February 4, 2021

Nuclear-Powered Rocket Could Get Astronauts to Mars Faster (Source: CNN)
By 2035, NASA wants to land humans on Mars. But reaching the red planet, on average around 140 million miles away, will be a mammoth feat. Colder than Antarctica and with little to no oxygen, Mars is a hostile environment. The longer it takes astronauts to get there and the longer they stay, the more they are at risk.

That's why scientists are looking at ways to reduce trip time. Seattle-based company Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) has proposed a solution: a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine that could get humans from Earth to Mars in just three months. Currently, the shortest possible trip for an unmanned spacecraft is seven months, but a crewed mission is expected to take at least nine months. (2/3)

Biden Cancels Elon Musk's Adventures in Space (Source: Washington Times)
Thanks to his reusable rocket design, Mr. Musk’s company has already cut down on launch costs by a staggering 40 percent. SpaceX insists that it can cut those costs down further. Mr. Musk’s new deep space reusable rocket Starship, might just be the vehicle that gets American astronauts to Mars before China can get its taikonauts to the Red Planet. Certainly, the Starship reusable rocket is unproven. In another America, this experimental craft would elicit wonder and its development would be encouraged. The Trump administration exhorted SpaceX to vigorously move ahead with its Starship program.

The United States, however, has a new president. And President Joe Biden is making his space policy preferences increasingly clear: America will remain grounded for the time being. On Jan. 28, SpaceX was set to put its Starship rocket through another test in the blue skies above Texas. Sadly, the visionary goal of getting Americans to Mars first came crashing down when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which, under the Trump administration had allowed for SpaceX to conduct their important test flights, ordered Mr. Musk to cancel the Starship prototype test.

It’s likely that the FAA’s decision to cancel the launch is part of a wider Biden administration effort undo the Trump administration’s vibrant space policy. Plus, former President Trump’s space vision was explicitly aimed at countering advances made by China in space. It is unlikely that the Biden administration seeks to continue that policy, as the Biden team attempts to stabilize deteriorating relations with Beijing over the next few years. Editor's Note: Typical uninformed right-leaning propaganda from the Washington Times. (2/3)

NASA Awards Firefly Aerospace $93.3M to Deliver Suite of Payloads to the Moon in 2023 (Source: Firefly Aerospace)
Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $93.3 million NASA contract to deliver a suite of ten NASA-sponsored science and technology demonstration payloads to Mare Crisium in the Moon’s Crisium basin. Firefly’s ‘Blue Ghost’ lunar lander will deliver the payloads to the lunar surface in 2023 in fulfillment of Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order 19D, managed by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Firefly is developing, qualifying, and manufacturing Blue Ghost at its spacecraft integration facilities near Austin TX. (2/4)

Raymond: Success of Private Companies Like SpaceX Helps U.S. Secure the Space Domain (Source: Breaking Defense
Gen. John Raymond said the renewed interest in space has led to an explosion of recruitment at the U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon’s youngest branch. The Space Force has increasingly looked to partner with the private sector as companies and investors pour into the space industry. The Pentagon is closely watching the progress of rocket builders like Rocket Lab, Astra and Virgin Orbit, in addition to SpaceX.

“The U.S. has always, has long understood that we are stronger with a secure and stable space domain and all of those sectors play into that,” Raymond said. The U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon’s youngest branch, has increasingly looked to partner with the private sector as companies and investors pour into the space industry. The Pentagon is closely watching the progress of rocket builders like Rocket Lab, Astra and Virgin Orbit in addition to SpaceX. (2/4)

Army, Navy Funds Unlikely For Space Force Until 2023 (Source: Breaking Defense)
A shift in Army and Navy space resources — i.e., capabilities and funds — to the Space Force is not likely to appear in the DoD budget request until 2023, says Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond. “Those decisions are being finalized now. The FY-22 budget has largely been baked, so I would say that this will be addressed in the next budget,” he told reporters at a Defense Writers Group briefing this am.

“We’re working very closely with the Army and the Navy,” Raymond added. “We don’t want to break the Air Force; we don’t want to break the Army; we don’t want to break the Navy as we stand up the Space Force. “We actually want to enhance our warfighting capability. We think there are things that will transfer over, …  and there are other things that will remain in those services to further either the maritime mission or the ground mission.”

The Air Force up to now has provided all the resources for the new force, primarily by shifting Air Force Space Command en masse. Raymond told reporters Dec. 15 that Space Force had reached a “98 percent” agreement with the Army and Navy about what space assets should be moved, and what should stay embedded. (2/3)

How Craig McCaw Hitched Up with Astra Rocket Venture in $2.1B Deal (Source: GeekWire)
Back in the 1990s, cellular telecom pioneer Craig McCaw bought into a vision of ubiquitous wireless service via a constellation of satellites, with an assist from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Almost a quarter-century later, McCaw’s Teledesic venture is long-dead, but the dream lives on — thanks to the impending merger of McCaw’s Holicity “blank check” company and Astra, one of the rising stars of the satellite launch industry.

The deal — which takes advantage of the trend toward using special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, to take startups public — values Astra at a double-unicorn level of $2.1 billion, and would unlock up to $500 million in cash proceeds. Not bad for a space company that hasn’t yet quite made it to orbit.

“This transaction takes us a step closer to our mission of improving life on Earth from space by fully funding our plan to provide daily access to low Earth orbit from anywhere on the planet,” Chris Kemp, Astra’s founder, chairman and CEO, said Tuesday in a news release announcing the merger. During an investor call, McCaw invoked Teledesic’s history as well as the current rise of broadband mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink network and Amazon’s yet-to-be-launched Project Kuiper. (2/4)

Musk’s Broadband-From-Space Subsidy Irks Rivals Who Sought Cash (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission faces pressure from rural internet service providers to deny a planned $886 million subsidy to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for beaming broadband to underserved areas from outer space. Even before winning a competition for the funds, SpaceX had set up its service and begun launching satellites. More than 1,000 of the Starlink craft are now aloft, providing service to test subscribers. The company says its system “is uniquely positioned to deliver high-quality broadband service to the hardest-to-reach rural Americans.”

But that hasn’t stopped complaints about it winning a competition for subsidies from the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, in part because the service was being built without the aid and isn’t limited to rural areas. The planned awards to Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as it’s formally known, and to other companies have lawmakers raising questions about the entire $9.2 billion program. SpaceX’s broadband-from-orbit “is a completely unproven technology,” said Jim Matheson, chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which has members that vied for the funding. “Why use that money for a science experiment?” (2/4)

2021: A Space Crossroads (Source: The Hill)
By the end of the 2020s, many of the predictions of “2001: A Space Odyssey” could very well come to pass — and the current year of 2021 will play a critical role in achieving this vision. This year is already shaping up to be one of the most significant years yet in our exploration of space, and it is laying the groundwork for an extraordinary decade. The exploration of Mars will play a leading role in these achievements. Three missions were launched toward Mars last summer, and all three are scheduled to arrive at Mars in February. Never before have so many robotic missions traveled to Mars simultaneously. Click here. (2/3)

Bezos: Blue Origin ‘Is the Most Important Work I’m Doing’ (Source: Fast Company)
Blue Origin is the most important work I’m doing. I have great conviction about it, based on a simple argument: Earth is the best planet. The big question we need to ponder is: Why do we need to go to space? My answer is different from the common “plan B” argument: The Earth gets destroyed and you want to be somewhere else. It’s unmotivating and doesn’t work for me. When I was in high school I wrote, “The earth is finite, and if the world economy and population are to keep expanding, space is the only way to go.” I still believe this. Click here. (2/4)

As Jeff Bezos Pivots to Rockets, Will SpaceX's Elon Musk Stay Focused on Tesla? (Source: NBC)
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been in a space race since Musk established his space exploration company, SpaceX, in 2002. That race may have become a little tighter this week after Bezos announced he plans to step down from Amazon's top job. While it's not certain that Musk may be looking to shift more of his own time to SpaceX to stay ahead of Blue Origin, pulling back from Tesla could be problematic, considering the numerous challenges and potential setbacks the California-based automaker is currently facing.

For one thing, under pressure from federal safety regulators, Tesla agreed this week to recall almost 135,000 electric sedans and SUVs due to a defective touchscreen that could make it difficult for drivers to operate key safety systems, potentially leading to a crash. Tesla has also found itself falling well behind on the launch of a trio of critical new products, its Semi heavy-duty truck, Cybertruck pickup, and flagship Roadster. That could cause problems when it comes to repeating the first-ever annual profit the automaker reported for 2020.

It all adds up to challenges that make it unlikely Musk can detach himself, to any significant degree, from Tesla, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal auto analyst with tech research firm Guidehouse. “At SpaceX, he has an extremely competent manager” in SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, but there’s no one who could step into the day-to-day leadership role at Tesla, Abuelsamid said. (2/3)

Boebert Calls for Probe of Trump — for Moving Space Command to Mo Brooks' District (Source: Salon)
Alast-minute Trump administration decision to relocate a major Air Force command office to Alabama may bear marks of a favor to Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who shilled for the former president's election lies and played a role in the events surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection. The full Colorado congressional delegation, including GOP freshman outsider Rep. Lauren Boebert, has called on the Biden administration to investigate "significant evidence" of unspecified political influence behind the decision. (2/3)

Spaceport Upgrades Launch Kennedy Into Record-Setting Future (Source: NASA)
As quickly as the crewed commercial rocket lifted off the launch pad and into the night sky, a new type of space race had begun. The November 2020 launch of astronauts from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the first operational mission by a commercial company was the culmination of a new form of government and industry cooperation – an example of how vibrant and diverse American space activities have become.

This year, the launch cadence is only accelerating on Florida’s Space Coast. On the calendar for 2021 are more than 50 launches from the pads at Kennedy and the newly renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). This resurgence is proof the center has solidified its transformation to a multi-user spaceport and is focused on supporting the next 50 years of spaceflight, said Tom Engler, Kennedy Space Center’s planning and development director. He credits the range of government, military, and commercial partnerships that have made Kennedy the world’s premier space launch complex.

After the Space Shuttle retirement, the Kennedy Space Center Director and four-time shuttle astronaut undertook a unique strategy to reinvent the center and expand the Space Coast’s role in securing the country’s space future. The idea: to become an inclusive, multi-user spaceport where both government and commercial space companies could work, grow, and exist in partnerships. The goal: to increase access to space for not just NASA, but for long-standing partners like Boeing and Northrop Grumman as well as newcomers like Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) and Blue Origin. (2/2)

So Far, Biden Administration is Vague on NASA's Plans (Source: MyNews13)
The Trump Administration set some ambitious goals for future space exploration. Now, a major question remains: Will NASA’s big projects survive with a new Congress and a new administration in the White House? President Joe Biden appointed NASA’s first-ever climate adviser Wednesday. However, he has yet to decide who will lead the agency overall. Biden will soon face difficult decisions about the future of American interests in space. “The first days of the administration are a real indicator of your priorities, and space has been nowhere to be found so far,” said Rep. Michael Waltz, R-FL.

“Florida has always been the leader when it comes to space, the space industry, that is going to continue,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-FL. Technical issues are also delaying the project. A critical test of the Space Launch System's engines did not go as planned last month, putting the first planned launch date, expected to happen this fall, in jeopardy. “If history is any guide, it’s not good for our space program," Waltz said. "I hope Biden has changed his tune and makes space, and particularly space exploration, a real priority." (2/3)

America’s New Vision of Astronauts (Source: The Atlantic)
SpaceX’s first human passengers, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, were experienced spacefarers, trained and employed by NASA, but they were the first people the private company had launched into orbit. The line was heavy with relief—we did it; we brought these astronauts home—and hope, the feeling of a long-distant goal coming into view. This could be the first of many flights, not just for astronauts, but for regular folks too. Less than a year later, SpaceX is already planning to jump into that next era of spaceflight. SpaceX will send four non-astronauts into orbit around Earth for a few days, perhaps as soon as the end of this year.

The mission, the first all-civilian trip of its kind, will be led by Jared Isaacman, a founder and the CEO of Shift4 Payments, a payment-processing company. One passenger, whom Isaacman has already picked, is a health-care worker who works with children with cancer, and she’s a cancer survivor herself. Another will be randomly selected this month in a raffle meant to raise millions of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The final passenger will be chosen in an online competition organized by Isaacman’s company.

When they step onto SpaceX’s craft, they will become a crew unlike any other in history. The question of who can be an astronaut has never been more open-ended. Half a century ago, the people who decided who went to space worked at NASA and other space agencies. Now they’re people rich enough to see the beauty of Earth against the darkness of space for themselves, and rich enough to decide who should come with them. So unprecedented is this situation that when a reporter asked Musk at a recent press conference about how SpaceX plans to handle liability insurance for this kind of adventure, Musk wasn’t sure. “I think this may be [an] ‘at their own risk’ type of thing,” he said. “I don’t know.” (2/3)

US-UAE Space Cooperation a 'Win-Win', says Business Council President (Source: Arabian Business)
American cooperation with the UAE in the field of space exploration is a “win-win” for both countries that will ultimately create business and economic opportunities for both countries, according to US-UAE Business Council president Danny Sebright. Launched from Tanegashima, Japan in July 2020, the UAE’s Hope Probe is slated to enter Mars’ orbit on February 9 after a seven-month journey through outer space.

It will spend a total of one year gathering data on the planet, which is equivalent to 687 days on earth. The mission also marks the 50th anniversary of the UAE’s foundation as an independent nation in 1971. In the US, scientific and business leaders have lauded the mission as a symbol of the close ties between institutions with counterparts in the UAE. The spacecraft was built in tandem with the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). (2/4)

Workforce Development Summit Highlights Challenges and Solutions for Meeting Florida Aerospace Growth Needs (Source: SPACErePORT)
Several dozen representatives from industry, government, and academia met online Thursday to discuss strategies for meeting Florida's aerospace workforce growth needs. Multiple programs are now in place, or are under development, to assist workers and students seeking aerospace career pathways, and to support manufacturers with skills-focused apprenticeship and associate programs. Space Florida also provided a briefing on their vision and priorities for statewide space industry growth, seeking to bolster the state's diversified role in military, civil, commercial, and financial space development. (2/4)

Florida Governor Signs for Grant to Replace KSC Bridge, Improve Spaceport Roadway (Source: Space Florida)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Florida’s $90 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Grant. This grant agreement will be used to enhance the connectivity and mobility of Florida’s Space Coast. The state of Florida, led by Space Florida and supported by FDOT, was named an INFRA Grant award recipient by the U.S. Department of Transportation in a partnership with NASA and FHWA for both the Indian River Bridge Replacement and roadway improvements to Space Commerce Way.

The $126 million bridge project includes new high-level fixed bridges that replace the current twin draw bridges built in 1964. Bridge enhancements will provide critical support for large vehicles that are necessary for future space launches. The new bridges will also serve as a public access route between the mainland near Titusville and North Merritt Island as well as a hurricane evacuation route for residents of the barrier islands in the area. "Getting this bridge fixed now is critical to growing the industry and launch cadence here in Florida and will modernize the Cape Canaveral Spaceport infrastructure so Florida can remain a global leader in space commerce and exploration,” said Frank DiBello. (2/3)

Space Force Captain Makes History (Source: USAF)
A U.S. Space Force captain’s cultural and language background helped make USSF history. USSF Capt. Angelo Centeno, 2nd Space Warning Squadron weapons and tactics flight commander, stationed at Buckley AFB, was one of the first two USSF members to attend and graduate from the Inter-American Squadron Officer School (ISOS) at Lackland AFB, Texas. ISOS is similar to the Air University at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, but is taught solely in Spanish and is attended by Latin American and U.S. military officers with the grade of O-3 who possess the ability to speak fluent Spanish.

USSF Capt. Natalia Pinto, former 6th Space Warning Squadron operations support deputy flight commander, was a fellow Space Delta 4 Guardian and attended the same course with Centeno. “Capt. Centeno and Capt. Pinto truly represented Space Delta 4 by not only being the first Guardians to attend ISOS but also by becoming Distinguished Graduates as well,” said USSF Col. Richard Bourquin, DEL 4 commander. To become a Distinguished Graduate, an individual must receive a 98 percent grade point average or higher and is based on the whole-person concept rather than on academics or performance skills alone. (2/3)

Why Wind Matters - a Critical Gap in Space-Based Observational Weather (Source: Ball Aerospace)
Measuring wind speed helps us to better understand weather. Four main quantities are used to measure weather: temperature, pressure, water vapor and wind speed. Lots of instruments in space measure temperature, pressure and water vapor, but by getting that fourth variable of wind speed, we can do a better job at getting a more accurate weather forecast.

We know a lot about wind over land across the globe based on measurements taken via ground-based sensors, and weather balloons. Over oceans, buoys and scatterometers measure wind but only at the surface, aircraft measure winds along narrow routes at a single altitude, and we can watch atmospheric features move to track winds, but for many parts of the atmosphere, we don’t have sensors that tell us what’s happening.

Surface measurements may be good for more localized forecasts, but global data to initialize models is still essential, and winds are the biggest missing piece of information right now. In order to obtain a complete picture of what is happening within our atmosphere, upper level wind measurements over the ocean are critical to understanding the full picture of atmospheric dynamics. Wind LIDAR from space can help achieve the full picture. LIDAR from space has a “top-down” approach – light pulses from space reach down into the atmosphere, providing wind information at multiple layers to form a profile. (1/31)

Gerstenmaier to Replace Koenigsmann at SpaceX (Source: CNBC)
SpaceX vice president of build and flight reliability Hans Koenigsmann has begun transitioning his role to William “Bill” Gerstenmaier, the former NASA official that joined the company a year ago. Gerstenmaier previously served as the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations for nearly 14 years, the top position leading the agency’s human spaceflight programs, which marked the culmination of four decades at NASA. Gerstenmaier was recently in SpaceX’s mission control center for its record-breaking Transporter-1 launch. He was sitting in the Flight Reliability chair (also known as “Mission Assurance”) for the mission, a person familiar with the role told CNBC. (2/2)

Interactive Satellite Tracker (Source: ESRI)
This application was designed and developed by Esri's Applications Prototype Lab. Satellite descriptions and ephemeris are sourced from space-tracker.org. The satellite-js JavaScript library is used to convert the TLE for each satellite into a geographic location. Click here. (2/3)

India's Space Agency to Assist Skyroot's Launcher Development (Source: Economic Times)
The Indian space agency ISRO will assist startup Skyroot Aerospace in the development of its small launch vehicle. Skyroot signed an agreement with ISRO that gives the company access to the agency's facilities and expertise as it works on the Vikram series of launchers. Skyroot hopes to perform its first launch by the end of this year. (2/4)

Mars Streaks Possibly Caused by Subsurface Ice-Triggered Landslides (Source: Space.com)
Dark streaks seen in some Martian craters may be caused by landslides. Research published this week suggests that the streaks, formally known as recurring slope lineae, are created when subsurface ice interacts with sulfate minerals and chloride salts, causing upheavals and contractions below the surface that eventually trigger landslides. Scientists argue that is a more likely way to create the streaks seen in the sides of craters than brines flowing down the sides of those craters, an earlier explanation for the streaks. (2/4)

SpaceX Launches More Starlink Satellites Thursday at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites early Thursday in the first of back-to-back missions. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 1:19 a.m. Eastern and deployed its payload of 60 Starlink satellites 65 minutes later. The rocket's first stage, making its fifth flight, landed on a droneship. This launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to more than 1,000. SpaceX previously planned to perform a second Falcon 9 launch early Thursday, also carrying Starlink satellites, but postponed that launch to early Friday. (2/4)

White House Gives "Full Support" to Space Force (Source: Space News)
The White House affirmed its support for the U.S. Space Force Thursday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing Wednesday that the Space Force "absolutely has the full support of the Biden administration" and that there were no plans to reconsider its existence as a separate military branch. Her comments came a day after she offered a more noncommittal statement about the service. Any change to the Space Force would require an act of Congress. (2/4)

Space Force to Work More Closely with NASA (Source: Space News)
The head of the Space Force expects to work closely with NASA and other agencies. Gen. John Raymond told reporters Wednesday that the Space Force has "a very close partnership" with NASA that he expects to continue in the new administration. He said he disagrees with criticism that the Space Force blurs the lines between military and civil space, but that the Space Force and NASA "operate in the same domain and we think there are things we can do to save taxpayers dollars and make the domain safer." (2/4)

Democratic Senators Urge Biden to Fund NASA Human Lander (Source: Space News)
A group of Democratic senators has asked the White House to preserve funding for NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) program. The letter, signed by 11 senators, asked the Biden administration to provide "robust funding" for the HLS program in its fiscal year 2022 budget request. The senators also called on NASA to select those companies that will receive "Option A" awards for lander development without delay, even as NASA informed the companies that a decision could be delayed by up to two months. At a White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said she was unaware of what views the administration had on the Artemis program. (2/4)

US Voices Concern on Iran Satellite Rocket Launch (Source: Space Daily)
Iran on Monday announced the first launch of the new Zoljanah rocket, boasting that it can put a 220-kilogram payload into orbit and compete with technology elsewhere in the world. The US on Tuesday voiced concern about Iran's launch, saying the test could boost missile work at a moment when the two nations are inching back to diplomacy. "The United States remains concerned with Iran's efforts to development space launch vehicles (SLVs), given these programs' ability to advance Iran's ballistic missile development," a State Department spokesperson said. "SLVs poses a significant proliferation concern due to the fact that SLVs incorporate technologies identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems." (2/2)

Lunar Traffic to Pick Up as NASA Readies for Robotic Commercial Moon Deliveries (Source: Space Daily)
NASA is working on various science instruments and technology experiments from the agency that will operate on the Moon once American companies on Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts deliver them to the lunar surface. Through CLPS flights, NASA is buying a complete commercial robotic lunar delivery service and does not provide launch services, own the lander or lead landing operations.

The agency has already purchased space on five upcoming commercial Moon missions and is expected to announce yet another task order award soon. The upcoming award keeps the agency on track for its goal of two CLPS deliveries per year as part of the Artemis program and will round out two deliveries per year 2021 through 2023. Two commercial landers providing the first CLPS services for NASA will soon be kicking up dust on the Moon, one built by Astrobotic and the other Intuitive Machines. They are expected to deliver a combined total of 17 NASA payloads before the end of the year. (2/4)