June 15, 2022

China Says It May Have Detected Signals From Alien Civilizations (Source: Bloomberg)
China said its giant Sky Eye telescope may have picked up signs of life beyond Earth, according to a report by the state-backed Science and Technology Daily, which then appeared to have deleted the report and posts about the discovery. The narrow-band electromagnetic signals detected by Sky Eye -- the world’s largest radio telescope -- differ from previous ones captured and the team is further investigating them, the report said, citing Zhang Tonjie, chief scientist of an extraterrestrial civilization search team.

The suspicious signals could, however, also be some kind of radio interference and requires further investigation, Zhang added. It isn’t clear why the report was apparently removed from the website of the Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of China’s science and technology ministry, though the news had already started trending on social network Weibo and was picked up by other media outlets, including state-run ones.

In September 2020, Sky Eye, which is located in China’s southwestern Guizhou province and has a diameter of 500 meters (1,640 feet), officially launched a search for extraterrestrial life. The team detected two sets of suspicious signals in 2020 while processing data collected in 2019, and found another suspicious signal in 2022 from observation data of exoplanet targets, Zhang said, according to the report. China’s Sky Eye is extremely sensitive in the low-frequency radio band and plays a critical role in the search for alien civilizations, Zhang is reported to have said. (6/15)

Want to Work in the Space Industry? There is a Big Hiring Spree Happening on the Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Lockheed Martin needed to fill 80 jobs with 100 percent of those positions directly connected to the space industry. Northrop Grumman Corp. wants to hire a couple hundred for its fast-growing Melbourne operations. Boeing advertised 70 open positions on the Space Coast. "The space industry is hot right now," said Laura Forczyk of Astralytical. "There's been a lot of capital flowing into the industry over the past year or two."

That combined with the increasing commercialization of space means the space sector is on a large-scale recruiting drive. And Brevard County, home of Kennedy Space Center, finds itself at the hub of activity with many companies hosting multiple hiring events over the last month. Brevard's identity as Florida's Space Coast drives companies' desires to be close to the action. Emmanuel Tormes, senior manager of government operations for Boeing, said companies chose to be here and hire here because the Space Coast is "the core for the aerospace industry compared to the rest of the country."

"NASA always serves as the tip of the spear driving exploration and research. But behind that, you've got all these companies and organizations that are able to capitalize on the work that they've already blazed the trail for," Tormes said. He credited the "super-qualified" workforce, Space Coast Economic Development Commission, as well as local colleges for helping to put Brevard at the center. (6/14)

Planet's NRO Contract Worth $146 Million (Source: Space News)
Planet says an NRO imagery contract it won last month is worth at least $146 million. Planet reported Tuesday NRO's initial commitment of $146 million for the first two years of SkySat constellation tasking, PlanetScope daily imagery and access to Planet's imagery archive. It did not disclose the total potential value of the contract, unlike BlackSky and Maxar, the other two companies NRO selected for awards last month. The award nearly doubled Planet's backlog of $152 million as of the end of April. Planet expects revenues to remain split between government and commercial markets even with the NRO award. (6/15)

Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Laser Comm Terminals (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman says it completed a ground demonstration of laser terminals that will be used to send and receive data in space for a military constellation. Northrop Grumman teamed with laser terminal manufacturer Mynaric and space avionics provider Innoflight. The companies tested high-rate encryption and decryption across an optical link. Such links will be used for the Transport Layer communications network to be built by the Space Development Agency (SDA). Northrop Grumman is one of three companies with contracts to produce satellites for Tranche 1 of that system. (6/15)

South Korea Halts KSLV-2 Launch Plans After Sensor Issue (Source: Yonhap)
A sensor problem will delay the launch of a South Korean rocket. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said it found "irregularities" with a sensor in an oxidizer tank in the KSLV-2 rocket after rolling it out to the pad, and will need to move it back to a hangar to resolve the provlem. KARI did not estimate how long the launch, which had been scheduled for as soon as Thursday, would be delayed. (6/15)

Iran Plans Two Launches of Solid Fuel Rocket (Source: AP)
Iran says it's planning two launches of a solid-fueled rocket. The government said Wednesday the launches of the three-stage Zuljanah rocket, designed to place small satellites into orbit, were in preparation but did not disclose when the launches were scheduled. The announcement came a day after high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar showed a rocket on the pad at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport. U.S. officials are concerned that development of Zuljanah could also support work on long-range ballistic missiles. (6/15)

Belgium's Aerospacelab Plans Satellite Megafactory (Source: Space News)
Belgian startup Aerospacelab said Tuesday it will establish a "megafactory" large enough to produce 500 satellites annually. The 6,000-square-meter factory in Charleroi, Belgium, will be used by Aerospacelab to manufacture satellites weighing 150 to 700 kilograms  starting in early 2025. The company, which launched its first satellite last year and has ESA contracts for two additional missions, said "additional ongoing contracts with institutional and commercial customers" led the company to pursue the new factory. An existing factory can make up to 24 satellites a year. (6/15)

South Korea's Contec Raises $47 Million for Ground Station Network (Source: Space News)
South Korean ground station operator Contec has raised $47.3 million in a Series C funding round. The company, which currently operates six ground stations, says the new funding will allow it to pursue its goal of building a global ground station network and operating its own Earth observation satellites, with its first satellite set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Contec also intends to set up telescopes to collect space situational awareness data. (6/15)

Spire Obtains $120 Million in Credit to Fund Expansion (Source: Spire)
Spire announced a $120 million credit facility to support its growth plans. The funding, led by Blue Torch Capital, will be used to close an existing $71 million credit facility and support expansion into new markets and development of new capabilities, including "strategic acquisitions." Spire operates a constellation of cubesats that provide tracking and weather data. The company went public in a SPAC merger last year that raised less money than originally expected. (6/15)

Sidus Space is a Teammate on NASA’s $3.5 Billion Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services Contract (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space is part of the Collins Aerospace team which was awarded NASA's Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVAS) services contract. The xEVAS program is expected to include the design, development, production, hardware processing, and sustainment of an integrated Extravehicular Activity (EVA) capability that includes a new spacesuit and ancillary hardware, such as Vehicle Interface Equipment and EVA tools. The xEVAS contract has a potential value of $3.5 billion through 2034 with a 10-year base contract plus two option years. (6/15)

House Adds Two DoD Launches to Spending Bill (Source: Breaking Defense)
House appropriators will fund additional SDA launches. A defense spending bill released Tuesday includes funding for two more SDA launches, which the Pentagon requested on its "unfunded priorities list" for fiscal year 2023. Those launches would be under the National Security Space Launch program, with eight total launches funded in 2023 in the bill. The bill would add $100 million to Space Force procurement budgets but cut $300 million from the service's R&D program. (6/15)

Navy Satellite Unit Transferred to Space Force (Source: Air Force Magazine)
A U.S. Navy satellite operations unit has transferred to the Space Force. The Naval Satellite Operations Center became the 10th Space Operations Squadron during a ceremony earlier this month. The former center operated 13 satellites that provided global narrowband communications that, like the center, are now part of the Space Force. The center is the first of 15 Army and Navy units that will move over to the Space Force. (6/15)

CAPSTONE Now Set for June 25 Launch with Rocket Lab (Source: NASA)
NASA's CAPSTONE lunar cubesat mission is now set to launch June 25. The agency announced the new launch date Tuesday after stating last week that a planned June 13 launch would be postponed to complete flight software updates. CAPSTONE, launched on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket, will test the stability of the near-rectilinear halo orbit the lunar Gateway will use and also test autonomous navigation technologies. (6/15)

Kennedy Space Center Celebrates 60 Years (Source: WESH)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center is celebrating a big milestone. For six decades, it's served as the world's main hub for space exploration. If you've even been to the Kennedy Space Center, it's nearly impossible not to be impressed by the magnitude of what has been accomplished there and the possibilities it still holds. Click here. (6/14)

Demo Mission to Test New ‘Space Tug’ Continues to Flounder (Source: Gizmodo)
California-based Momentus is currently performing its first test of an orbital transfer vehicle known as Vigoride-3, but the 180-day demo mission is off to a rocky start. The Vigoride-3 orbital transfer vehicle, in space since late May, is running on low power and likely won’t be able to deploy any more satellites to low Earth orbit, according to the latest Momentus update. Solar arrays that were folded for launch failed to open, resulting in the current power and communications issues with Vigoride-3. That communication frequencies might’ve been misconfigured prior to launch hasn’t helped matters. (6/14)

Sierra Space to Open Human Spaceflight Center in Florida to Train the Future Astronaut Corps (Sources: Sierra Space, Orlando Sentinel)
Sierra Space is creating the world’s first fully integrated commercial human spaceflight center and astronaut training academy. Dr. Janet Kavandi, a space industry leader and veteran NASA astronaut, will lead Sierra Space’s Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy from the company’s offices at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Sierra Space is building the world’s first commercial space platform, enabling a vibrant new space economy where companies in multiple industries can develop their next breakthrough products and services in the unique environment of space, delivering the discoveries of tomorrow to benefit life on Earth. Sierra Space’s Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy will recruit, train and prepare the astronaut corps that will be required to support the commercialization of space.

Similar to NASA’s astronaut selection process, Sierra Space’s Human Spaceflight Center and Astronaut Training Academy aims to commence the professional astronaut selection process in late 2023, with training for the first cadre of selected astronauts to begin in 2024. The company would be able to start flying astronauts by 2026 to begin construction of Orbital Reef. "We are excited to start this effort at the Kennedy Space Center during this truly formative stage in the new space economy,” said Kavandi. Details about where, how big, what facilities would be in place and how many people it would employ have not been made final. (6/14)

NASA, ESA Establish New Research Group for Mars Sample Return Program (Source: NASA)
Sixteen scientists from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan have been chosen to help future samples from the Red Planet achieve their full potential. NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), its partner in the Mars Sample Return Program, have established a new group of researchers to maximize the scientific potential of Mars rock and sediment samples that would be returned to Earth for in-depth analysis. Called the Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group, the 16 researchers will function as a science resource for the campaign’s project teams as well as for related Earth-based ground projects, such as sample recovery and curation. (6/14)

Space Launch System: Countdown To Launch Or Breakdown (Source: Talk of Titusville)
In September 2011, NASA unveiled their new generation rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). It was slated for its maiden flight in 2018 only to be delayed to 2019 in April of 2017. Then delayed to June of 2020, then being delayed in April 2017 to sometime in 2019. Then in June 2020, it was delayed again to April 2021, and now has a launch date in August 2022 – four years later than its original date.

Most of these delays were inconsequential yet still added additional costs to the program. As of March 2021 however, the clock began ticking for the SLS’s maiden launch during Artemis 1 (then set for October or November 2021) and for the parts that make up the vehicle, as well as other limiting factors. Other limiting factors include the frequently mentioned concern over the two massive solid rocket motors. The concern stems from NASA’s own reports in December 2019 stating that once the solid rocket boosters were stacked they have a 12-month lifespan. However, now being 15 months since Artemis 1 has been stacked, clearly there’s more to the matter than metaphorical “best by” date.

The fuel powering Orion’s European Service Module. The Monomethylhydrazine (also known as MMH) and the nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) oxidizer. This fuel combination, noted for being extremely toxic and requiring rather extensive personal protective equipment, decomposes in Florida’s high ambient moisture. Despite NASA’s best efforts, small amounts of moisture can make their way into the system. MMH gradually become diluted, making it unusable. There’s no publicly known procedure in the event Orion’s fuel decomposes beyond what would be viable for flight. However, there may be some options available depending on what path NASA takes. NASA’s options range from straight-forward solutions, to the worst case scenario that would result in removing Orion from SLS. (6/14)

Starlink and OneWeb Reach Spectrum Coordination Plan (Source: Space News)
SpaceX and OneWeb said June 13 they have reached a spectrum coordination plan that would enable their current and second-generation broadband megaconstellations to coexist. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the companies asked the regulator to disregard any spectrum coordination issues they had previously filed against each other.

SpaceX has permission to deploy 4,408 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) for its Starlink network, and is seeking approval to add nearly 30,000 more to improve its broadband services. OneWeb has permission for 648 satellites in LEO and wants to grow its constellation to roughly 7,000 satellites. There are currently 2,404 Starlink and 427 OneWeb satellites in orbit, according to statistics maintained by spaceflight analyst and astronomer Jonathan McDowell. (6/14)