Intelsat will decide by early next year whether to proceed with a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation. The company expects to get responses to a request from proposals in October from a mix of nine traditional and startup manufacturers, Intelsat chief financial officer Toby O'Brien said Tuesday. He said the company was roughly six months away from a decision on an 18-satellite MEO system that would enter service in 2027. The constellation could be funded from a portion of the $3.7 billion the operator is due in October for clearing C-band spectrum, in addition to the roughly $1 billion already received in interim payments, although at least half the proceeds need to go to paying down debt. (9/13)
SES Offers Starlink Solution for Cruise Lines (Source: Space News)
SpaceX and SES are pooling their broadband satellites to provide broadband services for cruise lines. The SES Cruise mPowered + Starlink service would mostly use SpaceX's low Earth orbit network and satellites in MEO from SES. The services promises up to 3 gigabits per second of capacity per ship. SES would sell and manage the multi-orbit service when it becomes operational later this year and SpaceX would get a cut of the sales. SES serves five of the top six cruise lines, which are also now either using or testing Starlink services. (9/13)
Space Force Tests Command Structure Change (Source: Space News)
The Space Force will experiment with a new command structure where a unit is responsible for all aspects of a mission area, including training, procurement and operations. Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said Tuesday the sevice will start with two units, one devoted to electromagnetic warfare and the other to positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites. Traditionally, responsibilities for procurement, maintenance, sustainment and operations are split among different organizations. Saltzman called this an example of necessary change in order to keep up with growing demands for space services and support equipment from deployed forces around the world. (9/13)
Swissto12 Raises $28 Million for Manufacturing Ramp-up (Source: Space News)
Small GEO satellite manufacturer Swissto12 has raised about $28 million in debt to scale up its manufacturing. Investment bank UBS provided the working capital facility for the venture, which has also raised more than $54 million in venture capital funding since spinning out of a Swiss university in 2011. Intelsat and Inmarsat have purchased four of Swissto12's HummingSat GEO satellites. (9/13)
NASA Should Increase BPS Research (Source: Space News)
A new report calls on NASA to drastically increase spending on biological and physical science (BPS) research in space. The BPS decadal survey, released Tuesday, recommended NASA increase spending for its BPS division by a factor of 10 by the end of the decade to recover from past cuts to such research. That division received $85 million in 2023. The report identified 11 key science questions in the field for NASA to pursue on the International Space Station and other platforms, including commercial space stations. It called on NASA to engage with commercial providers as soon as possible so they incorporate science requirements into their space station designs. (9/13)
Russian Spaceport Hosts Putin/Jong Un Meeting (Source: AP)
Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome was the host of a meeting Wednesday between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders met to discuss a potential deal for North Korea to provide Russia with arms to support its invasion of Ukraine. The site of the meeting suggested that Russia may offer, or North Korea at least request, space technology for launch vehicles or military satellites in return. (9/13)
Overseas Companies Increase US Presence (Source: Space News)
Many overseas companies are setting up operations in the United States to win U.S. government business. Those efforts range from major aerospace companies like Airbus and BAE Systems to startups opening U.S. offices. U.S. defense and national security agencies are sending a "powerful message" that they welcome innovation developed elsewhere, particularly from partner nations, a former Space Force official who now works for the U.S. office of French propulsion startup Exotrail said. (9/13)
Phase Four Thruster Demonstrated on Satellite (Source: Space News)
Phase Four's Maxwell Block 2 radio-frequency thruster has been demonstrated on a commercial satellite. The company did not disclose the satellite the thruster is on, but the company said it is working well in orbit. Maxwell Block 2 is based on the company's Block 1 thruster, but developed with modular components and for mass manufacturing. The company is working on a Block 3 thruster with higher performance it plans to begin delivering in 2024. (9/13)
Portugal's NeuraSpace Sees Rise in Space Traffic Management Users (Source: Space News)
NeuraSpace, a Portuguese space traffic management startup, has seen a sharp increase in the number satellites using its system. The company says the number of satellites using its platform for conjunction analysis and maneuver suggestions has grown from 25 to 250 in the last six months as the company signs up new customers. The platform uses artificial intelligence to help automate collision avoidance maneuvers. (9/13)
Law Firm Expands Space Practice (Source: Space News)
Law firm DLA Piper is expanding its services for space companies. The firm's new Space Exploration and Innovation Practice will provide what it calls a "one-stop shop" for space companies, ranging from intellectual property law to contracting. DLA Piper expects the practice to address trends like growing globalization of the industry and how companies support national security. (9/13)
Rocket Lab Signed for Four Electron HASTE Suborbital Launches, From Virginia Spaceport (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has won a contract from Leidos for four suborbital Electron launches. Rocket Lab said Tuesday the four Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) launches will take place in 2024 and 2025 from the company's Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia. Those launches, following on the first HASTE launch for Leidos in June, will support the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program for the Defense Department. (9/13)
Command and Control Technologies Begins Support for New Antares 330 Medium Lift Vehicle at Virginia Spaceport (Source: CCT)
Space Coast-based Command and Control Technologies Corp. (CCT) has begun initial update of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A control systems in preparation for support of the newly redesigned Northrop-Grumman Antares 330 Medium Lift Launch Vehicle. Under contract to the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, CCT will modify existing pad control systems to support upcoming vehicle design changes.
Modifications will be made to support the newly designed first stage which incorporates Firefly, Inc. Miranda engines and composite first stage structures and tanks. These replace previous Russian and Ukrainian components making the Antares 330 fully American made. Pad control systems will be upgraded to support concurrent first and second stage fueling operations and incorporate designs for long term supportability. CCT has supported Antares launch operations since inception and looks forward to continuing support through the life of the program. (9/12)
Sidus Space Gets Extension to Regain Compliance with NASDAQ Minimum Bid Price (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has been granted an additional 180 calendar days to regain compliance with NASDAQ minimum stock price rules. The company must maintain a common stock of at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days to avoid being delisted. by the NASDAQ exchange. (9/13)
1 Year After Launch Failure, Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket Remains Grounded (Source: Space.com)
It has now been a full year since Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle last left the ground. New Shepard last launched on Sept. 12, 2022, on an uncrewed research mission from Blue Origin's site in West Texas. About 65 seconds after liftoff, the vehicle's reusable first-stage booster suffered a problem and crashed hard onto the desert floor. New Shepard's capsule engaged its emergency escape system and landed safely under parachutes, its 36 research payloads intact. (9/12)
Kuiper Launch Companies Say They Can Meet Amazon's Schedule (Source: Space News)
The three companies with multibillion-dollar contracts to launch Amazons’s Project Kuiper constellation say they are committed to deploying those satellites on schedule despite delays in the development of their vehicles. Amazon announced contracts in April 2022 with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance for up to 83 launches of the Ariane 6, New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur rockets to deploy the 3,236-satellite constellation. The contracts combined represent the largest single commercial launch order to date.
Amazon made the commitments even though none of the vehicles had launched at the time of the contract signing. All three vehicles have suffered extensive development delays and still have yet to attempt a single launch. The contracting process recently triggered a lawsuit by a pension fund that is an Amazon shareholder against the company’s board of directors. (9/12)
Space Economy at Risk as Industry Faces Worker Shortage (Source: Axios)
The space industry is struggling to attract enough skilled labor, putting its anticipated growth to a $1 trillion market by 2030 at risk, with companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX having hundreds of unfilled positions. Mike French of the Aerospace Industries Association recently suggested simplifying job descriptions and eliminating excessive degree prerequisites to attract a wider talent pool. (9/12)
Space Force Battling Cybersecurity Skills Shortage (Source: Defense One)
The United States Space Operations Command is concerned about a shortage of cyber operators, which could jeopardize their security. Although the agency has made progress in intelligence and cybersecurity since establishing the Space Force in 2019, it acknowledges that more work is needed. (9/12)
NASA Approves Crew for Axiom's Third Private Mission to Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has approved a four-person crew for the third Axiom mission, to launch no sooner than January 2024. "Axiom Space's chief astronaut and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria will command the private mission. Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are Alper Gezeravci of Turkey and ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden," NASA said. The crew will travel to the ISS in a Crew Dragon spacecraft and will spend 14 days onboard the ISS. (9/12)
Space Force Awards Viasat Contract for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite Services (Source: Space Daily)
Viasat reports that Inmarsat Government, now part of Viasat, was awarded a Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) Satellite-Based Services (SBS) contract by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on behalf of the U.S. Space Force's (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC). Inmarsat Government is one of 16 companies selected for the $900 million ceiling, 10-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. (9/11)
New DOD-Funded Project Will Develop Morphing Hypersonic Engine (Source: Space Daily)
A new Naval Research Laboratory funded project led by a UCF researcher will work to create a morphing hypersonic engine for ultra-fast travel, building on UCF's already leading edge developing hypersonic propulsion. Hypersonic propulsion would allow for air travel at speeds of Mach 6 to 17, or more than 4,600 to 13,000 mph, and has applications in commercial and space travel. Although the technology has been around since the 1960s, countries including the U.S., Russia and China, are racing to improve the systems to achieve more efficient and longer, more sustained hypersonic flight. (9/12)
Space Force Tasks Ursa Space to Provide Maritime Situational Awareness Solution (Source: Space Daily)
Ursa Space Systems has completed a U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) task order in support of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). This task order, requested by SSC's Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking (SRT) Cell, provided situational awareness to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a pervasive global maritime security threat. The exercise marks the first combined effort between Ursa Space and the two entities. (9/12)
Terran Orbital Launches Responsive Space Initiative (Source: Space Daily)
Terran Orbital announced the launch of our Responsive Space Initiative. Under this initiative, we are committed to providing our customers with satellite buses within just 30 days and complete satellite systems with integrated payloads within 60 days. There are seven new satellite buses that will be participating in this program. (9/11)
Accenture Invests in Open Cosmos to Expand Access to Satellite Data (Source: Space Daily)
Accenture announced an investment and collaboration with Open Cosmos, a space technology company that focuses on the design, manufacturing and integration of satellites. Open Cosmos builds and operates space missions, providing access to high quality satellite data and insights on a global scale via a data services platform. The two companies will help clients track and analyze data found in space in order to help solve business challenges found on Earth, particularly related to sustainability. Accenture Ventures led the investment as part of its broader Project Spotlight initiative. (9/12)
US, Allies Struggle to Find ‘Collaborative’ Space Development Projects (Source: Breaking Defense)
The US and its closest allies are still struggling to find space programs where they can work together to develop new technologies and capabilities, according to the UK’s senior space operations commander.
“Collaborative programs is something we’ve been trying to champion through the CSpO [Combined Space Operations Initiative] where there’s a capability and architectures working group. I would say that has proven really very difficult,” said Air Marshall Harvey Smyth. “In three, four years of working in and out of that working group, we’ve not made a ton of progress. We’ve done a hell of a lot of talking and not necessarily made much progress,” he said. (9/12)
U.S. Space Force Stands Up New Units Devoted To EW, GPS (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Space Force is standing up two new units that will target challenges emerging to electronic warfare and positioning, navigation and timing as threats in space grow. (9/12)
Space Force Must Lead Without Fighting—And It Starts With the Moon (Source: News Week)
A new DoD doctrine document, the Joint Concept for Competing issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, champions victory in strategic competition, which it defines as "a persistent and long-term struggle that occurs between two or more adversaries seeking to pursue incompatible interests without necessarily engaging in armed conflict with each other." This victory does not necessarily require combat. Rather, a critical determinant is shifting the competition to valuable areas where the U.S. has strong comparative advantages.
Here, cislunar space, defined as the moon and its surroundings, looms large. The Space Foundation recently measured the global space economy to be worth $469 billion in 2021, with average growth in excess of 6 percent per year, mostly driven by U.S. commercial activity. Dozens of new lunar missions, many from states new to cislunar operations, are anticipated in the next decade. Cislunar space, in other words, is among the most important strategic theaters of the 21st century, and is a region where America's comparative advantage is nearly insurmountable. That is, if it's nurtured intelligently.
Cislunar space has taken geopolitical center stage recently, with both Russian and Indian probes attempting to land near the lunar south pole. Russia's attempt failed spectacularly, but India's Chandrayaan-3 probe touched down successfully. Here, India's success is also an American one, because—in one of the Biden administration's most notable geopolitical victories to date—New Delhi has signed the Artemis Accords, NASA's international legal and political framework to explore and develop the moon. As a result, it demonstrated that, at least for the moment, America's space partners are succeeding, while its adversaries are not. (9/13)
Rocket Lab Turns Old Virgin Orbit California Facilities Into an Engine Development Complex (Source: Tech Crunch)
Rocket Lab has transformed Virgin Orbit’s massive headquarters and manufacturing facility into a new engine development center, at just a fraction of the price that it would’ve cost to purchase new. “The 144,000+ square foot advanced manufacturing complex is now home to high-rate production for our industry-leading Rutherford engine, as well as development and production for the new Archimedes engine that will power our Neutron launch vehicle,” the company said. (9/12)
SpaceX’s Near Monopoly on Launches is a ‘Huge Concern,’ Lazard Banker Warns (Source: CNBC)
A Lazard investment banker sounded the alarm about the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the rocket launch market. “Having such a dominant launch provider is probably not healthy just in general for the commercial prospects of the industry. No one wants a monopoly choking out one point of the value chain,” said Vikram Nidamaluri. Several other U.S. companies are working to launch competitors to SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon rockets, but delays mean American rivals are struggling to field next-generation operational rockets.
ULA's Tory Bruno pushed back on the idea that SpaceX has full control of the launch market. ULA, historically the next largest U.S. rocket competitor, has completed only two launches so far in 2023, and is working toward the inaugural launch of its next-generation Vulcan rocket in the coming months. “I appreciate the sentiment that [SpaceX] will be a benevolent monopoly, I don’t think you’re a monopoly and I don’t think it’s our plan for you to become one,” Bruno said. (9/12)
Blue Origin May Return to Flight Next Month (Source: Ars Technica)
Blue Origin said it intended to return to flight "soon" with an uncrewed New Shepard mission to give the three dozen payloads that were flying on the NS-23 spacecraft another shot at weightlessness. There have been no official updates in the nearly six months since then. According to two sources familiar with the company's manifest, however, it appears that Blue Origin is finally getting ready to fly the New Shepard launch system again. The company's tentative plans call for an uncrewed test flight in early October. If all goes well, Blue Origin is planning its first crewed mission since August 4, 2022, to take place in mid-February next year. (9/12)
JFK 'Choose the Moon' Lectern Restored to Public Display (Source: CollectSpace)
As it turns out, the lectern from which President John F. Kennedy proclaimed "We choose to go to the moon" has been rightly on display for 30 years, contrary to a report that it was an "artifact fake." Space Center Houston on Tuesday unveiled a new display case and exhibit for the now-authenticated wooden stand, highlighting its use by Kennedy at Rice University 61 years ago to the day. The lectern is now on exhibit just inside the entrance to Starship Gallery, opposite the display of Gordon Cooper's Mercury spacecraft. (9/12)
Kennedy Space Center Post Office Closing After 58 Years of Postmarks (Source: CollectSpace)
The Kennedy Space Center post office has been, well, cancelled. The contract facility, which was established at NASA's Florida spaceport on July 1, 1965, will close permanently "near the end of the fiscal year," or sometime before Sep. 30. Since 2013, the post office has been operated for NASA by Post Masters Mail and Print Services, a division of the non-profit Anthony Wayne Rehabilitation Center (AWRC).
The agency's mail will now go through Cocoa Beach to Orlando for processing. But with the closure of the office, the public will no longer be able to request that stamped envelopes (called philatelic "covers") be postmarked with a cancellation device displaying the location of Kennedy Space Center. Collectors' requests will instead be directed to Titusville, the next closest office to the space center, according to a notice from AWRC. Submitted covers will receive a Titusville postmark. (9/12)
Virgin Galactic Launched 2 Million-Year-Old Fossils of Human Ancestors (Source: Space.com)
In a tribute to humankind's quest to explore the cosmos, two fossilized bones of ancient humans flew into space for the first time aboard Virgin Galactic's third commercial spaceflight on Sep. 8. A two-million-year-old collarbone and a 250,000-year-old thumb bone were stored in a protected container and tucked into the pockets of Timothy Nash, one of three paying customers who launched aboard Virgin Galactic's V.S.S. Unity spaceplane to suborbital space about 55 miles (88.5 km) above Earth's surface. (9/12)
India, NASA to Cooperate on Human Spaceflight and Planetary Defense (Source: Space.com)
India plans to build off its recent space successes and become an even bigger player in the final frontier. U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the scientists at the engineers at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), for these achievements during a meeting in India on Friday. During that meeting, the two leaders pledged to cooperate on several ambitious space projects going forward.
"Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and NASA have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024, and are continuing efforts to finalize a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023," reads a joint India-U.S. statement that the White House published on Friday.
This also includes establishment of a "working group for commercial space collaboration." That potential collaboration would slot into an existing structure, the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group. And the U.S. and India also want to work together to help save the world from potential death from above. The two nations "intend to increase coordination on planetary defense to protect planet Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects." (9/12)
Astronaut Victor J. Glover, Jr. Makes TIME100 Next List (Source: TIME)
Victor Glover was standing in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building in 2013, serving as a legislative aide to Senator John McCain, when his phone rang with an entirely different kind of job offer. It was NASA calling to ask Glover if he wanted to join the incoming class of rookie astronauts. The former fighter pilot, who saw action in the Iraq War and had applied to the space agency months before, accepted without hesitation. TIME100 Next recognizes the rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more. Click here. (9/13)
The Deep Space Network is in Trouble (Source: CNN)
The Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an interconnected set of three radio telescope facilities spread across the globe. These installations, located in California, Spain and Australia, are managed and operated for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At about 120 degrees apart in longitude, their locations were selected so that any space probe at a distance greater than 30,000 kilometers (about 18,640 miles) from Earth can be in radio contact with at least one of them.
The problem with the DSN is multifold. While it has performed brilliantly since it began operations in the 1960s and has experienced periodic upgrades, it is overtaxed and in critical need of infrastructure improvements. There are currently 40 missions that rely on the DSN antennas to operate, with the expectation that an additional 40 missions will be launched in the future. Given that some of the existing missions will still be functional, the demands on the network will continue to grow.
During the Artemis I mission, the DSN was used to track the unmanned Orion capsule. The capsule was accompanied by 10 small secondary “CubeSats,” which are tiny satellites that range in size from about the size of a toaster to the size of a briefcase. Essentially, they are inexpensive devices that can perform specific tasks. However, each of those CubeSats required its own DSN link for Earth-bound technical staff to monitor its performance, which imposed a heavy load on the capabilities of the communication network. Indeed, during the 25-day-long Artemis I mission, other science-critical missions were neglected. (9/11)
A Look at Spaceport America's Economic Impact in New Mexico (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
A report produced by the Center for Border Economic Development and Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, shows that Spaceport America generated 811 jobs, $138 million in economic output, $60 million in value-added production and $46 million in labor income in 2022. “You’re getting businesses (at Spaceport America) that wouldn’t be in New Mexico for other reasons, and so that creates jobs that are high-wage jobs, doing innovative cutting-edge things — and that in and of itself has spill over,” said report co-author Kramer Winingham with the Arrowhead Center.
The Spaceport also generated $12.9 million in taxes, which breaks down to $9.2 million in federal taxes and $3.7 million in state taxes. The report did not include money spent by the state of New Mexico, instead measuring changes in output, value-added production, labor income, employment and tax revenue not generated by state funds.
The report identified and attempted to measure three primary sources of economic impact: tenant operations, out-of-state visitor spending, and Spaceport America revenues. The Spaceport’s rental revenue was $6 million in 2022, while total revenue without including state funding, was $7.5 million in 2022. (9/11)
Senators Float Idea NM Should Take Financial Control of Spaceport America (Source: Source NM)
The future of funding Spaceport drove the conversation at the Sep. 7 presentation before the interim New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee. Republican and Democratic senators said that the state of New Mexico should fully claim responsibility for funding the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and its Truth or Consequences-adjacent spaceport.
Spaceport America was built with more than $220 million in taxpayer money, using a combination of bonds funded in part by a 0.25% tax from Sierra County and Doña Ana County enacted in 2007. Otero County rejected enacting a spaceport tax the same year. Tensions sparked over a recent study released by the New Mexico State Arrowhead Center on projections about the Spaceport’s economic impact on the state. According to the analysis, between tourism and job spending, Spaceport generated $58 million to Doña Ana County and another $62 million in Sierra County.
Sen. Joe Cervantes (D-Las Cruces), a longtime critic of the Spaceport, said the facility burdened taxpayers in Doña Ana County, for little long-term benefit. “Looking at the economic analysis, you’ll see that the lion’s share of the economic benefits are going to Sierra County, by this analysis,” Cervantes said. “But the vast majority of the funding is from Doña Ana County.” Cervantes said he was skeptical that the self-reported job numbers from Spaceport tenants were accurate. (9/11)
Space Superiority May Come Only in Blips, Industry Exec Warns (Source: Air and Space Forces Magazine)
A space industry executive warned that the U.S military may have only brief moments of near-complete control of the space domain, so it must be ready to act as a team to exploit those moments to the fullest. “The thinking that we can attain and maintain space superiority is really fraught with hubris,” said Amy Hopkins, vice president and general manager of national security space for Peraton.
“The complex evolving nature of the battlespace requires us to acknowledge that there’s a temporal aspect to this,” Hopkins explained. “We are only going to really have episodic instances of space superiority. Therefore I think the question should be: ‘Are we prepared and trained to maximize the effects when we have that? And do we know what to do when we don’t?’” (9/11)
Elizabeth Warren Demands Probes of Elon Musk, SpaceX After Ukraine Revelations (Source: Bloomberg)
Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding an investigation into SpaceX after Elon Musk acknowledged he had blocked Ukraine from extending the private Starlink satellite network for an attack on Russian warships near the Crimean coast. “The Congress needs to investigate what’s happened here and whether we have adequate tools to make sure foreign policy is conducted by the government and not by one billionaire,” the Massachusetts Democrat said Monday at the Capitol. (9/11)
Zeno Power Wins $15M From NASA to Build Tech to Support Lunar Exploration (Source: Vanderbult University)
Zeno Power, a startup initiated through the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, is one of 11 American companies to receive funding from NASA to develop technologies that could support long-term exploration on the Moon and in space for the benefit of all, according to a NASA release. Zeno Power is leading a team that will receive $15 million to develop a space-ready radioisotope Stirling generator that will be fueled by americium-241 for use during NASA’s Artemis missions. (9/11)
Mining in Space: How Colorado Students and Engineers are Helping NASA Plan for Lunar Colonization (Source: CPR News)
For the next two weeks, a little patch of Colorado’s Eastern Plains is, for all intents and purposes, the moon. On a cloudy Monday in Watkins, Colorado, a small town about 24 miles east of Denver, students and professionals alike worked together to simulate what could one day become a normal part of manufacturing.
“We're simulating a lunar mining operation and this test actually is going to take place over 15 continuous days,” Colorado School of Mines professor George Sowers said. The simulation is part of NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, which was created to incentivize companies and universities to develop new technologies and ideas to help further the space mining industry. (9/11)
China, Article V, Starlink, and Hybrid Warfare: An Assessment of a Lawfare Operation (Source: Space Review)
Nearly two years ago, China complained about close approaches of Starlink satellites to its space station, claims that the US denied. Michael Listner argues that the format of a complaint was a “lawfare” maneuver by China as part of great power competition. Click here. (9/12)
Putting the Private Into Private Spaceflight (Source: Space Review)
A Virgin Galactic suborbital launch last week was remarkable not for what happened but what didn’t: a lot of publicity. Jeff Foust discusses how the low profile of the flight is a step on the long road to more routine spaceflight. Click here. (9/12)
Key Issues for the Japanese Government Regarding Exploration and Development of Space Resources (Source: Space Review)
Japan is one of a few countries with a space resources law on the books and is planning a mission to prospect for water ice on the Moon. Akira Saito outlines some of the issues facing the Japanese government as it considers using lunar ice resources. Click here. (9/12)
Heart Cells in Space Help Advance Treatments for Cardiovascular Disease (Source: CASIS)
Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, and once cardiovascular tissue is damaged, there’s no means of restoring its function. But it’s possible damaged tissue could be regenerated via stem cell therapies. To that end, a team of scientists took their research to new heights by leveraging the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to study microgravity’s effects on heart cells. (9/12)
Relativity Space Invests $267M in Terran R Test Stand (Source: Space Daily)
Relativity Space has signed an enhanced use lease agreement for a vertical test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, marking the first of its kind project at the facility. The company plans to invest $267 million into the site and create hundreds of new jobs by 2027 to support the development of its Terran R program. (9/11)
Biden Issues Veto Threat of House GOP Defense Bill (Source: The Hill)
The White House threatens to veto a current House defense appropriations bill, citing the administration's debt limit agreement with Republicans and potential cuts to non-defense programs. The $886 billion top-line for defense has bipartisan support, but provisions around social issues remain a sticking point. (9/11)
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