August 23, 2023

India's Lunar Landing a Success (Source: Space News)
India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon this morning. The spacecraft touched down in the south polar regions of the moon at about 8:33 a.m. Eastern after a final descent phase. India is only the fourth country, after the former Soviet Union, United States and China to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the moon, and is the first to land in the south polar regions, of scientific interest because of the potential presence of water ice there. The lander will deploy a small rover, Pragyan, with both expected to operate for about 12 days until lunar nightfall. (8/23)

IC Seeks Clarity on Barriers to Commercial Satellite Data Procurement (Source: Space News)
The intelligence community wants to better understand the lagging procurement of commercial satellite data. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a request for information this week asking companies to submit details about what obstacles they experience trying to sell products and services to intelligence and defense agencies. According to the RFI, the office wants to find ways to overcome barriers to greater use of commercial remote sensing, space-based data and analytic services by such agencies. One industry official called the RFI "a strong step in the right direction" to overcoming obstacles, adding that it was noteworthy the RFI came from the intelligence community, which is further along in using commercial space capabilities than the military. (8/23)

Polaris Dawn Mission Slips to Next Year (Source: Space News)
The first in a series of private astronaut missions funded by a billionaire may slip to next year. Jared Isaacman announced the Polaris program of missions, flown by SpaceX, a year and a half ago, starting with a Crew Dragon mission called Polaris Dawn that will include a spacewalk. That mission has yet to launch, and Isaacman said he believed the launch likely would not take place until at least early next year. He suggested development of a new spacesuit needed for the spacewalk was a factor in the delay. The Polaris program plans three missions, with the second potentially being used to reboost the Hubble Space Telescope and the last being the first crewed launch of Starship. (8/23)

Debris Impacts Debris Removal Mission (Source: Space News)
The target of a European debris removal mission was itself hit by debris. ESA said a Vega payload adapter called Vespa was apparently hit by an untracked piece of debris earlier this month, creating several pieces of debris being tracked by the U.S. Space Force. The Vespa adapter itself appears to still be intact, ESA added. That adapter is the target for the ESA-backed ClearSpace-1 mission, which will grapple the object and deorbit it. ESA said work on the mission will continue while it studies any effects the debris impact will have on it. (8/23)

Mynaric Wins SDA Contract for Optical Comms Ground Station (Source: Space News)
Mynaric won a Space Development Agency contract to develop an optical communications ground station. The ground terminal will be used to demonstrate communications with SDA's future network of satellites, each of which is equipped with multiple laser communications terminals. The $3 million contract announced this week will cover the design of a ground terminal that includes a large telescope along with a laser transmitter and receiver. (8/23)

Umbra Wins Air Force Contract for Radar Mapping Tests (Source: Space News)
Umbra won an Air Force contract to test how its radar-mapping satellites can track moving objects. The $1.25 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 contract, announced Tuesday, will demonstrate how Umbra's satellites can be used for space-based moving target indication. The use of radar satellites to track moving targets was previously identified as a top priority for the Department of the Air Force. (8/23)

Russia Launches Cargo to ISS (Source: CBS)
Russia launched a Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station Tuesday night. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 9:08 p.m. Eastern and placed the Progress MS-24 spacecraft into orbit. The Progress, with 2.7 tons of cargo, is scheduled to dock with the ISS Thursday night, hours before the launch of the Crew-7 mission to the station. (8/23)

Astra's CEO Optimistic Despite Recent Challenges (Source: Ars Technica)
The CEO of Astra remains optimistic about the prospects for his company despite a tough financial situation. In an interview, Chris Kemp pointed to the company's spacecraft propulsion business, which offers "great margins," as something that sets the company apart from failed launch ventures like Virgin Orbit. He said work is continuing on the company's larger Rocket 4 vehicle, although the company moved some staff off that effort to work on spacecraft propulsion, delaying the rocket's debut into next year. (8/23)

Momentus Executes Reverse Stock Split (Source: Momentus)
Shareholders of Momentus have approved a reverse stock split. The company said Tuesday that shareholders approved a 1-for-50 reverse split, which turns 50 existing shares of the company into one new share. That change takes effect after the close of trading Wednesday. The reverse split will boost the stock price and avoid delisting from Nasdaq. Shares in Momentus closed Tuesday at $0.23. (8/23)

Geological Scientists Selected for Artemis Lunar Landing Support (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected a team of scientists that will support the first Artemis lunar landing. The 12-person Artemis 3 Geology Team, led by Brett Denevi of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, will work with NASA on the geology objectives of the mission and plan the moonwalks that astronauts will perform. Artemis 3 is planned for no earlier than late 2025. (8/23)

Denver-Area Blue Origin Subsidiary Goes Through Layoffs (Source: Denver Business Journal)
Another round of layoffs is impacting Colorado aerospace employees. Longmont-based Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin, went through a round of layoffs last week. The number of employees and positions impacted are unknown, but a handful of former Honeybee employees posted on social media about the recent layoffs, many of which worked in engineering roles.

A Honeybee spokesperson said in an email it is the company's policy "not to respond to any personnel-related inquiries." Honeybee researches and manufactures advanced robotics systems for space and Earth applications. The company is based in Longmont with offices in Altadena, California, and Greenbelt, Maryland. According to LinkedIn, Honeybee has 323 employees, 138 of which are in Colorado and 139 in California. (8/21)

Will Launch Capacity Fall Short? (Source: Royal Aeronautical Society)
One unanticipated turn of events that now looms over the future of the launch industry is the supply-demand gap. With legacy rockets retiring and new ones still only in the development or early flight stage, we are set to enter a phase where satellite development and production is growing, but launch capacity is shrinking. Further, the Russian invasion of Ukraine eliminated the use of the Soyuz rocket for many customers, forcing out one of the most crucial launchers within the space industry. Click here. (8/22)

SpaceX Launches 100th Dedicated Starlink Mission (Source: Teslarati)
After being delayed due to Hurricane Hilary last week, which forced the droneship to retreat to the Port of San Diego, SpaceX successfully launched 21 V2 mini Starlink satellites at Vandenberg Space Force Base. This Starlink mission brings the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 4,983 of which 269 are the V2 mini variant. This launch marked the 57th mission of the year for SpaceX, which is slowly closing on its yearly record of 61. (8/22)

Russia has Declared a New Space Race, Hoping to Join Forces with China. Here’s Why That’s Unlikely (Source: The Conversation)
Despite its lunar landing failure, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov pledged his nation’s unwavering commitment to lunar exploration: "This is not just about the prestige of the country and the achievement of some geopolitical goals. This is about ensuring defensive capabilities and achieving technological sovereignty."

He also declared a “new race to exploit the Moon’s resources has begun”, and there would be a potential crewed Russian-Chinese mission in the future. His statement sounds like it is less about the scientific exploration of the lunar surface, and more about geopolitical posturing. Human involvement in Sino-Russian space missions is not anticipated any time soon. Therefore, Borisov’s assertion that Russia would explore a joint crewed mission came as an unlikely surprise. He may well have been speaking to a domestic audience, in an attempt to salvage his agency’s credentials.

Despite an impressive number of collaboration agreements, high-profile Sino-Russian space projects remain few and far between. If joint human exploration of the Moon is not currently on the cards, it is highly unlikely the Chinese space authorities will take the bait. China will unlikely be coerced into rushing its planned space exploration milestones. As such, the notion of a “space race” involving China seems a moot point. (8/22)

The New Space Race is Here. Will It Look Like the ’60s — or the 16th Century? (Source: Global News)
A space law expert said the new space race might again look like the 1960s. But he also warned it could more closely resemble European countries’ scramble to colonize new territory in the 16th and 17th centuries. “Economic exploitation is something which causes competition and eventually leads to conflict and then destruction,” McGill professor Ram Jakhu said. “We should not expect governments or private companies to behave differently in space.” (8/22)

Valves Are a Regular Concern at SpaceX, Just Like Every Other Space Company (Source: Ars Technica)
According to BryceTech, SpaceX launched more than 447 metric tons of payload mass in the first half of this year, nearly 10 times more than all Chinese rockets. "From the outside, it may look like we’re flying a lot of flights and they’re all trouble-free," Gerstenmaier said. "They are not all trouble-free. They are not easy. Every time we fly, we learn something. We spend the time to go analyze it."

NASA and SpaceX officials gave the green light Monday to proceed with preparations to launch the Crew-7 mission, but only after formally signing off on several technical issues. One "special topic" discussed was a valve failure on a Dragon cargo capsule in June. During that mission, an isolation valve in the Dragon's propulsion system became stuck. There was no effect on the Dragon resupply mission because the valve in question is only used if there's a problem elsewhere in the propulsion system, when it would close or isolate a leaky thruster to avoid losing propellant.

SpaceX engineers removed the stuck valve from the Dragon cargo capsule after it splashed down at the end of its mission in June. They found signs of corrosion. "The corrosion is caused by oxidizer vapors mixing with a little bit of moisture," Stich said. "The materials are corrosion-resistant, but if you get enough vapor from the oxidizer along with water, you can form a little bit of acid and get some corrosion." (8/22)

Space Travel Depletes Red Blood Cells And Bone, But Bone Marrow Fat May Come To The Rescue (Source: SpaceRef)
A study of 14 astronauts suggests that while space travel depletes red blood cells and bone, the body can eventually replenish them back on Earth with the help of fat stored in the bone marrow. The study, published in Nature Communications, has important implications for health in space and on Earth. (8/21)

OneWeb Wins Space Force Contract for Commercial Satellite Communications Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (p-LEO) (Source: Street Insider)
OneWeb Technologies was awarded a Commercial Satellite Communications Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (p-LEO) contract from the U.S. Space Force. The 10-year p-LEO contract was awarded with a $900 million dollar ceiling. OneWeb Technologies is among a limited number of LEO satellite solutions providers selected to receive the p-LEO award contract, and one of only two very small aperture terminal (VSAT) data LEO satellite service providers currently offering live services. (8/21)

Alabama AG Calls for Investigation Into Biden's Reversal on Space Command HQ (Source: Fox News)
Alabama's attorney general is calling for an investigation into President Biden reversing his decision to put Space Command headquarters in Huntsville. AG Steve Marshall wrote that multiple "independent reviews" by the two offices "confirmed the Air Force’s decision that Huntsville was the best location for Space Command’s headquarters" and that the DOD IG's "20-person team" found the Air Force's selection process was lawful. The Alabama attorney general also said the GAO "similarly reported that Huntsville was clearly the preferred headquarters location" for Space Command. (8/21)

Space Force ‘Training Satellites’ are Being Built in Colorado (Source: CPR)
The Army and Navy have vast territories of land and sea to conduct full-scale war games and training exercises. But what about the Space Force?  At the moment, the nascent new branch of the U.S. military does not really have the resources, infrastructure or doctrine to execute such critically important real-world scenarios for their personnel. Satellite operations expert Even Rogers identified that problem when he left the Air Force a few years ago.

That knowledge led to the creation of True Anomaly — the company Rogers founded a little more than a year ago — and the “Jackal” satellite. Rogers described the Jackal as an “emulator” of sorts for Space Force training missions. It can play the role of an adversary sparring partner from a hostile nation or a cooperating ally. It is also equipped with sensors to track the movement of all the satellites and earth-bound assets involved in the exercise. (8/22)

Las Vegas Spaceport Lands Deal to Bring it Closer to Launch (Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The company developing a spaceport on 240 acres of Clark County desert land between Las Vegas and Pahrump has signed a partnership agreement with a satellite launching company headed by a former SpaceX engineer. Robert Lauer, director of Las Vegas Spaceport, announced a partnership with O-G Launch, a company headed by Robert Feierbach. Feierbach’s company aims to be a part of the commercial space industry by launching satellites from recyclable rockets deployed from large jets. (8/21)

UK Spaceport Project ‘Firmly on Track’ to Become Operational This Year (Source: Shetland News)
The company building the SaxaVord spaceport has confirmed that the nationally significant project on the UK’s most northerly island continues to be firmly on track. Meanwhile, one of the main investors in the project, Wild Ventures Ltd, which is owned by Danish billionaire and Highlands landowner Anders Holch Povlsen, said it is “as content as ever” with progress at the spaceport.

“SaxaVord continues to have excellent dialogue with the authorities and is fully expecting to receiving its spaceport licence very soon from the Civil Aviation Authority... We are looking forward to hosting vertical rocket launches in the coming months.” (8/21)

Will Deep-Space Flight Ever be Possible? (Source: YNet)
Can humanity ever approach light-speed travel? Could we visit other solar systems? Answering these questions may not be merely about satisfying our curiosity; it could be a matter of survival. After all, the Earth’s lifespan is finite, with its existence expected to extinguish in roughly 5 billion years, as the sun eventually swells and consumes it before eventually collapsing. Yet, long before that, threats of annihilation due to a possible collision with a large asteroid or a man-made catastrophe might force mankind to find a new cosmic address. Click here. (8/22)

A Gold Rush in Space: Is it Legal for Companies to Buy and Sell the Moon’s Resources? (Source: El Pais)
The new golden age of space travel includes a multimillion-dollar business: the exploitation of celestial resources. A 2018 study — cited by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the ESA Space Resources Strategy document — predicts that between $73 and $170 billion in revenue could be generated annually from this activity until 2045. Meanwhile, the water from the lunar poles — along with several minerals that are found there — will be essential for the construction of permanent bases.

Future technology could open up a new Silk Road, with the trade of treasures such as helium-3 (the key component of nuclear fusion). The United States, on the one hand — and Russia and China, on the other — are leading the race to get at these lunar resources. They’re moving so fast that international regulations cannot keep up. Experts warn that, without order, the galaxy could quickly become the Wild West. Click here. (8/21)

New X-ray Telescope Culd Unveil the Structure of Spacetime (Source: Salon)
The two space agencies of Japan and the United States are prepping for a major launch Saturday, August 26, that promises to fundamentally alter our perspective of the cosmos. Exploding stars, near-light-speed particle jets powered by black holes, wildly swirling galaxy clusters — humanity is about to get an unprecedented view of some of the hottest and most extreme objects in space thanks to the XRISM initiative (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, pronounced "crism"). (8/21)

How Many People Does It Take to Start a Colony on Mars? (Source: Gizmodo)
It might only take 22 people to establish a colony on Mars, though that small group of cosmic inhabitants should have agreeable personality types to survive on the Red Planet, according to new research. A recent study looked into the behavioral and psychological interactions among future Mars colonists and came up with a surprisingly small population size they say could build and sustain the colony: 22 would-be-Martians.

The scientists created a model to simulate a Mars colony based on high performing teams of people in isolated, high-stress environments such as Arctic exploration or the International Space Station. The simulation played out interactions between people with varying levels of skill, resilience, stress and one of four psychological traits: neurotic, reactive, social, or agreeable, in addition to the environmental factors on Mars. Click here. (8/21)

SpaceX Has to Convince the FAA to Launch its Starship Rocket (Source: Quartz)
Elon Musk doesn’t like being told what to do. That’s, in part, why he decided that his company SpaceX would build its own launch site on private land in Texas as an alternative to the pads he leases from the US government. Last week, SpaceX submitted a final report on its June launch test incident to the agency, which will need to approve its conclusions; then, SpaceX will need to take corrective actions and have its launch license modified to reflect them.

“SpaceX must submit updated information before its license can be modified or more flights added,” an FAA spokesperson told Quartz. “The update must include corrective actions identified in the mishap investigation report and any other changes material to public health and safety and the safety of property." (8/22)

A Gateway to the Moon (Source: NASA)
Gateway's International Habitat (I-Hab) module, provided by ESA, is one of two of the space station's habitation modules along with HALO, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost. Astronauts will live, conduct research, and prepare for lunar surface missions inside the two living quarters. I-Hab will also house life support systems and camera equipment that will enhance Gateway’s scientific research capabilities. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s planned contributions include I-HAB’s environmental control and life support system, batteries, thermal control, and imagery components. They will be integrated into the module by ESA prior to launch. Click here. (8/22)

Objects Detected in the Vicinity of ClearSpace-1 Debris Removal Mission Target (Source: ESA)
On 10 August 2023, ESA’s Space Debris Office was informed by the United States 18th Space Defense Squadron that new objects have been detected in the vicinity of a payload adapter. This adapter, named VESPA, was left in orbit following the 2013 launch of a Vega rocket. The new debris is believed to originate from the VESPA adapter, which is in an orbit with perigee at 660 km altitude, apogee at 790 km and an inclination of 98.72 degrees.

This payload adapter is the subject of the upcoming ClearSpace-1 active space debris removal (ADR) mission. It is being developed as the first-ever mission to remove an existing derelict object from orbit through highly precise and complex, close-proximity and capture operations. ESA procured the Clearspace-1 mission as a service from the Swiss start-up ‘ClearSpace’ in order to demonstrate the technologies needed for debris removal and as a first step to establishing a new, sustainable and striving commercial space ecosystem.

The information currently available indicates that the most likely cause of the event was the hypervelocity impact of a small, untracked object that resulted in a low-energy release of new fragments. A preliminary assessment indicates that the increased collision risk to other missions posed by these fragments is negligible. The development of the ClearSpace-1 mission will continue as planned while additional data on the event is collected. (8/22)

U.S. Intelligence Office to Investigate Lagging Procurement of Commercial Satellite Data (Source: Space News)
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is seeking information from the private sector on barriers encountered by commercial remote sensing data providers when doing business with the intelligence community and the Department of Defense. A request for information (RFI) published Aug. 21 asks companies to submit details about what obstacles they experience trying to sell products and services to intelligence and defense agencies. Responses are due Sep. 22. (8/22)

EM Solutions Completes Successful In-Orbit Test of Telesat LEO 3 Satellite Transponder (Source: APDR)
EM Solutions has successfully completed the first of its system level tests for a transponder developed for Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite. Launched on 18 July, the satellite payload features a flexible bent pipe architecture featuring both Ka and V-band uplinks and downlinking on either Ka or Q-band. Its compact size, weight and power consumption were tailored for operation on Space Flight Laboratory’s (SFL) DEFIANT platform, a compact microsatellite measuring just 30x30x45 cm and weighing only 30 kg. (8/22)

Top Guard Space Officer Fears Readiness Loss as Space and Air Force Processes Diverge (Source: Breaking Defense)
The longer the debate churns on over how to best align the roughly 1,200 personnel within the Air National Guard who now do space-related jobs with their active duty cohorts in the Space Force, the more erosion of service readiness is inevitable, according to the National Guard Bureau’s new top space officer. “[T]he status quo is not going to be sustainable,” Director of Space Operations Maj. Gen. Edward Vaughan told Breaking Defense in an interview Aug. 18. Vaughan, whose call sign “Hertz” is a reflection of his career in electronic warfare, took over the position only two months ago.

The fate of the National Guard’s space professionals — who are organized into 14 units across seven states and make up 30 percent of the Space Force’s operational squadrons, as well as a whopping 60 percent of the service’s “offensive space electronic warfare capabilities” according to a Guard fact sheet — has remained in limbo since the creation of the newest military service in 2019. (8/22)

NASA Can't Even Maintain Its Buildings Anymore (Source: Giant Freakin Robot)
The infrastructure at NASA is falling apart, and it could take years to fix the problem. According to Erik Weiser, director of NASA’s facilities and real estate division, the agency’s maintenance and construction budget is severely underfunded. Speaking at a National Academies panel on August 17, Weiser described the infrastructure as “in an increasing state of decline.”

“There’s a mismatch between what NASA needs to maintain or upgrade its facilities and the dollars the agency devotes to those efforts. The maintenance gap is $259 million per year using NASA’s most conservative estimate, or more than $600 million if NASA followed the maintenance practices of the commercial industry,” Weiser said. (8/22)

How Brevard Company Landed Big Amazon Project (Source: Orlando inno)
BRPH, a Melbourne-based architecture, engineering and construction company, is at the helm of one of this year's big projects. When Amazon announced on July 21 plans to build a 100,000-square-foot-plus satellite processing facility at Kennedy Space Center's Launch and Landing Facility in Brevard County, few knew work had already been underway since January of 2023 and that BRPH was the full-service firm behind it.

“Space Florida was instrumental, working with us and Amazon to get this project at the site where we're building,” said Matt Tyler, president of construction services at BRPH. One of the reasons Amazon decided to build the $120 million project on Florida's Space Coast is Brevard County's infrastructure investment that allows for an expedited construction timeline, according to Amazon Vice President Steve Metayer. (8/18)