July 19, 2023

UFOs: The View from Here (Source: AirMail)
If it’s true that the government is in possession of alien craft that arrived from light-years away, then just about every theory we’ve devised to explain the universe is wrong. This time we’ve got David Grusch, the whistleblower who stepped out of the shadows to make the outlandish claims and is about as legit as a UFO claimant can be. (It’s a Catch-22: You want a statement made by someone other than a nut, but, by making such a statement, that person becomes a nut.) Grusch, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, has spent the last decade working for secretive government agencies, including the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), specifically tasked with investigating UFO sightings.

Because this time the claimant (Grusch) has been corroborated by several high-ranking officials, including US Army colonel Karl Nell, who, as reported in the Debrief, characterized the whistleblower’s claims as “fundamentally correct” and seconded “the indisputable realization that at least some of these technologies of unknown origin derive from non-human intelligence.” (Grusch has never actually seen the craft himself but was told of their existence as well as the reverse-engineering project by mysterious higher-ups.) Because the US Congress has held hearings and plans to hold more.

You want a statement made by someone other than a nut, but, by making such a statement, that person becomes a nut. Because the most recent revelations follow earlier claims by navy pilots, the best of the best, who say they’ve seen UFOs in restricted airspace off both coasts, East and West, moving in ways that defy known physical law: dropping from 80,000 to 10 feet in a moment, moving in and out of the water as if there were no water, changing direction less like a running back than like a Ping-Pong ball. One of the pilots, David Fravor, reacted just the way you’d expect from a modern-day Chuck Yeager. “I don’t know what it was,” Fravor said of the strange Tic Tac bouncing around the sky, “but it was pretty frickin’ impressive, and I’d like to fly it.” Click here. (7/15)

UAH Researchers Find Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Detected (Source: Space Daily)
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has announced that three researchers associated with the UAH Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) have discovered a gamma-ray burst (GRB) approximately 2.4 billion light-years away in the constellation Sagitta that ranks as the brightest ever observed. Believed to have been triggered by collapse of a massive star, it is accompanied by a supernova explosion, giving birth to a black hole. (7/19)

Commercial Space Projects Expected to Provide More Services in China (Source: Space Daily)
China unveiled a series of commercial space projects at the recent 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum. The programs are expected to provide more service in sectors such as natural resources survey, disaster warning and remote sensing. The projects include an ultra-low orbit satellite constellation, the Tianmu meteorological constellation, Luojia-2 SAR remote sensing application system, satellite data application public service platform for the city of Wuhan, a satellite resource sharing service platform, Nvwa constellation, four-dimension Earth remote sensing cloud service platform, Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant carrier rocket and the Weihai-1 satellite payload for laser communication. (7/19)

Timeline Unveiled for China's Advanced Crewed Spacecraft's Inaugural Flight (Source: Space Daily)
China's advanced manned spacecraft is set to embark on its maiden voyage sometime around 2027 and 2028, as revealed by a prominent figure in the nation's manned space program. This innovative development in space technology is currently undergoing research and development, anticipating a capacity to accommodate up to seven astronauts on a single journey, as reported in the Science and Technology Daily. (7/19)

NASA's IXPE Fires Up Astronomers with New Blazar Findings (Source: Space Daily)
The universe is full of powerful supermassive black holes that create powerful jets of high-energy particles, creating sources of extreme brightness in the vastness of space. When one of those jets points directly at Earth, scientists call the black hole system a blazar. To understand why particles in the jet move with great speeds and energies, scientists look to NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), which launched in December 2021. IXPE measures a special property of X-ray light called polarization, which has to do with the organization of electromagnetic waves at X-ray frequencies.

This week, an international team of astrophysicists published new findings from IXPE about a blazar called Markarian 421. This blazar, located in the constellation Ursa Major, roughly 400 million light-years from Earth, surprised scientists with evidence that in the part of the jet where particles are being accelerated, the magnetic field has a helical structure. (7/19)

Urania: Muse of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy (Source: Space Daily)
The new supercomputer "Urania" has been put into operation by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam. With 6,048 compute-cores and 22 Terabyte of memory it is just as powerful as its predecessor, but requires only half the electricity to operate. Scientists in the Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity department are now able to compute gravitational waveforms of coalescing black holes in ever more complex encounters. (7/19)

Space RCO Backs Hyperspace Challenge 2023 Accelerator (Source: Space News)
Hyperspace Challenge, a U.S. Space Force accelerator, is joining forces for the first time with the Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office to help make space assets more resilient. Through the upcoming Hyperspace Challenge the Space Force is exploring ways to help spacecraft fend off threats. Traditional aerospace and defense companies as well as firms from the automotive, manufacturing, cybersecurity and other sectors are invited to apply. (7/19)

Rocket Lab Launch Enables Telesat to Restart LEO Demonstrations (Source: Space News)
The launch of a smallsat will allow Telesat to resume demonstrations of its delayed Lightspeed constellation. The 30-kilogram LEO 3 spacecraft deployed solar arrays and passed initial health checks after launching Monday on an Electron. The spacecraft should be ready for operation in about two weeks, and Telesat will use it to carry out tests that had been done by LEO 1, a demonstration satellite launched in 2018 but which recently ran out of fuel. Progress with LEO 3 could also help Telesat's case for the deadline extensions it would need from regulators for its full Lightspeed constellation, whose first launches have slipped to 2026. (7/19)

Venezuela Signs Onto China Lunar Base Project (Source: Space News)
Venezuela has joined the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project. Officials from the Chinese and Venezuelan governments signed an agreement Monday that marks Venezuela's formal entry into ILRS, a parallel effort to the U.S.-led Artemis lunar exploration campaign. Venezuela will make its satellite control ground station infrastructure available for lunar missions and provide other support. The ILRS project aims to construct a permanent lunar base in the 2030s with a series of stepping-stone missions before the end of this decade. Venezuela is one of the first countries to join ILRS. (7/19)

Insurers Brace for Viasat Claim (Source: Space News)
Space insurers are bracing for a potentially large claim from a Viasat satellite. Viasat said last week it encountered a problem deploying the reflector of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite, raising concerns that the spacecraft could be a total loss and prompting a claim as large as $420 million. Such a claim would be a "huge hit" for the space insurance sector, one insurer said at a conference this week. That could end up reducing insurance capacity for other customers. (7/19)

NASA Psyche Asteroid Mission On Track for October Launch (Source: NASA)
A NASA asteroid mission remains on track for launch in early October. The Psyche spacecraft is in final preparations for an Oct. 5 launch on a Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center, having completed testing of the spacecraft's flight software. Testing issues with that software caused Psyche to miss its original launch date last August. That prompted an independent review of both the mission and of JPL, which developed it. The Psyche launch window runs through Oct. 25. (7/19)

VIPER Assembly Ongoing for 2024 Lunar Mission (Source: Ars Technica)
Assembly is underway of a NASA robotic lunar rover. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission won agency approval in June to move into full-scale assembly, and work on the rover's chassis is in progress, the mission's project scientist said at a conference Tuesday. VIPER is slated to launch as soon as late 2024 on a lander build by Astrobotic and contracted through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The rover will search for water ice hidden in craters at the south polar region of the moon. To operate in those shadowed craters, VIPER will be the first lunar rover equipped with headlights. (7/19)

NASA Continues Performance on Small Business Contracting (Source: NASA)
NASA has extended its streak of straight A's on a small business contracting scorecard. The Small Business Administration (SBA) released its annual report card of how government agencies are meeting their goals of contracting with small businesses in an event Tuesday at NASA Headquarters.  NASA received an A grade from SBA for the sixth consecutive year, exceeding its contracting goals by 18%. (7/19)

Scientists Cast Doubt on Meteorite Claim (Source: Space.com)
Scientists are casting doubt on claims by a French woman that she was struck by a meteorite. The unnamed woman said she was sitting on her terrace in the early morning hours of July 6 she heard something hit the roof, followed by a small rock hitting her in the ribs. However, scientists who examined photos of the rock said they doubt it is a meteorite, based on its rough appearance: meteorites are generally smooth from the heat of entering the Earth's atmosphere. Astronomers also noted there were no meteor sightings in the region at the time the woman said she was hit. (7/19)

Pentagon Looks to Address Gaps in Missile Defense (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Pentagon's new FOO Fighter program, led by the Space Development Agency, aims to address missile threats not covered by other Defense Department programs. The SDA recently released a draft solicitation for the Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter initiative, which will focus on global detection, warning, and precision tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. (7/18)

Sidus Space Awarded Subcontract by Parsons for US Space Force Launch Manifest Systems Integration (LMSI) Support (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space was awarded a new subcontract to produce hardware in support of Parsons Corporation’s Launch Manifest Systems Integration (LMSI) contract. Under the terms of the agreement, Sidus Space will fabricate a master harness assembly and test cables for Parsons. (7/19)

Proposed Budgets Cut NASA Funding, Prioritize Artemis Program (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The proposed budgets for NASA in the House and Senate for FY-2024 have been unveiled, reflecting funding constraints imposed by the “Fiscal Responsibility Act.” While the budgets provide NASA with all or most of the funding the White House requested for the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon, they still result in overall cuts to the agency. Of particular concern is the potential impact on the Mars Sample Return mission.

Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was signed into law June 3, non-defense discretionary spending is to remain capped at fiscal year 2023 levels for fiscal year 2024, which begins Oct. 1, 2023, with no more than a 1% increase for fiscal year 2025. These budget restrictions have contributed to what amounts to stagnant funding levels for NASA.

The Biden administration’s 2024 request for NASA stood at $27.2 billion when it was released in March of this year. Following the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the agency’s budget proposed in the House and Senate, released last week, allocate $25.4 billion and $25 billion, respectively. For comparison, the final enacted NASA budget for fiscal year 2023 was $25.4 billion. (7/18)

NASA Opens New Center for Digital Engineering Innovation (Source: NASA)
NASA is leading the future of spaceflight by equipping the next generation of aerospace innovators with modern engineering skills at a new DEDC (Digital Engineering Design Center) located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Digital engineering is an emerging field of study that is crucial to the efficient design of aerospace hardware. Instead of having to manufacture and assemble parts to test them, designs can now be built, tested, and refined in virtual environments. The goal of the digital engineering process is to enable a singular, digital source for the project that is accessible to all partners and can be used throughout the development lifecycle. (7/13)

The Sun Can Repair Solar Cell Defects in the Vacuum of Space (Source: ARC Center)
Australian researchers have demonstrated that perovskite solar cells damaged by proton radiation in low-earth orbit can recover up to 100% of their original efficiency via annealing in thermal vacuum. This is achieved through careful design of the hole transport material (HTM), which is used to transport photo-generated positive charges to the electrode in the cell. (7/17)

What Venezuela’s Moonbase Vow Says About China, Russia, and the USA (Source: Defense One)
Venezuela recently declared that it intends to cooperate with China and Russia on the International Lunar Research Station, making it the first country to formally do so. While Caracas’ participation may seem purely symbolic, as the crisis-stricken petrostate is in no position to make substantial lunar contributions, even this symbolism has broad geopolitical implications on Earth and in space alike.

China and Russia envision the ILRS as a “comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operations,” primarily tasked with lunar archeological and ecological research while also producing lunar energy. The timeline is ambitious, as China hopes to complete a basic model by 2028 and achieve full functionality by 2040. This places the ILRS in competition with the U.S.-backed Artemis Accords, a multilateral 2020 framework for lunar exploration and cooperation in space, which currently has 26 cosignatories, including Latin America’s Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. (7/17)

Lunar Solar Power Satellite (Source: Space Daily)
The concept of gathering some of the unlimited sunlight available in space, then transmitting it down to users, was first developed to serve the clean energy needs of planet Earth. But Space-Based Solar Power can also work for the Moon. An ESA study undertaken by Switzerland's Astrostrom company designed a Greater Earth Lunar Power Station, or GEO-LPS for short. The study envisages a solar power satellite constructed mainly from lunar resources (including Moon-manufactured solar cells) that could deliver megawatts of microwave power down to receivers on the lunar surface, serving the needs of surface activities, including future crewed bases. (7/14)

Above Space Signs Umbrella Space Act Agreement With NASA (Source: Space Daily)
Above Space Development Corporation, a key player in the space technology sector, has recently inked an Umbrella Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA, a development set to have significant implications for both parties. This five-year SAA outlines the scope for collaborative work on various technologies designed for commercial, civil, and government clientele, marking an important step in the progression of the space industry. The agreement grants Above Space Development access to NASA's facilities and services, aiding the organization in the testing and enhancement of its systems, tools, and technology. (7/14)

Space Force Should Offer European Allies Protection From Anti-Satellite Attacks (Source: Breaking Defense)
The top US Space Force uniformed official recently put his full support behind the service defending European allied satellites against adversary attacks, warning any destruction of a friendly satellite will be considered “an act of war.” Gen. Chance Saltzman said that protection on offer to allies by the US should be “no different” to how it currently provides air defense cover by protecting communication nodes “regardless of the country that has contributed to those nodes.” (7/17)

French Woman Sitting on Her Terrace Struck By Mystery Space Rock (Source: Weather Channel)
Can you imagine quietly sipping coffee and minding your own business when a random rock coming all the way from outer space decides to pick beef with you? As outlandish as this sounds, this is exactly what happened to a woman in the village of Alsace located in eastern France. As per the French newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA), the woman was sitting outside on her terrace, chatting with a friend when the mysterious pebble hit her in the ribs on July 6. Further examination by geologist Dr Thierry Rebmann confirmed its extraterrestrial origins. (7/17)

Powerful NASA-ISRO Earth Observing Satellite Coming Together in India (Source: NASA)
Two major components of the NISAR satellite have been combined to create a single spacecraft in Bengaluru, India. Set to launch in early 2024, NISAR – short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar – is being jointly developed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, to track movements of Earth’s land and ice surfaces in extremely fine detail. As NISAR monitors nearly every part of our planet at least once every 12 days, the satellite will also help scientists understand, among other observables, the dynamics of forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands. (7/13)

Returning to the Moon Can Benefit Commercial, Military and Political Sectors (Source: The Conversation)
Expert studies suggest that it will be decades before many activities – like mining lunar resources or collecting solar energy on the Moon – will generate profits. But in the meantime, government space programs can leverage commercial innovation to cut costs, spur innovation and accelerate their programs. And some commercial activity, such as lunar tourism, may be profitable in the near future. SpaceX has already sold one trip to the Moon, tentatively scheduled for launch in 2024.

Companies entering the market early may have an advantage. Crowding is unlikely to be an issue in the near term – the Moon has a surface area roughly equivalent to the entire Asian continent. Even at the poles, multiple sites offer access to both water ice and solar illumination. However, the first companies on the Moon may set precedents for the extent of lunar mining allowed, as well as the safety and sustainability protocols that others coming later may follow. Click here. (7/18)

SpaceX Tests Starship Water Deluge System That It Should’ve Built in the First Place (Source: Gizmodo)
Looking to prevent a recurrence of its April 20 launch (and launch pad) failure, SpaceX is building a powerful deluge system, which underwent its first test yesterday. The limited test saw thousands of gallons of water shooting up from the orbital launch mount (OLM) with tremendous force. The sound of the water blasting upwards was surprisingly intense. More powerful tests are likely, as SpaceX works toward the next static fire test of Starship, the date of which has not yet been announced. This video provides multiple shots of the test. (7/18)