March 20, 2024

Blue Origin’s Blue Ring to Demonstrate Operation Capabilities on DarkSky-1 Mission (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin will demonstrate Blue Ring’s mission operation capabilities and core flight systems on an upcoming Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)-sponsored launch, furthering its mission to build a road to space. Blue Ring’s end-to-end services will seamlessly connect ground and space communications to support a variety of missions on-orbit. The DarkSky-1 (DS-1) mission will demonstrate Blue Origin's flight systems, including space-based processing capabilities, telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) hardware, and ground-based radiometric tracking. (3/19)

Sidus Space Establishes Two-Way Communications with LS-1 Satellite (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space has established two-way communications with its state-of-the-art 3D-printed satellite, LizzieSat, focused on earth observation and remote sensing solutions powered by Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (Geo-AI). Sidus’ hybrid, 3D-printed LizzieSat uses Markforged’s flame-retardant Onyx FR-A material to produce the bus structure with metal-like strength, while also reducing cost, weight, and production time. Following on the successful launch and deployment of its first LizzieSat earlier this year, Sidus has two additional LizzieSats manifested for launch before the end of the year. (3/20)

Satellites for Quantum Communications (Source: Space Daily)
The big challenge in so-called quantum cryptography lies in the transmission of data over long distances. In classical communications, information is encoded in many light particles and transmitted through optical fibers. However, the information in a single particle cannot be copied. As a result, the light signal cannot be repeatedly amplified, as with current optical fiber transmissions. This limits the transmission distance for the information to a few hundred kilometers.

To send information to other cities or continents, the structure of the atmosphere will be used. At altitudes higher than around 10 kilometers, the atmosphere is so thin that light is neither scattered nor absorbed. This will make it possible to use satellites in order to extend quantum communications over longer distances.

As part of the QUICK3 mission, Tobias Vogl and his team are developing an entire system, including all of the components needed to build a satellite for quantum communications. In a first step, the team tested each of the satellite components. The next step will be to try out the entire system in space. The satellite launch is scheduled for 2025. To create an overarching network for quantum communications, however, hundreds or perhaps thousands of satellites will be needed. (3/15)

Intelsat Buys More OneWeb Capacity (Source: Space News)
Intelsat has signed a deal to buy much more capacity on Eutelsat's OneWeb satellite constellation. The companies announced that Intelsat will buy $250 million of capacity on the constellation over six years, starting in the middle of this year, with an option to buy $250 million more. The agreement marks a major step up from Intelsat's commitment a year ago to buy $45 million worth of LEO capacity. Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras said demand has "changed significantly" in the last 18 months, prompting Intelsat to buy more capacity.

While the initial agreement only covered Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, the expanded partnership is global, although Intelsat is focused on using that capacity primarily for aviation and government customers. The agreement also allows Intelsat to help shape Eutelsat's plans to begin replacing OneWeb satellites as they near the end of their design life late this decade. (3/20)

China Launches Lunar Data Relay Satellite (Source: Space News)
China launched a lunar data relay satellite Tuesday night. A Long March 8 rocket lifted off at 8:31 p.m. Eastern from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center and place the Queqiao-2 satellite on a trajectory to the moon. Queqiao-2 will go into an elliptical inclined orbit around the moon so it can relay communications from other lunar missions, such as the Chang'e-6 farside lunar sample return mission expected to launch in May. Chinese officials said that Queqiao-2 could be used by lunar missions from other countries as well. The launch also carried a pair of small experimental satellites named Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2 for navigation and communications technology verification. (3/20)

NASA Announces Innovative Teams in Wildfire and Climate Change Tech Challenge (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has announced the winners of its Wildfire Climate Tech Challenge, awarding $100,000 each to three teams for their groundbreaking solutions aimed at combating the increasing threat of wildfires and climate change. The initiative leveraged the collaboration between Minority Serving Institutions and NASA's technological and Earth science resources to bolster fire management efforts.

The winning proposals were selected for their innovative approach, technical prowess, and potential for substantial impact. The winners include Team Howard U, Team HorizonForce, and Team FLARE, each offering unique solutions from advanced health monitoring and wildfire detection systems to cutting-edge risk assessment tools. Click here. (3/19)

The Comet Strike Theory That Just Won’t Die (Source: New York Times)
Mainstream science has done its best to debunk the notion, but a belief in a world-changing series of prehistoric impacts continues to gain momentum. In 2007, a group of researchers uncovered evidence that 12,900 years ago, a comet — or possibly a whole fleet of comets — struck Earth and changed the course of history. For the preceding two and a half million years, through the Pleistocene Epoch, the planet’s climate fluctuated between frozen stretches, called glacials, and warm interglacials. At that time, Earth was warming again, and the ice sheets that covered much of North America, Europe and Asia were in retreat.

Mammoths, steppe bison, wild horses and other enormous mammals still wandered the Americas, pursued by bands of humans wielding spears with fluted stone blades. Suddenly, somewhere over the Upper Midwest — an explosion. A hail of tiny molten particles sank into flesh and set forests ablaze. Soot blotted out the sun. Earth’s magnetic field wavered, and living things were bombarded by cosmic rays, confounding the navigational senses of turtles and porpoises, which beached themselves en masse. Addled birds plummeted from the sky.

Most disastrous of all, the impact shattered the ice dam holding back Lake Agassiz, a vast expanse of glacial meltwater that stretched across Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lake cascaded into the Atlantic Ocean, where the freshwater pooled over the denser seawater, disrupting the convection current carrying warm water north from the tropics. The Northern Hemisphere plunged back into full-glacial cold. Click here. (3/5)

Pentagon’s Innovation Unit Steps Up Role in Space Force’s Responsive Launch Program (Source: Space News)
The Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon’s outpost in Silicon Valley tasked with integrating commercial tech into the military, is increasing its support of the Space Force’s efforts to shorten the time it takes to plan space missions. The Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space program is an initiative to rapidly respond to situations in space. The goal is to drastically reduce the time it takes to launch and operate satellites, from the usual weeks or months down to days or even hours.

Responsive space is seen as a launch program but it’s more than that, Ryan said March 18 at the Satellite 2024 conference. “It is a mindset shift more than anything.” Part of that mindset, he said, is understanding how to best leverage the commercial industry. While the government is expected to be the main customer for tactical space launches in the near-term, DIU sees broader benefits from investing in these rapid capabilities alongside commercial partners. (3/19)

ESA Picks Three NavSat Projects (Source: Space News)
ESA has awarded three contracts to develop advanced navigation satellite missions. The awards, with a combined value of 233.4 million euros ($253 million), are part of the agency's FutureNAV program whose funding was oversubscribed at the 2022 ministerial conference. One contract will go to a consortium led by OHB Italia to develop Genesis, a spacecraft to improve the accuracy of the reference frame used for navigation and Earth science applications. Two others, one to GMV and OHB System and the other to Thales Alenia Space, will support LEO-PNT, an effort to demonstrate the feasibility of a low Earth orbit constellation to provide navigation services. The LEO-PNT satellites will launch by 2027 and Genesis in 2028. (3/20)

Germany's Blackwave Raises $6.6 Million for Carbon Fiber Space Components (Source: Space News)
Blackwave, a German startup developing carbon fiber structures for space applications, has raised $6.6 million. The company announced the seed extension round Tuesday led by Alpine Space Ventures. Blackwave, which has developed carbon fiber structures for other industries for several years, said the seed round will allow them to offer carbon fiber high-pressure tanks for launch vehicles, satellites and other space-related applications. (3/20)

Purtugal's Neuraspace Offers Free Space Traffic Management Software (Source: Space News)
Space traffic management startup Neuraspace has unveiled a free service. The Portuguese company says it is providing a free version of its space traffic management platform to foster more collaboration among satellite operators. Operators signed up for the service would get a common view of conjunction alerts, which would also automatically open up a chat room between them to discuss how best to avoid the collision risk. The company also offers a premium version that also includes collision avoidance maneuver suggestions and more powerful conjunction analysis tools. (3/20)

SpaceX to Sell Inter-Satellite Laser Link Tech (Source: Reuters)
SpaceX will sell laser inter-satellite links it has developed to other companies. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at Satellite 2024 Tuesday that the company will offer the "Plug and Plaser" systems, which it developed for its Starlink constellation. Those links will also be demonstrated on the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission using a Crew Dragon spacecraft later this year. (3/20)

Europe Finalizing Deal to Launch Galileo NavSats on Falcon 9 Rockets (Source: Politico)
The European Commission is finalizing a agreement to launch Galileo navigation satellites on SpaceX's Falcon 9. European Union officials said that they have approved a security agreement that would give them special access to launch facilities required for Galileo satellites. That agreement is expected to be formally signed by E.U. and U.S. officials next week. The European Commissions said last fall it planned to launch four Galileo satellites on two Falcon 9 rockets in 2024 because of delays in the development of the Ariane 6. (3/20)

India's SkyServe Partners with Loft Orbital for Earth Observation Computing (Source: Space News)
An Indian startup will use a Loft Orbital spacecraft to demonstrate edge computing capabilities for Earth observation. SkyServe announced a partnership with Loft Orbital Tuesday to use Loft's YAM-6 satellite to demonstrate the use of AI technologies to analyze optical and hyperspectral images in space, returning insights back to Earth. Loft launched YAM-6 earlier this month as its first "virtual mission" spacecraft, where the spacecraft can be configured by software to perform different missions based on customer requirements. (3/20)

India/US NISAR Mission Launch Slips to 2025 (Source: Times of India)
The launch of a joint U.S.-Indian Earth science mission has slipped to the second half of the year. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) spacecraft was scheduled to launch this spring on a GSLV launch vehicle. The head of ISRO, S. Somanath, said in an interview that the launch would instead likely take place in the second half of the year because of ongoing tests of the spacecraft. He did not discuss any specific issues that caused the tests to be delayed. (3/20)

Swift Astronomy Spacecraft Enters Safe Mode (Source: NASA)
NASA's Swift astronomy spacecraft is in a safe mode. The spacecraft, launched nearly 20 years ago, went into safe mode because of degrading performance of one of its three gyros on March 15, NASA said Monday. NASA is working to update the spacecraft's flight software to allow it to continue operations using the other two gyros, but did not state how long that process would take. Swift is used to monitor gamma-ray bursts. (3/20)

Ice Obscuring Optics on Euclid Space Telescope (Source: ESA)
Engineers are working to remove a layer of ice from an instrument on ESA's Euclid space telescope. A very thin layer of ice, estimated to be the width of a strand of DNA, has formed on the optics of Euclid's main camera. That ice is likely water, absorbed during assembly and launch preparations, that is outgassing in space. While that layer of ice is very thin, it is enough to affect the instrument's precise optics. Engineers have been working to heat part parts of the optics to remove the ice without affecting other parts of the spacecraft. ESA said Wednesday that initial results show that de-icing effort appears to be working. (3/20)

What is Emergent Gravity, and Will it Rewrite Physics? (Source: Space.com)
In 2009, theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde proposed a radical reformulation of gravity. In his theory, gravity is not a fundamental force but rather a manifestation of deeper hidden processes. But in the 15 years since then, there hasn't been much experimental support for the idea. So where do we go next?

Emergence is common throughout physics. The property of temperature, for example, isn't an intrinsic property of gases. Instead, it's the emergent result of countless microscopic collisions. We have the tools to match those microscopic collisions to temperature; indeed, there is an entire branch of physics, known as statistical mechanics, that makes these connections known.

In other areas, the connections between microscopic behaviors and emergent properties aren't so clear. Many properties of black holes can be expressed in terms of the laws of thermodynamics. However, the laws of thermodynamics are themselves emergent from microscopic processes. To Verlinde, this was more than a mere coincidence and indicated that what we perceive as gravity may be emerging from some deeper physical process. (3/19)

'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroid Bennu Contains the Building Blocks of Life and Minerals Unseen on Earth (Source: LiveScience)
Nearly four years after NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft collected a sample from an asteroid, scientists are finally revealing the intriguing composition of the space rock. Among them, Bennu contains a surprising reservoir of a mineral called magnesium phosphate. This is a rare find in astromaterials, scientists say. There are no good chemical analogues of the mineral on Earth, either because it is too fragile to survive the fall to Earth or vanishes soon after.

The samples also show the widespread presence of glycine, the simplest amino acid and a crucial ingredient of proteins, as well as other water-bearing minerals, including carbonates, sulfites, olivine and magnetite, all of which are tangible evidence that Bennu's parent body witnessed multiple water-related episodes. Other scientists studying the extraterrestrial bounty found abundant water-altered compounds called phyllosilicates, as well as a rich collection of other organic and hydrated minerals. (3/18)

Boeing Begins Fueling Starliner Capsule Ahead of 1st Astronaut Launch (Source: Space.com)
Boeing has started fueling up its Starliner capsule ahead of the vehicle's first-ever astronaut launch. That mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT), is currently scheduled to launch in early May atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. It will send NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS) for a roughly 10-day stay. (3/19)

Northrop Grumman to Develop Concept for Lunar Railroad (Source: Northrop Grumman)
Northrop Grumman has been selected by DARPA to further develop the concept of building a moon-based railroad network as part of the broader 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study. The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface – contributing to a space economy for the United States and international partners.

Northrop Grumman’s study will: Define the interfaces and resources required to build a lunar rail network; Establish a critical list of foreseeable cost, technological and logistical risks; Identify prototypes, demonstrations and analyses of a fully operating lunar rail system’s concept design and architecture; and Explore concepts for constructing and operating the system with robotics, including grading and foundation preparation, track placement and alignment, joining and finishing, inspection, maintenance and repair. (3/19)

SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell Downplays Potential Starlink Stock Listing (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX isn’t making an initial public offering of its Starlink unit a priority at the moment, according to Gwynne Shotwell, the company’s chief operating officer. “We are not focused on an IPO for Starlink right now,” Shotwell said. The company is instead aiming at improving the product. (3/19)

Loft Orbital and SkyServe Partner on AI-Powered Earth Observation Application (Source: Space News)
Loft Orbital is partnering with SkyServe to leverage Earth observation and edge computing capabilities on a newly launched satellite. The two companies announced March 19 that SkyServe will use Loft Orbital’s YAM-6 spacecraft, launched on the Transporter-10 rideshare mission March 4, to demonstrate artificial intelligence capabilities by analyzing optical and hyperspectral imagery the satellite collects. (3/19)

Canada Rises As A 21st Century Space Power (Source: Astralytical)
Canada is another rising space power that has created a seat for itself at the table as humanity pushes deeper into the Solar System. Canada has a legacy of significant contributions to the International Space Station and is a major partner in NASA’s Artemis crewed lunar exploration program. How robust is Canada’s space program? How deep is the connection with NASA and the Artemis program? What can be expected from the Canadian space program for the rest of the 2020s and beyond? Click here. (3/18)

ESA Contracts $253.6M for Demonstration LEO Navigation Satellites From GMV, OHB, Thales Alenia (Source: Space Intel Report)
The European Space Agency (ESA) committed 233 million euros ($253.6 million) to build one satellite with millimeter-level accuracy and 0.1 millimeter per year stability for the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) as well as two five-satellite constellations to test a new orbit and new radio frequencies for a future low-orbit positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service. The contracts followed strong support for what ESA calls its Genesis and LEO-PNT program, which received overwhelming support from its governments. (3/19)

While USSF Budget Dips, Funds for New Nuclear Command and Control Satellites Jump (Source: Air and Space Forces)
The Space Force is ramping up its plans to develop and deploy a new nuclear command, control, and communications satellite constellation, even as other parts of its budget take a hit. In the fiscal 2025 budget request released earlier this month, the service asked for nearly $1.05 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation of its Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) program—a hefty $413 million increase over its 2024 request even as the Space Force’s RDT&E budget overall took a $500 million hit.

As things stand, ESS is poised to account for 5.6 percent of the entire research and development budget, and 3.6 percent of the entire Space Force budget. ESS, in development for several years now, is envisioned as the successor to the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Satellite System. The goal, according to Space Systems Command, is to provide “strategic, secure and jam-resistant, survivable communications for ground, sea, and air assets. (3/18)

Musk is a MAGA Megaphone and a Federal Contractor. That’s a Problem (Source: Washington Post)
As a taxpayer, I wind up subsidizing a megalomaniacal and capricious Elon Musk. His privately held company SpaceX is a major contractor — to the tune of many billions of dollars — for the Defense Department, NASA and the U.S. intelligence community. He is also chief executive of Tesla, which benefits from generous government subsidies and tax credits to the electric-vehicle industry.

Musk needs to decide whether he wants to be the next Donald Trump Jr. (i.e., a major MAGA influencer) or the next James D. Taiclet (the little-known CEO of Lockheed Martin, the country’s largest defense contractor). Currently, Musk is trying to do both, and that’s not sustainable. He is presiding over a fire hose of falsehoods on X about familiar right-wing targets, from undocumented immigrants to “the woke mind virus” to President Biden … while reaping billions from Biden’s administration! (3/18)

Forget Jet Lag, it’s Time to Start Worrying About Space Lag (Source: The Telegraph)
Astronauts could end up with “space lag”, scientists have warned after they discovered that microgravity harms the body by knocking genes out of sync. More humans are expected to venture into space in the coming decades, but concerns have been raised about the health impact of leaving Earth, where 24 hour night-and-day cycles do not exist, and gravity holds less sway.

In research carried out by the University of Surrey and the European Space Agency, 20 volunteers were asked to lie in bed for 60 days with their legs raised slightly higher than their heads in an experiment that simulated the impact of microgravity on the body. The team found that 91 per cent of genes were affected, with many switching on and off at the wrong time of day. Genes affected included those linked to muscle function, the immune system and the inflammatory response. (3/18)

Space Tourists and Crew Suffer High Radiation Risks – Regulation is Needed to Protect Them (Source: The Conversation)
Space comes with huge radiation risks. Sudden changes in space weather, such as solar flares, for example, could have significant health implications for crew and passengers. A new paper found that current legislation and regulations don’t do enough to protect space tourists and crew.

Space tourists can be exposed to radiation doses in excess of the recommended maximum 1 millisievert (mSv) yearly uptake for a member of the public and 20mSv yearly for those working with radiation. Research at the University of Surrey shows that during an extreme space weather event, flight participants could receive doses in excess of 100mSv.

Current legislation and regulation focusing on potential radiation exposure for space tourists is limited and largely untested. There is a heavy focus on conventional non-radiation risk and wider safety, with guidance stemming from regulation of normal commercial flights. However, these are significantly different to space tourism enterprises. Similarly, the law around space flights and their associated risk liability is complex. (3/18)

Lockheed Martin Prepares to Loft Military Mesh Networks Into Space (Source: Aviation Week)
With a launch expected in the next several weeks, Lockheed Martin's Pony Express 2 will add to the recent string of orbital demonstrations to usher into the space domain an advanced, terrestrial-scale mesh network. But a space-based network imposes unique demands on an internet service provider. The nodes of a network based in LEO are moving at about 17,500 mph, with each satellite spaced hundreds of miles apart. (3/14)

Leveraging Microgravity to Unlock the Underlying Causes of Neurodegenerative Diseases (Source: CASIS)
Every six minutes, someone is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that can affect movement. And an estimated 200 people are diagnosed each week with multiple sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease that affects the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. To better understand the mechanisms behind these and other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers are leveraging the ISS National Laboratory. The microgravity environment may reveal new insights into how brain cells interact, and results from this research could ultimately lead to improved diagnostics and new therapeutics that would benefit millions of people worldwide. (3/19)