June 20, 2023

Sidus Space and Maris-Tech Announce Agreement for AI Driven New-Space Ultra-HD Video System (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced an agreement with Maris-Tech to collaborate on developing a system for peripheral photography, recording, transmission, and artificial intelligence for nanosatellites and space tools. The international research and development project is supported by the Israel Innovation Authority in cooperation with Space Florida. The collaboration will result in the development of an innovative, state-of-the-art product for the space market through R&D, testing, and evaluation of technology. (6/20)

NASA Mulls to Collaborate with India on Lunar Mission (Source: Live Mint)
Aiming to expand space explorations to Mars and beyond, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials are mulling roping in India for their Artemis Accords, and all this is happening ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit from 21-25 June. A US expert expects cooperation in the space field will be among the main areas of discussions between US President Joe Biden and PM Modi. Both global leaders are scheduled to meet next week in the White House. (6/19)

CSA Awards $3.15 Million to Student CubeSat Projects (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded $3.15 million in grants to nine Canadian universities to design, build and launch CubeSats into orbit. These CubeSats are being funded by CSA’s CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS) project. CUBICS is the successor to the agency’s Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP), which will mark a third deployment of these miniature satellites from the ISS on July 3, 2023. Under the CCP, the CSA trained over 2000 students in building CubeSats, and many of them have since joined the Canadian space industry. (6/19)

Hidden Impacts Of The Brazilian Space Program (Source: Forbes)
While the Brazilian Space Program has been hailed for its advancements in space exploration, the impact on the local coastal ecosystem has remained a mystery. Specifically, the interaction between a certain predator with rocket launches and space activities has received little scientific attention—until now. Researchers embarked on an extraordinary mission to investigate the potential negative effects of the Brazilian Space Program on coastal sharks.

The research was two-fold, with the team deploying baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) to capture the behaviors of these enigmatic creatures, along with equipping several individuals with tags that monitor their movements. The team discovered a startling decline in shark populations near space program launch sites. The thunderous noise, seismic vibrations, and electromagnetic fields emitted by rocket launches seem to disrupt the otherwise peaceful quiet of this underwater realm. It was clear from the data that sharks, like celebrities avoiding the paparazzi, alter their behavior and steer clear of these noisy zones. (6/19)

Space Force Wants Private Companies to Help it Counter 'Emerging Threats' in Space (Source: Space.com)
The U.S. Space Force is seeking to maintain space superiority by opening a new office that will help it partner with the private sector and acquire new technologies more quickly. A ribbon-cutting ceremony held June 6, marked the official opening for Space System Command's (SSC) new Commercial Space Marketplace for Innovation and Collaboration office, or COSMIC.

The Chantilly, Virginia facility will serve as headquarters for SSC's Commercial Space Office (COMSO), which was established last year to bolster relationships between the U.S. Space Force and the private sector and capitalize on emerging technologies, according to a Space Force statement. SSC is the U.S. Space Force's organization for development and acquisitions, and opened COSMIC in a partnership with Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC), and in cooperation with the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Air Force Office of Scientific Research. (6/18)

From the Sky to the Mud: TENCAP and Adapting National Reconnaissance Systems to Tactical Operations (Source: Space Review)
By the early 1970s, satellite systems developed by the US for strategic military purposes started to find tactical applications. Dwayne Day examines the Tactical Exploitation of National CAPabilities (TENCAP) program and how the US Army in particular helped push to find new applications of space systems. Click here. (6/19)
 
A Chaotic Trajectory for NASA’s Budget (Source: Space Review)
In its fiscal year 2024 budget request three months ago, NASA sought a 7% increase that now looks increasingly unlikely. Jeff Foust reports on how broader fiscal debates between the White House and Congress could bring NASA’s budgetary ambitions back down to Earth. Click here. (6/19)
 
The Implications of the UK’s National Space Strategy on Special Operations (Source: Space Review)
The British government advanced a National Space Strategy last year that outlines its ambitions in both civil and military space activities. Four researchers examine that strategy and what it means for one aspect of the country’s military. Click here. (6/19)

China Enlists Partners for Lunar Reserch Base (Source: Space News)
China says several countries have agreed to join its initiative to establish a lunar research base. A state-owned newspaper reported that Russia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) have signed agreements to engage in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project. ILRS aims to construct a permanent lunar base in the 2030s with a series of stepping-stone missions before the end of this decade. China and Russia jointly announced plans to develop the ILRS two years, but since Russia's invasion of Ukraine China now describes it as a Chinese-led effort with the support of many countries. (6/20)

SDA Receives First Images From SpaceX-Built Missile Warning Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has received the first images from missile-warning satellites launched in April. The SDA said last week that the SpaceX-built satellites, launched on a Falcon 9, had taken images using an infrared wide-field-of-view sensor. The two tracking satellites were part of SDA's first Tranche 0 launch, which also included eight data-transport satellites made by York Space Systems. Those eight other satellites are performing "as expected" other than a problem with one of them, and are remaining in their initial orbit to conduct tests of their Link 16 data-communications terminals. The second Tranche 0 launch, which had been scheduled for late June, has been delayed a month. (6/20)

Finland's Kuva Space Wins ESA Contract for Hyperspectral Satellite Data (Source: Space News)
Finnish startup Kuva Space has won a European Commission contract to provide hyperspectral satellite data. Under the five-year contract announced Monday and valued at 5 million euros ($5.5 million), Kuva Space will provide data for monitoring farms, forests, methane emissions, harmful algal blooms and other applications. The company launched cubesats in 2018 and 2021 and has been working to improve the spatial resolution of its hyperspectral imagers for commercial applications. The company plans to launch four microsatellites next year. (6/20)

Boeing Remains Committed to Starliner (Source: Space News)
Boeing's CEO says the company is still committed to its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle despite its latest problems. In a podcast interview last week, Dave Calhoun said the company was not "shutting the door" on Starliner despite extensive delays, including problems found during recent reviews that postponed the vehicle's first crewed mission that had been scheduled to launch in July. Neither Boeing nor NASA have provided updates on the schedule, but Calhoun said Boeing would "do whatever NASA asks us to do" to get it flying. Boeing has recorded nearly $900 million in charges against earnings because of Starliner problems, with NASA the only current customer for the spacecraft. (6/20)

China Launches Experimental Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched an experimental satellite late Monday. A Long March 6 lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:18 p.m. Eastern and placed the Shiyan-25 spacecraft into its planned orbit. Chinese media described Shiyan-25 only as a spacecraft that will test new Earth observation technology. (6/20)

UK Astronaut with Disability Begins Training (Source: UKSA)
A British astronaut candidate with a disability has started training. The European Space Agency selected John McFall last November as a "parastronaut" candidate to study the feasibility of flying people with physical disabilities in space. McFall, who had one leg amputated above the knee after a motorcycle accident, started work Monday at the European Astronaut Centre, where he will spend the next two years working with experts to see what modifications to spaceflight equipment and procedures would be needed to accommodate an astronaut like him. (6/20)

Blue Origin Astronaut Missing on Titanic Submersible (Sources: The National, Huntsville Times)
One of the people on a missing submersible visiting the Titanic previously went to space. Hamish Harding, a British businessman who runs an aviation company in Dubai, flew on a New Shepard suborbital mission by Blue Origin last year. He and four others were on a submersible operated by OceanGate that dove Sunday to visit the Titanic but has remained out of contact. Search and rescue operations by the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards are underway. The sub, built with assistance from engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, can support five people for up to 96 hours. (6/20)

Thin Atmosphere for Earth-Sized Exoplanet (Source: Nature)
An Earth-sized exoplanet does not appear to have a dense atmosphere. Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe TRAPPIST-1c, one of seven planets orbiting a nearby stars that are each roughly the same size as Earth. Those observations concluded the planet was too warm to have a thick atmosphere and likely had little water when it formed, ruling out its prospects for habitability. Earlier JWST observations concluded TRAPPIST-1b, which orbits closer to its parent star than 1c, was also likely not habitable, but astronomers are holding out hope for some of the system's most distant planets. (6/20)

House Armed Services Committee Endorses New Management Structure for Space Force (Source: FNN)
While the Space Force moves a step closer to getting its own National Guard component, it  may also soon adopt a new personnel management system unique to the service. Language in the House’s version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act would create a management structure for both reserve and active duty Guardians that looks significantly different than the other services. In an effort to create more flexibility, both full and part-time service members would fall under the same management structure and part-time members would replace a formal reserve component.

The structure for the newly designed Space Force originated in a proposal from the Defense Department that said the service “shall be managed through a single military personnel management system, without component.” Under that system, Guardians would be categorized as active status, inactive status and retired status. While those terms are used for other services, a new category of “sustained duty” would be added just for Guardians. Sustained duty is roughly equivalent to regular component duty where service members actively work full-time in military positions. (6/19)

Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics Continues Satellite Life-Extension Work with Sale of Third Mission Extension Pod (Source: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics has sold its third Mission Extension Pod (MEP), a propulsion “jet pack” that extends the life of legacy satellites, allowing them to operate longer and more profitably. Under a purchase agreement with Intelsat, SpaceLogistics’ Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), a servicing spacecraft equipped with robotic arms, will install the jet pack on an Intelsat communications satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) to extend its life by at least six years. (6/20)