March 29, 2023

Shavit Launches Ofek-13 Satellite From Israel Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Israel launched a reconnaissance satellite Tuesday night. A Shavit rocket lifted off from the Palmachim Airbase at 7:10 p.m. Eastern and placed the Ofek-13 satellite into orbit. Israel's defense ministry said the spacecraft carries a synthetic aperture radar payload with "advanced capabilities." The ministry said the launch was successful and Ofek-13 had completed initial tests after entering orbit. (3/29)

A Front-Runner Emerges in the European Small Launcher Race (Source: Ars Technica)
There are essentially three areas in the world where clusters of private companies have started to develop small launch vehicles. The first such cluster emerged in the United States nearly two decades ago with SpaceX, which was then followed by Rocket Lab and about a dozen other serious companies. Next came China, with a profusion of quasi-private companies leveraging technology from the country's state-owned launch enterprises with private funding. The final region that has emerged in the last five years is in Europe.

This European small launcher race has essentially followed a US model, with venture capital and investors backing a number of privately led efforts to develop commercially viable small satellite launchers. Much of this activity has been clustered in Germany and Great Britain, but Spanish and French companies are also in play. Because none of the dozen or so European companies have actually attempted an orbital launch attempt yet, it can be difficult to tell who is making real progress and who is not.

Many, if not most, will probably never reach orbit. However, one of the best barometers of a company's health and legitimacy is the funding it has been able to secure. Germany's Isar Aerospace has been a clear leader in this area. Prior to this week, the Munich-based company had raised about $165 million, a reasonable amount of cash for a launch startup building a small rocket. On Tuesday, Isar announced that it had doubled this total with a $165 million Series C round. (3/28)

NASA Rocket Engines Re-Engineered as Production Restarts (Source: Space Daily)
As NASA prepares for the first crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, agency propulsion and test teams are setting their sights on future Space Launch System (SLS) flights and working to improve one of the world's most powerful and reliable rocket engines for missions beginning with Artemis V. A series of hot fire certification tests is in progress at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for a redesigned RS-25 engine to support production of additional engines for future SLS flights after NASA's current inventory of the engine is expended. (3/29)

Maxar Unveils 30-Centimeter Global Basemap (Source: Space News)
Maxar Technologies unveiled an updated version March 28 of its popular global basemap. Maxar’s Vivid Standard, the new basemap, includes global imagery with a resolution of 30-centimeters per pixel. In contrast, Maxar’s previous basemap, which underpins many mapping applications, offers 50-centimeter resolution worldwide and 30-centimeter resolution for select cities. (3/28)

Sweden's Ovzon Gets Deadline Extension for Debut Satellite (Source: Space News)
Mobile satcom services provider Ovzon said March 28 it has secured a deadline extension enabling it to keep priority spectrum rights for its first broadband satellite, as long as it launches early enough in a July-September window SpaceX has set for the mission. International regulators gave the Swedish company until the end of the year to start providing services in geostationary orbit from Ovzon 3, which was originally slated to launch in 2021 before manufacturing delays at Maxar Technologies. (3/28)

SECAF: No Decision Yet on Space Command HQ (Source: Space News)
The secretary of the Air Force says no decision has been made on the headquarters of U.S. Space Command amid rumors it may remain in Colorado. Testifying at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday, Frank Kendall said he had "no indication" that the White House would soon decide on a permanent headquarters for the command, which is temporarily based in Colorado. A Washington Post columnist wrote last week that the Biden administration was considering overturning a decision made at the end of the Trump administration to move the command to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama,  and would keep it in Colorado to avoid disruptions a move would cause. "We're still in the process of doing some analysis," Kendall said. (3/29)

China Readies First Launch for New LEO Megaconstellation (Source: Space News)
China is preparing to launch its first satellites for a national low Earth orbit broadband megaconstellation. A Long March 5B rocket will be equipped with a Yuanzheng-2 second stage for the first time and launched from the coastal Wenchang spaceport in the second half of the year. That launch vehicle configuration would be used to launch satellites for a LEO satellite network called Guowang, with 13,000 satellites planned to offer broadband services. (3/29)

The Airbus OneWeb Bus: Constellations of Opportunities (Source: Space Daily)
The OneWeb constellation is based on Airbus' innovative and affordable satellite platform which is tailored for such high-performance space applications as connectivity, communications, and machine-to-machine (M2M) services, along with Earth observation, reconnaissance, and maritime/aviation relay. Building on Airbus OneWeb Satellites' success in producing standardised commercial satellites at high rates and managed costs, Airbus has expanded its customer base while also broadening the spacecraft product line and the missions performed.

In America, Airbus U.S. is providinge its next generation satellite platforms to Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Space Development Agency's prototype military data and connectivity constellation. The platforms will expand the current Airbus satellite design, providing more power and accommodating a larger payload in a modular solution. This will enable Airbus to offer a scalable 300-500 kg. spacecraft bus, as well as for future U.S. government missions. (3/28)

Exolaunch Slots in Over 15 Customer Satellites Onto SpaceX Transporter-7 from Vandenberg (Source: Space Daily)
For its seventh dedicated rideshare mission with SpaceX, Exolaunch, a global leader in small satellite launch services, mission management and deployment systems, performed the integration of over 15 satellites for customers around the globe. The SpaceX Transporter-7 mission is scheduled for launch to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) above 500 km from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California no earlier than April 2023. This mission features a substantially broadening customer base for Exolaunch and will bring the total number of satellites sent to space by the company to over 285. (3/27)

Lockheed Martin Creates "Crescent" Subsidiary for Lunar Operations (Source: Space News)
A new Lockheed Martin subsidiary will offer communications and navigation services at the moon. Crescent Space Services LLC will own and operate Lockheed-built satellites for a system called Parsec, designed to support spacecraft in orbit around the moon and on the lunar surface. Crescent expects high demand for those services from government and commercial missions, particularly those landing on the south polar region of the moon or the lunar farside where direct-to-Earth communications are not possible. The first Parsec satellites are scheduled to launch in 2025. (3/29)

Space Force Sees Increased Ground Station Cyber Threats (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is investing heavily in cybersecurity for satellite ground systems in response to increasing threats. The Space Force's $30 billion budget request for fiscal year 2024 includes $700 million to enhance cybersecurity for networks used for space operations, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said at a House appropriations hearing Tuesday. He did not go into details about those investments, but said it includes software and hardware as well as training for operators. (3/29)

Japan's H3 Launch Failure Threatens Multiple Project Schedules (Source: Space News)
The failure of the first H3 launch earlier this month could delay several Japanese science missions. The H3 failed to reach orbit when the rocket's upper-stage engine did not ignite, possibly because of an electrical issue with the stage. Because that engine is similar to one used on the H-2A, launches of that vehicle are also on hold.

An official with JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences said that issue could delay the launch of the XRISM X-ray telescope and SLIM lunar lander, which were scheduled to launch together on an H-2A as soon as May. It also raises questions about the schedule for MMX, a mission to go to Mars and return samples from the Martian moon Phobos, scheduled for late 2024 on an H3. (3/29)

NASA Assigns Olansen to Lead Gateway Program (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected a new manager for its lunar Gateway program. NASA said Tuesday that Jon B. Olansen will take over as manager of Gateway, succeeding Dan Hartman, who is retiring from NASA after leading the program since it was established in 2019. Olansen had been managing the Gateway's Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, which will launch in 2025 along with the Power and Propulsion Element as the Gateway's first modules. (3/29)

Lunar Glass Could Hold Water (Source: Space.com)
Glass beads on the moon could be a source of water. Samples returned from China's Chang'e-5 mission found more water than expected locked inside glass beads created from impact ejecta. That water likely comes from the interaction of hydrogen in the solar wind with oxygen in the lunar regolith. Water trapped in those glass beads could potentially be a resource for future human missions. (3/29)

Florida STEM Charter School Principal Falls for Musk Scam, Resigns (Source: WESH)
The longtime principal of a charter school in southeast Volusia County resigned under fire Tuesday night after it was discovered she wrote a $100,000 check out of the school's account to an Internet scammer posing as Elon Musk. Jan McGee has been the principal of Burns Science and Technology school since it opened in 2011. The school, with just under 1,000 students, is A-rated and has a huge waiting list. McGee was scammed online by a fake Elon Musk after spending months talking to this person in hopes of getting the space pioneer to invest millions in the school in exchange for a $100,000 upfront investment. (3/29)

Is Rocket Lab the SpaceX Competitor We’ve Been Waiting For? (Source: Gizmodo)
SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9 is currently in a class by itself, but rival companies are hoping to end the rocket’s near-monopolistic hold on the spaceflight industry. One such company is Rocket Lab, with its chief financial officer now taking direct aim at the Elon Musk-owned firm. With Neutron, Rocket Lab is eyeing the medium-lift sector; the future rocket, in addition to delivering various payloads, is being positioned as a vehicle for transporting astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

That Neutron could rival Falcon 9 is a distinct possibility, but SpaceX’s upcoming Starship megarocket could reshape the spaceflight industry as we know it. Musk is aiming for $1 million per launch of Starship, which represents an astoundingly low price point. Autry says Starship is “probably a lot farther off than advertised,” which isn’t a surprise, given Musk’s track record of over promising, but “he delivers amazing stuff” and his “recent pricing moves at Tesla—particularly in China—suggest he is willing to cut prices to the bone to hold market share,” Autry told Gizmodo. (3/27)

Chinese and Russian Researchers Barred From Japan Space Agency Institute (Source: Japan Times)
A scientific institute belonging to Japan's space agency has barred Chinese and Russian researchers, among others, to protect sensitive technological information that could be used for military purposes. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) has set new standards for accepting foreign researchers and students that went into effect last September. Its parent, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, declined to comment.

The move comes as part of efforts to prevent technologies used in satellites and rockets from being accessed by foreign agencies that are developing weapons of mass destruction. Individuals from countries such as North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Belarus have also been barred from undergoing screening to enter ISAS. (3/25)

Bowersox to Succeed Retiring SOMD Head Lueders (Source: Space Policy Online)
The first woman to head NASA’s human spaceflight enterprise will retire at the end of April, NASA announced today. Kathy Lueders will be succeeded by her deputy, former astronaut Ken Bowersox, effective May 1. Bowersox has extensive experience not only flying in space, but in top positions in what is now the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Chosen as a NASA astronaut in 1987, Bowersox is a retired Naval Aviator who flew on five NASA space shuttle missions accumulating 211 days in space. (3/27)

Down 85% In the Last Year, Could Terran Orbital Stock Bounce Back? (Source: Motley Fool)
Shareholders of Terran Orbital had a rough last week. After reporting a larger-than-expected Q4 loss on Tuesday, the start-up satellite manufacturer saw its stock price shaved by 7.5% -- and the shares kept on sliding all week long. Terran tripled its sales in fourth-quarter 2022, as compared to Q4 2021, and ended the year with sales up 130% over 2021 levels. True, input costs rose faster than revenues, resulting in larger losses for the year than experienced in 2021. But in Q4 in particular, Terran's losses slimmed, and a larger base of shares (a consequence of dilution from last year's SPAC IPO) cut per-share losses even further. (3/27)

What Time is it on the Moon (Source: WIRED)
In 2025, astronauts will begin returning to the moon, eventually building bases and space stations, putting robotic landers and rovers to work, and mining for resources. In this bustling new era of lunar activity, they’ll need to synchronize with each other. But so far there is no agreed-upon time system or zones, and there’s neither GPS nor internet on the moon. Setting those up will require developing new technologies on Earth to be deployed 239,000 miles away. Javier Ventura-Traveset at ESA is leading this work with a project called Moonlight, which aims to design satellites for astronauts and robotic explorers.

Moonlight and its US counterpart, the Lunar Communications Relay and Navigation Systems, will support NASA’s Artemis program, and the work is raising questions about whether the moon should have a single time zone—and how that would work. “Up to now, when you have a mission on the moon, you would always synchronize with a time zone on the Earth. But we’ll have many missions in the future, and having a common reference time is really needed,” Ventura-Traveset says. That poses logistical and engineering challenges and gives rise to significant political and philosophical ones. What is time on the moon? (3/28)

Controversial Space Propulsion Technology Could Challenge a Basic Law of Physics (Source: Inverse)
On June 10, an all-electrical propulsion system for satellites (the IVO Quantum Drive) will fly to space. The system was built by North Dakota-based wireless power company IVO and will serve as a testbed for an alternative theory of inertia that could have applications for propulsion. The engine will launch on a SpaceX 'Transporter' rideshare mission hosted by commercial partner Rogue Space Systems. If the technology is validated, the Quantum Drive could trigger a revolution in commercial space and beyond. And if not, then we can relax knowing that the laws of physics are still the laws of physics!

IVO's Quantum Drive relies on the theory of Quantized Inertia (QI), a controversial idea that many physicists view as a fringe theory. In recent years, Mike McCullough and his colleagues were awarded a DARPA grant to conduct experiments to investigate QI in a laboratory setting. With the launch of the IVO Quantum Drive, the theory will be tested in space for the first time.

“The IVO Quantum Drive really is a total departure from the current limitations of modern space propulsion. It is the first pure electric propulsion device, meaning it requires only electricity to run. Gone are the days of complex fuel systems which require special fuel solutions to propel the spacecraft. As long as we have electricity, we have thrust, which is why unlimited Delta-V is possible for the first time ever. Due to its self-contained nature, this is the first propulsion device that can be completely internal to a spacecraft.” (3/26)