January 18, 2021

New Space Policy Directive Seeks to Augment GPS with Foreign Systems (Source: Space News)
The Trump administration issued a new space policy related to space-based navigation services Friday. Space Policy Directive 7 highlights the growing dependence on the GPS system and suggests government and commercial organizations should have access to backup positioning, navigation and timing technologies as GPS signals are likely to be disrupted. The policy says the United States supports the use of foreign satellite-based services to supplement GPS, but cautions that the government does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of them. The White House released the report late Friday, hours after publishing a report summarizing space policy achievements during the Trump administration. (1/18)

FCC C-Band Auction Raises $81 Million (Source: Space News)
An ongoing FCC auction of satellite C-band spectrum has raised nearly $81 billion so far. The auction of the spectrum for terrestrial 5G services is not yet complete, with an assignment phase, where companies awarded spectrum blocks bid for frequency-specific licenses, yet to come. The high value of the bids surprised many, which one analyst attributed to the success T-Mobile has had using similar "mid-band" spectrum for 5G services. In addition to paying for the C-band spectrum itself, winners of the C-band auction are scheduled to pay about $13 billion to compensate satellite operators for clearing spectrum on an accelerated timeline. (1/18)

Space Force Confirms NSTXL Selection (Source: Space News)
The Space Force has confirmed the selection of National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) to manage its Space Enterprise Consortium. The Space Force delayed an award of the contract to NSTXL last month to look into a court judgment against NSTXL in a lawsuit filed by a former business partner on a separate contract. The Space and Missile Systems Center said Friday that, after that review, it would proceed with the contract with NSTXL. The Space Enterprise Consortium is a group of hundreds of space and defense companies that compete for technology development contracts. Under the 10-year agreement with NSTXL, consortium members will compete for up to $12 billion in projects. (1/18)

NASA Abandons Mars Mole Dig-Down (Source: Space News)
NASA has ended efforts to deploy a heat flow probe on the InSight lander into the Martian surface. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package on the lander featured a "mole" designed to burrow several meters into the surface, but got stuck just below the surface shortly after its deployment nearly two years ago. Scientists and engineers worked to try and get the mole deeper into the surface, but last week said they were giving up, with the mole buried just a few centimeters below the surface. InSight's other instruments, including a seismometer and weather station, continue to work well, and NASA extended the lander's mission earlier this month through the end of 2022. (1/18)

Rocket Lab Delays Launch After Off-Nominal Sensor Data (Source: RNZ)
Rocket Lab scrubbed a launch attempt Saturday to review sensor data. The company said it was getting "strange data" from an instrument not used for flight, but something it wanted to investigate nonetheless. Rocket Lab has rescheduled the launch for Wednesday. The Electron is carrying a communications satellite built by OHB for an undisclosed customer. (1/18)

SpaceX Swaps Out Two Raptor Engines for Starship Flight, After Static-Fire Tests (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX swapped out two Raptor engines on its SN9 Starship prototype, delaying an anticipated test flight. Elon Musk said Friday that, after performing three static-fire tests in one day last week, two of the three engines "need slight repairs" and would be replaced, work completed over the weekend. Another static-fire test could take place as soon as Monday, but plans for a flight similar to that performed by SN8 last month remain uncertain. (1/18)

EPA and NASA Enter Agreement on Cleanup of NASA Wallops Flight Facility Site (Source: EPA)
The EPA and NASA have reached an agreement on cleaning up contamination at the Wallops Flight Facility. The contamination of soil and groundwater predates NASA's use of the site, and is instead linked to when the U.S. Navy owned Wallops. NASA will carry our remediation work there, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with oversight by the EPA. The announcement didn't disclose the estimated cost of the cleanup or how long it will take. (1/18)

Florida Looks Forward to Supporting Future U.S. Space Command Missions (Source: Space Florida)
“As the Chair of Space Florida, I’m disappointed Brevard County was overlooked for the location of U.S. Space Command Headquarters.  I will, however, keep working arduously for the continued growth and advancement of the commercial aerospace industry, as well as the defense and military capability services our state and nation could benefit from,” said Florida Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez.

With today’s announcement, Space Florida congratulates the collective efforts of all interested communities, the Florida Defense Support Task Force, Florida Defense Alliance, and our state and federal elected officials. This teamwork will continue to pay dividends as we pursue other opportunities to house future military space programs, missions and units to meet the threats of the future. Brevard County’s Patrick Space Force Base was one of six locations to participate in the down-select phase of the process. (1/13)

After Space Command, Another Target for Florida (Source: SPACErePORT)
In the wake of a Space Command HQ loss to Alabama -- which likely will be challenged by Colorado and perhaps other states -- Florida might find other wins from the Space Force. The Space Training and Readiness field command (STARCOM) could include as many as 900 personnel shifted from various former Air Force units. It will be led by a two-star and is expected to be formally set-up in 2021.

“We’ve decided that the [training and readiness] topic is important enough and unique enough that we need a group of people who understand it down to its most fundamental levels,” Col. Peter Flores said. According to Breaking Defense: because STARCOM will be a new command, a basing decision will be required to determine where it will be based. And, Flores said, he expects STARCOM will reorganize, and grow, as the Space Force turns its gaze from legacy missions to new ones.

Why Florida? Orlando is now a nexus for DoD education, training, and related modeling/simulation programs, with over a thousand highly skilled workers supporting every DoD component. Adding STARCOM to the regional mix also makes sense because its proximity to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport can provide real-world training experiences for Space Force personnel. (1/18)

A New Satellite Is Going to Try to Maintain low Earth Orbit Without Any Propellant (Source: Universe Today)
Staying afloat in space can be deceptively hard. Any object placed in low Earth orbit (LEO) must constantly fight against the drag caused by the small number of air molecules that make it up to that height. Usually they counteract this force by using small amounts of propellant. However, smaller satellites don’t have the luxury of enough propellant to keep them afloat for any period of time. But now a team of students from the University of Michigan has launched a prototype satellite that attempts to stay afloat using a novel technique – magnetism.

The project, known as the Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment (MiTEE), launched today on Virgin Galactic’s flight from the Mojave Desert.  It’s interdisciplinary team consists of undergraduate through PhD Students at UofM.  This is the first project the team has launched, and represents the culmination of six years of effort. That effort resulted in a novel satellite (or more accurately a pair of satellites) that test an even more novel idea – that small enough satellites can use the Earth’s own magnetic field to achieve a small amount of lift.

To test this theory, the team has designed a pair of satellites, one about the size of a loaf of bread, the other one the size of a smartphone, that are connected together via a span of wire.  A current is then induced in that wire, and physics gets to do its magic. MiTEE-1 includes a single 1 meter long rigid boom connecting the two satellites. It will focus on measuring how much current, if any, can be induced by the ionosphere. Follow-on projects would test the tether for use as an actual antenna, and try to measure whether it would be feasible to completely float a pico-satellite system without any propellant. (1/17)