September 7, 2023

Space Sustainability Needs Champions (Source: Space News)
The space sustainability community is looking for impassioned advocates. At a conference in June, one speaker said that the field need a "Greta for space sustainability," a reference to environmental activist Greta Thunberg. There may not yet be a "Space Greta" but the industry has attracted many young professionals who are interested in developing solutions to the growing challenges posed by space debris. (9/7)

China Launches Reconnaissance Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a reconnaissance satellite Wednesday. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 2:14 p.m. Eastern and placed the Yaogan-33 03 satellite into orbit. The satellite is part of a series of military reconnaissance satellites. (9/7)

Terran Orbital Seeks to Speed Satellite Production (Source: Space News)
Terran Orbital says it plans to speed up production of its satellites. Under a "responsive space initiative" announced Thursday, the company said that by late next year it will be able to deliver a satellite within 30 to 60 days within being ordered. The company says that it takes more than a year to deliver a satellite bus today. Terran Orbital will rely on increased automation and robotics systems to speed up production. (9/7)

Redwire Prints Human Tissue on ISS (Source: Space News)
Redwire says it has successfully 3D-printed human tissue in space. The tissue, a knee meniscus, was produced on the company's 3D BioFabrication Facility on the International Space Station and brought back to Earth on the Crew-6 mission over the weekend. The company partnered on the experiment with the Uniformed Services University, which is looking at ways to better treat meniscus tears. Redwire says the experiment is a step towards more advanced 3D-printing of tissues for use in pharmaceutical applications. (9/7)

MAG Partners with SAS for Space Force Data Analytics (Source: Space News)
MAG Aerospace is partnering with artificial intelligence specialist SAS to compete for U.S. Space Force data analytics contracts. The companies announced the partnership Wednesday to provide services that can turn data collected by tracking radars and other sensors into useful intelligence. MAG Aerospace is one of 18 vendors the Space Force selected in March for a five-year $900 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract overseen by the Space Systems Command, while SAS has an AI platform called Viya that can be used in any cloud environment. MAG Aerospace and SAS will seek to challenge Palantir, which has won a string of contracts for data-as-a-service. (9/7)

SpaceChain Pivots to AI (Source: Space News)
A company that developed blockchain nodes in space has pivoted to AI. Singapore-based SpaceChain is rolling out a service that integrates artificial intelligence with Earth imagery, and is designed to simplify the process of answering questions with Earth observation data. The system uses natural language processing like other AI systems, such as ChatGPT, but links it to real-time data analytics. The company will continue to use its blockchain technology to parcel out payments to vendors. (9/7)

Japan Launches Lunar Lander and X-Ray Astronomy Payloads on H2A (Source: Space News)
Japan successfully launched an X-ray astronomy satellite and lunar lander Wednesday. The H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 7:42 p.m. Eastern after a launch attempt a week and a half earlier was scrubbed because of weather. The rocket deployed the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite into orbit 14 minutes after liftoff and, after a second burn of the upper stage, released the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) about a half-hour later.

XRISM is an X-ray astronomy satellite, with contributions from NASA and ESA, developed as a replacement for the failed Hitomi mission. SLIM, also known as "Moon Sniper," was developed by the Japanese space agency JAXA to demonstrate precision lunar landing technologies. SLIM will attempt a landing in several months. (9/7)

It’s Not About Where U.S. Space Command Goes But Whether It Should Exist At All (Source: War on the Rocks)
When it comes to real estate, what matters most is “location, location, location.” But the federal government should not be concerned with the Colorado versus Alabama brawl over the potential future headquarters of U.S. Space Command and instead should rethink the organization altogether.

As the location of U.S. Space Command has become front page political news, the debate has effectively devolved into a misguided discussion of infrastructure. Instead of arguing the merits and quality of life in the Rockies or the southeast, Congress and the Department of Defense should be ruthlessly examining redundant or duplicative organizations and streamlining bureaucracy within the department. We believe that the debate Congress should be having is whether the Department of Defense needs U.S. Space Command at all. Click here. (9/6)

SDA Seeks Proposals for 54 Missile Tracking Satellites (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) is seeking proposals for a new set of 54 missile-tracking satellites. The satellites will be part of SDA's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer, a network of satellites in low orbit 1,000 kilometers above Earth. The agency plans to split the contract among an unspecified number of vendors. The satellites will augment missile-tracking capabilities currently provided by satellites in geostationary orbit. (9/7)

Pentagon Focuses on Low Cost, Mass Produced, Autonomous Orbital Systems (Source: Space News)
Satellite constellations like the SDA's Tracking Layer are part of broader Pentagon efforts to counter Chinese capabilities. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said Wednesday that the Pentagon is advocating the use of low-cost autonomous platforms that can be mass-produced and deployed at sea, on land, in the air and in space. For space, that means "constellations of autonomous, attritable systems on orbit, flung into space scores at a time," she said, becoming impossible for an adversary to eliminate. She added that new commercial systems, like SpaceX's Starlink constellation, are helping the United States maintain an edge over China in the space race. (9/7)

The Space Force Needs a Brand-New Culture of its Own (Source: Defense One)
The nearly-four-year-old Space Force has taken pains to emphasize its uniqueness as a military service, especially vis-à-vis the Air Force. Leaders have introduced new uniforms, organizational structure, fitness test, enlisted ranks, basic training, and professional military education. However, these initiatives are not meaningfully connected to a deeper, organizational culture. Such efforts will succeed only when Space Force leaders understand they are responsible for a new, different type of national security organization—not a military service. The Space Force needs an organizational culture that reflects this reality. Click here. (9/5)

Space Force Gets New Mission Statement (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has a new mission statement. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman announced the new mission statement Wednesday: "Secure our nation's interests in, from, and to space." That statement was crowdsourced from within the service and replaces one that he said was convoluted and difficult to communicate to the public and Congress. (9/7)

Air Force, Space Force Launch ‘Major’ Readiness Revamp with Threat of China in Mind (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Department of the Air Force is launching a “major” and “comprehensive” effort to revamp its readiness in the face of threats from peer adversaries like China, according to the service’s top civilian. Frank Kendall specifically referenced China and said Beijing is “intent on fielding a force that can conduct aggression in the Western Pacific and prevail even if the United States intervenes.” It’s also “dramatically expanding its nuclear force and military space capabilities.”

As a result, Kendall said service officials “will conduct a major initiative over the next several months to identify and implement the changes needed to meet our pacing challenge. This initiative will involve a comprehensive look at all aspects of how we organize, train, and equip the Air Force and Space Force,” he continued. (9/6)

Psyche On Track for October Launch (Source: Space News)
A NASA asteroid mission is on track to launch next month. Agency officials said Wednesday preparations are going well for the launch of Psyche on a Falcon Heavy on Oct. 5, at the start of a three-week launch period. While spacecraft preparations are going well, one area of concern is the threat of a government shutdown at the beginning of October if Congress is unable to pass a stopgap spending bill this month. NASA would consider seeking a waiver to allow the launch to continue as an excepted activity in that scenario. Psyche will travel the the main belt asteroid of the same name, the first metallic solar system body that will be visited by a spacecraft. The Psyche spacecraft would arrive at the asteroid Psyche in 2029. (9/7)

Eutelsat Invests in French Space Tech Fund (Source: Space News)
Eutelsat has invested in French venture capital firm Karista's space technology fund. That fund has made early-stage investments of between one and five million euros in European space startups offering a range of technologies and services. Eutelsat did not disclose how much it invested in the fund but said it would help drive innovation within the company. (9/7)

Explained: Lawsuit Against Kuiper Launch Plans (Source: Quartz)
In 2022, Amazon made the largest-ever purchase of rockets in history to get its satellites into space. The deal was big for space, but also for Amazon—according to the the lawsuit, it marked the second-largest capital expenditure in its history, behind only the $13 billion acquisition of grocer Whole Foods in 2017. The pension fund’s complaint is simple: The board members overseeing this expenditure failed in their fiduciary duty to shareholders when they approved the launch deals because they didn’t consider hiring SpaceX to do the job.

Instead, they approved contracts with ULA, Arianespace, and Bezos’ Blue Origin. And because Blue Origin is building rocket engines for ULA’s new rocket, both of those deals are related-party transactions. Per the fund, Amazon’s board approved the deals in less than 40 minutes without consulting any outside experts. The approach is, in theory, more expensive than launching with SpaceX, in part because 78% of the satellites are set to launch on Blue Origin rockets that have never taken flight.

“The claims in this lawsuit are completely without merit, and we look forward to showing that through the legal process,” Amazon said. Hanging over all this is a deadline imposed by the FCC, which supervises satellites in the US: Amazon needs to launch 1,618 of its Kuiper satellites by July 30, 2026. For a comparison, SpaceX launched 1,145 Starlink satellites in the three years after launching its first prototypes. Amazon’s first prototypes are supposed to launch sometime this fall, which gives the company a tight window before its deadline to test, manufacture, and launch all the rest. (9/7)

Could an 'Earth-Like' Planet Be Hiding in Our Solar System's Outer Reaches? (Source: Space.com)
Among the many mysteries that make the furthest reaches of our solar system, well, mysterious, is the exceptionally egg-shaped path of a dwarf planet called 90377 Sedna. Now, a new study suggests that a thus far undetected Earth-like planet hovering in that region could be deviating orbits of Sedna and a handful of similar trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Many TNOs have oddly inclined and egg-shaped orbits, possibly due to being tugged at by a hidden planet.

Two Japanese researchers used computer simulations to analyze the effects of such an undiscovered planet on the TNOs. Those simulations, which included evolutions of numerous real and model TNOs in the furthest reaches of an icy region, known as the Kuiper Belt, produced the extreme orbits observed for Sedna and other TNOs. Such a planet would be between 1.5 to three times Earth's size and would reside somewhere between 23 billion miles to 46 billion miles from the sun, astronomers say. (9/6)

Scientists Discover A New Earth-Like Planet in Our Solar System? (Source: WION)
Scientists have discovered evidence on a hidden planet beyond Neptune. Will the new planet be able to support life? Molly Gambhir gets you a report. Click here. (9/6)

Las Vegas Spaceport Developers Planning Air Races at Site (Source: Las Vegas Review)
Las Vegas Spaceport CEO Robert Lauer likes to tell people that the races he hopes to stage next year in the desert between Las Vegas and Pahrump will have vehicles that are faster than anything the Las Vegas Grand Prix will have in November. Lauer, who heads the group trying to build a spaceport in Clark County on 240 acres just off State Highway 160, said by Oct. 24-27, 2024, when the inaugural Las Vegas Air Races are scheduled, there will be a runway and seating for 25,000 people on the property. (9/5)

Project Kuiper Partners with Vodafone in Europe and Africa (Source: Space News)
Vodafone plans to test beta services from Amazon’s planned Project Kuiper broadband constellation next year to extend the reach of its cellular networks in Europe and Africa. The companies said Sept. 5 they agreed on a partnership that would use Amazon’s envisioned network of 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit to bring 4G and 5G connectivity to areas where it would be too challenging or expensive to deploy terrestrial networks. (9/5)

Space Force Awards Viasat Contract for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite Services (Source: Viasat)
Viasat announced 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. (9/6)

Musk Confirms Starship is Ready for its Next Launch, But There's One Thing Stopping It (Source: TweakTown)
Elon Musk has taken to X to announce that Starship is ready for its second launch attempt and that the only thing stopping SpaceX from pressing the launch button is approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the regulators of the skies. This is hardly surprising, as the FAA has long stood in front of launches by making sure SpaceX has dotted its i's and crossed all of its t's before a launch is approved. With this news from Musk, we can assume that SpaceX has completed the construction of Starship and is now just waiting for the FAA's stamp of approval. (9/5)

Starship Launch Pads Are Built Differently (Source: NSF)
Ever wondered how SpaceX's Starship is designed to handle the intense heat and pressure from its 33 Raptor engines? In today's deep-dive, we explore SpaceX’s innovative water deluge system that's unlike anything you've seen before. From the engineering marvels of the steel flame deflector to the challenges of building a launch pad for rapid reuse, we've got it all covered. Not just a run-of-the-mill rocket launch pad, the Starship system is engineered for quick turnarounds and multiple launches per day. Don't miss our side-by-side comparison with traditional launch pad systems and what SpaceX is planning for the future! Click here. (9/7)

Beyond SpaceX: The Rising Stars of the U.S. Rocket Industry (Source: Gizmodo)
SpaceX may dominate the market, but it doesn’t hold a monopoly on innovation. A new wave of NewSpace companies is on the rise, potentially threatening SpaceX’s grip on the industry, or at least threatening to take a piece of the spaceflight pie. Click here. (9/6)

India's Moon Lander Detects Movement Underneath The Surface (Source: IFL Science)
Afew weeks ago, the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover successfully touched down on the lunar surface, making India the fourth nation on Earth to land successfully on the Moon, and the first to land near the south pole. Since then, the mission aimed at primarily examining the composition of the lunar soil has detected sulfur, aluminum, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen. It has also completed a lunar first by measuring the temperature at the lunar south pole, and found time to take a selfie before the rover took a well-earned rest through the lunar night. (9/6)

India's Moon Lander Lifts and Lands a Second Time with Hop Demo (Source: Mashable)
India's moon lander Vikram obviously doesn't ascribe to that saying, "Quit while you're ahead." The lander surprised space experts around the world with its ability to lift off from the lunar surface and successfully land a second time. The test, which involved firing up the craft's engines about two weeks after its historic landing, saw Vikram rise 15 inches above the ground and touch down — again — about 11 to 16 inches closer to the rover Sunday. Only one other spacecraft has ever performed this maneuver. (9/6)

Space Economy Forecast to be Worth $1 Trillion by 2040 (Source: Airforce Technology)
Space exploration has replanted itself firmly back in the public eye following Russia’s failed lunar landing on 21 August and India’s successful Chandrayaan-3 mission days later. Renewed space exploration efforts by some of the world’s economic powerhouses come as experts including GlobalData and Morgan Stanley project the value of the space economy to reach $1 trillion by 2040. (9/6)