July 18, 2023

BAE Pseudo-Satellite Reaches Stratosphere (Source: Jane's)
BAE Systems has successfully flown the unmanned, solar-powered PHASA-35 in the stratosphere for the first time. The milestone flight took place over a 24-hour period, during which the high-altitude pseudo-satellite reached an altitude surpassing 66,000 feet before returning to New Mexico's Spaceport America. (7/17)

House Considers FAA Reauthorization (Source: AIN Online)
Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization is expected to be considered by the House Rules Committee this week, setting the stage for a full House vote. The bill, which passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously, includes controversial amendments such as requiring all public-use airports to provide free transit access for operators and raising the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots to 67. (7/17)

When ET Calls, Can We Be Sure We're Not Being Spoofed? (Source: Space Daily)
Scientists have devised a new technique for finding and vetting possible radio signals from other civilizations in our galaxy - a major advance in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) that will significantly boost confidence in any future detection of alien life.
Most of today's SETI searches are conducted by Earth-based radio telescopes, which means that any ground or satellite radio interference - ranging from Starlink satellites to cellphones, microwaves and even car engines - can produce a radio blip that mimics a technosignature of a civilization outside our solar system.

Such false alarms have raised and then dashed hopes since the first dedicated SETI program began in 1960. Currently, researchers vet these signals by pointing the telescope in a different place in the sky, then return a few times to the spot where the signal was originally detected to confirm it wasn't a one-off. Even then, the signal could be something weird produced on Earth. The new technique, developed by researchers at the Breakthrough Listen project at the University of California, Berkeley, checks for evidence that the signal has actually passed through interstellar space, eliminating the possibility that the signal is mere radio interference from Earth. (7/18)

XRISM Mission to Study 'Rainbow' of X-Rays (Source: Space Daily)
A new satellite called XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, pronounced "crism") aims to pry apart high-energy light into the equivalent of an X-ray rainbow. The mission, led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), will do this using an instrument called Resolve. XRISM is scheduled to launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on Aug. 25, 2023. (7/18)

Astronomers Discover Striking Evidence of 'Unusual' Stellar Evolution (Source: Space Daily)
Astronomers have found evidence that some stars boast unexpectedly strong surface magnetic fields, a discovery that challenges current models of how they evolve. In stars like our sun, surface magnetism is linked to stellar spin, a process similar to the inner workings of a hand-cranked flashlight. Strong magnetic fields are seen in the hearts of magnetic sunspot regions, and cause a variety of space weather phenomena.

Until now, low-mass stars - celestial bodies of lower mass than our sun that can rotate either very rapidly or relatively slowly - were thought to exhibit very low levels of magnetic activity, an assumption which has primed them as ideal host stars for potentially habitable planets. In a new study, researchers argue that a new internal mechanism called core-envelope decoupling - when the surface and core of the star start out spinning at the same rate, then drift apart - might be responsible for enhancing magnetic fields on cool stars, a process which could intensify their radiation for billions of years and impact the habitability of their nearby exoplanets. (7/18)

NASA Space Laser Provides Answers to a Rainforest Canopy Mystery (Source: Space Daily)
We know less about the rainforest canopy, where most of the world's species live than we do about the surface of Mars or the bottom of the ocean. However, that is about to change thanks to GEDI-a NASA space laser that has provided a detailed structure of the world's rainforests for the first time ever. A key difference between GEDI and many other satellites is its measurement of three-dimensional canopy structure," said Hao Tang... "Conventional satellites, while providing valuable data on land cover and canopy greenness, often lack the detailed vertical information offered by GEDI. (7/18)

Rocket Lab Launches Smallsats From New Zealand (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab launched seven smallsats Monday night on a mission that also advanced efforts to reuse the Electron rocket. The Electron lifted off at 9:27 p.m. Eastern from the company's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The rocket successfully deployed four NASA Starling cubesats to test "swarm" technologies, two Spire cubesats for collecting weather data and Telesat's LEO 3 smallsat to test technologies for its Lightspeed constellation. Rocket Lab successfully recovered the Electron booster after splashdown as it continues efforts to eventually reuse the booster. (7/19)

Newer Companies Fueling Merger Activity (Source: Space News)
Young space companies, rather than established ones, are driving merger activity in the industry. British investment firm Seraphim Space said that, over the last 12 months, relatively new companies like Anduril, Firefly Aerospace and York Space Systems formed the bulk of the 28 mergers and acquisitions it tracked. More established space firms and other companies have traditionally led M&A activity in the industry. That trend, Seraphim said, is a sign of maturity in the industry. It comes alongside an uptick in the number of acquisitions led by institutional private equity firms. (7/19)

LightRidge Acquires Trident Systems (Source: Space News)
Space and airborne sensor company LightRidge Solutions has acquired space electronics supplier Trident Systems. LightRidge, a portfolio company of private equity firm ATL Partners, did not disclose the value of the deal. Trident supplies space electronics, including radio-frequency processors, software-defined radios, on-board processors and data storage systems, for national security space missions, and has a contract with Northrop Grumman to provide components for missile-detecting satellites. Trident is LightRidge’s third acquisition since it was formed in 2021 as a holding company after previously buying Geost, a provider of space payloads, and Ophir Corp., a supplier of airborne laser radar systems. (7/19)

China's Focus on Lunar Rocket and Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
China's plans to land humans on the moon before the end of the decade revolve around the development of a new rocket and spacecraft. Those plans, outlined at a conference last week, involve two launches of the new Long March 10, one carrying a crewed spacecraft and the other a lander. The Long March 10, whose first flight is slated for 2027, will be able to place up to 27 tons on a translunar injection trajectory. A new-generation crew spacecraft will have a mass of 26 tons and be capable of deep-space flight and high-velocity atmospheric reentry. A boilerplate version of that spacecraft has been tested in a high orbit. A call for proposals released Monday seeks science payloads to travel on the lunar lander, with a focus on lunar geology, physics, space life sciences and in-situ resource utilization. (7/19)

SpaceX Expects Doubled Revenue (Source: The Information)
SpaceX reportedly expects its revenue to double this year. The company has told some investors it is projecting to bring in about $8 billion this year, twice its revenue from 2022. Those financial projections include an expected operating profit of $3 billion, a figure that does not include expenses from building and launching spacecraft. (7/19)

Marshall Director Retiring (Source: NASA)
The director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is retiring. The agency announced Monday that Jody Singer will retire at the end of next week after 38 years at NASA, the last five as director of Marshall. She spent much of her career working on the shuttle program, later becoming deputy program manager for the Space Launch System before going into management at Marshall. Joseph Pelfrey, Marshall's deputy director, will serve as interim acting director while NASA conducts a nationwide search for a permanent successor. (7/19)

Rocket Debris Washes Up on Australian Beach (Source: Space.com)
An object that washed up on an Australian beach may be debris from an Indian rocket. The Australian Space Agency said it was investigating the debris recently found on a beach in Western Australia. There has been some speculation that the debris could be from an Indian launch, although the condition of the object suggests it has been in the ocean for some time and thus would not be from last week's LVM-3 launch of Chandrayaan-3. (7/19)

Dark Matter May Power Stars (Source: New Scientist)
Astronomers have discovered stars that may be powered by dark matter. Astronomers said they have found three potential "dark stars" in James Webb Space Telescope observations of the distant universe. Such stars could have formed in the early universe from clouds of dark matter, powered not by nuclear fusion but from the energy created when dark matter particles collide with and annihilate each other. If the objects are dark stars, astronomers say it could be a major step in understanding dark matter. (7/19)

Space Force Expects Selection of Three Launch Competitors (Source: Space News)
The Space Force now plans to select three companies, not two, for a key part of its next launch services procurement. The Space Force released an updated draft solicitation last week for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 competition. The biggest change from the previous draft in February is that the Space Force expects to pick three companies for Lane 2, the portion of NSSL that requires heavy-lift launchers that can fly payloads to nine reference orbits that include some of the most demanding missions.

The service earlier planned to pick two providers for that lane, modeled on the NSSL Phase 2 awards won by SpaceX and ULA. A Space Force official said the change was prompted by "industry feedback and the need to increase resiliency." The final request for proposals is scheduled for release before the end of the current fiscal year, with Lane 2 awards made in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. (7/19)

Direct-to-Device Market Uncertain (Source: Space News)
The size of the emerging direct-to-device market for satellite communications is still uncertain. Several companies, working with cellular operators, are developing systems that allow satellites to communicate directly with smartphones, offering service outside of terrestrial coverage. Some see the capability offered by the confluence of evolving telecoms standards and increasingly capable and cheaper spacecraft as the largest-ever business opportunity for satellite communications. But others warn that technical and regulatory issues, as well as unclear consumer demand, could block its growth. (7/19)

Virgin Galactic Names Next Suborbital Crew (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic has named the private astronauts who will be on its next SpaceShipTwo flight. The company said Monday that Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers will go on the Galactic 02 mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than Aug. 10. Goodwin, 80, competed for Great Britain in the 1972 Olympics as a canoeist and was an early customer of the company. Schahaff and Mayers will be the first mother and daughter to fly to space together; they won seats in 2021 through a competition to benefit Space For Humanity. They will be joined in the cabin by Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor. (7/17)

Japan Plans Block Upgrades to H3 Rocket (Source: Nikkei)
Japan plans to take a page from SpaceX's playbook for the development of its H3 rocket. Officials with the Japanese space agency JAXA said they foresee performing regular "block upgrades" to the H3 to incorporate new technology. The approach, they said, is modeled on SpaceX's block upgrades to the Falcon 9 that increased that rocket's performance and incorporated reusability. (7/17)

NASA Selects Instruments for Lunar Lander (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected an instrument suite to go to the moon on a future commercial lander. NASA said Friday it will fund development of the Dating an Irregular Mare Patch with a Lunar Explorer, or DIMPLE, payload that will study the Ina Irregular Mare Patch, terrain on the moon's near side created by volcanic activity. DIMPLE will attempt to measure the age and composition of the region, including whether it formed from ancient or more recent volcanic activity. DIMPLE will fly in 2027 on a lander selected through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. (7/17)

Arecibo Workers Seek New Employment (Source: Science)
Scientists and engineers at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico are looking for new jobs as the facility shuts down. The National Science Foundation announced last fall it would not rebuild the main radio telescope there after its collapse in 2020, and contracts for up to 90 staff members there will expire next month. Those employees are scrambling to archive data and move equipment out of Arecibo before then while also looking for new jobs. NSF plans to turn Arecibo into an educational center, but some worry the closure of the observatory will reduce opportunities for Puerto Rican students and exacerbate an existing brain drain from the island. (7/17)

Smashing Satellites as Part of the Delta 180 Strategic Defense Initiative Mission (Source: Space Review)
In 1986, the Strategic Defense Initiative conducted an in-orbit test where two spacecraft collided with each other. Dwayne Day describes the development of that rapid, low-cost mission and the effect it could have had on arms control negotiations. Click here. (7/17)
 
For Mars Sample Return, More Serious Repercussions (Source: Space Review)
A Senate appropriations bill released last week would slash funding for NASA’s Mars Sample Return program and threaten it with cancellation. Jeff Foust reports on the new fiscal challenges that efforts to return samples from Mars have encountered. Click here. (7/17)
 
The Chandrayaan-3 Mission to the Moon is Underway (Source: Space Review)
India launched its second robotic lunar lander mission last week. Ajey Lele examines the mission and the lessons learned from India’s first, failed lunar lander mission. Click here. (7/17)
 
Could a 500-Year-Old Treaty Hold the Key to Peace in Space? (Source: Space Review)
The growing number of countries involved in space exploration raises the risk of conflict among them. Daniel Duchaine explores some possible scenarios for avoiding conflict depending on how plentiful and valuable space resources turn out to be. Click here. (7/17)

Humans Pumping Groundwater Caused Earth's Axis to Shift (Source: Business Insider)
Below the Earth's surface lies over a thousand times more water than all the rivers and lakes in the world. This groundwater accounts for almost all the freshwater on the planet. But in many areas of the world, groundwater is being extracted faster than the rate that it naturally recharges. A recent study found that humans are pumping so much groundwater that it's not only increasing sea levels, it's actually shifting the entire planet on its axis. (7/16)

U.K. Parliament Committee Recommends Streamlining Launch Licensing (Source: Space News)
A United Kingdom Parliament committee is calling on the government to revise its approach for licensing launches, warning it could fall behind international competitors if it fails to do so. The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee published a report July 14 that concluded that, based on the experience from the first orbital launch attempt from the U.K. in January, reforms are needed to streamline the process and avoid delays. (7/17)

Super-Close Supernova Captivates Citizen Scientists (Source: Space.com)
The closest cosmic explosion to Earth in the last 10 years became a record breaker for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI). The supernova, designated (SN) 2023ixf, was first spotted on May 19, 2023, by Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki. Just an hour after this manifestation, amateur astronomers taking part in SETI and Unistellar's Cosmic Cataclysms program were on the case. A record number of observers, including citizen scientists in the form of amateur astronomers, came together to collect data from a supernova that took place in the Pinwheel Galaxy, a spiral galaxy located approximately 21 million light-years from Earth. (7/16)

Former Astronaut Says it’s “Extremely Important” to Study Artificial Gravity (Source: Ars Technica)
The long-term plans for Vast include a series of larger space stations that will feature artificial gravity, and this prompted Reisman to join the company as a "human spaceflight advisor" earlier this month. Reisman will bring both his human spaceflight experience and deep knowledge of the Dragon spacecraft to Vast. But what most intrigues him is the potential to finally begin studying how artificial gravity could sustain long-term human spaceflight.

"It's extremely important," Reisman said. "From a scientific perspective, we have lots of data at one g, where we have billions of data points of how the human body works in this environment. And we have a decent amount of data points at zero g based largely from the ISS experience. But we have nothing in between one and zero." The lunar landings during the Apollo program were short enough to essentially provide no meaningful data. (7/17)

OneWeb to Soon Seek Trial Spectrum to Test Satellite Tech (Source: Economic Times)
Bharti Group-backed OneWeb will shortly seek trial satellite spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in the ‘Ka’ (27.5 to 29.1 GHz and 29.5 to 30 GHz) and ‘Ku’ (14 GHz) bands to test its earth stations and user access terminals (UATs), senior company executives said. The company wants to test the infrastructure ahead of the India launch of its broadband-from-space services, targeted for later this year. (7/16)

Firefly is Close to Announcing Oversubscribed Capital Raise (Source: CNBC)
The Austin, Texas-based rocket builder and in-space services company is close to announcing the closure of an oversubscribed capital raise, its CEO Bill Weber told CNBC’s Manifest Space. The startup, now valued at over $1 billion, gained more commitments to invest than initially planned at a time when many space startups struggle with diminishing funds and a broader downturn in investments. Firefly can currently launch its medium-launch rocket, Alpha, every two months. The company hopes to increase that pace to one launch a month. (7/17)

ESA Moves Ahead with In-Orbit Servicing Missions (Source: ESA)
Isn’t it strange that when satellites run out of fuel or a single component breaks down, we just discard them? ESA and European industry have joined forces to make sure that our satellites can live on. In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) refers to extending the life or functionalities of spacecraft that are already in orbit. This can be done by performing maintenance, adjusting a spacecraft’s orbit, changing the direction it is facing, providing more fuel, or even changing or upgrading the instruments onboard.

ESA has conducted extensive work on IOS, including as part of its Clean Space initiative for the removal and prevention of space debris. As part of this research, ESA Preparation invited industry partners to outline their vision of Europe’s first IOS mission, to be launched as early as 2028. (7/14)

Shoemaker Assumes Command of SLD 30 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (Source: Lompoc Record)
U.S. Space Force Col. Mark Shoemaker assumed command of Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg Space Force Base during a change of command ceremony held Thursday on base. He is replacing Col. Robert Long, who has retired after 26 years of active-duty service. Base officials in a statement wrote: "It is with great pride that we honor Col. Long, who commanded Space Launch Delta 30 for the past 2 years. Under his leadership, SLD 30 experienced an unprecedented doubling of its launch rate year-over-year, reaching its highest tempo in 26 years." (7/17)

For the First Time in 51 Years, NASA is Training Astronauts to Fly to the Moon (Source: Ars Technica)
he four astronauts assigned to soar beyond the far side of the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission settled into their seats inside a drab classroom last month at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was one in a series of noteworthy moments for the four-person crew since NASA revealed the names of the astronauts who will be the first people to fly around the Moon since 1972.

There was the fanfare of the crew’s unveiling to the public in April and an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. There will, of course, be great anticipation as the astronauts close in on their launch date, currently projected for late 2024 or 2025. But many of the crew’s days over the next 18 months will be spent in classrooms, on airplanes, or in simulators, with instructors dispensing knowledge they deem crucial for the success of the Artemis II mission. In the simulator, the training team will throw malfunctions and anomalies at the astronauts to test their ability to resolve a failure that—if it happened in space—could cut the mission short or, in a worst-case scenario, kill them. (7/17)