February 2, 2021

Starship Lands Hard Following High Altitude Flight Test (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
SpaceX was finally able to launch its Starship SN9 prototype in a much-anticipated sophomore outing for the high-altitude test flight program. However, an engine issue appeared to cause the vehicle to land explosively. Liftoff for Starship serial No. 9, also known as SN9, launched from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, site on Feb. 2, 2021. Over the course of just over six minutes the experimental test vehicle liftoff off with three Raptor engines and slowly ascended to its target altitude of 10 kilometers, slightly lower than last month’s SN8 flight to 12.5 kilometers with every aspect of the test appearing nominal until the final seconds.

One of the two Raptor engines that were planned to re-ignite for the landing burn appeared to have an issue and debris was seen ejected from the engine area seconds before the planned landing. As such, it did not ignite and not able to assist the Starship SN9 in righting itself for the final touch down. Moments later, the stack landed near the landing pad on its side, creating a large explosion. Despite being near Starship SN10, the explosion didn’t appear to do much of any damage to what is expected to be the next high-altitude test article. (2/2)

A Plan to Beam a Musical Message to Other Planets (Source: The Economist)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute has been listening for a signal here and elsewhere since it was founded in 1984. In that time it has scoured only a minuscule fraction of space, equivalent to a glass of water in all the world’s oceans. But Jill Tarter, its co-founder, is undaunted. A renowned astrophysicist, Ms Tarter says the program’s aim is not just to communicate with remote civilizations. It is also to remind humanity of its own modest, fragile place in the cosmos. Which is why, for the first time, seti is cocking its ear towards Earth.

It is looking for the same thing on this planet that it routinely seeks from others: a signal that can be beamed into space to represent the species. Felipe Pérez Santiago, a Mexican musician and composer—and artist in residence at the institute—has an idea of what might work. Since song, like the human voice, is common to all languages and nations, he and Ms Tarter have devised the “Earthling Project”: a call to people everywhere to upload snippets of song that he plans to meld into a collective human chorus. An initial composition will be launched into space this summer, inscribed on a virtually indestructible disk alongside Wikipedia and the Rosetta Project, a sampling of 1,500 human languages. (1/30)

New Mexico Joins Colorado in Questioning Space Command HQ Decision (Source: WAFF)
It’s been almost three weeks since Space Command headquarters was announced for Redstone Arsenal. That decision is still not sitting well with senators and leaders from other states. A senator from New Mexico is joining Colorado and asking for the Air Force to revisit the decision. New Mexico senator Martin Heinrich, is also getting President Joe Biden involved. He wants the president to conduct a comprehensive review of the process. Senator Heinrich released a statement on Twitter saying “The speed at which the Air Force finalized their decision for the US space command headquarters raises serious questions of political impropriety.” (2/2)

Milestone for Europe's New Launcher (Source: Space Daily)
Europe's new launcher, Ariane 6, is nearing completion. Like its predecessor, Ariane 5, the upper stage of the new European Space Agency (ESA) rocket is being built at ArianeGroup in Bremen. On the night of 28 to 29 January 2021, a fully functional, full-size test model, identical to the model that will be used for Ariane 6 launches, began a very special journey to southern Germany in a transport container that is 14 meters long, almost seven meters wide and six meters high.

The next two Ariane 6 upper stages are also nearing completion in Bremen. The Combined Test Model (CTM) will be used for joint tests with the main stage at the European spaceport in Kourou in the second half of 2021, and the Flight Model 1 (FM1) will be used for the first flight of Ariane 6, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2022. A journey across the Weser, Waal, Rhine and Neckar rivers The first Ariane 6 upper stage is scheduled to arrive at DLR's Lampoldshausen site on 7 February and will be thoroughly tested during the coming months. (2/1)

SecDef Purges DoD Advisory Boards to Remove Last-Minute Trump Appointees (Source: Politico)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has removed all members from the Pentagon's advisory boards in a sweeping effort to oust a series of last-minute appointees by former President Donald Trump. In a memo dated Saturday, Austin fired all members serving on DoD’s advisory boards, effective Feb. 16, and directed the immediate suspension of all committee operations while the Pentagon completes a “zero-based review” of at least 42 defense advisory committees. (2/2)

As Virgin Galactic Crew Celebrated Second Suborbital Flight, Problems Loomed Behind the Scenes (Source: Parabolic Arc)
In February 2019, after being dropped from WhiteKnightTwo, the VSS Unity rocket plane fired its hybrid engine for 60 seconds as it rocketed upward through a clear blue sky. VSS Unity set new records as it topped off at an altitude of 89.9 km and a speed of Mach 3.04. Pilots David Mackay and Michael “Sooch” Masucci deployed VSS Unity‘s “feather”, which reconfigured the ship into the shape of a shuttlecock to ease its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The pilots guided SpaceShipTwo to an unpowered landing on Runway 12/30 at the Mojave Air and Space Port where the flight began.

As the crew popped champagne, a happy crowd of Virgin Galactic employees and ticket holders celebrated the company’s second suborbital flight test in as many months. The future looked as bright as the Mojave sky that day. A program marred by years of delays and fatal accidents had finally turned a corner. Or, so it seemed. While it was all smiles and champagne in public, behind the scenes things were falling apart. Literally. Sources told Parabolic Arc that VSS Unity sustained damage during the 2019 flight that kept the vehicle grounded for 14 months and delayed a test program that Virgin Galactic has still not completed almost two years later.

“SS2 elevons were replaced after last powered flight. Way too damaged to fly again. Whole structure ruptured. Landed long to avoid cameras,” said one source, who called the February 2019 flight a “close call.” Sources insisted upon anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Sources also described the 12-year old VMS Eve. which first flew in December 2008, as “falling apart.” ... “Mothership has problems too. Launch pylon is falling apart. SS2 is way to heavy. Way heavier than mothership was designed for,” the source said. (2/2)

Would Virgin Galactic's Stock Have Soared If This Was Revealed Earlier? (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Virgin Galactic declined to comment on why the damaged elevons were not disclosed to investors before Virgin Galactic merged with Social Capital Hedosophia and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in late October 2019. The source also found it “incredible this doesn’t show up in quarterly reports. Before the merger, the two companies had forecast that commercial SpaceShipTwo flights would begin in June 2020 even as engineers worked to replaced the elevons. Today, it looks like that scheduled has slipped a year or more.

Michael Colglazier, who took over as CEO after George Whitesides' departure in July 2020, formerly ran Disney’s resorts around the world. Colglazier has laid out a plan to fly SpaceShipTwo from multiple spaceports around the world. There would be 400 flights per year from each spaceport, with each SpaceShipTwo flying 50 times annually over a lifespan of 10 years. The spaceports each would generate $1 billion in revenues on an annual basis from flights and ancillary sources.

Whether Virgin Galactic can pull that off is a good question. SpaceShipTwo has never demonstrated anything close to that kind of a flight rate during testing. VSS Unity‘s only two suborbital flights in December 2018 and February 2019 were separated by 71 days. The shortest time between powered flights was 27 days. (2/2)

SpaceX Takes Lead in Space Tourism Race with Private Orbital Mission Planned From Florida (Source: Space News)
A billionaire entrepreneur has purchased a Crew Dragon flight from SpaceX, and will use contests to fill some of its seats. Jared Isaacman, the founder and chief executive of online payment processing company Shift4 Payments, announced Monday he purchased the Crew Dragon mission, scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of this year on a flight lasting two to four days in Earth orbit, but without a docking with the International Space Station.

Isaacman will occupy one of the four seats on the "Inspiration4" mission, with a "front-line health care worker" from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital also flying. The third seat will go to the winner of a raffle intended to raise funds for the hospital, while the last seat will go to the winner of a contest affiliated with Shift4 Payments. Isaacman did not reveal how much he paid for the flight. (2/1)

Astra Goes Public with SPAC (Source: Astra)
Small launch vehicle company Astra announced Tuesday it will go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Astra said it will merge with Holicity, allowing it to go public on the Nasdaq exchange. The deal would provide up to $500 million in cash for Astra and value the company at $2.1 billion. Holicity is a SPAC established last year by Craig McCaw, best known in the space industry as one of the founders of satellite constellation company Teledesic in the 1990s. Astra is developing small launch vehicles and nearly reached orbit on its second attempt in December. (2/2)

General Atomics Acquires Tiger Innovations (Source: Space News)
General Atomics announced Monday it is acquiring Tiger Innovations, a company that produces various satellite technologies. Tiger Innovations, founded in 1997, builds a wide array of spacecraft, ground stations, satellite systems, hardware and software, including multiple platforms on orbit. General Atomics plans to integrate Tiger Innovations with its General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems group to support its space projects. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal. (2/2)

Space Force Seeks Better Sharing of Missile Warning Data for Civilian Applications (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is investigating easier ways to share missile warning data for civilian applications, like firefighting. The Space and Missile Systems Center is leading an effort to develop an open platform to process and distribute data from current and future missile-warning satellites, making it easier to share data for civilian uses. The Air Force provided data from those satellites to the U.S. Forest Service in 2018 during severe wildfires in California, but doing so was difficult because the ground stations use proprietary technology designed decades ago. (2/2)

Astronauts Complete ISS Space Walk (Source: CBS)
Astronauts sped through their tasks outside the space station during a spacewalk Monday. Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover completed the installation of a new battery for the station's power system, replaced several video cameras and made preparations for future installation of new solar panels during the spacewalk. The two astronauts worked well ahead of schedule, allowing them to also perform some additional "get-ahead" tasks. The two wrapped up the spacewalk in 5 hours and 20 minutes, more than an hour shorter than planned. (2/2)

NASA Wants More Time to Review Lunar Crew Landing Systems (Source: Space News)
NASA has informed the companies in its Human Landing System program that it will need more time to decide which companies will proceed with lander development. NASA awarded contracts last year to Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX for initial lunar lander development that were due to end at the end of this month. NASA notified the companies last week it was extending those contracts for two months, with no additional funding, to give the agency more time to decide which companies will receive "Option A" awards to continue with lander development. NASA's plans for the program are complicated by receiving only about a quarter of the $3.3 billion it sought for 2021, as well as a change in administrations. (2/2)

NASA Adds Appointees to Leadership Positions (Source: NASA)
NASA announced Monday several appointees to leadership positions. Among the appointees are Bhavya Lal, a member of the Biden administration's NASA transition team, who will be acting chief of staff. Other appointees include White House liaison and associate administrators for communications and for legislative and interagency affairs. The White House has yet to announce its nominations for NASA administrator or deputy administrator. (2/2)

Iran Launches Suborbital Rocket Test (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Iran launched a rocket it says could be used for launch vehicles, but may also support missile development. The Iranian government said the suborbital test of the Zuljanah rocket is part of an effort to develop a new launch vehicle for satellites. However, analysts note that the large solid-fuel motor could have applications for long-range missiles. (2/2)

Dubai Court to Focus on Space Disputes (Source: Arab News)
Dubai has established a separate court to handle commercial space-related disputes. The "Courts of Space" initiative by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts and Dubai Future Foundation will create a Space Dispute Guide and train judges on how to handle such issues, with the support of an international working group of space law experts. The Dubai International Financial Centre Courts offer English-language courts for cases in the United Arab Emirates. (2/2)

Pentagon, NASA Knock Down Barriers Impeding Joint Space Projects (Source: Wall Street Journal)
U.S. government and aerospace-industry officials are removing decades-old barriers between civilian and military space projects, in response to escalating foreign threats beyond the atmosphere. The Pentagon and NASA are joining forces to tackle efforts such as exploring the region around the moon and extending the life of satellites. Many details are still developing or remain classified. Driving the changes are actions by Moscow and Beijing to challenge American space interests with antisatellite weapons, jamming capabilities and other potentially hostile technology. (2/1)

Northrop Grumman to Launch Next Cygnus Cargo Ship for NASA on Feb. 20 (Source: Space.com)
Experiments with worms and artificial retinas will ship to space Feb. 20 aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, according to a NASA announcement. The cargo ship is scheduled to lift off no earlier than 12:36 p.m. EST (1736 GMT) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, if all goes to plan. Only a limited number of U.S. media may go on site due to quarantine protocols associated with the novel coronavirus pandemic. Cygnus will launch to the International Space Station aboard an Antares rocket and arrive at the orbiting lab two days later, according to NASA. (2/1)

Top House Republican Demands Psaki Apologize Over 'Disgraceful' Space Force Quip (Source: Politico)
The House Armed Services Committee's top Republican is calling on White House press secretary Jen Psaki to “immediately apologize” for her response to a Space Force question in Tuesday’s briefing. “It’s concerning to see the Biden administration’s press secretary blatantly diminish an entire branch of our military as the punchline of a joke, which I’m sure China would find funny,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL).

“The Space Force was passed with near unanimous support in Congress, the same type of ‘unity’ President Biden is supposedly working towards,” he continued. “Jen Psaki needs to immediately apologize to the men and women of the Space Force for this disgraceful comment.” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) also slammed the White House for Psaki's comments. At Tuesday's briefing, Psaki was asked if Biden had made any decisions on the future of the Space Force.

“Wow. Space Force. It’s the plane of today,” Psaki responded during the press briefing, seemingly comparing the question to an earlier one about the color scheme of Air Force One. Later, in response to the critics, she tweeted: "We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work." (2/2)