March 16, 2023

Engineers Keep an Eye on Fuel Supply of NASA's Oldest Mars Orbiter (Source: NASA)
Measuring the fuel supply on Odyssey, a decades-old spacecraft without a fuel gauge, is no easy task. Since NASA launched the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter to the Red Planet almost 22 years ago, the spacecraft has looped around Mars more than 94,000 times. That’s about the equivalent of 1.37 billion miles (2.21 billion kilometers), a distance that has required extremely careful management of the spacecraft’s fuel supply. This feat is all the more impressive given that Odyssey has no fuel gauge; engineers have had to rely on math instead. (3/15)

Sierra Space Taps Veteran Boeing Lobbyist to Helm New Government Strategy (Source: Reuters)
Sierra Space has tapped Boeing's former top lobbyist to lead a new, more aggressive government relations shop as the company courts government customers for its planned commercial space station. Tim Keating, a veteran political strategist who pushed Boeing through numerous procurement campaigns for over a decade, joined Sierra in early March as its Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Government Operations, Keating said. (3/15)

Starlink vs. HughesNet vs. Viasat: Which Satellite Internet Provider Is Best? (Source: PC Magazine)
What people want to know isn't merely "Does Starlink work?" The real question is whether it's better than whatever other ISP options they're considering, especially competing satellite ISPs like HughesNet or Viasat. Using data from major industry surveys, we can compare Starlink speeds to other major competitors, giving you a clearer picture of how the SpaceX internet service stacks up against whichever services are available in your area.

HughesNet uses two satellites named Jupiter 1 and Jupiter 2 (also called EchoStar XVII and EchoStar XIX, respectively). A new Jupiter 3 (EchoStar XXIV) satellite is planned to launch in the first half of this year. Viasat has four geosynchronous satellites covering North America, called Viasat-1, WildBlue-1, Anik-F2, and Viasat-2. A new constellation of Viasat-3 satellites are planned to launch this year, including an additional satellite servicing North and South America. Starlink has 3,194 LEO satellites in operation as of this writing. Click here. (3/15)

New Horizons Pluto Probe Notches 3 More Discoveries Far From Earth (Source: Space.com)
New Horizons researchers shared their latest findings on March 14. Among the discoveries presented, one tied Pluto's puzzling flip to its ice-filled basin, another found interesting but puzzling landscapes on the dwarf planet's surface, and a third unveiled the building blocks that formed the snowman-like object Arrokoth, which New Horizons flew by on Jan. 1, 2019. Click here. (3/16)

Aerojet Stock Falls After Sale to L3 Harris Receives Second Request From FTC (Source: Seeking Alpha)
Aerojet Rocketdyne dropped 1.3% in after hours trading as its planned $4.7 billion sale to L3 Harris received a request for a more in-depth review from the Federal Trade Commission. The second request extends the waiting period imposed by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act until 30 days after L3Harris and Aerojet have substantially complied with the request, or the waiting period is terminated sooner by the FTC. The transaction is expected to close this year. (3/15)

Venus May Have Active Volcanoes (Source: Nature)
Venus may have active volcanoes today, according to new analysis of decades-old radar images. Scientists said this week that a review of two radar images of a volcanic vent taken by the Magellan mission eight months apart in the early 1990s showed changes that they believe were caused by an eruption or magma flowing beneath the surface. The images provide new evidence that Venus may still be volcanically active today. Scientists hope future missions will provide better data to identify any active volcanoes, although one NASA mission that would do so, an orbiter called VERITAS, has been delayed because of problems with other planetary missions. (3/16)

NASA and Axiom Unveil Lunar Spacesuit (Source: Space News)
NASA and Axiom Space unveiled Wednesday a prototype of the spacesuit the company is developing for Artemis missions to the moon. The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit leverages technology NASA developed for an earlier design along with the company's own technologies. It is designed to be more flexible that previous suit designs and fit a wide range of astronauts on moonwalks. It will be used on missions starting with Artemis 3 in the mid-2020s. NASA awarded Axiom a $228.5 million task order last September to develop the suit under a services contract. (3/16)

OQ Technology Adding Three IoT Satellites to Constellation (Source: Space News)
OQ Technology has ordered three more satellites for its narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) constellation from Kongsberg NanoAvionics. NanoAvionics has built three satellites for OQ Technology to date, two of which are already in orbit. A third, called MACSAT, has been delayed by the Vega C launch failure last December. Under the three-satellite order announced this week, NanoAvioncs will build Tiger-4, Tiger-7 and Tiger-8 satellites around 5G NB-IoT payloads provided by OQ Technology. OQ Technology expects to have 10 satellites on orbit by early 2024. (3/16)

China Launches Classified Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a new classified satellite Wednesday as part of an apparent space systems development test program. A Long March 11 rocket lifted off at 7:41 a.m. Eastern from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and placed Shiyan-19 into orbit. No details regarding the satellite were provided by state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation or Chinese state media. An analysis of publicly available information by the China Aerospace Studies Institute suggests that Shiyan series satellites play an early role in the space systems development process. (3/16)

Benchmark Wins Orders for Metal Plasma Thrusters (Source: Space News)
Benchmark Space Systems has won orders for two dozen of its metal plasma thrusters. The thrusters are intended for use on larger satellites, enabling precision maneuvers needed for applications like rendezvous and docking. The thrusters are based on technology Benchmark acquired from Alameda Applied Science Corp. (3/16)

OneWeb Abandons Hope for Recovering Satellites Stranded at Baikonur (Source: Reuters)
OneWeb says it's given up any hope of recovering satellites stranded at a Russian-operated launch site. The company has 36 satellites stuck at the Baikonur Cosmodrome after Russia halted a Soyuz launch of those satellites a year ago in response to sanctions levied by the West. OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson said the company has "completely moved on" from any efforts to return the satellites, worth about $50 million. OneWeb turned to SpaceX and India's space agency ISRO to launch its remaining satellites, with one more launch from India scheduled for late this month. (3/16)

SEMPRE + Vector Launch Partner on Flexible Launch System (Source: SatNews)
Vector Launch is a responsive launch vehicle solution provider whose mission is to help solve complex national security challenges facing the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies. SEMPRE’s fully integrated survivable and resilient C2 system — purpose built to conform to the highest industry and military standards for security, resiliency, and quality — will be combined with Vector’s responsive launch creating a unique joint solution.

Features include: EMP-hardened, secure, high-performance edge processing; secure and redundant 5G and satellite back-haul communications with support for DoD and commercial providers, allowing for launch anytime, anywhere; TEL (transport erector launcher) providing for a survivable, self-contained, mobile launch platform with the ability to rapidly “launch-and-scoot” from austere unimproved locations; and a small-footprint, remote command and control eliminating the need for large numbers of personnel at the launch site. (3/16)

NASA Picks Axiom Space for its Third Astronaut Mission to the ISS (Source: Engadget)
NASA has chosen Axiom Space's proposal yet again for the third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The two parties have already signed a mission order, and they're hoping to launch sometime in November 2023 and beyond from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A more specific date will be announced later, since it will depend on the timing of other flights to the ISS, as well as on in-orbit activity planning.

Before Axiom Mission 3 launches, Axiom Mission 2 will have to head to the space station first. It's also a crew mission that's operated by the company, and it's expected to launch in the second quarter of 2023. As you can guess from its name, it's not the company's first astronaut mission to the orbiting lab: NASA also picked it for the first commercially operated crewed flight to the station. Axiom Mission 1 launched in April 2022 and was docked with the ISS for 15 days.

At the moment, Ax-3 is still in its very early stages. The private space company will still have to submit four proposed crew members and two back up crew to the agency for review, with the mission commander being a flown NASA astronaut. (Ax-2, for instance, was headed by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Annette Whitson.) Under the parties' agreement, NASA may ask the commander to perform certain tasks or science experiments while onboard. Meanwhile, Axiom Space astronauts will be able to use NASA cargo and other in-orbit resources for daily use. (3/15)

Radio Telescope on Moon's Far Side Will Peer Into Universe's 'Dark Ages' (Source: Space.com)
A few years from now, a small radio telescope on the far side of the moon could help scientists peer into the universe's ancient past. The moon instrument, called the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night), is a pathfinder being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, the Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

LuSEE-Night is currently scheduled to launch on a private robotic lunar lander in late 2025. After it touches down on the moon's far side, it will attempt to gather first-of-their-kind measurements from the "Dark Ages" of the universe. The Dark Ages refers to a time in the early universe, between about 400,000 and 400 million years after the Big Bang, before stars and galaxies began to fully form. From the far side of the moon, LuSEE-Night will use onboard antennas, radio receivers and a spectrometer to measure faint radio waves from the Dark Ages, in search of what scientists are calling the Dark Ages Signal. (3/12)

Super-Earths and the Quest to Understand Our Place in the Cosmos (Source: Astronomy)
There are countless worlds beyond our own in the universe’s vast expanse. And among the most intriguing are super-Earths, a type of exoplanet that has captured the attention of scientists and stargazers alike since their initial discovery more than a decade ago. Super-Earths are defined as planets larger in size than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

“The term ‘super-Earths’ is simply referring to the radius of the planet, and typically refers to something in the range of about 1.5 to 2 times the radius of Earth,” said Jessie Christiansen. “They likely have rocky cores but may also have deep water oceans and/or very thick atmospheres. There are a lot of different compositions that are possible.” The detection of super-Earths has been a major milestone in the hunt for extraterrestrial life. Exoplanets are uncovered on almost a daily basis, and current estimates suggest super-Earths make up roughly a third of all exoplanets in the Milky Way. (3/13)

These Upcoming Rockets Have Us Stoked About the Future of Spaceflight (Source: Gizmodo)
Humans have been launching rockets to space for nearly 80 years, yet it feels as though we’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s possible. These upcoming rockets provide a promising glimpse of what we can expect during the next era of spaceflight. 2022 was witness to 186 launch attempts, of which 180 successfully reached orbit. It was a record year for rockets, featuring 44 more launches than 2021.

The pace at which we are now placing objects into space is as unprecedented as it is breathtaking. We’re in a new space race, with a host of private companies vying for orbital real estate and a chance to roll out entirely new space-based capabilities. A key to much of this success, whether now or in the future, is having rockets that are efficient, reliable, and accessible. As these 10 upcoming launch vehicles attest, we’re increasingly making this happen. Click here. (3/14)

Cash-Strapped Virgin Orbit Furloughs Almost All Staff, Pauses Operations for a Week (Source: Parabolic Arc)
During a panel discussion at Satellite 2023 Conference on Wednesday afternoon, United Launch Alliance (ULA) CEO Tory Bruno predicted there would be a shake out among small launch providers over the next 24 months that could leave only one or two companies standing. CNBC reports that process might have already begun earlier in the day with Richard Branson’s struggling launch provider.

Virgin Orbit is furloughing nearly all its employees and pausing operations for a week as it looks for a funding lifeline, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Company executives briefed staff on the situation in an all-hands meeting at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to people who were in the meeting. The furlough is unpaid, though employees can cash in PTO, with only a small team continuing to work. Virgin Orbit is also moving up payroll by a week to Friday.

In the all-hands, company leaders told employees that they aimed to provide an update on the furlough and funding situation by next Wednesday or Thursday, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal matters. Virgin Orbit’s stock plunged to $0.76 in after-hours trading. Shares had previously closed at $1.06. Virgin Orbit has struggled financially amid an inability to ramp up its launch cadence. (3/15)

SpaceX Starlink Rolls Out $200 Per Month “Global” Satellite Internet Package (Source: The Verge)
Last summer, we reviewed Starlink RV, a version of the satellite internet service that promised users access from pretty much anywhere on their continent. Now, it has been rebranded as Starlink Roam, available in either a regional access flavor for $150 per month or for global use anywhere the service is available for $200 per month.

As with the RV package, users can choose either a portable antenna for $599 or one intended for in-motion use for $2,500. Previously, you could only travel with Starlink’s satellite dish (nicknamed Dishy) within the same continent. (3/15)

Blue Origin Expects New Shepard Rocket's Return to Flight in Late 2023 (Source: Reuters)
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin expects to return its New Shepard rocket to flight by the end of 2023 after the vehicle suffered a mid-flight failure in September, a company sales executive said. "We are looking to get back into flight with New Shepard by the end of this year," said Ariane Cornell, vice president of commercial and international sales. The company has provided few details on an investigation into why its 59-foot-tall New Shepard rocket aborted a research capsule roughly one minute after lifting off in Texas in September. No humans were aboard the rocket. (3/15)

Kazakhstan Explains Situation with Seizure of Roscosmos Property on Baikonur (Source: AKIpress)
Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan Bagdat Musin commented on reports that Kazakhstan has imposed a multi-billion dollar seizure of the property of Roscosmos at Baikonur. According to media reports, the conflict may lead to Russia's withdrawal from Baikonur, since the ban on the use of resources and financial transactions slows down the priority area of work at Baikonur - the construction of a new launch pad for the Soyuz-5 rocket.

Bagdat Musin explained that the seizure does not concern the property of the entire Baikonur complex, but only the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure. He confirmed the information about the recovery of a large amount from Center and the accompanying seizure of the company's property. He admitted that the court decision would be followed by further proceedings in the court of appeal. According to him, negotiations are being held to resolve the situation.

“There were certain lawsuits. These are two companies. On the one hand - JV Baiterek JSC, and on the other hand -  Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure JSC. They had lawsuits in the Astana International Financial Center Arbitration Court, as a result of which the AIFC made a certain decision. As a result, the bailiff takes the actions under the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This does not apply to the property of the entire Baikonur complex, this applies to the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure, its property on the territory of Kazakhstan,” Bagdat Musin explained. (3/15)

Intelsat to Operate Space-Based Air Pollution Monitor in Support of Air Quality Improvement Efforts (Source: Executive Gov)
Satellite service provider Intelsat has concluded the assessment of an operational and data collection system for a novel space-based instrument. Designed to observe significant air pollutants across North America, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollutions UV-visible spectrometer will be operated by Intelsat for NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the company announced. (3/14)

Alaska Study Compares Ground Motion From Satellites and Seismic Records (Source: Space Daily)
When it comes to making a rapid estimate of ground motion and moment magnitude for an earthquake, using data from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) might be a good alternative or addition to data from seismic stations. Researchers were able to compare how well each type of data performed in assessing the 2021 magnitude 8.2 Chignik earthquake in Alaska. The study shows "that GNSS and strong-motion acceleration seismic data can be interchangeably or jointly used for rapid magnitude or ground motion estimation," said Revathy Parameswaran. (3/13)

Agmatix Partners with NASA Harvest to Support Sustainable Agricultural (Source: Space Daily)
Agmatix, a start-up AgTech business specializing in turning agronomic big data into powerful models and insights, has announced a partnership with NASA Harvest - NASA's global Food Security and Agriculture Consortium - to support crop production in a sustainable way at the field level and mitigate the impact of climate change.

A combination of ground sampling and remote sensing data will be used to support farmers in their transition toward sustainable agriculture. The methodology developed within this partnership will track farmer efforts to improve conservation management and guide them to improve their sustainability levels. (3/10)

Satellite Constellations Multiply on Profit Hopes, Geopolitics (Source: Space Daily)
The massive constellation of satellites operated by SpaceX, while still growing, will soon be joined in low Earth orbit by many more commercial competitors, but also government-sponsored programs. When firms floated the idea of expanding access to high-speed internet through satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), analysts expected only two or three companies would succeed.

"But the number of players keeps growing," Caleb Henry, research director at Quilty Analytics, told AFP at the annual SATELLITE conference in Washington. He said there are now at least eight companies vying to launch or complete their LEO constellations, including early entrants SpaceX and OneWeb, which could see a ballooning number of objects in orbit.

China plans to launch 13,000 satellites as part of its GuoWang constellation, while Canada's Telesat will add 300 and German start-up Rivada is eyeing 600. That will be in addition to the European Union's Iris project -- 170 satellites -- and the 300-500 satellites planned to be launched by the US military's Space Development Agency. When it comes to the satellite constellation game, "people underestimated how sovereign interests would get involved," Henry said. (3/15)

Scientists Call for Global Push to Eliminate Space Junk (Source: Space Daily)
Scientists have called for a legally-binding treaty to ensure Earth's orbit isn't irreparably harmed by the future expansion of the global space industry. In the week that nearly 200 countries agreed to a treaty to protect the High Seas after a 20-year process, the experts believe society needs to take the lessons learned from one part of our planet to another.

The number of satellites in orbit is expected to increase from 9,000 today to over 60,000 by 2030, with estimates suggesting there are already more than 100 trillion untracked pieces of old satellites circling the planet. While such technology is used to provide a huge range of social and environmental benefits, there are fears the predicted growth of the industry could make large parts of Earth's orbit unusable.

An international collaboration of experts in fields including satellite technology and ocean plastic pollution say this demonstrates the urgent need for global consensus on how best to govern Earth's orbit. They acknowledge that a number of industries and countries are starting to focus on satellite sustainability, but say this should be enforced to include any nation with plans to use Earth's orbit. Any agreement, they add, should include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, from the time they launch onwards. (3/10)

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology State of the Art Report (Source: Space Daily)
In January 2023, NASA published the latest edition of the State of the Art in Small spacecraft Technology report. It is noteworthy that at the time of the first edition of this report in 2013, only 247 CubeSats and 105 other non-CubeSat small spacecraft under 50 kilograms (kg) had been launched worldwide. This represented less than 2% of the total mass launched into orbit over multiple years.

However, by 2013, approximately 60% of total spacecraft launched were under 600 kg in mass. Further analysis showed that some 83% of these spacecraft were under 200 kg each, and 37% were nanosatellites. Fast-forward to 2021, and the space industry saw a total of 1,849 spacecraft launched. Notably, 94% of these spacecraft were small spacecraft with an overall unit mass of under 600 kg, and 40% were under 200 kg, with 11% being nanosatellites.

The maturation and miniaturization of SmallSat technology continue to broaden the common SmallSat platform, resulting in more complex SmallSat mission designs. These improved capabilities have resulted in larger CubeSats and smaller SmallSats that are revolutionizing the way the space industry operates, and with the potential for further advancements, the future of space exploration looks bright. Overall, NASA's report on small spacecraft technology demonstrates the rapid development and expansion of this sector, which is set to play an even more significant role in space exploration and research in the years to come. (3/14)

Consultant Ranks Space Coast as Among Top Corporate Relocation Markets (Source: Florida Today)
Brevard County is one of the nation's best markets for companies to move to in the current "post-pandemic" economic market, according to a corporate relocation consulting firm. And the Space Coast, is likely to see some high-profile announcements about companies relocating here in the coming months, the firm predicts.

Florida's low taxes and agreeable climate led to eight Sunshine State areas making the list. The Boyd Co. Inc. named Brevard as a top "post-pandemic corporate headquarters city," based on various factors, including the overall costs for a hypothetical 75,000-square-foot corporate head office employing 200 people. By making the list, Brevard County will increase its visibility as an attractive market for companies to consider when seeking to move operations. (3/13)