November 19, 2020

Voting Machine Accusations: Recalling a NASA Contractor's Alleged Scheme in 2000 (Sources: Orlando Weekly, SPACErePORT)
In his bid to overturn the 2020 election results, President Trump's attorneys are alleging widespread vote-changing via corrupted voting machines. Twenty years ago a similar controversy was centered on a Florida elected official (former Space Coast Republican Congressman Tom Feeney) and his alleged plan to hack voting machines to ensure his election and support other Republican candidates. Feeney was then a powerful member of the Florida Legisature, but he also was a lobbyist for Yang Enterprises, a NASA contractor at Kennedy Space Center.

A Yang whistleblower, Clint Curtis, filed an affidavit with Congress in 2004, detailing meetings with Feeney and Yang's leadership where a vote-rigging hack was planned. The hack would benefit from the proprietary nature of the vote-machine software, which would allow the scheme to proceed unnoticed by election officials. Curtis developed software to place hidden "buttons" on vote machine screens, enabling an accomplice official to change the count and give 51 percent to the cheating candidate, and distributing 49 percent to the other candidates. Feeney and Yang denied Curtis' claims, and they haven't been considered in court.

Yang was also accused of fraudulent billing under a Florida Dept. of Transportation contract, with an FDOT investigator found dead near Tallahassee after reportedly telling Curtis he was ready to "blow the lid off this thing." And in 2015, Yang was charged with defrauding NASA and GSA by overbilling for the maintenance of fleet automobiles at Kennedy Space Center. Click here for details on Curtis' allegations. (11/19)

Arecibo Telescope to be Decommissioned Due to Damage (Source: SyFy)
The venerable Arecibo radio telescope, a mammoth 305-meter dish nestled in the forested hills of Puerto Rico, is to be decommissioned after a pair of cables that support a huge platform above the dish broke. The enormous telescope has been in use since it was completed in 1963, operated by several organizations in cooperation with the US National Science Foundation (NSF). It has been used to study Earth's upper atmosphere, mapping near-Earth asteroids and the Moon, observe distant galaxies, and even send signals to a distant star cluster in an attempt to communicate with any potential civilizations there.

By September plans were in place to replace the first cable-break, but then on 6 November one of the main cables supporting the platform broke, catching everyone off guard. This is a much more serious problem. Each tower has four main cables attached to support the platform, so there are 12 in all. The main cable that broke was attached to the same tower where the aux cable failed. In this case, though, the cable itself snapped. After consideration and an investigation by an engineering team, the NSF concluded that there is no way to fix these problems while still maintaining the safety of any crew who would do the work. Stabilizing or replacing the cable may also accelerate the collapse.

The NSF therefore decided to decommission the telescope. In a press conference, reps for the NSF were very careful to say that they intend to work with the Puerto Rico and scientific communities, and Congress, to continue the observatory itself even as the 305-meter is shut down. In other words, hopes are that a new telescope will be built to replace it. Arecibo provides a lot of economic support for the citizens of the island, as well as STEM support for both teachers and students. Keeping the observatory running with a new 'scope is an important mission. (11/19)

Private Israeli Astronaut Made Fortune Selling Weapons, Security Systems & Other Services to Developing Nations (Source: Parabolic Arc)
A former fighter pilot paying to become the second Israeli to fly into space late next year made his fortune by supplying military weapons, security systems and other services to the governments of Angola, Nigeria, Haiti, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stibbe now focuses much of his time on Vital Capital Fund, which invests in agriculture, hospitals, urban infrastructure and renewable energy in Africa.

Eytan Stibbe, 62, will join retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and two unidentified individuals on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for a privately-funded mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Stibbe will pay for the cost of the trip and stay at the station. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin announced Stibbe’s involvement in the mission on Monday. (11/18)

Space is Dark, But Scientists Have Found Unexplained Light (Source: NPR)
"Is space truly black?" says Tod Lauer, an astronomer with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Arizona. He says if you could look at the night sky without stars, galaxies, and everything else known to give off visible light, "does the universe itself put out a glow?" It's a tough question that astronomers have tried to answer for decades. Now, Lauer and other researchers with NASA's New Horizons space mission say they've finally been able to do it, using a spacecraft that's travelling far beyond the dwarf planet Pluto.

To try to detect the faint glow of the universe, researchers went through images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft's simple telescope and camera and looked for ones that were incredibly boring. Then they processed these images to remove all known sources of visible light. Once they'd subtracted out the light from stars, plus scattered light from the Milky Way and any stray light that might be a result of camera quirks, they were left with light coming in from beyond our own galaxy.

They then went a step further still, subtracting out light that they could attribute to all the galaxies thought to be out there. And it turns out, once that was done, there was still plenty of unexplained light. In fact, the amount of light coming from mysterious sources was about equal to all the light coming in from the known galaxies, says Marc Postman, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. So maybe there are unrecognized galaxies out there, he says, "or some other source of light that we don't yet know what it is." (11/18)

Struggling Moon Express Fell Out with Space Florida, Hopes for NASA Lifeline (Source: Florida Today)
For many companies Cape Canaveral is the land where space dreams are made, but for Bob Richards, the CEO of Moon Express, moving his business to the Space Coast has been more of a nightmare. He lost talented engineers, was forced out of a prime launch pad and was sued by Space Florida. Now he’s running out of time to realize his lifelong dream and keep his company afloat in the process. Richards' company, Moon Express hopes to build and operate a lunar lander and be the first commercial company to send government and private payloads to the moon.

Richards is banking on a lifeline in the form of a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services contact. His company is one of 12 eligible to compete for the contracts worth $2.6 billion through 2028. Last year his company was evicted from its office space at the spaceport for falling behind on rent so he’s writing proposals from a partially remodeled high bay at Launch Complex 17 using his cell phone as a hotspot to save on internet. When the license comes up for renewal in 2021 the Air Force has made it clear if Moon Express hasn’t secured a NASA contract, it will probably need to move out.

At its peak Moon Express had 45 employees but has dwindled down to seven. For a company that was once a top contender for the Google Lunar X-prize, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Richards is an entrepreneur with degrees in engineering and physics who has a knack for fundraising. He amassed an impressive $50 million from Silicon Valley investors. Space Florida was offering the company a sweet deal. They would give Moon Express up to $2 million in matching funds and a lease agreement for Launch Complex 36 which had last been used in 2005 to launch Atlas rockets. (11/19)

Moon Express Laments Launch Pad Deal with Space Florida (Source: Florida Today)
In 2014 Space Florida courted Moon Express to move to Florida from their California location. “I became convinced that this was the place, not just to test the vehicle but for the transition of Moon Express from a kind of an R&D company at NASA Ames to an operational company where we needed to build and fly these things," Richards said. Moon Express and Space Florida made it official in 2015. Richards consolidated his operations and moved the company to Cape Canaveral where they got to work improving Launch Complex 36.

Everything seemed to be going great but what Richards didn’t know was that Space Florida had started eyeing a new catch. “About midway through, [Space Florida's] Frank Dibello called me and said 'Bob, we need to talk.'” Turns out Space Florida was on the cusp of securing a deal with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Launch Complex 36 was the only pad that fit Blue Origin's size requirements. In 2016, Richards sat down with Space Florida, NASA and the Air Force to hammer out a new deal. If Moon Express would give up Launch Complex 36, it could have Launch Complexes 17 and 18 instead. At first blush it seemed like it was a good trade — two for the price of one — but LC 17 was in disrepair and required more work than 36. 

Thee pads were not run by Space Florida so Moon Express had to do a direct license with the Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, which Richards says was not an easy transition. “We’d already made investments in 36, we had people working there, we’d already done all the necessary site surveys. We invested a year and a lot of money into getting set up at 36," Richards said. "Also just think of even moving expenses. The relocation from 36 to 17 was about $100,000 that Space Florida promised to get to us and they just never did.” Space Florida counters that Moon Express spent around $40k at Launch Complex 36. In an effort to match the money spent, Space Florida agreed to perform the same services at LC 17. (11/19)

ESA Engineers Assess Moon Village Habitat (Source: ESA)
Renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, originator of many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, has been working on an even more challenging design: a habitat for a future Moon Village. Their proposal has undergone rigorous examination by ESA experts at the Agency’s mission-evaluating Concurrent Design Facility. This review process flagged various issues but found no show-stoppers – which mean something resembling the company’s innovative, four-person semi-inflatable structure might well end up on the lunar surface in years to come. (11/17)

Astroscale to Demonstrate Debris Removal (Source: Space News)
Astroscale plans to launch the End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) in March on a Soyuz rocket booked through GK Launch Services. Tokyo-based Astroscale plans to demonstrate core technologies necessary for space debris capture and removal, a first step in establishing itself as a provider of on-orbit services. (11/18)

A Year Behind SpaceX, Boeing Starliner Redo of Test Flight Pushed to 2021 (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
In December 2019, things were looking up for Boeing when it launched its CST-100 Starliner from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The uncrewed flight was supposed to demonstrate the spacecraft’s ability to dock with the International Space Station. If things went well, Boeing would be moving on to the next step, a test flight with humans aboard, and then certification, and then get about the business of ferrying astronauts to and from the station on a normal basis.

While Starliner launched and landed safely, it did not ever make it to the space station, and a review of the problems with that flight have forced NASA and Boeing to take a hard look at software, hardware and workflow, and now they have to redo step 1. Meanwhile, SpaceX was able to move on to its next steps with its own commercial crew vehicle Crew Dragon, and this week began the first of six crew rotation flights to the ISS, shuttling four astronauts to the station for a six-month stay.

SpaceX is now essentially more than a year ahead of Boeing, which is working to finish addressing the 80 problems found by a NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team with its December Orbital Flight Test, which NASA designated a “high visibility close call.” It’s all leading up to a reflight, known as Orbital Flight Test 2, which Boeing is doing at no cost to NASA. It was previously aiming to fly by December, but at a press conference this week leading up to SpaceX’s successful launch, NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich said that flight won’t happen until the first quarter of 2021. (11/18)

MOU Starts Process of Transferring Space Traffic Management From DoD to Commerce (Source: Space News)
The Commerce and Defense Departments are drafting an agreement on transferring space traffic management responsibilities. Mark Daley, deputy for operations at the Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce, said at an event Tuesday that a memorandum of understanding between the two departments on the issue could be signed soon, even though his office is still awaiting funding from Congress to carry out that work. The departments have been meeting for several months, he said, to map out options for how the transition could be carried out once Congress signs off on funding and authorization. One of the potential hiccups in the transition is having Commerce, DoD and industry agree on data standards so the information can be shared and is secure. (11/18)

Departing Congress, Horn Interested in Biden Post (Source: Space News)
The departing chair of the House space subcommittee says she's interested in taking a space-related position in the Biden administration. Rep. Kendra Horn (D-OK), who lost her bid for reelection to Congress earlier this month, said in an interview that she would like to remain involved in the space industry after leaving Congress, and is "absolutely open to serving in the Biden administration" in some capacity. Horn has been mentioned as a potential nominee for NASA administrator, and she said going to the agency "would be an exciting opportunity." She added that while she had not given up hope on passing a NASA authorization bill in her remaining weeks in Congress, other priorities, like passing appropriations bills, made it unlikely such a bill could make it through Congress this year. (11/18)

Groups Urge Biden to Terminate Space Force (Source: Space News)
A coalition of progressive groups wants the Biden administration to terminate the Space Force. In a memo to Biden's transition team, the group called on the incoming administration to eliminate the Space Force and the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM program, and also cut missile defense programs. The Biden administration could not eliminate the Space Force by executive order since its creation was established in law. The new service also has bipartisan support. (11/18)

MDA to Support Maxar SPIDER (Source: Space News)
MDA has won contracts from its former owner, Maxar, to provide technologies for an in-space assembly technology demonstration mission. Under the contracts announced Tuesday, MDA will deliver a suite of advanced robot control software and interfaces, as well as hardware components, to assist with assembly and servicing tasks expected to be performed for the first time on NASA's OSAM-1 mission, for which Maxar is the prime contractor.

That mission includes a project called Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) that will assemble a communications antenna and manufacture a beam while in orbit. MDA, which built the robotic arms for the space shuttle and International Space Station, sees opportunities to provide similar technologies for the on-orbit servicing market. (11/18)

Loverro Called Boeing on Lander Project During Blackout Period (Source: Washington Post)
An incident that led to the resignation of a NASA official earlier this year stemmed from a phone call to Boeing. Doug Loverro, at the time NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, called Boeing in February to notify them that the company would not win a Human Landing System award and to see if the company would protest that decision. He feared a protest could delay the program for months and jeopardize NASA's goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024. Boeing instead sought to revise its proposal, alarming NASA procurement officials. Loverro's call came during a blackout period when the agency was not supposed to discuss proposals with companies. Loverro resigned from NASA in May, and the incident remains under investigation by the Justice Department. (11/18)

Bi-Coastal Back-to-Back Falcon-9 Launches on Tap (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX could perform two Falcon 9 launches hours apart on Saturday. One Falcon 9 will launch Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite for NASA and European agencies. SpaceX confirmed plans for that launch Tuesday after performing a static-fire test of the rocket's first stage. The company is also making preparations for a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral about 10 hours later with another set of Starlink satellites. (11/18)

Orbit Fab Plans "Tanker" Satellite (Source: Space News)
Orbit Fab plans to launch its first "tanker" satellite next year. The company announced its first operational fuel depot, Tanker-001 Tenzing, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as June 2021 under an arrangement with Spaceflight Inc. The spacecraft will store a green propellant in sun synchronous orbit to refuel other spacecraft. The startup says the tanker will serve as a "minimum viable product" and a demonstration of its intent to support satellite servicing. (11/18)

Germany's Okapi Offers Orbital Collision Avoidance Service (Source: Space News)
A German space traffic management startup is offering a collision notification service for satellite operators. Okapi:Orbits recently began publicly offering an automated collision avoidance service that relies on artificial intelligence to help satellite operators evaluate the risk of collisions and maneuver to avoid other satellites and debris. The service is intended to help operators decide which close approaches merit a maneuver to avoid a potential collision. (11/18)

Venus Life Findings Less Confident After Analysis (Source: Nature)
A reanalysis of observations of the planet Venus has weakened the case for life there. Scientists who published a study in September about the detection of phosphine in the planet's upper atmosphere have looked at the data again after being alerted to a processing error in the original analysis. The revised study still detects phosphine, but at about one-seventh the level originally reported. The original discovery was heralded as evidence of life on Venus since the only known processes that could generate the levels of phosphine seen at the time were biological. (11/18)

Wales Could be Home to One of Seven New UK Spaceports (Source: South Wales Argus)
The UK Government has announced funding to support the development of a space hub in Wales. The funding could see a site in Wales chosen as one of seven spaceport locations in the UK, as the UK Government looks to boost regional economic growth and attract commercial investment from space companies. In the last decade, space has transformed into one of the UK’s fastest growing and most venerable sectors. At the last count the UK space industry now employs close to 42,000 people across the country and generates an income of nearly £15 billion every year having tripled in size since 2010. (11/17)

Turkey's Space Program Not Yet Ready for Takeoff (Source: AL-Monitor)
Turkey’s ambitious space program has made some concrete achievements, but Ankara has yet to resolve structural and financial problems snagging development in the sector. Turkey’s state-owned company Roketsan — the country’s primary rocket and missile manufacturer — had successfully test-launched a sounding rocket into space. Crediting Erdogan for such achievements has become the rule in Turkey since the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, which comprises all state-owned defense industry giants and contributes more than 60% of the country’s production in the sector, was linked directly to the president in December 2017.

Speaking at a ceremony Nov. 12, Erdogan said that Roketsan’s tests had managed to reach space four times, boasting that Turkey was “in the space league” now. “Our fully national and indigenous satellite launch tests have been completed successfully. … We have left an important milestone behind,” he said. Despite the fanfare, however, Turkey’s civilian space efforts are not really progressing as desired. The country’s Space Agency, established in December 2018, has yet to put together a website, let alone a concrete project. The most recent news from the agency dates back to September 2019, when the technology and industry minister met with agency executives and launched work on drawing a logo for the institution. (11/17)

NASA Highlights Science, New Airlock on Next Space Station Resupply Mission (Source: NASA)
SpaceX is targeting 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, for the launch of the Dragon on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new investigations at the only laboratory in space. The upgraded Dragon spacecraft has double the capacity for powered lockers that preserve science and research samples during transport to or from Earth.

The cargo Dragon will be the second SpaceX spacecraft parked at the orbiting laboratory, following the arrival Nov. 16 of the Crew Dragon that carried four new Expedition 64 astronauts, who will support these and other investigations as part of their six-month science mission. (11/17)