April 4, 2023

UK Company Purchases Land in Brook Park for Astronaut Training Center (Source: WOIO)
The English company, Blue Abyss Diving Ltd., is buying 12 acres of land in Brook Park to build an astronaut training center. The property, which is near Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center, will include a 164-foot deep pool, microgravity center, astronaut training center, and a hotel. Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt described the facility as a “boot camp for astronauts.” Brook Park City Council members will hear a presentation and vote on the project at their caucus meeting on April 11. (4/3)

Redwire to Demonstrate a Security Camera for Military Satellites (Source: Space news)
The space infrastructure firm Redwire in a planned demonstration later this year will install ExoAnalytic Solutions’ space-tracking software on a navigation camera aboard a satellite in orbit. The company is pitching this technology to the military as a security camera that could be installed on satellites to monitor potential hazards.

Machine-vision cameras like the one developed by Redwire are used by spacecraft to navigate and maneuver in proximity to other objects. The company will update the camera with space-tracking algorithms so it can serve as a surveillance camera for satellites, said Dean Bellamy, the company’s executive vice president for national security space. ExoAnalytic is a commercial space monitoring company that operates more than 300 telescopes worldwide. The vision camera technology was developed by Deep Space Systems, a company that in 2020 became part of Redwire. (4/3)

Do Earth-Like Exoplanets Have Magnetic Fields (Source: Space Daily)
Earth's magnetic field does more than keep everyone's compass needles pointed in the same direction. It also helps preserve Earth's sliver of life-sustaining atmosphere by deflecting high energy particles and plasma regularly blasted out of the sun. Researchers have now identified a prospective Earth-sized planet in another solar system as a prime candidate for also having a magnetic field - YZ Ceti b, a rocky planet orbiting a star about 12 light-years away from Earth. Researchers observed a repeating radio signal emanating from the star YZ Ceti using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. (4/4)

Jacksonville's Christina Hammock Koch to Become First Woman to Orbit the Moon (Source: Space Daily)
NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch -- a flight engineer on the International Space Station and record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by a female -- will become the first woman to orbit the moon next year when the space agency launches its Artemis II mission. Koch's name was revealed Monday as a member of the four-person crew of astronauts from the USA and Canada who will journey around the moon.

Koch, who was assigned mission specialist, will be joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts G. Reid Wiseman and Victor J. Glover Jr., who will become the first person of color to orbit the moon, NASA and the Johnson Space Center announced Monday in Houston, Texas. Koch, who became an astronaut in 2013, grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, before going to North Carolina State University. (4/3)

Gaia Discovers a New Family of Black Holes (Source: Space Daily)
ESA's Gaia mission has helped discover a new kind of black hole. The new family already has two members, and both are closer to Earth than any other black hole that we know of. A team of astronomers studied the orbits of stars tracked by Gaia and noticed that some of them wobbled on the sky, as if they were gravitationally influenced by massive objects. Several telescopes looked for the objects, but no light could be found, leaving only one possibility: black holes.

Using data from ESA's Gaia mission, astronomers have discovered not only the closest but also the second closest black hole to Earth. The black holes, Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2, are respectively located just 1560 light-years away from us in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus and 3800 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. In galactic terms, these black holes reside in our cosmic backyard. (4/2)

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Files for Bankruptcy (Source: CNN)
Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy in the United States. The California-based company said in a statement Monday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, meaning that it can continue doing business while it restructures its debts. Dan Hart said he believed that the company’s “cutting-edge launch technology” would have “wide appeal to buyers as we continue in the process to sell the company.”

Virgin Investments, one of Virgin Orbit’s sister companies, will inject $31.6 million into the satellite launcher to help it stay afloat while the business searches for a new owner. The announcement comes just days after Virgin Orbit said it would lay off about 85% of its workforce to reduce expenses since it could not secure additional funding. The company was founded in 2017. (4/4)

RocketLab Commercial Spaceflights Ramp Up At Wallops Island (Source: Chesapeake Bay Magazine)
Rocket Lab USA, Inc, has successfully launched its second Electron rocket from Wallops Island and is gearing up for a third this month. The commercial space company is poised for many more launches from Virginia. The Electron has flown over 35 missions globally, deploying 159 satellites. Rocket Lab designs and builds its own rocket engines and software. An advanced composite manufacturer, the company produces high-tech solar arrays for powering satellites once in orbit.

The Electron is their workhorse small rocket. At 59 feet tall, it is designed to carry satellites into orbit.  Rocket Lab’s customers include private companies as well as the U.S. military, including the U.S. Space Force. The forthcoming Neutron, which is expected to launch from Wallops for the first time in 2024, will be the largest composite rocket in the world. (4/3)

Thuraya Invests in Astrocast (Source: Space News)
Thuraya is investing in Swiss satellite operator Astrocast. The companies said Monday they had agreed on terms for a convertible loan that Thuraya could later turn into shares in cash-strapped Astrocast, which saw plans to raise money for its constellation on the stock market fall apart last year. Astrocast currently operates 18 satellites and is looking to expand its fleet to improve connectivity services for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of GEO operator Yahsat, provides the L-band spectrum that Astrocast uses to connect IoT devices for tracking, monitoring and other applications in remote locations. (4/4)

NRO Extends Contracts with Kleos and Spire for RF Data (Source: Space News)
The NRO awarded contract extensions to Kleos Space and Spire Global for commercial radio-frequency (RF) data. Both companies were awarded "stage two" two-year contract options under the NRO's Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement program. The companies provide data for geolocation of RF sources, including jammers. They were among six companies the NRO selected last year for cooperative agreements that give the agency access to the companies' business plans and help the agency understand the quality of commercially available data. (4/4)

Safran's Sion Tapped to Lead ArianeGroup (Source: ArianeGroup)
A Safran executive is the new CEO of ArianeGroup. The company announced Tuesday it named Martin Sion, formerly CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense, as its new CEO, effective immediately. He had been on the board of directors of ArianeGroup since 2019. Sion replaces André-Hubert Roussel as CEO of ArianeGroup, the prime contractor for the Ariane family of rockets. (4/4)

Space Force Planning Second Phase of Missile Warning Constellation (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force is asking industry for input on a second phase of a missile warning satellite constellation. The service issued a request for information Friday about the planned Resilient Missile Warning/Missile Tracking – MEO system, which would feature satellites in medium Earth orbit. That constellation will be developed in phases called "Epochs" to allow improvements in capabilities over time. Responses to the RFI are due May 16. (4/4)

Array of 110 Small Telescopes Could Replace Single Large Telescope in California (Source: Science)
A big array of small radio telescopes could be an effective replacement for a single large telescope. Astronomers are completing a prototype of the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA), which will use 110 dishes, each 4.6 meters cross, tightly packed in an array at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in California. The array features a wide field of view that astronomers say is particularly useful to detect phenomena called fast radio busts. The full-scale DSA, proposed to be built in Nevada, will include 2,000 such dishes, offering a less expensive, although not nearly as sensitive, alternative to large single-dish telescopes, like the destroyed Arecibo radio telescope. (4/4)

‘Redmond Space District’ Celebrates the Northwest’s Hotspot for Satellite Industry (Source: GeekWire)
This Seattle-area suburb has played a role in the space industry for more than a half-century, but the city of Redmond is shining brighter than ever on the final frontier — and now it has the brand name to prove it. Welcome to the Redmond Space District. Redmond Mayor Angela Birney showcased the newly established district in a proclamation issued today during her annual State of the City Summit at City Hall, with representatives of the area’s leading space companies in attendance.

The district designation applies to the entire city rather than to a specific neighborhood. Birney told GeekWire she hopes the campaign will draw even more space ventures to Redmond. It all started in the late 1960s with the Rocket Research Corp., a company that later became part of Aerojet Rocketdyne. Aerojet’s Redmond operation has built propulsion systems for virtually every deep-space mission since the Apollo era. But Redmond’s space cluster hasn’t been resting on its laurels. (3/30)