January 21, 2024

Office of Space Commerce Starts Commercial Pathfinder Project for Civil Space Traffic Coordination System (Source: Space News)
The Office of Space Commerce has selected three companies to participate in a pathfinder program that could lead to the incorporation of commercial data into its space traffic coordination system. The office announced Jan. 19 that placed orders with COMSPOC, LeoLabs and Slingshot Aerospace for data and services related to objects in low Earth orbit. The orders are part of what the office calls a Consolidated Pathfinder project to test how the office can incorporate commercial space situational awareness (SSA) data. (1/19)

Space Force Satellite Data Shines Light on Mystery of Arctic Warming (Source: Space.com)
Satellite data shows melting Arctic sea ice has experienced a reduction in how much sunlight it reflects, triggering an unprecedented rise in local temperatures. In the Arctic, temperatures are rising four times faster than the rest of the world, but scientists aren't sure what the exact reason for this accelerated warming could be.

New satellite data might shine light on the mystery. With permission from the U.S. Space Force, a team of researchers from the Sandia National Laboratories analyzed previously unpublished data from radiometers on GPS satellites to better understand the reduced reflectivity of Arctic ice, finding that the reduction of sunlight reflectivity, or albedo, has amplified warming in the Arctic. The data, spanning from 2014 to 2019, revealed a 20% to 35% loss in total reflectivity. (1/19)

Higher Fees Incoming at US Spaceports (Source: Ars Technica)
Commercial launch companies operating from the Cape Canaveral Space or Vandenberg Space Force Base pay fees to the Space Force to reimburse for direct costs related to rocket launches. These cover expenses like weather forecast services, surveillance to ensure airplanes and boats stay out of restricted areas, and range safety support. This money will go into a fund to pay for maintenance and upgrades to infrastructure used by all launch companies at the spaceports. (1/19)

Orbex Plans Larger Rocket (Source: Ars Technica)
New Orbex CEO Phil Chambers, who was officially appointed earlier this month, is discussing the possibility of developing a larger vehicle. Chambers described the business model to deliver orbital launch services with its smaller Prime rocket as “robust.” Despite this, he admitted that the small launch industry was only a small sliver of the overall launch market. The two-stage Prime rocket, fueled by "bio-propane," will be capable of hauling a payload of approximately 180 kilograms into low-Earth orbit. (1/19)

Taking  a Look at Starship's Costs (Sources: Ars Technica, Payload)
SpaceX is on a path to eventually reduce the cost of a single flight of a fully reusable Starship rocket to less than $10 million. However, Starship is still very much a development program, and Payload estimates it currently costs around $90 million for SpaceX to build a fully stacked Starship rocket. The vast majority of this cost goes toward the rocket's 39 Raptor engines and labor expenses.

The higher the Starship flight rate, the more SpaceX can reduce the cost of a single launch by spreading the program's fixed costs across numerous missions. Reducing the cost of Raptor engine manufacturing will be a major factor in decreasing the cost of each Starship rocket. Payload estimates the total R&D costs for Starship will total about $10 billion, with about $5 billion already spent by the end of 2023. SpaceX is expected to charge customers more than the potential marginal cost of $10 million per flight to recoup money invested to build up the Starship program. (1/19)

RS-25 Engine Testing Continues in Mississippi (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA test-fired an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engine at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. This was the first RS-25 engine test of the year, but it continues a test series that started last year to certify the engine for production to support NASA's SLS rockets. NASA's inspector general last year reported the current cost of manufacturing a new RS-25 engine is about $100 million. Managers plan to reduce that cost to $70 million by the end of the decade. Blue Origin manufactures engines of comparable power and size, the BE-4, for less than $20 million. And SpaceX is seeking to push the similarly powerful Raptor engine costs even lower, to less than $1 million per engine. (1/19)

NASA Loses Contact with Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (Source: Space.com)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has gone incommunicado. Ingenuity's handlers lost contact with the 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper on Thursday (Jan. 18), toward the end of its 72nd flight on Mars. "The Ingenuity team is analyzing available data and considering next steps to reestablish communications with the helicopter." (1/20)

Guetlein Calls for a Change in Culture in ‘Responsive Space’ (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force last year launched a small satellite on a Firefly rocket in a demonstration of responsive launch, sending the payload to orbit just 27 hours after receiving launch orders. That mission, named Victus Nox, was impressive, Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, said Jan. 19. But he cautioned that responsive space should be about more than setting speed records. (1/20)

Google Backs Starlink Rival AST SpaceMobile for Android Satellite Support (Source: PC Magazine)
Google has decided to support AST SpaceMobile—a potential rival to SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system—with the hope of bringing satellite connectivity to Android phones. The search company joined mobile carriers AT&T and Vodafone in investing $110 million into AST SpaceMobile, a company that’s been working to launch orbiting cell towers in space. (1/19)

Hassell Designs Modular Moon Bbase for the European Space Agency (Source: Dezeen)
Architecture studio Hassell has designed the conceptual Lunar Habitat Master Plan, a scalable system of inflatable pods that could be partly constructed from moon materials and 3D-printed on site. Designed for ESA's Discovery program, the settlement would be designed to house 144 people and comprise residential spaces as well as sports arenas, restaurants and large greenhouses. Hassell described the Lunar Habitat Master Plan as "the next step in the creation of the first permanent human settlement on the moon". (1/19)

There's Lots of Water on the Moon for Astronauts. But is it Safe to Drink? (Source: Space.com)
Water appears to be abundant near the moon's south pole, but drinking it could be a safety problem for astronauts. A new moon challenge asks the public for ideas to purify drinking water for astronauts, reducing the need for shipments from Earth. The Aqualunar contest is open to residents of Canada and the United Kingdom, and you can send in your ideas right now, through April 8. (1/18)