November 25, 2020

UAE Hopes Tiny lunar Rover Will Discover Unexplored Parts of the Moon (Source: CNN)
It is an elite club of just three nations: the US, Russia and China -- the only countries to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. Now, the United Arab Emirates is trying to join them, announcing an unmanned moon mission planned for 2024. The UAE's mission is designed as a stepping stone towards the exploration of Mars, which the Gulf nation is targeting with its Mars 2117 project. Earlier this year, the project took off with the launch of a probe -- named Al Amal, or "Hope" -- due to reach the red planet's orbit in February 2021.

The new lunar mission involves a small rover, to be built entirely at Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC). Inaugurated in 2006, the center has already designed and built Earth-orbit satellites under an all-Emirati team, but the rover is its most ambitious technological undertaking to date. The rover -- named Rashid in honor of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai and father of the current sheik -- is currently in the design phase. It will be built in 2022 and tested the following year, ahead of the 2024 mission launch. (11/25)

Solar Power Stations in Space Could be the Answer to Our Energy Needs (Source: Space Daily)
It sounds like science fiction: giant solar power stations floating in space that beam down enormous amounts of energy to Earth. And for a long time, the concept - first developed in the 1920s - was mainly an inspiration for writers. A century later, however, scientists are making huge strides in turning the concept into reality. The European Space Agency has realised the potential of these efforts and is now looking to fund such projects, predicting that the first industrial resource we will get from space is "beamed power."

Renewable energy technologies have developed drastically in recent years, with improved efficiency and lower cost. But one major barrier to their uptake is the fact that they don't provide a constant supply of energy. Wind and solar farms only produce energy when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining - but we need electricity around the clock, every day. Ultimately, we need a way to store energy on a large scale before we can make the switch to renewable sources. A possible way around this would be to generate solar energy in space. A space-based solar power station could orbit to face the Sun 24 hours a day. (11/22)

How Will Joe Biden Handle Outer Space? (Source: National Review)
Even Trump’s critics will admit his administration has been great for space. Though reactions to the creation of the Space Force were mixed, its strategic importance hardly needs defending in light of China’s and Russia’s increased space capabilities. Other areas — reactivating the National Space Council, promoting the commercialization of space, and revitalizing NASA — have been generally lauded as victories. When it comes to space policy, Biden has much to live up to. How will he fare?

We can afford a little optimism here. After all, Biden has a history of supporting space initiatives. He almost certainly won’t pull the plug on the Space Force. While the timeline for various Artemis Program missions will be pushed back (and space-policy experts already believed dates for key missions were motivated more by politics than sound engineering and logistics), it’s unlikely these will be shuttered, either. Biden won’t go full steam ahead into space the way Trump did, but neither is he looking to reverse recent progress. (11/25)

To Lead in Space, America Must Lead in Space Collaboration (Source: Politico)
Space is an increasingly crowded, democratized and contested environment. More than 60 countries now have space budgets, and more than 70 own or operate satellites in orbit. Myriad private organizations are launching satellites, including many smaller satellites that nevertheless have significant capabilities. Government agencies are vying for jurisdiction over space issues. Amid all this, Russia and China are investing in capabilities to threaten U.S. and international satellites.

The crowding of space reflects its enormous potential, but also necessitates action to ensure its sustainability. In the next presidential term, the U.S. will face high-level decisions on critical space policy issues with long-lasting implications. Strategies that earned the U.S. space preeminence in the 20th century won’t keep us ahead in this century. We need new methods to achieve this. At a high level, we recommend an emphasis on stronger collaboration across the space enterprise to realize this potential and address those challenges. Click here. (11/25)

SpaceX Starlink Launch/Landing a Milestone (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Tuesday night on the 100th flight of the Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 9:13 p.m. Eastern and deployed the 60 satellites 15 minutes later. The rocket's first stage, making a record-setting seventh launch, landed on a droneship in the Atlantic. This flight marked the 100th launch of the Falcon 9, including one launch failure in 2015.

With the launch, SpaceX now has nearly 900 Starlink satellites in orbit and plans to expand a beta test of its broadband internet service early next year. SpaceX also recently requested permission from the FCC to launch a set of Starlink satellites into a polar orbit to provide service in Alaska as the FCC reviews a broader modification of the Starlink constellation the company filed with the FCC earlier this year. (11/25)

Telesat and Loral Units Combine as Telesat Subsidiaries (Source: Space News)
Telesat will combine with Loral Space and Communications to become a publicly traded company. The Canadian operator said that, under an agreement with Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Telesat Canada and Loral will become subsidiaries of Telesat Corp., and be traded on the Nasdaq exchange by the second or third quarter of 2021. Telesat executives had previously hinted they were considering a public offering as a means of raising money for the company's LEO constellation. (11/25)

Space Force Seeks Alternative Launch Services (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is interested in alternatives to traditional launch services. Col. Robert Bongiovi, the director of the Space Force's launch enterprise, said his office is trying to gain better insight into the next wave of space innovation and figure out how the military could acquire those capabilities. His office issued a request for information earlier this month regarding planned investments that would support space mobility and logistics. That could include in-space tugs for moving satellites to their desired orbits and possibly the use of launch systems for point-to-point cargo delivery on Earth, although officials acknowledged that they didn't have the insight to determine if that was feasible. (11/25)

SpaceX Starship Readies for Suborbital Flight (Source: Space News)
SpaceX says it's ready to perform a suborbital flight of its Starship vehicle. The company performed a static-fire test Tuesday of the Starship SN8 prototype at Boca Chica, Texas, after which company CEO Elon Musk declared that the vehicle was ready for a flight next week to an altitude of 15 kilometers. Musk acknowledged the risk of that test flight, giving it only a one-in-three chance of success. Starship ultimately will be launched atop a booster called Super Heavy. The FAA announced Monday that it was starting an environmental review of the Starship/Super Heavy system because that much larger system falls outside the scope of the original environmental review for the Boca Chica site. (11/25)

China's Moon Probe Tweaks Trajectory (Source: Xinhua)
China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft tweaked its trajectory toward the moon Tuesday. The spacecraft fired its main engine for two seconds at 9:06 a.m. Eastern while at a distance of 160,000 kilometers from Earth. The spacecraft is in good condition, officials reported, but provided few other details about the status of or plans for the mission. (11/25)

Congress Concerned About China's Lunar Effort (Source: Politico)
China on Monday launched its mission to collect samples from the lunar surface and return them to Earth, a feat that only two countries — the U.S. and the Soviet Union — have accomplished. Long term, China hopes the mission paves the way for future missions and eventually a lunar research station near the middle of this decade. The moon rocks, which would be the first collected since the 1970s, should be returned to Earth in mid-December.

But the attempt is raising concern for some members of Congress who worry America is losing its leadership position, and with it the ability to set norms of behavior. Rep. Frank Lucas, the top Science Committee Republican, called the mission “a significant step” towards establishment of a permanent Chinese presence on the moon.

“The nation that leads in space will dictate the rules of the road for future technological development and exploration, and the influence of the People’s Liberation Army in the [Chinese Community Party’s] space program makes China a particularly irresponsible and dangerous candidate,” he said in a statement. “We can no longer take America’s leadership in space for granted.” (11/25)

Another Hint at Dark Energy (Source: Nature)
A "twisting" of the cosmic microwave background could be a hint of what dark energy is. Scientists said they have detected a changing direction of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background that is consistent with one model for dark energy that describes it as an exotic substance known as a "quintessence field." That is an alternative to more widely accepted models that dark energy is an intrinsic part of space, and could mean that its role in accelerating the expansion of the universe could change over time. Other researchers, however, cautioned that the measurements, made using data from ESA's Planck mission, may not be statistically significant. (11/25)

SpaceX May Spend Billions to Outsource Starlink Satellite-Dish Production, Losing $2K on Each Unit (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX recently launched a public beta test for Starlink, its growing network of internet-beaming satellites. Test subscribers pay $100 per month for broadbandlike service, plus a $500 fee for a starter kit that includes a "UFO on a stick" user terminal, or satellite dish. But each user terminal contains a phased-array antenna, which industry experts say can't be made for less than $1,000.

SpaceX hired STMicroelectronics to manufacture Starlink user terminals, says a person with knowledge of the agreement. The contract with the Swiss-headquartered manufacturing giant calls for the production of 1 million terminals and may be worth billions of dollars, the person said. Musk has said Starlink's "most difficult technical challenge" is making that hardware at scale and, specifically, making it affordable. (11/25)

NASA Uses Powerful Supercomputers and AI to Map Earth's Trees, Discovers Billions of Trees in West African Drylands (Source: SciTech Daily)
Scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and international collaborators demonstrated a new method for mapping the location and size of trees growing outside of forests, discovering billions of trees in arid and semi-arid regions and laying the groundwork for more accurate global measurement of carbon storage on land.

Using powerful supercomputers and machine learning algorithms, the team mapped the crown diameter – the width of a tree when viewed from above – of more than 1.8 billion trees across an area of more than 500,000 square miles, or 1,300,000 square kilometers. The team mapped how tree crown diameter, coverage, and density varied depending on rainfall and land use. (11/22)

Why San Antonio Leaders Think the City Has a Shot at Landing the Space Command (Source: San Antonio Report)
On Thursday, the Air Force announced Port San Antonio was among six finalists to house the Space Command, a functional command of the Space Force, which was established in December 2019 by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. It was the news San Antonio leaders had been working toward. Recognizing the potential economic boon the command could deliver, 50 cities submitted proposals in a bidding process that allowed any state with large military bases to compete for the command, which is currently based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Gen. Juan Ayala, a retired Marine Corps officer and director of military and veteran affairs for the City of San Antonio, was the first person to get the call that the Port had made the cut. San Antonio had made it onto a shortlist that the delegation was expecting to include 10 contenders, not just six, and Ayala believes the D.C. visit is what caught the attention of decision-makers. “A four-star general looked at me said, ‘He’s the only mayor from a city that’s come down to see us,’” Ayala said. “That was a great effort by our team to pull that off and I think it made a difference.” (11/23)

Spacecraft With Precious Asteroid Cargo Is Almost Home After 5-Billion Km Trek (Source: Science Alert)
Hayabusa2 carries with it a cargo unbelievably rare, precious, and hard-won - at least 100 milligrams of material collected from the surface of asteroid Ryugu. It will drop the capsule containing the sample to Earth, the spacecraft itself continuing on to visit more asteroid targets. Hayabusa2's return will mark a milestone in a remarkable feat of space science, a total journey of around 5.24 billion kilometers. Asteroid Ryugu - formerly known as 1999 JU3 - is on an elliptical orbit that carries it just inside Earth's orbital path around the Sun, and out almost as far as Mars' orbit.

The capsule is expected to descend between 3.30 AM and 4.30 AM ACDT (Australian Central Daylight Time) on 6 December 2020, creating a brilliant fireball produced by the heat of atmospheric entry. A special heat shield will protect the capsule from temperatures around 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,400 degrees Fahrenheit). After deploying its parachute, it is expected to land within a 100 square kilometer region within the Woomera Protected Area. (11/23)

Faint 'Super-Planet' Discovered by Radio Telescope for the 1st Time (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have discovered a cold, faint "super-planet" that has remained elusive to traditional infrared survey methods. Observations from the Low-Frequency Array, or LOFAR radio telescope, revealed a brown dwarf, which researchers have designated BDR J1750+3809 and nicknamed Elegast. Brown dwarfs are sometimes referred to as failed stars or super-planets because they are too small to be considered stars, yet too big to be considered planets. (11/22)

Swamp Watch: Pentagon Reports $5B in Improper Payments to Civilian Workforce (Source: Federal News Network)
The Defense Department’s latest financial statement shows the Pentagon made nearly $5 billion worth of improper payments in its civilian payroll accounts last year, a massive increase from previous years in which the department reported almost none. In its annual financial report, released last week, DoD said the startling increase was mainly because of a “new sampling plan and testing methodology” financial management officials began implementing in the civilian pay accounts in 2020.

But at least so far, those new methodologies appear to have generated more questions than answers as they unearthed billions of dollars in previously-undiscovered potential payment irregularities. For the overwhelming majority of the $4.916 billion discovered to be improper in the civilian pay arena — 99.1% — auditors aren’t able to say whether they represent overpayments or underpayments. Instead, the department simply doesn’t have the documentation to show whether the payments were authorized at all.

Overall, the new tests showed that nearly 8% of the department’s outlays to its civilian workforce could be improper in one way or another, according to the new data. In 2019, prior to the new sampling and testing processes, the department estimated just 0.14% of its civilian payments were improper. (11/23)

Astronauts on a Mars Mission Will Need to be 'Conscientious' to Work Well Together (Source: CNN)
The astronauts selected for the first human mission to Mars will need to have more than "the right stuff." People on this very long mission will need to possess an eagerness for doing the right thing, too. Conscientiousness, defined as "wishing to do what is right, especially to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly," has emerged as the key trait requirement for astronauts that will live and work on the surface of Mars millions of miles from Earth, according to a new study.

This trait was identified as more important than honesty, humility, emotionality, extroversion, openness and agreeableness. "Conscientiousness, an individual personality trait, can be thought of as a pooled team-resource," said Julia McMenamin, the study's first author and a doctoral student in psychology at Western University in Canada, in a statement. "The more conscientiousness a team is, the better they will likely be at accomplishing tasks."

Conversely, traits like "social loafing," or the habit of a team member putting in less effort than when they work solo, are undesirable in a potential Marstronaut. Traits that seem counterproductive and negative behaviors are likely to cause more trouble and disruptions in a team environment.
The researchers consider these traits and behavior "non-negotiable" for long-duration spaceflight crews. (11/24)

Artemis I Stacks Up (Source: NASA)
The first of 10 pieces of the twin Space Launch System (SLS) rocket boosters for NASA’s Artemis I mission was placed on the mobile launcher Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Engineers used one of five overhead cranes to lift the segment from the VAB’s High Bay 4 to the newly renovated High Bay 3. The component is the bottom section of the booster, known as the aft assembly, which house the system that controls 70% of the steering during the rocket’s initial ascent.

Over several weeks, the other segments will be stacked one at a time and topped with the forward assembly. Launching in 2021, Artemis I will be an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA aims to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. (11/24)

Stranded US Billionaire Donates to Children's Hospital After Rocket Lab Launch (Source: New Zealand Herald)
US billionaire Gabe Newell has made good on his promise to donate $1 to Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital for every person who watched the livestream of Rocket Lab's latest launch, "Return to Sender". Rocket Lab said this afternoon that $286,000 had been raised for Starship's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, thanks to Newell.

The billionaire became stranded in New Zealand during a 10-day holiday that ran into the March lockdown. He then decided to stay on for a spell. The divorced, 57-year-old father of two says he can get just as much done working remotely from NZ than remotely from his home in Seattle - where he became a multi-millionaire at Microsoft. (11/23)

Search Firm Seeks CEO Candidates for Mojave Spaceport (Source: ADK)
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the strategic direction and planning, as well as tactical management and execution of goals. The incumbent will manage staff and oversee the activities of finance, operations, maintenance, and construction and is responsible for the day-to-day business operations at the airport/spaceport. Click here. (11/24)

Vandenberg AFB Fails to Land Among Finalists for U.S. Space Command Home (Source: Noozhawk)
Vandenberg Air Force Base in northern Santa Barbara County did not land among the finalists to become home to U.S. Space Command headquarters. The Air Force recently announced six locations remaining in the running. They include Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Patrick AFB, Florida; Peterson AFB, Colorado; Port San Antonio, Texas; and Redstone Army Airfield, Alabama.

“While the city of Lompoc is disappointed VAFB was not a finalist for U.S. Space Command headquarters, we are proud of the unified effort and nomination process," Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne said. "The nomination application exemplifies what we already know about our community, VAFB and Central California: It is an amazing place to live and work. I am positive VAFB and Lompoc will still benefit as a key strategic location for Space Command, even though it isn’t the headquarters," Osborne added. (11/23)

FAA Environmental Study for Space Florida's Shuttle Landing Facility Focuses on Dream Chaser (Source: FAA)
The FAA is evaluating Space Florida’s proposal to operate a commercial space reentry site at the SLF at Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. To operate a commercial space reentry site at the SLF, Space Florida must obtain a Reentry Site Operator License (RSOL) from the FAA. If commercial vehicle operators apply to the FAA for reentry licenses to conduct reentry operations at the SLF, a separate environmental document, tiering off this PEA, would be developed to support the issuance of a reentry license to the prospective reentry operator(s). Click here. (11/24)

Rocket Lab Rocket Recovery a "Complete Success" (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab said the recovery of an Electron first stage after launch last week was a "complete success." The first stage reentered after stage separation, deployed parachutes and splashed down, where it was recovered by a boat and shipped back to the company's factory. That recovery effort went as planned, Rocket Lab said Monday, but engineers are only starting to examine the condition of the stage. Rocket Lab anticipates performing additional recovery tests over the next year before being ready to reuse a stage. (11/24)

Lockheed Martin's "Nontraditional Partners" Allowed SDA Transport Layer Win (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin credits winning a Space Development Agency (SDA) contract to partnering with other companies.Lockheed won a contract this summer to build 10 satellites for SDA's Transport Layer mesh network that will provide global high-speed broadband to military users. Company executives said they believe they won the contract because they decided to partner with companies like smallsat manufacturer Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems and Telesat U.S. Services, a subsidiary of Canadian satellite operator Telesat. Lockheed executives said those "nontraditional partners" helped the company stand out in the competition, leveraging their expertise in smallsats and development of satellite constellations. (11/24)

NOAA Awards Commercial Weather Satellite Data Contracts (Source: Space News)
NOAA awarded commercial satellite weather data contracts to two companies. The two-year indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts issued to GeoOptics and Spire Global have a total ceiling of $23 million. The contracts cover the delivery of radio occultation data for those companies' satellites, which can be used to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts. NOAA has studied the feasibility of acquiring radio occultation data commercially for several years through a pilot program, and concluded in June that such data is of sufficient quality to support NOAA's operational weather forecasting needs. (11/24)

Cabrice Raises $15 Million for Spacecraft Thermal Management (Source: Space News)
Space technology startup Carbice has raised $15 million for thermal management of spacecraft. Downing Ventures, a division of London-based investment management firm Downing LLP, led the Series A round. The company has been developing Carbice Carbon, a carbon nanotube-based material designed to lower device temperatures and dissipate heat. That material is being used on communications and radar imaging satellites for more effective thermal management than traditional techniques, like thermal glue. Carbice plans to use the funding to hire sales and marketing personnel in addition to expanding production to meet demand. (11/24)

Germany Buys Advanced Military GPS Receivers (Source: Space News)
Germany is the first nation that will buy advanced military GPS receivers. The jam-resistant receivers, which receive military or "M-Code" GPS signals, will be delivered to the German military next year. The secretary of the Air Force and the office of the secretary of defense approved the sale of M-Code user equipment to 58 nations, and additional foreign military sales of M-Code user equipment are in the works. (11/24)

Capella Space Uses Inmarsat to Relay SAR Data (Source: Space News)
Capella Space used Inmarsat's satellite network for the first time to task its synthetic aperture radar satellites. Capella relayed commands to its Sequoia satellite through an Inmarsat satellite, which Capella says will allow for real-time tasking of the satellite rather than waiting for it to pass over a ground station. Inmarsat and communications technology firm Addvalue Innovation have developed what they call a commercial Inter-Satellite Data Relay System to allow for continuous communications with satellites in low Earth orbit. (11/24)

Russia Delays Launch for Rocket Problems (Source: TASS)
Russia has delayed the launch of a trio of communications satellites to next week because of a rocket problem. The three Gonets satellites were previously scheduled to launch this week on a Soyuz-2 rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, but that launch has been pushed back to Dec. 3. Unspecified issues with the rocket prompted the delay. (11/24)

Former Vector Chief Starts Phantom Space (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
The former CEO of small launch company Vector is leading a new launch startup. Phantom Space, run by Jim Cantrell, proposes to develop a small launch vehicle along with smallsats and propulsion systems. The company will use engines built by Ursa Major Technologies for the vehicle, designed to place about 450 kilograms into orbit. The new company hasn't disclosed details about funding but expects a first launch in about two years. Phantom Space is based in Tucson, Arizona, where Vector was headquartered before going bankrupt. Vector, now under new ownership, plans to stay in Tucson as well. (11/24)

Growing Interest in Moon Rresources Could Cause Tension (Source: Space Daily)
An international team of scientists led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian, has identified a problem with the growing interest in extractable resources on the moon: there aren't enough of them to go around. With no international policies or agreements to decide "who gets what from where," scientists believe tensions, overcrowding, and quick exhaustion of resources to be one possible future for moon mining projects.

"A lot of people think of space as a place of peace and harmony between nations. The problem is there's no law to regulate who gets to use the resources, and there are a significant number of space agencies and others in the private sector that aim to land on the moon within the next five years," said Martin Elvis. "We looked at all the maps of the Moon we could find and found that not very many places had resources of interest, and those that did were very small. That creates a lot of room for conflict over certain resources." (11/24)