March 18, 2024

Turion Closing in on Initial SSA Service From First Satellite (Source: Space News)
Space situational awareness (SSA) startup Turion Space expects to start collecting data from its first satellite soon. The company launched its Droid.001 satellite last June and started commissioning its imaging sensor a couple months ago. Turion says it expects to start taking images of other space objects with that sensor by May. Those images will be used for SSA applications for commercial and government customers as Turion works on future spacecraft to perform satellite servicing and debris removal. (3/18)

China Prepares Another Lunar Farside Mission (Source: Space News)
China is preparing to launch a data relay satellite for an upcoming farside lunar mission. A Long March 8 rocket was vertically transferred to a launch pad at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center early Sunday for a launch scheduled for Tuesday evening. The rocket is carrying the Queqiao-2 communications satellite, which will go into an elliptical orbit around the moon to support future Chinese lunar missions, starting with the Chang'e-6 farside lunar sample return mission scheduled to launch in May. (3/18)

Perseverance Collecting Dirt for Mars Sample Mission (Source: Space News)
Despite budget and schedule uncertainty, work to collect samples on Mars for later return to Earth continues. Scientists said the Perseverance rover has now filled 26 of its 43 sample tubes, a total that includes several "witness" tubes that serve as controls for any terrestrial contamination. Perseverance is continuing to drive up the remains of a river delta that once flowed into Jezero Crater.

The samples being collected by the rover will be returned to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return program, which is undergoing a review after an independent assessment last year found it was overbudget and behind schedule. Funding for Mars Sample Return was left as "TBD" in NASA's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal released last week, which NASA will amend as soon as next month once a new plan is in place for the program. (3/18)

Peregrine Payloads Returned Useful Data Despite No Lunar Landing (Source: Space News)
Despite not making it to the moon, some payloads on Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander still returned useful data. At a conference last week, representatives of several payloads on the lander, which suffered a propellant leak hours after liftoff and reentered 10 days later, said they were able to check out their instruments while in cislunar space and collect data, such as of the radiation environment. A student-built lunar rover on the lander was also able to test some of its systems, confirming they would have worked had Peregrine landed.

Astrobotic is continuing its review of the mission and will incorporate lessons learned into its larger Griffin lander that will carry NASA's VIPER lunar rover. While that mission was scheduled to launch in November, NASA says that it's likely the mission will slip into next year as it evaluates what work needs to be done on the lander. (3/18)

Japan to Land Two Astronauts on Artemis Moon Missions (Source: Nikkei)
Japan will get to land two astronauts on the moon as part of the Artemis program. An agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States to be signed next month gives Japan two slots on future Artemis lunar landing missions in exchange for its contributions to the program, such as elements of the lunar Gateway and a pressurized lunar rover. Japan wants to become the second country after the U.S. to land astronauts on the moon, and the earliest opportunity would be the Artemis 4 mission in the late 2020s. (3/18)

China's Military, State Media Slam U.S. After Report on SpaceX Spy Satellites (Source: Reuters)
Chinese military and state-run media on Sunday accused the United States of threatening global security, days after a Reuters report which found Elon Musk's SpaceX was building hundreds of spy satellites for a U.S. intelligence agency. SpaceX's Starshield unit is developing the satellite network under a classified $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Reuters reported on Friday, citing five sources familiar with the program.

A social media account run by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the SpaceX program exposed the United States' "shamelessness and double standards" as Washington accuses Chinese tech companies of threatening U.S. security. "We urge U.S. companies to not help a villain do evil," Junzhengping, an account run by the PLA, posted on social media platform Weibo on Sunday. The account has 1.1 million followers. (3/18)

Former Amazon, Flexport Exec Tim Collins Joins Blue Origin as Supply Chain Chief (Source: GeekWire)
Tim Collins, most recently an executive vice president at Flexport and a former top Amazon leader, announced Saturday that he’s joining Blue Origin as vice president of supply chain. Collins was executive vice president of global operations at logistics giant Flexport, following 1 1/2 years at Gopuff as SVP of operations. He spent more than 20 years at Amazon, including more than four years as VP of global operations. (3/16)

Musk Unveils "Spin" to Safeguard Space Travelers on Their Way to Mars and Beyond (Source: WPN)
So, how will SpaceX implement this plan? While Musk hasn’t provided detailed specifications, astrophysicist Dr. Peter Hague has suggested tethering two Starships together and spinning them to simulate Mars gravity. This concept is akin to the Von Braun wheel, an evolution of an idea proposed over a century ago. The spacecraft would rotate around a central tether, creating a centrifugal force miming Earth’s gravity. Astronauts inside would experience gravity-like effects during their lengthy journeys to Mars or other destinations. (3/16)

How Do Astronauts Sleep on ISS While Experiencing 16 Sunrises and Sunsets in a Single Day? (Source: Hindustan Times)
Astronauts on the ISS do a full circle of Earth every 90 minutes and experience 16 sunsets and sunrises every day. With this unearthly routine, astronauts can struggle to find a natural daily rhythm in space. The Space Station follows Greenwich Mean Time, which helps keep a consistent schedule, along with regular wake-up and bedtime routines," ESA wrote. (3/17)

China Working on Giant Rail Gun to Shoot Astronauts Into Space (Source: Futurism)
Chinese scientists are working on a giant electromagnetic launch track to launch a massive 50-ton spaceplane — longer than a Boeing 737 — into orbit. As the South China Morning Post reports, the "giant rail gun" system is designed to accelerate a hypersonic aircraft to speeds of up to Mach 1.6. Once it reaches the end of the track, its engine then accelerates it to the edge of space at seven times the speed of sound. (3/16)

A Single Meteorite Smashed Into Mars and Created 2 Billion Craters (Source: New Scientist)
When a single small meteorite struck Mars a few million years ago, it didn’t just create one crater. It ultimately created billions of them. The main crater, called Corinto, is just under 14 kilometres across, but the debris from that meteorite collision formed about two billion additional craters, called secondaries. When a meteorite slams into the ground, it can blast a huge plume of rocks into the air. When these rocks fall back down, they create their own smaller craters, often in chains. (3/14)

NASA Puts Latest Solar Technology to the Test for an Upcoming Space Mission: 'Big Power for Small Spacecraft' (Source: TCD)
Ascent Solar's thin and flexible sun-catching film is set to continue out-of-this-world testing on NASA craft this year. It's a unique crossroads of the latest in solar cell tech and advanced NASA spacecraft, part of an ongoing study into optimizing how the renewable energy source can power small vessels, among other scientific breakthroughs. NASA is using the film as part of the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array project, which is also geared to develop "low-cost power for spacecraft."

The Colorado company's light, bendable solar film is made in part with a copper-indium-gallium-selenide blend. It's a mix of metals that forms a material thinner than a human hair, is shatterproof, and is relatively inexpensive, all per the maker. A photo of the invention shared by Ascent's team looks like a roll of camera film. (3/17)

How a West Virginia Story Inspired Jeff Bezos to Create Blue Origin (Source: WOWK)
The inspiring story found within “October Sky” inspired Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to create an aerospace company. Bezos — a New Mexico native and the richest man in the world — founded online retailer Amazon out of a garage in Seattle in 1994. Six years later in 2000, Bezos founded a new company: Blue Origin.

Bezos and science-fiction author Neal Stephenson — known for writing “Snow Crash” and “Cryptonomicon” — went to see a matinee of “October Sky” in 1999. Bezos told Stephenson after the showing that he always wanted to start a space company. His response, according to Davenport, was, “Well, why don’t you start it today?” (3/16)

The Necessary Collaboration between Robots and Humans in Space Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
As automation and robots reshape the way many industries operate, there is an apprehension that human skill sets and collaboration will become obsolete in certain areas. The space sector is an industry that has utilized robots for decades. However, a question often looms even among some experts in the sector: Are humans needed to explore space? And are robots a better alternative to reach deep space destinations?

The resounding answer is: No. While robots are necessary and useful tools for deep space exploration, humans will always be essential to spacefaring. We need to think past the polarity debate of crewed vs. uncrewed programs to recognize that they serve different but complementary purposes, strengthening each other on our exploration of the cosmos. (3/18)

Space Force Seeks New Partners for $986 Million OSP-4 Launch Services Contract (Source: Space Daily)
The U.S. Space Force, through its Small Launch and Targets Division located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has officially issued a call for additional service providers to join the Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4. This move, spearheaded by the Space Systems Command's (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS) initiative, aims to broaden the roster of launch providers eligible for the program's mission contracts.

OSP-4, part of the broader Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP), is designed to streamline the procurement of launch services for payloads exceeding 400 pounds, ensuring readiness for launch within 12 to 24 months post-task order issuance. This contract, boasting a ceiling of $986 million and open for orders until October 2028, fosters competition among awardees for each mission. (3/18)

Stratolaunch sets sights on hypersonic speeds for next Talon-A Test (Source: Defense News)
Following a successful test flight in which its Talon-A vehicle reached near-hypersonic speeds, Stratolaunch is preparing for its next mission to reach or surpass the milestone of five times the speed of sound. The March 9 test hit all of its primary objectives, taking off from Stratolaunch’s manufacturing and test facility at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

For Stratolaunch’s second powered Talon-A mission, scheduled for the second half of this year, it wants to push the uncrewed aircraft’s envelope further. The goal is to reach hypersonic speeds and to demonstrate reusability, landing the system on a runway. The vehicle, dubbed TA-2, won’t undergo any structural changes before the flight, Krevor said, noting that the first mission validated the aircraft’s design and construction. The company is, however, considering operational lessons from the TA-1 vehicle. (3/15)