August 18, 2020

Sierra Nevada Aims to complete Dream Chaser Space Plane in March (Source: UPI)
Colorado-based Sierra Nevada Corp. aims to complete its first operational Dream Chaser space plane by March to provide cargo trips to the International Space Station. The spacecraft, which resembles a small space shuttle, originally was proposed to carry astronauts, but Sierra Nevada so far only has NASA contracts for cargo. Company executives continue to say they believe Dream Chaser will carry people someday. The company updates designs for Dream Chaser as NASA's commercial crew program updates its requirements. (8/18)

Elon Musk Gains $8 Billion to Become World’s Fourth-Richest Person (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s financial upswing shows no signs of slowing. The outspoken entrepreneur is now the world’s fourth-richest person after Tesla Inc. shares surged 11% on Monday, closing at a record high and boosting Musk’s net worth by $7.8 billion. The rise vaulted the Tesla co-founder past French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest non-American on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk’s $84.8 billion fortune puts him within $15 billion of Mark Zuckerberg, No. 3 on the ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. (8/17)

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is More Than the Company’s Response to SpaceX (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
Amazon cleared an important hurdle when the FCC authorized its Kuiper satellite constellation. The authorization came with the caveat that Amazon would still have to demonstrate that Kuiper would not interfere with previously authorized satellite projects, such as SpaceX’s Starlink. Even in space, how much room can there be for two mega-constellations, let alone additional efforts like that of the recently-beleaguered OneWeb?

But some experts suggest that Amazon’s real play will come from its ability to vertically integrate Kuiper into the rest of the Amazon ecosystem—an ability SpaceX cannot match with Starlink. “The thing that makes Amazon different from SpaceX and OneWeb is they have so much other stuff going for them.” If Kuiper succeeds, Amazon can not only offer global satellite broadband access—it can include that access as part of its Amazon Web Services (AWS), which already offers resources for cloud computing, machine learning, data analytics, and more.

The FCC approved the launch of 3,236 satellites. Not all of those thousands of satellites have to be launched immediately, however. Amazon is now obligated to launch at least half of the total by 2026 to retain the operating license the FCC has granted the company. Amazon has said it will invest US $10 billion to build out the constellation. (8/17)

All Points Meeting Growing Demand for Launch Site Services (Source: Space Coast Daily)
The good news is that with the Artemis program, NASA is busy busy busy preparing to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024, and launch space at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport is at a premium. Spacecraft providers large and small are facing limited availability for launch site processing and support at the spaceport. Enter All Points LLC, which recently launched its All Points Launch Site Services to provide support for launch processing.

The company aims to be regarded in the industry as top choice for an affordabe, convenient and capable source for shepherding space flight hardware from the manufacturing floor to the launch pad. Click here. (8/16)

Eutelsat Nixes Plan for New Satellite (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat has decided not to buy a new C-band satellite to serve the U.S. market. The company said Monday that, as part of the FCC's C-band spectrum clearing effort, it will move customers onto three existing satellites rather than buy a new satellite as previously planned. That move stands in contrast to Intelsat and SES, which each ordered six new satellites after the FCC promised the expense would be reimbursed. Eutelsat used its revised plan as an opportunity to launch a thinly veiled criticism of SES and Intelsat's transition plans, calling them out of step with FCC requirements to perform the transition in "a careful, fair, and cost-effective manner." (8/18)

Speedcast Plans Sale to Exit Bankruptcy (Source: Space News)
Satellite communications provider Speedcast seeks to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy through a sale to one of its largest debt holders. Private investment management firm Centerbridge Partners offered $395 million to acquire all of the reorganized company. Centerbridge appears to have gained control of the majority of the company's debt, alongside Black Diamond Capital Management, another financial institution, through debt trading during the bankruptcy proceeding. The Australian company filed for bankruptcy protection in April as the coronavirus pandemic weakened demand for its connectivity services to cruise lines, oil rigs and other customers. (8/18)

Space Force Gets First Female General (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has its first female general. Nina Armagno was formally commissioned into the Space Force from the Air Force Monday and promoted to lieutenant general. Armango was previously the director of space programs in the Air Force's acquisition branch, and earlier commanded both the Eastern and Western Ranges. She will serve as staff director overseeing Space Force headquarters operations. (8/18)

Arecibo Repairs Will Take Months (Source: Space News)
Repairs to the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico could take several months to complete. At a committee meeting Monday, a NASA official said that while the observatory is still assessing the damage the telescope sustained when a cable broke last week, it's likely to be several months before it can resume operations. The cable came loose from a support tower last week and crashed onto the dish, creating a gash about 30 meters long. Arecibo is primarily funded by the NSF, but NASA contributes some funding to use the telescope as a planetary radar to study near Earth asteroids. (8/18)

Air Force Academy Expands Space Curriculum (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Air Force Academy is expanding its space curriculum. The academy is expanding the content of its space program to support the needs of the U.S. Space Force, adding courses in space law, strategy and operations. Cadets in the academy's space program have previously focused on learning how to build and operate satellites. In a webinar Monday, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the academy, estimated that about 80 to 100 cadets will join the Space Force after graduation next spring. (8/18)

SpaceX Raptor Engine Achieves Chamber Pressure Record (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX has set a new milestone in the development of its Raptor engine. Elon Musk tweeted Monday that, in a recent test, the engine achieved a chamber pressure of 330 bars, higher than any other engine on record. Increased chamber pressure translates into higher thrust. SpaceX is developing Raptor, which uses methane and liquid oxygen propellants, for use on its Starship next-generation reusable launch vehicle. (8/18)

NASA Seeks BIG Ideas from Universities to Solve a Messy Problem (Source: NASA)
NASA is reaching out to university students to help solve the problem of lunar dust as the agency plans for sustainable human exploration of the Moon under the Artemis program. Lunar dust is mostly made of small particles that stick to just about everything. It's abrasive and can damage things, including spacesuits, equipment, spacecraft, and habitats. Dust can obscure camera lenses, reduce technology performance, distort instrument readings, alter thermal properties, and even cause equipment failures. Additionally, if dust gets into habitats, glass-like dust particles can lodge in astronauts’ lungs, creating health risks. Removing lunar dust from where it's not supposed to be – or stopping it from getting there in the first place – is essential for future space exploration.

Through its annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge, NASA is looking for a wide range of creative solutions from college and university students on the theme of lunar dust mitigation. Categories under the theme include dust prevention and mitigation during landings, spacesuit dust tolerance, exterior dust clean up, and controlling lunar dust within habitats. Competition judges will select between five and 10 teams to receive up to $180,000 each to build, test, and demonstrate robust lunar dust mitigation, or dust tolerant capabilities and technologies. (7/22)

US Space Force Faults Russia, China for 'Militarizing Space' Despite Own Milspace Programs (Source: Sputnik)
US defense leaders have firmly pointed the finger at Russia and China as the raison d'etre for the US Space Force (USSF), claiming the nations have "militarized space," requiring the US to respond. However, what is really threatened is US space superiority, as the Pentagon has tested space weapons for decades.

US Space Command has raised warning bells about the challenging of US superiority in space since at least its 1997 "Vision for 2020," but it was only in December 2019 that the USSF was formally created by US President Donald Trump. In February 2020, Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond told the House Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces Subcommittee that "we can no longer assume that our space superiority is a given. If deterrence fails, we must be ready to fight for space superiority." (8/14)

Northrop Launches 2nd Satellite Extension Mission (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle 2 is on its mission to dock with the Intelsat 10-02 satellite next year and act as a new engine for the satellite, providing orbit control to extend the satellite's operational life. This is Northrop Grumman's second mission to extend the service life of an on-orbit satellite. (8/17)

US and UK Agree to Share Technical Foundation for Space Operations (Source: AFNS)
The U.S. Space Force reached an important milestone by recently signing an agreement to allow sharing of the Standardized Astrodynamics Algorithm Library with the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U.K. was the first international partner to join U.S. Space Command's Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER and is the first to receive access to the SAAL, though USSF is currently working with other partner nations to expand that list. (8/16)