April 24, 2023

Where Is Virgin Galactic's Mach 3 Aircraft? (Source: Motley Fool)
Virgin Galactic has been working on a Mach 3 aircraft for nearly three years with little news. But this is still one of the biggest potential growth markets for the company. So what's the latest? Click here. (4/23)

Russia Sets 2030 Timeline To Launch Its Nuclear-Powered Zeus Tug That Can Clean Mounting Space Debris (Source: Eurasian Times)
Russian space agency Roscosmos is considering using the Zevs (Zeus) nuclear tug for cleaning up orbits flooded with space debris. The agency’s CEO, Yuri Borisov, made the announcement at the Tsiolkovsky International Space Films and Programs Festival in Kaluga. The statement comes as Russia has been the center of global criticism for the last two years for adding to the space debris problem by blowing up its own satellites in anti-satellite tests.

Interestingly, this is another role envisaged for the under-development Zeus. The Zeus nuclear-powered space tug was designed for deep space flights from one orbit to another. Under development since 2010, Zeus’s preliminary design is expected to be finished by July 2024 and cost 4.2 billion Rubles ($57.3 million). The tug is expected to be sent into space for test flights in 2030. (4/20)

The Shuttle Engine Needed 3D Printing, But… (Source: Hackaday)
NASA engineers needed some special cooling chambers in a engine design for the Space Shuttle. Today you’d 3D print them, but in the 70s, that wasn’t an option. So they used wax. You can see a video about the process, including a build of a model rocket engine, in the video below. The issue is the creation of tiny cooling channels in the combustion chamber.

You can use additional thin pipes brazed onto the engine. However, there are several disadvantages to doing this way, but early rocket engines did it anyway. Having the cooling path integrated into the system would be ideal, but without 3D printing, it seems difficult to do. But not impossible. The technique uses wax and machined slots that will eventually become the tubes required. Then you electroplate material on top of the wax to form the outer shell of the tube. (4/23)

Zhongke Aerospace Raises Funds to Accelerate Development of Rocket Engines (Source: Weixin)
Recently, Guangzhou Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. completed the C round of financing of 600 million yuan, led by Guangzhou Industrial Investment Group, followed by the original shareholders Guoke Investment and Chinese Academy of Sciences Capital. This round of financing is mainly used for the mass production of solid rockets, the research and development of medium and large liquid rockets and recyclable technology, which will further strengthen the company's research and development capabilities in the field of commercial rockets. (4/22)

Hyundai Building Lunar Exploration Rover Development Model (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Hyundai Motor Group, a leading South Korean automotive manufacturer, has announced its entry into the space exploration industry. On April 20, 2023, the company unveiled plans to build a lunar exploration rover development model, in collaboration with several Korean research institutions in the aerospace sector.

The ambitious project aims to create a versatile mobility platform capable of handling various payloads, with cutting-edge autonomous driving technology, solar charging, thermal management, and radiation shielding features. The rover is designed to carry various pieces of equipment on top of it, with a maximum weight of 70 kg. The group aims to create a rover with launch capability in 2027, after the development model is completed and tested in an environment similar to the Moon's surface. (4/21)

SpaceX’s Successful Failure is a Wake-Up Call for Starship’s Timeline (Source: Tech Crunch)
Ground infrastructure issues could impose significant delays to later tests — perhaps delaying the next one by months. SpaceX currently has three private human spaceflight missions on its Starship manifest. Those include Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa’s dearMoon flight around the moon, the third mission in billionaire Jared Isaacman’s Polaris Program, and a separate lunar mission later this decade, for which entrepreneur Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko purchased two seats.

Of these, only dearMoon has a launch date: later this year. This was optimistic to begin with when they announced it in 2021 but now it seems downright ludicrous. SpaceX has also won lucrative contracts with NASA, performing a crucial role in the Artemis lunar landing program. Artemis III will see astronauts launch to space inside an Orion atop a Space Launch System vehicle, after which they will rendezvous with a Starship human landing system. From there they will travel to the lunar surface and back — but whether that can be achieved as planned in 2025 is doubtful. (4/21)

Space Force Eyes 2025-2026 Timeframe for Tactically Responsive Space Capabilities (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force has set a goal of fielding a tactically responsive space capability by the 2025-2026 timeframe, a top service official said Thursday, though the Pentagon still has many details to work out before it can launch satellites practically on-demand if the need arises. “The ultimate goal for us is to get to an enduring [tactically responsive space] capability by the 2025 or 2026 timeframe,” said Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough.

Birchenough broadly defined the concept as “the capability to rapidly respond to on-orbit needs on operationally relevant timelines.” In simpler terms, the Space Force wants to be able to get assets into orbit at previously unimaginable speeds — ideally, Birchenough said, within 24 hours after a request. (4/21)

U.S. Military Buying SES mPower Satcom Services Under New NATO Agreement (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force in its 2024 budget allocated $59 million to buy satellite communications services from SES’ new broadband constellation in medium Earth orbit known as O3b mPower. The purchase was made under a NATO contracting vehicle established last year for countries to acquire commercial satcom services. Both the U.S. and Luxembourg have agreed to buy mPower satcom services under NATO’s Global Commercially Contracted Satellite Communications. (4/22)

The Rocket Science of Building a Satellite Company (Source: Tech Brew)
From design and engineering to funding and partnerships, getting a satellite company off the ground takes effort from founders with bold ideas, engineers with experience and skill, and funders with deep pockets and sizable ambitions. Click here. (4/21)

Inmarsat I-4 F1 Satellite Still Glitching (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat is still working to restore satellite phone services in the Asia-Pacific region a week after a satellite malfunctioned. Inmarsat has restored maritime and aviation safety capabilities on its I-4 F1 satellite that suffered an outage April 16, but had not yet restored the Global Satellite Phone Service provided by that spacecraft. Inmarsat said the spacecraft suffered a partial loss of power but did not elaborate on the cause other than that it was not caused by a debris impact or a cyberattack. The Airbus-built I-6 F1 satellite that launched in December 2021 is slated to replace many of I-4 F1's L-band services "in the coming months," Inmarsat said. (4/24)

Satellite Operators Need to Accept Greater Responsibility for Space Safety (Source: Space News)
Government officials are calling on satellite operators need to take greater responsibility for space safety. Officials from the Commerce and Defense Departments, involved with the transfer of civil space traffic management services from Defense to Commerce, said it's time for a "serious dialogue" on the responsibilities companies and organizations have for safely operating their satellites. While the Commerce Department is taking over civil STM efforts from the Defense Department, neither currently has the ability to direct satellite operators to move their spacecraft to avoid a collision. (4/24)

LeoLabs Radars Can Track Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs is using its network of radars to track movements by key Chinese and other spacecraft. The company said that an experimental Chinese spaceplane recently lowered its orbit from an altitude of about 600 kilometers to 300 kilometers, suggesting it may be preparing to reenter and land. Such tracking is an example of what LeoLabs calls "space behavior awareness at scale" as the number of active satellites soars. (4/24)

Space Force Plans Satellite Dish Phase Out (Source: Space News)
The Space Force plans to start replacing decades-old parabolic satellite dishes in 2025 with electronic phased array antennas developed by BlueHalo. That company won a $1.4 billion contract from the Space Rapid Capabilities Office last year to update 12 military ground stations with modern systems. BlueHalo will use a new mobile electronically steered antenna, called Badger, that is now in development. Badger can maintain simultaneous contact with up to 20 satellites while existing parabolic dishes can talk with only one satellite at a time. (4/24)

China Plans Helicopter on Mars Lander (Source: Space News)
China, following the lead of NASA, is considering adding helicopters to its Mars sample return plans. The planned Tianwen-3 mission, scheduled for launch around 2030, will attempt to gather 500 grams of Martian samples and return them to Earth using a pair of Long March 5 launches. One update to those plans includes the use of a small helicopter, like Ingenuity, to collect samples near the lander. The NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return effort also includes helicopters as one means of gathering sample tubes left behind by the Perseverance rover. (4/24)

Virgin Orbit Completes UK Launch Failure Investigation (Source: Space News)
Virgin Orbit says it has completed the investigation into a failed LauncherOne mission in January. The company announced last week that a month-long series of tests demonstrated that a dislodged fuel filter caused the launch failure and that a redesign of that filter can prevent the problem from occurring in the future. Virgin Orbit says it is preparing its next LauncherOne for a launch later this year, which will depend on whether the company is able to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Virgin Orbit confirmed last week its plan to sell the company, or its assets, next month. (4/24)

Iridium Reports Increased Profit (Source: Iridium)
Iridium reported increased profit in its fiscal first quarter. The company said last week it had net income of $9.8 million in the quarter, compared to $2.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. The company had total revenue of $205.3 million for the quarter, a 22% increase from a year ago. The company now has more than two million billable subscribers for its satellite connectivity services. (4/24)

Practical Applications of a Space Mission Authorization Framework (Source: Space News)
The National Space Council recently completed three public listening sessions on the issue of In-Space Authorization and Supervision, often described broadly as mission authorization. These terms seem vague and bureaucratic, and mainly the purview of regulators and lawyers. However, given the importance that mission authorization plays in encouraging innovation in a rapidly growing space economy, it’s too important to be left to those folks alone.

Let’s demystify the concept and explain some of the practical aspects that we expect to happen as exciting new space activities come to market. Satellite refueling, human spaceflight, space nuclear power, and even asteroid mining are only a few examples of the missions that will drive the space economy from the half-trillion dollars it is today to between $1-3 trillion dollars over the next two decades. If today’s rapid pace of change continues, the space economy of 2040 will involve over 100,000 space objects in multiple orbits, include a robust set of permanent lunar activities, and extend benefits to us on Earth far greater than we’ve seen heretofore. Government regulation, including mission authorization, needs to enable these missions rather than hinder them. Clik here. (4/11)

Sidus Space Signs MOU with SkyServe for Real-time Onboard Analytics (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space will collaborate with SkyServe, an in-space edge computing solutions company offering satellite-based insights for core industries and solution providers through their Insights-as-a-Service platform. Under the terms of the MOU, Sidus will be integrating and deploying SkyServe’s edge computing software on LizzieSat and provide on-orbit testing in a space environment to provide insights, increase the overall Technology Readiness Level, and establish integration processes for future collaborative missions. (4/24)