December 14, 2020

US Mint Launches Sale of New Hubble Space Telescope Dollar Coin (Source: CollectSpace)
The Hubble Space Telescope stars on a new U.S. coin in celebration of the observatory's 30 years as a symbol of invention and ingenuity. The United States Mint is starting sales of the Maryland American Innovation $1 Coin on Dec. 14)with rolls and bags of the new golden dollar. The multi-year American Innovation series commemorates the pioneering efforts of individuals or groups from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. (12/14)

Russia Launches Second Angara Heavy-Lift Rocket (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com)
Russia launched a heavy-lift version of its Angara rocket for just the second time Monday, six years after its first flight. The Angara-A5 rocket launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 12:50 a.m. Eastern, carrying a demonstration payload. That payload will be deployed from the rocket's Breeze-M upper stage about nine hours after liftoff. The launch was just the second for the rocket, intended to be an eventual replacement for the Proton, with the first taking place in December 2014. (12/14)

Chinese Earth Imaging Company Raises $375 Million for 138-Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
A Chinese Earth imaging company has secured $375 million in funding. Changguang Satellite Co. Ltd., a commercial offshoot of the state-owned Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, raised the "pre-IPO" round last month. The funding will mainly go toward the development of the 138-satellite Jilin-1 constellation of high-resolution imaging satellites. The initial phase will consist of 60 satellites to offer a 30-minute revisit for any point on the globe, while the full constellation promises revisit times of 10 minutes. (12/14)

Trump Again Threatens Defense Bill Veto (Source: Reuters)
President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his threat to veto a massive defense policy bill, setting the stage for a major battle with U.S. lawmakers at a time when they are racing to hammer out a compromise on more coronavirus relief. The $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed both houses of Congress with more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

Passage by the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday sent the measure to Trump, giving him 10 days - minus Sundays - to veto it, sign it or allow it become law without his signature. Trump shrugged off hopes by backers of the bill that strong bipartisan support for the measure - which has become law for 59 straight years - would prompt him to reconsider his threat. (12/14)

Early Earth Was No Inviting Blue Planet—It Was More Like Venus (Source: Air & Space)
Experiments conducted by a scientific team led by Paolo Sossi from ETH Zurich in Switzerland indicate that the atmosphere of Earth shortly after its origin was like the atmosphere of Venus today. That is, it consisted mostly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and was about 100 times denser than it is now. Sossi simulated the early magma planet that was Earth in the laboratory and measured how the magma evolved chemically over time.

The gasses fuming from that lava ocean would become Earth’s primordial atmosphere, and would have resembled the thick, hot Venusian atmosphere of today. If so, the two planetary neighbors started out very similar. But while Venus changed very little, Earth changed dramatically. The prolonged presence of water on our planet would have dissolved all that carbon dioxide in sea water, and eventually buried it under the surface thanks to Earth’s major recycling process—plate tectonics. (12/11)

ESA Awards $200M for Space Rider Spaceplane (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency has awarded $200 million in contracts for development of an uncrewed spaceplane. The agency awarded contracts last week to Thales Alenia Space and Avio to build Space Rider, a spaceplane based on the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle that flew a suborbital mission in 2015. Space Rider will launch in 2023 on a Vega C rocket, spending two months in orbit before reentering and gliding to a landing, aided by a parafoil. ESA secured funding for Space Rider at last year's ministerial meeting. (12/14)

NASA Contracts Help Small Launch Companies (Source: Space News)
Three companies won NASA contracts for launches of cubesats. NASA awarded contracts Friday to Astra Space, Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space for launches of cubesat missions through its Venture Class Launch Services 2 program. The contracts have a combined value of $16.7 million and include one launch for each company by mid-2022. The program is designed to support development of new small launch capabilities. Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit won similar contracts in 2015; Virgin Orbit was to carry out its launch as part of that program Dec. 19, but announced over the weekend it was pausing launch preparations after some employees entered quarantine because of potential exposure to COVID-19. (12/14)

The Impacts of 3,200 Tons of Reentering Space Debris (Source: Space News)
Scientists say more research is needed to study the atmospheric pollution caused by reentering space debris. A study by The Aerospace Corporation projected that the mass of reentering debris could rise from 100 tons today to as much as 3,200 tons, based on projections of increased launch activity and new satellite constellations. While research has focused on debris that can survive reentry and reach the ground, little is known about atmospheric pollution caused by sub-micron particles that remain in the atmosphere. (12/14)

AGU Wants More Data on Solar Storm Impacts (Source: Space News)
Space weather researchers need more data on the impacts of solar storms on terrestrial activities. At last week's American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, scientists said it's often difficult to get information from industry on the effect solar storms have on aviation, the electrical grid and satellite operations. That makes it difficult for them to forecast the effect solar activity will have. Government agencies and companies may be hesitant to publicize data that could reveal issues or vulnerabilities within their networks or systems. (12/14)

CASIS Gets New Leadership (Source: CASIS)
A former Lockheed Martin executive is the new interim executive director of the nonprofit that runs the ISS national laboratory. CASIS announced last week that it appointed James Crocker to the executive director role on an interim basis while the organization conducts a national search for a permanent executive director. Crocker previously was vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Space Systems International, and is currently the vice chair of the Space Studies Board of the National Academies. (12/14)

Pandemic Dampens Solar Eclipse Observations (Source: Space.com)
The pandemic prevented many "eclipse chasers" from observing a solar eclipse in South America, which was visible in a narrow band across Chile and Argentina. While many astronomers and enthusiasts travel the world to see eclipses, many were unable to go to South America for this eclipse because of pandemic-related travel restrictions or other concerns about COVID-19. A tour itself was canceled last week when Chile enacted new restrictions in response to the growing number of cases there. (12/14)

Virgin Orbit Adds Chief Strategy Officer (Source: Virgin Orbit)
Virgin Orbit, the California-based responsive space launch company, announced today that Jim Simpson has joined its executive team as the company’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). He recently wrapped up his tenure as the CEO of Saturn Satellite Networks, where he led the evolution of the geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) field by changing the economics for both emerging developing nations and established organizations in the sector. He has also served as CEO of ABS (formerly Asia Broadcast Satellite), and served as the head of strategy for Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing Network and Space Systems. (12/7)

Vega to Launch Airbus' CO3D Constellation in 2023 (Source: Avio)
Arianespace and Airbus have announced the closing of the contract to launch the CO3D earth observation satellite constellation with Vega C in 2023. The CO3D constellation will feature 4 satellites weighting 300 kg each, which will be launched in a single rideshare Vega C launch to polar orbit at 500 km of altitude from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou. The CO3D constellation is made of optical earth observation satellites with a 50 cm resolution and with a high revisit rate to quickly produce 3D maps of the planet surface,  and it is jointly developed with the French Space Agency (CNES). (12/7)

Ohio Aims High for Aerospace Jobs, Despite Space Command Setback (Source: Dayton Daiy News)
A pair of recent decisions with national implications appeared to dent the Dayton area’s significance for national defense. First, the Air Force revealed a list of finalist locations for the basing of Space Command headquarters. The list did not include Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Next, a standing committee of the House Republican conference did not select Dayton’s congressman, Mike Turner, to serve as the Armed Services Committee’s highest ranking GOP member. He had sought the position, but lost out to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL.

But outside analysts and advocates close to Dayton say the decisions are unrelated and neither should be surprising given the region’s soaring ambitions. Publicly and privately, coalition leaders long acknowledged that the pursuit of Space Command headquarters and its expected 1,400 associated jobs may have been seen as something of a long shot for Wright-Patterson and the Dayton area. “As far as Space Command, that was always likely to go to Colorado Springs, and it still is,” said Todd Harrison. “I think Dayton is just very much an Air Force base,” Cancian said. “And that’s a good thing. The Air Force is still going to be around, and it’s going to be much, much larger than Space Force.” (12/12)

Local Residents Blown Away by SpaceX’s Latest Spaceport, Rocket (Source: Voice of America)
A rocket designed to travel to Mars is being built in a retirement community called Boca Chica in South Texas near the U.S. border with Mexico. As VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports, SpaceX Founder Elon Musk calls this area “the gateway to Mars.” Click here. (12/13)

Virgin Galactic Aborts Key Test Flight In Midair After Engine Ignites (Source: Investor's Business Daily)
Virgin Galactic aborted a powered test flight of its space plane Saturday, delaying a key step needed for Richard Branson's space tourism company to start commercial service. Virgin Galactic stock dipped Friday. At about 10:30 a.m. ET, the VMS Eve mothership took off from Virgin Galactic's spaceport in New Mexico, carrying the SpaceShipTwo Unity. The Eve released the Unity around 11:15 a.m., and its rocket motor ignited but appeared to shut down one second later. After about 15 minutes, the Unity landed safely back at Spaceport America.

"The ignition sequence for the rocket motor did not complete," Virgin Galactic tweeted afterward. "Vehicle and crew are in great shape. We have several motors ready at Spaceport America. We will check the vehicle and be back to flight soon." Saturday evening, CEO Michael Colglazier tweeted that after the release from the mothership, Unity's onboard computer that monitors the rocket motor lost connection. That triggered a fail-safe that halted the rocket motor's ignition. The flight was supposed to complete data-gathering for the final two FAA verification and validation milestones.

That would allow commercial flights on SpaceShipTwo to begin. The Unity also carried revenue-generating payloads as part of the NASA Flight Opportunities Program. Ahead of the flight, Virgin Galactic said Saturday it aimed to achieve key goals, such as, testing of the customer cabin as well as upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls. After completing unpowered glide flights, Virgin Galactic had previously planned rocket-powered flights to start in a Nov. 19-23 test window. (12/12)

Statement From the President on National Space Policy (Source: EOP)
The new National Space Policy is my plan for how the executive branch will advance United States interests in space for the benefit of the American people.  By charting a clear course for United States space activities, this policy reaffirms our leadership in the space domain and our status as the world’s foremost spacefaring nation.

This policy represents a whole-of-government approach that recognizes space as a national imperative.  After years of drift, my Administration revived the United States space enterprise to once again unleash our unmatched pioneering potential.  In particular, I am proud that my Administration oversaw the restoration of our capability to transport American astronauts to space on American rockets from American soil.  Through our Artemis program, the United States is working hand-in-hand with commercial and international partners to return to the Moon—this time to stay—and prepare for the next great American adventure, the giant leap to Mars. (12/9)

More Than Half of NASA’s Moon-Bound Astronauts are Active-Duty Military (Source: Military Times)
NASA has announced the team of 18 astronauts who will spearhead the agency’s efforts to return to the moon by 2024. Among them were 10 active-duty military personnel. Vice President Mike Pence named the nine men and women who will make up the Artemis program on Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The service members on the Artemis team represent all four branches of service as well as several of the career fields the military has to offer, including test pilots, a submarine officer, a Navy SEAL, and a flight surgeon. (12/11)

There Are No Real Rules for Repairing Satellites in Space—Yet (Source: WIRED)
A competitor or spacefaring government could technically move a satellite without permission, spy on something they have no business seeing, or add an accessory that blocks a key camera. That’s why transparency—like saying what you’re going to do, doing it, and then saying what you did—is so important, according to Brian Weeden, of the space-sustainability think tank Secure World Foundation. SpaceLogistics set a good example, publicizing its MEV-1 plans ahead of time, for instance.

“There were hosts of observers,” Weeden says, both governmental watchers and hobbyists. Then, the company published pictures of the mission. “All of that was not a given,” he says. “Space companies tend to be very reluctant in some ways to show photos of real satellites.” Weeden leads a nonprofit group called CONFERS—the Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations—which aims to establish standards for how these un-socially-distanced servicing satellites (and any private satellites meant to maneuver close together) should behave. The group’s members are companies with some stake in the industry, from anywhere in the world, who are interested in collaborating on how to be on their best behavior. Click here. (12/10)