July 29, 2021

Track and Compare the Orbital Status of Starlink and OneWeb Constellations (Source: SPACErePORT)
Check out this live tracking map of Starlink and OneWeb satellite constellations, showing specific satellites as they travel around the globe. Click here. (7/29)

Europe Launches its New Robotic Arm, Which Will Crawl Around the International Space Station Like an Inchworm (Source: Universe Today)
The robotic arms of the ISS are some of its most useful tools.  The arms, designed by Canadian and Japanese space agencies, have been instrumental in ferrying around astronauts and shepherding modules to one side of the ISS.  However, the Russian segment lacked its own robotic arm – until a new one designed by ESA was launched last week.

The European Robotic Arm (ERA) will arrive at the ISS on July 29th along with Nauka, the Laboratory Module it is attached to the outside of.  With the help of 5 expected space walks, the arm will soon be commissioned and will start on its first tasks – getting Nauka’s airlock up and running so it can become a permanent part of the station, and installing a large radiator to help handle the increased cooling load of the station. (7/27)

NASA Europa Deal Reveals Tricky Politics of Space Rockets (Source: Inverse)
The decision raises new questions about the future of the Space Launch System, which NASA continues to say is a cornerstone of its Artemis program to return humans to the Moon by 2024. It also tells us a lot about the symbiotic relationship between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the agency. By opting for SpaceX to launch the Clipper, NASA is flying in the face of the U.S. Congress, which for ten years insisted the Europa Clipper be borne on NASA’s own SLS rocket before giving NASA the right to choose whether to do it or not in late 2020. Given a choice, NASA chose SpaceX.

The choice seems sensible on the surface. The SLS is behind schedule, and launching the Clipper using a private company may be cheaper and more reliable. NASA is also developing a Human Landing System vehicle that could potentially take humans to the Moon and back without the need for the SLS or the companion Orion spacecraft currently slated to take the Artemis astronauts to the Moon in 2024. All of which begs the question: Is the Space Launch System essentially dead on arrival? And, if so, is NASA’s landmark science missions dependent on SpaceX? (7/28)

Space Telescopes Spot Light 'Echoing' From Behind Black Hole for the First Time (Source: Space.com)
For the first time ever, scientists have seen the light from behind a black hole. Black holes are regions in space-time where gravity's pull is so powerful that not even light can escape its grasp. However, while light cannot escape a black hole, its extreme gravity warps space around it, which allows light to "echo," bending around the back of the object. Thanks to this strange phenomenon, astronomers have, for the first time, observed the light from behind a black hole.

In a new study, researchers, led by Dan Wilkins, an astrophysicist at Stanford University in California, used the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and NASA's NuSTAR space telescopes to observe the light from behind a black hole that's 10 million times more massive than our sun and lies 800 million light-years away in the spiral galaxy I Zwicky 1, according to a statement from ESA. (7/29)

GeoOptics Plans Weather Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
GeoOptics is planning to deploy a next-generation constellation of smallsats to collect weather and climate data. The company's CICERO-2 satellites will start launching next year, with a goal of having 50 in orbit in five years. The satellites will collect the radio occultation data its existing CICERO satellites provide for weather forecasting, but will also be able to collect other data for Earth science applications. The company currently supplies radio occultation data to NOAA for its weather models as well as to Climavision, a commercial weather forecaster. (7/29)

R3-IoT Raises $4.3 Million for Sensor-Satellite Links (Source: Space News)
A Scottish startup developing technology to connect sensors with satellites has raised a seed round. R3-IoT raised $4.3 million in a round led by Space Capital, allowing the company to begin commercial service in November. The company's gateways link up with nearby sensors and devices, using satellites in multiple orbits and cellular networks to transmit data through the cloud to customers or to its own software platform. The seed round will support operations for about 12-18 months after the company's commercial launch and allow it to establish operations in North America. (7/29)

UK Aviation Authority to Regulate Launches (Source: UK Dept. for Transport)
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is now responsible for regulating the country's commercial space industry. The CAA will handle licensing of commercial launches and spaceports in the United Kingdom, implementing spaceflight regulations that went into effect Thursday. The agency expects to issue its first launch licenses next year. (7/29)

SpaceX Employees Converge on Texas Site to Assist Starship Operations (Source: KVEO)
SpaceX has been sending hundreds of employees to its Boca Chica site to finish preparations for the first orbital Starship launch attempt. The company has transferred up to 500 employees from its other locations to Boca Chica, filling up hotels in Brownsville, to support this surge in activity. That orbital launch attempt doesn't have a firm date yet, and will depend on the status of FAA licensing and an environmental review. (7/29)

Texas Town to Honor Wally Funk (Source: NBC Dallas-Fort Worth)
A Texas town will honor Wally Funk with a parade. Funk will be the guest of honor in a parade the town of Grapevine, where she lives, will hold Aug. 7. Funk, one of the "Mercury 13" women who passed astronaut medical exams six decades ago but never got the opportunity to become astronauts, flew to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle last week. At 82, Funk is the oldest person yet to go to space. (7/29)

Hotels Near Capacity as Several Hundred SpaceX Employees Arrive in Brownsville in Preparation for Orbital Launch (Source: KVEO)
Development at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site is ramping up under orders from company CEO Elon Musk, in an effort to finish the orbital launch tower and stack the starship and booster prototypes before launching into orbit. Musk has called on several hundred employees from other SpaceX sites to temporarily relocate to the area until the project is finished. 
 
n the effort to launch the fully stacked Starship SN20 and Super Heavy B4 prototypes into orbit, Musk has called on 500 employees from SpaceX sites in Hawthorn, California, Cape Canaveral, Florida, and McGregor, Texas, to relocate to the Brownsville/Boca Chica area temporarily. Employees have been arriving at the Brownsville South Padre Island International airport and booking rooms at nearby hotels. (7/28)

NASA Performs Field Test of 3D Imaging System for Descent and Landing (Source: NASA)
Producing rapid and accurate images on missions to the Moon, Mars and other terrestrial destinations is crucial for a safe descent and landing. A NASA project called Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution, or SPLICE, includes a key element that will help ensure a clearer touchdown site.

The SPLICE team recently performed a dynamic test of the hazard detection lidar (HDL) engineering development unit, a prototype specifically built for testing, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. HDL – an element of SPLICE – is a laser-based 3D imaging system that can quickly and accurately scan a planetary surface to create a map of the landing field. It’s designed to help a mission avoid hazardous obstacles and land in a safe area. (7/28)

Inmarsat Unveils Multi-Orbit 'Orchestra' Constellation (Source: Space News)
British operator Inmarsat plans to add at least 150 low-Earth-orbit satellites to its global fleet, stepping up competition against OneWeb and others developing megaconstellations for mobility markets. The company is investing $100 million over the next five years to lay the groundwork for deploying 150-175 LEO spacecraft. They aim to join satellites Inmarsat has in geostationary and highly elliptical orbits from 2026.

Inmarsat, which currently operates 14 satellites, is also on track to add five new GEO and two HEO spacecraft to its network over the next five years. Its incoming multi-orbit constellation, called Orchestra, seeks to improve latency, network speeds and resiliency for communications services across its core maritime, aviation, government and enterprise markets. (7/29)

Space Station Stable After New Russian Segment's Unplanned Thruster Firing (Source: NASA)
Following the docking of the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), named Nauka, to the International Space Station at 9:29 am EDT, Russian cosmonauts aboard the space station conducted leak checks between Nauka and the service module. At 12:45 pm, the flight control team noticed the unplanned firing of MLM thrusters that caused the station to move out of orientation. Ground teams have regained attitude control and the motion of the space station is stable.

The crew was never and is not in any danger, and flight controllers in Mission Control Houston are monitoring the status of the space station. Teams are also monitoring the impact to tomorrow’s launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Updates on the space station will be provided on NASA.gov and the agency’s social media pages. (7/29)

Eastern Florida State College Gains DoD Support for Composites Training Center (Source: IACMI)
Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) is the newest home to an advanced composites learning center designed to educate and train composites technicians to support Florida's Space Coast manufacturing region. Led by the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, the national workforce initiative is part of the Office of Naval Research's Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP). MEEP programs prepare current and next-generation manufacturing workers to produce military systems and components that assure defense technological leadership.

"Eastern Florida State College is strategically located in the heart of Florida's Space Coast region and has a high concentration of defense, space, aerospace and marine industries who support DOD projects vital to our economy and national security," said Joannie Harmon, workforce director for IACMI. "Advanced composites materials are critical to the defense industry. The Advanced Composites Career Pathway (ACCP) program sponsored through DOD focuses on training the current and future workforce with the manufacturing skills necessary to sustaining the defense innovation base." (7/28)

Russia's Pirs DC1 ISS Module Re-Enters Earth's Atmosphere (Source: SpaceRef)
After almost twenty years of service, instead of getting a medal , one of the Space Station's oldest modules got a little trip through the atmosphere. Astronauts aboard the ISS pitched the orbiting lab 90 degrees, flying belly first to assist the separation maneuver. A couple hours later astronauts had a front row seat to the fireball, watching smaller pieces float away from the main fireworks as the module was destroyed by the heat of atmospheric friction. (7/28)

Nanoracks Opens First Alabama Location In Huntsville (Source: Crunkleton)
Nanoracks, an international private in-space services company that is part of Voyager Space Holdings, will soon open its first Alabama-based office in Huntsville. With locations based in Houston, Washington DC, Abu Dhabi, Turin (Italy), and even the International Space Station, Nanoracks focuses on the repurposing of in-space hardware with the ultimate goal of turning it into agile space stations. They chose Huntsville as the next location in order to be close to the Marshall Space Flight Center and to take advantage of the city’s space industry, proximity to government offices, and impressive talent pool. (7/27)

Punch Mission Advances Toward 2023 Launch (Source: Space Daily)
The Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission achieved an important milestone, passing its latest NASA review and entering the final mission design phase with a new launch-readiness target of October 2023. Southwest Research Institute is leading PUNCH, a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission that will integrate understanding of the Sun's corona, the outer atmosphere visible during total solar eclipses, with the "solar wind" that fills the solar system.

PUNCH consists of four, suitcase-sized, Earth-orbiting satellites that will study the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, and how the corona accelerates to become the solar wind that fills the solar system. PUNCH images will offer unprecedented detail, providing measurements that will bridge a long-standing gap between remote images of the corona and solar wind and direct in situ measurements of the solar wind. PUNCH will also provide ground-breaking 3D information about this region by taking advantage of the way light scatters off electrons. (7/28)

Upgrades to NASA's Space Communications Infrastructure (Source: Space Daily)
The ability to transmit and receive data is crucial in space exploration. Spacecraft need robust networking capabilities to send data - including large files like photos and videos - captured by onboard instruments to Earth as well as simultaneously receiving commands from control centers. NASA has made significant strides to improve the agency's space communications capabilities while simultaneously maintaining ongoing operations and service to a large number of missions.

The Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) project implemented critical upgrades to NASA's space communications infrastructure by modernizing Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) ground terminals and improving many system capabilities. Orbiting 22,300 miles above Earth, multiple TDRS provide communication links between orbiting satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS, and ground-based control centers. TDRS allow missions to be in nearly constant contact with their control and data centers on Earth.

In April 2021, the SGSS team finished initial upgrades to systems at the Second TDRS System Ground Terminal (STGT) and the White Sands Ground Terminal (WSGT) sites, located at NASA's White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (7/28)

Will Suborbital Space Tourism Take a Suborbital Trajectory? (Source: Space Review)
With Blue Origin’s first crewed New Shepard flight last week, there are now two companies ready to start flying people on commercial suborbital flights. Jeff Foust reports on the launch and what it means for space tourism and the broader industry. Click here. (7/27)
 
John Glenn’s Fan Mail and the Ambitions of the Girls Who Wrote to Him (Source: Space Review)
John Glenn, who would have turned 100 this month, attracted volumes of fan mail after his first spaceflight in 1962. Roshanna P. Sylvester examines what the letters say about the people, especially young women, who wrote him, and the society of that era. Click here. (7/27)
 
The Case for Suborbital Scholarships (Source: Space Review)
Suborbital space tourism may be taking off, but it has a perception problem that it, and by extension commercial space, is only for the very rich. A.J. Mackenzie offers a proposal to make space tourism a little more diverse. Click here. (7/27)

Project to Search for ET Artifacts in Galactic Space (Source: Space Daily)
The multi-institutional, international Galileo Project is a transparent scientific project to advance a systematic experimental search for cross-validated evidence of potential astroarcheological artifacts or active technical equipment made by putative existing or extinct extraterrestrial technological civilizations (ETCs). The goal is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research. (7/27)

NASA's Role in Agriculture (Source: Space Daily)
Producing food has always been challenging, and in the 21st century, human-caused climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, the frequency of extreme events and changing precipitation patterns. This is increasing the risk of food supply disruptions by shifting growing and pastoral zones, reducing water access and food yield-all of which contribute to the changing landscape of our food and water supply.

In addition, more than 800 million people suffer from chronic hunger worldwide. By 2050, the global population is estimated to grow to 10 billion people. As the population-and the demand for food-continues to expand, we need innovative ways to feed the world. That's where NASA Earth science data comes in. Satellite data has increasingly become part of the food farming process.

With observations from space and aircraft, combined with high-end computer modeling, NASA scientists work with partner agencies, organizations, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and decision makers to share our understanding of the relationship between the Earth system and the environments that provide us food. NASA supports those who address issues like water management for irrigation, crop-type identification and land use, coastal and lake water quality monitoring, drought preparedness, and famine early warnings. (7/27)

Space Food Costs are Out of This World (Source: Space Daily)
Space is expensive. The transportation cost for each lemon sent to the ISS may be over $2,000. Such lemons and other food supplies are sent to the station periodically by cargo modules from U.S. and Russian suppliers. Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA has been using other sources for resupplying the station. Initially, Russia provided this service, but more recently, the private sector has joined in this activity. The objective was to reduce the costs of resupplying the ISS.

Beginning in 2008, NASA signed contracts with SpaceX and Orbital ATK (now part of Northrop Grumman) in the amount of $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, for a total of 20 resupply launches to ISS. This breaks down to an estimated cargo cost of $27,000 per pound for SpaceX and $43,000 per pound for Orbital ATK. (7/27)

AFRL Conducts 1,300 Experiments on Record-Breaking Satellite (Source: PAFB)
The Air Force Research Laboratory is celebrating the completion of the Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) satellite mission, and processing a treasure trove of valuable data that will be studied by scientists for many years to come. The spacecraft was launched June 25, 2019 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after 16 years of development, integration, and testing.
 
“Most of the spacecraft developed at AFRL are primarily focused on technology development and demonstration,” said Dr. Robert Johnston, the team’s lead science investigator. “However, as its name indicates, DSX also built as a platform for science experiments.” The satellite, which was roughly the size of a football field, consisted of four experiment suites designed to increase knowledge of conditions in the challenging orbital regime known as Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and to test advanced spacecraft control techniques. (7/19)

Aldrin: At 91, I'm Still Optimistic About America Overcoming Challenges (Source: Florida Today)
People wonder at my optimism. At 91, I will explain it. America at our best has always been about overcoming challenges, working together, embracing the unknown without fear. Fifty-two years ago, Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and I got to the moon. With Mike orbiting, Neil and I descended. Remembering the day should fortify us.

...On the surface, we planted the American flag, and rendered a proud salute. To me, that flag represented success, the triumph of a unified and free nation over a communist, Soviet adversary. In many ways, it presaged what followed, showing America was technologically superior. The Soviets never did land a human on the moon. Our goal was to demonstrate what a free people could do; remind people, too, that freedom brings peace. On the ladder, we left a plaque that reads: “We came in peace for all mankind.” The plaque contained the crews’ signatures and that of President Nixon. 

The world was awash in conflict then, even at home. The 1960s saw the assassinations of a president, a former attorney general, a civil rights leader. As a nation, we were resolved and resilient. While we are now in a time of conflict again, my hope is that America’s character does not change. At 91, people wonder at my optimism. I get it from memories of what America is, a belief in what we can do when we pull together. History proves it, and Apollo 11’s anniversary gives us a chance to recall our shared, enduring character, what it means for the future. (7/23)