people and is backed by Rudolf Schwarz, chairman of German technology company IABG. It is one of three companies competing for 11 million euros in funding from DLR to be awarded next year. (8/17)

Germany's Exolaunch Signs Agreement with Augsburg to Supply Commercial Launch Services (Source: Space Daily)
Exolaunch, a Berlin-based rideshare launch and deployment solutions provider, signed a wide-ranging MOU with Germany-based launch service provider, Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), to provide end-to-end launch services for small satellites, with Exolaunch procuring launch capacities from RFA. Exolaunch has helped launch nearly 100 small satellites into orbit, with 50 more small satellites to be launched before the end of 2020.

Rocket Factory, a start-up backed by the German satellite maker OHB as a strategic investor and Venture Capital firm Apollo Capital Partners, currently is developing a launcher system called RFA One for small satellites with a payload performance of up to 300kg to low earth orbit (LEO). The first launch is scheduled for 2022. The company recently qualified the upper stage tank system during cryogenic tests and currently is preparing hot-fire tests of the main engine in Esrange, Sweden. (8/16)

Kleos to Launch Second Satellite Cluster on SpaceX Falcon 9 (Source: Space Daily)
Kleos Space reports that as part of the expansion of its constellation a contract has been signed with rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc to manifest a cluster of Kleos satellites on the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, scheduled for mid-2021. This will be the second cluster to be launched by Kleos, following the first four Kleos' Scouting Mission satellites that are in the Sriharikota Range in India, awaiting launch on PSLV C49 by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). (8/16)

Captured Flag (Source: Space Review)
On Sunday afternoon, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft completed its Demo-2 mission with a splashdown that successfully returned two NASA astronauts to Earth. Jeff Foust reports on the end of a mission that was a long-awaited milestone for NASA’s commercial crew program. Click here. (8/17)
 
Handshakes and Histories: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 45 Years Later (Source: Space Review)
For the 45th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Roscosmos released documents about Soviet preparations for the mission. Asif Siddiqi and Dwayne Day examine the insights the documents provide that help put the mission into a new perspective. Click here. (8/17)
 
National Spaceports: The Past (Source: Space Review)
The Defense Department is considering concepts for “national spaceports” at the existing launch ranges in Florida and California. Wayne Eleazer looks at how the ranges were managed in the past as a guide for the future. Click here. (8/17)
 
Imagining Safety Zones: Implications and Open Questions (Source: Space Review)
One aspect of NASA’s proposed “Artemis Accords” for international lunar cooperation involves avoiding harmful interference through the use of safety zones. Jessy Kate Schingler describes how such safety zones could work and the policy issues they present. Click here. (8/17)

Upgrading Russia’s Fleet of Optical Reconnaissance Satellites (Source: Space Review)
Russia has few operational reconnaissance satellites today, and those in service are thought to be beyond their design life. Bart Hendrickx examines efforts in Russia to develop a new generation of imaging satellites. Click here. (8/17)