June 27, 2023

Airmo Raises 5.2 Million Euros for Climate-Monitoring Constellation (Source: Space News)
Airmo, a German startup planning to obtain space-based measurements of greenhouse gas emissions, has raised 5.2 million euros ($5.7 million) in pre-seed funding, including investment and a European Space Agency contract. With the funding announced June 27, Airmo will launch the first of 12 satellites equipped with spectrometers and small light detection and ranging (lidar) instruments to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane. (6/27)

Virgin Galactic Announces ‘Galactic 01’ Crew Onboard the First Commercial Spaceflight (Source: Yahoo! Finance)
Virgin Galactic Holdings announced the crew of its first commercial spaceflight, ‘Galactic 01,’ with a target flight date of June 29, 2023. The three-person crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy will board VSS Unity for a 90-minute flight to conduct a series of suborbital science experiments. (6/26)

Vote to Block Georgia Spaceport Moots Challenge, FAA Says (Source: Bloomberg)
A federal judge should toss claims that the Federal Aviation Administration unlawfully approved a license for a rocket launch site in Georgia because the county can no longer purchase land for the spaceport, the agency said in a motion to dismiss. Conservation groups and homeowners sued the FAA in May 2022, alleging that it issued a launch site operator license for Spaceport Camden based on the evaluation of a rocket that doesn’t exist. Camden County needed to show that a launch vehicle could be launched safely from the site, but used a rocket smaller than any in commercial operation. (6/26)

Why Do Some People Get Rashes in Space? There's a Clue in Astronaut Blood (Source: NPR)
Astronauts are supposed to be in excellent health. It's part of the job description. They quarantine before blasting off to avoid getting sick and derailing a mission. Once aloft, they live and work in a sterile environment. And yet, when they get to outer space, some have viral flareups or break out in rashes. In a new study in Frontiers in Immunology, Odette Laneuville and her colleagues suggest it could be due to the reduced activity of one hundred immune-related genes, which help give opportunistic infections a toehold. (6/26)

Holla-Maini Appointed to Lead UN's UNOOSA (Source: Economic Times)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Indian-origin satellite industry expert Aarti Holla-Maini as Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna. Holla-Maini of the United Kingdom will succeed Simonetta Di Pippo of Italy. UNOOSA works to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space. (6/27)

This Wild Zero-Gravity Oven Could Change the Way Astronauts Eat in Space (Source: Fast Company)
Ascent Technology has won NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, together with seven other participants from the U.S., Australia, Sweden, and Finland. The challenge dates to January 2021, when NASA called for food production solutions and technologies that could sustain astronauts on years-long, deep space explorations. Later that year, 18 U.S. teams were awarded $25,000 each. Now, seven teams have received $150,000 each, and will move on to compete for up to $1.5 million in total prizes in the third and final phase of the challenge.

Ascent's machine—which is called SATED and stands for Safe Appliance, Tidy, Efficient, and Delicious—is just bigger than a toaster. It works like a washing machine, except instead of dirty clothes whirling inside a drum, you have cooking ingredients spinning inside a cylinder that is warmed up by PTC heaters like those commonly used in space heaters, hair dryers, and medical equipment. (6/26)

Fugro and GomSpace Deliver Position and Timing Accuracy Onboard LEO Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
Fugro and GomSpace announced a cooperation around the SpaceStar product in 2020. Since then, the first SpaceStar systems have gained flight heritage and proven a stunning performance: Real time, sub-decimetre absolute positioning on board a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite without additional ground-infrastructure for the satellite operator. SpaceStar relies on GomSpace's Software Defined Radio (SDR) with Fugro's software utilizing real-time orbit and clock corrections from geostationary (GEO) satellites. (6/27)

Astroscale Expands Operations to France and Secures Contract with CNES (Source: Space Daily)
Astroscale announced the opening of Astroscale France SAS and a significant contract win with the French national space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). This expansion and partnership symbolize France's substantial investment in space sustainability. As per Nobu Okada, Astroscale's Founder and CEO, the alliance of Astroscale's leadership in on-orbit servicing with CNES's esteemed space heritage strengthens France's position as a global front-runner in both sustainable space policy and innovative space technologies. (6/27)

China's First Low-Earth-Orbit Broadband Network Tested at Sea (Source: Space Daily)
China's GalaxySpace has carried out sea-based tests to verify the capability of its Mini Spider Constellation, China's first low-orbit broadband internet network. The tests took place in mid-June aboard the CETC 1 comprehensive testing ship in the South China Sea and demonstrated the communication link between the Mini Spider Constellation and devices on the vessel. Several satellites traveling in a low-Earth orbit relayed signals between the CETC 1 and a ground station in Lingshui, Hainan province, with an average transmission speed of 260 megabits per second. (6/27)

China-Funded Prototype Satellites Delivered to Egypt (Source: Space Daily)
Two China-funded prototype satellites of the MisrSat II satellite project were delivered to the Egyptian side on Sunday, making Egypt the first African country with the capacity to assemble, integrate and test satellites. During the delivery ceremony held at the Egyptian Space Agency near the country's New Administrative Capital, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat thanked China for supporting and cooperating with the agency, and being a "strategic partner and friend" of Egypt. (6/27)

Purdue-Launched Solid Rocket Motor-Maker Adranos Flies Off with Anduril (Source: Space Daily)
Adranos Inc., a Purdue-originated company that grew from a doctoral project into an impactful company, has been acquired by a major Costa Mesa, California-based defense products company, Anduril Industries. Terms of the deal were settled, and the acquisition was announced on Sunday (June 25) in The Wall Street Journal that Anduril Industries is to purchase Adranos, manufacturer of solid rocket motors and maker of ALITEC, a high-performance solid rocket fuel that gives greater payload capacity, range and speed to launch systems. (6/27)

Astroscale's ELSA-d Prepares for Controlled De-orbit in Final Mission Phase (Source: Space Daily)
Astroscale disclosed detailed plans for the final phase of its groundbreaking End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission. This is a milestone in the ongoing global effort to effectively manage space debris and ensure orbital sustainability. The ELSA-d mission has been dedicated to testing and demonstrating technologies critical to space debris removal.

Astroscale's Operations Team has detailed a series of small, controlled burns at consistent intervals. These maneuvers are crucial not only to the de-orbiting process but also to Astroscale's ongoing research. Each maneuver provides a unique opportunity to gather valuable data, specifically around optimizing the burn-and-wait periods for de-orbiting procedures, particularly when operating with limited thruster availability. (6/27)

SES Bid for Equal Split of C-Band Proceeds Back in Play (Source: Space News)
Satellite operator SES has another shot at getting a larger share of Intelsat’s C-band clearing cash after an appeals court made a judgment in its favor. Before Intelsat emerged from Chapter 11 last year to slash its debt load by more than half to $7 billion, SES petitioned its U.S. bankruptcy court without success to equally split the billions of dollars Intelsat and SES would reap from clearing C-band frequencies ahead of deadline.

In the latest twist of a three-year legal saga between the satellite operators that just last week broke off merger talks, a federal appeals court said June 21 that the bankruptcy court had erred in rejecting SES’s claim. Judge Robert Payne sent the case back to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. At the heart of the dispute between SES and Intelsat is a broken agreement to equally share the $9 billion in proceeds they would get for clearing C-band for terrestrial telcos. (6/26)

Starlink Now Has Over 4,600 Satellites in Orbit (Source: Cord Cutters)
SpaceX is making record progress towards its goal of one hundred launches this year. SpaceX has scheduled over 50 missions for the next half of the year. Friday’s Starlink Group 5-12 mission also “broke the record turnaround time for launches from SLC-40 – a record that SpaceX has broken several times in the last year.”

Now, 4,698 Starlink satellites have been deployed, creating the largest satellite constellation ever. Of the total number of Starlink satellites launched, 3,688 satellites are in “their operational orbit” while another 590 are still moving to “operational orbit.” Ninety satellites have become non-responsive or have already started deorbiting. There are two more Starlink v1.5 satellites scheduled to launch in July. After those missions are completed, Starlink will begin to deploy Starlink v2 Mini satellites until larger models are ready for launch. (6/26)

NASA Winds Up X-57 Maxwell Electric Plane Project Without A Single Flight (Source: Simple Flying)
NASA has decided to pull the plug on the X-57 Maxwell test aircraft at the end of the year. NASA was working on a modified version of the aircraft powered by batteries with the end goal of becoming an electric aircraft. The X-57 is a modified version of the P2006T, which is a twin-engined aircraft designed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam.

However, NASA, in order to test battery-powered electric propulsion, modified the P2006T with an array of six electric motors on each of the leading edges of high-winged aircraft and a larger motor on the wingtip of each wing. NASA believes the X-57 will be more efficient and reliable with electric propulsion powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, with no fuel being combusted, there will not be any greenhouse emissions, thus making the operating cost of the aircraft significantly cheaper. (6/25)

Why Space Stocks Virgin Galactic, BlackSky, and AST SpaceMobile Sank on Monday (Source: Motley Fool)
Monday is looking like another rough day for investors in space stocks across the industry. Shares in recent high-flyers Virgin Galactic Holdings, BlackSky Technology, and AST SpaceMobile are heading south. As of noon ET, spy satellite operator BlackSky has lost 6.7% of its market capitalization, space tourism stock Virgin Galactic is down 3%, and AST SpaceMobile is off about 2.5%. All three of these space stocks share the characteristic of currently being both unprofitable and free-cash-flow negative, as well as being at least a few years away from profitability. (6/26)

Space ‘Port’ Could Soon be a Reality, May Help Address Space Debris Problem (Source: KXAN)
We could soon see the construction of more permanent structures in space. Aerospace company Arkisys is hoping to build what they’re calling ‘The Port.’ “It is a satellite by definition, but it is really a long duration platform, much akin to say the International Space Station but much smaller,” said Dan Lopez, chief business officer for Arkisys.

The satellite works much like a Lego brick. Each brick, which is about six feet across, can attach to another brick. On top of that, tiny satellites and devices can be attached. “It’s very similar to what you see on Earth — sea port, where commodities come and go, they get onboard and offloaded to vessels,” Lopez said. “Those vessels themselves can be refueled. They can be modified. They can be augmented.” Instead of launching new satellites, companies could lease real estate on The Port and attach their equipment to it. (6/26)

India Plans Return to Moon (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to retain the names of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover for their Chandrayaan-3 equivalents as well, Chairman of the space agency S. Somanath told The Hindu. This means, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will bear the name ‘Vikram’ (after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme) and the rover, ‘Pragyan’.

Much to its disappointment, the ISRO had lost the Chandrayaan-2 lander-rover configuration and the payloads aboard them after ‘Vikram’ crashed on the lunar surface while attempting a soft landing. Earlier this month, ISRO plans to launch the third moon mission in mid-July aboard the LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk-III) rocket. A propulsion module will carry the lander-rover configuration to a 100-km lunar orbit. Once the ‘Vikram’ lander module makes it safely to the moon, it will deploy ‘Pragyan’ ‘‘which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility,’‘ according to the ISRO. (6/25)

Aerospace Company Plans to Close St. Louis-Area Plant (Source: KSDK)
GKN Aerospace, one of the St. Louis region's largest manufacturers, gave a timeline Friday of its Hazelwood plant shutdown and planned layoff of over 700 workers that puts the closure later than previously announced. The first employee layoffs will begin Aug. 25 this year, “to be followed by a continuous, non-stop phase-out of operations and employee separations,” with the plant to cease operations on or before Dec. 31, 2024. About 715 employees at the plant, at 142 James S. McDonnell Blvd., will be affected by layoffs expected Aug. 25 and Oct. 6 this year, with final layoffs on Dec. 31, 2024. (6/26)

James Webb Space Telescope Could Determine if Nearby Exoplanet is Habitable (Source: Space.com)
A rocky exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star 98 light-years away could hold the secret about how likely it is for planets like Earth to transform into inhospitable worlds like Venus. The exoplanet, named LP 890-9c has a diameter 40% greater than Earth's and orbits its star every 8.5 Earth days at a distance of just 1.7 million miles. The red dwarf, though, is small and cool, meaning that temperatures can be clement even close to the star. LP 890-9c is located near the inner edge of the star's habitable zone. JWST cannot directly detect water on the planet's surface, but it could determine whether the atmosphere's composition would suit the presence of liquid water. (6/26)

Agile Raises $13 Million to Expand Production (Source: Space News)
Agile Space Industries raised $13 million to expand production and development of propulsion systems. Colorado-based Agile has raised more than $18 million to date. Agile Space Industries was established in 2019. In 2021, Agile acquired Pittsburgh-based Tronix3D and created Agile Additive. Agile plans to expand its metal additive manufacturing and chemical propulsion testing infrastructure. (6/26)

SpaceX Conducts Six-Engine Test Fire as it Gears Up for Second Starship Flight (Source: Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX conducted a six-engine static test fire on Monday of the Starship vehicle that will eventually be paired with a Super Heavy booster for the second test flight of the company’s fully-reusable launch system. The six Raptor engines at the base of the Starship vehicle were ignited for about six seconds. The firing took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in south Texas, on one of the so-called sub-orbital launch pads. (6/27)

Space Force General: ‘Stop Debating’ Space Weapons and Prepare for Conflict (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force urgently needs to develop a broad range of offensive and defensive counterspace weapons based on orbit to counter China — starting with a clear policy statement of US government intent and the development of an integrated plan for building such an arsenal, argues a new paper from the Mitchell Institute. (6/26)

Why Virgin Galactic Needs $2 Billion More in Funding (Source: Motley Fool)
Virgin Galactic is expected to take flight this week, but even if everything goes well the company has a financial challenge. To get to the Delta spacecraft that could be extremely profitable, the company needs to raise even more money. Click here. (6/26)

Astronomers Detect Carbon Molecule in Orion Nebula (Source: CNN)
Astronomers have discovered a carbon molecule that serves as a building block for life in a young star system. NASA said Monday that astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope detected methyl cation, CH3+, in a star forming in the Orion Nebula 1,350 light-years away. Methyl cations can interact with other molecules to form organic molecules. This is the first time that the molecule has been detected in space. (6/27)

Soyuz Rocket Launches Russian Weather Satellite (Source: TASS)
A Soyuz rocket lifted off this morning carrying a Russian weather satellite and other payloads. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East at 7:34 a.m. Eastern. Its primary payload is the Meteor-M 2-3 weather satellite, which will be deployed from the Fregat upper stage along with 42 secondary payloads, primarily cubesats. The full satellite deployment process will take about three hours. (6/27)

China Tests Asteroid Sample Return System (Source: Space News)
China conducted parachute tests as part of development of an asteroid sample return mission. The high-altitude parachute deployment tests, conducted by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. in the Gobi Desert, are for the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return and comet rendezvous mission currently scheduled for May 2025. The mission will be carrying samples from the near Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a "quasi-satellite" of Earth and roughly 40-100 meters in diameter. (6/27)

NASA Mars Sample Return Cost Growth Confirmed by NASA (Source: Space News)
NASA confirmed Monday that at least one scenario for the cost of Mars Sample Return (MSR) would be far higher than earlier estimates. In a statement, NASA said it was evaluating a wide range of cases for the cost of the missions that would return samples being cached by Perseverance on Mars. Those scenarios are "highly speculative," NASA said, but acknowledged in one case they estimated a total cost of $8-9 billion, roughly double previously published estimates. NASA emphasized a firm cost estimate won't come until a confirmation review this fall. (6/27)

UK and US Space Command to Partner on Space Awareness Data Purchases (Source: Space News)
The United Kingdom will participate in a U.S. Space Command initiative focused on purchasing commercial space domain awareness data. The head of U.K. Space Command said Monday that his command would participate in the U.S. Space Command's Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations Cell, or JCO, establishing a JCO-U.K. cell. JCO was established in 2020 to augment the space tracking capabilities of Space Command's National Space Defense Center by buying data and analytics services from commercial companies. (6/27)

Asteroid Alert: 170-Foot Celestial Body on Collision Course with Earth (Source: ReadWrite)
As per recent reports from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an enormous asteroid is on a potential collision course with Earth. This celestial object, measuring about 170 feet in diameter, is predicted to come alarmingly close to our planet. Asteroids, remnants from the solar system’s formation, are minor planets or small Solar System bodies that orbit the sun. They are significantly smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids. The incoming asteroid, identified as 2018VP1 by NASA, is approximately 170 feet in diameter. It is currently hurtling towards Earth at an incredible speed. (6/23)

Starlink Posts Stunning 600 Mbps+ Download Speed & Shocks In Multiple Tests (Source: WCCF Tech)
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation continues to deliver stunning download speeds in Germany. The network, comprised of thousands of satellites, became well known all over for its remarkable download speeds soon after it was opened for public participation. However, the hype around Starlink, the world's first commercially successful low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet, led to millions of users signing up for SpaceX's service - faster than SpaceX could add capacity. This led to performance downgrades across areas of high demand, particularly in several regions of America. However, now and then, Starlink reminds everyone of its true potential, and that's the case with today's internet tests.

Today's test comes courtesy of a Reddit user who recently received their Starlink user terminal after moving to rural Germany. Starlink tests in the European country have often produced remarkable results, owning partly due to lesser congestion as well as the placement of satellites. SpaceX is gradually building out its constellation, which eventually aims to be made of thousands of satellites. This leads to unevenly spread out satellites that benefit some areas in the form of higher speeds. (6/26)

Florida Couple Drops Lawsuit Against Titan Sub Owner After 'Catastrophic Implosion' (Source: Fox 35)
The Florida couple who sued OceanGate Expedition CEO Richard Stockton Rush has decided to drop the lawsuit, they said in a statement to FOX 35 News. Marc and Sharon Hagle filed the lawsuit back in February after Rush reportedly refused to refund the couple over $210,000 they claimed to have spent on an expedition that was supposed to happen in June 2018, court records show.

Now, the Winter Park couple released a statement Monday about the legal matter: "In light of these tragic events, we have informed our attorneys to withdraw all legal actions against Stockton." (6/26)

Roscosmos Plans to Sign Cooperation Agreement with African Countries in July (Source: TASS)
Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos said on Sunday that it plans to sign a cooperation agreement with African countries during the Russian-Africa economic and humanitarian forum. According to Roscosmos, its delegation led by Director General Yury Borisov visited Egypt on June 25. The delegation held talks with the executive head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Sherif Sedky to discuss principles of cooperation in outer space, including the production and launch of satellites, the development of the manned program and surface space infrastructure. (6/25)

Are House Republicans Preparing to End the Artemis Moon Mission with Budget Cuts? (Source: The Hill)
The House Appropriations Committee has released its planned spending levels for each of its subcommittees for the fiscal 2024 budget, according to Space Policy Online. The numbers are as bad as bad can be, at least from the point of view of NASA and the Artemis moon program. The Commerce Justice Science Subcommittee (CJS), which has NASA spending under its purview, would receive $58.676 billion to dole out to the departments and agencies it funds for fiscal 2024. The allocation is a 28.8 percent reduction from the $82.441 it spent during the current fiscal year.

NASA’s fiscal 2023 budget is $25.14 billion. The Biden administration has proposed that NASA spending increase to $27.1 billion. But if the CJS allocation were distributed across the board, the space agency would receive only about $18 billion, The devastation such a budget cut would visit on NASA programs, especially Artemis, can only be imagined.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned of the harm that a reduction of the space agency budget to $24 billion would inflict. In a letter to the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Nelson predicted the effective end of the Artemis program after Artemis IV with a delay for Artemis III. He suggested that the budget cuts would cause a loss of 4,000 NASA and contractor employees. He stated that Earth and planetary science, aeronautical research and development and commercial partnerships would be curtailed. How much more damaging would an $18 billion NASA be? Perhaps it would mean the end of Artemis before it is hardly begun. (6/25)

A Veteran Astronaut Adjusts to a New Era of Private Spaceflight (Source: Space Review)
Peggy Whitson has more time in space than any other American astronaut, but her latest trip to space required some changes. Jeff Foust talks to Whitson about commanding the Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station and how it supports Axiom Space’s long-term commercial space station plans. Click here. (6/26)
 
How Artificial Photosynthesis May Be Key to Sustained Life Beyond Earth (Source: Space Review)
Life support is one of the biggest challenges for long-duration spaceflight. Katharina Brinkert describes research into a promising new technology that could make it easier to keep people alive on the Moon and Mars. Click here. (6/26)