January 3, 2024

SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From California (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched its first set of Starlink satellites with direct-to-device capabilities Tuesday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:44 p.m. Eastern and deployed 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. Six of those satellites are equipped with payloads to provide 4G LTE connectivity to mobile devices. SpaceX plans to start enabling texting from space this year in partnership with cellular operators, with voice and data connectivity coming in 2025, although the company still needs regulatory permission to provide the services commercially. (1/3)

India's NSIL Switches From LVM3 to Falcon-9 to Launch CommSat (Source: Space News)
The commercial arm of Indian space agency ISRO will launch a communications satellite later this year on a Falcon 9. New Space India Ltd. (NSIL) announced Tuesday it signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of the GSAT-20 communications satellite on a Falcon 9 in the second quarter. The satellite was originally expected to launch on an Indian rocket, the LVM3. NSIL did not disclose the reason for the change but the stated mass of GSAT-20 now exceeds the capacity of LVM3. India had previously used Arianespace for launching large communications satellites, but the new Ariane 6 rocket will not be ready in time to launch GSAT-20. (1/3)

India's Vodaphone Denies Rumors of SpaceX Deal (Source: Reuters)
An Indian telecom operator has denied rumors SpaceX was buying part of it. Shares of Vodaphone Idea had surged on the Bombay Stock Exchange in recent days after rumors that SpaceX was planning to take a stake in the company as a means to gain entry into the Indian market for Starlink. Vodaphone Idea informed the exchange Tuesday that it was not in talks with SpaceX, and shares subsequently fell. (1/3)

Designing the 'Perfect' Meal to Feed Long-Term Space Travelers (Source: Space Daily)
Researchers have designed the optimal "space meal": a tasty vegetarian salad. They chose fresh ingredients that meet male astronauts' specialized nutritional needs and can be grown in space. Astronauts in space burn more calories than humans on Earth and require extra micronutrients, such as calcium, to stay healthy during extended exposure to microgravity. Additionally, future long-term missions will require growing food in a sustainable, circular way within the spacecraft or space colonies.

First, the researchers assessed combinations of fresh ingredients, using a method called linear programming, which computationally balances different variables to meet a specific goal. In this case, their model identified how well the combinations of different foods could meet a male astronaut's daily nutritional needs while minimizing the water required to grow the foods.

The team was also concerned about the sustainability of the foods in space, selecting ingredients that needed little fertilizer, time and area to grow and whether inedible portions could be recycled. Of the 10 scenarios the researchers examined, they found that a vegetarian meal made up of soybeans, poppy seeds, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potato and/or sunflower seeds provided the most efficient balance of maximal nutrients and minimal farming inputs. While this combination couldn't quite provide all the micronutrients an astronaut needs, those missing could be added in a supplement, the researchers suggest. (1/3)

Viasat Secures Major U.S. Air Force Contract for Advanced Tech Integration (Source: Space Daily)
Viasat announced a collaboration with the Air Force's Life Cycle Management Center. A $900 million ceiling IDIQ contract has Viasat integrating innovative technologies and capabilities for the Air Force. This multi-award contract entrusts Viasat with the responsibility of prototyping, testing, and integrating systems, hardware, software, and cybersecurity solutions. (1/1)

Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. Mark Historic Milestone with Blue Origin's New Shepard Launch (Source: Space Daily)
In a significant advancement for space technology, Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. has successfully executed its NASA-funded Advanced Modular Power and Energy System (AMPES) Tipping Point fuel cell experiment aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard 24 sub-orbital launch. This landmark event marks the first time a fuel cell has been used in space since the retirement of the Space Shuttle Orbiter in 2011, signaling a renewed interest in fuel cell technology for space applications.

The AMPES system, a product of Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc., is a modular setup utilizing the company's patented non-flow through, air-independent fuel cell technology. This innovative system is not only scalable but also capable of powering a variety of space equipment, including landers, rovers, and habitats on celestial bodies such as the moon or Mars. (12/28)

AST SpaceMobile Nears Funding Milestone for Cellular Broadband in Space (Source: Space Daily)
AST SpaceMobile shared an interim update regarding its ongoing fundraising efforts. Known for their ambitious initiative to establish the first and only space-based cellular broadband network directly accessible by conventional smartphones, AST SpaceMobile is currently in a strategic investment process involving multiple parties. (1/3)

Is Oxygen the Cosmic Key to Alien Technology? (Source: Space Daily)
In the quest to understand the potential for life beyond Earth, researchers are widening their search to encompass not only biological markers, but also technological ones. While astrobiologists have long recognized the importance of oxygen for life as we know it, oxygen could also be a key to unlocking advanced technology on a planetary scale. In a new study, Adam Frank and Amedeo Balbi outline the links between atmospheric oxygen and the potential rise of advanced technology on distant planets.

Frank and Balbi posit that, beyond its necessity for respiration and metabolism in multicellular organisms, oxygen is crucial to developing fire-and fire is a hallmark of a technological civilization. They delve into the concept of "technospheres," expansive realms of advanced technology that emit telltale signs-called "technosignatures"-of extraterrestrial intelligence. (1/3)

Helicity Space Plants a Seed for Fusion Propulsion Technology - Can it Work? (Source: Space Daily)
Helicity Space, a name that's beginning to resonate in the commercial space industry, recently heralded a significant advance in its quest to redefine space propulsion. The company has successfully secured a $5 million seed funding round, a move that not only underscores the industry's confidence in fusion technology but also marks a pivotal moment in space travel innovation.

This round of funding was led by a consortium of forward-thinking investors, including Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures, and Gaingels. Their collective endorsement reflects a burgeoning interest in the potential of fusion-powered space propulsion and a belief in Helicity Space's vision. (12/21)

Sidus Space Secures NOAA Approval to Provide Imaging Services to Government and Commercial Customers (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced that NOAA has granted Sidus a Tier 1 remote sensing license to include Panchromatic (PAN) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) imaging capabilities. This approval includes Sidus' upcoming LizzieSat scheduled for launch in March 2024, as well as subsequent LizzieSat satellites. (1/3)

The Year New Launch Vehicles Finally Lift Off (Source: Space Review)
A new year brings with it new hopes for new launch vehicles. Jeff Foust reports on the launch vehicles making the first (or second) flights this year after extended delays. Click here. (1/2)
 
The Longstanding Mystery of the Moons of Mars and the Mission That Could Solve It (Source: Space Review)
Were the moons of Mars captured by the planet or created from collisions? Ben Rider-Stokes discusses that mystery and a Japanese mission that could provide a way to solve it. Click here. (1/2)

Space Advocacy with AIA CEO Eric Fanning (Source: Apple Podcasts)
In this interview, Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning explains the importance of the space domain commercially and with regard to US national security, including the importance of industry partnerships and international alliances. Fanning highlights the value of the American Rocketry Challenge and other STEM initiatives in building the space workforce of the future. Click here. (12/28)

Space Force to Engage More Launch Companies (Source: C4ISRnet)
In 2024, the US Space Force aims to expand the range of companies eligible to provide military space launch services, enhancing flexibility and reducing costs. The contracts will be awarded in two phases: "Lane 1" missions in the spring, open to smaller launch companies for less demanding missions, and a second batch in the fall for more challenging missions, likely to three providers, as part of the strategy to improve resiliency and affordability in space architecture. (12/31)

UK Space Tech Predictions for 2024 (Source: UKTN)
This year began with high hopes for the UK space tech sector, only for them to come crashing back down to Earth after the failure of Virgin Orbit to become the first orbital launch from British soil. Despite that setback, there is optimism that the UK’s nascent but rapidly growing space tech sector will reach new heights in 2024. While the UK doesn’t yet launch rockets, spaceports in Scotland and Cornwall could change that in 2024. Click here. (12/28)

NASA and Russia will keep launching each other's astronauts to ISS until 2025 (Source: Space.com)
NASA and Russia have agreed to keep launching American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts on each other's spacecraft, media reports suggest. Roscosmos announced both it and NASA will continue the International Space Station launches with each other's crew members through at least 2025, "to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole," according to multiple reports including the Moscow Times. (1/2)

Starfighters Anticipates a Productive 2024 at Cape Canaveral and Other Spaceports (Source: Starfighters Space)
Starfighters Space, operating the only commercial fleet of aircraft in the world with the capability to fly at sustained MACH 2, along with the capability to air-launch payloads at altitude, delivered its year-end update and 2024 industry outlook to shareholders. Management echoed the enthusiasm presented by 70th Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on his December 5 Visit to Starfighters Space HQ. Earlier in the month, Starfighters hosted its first Institutional Think Tank meeting at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. In attendance were a group of retired Generals and Admirals who represent a broad range of government, institutional and commercial initiatives around Hypersonic Research and Advanced Space Access.

The Company has also received its first letter of interest for utilizing its StarLaunch II Platform for payload delivery to Lower Earth Orbit and expects to announce new initiatives following StarLaunch I’s drop tests targeted for Q2. The company has extended its hangar lease at the Florida spaceport, while also receiving interest from other spaceports interested in providing Starfighters with a second launch location. Click here. (1/2)

Red Alert in Antarctica: the Year Rapid, Dramatic Change Hit Climate Scientists Like a ‘Punch in the Guts' (Source: The Guardian)
Constant daylight can be famously discombobulating for first-time visitors to Antarctica, but for experienced researchers such as Abram, it is just the backdrop to life at the end of the Earth. This year, though, something else is deeply strange. When Abram was here a decade ago there was a mass of ice floating off the coast. It’s a vastly altered scene when she looks out the window now. “There’s no sea ice at all,” she says. “It’s a magnificent landscape. To think about what we’re doing to it and the changes that are happening here, it’s a punch in the guts.”

Antarctic sea ice cover crashed for six months straight, to a level so far below anything else on the satellite record that scientists struggled for adjectives to describe what they were witnessing. That event in the west of the continent followed parts of the east – the coldest place on Earth – last year recording what scientists think is the biggest heatwave ever recorded, with temperatures peaking at 39C above normal.

Looking ahead, a study published in Nature in March found meltwater from the continent’s ice sheets could dramatically slow down the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, a deep ocean current, by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions continued at their current level. Two months later, a paper by some of the same researchers estimated the circulation, which influences global weather patterns and ocean temperatures and nutrient levels, had already slowed by about 30% since the 1990s. (12/30)

Satellite Messaging: The 2023 Phones Trend That Wasn't (Yet) (Source: CNET)
Some reporters (ahem, myself) thought it would be the year of phone-to-satellite connectivity. Sike! It didn't manifest, and now it looks like we're headed straight into 2024 as a year of on-device AI. What happened? This cresting of a fad wave only to see it plummet was probably only seen by phones fans. Apple began to make waves with the release of Emergency SOS via Satellite within the iPhone 14 in late 2022. The tool lets iPhone owners send texts to emergency services through satellites.

Then Qualcomm kicked off 2023 with a big pitch: by midyear, handsets with Snapdragon chips would be able to tap into satellite owner Iridium's network to relay emergency texts at first, then eventually send data and videos. At CES 2023, the company took reporters out into the Las Vegas desert for a demonstration of satellite-connected phones. Motorola and robust phonemaker Bullitt teased their own tough satellite handset solution, which caused more ripples. 

But by the end of 2023, no phones had come out with Snapdragon Satellite and Qualcomm ended its deal with Iridium. Further, the satellite solutions proposed by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have yet to come online. The year is poised to end with no other mainstream phones getting satellite texting, let alone voice or video. That leaves the iPhone as the sole handset that can connect to and use satellites to augment their communications in an emergency. (12/28)

NASA Aims to Put Human-like Robots in Space (Source: Voice of America)
The American space agency NASA's human-like robot Valkyrie looks powerful. It stands 188 centimeters tall and weighs 136 kilograms. Valkyrie is named after supernatural females in Norse mythology. The robot is being tested at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The robot is designed to operate in "...damaged human-engineered environments," like areas hit by natural disasters, NASA said. But robots like Valkyrie could also work in space one day.

Robots that look like humans, or humanoid robots, have a torso, head, two arms and two legs. Engineers believe that humanoid robots will be able to work similarly to humans and use the same tools and equipment. They just need the right software. NASA Dexterous Robotics team leader Shaun Azimi said humanoid robots in space could do dangerous jobs. Such jobs include cleaning solar panels or dealing with equipment outside the spacecraft. (1/1)

Strange Radio Signal Detected From Outside the Milky Way (Source: SciTech Daily)
New research reveals a never-before-seen behavior in a repeating Fast Radio Burst, offering fresh insights into these mysterious cosmic phenomena. Astronomers are continuing to unravel the mystery of deep space signals after discovering a never-before-seen quirk in a newly-detected Fast Radio Burst (FRB). FRBs are millisecond-long, extremely bright flashes of radio light that generally come from outside our Milky Way galaxy. Most happen only once but some “repeaters” send out follow-up signals, adding to the intrigue surrounding their origin. (1/1)

How Many Planets Could Be in the Kuiper Belt? (Source: Phys.org)
A recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as rogue planets, starless planets, and wandering planets—that could have been captured by our sun's gravity long ago and orbit in the outer solar system approximately 1,400 astronomical units (AU) from the sun.

For context, the farthest known planetary body in the solar system is Pluto, which orbits approximately 39 AU from the sun, and is also part of the Kuiper Belt, which scientists estimate extends as far out as 1,000 AU from the sun. This study comes as scientists currently estimate that billions, if not trillions, of FFPs could exist within our Milky Way galaxy. (1/2)

A Commander’s Lament on the Loss of a Historic SpaceX Rocket (Source: Ars Technica)
The Falcon 9 rocket that launched NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on SpaceX's first crew mission in 2020 launched and landed for the 19th and final time just before Christmas, then tipped over on its recovery ship during the trip back to Cape Canaveral. This particular booster, known by the tail number B1058, was special among SpaceX's fleet of reusable rockets. It was the fleet leader, having tallied 19 missions over the course of more than three-and-a-half years. More importantly, it was the rocket that thundered into space on May 30, 2020, on a flight that made history on several counts.

It was the first time a commercial rocket and spacecraft launched people into orbit, and ended a nine-year gap in America's ability to send astronauts into orbit from US soil, following the retirement of the space shuttle. This mission, known as Demo-2 and launched by SpaceX under contract with NASA, ended US reliance on Russian rockets to send crews to the ISS.

SpaceX recovered the booster on one of its offshore landing platforms after the historic launch in May 2020, while the Falcon 9's upper stage fired into orbit with the Crew Dragon spacecraft containing Hurley and Behnken. Then, the rocket went into SpaceX's fleet rotation to launch 18 more times, primarily on missions to deploy Starlink Internet satellites. Hurley, who commanded the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Demo-2 mission, kept up with the booster's exploits well after his return to Earth. He regularly exchanged text messages with Behnken and Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX's vice president of launch, as the rocket just kept flying. (1/2)

Terran Orbital Says Rivada is Up to Date on Invoices After Undisclosed Payment (Source: Space News)
Terran Orbital told investors Jan. 2 it has received a past-due payment for the 300 satellites it is building for Rivada Space Networks, but it is unclear whether this covered the full $180 million it expected by the end of 2023 as future installments for the $2.4 billion project are kept under wraps. The amount was due for completing an unspecified program milestone, Terran Orbital announced in a brief Jan. 2 news release, and means Rivada Space has paid all outstanding invoices to date.

Terran Orbital had told shareholders Oct. 26 it expected to get a $180 million payment from its biggest customer before the end of 2023 after getting more than $5 million to start work on a constellation targeting SpaceX launches from 2025. Terran Orbital said it expects to report more than $70 million in cash as of Dec. 31, $31 million more than three months earlier, following what it said were key customer payments at year-end. (1/2)

Top Satellite Launches to Watch in 2024 (Source: Via Satellite)
A number of anticipated satellite programs finally got off the ground in 2023. Unfortunately, some of those satellites including the first ViaSat-3, and four of the O3b mPOWER satellites, have experienced on-orbit issues, forcing operators to recalibrate their strategies. In this round-up, we take stock of 2024 and look at some of the top commercial satellites expected to launch this year. Lots of satellites are on deck for 2024! (Note, this list is not exhaustive.) Click here. (1/2)

EchoStar Completes Merger with DISH (Source: DISH)
EchoStar Corporation announced today the completion of its acquisition of DISH Network on December 31, 2023. To complete the acquisition, a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar merged with and into DISH Network, with DISH Network surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. (2/2)

Comet ‘Bigger Than Mount Everest’ Heading Toward Earth (Source: Penn Live)
2024 is off with an astronomical bang. A gigantic comet is currently hurtling its way toward Earth. But before you start to think we’re going the way of the dinosaur, rest assured it’s going to be totally okay. According to Astronomy.com, this Devil comet — so called for the horn-looking points it developed after it underwent an outburst back in July — is “bigger than Mount Everest” and has been recognized by scientists since the 1800s (it’s real name is the Comet Pons-Brooks, as well as Comet 12P, in honor the man who discovered it). (1/2)

The Solution To The Dark Matter Mystery Might Be A Black Hole Sun (Source: IFL Science)
“Stars harboring a black hole at their center can live surprisingly long,” says Earl Bellinger, now an Assistant Professor at Yale University, who led a recent study into whether the scenario was feasible. “Our sun could even have a black hole as massive as the planet Mercury at its center without us noticing.”

It sounds impossible, we know – after all, black holes are pretty much defined by their ability to gobble up any and everything that gets too close. We’ve all seen 2009’s Star Trek; we know what happens when you plop a black hole inside an astronomical body, and spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for the body. Except, according to Bellinger and his colleagues, it wouldn’t just work – it could potentially clear up one of the most stubborn mysteries of the universe: where the heck all the dark matter has been hiding. (1/2)

We May Have Been Looking For The Wrong Thing In The Search For Life (Source: IFL Science)
If we want to find the necessary conditions for life on the surface of another planet, let alone life itself, we should stop hoping for carbon in its atmosphere, a new paper argues. Instead, it is an absence, or at least shortage, of atmospheric carbon that could be the sign we’re getting close. Planets in a particular star system will be formed with similar amounts of carbon, the authors argue. “If we see one planet with much less carbon now, it must have gone somewhere,” co-author Professor Amaury Triaud said.

Heavier elements might be trapped in a planet’s core, but carbon is too light for that. “The only process that could remove that much carbon from the atmosphere is a strong water cycle involving oceans of liquid water,” Triaud continued. “We believe if we detect carbon depletion, it has a good chance of being a strong sign of liquid water and/or life,” de Wit said. On the other hand, too much carbon dioxide would be what the team calls an anti-biosignature. (1/2)

Copernic Space Sells Digital Assets for 2024 Lunar Flight (Source: Space News)
Copernic Space is selling digital capacity and lunar assets for a 2024 moon mission. It’s the latest step in the Los Angeles startup’s campaign to create a digital marketplace for selling and financing space assets.

Copernic Space lunar payload will be housed in a capsule from San Francisco startup LifeShip. LifeShip is collecting DNA from customers as part of its campaign to establish a lunar seed bank and data archive. The LifeShip capsule is scheduled to launch in 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes as planned, it will touch down in the northern lunar hemisphere’s Mare Crisium in Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander. (1/2)

Miniaturized Jumping Robots Could Study an Asteroid's Gravity (Source: Phys.org)
Missions focusing on small bodies in the solar system have been coming thick and fast lately. OSIRIS-Rex, Psyche, and Rosetta are all examples of projects that planned or did rendezvous with a small body in the solar system. But one of their biggest challenges is understanding the gravity of these bodies—which was especially evident when Philae, Rosetta's lander, had a hard time staying on the surface of its intended comet. A new idea from researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory could help solve that problem—by bouncing small probes around.

The concept, called Gravity Poppers, resulted from a NIAC grant back in 2020. The idea is simple enough—release a bunch of probes onto the surface of a small body and have them periodically jump off it. When they do so, keep track of them. If you know the force they jumped off with and can track them as they return to the surface, you can estimate the gravity of the area they're floating over more accurately than alternative techniques. (12/27)

Scientists Propose New Explanation for “Impossible” Gamma-Ray Burst (Source: Sci-Tech Daily)
In 2022, scientists from Northwestern University presented novel observational data indicating that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) might originate from the collision of a neutron star with another dense celestial body, such as another neutron star or a black hole — a finding that was previously believed to be impossible.

Now, another Northwestern team offers a potential explanation for what generated the unprecedented and incredibly luminous burst of light. After developing the first numerical simulation that follows the jet evolution in a black hole-neutron star merger out to large distances, the astrophysicists discovered that the post-merger black hole can launch jets of material from the swallowed neutron star. (12/28)

A Planetary Scientist Reveals the 6 Biggest Space Missions in 2024 (Source: Inverse)
The year 2023 proved to be an important one for space missions, with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returning a sample from an asteroid and India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission exploring the lunar south pole, and 2024 is shaping up to be another exciting year for space exploration. I’m a planetary scientist, and here are six of the space missions I’m most excited to follow in 2024. (12/31)

Incredible Process of CNC Machining a Rocket Engine Turbopump (Source: Titans of CNC Machining)
This real-world aerospace part, as seen at Blue Origin, is cnc machined on the Heller CP 6000 with Kennametal tooling, using advanced 5-axis techniques. Click here. (1/2)

NASA Responds To Claims "Lost" Asteroid 2007 FT3 Will Hit Earth In 2024 (Source: IFL Science)
Several news outlets have reported that the Earth may be hit by a "lost" asteroid this year. According to the reports, if asteroid 2007 FT3 were to hit Earth it would do so with the equivalent energy of 2.6 billion tons of TNT, NASA has lost track it, and it has a chance of hitting the planet on October 5, 2024. So, given that that all sounds (to use a technical term) "not great", what is really going on?

Well, 2007 FT3 is a real asteroid, first observed in 2007, and is on NASA's Sentry Risk Table of objects that could potentially impact Earth. It is also a "lost" asteroid, as it was seen for just 1.2 days before disappearing from NASA's view. Responding specifically to claims around 2007 FT3, NASA stated: “There are no known asteroid impact threats to Earth at any time in the next century. NASA and its partners diligently watch the skies to find, track, and categorize asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that may come close to Earth." (1/2)

Why These 6 Items Are Not Allowed in Space (Source: Discover Magazine)
The more we’ve come to learn about gravity in space, the more we know about which objects don’t belong in space. Thanks to the low gravity in outer space, these items have been scratched from the eligibility list for space travel, and some may surprise you. Click here. (1/2)

NASA’s Most High-Risk Endeavor in Decades and Oher Boundary-Pushing Space Missions Planned for 2024 (Source: CNN)
The year ahead promises to deliver some spectacular pursuits, pushing human and scientific exploration of the cosmos further than it’s gone in decades. The visions are grand: NASA plans to send astronauts on a lunar fly-by mission that will travel deeper into the solar system than anyone has ventured in more than 50 years. Click here. (1/2)