December 30, 2023

Spaceport Cornwall Reflects on Big Year and Looks Ahead (Source: BBC)
Spaceport Cornwall says it can "confidently look forward" following a year that saw it facilitate the first rocket launch into space from UK soil, despite it ending in failure. Virgin Orbit's January launch failed when the rocket suffered an anomaly, but bosses say the process attracted potential partners for future launches.

No launches are planned for 2024, but 2025 is a possibility. Head of engagement Ross Hulbert said it "achieved what we needed to achieve". A new operation facility opened in April and already has 13 tenants from the space sector, along with others on the wider site, at Cornwall Airport Newquay. (12/28)

Spanish Defense Giant Reportedly Seeks Hispasat Stake (Source: Space News)
One of Spain’s biggest defense contractors is considering buying a stake in Madrid-based satellite operator Hispasat, according to a local report citing unidentified market sources. The Cinco Dias economic newspaper reported Dec. 28 that Indra is looking to sell off 800 million euros ($880 million) worth of technology assets to help fund the deal. (12/29)

China Launches Test Satellite Internet Technologies (Source: Xinhua)
China on Saturday launched a test satellite for satellite internet technologies from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 8:13 a.m. (Beijing Time), and successfully entered its preset orbit. It was the 505th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. (12/29)

Turning 4, the Space Force’s Favorite Word is ‘More’: 2024 Preview (Source: Breaking Defense)
Over the last six months, there has been no mistaking a louder and louder drumbeat in favor of growing the Space Force — from its mission set to its budget to its end strength. So, perhaps the key the question for the service as it enters its fourth year will be: how much growth?

With the concerns of lawmakers about costs firmly in mind, the Air Force’s original planning document for standing up the newest military service provided to Congress in February 2020 [PDF] promised: “The Space Force will be lean, agile, and mission-focused.”

And since then, those words have been the mantra for service leaders, both civilian and those in uniform. But lately, a slight reinterpretation seems to be underway that opens the door to a bigger Space Force — one with more money and more people to take on what many in the service hope to be a greatly expanded set of missions, including operations in cislunar space around the Moon. (12/29)

What New Mexico Tech/Innovation Trends Could Be In Store for 2024? (Source: New Mexico Inno)
The past 12 months have seen a notable increase in momentum surrounding startups, technology, innovation and venture capital in New Mexico — and not just because Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" brought lots of public attention to one of the state's national laboratories and Alamogordo'stesting ground.

Big companies, including Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies, Australia's Star Scientific, and Germany-based Mtex Atenna Technology have picked the Land of Enchantment for manufacturing operations. National venture firms have turned their eyes to the state, traveling to New Mexico for tech-focused events in Albuquerque, north to Los Alamos and south at the Borderplex. An energy transition continues to unfold, with innovative technologies paving the way for burgeoning renewable industries. (12/29)

Air Force Taps Intelsat for Commercial Space Internet Project (Source: Defense Scoop)
The Air Force Research Lab has added Intelsat to its list of vendors for the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program. As part of the initiative, AFRL plans to conduct a set of demonstrations that will aim to provide military aircraft with ubiquitous connectivity using commercial spacecraft and networks. The Pentagon announced the $9 million deal with Intelsat on Wednesday. (12/29)

Paid Ticketholders Upset After Being Denied Entry Ahead of High-Profile SpaceX Launch at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Fox35)
Space fans who pre-purchased launch tickets were turned away from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Thursday. Several people spent hundreds of dollars and waited hours in their car trying to see the highly anticipated launches but never made it inside. Some people pulled off on the side of the road to watch the rocket launch from their cars. Others missed it altogether. People tell FOX 35, they pre-purchased tickets for the event and want to know why they were turned away. (12/29)

From Elon Musk's Giant Starship Rocket to India's Spectacular Moon Landing, 2023 Was an Epic Year in Space (Source Business Insider)
This year, the world made several major achievements in the race to space. They included SpaceX sending its most powerful rocket to space and India reaching the moon. Here's everything you need to know to catch up on what happened in the space race in 2023. (12/29) https://www.businessinsider.com/epic-space-year-elon-musk-starship-india-moon-landing-missions-2023-11

India’s Space Program in 2023: Taking Stock (Source: The Diplomat)
India’s space program has dominated the news cycle since its Chandrayaan 3 lunar landing on the Southern hemisphere of the Moon on August 23, 2023. The ability to build an end-to-end space logistics capability, with a low-key budget of $75 million — that included the rocket launch, propulsion system, lunar lander and rover — caught the imagination of the world, specifically emerging nations in space, looking to build their own space programs in a sustainable manner. Click here. (12/27)

Stellar Achievements in Space to Celebrate From 2023 (Source: Fox Weather)
This year marked more asteroid mission firsts and was a milestone gap year between NASA’s Artemis Moon missions as the U.S. space agency prepares to send astronauts around the Moon next year for the first time in more than 50 years. Click here. (12/30)

Musk Sets Ambitious Starship Production Goals 'To Achieve Mars Colonization' In 3 Decades (Source: Benzinga)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Friday detailed his vision for Starship production going forward to enable landing people on Mars. SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle, composed of the starship spacecraft and the super heavy rocket, is a pivotal element in Musk's vision of landing humans on the Moon and Mars.

Though Starship is wholly reusable, its super heavy booster can be used more frequently than the ship, Musk said in a post. This necessitates ship production to be higher than booster production. The booster returns in about 6 minutes and can ‘theoretically’ be ready for a re-flight in an hour, while the ship will need to complete at least one orbit, making reuse possible only on a day-to-day basis. “To achieve Mars colonization in roughly three decades, we need ship production to be 100/year, but ideally rising to 300/year,” Musk said in his post. (12/30)

Life Lessons From NASA Legends (Source: The Hill)
A longtime friend in the space business invited me to an event that turned out to be special for several reasons, the most noteworthy being able to meet, listen to and talk with a true living legend from the glory years of NASA: Jay F. Honeycutt. Honeycutt the guest of honor for a company called Lonestar Data Holdings — which seeks to protect our most sensitive data by placing it within encrypted vaults on the moon — and was being honored by having the company’s new mission control center named after him.

After Honeycutt literally cut the red ribbon leading to the “J.F. Honeycutt Mission Control Center” in St. Petersburg, Florida, he gave a brief speech in recognition of the honor. My ears perked up. Honeycutt outlined some of the rules he and other NASA legends used to survive and succeed in their literal life-and-death business — commonsense and pragmatic rules that apply to any person, business, entity or country. Click here. (12/30)

St. Petersburg Enters the New Space Race (Source: Catalyst)
A lunar-focused startup headquartered in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District recently opened its official mission control center, ahead of two scheduled missions to transmit data from the Moon. Lonestar Data Holdings christened the vital facility after the NASA engineer whose foresight helped save the Apollo 13 lunar landing crew in 1970. Jay F. Honeycutt, 86, made the trek from Cocoa Beach to attend the Dec. 15 ceremony at the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub.

Chris Stott, founder and CEO of Lonestar, called the J.F. Honeycutt Mission Control’s opening a major milestone in his ambitious quest to store the world’s data on the Moon. The local startup’s first mission will launch from Cape Canaveral Jan. 12. “It’s one thing to have an idea for a concept and then start planning and doing the engineering work, raising the funds,” Stott told the Catalyst. “But the one thing we needed to do that makes it so concrete is open mission control. (12/23)

Anatomy of a Spaceport (Source: Word on the Street)
It appears the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association’s attempt to put a rocket launch site in northern Marquette County has been denied liftoff. At least, that’s the way it appears, after the Powell Township board recently gave a thumbs down to the possibility of a launch facility at the proposed Granot Loma location. 164 residents signed a petition requesting an amendment to the current zoning ordinance which would prohibit rocket launches. 

Powell Township authorities ruled the petition was unnecessary, since, according to their interpretation, the zoning ordinance already prohibits such a project. With that, the non-profit group formed to fight the launch site, Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior (CSCLS), has declared victory with the following statement:  “We are pleased to announce that the Powell Township Board has enacted an official “RESOLUTION” rejecting the plan by the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association (MAMA) to rezone Granot Loma to build an industrial rocket launch site…”

Seems quite definitive, but until we hear the MAMA folks concede defeat, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the CSCLS army to keep their ammo dry, lest there be more fighting to be done. (12/30)

12 of the Most Exciting Black Hole Discoveries of 2023 (Source: Space.com)
Black holes are some of the most mysterious objects in the universe. Yet scientists can learn plenty about black holes by examining their environments, the conditions their intense gravity generates, and the jets of matter they blast out at near light speed. Here are the most impressive, extraordinary and shocking black hole stories of 2023. (12/23)

How Cork Will Protect the Next Spacecraft to Visit the Moon (Source: BBC)
When you think of cork, you might think of that pop of champagne on New Year's Eve – but some of this versatile tree bark will also be keeping astronauts safe as humanity returns to the Moon. This ancient material – which is harvested from the bark of trees that grow around the Mediterranean – is used in crucial bits of space rocket hardware and it could come to play an even greater role in years to come.

In the 1960s, sheet cork was used to insulate the Minuteman Missiles, the American long-range missiles designed to carry thermonuclear warheads during the Cold War. Boeing used cork mixed with resin in their expendable launch system, Delta IV, due to its anti-charring properties. In 2020, ESA also tested cork as an insulator for re-entry when the Qarman satellite was dropped from the ISS, gathering data on atmospheric re-entry as it fell back to Earth. And cork is currently used in ULA's Atlas V.

Now, NASA hopes to send humans to the Moon using a rocket insulated with cork. NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) accelerates from 0-17,400mph and soars to more than 100 miles above Earth in just eight minutes. As it flies, it builds up extraordinary heat. But the cryogenic fuel – made of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen – that powers the rocket must remain cold. If temperatures rise too high, the fuel becomes a gas. (12/29)

Top Aerospace And Defense Stocks For 2024 (Source: Seeking Alpha)
2024 will be an interesting year for aerospace and defense stocks. We select three buy opportunities with price targets. Picking aerospace and defense stocks can be challenging due to the long-term nature of the industry. Click here. (12/29)

Mysterious Stars Detected in Nearby Galaxies (Source: Astronomy)
The universe teems with systems of two stars orbiting each other in a seemingly endless cosmic dance. Scientists have long hypothesized that one out of three massive stars in these binaries have their hydrogen envelopes ripped off by its companion star, in turn, creating a hot helium star. (12/28)

Where Will Virgin Galactic Be in 3 Years? (Source: Motley Fool)
Virgin Galactic (SPCE -3.54%) has big plans for the next three years that could, quite literally, make or break the company. The key date is January 2026, less than three years away, but that's much further away than it may seem. In fact, the company is so worried about reaching its goal that it recently pulled back on its current space flight schedule. Here's what you need to know about the next three years at Virgin Galactic. (12/29)

ULA Sale: Here's Who Are Interested in Buying (Source: Space Explored)
Three reports have collaborated the current list of bidders that wish to buy United Launch Alliance: Blue Origin, Textron, and Cerberus. The sale isn’t guaranteed but it is likely, as even ULA’s CEO has hinted towards the company’s interest. Click here. (12/28)

Previously ‘Lost’ Asteroid Could Hit Earth in 2024 (Source: KIRO)
An asteroid first spotted in 2007 which quickly got lost — astronomers have no idea where it is — could hit Earth as soon as this year. The odds are pretty long. Asteroid 2007 FT3 will have about an 11 million to 1 chance of hitting us on Oct. 5, 2024 — not high enough to make you cancel your Halloween party. There’s a slightly higher probability of 1 in 10 million in 2030. (12/29)