January 13, 2024

Sift Suggests Different Approach to Testing Might Prevent Peregrine Failure (Source: Business Insider)
Two former SpaceX engineers said space companies that invest heavily in testing and robust software processes tend to be successful and learn from their failures. Karthik Gollapudi is a cofounder of Sift, a startup that helps space companies analyze their data and automate tasks, and Jason Hunter is its lead mission manager. While Gollapudi and Hunter don't know how Astrobotic tests its vehicles, Gollapudi said the reason he started Sift was because of issues he saw across the space industry.

Companies would build and test the propulsion, solar array, and other systems separately, then test them all together when the vehicle was fully assembled. "And sometimes you run into mistakes doing that," he said. At SpaceX, "the culture was, you need to integrate these things all together as soon as possible," Gollapudi said. Then the engineers would run hundreds of tests. "What we're doing at Sift is making it so the whole data review is automated into rules that are running all the time," Gollapudi said. Otherwise, he said, companies tend to leave long gaps between tests because the review process is so lengthy. (1/11)

Space Force Selects University of Cincinnati and Texas A&M for Space Strategic Technology Institute 2 (Source: USSF)
The Space Force selected two institutions under the Space Strategic Technology Institute, or SSTI 2, for applied research in the areas of In-Space Operations, which includes Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics, or SAML. In partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, USSF selected the University of Cincinnati and Texas A&M University. They will receive a combined total of $49.9 million. Focus areas for the selected proposals include robotic servicing and associated modeling and simulation, developing testbeds, as well as CubeSat berthing and refueling technologies, developing constructive operations, large-scale in-space assembly, and debris mitigation. (1/8)

NASA, US Department of Commerce Expand Minority Business Efforts (Source: NASA)
NASA and the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Dec. 28, 2023, to help connect minority businesses to NASA acquisition and development opportunities. Outreach efforts will focus on engaging both minority and other underserved businesses.

With a term of three years, the MOU enables the continuous efforts of both agencies’ longstanding partnership to foster, promote, and develop the nation’s minority business enterprises in the aerospace industry, and highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s economic investments in the sector. NASA and MBDA have a history of collaboration; this further solidifies a partnership to work towards mitigating barriers to equity. (1/11)

Colorado Springs Rep. to Retire From Congress (Source: Denver Post)
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a nine-term Republican congressman representing the Colorado Springs area, will not run for reelection in November — an announcement that means all three Republican-held seats in Colorado’s congressional delegation will have open races this year. (1/5)

Spaceport America Leaders Say Virgin Galactic Layoffs, Flight Pause Won't Affect Master Planning (Source: New Mexico Business Journal)
Nearly eight months after a master planning process to evaluate current conditions and study future market opportunities for New Mexico's Spaceport America kicked off, planning leaders and Spaceport officials said the process is on track to wrap up by May of this year, with recent news out of the facility's anchor tenant reportedly having little effect on planning. The New Mexico Spaceport Authority, which oversees Spaceport America, in May 2023 selected three firms — RS&H Inc., Populous and Zia Engineering and Environmental Consultants — to lead a year-long master planning process. (1/11)

Space Exploration Can Help Small-Town America (Source: Michigan Daily)
In the space industry, a paradigm shift is beginning. Once confined to metropolitan powerhouses, the industry has begun expanding its borders into rural America. Take SpaceX’s Starlink, a series of small satellites bringing internet access to the countryside and further closing the digital divides rural areas sometimes face. Communities previously on the outskirts of economic development now find themselves at the forefront of this new frontier. The decentralization of the space industry isn’t just an opportunity for rural communities to participate; it’s an invitation for them to thrive.

The keystone to economic recovery is job creation. Space exploration requires expertise from a wide variety of fields, creating a wealth of employment opportunities. Rural communities, often burdened with job scarcity, can emerge as pivotal players in the cosmic job market if more aerospace companies expand to these areas. Aerospace companies aren’t just hiring scientists and engineers — they hire for a huge range of occupations from managers to photographers. This investment will allow rural areas to lead the way in economic prosperity, not stand on the sidelines of it. (1/11)

The Ethics of Space Exploration (Source: ASU)
We are currently in a renaissance period for spaceflight research that has tremendous potential for breakthrough advances in diverse biological and technological domains to benefit human health and habitation in space and life on Earth. In our long-standing efforts to safely send humans into space, my team and I have been working closely with both NASA and commercial spaceflight groups to better understand and address the challenges faced by both professional astronauts and the new wave of civilian space travelers — the findings of which hold potential translational benefits for the public.

he goal of many in the spaceflight community is to push toward a mission to Mars in search of life on other planets. The need to better understand our universe and the timeless question of “Are we alone?” is offset by the risk of forward contamination — taking microorganisms from Earth to Mars, limiting our ability to distinguish life on Mars — or back contamination — bringing potentially harmful microbes back to Earth. Perhaps a more likely and potentially severe risk of such a mission is the limited knowledge that we currently have of the long-term effect of the deep space environment — including reduced gravity and increased radiation — on the mental and physical well-being of the astronauts. (1/11)

Indian Delegation Visits ESA Mission Control (Source: ESA)
Distinguished visitors from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) were welcomed to ESA's ESOC mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, in December 2023 to celebrate ESA's support to ISRO's Aditya-L1 and Chandrayaan-3 missions and to discuss expanding the scope of the organizations' cooperation. (1/11)

NASA Says It Has No Evidence of Drug Use at Musk’s SpaceX (Source: Bloomberg)
NASA said it isn’t aware of drug use at Elon Musk’s SpaceX that could jeopardize the rocket launch and satellite-service provider’s government contracts. “The agency does not have evidence of non-compliance from SpaceX on how the company addresses the drug- and alcohol-free workforce regulations,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Thursday in a statement. “We expect our commercial partners to meet all workplace safety requirements in the execution of those missions and the services they provide the American people.” (1/12)

Astronomers Found Ultra-Hot, Earth-Sized Exoplanet with a Lava Hemisphere (Source: Ars Technica)
Astronomers have discovered an unusual Earth-sized exoplanet they believe has a hemisphere of molten lava, with its other hemisphere tidally locked in perpetual darkness. Study leaders Benjamin Capistrant (University of Florida) and Melinda Soares-Furtado (University of Wisconsin-Madison) presented the details yesterday. (1/11)

2023 Was the World’s Warmest Year on Record, By Far (Source: NOAA)
It’s official: 2023 was the planet’s warmest year on record, according to an analysis by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Along with the historic heat, Antarctic sea ice coverage dropped to a record low in 2023. “Not only was 2023 the warmest year in NOAA’s 174-year climate record — it was the warmest by far. A warming planet means we need to be prepared for the impacts of climate change that are happening here and now, like extreme weather events that become both more frequent and severe." (1/12)