October 3, 2023

FCC Issues First-of-its-Kind Space Debris Fine Against Dish (Source: CNN)
Satellite television company Dish Network has been hit with a $150,000 fine for failing to properly dispose of one of its satellites, marking the first time federal regulators have issued such a penalty. The FCC, which authorizes space-based telecom services, announced Monday that it settled an investigation into Dish, resulting in the fine and an “admission of liability” from the company.

“This marks a first in space debris enforcement by the Commission, which has stepped up its satellite policy efforts,” the FCC said. The FCC’s investigation into Dish centered on a satellite called EchoStar-7. It was launched to geostationary orbit in 2002. Dish responded in a statement, saying the satellite at issue was “an older spacecraft that had been explicitly exempted from the FCC’s rule requiring a minimum disposal orbit.”

Dish also said the FCC made no claims that the satellite “poses any orbital debris safety concerns” and said the company has a “long track record of safely flying a large satellite fleet and takes seriously its responsibilities as an FCC licensee.” The FCC approved a decommissioning plan in 2012 to ensure the satellite would retire about 186 miles above its operational field — essentially into a graveyard orbit. But, according to the FCC, Dish did not leave enough fuel on board the satellite to make that maneuver possible. And EchoStar-7 was instead left dead in an orbit only about 76 miles above the active areas in geostationary orbit. (10/2)

Crisis in Space: The 1973 Yom Kippur War and “Crisis Reconnaissance” (Source: Space Review)
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, whose start took both the United States and Israel by surprise. Dwayne Day notes that surprise was exacerbated by decisions made years earlier that limited the ability of the US to obtain satellite reconnaissance of the region. Click here. (10/2)
 
Secrets of ExoMars (Source: Space Review)
Just a few days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, ESA announced it was cancelling its partnership with Roscosmos on the ExoMars mission. Brian Harvey describes how ESA, and its member states, have offered little explanation about how they reached that decision, and so quickly. Click here. (10/2)
 
An Ambitious Decadal Survey for Research in Space (Source: Space Review)
The National Academies published last month a new decadal survey for biological and physical sciences research in space. Jeff Foust reports on the study, which has an ambitious goal of increasing NASA funding of such work by a factor of ten. Click here. (10/2)
 
How Orbital Refueling Will Unlock Humanity’s Potential in Space (Source: Space Review)
Several companies are pursuing technologies to enable satellites to be refueled in orbit. Manny Shar discusses why that technology is worth the effort. Click here. (10/2)

Psyche Avoids Thruster Use to Avoid Overheating (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
NASA's Psyche spacecraft will operate its thrusters at lower levels to avoid overheating. NASA said last week it was delaying the mission's launch a week to update settings on the spacecraft for those cold-gas thrusters, but provided few details beyond that. The mission's principal investigator, Lindy Elkins-Tanton, said that the project had received incorrect data from a subcontractor about those thrusters found only during ground tests late in preparations for the mission. The lower thrust levels will mean the spacecraft will reorient itself more slowly, but simulations showed that should not affect spacecraft operations. Psyche is scheduled to launch Oct. 12. (10/3)

NASA Wants Feedback on Commercial Space Station Plans (Source: NASA)
NASA is looking for feedback on its technical requirements for commercial space stations. NASA issued a request for information Monday on those technical specifications, outlining human-rating standards NASA will use to certify those stations for use by NASA astronauts. The agency said it wants to both inform industry of its current requirements and see if those requirements pose issues for the companies working on those stations. (10/3)

UAE Plans to Fly Two More Astronauts, Imaging Satellite (Source: The National)
A United Arab Emirates official said the country will fly two astronauts next year. In a social media post, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said the country's two newest astronauts, Mohammed Al Mulla and Nora Al Matrooshi, "will embark on trailblazing space missions" in 2024. He did not disclose details of those missions, including how the two wil fly to space. He also said the UAE would launch MBZ-Sat, a high-resolution imaging satellite, next year. (10/3)

Roscosmos Signals Openness to Post-2028 ISS Participation (Source: TASS)
The head of Roscosmos left the door open to future participation on the International Space Station after 2028. Speaking at the IAC, Yuri Borisov said that while Russia had only committed to ISS operations through 2028, participation beyond that was possible depending on the station's technical condition. He said Roscosmos would work with the other ISS partners to deorbit the station at the end of its life. (10/3)

AST SpaceMobile's Prototype Gets Bright (Source: Space News)
A prototype satellite launched by AST SpaceMobile has become at times one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Astronomers reported Monday that observations of the BlueWalker 3 satellite show that it reached on at least two occasions a brightness of magnitude 0.4, making it brighter than all but a handful of stars. That brightness, astronomers said, poses interference risks to their observations. AST SpaceMobile said that it is working with astronomers on ways to mitigate the brightness of its satellites. The satellite's transmissions for direct-to-device communications could also interfere with radio astronomy, astronomers added. (10/3)

ESA Delays Vega C Launch to Late 2024 (Source: Space News)
ESA has pushed back the return to flight of its Vega C rocket to late 2024. The agency said Monday that an investigation into an anomaly during a static-fire test of the rocket's Zefiro 40 motor in June concluded that the design of the motor's nozzle was not changed when prime contractor Avio replaced a throat insert in that nozzle, one of the recommendations after that motor was blamed in a December 2022 launch failure. The geometry of the new throat insert and its different thermo-mechanical properties contributed to the anomaly, where the throat insert and part of the nozzle were expelled about 40 seconds into the test. ESA said that there will be two static-fire tests of the motor to confirm its performance before the Vega C returns to flight, now planned for the fourth quarter of 2024. ESA and Arianespace said they are still working out how that will affect the manifest of missions for the rocket. (10/3)

Industry Skeptical of DoD Pans for Integrated Commercial/Government Satellite Networks (Source: Space News)
Industry officials say a plan by military agencies to interconnect commercial and government satellite networks into a "hybrid" space architecture seems impractical. The concept, sometimes referred to as the "outernet," has been embraced by the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit as a means for communication to flow seamlessly across disparate government and commercial systems. But industry executives said at a recent event that satellite communications systems follow divergent protocols and technical standards, making seamless integration challenging. Companies have little incentive to adopt common standards, they said, unless pressed to do so by a large customer. (10/3)

China Plans Lunar Resource Utilization (Source: Space News)
China disclosed details of a future mission to test in situ resource utilization on the moon. Chinese officials at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Azerbaijan said Monday that the Chang'e-8 mission, launching in 2028 to the lunar south polar region, will include a lander, rover and robot designed to test how to use lunar resources. They said China is open to international cooperation for the mission at different levels, with 200 kilograms of payload capacity available for piggyback missions. (10/3)

Nations Provide Lunar Exploration Updates at IAC (Source: Space News)
Multiple space agencies updated their exploration plans at IAC. Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japanese space agency JAXA, said the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) performed a successful lunar orbit injection maneuver Saturday, sending it towards the moon. It will fly by the moon later this week on a low-energy trajectory that will see it return for a landing in January. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said the agency was making good progress on the Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed Orion flight, slated for launch as soon as late 2024. (10/3)

AFRL Awards Contracts for Space Nuclear Power (Source: Space News)
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded contracts to three companies to advance technologies for nuclear powered space vehicles. Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin and Westinghouse Government Services won contracts last week for AFRL's Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-orbit Nuclear Power, or JETSON, program, to work on designs for spacecraft that use fission power systems. The contracts range in value from $9.4 million to $33.7 million and run through December 2025. (10/3)

Astroscale Japan Awarded Grant of up to U.S. $80 Million by Government of Japan to Inspect a Large Defunct Satellite in Orbit (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale Japan has been selected by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (“MEXT”) for its Small and Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop an on-orbit inspection demonstration mission that will image and diagnose a large, defunct satellite in space. The MEXT-funded project is divided into three phases, and Astroscale Japan will receive up to JPY 2.69 billion (approximately U.S. $18 million) for Phase 1, and up to JPY 12 billion (approximately U.S. $80 million) in total for all three phases. Mission development will begin this month with a maximum term of up to March 2028.
(10/2)

Musk Changed the Way Washington Looks at Space (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Elon Musk is doing his best to eliminate the federal government’s age-old use of “cost-plus” contracts to fund public projects. He argues that they stifle innovation and efficiency by thwarting the profit incentive. He is correct, and his effort isn’t getting the support it should. By agreeing to assume part of the risk, SpaceX encouraged innovation where NASA couldn’t. (10/2)

NASA Found Materials on an Asteroid Like Those That May Have "Triggered the Origin of Life" on Earth (Source: Salon)
When on Tuesday scientists lifted the lid off of OSIRIS-REx — a spacecraft that recently visited Bennu, an asteroid which might collide with Earth in the year 2182 — the researchers found something so overwhelming, they literally "gasped" at the "scientific treasure box" just discovered inside. What  they found inside could provide scientists with volumes of material in researching crucial questions about the origins of life on Earth. The treasure trove included "dark powder and sand-sized particles on the inside of the lid and base," all of which had previously rested on Bennu's rocky surface.

One reason scientists are paying attention is that carbon-rich asteroids like Bennu may have played a role in triggering life on this planet. "They might have delivered the ocean water, the molecules that are in our atmosphere, and maybe even the organic materials that triggered the origin of life on our planet." It will take weeks to carefully disassemble OSIRIS-REx so that scientists can get to the larger chunks of rock taken directly from the asteroid by their spacecraft. That sample will be revealed to the world in a special broadcast on Oct. 11. (10/1)

Changes in Store for Commercial Space Station Projects (Source: Ars Technica)
Nearly two years ago, NASA placed its bets to develop commercial space stations on four companies—Blue Origin, Nanoracks, Northrop Grumman, and Axiom Space. Now, as the US space agency looks to find a successor to the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit, this landscape is shifting dramatically. Sources report that there is widespread speculation that one of these four companies, Northrop Grumman, is dropping out of the competition.

Northrop's plan had been to leverage its successful Cygnus spacecraft design to build a free-flying space station. However, Northrop no longer plans to do so. Rather, it will join the venture backed by Voyager Space, which is partnering with Europe-based Airbus to develop a commercial space station. It's likely that Northrop would provide cargo transportation services, with Cygnus as part of the team. Officials from Voyager and Northrop Grumman declined to comment on the change in strategy, which could be announced soon.

Other changes appear likely with the commercial space station program. Multiple sources have told Ars that Blue Origin, which proposed a lavish station concept called 'Orbital Reef,' is hedging on its plans. Sources have indicated that Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is not particularly interested in a low-Earth orbit space station, preferring instead to focus on the company's efforts to develop a lunar lander and other Moon infrastructure. CNBC reported that Blue Origin and its primary partner on Orbital Reef, Sierra Space, were reevaluating their partnership. (10/2)

Capella Space Announces Move to Larger Colorado Facility (Source: Capella Space)
Capella Space Corp. announced it has doubled the size of its office space and manufacturing floor by moving into a new, 32,000 square foot facility in Louisville, across town from Capella’s previous office. This new space will be able to accommodate more than 150 employees. The new facility accommodates a growing team in Colorado and will support the accelerating demand for the launch of new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, with more office space and a larger floor for satellite manufacturing, assembly, and testing. (10/2)