March 24, 2021

UFO Report to be Published Soon Detailing ‘Difficult to Explain’ Sightings, Former Intelligence Director Says (Source: The Independent)
A former US national intelligence director has claimed that a report will be released soon declassifying several “difficult to explain” UFO sightings. John Ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence during the Trump administration, revealed in an interview with Fox News on Friday that the report will be released in the coming months.

“There are a lot more sightings than have been made public,” Mr Ratcliffe said. “Some of those have been declassified. And when we talk about sightings, we are talking about objects that have seen by Navy or Air Force pilots, or have been picked up by satellite imagery that frankly engage in actions that are difficult to explain. Movements that are hard to replicate that we don’t have the technology for. Or traveling at speeds that exceed the sound barrier without a sonic boom." (3/22)

Porous Carbon Aerogels Might Power Future Mars Missions (Source: Physics World)
Lightweight composite materials containing more than 99% air could prove key to powering future space missions. The materials, known as porous carbon aerogels, make up the electrodes of a supercapacitor developed by researchers at the NASA-sponsored Merced nAnomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing, the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), the University of California, Merced, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The device’s ability to operate at extremely cold temperatures could also make it a good power source for polar expeditions on Earth.

Many spacecraft require heating systems to operate in their inhospitable environment. NASA’s Perseverance Rover, for example, recently began a two-year mission to look for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, where the average temperature is -62 °C, dropping below -125 °C in the winter. Onboard heaters keep the electrolytes in the rover’s batteries from freezing, but the heaters and the energy sources required to power them add weight to the spacecraft payload.

In the trade-off between charge/discharge speed and energy storage capacity, supercapacitors – or, more accurately, electric double-layer or electrochemical capacitors – fall somewhere between batteries and conventional (dielectric) capacitors. Though less good at storing charge than batteries, supercapacitors are better than conventional capacitors in this respect thanks to their porous electrodes, which have surface areas as large as several square kilometers. (3/22)

AFWERX Increases Space Focus (Source: Space News)
The Air Force's technology accelerator, AFWERX, will devote more resources to space. Over the coming months AFWERX will establish a subordinate organization called SpaceWERX and plans to launch a new program called Space Prime intended to help accelerate the commercialization of promising technologies. With Space Prime, the government would provide both financial and technical support for technologies considered strategically important and on the cusp of becoming commercially viable. During a recent AFWERX webinar, officials said up to $100 million could be invested in Space Prime over the next year. (3/23)

NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Prepares for First Flight (Source: NASA)
NASA is targeting no earlier than April 8 for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Before the 4-pound rotorcraft can attempt its first flight, however, both it and its team must meet a series of daunting milestones. Ingenuity remains attached to the Perseverance rover. On March 21, the rover deployed the graphite composite debris shield that protected Ingenuity during landing. The rover currently is in transit to the “airfield” where Ingenuity will attempt to fly. Once deployed, Ingenuity will have 30 Martian days, or sols, (31 Earth days) to conduct its test flight campaign. (3/23)

Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Could Usher in New Era of Exploration (Source: UPI)
NASA's plan to fly a helicopter on Mars for the first time in a few weeks could start a new era of interplanetary exploration like the space agency's little Sojourner rover did in the 1990s, according to several experts. The Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, will be dropped from the Perseverance rover soon, but NASA hasn't determined the exact date. The rover ejected a shield that covered the helicopter over the weekend.

Ingenuity is purely a demonstration like Sojourner was, but it will provide images of the surface around the Perseverance rover. Depending on its success, NASA may be able to use helicopters to explore Mars faster, said Robert Zubrin, founder and president of the non-profit Mars Society, which advocates for Martian exploration. (3/22)

China's Lunar Rover Travels 682.77 Meters on Far Side of Moon (Source: Xinhua)
The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have been switched to dormant mode for the lunar night after working stably for a 28th lunar day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The lander was switched to dormant mode at 2 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), at 5:09 p.m. Saturday, said the center. The Chang'e-4 probe, which was switched to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power, had been on the far side of the moon for more than 800 Earth days, and the rover has traveled 682.77 meters. (3/22)

UAE Probe Adjusts Mars Orbit for Science (Source: The National)
The UAE's Mars probe, Hope, is adjusting its orbit. A maneuver scheduled for Tuesday, followed by another April 6, will place the spacecraft into its science orbit of between 20,000 and 43,000 kilometers above Mars. Hope entered a more elliptical orbit, coming as close as 1,000 kilometers to Mars, when it arrived at Mars last month. That science orbit will allow the spacecraft to map the entire planet every nine days for studies of its weather and atmospheric processes. (3/23)

Indian Astronauts Complete Russian Training (Source: Live Mint)
Four Indian astronaut candidates have completed training in Russia. The four, all pilots in the Indian Air Force, spent more than a year at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut training center outside Moscow, although that work was interrupted last spring by the pandemic. The Indian space agency ISRO has not identified the four pilots or said when one or more will be selected for the first crewed Gaganyaan mission, now expected to take place in 2023. (3/23)

LEGO Unveils Space Shuttle Model (Source: Collect Space)
LEGO has unveiled a new model of the space shuttle that will go on sale next month. The 2,354-piece set features both the shuttle Discovery as well as one of its most famous payloads, the Hubble Space Telescope. The set has the endorsement of one of the astronauts who flew on the Hubble deployment mission, Kathy Sullivan, who called it "very impressive." It goes on sale April 1 for $199.99. (3/23)

Police Assess Community Sentiment Ahead of Protest Over Rocket Lab Launch (Source: Stuff)
Peace activists are planning to protest on Wednesday against a launch of a United States military satellite by Rocket Lab, but by then the first satellite they are concerned about may already be in space. Police have indicated they had been taking an interest in assessing sentiment towards the launch, visiting a concerned community member to discuss social media posts.

One of the satellites on board, dubbed Gunsmoke J, was commissioned by the US Army's Space and Missile Defence Command (SMDC). US defence documents indicate the satellite is the first of a series of satellites that will carry advanced electronics that could provide "tactically actionable targeting data to warfighters" – in others words could help direct fire in a conflict. (3/22)

Rocket Lab Launches Six Satellites (One for US Army) From New Zealand (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab successfully launched six satellites and a second demonstration of its Photon satellite bus Monday. The Electron rocket lifted off from the company's New Zealand launch pad at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, deploying five satellites into a 550-kilometer orbit nearly an hour after liftoff and the sixth, a BlackSky imaging satellite, into a 450-kilometer orbit an hour later.

The satellites on the mission included internet-of-things satellites for Fleet and Myriota, the Gunsmoke-J technology demonstration satellite for the U.S. Army, and two smaller cubesats. After deploying the satellites, the kick stage reconfigured itself into a Photon satellite bus, the second such test of that Rocket Lab platform. The company plans to test systems on that Photon that will be needed for the launch later this year of NASA's CAPSTONE lunar cubesat mission. (3/23)

Alabama Republican Pleased with Space Force Progress on Acquisition Reform (Source: Space News)
The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said he's pleased with the progress the U.S. Space Force is making on acquisition reform. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) said Monday that Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond brought in veteran space procurement expert Ellen Pawlikowski, a retired four-star general, to help set up the service's acquisition organization, a move he endorsed. "She knows everything that shouldn't be done. And I think that she's going to do it right," he said. Rogers has been insistent that military space programs need to move faster to stay ahead of China, and that the traditional Pentagon procurement process slows everything down. (3/23)

How a Political Boss Could Help NASA (Source: Axios)
Having a politician in the top spot at NASA signals the agency will be a priority for the Biden administration, some space industry experts say. Bill Nelson, a former senator with President Biden's ear, is the administration's nominee to lead the space agency and could help make NASA a priority for the president if he's confirmed. NASA is often seen as an agency that cuts across partisan lines, inspiring children and helping everyone look to the future, but it's also a political tool with major geopolitical weight. The agency doles out billions in industry contracts and employs about 17,000 people across the country. (3/23)

Canada's MDA Plans IPO (Source: Space News)
Canadian space technology company MDA filed paperwork Monday for an IPO. MDA said it's seeking to raise $500 million Canadian ($397 million) in that IPO, which would value the company at more than $2 billion. MDA forecast that its annual revenue will nearly quadruple to more than $1.5 billion by 2025, thanks to work on several flagship programs like the Canadarm3 robotic arm and antennas for Telesat's Lightspeed constellation. MDA says it will use the proceeds to pay down debt and invest in new projects, such as a synthetic aperture radar satellite called SARnext. (3/23)

SpaceX Starlink System Could Support UK Broadband Plan (Source: Sky News)
SpaceX's Starlink system could win broadband funding from the British government. Starlink is being considered for funding from Project Gigabit, a £5 billion ($6.9 billion) project to provide high-speed internet access for underserved parts of the country. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that Starlink could be one of the best ways to provide that service, which the government project would subsidize. Other options include high-altitude aerial platforms as well as other satellite systems such as OneWeb, which the British government owns a controlling stake in. (3/23)

Privately-Funded Mission Takes Off to Begin Space Debris Cleanup Trials (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A commercial mission developed by the Japanese company Astroscale rocketed into space on a Russian Soyuz launcher Monday with 37 other payloads, ready to kick off an orbital “dance” with two small spacecraft demonstrating how satellite sweepers might one day drag junk out of orbit. The privately-funded mission is a pathfinder for future satellites that could roam busy orbital traffic lanes to link up with old pieces of space junk and drive them back into Earth’s atmosphere. (3/22)

Scotland Could Propel UK Space Industry (Source: Northern Times)
Scotland’s growing space industry could help put the UK ahead in the commercial space race, a new study has found. Detailed market analysis of the UK's potential as a launch for small commercial satellites found the country is well-positioned to access a growing global market that will send almost 4000 small satellites (3814) into near space orbit of up 62 miles through 970 launches between 2020 and 2031.

This has the potential to generate cumulative spaceport services revenues of around $490 million (approximately £350 million) and $5.8 billion (£4.2 billion) in launch revenues. Scotland already produces more small satellites than any other country in Europe and is home to two companies that design and manufacture launch vehicles – Orbex in Forres and Skyrora in Edinburgh.

Several locations in the north of the country are ideally suited as sites for vertical launch, benefiting from good access to both polar and sun-synchronous orbits as well as a skilled workforce and flexible supply chain. Ambitious developments are planned at Melness in Sutherland, Unst in Shetland and North Uist in the Western Isles. At the same time, horizontal launches are proposed for Prestwick in Ayrshire and Machrihanish in Argyll, as well as two sites further south in Snowdonia and Cornwall. (3/22)

SpaceX Texas Test HQ Fires Up a Dozen Falcon, Starship Rocket Engines in Six Hours (Source: Teslarati)
Though it often falls under the radar relative to SpaceX’s high-profile Boca Chica Starship hub, another even more important Texas outpost appears to be busier than ever testing the rocket engines and boosters instrumental to all SpaceX operations. Famous for occasionally supporting half a dozen or more rocket tests on busy days, SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas facilities showed off exactly that kind of rapid-fire activity on Friday, March 19, flexing the sheer variety and volume of rocket hardware liable to pass through its gates. (3/23)

Why Lockheed's Acquisition of Aerojet Will Be a 'Boon for U.S. Innovation' (Source: Politico)
The proposed acquisition by defense prime contractor Lockheed Martin of propulsion provider Aerojet Rocketdyne is facing some criticism due to alleged concerns that it would give Lockheed an unfair competitive advantage on missile and missile defense contracts. Raytheon Technologies in particular has publicly complained that the combination would leave it dependent on a direct competitor for much of the propulsion in its missile offerings.

Such concerns ignore the important benefits, including the increased competition, which will result from this merger. And, Lockheed Martin has made it clear that Aerojet Rocketdyne will remain a merchant supplier, so these benefits will flow to all customers, including the U.S. government. More importantly, the Lockheed-Aerojet merger will be a boon for U.S. innovation and competitiveness at a time when it faces growing threats from increasingly capable adversaries like China and Russia.

There are significant national advantages to bringing Aerojet Rocketdyne under the corporate roof of a prime contractor with $65 billion in annual revenue. Broadly speaking, it will provide financial stability for the propulsion provider while making more resources available for research and development in key technology areas. (3/22)