December 29, 2020

House Votes to Override Trump NDAA Veto, Senate Next (Source: Space News)
The House voted Monday to override President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. The 322-87 vote easily exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto, and was similar to the 335-78 vote earlier this month to pass the bill that authorizes $740 billion for national defense spending and sets policies affecting every aspect of military operations. Trump vetoed the bill last week because it did not comply with his demand that it include a provision to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online companies from legal liability for content posted by users. The Senate is expected to vote later this week to override the veto. (12/29)

SpaceX Readies for Next Starship Tests in Texas (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
SpaceX is beginning testing of the next Starship prototype. The Starship SN9 vehicle, on the pad at SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, test site, started a series of pressurization tests Monday, to be followed by a static-fire test of the vehicle's three Raptor engines. If successful, the vehicle could perform a flight to 12.5 kilometers as soon as early January, similar to the one by the SN8 vehicle earlier this month. (12/29)

Japan Developing Wooden Satellites to Cut Space Junk (Source: BBC)
A Japanese company is proposing to launch a satellite made of wood. Sumitomo Forestry is working with Kyoto University to study how wood products could be used in spacecraft, with a goal of launching a satellite made with wooden structures in 2023. Such satellites could burn up upon reentry without releasing harmful chemicals, proponents of the concept argue. (12/29)

Russia's Space Chief Pens Songs for Album (Source: Washington Post)
Dmitry Rogozin is not only the head of Roscosmos, but a songwriter as well. An album released by Roscosmos last month includes three songs written by Rogozin, but performed by others. One song, "I Fly Above Russia," includes lyrics such as "And at night, intoxicated or dry/We dream of Russia," along with an accordion solo. The album is intended to tap into public interest in spaceflight in Russia, building support for the Russian government. (12/29)

Bill Requests Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (Source: Inside Outer Space)
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 was included in the just-signed Omnibus bill for Covid-relief. In the Act there is support for the unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force at the Office of Naval Intelligence, requesting the Task Force to submit a report within 180 days of the date of enactment of the Act about unidentified aerial phenomena (also known as “anomalous aerial vehicles”). Here's the language regarding “Advanced Aerial Threats” as detailed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

"The Committee supports the efforts of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force at the Office of Naval Intelligence to standardize collection and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomenon, any links they have to adversarial foreign governments, and the threat they pose to U.S. military assets and installations. However, the Committee remains concerned that there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena, despite the potential threat. The Committee understands that the relevant intelligence may be sensitive; nevertheless, the Committee finds that the information sharing and coordination across the Intelligence Community has been inconsistent, and this issue has lacked attention from senior leaders.

"Therefore, the Committee directs the DNI, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of such other agencies as the Director and Secretary jointly consider relevant, to submit a report within 180 days of the date of enactment of the Act, to the congressional intelligence and armed services committees on unidentified aerial phenomena (also known as “anomalous aerial vehicles”), including observed airborne objects that have not been identified." (12/29)

Swamp Watch: Trump Team Blocks Transition at DoD and OMB (Source: Washington Post)
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday accused President Trump and his political appointees of obstructing the transition of power to his incoming administration, particularly on national security issues, an escalation in tone after reports of isolated difficulties in the transition process last week. Biden specifically called out the Office of Management and Budget and the Defense Department as agencies where his transition team had encountered “roadblocks” from political leadership. Biden’s remarks came shortly after he attended a briefing with nearly two dozen of his national security advisers.

“Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” Biden said of the resistance his teams were facing. He warned that such delays could allow enemies of the United States to take advantage of vulnerabilities, citing a massive cybersecurity breach that compromised several U.S. agencies earlier this month.

“My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies,” Biden said. “We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.” (12/28)

Made In Space Produces First Ceramic Turbine Part (Source: Space.com)
Made In Space has produced a ceramic turbine part in space. The company manufactured the single-piece turbine "blisk", or bladed disk, using its Ceramic Manufacturing Module delivered to the International Space Station this fall. The module is designed to show how ceramic parts can be produced in microgravity using a process known as stereolithography that uses a resin and ultraviolet laser. (12/24)

Botswana Plans Cubesat Project (Source: The Monitor)
Botswana is the latest country to show an interest in developing satellites. The country's president announced last week that the Botswana International University of Science and Technology will construct a series of cubesats for Earth observation applications intended to support the country's agricultural and tourism industries. The satellites will be produced domestically, with unspecified regional and international partners. The project will take three years to complete. (12/24)

Time’s First-Ever Kid of the Year is Past Participant in Genes in Space Program (Source: CASIS)
For the first time ever, in 2020, TIME magazine has selected a “Kid of the Year.” From more than 5,000 U.S.-based nominees, Time chose 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao. When Rao was 12, she was part of a team of students that won a Junior Scientist Award in the 2018 Genes in Space competition. The Genes in Space program, founded by Boeing and miniPCR BioTM and supported through the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, has held a nationwide student research challenge since 2015. Students in grades 7-12 are invited to design pioneering DNA experiments that use the unique environment of the ISS. The winning proposals are developed into flight experiments that are launched to the ISS and carried out by the crew members onboard.

For the Genes in Space competition, Rao and her team designed an experiment to study the genetics of plant growth regulation in microgravity. Although their investigation was not selected to fly to the ISS, Rao and her team did receive a Junior Scientist Award in recognition of being one of the top five outstanding proposals submitted from middle school teams. (12/15)

India's Skyroot Aerospace Successfully Test Fires a Solid Propulsion Rocket Stage (Source: Business Standard)
Skyroot Aerospace has successfully test fired a solid propulsion rocket stage (named Kalam-5). This is the first time in India that a private company has successfully designed, developed and tested a full solid propulsion rocket stage. Meanwhile, Mukesh Bansal, Vedanshu investments backed space start-up is looking to raise around $15 million.

A special feature of this is that it is built with advanced carbon composite structure in a completely automated process. Carbon composite case is very challenging to design and manufacture but is five-times lighter than steel, said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace. (12/28)

Ohio Shut Out of Astronaut Team for Moon Missions (Source: Toledo Blade)
Ohio produced such famous astronauts as John Glenn and Neil Armstrong during the Cold War, when America was in a highly competitive space and technology race against the former Soviet Union. Now, though, the Buckeye State is getting snubbed by NASA for the upcoming Artemis team which is scheduled to resume moon missions in 2024. California led the way with five of the 18 Artemis astronauts hailing from the Golden State. Not one is from Ohio. (12/28)

Chinese Astronomers Discover Nearly 600 High-Velocity Stars (Source: Xinhua)
A Chinese research team has discovered 591 high-velocity stars based on data from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) and the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite. High-velocity stars are stars that move unusually quickly, relative to other stars, and may at some point leave their galaxy. Of the newly discovered stars, 43 may escape the gravitational constraints of the Milky Way galaxy in future and fly into intergalactic space.

A total of over 550 high-velocity stars had been found since the first one was discovered in 2005. The new discovery has doubled the total number known, said Li Yinbi with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), lead author of the research. High-velocity stars can provide deep insights into a wide range of topics within galactic science, from the central supermassive black hole to the distant galactic halo, according to Lu Youjun, a researcher at the NAOC. (12/28)

Russia Plans Three Times More Proton-M Launches Next Year Than in 2020 (Source: Sputnik)
Russia plans to perform three launches of the Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next year, three times more than in 2020, a space industry source told Sputnik. This year, only one Proton-M launch was carried out, putting telecommunications satellites Express-80 and Express-103 into orbit. (12/28)

The Space Industry Comes of Age (Source: Axios)
2020 was the year the space industry started to prove itself — setting up big expectations for its maturity and growth in the coming year. From crewed commercial flights to startup space companies going public, this year — against the headwinds of a global pandemic — a maturing space industry emerged. "2020 has been an improbable success," said space analyst Chris Quilty. Driving the news: There were about 39 licensed commercial launches in 2020, according to the Department of Transportation, surpassing 2018's record of 33.

Investment in the space industry is also expected to hit record levels this year, despite the pandemic, according to Space Capital's Chad Anderson. Accomplishments defied expectations that the space industry would largely shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, companies working with government customers continued much of their work, and the progress in the industry continued apace for the most part. "The space ecosystem proved pretty much COVID proof," said Carissa Christensen of Bryce Space and Technology.

Investment in rockets, satellites and other infrastructure needed to keep the space industry afloat went down in the second quarter of the year, but it bounced back in the third quarter. And other parts of the space industry — like data analysis — received higher amounts of investment throughout the pandemic. Private Earth observing companies, for example, found new ways to aid in pandemic relief, potentially bringing their business to a wider base of customers in the process. (12/28)