April 2, 2023

Saudi Arabia, UAE's Role in Future of Space Exploration (Source: MenaFN)
During the FII forum in Miami, Brian Hook, the vice-chairman of Cerberus, praised Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their critical role in the future of space exploration. He said that these countries had greatly accelerated a new space race by putting both their people and funding behind it, bringing into existence a new space economy. Hook, along with other panelists, spoke about the potential for development and investment in the space industry and the breakthroughs that make it appealing to the general public, investors, and enterprises.

According to Hook, allowing the private sector into the market has gained fresh momentum, and the overall market value is expected to surpass $1 trillion in the coming years. Private equity and venture capital have been funding and enabling some of the most innovative companies for space exploration.

Helene Huby, CEO of The Exploration Company, said that there had been a renaissance in the space industry in the last few years. She stated that we are living in the third revolution, which is not about access or costs, but staying in space. The first revolution was the Apollo mission, which was about access. The second was the industrialization of space exploration with the International Space Station. (4/2)

UK Space Sector Income Reaches £17.5 Billion as Jobs and Services Grow (Source: Gov.uk)
New figures show the UK space sector income grew by almost £1 billion into 2021. Employment was up with almost 1,800 more jobs across the UK space sector. The number of space organizations up by almost 300, with regions such as West Midlands, North West, North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber, seeing significant growth, as well as Northern Ireland and Wales. (3/28)

For All Moonkind Launches Groundbreaking Initiative to Promote Commonalities to Reduce the Potential for Conflict in Space (Source: Investors Observer)
For All Moonkind, Inc ., the only organization in the world dedicated to protecting human heritage in outer space, announced today the formation of For All Moonkind's Institute on Space Law and Ethics. The Institute, whose mission is to promote the articulation and development of an ethical foundation and framework for responsible space behavior, will serve as a platform for the exchange and innovation of ideas regarding law, morality and ethics amplifying diverse thoughts on the interpretation and expansion of the law as it affects human space activities. (3/27)

O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC Announces Investment in Atomos Space (Source: O'Shaughnessy)
O'Shaughnessy Ventures has invested in Atomos Nuclear and Space Corporation. Since its founding in late 2017 by Vanessa Clark and William Kowalski, Atomos Space has worked to revolutionize space logistics by developing and operating orbital transfer vehicles ("OTVs") to perform orbit-raising, precision insertion, phasing, and plane change services for satellites.

Atomos aims to enable more commercial companies to operate in space dynamically and sustainably. Whether placing new satellites in their operating orbit or moving old satellites to new missions, Atomos makes space more mobile. A key aspect of Atomos' space-resident OTVs is their ability to rendezvous with and dock to client satellites in orbit. Atomos will demonstrate this critical capability in the first mission, which launches in January 2024. (3/28)

Aerospace Industries Association, NASA Sign Space Act Agreement To Inspire Future Workforce (Source: AIA)
Built on the shared interest in attracting diverse groups of students to STEM and aerospace, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) announced today it signed a Space Act Agreement with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to inspire the next generation of aerospace and STEM professionals. The agreement will enable AIA to expand upon its award-winning American Rocketry Challenge program to create opportunities that broaden student participation in aerospace and provide connections to NASA’s Artemis program and other NASA missions. (3/28)

UnseenLabs to Launch BRO-9 Satellite Dedicated to Vessel Geolocation From Space (Source: UnseenLabs)
UnseenLabs announces the coming launch of BRO-9, the ninth satellite of its constellation dedicated to the geolocation of all vessels at sea. BRO-9 will be launched as part of the Transporter-7 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. (3/30)

AAC Clyde Space Wins Avionic Orders (Source: AAC Clyde Space)
AAC Clyde Space has received orders for its Starbuck power system and Sirius computers from several customers amounting to a total of approx. SEK 20.1 M. The orders are scheduled for delivery from Q4 2023 until mid-2024. AAC Clyde Space's SmallSat PCDU (Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit) solutions and Sirius computers have demonstrated impressive capabilities in space, gaining a market reputation for reliability, resiliency and performance. With their modular design, the solutions can be used and adapted for an array of different applications stretching from lunar exploratory and deep space scientific missions to military and commercial constellation applications. (3/31)

China Launches New Rocket (Source: Xinhua)
A new carrier rocket made its maiden flight in China on Sunday, sending a satellite into its planned orbit. The rocket is known as TL-2 Y1 and blasted off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The flight will verify the overall program of the rocket and the coordination between the systems and obtain the parameters of the flight environment. The satellite will be used in remote sensing imaging experiments and other technical verifications. (4/2)

EuroJobsites Acquires Space-Careers.com to Expand Leadership Position in European Job Boards for Senior STEM Candidates (Source: EuroJobsites)
EuroJobsites announces the acquisition of Space-Careers.com to add the leading space-industry niche jobsite to its portfolio of adjacent recruitment solutions in science, technology, and engineering. Being in an ultra-targeted niche, Space-Careers.com adds extensive value to EuroJobsites with its audience of highly qualified and experienced candidates. Recruiters using other EuroJobsites properties like EuroEngineerJobs will now be able to access these specialized candidates. (3/23)

SpaceX Launches SDA Tranche 0 Satellites (Source: Space News)
The first Space Development Agency (SDA) satellites were launched by SpaceX March 30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Eight are data-transport satellites made by York Space Systems that will be part of a mesh communications network known as Transport Layer, and two are Tracking Layer infrared sensor satellites made by SpaceX and Leidos to detect and track hypersonic missiles in flight. The Transport Layer satellites are estimated to cost about $15 million each, and the Tracking Layer satellites about $40 million each. (3/31)

Planets Without Stars Might have Moons Suitable for Life (Source: Science News)
Life might arise in the darkest of places: the moon of a planet wandering the galaxy without a star. The gravitational tug-of-war between a moon and its planet can keep certain satellites toasty enough for liquid water to exist there — a condition widely considered crucial for life. Now computer simulations suggest that, given the right orbit and atmosphere, some moons orbiting rogue planets can stay warm for over a billion years, astrophysicist Giulia Roccetti reported. (4/2)

Alien Probe or Eccentric Comet? This Space Mystery Won’t End (Source: Daily Beast)
In September 2017, a very strange object streaked fast across the solar system and passed close to the sun before heading away. Shiny, oblong and potentially hundreds of feet in length, the object was unlike anything scientists had ever seen. Not exactly an asteroid. Not exactly a comet. Five years later, scientists are still arguing over the object, which they’ve named ‘Oumuamua. That’s Hawaiian for “scout.” It’s a debate that could shake up whole fields of science.

On one side is a camp led by iconoclast Harvard physicist and noted alien-hunter Avi Loeb, who contends that we should at least consider the possibility that ‘Oumuamua is an alien spacecraft. On the other side is a loose confederation of scientists who argue for more pedestrian explanations for ‘Oumuamua’s mysteries. “What’s at stake in the debate over ‘Oumuamua is whether the scientific community can hold open every plausible hypothesis about the object's origins, without fear or prejudice, until there’s more evidence available—or until we think of better questions to ask about the object,” said Wade Roush.

The debate over ‘Oumuamua currently centers on the nature of its acceleration as it zipped across the solar system, piling on velocity until it was traveling at nearly 200,000 miles per second. Even for an asteroid or comet, that’s fast. NASA described it as “blistering.” It’s conceivable that an asteroid might travel that fast, if it started its journey several star systems distant and our own sun grabbed ahold of it for another speed-inducing gravitational tug. What doesn’t make sense is that, as astronomers tracked ‘Oumuamua through various telescopes, they detected what NASA described as “non-gravitational acceleration in the motion of 'Oumuamua,” acceleration that scientists can’t attribute to gravity alone. (3/2)

Americans Want to Lead in Space But Don’t Love the Price Tag (Source: Yahoo! News)
A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Americans aren't overwhelmingly enthusiastic about NASA's lunar ambitions. Fifty percent of respondents told us they're excited by the possibility of returning to the moon, while 36% said they aren't. The rest, well, they weren't so sure. And when it comes to the specifics of the upcoming Artemis missions, 58% of Americans said they've never heard of it, with just 8% saying they've heard "a lot."

However, a clear 62% majority still considers it important for the U.S. to maintain its status as the world leader in space exploration. That said, Americans are far more divided on whether "space missions are a good use of taxpayer money" — 40% say yes, 36% say no — and oddly enough, here America's political divide finds a rare moment of unity: People who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election responded almost exactly in the same way as those who voted for Donald Trump, with 48% and 46% saying the cost of space exploration is worth it. (4/1)

Launch of Japan’s H2A Rocket Delayed as H3 Probe Drags On (Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)
The takeoff of Japan’s H2A Launch Vehicle No. 47, which was scheduled for May, has been pushed back to at least summer, according to multiple government sources. The decision was made because the H2A mainstay rocket uses the same componentry thought to have malfunctioned in the H3 rocket that failed in its maiden launch earlier this month, the sources said Thursday.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s launch of the small Epsilon-6 rocket in October 2022 also ended in failure, and no timeframe has been set for that rocket’s successor to lift off. The delay in the H2A program leaves JAXA in the unusual situation of being unable to launch any of Japan’s three main rockets. The H2A launch vehicle had been scheduled to blast off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture with a payload including JAXA’s SLIM lunar lander. The next launch window will be in summer or later, due to factors including the rocket’s trajectory to the moon, according to the sources. (3/31)

India’s Space Plane Lands in Karnataka as ISRO Demonstrates Reusable Launch Vehicle (Source: India Today)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully demonstrated the landing of its under development Reusable Launch Vehicle. This brings India one step closer to the dream of its own space plane. The spacecraft took off underslung by a Chinook helicopter from the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours of April 2. It was raised to an altitude of 4.6 kilometers before being dropped mid-air. (4/2)

SpaceX Moves Starship to Launch Pad, and Liftoff Could be Just Days Away (Source: Ars Technica)
SpaceX moved the most flight-ready of its Starship rockets, Ship 24, to a launch site in South Texas on Saturday. While a launch is not imminent this week, it could take place as early as April 10, sources said. Earlier this week, the company lifted the massive "Super Heavy" first stage of its launch system onto a launch mount at the pad.

The next step will involve lifting the Starship upper stage into place, atop the first stage. While these vehicles have been previously stacked for testing, this should be the final time they are positioned on the launch pad before lifting off. The launch vehicle will have about double the thrust of the two most powerful rockets ever to reach orbit, NASA's Saturn V and Space Launch System rockets.

With this work largely completed, the focus now turns toward the final significant hurdle—a license from the FAA. While such regulatory matters are uncertain, a source said good progress is being made toward the issuance of such a license during the first two weeks of April. It also appears that, tentatively, NASA is reserving the use of its high-altitude WB-57 aircraft for observations of the Starship test flight on April 10 and 11. (4/1)

Stratolaunch Completes Third Captive Carry Flight with Talon-A Vehicle (Source: Stratolaunch)
Stratolaunch LLC announces it has successfully completed a third captive carry flight of the Talon-A separation test vehicle, TA-0. The flight was the tenth for the company's launch platform Roc and marks the beginning of routine flight operations in Vandenberg Space Force Base's Western Range off California's central coast.

The flight, which lasted a total of five hours, performed risk reduction by practicing a variety of separation profiles and confirming telemetry between Roc and Talon-A vehicles and Vandenberg Space Force Base's communication assets, assuring that back-up telemetry data collection will occur during future flight tests. (4/1) 

‘The Space Race,’ Documentary On NASA’s Black Astronauts (Source: Deadline)
For NASA’s pioneering Black astronauts, gravity wasn’t the only barrier impeding them from reaching the highest heights. They also faced another implacable force, in the form of racial bias. National Geographic Documentary Films today announced filmmakers Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza will direct and produce The Space Race, a feature documentary “that will uncover the little-known stories of the first Black pilots, engineers and scientists to become astronauts” and the obstacles that impacted their trajectory. (3/31)

China's LandSpace Readies for Second Flight of ZhuQue-2 Amid Launch Salvo (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
LandSpace has confirmed that the second methane-based ZhuQue-2 is fully assembled as the company gears up for its second launch campaign. After the initial first flight failure, this could mean a second attempt to get a methane-fueled rocket to orbit is approaching. While the debut flight of Tianlong-2 is slipping into April, China still launched several payloads in the past ten days. This includes a Kuaizhou-1A launch and two Chang Zheng family launches. Furthermore, another spacewalk on the Tiangong Space Station was conducted, which so far lacks any confirmation from China. (3/31)

Here’s What Went Wrong with Virgin Orbit (Source: CNBC)
Not too long ago, Virgin Orbit was in rarified air among U.S. rocket builders, and executives were in New York celebrating its public stock debut.
The deal, facilitated by a so-called blank check company, gave Virgin Orbit a valuation of nearly $4 billion. But that moment in December 2021 – when the craze surrounding public offerings centered on special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, was dying out – previewed the pain to come. Now, Virgin Orbit is on the brink of bankruptcy.

When Virgin Orbit closed its SPAC deal, it raised less than half of the nearly $500 million expected due to high shareholder redemptions, shortening its runway. With the broader markets turning against riskier yet-unprofitable assets like many new space stocks, Virgin Orbit shares began a steady slide, further limiting its ability to raise substantial outside investment.

Branson, Virgin Orbit’s largest stakeholder, was unwilling to fund the company further. Instead, he began hedging against his 75% equity stake through a series of debt rounds. That debt gives the flashy British billionaire first priority of Virgin Orbit assets in the event of the now-impending bankruptcy. While Virgin Orbit touted a flexible and alternative approach to launch small satellites, the company was unable to reach the rate of launches necessary to generate the revenue it sorely needed. (3/31)

Virgin Orbit Redundancies After Spaceport Cornwall Failed Mission (Source: The Packet)
The head of Spaceport Cornwall has said she is “saddened” to hear that Virgin Orbit is to cut 675 jobs – about 85% of its workforce – after failing to secure new funding. The news comes just over three months after the first ever space launch from UK soil, which took off successfully but failed to reach orbit. “Spaceport Cornwall continues to operate with no direct impact to the team or project," said Melissa Quinn. “As the UK’s only licensed Spaceport we continue to grow the space cluster in Cornwall through developing future launch operations, opening a new facility to support global space and satellite businesses and inspire local school children into STEAM through our outreach program.” (3/31)

SpaceX Starship OFT Animation (Source: Ryan Hansen)
OFT (Orbital Flight Test) is a fictional animation depicting a first test flight of the long-awaited SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Starship is a highly ambitious rocket design with many critical systems that have to work together perfectly in order for the aspiring goal of full and rapid reusability to become reality. Will the vehicle successfully make it past the grueling dynamics of MaxQ or will a single issue set off a cascade of failures leading to disappointment? Click here. (3/31)

Space Force Seeking More Narrowband Communication Satellites (Source; C4ISRnet)
The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to buy two more Mobile User Objective System satellites, which provide secure narrowband communication for military users. A March 24 solicitation kicks off the first phase of the effort, which is focused on early design and risk reduction work. The service plans to award a 12-to-18-month contract to as many as two companies in September. By fiscal year 2025, the Space Force will select a single company to deliver the satellites, the first of which it wants to launch before the end of FY30. (3/31)

Astronaut Doug Hurley Joins Busch Light’s Tongue-in-Cheek ‘Anti-Space’ Campaign (Source: Observer)
Former NASA astronaut Doug Hurley’s first post-retirement gig is all about encouraging people to stay on Earth. Hurley, who commanded SpaceX’s first crewed mission to the ISS in May 2020, has partnered with beer brand Busch Light on a marketing campaign called “Share a Case Against Space” aimed at raising awareness for Earth conservation. (3/31)

NASA's Apollo-Era Crawler, Upgraded for Artemis, Sets Guinness World Record (Source: Space.com)
It has taken seven years (or 57, depending on how you count), but now it is official: one of NASA's Apollo-era rocket movers is the heaviest self-powered vehicle in the world. Guinness World Records on Wednesday presented the space agency with a certificate confirming that Crawler-Transporter 2 tipped the scale at 6.65 million pounds), or about the same weight as 1,000 pickup trucks. That is a record, said Guinness, but noted it was set during the last decade. (3/31)