December 16, 2020

Rocket Lab to Launch NASA's CAPSTONE Lunar Satellite (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
Ready for the Moon: Rocket Lab will launch NASA’s CAPSTONE lunar pathfinder on an Electron rocket with a Photon spacecraft in the second quarter of 2021, the company said. The CAPSTONE satellite will act as a pathfinding precursor for lunar missions, including Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that will provide vital support for a sustainable, long-term human return to the lunar surface under NASA’s Artemis program, Rocket Lab said. (12/14)

Iridium Launches Global Maritime Distress/Safety System (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
Iridium Communications launched its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service, giving seafarers, “for the first time in history”, “a real-time emergency response and rescue service that works everywhere in the world”. The announcement came during a virtual press conference held featuring Iridium leadership, industry officials and experts. “It is not every day that you get to announce the launch of a service that will most certainly save lives”, Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, said at that event. (12/16)

SABRE-Powered Launch Study Conclusion for the Anticipated 2030+ Reusable Launch Market (Source:Reaction Engines)
Reaction Engines is delighted to announce the conclusion of a concept study, conducted alongside the European Space Agency (ESA) Directorate of Space Transportation, into SABRE-Powered Launch for the anticipated 2030+ launch market.

The ‘New Space Economy’ is a term used to describe the rapid growth of the space industry through an increasing number of commercial entrants offering new space-based products and services.  It offers a vision of the future where these products and services become more integrated into global infrastructure and provide greater benefits to daily life-on-Earth as well as enhancing our ability to explore and learn from the space environment.  However, this vision depends on access-to-space becoming more affordable, more frequent and more reliable than classical launch systems.

Reaction Engines is developing a new air-breathing propulsion technology (SABRE) that can enhance the performance of future air-breathing launch systems. SABRE propulsion technology has the potential to facilitate the development of horizontally launched vehicles that are affordable, reliable and reusable and have high cadence and payload return options. (12/14)

Orion Spacecraft is Now 15 Years Old and Has Flown Into Space Just Once (Source: Ars Technica)
The December dawn felt hopeful as we stood outside, watching NASA's Orion spacecraft streak into the Florida sky. We could imagine that America was taking its first tentative step into the future of human exploration of the cosmos. "This is the beginning of the Mars era," the space agency's administrator at the time, former NASA astronaut Charlie Bolden, said shortly after the December 2014 launch. And in the moment, who could argue? Here was a spacecraft capable of flying to the Moon and back, acing its first test in space.

Six years later, some of the shine is gone. Years of waiting for an encore to that flight have worn away much of the enthusiasm that followed this Exploration Flight Test-1 mission. We were supposed to have seen an encore flight of Orion two years ago and a mission carrying astronauts around the Moon next year. Instead, Orion is unlikely to fly into space again before 2022, at the earliest. And as for the first time astronauts will climb on board Orion—who can say? The launch keeps slipping to the right.

NASA has spent $23.7 billion developing the Orion spacecraft. This does not include primary costs for the vehicle's Service Module, which provides power and propulsion, as it is being provided by ESA. For this money, NASA has gotten a bare-bones version of Orion that flew during the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission in 2014. The agency has also gotten the construction of an Orion capsule—which also does not have a full life support system—that will be used during the uncrewed Artemis I mission due to be flown in 12 to 24 months. (12/15)

SpaceX's Internet Project to be Deployed to Virginia County Students (Source: Roanoke Times)
Wise County Public Schools is set to become the first school district in Virginia to make use of broadband service being developed by SpaceX, the spacecraft company founded by business magnate Elon Musk. The district announced the project Monday and is collaborating with the Wise County Board of Supervisors on the initiative.

The project initially will provide free high-speed internet to 45 families in Wise County, with the service expected to become active in early 2021, according to the district. Wise County schools will identify the families and facilitate the delivery of the necessary equipment to homes. The families will use SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation. The service employs numerous satellites that orbit the earth and transmit internet signals to high-tech antennas on homes, according to a recent report by CNN. (12/15)

'Breaking Ground' Lunar Resources Trust Signs MOU with Intuitive Machines (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
Last week, the Open Lunar Foundation announced a new initiative: Breaking Ground, a lunar resource trust. The purpose of the trust is to steward and demonstrate formal and effective institutional management of lunar resources between different stakeholders. In order to fulfill this goal and explore different resource management regimes, the trust will be purchasing lunar regolith from lunar transport, lander and extractive companies.

Today, Breaking Ground is announcing that it has signed its first Memorandum of Understanding with Intuitive Machines (IM). The MoU lays the foundations for an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations to pursue their mutual interest in understanding the operational and rights frameworks for long term sustained presence beyond Earth. (12/14)

NASA, Canadian Space Agency Formalize Gateway Partnership for Artemis Program (Source: NASA)
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) finalized an agreement between the United States and Canada to collaborate on the Gateway, an outpost orbiting the Moon that will provide vital support for a sustainable, long-term return of astronauts to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis program. This Gateway agreement further solidifies the broad effort by the United States to engage international partners in sustainable lunar exploration as part of the Artemis program and to demonstrate technologies needed for human missions to Mars.

Under this agreement, CSA will provide the Gateway’s external robotics system, including a next-generation robotic arm, known as Canadarm3. CSA also will provide robotic interfaces for Gateway modules, which will enable payload installation including that of the first two scientific instruments aboard the Gateway. The agreement also marks NASA’s commitment to provide two crew opportunities for Canadian astronauts on Artemis missions, one to the Gateway and one on Artemis II. (12/16)

Canadian Astronaut to Fly on First Crewed Orion Mission Around the Moon (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA have signed the Gateway Treaty, a historic agreement that confirms Canada’s participation in the next major international collaboration in space exploration, the planned Lunar Gateway space station. Under the Treaty, a Canadian will be part of the Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972. This mission, planned to launch in 2023, positions Canada to make history as the second country to have an astronaut travel to deep space and fly around the Moon. The Treaty also confirms a second flight for a Canadian astronaut to the Lunar Gateway. (12/16)

NASA, Brazil Formalize Artemis Cooperation (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the Government of Brazil Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI) Marcos Pontes signed a joint statement of intent during a virtual meeting on Dec. 14, 2020. The statement describes Brazil’s intention to be the first country in South America to sign the Artemis Accords. Brazil has expressed interest in potentially contributing a robotic lunar rover – in addition to conducting lunar science experiments and other investigations – as part of NASA’s Artemis program. (12/16)

Astra Launches From Alaska (Source: Space News)
Small launch vehicle company Astra just missed reaching orbit on its second launch Tuesday. The company's Rocket 3.2 lifted off from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 3:55 p.m. Eastern. The vehicle's first stage worked as planned, but the upper stage ran out of fuel about 12-15 seconds early, falling about half a kilometer per second short of the velocity needed to reach orbit. Astra, though, declared the launch a success, saying a change to the fuel mixing ratio on the upper stage should allow it to reach orbit on its next launch. The launch was the second in a series of three it said it would perform to demonstrate it could reach orbit with the rocket. A first launch in September failed shortly after liftoff. The next launch could take place within a few months. (12/16)
 
Space Command: Russia Performed Another ASAT Test (Source: US Space Command)
U.S. Space Command announced Wednesday that Russia performed an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test. In a statement, Space Command said that Russia launched a direct-ascent ASAT missile, but provided few details about the test itself. Space Command criticized Russia earlier this year for testing a co-orbital ASAT, using a spacecraft that appeared to deploy a high-velocity projectile. (12/16)

Space Force Chief Meets with Biden Administration (Source: Space News)
The head of the U.S. Space Force says he's met with the incoming Biden administration's transition team. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond told reporters Tuesday he would not speculate on what might change or not change under the new administration regarding the Space Force, but that he had a "really good conversation" with the transition team. Raymond said the Space Force is looking to build on what it accomplished in its first year, with plans in the next year to continue with the standup of the headquarters and field commands, grow the ranks by transferring in Air Force space personnel and bring in new recruits. (12/16)

China's Lunar Samples Arrive on Earth (Source: AP)
China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission will arrive at Earth later today. The spacecraft's sample return capsule will land in Inner Mongolia, and the China National Space Administration said the spacecraft is performing as expected. Recovery efforts will be complicated by the spacecraft's nighttime return, as well as winter weather at the recovery zone. The spacecraft is returning up to two kilograms of lunar samples collected earlier this month, the first lunar samples to be returned to Earth by a spacecraft since the mid-1970s. (12/16)

Budget Uncertainty Delays NASA Asteroid Detection Program (Source: Space News)
NASA is delaying a milestone for an asteroid detection mission because of budget uncertainty. NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor spacecraft was set to enter Phase B of its development this month, but NASA has postponed the decision to enter that phase until spring. While the mission, which will fly a small telescope with an infrared instrument to look for NEOs, is making good technical progress, agency officials said budget uncertainty caused by both the pandemic and a change in administrations led them to delay the move to Phase B. NEO Surveyor would cost roughly half a billion dollars to develop, but budget projections for NASA's planetary defense program lacked the funding needed to launch the mission by the mid-2020s. (12/16)

NASA Plans to Pick Three Astrophysics Missions in 2021 (Source: Space News)
NASA plans to select up to three small astrophysics missions for development next year. Each of the Astrophysics Pioneers missions would have up to $20 million for development of small satellites, International Space Station payloads and long-duration balloon missions. Scientists submitted 24 proposals for Pioneers missions in October with payloads such as advanced coronagraphs, ultra-stable clocks, polarimeters and radio interferometers. (12/16)

Satellite Data Could Verify Emissions Compliance (Source: Space News)
Satellite data could play a role in monitoring, reporting and verifying compliance with emissions trading systems also known as cap and trade. So far, satellite data has not been widely applied to cap-and-trade systems, but some are interested in learning whether satellites could provide useful data particularly in the area of offsets related to forestry. Satellites could also play a role in helping to pinpoint combustion and methane sources. (12/16)

India Opens SSA Center (Source: Times of India)
India's space agency ISRO has opened a space situational awareness (SSA) center. The SSA Control Centre, formally opened this week in Bengaluru, will monitor potential close approaches by satellites and debris to Indian satellites, and perform research related to SSA as well as space weather and near Earth objects. The center will use data from radars and optical telescopes for tracking objects. (12/16)

Mars Lander Data Indicates Layered Crust (Source: Nature)
Data from NASA's InSight Mars lander show the Martian crust has "cake-like" layers. At a presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting Tuesday, a seismologist involved with the mission said data from InSight's seismometer suggests the planet's crust has two or three distinct layers made of different kinds of rocks. The crust appears to be between 20 and 37 kilometers thick on average. The seismometer is also probing deeper into the planet, with information about the planet's core and mantle likely to be reported in the coming months. (12/16)

US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville Gets New Director (Source: Huntsville Times)
A NASA Marshall Space Flight Center executive is the new head of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. The center announced Tuesday that Kimberly Robinson will take over as executive director and CEO in February. Robinson spent 31 years at NASA, most recently as utilization manager for Advanced Exploration Systems. The center, which operates a museum in Huntsville, Alabama, whose collection includes a Saturn 5 rocket, has had an acting CEO since January, when Deborah Barnhart retired. (12/16)