April 5, 2022

China's Hypersonic Passenger Plan: Super-Speedy Flights on the Edge of Space Could be a Reality as Soon as 2030 (Source: Independent)
A Chinese tech company has unveiled plans for hypersonic flights, which could fly at one mile per second, covering long-haul routes such as Shanghai to New York in two hours. The brand Space Transportation, also known as the company Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology, has released an animated video which shows how its proposed “space flights” might look - with a rocket launcher “boosting” a jet to the edge of space, before separating from it to fly at around 7,000km per hour. For comparison, Concorde’s top speed was 2,179 km/h.

Hypersonic flights travel more than five times the speed of sound (about 6000 km/h). The Shanghai-based company’s website says that it plans to launch test flights as soon as 2025, with views to operate a “full-scale global hypersonic vehicle flight by 2030." Click here. (4/5)

Multiple Nations Move to Militarize Space Operations (Source: Breaking Defense)
Researchers see evidence of a global Cold War-type race to develop anti-satellite technology and counter-space capabilities involving multiple countries. "We see a lot of nations creating new military organizations to focus on space, and a lot of the rhetoric is on this countering counterspace activities," said Kaitlyn Johnson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“We see a lot of nations creating new military organizations to focus on space, and a lot of the rhetoric is on this countering counterspace activities,” said CSIS’s Kaitlyn Johnson. “They see the development of counterspace activities and the uses of them, and so now they’re structuring their own militaries to either build more resilient systems or even build counterspace weapons that the intent is for those counterspace weapons to attack other counterspace weapons.”

“We’re seeing the further weaponization of the space domain without a lot of norms of behavior” which is “not a good positive norm for safety, stability and sustainability;  it’s actually a really disruptive norm.” SWF’s Victoria Samson pointed to the small silver lining that followed a Russian ASAT test this past November that created a cloud of long-lived space debris. “It created a real situation and real circumstances, real consequences. And so a lot of countries that had been kind of on the fence about it, are now very much in support of an ASAT test moratorium. (4/4)

National Eclipse Ballooning Project - Opportunity for Florida Colleges and Universities (Source: FSGC)
The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) in partnership with Spaceloon and the National Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP)is offering an opportunity for students (US Citizens only and 18 years or older) who are enrolled in any FSGC affiliated university/college or any of the State of Florida's Community Colleges and/or 4-yr Colleges to participate in a Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning project for 2 years starting Fall of 2022. This will involve the Annular Solar Eclipse in 2023 and the Total Solar Eclipse in 2024. Selected students will also be offered a scholarship of $2000/year for 2 years. Click here. (4/5)

Largest Launch Buy Ever: Amazon Picks New Glenn, Vulcan, and Ariane 6 Rockets to Launch Kuiper Megaconstellation (Source: Space News)
Amazon announced Tuesday it is buying up to 83 launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance to deploy much of its Project Kuiper megaconstellation. The company said it would buy 38 Vulcan launches from ULA and invest in launch infrastructure to support a higher flight rate. It is also buying 18 Ariane 6 launches and 12 New Glenn launches with an option for 15 more. The company did not disclose contract terms or other details, such as how many satellites will be launched on each rocket. Amazon said the launches will take place over five years and keep the company on track to meet its FCC license requirements to have half its 3,236-satellite constellation in orbit by July 2026. Editor's Note: That's up to 50 Kuiper launches from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (4/5)

NASA Scrubs Second Attempt at SLS Fueling Test (Source: NASA)
NASA scrubbed a second attempt at fueling the Space Launch System and going through a practice countdown Monday. In the second run through the wet dress rehearsal, crews were able to start loading liquid oxygen into the core stage, but only after several hours of delays because of a temperature limit issue. Problems with a vent valve kept launch controllers from starting to load liquid hydrogen into the vehicle and led to a scrub after about 50% of the core stage’s liquid oxygen tank was filled. NASA has not disclosed when it will make the next attempt to go through the practice countdown, which will depend on the status of those technical problems and range availability. (4/5)

Starship a Game Changer in the Fight Against Climate Change (Source: Newsweek)
Elon Musk's Starship rocket is poised for liftoff. The billionaire inventor recently announced that the massive new rocket system developed by SpaceX is approaching technical readiness—and that many of the remaining hurdles are administrative in nature. The FAA (and the Biden administration at large) should be weighing the opportunity costs of delaying the venture. That's because Starship has the potential to be a game changer in the fight against climate change.

Starship will make the concept of Space Solar Power both technically and economically feasible. Designs for individual solar power satellite (such as NASA's SPS-ALPHA) weigh in at about 8,000 metric tons, and—once deployed—will deliver about 2 gigawatts of energy back to Earth. And unlike terrestrial solar generation, which is intermittent, Space Solar Power Satellites can deliver constant power appropriate to the 24 hour needs of cities and industry and will be able to compete directly with coal and nuclear.

Given its potential, it is astounding that Space Solar Power is not yet part of the administration's strategy to tackle climate change, and was not even mentioned in its Space Priorities Framework or at the recent National Space Council meeting focused on climate change. This, despite the fact that America's "pacing challenger," China, has a robust space solar power program, and that our closest ally, the U.K., recently released its own positive study on the issue. Relevant, too, is the fact that action on Space Solar Power was recommended by the government's own internal think tank, the Aerospace Corporation, as well as by the Progressive Policy Institute and the Union of Aerospace Workers. (4/5)

Space Force Watching Starship Development with Interest (Source: Space News)
The head of U.S. Space Force launch operations says he’s closely following development of SpaceX’s Starship. Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy said he recently visited SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, facility and was impressed by “an amazing facility that gives you a lot of ideas of what the future could be.” Purdy said it’s too early to project how the Space Force might employ Starship. However, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX a $102 million contract to study how the military could use the company’s launch vehicles to transport cargo and crews from point to point on Earth. (4/5)

NASA Meets with International Partners on ISS, Artemis (Source: Space News)
NASA’s deputy administrator says she plans to meet with international partners this week on both the future of the International Space Station and roles in the Artemis program. Pam Melroy said she expects to discuss during meetings at the 37th Space Symposium topics such as extending the ISS to 2030 and impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on those efforts. She also wants to discuss how partners can play greater roles in the later “sustainable” phase of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration efforts. (4/5)

Bases in Florida, California, and Colorado Considered for Space Force Training Command (Source: Space News)
The Department of the Air Force has selected six bases as finalists to host the Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command. The bases in California, Colorado and Florida are being considered as headquarters for the training and readiness command, known as STARCOM, one of three Space Force field commands. It is responsible for the professional development, education and training of Space Force guardians, the development of space warfighting doctrine and tactics, and the operational test and evaluation of Space Force systems. STARCOM is provisionally located at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs until a permanent location is selected. (4/5)

Boeing's Millennium Unit Building California Factory for Smalllsat Manufacture (Source: Space News)
Millennium Space Systems is opening a new factory for building smallsats at volume. The company, owned by Boeing, is setting up the new factory in Southern California for building various types of smallsats. When it is operational in the fourth quarter of this year, the company will be able to assemble, integrate and test constellations of tens to thousands of satellites. Millennium will use its existing facility for producing prototypes. (4/5)

Space Force Takes Commercial-First Approach (Source: Space News)
Space Systems Command, the procurement arm of the Space Force, is looking for opportunities to buy “space as a service” from companies. Such services would include weather data, imagery and other intelligence collected by satellites. The Aerospace Corporation’s Commercial Space Futures Office is working with the command to help connect space companies with government buyers and to vet companies’ technical capabilities before they pitch their services to the government. that office is seeing increased interest from companies interested in working with the service but need help overcoming high barriers to entry into the defense market. (4/5)

L3Harris Urges Attention on Hypersonic Threats (Source: Space News)
The new head of space programs at L3Harris says the U.S. military needs to move faster on fielding technologies to address hypersonic weapons threats. Kelle Wendling, president of L3Harris Technologies' Space Systems sector, warned that if it takes 10 to 12 years to field new systems, "we'll be putting irrelevant capability on orbit." L3Harris is one of the U.S. government's major suppliers of infrared sensors used in weather and environmental satellites, a technology that the company spent years adapting for missile detection. She said the urgency of the hypersonic missile threat calls for DoD and the defense industry to adjust their risk tolerance and take a page from the commercial space sector. (4/5)

Workforce Becoming a Pain Point for Space Industry (Source: Space News)
The space industry is finding it harder to hire skilled workers. A study by the Space Foundation noted that while overall space industry employment is increasing, along with salaries, enrollment in training programs for some key fields is dropping. That decline is becoming a "pain point" for companies trying to hire workers to fill technical positions. Investors say hiring challenges in the space industry will lead to more acquisitions as a way for companies to access talent and expand their staffs. Workforce shortages could push small companies to partner with a larger contractor or be acquired by a bigger company with more resources to carry out big projects. (4/5)

Lockheed Creates Open-Source Satellite Docking Standard (Source: Space News)
Lockheed Martin released technical specifications of a docking adapter manufacturers could use to make satellites interoperable and easier to upgrade in space. Designers can use the technical data for the Mission Augmentation Port (MAP) to develop their own docking adapters, which Lockheed compared to the USB standard for computer connections. The company hopes the standard can support the development of satellites that be more easily repaired, refueled and upgraded. (4/5)

Xplore Acquires Kubos (Source: Space News)
Space-as-a-service startup Xplore Inc. announced Monday the acquisition of spacecraft software developer Kubos. More than a dozen government and commercial satellites in orbit plan and conduct mission operations with Major Tom, cloud-based software developed by Kubos to handle a variety of tasks, including ground station scheduling, satellite tasking and telemetry monitoring. Xplore plans to use Major Tom as a platform that can be extended to other aspects of flight and ground operations. (4/5)

Amazon and AWS Join Orbital Reef Project (Source: GeekWire)
Amazon and its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing business are joining the Orbital Reef commercial space station project. Amazon announced Monday that it would offer its expertise in logistics to support Orbital Reef, while AWS will provide computing services. Orbital Reef, an effort led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space, is one of three commercial space station projects that won funding from NASA last December to support initial design work. (4/5)

HP Supercomputer on ISS Completes Experiments (Source: Space News)
A Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) supercomputer on the ISS has completed 24 experiments. Since the Spaceborne Computer-2 was installed on the station last May, HPE has been working with Microsoft and NASA to demonstrate various applications, such as analysis of astronaut gloves that relies on artificial intelligence. Another experiment involves the analysis of astronaut DNA that can be done using the computer in minutes, rather than taking hours to transmit the raw data to Earth. (4/5)

UAE Plans $800 Million Space Industry Investment (Source: The National)
The United Arab Emirates plans to invest more than $800 million into the country's space industry over the next decade. The investment will go towards establishing economic zones for space activities across the country, including attracting companies from outside the country. A fund will also support development of space-related applications in food, energy and other sectors. (4/5)

Japan's Receives Over 4000 Astronaut Applications (Source: Kyodo)
More than 4,000 people applied in the latest Japanese astronaut selection process. The figure is a record and comes after the Japanese space agency JAXA dropped a requirement that candidates have a university degree. JAXA is now starting a four-round screening process expected to conclude next February. (4/5)

UAE Working with Blue Origin to Establish Spaceport, Ends Agreement with Virgin Galactic (Source: Parabolic Arc)
At the end of a long article about the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) efforts to develop a virbrant space industry, The National revealed this bit of news from Ibrahim Al Qasim, deputy director general of the UAE Space Agency. Mr Al Qasim revealed that the agreement that was signed in 2019 with Virgin Galactic to bring space tourism flights to Al Ain Airport is no longer in effect, without explaining further.

Instead, the country is now working with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to set up spaceports. He said discussions with the company, which has already flown 20 people on its suborbital flights, are under way. Any agreement to fly Blue Origin’s New Shepard would be dependent upon a technology safeguards agreement between the UAE and the US. A similar agreement with New Zealand allows Rocket Lab to launch Electron rockets from the company’s spaceport on Mahia Peninsula. Brazil has signed an agreement that will allow U.S. companies to launch from the Alcantara Space Center. (4/4)

Assembling America’s Future in Space (Source: Space News)
The benefits of in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) have long been championed. From satellite refueling, to recycling of orbital debris, to increasing capability delivered on order through robotic manufacturing and assembly in space, ISAM will transform space architectures and provide strategic and commercial advantages to those who lead in its development and implementation.

Combined with the U.S.’s success in dramatically reducing the cost of launch, ISAM has the potential to expand American civil, national security, and commercial leadership in space. Because of first-of-their-kind investments and accomplishments in the last decade, America is poised to realize the critical benefits of ISAM.

Our times demand that the U.S. act deliberately and rapidly to enhance space infrastructure by operationalizing ISAM capabilities in a meaningful way for the security of our nation and allies, and to support the aspirations of human discovery and exploration. With critical prioritization from the Biden administration, strong public-private partnerships, and ongoing cutting-edge commercial innovation—the time to build is now. Click here. (4/4)

Stopping Climate Change Is Doable, but Time Is Short, U.N. Panel Warns (Source: New York Times)
Nations must move much faster to avoid a perilous future on an overheated planet, though some progress has been made, a major U.N. report said. The report warns that unless countries drastically accelerate efforts to slash emissions from coal, oil and natural gas, the goal of limiting global warming to relatively safe levels will most likely be out of reach by the end of this decade. (4/4)

Telesat Adjusts Polar Satellite Design to Tackle Supply Issues (Source: Space News)
Telesat has upgraded a quarter of its planned low Earth orbit constellation as supply chain issues force it to consider ordering fewer satellites for the delayed broadband network. The Canadian company’s plan to double the antennas onboard Telesat Lightspeed’s first 78 satellites brings the constellation back to a single satellite design that, according to a company executive, will help cut costs as production delays push out the service’s debut a year to 2026.

These initial satellites are destined for polar orbits and the changes mean they will have two pairs of antennas like the inclined satellites planned for the rest of the constellation, said Erwin Hudson, Lightspeed’s system development vice president. Telesat had previously decided to make its polar satellites smaller than the 220 slated for inclined orbits, and with just one pair of antennas to accelerate production. (4/4)

Spaceflight Inc. Hails a Pair of Successful Launches as it Deals with Frictions in SpaceX Relationship (Source: GeekWire)
Thanks to its role in handling pre-launch logistics, Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. can claim a share of the credit for two successful satellite deployments that took place within 24 hours this week — but it’s also facing a rift in relations with SpaceX, one of its longtime launch partners.

On Friday, SpaceX launched 40 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket, as part of a mission known as Transporter-4. Spaceflight Inc. handled the arrangements for flying several of those satellites. Spaceflight also played a supporting role last week's launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand. Two Earth observation satellites were successfully sent into orbit for BlackSky, a Virginia company that was once Spaceflight’s corporate sibling.

In contrast, Spaceflight’s interactions with SpaceX have become less cordial and more complicated over the past few months. Spaceflight’s business model relies on purchasing excess capacity from launch providers around the globe — and it’s been making deals with SpaceX for rideshare satellite launches since 2015. Then the relationship hit a snag, due to problems involving Spaceflight’s Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle. During the run-up to SpaceX’s Transporter-3 launch in January, Spaceflight’s Sherpa-LTC1 suffered a problem with its propulsion system and was removed from the mission. (4/2)

SmallSat Education Conference Planned at Cape Canaveral Spaceport in October (Source: Aerospace and Innovation Academy)
As the SmallSat Revolution continues to disrupt commercial space, the democratization of space now enables educators access to low Earth orbit. Students may now be engaged with authentic experiences and training using various SmallSat platforms. This gathering, at the KSC Visitor Complex in Florida, will provide hands-on opportunities for educators and students of all ages to learn how they may "Go To Space." Click here. (4/4)

Fission-Powered Engines Would Make Spaceships Faster and More Maneuverable (Source: FutureSpaceTech)
The Pentagon wants its next generation of satellites to have enough power to be capable of evading attacks. It thinks the answer lies with nuclear-powered propulsion. Two initiatives will investigate the concept. The first, led by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, will test a technology known as “nuclear thermal propulsion”.

Working with American firms, including Blue Origin, General Atomics and Lockheed Martin, DARPA spacecraft will carry a small nuclear reactor. Inside, uranium atoms will be split to generate tremendous heat. That heat will be absorbed by liquid hydrogen sucked from a tank on board the spacecraft. The hydrogen, which will start at a storage temperature colder than -253°C, will rapidly expand as it warms. As that hot gas shoots out of a nozzle at the back of the spacecraft, it will produce thrust.

Such a spacecraft could climb to a geostationary orbit above the Earth, nearly 36,000km up, in mere hours. Satellites that burn normal rocket fuel need several days for the same trip. Nuclear-powered satellites with abundant power would also be hard to destroy—their trajectories could be changed often enough to become unpredictable. DARPA wants to test its spacecraft, dubbed DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations), in orbit in 2025. (4/4)

Australia Gives US Hypersonics a Much-Needed Boost (Source: Asia Times)
As the US struggles to field its own hypersonic weapons, Hypersonix, a small Australian civilian company, might provide the much-needed hypersonic engine technology to help the US to develop the weapons. The Hypersonix scramjet engine was introduced to senior US officials last month and appears to have several advantages over more complex US systems. Notably, the company claims it can 3D-print a hypersonic engine in three weeks.

Hypersonix’s engine can be 3D-printed using special alloys characterized by resistance to corrosion, oxidation, high pressure and high temperature. In addition, more exotic coatings are planned to be used for exposed hypersonic vehicle flight control surfaces, which endure extreme temperatures during hypersonic flight. However, Hypersonix managing director David Waterhouse said the necessary high-temperature-resistant composites are not readily available in Australia and there is an urgency to develop and produce them in-country.

Last month Hypersonix, together with the University of Southern Queensland, LSM Advanced Composites and Romar Engineering, was awarded a $2.2 million grant from the Australian government to develop the DART CMP airframe, a reusable hypersonic UAV that can travel up to speeds of Mach 12, powered by the SPARTAN hydrogen engine. The project aims to produce a complete UAV airframe including composite aeroshell and aerodynamic control surfaces, flight avionics and a hydrogen fuel system. (4/4)

The Age of the Private Space Station Is Upon Us (Source: Time)
From its inception more than a generation ago, the ISS—which was built and is maintained by 15 nations, led by the US and Russia—was always intended to be an exercise in peaceable relations between two nations that fought a decades-long Cold War. But what war can not break, time and age can. The $150 billion ISS—as big as a football field and made of 16 pressurized modules and a pair of massive solar wings—is getting old.

Its first component, the Russian Zarya (Dawn) module, was launched nearly 24 years ago, and orbital hardware can last only so long before equipment breaks down, small air leaks appear, and the constant punishment both by micrometeorites and the continual thermal cycling the station goes through on every 90-minute orbit—from 121 degrees C on the sunlit side of the Earth and -157 degrees C on the nighttime side—take their own toll. NASA and the ISS partners had originally intended to keep the station in service only until 2025, but that date is now 2030—provided the hardware can last that long. Click here. (4/1)

Pairing Beers With Launches on the Space Coast (Source: EDC of FSC)
A new reputation is brewing. A unique mix of game-changing, commercial space-exploration companies and legacy powerhouses is reinventing the one-of-a-kind flavor known as Florida’s Space Coast. Set against the backdrop of near-weekly rocket launches, legendary beaches and eclectic downtowns, a question vexes the minds of a new generation of Space Coast locals: What beer goes best with rocket launches? Click here. (4/4)