March 12, 2024

Crew Dragon Splashes Down Near Pensacola (Source: Space News)
A Crew Dragon spacecraft returned four people from the International Space Station this morning. The spacecraft Endurance splashed down off the Florida coast near Pensacola at 5:47 a.m. Eastern, a little more than 18 hours after undocking from the ISS. The splashdown marked the end of the Crew-7 mission, returning NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA's Andreas Mogensen, JAXA's Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos' Konstantin Borisov after more than six months in space. (3/12)

2025 Budget Proposal Seeks $29.4 Billion for Space Force (Source: Space News)
A fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes steady funding for the U.S. Space Force. The budget proposal, released Monday, offers $29.4 billion for the service, down from the $30 billion requested for 2024 but in line with projections last year for the service's funding in 2025. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that the 2025 request is an "acceptable" budget for the Space Force, but not an optimal one, allowing key programs to move forward but at not quite the pace that the Pentagon would like.

While the Space Force budget remained relatively flat, many in the commercial space industry will be disappointed it did not create new funding lines for emerging services, one analyst said. The Pentagon is also requesting $144 million for its new Office of Strategic Capital, created to help bring private investment to companies developing dual-use technologies with both commercial and national security applications. With financing tools like loan guarantees, the office aims to boost tech firms that typically shun government work. (3/12)

NASA Seeks $25.4 Billion for 2025 (Source: Space News)
NASA says that it's faced with "hard choices" for its programs because of spending caps. The agency released its 2025 budget proposal Monday, seeking nearly $25.4 billion in 2025, the same as the agency received in 2023 and a half-billion more than it received in the final 2024 spending bill last week. The budget requests proposals to delay, cancel or restructure several science missions, including canceling the Geospace Dynamics Constellation heliophysics mission and cutting back operations of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The budget left funding for Mars Sample Return (MSR) as "TBD" as plans to restructure the program wrap up this spring. NASA will later amend the budget request to include funding for MSR, but doesn't plan to increase the $2.7 billion overall request for planetary science. (3/12)

COSMO Working to Leverage Commercial Capabilities for Military Needs (Source: Space News)
A Space Systems Command office is seeking to better leverage commercial space capabilities. The Commercial Space Office, or COMSO, has the mantra, "Exploit what we have, buy what we can and build only what we must." The head of COMSO, Col. Richard Kniseley, explained that means using existing capabilities in new ways and buying what is commercially available before the Space Force considers building its own systems. He noted that a commercial system that meets 70% of their needs now is preferable in many cases to building a new system. (3/12)

Simera Sense Raises $15 Million for Space Cameras (Source: Space News)
Space camera maker Simera Sense has raised nearly $15 million. The company, which produces cameras for satellite manufacturers that include AAC Clyde Space, Open Cosmos and OHB System, says the funding will allow it to expand system assembly facilities out of South Africa and closer to its component producers in Europe. The funding will also will help the company fast-track the development of higher resolution and more advanced shortwave infrared camera products. Founded in 2018, Simera Sense is a specialized business unit within Simera Group, a 14-year-old multi-disciplinary engineering company based in South Africa. (3/12)

Lumen Space Raises $2.4 Million for Space-Based Data Centers (Source: GeekWire)
A startup is proposing to place data centers in orbit. Lumen Space raised a $2.4 million pre-seed round that it announced Monday. The company says it has ambitions to place hundreds of satellites in orbit that will perform "edge processing" of data from other spacecraft, reducing the amount of information sent back to Earth. The funding supports work on a prototype satellite planned for launch in 2025. Several other companies are also pursuing similar plans to create in-space data centers. (3/12)

Aireon Launches Global Coalition for Space-Based VHF Aviation Communication (Source: Space Daily)
The Aireon Space-Based VHF Coalition is a collaborative initiative aimed at developing space-based VHF voice and data communication services for the aviation sector. The coalition sees the partnership of industry giants including Iridium, NAV CANADA, NATS, AirNav Ireland, ENAV, and Naviair with Aireon, and is in talks with more partners set to join. This initiative follows the groundbreaking success of Aireon's space-based ADS-B surveillance, which revolutionized the monitoring of over 50% of the world's airspace. (3/12)

Olsen Secures UK Funding for Development of Lunar Rover Drive System (Source: Space Daily)
Leading provider of actuators and space-certified motor drives, Olsen Actuators and Drives has won its first UK Space Agency funding to deliver a Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrator for a new lunar rover being designed by the University of Manchester, and funded by the Enabling Technologies Program (ETP). The project will develop and fabricate a jumping robot system capable of thrusting upwards, descending, and self-righting that will be lowered into lava tubes under the surface of the Moon which have been earmarked for potential initial future human habitation. (3/9)

BlackStar and Kall Morris Forge Partnership to Address Space Debris Challenge (Source: Space Daily)
BlackStar Orbital Technologies Corporation has announced a new partnership with Kall Morris Inc (KMI), a company at the forefront of orbital debris mitigation. This alliance marks a substantial advancement in the effort to address the increasing concern of space debris, with plans for a joint satellite retrieval mission slated for 2027. (3/11)

Indo-Swedish Space Collaboration Leaps Forward with Ground Station Expansion (Source: Space Daily)
Dhruva Space and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) are intensifying their longstanding collaboration with an agreement to expand their satellite ground station network, an initiative poised to significantly benefit the Swedish and Indian new space industries. This partnership marks a pivotal advance with Dhruva Space set to employ SSC's ground station network for its forthcoming LEAP-1 hosted payload satellite mission, expected to launch later in 2024. (3/9)

New Therapeutic for Cartilage Regeneration Flies to ISS to Improve Arthritis Treatments on Earth (Source: CASIS)
About one in four adults are affected by arthritis, which can wreak havoc on joints by breaking down the cushioning, called cartilage, between bones. Currently, once cartilage deteriorates, there is no way to replace it. However, researchers from the University of Connecticut recently turned to the ISS National Laboratory to try to change that. Yupeng Chen sent engineered cartilage tissue, housed in a Space Tango CubeLab, to space to evaluate how effective a nanoparticle therapeutic is at overcoming cartilage deterioration caused by microgravity. Results from this investigation could lead to improved treatments for patients with degenerative joint diseases. (3/11)

SAIC Scores $444 Million Contract to Upgrade Data Systems at U.S. Space Launch Sites (Source: Space News)
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has landed a $444 million contract to modernize the launch instrumentation and information systems at the Space Force’s launch sites in Florida and California. “Under this contract, SAIC will modernize antiquated space launch range instrumentation and processes to support an accelerated cadence of space missions,” the company announced March 11. (3/11)

Act Now to Prevent a ‘Gold Rush’ in Space (Source: Nature)
Although the 1967 Outer Space Treaty has staved off major conflicts in space over the past nearly 60 years, the nature of space exploration has changed remarkably since then. For starters, private firms are now able to exert substantial influence on government-run space programmes. Private actors such as the US spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, already own a majority of the low Earth orbiting satellites. In 2022, the space industry was estimated to be worth $350 billion and is projected to grow to more than one trillion dollars over the next two decades.

Under these circumstances, the presence of intentionally vague and ambiguous terminology in existing international agreements — such as outer space being a “province of all mankind” held for the “common interest” — leaves room for misinterpretation. If lunar bases end up becoming a reality, the existing legal framework will need an update. Without a bold new global consensus, a space ‘wild west’ could emerge. In the absence of a concerted global dialogue, individual countries are pushing ahead with their own laws, such as the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015. Similar laws are being written or enacted in India, Japan, China and Russia. (3/11)

The Difficult Early Life of the Centaur Upper Stage (Source: Space Review)
The Centaur upper stage has become a key element for a series of launch vehicles, most recently the Vulcan. But as Trevor Williams describes, it suffered problems during its origins more than six decades ago. Click here. (3/11)
 
India Unveils its First Set of Gaganyaan Astronauts (Source: Space Review)
The Indian government last month revealed the identities of the four test pilots who have been training for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program. Jatan Mehta provides an update on the state of that program. Click here. (3/11)
 
The Psychological Challenges of a Long Voyage to Mars (Source: Space Review)
Going to Mars involves many technical challenges, but another set of issues involves how crews will work together in confined spaces far from Earth for years at a time. Nick Kanas examines some of those problems and potential solutions. Click here. (3/11)

'Once-Unthinkable' Ways We Can Cool the Planet (Source: Newser)
The National Academy of Sciences recommended a "cautious approach" to testing newer technologies, like solar geoengineering, in 2021. Here are some of the more interesting ways researchers say we can slow down the effects of global warming, some of which are already being tested out. Click here. (3/10)

Dawn of the Multi-Orbit Era (Source: Space News)
Standalone terminals that can switch between satellites in geostationary and low Earth orbit (LEO) are about to get into customer hands for the first time, delivering a real-world test of multi-orbit broadband capabilities operators are increasingly pinning their businesses on. Legacy geostationary operators have been busy drawing up acquisitions, partnerships, and new constellations to offer multi-orbit services, partly in response to competition from LEO-only heavyweight Starlink, but also to meet evolving connectivity needs in the air and other places terrestrial networks can’t reach. (3/11)

More Precise Understanding of Dark Energy Achieved Using AI (Source: Phys.org)
A UCL-led research team has used artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to infer the influence and properties of dark energy more precisely from a map of dark and visible matter in the universe covering the last 7 billion years. The researchers doubled the precision at which key characteristics of the universe, including the overall density of dark energy, could be inferred from the map. This increased precision allows researchers to rule out models of the universe that might previously have been conceivable. (3/11)

Why Astronomers are Worried About 2 Major Telescopes Right Now (Source: Space.com)
There's a bit of tension right now in the U.S. astronomy community and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it has to do with telescopes — extremely large telescopes, in fact. Here's what's going on.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), a source of public funding that two powerful next-gen observatories have been banking on for financial support, is facing pressure to go forward with only one telescope. This is because last month, the National Science Board — which is basically an advisory committee for the NSF — recommended that it cap its giant telescope budget at $1.6 billion. This is a lot of money, but it's just not enough for both. The board even says the NSF will have until only May of this year to decide which telescope gets the go-ahead. (3/10)

Saturn's Moon is a Testing Ground to Gain a Better Understanding of the Methane Molecule (Source: Phys.org)
Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a dense atmosphere. At the top of this atmosphere, rich in nitrogen and methane, the sun's radiation produces a great diversity of organic molecules, some of which we also find on Earth as constituents of the basic unit of life, the cell.

An international research team analyzed the sunlight reflected by Titan's atmosphere and identified for the first time almost one hundred signatures that the methane molecule (CH4) inscribes in the visible band of the electromagnetic spectrum, traces that are essential for finding it in other atmospheres. Furthermore, the team found possible evidence of the presence of the tricarbon molecule (C3), a molecule that could participate in the chain of chemical reactions that generate complex molecules of Titan- If confirmed, it will be the first detection of the tricarbon molecule on a planetary body. (3/11)

SpaceX Gets E-band Radio Waves to Boost Starlink Broadband (Source: Space News)
SpaceX has secured conditional approval to use extremely high-frequency E-band radio waves to improve the capacity of its low Earth orbit Starlink broadband constellation. The FCC is allowing SpaceX to use E-band frequencies between second-generation Starlink satellites and gateways on the ground, alongside already approved spectrum in the Ka and Ku bands. Specifically, SpaceX is now also permitted to communicate between 71 and 76 gigahertz from space to Earth, and 81-86 GHz Earth-to-space, using the up to 7,500 Gen 2 satellites SpaceX is allowed to deploy. (3/11)

Phantom Closes Bridge Funding Round (Source: Space News)
Phantom Space Corp. closed a bridge round to fund the Tucson, Arizona-based startup’s development and manufacturing of satellites and launch vehicles. Phantom’s March 11 news release did not disclose the value of the latest round. To date, the company has raised about $37 million. Phantom is developing Daytona, a launch vehicle for payloads with a maximum mass of 500 kilograms.

In addition, Phantom plans to establish the Phantom Cloud small satellite constellation. Phantom Cloud is designed to provide satellite data backhaul services, on-orbit cloud storage and edge computing. In addition to producing satellites for Phantom Cloud, Phantom sells small satellites. The first ESPA-class commercial satellite was delivered to a customer in 2022. (ESPA stands for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter.) (3/11)

Nelson Promises a 'Fight' for NASA's 2025 Budget Request (Source: Space.com)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says his agency was "caught" in a Congressional compromise for spending cuts in fiscal year 2025. Nelson's annual "State of NASA" address framed a two-year spending reduction agreement in Congress, reached in the U.S. Senate late Friday for part of the government, as a result of "partisan political gridlock" that will affect NASA greatly in the current fiscal year and the next one. (Nelson is a former Democratic representative for both the U.S. House and the Senate.) (3/11)

US Responds to Russia-China Plan to Put Nuclear Reactor On Moon (Source: Newsweek)
The State Department has urged a "rigorous" safety evaluation of a proposed joint Russia-China plan to establish a nuclear-powered lunar base within the next decade. Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, said earlier this month that the two powers are "seriously considering a project" to install a nuclear power station on the lunar surface that may one day support lunar settlements. The project, Borisov said, may take place "somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035."

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. "is aware of PRC [People's Republic of China] and Russian plans for an International Lunar Research Station," noting the "decades of space cooperation" between the two neighbors. There is no suggestion that the planned project has a military component, but the Institute for the Study of War suggested Borisov's remarks were "indicative of warming relations and Chinese willingness to foster a long-term strategic partnership with Russia to posture against and possibly threaten the West." (3/11)

Space Loves AI, AI Doesn't Love Space (Source: Space News)
Space-related applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning are often confined to the ground because moving AI onboard satellites, while promising, is significantly more difficult. “Running AI in space is like running a marathon on the moon — impressive if achieved, but limited by the environment,” said Sylvester Kaczmarek, chief technology officer at OrbiSky Systems, a London startup focused on AI edge operations.

Advanced processors are power hungry, meaning satellites with onboard AI require large solar panels and extra batteries. Plus, “radiation in space can fry electronics,” Kaczmarek said. (3/11)

China Will Launch Giant, Reusable Rockets Next Year to Prep for Human Missions to the Moon (Source: Space.com)
China plans to launch two reusable rockets in 2025 and 2026 in preparation for future crewed missions to the moon. The upcoming launches are part of a new lunar program introduced by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the main contractor for the Chinese space program, that will be "key" to China's goal of sending astronauts to the moon by 2030, SpaceNews reported.

Unlike rockets that China has used in the past, this pair will be completely reusable. This means they will be not only more sustainable but also more cost-effective, since they won't have to be built from scratch for future missions. (3/11)

Kymeta Brings in New Leadership Amid Multi-Orbit Antenna Launch (Source: Space News)
Flat panel antenna maker Kymeta is refreshing its leadership team as the company prepares to start shipping its first multi-orbit broadband user terminal. Kymeta said March 11 that co-CEOs Walter Berger and Doug Hutcheson, who were also president and chair, respectively, are retiring at the end of March after leading the company for five years.

Rick Bergman, most recently executive vice president for computing and graphics at chipmaker AMD, is replacing Berger as president and CEO. Bergman also served as president and CEO of computer touchpad maker Synaptics from 2011-2019. Aerospace industry veteran Nicole Piasecki, a Kymeta board member since May 2022, will become its chair as the manufacturer abandons the co-CEO leadership structure. (3/11)