February 22, 2024

Texas A&M Signs Lease for Lunar Research and Training Facility at NASA (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The Texas A&M University System has signed a lease for nearly three dozen acres at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, formalizing its plan to build a research and training facility that will help return humans to the moon. The lease marks the first tenant of Exploration Park, a 240-acre development just outside the space center’s gated area that will become home to academic researchers, aerospace companies and entrepreneurs. (2/21)

The Bahamas Partners with SpaceX for Landmark Space Tourism Venture (Source: CNW)
The Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (MOTIA) has unveiled a transformative collaboration with SpaceX, heralding a significant milestone for The Bahamas in the realm of space tourism. The groundbreaking Letter of Agreement (LOA) solidifies a strategic alliance between The Bahamas and SpaceX, positioning the island nation as a premier global destination for witnessing booster landings.

SpaceX, renowned for its pioneering efforts in space exploration, is finalizing mission designs to facilitate Falcon 9 booster landings on an autonomous drone ship east of The Exumas, offering an unparalleled spectacle exclusive to The Bahamas. This landmark agreement opens doors for tourists to witness awe-inspiring space events from various vantage points across Bahamian islands, including cruise ships, resorts, and tourist hotspots. (2/21)

Varda Capsule Reenters for Recovery in Utah (Source: Space News)
A commercial capsule reentered and landed in the Utah desert Wednesday. Varda Space Industries said the capsule from its W-Series 1 spacecraft landed at the Utah Test and Training Range at 4:40 p.m. Eastern. The company received an FAA reentry license last week for the mission after several months of efforts to win approvals from the agency and from the Air Force, which operates the range. The capsule was part of a spacecraft built by Rocket Lab and launched in June to test microgravity production of a drug called ritonavir. Varda said it is preparing a second mission to launch this summer. (2/22)

FCC Plans March Vote on Direct-to-Device Spectrum (Source: Space News)
The FCC plans to vote next month on rules to allow the use of terrestrial spectrum for direct-to-device services. The FCC said Wednesday the proposed rules, to be distributed this week, will be taken up by commissioners at a March 14 meeting. The rules would enable satellite operators and their terrestrial partners to seek FCC permission to use some spectrum currently allocated for terrestrial services in space.

AST SpaceMobile and SpaceX have partnered with AT&T and T-Mobile, respectively, to use those operators' terrestrial spectrum to provide direct-to-device services. Those plans may still face opposition from other companies, like Omnispace, which claims its S-band satellite services will face significant interference if SpaceX uses T-Mobile spectrum. (2/22)

India to Allow More Foreign Investment in Space Industry (Source: Deccan Herald)
The Indian government will allow more foreign investment in the country's space industry. The government announced Wednesday that it is increasing limits on foreign direct investment (FDI), including up to 100% foreign investment in companies that produce subsystems for satellites, ground stations and user terminals. FDI limits will be increased to 74% for companies that build satellites and ground stations, and 49% for companies that produce launch vehicles and related subsystems. The move is intended to spur investment in Indian space companies. (2/22)

Giant Magellan Telescope Adds Taiwanese Institute (Source: GMTO)
A proposed large telescope has added a new partner. The Giant Magellan Telescope announced this week that Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, a Taiwanese research institute, had joined the project, joining universities and organizations in the United States and several other nations. The telescope, which is still seeking funding to complete its development, will be located in Chile and use seven mirrors, each 8.4 meters across. (2/22)

Radcliffe Wave is Waving (Source: Washington Post)
A wave-shaped structure in our galaxy is, in fact, waving. Astronomers say the Radcliffe Wave, a wave-shaped line of clouds 9,000 light-years long, is going up and down through the plane of the Milky Way. Astronomers don't know why the structure is waving, but suggested it could be linked to a series of supernova explosions or a collision with a dwarf galaxy. The Radcliffe Wave comes within 500 light-years from the Earth, and our solar system likely passed through it 13 million years ago. (2/22)

DOD Debt Deal Program Cuts Hit 2025 Budget Request (Source: Politico)
The Defense Department is reducing its budget for fiscal 2025 to under $850 billion, in line with the debt limit agreement signed by President Joe Biden, and leading to cuts in acquisitions of an attack submarine, Army helicopters, drones, and F-35s. As disclosed by US officials and a congressional aide, this budget adjustment aligns with the federal spending cap of $895 billion for national defense. (2/21)

STORIES of Space Teams with Maritime Launch Services for a Nova Scotia Launch (Source: Space Daily)
STORIES of Space, a visionary nonprofit dedicated to intertwining human narratives with the cosmos, has joined forces with Maritime Launch Services, the pioneering entity behind Canada's inaugural commercial spaceport, Spaceport Nova Scotia. This partnership heralds the upcoming STORIES Mission 03, slated for 2024, which aims to propel thousands of human stories into the vastness of space, directly from the heart of Canada. (2/22)

Spire Global Awarded Contracts by the European Maritime Safety Agency for Provision of SAT-AIS Data Services (Source: Space Daily)
Spire Global has been awarded two significant framework contracts by the European Maritime Safety Agency, amounting to a maximum overall budget of euro 8.4 million. These contracts mark a continuation and expansion of Spire's collaboration with EMSA, building on a partnership that has provided crucial satellite automatic identification system (SAT-AIS) data services since 2020. (2/22)

Starnote Extension by Blues and Skylo Promises Seamless Satellite Connectivity for IoT Devices (Source: Space Daily)
Blues, renowned for its prowess in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology, has teamed up with Skylo Technologies, a prominent Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) service operator, to unveil Starnote. This innovative extension to Blues' flagship product, Notecard, is set to redefine satellite data connectivity, offering an efficient and cost-effective solution for global connectivity challenges. (2/22)

'Cuteness in Space' as JAXA Carries Out the Serious Business of Its H3 Launch (Source: Japan Forward)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has an urgent message for its visitors. "Please avoid traffic accidents." Not that there is much traffic on Tanegashima Island off the southern tip of Kyushu. This is the island that the Japanese space agency uses as a launch pad for its space missions. It's a quiet place where petrol station workers wave at the local bus driver passing by. Despite all this, JAXA has made out two traffic accident hot spots – one on a stretch of country road with two road bumps and another around the village school. "Accidents threaten the trust and support of the local population that we have worked to establish over the years," JAXA explains endearingly. (2/22)

‘Let’s Go!’ Jeff Bezos Gets Revved Up When Blue Origin Raises Up Its New Glenn Rocket (Source: GeekWire)
For the first time, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture lifted up an orbital-class New Glenn rocket on its Florida launch pad — with the billionaire boss keeping watch. “Just incredible to see New Glenn on the pad at LC-36,” Bezos wrote today in an Instagram post that referred to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. “Big year ahead. Let’s go!”

Blue Origin’s CEO, Dave Limp, agreed that the sight was incredible. “Its size alone — more than 30 stories high and a 7-meter diameter fairing with 487 cubic meters of capacity — is humbling,” he wrote. (2/21)

Blue Origin Has Emerged as the Likely Buyer for United Launch Alliance (Source: Ars Technica)
Blue Origin has emerged as the sole finalist to buy United Launch Alliance. The sale is not official, and nothing has been formally announced. However, two sources told Ars that Blue Origin is nearing the purchase of ULA. The sources said they have not personally seen any signed agreements, but they expect the sale to be announced within a month or two. (2/21)

The International Space Station Retires Soon. NASA Won't Run its Future Replacement (Source: NPR)
NASA is collaborating on developing a space station owned, built, and operated by a private company — either Axiom Space, Voyager Space, or Blue Origin. NASA is giving each company hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and sharing their expertise with them. Eventually, they will select one company to officially partner with and have them replace the ISS. NASA says this will help them focus on deep space exploration, which they consider a much more difficult task.

But any company that is able to develop their own space station, get approval from the federal government and launch it into space will be able to pursue their own deep space missions – even without the approval of NASA. Phil McCalister, director of the Commercial Space Division of NASA, said NASA does not want to own in perpetuity everything in low-Earth orbit. "We want to turn those things over to other organizations that could potentially do it more cost-effectively, and then focus our research and activities on deep space exploration." (2/21)

CSA Issues RFP for Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program Science Instruments (Source: SpaceQ)
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program Science Instruments. The CSA Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) Science Instruments RFP is being referred to as LSI going forward.

“The objective of the LEAP LSI Phases A, B, C, and D will be to design, develop and build a scientific instrument(s) that could be delivered to the lunar surface in order to demonstrate and confirm the feasibility, value and benefits of the proposed scientific instrument(s) for validating technology and conducting opportunistic science on the Moon, and to demonstrate the validity of the mission requirements as well as the development of the system requirements for the scientific instrument.” (2/21)

Former U.S. Space Force Chief Jay Raymond Joins Board of Directors of Impulse Space (Source: Space News)
Impulse Space announced that retired Space Force general John “Jay” Raymond has joined its board of directors. Based in Redondo Beach, California, Impulse Space was founded in 2021 by Tom Mueller, a founding member of SpaceX who helped design the Merlin rocket engine. Impulse Space develops orbital maneuvering vehicles for last-mile payload delivery in low Earth orbit and beyond. (2/21)

Autonomous Robotic Arm System Aims to Advance Space Station Robotics (Source: CASIS)
California-based startup GITAI is gearing up to test a novel autonomous robotic arm system on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). Called S2, the 1.5-meter (4.9-foot) long pair of mechanical arms launched to the orbiting laboratory in January as part of an ISS National Laboratory-sponsored technology development project on Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (NG-20) mission. 

S2 is designed to carry out a variety of tasks, including in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) in the space environment. As part of a months-long series of demonstrations, the arms will be attached to the outside of the space station via a commercial airlock, which was designed and built by Nanoracks, part of Voyager Space’s Exploration Segment. (2/21)

Pluto's Neighborhood May Extend Billions of Miles Farther Into Space Than We Thought (Source: Gizmodo)
While journeying through the far reaches of the solar system, the New Horizons probe picked up a dusty trail of icy fragments that may indicate that the Kuiper Belt—home to former planet Pluto and countless other objects—is way bigger than we thought. New observations from the NASA mission suggest that the massive donut-shaped outer zone of the solar system, also known as the Kuiper Belt, could extend billions of miles farther than current estimates.

There even might be a second, outer belt altogether. Previous models of the belt show that the amount of dust should start to decline a billion miles into that distance. The density of dust detected by New Horizons, however, defies those models. (2/21)

Axient Wins $20 Million Space Force Contract Task for Vulcan and New Glenn Certification (Source: DoD)
Axient LLC, Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $20,100,009 cost-plus, fixed-fee contract modification for launch systems and new entrant certification support. This modification provides continue certification support for the Vulcan and New Glenn launch systems provided under this task order. The work is expected to be complete by Feb. 21, 2027. (2/21)

Satellite Weighing as Much as Adult Rhino Crashes Through Earth's Atmosphere (Source: CBS)
A European Space Agency ERS-2 satellite, weighing as much as an adult male rhinoceros, was expected to re-enter at about 11:32 a.m. EST — plus or minus 4.6 hours. ESA officials confirmed the satellite completed its crash course over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii at 12:17 p.m. EST. ERS-2's batteries were depleted and its communication antenna and onboard electronics were switched off, which means there's no way to actively control the motion of the satellite from the ground during its descent. (2/21)

Blue Origin Readies for Florida Pad Tests with New Glenn Pathfinder (Sources: New York Times, Florida Today)
On Wednesday, Blue Origin hopes to change the narrative, holding a coming-out party of sorts for its new big rocket. In the morning, at Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, the doors to a giant garage opened. The rocket, as tall as a 32-story building, lay horizontally on the trusses of a mobile launch platform. The contraption was sitting on a transport mechanism that resembles several long mechanical centipedes, but with wheels, 288 in all, instead of feet. It began rolling slowly out and up a concrete incline, a quarter-mile trip toward the launchpad.

The rocket will undergo at least a week of tests before returning to the garage. Measuring more than 320 feet tall, New Glenn will rank among the largest vehicles ever built, Blue Origin's website touts. Built, launched and refurbished on the Space Coast, New Glenn has a reusable first stage, expendable upper stage and jumbo-sized 7-meter-diameter nose cone fairing to enclose large payloads. (2/21)

Bubble-Like 'Stars Within Stars' Could Explain Black Hole Weirdness (Source: Science Alert)
Scientists have gone back to step one in an attempt to make better sense of the equations that describe black holes and have come away with a solution that's easier to picture, if no less bizarre. Where more traditional depictions of black holes contain a mess of contradictory physics at their cores, Jampolski and Rezzolla have come up with a unique twist on a gravitationally-confined 'bubble' of material, one that could contain a whole series of bubbles nested within.

What they came up with was a gravitational condensate star. Snappily referred to as a gravastar, this hypothetical construct describes a film of matter compressed to near impossible thinness, inflated from within by a generous helping of dark energy. Weird as these stellar party balloons sound, they'd still look like black holes from the outside, while conveniently doing away with the information paradox and avoiding the need for an infinitely dense pinprick of quantum absurdity at their heart. (2/20)

NASA Vows to Battle 'Organizational Silence' as Problems Arise Amid Artemis Delays (Source: Phys.org)
NASA was riding a high after the overall success of Artemis I when the uncrewed rocket made a test run to the moon and back in 2022, so the message remained full steam ahead to push for a crewed Artemis II flight in 2024 and the return of humans to the moon in 2025. But under the surface were issues, and the sheen of success hit reality, prompting NASA to delay Artemis' first human spaceflight until no earlier than September 2025, and then pushing the moon landing until at least one year later.

Leading the lessons learned program since Artemis I for NASA has been Janet Karika, principal adviser for space transportation and a former NASA chief of staff, who led a discussion on the efforts during a panel held Jan. 31 at the SpaceCom conference at the Orange County Convention Center.

She said the key issue is a continued effort by NASA to battle a culture of organizational silence—the notion that workers and managers feel the pressure to ignore warning signs in favor of budgets and deadlines—which was a leading factor in both the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters that led to the deaths of 14 astronauts. (2/19)

SpaceX Senior Vice President Tom Ochinero is Leaving the Company in a Rare High-Level Departure (Source: CNBC)
One of SpaceX’s senior executives is leaving, CNBC has learned, in a rare high-level departure from Elon Musk’s space company. Tom Ochinero, SpaceX senior vice president, is leaving to attend to a family medical matter, according to people who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal company information. Ochinero has been with the company for more than a decade. (2/21)

SpaceX Aims to Launch Third Starship by Second Week of March (Source: Valley Central)
SpaceX is aiming to launch its third Starship in the second week of March, according to Elon Musk. Musk said on X that the team is working to execute its third launch before March 8, but he guesses the launch will happen during the first half of next month. Musk added that the fourth test flight will be ready shortly after. (2/20)

Canadians Need Space Regulation, Government Report Suggests (Source: The Hub)
Late last year, the federal government released a “what we heard” report that compiled the opinions of Canadians on a modern regulatory framework for space. Written submissions were received from Canadian stakeholders, including industry, academia, associations, think tanks, and the general public.

The feedback in the report will inform the now underway review of Canada’s new regulatory framework for space-related activities as set out in a document titled “Exploration, Imagination, Innovation: A New Space Strategy for Canada (EII).” The initial EII document outlines how a whole-of-government effort will be enacted to set a new vision for Canadian space exploration. It also calls for establishing a modern regulatory framework. The feedback in the report will assist in its creation. (2/21)

Space is Becoming More Commercialized. Can Regulations Keep Up? (Source: Salon)
For hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can purchase tickets to board an aircraft and blast to the limits of the Earth’s atmosphere. While billionaires like Jeff Bezos have already experienced this view from above with his enterprise, Blue Origin, other companies promise to launch their first customers into space by the end of this year. They hope to offer memorial services, off-planet DNA storage and even wedding ceremonies.

While commercial space travel currently carries an expensive price tag, these costs are falling and getting off planet is becoming more accessible all the time. But questions remain about the rules governing space flights and protecting passengers, and some argue the cart is being put before the horse unless a consensus is reached before commercial space flight truly takes off as an industry.

As the commercial sector has emerged, there has been growing recognition that the federal government has to catch up with it, said John Logsdon, a professor emeritus of political science and international affairs at George Washington University who has been studying space policy for 60 years. As it stands, participant safety on commercial space flights is like “the Wild West,” Logsdon said. (2/21)

How DOD’s Overhaul of Space Classification Will Help Operations, Industry, Allies (Source: Air and Space Forces)
In January, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed off on a new space classification policy—one that “completely rewrites” the Space Force’s approach to secret programs and could boost cooperation with commercial industry and international allies, officials say. In a briefing with reporters, assistant secretary of Defense for space policy John Plumb said it would help provide “massive value to the warfighter.”

Chief of Space Operation Gen. B. Chance Saltzman proclaimed the memo from Hicks to be “the most significant change in space classification policy in 20 years. “It will help us to share more information, more quickly, with more stakeholders to better address the challenges in today’s competitive space environment,” Saltzman added. Concerns about over-classification of military space have persisted for years now. In 2022, lawmakers urged the Pentagon to explore the possibility of declassifying additional space programs. (2/20)

The World’s Largest New Tourist Spacecraft Is Swankier Than Your Favorite Cocktail Lounge (Source: Robb Report)
Space capsules are usually cramped spaces filled with blinking displays, backup systems, and just barely enough room for the astronauts. Space Perspective’s just-arrived Neptune capsule is more like a lounge or club, with custom recliners, a bar, and big windows, to enjoy the view.

The space-balloon tourism firm, which expects to make its first manned mission by the end of this year, is moving from concept to reality with the 16-foot diameter sphere, which has an internal volume of 2,000 cubic feet. The Florida company calls the new capsule the “largest-size human launch spacecraft in operation”—claiming it’s roughly twice as large as Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard, and four times the size of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. (2/20)

Hughes’ Networking Software Selected for Air Force Satellite Internet Experiment (Source: Space News)
Hughes Network Systems announced Feb. 21 it will supply modems and other ground-based technology to SES Space & Defense for a military experiment aimed at establishing a multi-vendor mobile communications network. SES is planning a demonstration under the U.S. Air Force’s DEUCSI (Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet) program. (2/21)

Trinity Capital Provides $120 Million Equipment Financing to Rocket Lab (Source: Trinity Capital)
Trinity Capital announced the commitment of $120 million in equipment financing to Rocket Lab USA. The new debt facility from Trinity will be used to fuel Rocket Lab's expansion plans by financing additional manufacturing capacity, testing equipment, and R&D. Rocket Lab designs and produces technology that has been integrated into over 1,700 satellites globally and has deployed 176 satellites through 43 launches to date. (2/20)

Philip Jones Appointed as Chief Financial Officer for Maritime Launch Services (Source: Maritime Launch)
Maritime Launch Services, the company building Spaceport Nova Scotia, Canada's first commercial spaceport, announces the full time addition of Philip Jones to its executive team as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 1, 2024. Jones brings to the table an extensive background working with both public and private corporations. His experience spans across dynamic environments ranging from high growth to strategic turnarounds, with a focus on the technology and communications sectors. (2/20)

ISRO's CE20 Cryogenic Engine Now Human-Rated (Source: Deccan Herald)
The CE20 engine powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for ISRO’s human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan. ISRO completed the tests on February 13 – the final test was the seventh of a series of vacuum ignition tests, carried out at the high altitude test facility at the ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, to simulate the flight conditions. Ground qualification tests for the engine’s human rating involved life demonstration tests, endurance tests, and performance assessment under nominal operating conditions as well as off-nominal conditions with respect to thrust, mixture ratio, and propellant tank pressure. (2/21)

Growing the Space Force: Is Outsourcing Operations an Answer? (Source: Breaking Defense)
As the Space Force rolls out plans for reorganizing its work force to meet the readiness demands of a potential fight with China, the service’s command responsible for providing personnel to operate space systems is eyeing using contractors rather than Guardians to run some satellite networks. If America’s newest military branch moves forward with the idea, experts say it would represent a major shift in how directly contractors play a role in operating American space assets.

Space Operations Command (SpOC) now is evaluating industry responses to a request for information (RFI) on how contractors might not just provide training and support, but also people to serve as operators of systems related to “Space Domain Awareness, Missile Warning/Defense, MILSATCOM, Intelligence, and Orbital Warfare.” (2/20)