October 28, 2020

NSF and CASIS Select Five Transport Phenomena Projects for Flight to ISS (Source: Space Daily)
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced five awarded projects from a joint solicitation for research in the general field of transport phenomena. The solicitation sought investigators interested in leveraging resources onboard the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory for research in the areas of fluid dynamics, particulate and multiphase processes, thermal transport, nanoscale interactions, and combustion and fire systems.

The NSF Directorate for Engineering invested $2 million in awards to the selected projects, and CASIS, manager of the ISS National Lab, will facilitate hardware implementation, in-orbit access, and astronaut crew time to support the investigations on the orbiting laboratory. Editor's Note: The University of Florida is among the winners, with a project on the Gravitational Effects of the Faraday Instability. Here's their abstract. (10/28)

Lighting a Path to Find Planet Nine (Source: Space Daily)
The search for Planet Nine - a hypothesized ninth planet in our solar system - may come down to pinpointing the faintest orbital trails in an incredibly dark corner of space. That's exactly what Yale astronomers Malena Rice and Gregory Laughlin are attempting with a technique that scoops up scattered light from thousands of space telescope images and identifies orbital pathways for previously undetected objects.

Although the vast majority of light observed from planets in the solar system is reflected light, the amount of reflected sunlight drops off dramatically for a planet as distant as Planet Nine, likely to be 12 to 23 times as distant from the Sun as Pluto is. If it exists, Planet Nine would be a so-called super-Earth. It would have 5 to 10 times the mass of Earth and be located hundreds of times farther from the Sun than Earth is and 14 to 27 times as distant from the Sun as Neptune is.

To detect objects that are otherwise undetectable, Rice and Laughlin employ a method called "shifting and stacking." They "shift" images from a space telescope - like moving a camera while snapping photos - along pre-defined sets of potential orbital paths. Then they "stack" hundreds of these images together in a way that combines their faint light. Every so often, the light reveals a pathway of a moving object, such as an asteroid or a planet. Click here. (10/27)

NorthStar Orders Three Satellites to Collect Space Situational Awareness Data (Source: Space News)
NorthStar Earth and Space, a Canadian company planning a satellite constellation to track other satellites, has selected Thales Alenia Space to build its first satellites. Montréal-based NorthStar announced Oct. 27 that Thales will build its first three Skylark satellites, working in conjunction with LeoStella, its smallsat manufacturing joint venture with BlackSky. The satellites, based on LeoStella’s LEO-100 bus and assembled at its factory near Seattle, are scheduled for launch in 2022. The companies did not disclose terms of the satellite contract. (10/27)

Multiple Research Investigations From Northrop Grumman CRS-14 Mission Being Performed on Space Station (Source: Parabolic Arc)
When Northrop Grumman launched its Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 2, 2020, it was loaded with a multitude of research and technology development investigations to be carried out onboard the orbiting laboratory. Once Cygnus berthed with the space station three days later and its contents were unloaded by the astronauts onboard, it was time to start performing some of the science that flew on Northrop Grumman’s 14th commercial resupply services (CRS) mission. Click here. (10/27)

Buzz Aldrin Endorses McSally Over Fellow Astronaut Kelly (Source: Washington Free Beacon)
Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Saturday endorsed incumbent senator Martha McSally (R., Ariz.) over fellow astronaut Mark Kelly (D.) in the upcoming election. "Martha, check six—Mark? Buzz—over 100 jet hours in Arizona," Aldrin tweeted. "12 o'clock is straight ahead. 6 o'clock is behind. Fighter pilots understand what ‘check six' means in [fighter pilot] lingo talk. Martha, wave as you move ahead past Mark, to 12 o'clock, and you win for Arizona!" (10/27)

SpaceX Prices Starlink Satellite Internet Service at $99 Per Month, According to E-mail (Source: CNBC)
SpaceX is expanding the beta test of its Starlink satellite internet service, reaching out via email on Monday to people who expressed interest in signing up for the service. Called the “Better Than Nothing Beta” test, according to multiple screenshots of the email seen by CNBC, initial Starlink service is priced at $99 a month – plus a $499 upfront cost to order the Starlink Kit. That kit includes a user terminal to connect to the satellites, a mounting tripod and a wifi router. (10/27)

UCF and Florida Tech Scientists Support NASA's OSIRIS REx Mission (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Inside a small canister 200 million miles from Earth is something that University of Central Florida physics professors Humberto Campins and Kerri Donaldson Hanna have only dreamed of: a sample of an asteroid. Campins and Donaldson Hanna have worked behind the scenes to ready OSIRIS-REx for the moment it would meet Bennu. Campins, who came to UCF in 2002, helped analyze data and images taken of Bennu while the spacecraft orbited the asteroid, along with associate professor Yan Fernandez. Donaldson Hanna, while she was at Oxford, worked on testing Bennu-like materials.

Alumni of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne also worked on the mission, including Amy Simon, whose team developed the instrument to pinpoint water and other organic materials within the asteroid, and Christian d’Aubigny, who helped develop the cameras OSIRIS-REx used to photograph Bennu, which to the human eye would only register as void blackness. (10/27)

Swamp Watch: Top NOAA Scientist Fired After Asking Trump Appointees to Acknowledge Agency Scientific Integrity Policy (Source: Daily Beast)
The chief of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fired the agency’s acting chief scientist after the latter asked Donald Trump’s appointees to acknowledge NOAA’s scientific integrity policy, The New York Times reports. Craig McLean, the acting chief scientist at NOAA, sent an email last month to several new employees at NOAA who had been installed by the Trump administration requesting their acknowledgement of the agency’s rules that prohibit changing research and data to fit a political agenda.

Dr. Erik Noble, the newly appointed NOAA chief of staff and a former White House policy adviser, wrote back, “Respectfully, by what authority are you sending this to me?” McLean said that his job as acting chief scientist entailed maintaining ethics across NOAA. Noble responded the next day, “You no longer serve as the acting chief scientist for NOAA. Thank you for your service.” In McLean’s stead, Noble hired Ryan Maue, a former researcher for a libertarian think tank. Maue has previously said scientists have made overly dire predictions about climate change. Trump’s administration has attempted to manipulate NOAA throughout his term. (10/27)

Indian Satellite Co. Gets $1.2B Award Over Axed Deal OK'd (Source: Law360)
A Washington state judge on Tuesday confirmed a $1.2 billion arbitral award issued to an Indian satellite company following a dispute with a commercial division of India's space agency, pointing to an Indian court order tossing a challenge to the underlying arbitrators' jurisdiction. The U.S. judge rejected Antrix Corp.'s arguments that the award, which Devas Multimedia won following a dispute over a canceled deal to lease two satellites, had been issued by arbitrators who had not been appointed in accordance with the parties' agreement. (10/27)

Virgin Galactic Hires More Pilots (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic has hired two more pilots. The company said that Jameel Janjua and Patrick Moran will start training to fly its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, and will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Janjua is a former Royal Canadian Air Force test pilot, while Moran was a test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. The company now has eight pilots to support flights of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo as it continues testing of the suborbital spaceflight system. (10/27)

Catalonia Wants Its Own Space Agency (Source: The Guardian)
Catalonia wants to establish its own space agency. The government of Catalonia, a region of Spain that has sought greater autonomy or even independence, says its "Catalan NASA" would support development of communications satellites. The government is investing $2.9 million into the agency itself and $21 million on six experimental communications cubesats to launch next year. The Spanish government did not comment on Catalonia's plans. (10/28)

Canada's NorthStar Picks Thales Alenia to Build Space Tracking Satellites (Source: Space News)
Canadian company NorthStar Earth and Space has selected Thales Alenia Space to build its first satellites for tracking other objects in orbit. Thales, working with its smallsat manufacturing joint venture LeoStella, will build the first three Skylark satellites for launch in 2022. NorthStar plans to have 12 of those satellites in orbit by 2024, equipped with optical sensors for tracking satellites and debris from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit. NorthStar believes its satellites will be able to cover more orbits faster than ground-based tracking systems, and will be able to see "multiple centimeter sized" objects. (10/28)

Starburst Aerospace Picks 15 for Business Acceleration (Source: Space News)
Starburst Aerospace announced 15 finalists Tuesday for its International Space Pitch Day event next month. Starburst, a business accelerator, said the 14 companies and one consortium will present proposals for addressing important space-related challenges facing the United States and the United Kingdom at the virtual Pitch Day event, with military agencies of the two countries ready to make awards on the spot. The finalists are offering products and services on topics ranging from space weather monitoring to space traffic management. (10/28)

NOAA Taps Google to Apply AI to Satellite Data Analysis (Source: Space News)
NOAA is working with Google to apply artificial intelligence to analysis of satellite data. Under a three-year other transaction authority agreement worth $10 million, NOAA and Google will study how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to analyze satellites and other data to improve weather monitoring and forecasting. Initially, NOAA and Google will develop small-scale artificial intelligence and machine learning systems related to specific areas like weather forecasting. If that work is successful, they will then create full-scale prototypes for operational use. (10/28)

University Wins $8.5 Million for Hybrid Rocket Center (Source: Space Daily)
A University at Buffalo research team has been awarded $8.5 million to study hybrid rockets, a technology that could provide a safer and less expensive way to explore outer space compared to conventional rockets. The grant from the U.S. Department of Energy enables UB to establish the Center for Hybrid Rocket Exascale Simulation Technology (CHREST). The funds will provide UB with the resources to explore how hybrid rockets - a nearly 100-year-old concept that's getting a fresh look thanks to advancements in computing power and artificial intelligence - can be used to launch satellites into space using common fuels like candle wax and kerosene. (10/28)

Israel To Get Direct Access To SBIRS Sats (Source: Breaking Defense)
The United States, pressed by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz In Washington last week, will grant Israel direct access to highly classified satellites such as the missile detection birds known as SBIRS and ensure Israel gets critical defense platforms in a very short time by using production slots planned for the U.S armed forces. Israeli sources say that the agreement guarantees Israel’s supremacy for decades to come. “I can say that the agreement is something that will help keep Israel safe,” one source said. (10/27)

Satellite Companies Eligible for FCC 5G Funding (Source: Space News)
Satellite companies will be eligible to compete for $9 billion in funding in a new FCC 5G program. The 5G Fund for Rural America, announced Tuesday, will provide up to $9 billion over the next decade to extend 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural communities. Satellite service providers who can deliver broadband services with a latency of 100 milliseconds or less will be eligible for the program, but must be able to offer voice and 5G broadband "directly to an off-the-shelf" smartphone. The program is separate from the $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which will start making awards later this week.

The chairman of the FCC defended his agency's approach to the RDOF program, calling it "technologically neutral." In a recent interview, Ajit Pai said the program is intended to favor those systems that can offer faster speeds and lower latency "while still maintaining that principle of technological neutrality." Some satellite operators have criticized the RDOF program for latency requirements that cannot be met by geostationary satellites, but Pai said the FCC was responding to demands by customers for lower latencies. (10/28)

Pristine Extraterrestrial Compounds Recovered From Fallen Fireball (Source: Space Daily)
On a cold winter night in 2018, when a fireball streaked across the skies above Canada and the Midwest, a team of meteor hunters turned to weather radar to pinpoint its likely landing spot. The fireball had come to rest on a frozen lake in Michigan. Researchers raced to find it and, amazingly, they were able to collect remnants of the meteorite before its contents were tainted by exposure to Earthbound water molecules.

With instructions from NASA scientists, meteorite hunter Robert Ward secured the first fragment from the frozen surface of Strawberry Lake, near Hamburg, Michigan. Ward worked with fellow meteorite hunter Terry Boudreaux to get the space rock remnants to researchers at the Field Museum. Researchers identified the meteorite as an H4 chondrite, a rarity. Just 4 percent of modern meteorites are H4 chondrites.

Ward collected the first remnants of the fireball just two days after it landed. As a result, the meteorite pieces were largely uncontaminated. Researchers used a variety of analytical techniques to characterize the variety of pristine organic compounds found in the bits of freshly fallen space rock. The authors of the new study suggest their discovery can help planetary scientists better understand how life-yielding compounds first arrived on primordial Earth. (10/27)

FCC Approves OneWeb Sale (Source: Space News)
The FCC also approved Tuesday the sale of OneWeb to the British government and Bharti Global. In a public notice, the FCC said it will transfer OneWeb's satellite and ground station licenses to the reorganized company. A bankruptcy court early this month approved the sale, although OneWeb still needed regulatory approvals like the one from the FCC in order for the deal to close and the company to exit Chapter 11.

Oneweb's biggest megaconstellation rival, SpaceX, has started a public beta test of its Starlink service this week. Those living in selected regions of the northern U.S. can sign up for the service, paying $499 for the antenna and other hardware and $99 a month for the service. SpaceX says it will offer connectivity at speeds of 50–150 megabits per second, but warned there may be "brief periods of no connectivity at all." (10/28)

Aerospace Corp. Prepares Space Policy Advice for Next Administration (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Corporation is offering space policy advice for the next administration. Aerospace's policy center intends to influence future debates on issues such as space traffic management, NASA's Artemis program, the role of the private sector in space innovation and military space doctrine, among other issues.

Aerospace noted that space policy has not attracted attention in the current presidential campaign, although the Trump administration has set policies over the last four years and the Biden campaign has been "very clear on the importance of the space domain." Aerospace's interest also includes promoting space-based solar power, noting that while it may be a "couple of generations away" from being a major terrestrial power source, other countries have shown an interest in the technology. (10/28)

ESA and NASA Agree on Artemis Collaboration (Source: NASA)
ESA and NASA have formally cemented their partnership in the Artemis program. The two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding regarding ESA's participation in the NASA-led lunar Gateway program, leveraging the existing intergovernmental agreement that manages the International Space Station. ESA will provide habitation and refueling modules for the Gateway and two additional Orion service modules. NASA in turn will fly ESA astronauts on future missions to the moon. ESA awarded contracts earlier this month for those Gateway elements. (10/28)