October 13, 2020

'Money Can't Buy Everything': Fate of Elon Musk's SpaceX Resort Thrown Into Question (Source: Sputnik)
SpaceX attempted to buy the entire town in 2019. The company tried to persuade residents to move, offering them sums that were three times over what their property was worth (the value of homes was determined by estate agents hired by SpaceX). Though many residents claimed that they were being low-balled by SpaceX, over half accepted the offer.

A year on, 10 residents of Boca Chica still do not want to sell their homes. Some residents, who spoke with the Daily Mail last July, claimed that the company has tried to bully them out of their homes. They said that David Finlay, SpaceX’s senior director of finance, repeatedly visited them, pressuring them to sell their property. Residents have also accused Musk of lying to them about the dangers of rocket launches, saying the entrepreneur wants to build homes for SpaceX employees. The Daily Claim said the allegations were true, citing photographs of construction activity. (10/8)

Inside Sierra Nevada Corp’s Space Plans, From the Reusable ‘Dream Chaser’ to Inflatable Habitats (Source: CNBC)
Sierra Nevada Corp. is best known as a private aerospace and national security contractor – but the company is investing heavily in its space systems division, especially as it sees NASA and other companies building infrastructure in orbit. “Our view of the future is a vibrant, commercial low Earth orbit economy,” Steve Lindsey, SNC’s senior vice president of strategy space systems, told CNBC. “We want to be the logistics and crew providers in that future, so we’re really playing the long game.”

While SNC to date has been involved in hundreds of exploration missions and more, the crown jewel of its space portfolio is Dream Chaser: A reusable spacecraft that, in appearance resembling a miniaturized NASA Space Shuttle, is built to launch atop a traditional rocket and land on a runway like an airplane. In the coming year or so ahead, SNC is focused on Dream Chaser’s first launch. The vehicle SNC is building now is optimized to carry cargo, rather than crew, and is under contract to fly supplies and research to the International Space Station for NASA. Click here. (10/11)

NASA Finally Made a Toilet for Women (Source: The Atlantic)
NASA spent $23 million on the Universal Waste Management System, which might make it the most expensive toilet in the universe. The privy represents the state of the art in NASA’s off-world bathroom facilities. It is smaller and lighter than the old version. It’s easier to maintain, which is handy because when a space toilet springs a leak, astronauts can’t call in a plumber. Its metal pipes are now 3-D-printed, and still capable of withstanding the acid used to treat astronauts’ urine before it becomes their drinking water.

But the most important new feature is the one that allows astronauts to do something that the rest of us mostly take for granted on Earth. There’s no artful way to put this, so I’m just going to say it: The current toilets on the International Space Station aren’t conducive to peeing and pooping at the same time. This matters more for the women in the astronaut corps, for whom the two bodily functions can be trickier to separate. For years, women astronauts have been carefully positioning themselves over the bowl, exchanging tips with their colleagues on best practices, and trying to make do with hardware that wasn’t built for their bodies. (10/12)

Engine Issue Delays Next ISS Crew Launch (Source: Space News)
NASA announced Saturday it's delaying a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station until next month to investigate an engine issue. NASA said the SpaceX Crew-1 launch, which had been scheduled for Oct. 31, will be delayed to at least early to mid November to study "off-nominal behavior of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators observed during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt." NASA didn't identify the launch attempt, but a Falcon 9 launch of a GPS 3 satellite earlier this month was aborted two seconds before liftoff because of a problem with the engines' gas generators. NASA said the delay won't affect another Falcon 9 launch for the agency, of an Earth science satellite scheduled for Nov. 10 from California. (10/8)

China Launches Earth Observation Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a geostationary Earth observation satellite Sunday. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:57 p.m. Eastern and placed the Gaofen-13 satellite into orbit. The satellite will operate from geostationary orbit, providing medium-resolution images. The launch was the first from Xichang in three months after work on a number of upgrades to the spaceport's infrastructure. (10/8)

Virgin Orbit Seeks to Raise $200 Million (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Virgin Orbit is attempting to raise up to $200 million in an ongoing funding round. Virgin Orbit is working with LionTree Advisors LLC and Perella Weinberg Partners LP to raise the funding, seeking a valuation of $1 billion for the company. The funding would support operations for the company as it moves from development to operations. The first launch of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket failed in May, and the company has said it will make a second attempt by the end of this year. (10/8)

No Solution to ISS Air Leak in Russia's Zvezda Module (Source: Sputnik)
An air leak may not be the only problem with the space station's Zvezda module. The temperature in that Russian module is also slowly increasing, cosmonaut Ivan Vagner reported Sunday, although Russian mission controllers said they expected temperatures to return to normal by Monday. The station's crew has traced a small but persistent air leak on the station to Zvezda, but have not found the exact source of the leak in the module. (10/8)

Astronomers Seek UN Support for Mitigating Constellation Interference (Source: Space.com)
Some astronomers are looking to the United Nations to set guidelines for mitigating satellite interference with their observations. At a workshop last week, astronomers discussed how satellites, especially constellations like SpaceX's Starlink, can interfere with both visible-light and radio astronomy observations. A goal of the workshop is to produce a report for the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs that astronomers hope can lead to the promulgation of guidelines by the UN on how to mitigate interference, which could then be incorporated into national regulations. (10/8)

Centaur Upper Stage from 1966 Mistaken for Asteroid (Source: AP)
A recently discovered asteroid may not be an asteroid after all. The asteroid 2020 SO, discovered last month, appears to be the Centaur upper stage from the launch of the Surveyor 2 lunar lander mission in 1966, according to astronomers. The object has an orbit very similar to the Earth, and its estimated size is consistent with it being a Centaur stage. Further observations as the object gets closer to Earth may allow astronomers to confirm its identity. (10/8)

Mars at its Biggest and Brightest Until 2035 (Source: Space Daily)
October 2020 is a big month for the Red Planet. On Tuesday, October 13th, Mars will be at opposition - opposite the Sun in the sky. On that date, Earth is situated directly between Mars and the Sun. As a result, Mars rises as the Sun sets and sets as the Sun rises. Opposition - the most significant Martian date on stargazers' calendars - is also when the planet is at its brightest and near its maximum apparent size in telescopes. Mars and Earth were actually closest on October 6, separated by just 62 million kilometers. (10/8)

Semantics in Lexicon: Moving Away From the Term “Salvage” in Outer Space (Source: Space Review)
It’s not uncommon to hear proposals for the “salvage” of derelict satellites and debris. Michael Listner explains why that term is not accurate for space, and offers an alternative. Click here. (10/12)
 
The Three Administrators (Source: Space Review)
Last week, three former NASA administrators gathered for a rare discussion about some of the issues facing the agency. Jeff Foust recaps the discussions on topics ranging from cooperation with China to the challenges of commercialization. Click here. (10/12)
 
In the Paler Moonlight: the Future’s Past in “For All Mankind” (Source: Space Review)
The second season of the alternative history TV series “For All Mankind” jumps forward a decade to a time when the US and USSR have dueling lunar bases. Dwayne Day discusses how the show can illuminate modern-day issues, but also has its limitations. Click here. (10/12)

Space Entrepreneurs Need to Look to the Stars but Keep Their Feet on the Ground (Source: Space Review)
Many in the space industry are motivated primarily by technologies, be they satellites or launch vehicles. Nicholas Borroz argues that, for space startups to be successful, they have to avoid pursuing technologies simply because they are interesting and instead use them to solve problems. Click here. (10/12)
 
HBO Developing Docu-Series on SpaceX (Source: Deadline)
HBO is developing a limited series about the rise of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s private rocket company that is in the midst of reviving the United States’ space aspirations. Produced by Channing Tatum’s Free Association, the six-episode series would tells the story of Musk as he handpicks a team of engineers to work on a remote Pacific Island where they build, and launch, the first manned SpaceX rocket into orbit — the Falcon 9 — on May 30, 2020. SpaceX is a big piece of the billionaire entrepreneur’s lifelong dream to make humankind a multi-planetary species. (10/12)

AI Helps Scientists Discover Fresh Craters on Mars (Source: Space Daily)
Sometime between March 2010 and May 2012, a meteor streaked across the Martian sky and broke into pieces, slamming into the planet's surface. The resulting craters were relatively small - just 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter. The smaller the features, the more difficult they are to spot using Mars orbiters. But in this case - and for the first time - scientists spotted them with a little extra help: artificial intelligence (AI). It's a milestone for planetary scientists and AI researchers at NASA JPL, who worked together to develop the machine-learning tool that helped make the discovery. The accomplishment offers hope for both saving time and increasing the volume of findings. (10/5)

Two US Satellites Failed to Enter Orbit After Launch Aboard Vega Rocket (Source: Sputnik)
Two US satellites have failed to enter orbit due to an abnormal situation that occured during the launch of a Vega rocket, a source told Sputnik. The Vega rocket launched from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana last month carried 53 satellites, eight of them were made in the US. According to the source, two US satellites failed to leave their containers. "After the launch, two out of the eight US Lemur-2 satellites did not leave the launch containers that were installed on the fourth stage of the Vega rocket. They were de-orbited, together with the stage”, the source told Sputnik. (10/9)

Russian Space Twitter Spat (Source: Ars Technica)
A Twitter spat involves former Russian cosmonauts, the head of Roscosmos and a robot. One former cosmonaut, Maxim Suraev, has turned to Twitter to criticize the state of Russia's space program, such as one that compared the cramped accommodations on a Soyuz with the more spacious Crew Dragon. Dmitry Rogozin appeared to respond through the account of FEDOR, a robot flown on the station last year, accusing Suraev and another cosmonaut, Alexander Samokutyayev, of being drunk during the ISS missions. Both former cosmonauts, now members of the Duma, said they would investigate the tweets from the FEDOR account, which has since been shut down. (10/13)

Russia: Artemis Gateway Too US-Centric (Source: Space News)
The head of Russia's space agency says he is not interested in participating in NASA's lunar exploration program, calling it too "U.S.-centric." During a panel at the International Astronautical Congress Monday, Dmitry Rogozin said that Roscosmos did not expect to participate in the lunar Gateway program in particular "on a large scale" because he felt it was dominated by the United States. Rogozin later said he wanted the Gateway to follow "the principles of international cooperation" used on the International Space Station program. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine noted in a later interview that the Gateway plans to use the same intergovernmental agreement that governs the ISS. NASA asked Roscosmos for comment months ago on a potential memorandum of understanding about extending that agreement to cover the Gateway, but has yet to receive a response. (10/13)

Upper Stages Remain a Major Orbital Debris Problem (Source: Space News)
Upper stages dominate the list of most dangerous debris in low Earth orbit. A study released at the International Astronautical Congress this week identified the 50 "statistically most concerning" debris objects in LEO. The top 20 objects, and more than three-quarters of the entire list, were rocket bodies. Many of those upper stages were launched decades ago, often into orbits similar to one another, raising collision risks. A separate European Space Agency study released Monday also warned of the risks posed by upper stages, but noted that launch operators have, in recent years, done a better job of disposing of them. (10/13)

7 Nations Join U.S. in Signing the Artemis Accords (Source: Parabolic Arc)
International cooperation on and around the Moon as part of the Artemis program is taking a step forward today with the signing of the Artemis Accords between NASA and several partner countries. The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in the agency’s 21st century lunar exploration plans.

While NASA is leading the Artemis program, which includes sending the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon in 2024, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon later this decade while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars. The founding member nations that have signed the Artemis Accords, in alphabetical order, are: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the USA. (10/13)

NASA Advances Plan to Commercialize International Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
The planned launch of a private commercial airlock to the International Space Station in November will accelerate NASA's plan to turn the station into a hub of private industry, space agency officials said. The commercialization plan also includes the launch of a private habitat and laboratory by 2024 and a project NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced on Twitter in May in which actor Tom Cruise will film a movie in space.

The 20-year-old space station may even have a private citizen on board again for the first time in years in late 2021, according to Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight. It's part of a plan to wean the space station off NASA's public funding of $3 billion to $4 billion per year. (10/12)