October 4, 2020

Japanese Astronaut is in Talks to Join SpaceX's Artist-Filled Starship Mission Around the Moon (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX aims to slingshot a small group of people around the moon inside Starship, the company's forthcoming Mars spacecraft, sometimes in the next few years. Who will make the week-long circumlunar voyage is yet to be announced. But Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi -- who's about to fly aboard SpaceX's second human mission to the International Space Station -- tells Business Insider he's actively discussing a spot on the mission.

The only publicly confirmed passenger for SpaceX's private moon mission is Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, who's paying untold millions for the experience. In September 2018, SpaceX hosted a press conference for Maezawa with Elon Musk at his side. "[Elon] said it would be reliable if 1-2 astronauts will be on board," Maezawa tweeted. Astronaut Scott Kelly raised his hand, though Noguchi could be a shoo-in for the unprecedented flight, if it happens, and says that he's already in talks about that possibility. (10/2)

Northrop Grumman Successfully Launches 14th Cargo Delivery Mission to the International Space Station (Source: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman successfully launched the company’s Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, to the International Space Station. After the nine minute ascent, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, named for the first woman of Indian descent to fly in space, was deployed into orbit. Approximately two and a half hours later, the vehicle’s Ultra-flex solar arrays successfully deployed, and the spacecraft is currently operating nominally. (10/3)

Could New Mexico Boldly Go to the Heavens? Maybe, Just Maybe ... (Source: Santa Fe New Mexico)
New Mexico has a lottery. Big whoop. But now it’s in a lottery, eligible to win a potential jackpot that could change how this state operates for the next 100 years. Hyperbole? I don’t think so. Albuquerque is one of 31 spots in the U.S. under consideration to host the U.S. Space Command, which directs the military’s umbrella of defense in a place where no man — well actually, some men and women — have gone before.

Hold the eye roll, please. Unlike all those other corporate-relocation bait-and-switches that always end up headed to Seattle or Dallas or Phoenix, this is a game New Mexico actually could win. Maybe should win. We have Air Force bases up the wazoo — Kirtland, Cannon, Holloman, plus White Sands Missile Range. Two national laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos. A spaceport hungry for action. A state that not only understands the ways of the military but knows how to cater to it as well. On paper, there’s almost nothing that doesn’t say this isn’t a marriage made in the heavens. (10/3)

Court Approves Sale of OneWeb to the UK Government and Bharti Global (Source: OneWeb)
OneWeb, the communications company building a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to deliver global connectivity, has achieved a major step in its reorganisation process. On 2 October 2020, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed OneWeb’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganisation (the “Plan”), ensuring that the company remains on target to resume full business operations imminently.

The Plan details a strong operational foundation for the company to deploy the initial 650 LEO satellite constellation under the new ownership of the UK Government and Bharti Global Limited (“Bharti”). The transactions outlined in the Plan will be implemented following receipt of customary regulatory approvals, which are expected by the end of 2020. In the meantime, OneWeb is resuming operations and readying its commercial services which are planned to start next year.(10/3)

Southern California Residents Blast NASA Plan to Clean Up Rocket Lab Site (Source: Courthouse News Service)
NASA announced plans Friday to clean up a Cold War-era rocket fuel testing site in Southern California — plans that have upset residents who say the space agency and the Trump administration have punted any responsibility for a full cleanup and will leave most of the area contaminated. Environmental advocacy groups say about 84% of the site will remain contaminated after NASA’s proposed cleanup, which was detailed in a report published this past July.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a 2,850-acre site in Ventura County, was used between 1948 to 2006 to test rocket fuel and conduct nuclear power research. Besides the rocket fuel, a partial nuclear meltdown at the site in 1959 sent radioactive contamination into nearby residential neighborhoods in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA and the state of California signed an agreement to clean portions of the site by 2017, but none of that cleanup has begun. (10/2)

Monitoring Sea Level Rise: Sentinel 6A in Final Processing at Vandenberg for Nov 10 Launch (Source: America Space)
NASA and ESA’s next Earth Observing science mission aims to better understand sea level rise and how it changes over time, as coastal communities around the world see more and more the affects of the Earth’s global climate warming. The joint U.S.-European Sentinel-6 ‘Michael Freilich’ satellite intends to collect the most accurate data thus far on how climate change is affecting the oceans, with millimeter-scale precision, and is now in the final stretch for launch next month from Vandenberg AFB, CA.

The spacecraft, named after Dr. Michael Freilich, former director of NASA’s Earth Science Division who was instrumental in advancing ocean observations from space, recently arrived at Vandenberg courtesy of an Antonov 124 cargo aircraft, following a two-day journey from an IABG engineering facility near Munich, Germany. It’s now into final checkouts and processing for integration atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, slated for launch no sooner than Nov 10 at 11:31 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex 4E. (10/3)