June 17, 2022

House Armed Services Chairman Calls on Space Force to Change How it Buys Launch Services (Source: Space News)
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) in a draft version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act pushes for changes in military launch services procurement, calling on the Space Force to replace the current two-vendor strategy with an open competition model. Smith’s version of the NDAA, or chairman’s mark, is scheduled to be released June 20 and the full committee will mark up the bill June 22.

The chairman’s mark brings up concerns Smith has expressed previously about creating opportunities for new players to compete in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. The HASC leader has been critical of the two-vendor model preferred by the Space Force, which in 2020 awarded United Launch Alliance and SpaceX five-year NSSL Phase 2 contracts to launch collectively as many as 35 NSSL missions. (6/16)

Senate Defense Authorization Bill Moves Forward (Source: Space News)
The Senate advanced its version of a defense authorization bill Thursday. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 23-3 to send the bill to the full Senate. The bill includes several Space Force provisions, such as having the Pentagon study if Space Development Agency procurements should be exempt from traditional requirements reviews. It also designates the Chief of Space Operations as the force design architect for space systems of the U.S. armed forces, and calls for a study on the proposed reorganization of the Space Force and the establishment of a space reserve component. (6/17)

Astronomers Renew Concerns About Starlink Brightness (Source: Space News)
As SpaceX prepares to launch another batch of Starlink satellites, astronomers are renewing their concerns about the brightness of those satellites. A Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off at 12:08 p.m. Eastern today from the Kennedy Space Center and place 53 Starlink satellites into orbit. Those satellites, like hundreds of others launches since last year, lack the visors that SpaceX had installed to reduce reflected sunlight that causes the satellites to interfere with astronomical observations. Current satellites are about half a magnitude brighter than those with visors. Astronomers are also worried about the second-generation Starlink satellites that will be much larger and potentially brighter. (6/17)

Two Astronauts to Fly on First Crewed CST-100 Starliner Capsule (Source: Space News)
NASA will fly two astronauts on the first crewed test flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. NASA said Thursday it assigned Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, which will go to the International Space Station for a two-week trip. Williams was previously assigned to the first operational Starliner mission. Mike Fincke, who had been slated to fly CFT, will instead serve as a backup. NASA said it should be ready to set a date for CFT at the end of July after completing reviews of last month's uncrewed test flight and assessing schedules of station activities and other launches. (6/17)

ISS Maneuvers to Avoid Russian ASAT Debris (Source: NASA)
The ISS had to maneuver Thursday to avoid a conjunction with Russian ASAT test debris. The Progress MS-20 spacecraft that is docked to the station fired its thrusters for four and a half minutes to raise the station's orbit slightly to provide an "extra measure of distance away" from an object identified as debris of Cosmos 1408, the satellite destroyed in last November's Russian ASAT test. Without the maneuver, the debris was predicted to come within a kilometer of the station. (6/17)

SpaceX Fires Employees Involved in Letter Critical of Musk (Sources: The Verge, New York Times)
SpaceX has fired "a number of employees" who circulated a letter within the company criticizing Elon Musk. The letter, first reported early Thursday, said that Musk's "behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us," particularly recently. That behavior, they argued, reflected poorly on SpaceX, and called on the company to "swiftly and explicitly separate itself from Elon's personal brand" and better define and respond to unacceptable behavior in the company. By late Thursday, SpaceX had fired several employees involved with the letter. The letter made employees "uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in an email. (6/17)

Chinese and American Satellite Maneuvers Illustrate Need for Norms (Source: Space News)
A game of cat-and-mouse between Chinese and American satellites illustrates the need for norms of behavior, space sustainability experts warn. Soon after a pair of Chinese satellites reached geostationary orbit early this year, space surveillance satellite USA 270 maneuvered to get a closer look at its new neighbors. As USA 270 closed in on Shiyan-12-01 and Shiyan-12-02, the Chinese inspection satellites took off in opposite directions, with Shiyan 12 02 moving into position to get a sunlit view of the U.S. surveillance satellite. Such incidents are happening more frequently and show the need for norms of behavior, although specific rules may be difficult to draft. (6/17)

SOFIA Operations to End in September (Source: Space News)
Astronomers are counting on a "strong finish" for the SOFIA airborne observatory in its final months of operations. NASA and the German space agency DLR said in April they would end SOFIA operations at the end of September, citing its high cost and modest scientific productivity. USRA, the organization that operates SOFIA, acknowledged this week that SOFIA would be terminated and said it would work with NASA to close out the project. NASA is developing a closeout plan for SOFIA while squeezing in as many science flights as possible, including a deployment to New Zealand, in its final months. (6/17)

Denmark's Quadsat Secures ESA Funding for Satellite Calibration Drones (Source: Space News)
Danish startup Quadsat has secured European Space Agency funding to productize the drones it uses to calibrate and test satellite antennas. Quadsat has developed quadcopters that are integrated with custom radio frequency payloads that help operators verify ground segment antennas more efficiently outside laboratory conditions. Quadsat currently has to send technicians to the customers that want to use its quadcopters as stand-ins for satellites, but is using a $525,000 ESA contract to develop a version customers can operate themselves. (6/17)

Growing Demand for Orbital Transfer Vehicles (Source: Space News)
A Euroconsult study sees growing demand for orbital transfer vehicles. The recent study forecast 120 orbital transport vehicles to be in operation by 2031. Demand for such space tugs will come from constellations using satellites weighing a few hundred kilograms, which are too heavy to be launched on small rockets but too small for larger vehicles. Euroconsult sees demand for such vehicles not just in low Earth orbit but also geostationary orbit and beyond. (6/17)

California's Paso Robles Approve Spaceport License Quest for Airport (Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune)
A California city is proceeding with plans to seek a spaceport license for its airport. The city council of Paso Robles approved earlier this month a proposal to spend up to $140,000 to move to the next stage of efforts to secure an FAA spaceport license for the city's municipal airport. That will include more research into airspace corridors and environmental issues as well as concepts for spaceport infrastructure. Local officials say "a number of national and international companies" have expressed interest in the proposed spaceport, which would be limited to horizontal takeoffs and landings and thus excludes most launch vehicles. (6/17)

Sally Ride Statue Unveiled in New York (Source: Space.com)
A statue of the first American woman to fly into space now stands near where the first lunar landing spacecraft were built, just as NASA works toward landing the first woman on the moon. The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York is hosting the monument to Sally Ride, who as a NASA astronaut made history flying on the space shuttle in 1983. The statue of the late astronaut was unveiled during a public ceremony on June 17, just one day shy of the 39th anniversary of Ride's first launch. (6/17)

Space Force License Plates Coming to Colorado (Source: Military.com)
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bipartisan bill into law last week funding commemorative license plates for the Space Force, honoring the newest military service branch's heavy presence in the state. The introduction of the bill followed a Military.com story in February that California, Colorado and Florida didn't offer commemorative plates for Guardians, despite housing Space Force bases in each of their states. (6/16)

States with Space Force Bases Still Don't Have License Plates Commemorating the Service (Source: Military.com)
California, Colorado and Florida are home to the first set of Space Force bases, but none of the departments of motor vehicles in those three states offer license plates commemorating the new military service. While each state has numerous options for former and current service members, Space Force Guardians have been left off the list. The license plate issue comes as the Space Force seeks widespread public recognition and acceptance from civilians two years after being established by former President Donald Trump. (2/2)

USSF Announces Interservice Transfer Opportunities (Source: USSF)
The U.S. Space Force is accepting FY23 Interservice Transfer Program (IST) applications from June 15–30, 2022. The IST allows qualified individuals from other Uniformed Services to apply for transfer to active duty in the United States Space Force to fill select career fields. In order to be eligible, all applicants must meet the eligibility criteria in AFMAN 36-2032, Military Recruiting and Accessions. The Space Force is accepting applications from active duty officers and enlisted personnel serving in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Please note that sister service release is an essential part of the transfer process. (6/15)

Space Force Envisions Digital Future for Testing and Training (Source: C4ISRnet)
When Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman thinks about how the Space Force will train its Guardians and test its systems in the future, he pictures an integrated, digital infrastructure. Saltzman, the service’s deputy chief of space operations, cyber and nuclear, envisions a future testing and training enterprise where space operators can connect virtually to practice tactics and new satellites and sensors are assessed in realistic simulated environments to make sure they’re working as designed.

“We don’t really have that ability to connect those things together,” Saltzman said during a recent Defense Writers Group event. “If you think about connection of simulators, if you think about that virtual range where those simulators plug in so they’re in an operational environment so they can see each other in a virtual sense — that’s kind of the next generation of training.”

The Space Force is on a path toward creating a National Space Test and Training Complex that could make Saltzman’s vision a reality. The service released its Test Enterprise Vision in May, identifying the NSTTC as a key enabler for space system and operator readiness. While the other military services have shifted some of their training and testing to virtual, or synthetic, environments, they also have robust ground-based training ranges for live exercises. But the Space Force can’t “carve out a piece of real estate” on orbit for a permanent range, Bratton said. (6/15)

Canada Aims to Provide Medical Technologies for Deep Space Exploration (Source: NPR)
Twenty teams in Canada received small grants to develop portable medical tools that could be used on long interplanetary space flights. They could also be useful in remote parts of Canada. While it's true Canada wants a role in space exploration, the same technologies could play a role in providing health care to people in that country's many small and isolated communities. They got about a hundred entries for the health care challenge, and there are a variety of intriguing ideas - clothing that can detect problems with muscles or joints, patches that can provide an early alert about heart problems, and putting an MRI in space. (6/16)

Malta Spends €140,000 on ‘Space Policy’ – Via Direct Order (Source: The Shift)
Minister Owen Bonnici, who was responsible for Equality and Innovation before the March elections, spent €140,000 of taxpayers’ money on a national space strategy for Malta – an area that is an unlikely candidate for Malta’s economy due to the island’s lack of experience, expertise or history in the field. The report, commissioned via direct order, that revealed this information – a document that begins with a declaration that “Malta does not intend to launch any space rockets” soon – was written by KPMG, one of Malta’s largest auditing firms which has no apparent history of any sort of research in the space sector.

So far, KPMG, led on this reporting by its Tax Services Partner Juanita Brockdorff, has already invoiced the government for around €140,000. According to the draft document, left in consultation stage for months, Malta also set up a Space Task Force. Although the drafting of the island’s space policy has already been underway for more than a year and a half, the final document has not yet been made public, while the Malta Space Task Force website announces that it’s “coming soon.” (6/16)

Huge Methane Emission From Russian Coal Mine (Source: BBC)
A Canadian firm that operates orbiting methane sensors says it's detected the biggest emission of the gas from a single facility it's ever seen. The release was observed to come from the vast Raspadskaya coal mine, in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, on 14 January. GHGSat says the greenhouse gas was entering the atmosphere at a rate of nearly 90 tonnes per hour. It's the sort of quantity that in a domestic supply would power hundreds of thousands of homes.

But in this case, the methane (also referred to as CH4) was being lost straight into the air. Methane's global warming potential is 30 times that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year time period. (6/14)

NASA’s ECOSTRESS Sees Las Vegas Streets Turn Up the Heat (Source: NASA JPL)
An instrument on the space station documented how built and natural surfaces responded to record heat in Las Vegas. On June 10, Las Vegas reached a record daily high temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), and temperatures of the ground surface itself were higher still. NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) instrument recorded this image of surface temperatures at 5:23 p.m. that day.

Within the city, the hottest surfaces were the streets. Pavement temperatures exceeded 122 F (50 C), while the exteriors of downtown buildings were a few degrees cooler than paved surfaces. Suburban neighborhoods averaged about 14 F (8 C) cooler than pavement, and green spaces such as golf courses were 23 F (13 C) cooler. (6/15)

Missing Microbial Poop in Venus' Clouds Suggests the Planet has No Life (Source: Space.com)
Venus' atmosphere bears no signs of microbes eating or pooping, suggesting that the odd chemical composition of the planet's clouds cannot be explained by extraterrestrial life. In a new study, researchers analyzed the biochemistry of the thick, sulfur-rich Venusian clouds, which have fascinated scientists for decades. They looked for "fingerprints" that any potential cloud-dwelling organisms would leave there as a result of their feeding and excretion. (6/15)