November 13, 2020

Ukraine Signs Agreement with NASA to Study Moon, Mars, Comets, and Asteroids (Source: 122 UA)
The State Space Agency of Ukraine has signed the NASA Artemis Agreement on the Principles of Cooperation in Civil Exploration and the Use of the Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids for peaceful purposes. This was reported by the press service of the State Space Agency. Thus, Ukraine has become the ninth signatory to the Artemis Agreements. It is noted that Ukraine has all the scientific and technical capabilities and experience that allow it to become one of NASA's important partners in the implementation of the Artemis program. (11/13)

SLS 'Megarocket' Set for Critical Tests (Source: BBC)
After a decade of development, the SLS is now approaching a critical stage. A year-long programme of testing for the core stage is coming to an end. Called the Green Run, it's designed to iron out any issues before the rocket's maiden flight, scheduled for November 2021. On 12 January this year, the first SLS core stage was shipped to Stennis on a barge from the New Orleans factory where it was assembled. It was then lifted by cranes and installed in a vertical position on the B-2 test stand.

The Green Run is split into eight parts - or test cases. Since the beginning of the year, engineers from Nasa and Boeing, the rocket's prime contractor, have been working through these individual tests. They have included powering up the avionics (flight electronics), evaluating the performance of different systems and components, and simulating problems. (11/13)

China Launches Mobile Telecomm Satellite (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China launched a mobile communications satellite Thursday. A Long March 3B rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 10:59 a.m. Eastern and deployed the Tiantong 1-02 satellite into a transfer orbit. The spacecraft is the second in a series designed to provide S-band mobile communications services from geostationary orbit. (11/12)

Senate Concerned at Space Force Schedule for Jam-Resistant Satellites (Source: Space News)
Senate appropriators want to know why the Space Force expects to take more than a decade to field a new line of jam-resistant satellites. The Space and Missile Systems Center awarded three contracts this year to develop prototypes for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications system, with the goal to deploy a new system by 2032. In a report accompanying its draft of a fiscal year 2021 spending bill this week, Senate appropriators said they were concerned the system will be needed sooner, warning of a "potential for a strategic communications gap beginning in 2030" given the age of the existing Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites. The bill funds the program at the requested level of $71.4 million. (11/12)

Virgin Galactic Executive to Head Australia Space Agency (Source: Space News)
A Virgin Galactic executive will be the next head of the Australian Space Agency. The Australian government announced that Enrico Palermo, chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, will take over as head of the agency in January. Palermo is an Australian native who has worked at Virgin Galactic since 2006 and was named COO in January. Palermo will replace Megan Clark, who led the agency since it was formed in 2018 and will become chair of the agency's advisory board. (11/12)

Sherpa-LTE to Tow Smallsats to GEO and Earth-Escape Trajectories (Source: Space News)
Spaceflight Inc. says it will develop a version of its Sherpa tug with electric propulsion. The rideshare launch services company announced Thursday it will develop Sherpa-LTE, a version of its next-generation Sherpa tug with a Hall effect thruster provided by Apollo Fusion. Sherpa-LTE will provide high delta-V, or change in velocity, enough to propel smallsats to geostationary or on Earth-escape trajectories. Spaceflight also has a chemical-propulsion version, Sherpa-LTC, for high-thrust missions. Both will make their first flights next year as part of SpaceX rideshare launches. (11/12)

Lockheed Secures $258M USSF Contract to Build Satcom Payload Tech (Source: GovCon Wire)
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $258.3M contract to develop and demonstrate a prototype of the U.S. Space Force's Evolved Strategic Satellite Communication payload. The company will conduct a loop testing of ESS hardware and software as part of the sole-source acquisition contract that runs through June 2025. USSF's Space and Missile Systems Center will obligate $29.4M in fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of award. (11/10)

Weighing Space Dust With Radar (Source: University of Tokyo)
It is thought that over 1,000 kilograms of so-called interplanetary dust falls to Earth every day. This dust is essentially an untold number of small faint meteors, discarded remnants of asteroids and comets that pass by the Earth. Two ways to study faint meteors are radar and optical observations, each with advantages and limitations. Astronomers have combined specific observations with both methods, and can now use radar to make the kinds of observations that previously only optical telescopes could make.

Our solar system is a busy place -- in addition to the large bodies we are all familiar with exist an uncountably large number of rocky asteroids and icy comets. These mostly stay put in their orbits far from Earth but many also roam around the solar system. As they do, they shed some material due to collisions, deformations or heating. Due to this, the Earth is surrounded by small particles we call interplanetary dust. By investigating the size and composition of the interplanetary dust, astronomers can indirectly investigate the activity and makeup of the parent bodies. (11/10)

To Get to Mars, First Develop the Moon (Source: Space News)
As the nation looks ahead to a new U.S. presidential administration and the new decade, few decisions will have a more profound impact on the future of our nation, and potentially the world, than the direction of the U.S. space program. America’s current focus on development of the moon is often depicted as inhibiting human exploration of Mars.

Different administrations, different Congresses, have pushed one or the other, through visionary plans, research programs and soaring rhetoric. But there is a fundamental truth that will shape our extraterrestrial planning:  the next “gold rush” will be for lunar resources to enable an energy rich economy in Earth-moon space.  This new wealth will make the human exploration and settlement of more distant Mars practical. To get to Mars, we must first develop the moon.

Our moon is the most valuable undeveloped real estate in the solar system.  Believed to be made of parts of the Earth that coalesced from the debris of a primordial collision with a large celestial object, it is rich in minerals from Earth and from billions of years of impacts from asteroids.   With no atmosphere, resulting in a near perfect vacuum, an unattenuated supply of solar power, and just one-sixth the force of gravity of Earth, the moon makes an ideal location for the efficient production and manufacturing of all the things one needs to develop cislunar space and extend human reach to Mars. (11/12)

What is China's Future Plan for the Space Sector? (Source: CGTN)
China is expected to double down on key and core technology development over the next 15 years, according to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's development proposals made public last week. Pursuing innovation-driven development tops the tasks listed in the proposals. As a comprehensive high-tech sector, space industry is often viewed as an indicator of country's comprehensive national strength. Today, China's space industry is one of the most robust in the world.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the country has conducted over 140 orbital launches: the most notable missions include landing its Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon last year and sending Tianwen-1 Mars probe into orbit in July. The country aims to become a leading space power in the world by 2045, according to a route map drawn up in 2018 by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Click here. (11/12)

Senate Proposes $23.5 Billion for NASA, Must Reconcile With House (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The U.S. Senate proposed $23.5 billion for NASA's fiscal year 2021 budget on Tuesday, which would be $866 million more than the previous year. The House proposed $22.63 billion in July, so the two must reach a consensus before the NASA budget is finalized. President Donald Trump initially proposed $25.2 billion for the agency as he pushed to land humans on the moon in 2024, which would have been the last year of his second term. Key to his budget request was $3.4 billion for NASA to work with commercial companies to develop human landing systems that would lower astronauts to the moon.

The Senate proposed $1 billion for these systems. The House proposed $628.2 million. "The Committee recommendation provides strategic programmatic increases, as well as reductions, so that NASA can achieve balanced and cost-effective operations," the Senate Committee on Appropriations said in a statement. "These efforts not only lead to scientific breakthroughs and technological advance, but also continue to inspire and harness the excitement of our Nation’s future science and business leaders." (11/11)

Spaceflight Consultation Ends : A Significant Step Towards UK Launch (Source: Herald Scotland)
Space launch from UK soil has moved closer to reality with the drawing to a close of the spaceport and spaceflight regulatory consultation carried out by the UK government. During recent weeks, an initiative led by the Scottish Space Leadership Council’s (SSLC) newly formed UK Spaceport Alliance brought representatives from each of the UK’s developing launch sites together to focus their collective attention on the recently finalised Consultation, initially published by HM Government on 29th of July.

Active discussion, research, and the sharing of a practical understanding of how to apply the proposed regulations across a broad, diverse and collaborative cross-section of the UK Space sector, have been the highlights of a set of workstreams set up to engage wider UK space stakeholders and address specific aspects of the Spaceflight consultation.

The focus of the workstreams themselves included the enviornmental and safety aspects of the launch process along side the roles of the key participants, identifying the risks, liabilities and the insurance aspects, establishing best practices in a concept of operations. The SSLC and UK Spaceport Alliance adopted a considered approach to providing the regulator with not just answers to the questionnaire, but also proposals from space industry across the UK in relation to how the questions might be considered differently, and indeed what further recommendations industry can make. (11/10)

The Plan to Turn Scrapped Rockets Into Space Stations (Source: WIRED)
It’s not a new idea, but Nanoracks' Jeff Manber feels its time has come. “NASA has looked at the idea of refurbishing fuel tanks several times,” he says. “But it was always abandoned, usually because the technology wasn’t there.” All of NASA’s previous plans depended on astronauts doing a lot of the manufacturing and assembly work, which made the projects expensive, slow, and hazardous. Manber’s vision is to create an extraterrestrial chop shop where astronauts are replaced by autonomous robots that cut, bend, and weld the bodies of spent rockets until they’re fit to be used as laboratories, fuel depots, or warehouses.

The Nanoracks program, known as Outpost, will modify rockets after they’re done with their mission to give them a second life. The first Outposts will be uncrewed stations made from the upper stages of new rockets, but Manber says it’s possible that future stations could host people or be built from rocket stages already in orbit. In the beginning, Nanoracks won’t use the interior of the rocket and will mount experiment payloads, power supply modules, and small propulsion units to the outside of the fuselage. Once company engineers have that figured out, they can focus on developing the inside of the rocket as a pressurized laboratory. (11/11)

What is the Woomera Manual and How Might it Help Stop a War in Space? (Source: ABC.net)
Armed conflict in space is unlikely to look like it does in The Mandalorian. But with the United States creating its Space Force and India testing anti-satellite weapons, a real-life space battle is more possible than ever. An international project is trying to establish what the rules of engagement of that battle would be. That project is called the Woomera Manual.

What is the Woomera Manual? It's a document that clearly lays out what international law says is — and isn't — allowed when it comes to military action in space. It's not a new law, nor is it a proposal for new laws. The manual is named after the Woomera launch site in South Australia, itself named after an Aboriginal spear-throwing device. It's not a new idea. There are similar manuals such as the Tallinn Manual (which covers cyber operations), the Harvard Manual (on air and missile warfare) and the San Remo Manual (which relates to conflict at sea).

These manuals tend to be laid out in dot points, and are designed to be as clear and unambiguous as possible. "The point of these manuals is to give clarity about the application of the law," Professor de Zwart says. The idea is that if there's a rulebook that countries agree on, then conflict becomes less likely — much like having an agreed set of sporting rules makes it less likely for a fight to break out onfield. (11/11)

SAC Fears Nuclear ‘Strategic Communications Gap’ (Source: Breaking Defense)
Space Force cuts to the Evolved Strategic SATCOM program raise the specter of a gap in the technologies that connect the president and top military leaders during a nuclear attack or other strategic challenge, according to Senate appropriators. Under current plans, the classified Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) satellites will take over that job from today’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) sats starting in 2032.

That schedule represents a push back to the original plan for the AEHF replacement to come on line, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC), as well as a cut of $265 million over the five year budget cycle in order to shift funds to unspecified “higher Department priorities.” The SAC says in its draft 2021 money bill released yesterday, that “the ESS system may be needed sooner due to optimistic functional availability estimates and an earlier need for resiliency enhancement.” (11/11)

Leonardo at Work on Robotic Arms for the NASA and ESA Mars Sample Return Mission (Source: Space Daily)
Mars robotic exploration is at the heart of the latest international space missions. Leonardo is involved in the study of cutting edge robotic systems which can contribute to the discovery of the Red Planet's secrets.

For the NASA "Mars Sample Return" campaign, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), Leonardo has been awarded a contract with Airbus for the advanced study phase (Advanced B2) of the ESA Sample Fetch Rover's (SFR) robotic arm and has received financing from ESA to pursue the study of the Sample Transfer Arm (STA) for the NASA lander.

Leonardo, also thanks to the important contribution of the Italian Space Agency, is therefore involved in the study of two crucial elements for the 2026 mission of the Mars Sample Return campaign: the arm of the rover and that of the lander. For both, Leonardo is committed to design the respective robotic systems for the acquisition and manipulation of the samples. (10/20)

Draper to Provide Guidance for Stratolaunch Hypersonic Craft (Source: Space Daily)
Precision guidance and navigation is critical to success and safety in spaceflight. Today, as Stratolaunch builds its next generation vehicle for hypersonic flight test, it will be guided by flight software developed by Draper. Stratolaunch builds, tests and operates hypersonic vehicles-those that can travel at least five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5. Draper's flight software will be used on Talon-A, a fully reusable, autonomous, liquid rocket-powered Mach 6-class hypersonic vehicle.

Under the multi-year contract, Draper will design, develop and deliver a guidance, navigation and control system for the Stratolaunch reusable hypersonic vehicle. The vehicle is designed for use by government, including the Department of Defense, the commercial sector and academia, which will contract for payload capacity for space or earth applications. (11/11)

Surprising Discovery in the Red Planet’s Atmosphere Helps Explain Martian Mystery (Source: SciTech Daily)
New University of Arizona-led research updates our understanding of how water escapes Mars — not like a leaky faucet but with a sudden splash. Mars once had oceans but is now bone-dry, leaving many to wonder how the water was lost. University of Arizona researchers have discovered a surprisingly large amount of water in the upper atmosphere of Mars, where it is rapidly destroyed, explaining part of this Martian mystery.

NASA’s MAVEN mission, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, began orbiting Mars in 2014 and has been recording the composition of the upper atmosphere of Earth’s planetary neighbor ever since. “We know that billions of years ago, there was liquid water on the surface of Mars,” Stone said. “There must have been a thicker atmosphere, so we know that Mars somehow lost the majority of its atmosphere to space. MAVEN is trying to characterize the processes responsible for this loss, and one portion of that is understanding exactly how Mars lost its water.”

Stone and his team found that when Mars is nearest the sun, the planet warms, and more water – found on the surface in the form of ice – moves from the surface to the upper atmosphere where it is lost to space. This happens once every Martian year or about every two Earth years. (11/13)

Do NASA’s Lunar Exploration Rules Violate Space Law? (Source: Scientific American)
When they were first published, NASA’s Artemis Accords seemed harmless, almost self-evident. These tenets state, among other things, that emergency assistance will be rendered to foreign astronauts if they are endangered or in distress, that planning for space travel will take place transparently and that research findings will be published in a timely fashion. The Accords are NASA’s rules to which all international partners must adhere if they wish to participate in the space agency’s Artemis program.

Eight nations have signed on. According to NASA, those who do not agree to the accords cannot participate. “Any responsible space-faring nation should be able to abide by these principles,” said Jim Bridenstine. Anyone who examines the Accords carefully might come away with a different impression. Its 13 sections seem to show that the rules are about the use and exploitation of the moon in order to maintain American dominance, possibly undermining international law. “The Artemis Accords are an attempt by the Americans to walk softly to legitimize their deviation from the Outer Space Treaty,” says Stephan Hobe.

That treaty—which has been ratified by 110 countries via the UN—has up to now provided the legal basis for the exploration and utilization of space. It specifies that member states must have “free access to all areas of celestial bodies.” The Artemis Accords document seems to take a different approach. It states that the countries subject to the agreements will support the development of safety zones, to ensure that states do not come into conflict with one another. But this is where the problems begin. “Safety zones are specific areas,” Hobe says, “and it is precisely the acquisition of such areas that is, in fact, banned by the Outer Space Treaty.” (11/13)

ESA Signs a Trio of Copernicus Contracts Worth 1.3 Billion Euros (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency (ESA) signed contracts for three pairs of satellites for the agency’s Earth-observing Copernicus program on Nov. 13 with a total award value of more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.54 billion). The three Copernicus satellite pairs are part of six High-Priority Candidate Missions approved during ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level Space19+ in Seville, Spain one year ago.

Each mission is designed to respond to priority policies outlined by Europe and in particular, the European Union. The European Commission and ESA plan to jointly finance the missions. Thales Alenia Space will receive the lion’s share of funding as Thales Alenia Space Italy leads the campaign to develop Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) and Thales Alenia Space France spearheads efforts to develop the Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission (CHIME). (11/13)