December 28, 2020

Unique Meteorite Hints at Parent Asteroid Lurking in Our Solar System (Source: Slash Gear)
Researchers have been conducting a study on a mysterious meteorite that exploded over Sudan in 2008. The meteor was estimated by NASA to weigh about nine tons and to be nearly 13-foot in diameter when it was spotted before impact. After the meteorite entered the atmosphere and impacted the planet’s surface, researchers went to the Sudanese desert to collect its remains for study. One of those fragments suggests that the meteor likely broke off from a massive asteroid approximately the size of the dwarf planet Ceres.

The meteorite is known as Almahata Sitta (AhS) and is made of a material known as carbonaceous chondrite. The makeup of the space rock provides researchers clues about the parent asteroid that birthed a given meteor.  The team analyzed a 50 milligrams sample of AhS under a microscope and discovered that it had a unique mineral makeup. Minerals in the asteroid were discovered to have formed at intermediate temperatures and pressures, higher than what you’d expect to find in a typical asteroid but lower than what you would find inside of a planet.

One of the minerals was particularly puzzling and is known as amphibole and requires prolonged exposure to water to form. That particular mineral has only been discovered once in another meteorite. The high content of amphibole suggests that the fragment researchers are studying broke off from a parent asteroid that has never deposited meteorites on Earth before. (12/27)

Biden on Space: Focus on Earth Science Expected (Source: GCAC)
Space science is not among the initial priorities of any new administration, but Biden is not expected to significantly impact operations at Stennis or Michoud.  Under president-elect Joe Biden, NASA may focus more on studying climate change and earth sciences and less on manned missions and building rockets. But the continued commercialization of the space industry is expected to continue.  That’s the view of outside analysts, based on Biden’s eight years as vice president and language in the Democratic Party platform. But they admit a lot of the analysis is based on reading the tea leaves, because the Biden campaign and his transition team have not had a lot to say about space issues. 

The campaign didn’t issue a space policy statement, a move that John Logsdon, founder and former director of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, called “surprising.” But the main focus in the early days of his administration will be controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and helping the economy to recover. (12/24)

Huntsville Congressman Leads Effort to Overturn Election (Source: AL.com)
Controversy has long defined Mo Brooks’ decade as congressman for north Alabama, far more than any legislative achievements or economic wins. At one point as a commissioner he opposed the use of legal foreign labor at a local DVD manufacturer, saying if the plant wanted foreign labor, it should close down and “open a plant in Jamaica.” As he embarks on perhaps his most controversial journey yet – spearheading the last-ditch congressional fight over the results of the Electoral College -- it’s a legacy he not only embraces but says identifies his value in Washington for his constituents.

The fight will culminate on Jan. 6 when Congress will formally receive the results of the Electoral College that elected Democrat Joe Biden president. Brooks plans to challenge the election results, siding with President Donald Trump on issues of voter fraud and election theft with the ultimate hope of winning the president a second term in office.

Brooks was the first congressman to say he would challenge the results and has been on a media blitz in recent weeks promoting his views. It’s an effort seemingly doomed to failure, given that Democrats control the House of Representatives and would most certainly not vote to undermine the election results declaring the opposing party’s candidate the victor. Such apparent certainties, however, do not deter Brooks – who still stands by his statement made in 2018 that rocks falling into the ocean is the primary cause of rising sea levels. (12/28)

Congressmen Sue Pence in Bid to Overturn Biden Win (Source: The Hill)
Vice President Pence was sued Sunday by several Republicans [including Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), ranking member on the House Space Subcommittee] in a far-fetched bid that appeared aimed at overturning President-elect Joe Biden's election win. The lawsuit focuses on Pence’s role in an upcoming Jan. 6 meeting of Congress to count states’ electoral votes and finalize Biden’s victory over President Trump. Typically, the vice president’s role in presiding over the meeting is a largely ceremonial one governed by an 1887 federal law known as the Electoral Count Act.

But the Republican lawsuit, which was filed against Pence in his official capacity as vice president, asks a federal judge in Texas to strike down the law as unconstitutional. The GOP plaintiffs go further: They ask the court to grant Pence the authority on Jan. 6 to effectively overturn Trump’s defeat in key battleground states. (12/28)

Moon Dust a Challenge Needing Attention for Artemis Success (Source: Space News)
One of the biggest challenges for NASA's plans to return humans to the moon is dust. The Apollo missions of a half-century ago showed that the moon is a "Disneyland of dust" that can be kicked up by rocket engine plumes, making landings more difficult, and can damage equipment and spacesuits. A NASA workshop earlier this year on lunar dust concluded it "is an agency and industry concern affecting most mission subsystems and it must be addressed." Development of dust mitigation techniques and technologies is one of the areas of study of NASA's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative. (12/28)

Long-Term Focus Key to Funding Space Startups (Source: Space News)
Space entrepreneurs say the emergence of "patient capital" is a positive step for the industry. Holding companies and private equity firms like Voyager Space Holdings and Redwire have started to invest in or acquire space startups, giving them long-term capital. That's important because the development timelines of many space startups, particularly those working on hardware, can be longer than what traditional venture capital is comfortable with. The co-founder of Roccor, a satellite structures company acquired by Redwire this fall, said the deal was appealing because it allowed Roccor to continue to grow by leveraging products and services from other Redwire companies. (12/24)

A Tale of Two Launch Vehicle Programs (Source: Space News)
There was no clearer set of contrasts between how SpaceX and NASA approach launch vehicle development than the dueling tests the two performed in early December of Starship and Space Launch System. It was hard to miss the Dec. 9 test flight of SpaceX’s Starship SN8 prototype, the first time the vehicle flew more than a couple hundred meters off the pad. The flight won praise from its fans, but that explosive end prompted a backlash from critics. Two days earlier, NASA started a test of the SLS core stage at the Stennis Space Center. There would be no launch that day, or even an ignition of the stage’s four RS-25 engines, just loading the tanks of the giant stage with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

But even NASA's modest step did not go as planned: engineers stopped the test when the liquid oxygen flowing into the tank was a few degrees warmer than expected. The two events clearly illustrate the differences in development philosophies between the two organizations. SpaceX’s approach is the literal manifestation of the Silicon Valley philosophy to “move fast and break things,” in this case Starship prototypes. NASA’s approach to testing SLS has been far more cautious. While SN8 was simply a prototype never intended to fly to space, the core stage at Stennis is flight hardware that NASA will use for the Artemis 1 mission in late 2021.

NASA managers emphasized they were being deliberate and cautious during the ongoing Green Run test campaign, not wanting to take any risks with the hardware. It’s hard to see NASA adopting a Starshiplike approach to SLS development. The tolerance for risk is very different for a government program like SLS, with a budget of more than $2 billion a year and a large number of stakeholders in government and industry, than for a private program that answers ultimately to just one person, Elon Musk. SLS stages exploding on test stands would invite not just bad press but also congressional scrutiny. (12/24)

Florida's LC-48 Cuts Deep Into Georgia Spaceport's Market (Source: Spaceport Facts)
NASA announced during Christmas week that new Launch Complex 48 for small class rockets is open for operations. The freshly-opened first phase is approved for up to 52 launches per year. The Kennedy Environmental Assessment also approved a second phase-two launchpad addition expanding capacity to 104 annual launches. “Demand is expected to be much lower than what the site is theoretically capable of, and as of publication, phase two would only be built if the demand materializes.”

Startup rocket companies like Firefly and Relativity Space have already signed launch agreements for reactivated Cape Canaveral launch pads 16 and 20. Neither has conducted a test launch from anywhere. ABL Space might be interested in the new or reactivated Kennedy/Canaveral pads because Spaceport Camden’s revised license application is for a rocket only one-sixth the size of ABL’s still untested rocket. Firefly and Relativity rockets are also four to 8 times larger than the rocket in Camden's application. Astra is a potential customer for LC-48 with their Rocket 3 launch vehicle. However, Rocket 3 is 175% larger than Spaceport Camden’s application seeks approval to launch.

Launches from LC-48 will be directly over the Atlantic to all trajectory azimuths available to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Spaceport Camden cannot match the range of trajectories from LC-48. Mandatory Maximum Probable Loss launch liability insurance will be less expensive at LC-48 because companies at Spaceport Camden will have far higher premiums to insure for human casualties and damage to private property, residences, and historic buildings. No other spaceport will have liability risk exposure similar to Spaceport Camden. (12/28)

In the Race to Host US Space Command, Colorado Springs is Light Years Ahead (Source: Military Times)
Last month the Air Force announced six finalist locations in their competition to permanently host the newest combatant command, U.S. Space Command. This indicates the Air Force is nearing completion of a selection process that was already completed a year ago, and then reopened — despite the headquarters’ critical importance to national security — because of political pressure. Among the six finalists still under consideration, one location stands clearly above the others: Colorado Springs — the provisional home to U.S. Space Command for at least the next six years.

Colorado Springs has always been the center of gravity for the military’s space operations. That was true when I was responsible for all the Air Force’s space operations, as 14th Air Force commander, and it’s true now. My 40-year Air Force career began in 1968 when I entered the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. I returned to the city many times during that career, and I was always impressed with the tremendous support that community provides to our military families. With over 85,000 veterans in the area, support of our airmen and soldiers is part of their social identity. There is no place more welcoming or supportive of our military families.

Community support is important for all military units, but the most important reasons the new combatant command belongs in Colorado Springs are due to impact on national security. Our advantage in space began to shrink the moment the previous U.S. Space Command was disbanded in 2002. As our adversaries continued to gain traction with anti-satellite and other space-based capabilities, and both China and Russia demonstrated their ability to attack our satellites, President Trump announced the reestablishment of U.S. Space Command in August 2019. (12/27)

Florida’s Aerospace Industry Represents Key Segment in State’s Economic Growth and Recovery (Source: Space Florida)
As 2020 draws to a close, Space Florida looks back on an extraordinary year of growth of the aerospace industry in Florida. And the Cape Canaveral Spaceport is emerging as the world’s premier space transportation hub and global leader in enabling commercial space industry expansion. Click here. (12/23)