October 12, 2023

SpaceX’s Starlink Spreading Across South American Skies (Source: BN Americas)
US aerospace company SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, continues to expand the operations of its low-orbit satellite internet constellation Starlink across South America. The latest country to authorize SpaceX to market and sell Starlink services is Paraguay, adding to Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, among others. (10/11)

Shipping Giant Maersk to Add SpaceX’s Starlink Internet to Over 330 Ships (Source: CNBC)
Danish logistics giant Maersk is adding SpaceX’s Starlink to more than 330 container ships, the companies announced on Thursday. Maersk said the installation of the Starlink internet service is expected to be complete by the first quarter of next year, with the satellite network set to provide internet speeds of over 200 Mbps. (10/12)

Investing in Space: A Reality Check on SPAC Frenzy Revenue Projections (Source: CNBC)
We’re now at least two years on from when a slew of space companies went public during the SPAC frenzy, and, look, none of them look great. Their valuations have been slashed and, for most, their financial results are way off target. Going public looks more like a Game of Thrones “Red Wedding” than the blissful nuptial celebrations I’m sure many company leaders hoped for. Click here. (10/12)

Climate Change to Drive Temperatures Too Hot for Human Survival (Source: Axios)
Billions of people are at risk of temperatures exceeding survivability limits if global temperatures increase by 1°C (1.8°F) or more above current levels, a new study warns. Even young, healthy people could find it unbearably hot during part of the year, the study finds. Regions in the Middle East and South Asia would "experience the brunt of deadly or intolerable conditions," researchers noted. Toward the higher end of warming scenarios, "potentially lethal combinations of heat and humidity could spread" to areas including U.S. Midwestern states. (10/9)

Falcon Heavy Rocket is About to Become a Workhorse for NASA (Source: Ars Technica)
You can consider this the start of NASA's Falcon Heavy era. The launch of the Psyche asteroid mission this week is the opening act among five launches the space agency has directly reserved on SpaceX's heavy-lift rocket over the next few years. These Falcon Heavy flights will cut across NASA's portfolio of robotic space missions, dispatching probes deep into the Solar System, deploying a flagship-class astronomical observatory, sending up a weather satellite, and launching the keystone to NASA's Gateway mini-space station around the Moon. (10/9)

'Korea Ready to Become Aerospace Powerhouse' (Source: The Investor)
The space economy is expanding and becoming increasingly global, and South Korea is leaping forward as a space powerhouse, a high-ranking official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said. With innovative technologies and massive investment, both governments and companies around the globe have secured space assets because they can directly impact the state’s survival in terms of security, according to Lee Joon, executive director of KARI’s strategy and planning directorate.

“Beyond research and development tasks, outstanding space technology can determine the state’s missions at a holistic level, such as security, future growth engines and diplomatic relations. It can also become a key means of dynamics in the trade sector,” Lee said. “There is an urgent need for securing sovereignty over space technology...Korea now looks to realizing a global space economy powerhouse by 2045."

Yet Korea was once about 40 years behind other advanced space nations in technology. It kicked off space launch vehicle development with the Korea Sounding Rocket series in 1990, but Korean lunar exploration probes advanced the country’s space developments, realizing satellite technology-based space exploration. (10/12)

New Horizons to Remain a Planetary Mission Through Decade’s End (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
NASA's New Horizons mission, which flew by Pluto in 2015 and Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth in 2019, will remain funded as a planetary mission through the end of the decade, according to a recent announcement by the agency's Science Mission Directorate. (10/11)

State Lawmaker Pursues Tax-Exempt Status for Spaceports to Catalyze Commercial Space Investment (Source: The Capitolist)
Rep. Tyler Sirois has filed a House Memorial to Congress, aiming to designate spaceports as private activity bonds financing-exempt facilities under the Internal Revenue Code. If accepted, this designation would grant tax-exempt status to spaceport projects, allowing them to issue bonds without federal income tax on the bond interest, encouraging investment in Florida’s spaceport infrastructure. The initiative aims to boost economic growth and maintain Florida’s position as a leader in the commercial space industry by integrating space transportation into the state’s strategic intermodal system. (10/11)

SLS Working to Overcome Supply Chain, Weld Issues to Complete Artemis II Core Stage (Source: NSF)
NASA is now planning for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage assigned to the Artemis II lunar flyby mission to be completed in mid-December for subsequent delivery to its Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch site. The four RS-25 core stage engines were installed in the stage in September at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, and work is moving towards testing and checkout of the stage to complete final assembly.

Completion and delivery of Core Stage-2 was delayed from early in 2023 due to supply chain issues and core stage prime contractor Boeing is also dealing with a new weld tool issue at MAF that has delayed completion of the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank for the subsequent unit, Core Stage-3. Despite the extra obstacles, the SLS program still sets the completion of Core Stage-2 for late this year and wants to have Core Stage-3 complete in late 2024 or early 2025. (10/11)

Lonestar Plans to Transmit US Declaration of Independence to Moon-Based Mini Data Center (Source: DCD)
Lonestar Data Holdings plans to transmit the US Declaration of Independence to the Moon and back. It will send the document to its planned Lunar-based mini-data center, which is expected to hitch a ride on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander. The IM-1 mission is currently scheduled for launch in a six-day period that opens Nov. 16. Should the launch go to plan (there is also a chance of delay due to launch pad congestion), the lander will begin a five-day journey to the Moon. It will then orbit the celestial body for a day, before attempting a landing at Malapert Crater, some 300 kilometers from the Lunar south pole. (10/9)

Phase 2 Ignite SBIR Contract Awarded to Outpost (Source: Journal of Space Commerce)
NASA has awarded a Phase 2 Ignite Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract to Outpost Technologies to continue development of the company’s "Cargo Ferry". The system is being designed to deliver cargo back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) and future commercial space stations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). (10/10)

China Announces Plan to Build World's Largest Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescope (Source: Space Daily)
China has announced plans to build the world's largest deep-sea neutrino telescope in the western Pacific Ocean. The project, called "Trident", is expected to be completed in 2030 and will be used to study the universe's most extreme phenomena, such as supernova explosions and black hole eruptions. (10/12)

Scientists Find Interesting Components in Initial OSIRIS-REx Samples (Source: Space News)
Scientists say they're thrilled with the asteroid samples returned by a NASA mission. The agency offered Wednesday a first look at the samples from the asteroid Bennu brought back by the OSIRIS-REx mission last month. The material includes water in the form of hydrated materials as well as a high carbon content. That assessment comes from a small amount of "bonus material" seen when the sample container was opened, with the bulk of the material still inside a special sampling device yet to be opened. Project officials said they should be able to open that sampling device and provide a better assessment of the amount of asteroid material brought back in a couple weeks. (10/12)

UK Supporting Two Ongoing Satellite Deorbit Ventures (Source: Space News)
Two companies competing for a British contract to deorbit satellites have completed system requirements reviews. The British subsidiary of Japan's Astroscale announced this week it had completed this early phase of the mission after meeting the UK Space Agency in August. That comes after Switzerland-based ClearSpace's U.K. unit said in June it had completed its system requirements review. The agency issued contracts last year to the two companies for the initial design work for a mission that would remove two satellites from low Earth orbit, and is expected to select one of them by next June to proceed with the mission. (10/12)

Italy's Argotec Plans Satellite Production/Test Facility in Maryland (Source: Space News)
Italian smallsat manufacturer Argotec is setting up a U.S. facility. The company announced Wednesday it will invest $25 million into a facility in Maryland to build and test satellites and components, employing more than 60 people. The first product from that facility will be a software-defined radio for deep-space communications. Argotec said having a U.S. facility will help it be closer to many of its customers. (10/12)

Keysight to Provide Payload Testing Solution for First SWISSto12 HummingSat Mission (Source: Space Daily)
Keysight Technologies announces that SWISSto12, one of Europe's fastest growing satellite and radio frequency (RF) payload manufacturers, has selected the Keysight Payload Test System (PTS) to validate the RF payloads of its first HummingSat geostationary satellite, Intelsat 45. The HummingSat is a small, innovative telecommunications satellite developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency through a public-private-partnership and customers including Intelsat and Viasat. (10/12)

NASA Postpones ISS Spacewalks After Russian Coolant Leak (Source: NASA)
NASA has postponed a pair of spacewalks from the International Space Station after a Russian coolant leak. NASA said Wednesday it would postpone the spacewalks, which had been scheduled for Thursday and next Friday, to give flight controllers more time to review data from the coolant leak in a radiator on the Russian Nauka module reported on Monday. That leak, involving a backup radiator, has stopped, but the cause of the leak remains unknown. (10/12)

Astra Considering Sale of Propulsion Business (Source: Bloomberg)
Astra is considering selling part of its space propulsion business among other strategic options. Company sources said Astra may try sell a 51% stake in that business, which produces electric thrusters for spacecraft, valuing that business at more than $100 million. Astra is also weighing the sale of other parts of the business, including parts of its factory where it develops launch vehicles. Astra hired an investment bank in August to help it assess financing and other strategic options. Shares in Astra fell nearly 25% on the news Wednesday, giving the company a market cap of less than $20 million. (10/12)

Shuttle SRBs Arrive for Display at California Museum (Source: AP)
A pair of space shuttle solid rocket boosters has arrived at a Los Angeles museum. The boosters arrived Wednesday at the California Science Center after a two-day trip from the Mojave Desert. The boosters will be part of a display that includes the shuttle Endeavour and an external tank. (10/12)

US Space Force Pauses Generative AI Use Based on Security Concerns (Source: Reuters)
The Space Force has blocked the use of AI tools like ChatGPT. In a memo late last month, the service's chief technology and innovation officer cited "data aggregation risks" for the temporary ban on large language models and other generative AI tools. The Space Force said it is studying the best way to use AI and expects such tools eventually to be incorporated to "enhance Guardian's ability to operate at speed." (10/12)

Space Force to Use Virtual Reality and Other Advanced Training Tech (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is turning to advanced technologies to help with training. The service has relied on classrooms and traditional simulators, but as its mandate grows to areas like protecting satellites form hostile actions, it is turning to more sophisticated training tools like augmented and virtual reality. Such tools, Space Force officials said, help satellite operators understand the congested and contested space environment. Click here.

Editor's Note: STARCOM's move to Central Florida should benefit the service's adoption of advanced training technologies. The National Simulation Center and various military simulation and training programs -- along with a large ecosystem of contractors -- are located around the UCF research park, under an hour from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.  (10/12)

U.S. to Pursue Stronger Collaboration With Allies in Military Space Programs (Source: Space News)
Strengthening ties with foreign allies has been a key priority for the U.S. Space Force, whose leaders stress that securing outer space requires global cooperation. To that end, the United States has signed numerous intelligence sharing and data exchange agreements with partner nations worldwide. But collaboration has not usually applied to the acquisition of satellites or other space  systems. (10/11)

Researchers Capture First-Ever Afterglow of Huge Planetary Collision in Outer Space (Source: Space Daily)
The study reports the sighting of two ice giant exoplanets colliding around a sun-like star, creating a blaze of light and plumes of dust. Its findings show the bright heat afterglow and resulting dust cloud, which moved in front of the parent star dimming it over time. The international team of astronomers was formed after an enthusiast viewed the light curve of the star and noticed something strange. It showed the system doubled in brightness at infrared wavelengths some three years before the star started to fade in visible light. (10/12)

"Starquakes" Could Explain Mystery Signals (Source: Space Daily)
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are an astronomical mystery, with their exact cause and origins still unconfirmed. These intense bursts of radio energy are invisible to the human eye, but show up brightly on radio telescopes. Previous studies have noted broad similarities between the energy distribution of repeat FRBs, and that of earthquakes and solar flares.

However, new research at the University of Tokyo has looked at the time and energy of FRBs and found distinct differences between FRBs and solar flares, but several notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes. This supports the theory that FRBs are caused by "starquakes" on the surface of neutron stars. This discovery could help us better understand earthquakes, the behavior of high-density matter and aspects of nuclear physics. (10/12)

Gaia Mission Discovers Half a Million New Stars and 150,000 Asteroids (Source: Gizmodo)
The latest data release from the European Space Agency’s Gaia observatory just dropped, and it’s a massive one: the spacecraft has identified half a million stars in a nearby cluster, nearly 400 gravitational lenses, and the orbits of some 156,000-odd asteroids. This outpouring of science is part of the observatory’s third data release, the first part of which came out in June 2022. Gaia has been in space since December 2013, and is positioned in a region called L2, the same area that the Webb Space Telescope calls home. (10/10)

Heavy Metal: 13 Ways of Looking at Psyche, NASA's Next Asteroid Mission (Source: Quartz)
Psyche is unique among NASA’s targets in the whirling solar system because it contains a significant amount of metal, besides rocks or volatile chemicals. Click here for a rundown of the Psyche mission and the asteroid's peculiarities. (10/12)

Indian Space Agency Fights Over 100 Cyber Attacks Every Day (Source: WION)
The Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, faces over 100 cyber-attacks daily. With the risk of cyber-attacks being much higher in rocket technology, the chairman of ISRO has said that India's space agency faces attacks on a daily basis. Interestingly the possibility of cyber attacks is much higher in rocket technology. (10/11)

Sidus Space Announces $2.0 Million Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Placement (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 2,000 shares of its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, stated value $1,000 per share in a registered direct offering. The closing is expected to occur on or about Oct. 13. The gross proceeds to Sidus from the offering are expected to be approximately $2.0 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses payable by Sidus. Sidus intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital. (10/12)

NASCAR Partnership Aids Moon Vehicle Design (Source: ASME)
Private industry is stepping up in response to NASA's request for a lunar terrain vehicle to serve on future Artemis missions. Among the designs on offer is one from Leidos, a defense, aviation and IT company, which teamed with NASCAR to produce a prototype unveiled earlier this year at the Space Foundation's 38th annual Space Symposium. (9/25)