April 18, 2022

The Moon Emerging as the Next Frontier for Military Operations (Source: Space News)
Like a Coast Guard for space, a military force conceivably would be needed to protect lines of commerce in the lunar economy. A 2020 memo signed by NASA and the Space Force noted that a military presence near the moon would help ensure civilians can operate safely. The main job of the Space Force today is to defend the nation’s satellites in Earth’s orbit. But some early efforts are underway to prepare for operations in the lunar environment.

An experiment planned by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) dubbed the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS) will investigate technologies to monitor the region of space between Earth and the moon. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits the installation of military bases and weapons on the moon but does allow scientific pursuits.

If the Space Force is tasked to protect cislunar space, it will need to overcome significant technological challenges. The military’s space sensors were designed to operate in Earth-centric reference orbits where objects follow a repeating pattern. Trajectories are not as predictable in cislunar space, and the distances are enormous. (4/16)

The Space Tourism Industry Has Created a New Profession: Space Travel Agents (Source: Observer)
Historically, going to space has always been part of a government-backed effort that require extensive training, funding, and a justifiable mission. A crop of commercial space companies are vowing to change that. From Space Perspective‘s balloon stroll in the stratosphere to Virgin Galactic’s suborbital thrill ride to Axiom’s weeklong stay on the ISS, private space travel packages offer a myriad of experiences at every altitude. And they’re available to anyone who can afford a price tag ranging from just over $100,000 to $50 million.

Most human spaceflight companies are still a few years away from regularly flying paying customers. But they are already attracting prospective customers and, trailing in the wake of the would-be passengers, luxury travel brokers who believe space tourism is the next big pursuit for the ultra-wealthy. For the space industry, these travel agents can help them find customers in the narrow slice of the population with both the means and interest to go to space. And for the mega-rich curious about a jaunt into orbit, a space travel agent can handle the messy process of vetting the vendor, negotiating a price and booking tickets. (4/18)

For Musk, SpaceX Counts as Philanthropy (Source: Business Insider)
"SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, The Boring Company are philanthropy. If you say philanthropy is love of humanity, they are philanthropy," said Elon Musk. Although philanthropy has come to be associated with generous donations by the very wealthy, the Greek-derived phrase means "love of humanity."

Musk said electric vehicle maker Tesla is "accelerating sustainable energy" while his space exploration firm SpaceX seeks to "ensure the long-term survival of humanity with a multiple-planet species." Meanwhile, brain microchip firm Neuralink is trying to "help solve brain injuries and existential risk with AI (artificial intelligence)" and tunnel-digging firm Boring Company "is trying to solve traffic, which is hell for most people, and that also is love of humanity," Musk said. (4/18)

Planet Labs Releases Slew of Datasets for Planetary Variables (Source: Space Daily)
Planet Labs PBC has announced the release of Planetary Variables, a new product offering consisting of three pre-processed, accurate data feeds that measure the conditions of dynamic systems on the surface of the Earth. The three Planetary Variables feeds consist of Soil Water Content, Land Surface Temperature, and Vegetation Biomass Proxy to help customers make informed decisions in industries ranging from agriculture to emergency response.

This novel data product is a result of the increased product capabilities gained by Planet's recent acquisition of Earth analytics company VanderSat. The data supporting these three feeds draws on observations from public satellites that use passive microwave sensors, which provide unique insight in measuring water content in soils and vegetation. This enables Planetary Variables to be unhindered by cloud cover, providing Planet customers with new, globally available insights. (4/13)

Embry-Riddle Students' Space Debris Mitigation Research Featured on National Stage (Source: ERAU)
A three-student team from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been selected to participate in a national undergraduate research showcase known as Posters on the Hill, in April. The team presented on the topic of space debris mitigation and was selected from among hundreds of applicants. “Typically, only one or two students are selected per state to participate in Posters on the Hill, so we can’t overstate what an accomplishment it is,” said event organizers the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), in a letter.

The accumulation of space debris is rapidly increasing, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO). The students chose to investigate the problem from a business perspective — examining and proposing solutions that would motivate companies to reduce the space debris that they create. All three students — Sophia Gustely, Adriana Ordoñez and Ryan Kirby — are earning degrees from the David B. O’Maley College of Business at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. (3/23)

Xi Calls on Wenchang to Build World-Class Spaceport (Source: Space Daily)
President Xi Jinping has called on the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan to build itself into a world-class spaceport. Xi made the remark on Tuesday afternoon as he visited the launch complex, the newest and southernmost of its kind in China.

He stressed that the facility is tasked with servicing China's new-generation, heavy-lift carrier rockets and it plays a significant role in the country's deep-space exploration endeavors, making it quite unique in the nation's space sector.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that the Wenchang center must uphold a spirit of hard work and perseverance, research the latest developments in the global space field and the strategic needs of China's space industry, strengthen its sense of mission and responsibility, take the lead in innovation and comprehensively boost its space launch capabilities. (4/15)

ReOrbit and TransAstra Sign Spacecraft Development and Logistics Contracts (Source: Space Daily)
TransAstra, a provider of breakthrough orbital logistics and space domain awareness solutions, and ReOrbit, a provider of software-defined small satellites for beyond LEO missions, announced today that they have signed binding contracts for initial spacecraft development and orbital logistics services. Under these contracts, TransAstra will provide mission definition and engineering analysis for TransAstra's Worker Bee orbital transfer vehicles to deliver ReOrbit's customer satellites to Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit, Geostationary Orbit, and Cis-Lunar orbits.

In addition, ReOrbit will provide development options under which ReOrbit generates cost, feasibility, and integration considerations to complete the production and testing of Worker Bee. Under a separate Memorandum of Agreement, TransAstra will explore selecting ReOrbit as a preferred provider of microsats and smallsats for certain customer payloads, while ReOrbit will explore selecting TransAstra's Worker Bee as the preferred supplier of orbital transport vehicle services, including satellite delivery and hosting. (4/15)

Starlink Project Connects Coalfield Region Families to the World (Source: Bristol Herald Courier)
Before the Starlink beta project was started, Deel, like most other families in her community, had to seek out reliable internet in places such as the public library, and even then, it is not enough. In terms of internet service, she stressed that most either rely on less stable satellite internet options or are forced to spend thousands of dollars to have a cable company install a line to their home.

"Going into the public library is what a lot of people have to do because they don't have internet at home," Deel said. "Internet is pretty much a necessity to be connected to the world now. So, in rural areas, it's still shocking in 2022 that there are so many people who don't have access to internet, or good internet." To Deel's surprise setting up Starlink took less than 15 minutes. She has yet to encounter any major problems with the service. (4/15)

First Woman CEO to Take a Space Company Public Now Sets Eyes on a Unique Business Model (Source: GeoSpatial World)
The ‘first woman’ tag seems to stick organically and effortlessly to Carol Craig. Before becoming an “astropreneur”, she was one of the first women eligible to fly combat missions for the US Navy. She was also the first woman aviator in her squadron serving as an active-duty P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer. So, it wasn’t really a novelty for her when last year she became the first woman Founder CEO to take a space company public.

“It’s crazy. We didn’t even know until halfway through the IPO that there have been only 22 female-founded companies on the Nasdaq. I’m the first female-founded space company to go public. I think it’s pretty cool,” she says. There was another unique twist there too. She did it without taking the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) merger route that most other space companies have recently been using to go public. Sidus Space listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange on December 14, 2021, under the symbol SIDU. (4/15)

Axiom Space and Partners Demonstrate Commitment to Emerging Technologies for In Space Production (Source: Axiom Space)
At the core of Axiom Space’s mission is to enable the development of a diverse and robust commercial economy in low-Earth orbit. Axiom Space, a leader in human spaceflight and building the world’s first commercial space station, proudly congratulates four of its partners whose proposals were selected by NASA in Focus Area 1A of the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) seeking In Space Production Applications (InSPA) flight demonstrations. Click here. (4/15) https://www.axiomspace.com/news/axiom-inspa

NASA Asks SpaceX to Decide the Fate of ‘Dragon XL’ Lunar Cargo Spacecraft (Source: Teslarati)
In a new Request For Information (RFI) quietly released by NASA on April Fools’ Day, the space agency appears to have indirectly asked SpaceX to determine the fate of its ‘Dragon XL’ lunar cargo spacecraft. In March 2020, NASA announced that it had selected SpaceX to deliver the bulk of pressurized and unpressurized cargo it would need to crewed and operate the Gateway lunar space station for the first several years of its existence.

To accomplish that task, SpaceX would develop a heavily-modified single-use version of its Dragon 2 spacecraft with more propellant storage, more space for cargo, and a range of other design changes. Known as Dragon XL, that spacecraft would weigh around 15 to 16 tons at liftoff and likely require a fully or partially expendable Falcon Heavy launch for each mission to the Moon. However, more than two years later, NASA still hasn’t started work on the contract.

That’s why the new RFI is so intriguing. NASA begins by referencing fine print in the original 2018 Gateway logistics solicitation that allows the agency to continue receiving and considering new proposals from new and existing providers throughout the program’s planned 17-year lifespan. NASA says its primary motivations are for “information and planning purposes, to request feedback, to promote competition,” and to “[determine] whether to conduct an on-ramp in 2022.” NASA doesn’t specify what exactly that means, but in the context of the rest of the text, it appears that the agency wants to use this RFI to help determine whether or not to finally “on-ramp” its existing Dragon XL contract with SpaceX. (4/18)

SpaceX Launches NRO Satellite From California Spaceport (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office Sunday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:13 a.m. Eastern on the NROL-85 mission. The NRO later declared the launch a success. The rocket's first stage, which previously launched the NROL-87 mission in February, landed back at the launch site. This was the first NRO mission to fly on a reused Falcon 9. (4/18)

China Launches Two Satellites in Short Order (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
China conducted two launches hours apart Friday. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 8:05 a.m. Eastern and placed into orbit the ChinaSat 6D spacecraft. That communications satellite will operate from 125 degrees east in GEO, replacing ChinaSat 6A. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off at 2:16 p.m. Eastern from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, placing Daqi-1 into low Earth orbit. The satellite carries a lidar payload to study air pollution. (4/18)

COMSPOC Executive to Lead DoD Space Policy (Source: Space News)
An executive with a space traffic management company is joining the Defense Department's space policy office. Travis Langster, vice president and general manager of COMSPOC, will be principal director of DoD space policy, the company announced Friday. Langster will fill a new post at the office of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy, which oversees a larger portfolio including space, nuclear weapons, cyber, missile defense, electromagnetic warfare, and countering weapons of mass destruction. (4/18)

SES On Track for Launch of O3b Power Satellites (Source: Space News)
The CEO of satellite operator SES says he still expects to launch his company's O3b mPower satellites this year. In an interview, Steve Collar said getting satellites launched and placed into service this year "is very much on track." He argues that schedule puts SES at a competitive advantage over other satellite operators who are suffering schedule slips. Many of those slips are due to supply chain issues linked to the pandemic, which he said many continue into next year, along with effects of higher inflation rates. (4/18)

Scientists Seek Less Expensive Ways to Continue Mars Exploration (Source: Space News)
Mars scientists are pinning their hopes on less expensive missions. The planetary science decadal review is scheduled for release Tuesday, and most do not expect a flagship-class Mars mission to be a top priority. Even if it was, bot scientists and NASA officials warn, the cost of Mars Sample Return would make it difficult to fund it. At a recent conference, scientists said that less expensive missions, with costs of $100 million to $300 million, could be promising ways to continue Mars exploration within tighter budgets. (4/18)

NASA and Space Force Cooperate on NEO Planetary Defense (Source: Space News)
NASA and the Space Force are cooperating on near-Earth object (NEO) data. Earlier this month, NASA announced that it signed an agreement with the Space Force where the service will provide more detailed information on bolides, or asteroids that burn up in the upper atmosphere, detected by military satellites. At the recent Space Symposium, the Space Force emphasized its interest in cooperating with NASA and other agencies on planetary defense. NASA, meanwhile, expressed its interest in funding a space mission, NEO Surveyor, to better detect NEOs, even though the agency's budget proposal for fiscal year 2023 would delay work on the mission by at least two years. (4/18)

Isaacman Sees Potential Schedule Slip for Polaris (Source: Florida Today)
The billionaire funding a series of crewed SpaceX missions says the date of the first flight could slip. Jared Isaacman announced earlier this year the Polaris Program, which would include a series of Crew Dragon and Starship missions to test out capabilities. The first mission, Polaris Dawn, is tentatively scheduled for launch in November, but Isaacman said in a college talk Friday that the mission could be delayed to January. He didn't give the reason for the slip. (4/18)