March 21, 2023

US Space Force Orbital Prime Awards Contract to Orbital Assembly (Source: Space Daily)
Orbital Assembly has been awarded a $1.7 million contract from the United States Space Force to develop rapidly deployable On Orbit structural technologies to support many types of electronic equipment. The United States Space Force is a separate and distinct branch of the armed services, organized under the Department of the Air Force. In the Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Award, Orbital Assembly will develop an efficient, lightweight structure to support solar panels, large power, and communications antenna arrays as well as other space infrastructure functions. (3/17)

Japan's ispace Puts Lunar Lander into Lunar Orbit (Source: Space News)
A lunar lander by Japanese company ispace has entered orbit around the moon. The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander entered orbit around the moon at 9:24 p.m. Eastern Monday after performing a burn of its main engine lasting several minutes. The company called the maneuver a success, setting the spacecraft up to attempt a landing in late April. The spacecraft, launched in December, is carrying a set of customer payloads. If it successfully touches down on the moon it would be the first private spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon, following the governments of the former Soviet Union, the United States and China. (3/21)

Space Force Proposes $60 Million to Demonstrate Tactically Responsive Launches (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force is proposing to spend $60 million over two years on demonstrations of tactically responsive space. The fiscal year 2024 budget proposal is the first by the service to request funding for the program after Congress added it to previous years' budgets. Tactically responsive space is an initiative to demonstrate the capabilities of commercial launch vehicles to deploy small satellites on short notice. In 2021, the TacRL-2 mission features a Pegasus launch from Vandenberg, while Firefly Aerospace is preparing for an Alpha launch of the TacRL-3 mission as soon as May. (3/21)

ATL's LightRidge to Oversee Space Portfolio (Source: Space News)
Private equity firm ATL Partners has formed a new holding company called LightRidge Solutions to oversee a portfolio of space and airborne sensor businesses. LightRidge will absorb space sensor provider Geost Inc., which ATL Partners acquired in 2021, and Ophir Corp., a company that develops airborne laser radar technology, it announced Monday. LightRidge will be run by Bill Gattle, former president of the space division of L3Harris. He called the company's formation an indicator of private equity's interest in space and defense. (3/21)

Should NASA De-Orbit or Re-Use the ISS? (Source: Space News)
Some in industry argue that NASA's plan to spend up to $1 billion on a deorbit module for the International Space Station is a missed opportunity. NASA announced last week as part of its budget proposal it would fund development of the deorbit tug to ensure a controlled reentry of the station at the end of the decade, with $180 million requested in 2024. At a conference last week, though, some executives said they would rather see NASA invest in ways to recycle or repurpose ISS elements rather than deorbiting them, helping promote an in-space economy. NASA officials had previously ruled out boosting the ISS into a higher orbit because of the cost and risk. (3/21)

NASA's SWOT Spacecraft Back Online (Source: NASA)
The main instrument on a new NASA Earth science spacecraft is working again. NASA said Friday that the Ka-band Radar Interferometer on its Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft was running again, after being shut off in late January because of a problem with its high-power amplifier. The instrument is now using a backup power unit and the agency says SWOT remains on schedule to start science operations in July. (3/21)

Nelson Wants to Add Aussienauts to Artemis Crews (Source: Cosmos)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called for flying an Australian astronaut to space. Nelson, in Australia this week, said the flight of an Australian astronaut could be done as part of the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States originally established to support development of Australian nuclear submarines. Australians have gone to space before but through other nations' space programs, notably NASA. One Australian Space Agency official will start astronaut training in Europe next month through an agreement between Australia and ESA. (3/21)

India's Space Agency Does Not Plan Space Tourism Flights (Source: WION)
The chairman of India's space agency ISRO denied reports that the country would offer low-cost space tourism flights. Recent reports in Indian media claimed that ISRO would offer flights to space for about $700,000 per seat starting in 2030. The chairman of ISRO, S. Somanath, said he has never discussed such plans. ISRO, he said, is focused on its Gaganyaan human spaceflight program to fly professional astronauts. (3/21)

Growing Rice on Mars (Source: Science News)
Forget potatoes: future astronauts on Mars might be able to grow rice there. A study presented at a conference last week found that Martian soil appears to have the nutrients needed to grow rice based on experiences growing rice in simulated Martian regolith. One challenge will be to deal with traces of perchlorate found in Martian regolith that hinders or blocks entirely the growth of rice, depending on the concentration of the chemical. (3/21)

Boeing Completes Delivery of New, Powerful Satellite (Source: Via Satellite)
Boeing has completed delivery of the 702MP+ satellite to customer Viasat ahead of a planned April 8 launch. "We designed, built and delivered the most powerful satellite platform we have ever provided to a customer. The result really is an engineering marvel," said Michelle Parker, vice president of Space Mission Systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security. (3/20)

Virgin Orbit Scrambles to Avoid Bankruptcy as Deal Talks Continue (Source: CNBC)
Virgin Orbit senior leadership held daily talks with potential investors through the weekend, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. One possible buyer balked at a proposed sale price of near $200 million, one person told CNBC — a price just below the company’s market value as of Friday’s close. Meanwhile contingency planning is underway for a potential bankruptcy filing as soon as this week. Shares of Virgin Orbit have continued to fall since its pause in operations, with its stock slipping to close at $0.52 a share on Monday.

Editor's Note: Virgin Orbit is learning the hard way what companies like Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) knew for decades from their experience with Pegasus: an air-launch system may untether its rocket from expensive traditional launch pad infrastructure, but it brings a whole other collection of expensive and complex requirements. The company's value proposition, that it can provide low-cost launch services from anywhere on the globe, is not achieved by avoiding launch pad costs. (3/20)

Japan's Pale Blue Successfully Operates its Water-Based Propulsion System in Orbit (Source: Pale Blue)
Pale Blue succeeded in operating the water vapor propulsion system (resistojet) in low earth orbit. Pale Blue’s propulsion system was installed on “EYE,” a nano-satellite for STAR SPHERE Project, and tested for the first time in space. Going forward, the company will innovate and expand the commercial use of its water-based propulsion systems for small satellites. (3/13)

Russia’s Space Program Is in Big Trouble (Source: WIRED)
Crippled by war and sanctions, Russia now faces evidence that its already-struggling space program is falling apart. In the past three months alone, Roscosmos has scrambled to resolve two alarming incidents. First, one of its formerly dependable Soyuz spacecraft sprang a coolant leak. Then the same thing happened on one of its Progress cargo ships. The civil space program’s Soviet predecessor launched the first person into orbit, but with the ISS nearing the end of its life, Russia’s space agency is staring into the abyss.

“What we’re seeing is the continuing demise of the Russian civil space program,” says Bruce McClintock,  a former defense attaché at the US embassy in Moscow and current head of the Space Enterprise Initiative of the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. Around 10 years ago, Russian leaders chose to prioritize the country’s military space program—which focuses on satellite and anti-satellite technologies—over its civilian one, McClintock says, and it shows. (3/20)

Sidus Space to Power Advanced Maritime Solutions with New AIS Integration in LizzieSat Constellation (Source: Sidus Space)
Space Coast-based Sidus Space announced an agreement with SatLab to implement its second-generation automated identification system (AIS) technology into the Company’s LizzieSat satellite constellation. AIS technology uses sophisticated systems on board marine vessels to identify and track ships in order to prevent collisions and protect life at sea. The integration of this technology into Sidus’s satellites will enable more accurate vessel tracking and monitoring while providing valuable information about ship movements in real time. (3/21)

The Venture-Backed Rocket Industry is Finally Coming Back to Earth (Source: Quartz)
Rocket makers that emerged from the venture capital ecosystem recently spent an anxious weekend waiting on the outcome of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, but their latest troubles have no connection to with the lender’s collapse. Astra Space is now fighting to remain listed on the NASDAQ because it can’t keep its stock price above $1, while Virgin Orbit (VORB) has sent workers home as it hunts for new funding or a new owner. At each company, the crux of the issue has more to do with the difficulty of launching objects into space than the difficulties of raising capital.

Analysts have predicted a shake out and consolidation in the small rocket business for years, arguing that there just aren’t enough satellites for all these proposed rockets. At the same time, satellite company operators are eager to see more options for launching their spacecraft, with only two commercial providers—SpaceX and Rocket Lab—currently providing reliable service.

A year or two ago, struggling rocket makers may have had a chance to raise money and keep trying. Now, their time might be running out—and as space market analyst Chris Quilty told Quartz earlier this year, “if you made the wrong bet in a launcher company, you should expect zero back.” (3/20)

The Space Race’s Shifting Center of Gravity (Source: Foreign Policy)
The future space race will be won not by those whose technological advancements are superior but by the rule-makers—those whose economic, legal, social, and political institutions are most innovative, attractive, and popular to other spacefaring nations and entities. In this respect, the United States has an early lead over China and Russia, but it has a long way to go in winning this popularity contest.

In recent years, the space race entered an age of economic competition. Winning this race requires not only technological prowess or military acumen but the ability to leverage tools of economic power on the space program’s behalf. This evolution regarding the meaning of “space power”—from technological prowess to military force multiplication and now to the space economy—has also changed the structures under which these capabilities are pursued. Unlike previous eras, space power in the economic age is derived from commercial and industrial activities. (3/8)

The Hard Truths of NASA’s Planetary Program (Source: Space Review)
NASA is proposing spending more than $3.3 billion next year on its planetary science program, but that program is strained by increasing costs and institutional issues. Jeff Foust reports on how those problems have delayed a Venus mission and could spread to other NASA science missions. Click here. (3/21)
 
Space Storm Rising (Source: Space Review)
The growth of the space industry has made it increasingly difficult for companies to hire and retain skilled employees. Joseph Horvath and Christopher Allen make the case for changing how the industry does professional development. Click here. (3/21)
 
A Solution to the Growing Problem of Satellite Interference with Radio Astronomy (Source: Space Review)
As the number of satellites of all types increases, so does the interference their transmissions cause for radio astronomy. Three experts describe the problem and one approach to resolving it. Click here. (3/21)

How Will We Know When We Win the New Space Race? (Source: The Hill)
A recent article in Foreign Policy suggests that two metrics exist to determine who wins the new space race. The first is which side gets to make the rules for operating in space. The second is which side demonstrates the greater ability to economically develop space, starting with the moon. As far as rule making goes, the NASA-led alliance has the edge, thanks to the Artemis Accords, a non-controversial set of rules that mandate cooperation and noninterference, based on legal precedent.

Over 20 nations have signed the Artemis Accords, with Germany and India remaining holdouts. China and Russia oppose the Artemis Accords. Their excuse is apparently that they feel the accords are too slanted toward the United States and Western commercial interests. Their real reason is more likely that the Artemis Accords would prevent China in particular from establishing a hegemony on the moon and other celestial bodies.

he winner of Space Race 2.0 will not be won by whoever is the first to pull off a flags and footsteps mission to the moon over 50 years after Apollo. The winner will be the side that can expand human economic activity beyond the Earth, under a set of easy to understand and acceptable rules, and thus direct the future of human civilization going forward. (3/19)

If China Attacks Taiwan, War Could Start in Space (Source: Taiwan News)
Pentagon officials were cited as saying if China launches an assault on Taiwan, war could first break out in space. CBS's Norah O'Donnell cited several Pentagon sources as stating that if China attacks Taiwan, hostilities could first begin in outer space. The officials predicted that the militaries of China and the U.S. would seek to destroy the satellites of their opponents that "enable precision-guided weaponry."

They added that this could be followed by cyber attacks on U.S. cities and the sabotage of West Coast ports in the continental U.S. When O-Donnell asked U.S. Navy (USN) Admiral Samuel Paparo what the U.S. response would be in the event of a larger crisis involving the South China Sea or Taiwan, he said: "We'll hope that they'll answer the phone. Else, we'll do our very best assessment, based on the things that they say in open source, and based on their behavior to divine their intentions. And we'll act accordingly." (3/20)