November 16, 2023

Nobody Wants a Musk Monopoly on Satellite Internet: Eutelsat Boss (Source: Space Daily)
The boss of European satellite operator Eutelsat knows her task will not be easy: to forge a competitor to Elon Musk's Starlink and provide superfast internet from space. "We have a lot of customers who want us to get there quickly," Eva Berneke said. "They tell us they took Starlink because there wasn't anyone else. But they want competition too. Nobody wants a monopoly." Eutelsat recently merged with British operator OneWeb and is aiming to add telecoms and connectivity to its main business of broadcast media. (11/15)

ReOrbit's Report Highlights Software-First Satellites as Key Growth Drivers in Space Industry (Source: Space Daily)
The global space sector is witnessing a significant transformation, fueled by new supply and demand dynamics, disruptive innovations, and transformational business models. As reported in the recently released market report, "Software-first satellites: essential growth lever for space," this change is largely driven by the increasing importance of digital technologies. Produced jointly by ReOrbit and Euroconsult, the report sheds light on the pivotal role software plays in the evolving space industry. (11/16)

Globalsat Group Will Provide IoT and Broadband Connectivity Solutions Over ARSAT's Argentina Capacity (Source: Space Daily)
Globalsat Group has forged a strategic alliance with ARSAT (Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anonima), a key player in the Argentine satellite communications sector. This partnership was officially announced last week at the ARSAT teleport in Benavidez, Buenos Aires province, marking the launch of a groundbreaking GEO Satellite Internet of Things (IoT) service. (11/16)

Over 3,000 Rural Base Stations Launched in Africa via Intelsat and AMN Collaboration (Source: Space Daily)
Intelsat, a prominent operator of a vast integrated satellite and terrestrial network, has joined forces with Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) to dramatically expand cellular coverage across the continent. Since their collaboration began in 2018, they have successfully deployed over 3,000 rural base satellite antennas in several African countries, marking a milestone in connecting over 8 million people to new telecommunication services. (11/16)

System Mimics Human Muscles to Prevent Slippage on Robotic Rovers (Source: Space Daily)
In an era where planetary exploration increasingly relies on unmanned rovers, ensuring their safe and effective navigation across challenging extraterrestrial terrains is paramount. This is especially true in environments like Mars or the Moon, where surfaces are often covered with regolith-a fine, loose material that can significantly impair rover mobility. Addressing this challenge, researchers from Japan's Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) have introduced a groundbreaking system designed to enhance rover stability and prevent slippage in such demanding conditions.

The novel system introduced by SIT categorizes the changes in the shape of a rover's chassis, manifested as strain, into two types: displacement of strain and vibrational change in strain. By analyzing the strain displacement through a method akin to nuclear chain fibers analysis, and the strain velocity resembling nuclear bag fibers analysis, the system can effectively determine the rover's traveling state. (11/16)

China's BeiDou and Fengyun Satellites Elevate Global Weather Forecasting Capabilities (Source: Space Daily)
China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has emerged as a pivotal player. Sun Yueqiang, the director of the Key Laboratory for Space Environment Exploration at the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and also the deputy chief designer of the Fengyun-3 satellite, recently shared insights into the sophisticated interplay between BDS and weather prediction technologies.

"When the BDS satellite works, the signal passing through the Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere will be delayed and bent, producing errors." However, by precisely determining the locations of the BDS and Fengyun satellites, these signal errors can be transformed into valuable data. "Through an inversion processing of the signal error values, we can retrieve the parameters of the Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere, which can be applied to meteorological and space weather monitoring and forecasting." (11/16)

GreenOnyx's Wanna Greens Makes Space Debut Aboard SpaceX CRS-29 Mission (Source: Space Daily)
In a groundbreaking move for space agriculture, Israeli agro-tech firm GreenOnyx has successfully launched its innovative Wanna Greens product into orbit. This marks the first instance of duckweed (Wolffia) being sent to space, heralding a new chapter in sustainable space food sources. Wanna Greens, described as surpassing traditional greens in nutritional value, includes fresh Wolffia vegetables. This product is not only a first for space missions but also represents a significant advancement in the field of sustainable agriculture. (11/16)

AST SpaceMobile Plans Modified Orbits for Next Satellites (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile has changed the plans for the launch of its first direct-to-device satellites. The company said it paid SpaceX $5 million to adjust the orbits for its first five satellites, placing them into an orbit at an inclination of 53 degrees, higher than previously planned. That change is intended to improve coverage for a potential customer, possibly AT&T. Those satellites, to launch early next year, would be enough for intermittent connectivity services the venture says are suitable for government and commercial device monitoring applications. (11/16)

House Science Committee Delays Vote on Space Bill (Source: Space News)
The House Science Committee deferred a vote Wednesday on a commercial space bill. At the end of the markup session for the Commercial Space Act of 2023, committee chairman Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) said the vote to report the bill to the full House would be delayed until after Thanksgiving in part because of other votes on the House floor. The markup coincided with the release of a legislative proposal from the National Space Council on mission authorization for novel space activities using a different model than the one in the bill.

Lucas said he opposed that proposed legislation because of what he considered a heavy regulatory burden on companies. Top Democrats on the committee, though, said the House should wait to consider the bill until after the committee can fully examine the Space Council proposal, while also raising issues with aspects of the House bill. (11/16)

Jim Free to Succeed Cabana at NASA (Source: Space News)
Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems development, is getting a promotion. NASA announced late Wednesday that Free will become associate administrator, the number-three position at the agency, at the end of the year. He will succeed Bob Cabana, who announced his retirement earlier this week. Free returned to NASA in the fall of 2021 after several years in the private sector to lead NASA's exploration efforts. His deputy, Catherine Koerner, will take over as associate administrator for exploration systems development. (11/16)

RFA Supports European Launch Competition (Source: Space News)
German launch vehicle developer Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) supports plans for a European launch competition. RFA's chief commercial officer, Jörn Spurmann, said in an interview that the proposed competition, announced during the European Space Summit last week, is "very good for us" by allowing it and other companies to bid on future launches. RFA has focused on developing its RFA One small launcher, with a first launch planned in mid-2024. Spurmann said RFA can now also begin to think about a medium- or heavy-lift system thanks to the competition. (11/16)

Stopgap Funding Bill Funds NASA Through Feb. 2 (Source: Washington Post)
Congress passed a stopgap funding bill Wednesday to keep the government operating after Friday. The House and Senate passed the continuing resolution (CR) in time to avoid a government shutdown. The "laddered" CR funds some agencies through Jan. 19 and others, including the Defense Department and NASA, through Feb. 2. (11/16)

Musk Denies Starlink Spinout Plans (Source: Reuters)
Elon Musk denied a report that he was considering spinning out SpaceX's Starlink and conducting an IPO next year. A Bloomberg report Wednesday stated that the company was consolidating Starlink assets into a wholly owned subsidiary, which would be spun off and do an IPO in 2024. Musk responded "false" to the article on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter that he owns, but did not elaborate. One financial analyst agreed that a Starlink IPO is unlikely next year but could happen by 2026. (11/16)

Russia to Remain on ISS Beyond 2028 (Source: TASS)
The head of Russia's space agency suggested Russia will remain on the station beyond 2028. Yuri Borisov said Wednesday that "will prolong its operation as much as possible," referring to the ISS. Roscosmos has committed to ISS operations only to 2028, while the other ISS partners have agreed to keep the station going to 2030. Russia is planning its own space station, although many question whether it will be ready by late this decade as proposed. (11/16)

NASA and India Complete Earth SCience Satellite Tests (Source: The Hindu)
NASA and India's space agency ISRO have completed key tests of a joint Earth science satellite. Engineers successfully completed verification of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), including vibration tests and operation in a thermal vacuum chamber, in India. NISAR is on track to launch on an Indian GSLV rocket early next year. (11/16)

Orbite Starts Astronaut Training Sign-Ups, Plans Space Coast Campus in 2026 (Source: GeekWire)
A startup is ready to start signing up customers for commercial astronaut training programs. Orbite is preparing to offer customers introductory spaceflight training as well as more advanced courses on suborbital and orbital spaceflight. The company is still working on plans for a campus in Florida that will host that training, but early "Founder's Club" customers will be offered "space-adjacent" events in the meantime, from watching rocket launches to trips to Antarctica.

"We are building our first Astronaut Training and Spaceflight Gateway Campus in Florida with a planned opening in 2026 and are well along identifying other unique locations to expand our training and mission preparation capabilities leveraging other unique geographies." (11/16)

Many Physicists Think We Live in a Multiverse. But They're Getting a Simple Math Rule Wrong (Source: Live Science)
One of the examples of fine-tuning which has most baffled physicists is the strength of dark energy, the force that powers the accelerating expansion of the universe. If that force had been just a little stronger, matter couldn't clump together. No two particles would have ever combined, meaning no stars, planets, or any kind of structural complexity, and therefore no life. If that force had been significantly weaker, it would not have counteracted gravity. This means the universe would have collapsed back on itself within the first split-second

The most popular explanation for the fine-tuning of physics is that we live in one universe among a multiverse. If enough people buy lottery tickets, it becomes probable that somebody is going to have the right numbers to win. Likewise, if there are enough universes, with different numbers in their physics, it becomes likely that some universe is going to have the right numbers for life. For a long time, this seemed to me the most plausible explanation of fine-tuning. (11/13)

Attention Podcast Listeners: NASA Now Available on Spotify (Source: NASA)
NASA released its collection of original podcasts on Spotify Tuesday, giving more people access to in-depth conversations, stories, and Spanish-language content, as the agency works to explore the unknown in air and space. The agency’s podcasts are available ad-free, and without cost, to Spotify’s audience of 574 million users. (11/14)

How U.S. Satellite Rules are Different Only for Israel (Source: NPR)
The war between Israel and Hamas is being fought, in part, through disinformation and competing claims — and satellite imagery has emerged as an important fact-checking tool. It's also putting new scrutiny on how commercial satellite companies operate in a conflict area. The questions are more pointed than ever. Not only are companies able to capture crystal-clear overviews of things like military convoys and battlefield positions; they're also able to deliver those images more quickly and widely than ever.

By publishing — or not publishing — real-time imagery, private satellite firms face a risk of serving the interests of combatants on either side, in a controversial war. If that's not complicated enough, consider this: The U.S. government has a special law restricting satellite imagery that depicts Israel. For years, federal law has limited the quality of commercial satellite imagery U.S. companies can sell — if the images depict Israel and Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories such as Gaza. It's not unusual for countries to attempt to restrict satellite imagery of sensitive locations on their own soil. But in this case, the law seeks to protect an entire — and separate — country. (11/16)

Starship Mission Requires $548 Million Insurance Coverage, Contaminant Monitoring (Source: WCCF Tech)
To secure the FWS's write off, SpaceX will have to monitor its site aerially for any runoff and also develop a contaminant monitoring plan within three months. Additionally, the firm will have to continually monitor soil samples from the area to ensure that successive launches do not lead to any metallic accumulation in the surrounding area.

Finally, the Starship launch license, which is conditional to all these conditions being met, also requires SpaceX to earmark $548 million in insurance coverage for the pre-flight testing activities and the launch itself. Within this figure, the bulk, or $500 million, is for the rocket launch, while the remainder is for the ground operations. (11/16)

Tracking satellite launches from Andøya Spaceport (Source: ESA)
European launch service company Isar Aerospace has established a partnership with Andøya Spaceport to launch small satellites from Andøya using Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle. Isar Aerospace is supported through ‘Boost!’ - ESA's program to support the development, deployment and use of commercial space transportation services in Europe. On 1 November ESA and Isar Aerospace, supported by Andøya Spaceport, signed a contract extension to develop an efficient new flight tracking and safety system for future rocket launches with Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle from Andøya. (11/16)

In Space, No One Can Smell Your Many, Many Farts (Sources: Jalopnik, New York Times)
Spaceflight causes fluid to accumulate in nearby tissues, giving you a puffy face and congested sinuses. As with a bad cold, the process inhibits nerve endings in the nasal passages, meaning you can’t smell or taste very well. (The nose plays an important role in taste.) The I.S.S. galley is often stocked with wasabi and hot sauce.

These sensory deficits can be helpful in some respects, though, because the I.S.S. tends to smell like body odor or farts. You can’t shower, and microgravity prevents digestive gases from rising out of the stew of other juices in your stomach and intestines, making it hard to belch without barfing. Because the gas must exit somehow, the frequency and volume (metric and decibel) of flatulence increases. (11/16)

Bladder Issues Bother Some Astronauts (Source: New York Times)
Aboard the ISS, urine adheres to the bladder wall rather than collecting at the base, where the growing pressure of liquid above the urethra usually alerts us when the organ is two-thirds full. “Thus, the bladder may reach maximum capacity before an urge is felt, at which point urination may happen suddenly and spontaneously,” according to “A Review of Challenges & Opportunities: Variable and Partial Gravity for Human Habitats in L.E.O.,” or low Earth orbit. Sometimes the bladder fills but doesn’t empty, and astronauts need to catheterize themselves. (11/14)

Artemis I Path to Pad Documentary Screening at KSC Visitor Complex (Source: KSCVC)
One year ago on November 16, 2022, Artemis I launched from Florida. This marked the first step for NASA’s return to the Moon missions, more than 50 years after the last Apollo Program Moon landing. Take a look back at this incredible moment in NASA history with the film “Artemis I Path to the Pad." Watch the story of Artemis I, from concept and construction, to assembly and testing, and finally launching to the Moon before returning to Earth. Watch it daily at the KSCVC IMAX theater. (11/16)

Northrop Ready to Build SDA Tracking Layer Satellites (Source: Via Satellite)
Northrop Grumman has reached the production stage for Space Development Agency Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites being built under a 2022 contract valued at $617 million. The satellites, designed to identify and track hypersonic weapons, recently passed a critical design review. (11/15)

Explosions Billions of Times the Sun's Energy "Just Kept Happening" (Source: Cosmos)
Astronomers have detected repeated explosions emitting energy billions of times that of the Sun. The disquieting discovery occurred in the distant universe, and has been nicknamed the ‘Tasmanian Devil’, although its formal name is AT2022tsd. A team of international scientists say this rare and extremely powerful event called a Luminous Fast Ball Optical Transient (LFBOT) is behaving unusually. LFBOTs usually evolve on the timescale of a few days and fade rapidly, however the Tassie Devil continued its explosive behavior many times. (11/16)

The 'Impossible' Quantum Drive That Defies Known Laws of Physics was Just Launched into Space (Source: The Debrief)
A controversial new electric propulsion system, which physicists say defies Newton’s Laws of Motion, was launched into space aboard last week's Space X rideshare mission. Developed by electronics prototyping company IVO Ltd, the Quantum Drive's development followed by over 100 hours of testing a prototype in a simulated space environment, resulting in their thrust-producing model.

The team also recently completed a successful 1,000-hour “stress test,” which the Quantum Drive passed with flying colors. So, while science said it shouldn’t work, IVO’s drive seemed to produce the predicted amount of thrust in lab tests. At this point, Mansell said they knew that there was only one thing left to do. The Rogue Space Systems "Barry-1" satellite is carrying the pair of Quantum Drives and will be gathering data in Low Earth Orbit for several weeks to set a baseline for when the drives are engaged. (11/15)

Webb Follows Neon Signs Toward New Thinking on Planet Formation (Source: Phys.org)
Scientists are following neon signs in a search for clues to one planetary system's future and the past of another—our own solar system. Following up on a peculiar reading by NASA's previous infrared flagship observatory, the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, the agency's James Webb Space Telescope detected distinct traces of the element neon in the dusty disk surrounding the young sun-like star SZ Chamaeleontis (SZ Cha).

Differences in the neon readings between Spitzer and Webb point to a never-before-observed change in high-energy radiation that reaches the disk, which eventually causes it to evaporate, limiting the time planets have to form. (11/15)

The Reviews are Done—SpaceX is Clear to Launch Starship at Texas Site (Source: Ars Technica)
The FAA approved a launch license Wednesday for SpaceX to fly its second Starship rocket as soon as Friday, seven months after the vehicle’s first test flight. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase spaceport in South Texas during a two-hour launch window opening at 7 am CT. If all goes as planned, the first stage will make a controlled decent into the Gulf of Mexico while the Starship upper stage accelerates to near-orbital velocity. Starship will then coast about three-quarters of the way around the world before a targeted splashdown north of Hawaii.

It was the water deluge system at the Starship launch pad that took the longest for federal regulators to assess in their launch licensing process. Under the Endangered Species Act, the FAA requested the US Fish and Wildlife Service review how the operation of the new deluge system might impact animal species and sensitive habitats around the launch site. Regulators also analyzed the impact of the detonation suppression system, which was used on the April launch. (11/15)

Telesat Taps Aalyria to Provide Network Orchestration (Source: Space News)
Telesat selected Aalyria Technologies to orchestrate communications for its Lightspeed low-Earth orbit broadband network. Under the contact announced Nov. 14, Aalyria’s Spacetime networking technology will organize the flow of data traffic in the broadband constellation for more than 10 years. The value of the contract was not disclosed. (11/14)

Starlink Secures $90 Million Contract to Offer Free Internet in Mexico (Source: NBC News)
Starlink has secured a 1.56 billion peso ($89.80 million) contract to offer free internet in Mexico until the end of 2026, a Mexican government official said on Wednesday. Elon Musk’s company won the contract as it offered the best prices in the public tender offer. Mexico has signed contracts for free internet with nine companies, including Starlink. (11/15)

IPO Spinoff Talk Swirls Around SpaceX’s Starlink (Source: Market Watch)
IPO spinoff talk is swirling around Starlink, the SpaceX-owned satellite internet constellation. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloombeg reports that Starlink could be spun off via IPO by late 2024. Last week billionaire investor Ron Baron — the founder, chief executive officer and portfolio manager at Baron Capital — told CNBC that he expects a Starlink IPO could happen around 2027, with SpaceX worth around $250 billion to $300 billion by that time. (11/15)

SpaceX Enters List of Largest US Private Companies (Source: Forbes)
SpaceX, the rocket firm founded and run by Elon Musk, has nabbed billions of dollars of government contracts lately, helping more than double its estimated revenues to a recent $4.6 billion. That’s enough to propel the California-based rocket company, which controls 80% of the domestic market for rocket launches and also operates Starlink’s fast growing satellite business, into the ranks of America’s Largest Private Companies for the first time at No. 145 on the list. It is one of 11 newcomers this year. (11/14)

NASA Blocking Nevada Company's Lithium Claim in Over Satellite Calibration (Source: KRNV)
Environmentalists, ranchers and others have fought for years against lithium mining ventures in Nevada. Yet opposition to mining one particular desert tract for the silvery white metal used in electric car batteries is coming from unusual quarters: space. An ancient Nevada lakebed beckons as a vast source of the coveted metal needed to produce cleaner electric energy and fight global warming. But NASA says the same site — flat as a tabletop and undisturbed like none other in the Western Hemisphere — is indispensable for calibrating the razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead. (11/14)

Mars Probe Sees Red Planet Atmosphere Glowing Ggreen at Night (Source: Space.com)
Mars might be the Red Planet, but its atmosphere glows green. Using the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), scientists have observed Mars' atmosphere glowing green for the first time ever — in the visible light spectrum, that is. The effect is called airglow (or dayglow or nightglow, depending on the hour), and it occurs on Earth, too. While it shares some similarities with the northern lights (or aurora) here on our planet, it's a different phenomenon with different causes. (11/15)

Amateur Astronomer Discovered One-of-a-Kind Supernova Remnant (Source: Universe Today)
In 2023, amateur astronomer Dana Patchick was looking through images from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer archive and discovered a diffuse, circular object in the constellation of Cassiopeia. He found this apparent nebula was interesting because it was bright in the infrared portion of the spectrum, but virtually invisible in the colors of light visible to our eyes.

Dana added this item to the database of the Deep Sky Hunters amateur astronomers group, believing it was a planetary nebula – the quiet remnant of stars in mass similar to the sun. He named it PA 30. However, professional astronomers who picked it up from there realized that this object is far more than it first seemed. It is, they now believe, the remnant of a lost supernova observed in 1181. And an extremely rare type at that. (11/14)

Two Things the Space Force Needs from Congress – and One Thing it Definitely Doesn’t (Source: Breaking Defense)
The first thing the Space Force needs in this year’s NDAA is a senior civilian position over the Space Force — an Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, as originally envisioned in the legislative proposal from the Executive Branch in February 2019. An Under Secretary position would provide the necessary rank and breadth of responsibility for effective civilian oversight of the Space Force’s budget, strategy and policy development, as well as its personnel system.

Moreover, now is an ideal time to make this change because the current Under Secretary of the Air Force position is vacant. Congress should split this position in two before it is filled, with one Under Secretary focused on the Air Force and the other on the Space Force. The second thing the Space Force needs from Congress is its own independent Legislative Affairs and Public Affairs offices that report directly to the Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space. The Space Force should not be filtering these messages through the Air Force, where it is inherently a secondary priority.

What it doesn't need? The House version of the NDAA would create a Space National Guard and establish guard units in states where the Space Force already has a significant presence. Unlike reserve units, guard units report to their respective state governments. For the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, this often makes sense so that states can independently call up and deploy these soldiers and airmen to respond to state and local emergencies under direct state control. But under what circumstances would a governor need direct control of military space forces? (11/14)

Racing For Place In The New Space Race: Customers Seek Launch Options (Source: Forbes)
Along with the growing number of commercial satellite constellations, global sovereign and strategic interests are exacerbating the demand for launches to space. The primary constraint in realizing this communications revolution is the availability of space launch services. In addition to initial deployments, rapid advancements in technology necessitate frequent satellite replacements, often in the 3 to 5-year timespan for LEO satellites versus the 15-year service life of traditional GSO systems.

This has given rise to a bustling satellite launch market, driven not only by the need for telecom but also in-space manufacturing, human spaceflight, lunar missions, and more. A simultaneous boom in commercial remote sensing satellites is augmenting this demand. Maintaining these constellations will require a constant cadence of launches, and the launch market simply can’t keep up at its current pace with far more demand than supply of medium and heavy lift launch vehicles available globally.

There is no doubt that the U.S. Government wants multiple systems for its national security launches. With Starlink dominating SpaceX's manifest, what other options are there? Not many. Amazon has booked up nearly all the available commercial launch capacity through 2026. Entrants like Rocket Lab and Firefly are building small-to-medium lift rockets, but an alternative to the Falcon 9 in the medium-to-heavy lift category is the sweet spot.  Relativity Space is aiming to capture the strategic opportunity presented by this market gap with their reusable rocket, Terran R. The race for second place is on. (11/15)

Regulatory Hold Up Keeps Varda Spacecraft Stuck in Orbit (Source: CNBC)
Varda’s first mission launched in June and was expected to be complete by July. My overly simplified version of its goals: Test to see if the spacecraft and all its systems work, manufacture a drug in microgravity, and then re-enter the capsule and recover it after landing at the Air Force’s Utah Test and Training Range.

The launch went great, the spacecraft has been healthy, drugs were made, but the necessary license for capsule reentry has not been granted. So, for the last three months, Varda’s W-Series 1 has remained in space while a trio of organizations – the company, the FAA’s space office (AST) and the Air Force – back on the ground try to resolve when it can safely return.

For future missions, Varda’s added Koonibba Test Range in Australia as another potential landing site. But for this first mission, still in space, the range in Utah is the only “realistic” landing spot, Asparouhov said – so work continues to align the regulatory stars and return the capsule safely. (11/2)

UK and Florida Sign Pact to Boost Trade, Space (Source: Gov.UK)
The UK and Florida signed the UK's 7th UK-US state level Memorandum of Understanding to boost trade and investment. The pact targets high-potential sectors such as space and fintech and is designed to boost exports and investment between the UK and Florida.

Space is a global business – and the United States is one of the UK’s most significant trading partners. UKspace welcomes this MoU – the first focused on space – and looks forward to it delivering new opportunities for companies of all sizes throughout the UK space industry, as well as counterparts in Florida. This will deepen our relationships with space companies in Florida and open up new prospects for collaboration and driving mutually beneficial trade and investment on both sides of the Atlantic. (11/14)

Space Companies Join Movement to Stop Debris-Producing ASAT Tests (Source: Space Policy Online)
The Secure World Foundation announced that 26 space companies from 10 countries have signed a statement supporting international efforts to stop direct-ascent antisatellite tests that create space debris that imperils commercial space activities. The statement urges more countries to make the commitment not to launch DA-ASAT tests and SWF encourages more companies to sign the statement to help ensure predictability, sustainability, and safety in space.

The companies are based in Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. SWF coordinated and facilitated the effort and released the statement today in conjunction with a webinar featuring representatives from four of the companies: Astroscale Japan (Japan), Digantara (India), Planet (U.S.), and Axiom Space (U.S.). (11/14)

GenMat Announces Launch of GENMAT-1 Satellite Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 (Source: GenMat)
Quantum Generative Materials (GenMat) announced the successful launch of its GENMAT-1 satellite aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9. GENMAT-1 is equipped with the world's highest resolution hyperspectral camera for Earth observation. With its 5-meter per pixel resolution in the 450nm to 900nm spectral range, GENMAT-1 enablesg the company to see information that is invisible to the naked eye at higher clarity and resolution than previous generations of satellites. (11/14)

NASA Finds Clouds Made of Sand in 'Fluffy' Exoplanet's Atmosphere (Source: Newsweek)
Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have detected clouds made up of silicate, or sand, in the atmosphere of a nearby exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system. WASP-107b—which lies 200 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Virgo—is a unique gaseous world that orbits a star a little cooler and less massive than our sun.

What makes it unusual is that it has a mass about the size of Neptune, but a size closer to that of Jupiter, whose diameter is nearly three times larger. This, the team said, makes WASP-107b somewhat "fluffy" in comparison with the gas giants found in our Solar System, but also allows us to peer 50 times deeper into its atmosphere. (11/15)

A New Galaxy Atlas Charts the Skies for Scientists and the Public Alike in Unprecedented Detail (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Charting the galaxies in the sky has come a long way since the 18th century, when Charles Messier first included 40 nearby galaxies in his catalog of celestial objects. The New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars of 1888 listed more than 6,000 such galaxies, while the Third Reference Catalog of Bright Galaxies, published in 1991, lists more than 23,000.

But the newly updated Siena Galaxy Atlas (SGA) has taken things to a whole new level, imaging and cataloging nearly 400,000 bright, nearby galaxies across half the sky, and making them available to the public through a Google Earth-style online viewing application. More than just a cool way to explore the night sky, the images and associated data will allow astronomers to pose new questions about galaxies and their formation, while simultaneously aiding the study of dark energy, the enigmatic force believed to be driving the accelerated expansion of the cosmos itself. (11/15)