January 19, 2021

Boeing Completes Software Qualification for Second Starliner Test Flight (Source: Boeing)
The fully assembled Starliner crew module being prepared to fly Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 is lifted inside the Starliner production factory at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing recently completed its formal requalification of the CST-100 Starliner’s flight software in preparation for its next flight. The autonomous spacecraft will fly to the International Space Station during a second uncrewed flight test, Orbital Flight Test-2, in March, ahead of a first crewed flight with NASA astronauts later this year.

Teams in Houston and across the country conducted a full review of Starliner’s flight software and the process by which mission modifications or upgrades will be formally qualified in the future. The team began by evaluating Starliner’s software requirements and the testing associated with its verification. Reviews were conducted to ensure Starliner’s Houston-based Avionics and Software Integration Lab, or ASIL, was sufficiently outfitted and configured to support all testing.

Additional assessments were made to verify the complete integration of software with all recommended flight hardware. Software engineers also validated all the simulators and emulators to ensure they were accurate models. The team then conducted a series of tests to confirm Starliner’s updated software met design specifications. They also conducted static and dynamic tests inside the software integration lab, including hundreds of cases ranging from single command verifications to comprehensive end-to-end mission scenarios with the core software. (1/18)

Green Run, Yellow Light (Source: Space Review)
Saturday’s Green Run static-fire test was supposed to mark the successful conclusion of a long-running test campaign for the Space Launch System and clear the way for a launch late this year. Instead, Jeff Foust reports, the truncated test raised new questions about the vehicle and its future. Click here. (1/18)
 
Comparing the 2010 and 2020 National Space Policies (Source: Space Review)
The White House issued a new national space policy last month, the first update in a decade. Laura Brady and Charles Ellsey compare the 2010 and 2020 policies and find both commonality as well as some key differences. Click here. (1/18)
 
A Review of Space Strategy Worldviews: 2011 National Security Space Strategy (Source: Space Review)
Policies are often based on certain worldviews that may not be universally shared. Christopher Stone examines how a 2011 strategy document on national security space, intended to deter hostile activities in space, may not be effective. Click here. (1/18)
 
A Possible Biden Space Agenda (Source: Space Review)
The incoming Biden Administration has said little about space policy so far, but faces several major issues in the field. Roger Handberg suggests a couple courses of action to address the future of the International Space Station and cislunar transportation. Click here. (1/18)

Earth Observation Data Could Represent a Billion-Dollar Opportunity for Africa (Source: Space Daily)
Earth Observation [EO] data provides a billion-dollar opportunity for economies on the African continent, one that could create jobs and build new resilience after COVID-19. The report Unlocking the Potential of Earth Observation to address Africa's critical challenges lays out the multiple economic benefits from EO data. The report was written in collaboration with Digital Earth Africa, an initiative that is a world first in providing freely accessible data that maps the entire African continent.

This report marks the first known time the potential impact of EO for Africa has been quantified. According to estimates, EO could be worth up to $2 billion a year thanks to: 1) A strengthened EO industry. Improved use of EO data could lead to an extra $500 million in yearly EO sales along with new job opportunities and increased fiscal revenues; 2) Boosted agricultural productivity. Better data could potentially be worth an extra $900 million a year, thanks to water savings and productivity gains for farmers, not to mention reduced pesticide usage; and 3) Better regulation of gold mining activity. Data allows countries to crack down on illegal mining, providing a potential savings of at least $900 million from reduced environmental damage and fiscal evasion. (1/18)

Leaf Space Reaches €10 Million Funding (Source: Space Daily)
Leaf Space, the Italian ground segment as-a-service company focused on microsatellites, announced it has completed its Series A financing round of 5 million euro, bringing its total funding to 10 million euro. A contribution of 2 million euro came from Primo Space, the investment fund of Primomiglio SGR focused on investments in highly innovative companies in the space industry. The other 3 million euro of investment were between Whysol Investments, acting as lead investor, and RedSeed Ventures, an early-stage investor of the company that had already joined the equity round last spring.

Leaf Space will use the funding to further develop its ground segment services for microsatellite operators in the NewSpace economy and globally scale up its business. During the first trimester of 2021, the company plans to grow its operational ground stations from eight to 11 by deploying and activating stations in Sri Lanka, Canada and Australia. (1/18)

SLS Green Run Update: Core Stage in Good Condition (Source: NASA)
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket Green Run team has reviewed extensive data and completed preliminary inspections that show the rocket’s hardware is in excellent condition after the Green Run test that ignited all the engines at 5:27 p.m. EST at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. After analyzing initial data, the team determined that the shutdown after firing the engines for 67.2-seconds on Jan.16 was triggered by test parameters that were intentionally conservative to ensure the safety of the core stage during the test.

These preprogrammed parameters are designed specifically for ground testing with the flight hardware that will fly NASA’s Artemis I mission to ensure the core stage’s thrust vector control system safely moves the engines. There is a thrust vector control (TVC) system that gimbals, or pivots, each engine, and there are two actuators that generate the forces to gimbal each engine. The actuators in the TVC system are powered by Core Stage Auxiliary Power Units (CAPU). As planned, the thrust vector control systems gimbaled the engines to simulate how they move to direct thrust during the rocket’s ascent.

Initial data indicate the sensor reading for a major component failure, or MCF, that occurred about 1.5 seconds after engine start was not related to the hot fire shutdown. It involved the loss of one leg of redundancy prior to T-0 in the instrumentation for Engine 4, also known as engine number E2060. Engine ignition begins 6 seconds prior to T-0, and they fire in sequence about 120 milliseconds apart. Test constraints for hot fire were set up to allow the test to proceed with this condition, because the engine control system still has sufficient redundancy to ensure safe engine operation during the test. The team plans to investigate and resolve the Engine 4 instrumentation issue before the next use of the core stage. (1/19)