March 16, 2021

Bacterial Strains Discovered on Space Station May Help Grow Plants on Mars (Source: Space Daily)
In order to withstand the rigors of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria. Now, a recent discovery aboard the International Space Station has researchers may help create the 'fuel' to help plants withstand such stressful situations. Researchers working with NASA described the discovery and isolation of four strains of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights.

While one strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other three were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum. Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens. However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming.

With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars - and potentially beyond - the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a "test-bed for surveying microorganisms." As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, eight locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last six years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber. The eventual goal is to bypass the lengthy sample analysis process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS. (3/16)

Air Force Enlists Viasat to Help Integrate Commercial and Military Satellite Networks (Source: Space News)
The incompatibilities between government and commercial satellite networks have been a nagging problem the U.S. Air Force spent years trying to solve. In an effort to come up with solutions, the Air Force Research Laboratory signed a seven-year $50.8 million contract last month with the global satellite communications company Viasat. AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate will work with Viasat to figure out ways to integrate commercial satcom with government-owned satellites so they all operate as a seamless network. (3/15)

Astronomers Puzzled by a Supermassive Black Hole Moving Strangely in Deep Space (Source: C/Net)
A supermassive black hole, about 3 million times more massive than the sun, is on the run. Around 230 million light-years from Earth, the black hole has been disturbed and now it's moving peculiarly at a speed of around 110,000 miles per hour -- but astronomers aren't quite sure why. A team of astronomers observed supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies, looking for signs they may be moving unusually. In space, everything is moving in all sorts of directions thanks to the push and pull of gravity, but most black holes are moving in the same direction at the same speed as their host galaxy.

Not so for the galaxy J0437+2456 and its SMBH. It's not content just sitting around. Following up on their original observations of the galaxy with the now-defunct Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and Chile, they now describe the rare and funky motion of the galaxy's mammoth black hole. The focus of their studies has been to use masers to identify pairs of SMBHs or black holes that have recently merged together. In the merger scenario, the new black hole can "recoil," which may explain why its velocity is different from its home galaxy. If it's a pair of black holes -- a binary system -- then the violent push and pull of gravity might be causing disturbances to its velocity. (3/15)

U.S. DoD Contracts Relativity’s 3D-Printed Terran Rocket (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
Relativity Space won its first orbital launch contract with the DoD, facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The DoD was looking for a “low-cost, responsive access to space”, using launch systems with a capacity between 450-1,200 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO), Relativity said, and its entirely 3D-printed launch vehicle, Terran 1, “meets the DoD’s needs for disruptive launch solutions to orbit.” The contract was awarded as a Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Launch Enterprise follow-up effort to the DoD Space Test Program (STP) Rapid Agile Launch Initiative (RALI), Relativity said. (3/16)

SpaceX One Step Closer to Ten-Launch Reuse Booster (Source: Next Horizons Spaceflight)
Last week's launch marked a very big first for SpaceX. Falcon 9 booster 1051 has become the first booster to reach a record nine flights to orbit and back successfully. Elon Musk previously stated that the company is aiming for ten flights per booster before any major refurbishment is needed. We now have one booster which has flown nine times, another that has flown eight times, and one booster that has flown six successful times. If successful, the next Starlink launch will mark the second booster to survive six missions. That mission will also mark the first time SpaceX has been able to launch four mission in the same month. (3/15)

China's on a Mission to Dominate Space Internet (Source: Axios)
China is ramping up plans for government-sponsored satellites to beam internet from space, taking on U.S. rivals like SpaceX and Amazon in the race to own the next frontier of connectivity. There's growing concern that China is trying to enter the space internet market with the same strategy it used on earth with Huawei and 5G — use a state-backed company to undercut competitors and spread global influence.

China is attempting to launch its own network to rival global competitors. China's "StarNet" would launch 10,000 satellites in the next 5 to 10 years, according to an Asia Times report that cites a publication run by the official China News Service. China intends to build a space infrastructure system for communications, navigation and remote sensing with global coverage as part of its latest five-year plan. (3/16)

China to Construct Commercial Spaceport to Support Booming Space Industry (Source: Space News)
China will establish a commercial spaceport in the coming years to support the rapid growth of private space activities in the country. The commercial space launch center was included in a list of national projects in the recently formulated 14th Five-Year Plan which covers 2021-2025. The project gains approval following both a large increase in launches by the traditional space industry in China and the development of a private space sector in recent years.

China currently has four national launch centers that mainly support launches of Long March rockets from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the state’s main space contractor. Increasing launch activity and numbers of launch service providers could however be constrained by a bottleneck in launch facilities. Dou Xiaoyu said China needs to strengthen domestic launch site capacity and continuously improve and optimize facilities. She also noted that launch-related policies and regulations have yet to be promulgated and perfected.

Startup companies Landspace, iSpace, OneSpace and Galactic Energy have since attempted orbital launches, while Expace and China Rocket, a spinoff from CASC, have also launched rockets. CAS Space, a Chinese Academy of Sciences spinoff, and private firms Deep Blue Aerospace, Linkspace, Spacetrek, Space Transportation and others are working towards launches. (3/16)

Why One Side of Earth Is Rapidly Getting Colder Than the Other (Source: Popular Mechanics)
In a new study, scientists from the University of Oslo say one side of Earth’s interior is losing heat much faster than the other side—and the culprit is practically as old as time. The scientists combined several previous models for things like seafloor age and continental positions during the last 400 million years. Then, the team crunched the numbers for how much heat each grid cell contains over its long life. This paved the way to calculate the rate of cooling overall, where the researchers found the Pacific side has cooled much faster. (3/16)

NASA Partners with Altius, Honeybee & OrbitFab to Test Satellite Fixtures for Robotic Grappling (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has chosen three companies to participate in a new partnership to test and evaluate satellite servicing technologies.

Altius Space Machines of Broomfield, Colorado, Honeybee Robotics of Longmont, Colorado, and Orbit Fab of San Francisco will provide cooperative robotic grapple fixtures and data to be studied by NASA’s Exploration and In-Space Services projects division (NExIS, formerly known as the Satellite Servicing Projects Division) engineers. The engineers will utilize robotics facilities at Goddard via Space Act Agreements to collect data on the performance of the companies’ fixtures.

NASA will document the test results and make the information available to other federal agencies for incorporation in future projects. NASA is planning to begin testing in the spring and summer of 2021 and to release the report by the end of the year. (3/16)

Spaceport Traffic Management (Source: Space Review)
Cape Canaveral has been very busy recently, thanks in large part to a steady stream of Falcon 9 launches. Jeff Foust reports on how the range is working to deal with that increased launch demand and how it can cope with more users and more launches in the future. Click here. (3/15)
 
The Case for Scrapping the Space Launch System (Source: Space Review)
Dueling editorials in recent weeks have argued for and against the SLS. Ajay Kothari argues against the SLS because of not just its cost and schedule problems but also because there is a better approach for opening up the solar system. Click here. (3/15)
 
Mobility and Surface Access Lessons for the Artemis Lunar Lander (Source: Space Review)
NASA will soon select designs for crewed lunar landers for the Artemis program. Philip Horzempa turns to proposals for past lunar lander designs for lessons that could inform the design of these new landers. Click here. (3/15)

Babin Requests Information on Europa Clipper Mission and SLS Use (Source: NASA Watch)
In a letter to NASA, Rep. Brian Babin, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, noted that the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee has not weighed in on the question of which launch vehicle should be used for the Europa Clipper, but is conducting thorough oversight of the decision. "It's crucial that we conduct thorough oversight to determine that the Clipper mission is being carried out in accordance with Congressional intent. I'm expecting a prompt response from NASA answering our questions on their analyses of launch vehicles, as well as cost, schedule, and mission impacts." (3/15)

Georgia and Alaska Spaceports Courting Balloon Tourism Venture (Source: Spaceport Facts)
It’s increasingly obvious that Spaceport Camden’s secret Project Osprey is most likely a startup called Space Perspective. The company plans six-hour tours for eight passengers in a capsule slung under a hydrogen balloon. In a February interview, Camden Administrator Steve Howard once again mentioned “There's a company currently that we're working with that is related in the tourism-- that is tourism-related.”

Alaska Aerospace announced a cooperative agreement with Spaceport Camden last year. The Alaska Kodiak spaceport also included a “tourist” activity centered around balloon rides to the stratosphere by Space Perspective, a Florida startup that has dreams and little else. Since Kodiak launches rockets about twice a year, they’re hopeful high-altitude balloon rides for rich folk will substitute for the rocket doldrums. AKAerospace included eight pages on “balloon tourism” by the startup in their 2030 Master Plan. (3/15)

Starlink Is Key To Funding SpaceX’s Starship Fleet To Colonize Mars (Source: Tesmanian)
“Megatons per year to orbit are needed for life to become multiplanetary. Building 100 Starships per year gets to 1,000 in 10 years or 100 megatons per year, or maybe around 100,000 people per Earth-Mars orbital sync,” Elon Musk said. The reusable Starship launch vehicle is under development at the SpaceX South Texas Launch Facility located at Boca Chica Beach, along the border with Mexico.

The development of the Starship launch vehicle comes with an expensive price tag, Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband constellation is key to funding the Starship fleet development long-term. If SpaceX is successful in deploying the constellation of thousands of internet-beaming Starlink satellites and obtains a percentage of the telecommunications market, Musk says Starlink could generate ten times more revenue than SpaceX’s core business that launches payloads to orbit. (3/14)

12-Year-Old Enters College, Hopes to Work at NASA by 16 (Source: KABC)
A 12-year-old prodigy is off to college. Alena Wicker, of Arizona, has already completed high school through at-home schooling. Now, she's off to Arizona State University. She plans to major in astronomical and planetary sciences and chemistry. Her passion for building started as an infant with LEGOs. Wicker's hope is to land a job at NASA when she's 16. (3/14)

Tesla Automation Leader Joins Astra to Scale Rocket Production (Source: Astra)
Astra today announced that Pablo Gonzalez, Ph.D., will join the company as Senior Vice President of Factory Engineering. Gonzalez previously worked at Tesla, Inc., where he led development of all equipment and automation lines in the California and New York factories. Gonzalez most recently served as Vice President of Robotics and Automation Engineering at Velodyne LiDAR, Inc., a remote sensing technology company. He has been awarded more than 50 patents in the semiconductor, medical, and solar industries. (3/15)

NASA Seeks U.S. Citizens for Ground-Based Simulation of Life in Space (Source: NASA)
Astronauts experience various aspects of social isolation and confinement during their missions, and NASA researchers are working to develop methods and technologies to mitigate and counteract potential related problems on future spaceflight missions. As many around the world are staying at home in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, NASA is preparing for its next spaceflight simulation study. Researchers are seeking healthy test subjects to live together as a small crew in isolation for eight months in Moscow, Russia.

The analog mission, originally intended to begin in 2020 but delayed to ensure the health and safety of participants, is the next in a series of studies that will help NASA learn about the physiological and psychological effects of isolation and confinement. This will help prepare humans for Artemis exploration missions to the Moon and long-duration missions to Mars. NASA is continuing to accept applications to participate as a test subject through the end of March 2021 for the eight-month mission now planned to start in late 2021. (3/11)

UK Spaceport Faces Environmental Obstacles (Source: The Herald)
A proposed launch site in the Shetland Islands is facing environmental obstacles. NatureScot, Scotland's natural heritage agency, warned that launches from the planned Shetland Space Center on the island of Unst could disturb bird populations there. It recommended no launches or engine tests take place there from the middle of May through the end of June of each year, a "critical incubation and early brooding period" for protected bird species on the island. An archaeologist also raised issues about the site, saying its current design would affect the remains of a former Royal Air Force radar installation from World War II. (3/15)

DARPA Picks SEAKR for Autonomous Satellites (Source: Space News)
SEAKR Engineering won a $60.4 million DARPA contract for autonomous satellite operations. The contract, announced Friday, covers work by the company to develop a data processing system for satellites to operate autonomously. SEAKR previously won a DARPA contract to develop computer systems for the Blackjack satellite program. The "Pit Boss" artificial intelligence system will enable the Blackjack constellation to operate autonomously. (3/15)

Umbra Satellites Offer 15 Centimeter Resolution (Source: Space News)
Radar satellite startup Umbra says its satellites will be able to provide imagery with resolutions as sharp as 15 centimeters. The FCC granted Umbra an experimental license in February to operate high-bandwidth synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in one frequency band and low-bandwidth SAR on another. The high-bandwidth SAR will allow the company to provide higher resolution imagery, although it is currently licensed by NOAA for SAR imagery no better than 25 centimeters. Umbra plans to launch its first X-band SAR microsatellite later this year. (3/15)

ISS Spacewalkers Spend Seven Hours Fixing and Preparing Things (Source: AP)
Two astronauts performed a spacewalk Saturday outside the International Space Station. Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover spent nearly seven hours outside the station performing a range of tasks, from rerouting cables to installing a metal ring on a thermal cover for the station's airlock. During work removing jumper cables that are part of the station's cooling system, more ammonia vented into space than expected, and astronauts took precautions to ensure their suits were not contaminated before returning inside the station. (3/15)

Exploring the Moon Using Beamed Light Energy (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Light Bender is a novel concept for the generation and distribution of power on the lunar surface within the context of the Artemis mission and the “Long-Term Human Lunar Surface Presence” that will follow. The innovative concept is based on a heliostat that utilizes Cassegrain telescope optics as the primary means to capture, concentrate and focus the sun’s light.

A second key innovation is the use of a Fresnel lens to collimate this light for distribution to multiple end users at distances of a kilometer or more away without substantial losses. The redirected and concentrated solar energy is then converted to electricity at the end user’s location using small (2m-4m diameter) photovoltaic arrays that can be mounted on habitats, cryo-coolers, or mobile assets such as rovers or ISRU elements. (3/15)