May 31, 2022

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Reveals Next-Generation Starlink Satellite Details (Source: Teslarati)
Elon Musk has revealed the first technical details about the next-generation Starlink ‘Gen2’ satellite design, confirming that it will far outmatch the current generation of satellites by almost every measure. Musk revealed that SpaceX has already built at least one functional Starlink Gen2/V2.0 satellite prototype and shipped it to the South Texas Starship factory, where it is currently being stored.

Each Starlink V2.0 satellite will weigh about 1.25 tons (~2750 lb), measure about seven meters (~23 ft) long, and be almost an order of magnitude more capable than the “Starlink 1” satellites they’ll ultimately supersede. That's about four times heavier than V1.5.

In an updated Starlink Gen2 filing, the company conveniently revealed that a version of the constellation optimized for Starship would be structured such that the rocket could launch an entire orbital plane (one ring of satellites spaced evenly around the Earth) in one go. In that constellation variant, all but ~500 (1.5%) of almost 30,000 spacecraft would be stationed in planes of 110 or 120 satellites, meaning that it was safe to assume that SpaceX meant that every Starship would nominally carry 110-120 satellites. (5/30)

Why Did Mars Dry Out? New Study Points to Unusual Answers (Source: University of Chicago)
Mars once ran red with rivers. The telltale tracks of past rivers, streams and lakes are visible today all over the planet. But about three billion years ago, they all dried up—and no one knows why. Previously, many scientists had assumed that losing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helped to keep Mars warm, caused the trouble. University of Chicago geophysical scientist Edwin Kite is the first author of a new study that examines the tracks of Martian rivers to see what they can reveal about the history of the planet’s water and atmosphere.

Kite and his collaborators ran many different combinations of these factors in their simulations, looking for conditions that could cause the planet to be warm enough for at least some liquid water to exist in rivers for more than billion years—but then abruptly lose it. But as they compared different simulations, they saw something surprising. Changing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere didn’t change the outcome. That is, the driving force of the change didn’t seem to be carbon dioxide.

There are several alternative options. The new evidence fits nicely with a scenario, suggested in a 2021 study from Kite, where a layer of thin, icy clouds high in Mars’ atmosphere acts like translucent greenhouse glass, trapping heat. Other scientists have suggested that if hydrogen was released from the planet’s interior, it could have interacted with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to absorb infrared light and warm the planet. (5/25)

$2.5M Grant to Monitor Space Weather, Making Space Travel Safer (Source: University of Hawaii)
A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa-led project to better predict and understand weather in space earned a major boost from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The four-year, $2.5 million grant will fund a project to construct a space weather station center on the UH Mānoa campus and deploy a neutron monitor on Maui, which researchers say will greatly improve their research in this critical field.

The UH Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy will receive $1.2 million of the $2.5 million grant. UH Mānoa Associate Professor Veronica Bindi, the principal investigator on the project, says her team is collaborating with researchers from the University of New Hampshire and the University of Arizona. The project will measure the most powerful particles emitted by the Sun, which are solar energetic particles and solar neutron particles. (5/29)

NASA Funds R&D Projects for Lunar Construction Technology (Source: Parabolic Arc)
As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the moon, the spaced agency is funding a series of research and development (R&D) projects focused on turning lunar regolith into landing pads, blast shields and other useful structures. NASA recently selected four R&D projects for funding under its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)  program. The projects, which partner small businesses with academia, will each receive up to $150,000 apiece for studies lasting 13 months. (5/30)

B612 Foundation Announces $2.3 Million in Leadership Gifts (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The B612 Foundation announced today a new $1 million matching challenge grant from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and separate $1.3 million in gifts to advance their efforts to build the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) cloud-based astrodynamics platform. B612 Foundation, and its core program, the Asteroid Institute, is committed to expanding humanity’s knowledge of our solar system, including the discovery of asteroids and their orbits.

In order to unlock Tito’s Handmade Vodka matching challenge grant, B612 must raise another $1 million from donors. The Austin, Texas-based vodka company will match all donations made, up to $1 million, with a fundraising goal to receive those gifts before December 31, 2022. Tito’s is encouraging others to get involved and help reach the campaign goal. These gifts will advance B612 and its Asteroid Institute. (5/30)

NASA Funds Research to Improve Health of Astronauts (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA is funding a pair of research and development (R&D) projects by Sachi Bioworks and Soterix Medical aimed at improving the health of astronauts flying to the International Space Station and on deep-space missions. Each company received a Phase II award worth up to $750,000 under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. NASA previously provided smaller Phase I awards for the companies to begin R&D work.

Sachi Bioworks, which is located in Boulder, Colo., is working on pharmaceutical counter measures to protect astronauts on deep space missions from the harmful effects of radiation, which include the suppression of the immune system. Soterix Medical is developing a spatial disorientation simulator that can be used to improve the training of astronauts. (5/30)

Skyrora Completes 70kN Engine Tests in Line with ESA's Boost! Program (Source: Skyrora)
Rocket company Skyrora has successfully completed and documented a 70kN rocket engine test, marking a key milestone in its contract under ESA’s Commercial Space Transportation Services and Support Program (CSTS). Being a part of this initiative is paramount to Skyrora’s journey, as it unlocks the next round of qualification tests and moves the company one step closer to its goal of orbital launch. This test, the latest in a series of 16, lasted 20 seconds, was completed within acceptable parameters, and was conducted using a different propellant mixture ratio. Skyrora will now scale up its manufacturing process, and will oversee qualification tests on one engine a week. (5/23)

OneWeb to Provide Services in Korea (Source: Korea Economic Daily)
UK’s satellite company OneWeb plans to provide services for airlines and ships in South Korea where its geographic conditions kept the existing technology from meeting demand from those clients. The low Earth orbit satellite communications firm is already delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity everywhere north of 50 degrees latitude, including all of the UK with satellites it has placed in orbit, OneWeb Chief Technology Officer Massimiliano Ladovaz told The Korea Economic Daily. (5/29)

Axiom Space and Italian Government Sign Historic MOU to Expand Commercial Utilization of Space (Source: Axiom)
Axiom Space has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Italian government to further their existing collaboration, including the potential for the development of space infrastructure integrated with the future Axiom Station. The agreement was signed by the President and CEO of Axiom Space, Michael Suffredini, and Italy’s Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, Vittorio Colao, on 19 May in Rome, Italy.

The project could take the form of a public-private framework with the governance and business models developed over time.  Other areas of cooperation include collaborative development and implementation of research supporting space exploration and technology, including advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, on-orbit manufacturing, space security, aerospace medicine, simulation and robotics, and other areas of mutual interest as determined by the two parties, as well as training and mission operations. (5/25)

Misplaced Priorities? ISRO Delays Four Defense Satellites (Source: New Indian Express)
Are misplaced priorities of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) hurting Indian armed forces’ communication and navigation systems? Four dedicated navigation satellites of the Indian armed forces, which would have improved the defence establishment’s communication systems by several notches, are yet to go up in space. Reason: ISRO’s “misperceived priorities” in general and the decision by its former chairman K Sivan to put their launch in the backburner, sources said.

Curiously, another critical component of the NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) programme built and designed to provide accurate real-time positioning and timing services to the Indian defence forces has also been delayed by three years at the defence ministry level. Sources said NavIC’s accuracy has been hampered because the satellites are not in place. (5/29)

Egypt to Inaugurate Space City by the End of 2022 (Source: Egypt Independent)
The head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Mohamed al-Qousy, said on Sunday that by the end of 2022 Egypt will inaugurate a city dedicated to space research over an area of 123 acres. Qousy said that there is great interest from the state regarding space and scientific research in general. Egypt will be among the 10 countries that own space cities, similar to other developed countries in this field.

Qousy explained that the space city will contain 23 buildings to serve space activities, including a space academy, a research center, a center for the assembly of satellites, and a museum in the form of tourism in addition to the African Space Agency. The agency aims to develop and transfer space science and technology into Egypt to build satellites and launch them from Egyptian territories. (5/30)

Once-Restricted Tech is Helping Spot Russian Troops, Chinese Missile Sites and Raging Wildfires (Source: Grid)
Satellites equipped with regular cameras can’t, it turns out, snap shots of most of the planet most of the time: Around 70 percent of the globe is shrouded in clouds, and at any given time about half of the planet also happens to be dark. That’s where a newer kind of satellite comes in. Instead of using cameras to detect visible light, they rely on a technology called synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that beams microwaves at Earth. These microwaves shoot through clouds and don’t know the difference between day and night. They reflect off whatever they hit on the ground and bounce back up to detectors on the satellites.

The result is detailed maps that show the world as it is, and as it’s changing. That’s why, back in March, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation asked SAR companies to send real-time data his way. Once the shrug-shouldered stepchild of the commercial satellite sector, the SAR industry is now having a moment: Both the cost of launch and the price of relevant technology have dropped during the 21st century, as both have become more capable. The intelligence community is buying data and analytics from private companies. The regulatory environment has loosened.

SAR satellites have helped discover a giant wind turbine farm likely powering Chinese missile silos, mapped flooding after a typhoon, tracked rogue ships and watched wildfire progression. They can stare through a hurricane and catch what North Korea is up to at 2 a.m. They can see whether a car has driven through snow or left ruts on a muddy road — in the dark, during a storm. (5/23)