July 5, 2023

End of "Learning Period" in October Will Empower FAA Regulatory Role for Human Spaceflight (Source: Space News)
As commercial human spaceflight activity ramps up, existing restrictions on the FAA's ability to regulate spaceflight participant safety may soon expire. A provision in federal law dating back to 2004 limits the ability of the FAA to enact safety regulations for people on board commercial vehicles, a so-called "learning period" intended to allow the industry to gain experience that later be used for regulations. That restriction is set to expire Oct. 1, and it is uncertain if Congress will further extend it. Companies are lobbying for an extension, although FAA officials have noted that they don't have regulations ready to go once the learning period expires. (7/5)

Astronomers Concerned About Constellations' Radio Emissions (Source: Space News)
Astronomers say unintentional radio emissions from satellite constellations could interfere with their observations. In a new study, astronomers used a Dutch radio telescope to detect low-frequency emissions from dozens of Starlink satellites that they believe comes from electromagnetic interference from satellite systems, separate from those satellites' intentional transmissions. The unintentional emissions do not violate any regulations but could interfere with radio astronomy observations, particularly in one band that is protected for radio astronomy by the ITU. Astronomers said SpaceX has been willing to work with them to find ways to reduce those emissions, but similar coordination with other satellite constellation operations is also required. (7/5)

North Korean Satellite Wasn't a Military Threat (Source: Yonhap)
A North Korean reconnaissance satellite that failed to reach orbit in May likely had "no military utility," according to South Korean officials. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday they completed a salvage operation to retrieve wreckage from the failed launch of the Chollima-1 rocket. Analysis by South Korean and American experts of debris retrieved from that operation led them to conclude that the satellite it carried had "no military utility as a reconnaissance satellite," but didn't elaborate on that assessment. (7/5)

ESA Releases Data From Orbital Lightning Detector (Source: BBC)
ESA has released the first data from a lightning detector on a new weather satellite. The agency published Monday data from a lightning detector on the Meteosat-12 spacecraft, able to monitor lightning in Europe and Africa. It is similar to instruments on the GOES-R series of American weather satellites. The satellite, launched in December, is going through a commissioning process before entering operations early next year. (7/5)

SpaceX and FAA Seek Dismissal of Boca Chica Environmental Law Suit (Source: San Antonio Express-News)
SpaceX and the FAA are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups over Starship launches from Texas. The FAA said in one filing that the groups lack standing to contest a launch license the agency issued SpaceX for Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX, in a separate filing, said that the first integrated Starship/Super Heavy launch in April provided no cause for a new environmental assessment. The groups filed suit against the FAA in federal court in May, arguing the FAA failed to follow environmental law when it issued a launch license to SpaceX. They are asking the court to revoke the license and require a new, and more detailed, environmental review. (7/5)

Goddard Acoustics Testing Facility Hosts Marine Band (Source: NASA)
There's rock-concert loud, and then there's Marine-band-in-NASA-chamber loud. After conducting acoustical testing of the PACE Earth science satellite in a chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to simulate the launch environment, engineers wondered how loud a band could play in that chamber. Enter the U.S. Marine Band, which was invited to play in that chamber. Band members, wearing special headphones for hearing protection, reached 116 decibels. The PACE testing took place at 138 decibels. (7/5)

Can Cargo Be Delivered ‘To, From, and Through’ Space? DOD Wants Ideas Soon (Source: Air and Space Forces)
Space is taking on more responsibilities for the U.S. military, from command and control to missile warning. Next on the agenda: cargo. In a June 30 solicitation, the Defense Innovation Unit is seeking “novel commercial solutions that enable responsive and precise point-to-point delivery of cargo to, from, and through space.” DIU was founded to adopt commercial technology and non-traditional suppliers by bypassing conventional acquisition processes.

“Rocket cargo” is already being explored by U.S. Transportation Command and the Air Force Research Laboratory, but those efforts are focused on point-to-point logistics for heavy payloads up to 100 tons. The aim is to support austere operating locations in the midst of future conflict with uncrewed space vehicles, eliminating the need for overflight rights or putting air or space crews at risk.

DIU is focused on smaller payloads, from tens to hundreds of kilograms. It aims to conduct proof-of-concept demonstrations of rockets to deliver cargo to objects to orbit, deliver cargo from one orbit to another, or use space to deliver cargo to a point on Earth. If successful, the concepts DIU hopes to demonstrate could expand to incorporate larger payloads and conduct “suborbital delivery of cargo,” both for military objectives and potentially to assist in disaster response in the future. (7/4)

A Quantitative Analysis of In-Orbit Collision Risks (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that there are more than 131,000,000 useless space waste objects, between 1 millimeter and 10 centimeters, currently orbiting around the Earth at an average speed of 36,000 kilometers per hour. A new analysis finds the number of launches and satellites is negatively affected by the amount of space debris. "The calculations also show that anti-satellite tests generate more than 102,000 new pieces of this waste larger than 1 centimeter and that its negative effects take 1,000 years to disappear due to the high altitude at which tests are carried out", they assure. (7/3)

Time to Act on Light Pollution, Say Leading Experts (Source: Space Daily)
Action on light pollution is long overdue, campaigners said at the National Astronomy Meeting in Cardiff. The panellists call for UK governments and local authorities to put policies in place to restore our view of the skies and to mitigate the impacts of excessive light at night on biodiversity and potentially human health. Light pollution is rarely far from the minds of astronomers. It originates from urban street lighting, but also poorly regulated sports grounds, commercial and industrial buildings, private housing and entertainment venues. (7/4)

Hawaii Observatories Play Criical Role Adding Color to Euclid Mission (Source: Space Daily)
Euclid's dataset is getting a big helping hand from observations taken at three observatories in Hawaii. The Euclid satellite mission will spend more than six years in space and involve more than 2,000 scientists, including astronomers in Hawaii. Unlike the JWST, which observes a tiny portion of the universe in great detail, Euclid will survey a large portion of the sky, to see a massive section of the universe. Prior to Euclid's launch, the work of creating the map began in Hawaii through the UNIONS project, an ambiious imaging survey of the northern sky in the optical and near-infrared conducted by three Hawaii-based telescopes since 2017. (7/3)

China's FAST in the Hunt for Nanohertz Gravitational Waves (Source: Space Daily)
A recent breakthrough in the field of gravitational wave detection has been achieved by scientists in China, who have found vital evidence of nanohertz gravitational waves, thanks to pulsar timing observations performed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The detection of gravitational waves of nanohertz frequencies promises profound implications for our understanding of the universe's structure. It could unveil the development, evolution, and merging of the universe's most colossal bodies - supermassive black holes. (7/3)

How to Build a Rocket a Day - Astra Factory Tour (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Take a deep dive into Astra's rocket factory, their brand new rocket production line, and Rocket 4 itself. We chat nitty gritty details with CEO Chirs Kemp and VP of Manufacturing Bryson Gentile. Click here. (7/4)

Spinning Toward the Future: Crisis Response From Space (Source: Space Review)
American intelligence agencies studied several proposals for “crisis reconnaissance” satellites in the 1960s and 1970s, but never built any of them. Dwayne Day discusses new details about one such proposal that came closer to development than any other concept. Click here. (7/4)
 
Regulating a Maturing Commercial Spaceflight Industry (Source: Space Review)
Virgin Galactic performed its first commercial SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight last week as Blue Origin prepares to resume New Shepard launches. Jeff Foust reports that, as commercial human spaceflight activity finally ramps up, the industry is facing new regulatory challenges. Click here. (7/4)
 
What Does the People’s Republic of China’s Space Program Mean for Great Britain and the West? (Source: Space Review)
China’s space capabilities, in both military and civil realms, have grown significantly in recent years. Four experts examine the implications of those developments for Western nations and lessons it offers those countries. Click here. (7/4)
 
A Subtle Symphony of Ripples in Spacetime (Source: Space Review)
Astronomers announced last week the discovery of a background of gravitational waves that pervades the cosmos. Chris Impey describes this discovery and its significance in understanding the evolution of the universe. Click here. (7/4)

SmartSat CRC Pledges $7M for Autonomous AI Spacecraft Development (Source: Space Daily)
The three-year project, Spacecraft Autonomy and Onboard AI for Next Generation Space Systems, known as SCARLET-a, will bring together eight SmartSat partners: Airbus, Asension, Deakin University, Defence Science and Technology Group, Leonardo Australia, Saab Australia, Swinburne University of Technology, and University of South Australia (UniSA) in a collaborative research effort. SCARLET-a aims to create a set of autonomous algorithms that will enable small and distributed spacecraft to make decisions independently, optimise the use of available resources and capabilities, adapt to changing conditions, and handle critical situations, without intervention from Earth. (7/4)

Private Space Company to Launch Latest Rocket in 2024 (Source: Space Daily)
In the vanguard of the rapidly evolving commercial space industry, Beijing-based private firm Space Pioneer plans the inaugural launch of its TL 3 carrier rocket in 2024. The launch will signify an ambitious stride toward fortifying China's presence in the commercial space launch market. Kang Yonglai of Space Pioneer disclosed the timeline for the TL 3's progress. Initiated at the end of 2021, the design phase of the TL 3 project has reached fruition, with component fabrication already underway.

Space Pioneer anticipates the inaugural flight to take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in northwestern China, during the first half of 2024. Given a successful maiden voyage, the company has an aggressive timeline for follow-on launches, with two additional TL 3 missions slated for the latter half of 2024, escalating to a dozen launches in 2025, according to Kang. (7/4)

Quasar 'Clocks' Show Universe was Five Times Slower Soon After the Big Bang (Source: Space Daily)
Scientists have for the first time observed the early universe running in extreme slow motion, unlocking one of the mysteries of Einstein's expanding universe. Einstein's general theory of relativity means that we should observe the distant - and hence ancient - universe running much slower than the present day. However, peering back that far in time has proven elusive. Scientists have now cracked that mystery by using quasars as 'clocks'. "Looking back to a time when the universe was just over a billion years old, we see time appearing to flow five times slower," said Professor Geraint Lewis. (7/4)

Rivada Space Networks joins Astra Carta Initiative for Global Space Sustainability (Source: Space Daily)
Rivada Space Networks has joined the #Astra Carta initiative to accelerate space sustainability. Launched by the Sustainable Markets organization, Astra Carta brings to reality a vision for space sustainability outlined by His Majesty King Charles III, when he was the Prince of Wales, at the UK Government's Summit for Space Sustainability in 2022.

Following the Global Leaders on Space Sustainability Symposium held in London this week, Ann Vandenbroucke, Chief Regulatory Officer at Rivada Space Networks, attended the ceremony at Buckingham Palace where His Majesty King Charles III unveiled the Astra Carta seal to mark the launch of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Astra Carta framework, accelerating space sustainability efforts and goals. (7/3)

India Terminates Semi-Cryogenic Engine Test After Sudden Spike in Turbine Pressure and Speed (Source: The Hindu)
The Indian Space Research Organization terminated the first hot test on an intermediate configuration of the semi-cryogenic engine following an unanticipated spike in the turbine pressure and subsequent loss of turbine speed. The intermediate configuration of the semi-cryogenic engine is also known as a power head test article (PHTA). (7/3)

Groveland is 1st City in Florida Certified as Dark Sky Community (Source: WFTV)
If you’re looking for some of the best dark skies in Florida, you don’t have to drive too far. Groveland was recently named the first certified Dark Sky Community in not only the state but the entire Southeastern U.S. To earn the certification, Groveland officials said they engaged with residents, business owners, and community leaders to raise awareness about the benefits of protecting the night sky, which included holding virtual workshops, tabling at events, developing a citizen-scientist program to monitor light pollution, and hosting the city’s first Star Party attended by over 700 guests. (7/3)

US Space Agency Aims to Develop Moon Resources (Source: Voice of America)
Gerald Sanders has been a rocket scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Centre for 35 years. He said that the first resources NASA wants to develop are oxygen and water. Later, he said, the space agency may try to mine iron and rare earth metals. NASA is taking steps to be able to dig into the moon’s soil in 2032.

The U.S. space agency plans to return Americans to the moon as part of its Artemis mission. The goal is to learn from the mission and plan for explorations deeper into space. An important part of the Artemis mission is advancing commercial use of space. The agency plans to measure possible resources, including energy, water and lunar soil, to gain outside investment, Sanders said. (7/2)

Sun Breaks Out With Highest Number of Sunspots Since in More Than Two Decades (Source: Space.com)
The sun produced over 160 sunspots in June, the highest monthly number in more than two decades. The data confirm that the current solar cycle, the 25th since records began, is picking up intensity at a much quicker pace than NASA and NOAA forecasted, sparking concerns of severe space weather events in the months and years to come. While the space agencies predicted a maximum monthly number of sunspots during the 25th solar cycle's maximum to reach a modest 125, the star is now on a trajectory to peak at just under 200 monthly sunspots, and some scientists think this peak may arrive in just one year. (7/3)

Our Solar System Possibly Survived a Supernova Because of How the Sun Formed (Source: Ars Technica)
Stars are thought to form within enormous filaments of molecular gas. Regions where one or more of these filaments meet, known as hubs, are where massive stars form. These massive stars, located nearby, would have put the early Solar System at risk of a powerful supernova. This risk is more than just hypothetical; a research team at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, led by astrophysicist Doris Arzoumanian, looked at isotopes found in ancient meteorites, finding possible evidence of a massive star’s turbulent death.

So why did the Solar System survive? The gas within the filament seems to be able to protect it from the supernova and its onslaught of radioactive isotopes. “The host filament can shield the young Solar System from stellar feedback, both during the formation and evolution of stars. (7/4)

Guatemala's Quetzal-1 Satellite Goes Open Source (Source: Hackaday)
Back in 2020, students from Universidad Del Valle De Guatemala (UVG) pulled off a really impressive feat, designing and building a CubeSat that lasted a whopping 211 days in orbit. In addition to telemetry and radio equipment, it carried a black-and-white camera payload. But it turns out space is hard. The first pictures were solid black or white, with the automatic exposure process failing pretty badly. A pair of good pictures were taken by waiting until the satellite was passing over Guatemala during sunrise or sunset.

A hung I2C bus led to battery drain, and the team tried a system reset to clear the hung state. Sadly the craft never came back to life after the reset, likely because of one of the Lithium-Ion battery cells failed completely in the low charge state. If you want the details on the Quetzal-1 design, and what went wrong with the electrical system, both PDF papers have been released. Seeing more open source in space is an encouraging development, and one that should continue to grow as the cost of payloads to orbit continues to fall. (7/4)

NASA's Moon Rover Prototype Conquers Steep, Scary Lander Exit Test (Source: NASA)
NASA's VIPER – short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover – recently completed another successful round of rigorous tests of the agency’s first robotic Moon rover’s ability to drive off the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander and onto the lunar surface. Called an egress, this hours-long operation is one of the most critical and trickiest parts of VIPER's 100-day mission. It could be even trickier if VIPER’s off-ramps onto the Moon are super steep or tilted due to uneven terrain.

Recent tests using VIPER rover and Griffin lander prototypes conducted at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley were designed to push VIPER’s systems to the limit to ensure the rover will perform as expected during its science mission. By driving VIPER’s prototype MGRU3 – which stands for the Moon Gravitation Representative Unit 3 – down the lander’s ramps in a series of test configurations in a facility at Ames, engineers came away with a better understanding of how the rover would perform in both normal and unusual scenarios. (6/30)

Mars Has Liquid Guts and Strange Insides, InSight Suggests (Source: Ars Technica)
Mars appears to be a frozen expanse of red dust, gaping craters, and rocky terrain on the outside—but what lies beneath its wind-blasted surface? NASA’s InSight lander might have discovered this before it took its proverbial last breaths in a dust storm. Whether the core of Mars is solid or liquid has been long debated. While there is no way to observe the Martian core directly, InSight tried.

Its seismometer, SEIS, was the first instrument to find possible evidence of a liquid core. In the meantime, its RISE (Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment) instrument had been measuring minuscule changes in the planet’s rotation as it orbited, “wobbles” in its axis caused by the push and pull of the Sun’s gravity. “Our analysis of InSight’s radio tracking data argues against the existence of a solid inner core and reveals the shape of the core, indicating that there are internal mass anomalies deep within the mantle,” write the researchers behind the instrument in a study recently published in Nature. (7/2)

L3Harris Is Said to Explore Sale of $1 Billion Avionics Unit (Source: Bloomberg)
L3Harris Technologies Inc., the aerospace and defense company, is exploring a sale of its avionics business, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The US company is working with an adviser on the sale, which could fetch about $1 billion based on typical earnings multiples, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The asset could attract interest from private equity firms and strategic buyers, they said. (7/3)

NASA Animation Reveals Global Flow Of CO2 Emissions, Shows Biggest Polluters (Source: India Times)
A new NASA animation shows the movement of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions around the globe. In the scary video, we can see greenhouse gases that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. These gases are killing our environment, duh! And scientists have warned repeatedly that our leaders and organisations are simply not doing enough to preserve the ecological balance on Earth. Click here. (7/3)

‘Wagner Mercenary’ Hackers Destroy Russian Satellite Comms (Source: Security Boulevard)
Russian satellite communications provider Dozor-Teleport has been hacked, knocking it off the internet. Was it Prigozhin’s PMC Wagner that did the deed, or could it have been Ukraine? The SatCom service is known to be used by the Russian military, so either theory checks out. The fog of war is thick. (6/30)

Blue Origin is Planning to Open New Launch Sites Outside the US (Source: Engadget)
lue Origin has announced plans to expand its operations to "Europe and beyond," the Financial Times reports. Part of this growth hinges on finding a site for an international launch facility — the company has already put down roots in Texas, Washington, Florida and Alabama — but the new location hasn't been chosen yet. It's also actively looking for fresh acquisitions and partnerships outside of the US in areas such as manufacturing and software. (7/3)

Our Solar System May Be Hiding an Extra Planet (Source: Futurism)
For over a century, researchers have been puzzled by strange gravitational forces seemingly pulling on the orbits of Neptune and Uranus in the distant reaches of our solar system. While some have suggested that a ninth planet lurking in the Kuiper Belt — often dubbed "Planet X" — could account for the strange behavior, others have pushed back against these theories.

But now, an international team of researchers has come up with a new explanation: such a planet-sized object could instead be lurking in the Oort cloud, a spherical region surrounding the solar system that is suspected to be home to a collection of icy objects stretching several times farther from the Sun than the Kuiper Belt.

The team suggests that larger pieces of debris could've clumped together to form a planet-sized object billions of years ago that could've been sent hurtling out into the Oort cloud. Alternatively, an exoplanet from another system could've gotten stuck in the solar system's Oort cloud, according to the researchers, the more likely outcome. (7/2)

Aerospace Manufacturing Company Shuttering Wichita Operations After 39 Years (Source: Wichita Eagle)
Sonaca North America, previously LMI Aerospace, is shutting down its Wichita plant and leaving the city after 39 years. The St. Louis-based aerostructures manufacturer expects closure of its facility to be completed by the end of 2023, leaving most of its 56 Wichita employees out of work. (7/3)

Robotic 'Light Bender' on the Moon Could Help Artemis Astronauts Keep the Lights On (Source: Space.com)
A new undertaking from space technology company Maxar will use mirrors to autonomously track and reflect sunlight to supply energy to solar-powered equipment operating in the shadows of the moon's cliffs and craters. NASA has set the goal to land astronauts near the moon's south pole by 2025 as a part of the agency's Artemis program. The moon's south pole is rich in resources such as water ice, but also experiences long periods of little to no sunlight. These conditions make energy production difficult, leaving few options to recharge batteries and maintain life-support, especially when using solar power.

A new Maxar project known as Light Bender aims to remedy that by using autonomous mirrors that will automatically reflect light towards essential equipment that Artemis astronauts might carry with them into permanently shadowed regions on the moon's surface. Light Bender works by hoisting two 33-foot reflectors up a 65-foot telescoping mast. One mirror autonomously tracks the sun and reflects that light to the second mirror, which then reflects those rays towards the intended solar panels. (7/3)