March 7, 2024

Space Coast Meetings on Potential Starship-Super Heavy Operations (Source: WFTV)
The U.S. Air Force just held the first in a series of meetings about potential SpaceX Starship operations at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The meeting at Cocoa’s Central Library gave the public an opportunity to see the alternatives and make public comments ahead of an environmental impact statement or EIS. The proposed alternatives at the Cape include reusing, modifying, or demolishing the existing structure at Space Launch complex 37, constructing new facilities at Space Launch complex 50, or taking no action at all.

Studies and evaluations to prepare for a draft environmental impact statement will happen this spring. There will be more public comment once that draft is completed. A preferred alternative won’t be announced until September of next year, and a selection is expected to happen the following month. (3/5)

Musk's Bid to Keep SpaceX Labor Suit in Texas Is Denied on Appeal (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)
SpaceX’s bid to keep its lawsuit against the US National Labor Relations Board in Texas was denied by a federal appeals court, a setback for Elon Musk’s aerospace company in its battle with the agency. Tuesday’s order, by a three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, came after the company sued the NLRB in January, seeking to have its structure declared unconstitutional. It sued the day after the agency issued a complaint accusing SpaceX of illegally retaliating by firing eight employees who had circulated an open letter critical of Musk.

The NLRB's general counsel, which acts as a prosecutor, claims SpaceX violated U.S. labor law by firing the engineers in 2022 after they circulated a letter accusing Musk of sexist conduct and claiming the company tolerated discrimination against women. SpaceX is accused of violating the National Labor Relations Act, which protects workers' rights to band together and advocate for better working conditions.

The engineers have separately filed complaints with a California civil rights agency accusing SpaceX of tolerating sex discrimination and retaliating against workers who complained. SpaceX has denied wrongdoing while attacking the labor board's core functions in the lawsuit, which it filed in federal court in Texas. A judge last month transferred the case to California, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the company's challenge to that decision. (3/5)

From France to the Moon: Rocket Simulator Opens in Toulouse (Source: EuroNews)
In Toulouse, France, the Cité de l'Espace is launching a new immersive experience: Lune Xplorer, where you can take a seat in a rocket simulator. You can climb aboard a spaceship similar to the one that will soon take man back to the Moon. Every detail is realistic, including the number of passengers: four per capsule. The simulator is in fact a centrifuge that reproduces all the effects of acceleration. (3/4)

Camden County Votes to Dissolve Spaceport Authority (Source: TGV News)
At the March 5, 2024, regular meeting, the Camden County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to dissolve the Camden County Spaceport Authority. In February 2019, the Camden County Board of Commissioners sought to establish an authority for the creation, management, and operation of Spaceport Camden. Local legislators introduced House Bill 682, and it was passed by both the Georgia House and Georgia Senate before it was signed into law on May 6, 2019. (3/5)

Planet Labs gets U.S. Navy contract for maritime surveillance in the Pacific (Source: Space News)
Planet Labs will supply satellite imagery to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific for vessel detection and monitoring. Planet Labs operates a fleet of more than 200 Earth observation satellites that capture images of the entire planet on a daily basis. The company did not disclose the value of the one-year “seven figure” contract. (3/6)

SaxaVord Spaceport Getting Closer to the Much Anticipated First Launch (Source: Shetland News)
Preparations to become the UK’s first operational spaceport are hotting up in Unst – with the first orbital launch still scheduled for later this year.
Following on from the CAA licence being granted just before Christmas, management at SaxaVord Spaceport is confident it will receive its ‘range licence’ later this month to finally become a “fully-fledged spaceport”.

This second licence, also issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), allows rockets launched from SaxaVord to use the airspace. Main contractor for civil engineering work DITT was finally paid in full last month, but so far the local firm has not been asked to return to the site to carry out further groundwork. SaxaVord Spaceport has also just submitted a visitor and spectator management plan to the SIC’s planning department, which specifies an exclusion zone, a designated viewing area as well as traffic management measures. (3/5)

Australia Could Launch its First private Orbital Rocket Within Weeks (Source: New Scientist)
Within weeks, the Australian government is expected to approve the country’s first private orbital rocket launch, joining just a handful of space-faring nations that have done the same. Gilmour Space, which has developed the new rocket, announced this week that the Australian Space Agency (ASA) has granted it approval to operate the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland, Australia. The company has also set a goal of having Australian astronauts in orbit, launched from Australia, by the end of this decade. (3/6)

NASA May Be Dodging Rules That Restrict Employee Travel On Government Planes (Source: Forbes)
On October 10, 2021, a Gulfstream G-III jet that NASA uses for aerodynamics research flew to Washington, D.C. from Southern California. Documents reviewed by Forbes list the flight’s purpose as training – NASA requires its pilots to fly 100 hours annually in a plane or simulator to stay sharp.

But in D.C. the pilots welcomed passengers who usually wouldn’t be allowed aboard under federal rules meant to prevent public servants from misusing government aircraft: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and a retinue including four other senior executives, according to public records obtained by Forbes. In a series of eight flights over the next five days, all of which were claimed to be for training, the pilots took them back west for a tour of NASA facilities up and down the California coast, as well as to SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles. (3/5)

Canadian Space Agency Closing Research Lab Key to International Space Station, Canadarm (Source: CBC)
The Canadian Space Agency has confirmed a west Ottawa spacecraft laboratory it calls "Canada's national facility for spacecraft assembly [and] integration" is closing at the end of March 2025. The David Florida Laboratory officially opened in 1972. It's one of the few complexes in the world that can simulate conditions of a rocket launch and space flight, according to the agency. It also performs some work on antennas that isn't done anywhere else. (3/4)

Space Force Agencies Pile On to Find ‘Alternate PNT’ Capabilities (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force’s Commercial Space Office will soon be granting $40 million in small grants to commercial firms for technologies to provide alternatives to GPS satellites, COMSO director Col. Rich Kniseley said. The office expects shortly to issue Direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grants to contractors involved in the “Alternative Positioning, Navigation, & Timing (AltPNT) Challenge.” (3/5)

Space Tourists Need Better Warnings About Cosmic Radiation Exposure (Source: University of Surrey)
Space weather experts at the University of Surrey are urging regulators and space tourism innovators to work together to protect their passengers and crews from the risks of space weather radiation exposure. (3/6)

Can Artificial Intelligence–Based Systems Spot Hard-to-Detect Space Debris? (Source: WILEY)
The team modelled a prominent radar system in Europe (called Tracking and Imaging Radar) in tracking mode to produce training and testing data. Then, the group compared classical detection systems with a You-Only-Look-Once (YOLO)–based detector. (YOLO is a popular object detection algorithm that has been widely used in computer vision applications.) An evaluation in a simulated environment demonstrated that YOLO-based detection outperforms conventional approaches, guaranteeing a high detection rate while keeping false alarm rates low.

“In addition to improving space surveillance capabilities, artificial intelligence–based systems like YOLO have the potential to revolutionize space debris management,” said co–corresponding author Federica Massimi, PhD, of Roma Tre University, in Italy. “By quickly identifying and tracking hard-to-detect objects, these systems enable proactive decision-making and intervention strategies to mitigate collisions and risks and preserve the integrity of critical space resources.” (3/6)