September 18, 2020

Bridenstine to Talk Budget to Congress (Source: Politico)
The NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is almost certain to face questions about Venus and NASA’s other planetary science goals at a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, according to a congressional staffer. He’s also likely to address questions about the agency’s ambitious goal to put humans on the moon by 2024 at the hearing on the agency’s fiscal 2021 budget proposal, which will be officially announced by the committee today. (9/18)

No One Should ‘Colonize’ Space (Source: The Atlantic)
In recent years, a movement has been growing to rethink the vocabulary that describes humankind's dreams for an off-Earth future, specifically to weed out language closely associated with colonialism. A popular argument against this effort points out that, unlike Earth, the other planets and moons of the solar system are uninhabited. If life exists on these worlds, it’s most likely in the form of tiny microbes, easily squashed under a spacesuited foot. What’s so bad about saying we should colonize Mars when there’s no one there anyway?

Even if Martians aren’t going to protest our arrival, space exploration presents plenty of other opportunities for the exploitative dynamics of the colonial era to reemerge. Colonial-era travel spread invasive species across the planet; space-era travel could seed earthlings all over the solar system. Last year, for instance, an Israeli spacecraft crash-landed on the surface of the moon and spilled several thousand dehydrated tardigrades, microscopic animals that can survive extreme conditions.

The creatures had been snuck aboard by a space entrepreneur who was only supposed to contribute a DVD-size compilation of human knowledge. “Technically, I’m the first space pirate,” he said when news of the stowaways was revealed, much to the horror of space lawyers and planetary-protection researchers. Connecting colonial language to space travel also helps shore up expansionist behavior on Earth: For the past six years in Hawaii, astronomers and local protesters have been locked in a standoff over the construction of a new telescope near the site of Mauna Kea, on land that native Hawaiians consider sacred. (9/17)

UK Interference on OneWeb Acquisition (Source: City A.M.)
A member of the British Parliament says the government is interfering with its efforts to examine the proposed acquisition of OneWeb. Darren Jones, who chairs the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said in a letter Thursday that Business Secretary Alok Sharma blocked a witness for a hearing on the deal from testifying. Jones said that Sharma had no power to "authorize" witnesses to attend such hearings and that blocking the witness was a "gross interference with the work of parliament." Jones later tweeted that he expected the government not to interfere with future hearings on the proposed deal. (9/18)

ULA Pushes Delta Heavy Launch to Sep. 26 (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
United Launch Alliance has pushed back the next Delta 4 Heavy launch attempt to next weekend. The company said Thursday it is targeting Sept. 26 for the NROL-44 launch. A launch attempt Aug. 29 was aborted in the final seconds of the countdown, and an investigation found a torn diaphragm in a ground system regulator. ULA said it will replace and test all the regulators "out of an abundance of caution" before the next launch attempt. (9/18)

Rocket Lab Awaits Flight Termination System Approval for First Virginia Launch (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has completed a final rehearsal for its first Electron launch from Virginia. The company said Thursday it completed the wet dress rehearsal of the Electron rocket at Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island, Virginia, fueling the rocket and going through  the countdown to just before ignition. The company has not set a date for the launch, which will carry a U.S. Space Force smallsat, as it is still awaiting approval of its autonomous flight termination system by NASA, which operates the Wallops range. (9/18)

NASA Completes Reorg of Human Spaceflight Directorate (Source: Space News)
NASA has completed a long-anticipated reorganization of its human spaceflight directorate. The revised structure for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, approved earlier this week, includes a new Systems Engineering and Integration division to provide high-level oversight of various programs in the directorate. Another division will focus on development of the Space Launch System and Orion, as well as the first two Artemis missions, while another will focus on future Artemis missions, the lunar Gateway and Human Landing System. (9/18)

Reality Show Winner Could Visit ISS (Source: Space News)
A proposed reality TV show that would send the winner to the International Space Station is the latest sign of growing interest in future commercial space stations. The "Space Hero" show would select a winner who will fly to the ISS in 2023 in conjunction with Axiom Space. Representatives of the show declined to say how much money they have raised for the project to date, other than they are "exactly where they should be in the plan" for fundraising. One space industry investor said proposals for space tourism and research on the ISS suggest that a business case for a future commercial space station could close, but that its viability will depend on exactly how much revenue those markets can generate to cover the costs of such a facility. (9/18)

Intelsat Orders Satellite From Maxar (Source: Space News)
Intelsat ordered an additional C-band communications satellite from Maxar as it finalized plans to deploy a set of replacement satellites. Maxar will build the Intelsat-37 communications satellite, based on its 1300-class platform, in an order announced Thursday. Intelsat-37 is the last of 13 satellites ordered between Intelsat and SES to consolidate North American broadcast customers into a smaller swath of spectrum, freeing up C-band spectrum for terrestrial 5G services. Intelsat also announced contracts with Arianespace and SpaceX to launch the seven C-band satellites it has ordered. (9/18)

China Prepares for November Lunar Sample Mission (Source: Space News)
China appears to be gearing up for a November launch of its Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission. Two cargo ships are transporting components of the Long March 5 rocket that will launch the mission to the Wenchang launch site on Hainan Island. That shipment suggests the mission will launch in the last 10 days of November. Chang'e-5 will target a site close to Mons Rümker, a volcanic formation situated in the Oceanus Procellarum region of western edge of the near side of the moon, collecting samples it will then return to Earth. (9/18)

Mangata Megaconstellation Startup Joins Incubator for 5G Networks (Source: Space News)
A megaconstellation startup is joining an incubator backed by T-Mobile. Mangata Networks, a broadband megaconstellation venture created by former OneWeb Satellites CEO Brian Holz, is one of 16 startups newly added to the 5G Open Innovation Lab to support companies working on technologies related to 5G networks. Holz formed Mangata in March with the aim of providing global internet connectivity through a constellation of 791 satellites spread across medium and highly elliptical orbits. Mangata plans to launch an initial set of eight satellites in 2023 or 2024, and enter the market by connecting into 4G and 5G networks. (9/18)

Camden County Sued for Hiding Critical Spaceport Information from the Public (Source: SELC)
Environmental organizations filed new claims today against Spaceport Camden proponents for unlawfully withholding important public documents about the flawed project. On behalf of One Hundred Miles, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has amended its ongoing lawsuit in Camden County Superior Court against Camden County and Spaceport Camden consultant Andrew Nelson for failing to meet requirements under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Over the past several years, One Hundred Miles and SELC have sent a series of public records requests to the County about what would happen in the event of a rocket explosion from the proposed spaceport or in the air over nearby communities and sensitive coastal areas, including Little Cumberland Island and the Cumberland Island National Seashore. Camden County has refused to provide one single page of public records in response to these requests.

Documents obtained through SELC’s now-settled federal challenge against the FAA contain the same information that Camden County continues to withhold, and in some cases are the exact documents in full. Other documents released by the FAA demonstrate that the County routinely and illegally marks public records as exempt from disclosure, despite having no confidential information. One such document is the County’s revised license application... to change the project from launching medium-to-large sized rockets to launching only small launch vehicles, which fail at a significantly higher rate. (9/18)

Startups Seek Flexibility in India's Commercial Launcher Policy (Source: Space Daily)
India's proposed launch vehicle or rocket policy should be startup friendly, not be restrictive in terms of minimum capital for the company, rocket size and other things and the criteria be clear and upfront, said top officials of two rocket companies. They also said the private rocket makers are start-ups which the proposed policy should take into account and the damage liability is one of our major concerns.

"The proposed policy should be start-up friendly and not restrictive in terms of minimum capital requirements for rocket makers. That apart, the policy should also lay down the norms for sharing of damage liability between the private rocket makers and the government," Chandana said. Other issues faced by the rocket launch companies include the damage to properties orbiting in space and located on the ground.

"The liability norms should also be such that there is a level playing field for all including Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)," Chandana said. "Though there is no clarity on the space liability insurance, the premium should also not be high. On the other hand, the insurance for property damage on the ground could be like that of the aviation insurance," he added. (9/18)

UrtheCast, In Bankruptcy, Gets Financing and Maintains Constellation Goal (Source: Space Intel Report)
Geospatial imagery and analytics provider UrtheCast Corp. expects to sell both core and non-core assets as part of its Canadian bankruptcy procedure, equivalent to the U.S. Chapter 11, but is holding on to its long-held ambition of financing its radar and optical satellite constellations. The company will receive $1 million in Debtor In Possession (DIP) financing. UrtheCast filed for what in Canada is called the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on Sept. 4. Ernst & Young Inc. is the court-approved monitor for the proceedings. (9/18)

NASA Mulls Possible Mission to Venus after Recent Discovery of Possible Life (Source: Reuters)
NASA is considering approving by next April up to two planetary science missions from four proposals under review, including one to Venus that scientists involved in the project said could help determine whether or not that planet harbors life. An international research team described evidence of potential microbes residing in the harshly acidic Venusian clouds: traces of phosphine, a gas that on Earth is produced by bacteria inhabiting oxygen-free environments. It provided strong potential evidence of life beyond Earth.

The U.S. space agency in February shortlisted four proposed missions that are now being reviewed by a NASA panel, two of which would involve robotic probes to Venus. One of those, called DAVINCI+, would send a probe into the Venusian atmosphere. “Davinci is the logical one to choose if you’re motivated in part by wanting to follow this up - because the way to follow this up is to actually go there and see what’s going on in the atmosphere,” David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist working on the DAVINCI+ proposal, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The three other proposals include: IVO, a mission to Jupiter’s volcanically active moon Io; Trident, a fly-by trek to map Neptune’s icy moon Triton; and VERITAS, the second of the proposed Venus missions that instead would focus on understanding the planet’s geological history. NASA has said it may choose one or two of the missions. (9/16)

Rocket Lab Plans Multiple Venus Missions (Source: Space.com)
Rocket Lab doesn't want to be a Venus dilettante. The California-based company aims to launch a private Venus mission in 2023 to hunt for signs of life in the clouds where scientists just spotted the possible biosignature gas phosphine. But that landmark effort will be just the beginning, if all goes according to plan. "We don't want to do one mission — we want to do many, many missions there," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said.

The coming Venus mission will employ two pieces of Rocket Lab hardware — the 57-foot-tall (17 meters) Electron booster, which has been launching small satellites to orbit since early 2018, and the Photon satellite bus, which made its spaceflight debut on an Electron mission late last month.

A Photon will launch atop an Electron, then make its way to Venus on a flyby trajectory. When the Photon gets close, it will deploy a probe into the Venusian atmosphere. This won't be the first Photon trip beyond Earth orbit, by the way; NASA has booked Electron and Photon to fly a small satellite to the moon in early 2021. (9/16)

Ligado May Jeopardize Future of Experimental Space Force Navigation Satellite (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Officials overseeing a promising new satellite venture warned this week that Ligado Networks could jeopardize the future of next-generation positioning, navigation, and timing alongside the current GPS enterprise. “As we interface with our [Air Force headquarters] staff counterparts, the message we communicate is basically, ‘Well, we are going to be collateral damage if this moves forward,’” Arlen Biersgreen said. “GPS is going to be harmed, and certainly the work that we’re doing will be harmed as well.”

The Space Force’s NTS-3 program is an experimental effort to offer more reliable, accurate location data via satellites that complement GPS. It is one of three “vanguard” research projects into which the Department of the Air Force is throwing extra focus and resources because of the value it could provide to the U.S. as a full-fledged program. The first satellite will launch in late fiscal 2022 for a yearlong trial run. “It’s not clear Ligado will get clearance to proceed until after the NTS-3 mission,” L3Harris spokesperson Kristin Jones said. (9/16)

China to Launch Space Mining Bot (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
The possibility of space mining has long captured the imagination and even inspired business ventures. Now, a space startup in China is taking its first steps towards testing capabilities to identify and extract off-Earth resources. Origin Space, a Beijing-based private space resources company, is set to launch its first ‘space mining robot’ in November. NEO-1 is a small (around 30 kilograms) satellite intended to enter a 500-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbit. It will be launched by a Chinese Long March series rocket as a secondary payload.

This small spacecraft will not be doing actual mining; instead, it will be testing technologies. “The goal is to verify and demonstrate multiple functions such as spacecraft orbital maneuver, simulated small celestial body capture, intelligent spacecraft identification and control,” says Yu Tianhong, an Origin Space co-founder. (9/17)

Exclusive Resorts Charters Balloon Ride for Space Tourists (Source: Space Perspective)
Exclusive Resorts, the premier Members-only vacation club,  announced today it plans to be the first privately chartered travel group flight to go to space in Space Perspective’s balloon, Spaceship Neptune. Planned to launch at the end of 2024, the luxury capsule will carry eight Exclusive Resorts Members and a pilot on a journey to the edge of space. Club Members will enjoy a leisurely six-hour journey, which begins before sunrise from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and soars above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere to an altitude of over 100,000 feet—three times higher than commercial airlines fly.

Since 2002, Exclusive Resorts has steadily evolved its private Vacation Portfolio of 420+ residences and experiences across the globe, ensuring its Club Members have access to iconic and up-and-coming vacation destinations and bucket list experiences. The Club’s privately chartered flights aboard Spaceship Neptune are planned to be the pinnacle of The Club’s 2024 Once-in-a-Lifetime Journeys, a collection of itinerary-based bucket list trips in exotic locales, designed and vetted by Exclusive Resorts specifically for its Members. Exclusive Resorts, alongside Space Perspective, will be creating a custom flight experience for its Members to celebrate this momentous adventure. (9/16)

Space Chief Targets Red Tape To Speed New Tech (Source: Breaking Defense)
Slashing the byzantine tangle of Pentagon oversight that has traditionally weighted development and procurement of space systems is next on the agenda of Space Force chief Gen. Jay Raymond. “Now we’re gonna go after that bureaucracy,” he said. Raymond restated that some 65 organizations now have roles in space acquisition, and “close to 30 have a role in force design” of space systems. His goal is to radically redo that structure, with an emphasis on streamlining acquisition.

"If we get this right, we will be the envy of the other services, because we're not tied to business of the past," Raymond said. As a first step, the Space Force has delegated contracting authority “down from the Pentagon staff to acquisition experts in the field.” This will speed decision-making and ease interactions with industry, he said, but is just the beginning of a wider reform effort. (9/15)