December 9, 2024

Space Force Eyes Commercial Sector Support to Combat China (Source: Space News)
Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations for the US Space Force, has warned about China's rapid advances in space technology, highlighting activities such as GPS jamming, satellite spoofing and cyberattacks. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Guetlein emphasized the need for the US to shift its approach to space operations and collaborate with commercial partners, pointing to the proposed Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program as a key strategy. (12/8)

Nelson Optimistic for NASA Under Isaacman (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says he is "basically optimistic" about NASA's future in the incoming Trump administration. At a briefing last week, Nelson said Elon Musk's current influence with President-elect Trump "is going to be a benefit to making sure that the funding for NASA is there." Nelson said that while he had spoken with Jared Isaacman, who Trump announced last week he planned to nominate to replace Nelson, he declined to discuss those conversations or what advice he might offer his likely successor. Isaacman has received strong support from many in the space community, seeing him as bringing passion and a business background into the agency. (12/9)

Portugal's Neuraspace Expands Telescope Network for Space Object Tracking (Source: Space News)
Portuguese space traffic management startup Neuraspace has installed a second optical telescope for tracking objects in orbit. The company announced last week it set up a telescope in Chile as a companion to one it established earlier this year in Portugal, enabling monitoring of both the northern and southern hemispheres of objects as small as 10 centimeters across. Neuraspace plans to pool those observations with data gathered from public sources and partnerships with other ground telescope providers to improve space traffic management services for satellite operators. (12/9)

JAXA: Several Month Delay for Epsilon S Launch (Source: Jiji Press)
Japan's space agency JAXA has all but ruled out a launch of the Epsilon S rocket for at least several months after a recent static-fire explosion. A JAXA official said last week that it was unlikely the small launch vehicle would make its first flight by the end of the current Japanese fiscal year in March, as previously planned, after a solid-fuel motor exploded in a test in late November. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. (12/9)

NDAA Could Extend Commercial Spaceflight Regulatory Pause (Source: Space News)
Language in a defense authorization act would extend key commercial spaceflight provisions. A section in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, released Saturday, would extend the commercial spaceflight "learning period" by three years. That learning period, which is currently set to expire Jan. 1, limits the ability of the FAA to issue regulations for commercial human spaceflight occupant safety. Industry sought a longer extension in separate House and Senate bills now considered unlikely to pass this year. The NDAA also extends the launch indemnification regime, where the government indemnifies third-party losses above levels set in the launch license that the launch operator is responsible for, by three years as well. (12/9)

Karman Space and Defense May Go Public or Be Sold (Source: Bloomberg)
The private-equity owner of an aerospace supplier is considering a sale or IPO of that company. Trive Capital is considering deals for Karman Space and Defense that would value the company at $3 billion. The company makes components for propulsion, interstage and payload deployment systems on launch vehicles, in addition to work in hypersonics and other defense programs. (12/9)

Seeing Farther Into the Universe with Enhanced Gravitational-Wave Detection (Source: Space Daily)
Researchers at Louisiana State University have unveiled a promising method to refine gravitational-wave detection through optical spring tracking. This innovation may enable scientists to observe deeper into the cosmos and gather crucial insights into black hole and neutron star mergers.
Gravitational-wave observatories like the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) are designed to detect minute spacetime distortions caused by distant astrophysical phenomena.

These measurements provide an unprecedented view of events that do not emit light, contributing to the study of extreme cosmic occurrences, the nature of gravity, and the universe's origins. Their work demonstrates how dynamic optical spring tracking could reduce noise in gravitational-wave detectors. (12/5)

China Launches Sea Sentinel 1 Satellite for Remote Sensing (Source: Space Daily)
China successfully launched a Kuaizhou 1A carrier rocket on Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, placing the Haishao 1, also known as Sea Sentinel 1, satellite into orbit. The solid-propellant rocket lifted off at 12:46 pm, delivering the remote-sensing satellite to its designated trajectory, as confirmed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the state-owned entity responsible for the rocket's development and manufacture. (12/5)

Researchers Use Citizen Scientist Data to Explore Blue Auroras in Japan (Source: Space Daily)
On May 11, 2024, a dramatic geomagnetic storm created colorful auroras across Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands. Among these was a unique salmon-pink aurora lasting through the night and an exceptionally rare, blue-dominant aurora observed just before midnight. Unlike the typical red auroras seen at low latitudes, these unusual displays captivated citizen scientists and researchers alike.

Amateur photographs and smartphone videos captured the striking aurora, providing critical data for scientists to combine with their observations. The collaborative effort led to a study published in *Earth, Planets and Space*, headed by Sota Nanjo from the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and Professor Kazuo Shiokawa of Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE). (12/6)

Hubble Delivers Unprecedented View of a Quasar (Source: Space Daily)
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have achieved an unprecedentedly close look into the core of a quasar - a luminous and energetic galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole. This study reveals intricate structures surrounding the black hole and sheds new light on the dynamic processes fueling quasars. (12/6)