September 26, 2020

NASA Releases Economic Impact Report (Source: Politico)
NASA last year supported more than 312,000 jobs across the country and overall generated more than $64 billion in economic output, according to NASA’s first economic impact report. “With an investment of just one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget, NASA generates significant total economic output annually,” Jim Bridenstine said. “This study confirms, and puts numbers, to what we have long understood — that taxpayer investment in America’s space program yields tremendous returns that strengthen our nation on several fronts — a stronger economy, advances in science and technology, and improvements to humanity.”

The independent study was conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It details how all 50 states and the District of Columbia have jobs supported by NASA programs. Some of the biggest winners are California, Texas, Alabama, Maryland and Florida. But even states not typically associated with the space industry have federal and contractor jobs tied to the space program, including 42 jobs in Wyoming and 107 in Delaware.

The agency’s Moon to Mars initiative alone supported more than 69,000 jobs and generated more than $14 billion in economic activity. And those numbers are expected to double in 2021 as the program ramps up for a 2024 moon landing. The statistics come just in time to help the Trump administration make the case for funding its lunar ambitions, which face significant skepticism on Capitol Hill. Every state other than Alaska, Maine and North Dakota has at least one job tied to the effort. (9/25)

India’s Mars Orbiter Completes Six Years at the Red Planet, but Where is the Science? (Source: Jatan's Space)
Sep. 24 marks six years since ISRO’s Mangalyaan spacecraft entered Mars orbit, making India the first Asian country to do so. What is even more impressive is that Mangalyaan was the country’s first interplanetary mission. Combined with the cost effectiveness for which it is lauded, Mangalyaan is often hailed as India’s most successful space mission. But is it? Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has boasted that at ~$70 million, the mission was cheaper than the Hollywood film Gravity, and even an auto rickshaw (taxi-equivalent) on a fare-per-kilometer basis.

The media highlighted Mangalyaan’s cost effectiveness too, noting that NASA’s MAVEN orbiter to Mars, launched around the same time, had cost about seven times more. India’s pride in the mission while downplaying others has continued to spread over the years, also taking the form of dramatized movies like Mission Mangal. But what they all miss is looking at the science output i.e. what has Mangalyaan been doing in Mars orbit?

According to ISRO’s official list of publications, there have been only 27 peer-reviewed papers relating to Mangalyaan, after six years in orbit. In contrast, MAVEN has helped produce many seminal scientific results about the martian atmosphere, with a repository of at least 500 papers and growing. What’s more concerning about Mangalyaan’s short publications list is that about half of those are simply engineering descriptions of the mission, not scientific results from the mission. (9/23)

Space Command to Provide Expanded Orbital Conjunction Data (Source: Space News)
U.S. Space Command said it will provide more data about potential collisions between objects in orbit. The 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California says it's shifting its approach from predicting potential collisions involving active satellites only to instead predicting potential collisions between all objects. The squadron will also increase the accuracy of its predictions to provide fewer, but more actionable, alerts to satellite operators. The Defense Department currently has responsibility for space situational awareness activities, but civil space traffic management work will eventually be shifted to the Commerce Department as outlined in Space Policy Directive 3. (9/25)

The Future of Space and Space Traffic Coordination and Management (Sources: Politico, SIA)
The government must set a framework for safely managing traffic in orbit but should let companies develop their own solutions, according to a white paper released Thursday by the Satellite Industry Association. Companies will be more innovative and cost-effective if the path to meet safety requirements are not dictated, it says.

And they can be trusted, it insists. “The commercial space industry has a long track record of responsible operations in space and counts on a safe environment to undertake ongoing and future space business,” states one of the paper’s recommendations. “Solidifying the participation and support of the commercial industry to ensure wide-spread adoption of space safety practices is critical and will reduce the need for unnecessary and often burdensome regulations and is action that can be taken now.” Click here. (9/24)

UK Will Revise SatNav Plans, Potentially Including OneWeb (Source: Space News)
The British government said Thursday it will revise its strategy for developing a satellite navigation system. The new Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing Program will look at "new and alternative ways" of provide satellite navigation services, an approach that could include options like OneWeb's low Earth orbit system. The British government said in 2018 it would study development of its own satellite navigation constellation after failing to reach an agreement with the E.U. about continuing to participate in the Galileo system after Britain exits the E.U. (9/25)

Cargo Mission to ISS Includes Cosmetics Payload for Marketing Campaign (Source: Space News)
A cargo mission to the International Space Station next week will include a payload from a cosmetics company in a pathfinder for NASA's low Earth orbit commercialization efforts. The NG-14 Cygnus mission will carry 10 bottles of an Estée Lauder skin care product that NASA astronauts will photograph in the station's cupola for marketing purposes by the company. Estée Lauder will pay $128,000 for the cost of transporting the cosmetics and taking the photos. The project is part of NASA's efforts to stimulate more commercial activity in LEO that can support future commercial space stations that will eventually replace the ISS. The project, though, prompted critical questions in a Senate hearing earlier this week. (9/25)

Blue Origin Scrubs New Shepard Launch (Source: Space.com)
Blue Origin has put on hold a New Shepard suborbital launch after scrubbing an attempt Thursday. The launch attempt yesterday was first delayed because of weather at its West Texas launch site, then scrubbed when the company said they found a potential issue with the power supply for the payloads in the vehicle. The company rescheduled the launch for 11 a.m. Eastern Friday, but early this morning announced it was delaying the launch again "to verify a fix on a technical issue and taking an extra look before we fly." (9/25)

Delta Heavy Moves to Sunday (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Delta 4 Heavy launch will slip another day. United Launch Alliance said Thursday the Delta 4 Heavy launch of the NROL-44 mission had passed a launch readiness review, clearing the way for a liftoff at 12:14 a.m. Eastern Saturday from Cape Canaveral. However, the company announced early Friday the launch would be delayed another day, to 12:10 a.m. Eastern Sunday, because of an issue with the swing arm retraction system at the launchpad. A launch attempt four weeks earlier was aborted at the last second because of problems with ground equipment. (9/25)

France's Hemeria Plans 25 Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
French space and defense company Hemeria is looking to move beyond building cubesats. The company, which built a 12-unit cubesat with the French space agency CNES that launched last year, signed a contract with Kinéis early this year to build 25 microsatellites for a smallsat constellation to provide global connectivity for sensors and other devices. Hemeria says those satellites will be slightly larger than cubesats, and the company is developing a suite of platforms for satellites between 20 and 65 kilograms, including a small geostationary bus. (9/25)

Pandemic Slows SAR Satellite Development (Source: Space News)
The pandemic has slowed, but not halted, development of a new generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Since Finland's Iceye proved in early 2018 that a small satellite can gather radar data and imagery, SAR startups around the world have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for constellations. The pandemic has slowed fundraising for those companies, though, and caused launch delays. Despite those issues, executives with those companies say they believe the "SAR renaissance" will continue. (9/25)

Syracuse Professor Sean O’Keefe, Former Navy and NASA Chief, Endorses Joe Biden (Source: Syracuse.com)
Sean O’Keefe, who served Republican presidents as Navy secretary and NASA administrator, on Thursday joined nearly 500 former top military and national security officials in endorsing Joe Biden for president. O’Keefe, 64, a Syracuse University graduate and now a top professor at SU’s Maxwell School, signed an open letter calling into question President Donald Trump’s leadership skills. “The current president has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsibilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small,” said the letter signed by 489 retired generals, admirals, U.S. ambassadors and senior national security officials. (9/25)

Toilet on NASA's Orion Spaceship Has an 'Odor Control' Problem (Source: Business Insider)
NASA plans to use its Orion spacecraft to fly astronauts to the moon. But first, engineers have to figure out how to make the capsule's toilet less stinky. A model of the toilet is launching to the International Space Station next week, where astronauts will test it out. Jason Hutt, engineering lead for the Orion capsule, is responsible for ensuring that Orion's toilet, called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), can function within the confines of the spacecraft without creating excessive mess or smell.

Given that Orion is only the length of a small powerboat and must house four waste-expelling adults for nearly a month, the system has to be compact, efficient, and not too stinky. "If you want to recreate that used spacecraft smell, take a couple dirty diapers, some microwave food wrappers, a used airsickness bag, & a few sweaty towels, put them in an old school metal trash can and let it bake in the summer sun for 10 days," Hutt wrote on Twitter in August. "Then open the lid & breathe deep." (9/24)

ISS Crew Continues Search for Leak (Source: TASS)
The ISS crew will spend another weekend "camping out" in a module to continue the search for a small but persistent air leak. The three people on the ISS will spend the weekend in a module in the Russian segment, with hatches to other modules sealed shut, to track down the leak. The crew spent a weekend last month isolated to a Russian module in an effort to locate the leak, but that was not successful. While the leak doesn't pose a risk to the crew, station controllers are anxious to find the leak to stop the loss of air. (9/25)

Are You Ready To See Mars In Ultra HD 8K? Japan’s Plans To Take ‘Super Hi-Vision’ Cameras To Space (Source: Forbes)
Japan is going to Mars—and it’s taking an incredibly detailed video camera with it. A joint venture between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japan’s state broadcaster NHK—which pioneered HD and Ultra HD TV technology and broadcasting—will jointly develop a “Super Hi-Vision Camera” capable of filming both 4K and 8K images for JAXA to take to Mars. JAXA has history here; its Kaguya (Selene) lunar orbiter in 2008 produced the first high-definition HD video ever seen of the Moon. (9/24)

Indian Startup Completes Upper Stage Engine Development (Source: DNA India)
An Indian startup says it has completed work on a liquid-propellant engine for a small launch vehicle. Skyroot Aerospace said the Dhawan-1 engine, using liquid oxygen and methane propellants, will power the upper stage of a future version of the Vikram launch vehicle. The initial Vikram-1 rocket, which uses solid-fuel motors, is scheduled to make its first launch at the end of next year. (9/25)

Swamp Watch: Trump Fills Key NOAA Posts with Global Warming Skeptics (Source: Parabolic Arc)
With the West Coast ablaze with wildfires and rising seas threatening to flood coastlines, the man who called global warming a Chinese hoax is filling two top jobs at the U.S. government’s premiere weather and climate agency with people who don’t believe warming is a problem. President  Trump has tapped Ryan Maue to fill the post of chief scientist at the NOAA. Maue is a meteorologist and former adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute who runs weathermodels.com. He has been harshly critical of the scientific consensus that human activity is dangerously warming the planet and leading to more extreme weather.

So, what would Maue do as chief scientist? The Washington Post reported: The position, pushed forward by the White House pending completion of ethics and security reviews and not requiring Senate confirmation, would put Maue in a leadership position within the agency. As chief scientist, Maue would be tasked with helping establish its oceans and atmosphere research priorities, as well as playing a role in enforcing its Scientific Integrity Policy. Click here. (9/24)

Swamp Watch: Pence Aides Set Up Space Lobbying Firm (Source: Politico)
A new lobbying firm led by Daris Meeks, the former director of domestic policy for Vice President Mike Pence, is looking to bring on defense and space clients. Meeks, Butera and Israel also enlisted Jared Stout, a former staffer for the Pence-led National Space Council who worked with Meeks at D.C. law firm Venable after leaving the White House.

“If you’re a company and you’re looking for ‘how do I advance either my policy goals or my business strategy?’ there are a lot of intricacies and nuances to these policies and what the government is doing,” Stout, the new firm’s director of congressional and regulatory policy, told us. “If you’ve been focused on building business, you haven’t thought about these things.” (9/25)

Congress Steps Up Scrutiny of Artemis Moon Goal (Source: Politico)
Jim Bridenstine’s appearance on Capitol Hill this week was the first in a string of planned oversight hearings on NASA’s plans to return humans to the moon in four years. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, said Wednesday that he plans to hold additional oversight hearings and have an “ongoing dialogue” with NASA on the Artemis program.

NASA on Monday unveiled a new overview and timeline to send the next man and first woman to the moon will cost $28 billion — roughly equal to the space agency’s annual budget. But the timeline is already threatened. NASA has asked for $3.2 billion in fiscal 2021 to begin building a lunar landing system but its budget has not been approved. If the agency gets a full year budget by Christmas it will still be “on track” for the 2024 mission, Bridenstine told reporters this week. If it is delayed until March, a 2024 moon landing is still “within the realm of possibility,” he said. But after that “it becomes increasingly more difficult.” (9/25)

Seeking Small Victories in Space Policy (Source: Space News)
Tthe last third of 2020 could be the toughest to get through. All the challenges of the year to date, especially the pandemic and its economic fallout, persist, while an unprecedented campaign for the White House reaches its crescendo. The election, and the end-of-the-year deadline for the current Congress, mean there isn’t much time left to take up legislation in general, let alone a niche topic like space policy. As the House and Senate struggle with pandemic relief and other spending bills, there seems little opportunity for anything space-related to get through Congress.

The biggest challenge will be a fiscal year 2021 spending bill. Congress and the White House, at the very least, seem willing to pass a continuing resolution (CR) when the fiscal year starts Oct. 1, keeping the government open. That CR will run through the election, perhaps into December, so that Congress can return in a lame-duck session to finalize its 2021 appropriations.

What that looks like for NASA remains unclear. The House passed a spending bill at the end of July that provides $22.6 billion for NASA, the same as the agency received in 2020 but far less than the $25.2 billion requested. That bill offered less than 20% of funding it sought for the Human Landing System (HLS) program to develop the lander that will carry Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface, putting a 2024 landing in jeopardy. (9/24)

Gravity Causes Homogeneity of the Universe (Source: Medien Portal)
Gravity can accelerate the homogenization of space-time as the universe evolves. This insight is based on theoretical studies of the physicist David Fajman. The temporal evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present, is described by Einstein's field equations of general relativity. However, there are still a number of open questions about cosmological dynamics, whose origins lie in supposed discrepancies between theory and observation. One of these open questions is: Why is the universe in its present state so homogeneous on large scales?

Up to now it was not clear whether the homogenization of the universe can be explained completely by Einstein's equations. The reason for this is the complexity of the equations and the associated difficulty to analyze their solutions - models for the universe - and to predict their behavior. Until now, these methods could only achieve such results for small deviations from the homogeneous space-time geometry. David Fajman from the University of Vienna has now succeeded for the first time to transfer these methods to the case of arbitrarily large deviations.

The results published in the renowned journal PRL show that homogenization in the investigated class of models is already completely explained by Einstein's theory and does not require any additional modifications. If this finding can be transferred to more general models, it means that it does not necessarily need a mechanism like inflation to explain the state of our present universe, but that Einstein's theory could finally triumph once again. (9/22)

To the Moon! U.S. Space Force’s Operational Area Just Got Much Larger (Source: Parabolic Arc)
I looked a bit more into this memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed earlier this week by NASA and the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to deepen cooperation between the two agencies. And there’s a really fascinating aspect to it. “With new U.S. public and private sector operations extending into cislunar space, the reach of USSF’s sphere of interest will extend to 272,000 miles and beyond — more than a tenfold increase in range and 1,000-fold expansion in service volume,” the MOU said.

That’s out beyond the moon; our nearest celestial neighbor is only 238,900 miles (384,472 km) away. Previously, USSF’s authority extended the orbit of communications satellites at 22,236 miles (35,785 km). “USSF now has an even greater surveillance task for space domain awareness (SDA) in that region, but its current capabilities and architecture are limited by technologies and an architecture designed for a legacy mission,” the memorandum noted dryly. (9/24)