October 1, 2020

DARPA Pursues Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (Source: Space.com)
The U.S. military aims to get a nuclear thermal rocket up and running, to boost its ability to monitor the goings-on in Earth-moon space. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) just awarded a $14 million task order to Gryphon Technologies, a company in Washington, D.C., that provides engineering and technical solutions to national security organizations. The money will support DARPA's Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program, whose main goal is to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system in Earth orbit. (930)

Space Force Invites More Commercial Support (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is trying to make it easier for startups to work with the service. At a two-day online conference by AFWERX, an Air Force program created to attract commercial companies to the defense market, Pentagon officials outlined ways companies with innovative technologies can do business with the Space Force. That includes cooperative research and development agreements that give them access to government facilities and mentoring in exchange for sharing their technology with the Air Force Research Lab. The lab can also help with the "customer discovery process" for companies, connecting companies with specific operators and program offices. (10/1)

Japan's iQPS Updates SAR Constellation Tech (Source: Space News)
A Japanese company is updating technology for a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. The Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) launched its first SAR smallsat last November, with a second scheduled for launch late this year. The key technology iQPS developed for its SAR satellites is a 3.6-meter diameter parabolic antenna that stores compactly for launch and weighs about ten kilograms. The company plans to increase the surface area of that antenna on future satellites, with a constellation of 36 satellites in orbit by 2025. (10/1)

OneWeb Secures Additional Funding (Source: Space News)
OneWeb has secured additional financing to continue operations while bankruptcy reorganization court proceedings continue. A bankruptcy court approved a motion recently to provide OneWeb with $235 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to maintain operations through December, allowing OneWeb to continue satellite production and launch preparations. That came shortly after the court approved a separate motion for nearly $10 million in DIP financing needed for OneWeb to finalize a revised launch contract with Arianespace. Final approval of the $1 billion bid by the British government and Bharti Global for OneWeb is still pending in federal bankruptcy court. (10/1)

Federal CR Extends Funding Through Mid December (Source: Washington Post)
A continuing resolution (CR) will keep the federal government operating until mid-December. The Senate passed the CR Wednesday, funding government agencies at fiscal year 2020 levels from the start of the 2021 fiscal year today through Dec. 11. President Trump signed the bill after midnight. While the House has passed a series of full-year appropriations bills, the Senate has yet to mark up its version of those bills so they can be reconciled with the House. (10/1)

Swissto12 Providing Printed Parts for Thales Alenia Satellites (Source: Space News)
Swiss satellite component company Swissto12 is working with Thales Alenia Space to 3D-print parts for GEO communications satellites. Thales will use a 3D-printed waveguide signal interconnect from Swissto12 on the Eutelsat Konnect Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) scheduled to launch in 2021. The use of 3D printing reduces the volume, mass and cost of the component. Through its work with Thales Alenia Space, Swissto12 hopes to gain flight heritage for its additively manufactured parts as well as credibility among other GEO satellite manufacturers. (10/1)

NetSat Cubesats to Test Formation Flying (Source: Space News)
Four cubesats launched earlier this week will demonstrate formation flight capabilities. The NetSat cubesats, built by the University of Würzburg, rely on intersatellite links to exchange navigation and control information, and are each equipped with a single electric thruster and reaction wheels for maneuvering. The satellites, launched as secondary payloads on a Soyuz rocket Monday, will test formation flying for potential future use on telecommunications and Earth observation missions. (10/1)

France to Support Indian Mission to Venus (Source: PTI)
France will cooperate on an Indian mission to Venus. The French space agency CNES announced Wednesday it will provide two instruments for studying the atmosphere of Venus on the mission, led by the Indian space agency ISRO and scheduled for launch in 2025. ISRO didn't comment on the announcement, although the two space agencies have worked together previously on Earth science missions. (10/1)

GAO: NASA Must Recompete MSFC Bid (Source: Washington Technology)
The GAO sustained a NASA contract protest, thanks in part to foosball. The GAO sustained a protest Teledyne Brown filed regarding the award of a Marshall Space Flight Center operations support contract to SGT. The GAO investigation found that a NASA employee involved in the procurement, identified only as "Mr. X" in the report, has a personal friendship with an employee of the incumbent contractor who was part of the SGT bid. Those two people were part of an informal group that met weekly, the GAO found, for "camaraderie, friendship, dinner and to engage in competitive foosball." While NASA identified the conflict of interest, the GAO concluded the agency's mitigation plan was not sufficient. NASA will have to cancel the award to SGT and restart the acquisition. (10/1)

NASA Worm to Fly Again on SLS (Source: CollectSPACE)
The worm is flying on the SLS. NASA released images Wednesday showing the iconic NASA logo being applied to the two solid rocket boosters for the first SLS launch, Artemis 1. That logo, along with that of the European Space Agency, will also be on the Orion spacecraft launched on that mission. A NASA contractor said they used laser technology to determine the correct sizing and location of the logo, which spans one of five segments on each booster. NASA brought the "worm" logo out of retirement earlier this year, using it on the Demo-2 commercial crew mission, although the "meatball" logo remains the agency's primary one. (10/1)

NROL-44 Remains Grounded After Second Delta Heavy Hot-Fire Abort (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
With just 7 seconds remaining in the count, ULA’s Delta IV Heavy Terminal Count Sequencer Rack (TCSR) aborted the September 30, 2020 launch attempt, which was scheduled for 23:43 p.m. EDT. This is the second hot-fire abort to occur during the launch attempts of this payload, the last being on August 29, 2020. After the clock had been reset to T-minus 4 minutes and holding, Mission Director Col. Chad Davis called a scrub.  As a part of any abort / scrub recovery process, a full analysis will be performed to understand the root cause of the hold; it is expected that the next launch attempt will be scheduled no earlier than 7 days following a hot-fire abort. Updates to follow. (10/1)

Falcon 9 Launch Aborted in Final Seconds Before Liftoff (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Thursday morning's Falcon 9 countdown was aborted at T-minus 18 seconds “due to an out-of-family ground sensor reading,” the launch director says. With only an instantaneous window this morning, this means the Falcon 9 with 60 Starlink satellites won’t happen today. There are currently two Falcon 9s on separate launch pads at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, one set for liftoff today from pad 39A with 60 Starlink satellities, and flying Friday night from pad 40 with a U.S. Space Force GPS navigation satellite. (10/1)

German Startup Rocket Factory Augsburg Picks Norway for Maiden Flight of RFA One Smallsat Launcher (Source: Space News)
German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg has selected the Norwegian launch facility Andøya Spaceport for a 2022 maiden flight of the company’s RFA One small-satellite launch vehicle. Rocket Factory Augsburg, founded in 2018 as the launch arm of German space technology company OHB SE, is in the process of developing its three-stage RFA One rocket. The small-satellite launch vehicle features a multi-engine first stage design powered by nine liquid-fueled engines plus single-engine second and orbital stages.

Lifting off from Norway’s arctic spaceport, the rocket will be capable of carrying up to 1,300 kilograms of payload to a 300-kilometer polar orbit, according to Rocket Factory Augsburg spokesman Ibrahim Ata. On Sept. 24, Rocket Factory Augsburg signed a memorandum of understanding with Andøya Space — a sounding rocket range 90% owned by Norway’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries — to offer end-to-end launch services for small satellites aboard the RFA One from a new orbital launch facility. (10/1)

Russia to Launch Two New Modules to Space Station in April, September 2021 (Source: Sputnik)
Russia, for the first time in 11 years, plans to launch two new modules to the International Space Station (ISS) in April and September 2021, a source in the rocket and space industry told Sputnik. In late July, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin announced that the launch of the Nauka (Science) module was set for April 2021. "The launch of the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module is scheduled for April 20, 2021, and the Prichal nodal module, for September 14, 2021," the source said. (10/1)

Is North Korea's Satellite Program Defunct (Source: Space Daily)
It's been more than four and a half years since North Korea last tried to launch a satellite. The last flight took place in February 2016, placing a real but inoperative payload into orbit. In the intervening years, spaceflight has still featured in North Korean media statements, and North Korea's main spaceport has undergone an upgrade. Statements suggested that North Korea planned larger rockets and geostationary satellites. The world was poised for another launch from this secretive state.

At times, especially in early 2019, speculation of an impending launch circulated in boffin circles. This was fueled by suspected launch preparations observed by satellite as well as hints from North Korea's news agency. But nothing has happened in a long while. North Korea's achievements in spaceflight have always been modest. Their space program has only managed to place two satellites into low orbit, and neither of them transmitted anything. The principal achievement of their program is probably the fact that North Korea managed to beat South Korea in the race to launch a satellite from their own territory. (9/29)

Venus Might Be Habitable Today, If Not for Jupiter (Source: Space Daily)
Venus might not be a sweltering, waterless hellscape today, if Jupiter hadn't altered its orbit around the Sun, according to new UC Riverside research. Jupiter has a mass that is two-and-a-half times that of all other planets in our solar system -- combined. Because it is comparatively gigantic, it has the ability to disturb other planets' orbits.

Early in Jupiter's formation as a planet, it moved closer to and then away from the Sun due to interactions with the disc from which planets form as well as the other giant planets. This movement in turn affected Venus. Observations of other planetary systems have shown that similar giant planet migrations soon after formation may be a relatively common occurrence. These are among the findings of a new study published in the Planetary Science Journal.

Scientists consider planets lacking liquid water to be incapable of hosting life as we know it. Though Venus may have lost some water early on for other reasons, and may have continued to do so anyway, UCR astrobiologist Stephen Kane said that Jupiter's movement likely triggered Venus onto a path toward its current, inhospitable state. (10/1)

Could Organisms Exist Under the Surface of Mars? (Source: Florida Tech)
The rocky red terrain of Mars may cover a rich environment full of life, according to new Florida Tech research. Florida Tech astrobiology assistant professor Manasvi Lingam and Harvard professor Abraham Loeb completed a paper, “Potential for Liquid Water Biochemistry Deep Under the Surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and Beyond,” that explores the possibility that life may exist deep beneath the surface of Mars. The paper was published in The Astrophysical Journals in September.

Utilizing geophysics models examining biospheres with the characteristics of Mars and Earth, the team discovered it is possible for organisms to live under the surface. Lingam and Loeb’s study also examined the potential for life under the surface of the moon in the past, which might also have been feasible, according to the models. These findings come on the heels of recent work by Italian researchers who followed up on previous work suggesting salty lakes could be underneath Mars’ surface, near the planet’s south polar ice cap.

With studies further examining the feasibility of life on the planet, researchers are now looking at more examples of future habitable options on the Red Planet. Lingam noted that just because there is the potential for life and water under the surface of Mars doesn’t mean we’ll see large marine animals swimming around under there. He suggested primitive organisms, such as microbes (and perhaps worms), would more likely be the types of life under the surface. However, the possibilities of the organisms’ characteristics are still to be examined, such as whether they use oxygen and their movement patterns. (10/1)

Heat Shield Issues Being Addressed for Crew Dragon Certification (Source: Space News)
NASA and SpaceX expect to soon complete the certification of the Crew Dragon after making minor modifications to the spacecraft. SpaceX said they found greater erosion than expected on a small part of the heat shield near connectors that link the crew capsule to the spacecraft's trunk section. The company thinks that connector affects air flow during reentry and causes greater heating. SpaceX modified the tiles in those areas to address the problem. It also corrected a sensor issue to provide more accurate altitude information needed for parachute deployment during descent. NASA expects to wrap up documentation of those issues in the next 10 days, although a "final final" certification of the spacecraft will wait until a flight readiness review for the Crew-1 mission about a week before its Oct. 31 launch.(9/30)

Plenty of Dragons Heading to ISS (Source: Space News)
The Crew-1 mission will be the start of a busy manifest of Dragon flights SpaceX plans to launch through next year. The company said that it expects to fly seven Dragon missions, three crewed and four with cargo, over 14 months. That will mean there is at least one Dragon spacecraft, and sometimes two, docked to the station through next year. At least some of those missions will involve reused spacecraft. That manifest does not include any commercial Dragon missions, with the first such non-NASA flight possible around the end of next year. (9/30)

Swarm Offers Pricing for IoT Data Services (Source: Space News)
Swarm Technologies has announced pricing for its Internet of Things satellite constellation. The company said it will offer data services starting at $5 per month per device, with the device itself, called a Swarm Tile, available for $119. The company launched its first 12 operational satellites early this month, and expects to have 150 satellites, each about the size of a hockey puck, in orbit by the end of next year. (9/30)

Indian Launch Startup Plans Operations at Alaska Spaceport (Source: Economic Times)
An Indian launch vehicle startup is considering launching from Alaska. AgniKul Cosmos said it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Alaska Aerospace Corporation to test the Agnibaan small launch vehicle from Pacific Spaceport Complex — Alaska on Kodiak Island. Under the agreement, the two organizations will work together on regulatory issues, including FAA launch licensing and export controls in both India and the United States. The company hopes to start launches of Agnibaan, capable of placing up to 100 kilograms into low Earth orbit, in 2022. (9/30)

NASA and HeroX Seek Innovative Energy Solutions to Power Lunar Activities (Source: Space Daily)
HeroX, the social network for innovation and the world's leading platform for crowdsourced solutions, has launched the prize competition "NASA's Watts on the Moon Challenge" on behalf of NASA. In support of the agency's Artemis program to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon, NASA seeks to incentivize the development of robust energy solutions to power sustained human presence on the lunar surface.

Solar energy is abundant on the Moon when the sun is out, but nights on the Moon can last 350 hours at a time. This long lunar night, combined with extreme temperature changes, makes solar power use complex. In this challenge, NASA is seeking energy management, distribution, and storage solutions to help sustain a long-term human presence on the Moon. Some solutions proposed by teams might also be useful in addressing energy challenges on Earth, which might lead to commercial development here as well. (9/29)

SpaceX’s Starlink Satellites Could Make US Army Navigation Hard to Jam (Source: Technology Review)
SpaceX has already launched more than 700 Starlink satellites, with thousands more due to come online in the years ahead. Their prime mission is to provide high-speed internet virtually worldwide, extending it to many remote locations that have lacked reliable service to date. Now, research funded by the US Army has concluded that the growing mega-constellation could have a secondary purpose: doubling as a low-cost, highly accurate, and almost unjammable alternative to GPS.

The new method would use existing Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to provide near-global navigation services. In a non-peer-reviewed paper, Todd Humphreys and Peter Iannucci of the Radionavigation Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin claim to have devised a system that uses the same satellites, piggybacking on traditional GPS signals, to deliver location precision up to 10 times as good as GPS, in a system much less prone to interference. (9/29)