March 26, 2024

Boeing Claims Virgin Galactic Owes $26 Million and Retained Proprietary Information (Source: Space News)
Boeing and a subsidiary have filed suit against Virgin Galactic over work on a new "mothership" aircraft project. In the suit, Boeing and Aurora Flight Sciences allege that Virgin Galactic has failed to pay more than $26 million in invoices under a contract announced in 2022 to develop an aircraft that would serve as the air-launch platform for Virgin's suborbital spaceplanes, replacing the current aircraft called VMS Eve. Boeing and Aurora also claim that Virgin has failed to destroy proprietary documents linked to that project that include trade secrets, some of which were provided inadvertently. Virgin Galactic denies the allegations. (3/26)

Ingersoll Rand to Acquire ILC Dover (Source: Space News)
Ingersoll Rand is acquiring spacesuit developer ILC Dover. The companies announced Monday that Ingersoll Rand would acquire ILC Dover for $2.325 billion in a deal expected to close in the second quarter. Most of ILC Dover's business is in pharmaceutical and life sciences, but the company is known in the space business for developing spacesuits going back to the Apollo program as well as inflatable structures. The announcement did not disclose what changes, if any, would come to ILC Dover's space work. (3/26)

AIA Untangles DoD Space Acquisition (Source: Space News)
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is trying to demystify military space acquisitions. AIA released an infographic Monday describing the roles played by 15 organizations in the Space Force, Defense Department and intelligence community in acquiring space capabilities. AIA said it developed the infographic because it regularly receives inquiries from people struggling to understand the bureaucratic labyrinth of military space acquisition. (3/26)

Boeing Corporate Shakeup Unlikely to Impact Space Business (Source: Boeing)
A Boeing corporate leadership shakeup is not likely to have near-term effects on its space business. Boeing announced Monday that its current CEO, Dave Calhoun, will retire at the end of the year. The chair of the company's board, Larry Kellner, is also stepping down and will be replaced by Steve Mollenkopf, who will lead the effort to hire a new CEO. The moves were prompted by continued difficulties with the company's commercial aviation business, with the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, also retiring. None of the changes appear to have an immediate impact on the company's defense and space unit. (3/26)

SpaceX Launches More Starlink Satellites From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
SpaceX launched — you guessed it — another set of Starlink satellites Monday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:42 p.m. Eastern and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. Nineteen of SpaceX's 29 Falcon 9 launches so far this year have been Starlink missions. (3/26)

Apex Aries Satellite Commissioned After Transporter Launch (Source: Space News)
Apex says it has successfully commissioned the first payload on its inaugural Aries satellite and has the pics to prove it. The company released Monday an image taken by the spacecraft, showing part of the spacecraft with the Earth in the background. Apex launched the spacecraft three weeks ago on the Transporter-10 rideshare mission to demonstrate its capabilities, with payloads from several undisclosed customers on board.

Apex was one of several companies to fly their first spacecraft on Transporter-10, with others still working through the commissioning process. One, True Anomaly, said last week it ran into problems with its first two Jackal spacecraft that will prevent the company from testing rendezvous and proximity operations as intended. (3/26)

ExLabs Plans to Send a Mission to a Near Earth Asteroid (Source: Space News)
ExLabs said it is planning to launch a mission to the asteroid Apophis in 2028, a year before that asteroid makes a very close, but safe, flyby of Earth. The mission would place three cubesats into orbit around the asteroid to demonstrate technologies for future space resources and other in-space missions. ExLabs did not disclose the cost of the mission or how it would be funded. (3/26)

George Abbey Passes Away at 91 (Source: Houston Chronicle)
George Abbey, former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, has died at the age of 91. Abbey joined NASA in the mid-1960s and later became director of flight operations, selecting astronauts for shuttle missions. After a stint at NASA Headquarters, he returned to JSC, serving as director from 1996 to 2001. He retired from NASA in 2003 and worked on space policy issues at Rice University. (3/26)

Early Adopters of NASA's PACE Data to Study Air Quality, Ocean Health (Source: Space Daily)
From the atmosphere down to the surface of the ocean, data from NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite benefits ecosystems, human health, and underrepresented communities. Years before the launch in February 2024, mission leaders from NASA teamed with dozens of applied scientists and environmental professionals to prepare for the many practical uses that could be informed by PACE data. PACE's Early Adopter program integrates science data into business, environmental management, and decision-making activities to benefit society. Click here. (3/26)

Japan Attempts to Revive Moon Lander After Second Lunar Night (Source: Space Daily)
Japan's space agency said on Tuesday it will try to revive its Moon lander after a second frigid, two-week lunar night, following a surprising awakening last month. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. As the sun's angle shifted, it came back to life for two days and carried out scientific observations of a crater with a high-spec camera. (3/26)

China Elevates Atmospheric and Space Monitoring Capabilities with New Satellite (Source: Space Daily)
the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has deployed the second batch of Yunhai 2-series satellites into orbit, further bolstering China's capabilities in atmospheric monitoring and space environment observation. The satellites, developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, are multifunctional, with responsibilities ranging from atmospheric condition surveillance to space environment monitoring. These satellites will also contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation initiatives and support a range of scientific experiments. (3/22)

Aireon and Airbus Enhance Partnership to Distribute Space-Based ADS-B Air Traffic Data to Wider Audience (Source: Space Daily)
Aireon has broadened its partnership with Airbus through an expanded distribution deal, facilitating greater accessibility to its cutting-edge space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data. This strategic move will see Airbus incorporating Aireon's comprehensive ADS-B data into its suite of advanced flight analytics and digital solutions, offering unprecedented benefits to a wide array of aviation stakeholders, including airlines, aircraft lessors, and lessees. (3/22)

Barack Obama Says Jeff Bezos Should Worry About Earth Before Space. But Bezos Says Going to Space is How You Save Earth (Source: Busines Insider)
Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos are at loggerheads on how ambitious goalposts to colonize the solar system will affect Earth's future. The former US president recently chastised Silicon Valley tycoons for investing in projects with an aim to send humans to live off-world.

Bezos, on the other hand, has said that going to space is the best way to continue humanity's growth while preserving the planet's natural resources. "In almost every way, life is better for almost everyone today than it was, say, 50 years ago or 100 years ago," Bezos said. Bezos cited literacy, poverty, and infant-mortality rates as examples of humanity's progress. But he said that humanity's progress was to the detriment of planet Earth. (3/20)

ISS National Lab-Sponsored Research Aims to Grow Tumors in Microgravity to Test Chemotherapy Effectiveness (Source: CASIS)
Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, with nearly 10 million people dying from the disease each year. Researchers from Connecticut-based startup Encapsulate are turning to the microgravity conditions available through the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to explore how to mitigate the effects of cancer and improve the lives of patients on Earth.

For many living with cancer, treatment options can be a grueling trial-and-error process, as there are multiple drugs available for many types of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs work by killing the cancer cells within the body, but research has shown that for certain cancer types, nearly 80% of initial chemotherapy treatments do not work, which means that individuals have to endure multiple rounds of treatments. (3/25)

Lessons From the First CLPS Lunar Landing Missions (Source: Space Review)
With the first two commercial lunar lander missions by US companies in the books, NASA and industry are taking stock of what worked and what didn’t. Jeff Foust reports on those analyses as NASA charts the future of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Click here. (3/25)
 
Proposing a National Naming Competition for Our Lunar Exploration Program (Source: Space Review)
In the concluding portion of his two-part essay, Cody Knipfer examines the potential benefits, and drawbacks, of a naming competition for elements of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign. Click here. (3/25)
 
Preventing a “Space Pearl Harbor”: Rep. Turner Leads the Charge (Source: Space Review)
Comments last month by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee led to revelations that Russia was developing some kind of nuclear antisatellite weapon. Brian Chow argues similar awareness is needed among policymakers about growing Chinese antisatellite capabilities. Click here. (3/25)