June 9, 2022

Vulcan Rocket is Unlikely to Make its Debut in 2022 (Source: Ars Technica)
United Launch Alliance's powerful new Vulcan rocket was originally scheduled to debut in 2020 but has since been delayed a couple of times. Presently, it is due to fly during the second half of this year, and the Colorado-based launch company is still holding to the 2022 date. On Wednesday, United Launch Alliance spokesperson Jessica Rye told Ars, "We are well positioned for a Vulcan first launch late this year." However, another delay now seems inevitable, sources say, with the rocket slipping toward a demonstration launch in 2023.

There are two main issues holding Vulcan back from making its debut: the readiness of its main engines and the payload that it will carry. At this point, neither appear likely to support a 2022 launch. Vulcan's debut launch will carry an experimental lunar mission for Astrobotic. The Pittsburgh-based company publicly revealed this "Peregrine" spacecraft in late April, while final assembly work was ongoing. At the time, Astrobotic still needed to install engines, solar panels, and its scientific payloads. After that, Peregrine must undergo environmental testing before being shipped to Vulcan's launch site in Florida. (6/8)

NASA to Set Up Independent Study on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (Source: NASA)
NASA is commissioning a study team to start early in the fall to examine unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) – that is, observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena – from a scientific perspective. The study will focus on identifying available data, how best to collect future data, and how NASA can use that data to move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward.

The limited number of observations of UAPs currently makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of such events. Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere are of interest for both national security and air safety. Establishing which events are natural provides a key first step to identifying or mitigating such phenomena, which aligns with one of NASA’s goals to ensure the safety of aircraft. There is no evidence UAPs are extra-terrestrial in origin. (6/9)

House Armed Services Panel Calls on DoD to Buy Commercial Space Technology and Data (Source: Space Data)
The House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces on June 8 passed its proposals for the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The strategic forces panel – which covers military space, missile defense and nuclear weapons policy and programs – included language in its markup advocating for increased use of commercial space technology and data from commercial satellites.

During a brief 10-minute markup session, subcommittee chairman Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) said the military would benefit from greater use of commercial space technologies. The bill also calls on the Space Force to run the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program more efficiently by standardizing satellite and launch vehicle interfaces so payloads can be deployed faster. (6/8)

Eastern Florida State College to Open Two New Technology Centers Over the Next Two Years (Source: Florida Today)
Eastern Florida State College has secured $21 million in funding for technology centers at its Melbourne and Titusville campuses. Most of the money will go toward a $19.7 million Center for Innovative Technology Education on the Melbourne campus, while $1.2 million will fund an Aerospace Center of Excellence on the Titusville campus. (6/8)

U.S. Space Command: Air Force Should Develop Guidance for Strengthening Future Basing Decisions (Source: GAO)
We reviewed the Air Force's process for identifying the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters. We assessed the process against 21 "Analysis of Alternatives" best practices, which can help increase transparency and avoid the presence or appearance of bias. The practices are grouped into four characteristics of a high-quality analysis: comprehensive, well-documented, unbiased, and credible. We found that the Air Force's process did not substantially meet 3 of these 4 characteristics—leading to significant shortfalls in its transparency and credibility. We recommended establishing guidance that incorporates our best practices. (6/2)

FAA Overregulation Threatens America’s Future in Commercial Space (Source: Space News)
We have reached the tipping point in commercial space traffic, and regulatory thinking is reacting in potentially negative ways. The cadence of commercially provided launches eclipsed governmental rocket launches years ago, and we now see that phenomenon extending to human spaceflight. The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) is issuing licenses and permits faster than ever, just as airline travelers return to the skies in droves. FAA and AST will be busy doing their usual excellent job of keeping the public, on the ground and in planes, safe during launch and reentry events.

Let me be clear: FAA is doing an amazing job keeping a mature transportation system incredibly safe. However, partially because of FAA’s prescriptive regulations, nothing much changes in that industry. Aircraft designs are so similar that most passengers probably don’t know the make or model of the aircraft they are flying. FAA moves cautiously and slowly. New systems, like Nextgen air traffic management, take decades to deploy.

However, this culture of prescriptive rules and obsession with passenger safety at all costs is antithetical to AST’s congressionally mandated role of encouraging, facilitating, and supporting a nascent U.S. commercial spaceflight industry. This is an industry testing disruptive technologies and new business models. There is no “dominant design” to lock in and define with detailed prescriptive rules. Doing that would cripple innovation and be more dangerous in the long run than allowing the current level of experimentation. (6/7)

Space Industry Representatives to Gather in Northern Ireland Later This Month (Source: AstroAgency)
A space sector networking event has been announced to take place in Northern Ireland on June 24, featuring updates from a variety of organizations supporting one of the UK’s fastest growing industries. The event has been organized by the Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology (known as ‘SPRINT’), which provides unprecedented access to the expertise and facilities at top UK space universities to help businesses accelerate the development of their products and services through the commercial exploitation of space data and technologies.

The UK’s space industry is targeting significant growth within the next decade, with the publishing of the National Space Strategy last year specifying an objective to level up the country’s space economy through supporting regional activity across the United Kingdom. SPRINT’s event seeks to strengthen connections between space value chain companies and those interested in the sector’s opportunities in Northern Ireland, as well as facilitating new collaborations for those businesses across the wider UK. (6/9)

Tiny Meteoroid Bops $10 Billion Webb Space Telescope (Source: Reuters)
A tiny meteoroid struck the newly deployed James Webb Space Telescope in May, knocking one of its gold-plated mirrors out of alignment but not changing the orbiting observatory's schedule to become fully operational shortly, NASA said. The little space rock hit the $10 billion telescope sometime in late May and left a small but noticeable effect in the telescope's data, NASA said in a statement, adding that it was the fifth and largest hit to the telescope since its December launch. (6/8)

Xona to Demonstrate Navigation Tech in Advance of New Constellation (Source: Space News)
Xona Space Systems is preparing to demonstrate services from a test satellite to the first major customer for its planned navigation constellation. Xona launched that satellite, called Huginn, on the Transporter-5 rideshare mission last month and is current commissioning it. Canadian GPS equipment and solutions provider NovAtel plans to use the in-orbit test bed to configure its technology. Xona has long-term plans to develop a constellation of about 300 cubesats that will provide navigation services it claims will be more accurate than existing systems like GPS. (6/9)

July 7 Set for First Vega C Rocket Launch (Source: ESA)
ESA has set July 7 as the date for the first launch of the Vega C. The agency said Tuesday the launch is scheduled for 7:13 a.m. Eastern that day from French Guiana. The Vega C is an upgraded version of the Vega small launch vehicle, and on its inaugural flight will carry the LARES-2 research satellite developed by the Italian space agency ASI and six cubesat secondary payloads. (6/9)

Globalstar Spare Satellite Set for Falcon 9 Launch (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Globalstar may launch a spare satellite on a Falcon 9 this month. The company said in financial filings it was preparing to launch a spare satellite in the "near future" but disclosed few other details. Other information, including FCC filings, suggest that a Falcon 9 will launch the satellite as soon as this month, although neither Globalstar nor SpaceX have confirmed those plans. The satellite, build by Thales Alenia Space, weighs 700 kilograms, making it unlikely that it is the sole payload for whatever launch it is on. (6/9)

Maine Looks to Grow Space Economy, for Students, Research and Business (Source: Space Daily)
Maine leaders have long been searching for ways to keep more of high school and college graduates from leaving the state. But lobstering and forestry, two stalwarts of the Maine economy, aren't what they used to be. Enter the new space economy. Maine -- and its plethora of acreage, far from the light pollution of the Eastern Seaboard's major metropolises -- has always been a great place to gaze at the stars, but not necessarily to launch rockets. The miniaturization of satellites and the rockets needed to put them into orbit, however, has changed the calculus.

The barrier to entry is now low enough that space, or at least low-Earth orbit, is no longer the exclusive playground of national space agencies and giant defense companies. States not traditionally associated with the aerospace industry -- Maine and Michigan, for example -- want in on the game. In April, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 1923 into law, establishing the Maine Space Corp., a public-private partnership tasked with growing the state's aerospace industry. When law goes into effect in August, the corporation will get to work filling leadership roles and codifying their goals and governance.

Then it will begin crafting a strategic plan for the construction of the Maine Space Complex, which will feature launch sites, an innovation hub and a data analytics center. Last year, a Maine-based startup company, bluShift Aerospace, launched the state's first rocket. Though it didn't quite reach space, it successfully showcased the capabilities of the company's "bio-derived" solid fuel. (6/7)

Northrop Grumman Ramps Up Rocket Motor Production for ULA (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman plans to increase production of solid rocket motors to fulfill a $2 billion contract with United Launch Alliance. Northrop announced Wednesday it finalized the contract to supply solid rocket boosters for ULA's Vulcan Centaur to support ULA's launch contract for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband satellites. Northrop expects to produce more than 75 motors per year, the majority of which will be GEM 63XL motors used for Vulcan Centaur. Northrop will expand facilities at several sites in Utah to increase production of the motors. (6/9)

NASA Finding New Targets for Janus Asteroid Probes (Source: Space News)
A NASA smallsat mission is scrambling to find new targets after its launch was delayed. Janus features twin satellites that would fly by binary asteroids after their launch as secondary payloads on the Psyche mission. However, the delay of Psyche's launch from early August to no earlier than Sept. 20, because of software testing issues with the spacecraft, means that the Janus spacecraft will no longer be able to reach their original destinations. The principal investigator for Janus said at a meeting Wednesday that the mission is looking for other asteroids the spacecraft could fly by instead. Janus is one of three planetary science smallsat missions NASA selected in 2019 as part of its SIMPLEx program; all three have since run into issues with their rideshare launch plans. (6/9)

ai solutions to Support US Space Force for Prototype Operations I Contract (Source: Space Daily)
a.i. solutions announces that it has been awarded a Small Business Set-Aside Prime Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), Cost-Plus-Award-Fee (CPAF) with a value of $217 million to provide on-console satellite operations support for the U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command's Innovation and Prototyping Delta (SSC/SZI).

The Prototype Operations I (POPS-I) is a procurement for research and development satellite operations and support services for SSC/SZI. The goal of the Innovation and Prototyping Delta is to accelerate mission design and integration, launch operations, and ground system test support to provide reliable, low-cost access to space. (6/1)

Inmarsat Testing Post-Brexit Navigation Service (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat is testing a navigation service to replace capabilities Britain lost when it exited the European Union. Inmarsat said it has repurposed a transponder on its I-3 F5 satellite to broadcast a positioning, navigation and timing signal as a test of a service to augment satellite navigation services for aircraft. The U.K. previous had access to a similar service, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), but lost it last year after Brexit. Inmarsat said the signal it's broadcasting will help British companies and regulators validate plans for a sovereign U.K. Space-Based Augmentation System (UKSBAS) to supplement GPS. (6/9)

CAPSTONE Mission Delayed Again (Source: NASA)
NASA's CAPSTONE lunar cubesat mission has been delayed again. NASA said Wednesday the launch, previously scheduled for June 13, had been postponed because the spacecraft's flight software is being updated. NASA did not disclose a new launch date for the mission, which will demonstrate the stability of the near-rectilinear halo orbit NASA will use for Artemis missions, as well as test technology for autonomous navigation in cislunar space. (6/9)

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Suffers Sensor Failure (Source: Space.com)
Engineers are devising a workaround for a failed sensor on the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. NASA said an inclinometer, used to determine the helicopter's orientation, recently failed, possibly because of exposure to cold temperatures in the Martian winter. Project engineers, though, believe that other sensors on Ingenuity can provide data to allow the helicopter to continue flying, with its next flight in the "near future." (6/9)

Nelson Honored with John Glenn Award (Source: Space Policy Online)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson received an award named after John Glenn Wednesday. The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University presented Nelson with the 2022 John Glenn Excellence in Public Service Award at a ceremony in Washington, honoring Nelson for his service at NASA and his congressional career. Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden previously won the award. (6/9)

Ursa Major Announces New Engine to Replace Unavailable Russian-Made Engines (Source: Space Daily)
Ursa Major, America's only privately funded company that focuses solely on rocket propulsion, has introduced the latest in its line of engines. Arroway is a 200,000-pound thrust liquid oxygen and methane staged combustion engine that will serve markets including current U.S. national security missions, commercial satellite launches, orbital space stations, and future missions not yet conceived. The reusable Arroway engine is available for order now, slated for initial hot-fire testing in 2023, and delivery in 2025.

Notably, Arroway engines will be one of very few commercially available engines that, when clustered together, can displace the Russian-made RD-180 and RD-181, which are no longer available to U.S. launch companies. Arroway uses a fuel-rich staged combustion architecture with liquid oxygen and methane propellants. Ursa Major designed the components and their arrangement so that most of the engine can be 3D printed. This approach allows for rapid iteration during the development process as well as efficient scaling of production to meet market demand. (6/2)

Bacterial Cellulose Could Enable Microbial Life on Mars (Source: Science Daily)
An international research team has investigated the chances of survival of kombucha cultures under Mars-like conditions. Kombucha is known as a drink, sometimes called tea fungus or mushroom tea, which is produced by fermenting sugared tea using kombucha cultures -- a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Although the simulated Martian environment destroyed the microbial ecology of the kombucha cultures, surprisingly, a cellulose-producing bacterial species survived. (6/6)

Dozens of People Fired from S7 Space, Current Russian Operator of Sea Launch (Source: RBC)
"Today, 52 employees from s7kts (“S7 Space Transport Systems. - RBC ) have been fired, including myself, everything that you created is destroyed and broken, the space direction is no more. It’s a pity for S7 space as a direction,” Sopov quoted a letter from one of the company’s ex-employees in his Facebook account (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). RBC's source in S7 confirmed the information about the dismissal of employees. “This is due to the financial problems of the S7 company, when planes do not fly, there is nowhere to get money from for other projects,” he explained.

The S7 press service told RBC that due to the inability to attract funding, the project to create a light-class launch vehicle has been suspended. “In this regard, from June 2022, S7 Space was forced to partially reduce the staff. Of more than 100 people, the company, unfortunately, left about 30 employees,” the company said. At the same time, S7 Space continues to operate in a number of areas, in particular, work is underway on additive and welding technologies, they specified. (6/7)

Lawmakers Want Launch Integrator for Space Force (Source: C4ISR)
The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee wants the US Space Force to select a single contractor to manage national security launch missions to work "across department customers, satellite manufacturers, and launch providers." The move, according to the panel, would increase competition, lower costs and accelerate launch timelines. (6/9)

China Aims for Space-Based Solar Power Test in LEO in 2028, GEO in 2030 (Source: Space News)
China is planning solar power generation and transmission tests at different orbital altitudes over the next decade as part of a phased development of a space-based solar power station. The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the country’s main, state-owned spacecraft maker, plans to conduct a “Space high voltage transfer and wireless power transmission experiment” in low Earth orbit in 2028.

The satellite will be capable of generating 10 kilowatts and carry a solar cell array, microwave transmitting antenna, a low power laser transmission payload, a transmitting array and test power transmission across distances of 400 kilometers from orbit. The plan also involves building infrastructure on the ground for receiving energy transmissions. (6/8)