August 26, 2020

CIA’s In-Q-Tel Among Backers of German Satellite-Thruster Startup (Source: Defense One)
The Central Intelligence Agency’s venture capital firm is among a half-dozen investors in Morpheus Space, a German startup whose novel electric thrusters enable tiny satellites to maneuver and big ones to reduce complexity. The company said it plans to use the capital to hire employees, increase production and expand its business to the United States. While the company won’t say how much money it raised, it listed In-Q-Tel along with other investors Vsquert Ventures, Lavrock Ventures, Airbus Ventures, Pallas Ventures and TechStars. The startup’s leaders hope the money will allow it to enter the defense, civil, and commercial space markets.

Morpheus Space’s “unique propulsion systems are poised to revolutionize the space industry,” said Richard Spencer, who stepped down as Navy secretary last year and is now managing director of Pallas Ventures, in an emailed statement. Spencer is also on the firm’s board of directors and is helping with U.S. expansion. While the company plans to continue manufacturing the thrusters in Germany, Morpheus plans to open an office in Los Angeles and is considering a second U.S. office on the East Coast. (8/26)

Sen. Cory Gardner - Senate Democrats: Stand against China, Protect U.S. Space Programs (Source: Space News)
China has a long history of stealing from the US, particularly in the intellectual property sphere, and we have clear national and economic security interests in safeguarding domestic space programs from China’s ruling Communist Party. In order to preserve U.S. leadership in space, we must know who we are going into business with so we can protect our sensitive technology and information. I introduced two amendments to the NASA Authorization Act in November of last year, which were approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee without opposition.

My amendments would require the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability Office to review contracts with entities associated with China’s Communist Party and seek to ensure the NASA administrator considers the implications of contracting with entities that receive financial assistance from or are affiliated with the Chinese government.

These measures would bolster transparency and are aimed at better protecting our domestic space programs from China, which has proven time and time again that it will stop at nothing to steal U.S. innovations. My amendments would also prevent backdoor subsidies to China that could enhance its malicious behavior in space. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats are holding up the passage of this legislation because of my efforts, which demonstrates an utter failure to understand China’s threats. (8/24)

Bill Gates Invests in Kymeta (Source: Space News)
Satellite antenna company Kymeta has raised $85.2 million in a round led by Bill Gates. The company said Tuesday the funding will allow it to complete development of its second-generation flat-panel antenna, the u8, ahead of a release late this year. Kymeta has raised $282.2 million to date in four funding rounds that the company has disclosed. Kymeta said that Gates, who invested $78.5 million in this latest round, has been a "consistent supporter" of the company. (8/26)

SES Picks SpaceX to Launch Four Additional O3b mPower Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
SES has selected SpaceX as a launch partner to deliver the four newly-ordered O3b mPOWER spacecraft of its next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) communications system. Just like the initial seven O3b mPOWER satellites procured, these additional four satellites will be launched into space on board Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral. A total of four Falcon 9 rockets will be used to support the deployment of all O3b mPOWER satellites.

SES's O3b mPOWER fully-funded communications system comprises 11 high-throughput and low-latency satellites as well as an automated and intelligence-powered ground infrastructure. Built by Boeing, each satellite will generate thousands of dynamic beams and can deliver connectivity services ranging from 50Mbps to multiple gigabits per second to telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. SES has previously announced Orange and Carnival Cruises its first O3b mPOWER customers. (8/25)

Epps, Bumped From 2018 Soyuz Mission, Assigned to Starliner Mission (Source: Space News)
A NASA astronaut bumped from a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station in 2018 will go to the station on a Starliner mission next year. NASA said Tuesday that Jeanette Epps has been assigned to the first operational Boeing CST-100 Starliner mission, joining fellow NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada. Epps was to fly to the ISS in mid-2018 on a Soyuz spacecraft, but was replaced by her backup less than six months before launch for reasons NASA never publicly disclosed. That Starliner mission likely won't launch until late 2021, after a second uncrewed test flight of the spacecraft late this year or early next year, and a crewed test flight in early summer 2021. (8/26)

A Future With Tens of Thousands of New Satellites Could ‘Fundamentally Change’ Astronomy (Source: The Verge)
In the future, as astronomers make observations of the night sky, they might see more and more satellites pass overhead that ruin their work — and this problem is likely to get a lot worse, according to a new report from a working group of astronomers. As space companies continue to inject tens of thousands of new satellites into low orbits around Earth, the new additions could “fundamentally change” astronomical observations of the night sky and the Universe.

To dampen the effects of these giant constellations as much as possible, the group is proposing 10 recommendations to mitigate satellite influence on astronomy. But if upward of 100,000 satellites are added to Earth orbit, as many companies have proposed, there’s no way to completely erase their effects. “The main takeaway from our findings is that no combination of mitigations will eliminate the impact of satellite constellations on optical astronomy,” Connie Walker, an astronomer at NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona and a collaborator on the report, said during a press conference detailing the findings. (8/26)

Fifty New Planets Confirmed in Machine Learning First (Source: Space Daily)
Fifty potential planets have had their existence confirmed by a new machine learning algorithm developed by University of Warwick scientists. For the first time, astronomers have used a process based on machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to analyse a sample of potential planets and determine which ones are real and which are 'fakes', or false positives, calculating the probability of each candidate to be a true planet.

Their conclusions make the case for using multiple validation techniques, including their machine learning algorithm, when statistically confirming future exoplanet discoveries. Many exoplanet surveys search through huge amounts of data from telescopes for the signs of planets passing between the telescope and their star, known as transiting. This results in a telltale dip in light from the star that the telescope detects, but it could also be caused by a binary star system, interference from an object in the background, or even slight errors in the camera. These false positives can be sifted out in a planetary validation process. (8/26)

Artemis SLS 'Green Run' Aims for Fall (Source: Space News)
NASA is hopeful it can keep the Green Run test of the Space Launch System's core stage on schedule for this fall. NASA halted work on the test campaign Monday at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi because of tropical storms in the Gulf. Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said Tuesday that despite this work stoppage she still believed that the Green Run tests can stay on schedule, with a static-fire test of the core stage by the end of October. The stage is being tested ahead of the first SLS launch, Artemis 1, currently scheduled for November 2021. (8/26)

New Soyuz Rocket Will Launch From Baikonur and Sea Launch Platform (Source: TASS)
The first flight prototype of the promising Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, which is planned to be used for launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome under the Baiterek project and from the Sea Launch floating cosmodrome, will be manufactured in late 2022 - early 2023. Dmitry Baranov, General Director of the Progress Rocket and Space Center (RSC) (manufacturer of Soyuz missiles), told reporters on Tuesday. (8/25)

Africa is Investing More in Space and Satellite Industry (Source: Space Daily)
Space in Africa, the authority on news, data, and market analysis for the African space industry has released the 2020 Edition of the African Space Industry Annual Report. The report builds on the 2019 industry report which reported the industry is over USD 7 billion of annual revenues and is projected to grow at a 7.3% compound annual growth rate to exceed USD 10 billion by 2024. 2019 was the best year in the history of the African space industry with over USD 717 million spent on satellite projects. Up till date, over USD 4 billion have been spent on satellite development and launch in Africa.

The sector is seeing the emergence of new government space programmes with the governments of Egypt and Rwanda establishing fully operational space agencies during the 2nd half of 2019 and 1st half of 2020. With other countries announcing their national space program, this translates to an increase in national budgetary allocation for space. For 2020, African governments budgeted an estimated USD 490 million towards their space programme compared to USD 250 million from the previous year, excluding capital expenditures on the acquisition of satellites. (8/26)

North Carolina Wants Starlink Broadband for Education (Source: WRAL)
North Carolina education officials want to spend $1 million on Starlink broadband satellite services, even though it's unclear the service will be available there in the near future. State Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis told lawmakers Tuesday the $1 million would provide 1,000 hot spots for broadband services for students in parts of the state without terrestrial broadband services, allowing them to take classes from home during the pandemic. While officials said the service would be available in October, Starlink is currently preparing for a beta test of the service that would only serve the northern U.S. and southern Canada. (8/26)

RUAG Gets New CEO (Source: RUAG)
RUAG has selected an airline executive as its next CEO. The company said Tuesday André Wall, currently chief technical officer of Spanish airline Iberia, will become CEO no later than the end of the year. Wall worked for several other companies in the aviation industry prior to joining Iberia. RUAG is known in the space industry for producing payload fairings, structures and other components for launch vehicles and spacecraft. (8/26)

SpaceX Withheld Job After Harassment Report, Ex-Intern Says (Source: Law360)
A former SpaceX intern claims she wasn't offered a job following three summers of internship work in retaliation for reporting that her manager was sexually harassing her, according to a discrimination lawsuit filed last week in California state court. (8/26)

US Japan to Build Network of Missile-Intercepting Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
The United States and Japan are to jointly build a network of small satellites capable of detecting new missiles, as Tokyo warns of increasing threats from North Korea. The purpose of the satellites would be to complement the currently existing system of missile defense, which includes Japan's PAC-3 missile interceptors. Tokyo is growing increasingly wary of North Korean weapons development. In July Japan's defense ministry said North Korea could have perfected the capability to miniaturize nuclear warheads.

China's rising military expenditure and weapons development could be posing new threats. For 2020, China's defense expenditures were up 6.6% from 2019. A total of 2,000 Chinese intermediate-range missiles, capable of reaching Japanese territory, are expected to be in deployment. China could also double the number of nuclear warheads in its arsenal within a decade, the report says. (8/25)

Bacteria Could Survive Travel Between Earth and Mars When Forming Aggregates (Source: Space Daily)
Imagine microscopic life-forms, such as bacteria, transported through space, and landing on another planet. The bacteria finding suitable conditions for its survival could then start multiplying again, sparking life at the other side of the universe. This theory, called "panspermia", supports the possibility that microbes may migrate between planets and distribute life in the universe. This theory implies that bacteria would survive the long journey in outer space.

Using an aircraft and scientific balloons, researchers, found Deinococcal bacteria floating 12 km above the earth. But while Deinococcus are known to form large colonies (easily larger than one millimeter) and be resistant to environmental hazards like UV radiation, could they resist long enough in space to support the possibility of panspermia? To answer this question, the researchers tested the survival of the radioresistant bacteria Deinococcus in space. The study, shows that thick aggregates can provide sufficient protection for the survival of bacteria during several years in the harsh space environment.

The team placed dried Deinococcus aggregates in exposure panels outside of the International Space Station. The samples of different thicknesses were exposed to space environment for one, two, or three years and then tested for their survival. After three years, the researchers found that all aggregates superior to 0.5 mm partially survived to space conditions. Observations suggest that while the bacteria at the surface of the aggregate died, it created a protective layer for the bacteria beneath ensuring the survival of the colony. (8/26)